Maximum Number of Characters That Can Be Specified in the Proxy Exceptions List

This article describes the maximum number of characters that can be specified in the proxy exceptions list in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

When you access the Internet by using a proxy server, you can specify that you want to bypass the proxy server for certain addresses (and therefore go directly to that site).

To specify these addresses in Internet Explorer 4.x:

1. On the View menu, click Internet Options.
2. Click the Connection tab, and then click to select the Access the Internet using a proxy server check box.
3. Click Advanced. In the Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with box, list the sites for which you want to bypass the proxy server.
4. Click OK, click Apply, and then click OK.

To specify these addresses in Internet Explorer 5:

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. Click the Connections tab, and then click the appropriate connection to edit. If you are not dialing out to connect to the Internet, click LAN Settings.
3. Click to select the Use a proxy server check box, and then click Advanced.
4. In the Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with box, list the sites for which you want to bypass the proxy server.
5. Click OK, click OK, and then click OK.

The maximum number of characters that can be specified in Internet Explorer 4.x is 1,024. Any additional characters are truncated and ignored by the browser.

The maximum number of characters that can be specified in Internet Explorer 5 is 985. Any additional characters cause the browser to clear all the addresses listed in the proxy exceptions list.

When you populate the proxy exceptions list by using automatic configuration with the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) Profile Manager (version 4.x or 5), the maximum number of characters that can be passed back by the .ins file is 259.

NOTE: If you click to select the Bypass proxy for local check box, the setting adds 8 characters because it is interpreted as ";<local>."