How to use Java in Chrome on Windows 10

Last updated: January 30, 2019 

Update: A more current version of this article is available by visiting Java support in Google Chrome. macOS users please see Java support in Safari 12.

Java browser plug-in stalwarts know about Oracle’s planned move to a plugin-free web. At least they should. Well, maybe they don’t, which is what makes them stalwarts. Regardless, the Java browser plugin will essentially die when Oracle gives birth to JDK 9. It has become increasingly more difficult to access Java content in the browser year over year. No browser has pushed back against Java as hard as Google Chrome. In fact, the option to even enable Java in Chrome was nixed by Google in September 2015. Yet much Java content remains on the internet. Those who want to display it using the web’s most popular web browser are at a loss. But not a complete loss. It is still possible to use Java in Chrome on Windows 10 with a free extension.

The IE Tab extension for Chrome is not only useful for displaying web pages with Java content, but also for Sharepoint, Silverlight and ActiveX content too. Until which time it becomes impossible to use these technologies, holdouts can still view Java content within the Chrome wrapper. IE Tab emulates Internet Explorer within a Chrome browser window. The extension uses the Internet Explorer rendering engine so you can view Java content. Caveat:  IE Tab works on Windows only.

A visit to the Chrome Web Store

Launch Google Chrome. Next, visit the IE Tab page in the Chrome Web Store. Click the blue Add To Chrome button. A dialog will display asking you if you want to Add IE Tab, accompanied by a list of functions it can perform. Click the Add extension button.

Once installed, the IE Tab icon displays next to Chrome’s address bar/omnibox. Click the icon to open an IE Tab. In the IE Tab, input the web address of the page that contains Java content. For example, run the Java detection applet on the Java.com site with Chrome using an IE Tab.

With Chrome but without IE Tab? Not so much.

For those who don’t want to bother with adding an extension to Chrome, switch to another browser. Your choice on Windows 10 to view Java content is…(you guessed it) Internet Explorer.

Thank you for visiting Tech Help Knowledgebase to learn how to use Java in Chrome on Windows 10.

Image credit: Pixabay / fxxu