INTERNET EXPLORER TIPS

Internet Explorer Tips

Seeing When a Web Page Was Last Updated Displaying the Internet Connection Wizard Moving Backward or Forward with the Wheel Mouse IE Restrictions Automatic Entry of WWW and COM Forgotten the Content Advisor Password Downloading More than Four Files at a Time Getting and Explorer View of Your Internet Favorites Disabling the Ability to Add or Remove IE's Toolbars Specifying the Default Download Directory in Internet Explorer Disabling the Ability to Change the Default Download Directory Clearing Internet Explorer's AutoComplete Entries Starting Internet Explorer in Full Screen Kiosk Mode Creating Hidden URL Shortcuts Easy Way to Scroll Through Web Pages Internet Explorer Repair (IE5) Quick Way to Change the Security Settings (IE5) Importing and Exporting Favorites and Cookies with IE5 IE 5 Link Tips Adding a History Icon to your Desktop (IE5) Changing Internet Explorer 5.0 Settings Removing Lost IE Supervisor Password Change Font Size Opening Temporary Internet Files Quickly Opening a Newsgroup from your Browser Internet Explorer in Full Screen Mode Setting Internet Explorer Window Size Organizing Your Favorites Reordering Your Links (IE 4) Changing the Links Icon (IE 4) Changing the Search Pages Used by Internet Explorer 4.0 Having IE Load a Default Page Other Than BLANK.HTM Changing the IE and Outlook Title Bars Changing the Information Boxes in IE 4 Opening Links in a New Window Accessing your best Favorites Keeping Track of Bookmarks Changing Internet Explorer's Blank Page Increasing Viewing Space Changing the Directory for the Internet Explorer Cache Changing the Title Bar of the Internet Explorer Changing the Internet Explorer, Mail and News Bitmap Using Other Mail Packages with Internet Explorer Viewing Drives with IE 3.0 Changing your Favorites Location Internet Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts Adding IE3.0 Bookmarks to the Start Menu Adding Custom Links and Applications to Internet Explorer 3.0 Toolbar Adding your HTML Editor to the Internet Explorer 3.0 Toolbar Organizing Internet Explorer 3.0's Favorites Changing the Internet Explorer 3.0's ToolBar Background Re-Setting Internet Explorer to Save rather than Open Files Downloaded Turning off the underline of hot links in Internet Explorer 3.0 Starting the Internet Explorer with no initial Start Page Keeping Control of URL Bookmarks Seeing When a Web Page Was Last Updated You can easily determine when a web page was last updated. Open up the page you want. Enter javascript:alert(document.lastModified) in the Address bar Note: You only need a java capable browser To use this without all the typing each time: Open C:\Windows\Favorites folder in Explorer Copy (you must copy, NOT make a new shortcut) any existing shortcut in that folder. Paste it back to the same (C:\windows\favorites) directory Right click it, click properties, in the URL: box put in your tipjavascript:alert(document.lastModified) Then rename it, I named it Date Info. That's it, it's always there in Favorites when you want it. Displaying the Internet Connection Wizard If you want Internet Explorer to display the Internet Connection Wizard again: Open Regedit Go to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Connection Wizard\Completed Set the value to 0 Moving Backward or Forward with the Wheel Mouse You can rapidly go Backward or Forward in your IE Browser by holding down the Shift key while moving the mouse wheel. This saves moving your mouse up and clicking on the Back or Forward buttons. Most folks already know the keyboard shortcuts by holding down the Alt key and hitting the left and right cursor keys to effect the same thing. IE Restrictions You can restrict several settings in Internet Explorer 4.x and 5.x Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Restrictions Add a DWORD with a name of: NoFileOpen Disables Open command on File menu, CTRL+O, and CTRL+L. NoFileNew Disables CTRL+N NoBrowserSaveAs Disables Save and Save As on the File menu. NoBrowserOptions Disables Internet Options on the View menu (disables changing browser settings). NoFavorites No Favorites menu, adding to favorites, or organizing favorites. NoSelectDownloadDir Prevents user from being able to select download folder by not displaying the Save As dialog box when a file is downloaded. NoBrowserContextMenu Disables HTML context menu. NoBrowserClose Disable ALT+F4. NoFindFiles Disables the F3 key. NoTheaterMode Disables the F11 key. Give it a value of 1 to turn on the restriction Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Toolbars \ Restrictions Create a DWORD with a name of : NoToolbarOptions Disables adding, removing, or moving toolbars. Give it a value of 1 to enable this restriction. Automatic Entry of WWW and COM Internet Explorer can automatically fill in the www and com part of a url. Just type in middle part and CTRL+Enter Forgotten the Content Advisor Password If you set a password for the Content Advisor and can't remember it, the following steps will help you remove it: Start Regedit Go to H_KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Policies/Ratings Delete the entry called Key Downloading More than Four Files at a Time Normally you can only download four files at a time with Internet Explorer. To increase that to as many as you want: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings Change the MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server to whatever number you want Change the MaxConnectionsPerServer to whatever number you want Getting and Explorer View of Your Internet Favorites If you want to see an Explorer type of window of your Internet Favorites, hold the Shift key down will selecting Favorites / Organize Favorites. This will show all your favorites and can make it easier to move them around Disabling the Ability to Add or Remove IE's Toolbars Normally you can add or remove IE's Toolbars (Standard Button, Address Bar, Links etc) To disable the ability to add or remove these toolbars Start Regedit Go to HKEY_USERS \ .DEFAULT \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Toolbars \ Restrictions Create a DWORD value called NoToolbarOptions Give it a value of 1 Now, although you can change what is on the toolbars themselves, you can add or remove any. Specifying the Default Download Directory in Internet Explorer To specify the default download directory for the Internet Explorer Start Regedit Go to HKEY_USERS \ .DEFAULT \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer Add a String value called Download Directory For it's value, enter in the Directory where you want your downloaded files to go Disabling the Ability to Change the Default Download Directory If you want user's not to be able to change the Default Download Directory Start Regedit Go to HKEY_USERS \ .DEFAULT \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Restrictions Create a DWORD value called NoSelectDownloadDir Give it a value of 1 Note: On my Win98 with IE5 this also didn't allow me to download any files. System Administrators might want to include that as part of their configuration. Clearing Internet Explorer's AutoComplete Entries If you want to clear all the entries that show up from past searches, web entries etc. Start IE Go to Tools / Internet Options / Content / AutoComplete Click on the Clear Forms button If you want to disable this in the future, uncheck any of the boxes that apply Starting Internet Explorer in Full Screen Kiosk Mode You can create a shortcut that will start the Internet Explorer in Kiosk mode. There are no menu's and all commands need to be entered though keystrokes (eg Ctrl-O to open) Right click on an open area of the desktop Select New / Shortcut For the Command enter "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -k Give it any name you want Creating Hidden URL Shortcuts If you want to create shortcuts to your favorite URLS but don't want them to show in your Favorites folder: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINES / Software / Microsoft / InternetExplorer / AboutURLs Add String Values with the shortcut name you want to use Give them the value of the URL you want the shortcut to go to Then from the Internet Explorer, simply type about:shortcut_name Easy Way to Scroll Through Web Pages An easy way to scroll through web pages is with the spacebar. The spacebar will scroll down a page Shift-spacebar will scroll up a page Internet Explorer Repair (IE5) With IE5 there is a way to do a repair in case the installation has gotten corrupted. Go to the Control Panel Open up Add/Remove Programs Select Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools Click the Add/Remove button Check Repair Internet Explorer Click on the OK button Quick Way to Change the Security Settings (IE5) To changing the Security Settings in IE5, simply double-click on the bottom right corner of the status bar. Your security settings pop-up. Importing and Exporting Favorites and Cookies with IE5 With IE5 you can now import your Favorites and Cookies Just select File / Import and Export The Import/Export Wizard will come up on the screen. Just click on the Next button Then just select what you want to do. It will Export or Import from a single file IE 5 Link Tips In IE5 you can use the tab key to scroll through links on a page, then hit the Enter key to open the link. You can also right-click a link, then choose to open it in a new window. You can also right-click a down-loadable file and select save target to to start the download. Adding a History Icon to your Desktop (IE5) Right-click on an open area of the desktop Select New / Folder. Type the name, as shown: History.{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000} The icon will be replaced by the History icon. Changing Internet Explorer 5.0 Settings You can change some of the default IE5 settings from the Tools / Internet Options / Advanced / menu Some of the items include: Enable Page Transitions - Can speed up page display if turned off Notify when downloads complete Print background colors and pictures Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed Removing Lost IE Supervisor Password If you forgot your Supervisor Password for the Internet Explorer, you can remove it by: Starting Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies Delete the Ratings key Change Font Size In IE4, hold down CTRL and use the mouse wheel to increase/decrease font size quickly. Opening Temporary Internet Files Normally when you try to open a file in the Temporary Internet Folders directory, you get a warning: Running a system command on this item may be unsafe. Do you wish to continue? To remove this warning: Start the Internet Explorer Go to View / Internet Options Click on the Security tab Select Custom Go to Launching applications and files in an IFRAME Check Enable Now you can click on a file in that directory and open it without the warning. Quickly Opening a Newsgroup from your Browser This is a tip for quickly reading a newsgroup without having to download the whole news file which can take quite some time and be rather large. If you know the name of the newsgroup you want to read: Within your browser window (either IE4.X or Netscape 4.X) hit Ctrl+O which will bring up the open page window. Type the following: news:"newsgroup name", (e.g. news:alt.invest) then hit Enter The newsreader for the application will download the headers for that particular newsgroup. Internet Explorer in Full Screen Mode Press F11 to resize windows to a full screen in Internet Explorer 4.0 Submitted by Scott Witherow Setting Internet Explorer Window Size When you click on a hyperlink in Outlook or Outlook Express, it will automatically open Internet Explorer Sometimes this may be in a small window. To increase or change the size, click on the Restore button, the middle one in the upper right hand corner of the toolbar. Resize the window and then close the Internet Explorer The next time you click on a hyperlink, it will open to the size you set. Organizing Your Favorites With IE4 or Win98, a shortcut to an easy way to organizing your favorites is to press Ctrl-B while the Internet Explorer is running. This brings up a box where you can create or delete new folders, re-order folders, sort folders, as well as import and export your favorites. Reordering Your Links (IE 4) You can change the order of the links in your IE4 toolbar. Simply click and hold down the left mouse button over the link you want to move Then drag it to the new location on the links toolbar The cursor will change to an I-bar when you have it set correctly Changing the Links Icon (IE 4) To change the little icon that appears next to a link: Right-click on the link Click on the Internet Shortcut tab Click on the Change icon button Select the icon you want to use Changing the Search Pages Used by Internet Explorer 4.0 Changing the Search icon Engine When you click on the Search icon in IE4, you go to the default page of http://home.microsoft.com/search/search.asp To change this setting: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main Change the value for Search Bar to the URL of the search engine you want to use Changing the Go / Search the Web Engine Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main Change the value for Search Page to the URL of the search engine you want to use Having IE Load a Default Page Other Than BLANK.HTM Normally, if a web site can't be found, IE will load the file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\BLANK.HTM To have it load another file: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Internet Explorer\ Main Double click on Local Page Enter the file you want to use Changing the IE and Outlook Title Bars To change the IE Title Bar: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main Add or edit the string value Window Title (there is a space between the words) Add the text you want to appear To Change the Outlook Title Bar Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express Add or edit the string value WindowTitle (there is no space) Add the text you want to appear Changing the Information Boxes in IE 4 With IE4, when you place the mouse over My Computer, Network Neighborhood, and the Recycle Binicons, etc. a small window opens with some information. For example, over the My Computer icon, it starts with Use My Computer to view the contents of your computer. To change this text: Start Regedit Search for InfoTip Enter the text you want to appear for each icon Items you can change are: Network Neighborhood My Computer Control Panel Printers The Internet My Documents Recycle Bin Briefcase Internet Explorer Dial-Up Networking Opening Links in a New Window Hold down Shift and point with the mouse on a link. A new IE opens automatically with the new page. Accessing your best Favorites If you have many favorites that you frequently access, but their names areat the end of the alphabet. I rename my "favorite" favorites with a letter and space like this: A Microsoft Knowledge Base B Microsft Home Page This way they are at the top of the list of favorites for easy access. Keeping Track of Bookmarks Bookmark Tip: For Netscape users; To better keep track of what you found where simply add a "note" to your bookmark. To do this; highlight a bookmark, select ITEM, select PROPERTIES and in the NAME box to the bookmark's actual name add your "note". Such as "Great game software, neat utilities Etc." Explorer users may be able to do a similar thing. Changing Internet Explorer's Blank Page Tired of looking at the page "BLANK.HTM" whenever Internet explorer can not connect to a site on the internet. Try this simple trick to make this page remove itself whenever it is displayed. You will however still receive a error message telling you that you could not connect to the site. All you need to do is to edit the file: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\BLANK.HTM until it looks like this: Increasing Viewing Space To get more viewing space in for web browsing, just go to Options and uncheckText labels and Links. Click OK then highlight the bottom of the toolbars and shift them up. Changing the Directory for the Internet Explorer Cache By default, the Internet Explorer creates four directories Cache1-4 where it places all the HTML pages, graphics, AVI's etc that you view If you want to move this location or even have only one cache that points to a directory of your choice: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Internet Settings / Cache / Path / Path1-4 Change the value of the paths to a single location or any location of your choice You can even just have PATH1 and delete the other three The next time you start the Internet Explorer, the cache files will only be placed in the directories of your choice This can be useful if you want to delete the files often. You can then just delete the files in the single directory Changing the Title Bar of the Internet Explorer By default, the title bar on the Internet Explorer says Microsoft Corporation Internet Explorer To change this to the text of your choice: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Internet Explorer / Main Change the value of the string Window Title to be the new text you want displayed Changing the Internet Explorer, Mail and News Bitmap If you want to change the bitmap that is in the upper right hand corner: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Toolbar Make a new String Value named BrandBitmap Give it a value of the BMP file you want to use You can include the full path The size should be approximately 32x32 but the tool bar will grow to accommodate the size This will change the bitmap that is used for Internet Explorer, Internet Mail and Internet News Using Other Mail Packages with Internet Explorer To change the Internet Explorer to use another e-mail package than Exchange when sending mail: Open a Folder Select View / Options and then File Types Go to URL:MailTo Protocol Click on the Edit button Highlight Open and click on the Edit button again Under Application used to perform action: enter the path and program for your e-mail application You may need additional switches depending on your e-mail program If you are concerned about going back to Exchange again, copy the existing setting to a file. You can then paste this back again if needed. Viewing Drives with IE 3.0 You can go to you hard drive or run applications by typing their path into the Internet Explorer address bar. For example try typing C:\ into the address bar and watch what happens. Is this signs of things to come from IExplorer? Note from Bob: - You can also view resources on servers the same way. For the URL enter a UNC such as \\server\share Changing your Favorites Location You might want to change the location where the Internet Explorer looks for your store Favorite sites. This can come in useful if you have multiple operating systems (Windows95 and NT 4.0) and want to share the save set of Favorites or you simply want to have greater control over where you favorites are stored. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders Double click on Favorites in the right hand panel Enter the new location Click on the OK button Do the same for the User Shell Folders section a few lines down Close Regedit Create the directory you just pointed to Copy any existing Favorites to that location Be sure to include all folders Start the Internet Explorer Internet Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts Here are a few IE keyboard shortcuts: Alt+Left Arrow - Goes ‘Back’ to the previous page Alt+Right Arrow - Goes ‘Forward’ to the next page Ctrl+D Does immediate ‘Add to Favorites’ on the current web page Ctrl+H - Opens the History folder Ctrl+B - Opens the Organize Favorites window Ctrl+L - Lets you open a new web page Ctrl+N - Opens a new browser window Ctrl+R - Reloads the current page Ctrl+W - Closes the active Internet Explorer window Adding IE3.0 Bookmarks to the Start Menu Open the taskbar settings menu Click advanced. Create a new folder named Bookmarks. Start Explorer and go to the folder c:\windows\Favorites. This is the IE3.0 bookmark file. Select the Bookmarks and Folders you want in the start menu. Select copy. Switch back to the Taskbar properties menu and paste to the bookmarks file. If you have a dial-up account and have autodial setup, clicking on a bookmark from the Start menu will start IE, connect to your provider and load the page. Adding Custom Links and Applications to Internet Explorer 3.0 Toolbar Along the toolbar are several default links, Best of the Web, Today's Links etc. To change the URL and description to your preference: Start Internet Explorer 3.0 Select View / Options Click on the Navigation tab Click on the down arrow by Page Select Quick Link #1-5 In the Name box, type the name you would like to see on the toolbar In the Address box, enter the URL. If it is the current page, click on the Use Current button To add an application, simply type in the full path and application. To run it, click on the button, selectOpen It and then Yes If you have more changes, click on the Apply button You will see the change to your toolbar immediately Click on the OK button when you are finished Adding your HTML Editor to the Internet Explorer 3.0 Toolbar You can add your favorite HTML Editor, or any other program, to the Internet Explorer 3.0 toolbar. Open up any folder Select View / Options Select File Types Scroll down until you can select Internet Document (HTML) Click in the Edit button Under the Actions section at the bottom click on the New button For the Action: type the word Edit For the Application used to perform action: you can enter the path for your application or browse The next time you start the Internet Explorer 3.0, a Edit icon will be on the toolbar. If you selected your HTML editor, when you click on that icon, your editor will be started and will load the current web page. Organizing Internet Explorer's Favorites An easy way to organize all your Favorite web sites is to hold the Shift key down while selecting Favorites / Organize Favorites. This will show you all the sites and folders. It makes it easy to move sites and create new folders. Changing the Internet Explorer's ToolBar Background If you want to change the background on your Internet Explorer 3.0 toolbar: Start IE 3.0 Go to View / Options Click on the General tab Uncheck Background Bitmap Exit the Internet Explorer Start Regedit Go to HKey_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Internet Explorer / Toolbar Double-click on Back Bitmap Enter the path and filename for the BMP file you want to use Re-start Internet Explorer 3.0 Re-Setting Internet Explorer to Save rather than Open Files Downloaded When you try and download a .EXE file with Internet Explorer, you are prompted to "Always ask before opening this type of file". If you uncheck this box, the next time a EXE file is about to be downloaded, you will not be prompted and the file will automatically be opened. You also do not see the "Always ask..." box again so you can uncheck it. To reset Internet Explorer back again: Start Regedit Go to Hkey_Classes_Root \ exefile Change the EditFlags value from d8 07 01 00 to d8 07 00 00 Turning off the underline of hot links in Internet Explorer 3.0 Internet Explorer 3.0 has no setting for turning off underline of hot links. It can be done in the registry. In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main change the value of "Anchor Underline" to "no". HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs has the URLs which appear when you click the arrow in the Address window. Starting the Internet Explorer with no initial Start Page By default, the Internet Explorer always loads a startup page. This can add time starting the program, especially with a modem. To start with no Startup Page: Open the Registry Editor Search for The Internet This should bring you to {FBF23B42 ... Click on the + signs until you get to Shell / Open / Command Double-Click on the (Default) in the right panel. Add -nohome after the IEXPLORE.EXE. For Example: C:\Program Files\Plus!\Microsoft Internet\IEXPLORE.EXE -nohome Restart the Internet Explorer and it will come up to a blank URL. Keeping Control of URL Bookmarks Create Folder called Bookmarks Rom the Internet Explorer or Netscape, Right click on a Web page and select "create shortcut" Copy these from Desktop location to Bookmarks folder Drop Bookmarks Folder onto Start Button (into Start folder) Now you can click on Start and then on Bookmarks and you have alphabetical list of Bookmarks