14 DAY TRIAL // With the advent of Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft changed its browser development strategy, embracing modern web standards, as long as they were complete, a move that explains the lack of support for HTML 5 for example. SuperPreview is a tool designed to support website development in accordance with web standards, for devs needing to tailor and test their content on IE8, IE7 and IE6. By default, IE8, IE7 and IE6 cannot coexist on the same Windows desktop. And it is because the three flavors of Internet Explorer cannot be installed, let alone run, simultaneously on the same computer that the Redmond company is offering Microsoft Expression Web SuperPreview for Windows Internet Explorer as a standalone download.
“We built SuperPreview to simplify the process of testing and debugging layout issues across different web browsers and platforms. With SuperPreview you can view your pages in multiple browsers simultaneously or view how a page renders in a browser and compare it to a comp or mock-up image of a page. SuperPreview helps web site authors address an important part of that problem—namely, how to identify and fix cross-browser layout issues,” revealed Steve Guttman, product unit manager, Expression Web.
At the start of September 2009, Microsoft updated Expression Web SuperPreview, and the tool now comes with support for Windows 7; Windows Vista; and Windows XP, according to the company. Essentially, what the software giant is doing, is to make available a subset of the full version of SuperPreview which is integrated into Expression Web 3. Unlike the fully fledged version, the standalone download does not support the Firefox open source browser from Mozilla, but it does allow web developers to perform cross-browser debugging in multiple versions of Internet Explorer, namely IE8, IE7, and IE6.
“By default, SuperPreview comes up in side-by-side mode with the Selection tool active. This tool highlights the bounds of HTML elements using the extents calculated by the browser when it renders the page,” Guttman added. “The overlay view (…) allows users to “onion-skin” two renderings together, which helps highlight significant differences. In either of these modes, [users] can click on any of the other browsers in the browser list (at the screen bottom) and instantaneously see that browser rendering. Additionally, if [users] have based a page layout on a PSD design, [they] can load up the Photoshop file.”
With SuperPreview, Microsoft hopes to streamline the migration of websites from older versions of Internet Explorer to IE8. Because they are tailored to a different set of standards, websites designed for a specific version of IE will be rendered erroneously in another version. This is why Microsoft has also included multiple rendering engines into IE8, allowing the browser to become compatible with older content which is not in tune with modern web standards.
“Expression Web SuperPreview gives Web authors a powerful tool for visualizing and debugging cross-browser layout issues. And, SuperPreview for IE is free, providing a potent way for developers to move their pages forward in a Standards-consistent fashion. Please give it a try,” Guttman added.
Microsoft Expression Web SuperPreview is available for download here.
Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is available for download here.
Microsoft Expression Studio 3 Trial is available for download here.
Microsoft Expression Web 3 Trial is available for download here.
Microsoft Expression Blend 3 + SketchFlow Trial is available for download here.
Microsoft Expression Design 3 Trial is available for download here.
Microsoft Expression Encoder 3 is available for download here.