Internet Explorer refuses to install add-ons on the Internet Explorer Gallery

Introduction

I have come across a peculiar issue regarding Internet Explorer.  While I was working on a user’s computer (nothing out of the ordinary, given that I’m a part of IT department now), he wanted to use Google as his default search engine.  Now, I would like to let you know that it’s the department’s policy to use Internet Explorer 8, and Internet Explorer 8 only (unless your updates didn’t go through and you’re stuck with Internet Explorer 7), and those only have Bing as the default search engine… that means I had to get the add-on from Microsoft for Google search results.

All good and well… except for one thing.

The add-on wouldn’t install.

At first I thought it was a case of the Wrath of the Microsoft, so I decided to try some random add-on—oh, hey, look:  a Hulu add-on!  It’ll search Hulu for shows!  I click on the same orange button and… nope.

So I wondered what happened, after about an hour of struggle with the Internet Explorer.

 

Problem

I looked around the window and saw that there was a little icon on the lower left side of the window—the status bar.  It’s got a yellow warning symbol on it, with “Error on page.” next to it.

Wait, did IE8 just refuse to play nice with a Microsoft site?  This is hilarious.

What wasn’t hilarious was that after I sent the unhappy customer on his way and I decided to replicate the situation, the test laptop was only too happy to oblige.  It definitely wasn’t a one-off thing, and I wasn’t happy about it.

I searched the Internet for possible solutions, to no avail.

So I decided to mess around.  It paid off.  No, it wasn’t any kind of scripting or registry doohickey that solved the issues.  It was…

 

Solution

…the compatibility mode.

 

You remember those, right?  When Internet Explorer went from 6 to 7 to 8, Microsoft introduced those hilarious things that we shouldn’t have needed in the first place.  I remembered those when I looked at the address bar.

 

I felt lucky, so I clicked it.  Long story short, error message went away, and the orange “Add to Internet Explorer” button suddenly decided to work again.  Hooray!

Doesn’t change the fact that this was an imbecilic endeavor that shouldn’t have been necessary, though.  What good is their new design if it doesn’t work with their own browser?

 

TL,DR;

In case Internet Explorer 8 (not sure if it works on older or later version of IE) refuses to install add-ons from Internet Explorer Gallery (like Google Search, for example), try using the compatibility mode.