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User interface problems with Internet Explorer 11

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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.

Some of the features in both Internet Explorer 11 and IEAK 11 have moved around. Here are some of the more common changes.

Where did features go in the Internet Explorer Customization Wizard 11?

Various installation or set up choices can prevent you from seeing certain pages in the Internet Explorer Customization Wizard 11. If, after going through the entire Wizard you still haven't found the screen you were looking for, try:

  • Making sure you picked the right version of IEAK 11 during installation. Most administrators should pick the Internal version, which has more screens and options available.

  • Making sure you picked all of the features you wanted from the Feature Selection page of the IE Customization Wizard 11. If you don't pick a feature, the associated page won't appear.

Where are the security zone settings?

You can see your security zone settings by opening Internet Explorer for the desktop, clicking Internet Options from the Tools menu, and then clicking Security.

Where did the Favorites, Command, and Status bars go?

For IE11, the UI has been changed to provide just the controls needed to support essential functionality, hiding anything considered non-essential, such as the Favorites Bar, Command Bar, Menu Bar, and Status Bar. This is intended to help focus users on the content of the page, rather than the browser itself. However, if you want these bars to appear, you can turn them back on using Group Policy settings.

To turn the toolbars back on

  • Right click in the IE toolbar heading and choose to turn on the Command bar, Favorites bar, and Status bar from the menu.

    -OR-

    In IE, press ALT+V to show the View menu, press T to enter the Toolbars menu, and then press:

    • C to turn on the Command Bar

    • F to turn on the Favorites Bar

    • S to turn on the Status Bar

Where did the search box go?

IE11 uses the One Box feature, which lets users type search terms directly into the Address bar. Any text entered into the Address bar that doesn't appear to be a URL is automatically sent to the currently selected search provider.

Note

Depending on how you've set up your intranet search, the text entry might resolve to an intranet site. For more information about this, see Intranet problems with Internet Explorer 11.