Is javascript enabled on my browser?

JavaScript is enabled in your web browser. Congratulations; you're one step closer to having a fun and fully featured online experience.

Remember that JavaScript is a "per browser" setting; if you have it enabled in Chrome, you might also have it disabled in Firefox on the same computer.

A lot of websites use Javascript as a part of their core functionality, and if you browse the internet without JavaScript enabled then you probably won't have the full experience that you normally would. Some websites may not work properly, others may not work at all.

What does JavaScript do?

JavaScript is a multipurpose programming language. There are many, many things that it can be used for. Generally speaking, it is used to allow Website developers to create web pages that have some intelligence built in to them. Instead of a webpage just being a plain page that has no interactivity, JavaScript can allow webpages adapt to what you do on the page, load new information, make decisions and respond to events.

For example, JavaScript might be used to validate a Mailing List Subscription form. So that when you try to submit a form the code runs and looks at each field on the form. If the code notices that you've forgotten to enter something in one of the fields (For example, your email address) it would pop up a warning and not let you submit the form until it is complete. Once that field is fixed then the form will be allowed to be submitted.

JavaScript can also be used to dynamically update part of a page without needing to reload the entire page. So for example, when you're using Facebook and you see a new notification come through; you can know that JavaScript was used to do that!

In fact, JavaScript was used to create the JavaScript detection on this page! If JavaScript is enabled then it updates the default "No" answer in to a "Yes" answer! (so that if JavaScript is not enabled, the default "No" remains as the answer). It's also used for Cookie detection, Flash version detection, Java version detection and so on.

Security considerations

As with most things, there is a flip side to JavaScript. There is an increasing number of ways for JavaScript to be used maliciously. JavaScript based attacks such as Cross Site Scripting and Click Jacking rely on JavaScript and can cause your security to be compromised. There are an increasing number of security minded people who do not just let JavaScript run on every single page they visit to decrease the chances of these attacks. There are browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox which can disable JavaScript by default but make it easy to turn it on only for trusted websites. The security minded web user would do well to check these extensions out.

We have a series of guides to help you enable JavaScript in your web browser.

Once you've got Javascript enabled, visit the Homepage to make sure your web browser is up to date and to get a full read-out of your web browser's capabilities.

More questions?

If you have any more questions about JavaScript and what it can do, use the contact form and we'll answer it and add your question here.

If you're a web developer, check the instructions on how to implement the

Instructions for web developers

You may want to consider linking to this site, to educate any script-disabled users on how to enable JavaScript in five most commonly used browsers. You are free to use the code below and modify it according to your needs.

On enable-javascript.com we optimize the script-disabled user experience as much as we can:

  • The instructions for your browser are put at the top of the page
  • All the images are inlined, full-size, for easy perusing
  • This developer-centric message is out of the way.

We want your visitors to have JavaScript enabled just as much as you do!

Check If JavaScript Is Enabled

If you click the "Test JavaScript" button, then the text box below it should show 'Yes, JavaScript is enabled.'

After you click it, if the text is showing "enabled", then assume JavaScript is running.

If this didn't work and the text never appears, then JavaScript is not running.

There are two possibilities:

  1. JavaScript may have been deliberately turned off as a security precaution.

    If you want to run radar loops, then you will have to either reduce your web browser security setting, or use a 'custom' setting to turn JavaScript ON. If you want to, try to turn JavaScript ON, and then reload this web page to see if the button works.

    Some recipes for turning JavaScript ON are:

    Microsoft Internet ExplorerFirefoxMozilla
    • go to Tools
    • then Internet Options...
    • select the Security tab
    • press the Custom Level button
    • scroll down to Scripting
    • enable Active Scripting
    • go to Tools
    • then Options...
    • select the Content option
    • tick Enable JavaScript
    • go to Edit
    • then Preferences...
    • select the Advanced category
    • click Scripts & Plug-ins
    • Enable JavaScript for Navigator
    SafariKonquerorOpera
    • go to Safari
    • then Preferences
    • select the Security tab
    • under Web Content tick Enable JavaScript
    • go to Settinigs
    • then Configure Konqueror
    • select the Java & JavaScript category
    • choose the JavaScript tab
    • tick Enable JavaScript globally
    • go to Tools
    • then Perferences
    • select the Advanced tab
    • choose the Content category
    • tick Enable JavaScript
  2. Another possibility is that JavaScript may never run in this browser. e.g. the AMAYA (the W3C web browser) does not have Javascript.

    Perhaps try another web browser - you may wish to install Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla or Firefox or Opera, ...

How do I know if JavaScript is enabled in my browser?

Activate JavaScript in your browser.
Open Chrome on your computer..
Click. Settings..
Click Security and Privacy..
Click Site settings..
Click JavaScript..
Select Sites can use Javascript..

Is JavaScript enabled on my Chrome?

On Google Chrome, JavaScript is enabled by default, but you can verify if it works through the Settings menu. To reveal the Settings menu, simply click on three tiny black dots at the top-right corner of your Chrome window.

Do all browsers have JavaScript enabled?

All the modern browsers come with built-in support for JavaScript. Frequently, you may need to enable or disable this support manually. This chapter explains the procedure of enabling and disabling JavaScript support in your browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, chrome, and Opera.

How do I know if JavaScript is disabled?

On the web browser menu click on the "Edit" and select "Preferences". In the "Preferences" window select the "Security" tab. In the "Security" tab section "Web content" mark the "Enable JavaScript" checkbox. Click on the "Reload the current page" button of the web browser to refresh the page.