Use IE8 Compatibility Mode for Testing Web Page Rendering of IE6?

Question

I am still running IE6 on my development PC because I use it to test the websites I'm developing.

I normally only test on IE6, assuming that IE6 is the lowest common denominator of IE family of browsers. If it renders well on IE6, it will be OK for IE7 and IE8. The other browser I use heavily for testing is Firefox 3.x. I assume these 2 family of browsers basically cover the bulk to the web surfers out there.

This is precisely the reason I have not upgraded to IE7. Now that IE8 can render web pages in Compatibility Mode, is it advisable to use IE8 for testing compatibility of websites with IE6?

I understand most people would advise using virtual machine. But it is kind of heavy just for viewing web pages.

Solution 1

Try out SuperPreview or the whole package (Expression Web announced at Mix) if you can..

SuperPreview is a new free standalone application from Microsoft (still in beta) which enables you to see how your websites will look across different versions of Internet Explorer making migration from IE6 to 7 and 8 much easier than before, without have to start up a Virtual Machine to run IE6, or have a separate computer dedicated to running IE6.

Solution 2

My problem with using SuperPreview is lack of Interactivity. You cannot click on Links, input Login information make selections etc. It only renders a static HTML page. Pretty difficult to test your pages that require keep track of Authorization or User Preference information across its screens!