Internet Explorer might not be entirely dead just yet

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Internet Explorer may soon be set for a passage to the graveyard, but developers will be able to feel like they are still using the iconic software thanks to a new launch from its successor, Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft still offers an "Internet Explorer mode" in Chromium-based Edge, but has now released a new tool to allow developers to check whether their legacy websites will still work in the more recent browser.

Internet Explorer Driver allows those organizations or developers that still require the use of Internet Explorer 11 for backward compatibility of business-critical legacy websites or apps to make sure everything is still running smoothly, for now at least.

Internet Explorer Driver

Run alongside (and maintained by) browser automation experts at the Selenium Project, Internet Explorer Driver can be a great help to developers looking to keep legacy websites or apps running that little bit longer, Microsoft says.

"With just a few changes to an existing test that runs against Internet Explorer, you can get your tests running in Internet Explorer (IE) mode in Edge," Zoher Ghadyali, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Edge, wrote in a blog post.

"By running your tests in IE mode, you will be able to verify that any legacy web content that runs in Internet Explorer will work as expected in IE mode in Microsoft Edge."

Internet Explorer Driver supports C#, Python, Java, and JavaScript, and Microsoft says it will be supported until 2029, giving developers more than enough time to ensure their work is stable.

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Microsoft does note that support for Internet Explorer 11 is still set to begin expiring from June 15 2022, and developers and organizations that still depend on the browser should start to transition to Microsoft Edge as soon as possible.

The company has already withdrawn Internet Explorer support for all Microsoft 365 apps, although some may still function via the browser, albeit with users seeing a severely diminished experience.

Even Google Search pulled support for Internet Explorer in October 2021, leaving the browser reliant on its own in-house Bing search, with support for Docs, Sheets, Slides and other Google Workspace apps removed in March 2021.

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Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.