Microsoft Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

IT Asset Management does not support compatibility mode for any version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. For this reason, the central web application server issues a response header X-UA-Compatible:IE=edge which tells Internet Explorer to display content in the highest mode available.

However, there are a number of conditions where Internet Explorer may ignore this header, including:

• The version of Internet Explorer is earlier than 8.0 (the first which supported the header)
• The user may select compatibility mode manually
• A corporate policy in favor of compatibility mode for other, older applications may be enforced by Active Directory Group Policy.

Because compatibility mode is not supported, IT Asset Management detects compatibility mode (when the response header has been ignored), and displays an informative warning. This warning allows an individual user who has manually selected compatibility mode to correct the setting.

In an Active Directory environment, administrators can determine the sites for which compatibility mode is required. This means that the IT group can ensure that existing legacy applications and web pages are rendered in the legacy engine; but allows modern applications top operate as intended (as Microsoft writes, "edge mode is the preferred document mode; it represents the highest support for modern standards available to the browser").

If Group Policy is not in use, the individual user can configure which sites require compatibility mode:

1. In Internet Explorer, press the ALT key to bring up the menu bar for the browser.
2. Click Tools.
3. Click Compatibility View Settings.
4. Ensure that the check box Display all the websites in Compatibility View is cleared.
5. Add websites that do require compatibility mode to the list of Websites you've added to Compatibility View.

If none of the above are appropriate for your corporate guidelines, an option of last resort may be to use a different browser for modern applications, reserving Internet Explorer in compatibility mode for legacy applications.