IE=EmulateIE6 tag --- does it work?

[londrum]

i've been using the

<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">

tag ever since it came along, and switching it to

EmulateIE6

and

EmulateIE7

every now and then to check that my site still looks good in those.

i was under the impression that it if you change it to EmulateIE6 then your site would appear exactly as it does in a normal copy of IE6.

but this week i found out that isn't true. someone who actually does use IE6 sent me a screenshot of my site, and there was quite a lot of stuff out of place.

so does anyone know what this tag actually does? is it a waste of time? or maybe i am using it wrong.

[Fotiman]

I don't see an option for emulating IE6 listed:
[blogs.msdn.com...]

And I've never heard IE6 as an option for this meta tag.

[londrum]

...that would explain it.
for some reason i just assumed it was included.

i notice that IE5 has been included though. so it does IE5, IE7, IE8... but not IE6

[Fotiman]

Yep, it would appear so. IE6 is reaching it's end of life, though. I don't know if I would even bother trying to support it, but your needs may be different.