Testing and Publishing a Site > Previewing in browsers

Previewing in browsers

It's a good idea to test your pages by previewing them in browsers often throughout the Web design and creation process. By using this strategy, you can catch errors early and not copy or repeat them.

You can preview documents in your target browsers at any time; you don't have to save the document first. All browser-related functions work, including JavaScript behaviors, document-relative and absolute links, ActiveX controls, and Netscape plugins, provided that you have installed the required plugins or ActiveX controls.

Content linked with a root-relative path does not appear when you preview documents in a local browser. This is because browsers don't recognize site roots, servers do. To preview content linked with root-relative paths, put the file on a remote server and view it from there. (For more information, see Root-relative paths.)

You can define up to 20 browsers for previewing. All the browsers you define appear on the Preview in Browser menu. It's a good idea to preview in the following browsers: IE 3.0 or 4.0; Netscape 3.0 and 4.0, and at least one text-only browser like Lynx.

To preview your document in a browser, do one of the following:

Choose File > Preview in Browser, then choose one of the listed browsers.

1	If you haven't selected a browser yet, choose Edit > Preferences > Preview in Browser to select one. For details, see Preview in Browser preferences.
	Press F12 to display the current document in the primary browser.
	Press Control+F12 (Windows) or Command+F12 (Macintosh) to display the current document in the secondary browser.

To change your primary browser or define a secondary browser:

1	Choose File > Preview in Browser > Edit Browser List or Edit > Preferences and select the Preview in Browser tab.
2	Set previewing preferences as desired. For details, see Preview in Browser preferences.