The new Edge browser has built-in Internet Explorer mode. Here are the steps to enable Internet Explorer mode in the Edge browser.
Though Internet Explorer is not that popular and long forgotten nowadays, there are still applications and web services that depend heavily on it. This is especially true in office and work environments. That is one of the reasons why Windows 10 still has Internet Explorer preinstalled even when Microsoft shipping the brand new Chromium-based browser.
Though business and work environments cannot avoid Internet Explorer, if you are a regular home user, you should never use the old Internet Explorer. It is not only buggy and slow but is a security risk in many different ways. In fact, I recommend you uninstall Internet Explorer completely. If you are a regular home user who needs occasional access to the Internet Explorer, you can use the Internet Explorer mode in the new Edge Chromium browser. The IE mode properly emulates Internet Explorer so that any legacy service or website designed for IE’s Trident engine will work as it should.
So, without further ado, let me the steps to enable Internet Explorer mode in the new Edge Chromium browser in Windows 10.
Enable Internet Explorer mode in Edge
To enable the Internet Explorer mode in the Edge browser, you have to perform two major steps. First, enable a flag and then add a flag to the Edge shortcut. Let me show the steps.
1. Make sure you have the Microsoft Edge desktop shortcut. If you don’t have the shortcut, copy it to your desktop from the below location. We need the shortcut to add the flag.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
2. Once you have the shortcut, open the Edge browser by double-clicking on that shortcut. Once opened, copy and paste the below path in the address bar and press Enter. Here, select “IE Mode” from the drop-down menu next to the “Enable IE Integration” option.
edge://flags/#edge-internet-explorer-integration
3. Now, close the browser.
4. Next, right-click on the desktop shortcut and select the “Properties” option.
5. In the properties window, add --ie-mode-test at the end of the path in the “target” field. Make sure that there is a space between the existing path and the flag you are adding. Click on the “Ok” button to save changes.
6. After adding the flag, open the Edge browser by double-clicking on the shortcut. After opening the browser and go to the website you regularly open with Internet Explorer. Next, click on the Menu icon (three horizontal dots) appearing on the top right corner and select “More tools → Open Sites in Internet Explorer mode” option.
7. That is it. The website(s) will open in Internet Explorer mode. The Edge browser will show the Internet Explorer icon whenever you are in IE mode. Click on the IE icon and you can see the compatibility mode details.
Wrapping Up
As you can, the new Internet Explorer mode in the Edge browser is pretty handy if you are visiting old and IE-specific sites and services. If you are managing multiple systems then I recommend you follow the Group Policy method. Microsoft created a pretty simple document detailing all the necessary steps. Do check out the official documentation.
If you want to revet the change and disable Internet Explorer mode, follow the same steps but select “Default” in step 2 and remove the flag in step 5.
I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
