How can I tell if a screenshot was made in IE7 or IE8?

Question

I have a screenshot of an IE web browser. My question is, how can I tell whether it's IE 7 or IE8?

I've looked on the net and all the different shots of 7 and 8 look the same.

This is also useful for answering the same question about which version of IE a person is using as you look over their shoulder. — Firefeather, Dec 03 '10 at 18:44
I think you mean "How can I tell the difference between IE7 and IE8 in a screenshot?", since (AFAIK), by default, Internet Explorer doesn't have the ability to take screenshots of itself. — Firefeather, Dec 03 '10 at 18:47

score 28 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 11 '11 at 17:20

28

Look at the website address shown in the address box.

In Internet Explorer 7, the entire address is black:

IE7

In Internet Explorer 8, only the main domain name is black, the rest of the address is gray:

IE8

edited Aug 11 '11 at 17:20

Gaff

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answered Dec 04 '10 at 03:34

Bavi_H

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score 11 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:41

It is very hard to tell from just a screen shot. Initially I thought I spotted two differences, but as it seems I was wrong and there is only one.

IE7 screenshot:
alt text

IE8 screenshot:
alt text

On a default installation, IE8 and IE7 display the favorites button differently. I am not sure if this is customizable, but without any customization it should look different.

You should use this only as a hint and not as a definitive way of telling the browser version. The look of a browser can be heavily modified using different plugins / themes.

(This was originally posted for the question on Stack Overflow, but the answer didn't get migrated along with the question.)

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

5

IE8 should have the compatability tag after the address bar.
I don't think Ie7 has that.
See Image below:

alt text

However looking at certain sites i.e BBC.co.uk some don;t seem to have the compatibility buton showing on the bar. You could see if it has it and check the website displayed though. Should give you an idea.

edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

Community

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answered Dec 03 '10 at 14:39

Joe Taylor

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A user can hide that button easily enough anyway, so the absence of it wouldn't be conclusive. – MartW Dec 03 '10 at 16:59

Ganesh R. · Answer 4 · 2010-12-04T06:48:02.870

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Have a look at the color of the tab. IE 8 introduced colored tabs.
Also post the image so that we can have a shot at guessing the browser.

IE 8 Colored Tab

edited Dec 04 '10 at 06:48

answered Dec 03 '10 at 16:12

Ganesh R.

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What about the back and forward buttons would give you a clue about the version? – Firefeather Dec 03 '10 at 18:44
In addition to being coloured, the tabs in IE8 were also slightly ... 'flatter' than in IE7. – eidylon Dec 03 '10 at 18:55

How can I tell if a screenshot was made in IE7 or IE8?

4 Answers4