How to add an IETab-like feature to Opera

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Browser Tips

How to add an IETab-like feature to Opera

by Brad Linder Apr 28th 2008

While there are dozens of excellent web browsers for Windows, Mac, and Linux, many of them have a problem: There are a handful of web pages and services that are only designed to work properly with Internet Explorer, Firefox, or both. So as much as we love the speedy little Opera web browser, we've been reluctant to use it on a day to day basis. And then we discovered Neptune, a plugin that lets you open an Internet Explorer-compatible tab within Opera. Note that Neptune will only work on Windows, since you need to have Internet Explorer installed for the plugin to function properly.

In order to install the free plugin, download it, close Opera, and click the Neptune executable. Next, you'll want to find your Internet Explorer plugin folder (which will probably be something like "c:\program files\internet explorer\plugins," and copy the file called npmeadax.dll to your Opera plugin folder, which will probably be something like "c:\program files\opera\program\plugins."

Next you'll need to add a button to your browser toolbar to let you open a window using the IE rendering engine. You can find several buttons at OperaWiki. Just drag the button with the function you want to your toolbar. Make sure to drag it to the "Main bar" and not your "Personal bar." Because these bookmarklets use Javascript, if you put them in the Personal bar, they'll be converted into bookmarks that don't really do much of anything.

You can choose from several buttons that let you open a URL using the IE rendering engine in your current tab or in a new tab. Alternately, you can use the InIE and InFF buttons to open a URL in an external window using Firefox or Internet Explorer.

[via Opera Watch]

Tags: ietab, neptune, opera

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Rocketboy said 12:55PM on 4-28-2008

Ok, I don't get this post at all. So, does it make Opera tabs work like IE tabs (which, I think you can force it to do already. It could be useful for someone who is new to tabs, but if you've been using Opera for a while, what's the point?) or does it allow you to use an IE or FF rendering engine in Opera to view websites that are anti-opera?

Also, isn't the Open in IE/FF already planned for the next release of Opera?

Bufsabre said 12:56PM on 4-28-2008

it makes it so that if you have a website that is ie specific (eg. microsoft.com) it will work inside of opera

Quikboy said 9:41PM on 4-28-2008

Or you know, you could just use IE7/IE8.

IE7 isn't really bad if you use it. I actually like the design since it's less cluttered, and there's just as many good add-ons.

IE7 + IE7 Pro add-on = Great browsing experience.

Rocketboy said 6:58PM on 4-29-2008

IE7 and IEpro is very close to a winning combo, but if given the choice, I'm going with Opera..

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