microsoft virtual pc tips
I've never been a fan of "multiple IE" and "multiple Firefox" hacks, since my experience has always been they're not quite the same as having the different versions installed on different machines. Most of the time they're fine, but sooner or later one of those funny little bugs will bite you.
PeteL's Blog : Running Multiple Versions Of IE On The Same Box digs a bit further into potential issues with "frankenbuild" solutions (great term :)).
So anyway, for a while now I've used the free Virtual PC setup that Microsoft gives away for testing purposes. They're full systems, so you can be confident that they're "real" installs - and of course you can run other browsers on them too. Currently I run a test image with IE6 and FF2.
Here are a few quick tips about Virtual PC that I've learned along the way...
Where to download it:
- Virtual PC 2007 download (via the Virtual PC homepage)
- IE testing VPC images download
- The images are big files and slow to download, so be nice at work and stick them on a network drive for your coworkers
Setting it up:
- The free test images are all time-bombed to an irritatingly short period of time. So, don't invest too much time setting them up.
- I usually name the machine something like "IE6 to the end of April 09" to remind myself which image it is and how long it'll keep working.
- I've found Virtual PC images seem to run a little better if you double the "recommended" RAM to 256megs. YMMV.
- The test images given out by Microsoft will generally have no Flash or an old version installed (usually v6). So you probably want to upgrade Flash immediately unless you are specifically wanting to test old Flash versions.
- Virtual PC unable to connect to the web? Try setting it to use a shared connection (NAT). Right-click the network icon at the bottom of the Virtual PC window, and hit "network settings" in the network panel. NAT will be an option in the adapters dropdown.
- If you have restricted access your main machine's localhost, remember that the Virtual PC should be treated liked a physically separate machine (with its own IP) and you'll need to update your settings accordingly.
Using it:
- Don't forget, you will need to hit the main machine by IP address to view any localhost/test server that you're running on it.
- Alternatively you can access files directly on your main machine by adding a shared folder (right-click the folder icon at the bottom left of Virtual PC window, then click Add Folder). The folder will show up as a drive on the virtual machine.
- Sick of using the mouse to get out of the Virtual PC window? Hit right-alt+L to minimise it, then you can alt-tab as normal. Right-alt is the default "host key" which has a bunch of other shortcuts as well.
- You can drag and drop, copy and paste etc between the host system and the virtual PC. I was used to a VMWare environment where you couldn't do that, so I originally assumed you couldn't do that in VPC - but you can.
I hope those tips are useful. Happy testing...
Labels: browsers, microsoft, testing, virtual pc
Hi Ben,
When I asked (at work) to install something like this the IT recommended that I use an online cross-browser testing service, and said that they "had installed multiple versions of browsers many times before for web developers and the overall it's not worth the effort".
What do you think? Do the online cross-browser testing services really work as well as a real install?
I'm often working on local copies and don't always have a staging server so I'm wondering how convenient I'll find using an online service.
I'd be interested to hear what you think.
Cheers,
Diana
My first thought is that your IT people are overstepping their boundaries and telling you how to do your job, which isn't on. It's also worth asking who they think will be paying for the online service - they probably want you to pay, which means now they're making budget decisions for you too :)
I'm also guessing they've locked your machine down so you can't just maintain this stuff yourself? My view is that developers should always have admin rights on their own machines. Otherwise it's a lot of work for IT staff and a lot of delays for developers - nobody is happy. They should give you admin rights, or stop complaining when you need them to install things!
I'd also check if they realise you mean Virtual PC (a free desktop app with free pre-made testing images), not a fully-fledged VMWare server solution (which is actually a lot of work).
Anyway, regarding online test services... I think online testing can be good for quickly testing the static design in a really large number of browsers; but they do not replace having real browsers on your own machine.
Online services usually have limitations:
1) Can only see live sites, which is no use for builds.
2) Often just return screenshots, which is no use for testing interaction, load times, etc.
3) You often can't change settings/configurations according to current testing needs.
4) You probably can't use browser tools like Firebug, Dragonfly and the IE toolbar.
5) Takes longer than using real browsers, as you have to do rounds of testing (submit, wait, review...).
6) They tend to be very slow compared with a local browser, especially if you're accessing a virtual machine on the remote host.
7) The subscription usually expires the day before go-live ;)
They have their place but I wouldn't want to rely on them for all your testing. At the very least you'd have to open up all web servers to the world, punching a gaping hole through your firewall. I'd be surprised if they were keen to do that...!
Also, I wonder what they'd say if you told them you were replacing MS Office and the network drive with Google Docs and Dropbox? After all, remote options are available and it's not worth the effort maintaining them on your machine :)
Thanks Ben. Very useful (and funny) feedback :)
Thanks for giving me sound reasons why this might not work for me, you validated my initial concerns. I am happy for IT to suggest options, but a little frustrating when they presume they know if something is "worth it" or not, if they spent a couple of weeks doing my job then maybe they could make that evaluation.
I will check out the Virtual PC and see if that is a viable option, seeing as I should be able to install that myself. I have admin rights on my machine (i had to fight for it) but I'm careful not to "abuse" them and usually run things past IT so that I keep them onside, as they are the ones I'll be calling if I stuff something up!
No worries... all jokes aside, IT and Frontend are two groups that should be able to work together a bit more than they do. Most of the time they don't have conflicting goals. eg. IT don't want more work, Frontend need to maintain their own desktops and (usually) have the skills to do it. Solutions present themselves :)