Microsoft has released many information about its upcoming Internet Explorer 9 web browser. While it is mighty useful, nothing beats getting your hands dirty yourself. The company showcased Internet Explorer 9 during the Mix10 conference, and announced the release of the Internet Explorer 9 preview which Microsoft calls the Internet Explorer Platform Preview.
The Internet Explorer Platform Preview offers an early look at some of the features that Microsoft plans to integrate into Internet Explorer 9.
The preview version will only run on 32-bit or 64-bit editions of Windows Vista SP2 or later, or Windows 7. Vista users also need to have Internet Explorer 8 and DirectX 2D installed before they can install the platform preview.
Those that need to can download Internet Explorer 8 here and DirectX 2D by visiting this Platform Update page.
Users who start the Internet Explorer 9 preview will soon realize that it is an early preview build. It does not offer an address bar and most browser controls.
Internet Explorer 9 Preview
Several standard test results and demos are linked from the starting page including Sunspider, Acid3 and others.
According to the information the Internet Explorer 9 Mix platform preview closed in on the other browsers in JavaScript performance. It actually ranks now before Firefox but after Opera, Chrome and Safari. The IE developers also managed to increase the Acid3 score to 55 of 100.
Internet sites can be opened by clicking on Page > Open. the browser loads them very fast, a lot faster than Internet Explorer 8.
Users should read the release notes for known issues and other information about the release. Microsoft plans to update the preview releases every eight weeks. This is mainly offered to get feedback from web developers. A beta will follow later on.
Developer Tools
The Platform Preview includes built-in Developer Tools. These tools help developers debug and understand the interaction between their sites and the browser. To open the Developer Tools, click the Debug menu and click Developer Tools, or press F12.
The status bar indicates when the page generates script errors. You can use the Developer Tools to get more information about and debug script errors.
For more information on the Developer Tools, go to the Internet Explorer Developer Center.
Document modes
You can force the Platform Preview into different document modes. To do this, click the Debug menu and select one of the Document Modes. You can also press Alt plus the numbers 5, 7, 8, or 9 to select IE5, IE7, IE8, and IE9 document modes respectively (for example, Alt + 7 for IE7). You can press Alt + 0 at any time to reset the document mode to the page default. The current document mode is shown for the currently viewed page at the left of the status bar. Information on Document Modes is available on MSDN, as well as on our blog.
Common Keyboard Shortcuts
Below is a list of available keyboard shortcuts for use in the Internet Explorer Platform Preview:
Ctrl + O: Open a webpage
F5: Refresh
F10: Home
F12: Developer Toolbar
Alt + 5: Force IE5 rendering mode
Alt + 7: Force IE7 rendering mode
Alt + 8: Force IE8 rendering mode
Alt + 9: Force IE9 rendering mode
Alt + 0: Reset Document Mode to the page default
Ctrl +/-: zoom in and out
Alt + ?: Help
Ctrl + S: Save Webpage As…
Alt + /: About
The preview suggests that Microsoft is right on tracks to close the gap that currently exists to other popular web browsers. We will keep you updated on the latest developments.
You can download the Internet Explorer 9 preview from the IE testdrive website.
Update: Please note that the IE9 preview is no longer available. The web browser was released by Microsoft, but has been replaced in the meantime by newer versions of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.