How To: Install Different Versions of Internet Explorer

If you’re writing or implementing a Web application on your network, you might want to test it with different versions of Internet Explorer (IE). This is especially true with the major changes that occurred in the IE rendering engine between IE7 and 8. However, as you might already know, Microsoft does not let you install multiple versions of IE on the same machine.

Don’t let Microsoft stop you. You can use what are commonly referred to as standalone versions of Internet Explorer. These are modified versions of the program that can be installed right along with other official or standalone installations. Instead of running between computers that have the various Internet Explorer versions installed, you can stay put and run them simultaneously on one PC. You might even want to play with the almost 15-year-old IE 1 that debuted back in August of 1995.

In addition to standalone versions, there are test browsers that emulate the different versions of Internet Explorer and other Web browsers. This makes it convenient since they’re all in one app. Another way to test Web sites or applications is to use online services that provide screen shots of the given URL in different browsers on various operating systems.