Do you have many web browsers installed on your computer so you can test the website you are developing in multiple browsers? We found a browser that allows you to use four of the more popular web browsers in one browser. Lunascape is the world’s only triple engine browser that allows you to use the features of Internet Explorer (Trident), Mozilla Firefox (Gecko), Google Chrome (WebKit), and Apple Safari (WebKit) in one browser. It is also fast, full of features, and contains customizable options.
Download Lunascape from
Install Lunascape
To install Lunascape, double-click on the .exe file you downloaded.
If the Open File – Security Warning dialog box displays, click Run to continue with the installation.
Depending on your User Account Control settings, a dialog box may display telling you what to do when the User Account Control dialog box displays. See our post, Windows 7 – How to configure UAC (User Account Control), for more information.
Click OK to continue.
If your User Account Control settings are set such that the User Account Control dialog box displays, click Yes to continue.
Select the desired language from the drop-down list and click OK.
The Welcome screen on the setup wizard displays. Click Next.
Read through the License Agreement and click I Agree to continue with the installation.
There are different ways you can setup Lunascape. To install Lunascape with the most common options, select the Standard radio button. If you want to choose which options are installed, select the Custom radio button in the Advanced Setup box. You can also install Lunascape as a portable program on a USB flash drive. To do this, select the Portable radio button in the Advanced Setup box. Once you have made your choice, click Next.
The installation progress displays.
Once the installation is done, the Completing the Lunascape6 Setup screen displays. Click Finish to close the setup wizard.
Import Settings from Other Browsers
The Import Settings dialog box allows you to import settings from other browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox 3 (not 4), Opera, and previous versions of Lunascape. Select the browser from which you want to import settings from the drop-down list. If you don’t want to import any settings from other browser, select the Import settings from the following browser check box so there is NO check mark in the box. This check box is turned on by default.
If you want Lunascape to be your default browser, select the Set Lunascape as default browser check box. This check box is also turned on by default.
Click OK to continue.
If you chose to import settings, the following dialog box displays when the import is complete. Click OK to close the dialog box.
A dialog box displays informing you that you can also import settings at a later time from within Lunascape using the File menu (select User Profiles | Import to access the Import Settings dialog box). Click OK.
Select the Default Rendering Engine
The Select Rendering Engine dialog box displays. Select the engine you want to use as the default engine when opening web pages. Again, the engines correspond to the browsers as follows:
- Trident – Internet Explorer
- Gecko – Firefox
- WebKit – Chrome and Safari
Select the radio button for the engine that corresponds with the browser you use most often and click Select.
Import Firefox Profile
If you are running Firefox 3, Lunascape may detect your Firefox profile. You can choose to import it into Lunascape. We wanted to create a separate profile within Lunascape, so we clicked Cancel to not import our Firefox profile. Again, if you decide to import your Firefox 3 profile at a later time, you can select User Profiles | Import from the File menu in Lunascape.
View the Lunascape Welcome Page
The Lunascape Welcome page displays on a tab. A Search tab is also opened in the background.
Turn Off the RSS Ticker
By default, Lunascape displays an RSS ticker on the right side of the tab bar. You can select from which site you want to receive RSS news. You can also turn off the ticker. To turn it off, right-click on the RSS ticker drop-down list and select Settings from the drop-down menu.
The Settings dialog box displays RSS options you can set. To turn off the ticker, select the Show Ticker on the right side of tabs check box so there is NO check mark in the box.
Click OK to close the Settings dialog box.
A dialog box displays telling you how you display the RSS ticker again, should you choose to do so. Click OK to close the dialog box.
Change Open Tab Settings
When you type a URL into the address bar and press Enter, the following dialog box displays. By default, Lunascape opens a new tab when you enter a URL. If you don’t want to see this dialog box every time you enter a URL, select the Don’t show this message again check box.
NOTE: We could not find a setting to show this dialog box again if you select the Don’t show this message check box to turn it off.
To change this option, click Change Settings.
The Lunascape Settings dialog box displays showing the Tab::Open Tab tab. To have Lunascape open a web page in the current tab, instead of a new tab, when you type the URL in the address bar, select the Typing a URL in the Address Bar check box in the Open tabs (control within browser) box so there is NO check mark in the box.
We also chose to set the location for any new tab to be to the Right of the Active Tab in the Location of new tab box. Click OK when you are finished changing the Open Tab settings.
You are returned to the Confirm dialog box. Click OK to close it.
Wrap Up
This was the first post in a two-part series about using the triple-engine browser Lunascape to view web pages using four of the more popular browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari) in one browser.
In this post, we covered installing Lunascape, importing settings and profiles, selecting the default rendering engine, turning off the RSS ticker, and changing the settings for opening new tabs.
Stay tuned for Part II, where we will cover more about working with the rendering engines, installing the WebKit engine, installing Firefox add-ons, changing settings and the design, working with tabs, and even downloading a version of Lunascape for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
by Lori Kaufman