CSS-guide, General info: The Functionality of my pages with different browsers: The functionality of this site with MS IE

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Functionality of my pages with MS IE browsers

Topics

Common
Browser specific hints
Known problems

Common

In the CSS-files of the CSS-site has not used much such CSS2-features, which don't work in Opera but work in MS IE 5.5. The site works quite well with MS IE 5.5, but alignments are sizes of elements are a little bit incorrect. They don't however cause functionality problems (they can be found only comparing the representation of the site with new Opera and Netcape/Mozilla browsers).

MS IE 6.x renders my CSS-site more exact than MS IE 5.x, but even that browser will not render it as I have designed (I mention problems further). Concerning most CSS-features in my CSS-site, it render them approximately as well as Opera.

Microsoft: CSS Enhancements in Internet Explorer 6 Public Preview.

I have added for the usage of MS IE some links, which goes to the beginning of the pages (they are visible also in older Opera and Netscape browsers, but not in Opera 4.x+ and new Netscape/Mozilla browsers). They don't however make the browsing as convenient as it is with Opera.

It is possible to create one-level dynamic sub-menus without JavaScript for MS IE 5.5+ for Windows browsers (look out models ).

In general browsing with MS IE is most less problems, but following reasons are questionable:

MS IE supports non-standard (proprietory) features and half made specifications. The purpose is to monopolize the Internet.
MS IE reads very error full "HTML-encodings" - such, which the browse should automatic ignore!

Browser specific hints

Mac IE 4.5 shows this site badly and the functionality of links is bad. I recommend Mac IE 4.5 users to update the browser.
This site works fairly from MS IE 4.0 for Windows, but I recommend to use the newest possible browser.

Known problems

In MS IE browsers are following remarkable missing features, which cause limitations to my Web-designing:

Windows-browser don't support today position:fixed, which is important for my sites. If the browser would implement it, it could be possible to create fixed navigation element by using quite simple encoding. Today fixed navigation elements are possible only by using conventional framesets or complex DHTML encodings. The previous works in old browsers. The latter works in general bad and in few browsers. It is remarkable that MS IE 5.0 for Mac supports position:fixed, when it is possible that future versions of Windows browsers would support it too. Indeed position:fixed doesn't work in MS IE 5.0 for Mac with the IFRAME element and the detriment concerns partially also Mac browsers.
I can't get the desired width control, because the max-width property is not supported. I changed my pages so that JavasScript detects the width of the page and it gives different CSS in narrow and wide windows. The system works quite well except in situations where the visitor have changed the size of the window. If the size has been resized new values takes effect only redolading the current page or going to the next page.
I have not time to create optimal page breaking for printing, because some necessary properties are not supported unsatisfactory (I mention them, when I handle the printing features of Opera).
For MS IE 5.0 for Mac is not possible to create dynamic sub-menus by using only CSS (look at models ). Indeed it is quite questionable to make them also for Windows browsers because the work properly starting from the version 5.5. It is more reasonable to create DHTML/ DOM-menus, which work properly designed also in Opera and Netscape browsers.

Other CSS-features, which I don't have mentioned above and which work only in Opera 4.x+ or newest Netscape/Mozilla don't have remarkable meaning to the functionality of the site. Above mentioned matters are meaningful in my sites:

Because I have given priority to the functionality concerning MS IE browsers for the 6.x series, the dimensions and positions of elements are not always optimal for older browsers.
Browsers have been created unnecessary horizontal scroll bars to many pages. Pages, which have got them have been depending on the version of the used browser. MS IE 4.0 for Windows rendered much unnecessary horizontal scroll bars and it seems not to be able to handle width values, which have not exactly defined (I don't give it today width control, when it doesn't create unnecessary horizontal scroll bars). In practise they are not at all harmful, because the content is readable in normal size windows without scrolling. I get them off from MS IE 6.0 by setting for the BODY element width:99%.
How to design dynamic menus work in most MS IE browsers, but not optimal.

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