Browser Simulators?

need software that can simulate various browsers

[Namaste]

can anyone recommend any software that can simulate various browsers.

I need to test my site for older versions of IE and other browsers

[Longhaired Genius]

I don't think such a thing exists. Imagine the work it would take - and for what!

Many people with this requirement use Browsercam (on the web).

[mattur]

You can install multiple browsers on your PC - Operas and Netscapes are easy to install, IE takes a bit more effort. See:

How to: Install multiple versions of IE on your PC [webmasterworld.com]

I've been meaning to try out Selenium [selenium.thoughtworks.com] at some point. It apparently runs cross-platform automated browser tests using some well-evil javascript and frames. NTK described it as "hack-on-top-of-hack hard"... anyone have any experience of using this?

[Mr Bo Jangles]

try this - very nice - but last time I used it there was a bit of a queue! - Very useful nonetheless.

[browsershots.org...]

[edited by: encyclo at 4:58 pm (utc) on Oct. 9, 2005]
[edit reason] made link live [/edit]

[RammsteinNicCage]

The problem with things like browsercam and browsershots is that you can only see the design, you can't see the functionality, particularly if you are using things like hovers. You're best off following mattur's advice of installing multiple IEs on your computer, as well as a copy of Firefox and Opera.

If you really need to see what your site looks like on a mac but have no way to do it, then those other sites might be your best alternative.

Jennifer

[2by4]

evolt.org has easy to install ie's, just download them, unzip the folder, make a link to msie.exe or whatever the executable is, then you have your ie's, all in a row, no need to read through that whole thread, these are ready to go.

One note: IE conditionals will not work, they will read all the ie's as IE 6, assuming you're running IE 6, you can get around that by just inserting the conditional code into a test page directly to see how it works in the different versions.

browser cam etc is pretty much useless for real testing, it's just a snapshot, it's not hard to install all the other browsers, and you can use a linux livecd, kde based, like kubuntu, to test for konqueror/safari compatibility.