Avant switch between IE7 and IE8 Final

[addonsfan]

This script is 100% safe from viruses and malware. In case someone is worried about using a VBS file. - statm1 (AB Staff)

This little addon for users who are using IE8 Final. it adds a command button to the add-ons bar, which opens a VBScript file. the script executes, and switches between versions. you will be presented with a confirmation if you want to restart Avant right away or later.

to install, download and extract avant_IE-ver.zip to the skins directory in your Avant Browser directory. you may install it anywhere you'd like, but additional changes will be needed. if Avant is not installed in the default english location, right click on avant_IE-ver.vbs, and go to edit. change; AvantDirectory = "C:\Program Files\Avant Browser", to Avant's installation directory if necessary.

next dowload or auto install the Avant add-on. this will add the button. if Avant is not installed in the default english location or you saved avant_IE-ver.vbs in a different location, then you will need to adjust the add-on file. to do so, go to tools > Avant Browser options > add-ons > add-ons tab > import and find IE Version Switcher.

avant_IE-ver.zip

(837 Bytes) Downloaded 1763 times

ie_version_switcher.aba

Same as the auto-install

(1.62 KiB) Downloaded 1571 times

did I miss anything?

edit; side note:
apparently if the VBS file is in the Skins folder, you will not need to specify a path in the actual add-on's command. I knew this, however while making this script, it was not working right that way. now it seems to be working ok.

UPDATE (8-30-08): An updated vbs file has been added that fixes the problem arised from IE8 Beta 2.
UPDATE (3-19-09): Updated the package to work with IE8 Final.
UPDATE (3-23-09): Fix for previous update. Sorry about that.

UPDATE (2-9-10): As of AB 11.7 Build 45, Avant is automatically switched to IE8 standards mode at installation. You will still need this plugin to switch back to IE7 compatibility mode..

[Psykocyber]

I would love to see a "Cancel" feature, so if you accidently click the button or just checking which rendering you are using, it's not to late.

[addonsfan]

all you have to do is click the button again to switch it. all effects take place during the startup of avant.exe.

[abfan123]

New VBS file for IE8 Beta 2....
http://mihopa.info/avant/avant_IE-ver.vbs

[statm1]

Thank you for updating the file!

Edit: Your file had a typo in it.. Two Fs in Feature. So I fixed it.

[abfan123]

Yeah, Sorry, I've made some errors in my previous file.
So if you've downloaded it please redownload.
Sorry.

[statm1]

I should of looked on the IEBlog to see that they did in fact say how to fix the beta 2 problem. I just didn't think to look in the comments. But as for using 80000 or just 8 they both work.. You just had to know which key to use.

[bksening]

So if Microsoft requires this new method to switch between IE8 and IE7, will this switcharoo script be properly integrated into Avant as a real function/button/option/whatever?

The way IE8 beta 2 does it is with a Compatibility View button that appears next to the address bar. And the page is refreshed immediately without needing a restart.

[statm1]

During the course of the IE8 beta Microsoft has changed the way the switch worked twice. We need to wait until IE8 is final to see if they change it again before its looked at and built into Avant.

[abfan123]

If Avant is in the IE8 mode then it'll use the compatibility view settings...
So if the website is added into that list then Avant will render it in compatibility view as well. No restart is needed.

[bksening]

Of course if Avant is in IE8 mode, it will show websites that way and no restart is needed.

But as statm1 said, after IE8 final is released, Avant can look into properly implementing an IE8/IE7 switch button (like IE's Compatibility View button) that immediately switches the mode for the browser and reloads the currently viewed page. This must be done without having to restart the browser.

I don't know if that's the case for the current switch script, but Reply #2 says it takes effect during startup of Avant, which implies a restart if Avant is already running. This restart is what must be avoided.

[statm1]

How the switch works is you default into IE7 mode you press the script's button and it does restart Avant into IE8 mode. If it doesn't restart, just manually start Avant again and it will be in IE8 mode. But, just to remind everyone IE8 Beta 1's method was to restart the browser as well. Its just been since beta 2 that you weren't required to restart the browser.

[abfan123]

The IE's button works on a per-site basis. You may modify the settings in IE under Tools>Compatibility View Settings.
So if Avant is in IE8 mode and you'll add the website there then Avant will use this list's settings as well and render the website in the compatibility mode.
I may attempt to create an addon button for Avant that will automatically add the currently viewed URL to this list. But again, I can't promise that I'll be able to do this, But I'll try.

[bksening]

Oh yes, that's a list of websites to always view in Compatibility View (in other words, to always view in IE7 mode), but the eventual "Avant Compatibility View" button I'm talking about is not supposed to automatically add to that list.

Take a website that has the specified DOCTYPEs that will trigger IE's Compatibility View button eg. http://www.wired.com

When I load that in IE8, the Compatibility View button shows up allowing me to switch between viewing wired.com in IE8 mode or IE7 mode. Clicking that button automatically refreshes wired.com (alternately switching between IE8 and IE7 mode) without needing to restart IE. However, no matter how many times I click that Compatibility View button it won't add wired.com to nor remove wired.com from the Compatibility View list. I would have to add that manually, which I don't intend to do.

@abfan123, when you mention the Compatibility View list and the "addon button", are you thinking about automatically adding the website to that list?

Because I'm not. I'm just thinking about IE8's Compatibility View button which does an immediate flip-flip between IE8 and IE7.

[abfan123]

Hmm I don't have such button here on websites with the meta tag. (Or am I missing the button?)
The only way for me to force such sites to use IE8 is to use the developer tools.

[bksening]

@abfan123, in case you want to see, here's a screenshot of my IE8 beta 2 with the Compatibility View button in both modes.

[abfan123]

The button is indeed available in both modes in case if the page doesn't "force" IE to render itself in the compatibility mode.

[statm1]

A websites header or the meta tag does override your browser settings.

[addonsfan]

sorry if this is explained, I only read a couple of the new replies;
the way IE8 works, is there is a new instance for each new tab, just like Google Chrome. thats what makes it possible to for it to make the switch without restarting the browser. afaik, Avant isn't each multithreaded, and new instances for each tab is the ultimate form of multithreading. therefore, it would some pretty big revisions in the code, just to 'properly implement' the switch.
common sense tells me that the switch will be obsolete by the time IE8 is finished. it already has a system to detect if the site is compatible or not. the current 'compatibility view' button is probably just for quality insurance purposes at this point.

[abfan123]

Well, It's possible to switch even in the same tab/instance.
All the settings are stored in the registry, So it's possible to add sites to the compatibility view list outside of IE. I wanted to create a button for Avant, But it seems like nobody request such button.