Can I use Opera and Internet Explorer together?

David Morgan asked some questions in the comments section of another post which I thought was worthy of a full response. His comments are below with my responses:

I am a simple person with a simple question.

If you want to actually get a question to Jon, you can post it here on Slashdot .

but here is my response.

Following years and years and years… (I am now retired!) of using Microsoft Internet Explorer browser it would be difficult to just “change”.

You would probably be surprised how easy it is. Both Opera and Firefox have spent a lot of time making the transition easier. Many things will work similarly if not the same. There are mailing lists, web forums, and IRC chat rooms available for you to use

Which brings me to my simple question (and I wonder if it will be answered….DIRECTLY??).

I will do my best.

At present my Microsoft IE Version 6.0 browser works fine for me. Will it continue to work OK if I install Opera please; put another way, will they both work together satisfactorily until I can see that for me one suits me more than the other?

Absolutely! You can (and probably should) leave Internet Explorer installed. Windows nearly relies on it for many things. They absolutely can live happily together. The only possible “argument” is over who will be the default. Opera will ask you (the first time you run it *after* installation) if you want to make it the default. You can tell Opera to be the default by going to Preferences > Advanced and select “Programs” and then check (or uncheck) the box next to “Check if Opera is default browser”

If you select the “Details” button, you can select exactly what Opera will and won’t do:

Internet Explorer will check to see if it is the default browser unless you tell it not to by going to Control Panel → Internet Options and click on the “Programs” tab:

It is not a realistic situation for some like myself after years of use which frankly has been OK to just SWAP in an instant from one Browser to another.

Whether or not it will work is largely a matter of disposition. If you are convinced before you start that you won’t be able to change, you probably won’t. If you’re willing to try it, you probably will. I remember when my Dad was forced to start using a computer at work. He hated it. After a month or so, he liked it. By the time he left, he was frustrated because he had to share a printer with others!

I recommend that you give Opera a try as your default browser. You can always use Internet Explorer for the sites that don’t work in Opera. In fact, some Opera users have come up with custom buttons to use in Opera which will make this easier. See http://nontroppo.org/wiki/CustomButtons#webdev