Disable the Compatibility View mode of Internet Explorer

RELATED TO:

AUTHOR: Rumen Zhekov

DATE POSTED: September 28, 2018

HOW-TO

Disable the Compatibility View mode of Internet Explorer
 

DESCRIPTION

The Compatibility mode of Internet Explorer renders the page as in IE7. This browser is no longer supported neither by Microsoft, nor by the Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX components which are HTML5 and CSS3 based.

If you experience styling or functional problems in Internet Explorer, the first thing to check is whether the page is rendered in compatibility mode (IE7 mode). This can be done by showing the console with F12 and executing the following JS line in it:

alert(document.documentMode);

Another way is to go to the Emulation tab and check the value of the Document Mode and User Agent String. If the values point to 7 or IE7 than the browser is placed in compatibility mode.

If this is the case, you will need to disable the compatibility and force the browser in its native mode.
 

SOLUTION

There are a couple of ways to disable the compatibility mode:

  • add an X-UA Compatible meta tag to your page: 
     

    <head id="Head1" runat="server">
        <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" />
    ...

     

  • Set it as an HTTP response header in the IIS settings as explained in Microsoft's article How to add a custom HTTP response header to a Web site that is hosted by IIS.

  • Another option to set the response header is through your web.config: 

    <system.webServer>
        <httpProtocol>
          <customHeaders>
            <add name="X-UA-Compatible" value="IE=edge" />
          </customHeaders>
        </httpProtocol>
    </system.webServer>

     

  • If the compatibility mode is enabled by a group policy - speak with your local administrators so they enforce this checkbox rule as a group policy.  This is needed because when the Compatibility mode is enabled by a Group Policy setting, the X-UA Compatible meta tag is ignored.

More Resources

  • Forums

    Find answers to thousands of questions or reach out to our active community.

  • Demos

    Browse 1,200+ demos with source code covering basic and advanced scenarios.

  • Sample Applications

    Learn how to integrate the controls in real-world examples.

  • Feedback Portal

    Vote and follow the features you want to see added to Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX.

  • User Voice

    Get answers directly from the people who build the product.

  • Documentation

    Benefit from detailed help articles and API references for all controls.

  • Knowledge Base

    Learn how to achieve common scenarios from a multitude of tutorials and working examples.

  • Code Library

    Browse sample projects submitted by Telerik staff and community members.

  • Blog

    Stay up-to-date with the latest functionality, how-to articles and industry trends.

  • Release History

    Up-to-date release notes for all new features and improvements.