IE 7 beta

[Deimos]

For anybody using IE7 who has the same problems I have experience with the forum (i.e. a “duff editor, unable to quote other posts, etc.) I have now found how to make IE7 beta lie about what it is and thus work OK with the forum software.  Its automated, you just download and run some new registry settings (you can view them before applying them if you save the .reg file and open it in e.g. notepad – to be sure you are not being hijacked).

 

Site is http://www.fiddlertool.com/useragent.aspx (I only found the link to it, I did now write it).  In fact when I turned this link into a hot link in the forum software the link format button worked properly (i.e. no need to cut and paste the text as I used to have to in Firefox).

 

Seems to work fine for me (so far) as at least I get the proper editor (not tried quoting yet).

I have found IE7 quite a lot better than Firefox (particularly after all the recent discovered security holes in Firefox, many of which still are not closed and even those that have been are not available through the automatic “Check for updates” mechanism.

 

Certainly IE7 loads and stars a lot lot quicker that Firefox.  Whilst you cannot drag tabs around, it is somewhat more intelligent that Firefox about where it places newly created tabs.  Also, MS have used the dame hotkeys and mouse clicks for tab management as Firefox so the change is quite painless.

 

Being a beta it is still a bit rough around the edges (locks occasionally and does not always exit properly), but I like it.

 

Ian

[PossumGirl]

Now you've got me curious to try it, Ian!

I've been using FIrefox quite happily (for most things), but it's true that there are some areas where it isn't as well supported as I'd like, with Yahoo Mail Plus, for example.  Maybe I"ll have to try I.E. 7...

PG

[PossumGirl]

Ian, I went to the link you sent, but wasn't sure what I was supposed to do from there. Can you explain a little further please.

PG

[Deimos]

[quote user="PossumGirl"]Ian, I went to the link you sent, but wasn't sure what I was supposed to do from there. Can you explain a little further please. PG[/quote]

If you want to install IE 7, you can download it from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie7/default.mspx.  However, as the browser reports itself to wb sites as IE7, this site (for example) don’t recognise that (too new) and you lose many of the features that are browser specific (to quote, smiles, decent editor for posts, etc.).  However, losing these features is not due to the browser itself but just that it tells the web site its IE 7 so, the link I posted adjusts IE 7 after it is installed to force it to lie about its version so it tells sites its IE6, which is recognised so you get all the good features.

For most sites it makes no difference as they either recognise IE7 or it is not important to them.  However this site does provide different things depending on your browser and does not yet recognise IE7 so it is important.

 

Thing to do is get IE7 from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie7/default.mspx), then in that browser visit the link http://www.fiddlertool.com/useragent.aspx and near the bottom is a bit that says “Want Internet Explorer to simulate another version” and below that a link saying Internet Explorer 6 – that is a link to a file you download and run.  It actually does not simulate IE6 but rather just gets IE7 to tell web sites its IE6

 

Also, by the way, installing IE7 will override IE6 (i.e. it replaces IE6 but does not affect firefox, Netscape, etc.)

 

Let me know if this does not help as I’m useless at explaining things.

 

Ian

 

[PossumGirl]

[quote user="Deimos"]

Let me know if this does not help as I’m useless at explaining things.

 

[/quote]

 

Yes, it DID help!!! Thank you so very much. Also, since I use Yahoo Mail Plus for all my email, that now works properly as well! 

Thanks again for doing the research on this.

 

PG

[Deimos]

No problems.  It (IE7) to not 100% robust so you are bound to find a few “issues”.  I find Firefox takes an age to start and IE7 starts really quickly.  Plus loads of other stuff I prefer in IE7.  However, these companies always keep leapfrogging each other so in a year of two Firefox next version (or somebody else) will probably be better than IE7, etc. etc.

 

Ian

[Maddie]

I like it! Has anyone tried windows Live messenger beta v 8?

[PossumGirl]

I will grant you that my computer is sometimes a little on the "sensitive" side, but I just had to do a system restore to before I loaded IE 7, Ian.  It was making it massively unstable!  It's funny, because all was fine yesterday, but definitely NOT this morning.

Too bad, too, because I liked the look of it and there were things that work better in IE than they do in Firefox.  Guess I'm sticking with the Fox for now though.

PG

[Deimos]

One problem it can suffer from is a “lock-up” on exit.  This is more common after visiting a site making use of Java applets.  When you exit all appears well, yet IE is actually continuing to run.  This can affect some other applications that use IE – though surprisingly not E itself.  It is also surprising what other applications use the IE DLLs.  These other applications then lock (although IE can be re-run, exit, etc quite happily).  If this happens you can go into Tasks Manager and kill off the iexplore’s and the “frozen apps will then continue as though nothing had happened.

 

This use to be a problem but I thought it was fixed in the 24/April version (I’ve not experienced it since this release).

 

However, it is a beta so there are still things to be sorted.

 

Ian

[PossumGirl]

I think I'll keep an eye on the future releases then download.

I had particular problems when I was trying to navigate back to previous pages on the browser, it was as if the current and previous pages all got confused in its memory.

PG