In this dialog box in Internet Explorer® Maintenance (IEM), you can specify files that will automatically configure Internet Explorer after it is deployed. You can configure options by using .ins files to set standard proxy settings. You can also specify script files in .js, .jvs, or .pac file formats that enable you to configure and maintain advanced proxy settings.

You must be a member of the Administrators group to work with IEM and Group Policy objects (GPOs).

First, to configure an .ins file for use in this dialog box, do the following:

To export the settings from your computer to an .ins file using IEM
  1. In Group Policy, double-click Local Computer Policy, double-click User Configuration, and then double-click Windows Settings.

  2. Right-click Internet Explorer Maintenance, and then click Export Browser Settings.

  3. Enter the location and name of the .ins file that you want to use.

Then, to specify the location of the .ins file and related information for use by IEM, do the following:

To set up automatic configuration for Internet Explorer using IEM
  1. In IEM, expand Internet Explorer Maintenance.

  2. In the left pane, click Connection, and then in the right pane, double-click Automatic Browser Configuration.

  3. Then do one or more of the following:

    • If you want your users' installation of Internet Explorer to be automatically configured when started, even if it is a version of Internet Explorer that the user obtained from elsewhere, select the Automatically detect configuration settings check box.

    • If you want to regularly change Internet Explorer settings after the browser is deployed to your users, and you want to do this automatically by providing configuration files, select the Enable Automatic Configuration check box to set the interval for updates and then specify the location for configuration files. When you do this, the following items will become active:

      Automatically configure every <time_interval> minutes: Specify the interval in minutes for settings to be applied in your organization. If you enter zero (0), or do not enter a value, automatic configuration occurs only when the user's computer is restarted.

      Auto-config URL (.INS file): Enter the location of the .ins file that you want to use for automatic configuration (auto-config).

      Auto-proxy URL (.JS, .JVS, or .PAC file): Enter the location for the automatic proxy (auto-proxy) script.

      Notes
      • If you specify URLs for both auto-config and auto-proxy, the auto-proxy URL will be incorporated into the .ins file. The correct form for the URL is http://share/test.ins. For more information about auto-proxy files, see the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 8 documentation (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=67685).
      • You can configure network servers using Domain Name System (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to automatically detect and configure a browser's settings when the user first starts the browser on a network. For more information, see the product documentation for your DNS and DHCP software packages.

Additional references