Browser Testing at its Best

With the upcoming release of Internet Explorer 7, it is time to add this browser to the web development testing process. The difficulty is that Microsoft is not supporting developers in running both IE6 and IE7 Beta on the same computer. Thanks to the developer community it is now possible to run both versions simultaneously.

It's also important to test Flash development in the recent Flash player, a previous version like Flash player 7, and a browser without the Flash player installed. This is especially important if you are experimenting with any of the new features in Flash 8.

Like many Web designers, I work primarily on a Mac. I have a PC at my desk for testing purposes and I use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection software for Mac to remotely connect to the PC. Recently I was able to update the PC with this setup:

• IE7 Beta 3, Flash 9
• IE6 (standalone), Flash 9
• Firefox, Flash 7
• Opera, No Flash

Here's how I did it:

1. Install Firefox and Opera
2. Download and install IE7 Beta 3
3. Download the IE6 standalone
4. Close all running browsers
5. Uninstall the Flash player using Adobe's Uninstaller, in most cases this will also leave Opera without the Flash player
6. Download and run the Flash player 7 installer, select only the latest version of Firefox during the install
7. Open IE7 and visit the Flash player update page. Proceed to install the Flash player in IE7 through the online installer. This installation will also apply to the standalone version of IE6

Update: I'm now using Parallels Desktop to run Windows XP on my MacBook. If you have an Intel-based Mac I'd highly suggest using this. It is much faster than VirtualPC, and allows you to quickly run XP in full-screen mode.