To its credit, Explorer introduced many Windows users to the joys of the internet for the first time. Shutterstock How it beganĮxplorer was first introduced in 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation, and came bundled with the Windows operating system. Explorer has been long outperformed by its competitors, and years of poor user experiences have made it the butt of many internet jokes. Many would say this move was long overdue. If the policy is set and a user changes the default browser from Microsoft Edge the next time they open Microsoft Edge, they will be prompted to set it as the default.Twenty-seven years is a long time in computing. For this reason, we recommend that you deploy the Set Microsoft Edge as default browser policy even if you create an image with Microsoft Edge as the default browser. This is because for security reasons, the default browser preference can’t be blocked programmatically. When using either of these methods, it is still possible for a user to change the default browser. The other option is to use the Set Microsoft Edge as default browser policy, which prompts the user to set Microsoft Edge as the default browser. The first option is to flash the device with an image of macOS where Microsoft Edge has already been set as the default browser. This prompt is a macOS security feature that can only be automated away by using an AppleScript.īecause of this limitation, there are two main methods for setting Microsoft Edge as the default browser on a macOS. Set Microsoft Edge as the default browser on macOSĪttempting to programmatically set the default browser on macOS causes a prompt to appear for the end user. To set Microsoft Edge Dev as the default browser, set ApplicationName to "Microsoft Edge Dev" and ProgId to "MSEdgeDHTML". To set Microsoft Edge Beta as the default browser, set ApplicationName to "Microsoft Edge Beta" and ProgId to "MSEdgeBHTML". The example in the next screenshot shows an associations file named appassoc.xml on a network share that is accessible from the target device. Under Options:, type the location to your default associations configuration file.Click policy setting, and then click Enabled.Select Set a default associations configuration file.Open the Group Policy editor and go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\File Explorer.To configure the group policy for a default file type and protocol associations configuration file: For more information about creating this file, see Export or Import Default Application Associations. This file is stored locally or on a network share. Turning this group policy on requires you to create and store a default associations configuration file. You can set Microsoft Edge as the default browser on domain-joined devices by configuring the Set a default associations configuration file group policy. Set Microsoft Edge as the default browser on domain-joined devices In this scenario, users are prompted to select their default application when they open a link or a htm/html file. The default file associations aren't applied if Microsoft Edge isn't installed on the target device.
To set Microsoft Edge Stable as the default browser for html files, http/https links, and PDF files use the following application association file example: You can use the Set a default associations configuration file Group Policy or the DefaultAssociationsConfiguration Mobile Device Management setting to set Microsoft Edge as the default browser for your organization.
For Windows 7 and macOS, see the Set Microsoft Edge as default browser policy.
This article applies to Microsoft Edge version 77 or later on Windows 8 and Windows 10.