Quick! Catch that Edit button! If you use IE7 (Internet Explorer 7) and you’re familiar with using the toolbar Edit button to launch SharePoint Designer 2007, then you may be interested in this post.
Issue
[Note: Issue experienced when editing SharePoint Server 2007 sites, but may also relate to standalone Windows SharePoint Services V3 sites or other Web site technologies]
When opening SharePoint sites and pages in IE7, the Edit button in the browser toolbar will initially activate but will intermittently deactivate (gray out) as you move your mouse cursor over certain parts of the page. This seems to be related specifically to when moving over controls that change color, such as the horizontal tabs (hover effects). Once deactivated, refreshing a page doesn't necessarily reactivate the Edit button; it may be necessary to navigate away from the page and then back again to reactivate the Edit button.
Just to check that it wasn’t to do with my browser’s privacy settings or some other browser setting, I also tried adjusting the following settings, none of which made any difference to the behavior of the Edit button:
- Modified privacy settings – changed to minimal
- Active X controls – under Manage Add-ons – checked that all SharePoint controls were enabled
- Turned off Phishing Filter
- Added SharePoint site to trusted sites
An alternative way of accessing the Edit command is via the browser’s File menu - File > Edit with Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer. If you don’t see the File menu in the browser toolbar, you need to show the browser’s Menu Bar – Tools > Menu Bar.
Adding the Edit button to IE7 Toolbar
By default IE7 doesn't include the Edit button in the toolbar. To enable the Edit button in the browser’s toolbar:
- Click Tools > Toolbars > (Uncheck Lock the Toolbars) > Customize...
- In the Available Toolbar Buttons listbox select Edit then click Add to add the Edit button to the Current Toolbar Buttons listbox. Then click Close.
The figure below shows the IE7 Edit button. You can set the editing programs by clicking on Tools > Internet Options > Programs. Then, you can try to catch the Edit button before it deactivates ;-)
