Browser Issues
The following sections describe common browser-related technical difficulties may occur when trying to access Manufacturing Connect Edge and how troubleshoot them. The difficulties that may arise includes the following:
- Browser Access Restrictions
- Browser Cache Issues
Browsers typically display one of the following two warnings when trying to access Manufacturing Connect Edge:
- Your connection is not private
- You connection is not secure
Manufacturing Connect Edge uses self-signed certificates by default. This type of warning is expected when using a self-signed certificate in a local environment.
You can bypass browser warnings on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox as follows:
- Google Chrome: Click Advanced, and then click Proceed to <website> (unsafe) at the bottom of the page.
- Mozilla Firefox: Click Advanced, and then click Add Exception... at the bottom of the page. Click Confirm Security Exception on the pop-up window
The following table details some of the reasons for browser access restrictions and recommended steps to resolve the issues.
Possible Causes | Recommended Steps |
|---|---|
Needs SSL Certificate from trusted authority | Manufacturing Connect Edge includes a self-signed certificate, but you can add additional certificates. See Certificates for more information. |
Wrong date and time on computer/device | Verify that the date and time are correct on the device. |
Browser cookies and cached files | This usually only occurs in the Chrome browser. Clear the cookies and cache. |
Anti-virus software block SSL connection | Try disabling the anti-virus software. |
DNS caching | Clear the DNS cache using the ipconfig command in Windows: ipconfig / flushdns |
Owner has configured website improperly | This usually only occurs in the Firefox browser. Add the Manufacturing Connect Edge IP address to the browser's website exceptions list to proceed. |
Manufacturing Connect Edge and Manufacturing Connect applications use a web browser as their main interface. For optimized loading, Web Browsers keep a cache of files and images for recently visited websites. This avoids having to download the pages each time you visit a page.
This optimization can sometimes cause problems when the browser reads from its cache instead of downloading the latest page. This can cause unexpected behavior such as the following:
- The page looks partially loaded.
- The page looks like it has loaded but the page has strange or unusual formatting.
- Images on the page are in the wrong places.
- Strange login and license activation issues.
You can easily fix cache issues by clearing the cache. Here are some easy ways to clear a browser’s cache. These techniques should work on all Windows and Mac browsers.
- Hold down the SHIFT key while refreshing the page. This forces a refresh with an empty cache on all browsers.
- Press the CTRL + SHIFT + R key combination to force an empty cache refresh. For Safari, press CMD + R.
- Hold the CTRL + SHIFT + DELETE key combination to open the clear browser history menu. For Safari, press CMD + SHIFT + DELETE. Make sure to choose the cache option and the largest time range possible to clear the entire cache.
Often, clearing the Browser History can help fix issues. Press CTRL + H to view the history menu. You can clear the browsing data from this window or select a previous page from the list. For Safari, press CMD +H key combination to view the history menu.