Installing IEs4Linux on Ubuntu

Why use Internet Explorer on Ubuntu?
Enable extra repositories
Installing cabextract and wine
Get and use the IEs4Linux Script

Why use Internet Explorer on Ubuntu?

Some people are baffled (even outraged sometimes) at hearing that someone might want to use Internet Explorer (IE) on a Linux distro. With Firefox, Epiphany, Opera, and Konqueror available, choosing Internet Explorer seems to these people ludicrous.

There are two main reasons people use IE on Ubuntu:

1. For web design, you want to be able to preview how the majority of people will see your website
2. You bank or do business with a site that works in only IE, and Firefox's User Agent Switcher extension just isn't cutting it (by the way, that extension handles a lot--I'd recommend trying it before installing IE)

Enable extra repositories

If you already have the Universe repositories enabled, skip this step. If you prefer to do this through the terminal, follow these instructions instead.

In 6.10 Edgy and 7.04 Feisty Fawn, go to System > Administration > Software Sources.

Check (or tick) all the boxes except the CD-ROM one.

After you see this message, click the Reload button and wait for the repositories to reload.

Installing cabextract and wine

Before you can use the IEs4Linux installation script, there are two packages you need first, and they're in the Universe repositories (that's why we enabled extra repositories in the last step).

Go to Applications > Accessories > Terminal

In the terminal, type this command:

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install cabextract wine

If you're asked if you want to install those packages, say y (for yes). You'll see a lot of text scroll by, as the packages install.

Get and use the IEs4Linux Script

Go to the IEs4Linux website. If you're in Firefox, you can just type ies4linux in the address bar, and you'll automatically be taken there. Do not type ies4linux.com—that would take you to an ad site instead of the IEs4Linux homepage.

Find the Download link on the website and click the link.

Save it to your desktop or to your home folder.

Double-click the IEs4Linux .tar.gz file and then Extract it.

Use the Install Script

In the newly extracted folder, find the IEs4Linux installation script and double-click it. Choose to Run in Terminal.

If you're using Xubuntu or Kubuntu, you will have to do this entirely from the terminal—you can't just double-click the script. In the terminal, cd to the appropriate folder (

cd Desktop , for example), and then ./ies4linux

Answer the questions that come up so that the IEs4Linux script can install Internet Explorer for you.

The entire installation should take around five minutes to complete.

When you're done, you should see a bin folder in your home directory.

Within the bin folder, is a file called ie6. That's your launcher for Internet Explorer.

In the terminal, type:

sudo mv ~/bin/ie6 /usr/local/bin/ie6
rmdir ~/bin

That will move the IE launcher to a universal location and then remove the bin directory from your home directory.

Note that if you prefer to use the launcher on your desktop, you will need to edit the command (right-click the icon first) in the launcher to be ie6.

To run IE, you can press Alt-F2 and type ie6 in the Run dialogue or create a launcher with ie6 as the command.

Now you have Internet Explorer on Ubuntu!

Note: If you're concerned about legal issues with installing Internet Explorer in Ubuntu, please read this