As a webdeveloper, I am obviously required to test the websites I create in the most common A-grade browsers to ensure that they are usable and functional for the majority of the visitors. After switching from Windows to Ubuntu, I soon recognized the need for an Internet Explorer clone to test website for malfunctions. Having a dualboot (Windows and Ubuntu installed on one system) did work for some time, but last week I started looking for a better and faster solution. First I ran into a IEs4Linux, a software package enabling the use of Internet Explorer 5, 5.5 and 6 on Linux (with partial support for Internet Explorer 7 in a two year old beta). While this package might be handy for webdevelopers still supporting antique browsers, I searched further and ran into a Spanish tutorial that enabled me to install Internet Explorer 7 within Ubuntu. Unable to find a good English tutorial, I decided to write my own tutorial using the knowledge from the Spanish version and my installation experiences. By following the steps below, you should be able to run Internet Explorer 7 within Ubuntu without much trouble.
1. Open the Ubuntu Software Center by going to Applications » Ubuntu Software Center. In the new screen, search for ‘PlayOnLinux’ using the searchbox in the upper right corner.
3. Install’PlayOnLinux by clicking on ‘Install’ in the list. Depending on your security settings, your root password might be requested in order to continue. After the PlayOnLinux installation has been completed, you can exit the Ubuntu Software Center (File » Close).
4. Open PlayOnLinux through the menu by going to Applications » Games » PlayOnLinux. In the new screen you should pick the option ‘Install’ to start adding new programs to PlayOnLinux.
5. Select ‘Internet Explorer 7′ in the category ‘Internet’. Note that you can also install ‘Internet Explorer 6′ if you prefer to do so. Click ‘Apply’ to continue the installation.
6. A new screen will pop up which will show some general information about the software you are about to install. Click ‘Forward’ to continue.
7. In the next screen, you will get a notice that the software will prepare the required packages. Click ‘Forward’ to continue and wait for the screen from step 8 to appear.
8. Once preparations have been made, the program informs you that it will download Internet Explorer 7 for you. Again click ‘Forward’.
9. In the new screen you can select the language you want to use within Internet Explorer 7. Select the language you want to use (e.g. English) and click ‘Forward’ to start the download and installation.
10. The program will now download Internet Explorer 7 and start the installation. This new installation wizard will guide you through the setup of Internet Explorer 7. Follow the wizard until the installation is complete; then continue with step 11.
11. When completed, the installation wizard will ask you to reboot your system. You must select ‘Restart now (Recommended)’ here in order to continue, but your system will not reboot (the reboot is only required in Windows).
12. The wizard will be replaced with a new screen in which you can choose the location of Internet Explorer. For this tutorial, I have selected a desktop icon which allows me to open Internet Explorer 7 from an icon on the desktop.
13. Depending on your choice, a menu item or desktop item will be created and you can click ‘Forward’ to complete the installation.
14. Internet Explorer 7 is now installed and you can close the main window of PlayOnLinux (File > Exit).
Installation completed
You can now open Internet Explorer 7 using the new menu item or desktop item and start browsing. Note that the menu item has been created in the submenu Applications > Other. You can of course always change this using the ‘Main Menu Manager’ (System > Preferences > Main Menu).
Update 23/08/2011:
As the PlayOnLinux package seems to be broken every now and then, I had to search for a more reliable method to test my creations in Internet Explorer. Having found one, I just wrote a new blog that explains how you can run Internet Explorer 8 under Ubuntu 11.04 (more stable and reliable than the above method). You can find it here.
J. Rubio
06-07-2010 21:32The IE7 runs very very slow in my playonlinux. Is there something I need to do to get it running faster?
Arno Gideonse
16-07-2010 01:10Sorry for the somewhat late reply due to my stay in Croatia. I just checked my own installation and the program starts in about 4 – 5 seconds. Loading this weblog (homepage) takes about 2 seconds which seems normal. If your loading times exceeds dramatically*, you might want to try reinstalling IE7. In addition, you can try other programs in PlayOnLinux to compare speeds (in other words: to see if PlayOnLinux is the problem / slow).
* I would not consider a few seconds more a big problem as you would not want to use IE7 as a main browser ever on Linux. Also note that ActiveX components will not work and might slow down the loading of the webpage a bit.
Joliea
28-06-2011 11:55ActiveX doesn’t work on IE7 PlayOnLinux?
Arno Gideonse
28-06-2011 12:51ActiveX does not working under Linux in any form as far as I know. ActiveX is ‘Windows only’ and should therefore not be used on (newer) websites. The method described above is meant to use for testing templates (the ‘look’) of the website as Internet Explorer differs rendering of websites compared to other browsers.
Roy Gavilan
20-07-2010 00:59I have installed IE7. Will I be able to play Netflix movies on Linux. I go to Netflix and when I go to the login screen I get “can’t download %ws and login screen never appears.
Arno Gideonse
20-07-2010 03:30Since Netflix uses ActiveX components to stream the movies and other parts of the website, you will not be able to view this website the way it was intended. Please keep in mind that this ‘Linux version’ of Internet Explorer is only able to render normal CSS / HTML so you can view what your template would look like in Internet Explorer and thus debug them. The application should not be used as a default browser under Linux, as there are much better alternatives anyway (FireFox, Chromium etc.).
Roy Gavilan
21-07-2010 00:13Thanks Arno. I knew I was dreaming when I thought I could watch Netflix movies using only Ubuntu and never use Windows again.
17R3W
19-08-2011 20:15Just a week or so ago, they added Linux support. I know it took a year longer than you might have liked, but still … at least it happened.
mark meadows
20-07-2010 17:04Thanks Arno. Saved me a lot of time and hastle!!
Hanan Ali
30-08-2010 07:55Hi, i have installed the PlayOnLinux on my ubuntu 10.04. It is showing me under games menu but i am unable to load this program. I clicked it but nothing happens. Any idea? what i do for this. I have checked in my installed softwares it is also listed there.
Thanks,
Hanan Ali
Arno Gideonse
31-08-2010 11:23Although the application does show in you Software Center, that does not mean that the installation of the application or its dependencies was successful. If the program itself does not start, you might want to try to reinstall it and see if that makes a differences. If that does not work, I recommend you to post on the PlayOnLinux forum (http://www.playonlinux.com/en/forums.html) as there are several experts registered there who can help you solve startup problems with the program better than me.
Yogaraj Khanal
19-09-2010 04:55Hi,
I am not able to browse but not able to open the local html files is there any issue or I am doing something wrong.
Firefox uses this path but ie7 is not able to take it
file:///home/yrkhanal/Ssa/WebContent/htmForms/LocalMain.htm
Thanks,
YK
Arno Gideonse
21-09-2010 13:06That is correct: Internet Explorer is running within its own ‘sandbox’ which resembles a Windows installation and is thus not familiar with your Ubuntu files. You can view the files in the created environment by browsing to ‘C:’ in Internet Explorer.
In order to view local files you can either install a server (e.g. Apache) and use ‘http://127.0.0.1/‘ to browse to your server or you can move the HTML files into the Windows environment (most likely you can do this by going to ‘Wine -> Browse C: Drive’ in the menu).
areille
29-10-2010 04:18Thank you for such detailed instructions. Unfortunately, once downloaded I am unable to open it because it says it is an untrusted application launcher. What now?
Also, I’ve already tried right-clicking, choosing properties, clicking the permissions tab, and checking the “allow executing” button. Although, it changes the icon,when I double click it, nothing happens?!
Arno Gideonse
29-10-2010 22:28The steps described use the software manager to install the required software, thus you should not have to worry about any files to download yourself. After which step in the above tutorial are you stuck?
areille
03-11-2010 21:07I have completed the tutorial and, to my knowledge, successfully downloaded Internet Explorer. However, I am unable to open it. I have an icon for it on my desktop but nothing happens when I click it. . .
Arno Gideonse
04-11-2010 13:59Have you tried using the shortcut in the ‘Applications’-menu (Internet Explorer should be in the submenu ‘Other’)? I installed Internet Explorer 7 on 10.10 (the newest version of Ubuntu) in which it does not work yet (please confirm you have 10.04, not 10.10 by going to Systems -> About Ubuntu) and it executes the following command:
/usr/share/playonlinux/playonlinux –run “Internet Explorer 7″
Maybe that will work if you icon is not working.
Zaman-A-Piri Pasa
07-11-2010 18:05thanks. it works for me.
Jacques van Scheers
08-11-2010 06:40Hi Arno,
bedankt voor de howto!
Groeten uit ZA,
Jacques
Batman
12-11-2010 18:13I have installed the IE7 alright but and its working fine my problem is to get it to stream youtube videos it seems I can’t get Adobe flash player in it.
Please Help!
Am Quite stuck!
Arno Gideonse
15-11-2010 11:35It is not possible to run any ActiveX components within this installation as it is not installed on a full Windows version. Keep in mind that you should only use IE to view your templates (in order to correct IE only bugs) and that you can use the much better alternatives like Chromium and FireFox for daily use.
Ha
20-11-2010 05:29Thank for your guide
CV Template
26-11-2010 06:52Yes, now I have the IE running in my Ubuntu! million thanks for the step by step guidance!
Simeon
17-12-2010 07:14Thank you very much for this.
Rupal
20-01-2011 12:11I am not able to open https site on my network, it gives certificate error: navigation blocked.
In windows / vista we used to click on ” continue anyway”
What to do..?
Arno Gideonse
03-02-2011 07:49Since certificate handling requires running additional background processes, this will not work within this version of IE. As you should only use this installation to view websites (and adapt your HTML / CSS accordingly), I recommend to use a non-secure version of the website.
Zecoelho
02-02-2011 16:49I am looking for a environment where I can test html/css on several browsers so I installed IE7 on Lucid Lynx but I am not able to use sites that require a password. Therefore I can not test the application, since it is login protected. Login fails in different applications, not just the testing one, so I think this might be character set related. Any ideas on how to get around this?
Thanks!
Arno Gideonse
02-02-2011 17:04What kind of login is causing problems? A simple login form or complexer login methods (htaccess, activeX etc.)? Did you try to type the password in a normal ‘text’-field (so you can see if the characters are right)?
Zecoelho
02-02-2011 17:16for my application It’s a simple login, but it also fails when trying to login to the cpanel of my site’s account.
Zecoelho
02-02-2011 18:03also tested password in normal text field – characters are right – but no login!
Arno Gideonse
03-02-2011 07:47I just checked a simple form to see if I could submit and receive data and that worked. In other words: it seems that the login procedure might use some features that are not available in this limited installation of Internet Explorer like sessions or cookies. You might want to try switching between those and see if that works. In addition: do you use any ‘complex’ JavaScript to login?
Zecoelho
02-02-2011 17:18and for clarity it’s a cake application
sudeeran
03-02-2011 04:18hi anna really thanks ie7 working nicely. plz suggest me how to install photoshp7 i am using ubuntu 10.10 desktap edition
Arno Gideonse
03-02-2011 07:35As Photoshop is rather complex it is a program that is usually hard to run with Whine (the software that runs Windows applications within Ubuntu). I did however install an older version (CS2) without much problems a while back, so you might want to try this tutorial to install Photoshop:
http://www.junauza.com/2010/02/how-to-install-adobe-photoshop-on.html
In addition, the following page gives information on Photoshop versions and their bugs / behavior with Whine:
http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?appId=17
michiel
07-03-2011 07:38IE7 does run but it does not execute Javascript! This means that many of the features on my company’s intranet pages (based in SharePoint) do not work! :-((
Hope this can be mended because until then I am forced to look for a true Windows machine for certain activities.
PC. Of course I have looked at the (security) settings in IE7.
Arno Gideonse
07-03-2011 15:17Unfortunately JavaScript and other interactive scripts will not work with this method. The method described in this blog is merely for viewing the lay-out of the page (most webdesigners / developers need a way to check the lay-out in Internet Explorer as websites often look awkward in this browser without additional code). If you want to run websites with full functionality is might be better to use virtualization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtualization).
Xhenthius
08-03-2011 09:34Thanks a lot man!
Mikes meeker
02-04-2011 17:58Hello
i have a security camera system that works well in the IE Explorer using Windows but will not work in Ubuntu because of no support for Active X; do you know whether Active X support may come at a later date or whether i should not have any hopes of it happening; i have switched from Windows to Ubuntu and now, this security camera system has forced me to use Windows and i feel that this is not right because Ubuntu has really won our hearts big time and this may appear to be a “minor” issue to some but it is of quite a bit of importance to us for monitoring the premises using security cameras. Active X appears to be a monopoly that is resistant to Ubuntu; do you know if other Linux systems may support Active X in IE Explorer; thanks!
Arno Gideonse
03-04-2011 11:34ActiveX is also causing lots of security issues within Windows so you should ask yourself if you really want that within Linux. If you really need ActiveX you might be able to install FireFox + Mozilla ActiveX Control (link below) under Wine, but this might not work or compromise your security. An easier solution might be to use a virtual machine within Ubuntu: install for example Windows XP (much smaller than the newer versions) and use this virtual box to open a browser with ActiveX support (see second link).
1st Option: http://www.iol.ie/~locka/mozilla/mozilla.htm
2nd Option: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/10/run-windows-in-a-virtual-machine-using-ubuntu-and-virtualbox/
chandishwar
27-06-2011 10:03i followed your steps but finally i got the .exe version of internet explorer in my desktop. but .exe is not run on ubuntu linux please give me solution.how to run in ubuntu.
Arno Gideonse
28-06-2011 12:49You should not have an EXE-file and run Internet Explorer within PlayInLinux. EXE-files are normally files meant to be run in Windows (or Wine under Linux).
zheal
30-06-2011 15:37Thanks a million. This has being so helpfull.
maan81
11-07-2011 13:40I cannot find ‘Internet Explorer’ (step 5) in Ubuntu Software Center. Do I need to add any extra repositories ?
Arno Gideonse
17-07-2011 13:11You should not look in the Ubuntu Software Center for Internet Explorer, but instead open PlayOnLinux (which you installed in step 3 and opened in step 4) to search for it.
Webmaster
18-07-2011 14:57Loved this post.. Thanks
Ruben.cc
20-07-2011 10:51“…to test website for malfunctions.”
You mean of course:
“…to test websites for 100% compliant code that gets Internet Explorer to misbehave.”
Very useful and educational post nonetheless, thanks for that! :-)
christian
28-07-2011 14:50Enjoyed it. Thank you!!!
Ravi Kumar
16-08-2011 11:46Hi,
I install PlayOnLinux on ubuntu10.10. but i could not able to run the IE-7. Do i need to install any other application?
Arno Gideonse
20-08-2011 23:19Under Ubuntu 10.10 I had problems installing IE7 (or at least making it work correctly) that were not present with version 10.04. As I now use the newest Ubuntu (11.04) I can only test it there and it seems not to be working correctly with PlayOnLinux 4.0+. However, PlayOnLinux might update the package for this version at any time since it’s the newest version currently available, so it _might_ be fixed soon. Your best option is thus to upgrade to the newest Ubuntu if a reinstall of PlayOnLinux does not fix your problem and wait for the devs of PlayOnLinux to fix the package.
On a side note, I figured out that you need a Gecko package which is available for Ubuntu 11.04 to. You should open a terminal and execute the following lines to install this package if PlayOnLinux 4.0 does not automatically do this for you (it does give you the option to do so):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine1.2-gecko
Arno Gideonse
23-08-2011 16:06I just wrote a new article that uses a virtual environment to run Windows / IE for testing purposes. Since the above method did not work for you, you might find this one useful: http://weblog.scanyours.com/2011/08/23/howto-run-internet-explorer-8-under-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-using-virtualbox/
pankaj
20-09-2011 12:24Arno it didn’t worked with my system. The screen is going blank when i select internet explorer
Arno Gideonse
20-09-2011 12:30The package is currently broken (see the update at the bottom of the article) so I wrote a new article using an alternative and more stable method: http://weblog.scanyours.com/2011/08/23/howto-run-internet-explorer-8-under-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-using-virtualbox/ . As you can run IE8 in compatibility mode, you will also be able to test IE7. Hope this helps.
Amir
24-09-2011 18:43thanks Arno for your guide
I installed the playonlinux then IE7 but it couldn’t open Security page and the following message is displayed
“there is a problem with this websites security certificate”
site Address is “https://reg1.pnu.ac.ir/Forms/AuthenticateUser/setcid.aspx?cid=7e408a33-db82-4f59-a42b-d60317aba741″
Arno Gideonse
03-10-2011 22:15Sorry for the late reply; as you can see we were busy updating the weblog and for some reason the comments-form got broken in the process. Anyhow, the above method is just for viewing templates and not for actual usage (for which you need a full-feature browser). However, you can try the method I described in my new blog which uses a virtual machine with a completely working browser: http://weblog.scanyours.com/2011/08/23/howto-run-internet-explorer-8-under-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-using-virtualbox/
Ashok
14-10-2011 20:10Hi Gideonse,
Is there any way to install IE with Java. I want to test some java based website and application on IE in Ubuntu desktop.
Arno Gideonse
15-10-2011 01:50For that, you should use the tutorial on running IE within a virtual environment: http://weblog.scanyours.com/2011/08/23/howto-run-internet-explorer-8-under-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-using-virtualbox/
Aviv
10-12-2011 09:07Hello there!
First,Thanks for this good article.
Second, There is website that only accept IE7 + Flash,Do you know and way to enable the flash drivers on my IE7 that run in ubuntu?
Thanks
Aviv
Arno Gideonse
10-12-2011 11:32I you really need the flash plugin then I advice you to make a VirtualBox with Internet Explorer in it. A tutorial can be found here: http://weblog.scanyours.com/2011/08/23/howto-run-internet-explorer-8-under-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-using-virtualbox/