Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is Released

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 Yesterday. Isn’t she beautiful?

Here is your checklist to make sure your site can handle the new and improved standards compliance feature in IE8:

Developer Checklist for IE8:

For compatibility:

1. Navigate to your website in Internet Explorer 8.
2. If pages look different from how they did in Internet Explorer 7 or don’t work the same way, enable Compatibility View. See Compatibility for more information.
3. If turning on Compatibility View makes your pages render and function as they do in Internet Explorer 7, then add the Emulate IE7 meta tag.
4. Otherwise, verify that your User Agent String detection recognizes Internet Explorer 8 by using the procedure outlined in the Versioning and Internet Explorer Modes.
5. If your pages are still broken, debug your Web site by using our testing tools.

For ActiveX developers and WebOC hosts:

1. Read about our new feature, Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer (LCIE).

For AJAX developers:

1. Read Better AJAX Development.
2. Read Native JSON Support.

For toolbars developers:

1. New Toolbar Features.
2. Check your add-ons and extensions against Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer (LCIE) and DEP/NX Memory Protection. In addition to these, test with 120 DPI to ensure your toolbars look good.
3. Protected Mode (Vista Only)—Read Understanding and Working in Protected Mode Internet Explorer and test your extensions or application on Windows Vista to ensure they install and work properly. Review the MSDN article Developer Best Practices and Guidelines for Applications in a Least Privileged Environment to understand User Account Control in Windows Vista.

For layout developers:

1. Test your site in 120 dpi layout mode.
2. Test your site with 24x24 icons.

In addition to these steps, read how you can protect your site with our new security updates including:

• SmartScreen Filter (previously known as Improved Phishing Filter)

• DEP/NX Memory Protection

Features that change how sites and add-ons work

This section describes a number of changes in security and architecture that could affect the way your site or add-ons function in Internet Explorer 8. Included in this section are details about user agent changes, accessibility improvements (including zoom), non-admin and per-site ActiveX, Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer, DEP/NX memory protection and Manage Add-ons.

Powerful new developer features

This section describes the new features that developers can exploit to make Internet Explorer 8 “light up”. These features include Accelerators, Web Slices, improvements in CSS support, accessibility (including W3C’s ARIA Support and UI Automation Support) innovations in AJAX functionality, improvements in DOM L2 Core support, and integrated Developer Tools.

Compatibility View Internet Explorer 8’s built-in Compatibility View button enables you to display websites that were designed for older browsers. Simply press the Compatibility View button if you see display problems on a website like misaligned text, images, or text boxes. It’s located next to the Refresh button on the Address Bar.
Accelerators Accelerators let you complete your everyday browsing activities more quickly and even discover new services. Start mapping, translating, emailing, and more in just a few mouse clicks.
InPrivate Browsing Keep Internet Explorer 8 from adding any sites you visit to Browsing History with InPrivate Browsing. Now you can shop for that special gift with confidence knowing your family won’t accidentally find out.
Search suggestions Search smarter with detailed suggestions from your favorite search providers and browsing history. See visual previews and get suggested content topics while you type in the enhanced Instant Search Box.
SmartScreen Filter New security features help to protect you against deceptive and malicious websites which can compromise your data, privacy, and identity.
Web Slices Keep up with changes to the sites you care about most. Add a Web Slice and you won’t have to go back to the same website again and again for updates on news, stock quotes, online auctions, weather, or even sports scores.