Multiple browser testing?

[gavinmcnamee]

Is there any way to install a different versions of browsers eg Internet Explorer 4, 5.5, 6 and 7, on the one PC to test CSS layout etc for each?

[NightDragon]

I was actually just thinking that a minute ago. I would imagine that you'd have to download a full version of IE "from scratch", rather than allow an upgrade, if the computer offers such.

...although, downloading any other version of IE may not work if the computer finds any IE files on your harddrive to begin with.

...which leads me to wonder - what about external drives?

I'd be curious to hear if anybody has a solution to this.

[nimeshatbms]

I don't know about testing between different IE versions but you can use Opera to get Firefox and IE view for testing browser compatibility.
[opera.com ]

[Leosghost]

multiple standalone browsers on one machine

[browsers.evolt.org...]

also

[tredosoft.com...]

and

[tredosoft.com...]

[nimeshatbms]

Thanks Leosghost...that was really helpful .

[erdy]

Is there any particular version of IE 5 that I should be debugging?
I have downloaded and tested a site I am developing on version IE55SP2_NT what ever that is?
But unfortunately when I tried it on another machine at work with a version of 5 on (not sure which) it was broken in a different way.
Do professional web developers debug all versions of 5? it seems like a lot of work.

[encyclo]

Do professional web developers debug all versions of 5?

Not any more, at least in my case. With IE5.x numbers often under 0.1%, I find there's no reason to check in any version of IE less than version 6.0. Check your usage stats to make a decision based on your site though. You could justify checking for support in IE5.2 for the Mac, but for that you can't check with a PC anyway.

[zCat]

The Mac IE5.2 is IIRC officially dead and buried, thank goodness, and I think it's probably battling it out with NS4 for market share ;-).

[zCat]

Another possibility for multiple IE versions, if you're feeling up to it, is via Linux using the packages supplied here:
[tatanka.com.br...]

You can run 5.5, 6 and 7 at the same time. It's not quite the same as running them under Windows, but it's good for basic testing and finding layout problems.

[Tastatura]

There is (are? I know only of one) free service where you submit your URL and get back images of how your page looks like in different browsers (you can select which browsers to test; browser list is very extensive)

[Jakes Redding]

Tastatura, where is that service located?

[Tastatura]

Tastatura, where is that service located?

WebmasterWorld TOS doesn't allow posting links...

[Leosghost]

actually that's not strictly true :) read TOS carefully [webmasterworld.com]..send a sticky to an admin and ask if the link will be ok ..if they say yes than you are in the clear ..over time you get used to the kind of links which are OK and those which are not ..if you are really still unsure after a while then post a question in the community section ..and you'll get some guidance from mods and longer time members ..also read this ..anyway [webmasterworld.com]..even if you have been around here for a while and have not yet seen it ..

back to normal service ..:)

[Tastatura]

actually that's not strictly true :) read TOS carefully ..send a sticky to an admin and ask if the link will be ok ..if they say yes than you are in the clear ..over time you get used to the kind of links which are OK and those which are not ..if you are really still unsure after a while then post a question in the community section ..and you'll get some guidance from mods and longer time members ..also read this ..anyway ..even if you have been around here for a while and have not yet seen it ..

Yes I know - but it's good point none the less. If it was a link to an authoritative article or study, etc. I would of posted the link. The page for the free service I mentioned (btw, I am not in any way affiliated with them) has few links on it to their sponsors, hence I didn't want to post the link.(also if this was in Supporters forum I would of posted the link and err-ed on that side of caution :) )