Question

I’m building a site with HTML5 elements and would just prefer it if previous versions of IE would play along, so i’m using the HTML5shim javascript from googlecode.

The only way I have to test IE7 and IE8 is to use the developer tools on IE9 to switch the browser mode and document mode.

Even using the shim, if I select IE7 or IE8 browser mode and their relevant standards mode, the document is pretty far gone – HTML5 elements do not behave like div’s (i’m under the impression that shim replaces all the new elements with divs).

If I select quirks mode for the IE7 and IE8, the site looks more or less how it should, which gives me hope that I can fix any remaining issues without having to resort to stripping out HTML5 elements.

So if you’re using IE7 or IE8 with a HTML5 doctype, would they run in quirks or standards?

Also, can I trust that what i’m seeing in IE9 emulating the old versions is what a user of the older browsers would actually see?

Answer 1

Remember to set display:block on those elements. A rule like:

article, aside, figure, footer, header, hgroup, nav, section {display: block;}

In your CSS will help.