Change FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION registry key - VB.NET

Question

We have a WPF app that uses the browser control. As this emulates an older version of IE most sites do not render correctly.

By adding a registry key of 'OurApp.exe' and a value of 11000 to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION\ it then works perfectly.

The question is - how can I detect the current setting (if there is one) and change it if required from within the app using VB.NET?

I can return the current version of IE on the local machine using

Public Function ReturnIEVersion() As String
    Try
        Dim vVersionO As Object = New System.Windows.Forms.WebBrowser().Version
        Dim vVersion As String = vVersionO.ToString
        Return vVersion
    Catch ex As Exception
        EmailError(ex)
        Return "Error"
    End Try
End Function

Then I just need to compare that to any existing entry and update if required, and I assume a method to determine if the local machine is 64 or 32 bit (as the registry paths will be different)?

Thank you

Answer 1

This question is a duplicate. The answer here should resolve your problem!

I have converted the code to VB for you:

Private Shared Sub Main()
    If Not mutex.WaitOne(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2), False) Then
        'another application instance is running
        Return
    End If
    Try

        Application.EnableVisualStyles()
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(False)

        Dim targetApplication = Process.GetCurrentProcess().ProcessName + ".exe"
        Dim ie_emulation As Integer = 10000
        Try
            Dim tmp As String = Properties.Settings.[Default].ie_emulation
            ie_emulation = Integer.Parse(tmp)
        Catch
        End Try
        SetIEVersioneKeyforWebBrowserControl(targetApplication, ie_emulation)

        m_webLoader = New FormMain()

        Application.Run(m_webLoader)
    Finally
        mutex.ReleaseMutex()
    End Try
End Sub

Private Shared Sub SetIEVersioneKeyforWebBrowserControl(appName As String, ieval As Integer)
    Dim Regkey As RegistryKey = Nothing
    Try


        Regkey = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION", True)

        'If the path is not correct or 
        'If user't have priviledges to access registry 
        If Regkey Is Nothing Then
            YukLoggerObj.logWarnMsg("Application FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION Failed - Registry key Not found")
            Return
        End If

        Dim FindAppkey As String = Convert.ToString(Regkey.GetValue(appName))

        'Check if key is already present 
        If FindAppkey = "" + ieval Then
            YukLoggerObj.logInfoMsg("Application FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION already set to " + ieval)
            Regkey.Close()
            Return
        End If

        'If key is not present or different from desired, add/modify the key , key value 
        Regkey.SetValue(appName, CInt(ieval), RegistryValueKind.DWord)

        'check for the key after adding 
        FindAppkey = Convert.ToString(Regkey.GetValue(appName))

        If FindAppkey = "" + ieval Then
            YukLoggerObj.logInfoMsg("Application FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION changed to " + ieval + "; changes will be visible at application restart")
        Else
            YukLoggerObj.logWarnMsg("Application FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION setting failed; current value is  " + ieval)



        End If
    Catch ex As Exception

        YukLoggerObj.logWarnMsg("Application FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION setting failed; " + ex.Message)
    Finally
        'Close the Registry 
        If Regkey IsNot Nothing Then
            Regkey.Close()
        End If
    End Try


End Sub