Internet Explorer Developer Channel FAQ

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Here are some answers to several of the questions that we’ve been asked about the Internet Explorer Developer Channel.

Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting

Q: Where do I get Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

Downloads are available for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 customers running Internet Explorer 11.

Q: What Operating Systems are supported?

A: Internet Explorer Developer Channel is supported on Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows 8.1 Update. Internet Explorer Developer Channel is not supported on Server SKUs like Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012.

Q: What prerequisites do I need to install Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: Internet Explorer Developer Channel works on computers running:

  • Windows 8.1 Update: No prerequisites to install Internet Explorer Developer Channel.
  • Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (SP1): Requires the following prerequisites before you can install Internet Explorer Developer Channel:

Q: I got a "fatal error during installation" message while trying to install. How do I solve this?

A: Restarting your machine will typically resolve this issue. Please restart your machine and try installing again.

Q: Why is my Internet Explorer Developer Channel installation failing because of the App-V Client?

A: If you already have an App-V Client running on your computer, we stop the installation of the Internet Explorer Developer Channel. This is because this release of the Developer Channel installs another version of the App-V Client and could potentially break your other App-V Client apps.

If you are not an enterprise customer and you saw this error message while trying to install Internet Explorer Developer Channel after a prior failed attempt, you may need to uninstall the App-V Client using the Uninstall or change a program tool. Then try installing Internet Explorer Developer Channel again.

Q: How do I uninstall the Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: From the Uninstall or change a program tool, right-click on Internet Explorer Developer Channel, and then click uninstall. Do not uninstall the App-V Client program before attempting to uninstall Internet Explorer Developer Channel, as it may block the Internet Explorer Developer Channel uninstall.

Q: Why can’t I uninstall the Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: You should be able to uninstall the Internet Explorer Developer Channel from the Uninstall or change a program dialog box in the Control Panel. Please make sure that you have closed all Internet Explorer Developer Channel windows before attempting to uninstall. If this doesn't work, restart your computer and try again.

Q: I tried restarting but I still can’t uninstall the Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: If you tried restarting your machine and you still can’t uninstall the Internet Explorer Developer Channel, it’s likely that some components required for the uninstall are missing or another application is trying to use App-V Client and is blocking its uninstall. Please follow the steps below:

  • Open Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges. The easiest way to do this is to search for PowerShell in the Start Menu, right-click, and then click Run as administrator.
  • Run the following commands one line at a time:
    • Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope Process
    • $regkey = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\microsoft\Appv\Client\Virtualization"
    • Set-ItemProperty $regkey -name EnableDynamicVirtualization -value 0
    • Set-ItemProperty $regkey -name ProcessesUsingVirtualComponents -value ""
  • Restart your machine.
  • Try to uninstall Internet Explorer Developer Channel from theUninstall or change a program dialog box in the Control Panel.
  • If uninstallation fails, open Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges and run the following commands:
    • Import-Module appvclient
    • $packagePath = $env:ProgramData + '\Package Cache\{4BE37C1D-4D90-432A-8E70-A46CABC26247}v5.1.4099.0'
    • Add-AppvClientPackage "$packagePath\IEDC.appv" -DynamicDeploymentConfiguration "$packagePath\IEDC_DeploymentConfig.xml" | Publish-AppvClientPackage
    • $packagePath
  • Uninstall the Internet Explorer Developer Channel from the Uninstall or change a program in the Control Panel.

Q: Didn't I install WebDriver with Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: Yes, but it was not activated. Once WebDriver is activated, any program that knows how to access it can control your browser. To make sure no one is surprised by their browser being controlled unexpectedly, the current version of WebDriver needs to be activated manually. To do that, follow these steps:

  • Open a command prompt with administrator privileges. The easiest way to do this is press the WINDOWS LOGO KEY + X for the Quick Link menu, then press A to select the "Command Prompt (Admin)" option.

    A User Account Control prompt will ask you to confirm you want to let the command prompt make changes to your computer. Approve it and a command prompt window will open.

  • Navigate to where the Internet Explorer Developer Channel installer placed the WebDriver library:

    cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\IEDCWebDriver

  • Register the IEDCWebDriver.dll file:

    regsvr32 IEDCWebDriver.dll

  • Open Internet Explorer Developer Channel. Open Internet Options from the Tools menu, select the Security tab, and near the bottom of the tab, check the check box next to Enable Protected Mode. Do this for both the Internet and Local intranet zones. Apply the new setting.

Known Issues

Q: What are some of the known issues with Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: There are a number of known issues, including:

  • Opening a file or running an installer may fail in Internet Explorer Developer Channel because of App-V Client virtualization. Instead, we suggest using Internet Explorer 11 to open files or run installers.
  • Using an HTML select drop-down in Internet Explorer 11 when Internet Explorer Developer Channel is running may cause Internet Explorer Developer Channel to hang or crash.
  • Clearing browsing history may cause a momentary hang after first installing Internet Explorer Developer Channel. This issue will stop occurring after you restart your machine.
  • Internet Explorer Developer Channel will use the Internet Explorer 11 icon if you select the Use small taskbar buttons option in the Taskbar and Navigation properties. As it will be easy to confuse Internet Explorer 11 and Internet Explorer Developer Channel, we recommend you either don't use small taskbar buttons or use the shortcut on your desktop instead.
  • App-V Client virtualization causes some performance issues for Internet Explorer Developer Channel. We don’t recommend that you use this release of the Internet Explorer Developer Channel to measure your site performance.
  • Due to App-V Client virtualization some settings, Search Providers, extensions, and other configurations may not be shared or synchronized between Internet Explorer 11 and Internet Explorer Developer Channel.
  • When attempting to export a session from the Memory Tool, you will see an Open dialog instead of a Save As dialog, even though you can save files with that dialog.

Q: Why won't websites load in Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: We've seen cases where antimalware software will block Internet Explorer Developer Channel from accessing sites. Please disable your antimalware software and try again again or add Internet Explorer Developer Channel to the your antimalware software's exception list.

Using Internet Explorer Developer Channel

Q: What’s new in this Internet Explorer Developer Channel build?

The DC1 version of Internet Explorer Developer Channel includes support for WebDriver, Gamepad, and WebGL and F12 developer tool improvements.

WebDriver -- The emerging W3C standard, WebDriver API is part of a toolkit that lets you develop and run complex user scenarios, using automation for quick and efficient testing. For more info about setting up a WebDriver, go to WebDriver Setup.

Gamepad -- The emerging W3C standard, Gamepad API lets you use JavaScript to add gamepad support to your web apps and games. You can try it out by attaching your Xbox 360 controller and helping the world Escape from XP.

WebGL -- We’ve made improvements to our WebGL support, by improving our general performance and conformity. Specifically, we’ve added Instancing extension, 16-bit textures, GLSL built-in variables, and Triangle fans. For more info about these features, see the WebGL Updates in Developer Channel page.

F12 developer tools -- We’ve made several improvements to the Console, Debugger, DOM Explorer, Shell, UI Responsiveness, and Memory tools of our F12 developer tools in this release.

Q: How do I know what’s new in the latest Developer Channel?

A: You can always go to the Internet Explorer Developer Channel page to learn more about the latest features in the Internet Explorer Developer Channel. To see the latest standards support, go to the Platform Status page. You can also see updated information for the Internet Explorer Developer Channel in the Internet Explorer Dev Center.

Q: How do I submit feedback to the new features?

A: We welcome everyone to try out our new features and give us feedback on any issues. We actively check Microsoft Connect for your feedback. Just make sure that when you fill out your bug that you check the Internet Explorer Developer Channel box in the form. That way we know it’s an issue with the Developer Channel.

Q: Is Internet Explorer Developer Channel virtualized?

A: Yes, this release of Internet Explorer Developer Channel uses App-V Client to virtualize and run independently of Internet Explorer 11. Using virtualization like this can create a small performance hit, so we don’t recommend using this release of Internet Explorer Developer Channel to measure your site’s performance.

Q: Will the Internet Explorer Developer Channel always use App-V Client?

A: We will continue to evaluate our options for future releases.

Q: Can I use App-V Client to virtualize an older version of Internet Explorer?

A: No. While Internet Explorer Developer Channel uses App-V Client to run independently of Internet Explorer, the Internet Explorer team had to make many very specific code changes to ensure Internet Explorer Developer Channel didn’t break Internet Explorer 11 functionality. Trying to virtualize an older version of Internet Explorer through App-V is unsupported and likely to break Internet Explorer or Windows functionality. For more information, see https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2020599.

Q: Will the Internet Explorer team virtualize older or newer versions of Internet Explorer through App-V Client?

A: We have no plans to virtualize older or newer versions of Internet Explorer through App-V Client. Instead, we recommend you use the Enterprise Mode feature of Internet Explorer 11. Enterprise Mode is a compatibility mode designed for Enterprises. This mode lets websites render using a modified browser configuration that’s designed to avoid the common compatibility problems associated with web apps written and tested on older versions of Internet Explorer, like Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8. For more information, see Turn on Enterprise Mode and use a site list.

Q: Should I deploy this version of the Internet Explorer Developer Channel in my enterprise?

A: No. If you have an existing App-V Client installed, you shouldn’t deploy this release of Internet Explorer Developer Channel to your enterprise.

Q: Can I run the Internet Explorer Developer Channel in the immersive experience?

A: No. The Internet Explorer Developer Channel is only supported in the desktop experience.

Q: Can I make the Internet Explorer Developer Channel my default browsing experience?

A: No. You can’t change your settings in the Programs tab of Internet Options of the Internet Explorer Developer Channel, so you can’t make this your default experience.

Q: Is there a compatibility list for Internet Explorer Developer Channel?

A: Yes. The Internet Explorer Developer Channel uses the same XML-based compatibility list as Internet Explorer 11.