How’s that for a long title? I just wanted to make sure that the desperate souls in need would be able to find what they are looking for. If you are a web developer, you must deal with Internet Explorer. If you’re developing on a Mac, that can be even more of a pain the the already agonizing ordeal. Here is a little something to make it easier, thanks to MAMP.
MAMP is a program that helps you run a server on your MAC. “But, I already can run a server on my MAC!”, you exclaim. True, but there are some really nice organizational features about MAMP (even the FREE version) that makes it worth checking into. That is another post. For now, I’m going to tell you a simple way to get IE as viewed from Parallels to “see” your local web site(s) you may be developing. This makes trouble shooting, especially where CSS is concerned, much faster and easier. Hey, I’m all for anything that makes dealing with IE easier.
For this post, I assume you have decided to install MAMP and have successfully done so (It’s easy, by the way) and you have also decided to use Parallels and have it installed.
Take a Look at your MAMP console. Do you see where it says “Preferences” ?
After clicking on the “preferences” button, you will then click on the “ports” button. It should look like this.
Notice what the port number is where it says “Apache Port”. You will use this in you URL in IE. The port number is almost always going to be 8888 unless you have changed it for some reason.
OK, now go to you MAC’s “System Preferences”. Not to insult your intelligence, but, in case your a newbie or just a bit flustered at the moment, you get there by clicking on the little apple in the far upper left corner of your screen. The resulting pane should look like this.
Do you see the IP Adress in the middle of this pane?
After opening Internet Explorer in Parallels, type the following address.
Did you notice that it is a combination of your local IP and the MAMP port separated by a colon? If everything else is working as it should, then this will show you your local site from within the “Sites” folder just under your “Home” on your MAC.
In another post coming soon, I will tell you how to set up multiple sites with the free version of MAMP. Its easy and makes for a much smoother transition between projects.
I hope this post was helpful and easy to understand. Feel free to let me know your thoughts. I’m grateful for any friendly criticism or “how to” contributions.