How to enable flash websites in Internet Explorer 10 Metro on Windows 8/RT

IE10 Flash enabled Windows 8 RT

As you may have noticed the Metro or new Modern version of Internet Explorer 10 is moving forward with web standards and more secure online surfing. One step that Microsoft has taken to accomplish this, is by creating a version of the browser that is plug-in free and the one that only supports a limited number of sites based on Adobe Flash.This means that many sites (flash-based) will not load in the IE10 app for Windows 8 or Windows RT. A website that is flash-based has to be approved or whitelisted by Microsoft before you can display it.

Now, if you have your brand new Windows RT tablet like Surface or your are using the IE10 app for Windows 8, there is a workaround to this “problem” and the steps to do this come from the folks at XDA, more specifically from an individual called Marvin_S, who found out how to add any DNS (website domain) to a local whitelist and enable Flash in the new Windows 8 Modern UI of Internet Explorer.

Instructions

1. Open Windows Explorer, navigate, and open the following XML file:

C:\Users\[USER_NAME]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IECompatData\iecompatdata.xml

2. Add any domain you want to the list to enable Flash in the Metro style version of IE.

That’s all there is to it. This should work well on Windows RT and Windows 8 PCs, however I have to say that is possible that future Windows updates may overwrite the file returning the all settings back. You can always make a backup of the file and if something happens, you replace the XML file back.

Alternatively

There is another way to accomplish almost the same thing, but include modifying the Windows Registry:

Warning: Always be careful modifying system files in Windows. Make sure to do a backup first.

1. While in the Windows 8 Desktop

2. Press Windows 8 Key - Small Monochrome +R

3. Type regedit and press Enter

4. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\

5. Right-click Internet Explorer, click New > Key.

6. Name the new key Flash

7. Right-click Flash, select New > String value

8. Name the value DebugDomain

9. Double-click DebugDomain

10. Enter the domain, e.g., exmaple.com and test

Note: The limitation with this procedure is that you can only add a single domain at a time. And remember, do not add http:// or https:// to the domain name or www.

Source XDA Developers via winsyde

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.