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Once again, a project is asking for everyone’s favorite IE 6 .PNG alpha transparency fixes — more rounded corners! Examples include the CSS Behavior code, using .PNGs or .GIFs with on/off transparency, regulating IE 6 to the square Web 1.0 world, and even using on/off transparency and just knocking a pixel or two off of corners for a “good enough” rounded look.
What are your favorite IE 6 rounded-corner and/or alpha-transparency fixes?
Here is one that I am surprised doesn’t get mentioned more often, probably because it depends on fireworks:
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/09/18/png8-the-clear-winner/
It’s png 8 so it won’t work in cases with lots of colors, but if all you need is a drop shadow or something this is a great technique.
Also, there is a script by Dean Edwards that attempts to fix many of the css bugs in ie6, as well as adding some features such as easy image swap/alphaimage transparencies. Check it out:
http://dean.edwards.name/weblog/2008/01/ie7-2/
I have had mixed results applying it to existing projects with complex css, but it works great if you are starting a fresh app.
October 10, 2008 at 5:10 am
IE6 users do not deserve rounded corners or a fix for alpha transparency. Regular boxes will do just fine… Want more ? Then upgrade…
Dean Edwards has a few disadvantages you might want to considers:
– it slows down the page
– it’s not totally transparent (i.e. some elements will be fixed/adjusted only when the page is fully loaded)
Since a few months now, I’ve teached to leave IE6 as-is as long as it looks acceptable.
October 10, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Since I only load up the Dean Edwards script for IE6, I’m not all that concerned with those two points. I don’t really care if the IE6 performance is a bit slower or if things flash around on their screen while loading, I just want to spend as little time as possible worrying about IE6 at all and the Edwards script makes that possible.
October 10, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I’ve always used [iepngfix](http://www.twinhelix.com/css/iepngfix/) with zero problems, as long as you’re not trying to tile or background-position the png in question. Using conditional stylesheets means only IE6 and below are affected. Make sure to download the ‘alpha’ 2.0 version (which I’ve found few problems with), it has a few more features (some provided via javascript). Fixed-size rounded corners can be easily provided using a z-index overlay with a transparent punchout, vertically-fluid rounded corners can be provided by using a ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ png.
October 30, 2008 at 4:38 pm
(and fwiw, I’ve noticed that iepngfix seems to be the only consistently maintained fix — there’s actually been a few updates since when I last did research in May 2008).
October 30, 2008 at 4:39 pm