14 DAY TRIAL // Now that the second preview release of Internet Explorer 9 is live, it’s time to start combing the build for changes. And since IE9 Platform Preview 2 remains, just like the previous release, focused on developers, it only makes sense for the enhancements related to the browser’s development tools to be highlighted ahead of anything else. Essentially, since the availability of IE9 Platform Preview 1, Microsoft has been hard at work, laboring to kick up a notch the developer experience in the browser. In this sense, Windows Internet Explorer Platform Preview Build 1.9.7.7.66.6000 brings to the table new enhancements to IE9’s developer tools.
“The Developer Tools in IE9 Platform Preview 2 include new features. The Console window is now a full tab that includes diagnostic information from IE. Developers can use the ‘Change User Agent String’ menu item to experiment with sending different that UA strings to sites with every request, selecting from preset strings or creating their own custom string. This complements another feature we’ve included – the new IE9 UA string,” revealed Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager, Internet Explorer.
As early adopters that have tried out the IE9 Build released in March 2010 at MIX10, the browser includes Developer and Debugging Tools by default. Accessible by either pressing F12 or through the Debug menu and Developer Tools, the resources are designed to allow devs to analyze and debug the way websites interact with the browser.
According to Microsoft, developers now have at their disposal the “User Agent String Picker - a new tool that can be used to change the user agent string that IE sends with every request. The tool comes with some built in presets and new custom user agent strings can be added. Console Tab - The console window is now a full tab and has been expanded to include the logging of diagnostic information from IE. [And] Network inspection - Shortened URL, Color coding for errors, Scaling units (eg. 500 ms becomes 0.5 s).”
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview 2 Build 1.9.7766.6000 is available for download here.