Test IE6 on Mac OS X

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internet-explorer

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+3 Q:

Test IE6 on Mac OS X

I like to be able to fully test compatibility of my web pages on Mac OS X. I have installed Parallels desktop. It works fine, but it uses a lot a of resources...

So I would like to be able to test everything inside OS X. In fact I am looking for Explorer 6 for the Mac.

Any suggestions around?

+6 A:

IE 6 was never written for the Mac.

You might try VMWare Fusion instead of Parallels; you might have better results with resource usage.

The other solution, as other posters will indicate, is to run IE on OS X via Wine. However, IE 6 on Wine is nothing like guaranteed to be the same as running it on Windows via a VM (VMWare or Parallels). The Wine Apps DB lists IE 6 at the Bronze level (lowest level) of compatibility for Wine. This may not be how you want to validate your application on the IE platform.

runako 2009-02-25 17:30:26

Parallels 4 is a major improvement over 3, but VMWare is a better choice. The last IE was 5.

John Baughman 2009-02-26 05:44:41

unless he needs to check if people using IE via wine on OS X can properly use his website :)

adi92 2010-03-21 17:42:58

The last IE was 5, but IE5 Mac was an entirely different browser from any IE for windows. So it doesn't even give you IE5/IE5.5 Windows testing capabilities.

Michael E 2010-03-21 18:02:32

http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/news/49 "full Mac OS X support"

vartec 2009-02-25 17:30:47

IE 6 on Wine is nothing like guaranteed to be the same as running it on Windows. FWIW, IE 6 is listed at the Bronze level (lowest level) of compatibility for Wine. This may not be how you want to validate your application.

runako 2009-02-25 17:36:00

Doesn't it render HTML and execute JS same way as on Windows? Have you got some link where differences are described?

vartec 2009-02-25 17:40:56

The point is the answer to that question is not knowable, except by running into the potential problem. When basic tasks like favorites and history don't work, that's a red flag. But the asker was clearly not looking for a correct solution, just a good enough solution so I guess the point is moot.

runako 2009-02-25 17:47:37

Correct solution? He wants to check page's compatibility with IE6, not use IE6 as his preferred browser.

vartec 2009-02-25 17:49:55

He wants to test on "IE 6 used by everyone else" but will instead test on "IE 6 on Wine". If the two are not equivalent (which is not in dispute), then he is not testing his page against the correct browser. Hence, his solution is not correct, albeit "good enough."

runako 2009-02-25 20:40:19

+4 A:

http://www.kronenberg.org/ies4osx/

Paul Betts 2009-02-25 17:31:55

yep, i just try it like 5 minute ago, while waiting for the answer... not too bad, not as good as the real deal.. but close enough !...

marc-andre menard 2009-02-25 17:40:19

ie net render 0.9, firefox addon... make the page on remote computer, and show you as an image what it will look like... my #1 solution right now

marc-andre menard 2009-02-27 23:17:04

I have found crossover mac http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/ to be very easy to use, and they have a 30 day free trial.

Alokito 2009-09-11 15:36:37

I tried using the microsoft vhd image under virtualbox, but it wanted me to register and the registration system claimed that it had a bad windows id or something. If you want to try it, you can download the vhd from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=21EABB90-958F-4B64-B5F1-73D0A413C8EF&displaylang=en

and virtual box from www.virtualbox.org .

It loads and runs the vhd unmodified, but you run into problems the first time you reboot.

Alokito 2009-09-11 15:40:03

+2 A:

I use VirtualBox with valid MS vhd images. It is by far the best solution I've used. Follow this screencast to get up and running properly.

Chris 2009-09-11 15:50:40

yeah this is what I use... although I got tired of having to redownload the vhd images every 3 months and installed a spare copy of windows and grabbed the Internet Explorer Collection to have IE6/7/8 all on one installation.

Ty W 2009-09-11 15:53:43

this would be the ideal solution but unfortunately this doesn't seem to work anymore due to windows needing to be activated on the new vhd images Microsoft provides. I would love for someone to come in and prove me wrong though...

Neil Sarkar 2010-02-26 01:17:25

Remote Desktop Connection can be a light way to do that, it is not need to run a virtual machine, but a extra pc is needed.

metalrush 2010-03-21 17:36:00

+3 A:

Another option is to use a tool like BrowserShots (browsershots.org). I find it to be superb for basic compatibility testing. You don't need to install anything on your machine, and you can get on with something else while you wait for your screenshots to download.

Downside is you can't use it for full web application testing, but from your original question, I don't think you need this.

brianheys 2010-03-21 17:53:42

ansaurus

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Test IE6 on Mac OS X

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