Does Windows Edge browser drop the Compatibility mode?

Question

We've been using the x-ua-compatible meta tag in our html, in IE, to force the client to IE-9.

Will this no longer work?

This article would suggest the meta tag will not be ignored and forced to the new Edge mode.

http://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2014/11/11/living-on-the-edge-our-next-step-in-helping-the-web-just-work/

Answer 1

That article is old and Microsoft has changed their stance later (approx. February-March). Edge will not be burdened with IE compatibility features. It will only have the one rendering engine.

If you need IE9 specific features you'll have to use IE11 which will be included in Windows 10 for such legacy purposes.

Answer 2

In MS Edge there won't be different document modes any more. Edge will always use the currently up to date / "living" document mode (as stated in the blog post you mentioned).

There are several more older technologies like ActiveX that are not supported in MS Edge. There is a list on http://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2015/05/06/a-break-from-the-past-part-2-saying-goodbye-to-activex-vbscript-attachevent/

The list also has an explanation for each technology. For example "Document modes":

Why it existed: Starting with IE8, Internet Explorer introduced a new “document mode” with every release. These document modes could be requested via the x-ua-compatible header to put the browser into a mode which emulates legacy versions.

Why we don’t need it anymore: Similar to other modern browsers, Microsoft Edge will have a single “living” document mode. In order to minimize the compatibility burden, features will be tested behind switches in about:flags until they are stable and ready to be turned on by default.

You can find more information on this topic on https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn904497%28v=vs.85%29.aspx

In Microsoft Edge, developer-initiated switching of the document mode via the x-ua-compatible header will be ignored on most Internet sites and they will be rendered with the EdgeHTML engine.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Yes, Edge does drop Compatibility Mode. You can choose to view certain sites in IE, instead. For me, I don't want to run multiple browsers. So, until MS decides to make put users first, I'll be sticking with IE.