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internet-explorermsn

How to test MSN Explorer?

A client is seeing bugs on their website using MSN Explorer. I can't reproduce those bugs with IE7 or any other browser, and I can't use MSN Explorer, because it requires a subscription to MSN.

  • What is MSN Explorer based on? I assumed it was exactly the same as IE7 with a different interface, from wikipedia and the user-agent string.
  • Is there any way to test it? I can't find any browser screenshot sites that have MSN.
  • Is there any possibility it's just different enough from IE7 to have its own bugs, or should I look elsewhere?
Solution

  • What is MSN Explorer based on?

    From the install page here, there is this note at the bottom:

    Note: this version of MSN contains Internet Explorer 5.5

    Hopefully that helps. I can't use MSN explorer either, so there is no guarantee that this information is correct.

    Edit: The IE 5.5 information is corroborated by the warning I got when trying to access this site from Linux: http://explorer.msn.com/langwarn.htm?prompt=1

    Is there any way to test it?

    Based on the info above, if you can find a screenshot site that supports IE 5.5, I would imagine the rendering should match MSN explorer.

    Is there any possibility it's just different enough from IE7 to have its own bugs, or should I look elsewhere?

    Oh, it's incredibly possible. If you can't get a version of IE 5.5, at the very least, I would suggest grabbing a copy of IE 6. Microsoft supports Virtual PC images that come installed with IE 6 that you could use to test.