Try IE7 without losing IE6

Ok, if you want to try IE7 just for kicks and grins but you're worried about losing IE6 here is a work around I've used (provided by Alex Walker of Sitepoint in Sitepoint Design View #18).

=======================================
NOTE:
There are reported bugs and problems with this workaround,
as such understand that using any hacks/workarounds such
as this are at your own risk. If you don't want to take a chance
then this isn't for you.

if you have used this hack/workaround and find yourself
having trouble with IE6 or anything else wierd you
might find this link helpful:
http://weblogs.asp.net/jgalloway/archive/2005/12/28/434132.aspx
========================================

So, let's say you're curious and you'd like to take IE7 for a spin, but you're not ready to let it oust IE6 as your IE of choice -- can this be done?

I'm no expert on the interplay of Microsoft components, but I did manage to get it going, and I'm happy to run you through the process I used to get it running on my XP system.

1. Download and save the beta EXE but don't run it. It's a self-extracting, self-installing ZIP file; we want to do this manually.
2. Create a new folder called 'IE7'.
3. Right-click on the EXE and scroll down to 'Extract to...' for Winzip. If you don't use Winzip, this process should work in your decompression software of choice.
4. Extract everything to your 'IE7' folder, making sure you keep the folder structure intact by keeping 'Use folder names' checked.
5. Open your 'IE7' folder, right-click inside the folder and scroll to 'New/Text Document.
6. Rename that file to 'iexplore.exe.local'. Make sure you're changing the file's format, not just renaming your text document to 'iexplore.exe.local.txt'.
7. That's it. Run 'iexplore.exe' in that folder -- do not run 'iesetup.exe', which will initiate the full install
   

Note that Microsoft says it won't provide support for this kind of setup, so if you think you may want help, this option probably isn't for you.

Until next time,
Les