Add single sites to the Enterprise Mode site list using the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager (schema v.1)

Caution

Update: The retired, out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 desktop application has been permanently disabled through a Microsoft Edge update on certain versions of Windows 10. For more information, see Internet Explorer 11 desktop app retirement FAQ.

Applies to:

  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 7
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

Enterprise Mode is a compatibility mode that runs on Internet Explorer 11, letting websites render using a modified browser configuration that’s designed to emulate either Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Windows Internet Explorer 8, avoiding the common compatibility problems associated with web apps written and tested on older versions of Internet Explorer.

Important
You can only add specific URLs, not Internet or Intranet Zones.

Note
If you need to include a lot of sites, instead of adding them one at a time, you can create a list of websites and add them all at the same time. For more information, see Add multiple sites to the Enterprise Mode site list using a file and the Windows 7 and 8.1 Enterprise Mode Site List Manager.

Adding a site to your compatibility list

You can add individual sites to your compatibility list by using the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager.

Note
If you're using the v.2 version of the Enterprise Mode schema, you'll need to use the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager (schema v.1). For more info, see Add sites to the Enterprise Mode site list using the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager (schema v.2).

To add a site to your compatibility list using the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager (schema v.1)

  1. In the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager (schema v.1), click Add.

  2. Type the URL for the website that’s experiencing compatibility problems, like <domain>.com or <domain>.com/<path> into the URL box.

    Don't include the https:// or https:// designation. The tool automatically tries both versions during validation.

  3. Type any comments about the website into the Notes about URL box.

    Administrators can only see comments while they’re in this tool.

  4. Choose IE7 Enterprise Mode, IE8 Enterprise Mode, or the appropriate document mode for sites that must be rendered using the emulation of a previous version of IE, or pick Default IE if the site should use the latest version of IE.

The path within a domain can require a different compatibility mode from the domain itself. For example, the domain might look fine in the default IE11 browser, but the path might have problems and require the use of Enterprise Mode. If you added the domain previously, your original compatibility choice is still selected. However, if the domain is new, IE8 Enterprise Mode is automatically selected.

Enterprise Mode takes precedence over document modes, so sites that are already included in the Enterprise Mode site list won’t be affected by this update and will continue to load in Enterprise Mode, as usual. For more specific info about using document modes, see Fix web compatibility issues using document modes and the Enterprise Mode site list.

  1. Click Save to validate your website and to add it to the site list for your enterprise.

    If your site passes validation, it’s added to the global compatibility list. If the site doesn’t pass validation, you’ll get an error message explaining the problem. You’ll then be able to either cancel the site or ignore the validation problem and add it to your list anyway.

  2. On the File menu, go to where you want to save the file, and then click Save to XML.

    You can save the file locally or to a network share. However, you must make sure you deploy it to the location specified in your registry key. For more information about the registry key, see Turn on local control and logging for Enterprise Mode.

Next steps

After you’ve added all of your sites to the tool and saved the file to XML, you can configure the rest of the Enterprise Mode functionality to use it. You can also turn Enterprise Mode on locally, so your users have the option to use Enterprise Mode on individual websites from the Tools menu. For more information, see Turn on local control and logging for Enterprise Mode.