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Best NS4 test client?

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 4:51 pm
by gyardleydn
It has been a long time since I used any version of Netscape, but I would like to test the site I am developing against an older version of Netscape. The site is not technology related so it is more likely to have older browser being used to view this site. The Netscape achieve has several versions so which should I use?

Versions 4.7x and 4.8
Versions 4.7x
Versions 4.6x
Versions 4.5x
Versions 4.0x

The goal here is to test to make sure that the site is legible. There are a few elements I know won’t work like :hover, but I would like make sure that application bugs do not render this site unnavigable or obscure content. For instance I seem to recall Navigator 4.x have issues with padding (or was it margins?)

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 8:23 pm
by Skyzyx
Well, first of all Netscape 4.x sucks. Secondly, it makes up about 3% of internet users. Third, Netscape 4.7 came out about 3 years ago, so I'd say Netscape 4.7x or 4.8 should be used.

Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 6:40 am
by twigletmac
If you're going to test an old version of Netscape use 4.7. Netscape 4.x has lots of quirks with CSS and some of the bugs are incredibly irritating - e.g. using CSS margins on floated images tends to leave them cringing in a corner obscuring everything beneath them.

It's definitely a good idea to test your site to make sure it degrades gracefully and not kicking and screaming. If you haven't already, try testing on Lynx too to see what you site looks like text-only.

Mac