Microsoft Chrome-based browser gets IE compatibility mode

Most people want Internet Explorer to go away as quickly as possible, but sadly there's still a lot of corporate code that needs Microsoft's old browser. These sites and web apps are totally outdated, but they still work so companies see no reason to spend a lot of money to migrate to a new platform. This is the reason why the software giant is developed an Internet Explorer compatibility mode for its new Chromium-based Edge browser.

In a new blog post, Microsoft explains they're currently rolling out the IE mode to testers:

One of the features available for evaluation is Internet Explorer mode, a feature that integrates IE11 natively into Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer mode allows users to navigate seamlessly from a modern web application to one that requires legacy HTML or plugins. You’ll no longer need a “two-browser” solution.

We know that most of our customers are using IE11 in their environments. One thing that our customers made clear to us is that their web apps that rely on IE11 tend to be critical to many of their business processes. The apps work well and don’t change, which allows customers to focus their IT resources on other problem areas. Any solution we provide would need to just work with their sites.

The team designed Internet Explorer mode to meet that need, with a goal of 100% compatibility with sites that work today in IE11, including full support for IE’s doc modes, as well as ActiveX controls, like Silverlight and Browser Helper Objects (BHOs). In addition, Internet Explorer mode appears visually like it’s just a part of the next Microsoft Edge, providing users with the latest UI features, like a smarter address bar and new tab page, and greater privacy controls for the modern web.

By leveraging the Enterprise mode site list that many customers have already built and deployed to support the two-browser solution, IT professionals can enable users of the next Microsoft Edge to simply navigate to IE11-dependent sites and they will just work. Navigating back to a modern site will be seamless. No need for a separate window or tab.