IE9, IE8, IE7, and IE5 Cocktail in the Platform Preview

In a sense, Internet Explorer 9 is no longer just a single browser. This, because IE9, just as IE8, can masquerade as any of its predecessors. The feature was initially introduced in Internet Explorer 8, the Beta 2 release, and it was a statement of Microsoft’s commitment not to break the web. By the looks of it, Compatibility View will survive into the final version (RTW) of IE9, allowing the browser to act as IE5, IE7, IE8 and as IE9, depending on whether the web content it needs to display plays nice with modern web standards, or if it is designed to be compatible mainly with older versions of IE.

Early adopters can grab the Windows Internet Explorer Platform Preview v1.9.7.7.45.6019 and start swapping rendering modes. There are a few keyboard shortcuts that will do the trick nicely. Testers can press Alt + 5: Force IE5 rendering mode, Alt + 7: Force IE7 rendering mode, Alt + 8: Force IE8 rendering mode, and Alt + 9: Force IE9 rendering mode, according to Microsoft.

At the same time, hitting F12 will launch the default Developer Toolbar component. The developer tools built into Internet Explorer 9 allow users to control the browser mode: IE7, IE8, IE9 but also IE9 7 Compatibility View and IE9 8 Compatibility View. Developers can also choose the Document Mode, with the following options: Quirks Mode, IE7 Standards, IE8 Standards and Internet Explorer 9 Standards, which is also the default. And to easily revert to the default document mode, testers can just press Alt + 0.

By the looks of it, IE9 will feature the same backward compatibility mechanism as IE8, and it will certainly be interesting to see the direction in which Microsoft will take Compatibility Mode with the advent of the first public Beta of the browser. However, until the IE9 Beta drops, the Redmond company plans to offer updates at eight-week intervals for the Platform Preview release.

“The Platform Preview is not intended to replace the beta version that will be released as a full browser once the build has reached the customer quality bar for release. Microsoft is releasing the Platform Preview to give developers the opportunity to test and provide feedback on the underlying platform for Internet Explorer 9,” Microsoft stated.

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview is available for download here.