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Possible Duplicate:
Running Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 on the same machine

I recently started a new job and my lead is out sick. He assigned me a bug in our code that only affects Internet Explorer 6. The developer box I'm running is Windows Server 2003 with Internet Explorer 7, though.

How can I open the web page and debug it from my computer in Internet Explorer 6?

Community
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JamesBrownIsDead
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  • Doesn't this question belong at superuser? – BalusC Nov 03 '09 at 18:10
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    No, I would say this is a stack overflow question. It is tools/ideas to help a developer fix a bug. Not applications that allow a user to use their pc's. – Robin Day Nov 03 '09 at 18:13
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    Yes, stop supporting IE6 and go out of business because all your Customers and Users still use it! – Robin Day Nov 03 '09 at 18:17
  • @Robin Day: That doesn't make it a programming issue. It isn't a question about how to program something. It isn't a question about programming tools. It's a question that could just as easily apply to professions besides programming. – David Thornley Nov 03 '09 at 18:22
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    We're an international company with many users. Unfortunately dropping support isn't an option. :) – JamesBrownIsDead Nov 03 '09 at 18:23
  • stop closing and moving stuff elsewhere. this question is very appropriate. – Matt Joiner Nov 04 '09 at 01:21

9 Answers9

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Install Virtual PC (now a free download) and one of the disk images from this page that provides you with a vanilla install of XP with the browser you want to test.

pmarflee
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    This is by far the best solution. There is also the stand alone versions of IE from evolt, but you have to dig in the install package to get a dll so that alpha png hacks work. Microsoft has had the IE6 VM for testing out for a long time, and it's very solid and a true install of IE6 (and customizable resolutions for other testing). In fact it also works well on Windows7, you can set it so that it will be a shared application and launch it directly in Win7 without seeing the constraining box. – thismat Nov 03 '09 at 18:37
  • Fantastic fantastic resource! I had assumed a VM would probably be the best way to go, but I had no idea Microsoft happened to provide them. Here's hoping they add a Windows 7 VM in there too eventually... – Robert P Jan 17 '10 at 21:44
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Use IETester.

BalusC
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    this is the best solution because the project is being maintained it include IE 5.5 through to 8. I use it constantly for testing the various versions of IE. this is simply because setting up and running several virtual machines is long winded and memory consuming and running each browser versions along side each other causes massive issues with your internet settings. – Matt Smith Nov 03 '09 at 18:33
  • Exactly! But then with a few more words :) – BalusC Nov 03 '09 at 18:34
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Step 1: Virtual machines configured for each setup you want to test. Use VMWare or Parallels if you are on a Mac.

Step 2: Automate your functional tests with Selenium. You will never look back!

Asaph
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We do all of our IE6 testing on a VMWare machine that runs XP with IE6. Obviously takes a bit of setup time but worth it once it's done.

Robin Day
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I've played with many of these ie6 options, and the best IMO is just to have a vmware install with an ie6 image in the long term.

In the short term, however, I've had the most success with IE Collection, but it is still somewhat buggy.

IES4Linux and IES4OSX work [sometimes] on their respective Operating Systems too.

lucas
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Use Spoon (was Xenocode)... http://spoon.net/browsers/

It will let you startup any number of different browsers in a sandbox from within your browser.

The advantage:

  1. You don't have to install any virtual machines.
  2. You don't have to rely on apps like IE Tester and can instead use the actual browsers.
Radek
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  • This has worked awesome for us, but today it was really slow. I wonder if they just did a release. – Trevor Allred Nov 03 '09 at 19:23
  • Another benefit of Spoon over a VMWare option is that you can run the Spoon browser on your localhost and develop on your own machine without having to release for each change you want to test. – Trevor Allred Nov 03 '09 at 19:24
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This obviously doesn't apply to your specific situation, but for anyone who is running Windows 7, a good option is to use XP Mode. The XPM image has IE6 installed and won't expire like the Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC images.

Once you've installed XP Mode, create a shortcut to IE in the XP Programs menu (so a shortcut is published to your Win 7 Start menu). You can then launch IE6 side-by-side with IE8 on your Win 7 desktop.

josh3736
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You can also use Microsoft's own Expression Web SuperPreview

Download page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8e6ac106-525d-45d0-84db-dccff3fae677&displaylang=en

Further info: http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/dd565874.aspx

Edit:

Sorry I didn't notice your "...and debug it..." statement in the original post. I think SuperPreview will just show a side-by-side visual comparison. If you need to debug javascript or anything like that, then I would use the virtualization methods mentioned above. (In practice I actually use virtualization for testing, but I figured I'd suggest something different.)

CodingWithSpike
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Multiple IE works great.

jay
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