Today, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2. I recommend you to download it in order to test your websites compatibility with it.
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 SP1
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 for Windows Server 2003 ia64 Edition (Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based systems)
Add-Ons for Internet Explorer 7
Checklists:
Consumers
Current Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview users
If you're running a version of the Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview, follow these steps prior to downloading the latest version:
- Click your Start button, then go to Control Panel
- Go to Add or Remove Programs
- Go to Change or Remove Programs and make sure "Show updates" is checked.
- If you are running Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview, released on March 20 or later, it is no longer necessary to check "Show updates."
- Scroll down on the list and highlight "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview."
- Click "Remove" to uninstall the previous version of Internet Explorer 7.
- Reboot your PC and return to the download page for Internet Explorer 7 to begin downloading the latest version.
New users of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2
After you install Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 and review the tour, make sure you:
- Check out your favorite websites and see how they look in Internet Explorer 7.
- Try printing a webpage from your favorite website.
- Conduct a single search through multiple search providers.
- Create a Tab Group of your favorite sites and check out the Quick Tabs feature.
- Verify that your Favorites have migrated from your old version of Internet Explorer.
- Look for the feed discovery button on your favorite websites and subscribe to those feeds.
Developers and Web Developers
Verify that your User Agent String detection recognizes Internet Explorer 7 using the procedure outlined in the Internet Explorer Blog.
Check your website for Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) filters (hacks) that may be turned off in Internet Explorer 7, using the procedures described in the MSDN Exploring Internet Explorer article Cascading Style Sheet Compatibility.
Verify that transparent images on your website are rendered correctly, using Transparent PNG, now supported in Internet Explorer 7.
Use the Application Compatibility Toolkit to evaluate changes in the behavior of your web applications.
Read an Overview of Security and Compatibility changes in Internet Explorer 7.
Verify that your website hasn't been adversely affected by these Internet Explorer 7 security changes:
- SSL 2.0 Support has been turned off.
- Support for HTML scriptlets has been turned off by default.
- Sites using HTTPS must deliver a valid digital certificate for their DNS name.
- HTTP content cannot be included in an HTTPS page (see the Internet Explorer Blog article).
Read Microsoft's Anti-Phishing White Paper to understand how the Microsoft Phishing Filter may affect your webpages.
If you develop using ActiveX controls, make sure they are installed in the "disabled" state so users will activate them only when needed and reduce their surface area vulnerable to attack. (See the Exploring Internet Explorer article on ActiveX Security.)
Make sure that your feeds are discoverable in Internet Explorer 7 by following the process in the Microsoft Feeds API Overview.
Make sure your feeds work correctly: Navigate to them in Internet Explorer 7 and refer to the Publisher's Guide to see how they should look.
Add search providers to Internet Explorer without writing executable code or mastering the registry, using the window.external.AddSearchProvider(URL) call to prompt the end user. (See the Internet Explorer Blog article for details.)
Download the Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar and use it to explore the DOM tree and view and change elements on your webpage. The Developer Toolbar also provides links to the references in the W3C specifications, the Internet Explorer Blog, and other useful resources.
Check out the Information Index and Release Notes for Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 to see the most recent news about Internet Explorer 7.
IT Professionals
Verify that your User Agent String detection recognizes Internet Explorer 7 using the procedure outlined in the Internet Explorer Blog.
Check your website for Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) filters (hacks) that may be turned off in Internet Explorer 7, using the procedures described in the MSDN Exploring Internet Explorer article Cascading Style Sheet Compatibility.
Verify that transparent images on your website are rendered correctly, using Transparent PNG, now supported in Internet Explorer 7.
Verify that your website hasn't been adversely affected by these Internet Explorer 7 security changes:
- SSL 2.0 Support has been turned off.
- Support for HTML scriptlets has been turned off by default.
- Sites using HTTPS must deliver a valid digital certificate for their DNS name.
- HTTP content cannot be included in an HTTPS page (see the Internet Explorer Blog article).
Read Microsoft's Anti-Phishing White Paper to understand how the Microsoft Phishing Filter may affect your webpages.
If you develop using ActiveX controls, make sure they are installed in the "disabled" state so users will activate them only when needed and reduce their surface area vulnerable to attack. (See the Exploring Internet Explorer article on ActiveX Security.)
Make sure that your feeds are discoverable in Internet Explorer 7 by following the process in the Microsoft Feeds API Overview.
Make sure your feeds work correctly: Navigate to them in Internet Explorer 7 and refer to the Publisher's Guide to see how they should look.
Add search providers to Internet Explorer without writing executable code or mastering the registry, using the window.external.AddSearchProvider(URL) call to prompt the end user. (See the Internet Explorer Blog article for details.)
Download the Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar and use it to explore the DOM tree and view and change elements on your webpage. The Developer Toolbar also provides links to the references in the W3C specifications, the Internet Explorer Blog, and other useful resources
Make sure you've tested your browser add-ins to ensure they activate correctly with the updated changes to Internet Explorer.
Validate the removal of the Intranet zone for non-domain joined machines.
Check out the Internet Explorer 7 Administration Kit (IEAK).
Check out the Information Index and Release Notes for Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 to see the most recent news about Internet Explorer 7.