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Filing a Great Bug

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We want to fix the issues that you find in the IE9 Platform Preview. This blog post is about how to write bug reports that we can understand and address. Working together, we can fix the important issues and deliver a better IE9 for everyone.

Let’s take a look at the elements of a great bug report, and use a real example from IE8.

IE8 bug from connect - AccuWeather.com Mini-forcast sidebar gadget broken after installing IE8 partner build, closed as Fixed.

Element

Purpose

Example

Title

Concisely summarize the bug and related information. Good titles are unique, memorable, and a descriptive summary of the symptom along with how bad the symptom affects users or developers.

AccuWeather.com Mini-Forecast sidebar gadget broken after installing IE8 Partner Build

Steps

Minimal steps to reproduce the bug listed in order.
  1. Install IE8 B2
  2. Upgrade to Vista SP2 (Windows Update)
  3. Uninstall IE8 B2
  4. Install IE8 Partner Build
  5. Open Windows Help and Support

Reproducibility

Some bugs reproduce all of the time and some seem random. This randomness can be caused by content, timing, script, time of day, or language.

Always Happens

Version

Versions of IE and Windows. You can get the IE version from Help, About. This will help the team setup the right repro environment and help us inspect the right code. You should always use the latest version from the Test Drive site.

Windows Vista x86 SP2 beta IE8 Partner Build

Actual Results

Describe the behavior you observed.

The AccuWeather.com Mini-Forecast gadget display is broken (see attached image)

Expected Results

Describe the behavior you expected.

The gadget should display properly.

More Information

Include more clues to the root cause of the bug.

The issue reproduces in No Add-ons mode. This is new to the IE8 Partner Build. Attachments: GadgetsBroken(B2-PP).PNG

Unique bugs get unique reports

Each unique bug should get its own bug report. The exception is multiple sites have the same issue.

Search for Duplicates

Before reporting your bug, please search to make sure it hasn’t already been reported. If it has been reported, you can let us know you can also reproduce the bug by clicking I can too.

Include IE Diagnostics Reports

Please include an IE Diagnostics report with every bug. IE Diagnostics is a powerful forensics tool used to gather important information for the IE team. To access the IE Diagnostics tool from the Platform Preview, on the Report Issue menu, click Run IE Diagnostics. When the report is finished, click Save Report As to save a local copy.

Include Screenshots

A screenshot of the Platform Preview rendering the page and a screenshot of how it should look when rendered correctly is a great way to visually communicate the differences you see.Use the Snipping Tool to capture screenshots. For a demonstration of how to use the Snipping Tool, visit Windows Help and How-To.

Include Content For Pages you Develop

If you developed a page that does not render correctly, include a sample of the HTML code, any scripts, and any other content required to reproduce the issue.

Reduce website problems

If you are reporting an issue with a web site, it would be helpful if you reduce the website to the core script and markup elements that are causing the issue. For more information about this read the IE8 Compatibility Test Guide.

Use Connect for Bugs Only

Please Use the Forums to ask questions and use the Microsoft Support page for support options for your Microsoft products.

Zip it Up

After you’ve gathered the IE Diagnostics Report, Screenshots and any other attachments for your report, Zip them up into one file and send them with your bug. Select the files in Windows Explorer, right-click, point to Send To, and then click Compressed (zipped) folder. This helps keep all the files in your bug report together and helps the attachment to your bugs fit within the 20MB size limit.

Security and Privacy

If you have discovered a vulnerability in Internet Explorer or the Internet Explorer Platform Preview:

  • Do not report the issue in the public forum
  • Forward all information regarding the issue to our Security Response Team (secure@microsoft.com)

When you use a bug report form that provides button options to designate a particular report as public or private, specify private for all bugs found that constitute a security or privacy matter. This prevents anyone other than the person filing the report and the IE team from seeing the details of the bug.

Security and Privacy Do’s and Don’ts

Do tell us about bank and other secure web sites that aren’t working, but don’t include login information, account numbers, PINs, screenshots, or other personal information.

Do tell us about email web sites that aren’t working, but don’t include login information, any email content including attachments, screenshots, or other personal information.

Thank You

Thank you for your participation. Great customers submitting great reports will lead to a great IE!

Matt Gradwohl
Test Lead

Comments

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    A shame I can't read the example bug repport because it require a login. Is there a reason it require login to read about bugs(And thus make google unable to read and search them) other then "that's the way its always been with Microsoft"?

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    Will you guys ever stop whining?

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    Actually, I'm getting the following after signing in using my existing hotmail email address: The content that you requested cannot be found or you do not have permission to view it.

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    Too bad it'll be 'won't fix', or 'can't reproduce', followed by a disappearing bug database.

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    Hey, that's my bug report! Thanks Microsoft for using my bug report as an example! (I did make a mistake in that bug report -- step 5 is for a different, but related bug.) Now, if only you can release a browser that will get me to switch from Chrome/Firefox back to IE, that would be something!

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    @stevewebdev: Interesting the Google Bot is allowed to see that… one might click the 'Cached' link to see the bug report without needing to login.

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    When you say Connect should be used for bugs only, does that mean it can't be used for suggested improvements, change requests, feature requests, web standards support requests, etc?  If so, how can one be sure, having posted such issues in the forums, that they will be recorded at Microsoft's end and some notice be taken of them?  In such an unstructured and informal environment as a forum, surely nothing much will come of anything.

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    @Gaurav I have had the same problems with my hotmail account :( but it is good to here that there are still people out there who care about bug reports :) good work!

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    @Gaurav Have you signed up to Connect with that passport ID ?

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    Have the same problems with my hotmail and T-online in germany accountThanks for the Posting : ) Bogy

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2010
    @Wurst - if you do click the cached link you'll notice that it doesn't always work (currently it fails) see: http://bit.ly/c0GX6i As a long time web app developer I applaud every enhancement MSFT makes to their bug tracking options for IE however they always seem to fall short. IMHO it is all easily solved with 2 changes: 1.) make view access 100% public, w/o login 2.) test case attachments/examples need to be publicly viewable if other users are to properly reproduce issues or provide refined test cases. Both of these items are easily doable - I fail to see the resistance to fixing them since the first IE7 Feedback program started. (Note, when users upload attachments they have the option to flag them as private (for security/privacy reasons) I'm not suggesting these attachments be visible... only the ones flagged as public.)

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    There are some bug reports I've made for Internet Explorer 8 Previews which are currently in the 'posponed' status. I've been invited to report bugs in IE9 Developer Preview. if both versions share the same bug, should I reopen my report (if so, how can I change fields to say it is a IE9DP bug?) or should I create a new bug report? Thanks :)

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    @stevewebdev: The Google Cache link works for me: http://www.777kb.com/vimg/microsoft_connect_google_cache.png

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    @Wurst - hehe, that link pops up a security warning in Firefox and Chrome as a "Reported Attack Site!" (IE reported nothing) and the cache link still fails for me in Firefox, IE8, and Chrome. anyway, the point is that the bugs should all be viewable without a login, plain & simple.

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    @stevewebdev: 777kb appears to be a site that allows arbitrary file uploads from anonymous users. The "Safe browsing" service used by Firefox appears to block the entire site. IE's SmartScreen filter is able to block specific pages on a site if only some pages are malicious; this is useful for cases like this.

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    Re: Requests to update MSDN documentation - I assume that we should post such requests at the bottom of the MSDN article in question in the Community Section at the bottom of the articles. cf: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms536651(VS.85).aspx

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    There is a list for those who may want to discuss possible SVG BUGS. Prior to posting it here, it can be reviewed by SVG developers. So, if you want to get some feedback, before you post the SVG BUG to the IE Team, go to: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/SVGdiscovery/

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    Great work guys on IE9 preview! But have a look at http://jhop.me/ie8-bugs. Hopkins collected a bunch of bugs on IE8, where most of them aren't fixed in IE9 yet.

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2010
    Majority of bugs list say: won't fix So what is the point?

  • Anonymous
    April 02, 2010
    Your explorer 8 cannot explore enough to realize the add-ons are enabled!  There one search location about 're-enable add-ons' but the long list doesn't address re-enable add-ons or the list is that long, because it is that difficult and so far wasting about 2 hours of work! I would appreciate human help because your, like Google, chances of finding a solution among the myraid of problem solvers who don't quite fit the 'yes-no' mentality of this machine ---- Do Not Help!!!!! So, can you make this piece of you know what work?  Thanks  - Hope you will make it work and that there may exist, in Microsoft somewhere, someone who speaks the English Language & will solve this machinary!!! Don't have an URL --- that I know of old Fashioned e-mail: cewest246@msn.com

  • Anonymous
    April 02, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 02, 2010
    @EricLaw [MSFT]: Are you able to answer my question as well? If a bug appears in both IE8 and the new developer preview, should I file a new bug report or should I reopen the old one. I noticed the old reports got prefixed with "IE8:". So if your answer is the latter, how am I able to rename my old reports? Thanks.

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2010
    The comment has been removed