Windows Desktop Update

By integrating the Web and the desktop, Internet Explorer has made your desktop and its folders look and work more like the Web. You can now browse your computer just as you browse the Web—and you can browse the Web from anywhere on your computer: You'll find the Go and Favorites menus everywhere. You can also add "active content," such as a stock ticker, to your desktop, the taskbar, or your folders.

Before you get started, think about how you like to use your computer and how you like to browse the Web.

Do you like exploring your computer the way you explore the Web, that is, by single-clicking links (icons), moving back and forward through pages (folders), and so on?

Do you like information about your computer's contents displayed as Web pages within folders?

Do you like having multiple access points to get where you want to go?

The following topics can help you start creating the desktop you want. After you have tried a few of these, look in Help Contents for more ideas.

Basic setup

To install the Windows Desktop Update

1.On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2.Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3.Click Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, and then click Add/Remove.

4.Click Add Windows Desktop Update from Web site.

If you do not see this option, then the Windows Desktop Update is already installed.

Note:  If you decide later that you do not want to use this feature, you can follow the same steps to remove it.

To turn on the Active Desktop interface

1.Right-click the desktop, and point to Active Desktop.

2.Make sure View as Web Page is selected.

Notes

If you chose Web style for your desktop, the Active Desktop is already turned on.

You can also turn the Active Desktop interface on or off clicking the Start button, pointing to Settings, pointing to Active Desktop, and then clicking View as Web Page.

To turn on the Active Desktop interface, you must install the Windows Desktop Update.

Related Topics

The Active Desktop interface lets you put "active content" from Web pages, or a channel, on your desktop. For example, you could put a constantly updating stock ticker in a handy place on your desktop or make your favorite online newspaper into your desktop wallpaper. You can make your desktop truly your own space by adding the active items you need to refer to on a regular basis: news, weather, sports, stock prices, or whatever you want to have at hand. Your desktop can now reflect you—your preferences and your style.

Note

You must have the Windows Desktop Update installed in order to use the Active Desktop. If you did not originally install it, see Related Topics.

A "channel" is a Web site designed to deliver content from the Internet to your computer, similar to subscribing to a favorite Web site. You don't have to subscribe to view the content, but with channels the content provider can suggest a schedule for your subscription, or you can customize your own. Also, with a channel you don't see just a Web page, you also get a rich map of the Web site, which enables you to quickly select and view the content you want.

Here's how channels work:

Use the Channel Guide on your desktop or in the browser to view a list of channels available through the Microsoft Web site. This list is updated frequently with the latest offerings from new and existing content providers. In addition to the Channel Guide, content providers can also provide access to channels directly from their Web sites.

Add channels to your Channel bar. If you want to, you can also subscribe to a channel when you add it to your Channel bar. You don't have to subscribe to a channel to view it.

Organize your channels as you would your favorite pages or any other folder—add and delete Web sites and specify which Web sites are listed. The Channel bar displays all channels installed on your computer, whether you subscribe to them or not.

View a channel, whether or not you have subscribed to it, just by clicking it in the Channel bar.

View channels the way you want to—in the browser, in a full-screen window, as a desktop item, or as your screen saver.

The Explorer bar is a way to browse through a list of links, such as your History or channels, while displaying the pages those links open in the right side of the browser window. For example, if you click the Search button on the toolbar, the Explorer bar opens and you can use it to search for the Web site you want.

You can display your Favorites list, History list, channels, or Search by clicking the toolbar. In addition, you can gain access to these items by clicking the View menu, and then pointing to Explorer bar.

The following topics contain more information about ways you can use the Explorer bar:

To search the Internet

1.On the toolbar, click the Search button.

2.In the Explorer bar that appears, type the word or phrase you're looking for, and then click Search.

3.In the list of search results, click a link to display the Web page in the right side of the browser window.

Note

You can hide the Explorer bar by clicking the Search button on the toolbar again.

1.In the Address bar, type go, find, or ? followed by a space and the word or phrase you want to find.

2.In the list of search results, click a link to display the Web page.

Note

This AutoSearch feature uses only one search service to find information. To perform a broader search, see the Related Topic.

To run a program from the Address bar

In the Address bar, type the program name, and then press ENTER.

If you know the complete path and file name, you can type them—for example:

C:\MSOffice\Winword\Winword.exe.

If the program is a component of Windows, you can just type its name—for example, Mspaint, Notepad, Control Panel, or Printers.

Notes

You must have the Windows Desktop Update installed to do this.

You can use the Address bar in Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, My Computer, the taskbar, or as a desktop toolbar.

1.On the Edit menu in the browser, click Find (on this page).

2.Type the text you want to find.

3.Change any settings as needed.

4.Click Find Next.

If the Web address (URL) you type in the Address bar or click on a Web page doesn't work and you get a message that the site could not be found, now there's help. Internet Explorer can automatically search for any Web addresses that are close to the address you want. For example, you might type www.micrsoft.com, and the Web site wouldn't be found because it is misspelled. You can set Internet Explorer to search for any addresses.

1.On the View menu in the browser, click Internet Options.

2.Click the Advanced tab.

3.Under Search when URL fails:

If you don't want Internet Explorer to search for a similar address, click Never search.

If you want Internet Explorer to ask if you want it to search when an address fails, click Always ask.

If you want Internet Explore to search without asking first, click Always search.

If you want Internet Explorer to search for the address using a different "domain," select the Autoscan common root domains check box.

A domain is specified by the three-letter extension at the end of the address that tells you what kind of site it is. For example, if you type the wrong domain type, such as www.microsoft.org, Internet Explorer can check the root "microsoft" with other domains, such as .edu, .com, and .gov. It would suggest a match of www.microsoft.com.

1.On the toolbar, click the Favorites button.

2.In the Explorer bar that appears, click a folder or page to display the Web page.

Tips

You can organize your favorite items in folders.

You can hide the Explorer bar by clicking the Favorites button again.

1.Go to the page you want to add to your collection of favorite pages.

2.On the Favorites menu, click Add to Favorites.

3.Type a new name for the page if you want to.

Tips

To open one of your favorite pages, click the Favorites button on the toolbar, and then click the page you want to open.

To keep track of your favorite pages, you can organize them into folders. Click the Create In button in the Add to Favorites dialog box.

There are many ways you can make it easier to return to Web pages you’ve previously viewed.

Organize your favorite pages into folders

To organize your favorite pages into folders

1.On the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.

2.Click the Create New Folder icon, type a name for the folder, and then press ENTER.

3.Drag the shortcuts in the list to the appropriate folders.

Tips

You might want to organize your pages by topic. For example, you could create a folder named Art for storing information about art exhibits and reviews.

If the number of shortcuts or folders makes dragging impractical, you can use the Move button instead.

To change your home page

1.Go to the page you want to appear when you first start Internet Explorer.

2.On the View menu, click Internet Options.

3.Click the General tab.

4.In the Home page area, click Use Current.

Tip

To restore your original home page, click Use Default.

To add a page to your Links bar

Drag the icon for the page from your Address bar to your Links bar.

Drag a link from a Web page to your Links bar.

Drag a link to the Links folder in your Favorites list: You can either drag it directly to the Favorites menu and then into the Links folder or you can drag it to the Links folder when displaying your Favorites in the Explorer bar.

Tip

You can also can organize your links by dragging them to a different location on the Links bar.

To Create a Desktop Shortcut to the Current Page

Right-click in the page, and then click Create Shortcut.

Tip

If the Internet Explorer window is not maximized, you can also create a shortcut by dragging a link from the Internet Explorer window to the location you want, such as your desktop or a folder.

To return to a Web page you've already seen

There are several ways to return to a previously viewed Web page:

To return to the last page you viewed, you can click the Back button on the toolbar, or press the BACKSPACE key.

To see a list of the last few pages you visited, click the small down arrow beside the Back or Forward button. Then click the page you want.

If you want to view one of the last five pages you visited in this session, click the File menu, and then on the list, click the page that you want to go to. This list is started fresh every time you start Internet Explorer.

To view more pages, including pages you visited in previous sessions, click the History button on the toolbar, and then click the appropriate folder.

1.On the View menu in the browser, click Internet Options.

2.On the General tab, click Settings.

3.To create more space to store pages temporarily, move the slider to the right.

To prevent Internet Explorer from updating pages in the Temporary Internet Files folder, click Never.

Related Topics

Working with temporary Internet files

The Temporary Internet Files folder is the location on your hard disk where Web pages and files (such as graphics) are stored as you view them. This speeds up the display of you frequently visit or have already seen, because Internet Explorer can open them from your hard disk instead of from the Web. Increasing the space you set for this folder can increase how fast previously visited pages are displayed, but decreases the amount of space available for other files on your computer. You can set the size of this folder, or empty it, to control how much space it uses on your hard disk.

Internet files are also stored on your computer when you subscribe to Web sites or use offline browsing. You can view and display these files without being connected to the Internet.

This article describes how to make Web pages available for offline viewing using Internet Explorer 5. When you make a Web page available offline, you can read its content when your computer is not connected to the Internet.

Making a Web page available for offline viewing
Disabling offline viewing for a Web page
Customizing offline viewing settings
Offline viewing options
Viewing Web pages without being connected to the Internet
Making a Web Page Available for Offline Viewing

To add the Web page you are currently viewing to your Favorites list and then make it available for offline viewing, follow these steps in Internet Explorer:

1. On the Favorites menu, click Add To Favorites.

2. Click the Make Available Offline check box to select it, and then click

OK.

To make an existing favorite Web page available for offline viewing, follow these steps in Internet Explorer:

1. On the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.

2. Click the Web page you want to make available offline.

3. Click the Make Available Offline check box to select it, and then click Close.

Disable Offline Viewing for a Web Page

To disable offline viewing for a Web page, follow these steps in Internet Explorer:

1. On the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.

2. Click the offline Web page you want to disable, click the Make

Available Offline check box to clear it, and then click Close.

Customizing Offline Viewing Settings

For a New Offline Web Page:

You can customize the options for an offline Web page. After you make a Web page available for offline viewing, click Customize in the Add Favorite dialog box to customize the settings.

For an Existing Offline Web Page:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Organize Favorites on the Favorites menu.

2. Click the offline Web page you want to modify, and then click Properties.

3. Specify the settings you want, and then click OK.

Offline Viewing Options

For a New Offline Web Page:

When you make a new Web page available for offline viewing, click Customize in the Add Favorite dialog box to start the Offline Favorite Wizard. The Offline Favorite Wizard can be used to configure the following settings:

You can make other Web pages that are linked to the selected Web page available offline. If you have limited hard disk space or you want to reduce synchronization time, click No. You can schedule Web page synchronization using one of the following options:

- The "Only when I choose synchronize from the Tools menu" option enables you to manually synchronize your Web pages.

- The "I would like to create a new schedule" option enables you to specify a synchronization time based on your preferences. You can the schedule a unique name so you can easily identify it.

- The Use This Existing Schedule option enables you to choose a default daily, weekly, or monthly scheduled time. You can also choose from previously created custom schedules.

- The "Does this site require a password?" option enables you to specify a user name and password for the offline Web page if it is required. The user name and password are automatically provided when Internet Explorer synchronizes the Web page.

For an Existing Offline Web Page:

To customize an existing offline Web page, click Organize Favorites on the Favorites menu, click the offline Web page you want to modify, and then click Properties. You can specify the following settings:

Schedule tab:

- The "Only when I choose Synchronize from the Tools menu" option enables you to manually synchronize your Web pages.

- The "Using the following schedule(s)" option enables you to specify a default schedule.

- The Add button enables you to specify a synchronization time and give the schedule a unique name.

- The Remove button enables you to remove any schedule.

- The Edit button enables you to customize the following settings:

- Synchronization Items tab: You can specify the network connection to use for the selected schedule. You can also select which offline Web pages to synchronize with this schedule. Internet Explorer can also automatically connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to synchronize your Web pages. - Schedule tab: You can modify the time settings for the selected schedule and choose advanced schedule options such as start date, end date, and how often the task can be repeated. Multiple schedules can be configured, schedule, and removed. - Settings tab: You can specify what to do with a task once it is completed, whether or not the computer has to be idle when the task is started, and power management settings. For more information about scheduled tasks, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type "scheduled tasks" (without quotation marks), and then double-click the "Overview" topic.

Download tab:

- The "Download pages <nn> links deep from this page" setting enables you to specify how many links deep Internet Explorer should download Web pages for offline use. You can choose to follow links outside of the page's Web site and limit the amount of hard disk space allocated to the Web page. You can also specify what type of content to download or omit from your Web pages by clicking the Advanced button.

- The "When this page changes, send e-mail to" check box enables e-mail to be sent to you when the content of the offline Web page changes.

- If the site requires a user name and password, you can click the Logon button to specify your user name and password.

Viewing Web pages Without Being Connected to the Internet

To view your offline Web pages, follow these steps:

1. Before you disconnect from the Internet, click Synchronize on the Tools menu.

2. When you want to work offline, click Work Offline on the File menu to add a check mark.

3. In your favorites list, click the offline Web page you want to view.

NOTE: When you choose to work offline, Internet Explorer always starts in Offline mode until you click Work Offline on the File menu to clear the check mark.

On the File menu, click Work Offline.

Notes

When you choose to work offline, Internet Explorer will always start in Offline mode until you click Work Offline again to clear the check mark.

In addition to viewing subscribed Web sites offline, you can also view any Web pages stored in your History folder or your Temporary Internet Files folder.

With "offline browsing," you can view Web pages without being connected to the Internet. This is handy if you don't always have access to the Web when you want to browse Web pages. You might be using your laptop computer at a location that does not provide any network or modem access. Or you might be at home and not want to tie up your only phone line.

Make the most of offline browsing by using channels and subscriptions to get the latest content downloaded to your computer when you are connected and online. Then view the Web pages offline when you want, where you want.

1.On the toolbar, click the Channels button.

2.In the Explorer bar, click the channel or category, such as Business, that you want to view.

Note

You can hide the Explorer bar by clicking the Channels button on the toolbar again.

To add a channel

1.On the toolbar, click the Channels button.

2.In the Explorer bar, click Channel Guide.

3.Follow the instructions on your screen.

Tip

You can also use the Channel bar from your desktop, if you are using the Windows Desktop Update.

Many channels offer the option of setting up a subscription when you add the channel to your Channel bar.

To display a channel in the browser

1.On the toolbar, click the Channels button.

2.In the Explorer bar, click the channel or category, such as Business, that you want to view.

Note

You can hide the Explorer bar by clicking the Channels button on the toolbar again.

To add Web content to the desktop

You can add any "active content" you want from the Web to your desktop. Active content is content that changes on your screen, such as a stock ticker or a weather map. You can add an item from either the Active Desktop Gallery, a page you've seen on the Web as you surfed, or a channel.

1.Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.

2.Click the Web tab, and then click New.

3.If you want to browse the Active Desktop Gallery for a component to add, click Yes.

If you want to select some other Web site, click No, and then type the address of the Web site you want, or click Browse to locate it.

Tip

You can also right-click any link on a Web page, drag it to the desktop, and then click Create Active Desktop item(s) Here.

Related Topics

Make a Web page your desktop wallpaper

To make a Web page your desktop wallpaper

1.Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.

2.Click the Background tab.

3.Click Browse, and then click the HTML document you want.

4.Click Apply.

The wallpaper appears on your desktop as tiled, stretched, or centered, depending on the current setting in the Display box.

Tip

You can also right-click any graphic on a Web page and then click Set as Wallpaper.

Display a channel on the desktop

To display a channel on the desktop

1.Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.

2.Click the Web tab, and then click New.

3.If you want to open the Active Desktop Gallery Web site and choose a channel from there, click Yes. If you click Yes, this dialog box closes.

If you want to select any other channel, click No, and proceed to step 4.

4.Type the address for the channel, or click Browse to search for it.

To subscribe to a channel

1.On the toolbar, click the Channels button.

2.In the Explorer bar, click Channel Guide, and then follow the instructions on your screen.

To add a toolbar to the desktop or taskbar

Right-click a blank area on the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click Address, Links, Desktop, or Quick Launch.

The selected toolbar appears on the taskbar (the bar that contains the Start button).

Tip

To move a toolbar to the desktop, drag it into the position you want, and then size it to your needs.

Related Topics

What is an Address bar?

An Address bar is a space to type and display the address for a Web page. You don't even need to type the entire Web site address to go to that page. Just start typing, and the AutoComplete feature suggests a match based on Web sites you visited previously.

With the Address bar, you can also search for Web sites just by typing find, go, or ? followed by a word that you're searching for.

The following topics provide more information about what you can do with the Address bar when you are browsing:

Enter a Web address

To enter a Web address

1.In the Address bar, start typing the address you want to go to.

If you've visited the Web site before, the new AutoComplete feature suggests a match as you type. The suggested match is highlighted in the Address bar.

2.After you finish typing the Web address, or when AutoComplete finds a match, press ENTER.

To view other matches, press the DOWN ARROW key.

Notes

If you installed the Windows Desktop Update, AutoComplete also suggests matches for folder and program names you type in the Address bar.

If you type a partial address and then press CTRL+ENTER, Internet Explorer attempts to go to the exact URL that you typed, filling in only the protocol, such as http:, and the extension, if needed. For example, if you type mi and then press CTRL+ENTER, Internet Explorer attempts to open a Web site named http://www.mi.com/.

You can turn off the AutoComplete feature.

To turn off AutoComplete

1.On the View menu in the browser, click Internet Options.

2.Click the Advanced tab.

3.In the Browsing area, clear the Use AutoComplete check box.

Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01 Service Pack 1, 5 for Windows 95
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01 Service Pack 1, 5 for Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows 98

This article describes how to search the Internet using the Address bar in Internet Explorer or the Address toolbar on the desktop or taskbar.

You can type common names or words in the Internet Explorer Address bar and click Go or press ENTER to obtain a list of Web sites that closely matches your search criteria.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your
Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Then you type a Web site name without a domain type in the Address bar, an Internet client-side feature called AutoScan searches for the following Web sites:
www.Website.com, www.Website.edu, www.Website.org, Website.com, Website.edu, and Website.org.

Internet Explorer 4

The AutoScan feature is always used before the AutoSearch feature for single-word queries. For multi-word queries, the AutoSearch feature is used.

To use the AutoSearch feature for single-word queries, type go, find, or ?, followed by the topic you want.

The AutoSearch feature uses a random search engine to perform your search in Internet Explorer 4. For additional information about how to customize your AutoSearch search engine, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q198279 How to Change the Default AutoSearch Search Page

The following options are available when the Web address you specify is not found:

Never search

Always ask

Always search

NOTE: The "AutoScan common root domains" option is set to "Always ask" by default.

Internet Explorer 5

The integration of the AutoSearch and AutoScan features in Internet Explorer 5 has one major goal. For single-word queries, AutoSearch occurs before AutoScan using the Microsoft Network (MSN) AutoSearch feature.

To customize or disable Address bar searches, follow these steps:

1.Click Start, click Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.

2.Click the Advanced tab.

3.Under Search from the Address bar, click the search option you want, and then click OK.

The following AutoSearch and AutoScan options are available in Internet Explorer 5:

Display results, and go to the most likely site.

Do not search from the Address bar.

Just display the results in the main window.

Just go to the most likely site.

NOTE: The "Display results, and go to the most likely site" option is the default setting.
The AutoScan and AutoSearch features are dependent on each other in Internet Explorer 5.
You cannot disable AutoScan only (and just use AutoSearch) or disable AutoSearch only (and just use AutoScan) functionality from any search criteria. Therefore, the following search options are not supported in Internet Explorer 5:

AutoScan, no AutoSearch at all.

AutoSearch, no AutoScan at all.

NOTE: If you are a corporate user and your organization does not have Internet access, you may want to disable automatic searching.

If you've installed the Windows Desktop Update, you can do even more with the Address bar. For example, the Address bar can replace the folder list in the Windows Explorer and My Computer toolbar. You can also add an Address bar to your taskbar or desktop. From any of these locations or Internet Explorer, you can run programs and browse through folders in addition to going to Web pages.

To browse through folders from the Address bar

In the Address bar, type the drive and folder name, and then press ENTER—for example:

C:

or

C:\My Documents

Notes

You must have the Windows Desktop Update installed to browse folders from the Address bar.

You can use the Address bar in Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and My Computer, from the taskbar, or as a desktop toolbar.

What is an Internet address?

An Internet address (sometimes called a URL, or Uniform Resource Locator) typically starts
with a protocol name, followed by the name of the organization that maintains the site; the
suffix identifies the kind of organization it is. (A protocol is a set of rules and standards
that enable computers to exchange information.)

For example, the address http://www.yale.edu/ provides the following information.

http:
This Web server uses the http: protocol.

www
This site is on the World Wide Web.

yale
The Web server is at Yale University.

.edu
This is an educational institution.

Generally, commercial site addresses end with .com, and government site addresses end
with .gov.

If the address points to a specific page, additional information—such as a port name, the
directory in which the page is located, and the name of the page file—is included. Web
pages authored by using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) often end with an .htm or
.html extension.

When you are viewing a Web page, the page's address appears in the Address bar in the
browser.

To add a toolbar to the desktop or taskbar

Right-click a blank area on the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click Address, Links, Desktop, or Quick Launch.

The selected toolbar appears on the taskbar (the bar that contains the Start button).

Tip

To move a toolbar to the desktop, drag it into the position you want, and then size it to your needs.

To make a folder look like a Web page

You can change a folder's background in two ways: by adding a picture or by making it into a Web page.

1.In My Computer or Windows Explorer, open the folder that you want to customize.

2.On the View menu, click Customize this Folder.

3.To add a picture to your folder background, click Choose a background picture. In the wizard, you can also select colors for the text and text background in your folder.

To turn your folder background into an HTML document, click Create or edit an HTML document, and then follow the steps in the wizard to edit the folder template using HTML. For example, you might want to add a line of text explaining the folder contents, or change the font or color of the folder title.

Tip

If you want to undo your customization, click Remove customization.

To turn on Web content in all folders

1.In My Computer, click the View menu, and then click Folder Options.

2.Click the General tab, and then click Web style.

Tips

You can also change this setting by clicking the Start menu, pointing to Settings, and then clicking Folders & Icons.

If you still do not see your customized folder background, make sure as Web Page is selected on the View menu.