Dead Simple Browser Testing With Xenocode’s Browser Sandbox
March 24, 2009
Cross-browser testing is one of the dreaded tasks of web development, largely because there’s no easy way to install multiple versions of each browser on the same machine. It can be forced, but having 3 versions of Internet Explorer, at least 2 versions of Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome all installed on the same computer is hardly appealing.
Microsoft’s SuperPreview, released as a beta last week, looked promising but in practice fell short in several key areas. The biggest problem is that although SuperPreview can snapshot a page in IE6 or any other browser, it’s just that: a snapshot. Layout bugs are just the beginning of IE6′s problems – it also falls short in both Javascript and CSS capabilities, which may not be evident in a screenshot. Furthermore, SuperPreview will eventually be a part of Expression Web 3, which is not free.
Microsoft does provide free virtual machines with IE6 pre-installed, which gives us the interactivity we need. Although bulky, they have been the best solution available to web developers for testing legacy versions of Internet Explorer. However, this still doesn’t help with Firefox, Safari, Opera, or Chrome.
Enter Xenocode’s Browser Sandbox. It leverages Xenocode’s Virtual Application System, which packages existing Windows applications into small virtual machines, so that they require no installation or configuration. Xenocode has created packages for the modern web browsers available to Windows users: Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, Firefox 2 and 3, Opera, Chrome, and Safari – and they’re all free.
The end result is that you can download each of the 8 packs from the Xenocode site and store them together in a folder or flash drive. Then whenever you want to test a site in Internet Explorer 6, you just run the ie6.exe file and you’ve got a fully functional version of IE6 running, with no installation or footprint. The same goes for Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Chrome. The files range in size from 5MB – 40MB, depending on the size of the browser itself. All 8 will easily fit on a 250MB thumb drive.
I’ve been testing them today, and so far the experience is great. The only complaint I have so far is that the IE Developer Toolbar isn’t included in the Internet Explorer packs, which I’ve come to depend on for debugging IE6.
The Browser Sandbox website does leave a bit to be desired in terms of instructions. To download a browser pack, simply click on the green power button icon in its panel. Here’s a screenshot:
Note: If you don’t see the green buttons wait for the page to fully load. In my experience they were the last thing on the page to load.
The 8 browser packs available on the Xenocode site are free, but if you want to make packs for other browsers, such as the Firefox 3.5 beta, you’ll need to purchase the Virtual Application System from Xenocode for $40. With it you can actually package any Windows app – they’ve done so with GIMP and Winamp as examples.
Only Windows is currently supported, although the company’s website promises they are working on support for Mac users (no word on Linux).
I’ve just started using this and so far it seems pretty cool. However, i did read somewhere on the xenocode website, just as i was about to download.. a message with upsides and downsides. The detail was very vague… downsides read something like: ‘a couple of usual internet explorer hick ups’. What the hell does that mean?? Anyone know what those hiccups are or come across any know issues.
It would be a God send to have one decent tool that handles cross browser testing once and for all. hears hoping!
@Declan –
I’ve been using these for a few months very consistently, and haven’t noticed any problems. I keep a copy of each browser in one folder, and its really made browser testing as painless as possible.
I hope it works out for you too! If you run into any hiccups I’d love to hear about them.
Thanks for commenting. Cheers!
Sorry, but what am I missing here? Those green buttons on the Xenocode website’s browser listings seem to have NO function at all…take that back, as they “shake” the “Install plugin SPOON” tab at the top. Clicking on the label on each listed browser just produces a re-direct to the browser’s product site.
I would love to be able to download these and have them available to off-line testing, but it would seem the only option now is to test online (at the Xenocode website), and that installing this “Plugin SPOON” is required for this????
@John –
You’re absolutely right – they’ve changed their page significantly since this post was written. Its quite frustrating. I’ll look for a workaround, and update when i find out more.
I’ve sent you an email which hopefully will help for the time being. Thanks for the catch!
Did you ever find a solution. I’ve been trying to install and get to work for over an hour. Have reinstalled and restarted several times. I’ve tried IE and Firefox. Any suggestions?