Page 1 of 3 In this series we have talked a lot about Microsoft's Conditional Comments (CC), and mentioned how those special HTML comments are read only by Internet Explorer for Windows. We also pointed out that such CCs may more selectively target subsets of all IE versions, or even single versions if necessary, depending on how they are written.
It's great to have the ability to aim styles at different versions of IE/win, but it's even better to be able to actually test your pages in those browsers. Until fairly recently, there was no way to do this, because installing a newer IE/Win version meant that the old version was wiped out.
Well no more. Smart programmers have discovered simple ways to modify an IE/Win version so that it will run on its own, a "standalone" if you will. It's now possible to have IE3, IE4, IE5, IE5.5, and IE6 all working at the same time on one Windows computer! The best part is that the hard work has been done for you.
All that remains is to actually install these standalone versions on your computer. We shall now guide you through this process step by step, and when it's done we'll also show you how to enhance those standalones in two different ways. Let's go!
Before starting, be sure you have IE6 properly installed as your "base" IE browser. All the other versions will employ OS code meant for IE6, so this IE6 version is required for the standalones to work properly. With IE6 firmly entrenched on your box, go on to the next step.
Our testing of IE7/Alpha has removed IE6 from availability as a testing browser, but hopefully when IE7 becomes the primary IE version there will be an IE6 standalone install made available. In any case, at that time you should have IE7 installed as your base browser, and all previous versions will be standalone installs.
Go to evolt.org and click on the "Standalone Internet Explorer" link on that page. Now you will see various links to IE versions you may download. It's probably not necessary to go further back than IE5, but you may if you feel the need. The names of the files indicate which Windows operating systems they will work on, so choose them accordingly.
These are all zip files, so once they are downloaded you will need to unzip them, and then just extract all the files from that zip into a new folder, which may be anywhere on your primary C: hard drive. Give the folders descriptive names so you will know what is in them.
Presumably, you now have a group of folders, each with one set of unzipped standalone files inside. To make them work, you need only look into those folders and find the file labeled IEXPLORE.EXE, and double click it. A new browser will pop up that looks almost exactly like IE6, but is actually an earlier version in disguise. It's important to understand that these different versions will be "skinned" by the same code that skins your normal IE6 version, so the different IE versions will all look mostly alike. Also, if the Help>About Internet Explorer menu button is clicked, they will all claim to be IE6, but they are not, so don't be fooled.
We say "mostly alike" because the discerning eye may detect small differences in the operating system buttons, specifically the appearance of colors in IE6 where there are none in IE5.x. But a casual inspection of the IE versions shows just about the same display in each case.
For each of these IEXPLORE.EXE files, just right click them, choose the Send To option, and select Desktop (create shortcut). A clickable icon will be created on the desktop that will activate that particular standalone. Now go to the desktop and right click that new icon. Select Properties from the context menu that appears, and go to the General tab. There you will be able to rename the button to reflect that particular IE version, as IE5, IE5.5, etc. Or, you may click twice, slowly, on the desktop icon, which will then allow you to rename it right there by typing in the now-highlighted box below the colored part of the icon.
Repeat this process for each of the standalones, and when you're done you'll have an easy set of desktop icons, which will make you a far more versatile coder! At this point it's also easy to drag them onto the Quick Launch bar if you desire, or, as one of us does, tuck them away in a "Browsers" folder that resides on the desktop.
Yes, yes, many have complained about the cookie cutter appearance of these standalones. It's all too easy to get them confused, possibly leading to errors and excessive coder irritation, not to mention possible "boss irritation." However, there is something that can be done to distinguish the different versions from each other. Follow along to find out how to do it.
Keywords
CSS, standalone browser, stand alone browser, Multiple IEs, conditional comments, CC, HTML comments, desktop icons, editing the registry, disabling registry keys
