How to get that Web Inspector, Java Script Console, DOM Explorer up in Safari on Windows

This has been written before, but it’s just not propagated enough. After spending a day and a bit chasing down really esoteric browser incompatibilities, I’d like to drop another bit of information into the ether for those 0.00005% of people who just might appreciate it. Other people have reported on this, but most posts are ancient and not currently useful.

Problem: I want to work on Safari 3.1 in Windows XP Service Pack 3, not the WebKit nightly builds. The tardtastic Developer Safari FAQ neglects to tell me how to open the JavaScript console on Windows.

Solution: To turn on your JavaScript console in the set-up listed above:

  1. Find your Safari WebKitPreferences.plist file. If your setup is like mine, it should be located in:

    2. C:\Documents and Settings\INSERT_YOUR_USER_NAME_HERE\Application Data\Apple Computer\Safari

  2. Input these two lines between the <dict>...</dict> tags

    3. <key>WebKitDeveloperExtras</key>
    <true/>

  3. Restart Safari, if it’s running.
  4. After opening a page, right click on the page to bring up the context menu
  5. Click on the “Inspect Elements” menu option

Viola, Web Inspector.

And remember, it is “Love your pet rock” week starting tomorrow.

March 26, 2009 | Filed Under useful technology 

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