"Display intranet sites in Compatibility View" setting in IE8 is disabled

Regarding browser mode, IE8/9 is supposed to be configured by default to:

1. Render all intranet pages in compatibility mode (falling back to either IE7 "standards mode" or IE5.5 "quirks mode" rendering dependeing on whether or not there is DOCTYPE declared)
2. Automatically identify intranet urls to decide when to fallback

These settings can be configured in:

1. Tools > Compatibility View Settings > "Display intranet sites in Compatibility View" -checkbox
2. Tools > Internet Options > Security -tab > Local intranet > Sites -button. Under popup there are checkboxes to configure the automatic resolution.

In my browser, the "Display intranet sites in Compatibility View" -checkbox is disabled and I cannot turn it on. Why is it disabled and how can I turn it on? By disabled I mean the checkbox is grayed out, so it cannot be enabled.

2 Answers

If this is a work computer it may be set by your company's IT staff via group policies.

"There are approximately 1300 Group Policies for managing Windows® Internet Explorer® 8" including settings for "Turn off Compatibility View", and "Turn on Internet Explorer Standards Mode for Local Intranet".

You could probably determine which registry entry this policy sets, and if you have permission change it on your computer via RegEdit. But, if it is controlled by GP it will get reset the next time the group policy refreshes (about once an hour).

Even though techie007's answer sets you on the right track, I still had to do some research.

Based on the URL he provided (and I did this for IE10, so it most likely applies to any version above 8), what I did was:

1. Windows Key + R
2. type: gpedit.msc and hit enter
3. Expand and navigate to: Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer
4. Double click on Compatibility View
5. Right click on "Turn on Internet Explorer Standards Mode for local intranet".
6. Set it to "Disabled".

This will uncheck the checkbox, but it still remains disabled. I haven't found a way to control the checkbox state yet, but this at least allows you to control whether it is checked or not.

It would look like this: