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Google released Chrome 45 on September 1, 2015. Unlike its predecessors, Chrome 45 does not support NPAPI plugins like Java and Silverlight. Although Chrome 42 to 44 provided the option for users to enable NPAPI plugins, the option was removed in Chrome 45. Quite simply, if you would like to know how to enable Java in Google Chrome 45 or later, you can’t — at least not directly.  But all hope is not lost!

Chrome users who encounter Java content will be greeted by a yellow notification bar at the top of the browser window that says, This site uses a plugin (Java TM)) that is unsupported. The notification also includes a link to more information about why Java is no longer supported by Chrome.

The Java content in the web page itself will display as a gray area with a puzzle piece. If you mouse over the puzzle piece, you will see This plugin is not supported.

If you right-click inside the Java content area, the right-click menu displays application/x-java-applet and an opportunity to Hide this plugin. It no longer includes the Run this pluginselection.

All in all, it is not tremendously helpful information apart from informing you of what is demonstrably obvious. A trip to the Java.com web site would seem to be in order. Perhaps they would know what to do.

Perhaps not. A notification confirms, “The Chrome browser does not support NPAPI plug-ins and therefore will not run all Java content.” For a deeper explanation, click the More info link to visit their Java and Google Chrome article.

View Java content in Chrome using the IE Tab extension

One method to view Java content in Chrome is to install the IE Tab extension. The “IE” in IE Tab is an abbreviation for Internet Explorer. Available for Chrome from the Chrome Web Store, IE Tab is used to emulate Internet Explorer within a Chrome browser window. The extension uses the Internet Explorer rendering engine so you can view Java content (as well as ActiveX and Silverlight content). It is easy to install, and even easier to use. It is important to note that IE Tab works on Windows only. Watch the Video.

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 will display next to the Chrome’s address bar. Click the icon to open an IE Tab. In the IE Tab, input the web address of the page that contains Java content. In the example below, we successfully verified our Java version, which uses a Java detection applet, using Google Chrome 45 using an IE Tab.

If you attempt the same verification process in a regular Google Chrome 45 tab, the notification that Chrome does not support NPAPI plugins displays instead.

View Java content using an alternate web browser

Alternatively, as suggested by Oracle, if you want to display Java content on your computer, you can also use an alternate web browser. The top-tier web browsers that support NPAPI plugins like Java are Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. Other alternate web browsers that continue to support Java are Opera and Torch. The web browsers that support Java are available for free. With at least five great web browsers from which to choose, your Java content is truly still readily accessible.