Internet Explorer and its newer version, Edge, run only on Windows computers. If you have a Mac device and want to perform cross-browser testing on your web site on Internet Explorer or Edge, sorry. You’ll have to invest in a separate Windows device, or read the article until the end to learn about some of the better options.
Internet Explorer, once the most popular browser in the world, was deprecated by Microsoft in 2015. There are a number of reasons behind IE’s demise, the main one being Microsoft’s more advanced browser, called Edge. That being said, what if you’re using a Mac operating system? So how do you test on IE? If your site is not cross-browser compatible and doesn’t work properly in IE, you will lose all of your Internet users, which is a large number, and in some industries, a higher percentage of Internet Explorer users. I mean, even if you’re using MacOS, you need to test on IE.
You may be wondering how that works? Don’t worry, even if you are using a Mac system, this article will explore a number of different ways to perform cross-browser testing in Internet Explorer.
Why can’t I test with Internet Explorer on a Mac?
Internet Explorer was the default browser on Mac systems from 1998 to 2003. This is the result of an agreement between the two companies. The protocol means that in five years, Internet Explorer will be the default browser on Macintosh systems. The idea is to promote Internet Explorer and make it accessible to everyone who uses a computer. Microsoft even developed a separate development engine just to make Internet Explorer work on Mac systems. Not surprisingly, Internet Explorer became the most used browser in history.
But the partnership did not last long. Five years later, Apple introduced Safari as the default browser on its system. It’s fair to say that Apple wasn’t happy with Microsoft’s treatment of Mac Systems. On Mac systems, Internet Explorer updates are always delayed. The exact reasons are unclear, but discussions in the development community suggest that it is difficult to develop features for Mac compatibility, given that Internet Explorer is built into W3C standards.
As a result, Mac users will be holding off for a year or more before getting the same functionality as Windows users. Apple wasn’t happy with the move, and not only did it remove Internet Explorer from computers, it also removed It from the Apple App Store. However, this poses a problem for Web developers. Internet Explorer has a large loyal customer base and now has a new browser, Safari, for macOS, which means that once they test their sites on macOS, cross-browser compatibility issues are imminent.
Use Internet Explorer for cross-browser testing
Cross-browser testing means testing your site on different browsers, operating systems, or resolutions. Testing your site on different platforms gives you the confidence to win users and present your site to all potential users in the expected way. Cross-browser compatibility testing helps developers identify problems that will occur across different browsers and better plan site rendering to accommodate the way browsers render HTML code. You can use a variety of tools and software available online for cross-browser testing purposes. By convention, testing IE on MacOS isn’t that easy. There are some issues that make it impossible for Web developers to test IE on macOS in the normal way.
How do I test with Internet Explorer on MacOS?
To perform cross-browser compatibility checks on your site, you need to test with IE on MacOS, which was once considered a very difficult task. However, the development of programming languages and various technological advances have completely broken down this barrier. You now have a variety of options to easily perform tests through Internet Explorer on macOS. Not only the website, but also some methods will briefly describe how to open Internet Explorer on a MacOS system. Therefore, the focus of this article is on how to continue testing on Internet Explorer.
Online cross-browser testing tools
Let’s start with the most obvious, favorite approach that people think of when they talk about testing websites. The simplest and most cost-effective way to do this is to use an online cross-browser testing tool from a third-party site. Not only do you have immediate access to all the major browsers and browser versions, but you can also run the browser (and version) of your choice directly from your local computer.
The compatibility test site provides instant remote access to real computers running Internet Explorer on real Windows operating systems. Today, cross-browser compatibility tools are the ideal choice because they are not only cost-effective in the long run, but also save users the hassle of upgrading, maintaining, and investing in their internal infrastructure.
So if you are using macOS and are looking for a way to test your site on Internet Explorer, a third party site is your best bet. All you need to do is sign up for free and start testing your site on different versions of IE. This way, you can skip the hard way of installing any other software in macOS. You can run parallel tests and tests at the same time, not just IE, and of course you have to worry about costs and so on.
Local VM
Virtual machines are the most flexible but time-consuming and resource-intensive way to perform cross-browser compatibility checks. Virtual machine-based solutions have become part of the testing ecosystem. A VM is a virtual device on a physical computer that can run an OPERATING system without actually installing an OPERATING system (OS). Users can also install the operating system with an existing operating system in a straightforward, conventional way.
Using a VIRTUAL machine does not affect your startup time, and you can start other virtual operating systems only when needed. Creating a Windows virtual machine on a MacOS device is an easy way to work, but it takes up a lot of hard disk space, it’s not 100% accurate, and if you’re testing heavy Web applications, you might find it a little slow.
To test Internet Explorer on a Mac system, users can “virtually” install Windows on their computer. In fact, users can use any virtual machine software compatible with Mac systems. The most popular virtual machine software for Mac systems is Parallel Desktop.
The parallel desktop is available for Macintosh systems, which will help the developer virtualize and emulate the operating system of his choice. The user can also use other Virtual machine software (such as Oracle Virtual Box), but it is entirely up to the user as they all work the same way.
Remote IE and Modern IE
In 2014, to help check cross-browser compatibility on the Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft launched an Azure Remote application called RemoteIE. This is a free service that allows you to run the latest version of Internet Explorer on your system, no matter what operating system you are using. Because Microsoft itself was no longer interested in the development of Internet Explorer, it made an effort to eliminate Internet Explorer from all operating systems, including Windows. So this way is slowly being phased out.
Download the virtual machine installation program directly from Microsoft
Even if Modern IE and Remote IE are not recommended, Microsoft will contribute to the event. Microsoft provides a simple and convenient way for users who want to test using Internet Explorer on MacOS or using Edge on MacOS via a virtual machine.
Users can visit the official website link and select the browser, operating system, and virtual machine to test. When you’re done, you’ll download a ZIP file that you can use to run the browser version of your choice on the Macintosh.
However, there are two caveats.
- You will need the MacOS software to decompress this package.
- The computer you downloaded will expire in 90 days.
Microsoft Remote Desktop application
Microsoft Remote Desktop applications are another type of software developed and provided by Microsoft. While not only can it be used exclusively to test browsers, as Remote IE and ModernIE do, it can also be used as one of the many methods described in this article to test whether a user is running a web site on Internet Explorer.
Microsoft Remote Desktop applications are applications that are used to remotely connect to systems running Windows. So, if I’m running Windows, I can continue to use this application and connect remotely to my system with the appropriate Settings and credentials.
Again, in reverse order, if the user wants to test his or her web site on Internet Explorer, he or she can connect to a system running Windows remotely. To do this, you need a system that runs Windows, such as your friends’ or family’s Windows. It should also have Microsoft Remote Desktop applications installed on the system to work.
- Cloud-based remote desktop computers
With Microsoft Remote Desktop applications, you now have another way to access your Windows environment: cloud-based virtual machines. You can rent Microsoft Azure based Windows cloud computers using a pre-installed Internet Explorer or Edge browser, and then access those computers through remote desktop applications. Microsoft also provides an official remote desktop client for MacOS computers, which you can use to access the Windows environment of MacOS computers.
Chrome Extension
The Internet Explorer TAB, or Internet Explorer TAB, is a very popular Google Chrome Web extension that allows users to view Web pages as if they were rendered only in the Internet Explorer browser, without using Internet Explorer.
Because Google Chrome is available on all major operating systems, even if you are using MacOS, installing this extension in your Google Chrome browser will allow users to quickly test their sites on Internet Explorer.
The IE TAB extension is only 815KB in size and is currently managed and developed by BlackFish Software. The “IE” TAB has been in the top 10 Google Chrome extensions since 2009 and now has more than 4 million users. Because of the small size, all the user needs to do here is go to the online store and search for the IE TAB extension. Once the user finds the extension, he or she needs to add it to Chrome and start browsing the site just as if they were seen in Internet Explorer.
WineBottler
WineBottler is another successful way to run Internet Explorer on a Mac system.
WineBottler eliminates the hassle of installing other software, such as virtual machine software, and then installing the OS on the virtual machine and eventually running Internet Explorer. WineBottler comes with a complete package for using applications designed for Windows on a Mac system.
Simply download the software file in Windows format (i.e., exe format) and run the application through WineBottler. WineBottler converts Windows applications to Mac applications. When done, users can use the Mac like any other application.
WineBottler also provides convenience for running.exe. Directly convert applications to Mac supported applications. Now, you must be wondering if such software has to be paid for. But the software is free. However, if you do like the software, you can go ahead and donate through its website.
To sum up, just download Internet Explorer’s.exe file to test your web site using Internet Explorer on MacOS.
Boot Cam
Boot Camp is prebuilt for Mac users in the Utilities folder. With Boot Camp, you can install a large number of operating systems on their computer and then Boot whatever you like. This means that you can install Windows machines on Mac devices. Once Windows is installed on a Mac, you can switch between the two operating systems.
However, every time you want to boot a new operating system, you must reboot the device. If you have a complex test suite that requires alternating tests across multiple IE and Safari versions, this can be cumbersome and time-consuming. In addition, because the device must be restarted each time a different operating system is booted, parallel testing cannot be performed.
Another disadvantage is that you can only test on Windows 10. Therefore, if you want to test Internet Explorer on Windows 8.1 or later MacOS, you cannot use the Boot Camp Assistant to test it.
Also note that the Boot Camp helper only works on some devices.
Use Safari’s built-in development menu
Safari provides an interesting way to test Internet Explorer on MacOS by using the built-in Develop menu. It will host your site on IE 7 and higher without any virtualization. Unfortunately, the latest versions of Safari no longer have these options, and users will need to configure the browser’s user-agent to do so.
In the Safari menu bar, go to Development and then User Agent. You’ll find a list of Safari, Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and more. This way, you can perform cross-browser testing from the Safari browser itself. Cool, right?
conclusion
So is it hard to test Internet Explorer on a Mac operating system? I don’t think so. We discussed a number of possible approaches. In fact, it is not only possible, but also convenient, easy and efficient. There was a time when Apple stopped using and providing Internet Explorer on its systems. Where there is demand, there will be a market, and where there is a market, there will be people to develop products. The same event led to the invention of many methods for opening Internet Explorer only on Mac systems.
Although the world is moving toward Microsoft Edge, the number of people using Internet Explorer is still too large to ignore. If you’re one of those people who likes to work on a Mac but needs to test their sites on Internet Explorer, please share with us how you test using Internet Explorer on MacOS.
- Public number FunTester first, original sharing enthusiasts, Tencent Cloud and gold community home page recommendation, Zhihu seven level original author, more original articles, welcome attention, communication, prohibit the third party to republish without authorization.
Hot article selected
- Interface for testing albums
- Open Source Testing Service
- Performance Testing
- Diagram HTTP brain map
- Programming thinking for everyone
- 2020 Tester self improvement
- The artifact of the future fiddler Everywhere
- Work skills of test development engineer
- Fiddler Everywhere tool answers questions
- Selenium4 IDE, it’s finally here