IE8 dev toolbar disable script menu grayed out

The Disable –> Script menu option in the IE dev toolbar has baffled me for a while now: sometimes it’s enabled, sometimes it’s disabled (as in grayed out and unselectable), and whenever I need to use it I can’t. I’ve also noticed some of the tabs (namely Script and Profiler) occasionally disappear—easily solved by restarting IE—so I’ve put down the Script menu issue to bugginess. Thankfully the IE(6/7) Dev Toolbar download page makes clear that “Some menu items are unavailable (grayed out) when running Internet Explorer in Protected Mode on Windows Vista.” I’m running Windows Server 2008 R2 with User Access Control intact and, sure enough, opening IE by right-clicking the IE icon and selecting Run as administrator enables the Script option.

With the IE dev toolbar now built into IE8 and IE being the defacto intranet/corporate browser that it is, I can see why this would be locked down for non-admins; I suppose you don’t want those pesky information workers and power users hacking your corporate forms. What a hassle though.

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