Why IE8 is in IE7 mode. Variable “IE” == 7

Question

I have the header in my HTML page like this below and I open this site in IE8. When I look at it in \"Web Developer\" the \"if IE 7\" is active. WebBrowser set BrowserMode on \"

Answer 1

This post on the MSDN blog explains how Compatibility Mode can get enabled. There's a nice flowchart: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2010/03/02/how-ie8-determines-document-mode.aspx

To fix it, you can also send the following HTTP header using a .htaccess file or whatever's appropriate for your web sever:

X-UA-Compatible: IE=8

Here's a reference on X-UA-Compatible: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288325%28VS.85%29.aspx