Internet Explorer document modes
The Pega 7 Platform generates the HTML code for various UI components based on the rules that are defined in an application. This code is sent as a document in response to the browser request. This article explains the effects of changes to Pega 7 Platform applications, the need for document modes, the available modes, and the configuration options available in the Pega 7 Platform for the different Microsoft Internet Explorer versions.
Document modes
Microsoft introduced document modes to address compatibility issues with how different versions of Internet Explorer rendered UI components of applications with legacy code. By using document modes, users can override the default rendering behavior.
Internet Explorer provides the following document modes:
- Legacy quirks
- Interoperable quirks
- Standards (also known as strict mode)
Legacy quirks mode
This was the default mode in Internet Explorer until version 9. It is enabled if the HTML code is missing a <!DOCTYPE> directive. This mode is used for backward compatibility with previous versions of Internet Explorer. It does not support CSS 3.0 and HTML5-specific tags.
Legacy quirks mode restricts the browser features to those of Internet Explorer 5.5.
Interoperable quirks mode
This mode was introduced in Internet Explorer 10. It enhanced quirks mode to provide support for HTML5 and CSS 3.0 features, while allowing minor violations. This is the default mode for Internet Explorer 10 and it applies to Internet Explorer 10 and later. For more information, see Interoperable HTML5 Quirks Mode in IE10.
Standards mode
This mode is set when the browser detects a <!DOCTYPE> directive in the document. This mode supports the latest web standards, including HTML5 and CSS 3.0. This mode is recommended for all new development projects.
Enabling standards mode allows the browser to use the latest HTML and CSS standards.
Support for Internet Explorer document modes for PRPC versions
The versions of PRPC prior to the Pega 7 Platform generated HTML code with CSS to support Internet Explorer rendering only in legacy quirks mode.
Starting with the Pega 7 Platform, Standards mode is supported to provide the wide range of features to Pega 7 Platform applications.
To set the application to render in standards mode in Pega 7.x, select the check box on the Application rule form.
Select the check box to include HTML5 document modes
For more information about rendering applications in HTML5 standards, refer to the following PDN articles:
Upgrading an application to render in HTML5 Document Type
Upgrading your application to HTML5 Document Type (standards mode)
For an application to be compliant with the latest web standards, enable HTML5 compliance in the Application rule for all harnesses inherited from it. To support rendering of the UI in earlier versions of Internet Explorer, the Pega 7 Platform provides the ability to set document modes on the Harness rule form in the following fields.
Select the document type from the list
Select the document mode
Document type selection above adds the <!DOCTYPE> directive.The value in the IE document mode field is set at run time for the content attribute of the meta element. This sets the X-UA-Compatible header for the webpage that is represented by the harness. This enables developers to use the legacy Internet Explorer document modes.
The Pega 7 Platform supports all the modes for Internet Explorer 11. For more information refer to the PDN article Support for Internet Explorer 11.
The developer portals for PRPC 6.x and earlier versions are not compatible with Internet Explorer 11. Use the earlier versions of the browser for the developer portals.
Reference
For more information about the compatibility of Pega 7 Platform applications with Internet Explorer versions, see the following articles:
PRPC and Pega 7 platform Internet Explorer compatibility matrix