Configuring Edge and IE

With the introduction of Windows 10, Edge is the new default browser on Windows 10. So, you might expect Edge to replace IE 11, but this isn't the case. Windows 10 still has IE 11, but it's there for legacy purposes, such as for web applications that use ActiveX components.

But how different are Edge and IE? Let's explore this in the upcoming sections.

Understanding Edge

Edge is built to be highly compatible as it has modern web standards, such as HTML5, and provides a consistent interface across different Windows 10 devices. Edge's interface is simple and touch-friendly, and it offers a safe and fast browsing experience. Edge is also available on Android and iOS devices.

One of the benefits of the integration between Windows 10 and Edge is the ability to customize Edge for your organization. You can configure these settings through Group Policy or Microsoft Intune. We are not going to look at every setting in this chapter, but we have provided links to these settings at the end of this chapter.

Some of the best features of Edge are as follows:

• Reading View: This presents an attractive, distraction-free layout so that you can concentrate on the page's text.
• Web Notes: This is a feature that allows you to send web pages to OneNote, as well as to make any notations on the page or highlight text.
• Cortana integration: This brings Microsoft's digital assistant to your desktop.
• Pinned tabs: In Microsoft Edge, you can pin tabs to the tab row. They reappear when you close and reopen Microsoft Edge.
• Paste and go: If you copy a link to the clipboard, you can right-click in the address bar and then click Paste and go. This takes Microsoft Edge directly to the site.

Edge is updated through Windows Update, which installs security fixes, product features, group policies, and Mobile Device Management (MDM) settings.

Learning about IE 11

IE 11 is included on Windows 10 to provide backward compatibility for websites that require features that are currently not supported on Edge. IE supports ActiveX, Silverlight, Visual Basic scripting, and older versions of HTML. IE 11 also supports many extensions.

Internet Explorer 11 continues to receive security updates. Bugs are evaluated by Microsoft on a case-by-case basis. Microsoft recommends Microsoft Edge as the default browser and IE 11 for backward compatibility. In the next section, we will look at the Enterprise Mode function of Internet Explorer 11 and Edge. With this functionality, you can configure backward compatibility on Edge and IE 11.

Understanding Enterprise Mode Site Lists

If you have enterprise web apps that use older techniques such as ActiveX, you can use Enterprise Mode. Enterprise Mode redirects websites from Edge to IE 11 so that the user can still use the older web apps.

Enterprise Mode helps you run legacy web applications with better backward compatibility. You can configure Edge and IE 11 to use the same Enterprise Mode site list to switch seamlessly between the two browsers to support both modern and legacy web apps. You can configure the Enterprise Mode site list through Group Policy or Microsoft Intune:

Figure 3.1 - The Enterprise Mode site list settings window in a Group Policy Object

You can find this settings page by going to Group Policy editor | Administrative Templates | Microsoft Edge | Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List.

To configure the Enterprise Mode Site List in Microsoft Intune, take the following steps:

1. Go to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center at https://endpoint.microsoft.com.
2. Click on the Devices | Configuration profiles | Create a Profile option.
3. Then, choose the Windows 10 or later option.
4. After that, choose Device Restrictions for Profile type and click Create.
5. Give the Device Restrictions policy a name and click Next.
6. Then, click on Settings | Microsoft Edge Browser | Start Experience option.

If you scroll down on the Start experience settings page, you will see the Enterprise mode site list location (Desktop only) setting, where you can fill in the path to the exported .xml file, as shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 3.2 - The Enterprise Mode Site List settings in Microsoft Intune policy

As you can see in the previous screenshot, you need to type in a location for the website list, which either takes the form of a .xml file in a file location or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). To generate this .xml file, you need to download and install the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool for Windows 10. You can download the tool from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49974.

In the next section, we will install this tool and create a .xml file that contains links to the web apps we require to run in Enterprise Mode.

Installing Enterprise Mode Site List Manager

As we saw, we need to generate a .xml file by using the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool. So, after downloading the tool (.msi file), install it by following these steps:

1. Run the .msi file and click Next:
   

   Figure 3.3 - Welcome window of Enterprise Mode Site List Manager

2. Now, accept the terms of the license agreement and click Next:
   

   Figure 3.4 - End User License Agreement window

3. Choose your destination folder and click Next:
   

   Figure 3.5 - Destination Folder window

4. After that, click Install on the ready to install page of the setup:
   

   Figure 3.6 - Ready to install page

5. If the User Account Control (UAC) prompts you to run this as an administrator, click Yes:
   

   Figure 3.7 - User Account Control prompt window

6. Now, click Finish:

Figure 3.8 - Finish button on the last page of the setup

Now that you have installed the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool, we can learn how to use it to create a list of compatible web apps.

Using Enterprise Mode Site List Manager

In this section, you will create a .xml file that is populated with individual website domains and domain paths for web apps. We will also specify whether the web app renders using Enterprise Mode or the default mode.

Let's start by launching Enterprise Mode Site List Manager by clicking on the icon on the desktop. Then, follow these steps:

1. After the tool's window opens, click Add to add a website:
   

   Figure 3.9 - Enterprise Mode Site List Manager main page

2. In the URL box, type in the URL for the desired website (do not include http:// or https://):
   

   Figure 3.10 - Adding a new URL

3. In the Compat Mode drop-down list, choose your desired IE mode and click Save:
   

   Figure 3.11 - Choosing a desired IE mode

4. After you have added all the necessary websites, your settings page should look like this:
   

   Figure 3.12 - URLs added on the main page

5. When you are ready, click on File, then click on Save to XML and save it to a central location:
   

   Figure 3.13 - File menu to save to XML

6. Now, you can use the link to the central location from the .xml file and paste it into Group Policy or the corresponding setting in Microsoft Intune.

You now know the difference between Edge and IE 11, as well as how these browsers are used in an organization. You also know how you can create an Enterprise Mode site list with the correct tooling. In the next section, we will learn how to configure several types of login for Windows 10, including biometrical, Windows Hello for Business, and local accounts.