Managing Add-Ons in Internet Explorer 11

Add-ons expand IE's core functionality—and they're under your control

Internet Explorer 11 provides an easy-to-use interface that enables, disables, and, in some cases, deletes installed browser add-ons. Here's how to manage add-ons in Internet Explorer 11.

Microsoft no longer supports Internet Explorer and recommends that you update to the newer Edge browser. Head to their site to download the newest version.

How to Manage Extensions in Internet Explorer 11

To add, remove, or find out if you have add-ons in IE, access the Manage Add-ons window. Select the Gear icon, located in the upper-right corner of the browser window. Then, select Manage Add-ons.

The Manage Add-Ons command in Internet Explorer

The Manage Add-ons window provides information on the extensions, toolbars, and other Internet Explorer add-ons.

Toolbars and Extensions

  • Name: The full name of the add-on displays in this column. These names can be sorted alphabetically by clicking the column header.
  • Publisher: The publisher's name (for example, Microsoft Corporation) of the respective add-on displays in this column.
  • Status: The current status of the respective add-on displays in this column: Enabled, Disabled, New, or Default. When an add-on is disabled, its functionality is unavailable.
  • Architecture32-bit, 64-bit, or both.
  • Load time: Represented in seconds, displays the amount of time it takes to load the respective add-on into memory.
  • Navigation time: Whenever IE renders a new web page, active add-ons can add to the amount of time the process takes. Navigation time represents the average amount of time the individual add-on appends to that overall process.

Search Providers

  • Name: The search engine name, accompanied by its icon.
  • Status: Notes whether or not the individual search engine is configured as the default option within IE.
  • Listing order: Displays the order of preference in which the installed search providers display within the browser. This value is editable by using the Move Up and Move Down links found in the bottom section of the window.
  • Search suggestions: When enabled, suggested search keywords from this provider are displayed as you type in the address bar or search box. This functionality can be turned off using the Disable suggestions link.

Accelerators

  • Name: Shows the name of the accelerator, broken into categories such as Email and Translate.
  • Address: The domain where the accelerator originated (for example, Bing.com).
  • Category: The aforementioned category value is shown in this column.

More information about each add-on displays at the bottom of the window whenever that respective add-on is selected, including its version number, date stamp, and type.

Show Add-Ons

The Show drop-down menu contains the following options:

  • Currently loaded add-ons: The default selection shows only those add-ons which are actively running.
  • All add-ons: Displays all add-ons installed within IE11, no matter what the current status is.
  • Run without permission: Lists add-ons that are allowed to run without explicit user permission, such as the Microsoft XSL Template.
  • Downloaded controls: Shows all downloaded ActiveX controls.
The Show menu in Manage Add-Ons

Enable and Disable Add-Ons

Each time an individual add-on is selected, buttons labeled Enable or Disable appear. To toggle a respective add-on's functionality on and off, select these buttons accordingly. The new Status should be automatically reflected in the details section.

The Enable button for an add-on in Internet Explorer

Find More Add-Ons

To find more add-ons to download for IE11, select the Find more link located in the lower-left corner of the Manage Add-ons window.

The Find More Extensions link in Internet Explorer

Selecting this link opens the Add-ons section of the Internet Explorer Gallery website. Choose Add under an available add-on to install it in Internet Explorer.

The Internet Explorer Gallery with the Add button highlighted
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