Internet Explorer screenshot generator

August 30, 2006 7:19 AM

I remember finding a web site for that generated screenshots of web pages as they appear in Apple's Safari browser. Well I'm a Mac user and I just found out my web page is broken in IE. I need something that will generate screenshots of my site as it is seen by IE. (I can't use Internet Explorer for Mac because it is even more broken than its Windows counterpart.)
posted by haasim to computers & internet (10 comments total)

Most of them are paid services - BrowserPool, BrowserCam

BrowserShots is in beta and free, but there's currently a backlog.

Oh, here's a list of 10.
posted by FreezBoy at 7:29 AM on August 30, 2006

I am not a mac user, but I thought mac's had some kind of windows emulator, or virtual PC, that was either with the OS or commonly available? That might be a good bet.
posted by RustyBrooks at 7:50 AM on August 30, 2006

Rusty,
There are two options for running Windows on the new IntelMacs...Boot Camp or Parallels. but either solution still requires one to purchase and install Windows...a bit of an expense just to check your web pages.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:35 AM on August 30, 2006

Virtual PC is the obvious choice if you're using a PowerPC (G3, G4 or G5) Mac. It's pretty slow, but good enough to have open so you can refresh an IE window while you develop. Alternatively, if you've got a Windows PC on your network, you can use RDC to access it remotely. That's a fast option.

As Thorzdad points out, on an Intel Mac, you can use Boot Camp, whereby you'd have to restart your computer to access Windows, or (much better) Parallels Desktop, which costs a little bit, but is well worth it, if you're not keen on software piracy.

Speaking of which, both of those options work just fine with your common house or garden not-paid-for version of Windows. Kapeesh?
posted by armoured-ant at 10:35 AM on August 30, 2006

Paparazzi! is a small utility for Mac OS X that makes screenshots of webpages.
posted by krautland at 11:39 AM on August 30, 2006

Krautland: Paparazzi uses WebKit, so it's going to give the same results that Safari would, just in screenshot form.

If you're only going to do this once, borrow a friend's computer; IE's rendering is quirky enough that a single screenshot of what's wrong probably isn't going to be enough information to help you fix the problem.

If you want to have something around for testing sites in the future -- and it's a good idea to test your sites in windows if you're developing on a mac -- I'd suggest asking around and see if anyone has an old windows box gathering dust... often you can pick up an obsolete machine for less than a new Windows license would cost.
posted by ook at 12:15 PM on August 30, 2006

intel macs: parallels workstation running ie6/7
regular macs: virtual pc running ie6/7

then install microsoft script debugger to sort out the 800 scripting errors with incorrect line number references in IE.

virtual pc is slow as hell, but there's an upside to it: you can actually watch your page render, block by block. Sometimes this is useful when debugging CSS + DOM problems.
posted by Señor Pantalones at 9:59 PM on August 30, 2006

Position is Everything is a good resource for fixing bugs in Windows IE.

I can't use Internet Explorer for Mac because it is even more broken than its Windows counterpart.

Not just that, but it's broken in completely different ways. The Mac version (at least version 5.x) wasn't the same as any Windows 5.x version.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:36 AM on August 31, 2006

Thanks for your help guys... my site looks less screwed up in IE now.
posted by haasim at 4:01 PM on August 31, 2006

Krautland: Paparazzi uses WebKit, so it's going to give the same results that Safari would, just in screenshot form.

hold on, I thought there was an option in the preferences where you could select alternative browsers, such as ie.
posted by krautland at 2:44 PM on September 4, 2006