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internet-explorerasp-classicmicrosoft-edge

Remove "You're in Internet Explorer mode" from Edge

Note: This may be the wrong StackExchange site for this, but I'm starting out looking for programming/server solutions, and I'm most familiar with StackOverflow.

We are a travel company with a classic ASP application that we have been running since 2003, that requires Internet Explorer. Last summer, we finally signed up for an SaaS system, which we hoped to have implemented by January 1. However, they just told us that the (new) parts we need won't be ready for 9-12 months, and implementing the new system is going to take 4-5 months beyond that.

I was looking into Edge as a bandaid over that time period, because it is better about handling old code/activex than it used to be. It almost works, but the system is built with popups and frames, with a few iFrames thrown in. (Yes, Frames, not just iFrames.) Every time we do a report, or search, or anything that requires a popup, it adds this to the top: [![enter image description here][1]][1] [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/qsoCB.png

Every report shows that information. Every control panel (for editing the report) shows that option. It makes it a non-viable option for us; EVERY report, you've got to close that insert twice, once in the editing panel for the report - otherwise, you can't even see the controls - and once in the report itself. And that is not the only place they are appearing, only the most egregious.

Is there a change to the meta tag I can add to make that go away? Currently it is set to <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=5">. Is there something I can change on the server? Something in the app? Something in Edge? I'm having no luck whatsoever, and Googling didn't help.

Solution

  • A long while later, here are the steps we took. YMMV. The computers were Windows 10 Pro. Home doesn't have Group Policy Editor, and we haven't yet tried this on Windows 11. Some of these items are surely not necessary; I just copied them from a computer that I finally got to work correctly:

    I created a sites.xml file, and put in in the root of the c: drive. The contents of ours were something like this:

    <site-list version="5">
<site url="example.com">
<compat-mode>IE5</compat-mode>
<open-in allow-redirect="true">IE11</open-in>
</site>
<site url="www.example.com">
<compat-mode>IE5</compat-mode>
<open-in allow-redirect="true">IE11</open-in>
</site>
</site-list>

    • I downloaded this version of Edge - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download - and installed it. (It installs over the top of the existing version.) Also, the GPE templates you need are on that website, below the download link for each version.

    • Put the template files ending in .admx into the c:/windows/policydefinitions folder. Put the files ending in .adml into the c:/windows/policydefinitions/en-US folder.

    • Open Group Policy editor

    • Here is a list of items we changed in Group Policy Editor

    (Again, I don't think that all of these are necessary, because one set likely overrides the other, but it worked and I was tired of messing with it.)

    Where                               Setting                                                                        State     Path                                    Notes  
User      Administrative Templates  Allow access to the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool                     Enabled   \Microsoft Edge                         Enable
User      Administrative Templates  Allow sites configured for Internet Explorer mode to open in Microsoft Edge    Disabled  \Microsoft Edge                         Disable    
User      Administrative Templates  Configure Internet Explorer integration                                        Enabled   \Microsoft Edge                         Enable and set to: Internet Explorer Mode
User      Administrative Templates  Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List                                        Enabled   \Microsoft Edge                         Enable and set to: c:\sites.xml
User      Administrative Templates  Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List                                        Enabled   \Windows Components\Microsoft Edge      Enable and set to: c:\sites.xml
Computer  Administrative Templates  Allow access to the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool                     Enabled   \Microsoft Edge                         Enable 
Computer  Administrative Templates  Allow sites configured for Internet Explorer mode to open in Microsoft Edge    Disabled  \Microsoft Edge                         Disable    
Computer  Administrative Templates  Configure Internet Explorer integration                                        Enabled   \Microsoft Edge                         Enable and set to: Internet Explorer Mode
Computer  Administrative Templates  Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List                                        Enabled   \Microsoft Edge                         Enable and set to: c:\sites.xml
Computer  Administrative Templates  Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List                                        Enabled   \Windows Components\Microsoft Edge      Enable and set to: c:\sites.xml
Computer  Administrative Templates  Use the Enterprise Mode IE website list                                        Enabled   \Windows Components\Internet Explorer   Enable and set to: c:\sites.xml
Computer  Administrative Templates  Select the target Feature Update version                                       Enabled   \Windows Components\Windows Update\Windows Update for Business Optional: Blocks Windows 11 upgrade. Target Version for Feature Upgrades:   21H2
    • Load Edge
    • In Edge, go to edge://compat/enterprise
    • Click Force Update (which should show the sites.xml file)
    • The website from your sites XML file should show below.

    At this point, our websites appeared in Edge, worked properly, and didn't show the stupid message. Hopefully this helps someone. :)