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Internet Explorer 5.0 Miscellaneous Tips |
Do you find Internet Explorer 5 looks too busy with hyperlinks underlined? It's simple to adjust the display of links to suit you. First, select Tools, Internet Options. Then click the Advanced tab. In the Underline Links area, select Hover. From now on, links will appear underlined only when you point at them. You can also choose Never, if you find underlined links unnecessary.
Click OK to save your changes.
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[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs]
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BROWSE IN FULL-SCREEN MODE
Reader Bill K. likes to live large and wants his browser to follow suit. He writes, "I recently installed Internet Explorer 5. How do you get Web pages to open in a full screen window?"
No sweat, Bill; just press F11 on your keyboard, or select View, Full Screen.
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TIPS AND SHORTCUTS FOR IE5
How to customize, troubleshoot, and tweak Microsoft's latest browser.
http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-brsr06041%2C00.html
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CREATING NEW FAVORITES
The Links toolbar is a great way to quickly access bookmarks (aka "Favorites"). Just drag the icon from a page you're viewing into the Links area, release the mouse, and the site name will appear on the toolbar. Even better, try adding a folder to the Links toolbar.
You can drag a folder from your hard drive for faster access to documents. Open a Windows Explorer menu, then click and drag the folder to the Links toolbar until the cursor changes to a vertical line. Release the mouse, and your folder will appear. Click the folder name to open it.
You can also move a folder from your Favorites onto the Links toolbar for faster access. Select the Favorites menu and click to select a folder. Continue to hold down the mouse button while dragging the folder to your Links toolbar. Again, wait until the pointer turns to a vertical bar, then release the mouse. When you click the Folder name, the list of links inside it opens. Click to jump to the site you want.
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BACKWARD AND FORWARD SHORTCUTS
To quickly jump forward and backward to pages you visit, don't reach for the Back and Forward buttons on the toolbar. With hands placed firmly on the keyboard, press the Alt key and then press the left arrow key to jump back (or just press the Backspace key.) To go forward, press Alt and press the right arrow key.
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Tips and Shortcuts for IE5
How to customize, troubleshoot, and tweak Microsoft's latest browser.
by Yael Li-Ron and Matthew Newton, PC World May 28, 1999
So you have Internet Explorer 5 on your system, but you're frustrated by odd or unexplained features. Or you'd like to have it, but dread the installation process. If it's any consolation, you're not alone. This collection of our favorite tips will make your IE5 browsing experience smoother. Some deal with installation headaches, a few show you how to customize the program, and others help you speed things up.
Before You Install . . .
Are you running an early version of Windows 95? If so, and you don't have Internet Explorer 4 or you never installed IE4's Windows Desktop Update, this is your last chance to add some nifty new features to your operating system.
The Desktop Update is a set of enhancements that affect the entire OS. (The much-denigrated Active Desktop is just one, optional part of the Desktop Update.) It includes the Quick Launch bar--a set of customizable buttons for launching applications that you can place on your taskbar--and the ability to manually rearrange Start Menu items by dragging and dropping. Windows 95 OSR2, also known as Windows 95B, shipped with the Desktop Update included, but older Windows machines may not have the package. And you can't add it after you install IE5--unless you uninstall IE5, install IE4, and then reinstall IE5, a cumbersome, time-consuming process we're sure you'd like to avoid.
Here's an easy way to tell if you have the Desktop Update installed: Open My Computer and click the View menu. If you see a Folder Options command, you have it. If there is only an Options command, you don't. If you don't have the Desktop Update, here's how to grab it before you install IE5:
If you don't have IE4, download it from FileWorld and install it. Open an Internet Explorer window and select Help, Product Updates. You'll arrive at a Windows Update page listing the Desktop Update. Select it and click Download. Follow the prompts to install the package.
Once you've got the Desktop Update installed, you are ready to download and install IE5.
Multiple IEs
When Internet Explorer 4 was released, many users--Web authors in particular--complained because it couldn't coexist with a previous IE incarnation. Well, Microsoft heard those complaints: IE5 is happy to live alongside IE4--but you have to select a special option during setup.
Shortly after IE5 Setup begins, you'll be asked what kind of installation you'd like to perform. Select the Minimal or Customized option. When the Component Options dialog box appears, click the Advanced button. Select the Compatibility option in the resulting dialog box to keep IE4 around.
Cure What Ails IE5
IE5 is the first Microsoft app that can fix itself without a complete reinstallation when things go wrong. If the browser is acting strangely, head for the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel) and open Add/Remove Programs. Select Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools and click Add/Remove (don't worry, you won't uninstall anything). In the next dialog box, click Repair Internet Explorer, then click OK. Follow the prompts to let IE figure out what's gone wrong.
Gain More Screen Space, I
The default setting for Internet Explorer includes the following bars at the top of the browser: the menu bar, the standard toolbar, the Address bar, and the Links bar. All these take up precious screen real estate. To free up some space, put your pointer over the bottom of the lowest bar, and when it turns into a double arrow, drag the bar up as high as you can, until you can't drag anymore. Now all the bars appear as one narrow bar. (Yes, the buttons have lost their labels, but do you really need a label on the Home button?)
To rearrange the order in which these bars appear within the consolidated strip, put your mouse pointer over the vertical line at the left of any bar you want to move, then drag the bar to the left or the right. Continue dragging bars in either direction until you see a configuration that makes sense to you.
Gain More Screen Space, II
To further optimize the newly consolidated toolbar, consider turning off the Links bar, which contains buttons that take you to various Microsoft sites and services. To do so, right-click anywhere on an unpopulated area within the bar, then deselect the Links option in the menu to turn it off.
Gain More Screen Space, III
To get rid of the title bar and give yourself even more space, press F11. This is a toggle key, so pressing it again will restore your previous configuration.
Add/Remove Buttons
If you never use the Mail button or any of the other icons on the toolbar, you can edit the default configuration to get rid of them. Just right-click anywhere within the button bar and select Customize. In the resulting dialog box, click any button in the right pane that you want removed from the toolbar, then click the Remove button. Conversely, if you see a button in the left pane that you want to add to the toolbar, click it and then click the Add button.
Open Already!
Have you ever tried to go to a site by clicking its link on a Web page and nothing happened? That's a common IE "issue" (okay, bug). Most of the time you can overcome the problem by right-clicking the link, then selecting Open in New Window.
Speed Up AutoComplete
One of the nicest additions to IE5 is the drop-down list you get whenever you start typing an address in the Address Bar. Just press your down arrow and scroll down the list until you see the URL you're trying to reach, then press Enter. However, after you've used the browser for several weeks, the AutoComplete feature slows down, because there are too many possible addresses in your Favorites and History lists for it to search. To overcome this sluggishness, select Tools, Internet Options and click the General tab. Reduce the number of days pages are kept in History by changing the number in the History box. You can also click Clear History to erase the entire History listing.
Cleaner Links
Underlines let you know that certain words or phrases are hyperlinks, but some people see them as ugly spots on an otherwise elegant page. If you want to turn them off, select Tools, Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, scroll down to the Browsing section, and select Never below Underline Links. Alternately, you can select the Hover option, which will underline your links whenever your pointer passes over them. This is handy for sites that use strange color schemes, making it difficult to tell where the links are.
Let My Button Go
While you're in the Advanced area (see previous tip), click next to "Show Go button in Address bar" to remove the Go button from the Address bar (it lurks to the right of the current URL). You've just saved yourself even more screen space. This button is there for people who don't know that they need to press Enter after they type a URL--clearly, a waste of real estate.
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OPENING A NEW WINDOW
TipWorld subscriber Klaus Hein asks this niggling Internet Explorer 5 question: "Ich habe IE5. Wie offne ich mehrfache Webseiten?"
Boy, we can't tell you how often we get that question! Here's the answer: You can open another window while you browse by clicking Ctrl-N. While surfing in one window, you can download files or surf to another page in the other windows. No more traffic jam.
Next time, more reader mail from the international bureaus! Auf Wiedersehen!
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CLEAR AUTOCOMPLETE FORM ENTRIES
We recently ran a tip for folks who want to remove entries stored in the forms AutoComplete list. This feature keeps track of words you enter in forms as you traverse the Web. When you return to the form, Internet Explorer 5 prompts you to use one of the entries you entered previously. However, the list eventually gets filled with incorrect or unwanted entries. We mentioned how to clear the entire list:
Choose Tools, Internet Options, and select the Content tab. Then, click the AutoComplete button and select the Clear Forms button.
However, we didn't know how to clear individual entries. Many right good TipWorld readers did, and they wrote in to tell us about it. I think it was TipWorld reader Arno who put it best:
"On an AutoComplete-activated form field, if you see an entry you don't like, hover with your mouse pointer over the entry and tap the Delete key. Voila."
We were so close, and yet so far away. Thanks to everybody who wrote in to point out this oversight.
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NEWSGROUPS A GO-GO
Internet newsgroups are loaded with sickos making weird threats, lonely people crying out in the dark, braggarts trying to seem important, and pornographers trying to corrupt you and your family, right? Wrong! It's all that, PLUS the occasional helpful forum, such as tips and workarounds for Internet Explorer 5. One helpful newsgroup is
microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie5.browser
You are sure to find generous people in this group who can help you troubleshoot problems. Next tip: accessing newsgroups if you don't use a newsreader.
NEWSGROUP READER, NO THANKS
In our previous tip, we recommended searching an Internet Explorer 5 Internet newsgroup when trouble arrives. It's likely that other users have run across the same problems you see, and newsgroup posters are generally generous with tips. If you haven't configured your newsgroup reader (oh, like say, Outlook Express), try using a Web-based newsgroup site. Two you may find helpful are
http://www.deja.com
and
http://www.remarq.com
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SHRINK THE LINKS TOOLBAR
The Links toolbar (just below the Address bar) is a great way to access sites in one click. After a while, though, the toolbar gets pretty crowded. Try slimming it down a bit. To fit more sites on the Links toolbar, rename the links you have on there to something shorter than the page's title (the default). Right-click and select Rename from the shortcut menu. Type a new, shorter name in the New Name text box and click OK. Rinse and repeat as necessary. (Note: Rinsing is, in fact, simply a bad joke, and is not necessary.)
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UNZIP IF YOU PLEASE
As you download files from the Internet, you may find your hard drive filling up with ZIP files. What to do with them? These are compressed files, which make downloading quick and (relatively) painless. However, you first need to decompress your "zipped" downloads with a ZIP utility. You can use a stand-alone program to do this, such as WinZip, a shareware program that you can download from
http://www.winzip.com
You can also download a browser add-on that automates the process of opening and decompressing files (or "unzipping" them). However, to use this program, you first need to download WinZip 7. The add-on, called, aptly enough, the WinZip Internet Browser Support Add-On, can be found at
http://www.winzip.com/ibrowser.htm
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VIEW PAGES OFFLINE--PART 1 OF 2
Offline viewing can save you time and bandwidth. You tell Internet Explorer 5 what pages to save to your hard drive, and the program does the rest. You can even specify how many pages to download and when, all through a handy wizard. Here's how:
To mark the page you're currently browsing for offline viewing, select Favorites, Add To Favorites. Then, select Make Available Offline. To set options for offline viewing, click the Customize button and follow the instructions presented by the Offline Favorite Wizard. When you're done, click the Finish button. To update the page, select Tools, Synchronize.
VIEW PAGES OFFLINE--PART 2 OF 2
Last time, we walked through setting up a page for viewing offline. Here's a recap:
Select Favorites, Add To Favorites. Select Make Available Offline. To set options for offline viewing, click the Customize button and follow the instructions presented by the Offline Favorite Wizard. When you're done, click the Finish button.
To view the page offline, first choose Tools, Synchronize. Then choose File, Work Offline (you can now disconnect your Dial-Up Networking connection, if you like). Open the page by selecting it from the Favorites menu. That's it.
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COOKIE MUNCHING
Cookies are generally harmless sets of data that Web servers store on your hard drive. They keep track of your preferences, order history, and other information that saves you the trouble of re-entering your vitals each time you visit the site (and provides Web sites with data about their visitors). To really freak yourself out, take a peek at the cookies stored on your hard drive and see who's been tracking you. Open the folder Windows\Cookies on your hard drive.
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ANOTHER IE5 NEWSGROUP
In previous tips, we've mentioned newsgroups where you can discuss various hang-ups with IE5. If you don't have a newsgroup reader configured, try Remarq, an online service that requires no download for accessing newsgroups:
http://www.remarq.com
Here's another newsgroup, one that specializes in troubles with Outlook Express 5:
microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie5.outlookexpress
Just enter the above address into the Find box on the Remarq site and click the Find button to read the discussions or--better yet--join in.
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The Search bar in IE5 is a peculiar animal. To see the bar in action, click the Search button on the Standard Buttons toolbar (if you don't see the toolbar, click View, Toolbars, Standard buttons to display it). You can select whether you are searching for a Web page, business, or map (among other options). Enter a word in the search form, and click the Search button.
To adjust the Search bar to your liking, click the Customize button. The Customize Search Settings dialog box appears. From here, you can select which providers to search within a category. For example, under the Find A Web Page section, you can choose which providers you want to use for Web searches.
You can also choose to remove a search category. Say you no longer want to see the Map Searching feature in the Search bar. Scroll down to the blue bar marked Find A Map. Deselect its check box. Or you may want to make one search service more prominent within its category. Just select the service you want to reposition and click the little up or down triangle. (Note that all categories may not appear when you run a search. If you don't see the one you're looking for, click the More link.)
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SET AUTOSEARCH
You probably know that you can run Web searches right from the Address bar, thanks to IE5's Autosearch feature. Just enter the words you want to search for in the bar and click Enter. Or, if you are searching for only one word, precede it with a question mark, as in
? bunnies
You can also customize Autosearch by choosing the search engine you want to query when you enter words in the Address bar. First open the Search bar by clicking the Search button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. When the bar opens, click the Customize button. Then click the Autosearch Settings button. Select the provider you want from the list that appears. Click OK twice to close the open dialog boxes, and you're done.
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SEARCH FOR A WORD
If you haven't explored the features on the Search bar in awhile, you should give it another looksee. The Search bar is actually a Web page, so features can be added and refined over time without having to wait for a software upgrade.
In addition to being able to search for an encyclopedia entry, you can now look up words in a dictionary or thesaurus. Open the Search bar by clicking the Search button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. Select the radio button marked Look Up A Word (if you don't see it, click the More link). From the pop-up menu that appears, choose Encyclopedia, Dictionary, or Thesaurus. Enter the word or words you are looking for, and click Search.
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RUN PREVIOUS SEARCHES
Do you run the same Web searches over and over? If you use the Search bar feature in IE5, you can retrieve a list of your last ten searches and re-run them with a click. To check this out, click the Search button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. When the Search bar opens, select the Previous Searches radio button. A list of your previous searches appears. Click one to run it again. The results may vary, since new pages may have been listed since you last searched.
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SEARCHING THROUGH MULTIPLE WINDOWS
The Search bar is a quick way to find all sorts of things on the Web, but here's a way to make it even faster. You can take the results of your search and launch each page found in a new window. That way, while you're reading the page containing the first result, IE5 is busily loading the other pages in the background.
To use the Search bar, click the Search button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. Select Find A Web Page, enter the word or words you're looking for, and click the Search button. When the results appear, right-click each result and select Open In New Window. Repeat as necessary.
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FIND AN EASTER EGG
Since we've been discussing search tips for the last couple weeks, we thought it would be appropriate to end on a Search-related IE5 Easter egg. Here's how to see this hidden feature (added by the IE5 development team). But first, a word of warning: This will change the way your browser displays. If you do not want this to happen, even though you can change it back, do not follow these steps. Still with us? OK.
Click Tools, Internet Options, and select the General tab (if it isn't already selected). Press the Languages button. Click Add, and in the User defined text box, type
ie-ee
and click OK. The Language Preferences dialog box appears. Select the entry you just made, and click the Move Up button. Click OK twice to close the open dialog boxes. Now click the Search bar to see Easter Egg links. To see an animation, click the Customize button. .
To make everything go back to normal, click the Previous Searches button in the Search bar, then click the Reset Your Language Settings link. Select English under the Language list, and click Move Up. Then click OK.
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ADD WEB ACCESSORIES
IE5 offers a way to add new features to the browser; these accessories are provided by Microsoft developers as well as by third-party types like Alexa (a recommended IE5 utility that provides contact, rating, and review information about the sites you visit). To see a listing of available Web accessories, browse on over to
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/webaccess/default.asp
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ESCAPE FROM INTERNET EXPLORER 5
No matter how slow your connection, when you accidentally start to open a page (say, when you've entered the Web address incorrectly), it's always just fast enough to start loading before you can click the stop button. OK, maybe it's not groundbreaking news, but many folks don't realize how important the Esc button is--it does the same thing as the Stop button on the Standard toolbar.
Here's another example: When a page is loading but appears to stall, the first thing you should do is halt the page transfer and try the page again. Click the Esc button, then reload the page. Oftentimes, restarting the transfer downloads the page more quickly. In some cases, the problem may result from network traffic or a slow or overburdened Web server. In these cases, there's not much you can do. But restarting the transfer will often get you where you're going more quickly.
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FTP VIEW
A new feature in Internet Explorer 5 allows you to view FTP sites as you would view any folder on your computer. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and it's a way of copying files from one computer to another over the Internet. You might download shareware, for example, or program updates and patches. To make sure you can use this feature, select Tools, Internet Options. When the Internet Options dialog box launches, click the Advanced tab to bring it forward. Scroll down to the Browsing section, and make sure the box marked Use Web Based FTP is unchecked. To open an FTP site, enter its location in the Address bar, preceded by
ftp://
For example:
ftp://ftp.download.com
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RADIO MYSTERY
Some users have noticed that their Radio toolbar has mysteriously disappeared. The Radio toolbar is a handy way to play streaming media files, including RealAudio files (version 5.0 and earlier). If for some reason you no longer see the bar, select View, Toolbars, Radio. If that doesn't work, you may need to reinstall the Windows Media Player, which you can download at the following address:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download
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MAKE URLS MORE FRIENDLY
As you surf the Web, you can point to a hyperlink on the page and see the link address displayed in the status bar (it's the bottom bar in the browser window, and it usually says Done, showing that a page has finished downloading). Often the URL you wish to view is too long to fit into the Status bar. As an option, you can choose to view "friendly" addresses, which are shortened versions of the URLs. Here's how to check it out (you can always change back by reversing these steps).
First, select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Browsing section. Select Show Friendly URLs. Click OK twice to save your changes. Now surf to a site, and point to (but don't click) the link. You'll see quite a change from what you're used to. Pages within the site show the file name. Pages outside the site display the domain name, and in some cases the file name. Not a perfect fix, but more useful in many instances.
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FIND A PAGE YOU RECENTLY VISITED
Internet Explorer 5 gives you a handful of ways to organize your History list. If you accidentally close a window and you want to reopen the page, give this a shot:
First, open a new window by clicking Ctrl-N. Click the History button on the Standard toolbar. A pane opens on the left side of your browser. In this pane, click the downward-pointing arrow next to the View menu, and choose By Order Visited Today. You should see your page listed at top (or thereabouts, depending on how many sites you visited after viewing the page you are looking for).
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SMOOTH SCROLLING
If your pages appear to scroll in a jerky way--especially with long pages--Internet Explorer 5 offers a way to reduce this effect. Choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab to bring it forward. Choose Use Smooth Scrolling. Click OK to save your changes. Some users report problems with images and text overlapping each other when this box is selected. Deselect this option if you experience these problems. If not, enjoy the smoothness--oooooh.
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SET CACHE TO SMALLER SIZE
Internet Explorer 5's disk cache stores pages you visit for faster retrieval later. It's a great feature, but it can really eat up your disk space. To take back some disk space, try setting the cache to a smaller size:
Choose Tools, Internet Options. From the Internet Options dialog box that launches, click the Settings button. You'll see a slider marked Amount Of Disk Space To Use. Adjust the slider to the left to reduce the amount of disk space the cache can use, or simply enter a figure (in megabytes) next to the MB box.
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CHANGING PRINTOUTS IN INTERNET EXPLORER 5
Ever notice the information Internet Explorer 5 adds to your printouts? At the top and bottom of your page, you'll see information including the date and page address. You can change the info printed at the header and footer to suit yourself.
Select File, Page Setup. In the Header And Footer box, you can add or delete the variables displayed here to change what prints on the page. In addition, you can mix these with text. Here are a few variables and what the mean:
* Window title: &w
* Page address: &u
* Current page number: &p
* Centered text (following &b): &b
* Total number of pages: &P
* Date in short format: &d
* Date in long format: &D
When you finish, print the page by clicking Ctrl-P. Alternatively, choose File, Print, and click the OK button.
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DISCONNECT IF IDLE
You can tell Internet Explorer 5 to disconnect your Dial-Up Networking connection if you are not using it. It's saved many a marriage--and phone bill. Choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Connections tab to bring it forward. Then click the Settings button. A dialog box opens named My Connection Settings (where My Connection is the name of your dial-up connection). In the Dial-Up Settings area, click the Advanced button. Select the Disconnect If Idle For box and enter the number of minutes in the adjacent text box. Click the OK button three times to close the open dialog boxes.
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SET TEXT FONTS
By default, Internet Explorer uses the font Times New Roman to display text on Web pages. Page designers can easily override this setting by defining the fonts they want to appear when you view their pages. If a page does not specify which fonts should appear, you can select your own fonts, should you object to Times (a very readable font, but a little boring).
Select Tools, Internet Options. Click the Fonts button. From the Web Page Font list, choose the font you want to display as your default. Click OK twice to close the open dialog boxes. Go ahead, throw caution to the winds and pick a wacky font!
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TRY THE REPAIR INTERNET EXPLORER TOOL
If you begin to notice strange things happening with IE5, the program's repair tool may help. For instance, if a menu command suddenly goes missing or the program crashes more often than usual, you may get some relief by following these steps.
To use the repair tool, choose Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Install/Uninstall tab (if it's not already selected). From the list of programs you see, choose Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 (the name may vary slightly based on your installation). Click the Add/Remove button. Choose the Repair Internet Explorer option. Click the OK button. Click OK once more when a confirmation box appears.
If you're still having problems, you may need to reinstall the program. Good luck!
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ALPHABETIZE FAVORITES
"All new Favorites appear at the end of the list. Is there a way to alphabetize them without doing it manually in the Windows Explorer?"
Just select Favorites from the menu bar, then right-click and choose Sort By Name from the menu that appears. Pretty simple, huh?
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GO TO MSIE 5.01
For a few months we've been a little hesitant to recommend Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01. If you use IE 5.0 and want to see whether the upgrade is worthwhile, check out this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q244/6/55.asp
We're pretty happy with the full version of IE 5.0, but should you choose to download 5.01--and it does seem quite stable--you can find the latest version at this address:
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/download
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CUSTOMIZE TOOLBAR
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 has some neat tools for modifying your toolbar. First choose View, Toolbars, Customize (or right-click the Standard Buttons toolbar and choose Customize). Select an icon on the right, then click the Add button to include it on your toolbar, or choose an icon on the right and click Remove to yank it off the toolbar. Click the Reset buttons to return the Standard Buttons toolbar to its default view. When you're finished, click the Close button.
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When you save a Web page, all you really save is the HTML; images and
other components remain at the original site.
But IE5 lets you save an entire Web page, including graphics. Select
Save As from the IE5 File menu and choose Web Page/Complete from the Save
As Type drop-down menu.
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ADD SEPARATOR BETWEEN TOOLS
Yesterday we talked about customizing the Standard Buttons toolbar (to do so, right-click the Standard Buttons toolbar and choose Customize). You can add or remove buttons, or as we see today, you can create a separator to keep things tidy. A separator is a line that appears between buttons to distinguish them.
After opening the Customize menu as described above, click the icon in the right pane that you want to separate from the other buttons. The separator will appear to the left of the button. Choose the Separator icon from the left pane, then click the Add button. Click the Close button when you're finished.
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CLEAR CACHE
The disk cache handily keeps track of pages you download and stores them on your hard drive. When you return to a page you've previously visited, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 will often open a cached page to get you there faster. It can get out of hand, though. If you need to conserve disk space, dump the cache.
Select Tools, Internet Options. From the General tab (which should already be selected), click the Delete Files button. When the confirmation message appears, click the OK button. Then choose OK again to close the Internet Options dialog box.
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RECOVER GRACEFULLY FROM A CRASH
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 users know that crashes can happen, especially when you have multiple windows open or when you have several applications running at once. If IE 5 stops responding, be patient. Give it a few minutes to recover. If you can, save any files you have open.
If it becomes apparent that the problem is terminal, select Ctrl-Alt-Delete from your keyboard. Choose Internet Explorer from the Close Program dialog box that appears. Note that the name of the program you select may vary depending on the name of the page you have open. Click End Task to shut the program down, then restart your computer.
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HANDY ADD-ON
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 has some pretty handy timesaving features, but you'll find a few new tricks in an add-on called Obongo. Like a summer romance, we've used Obongo, then moved on--but others rave about it. The program can store your vital information (name, address, and passwords) for faster filling out of forms on e-commerce sites and password-protected sites. The program can even help you compare prices for the same product from different vendors. You can find more about it at
http://www.obongo.com
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TRY, TRY AGAIN
Sometimes when you click a link, a page won't open. Among other reasons, it may be Net congestion or an overtaxed Web server. You may be able to get around the problem by right-clicking the link and choosing Open In New Window. Or click the Esc key and reenter the address. Good luck!
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IMAGE SIZE
Web designers often need to know the size of an image. This is useful for setting pixel height and width when designing HTML pages. To see the dimensions of an image in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, right-click the image. The dimensions appear, along with other useful information such as the image address and its file size.
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PROBLEMS COMMUNICATING
TipWorld reader Dave Prince speaks English, but for some reason his browser is speaking Spanish:
"Somewhere along the way, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 decided to speak to me in Spanish. (I think I was trying to decipher a note from my cousin in Spanish.) Anyway, now all my little pop-up messages are in Spanish. Some of them I recognize, many I don't. Any easy way to get back to English?"
Try this: Select Tools, Internet Options. On the General tab (it should already be selected), click the Languages button. From the Language list, select English. Click OK twice to close the dialog boxes.
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MONKEY TIME
Got kids? Microsoft offers a collection of Explorer bars that add specialized content to your browser in a convenient pane. The Surf Monkey bar blocks inappropriate sites and foul language. You can download this Explorer Bar at this address:
http://www.surfmonkey.com/free_trial/MSDownloadBar.asp?MIE
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POWER TWEAKS WEB ACCESSORIES
Want to add some new features to Internet Explorer 5 without upgrading? Consider the Power Tweaks Web Accessories kit from Microsoft. Among its features is the Text Highlighter, which lets you select text and highlight it in yellow (like the similar tool in Microsoft Word). You can also toggle the display of graphics by clicking the Image Toggler button in the Links toolbar. And you can right-click an image to zoom in on it.
Download the kit at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/webaccess/pwrtwks.exe
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MSIE 5 ACCESSORIES FOR WEB DEVELOPERS
If you design Web pages, Microsoft's Web Developer Accessories might interest you. The add-on's most promising feature is the capability to display source code for a highlighted section of a Web page. After downloading and installing the plug-in, you can select an area of a page, right-click it, and see the HTML that creates it. You can download the Web Developer Accessories at the following address:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/webaccess/webdevaccess.exe
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MSIE 5 SHORTCUT TO DESKTOP
When you first install Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, it places shortcuts on your desktop and in the Quick Launch toolbar. If you accidentally delete a shortcut, it's easy to create another one. Select Start, Programs, and right-click Internet Explorer. Select Send To, Desktop (Create Shortcut). A new icon appears on the desktop. Click and drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar, or elsewhere if you prefer.
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VIEW FAVORITES
From within Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, you can open your Favorites Explorer Bar by clicking the Favorites button on the toolbar. Here's another way to view your Favorites from within My Computer or Windows Explorer. Just choose View, Explorer Bar, Favorites. You may find this helpful when you want to organize or add Favorites while browsing your system.
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CTRL SHORTCUTS
The Ctrl key is one of the best ways to get things done with Microsoft
Internet Explorer 5. Here is a short list of keyboard shortcuts you can
use for faster browsing:
- Ctrl-W closes the browser.
- Ctrl-O opens a new location.
- Ctrl-P prints the page you're viewing.
- Ctrl-F opens the Find dialog box for searching within a page.
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CLEAR FORMS AND PASSWORDS
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5's AutoComplete for Forms and Passwords is a great timesaver, but eventually you may want to get a fresh start. You can clear out individual entries by selecting them with the cursor keys, then clicking the Delete key.
Here's how to flush all of them out entirely. Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Content tab. Click the AutoComplete button. Click the Clear Forms and/or Clear Passwords buttons. Click the OK button when prompted. To save changes, click the OK button twice in the open dialog boxes.
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RESET MSIE 5 AS DEFAULT BROWSER
As you install new browsers on your system (for instance, Opera, the latest version of Netscape, or the NeoPlanet add-on), you may find that files you want associated with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 now open in another program. To make MSIE 5 the default browser again, select Tools, Internet Options, and choose the Programs tab. Select the box labeled Internet Explorer Should Check To See Whether It Is The Default Browser.
Then click OK and close and restart MSIE 5. When prompted, click Yes to make MSIE 5 your default browser. You may need to restart before MSIE 5 will prompt you with this message.
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PRESS SPACEBAR TO SELECT CHECK BOXES
When filling in forms on the Web, you may know that you can press the Tab key to jump from line to line or Shift-Tab to jump backward. But did you know that you can press the spacebar to select check boxes? You may never need your mouse again.
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If slow-loading Java applets interrupt your Web browsing, turn off Java support. Select View/Internet Options/Security (Tools/Internet Options/ Security for IE 5.); click on the Custom radio button, then on the Settings button. Select the Disable Java option.
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REMOVE BACKGROUNDS WHEN PRINTING
To speed up printing of Web pages, and in some cases make them easier to read, tell Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 not to print background colors and images. Select Tools, Internet Options, and choose the Advanced tab. Under Printing, deselect Print Background Color And Images. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box and save your changes.
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SEARCH MORE QUICKLY
You probably open the Search, History, and Favorites features in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 many times a day. To open your Explorer bars more quickly, try these shortcuts. Open Search by clicking Ctrl-E and History by pressing Ctrl-H. You can open your Favorites Explorer bar by pressing Ctrl-I. You can cycle from one to the next without first closing an open Explorer bar. Neat, huh?
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MAKE FAVORITES AVAILABLE OFFLINE
If you browse by laptop or simply need to browse offline occasionally (say, in a multisurfer household), try making a Favorite available even when you aren't connected to the Net. Click the Favorites menu item on the menu bar, then right-click the favorite you want to make available offline. Select Make Available Offline and follow the instructions in the wizard menu that appears. When you finish, the wizard will save the page to your hard drive (along with linked pages, if you choose this option from the wizard).
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ENCRYPTING BACKUP FILES WITH A PASSWORD
If you back up files using Microsoft Backup (accessible by going to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup), you might want to protect your backups with a password to ensure that others can't access your information.
To encrypt a backup file with a password, select the file from the Backup Job dropdown list and click the Options button. Click the Password tab and check the Protect This Backup With A Password check box. Enter and confirm your password and click OK. Be sure to choose a password that you'll remember, because there will be no way to access this password information without it. You won't need to enter your password the next time you back up this same file--you'll only need it if and when you want to restore the backup data.
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TOUR AND ONLINE SUPPORT
Got a friend who's new to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5? Here's a quick way to curry favor. Point out the Tour and Online Support selections available in MSIE 5's Help menu. In particular, the tour of the interface found here will familiarize new users to the names and conventions of the browser. Point your browser (or your friend's browser) at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/tour/basics/default.htm
The Online Support selection offers a direct link to the Microsoft Knowledgebase and invaluable resource for solving MSIE-related problems, and you'll find links to downloads and FAQs. You can access the Online Support page directly at
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/
Of course, you need to make sure you are connected to the Net before choosing these selections, since they all appear on the Microsoft Web site.
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HOLD THAT SOUND
As you surf, you may come across some pages that launch unexpected background sounds. This can be an annoyance, especially if you're browsing late at night and don't want to wake up the whole house. Here's how to turn off sounds, at least temporarily. Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Multimedia sections and deselect the check box labeled Play Sounds. Click the OK button to save changes.
You'll find more information about turning off multimedia at the following Web address:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q153/7/75.asp
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ALTERNATIVE TO RIGHT-CLICKING
The right-mouse click is an invaluable way to speed your browsing in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Right-click a link, for instance, and you'll see options to open the link in a new window or to add the link to the Favorites menu. If you prefer to open this menu from the keyboard, select Shift-F10. Once the menu appears, select the underlined letter from any of the menu items to launch that command. You may find using keyboard commands in this way helpful when your mouse isn't working, when you want to avoid mousing, or when you're working on an unfamiliar laptop with a touchpad you find difficult to use.
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CTRL SHORTCUTS
Every month we point out a few handy keyboard shortcuts that save time by leaving the mouse in the stationary position. In honor of the release of Microsoft Explorer 5.5, with its new print preview features, we present some handy shortcuts for printing, along with the usual browsing shortcut fare.
- Ctrl-I to open the Favorites Explorer bar quickly.
- Ctrl-Tab to jump between frames on a page.
- Ctrl-E to open the Search Bar.
- Ctrl-click in the History or Favorites bars to open multiple folders simultaneously.
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OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW
Say you're browsing the Web and everything's going along just dandy. Then you click a link, and nothing happens--no error message, no dice. When a page hangs, you can often get around the problem by launching it in a new window. Either press the Shift key while clicking the link with your mouse, or right-click the link and choose Open In New Window to get around this bug.
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START WITH A MAXIMIZED WINDOW
We've written several times about launching Internet Explorer 5 in full-screen mode, but we continue to get questions about it. MSIE 5 cleverly remembers to open up the way you last closed it. So you can toggle to full-screen mode (press F11), then close the browser (press Alt-F4 or Ctrl-W). The next time you open up MSIE 5, it will start in full-screen mode.
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FIND BROADBAND OPTIONS
Between cable and DSL access, most people can now get broadband Internet access. You may not have the option of DSL, though, if you reside too far from the phone company's central office. To find out if service is available in your area, and to locate a reliable provider, check out the DSL Report at the following address:
http://www.dslreports.com
The site also provides helpful news and user reviews. Check out the site and--hopefully-- kiss your slow analog modem goodbye.
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SET A BLANK HOME PAGE
There's no need to wait for a slow-loading home page when you start Internet Explorer 5. Especially for those with 56-kbps modem connections, try starting with a blank home page.
Click Tools, Internet Options, and in the General tab (selected by default),
click the Use Blank button. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog
box.