Internet Explorer is the default and most used internet browser in Windows. On the tab General of the Internet Options (available by the button Tools), the preferred home page can be changed to the one most frequently used (by default, this is the Microsoft homepage). By adding additional URL's, the Internet Explorer can open multiple web pages at once (each opened on it's own tab in the same window). The default search engine (on the right side of the toolbar) can be changed in the favorite search engine (e.g. the more popular Google). New search engines are added with the drop down menu next to the Live Search field, option Changing Search Defaults followed by the more difficult link to find: Find more providers. To change it to your favorite search engine, copy and paste the URL of a search for the word TEST into the field for step 3 (e.g. http://www.google.nl/search?q=TEST for the Dutch version of Google) and give a description into the field for step 4 (e.g. Google NL).
Using the tabs
Version 7 of Internet Explorer introduces tabs,
which makes it possible to view multiple web pages within the same window. A new tab
is already available on the right side, but can also be created with the key
combination CTRL-T.
By activating the option Don't show this page again
the first time the new tab opens (confirmed with the button Close), the next time a blank page will be shown. The
ordering of the tabs can be changed by drag and drip. The key combinations CTRL-TAB
and CTRL-SHIFT-TAB makes it possible to browse through the tabs. When the
overview is lost, the first tab Quick Tabs
at the left of the tabs (also available with the key combination CTRL-Q)
shows an overview of al open tabs.
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The settings for browsing with tabs can be personalized by Internet Options, tab General, sub Tabs, button Settings. If a search engine is used as home page, this page can be the default page for every new tab by activating the option Open home page for new tabs instead of a blank page. Activate the option Warn me when closing multiple tabs to make sure not all tabs will be closed at once without a warning with one click to close the Internet Explorer window! The option Open links from other programs in a new window makes sure that already open web pages are not overwritten when hyperlinks are opened from another program.
Favorites
In Internet Explorer the favorites are available by the Favorites Center,
which is shown after clicking on the orange star (at the top left of the window). New
web pages can be added to the favorites with the second button (orange star with
a green plus-sign). The location of the folder to store the
Favorites
is easily changed to a new location, using a cut (CTRL-X) and paste (CTRL-V)
action within the Windows Explorer.
ATTENTION: Within Windows Vista, it is common that an error message is shown while adding a website to the favorites (or a feed to the RSS feeds). This is possibly caused by the limited permissions the user account has for the storage location, even if it's an administrator account. Visit the page about User Account Control and the administrator rights for more information about solving this problem.
RSS-feeds
Within Internet Explorer it is also possible to manage RSS feeds. A webpage with
one or more RSS feeds available, is recognized by the orange lighted icon on the
toolbar. By default the RSS feeds are renewed
daily. When a more intensive schedule is desired, then a more frequent update is
useful by Tools, Internet Options, tab Content, button
Settings (sub Feeds).
Changing the location to store the RSS feeds is less easy, a symbolic link is needed to accomplish this (a symbolic link is a shortcut which forwards every request from the original location to the new location). Within Windows XP, the symbolic link can be created with the SysInternals-tool Junction (download: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896768.aspx). First move the folder C:\Documents and Settings\loginname\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Feeds to the desired location (e.g. D:\loginname\Feeds). Use the following Junction-command in the Command Prompt to create the symbolic link to the folder Feeds:
JUNCTION -s "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Feeds" "D:\loginname\Feeds"
Within Windows Vista, the storage location for the RSS feeds can be changed without using this tool: First move the folder C:\Users\loginname\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Feeds to the desired location (e.g. D:\loginname\Feeds). The next step is to create the symbolic link to that file on the original location, which is done with the following command (in the Command Prompt):
MKLINK /d "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Feeds" "D:\loginname\Feeds"
After a clean program has been used to delete temporary internet files, many Windows Vista users are confronted with an error message when trying to print a webpage while using Internet Explorer. The program shows the error message Cannot find file: C:/Users/loginname/AppData/Local/Temp/Low/A1B2C3D4.htm (the HTM-file and username vary) and refuses to print the webpage. This problem is caused by the clean programs which delete the permissions to the folder Low as well. To restore the permissions run the command below in the field Start Search of the menu Start. Change loginname in the name of the concerning user account and use the key combination CTRL-SHIFT-ENTER to run the command with addition administrator permissions:
ICACLS C:\Users\loginname\AppData\Local\Temp\Low /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low
It frequently happens that Internet Explorer doesn't function properly anymore. If the cause of the problems is not clear, try to reset the Internet Explorer to its default settings (this is done by Tools, Internet Options, tab Advanced, button Reset). Most problems are solved by this resetting of the Internet Explorer. The only disadvantage is the resetting of the personal settings as well, like the changing of the default home page.
The phishing filter in Internet Explorer checks all requested web pages at phishing for personal information (like telebanking information), before it is loaded in the browser. The phishing filter is also active in Windows Mail and the list of phishing web pages is updated frequently by Windows Update.
Does Internet Explorer 7 open with an error page in stead of the default start page? This problem can be caused when IE still has to go through the procedure for applying the preferred settings. For some computers it is not possible to load this page which makes it impossible to apply the preferred settings but the user is still remembered every time IE starts to do so by showing an error page. This problem is easily fixed by changing the DWORD registry values RunOnceHasShown en RunOnceComplete into the value 1. These values are stored in the registry key HKCU\Software\ Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main (create the DWORD values manually if needed).
This registry tweak forces Internet Explorer no longer to show the error page (the concerning settings can only be changed afterwards by using the option Tools). If you don't like to make changes to the registry yourself, the tool IE7 Runonce Remover (download: www.download.com/IE7-Runonce-Remover/3000-8022_4-10683012.html) can be used as alternative.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer does not show the menu bar anymore,
but by pressing the ALT-key, it will popup. The menu bar will be visible
permanently by right clicking an empty area of a visible toolbar followed by
activating the option
Menu Bar. The menu bar is not
placed above the toolbars (like in earlier versions) but beneath the address bar.
To place the menu bar on its original top position, add the DWORD-value ITBar7Position
with the value
1 into the next registry key:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser
Many computer manufactures change the Internet Explorer title bar, without
asking the user for approval. To change the title bar back to normal, by
deleting the string value Window Title in
the following registry key:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
While holding down the CTRL-key, using the scroll wheel of the mouse can be used to zoom in or out. By holding down the CTRL-key and simultaneously clicking a hyperlink, the clicked link will open in a new tab (clicking in combination with the SHIFT-key will open a new window). While holding down the CTRL-key, it is possible to open multiple web pages in different tabs within a short time, because it doesn't activate the new tab after the link has been clicked. If this is not the case, deactivate the option Always switch to new tabs when they are created in the windows Tabbed Browsing Settings (see above). The use of the SHIFT-key is very useful quick visit to a webpage and to close the opened window afterwards and return to the webpage the link was clicked on.
Useful add-ons for the Internet Explorer
The website
www.ieaddons.com has many add-ons for the Internet Explorer available. Some
of them are very useful, like Inline Search (download:
www.ieforge.com): the button Highlight all
highlights all words searched for on the specific webpage, which is a better
alternative to the default Internet Explorer search function (CTRL-F).
Deleting the temporary internet files
Deleting the history of the
Internet Explorer is done most efficiently with the button Delete
(available with the button Tools, Internet Options, tab General,
sub Browser history). In Windows Vista, many temporary internet files (shown
by the button Settings, button View files)
are hidden, which means they can't be deleted by using the Windows Explorer.
Visit the page about
deleting the personal definitely for more information about deleting the
temporary files.
Cleaning up the favorites
It is common that some of the saved favorite websites no longer exists, these
are the dead links. Sometimes the page has been replaced by to another address (where
the browser is forwarded to), in this case it is only a matter of replacing the
old address by the new one. Does the website no longer exists, then it is time
to remove the favorite from the list. However, manually searching for dead links
is time consuming. Fortunately the tool AM-Deadlink (download:
www.aignes.com/deadlink.htm; follow Options, Language to change the
language) can do this job for you, this tool checks automatically whether the saved favorites still exists. After
starting
AM-Deadlink, it shows immidiately the saved favorites. After clicking the
green button, all favorites are checked (or with the button with the apple, which also
download the
icons belonging to the favorite webpages)
AM-Deadlink shows the status of the links
(column Status). After double clicking a link, the website is preview in
the lower pane. This will show whether the (forwarded) favorite is still
relevant. Favorites which result in an error can be removed from the list with
the DEL-key or changed with the button Tools (part
of the preview pane), option Replace bookmarked URL by opened URL.
By default there is a maximum of two simultaneous downloads. With a fast
broadband connection, browsing the internet can be speeded up by changing this
maximum. To change the maximum, add the DWORD-values with the names MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
and MaxConnectionsPerServer and change the decimal value to 16 (or 32 in
case of a very fast internet connection) in the following registry key:
HKCU\ Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
The (video) adds shown on web pages are becoming bigger and bigger in file size and slow down the speed of browsing the internet. Because the website and the adds are downloaded from different servers, it is possible to block the adds by blocking the add servers. This saves a lot of bandwidth, which will result in faster browsing. The most simple way to achieve this, is by replacing the HOSTS file! By placing the web servers with malware into the HOSTS file as well, it will prevent the user from downloading malicious software available from those websites. Visit the page about replacing the HOSTS file for more information about this subject.
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