EBSCO Databases - FAQs

1. What are minimum browser requirements for EBSCOhost Web and EBSCOhost Web Text Only?

   EBSCOhost Web minimum browser requirements are -

   • Netscape 4.7 and higher
   • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher.

For best performance, EBSCO Publishing recommends that you use the latest versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape available for your operating systems. JavaScript Enabled

If your browser does not meet these minimum requirements, we offer a fully functional alternative interface called EBSCOhost Web Text Only. This interface is compatible with IE 4.x and Netscape 4.x, and does not require that JavaScript be enabled.

2. Are cookies required to access or search EBSCOhost?

   Cookies are not required for searching EBSCOhost. Cookies can be allowed or disallowed through settings in the Internet Options portion of your web browser (AOL, Netscape, etc.).

3. We logged on to NoveList and bookmarked the site but now it won't let us back in. Why?

   Access to all EBSCO Publishing on-line products is through a validation server first, then to the application server. A user cannot just bookmark the page they get to (you will see that the URL is different from the URL you entered to get there in the first place)

4. Why am I receiving the error message "Directory listing denied" when logging in to EBSCOhost?

   The error message "Directory listing denied..." is typically received if you attempt to access EBSCOhost via an incorrect URL. This does not necessarily mean that the you have intentionally done something that would cause this. Your computer may have improperly cached a page, or perhaps you have reset a bookmark without realizing it. Additionally, your site's proxy server could have a caching problem that you may not aware of. Or, if you are accessing via a web page, an incorrect URL could have been placed there. Our system is very precise, thus following an exact sequence of steps with regard to accessing EBSCOhost is necessary in order to ensure full access to the resource. This error message may also returned if you do not have any of the required "default" pages in your web directory. The server will check your files for a default page. If it does not find one, then it will display a "Directory Listing Denied - This Virtual Directory does not allow contents to be listed" message.

5. I'm unable to open PDFs with IE and MAC OS X?

   Due to security reasons, EBSCO Publishing does not link directly to PDFs. When a request for a PDF is executed, EBSCOhost obtains the PDF through content.asp. Within the IE browser and MAC OS X the .asp file is unable to convert to PDF files. We recommend upgrading to the Safari browser or renaming the asp files as PDF files.

   The following are some suggestions to access PDF files with Internet Explorer and MAC OS X:

   • Although the file has been named as contentserver.asp, it is actually a PDF file. Rename the file with a .pdf extension. The file will then open in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
   • Use Apple Safari or Netscape Navigator as your Internet browser. The issue of renaming PDF files does not occur with these browsers.
   • E-Mail the file and save the PDF from an E-Mail. The issue appears to occur when downloading directly from the PDF server.