Mac OSX - Working Offline In Apple's Safari Web-Browser

No Real Offline Features Compared To Other Browser i.e. Firefox !

First Published : 23rd of December 2009

Once more Apple's Safari Web-Browser stays behind other Web-Browsers as far as "Business Applications" are concerned. We would like to underline this statement with the help of one out of many examples that we have experienced in the past:

For our "Example" please visit the following link:

http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/equity-index/us-index/e-mini-sandp500_quotes_timeSales_globex_futures.html

Thereafter choose from the Menu : "Time Period" instead of "3:00:00 PM - 3:59:59 PM" i.e. "6:00:00 PM - 6:59:59 PM" and click "Update"

As soon as the page has loaded, choose from the "File Menu" the command "Save As".

For practical reasons choose your desktop as storage location and save the page in the Format : "Web Archive"

Web Archive is the only available "Save As" format for entire web sites that later on lets you see the saved page as such in a normal web page view. We certainly assume that many are saving web sites, at least from time to time, to look into it's content later, sometimes even much later.

Well, having stored that page on your desktop, one would believe that we can call this page up at any time in the future but that is a huge error indeed. The data for the time period from " 6:00:00 PM - 6:59:59 PM " are already not accessible anymore by calling up that saved web-archive, immediately after storing the. At least not without tricks and carefully approaching the optimal solution to get hold of the indeed stored data.

To verify this fact, just open the File : "E-mini S&P 500" that is stored on the desktop, after previously having deleted the Browser Cache "Cmd+E" For the reason of unifying the process please quit Safari before trying to open the file. You will immediately realize, that the correct data will be shown at first, but then, within a few seconds, will be replaced with the data from "3:00:00 PM - 3:59:59 PM". Should you intent to open the file the next day only or even later, the data you thought safe on you desktop will be even replaced by the data of then. But be aware that the greatest of all surprises you will encounter should you safe a web site for later use without internet connection, let's say in a mountain cabin where you would like to to some home work with the "saved" data. The you will experience in a most cruel way that the web archive won't show any data, so that seemingly it is nothing than a saved link. Of course this is not the case but still that's why we call those archives a better kind of "Bookmark". However for someone who thought the wanted data safe on his desktop the waking-up to Safari's reality is devastating.

Sure you will remember that we were explicitly mentioning "Business Applications". Even though this problem occurs more often with business web sites, so it is by no means doing exclusively so. Further we want to stress here that this problem is by no means page specific, business specific or a rare occurrence.

As already mentioned in the header, Firefox is flawlessly saving web pages as "Complete Pages" and/or as "Text Files" whereas with text files you can at least make the crucial data, in our example these are the "Time & Sales" available offline and while saving complete pages you have a normal looking and fully functional web sites available offline.

However, we strongly believe that it should be basics for a top-browser to supply users with such a "Save As" function that allows to store a web-page at one specific moment and find it exactly as saved at any time later.

Self evidently there are a few "Workarounds" but we don't think that should be like that a user with a need for such a basic function has first to make a doctorate.

Workaround 1 : "Save As PDF"
This feature is not available under "Save As", but under "Print" und there it is well and Windows-Like hidden inside a Submenu.

Workaround 2 : "Cmd+." or "Click the cross on the very right of the address bar"
Like this the download of new data that would replace the saved data will be interrupted. But be aware, as mentioned earlier, this is a somehow tricky method. If you cancel the loading process too early, you will experience an error message or an inaccurate page.

After all, please don't fall for the fallacy that you have saved data from the web safely on your computer for offline use. This is not at all the case. As mentioned earlier, web-archives are a slightly better way of "Bookmarking" that can also make old data available should one try hard enough and have the necessary know-how.

Magnamentis - Your House Of The Five Pundits

We would like to make you an experienced user of Apple's stunning "Mac OSX Operating System"

If your already are an experienced user of "Mac OSX Operating System", then we hope that you will allow us to surprise you with even more new knowledge still, so that you can get more out of your Apple Computer and it's "Mac OSX Operating System".

Please use the little form below to benefit from regular news, hints and tips about the "Mac OSX Operating System" from Apple.

As a little thank you for joining us we would make a special Bonus gift available to you: "The Great iPhone Report" usually sold for €29.50 !

Title:
First Name:
Name:
Email: