IE10 is a
new browsing experience built in lockstep with Windows 8 to give you all the
advantages that Metro style applications offer. We built that experience by extending
IE’s underlying architecture to provide a fast, fully hardware accelerated browsing
engine with strong security and support for HTML5 and other Web standards. IE10
also includes a desktop experience for when you are using desktop tools and wish
to continue using them in your existing workflows.
Following last September’s release of the Windows 8 Developer Preview, we heard a
lot about giving you the option to control which experience of Internet Explorer—Metro
style or on the desktop —to launch when clicking a link in another application.
In the Windows Consumer Preview, IE10 offers you that control.
By default, Windows 8 Consumer Preview opens links using the flavor of Internet Explorer
that matches your current environment: if you’re running a Metro style application,
following a link launches Metro style IE10; if you’re running a desktop application,
following a link launches IE10 on the desktop. You can override this default behavior using
the Programs tab of the Internet Properties dialog.
You can locate these settings quickly by using the Start screen’s search capability
and searching for terms such as “links,” “launch,” or “open links.” Show below is
the result of search for the term “launch.”
The following sections describe the available settings.
Opening Links
The first setting of the Browser Launch Settings (labeled “Choose how you open links”)
controls what happens when you click a link in another program. Your choices include:
| Options for Opening Links | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Let Internet Explorer decide | Launch links based on the environment you are in |
| Always in Internet Explorer | Launch links in the Windows 8 (Metro style) environment |
| Always in Internet Explorer on the desktop | Launch links in the desktop environment |
The default for this setting is “Let Internet Explorer decide.” In other words, links
will launch into the appropriate experience based on the invoking context—desktop
or Metro style. Links will open in the desktop IE10 when a link is clicked from
a desktop application, for example, Microsoft Word, and in Metro style IE10 when
a link is opened from a Metro style application.
Opening Internet Explorer from the Start Screen
In addition to controlling how Windows opens links, the Browser Launch Settings also
provide users with options on how Internet Explorer application tiles launch from the Start
screen. Internet Explorer’s application tile is the default launching point for
the browser on the Start screen. You create pinned site tiles when you pin sites
to the Start screen. The setting “Open Internet Explorer tiles on the desktop” controls
what happens when you click the Internet Explorer or pinned site tile.
| Options for opening Internet Explorer Tiles | Expected behavior |
|---|---|
| (unchecked) | Launch in the Windows 8 (Metro style) environment |
| (checked) | Launch in the desktop environment |
Launch Options and Browser Defaults
IE10 is available in both Metro style and desktop experiences when it is the default
browser. If Internet Explorer is not your default browser, only desktop IE is available
and you cannot change IE’s Browser Launch Settings. The “Choose how you open links”
option on the Programs tab of the Internet Properties dialog will be disabled (“grayed
out”) when IE is not the default browser:
To change the default browser, type “default” on the Windows 8 Start screen. The Start screen will search apps,
settings, and files for this term. The Apps results will include Default Programs.
Touch or click it to bring up the Default Programs control panel item. From its
list of options, select “Set your default programs” to display a page containing
a list of programs on the left.
Select “Internet Explorer” and then click or touch “Set this program as default.”
This will set IE10 as the default browser on Windows 8 and enable its Metro style
experience.
Conclusion
IE10 offers you a full-screen, immersive site experience. We’ve found that many people
– even those with the most enthusiastic and intense browsing patterns – prefer Metro
style browsing because it’s less manual and more focused on what you browse than
on how you browse. That said, for some browsing, IE on the desktop continues to
play an important role. The Browser Launch Settings allow you to change the default
settings for a “no
compromises” experience.
Try out these settings, and let us know what you think. We look forward to your feedback
here and on Connect.
—Kevin Luu, Program Manager, Internet Explorer