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MS IE 5

LAST UPDATED: 08 March 2009 17:02:46 -0600

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SHORT AND SWEET

In our last tip, we talked about adding a site to the Links toolbar (click Favorites, Add To Favorites from the toolbar, and under Create In, double-click Links, then click OK.) Sometimes the link you add may have a name that's a bit on the verbose side. To shorten the name, right-click that Favorite in the Links toolbar and select Rename. Type a shorter name in the text box marked New Name, then click OK.

 

 

FAST ON THE DRAW

The Links toolbar lets you click a button above the main browsing window to jump to one of your bookmarked sites. Here's an even quicker way to jump to one of your Links. First right-click the button you want to change on the Links toolbar. Now choose Properties from the menu that appears. Click the Web Document tab, then click in the Web Shortcut text box. Type a letter that will serve as a shortcut you'll remember. For instance, to jump to the TipWorld site, type T Internet Explorer 5 adds Ctrl-Alt before the key you've selected. By typing Ctrl-Alt-T in Explorer, you'll jump straight to the TipWorld site (or whatever site you've modified).

 

LET IE5 DO THE TYPING

The flat-out coolest new feature in Internet Explorer 5 is the AutoComplete feature for forms. When you run into a form on the Web (say, a password field, or a form for filling in your address or user name on a site), Explorer 5 asks if you want to save the entry. If you click Yes, the next time you visit the site Explorer automatically fills in the entry for you. Say you're entering the password on your Web-based e-mail account. The next time you visit, begin typing the password. IE5 offers a pop-up list of possible matches. Click the match you want to enter. Our next tip describes how to make AutoComplete even more efficient.

 

FASTER AUTOCOMPLETE

Yesterday, we talked about AutoComplete, a new feature in Internet Explorer 5 that can save you the trouble of typing user names, addresses, and passwords in forms that you use every day. For example, when you type a new password, Internet Explorer 5 asks if you want to save the entry (in an encrypted file on your hard drive). When you return to the site and start typing the password, Explorer offers a list of possible matches. Click the one you want to select it. To save even more time, just click in the form and press the down arrow on your keyboard. The list of matches appears. Press Enter when you reach the one you want. You won't need to use the mouse to select the right entry, and you don't even need to start typing the first letters of the entry.

 

FIND A RELATION

Borrowing a page from Netscape Communicator, Internet Explorer 5 adds a feature that shows you links related to the one you're viewing. Once you're at a site, click Tools, Show Related Links. The Related Links pane opens on the left side of the browser window. Click any of the links to jump to a related site.

 

 




JUMP AROUND

Here's a quick way to jump from link to link on a Web page without using your mouse. Just press the Tab button. When you want to open a link, click your Enter key. Want to jump to the previous link? Just press Shift-Tab.

 




AUTOMATIC BROWSING

Need to jump to a Web site fast? If you've been to the page before, try Internet Explorer 5's new AutoComplete feature. Earlier versions filled in the URL as you typed. However, the latest version offers a series of choices through a pop-up menu as soon as you begin typing. Begin to type in the Address bar, and the menu launches. Use the down arrow on your keyboard to jump to the page you want to visit. This saves you the trouble of clicking through a site you've already visited. Press Enter to jump to the site.

 




WAIT UNTIL YOU NEED IT

When installing Internet Explorer 5, you don't need to install all the components available. Say you pass on installing the Java Virtual Machine. Making this choice saves you disk space, and when you encounter a Java applet on a Web page, Internet Explorer asks if you want to install the JVM. It's your choice. Choose Yes at that time, and the installation begins.

 




GO STRAIGHT HOME

Want to jump to your home page? You can do so without leaving the keyboard. Just select Alt-Home. If you press Home all by itself, you'll jump directly to the beginning of the page you're viewing.

 




STOP IN THE NAME OF IE

When you're browsing the Web, you'll often run across a page that loads slowly. If the page hangs indefinitely, it's often better to stop the process and resubmit your request for the page. Just press the Esc key to halt a page load (or click the Stop button on the toolbar). Now click in the Address bar and press Return to send the call for the page again.

 

 

EXPAND YOUR CACHE FLOW

Pulling pages from your cache (which stores pages you've launched before) can save you quite a bit of time when you're browsing. You can improve performance by increasing the size of your cache, which saves your browser from making another trip to the Web to load the page. Select Tools, Internet Options. Click the General tab and choose Settings. Move the slider to the right to increase the cache. When you're done, click OK to close the Settings dialog box, then click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

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RADIO RADIO

You may not have noticed an important new feature of IE5: The browser now plays streaming audio through a toolbar, which doesn't launch by default. To display the Radio toolbar, select View, Toolbars, Radio. To find an audio file, click the Radio Stations button and select Radio Station Guide. IE5 takes you to an online guide of available broadcasts. Just click a link to begin listening.


 

 

RADIO, STAY--GOOD RADIO

Last time we discussed IE5's radio toolbar. (To play streaming audio with IE5, try the new Radio toolbar. Choose View, Toolbars, Radio.) Since the toolbar isn't persistent, you'll need to start it this way each time you want to play a file. Alternatively, you can change IE5's settings to make the toolbar stay put: Select Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. Under Multimedia, select "Always show Internet Explorer radio bar."


 

 

WHAT AM I LISTENING TO?

With IE5's new Radio toolbar (choose View, Toolbars, Radio) you can listen to files in Windows Media format as well as RealAudio files (version 4 or lower). But don't trash your G2 Real Player (the most up-to-date version), since the most recent streaming audio files from Real Networks require it. Yep, it's a hassle.

 

 




HISTORY OF RADIO

While listening to audio files using IE5's Radio toolbar (choose View, Toolbars, Radio), the program keeps a history of the most recent ones you've loaded so you can jump back without having to search for them. You can access your recently heard files by clicking the Radio Stations button, then selecting a file from the menu that appears.

 

 




A RADIO FAVORITE

With IE5's new Radio toolbar (choose View, Toolbars, Radio) you can view a history of the audio files you've listened to by clicking the Radio Stations button, then selecting a file from the menu that appears. Want to bookmark an audio file? Just click the Radio Stations button on the toolbar and select Add Station To Favorites. You can jump to your bookmarks by choosing Favorites, Radio, then choosing the site you want from the list that appears.

 

 




SHOW ME THE WAY

As you search the Web, IE5 can offer suggestions for sites related to the one you're viewing. Once you've found a page in which you're interested, click Tools, Show Related Links. The browser opens up an Explorer bar down the left side of your browser, which displays the results of a database of related links, based on user input (more on this next time). Helpful, no?

 

 




GET MORE INFO

While you're surfing the Web, IE5 can offer you suggestions for sites related to the one you're viewing (choose Tools, Show Related Links). A database of user input from the Alexa online service provides this information. To get even more info as you browse, check out the full download of Alexa for IE5. Just hustle over to

http://www.alexa.com

and follow the instructions for downloading the add-on. The software is quite small (just 65KB) and installs automatically after downloading. Among other factoids, Alexa for IE5 displays user rankings for each site you visit (if votes have been cast), as well as rankings of the site's download speed and the freshness of content.

Tomorrow, checking out Alexa's Insider's Page for more fun facts.

 

 




INSIDER INFORMATION

The Alexa add-on for IE5 tells you much about the pages you browse. Among other information it displays while you're browsing, Alexa shows you user rankings for each site you visit (if votes have been cast), as well as user input on download speed and the freshness of content. The 65KB download is available at

http://www.alexa.com

Once you install the utility, click the Alexa logo, which takes you to the service's Insider's Page. You'll see daily Web-related trivia, such as the most frequently accessed page on the Web, the most frequently typed address for a site that doesn't exist, and the top 10 most frequently visited (nonadult) sites on the Internet and the top 5 portals.

 

 




MORE INSIDER INFORMATION

The Alexa add-on for IE5 can tell you much about the pages you view. Among other information it displays while you're browsing, Alexa shows you user rankings for each site you visit (if votes have been cast), as well as user input on download speed and the freshness of content. The 65KB download is available at

http://www.alexa.com

In addition to interesting trivia about sites you're browsing, Alexa can display financial data about the folks behind the site. Once you've installed Alexa, launch it by choosing Tools, Explorer Bars, Alexa Vertical. Scroll down the Alexa pane to News and click the plus sign to expand the News listings. The links take you to important information such as key executives, competitors, stock quotes, and price history.

 




ALEXA, BE GONE

The Alexa add-on for IE5 can tell you much about the pages you view. Among other information it displays while you're browsing, Alexa shows you user rankings for each site you visit (if votes have been cast), as well as user input on download speed and the freshness of content. The 65KB download is available at

http://www.alexa.com

By default, Alexa opens in a pane on the left side of your IE window (aka the Explorer bar). You can turn this feature off, however, by scrolling down the Alexa Explorer bar, then clicking Off under Help. To bring back Alexa, just select Tools, Explorer Bars, Alexa Vertical (or Alexa Horizontal, your choice). What's the difference? The horizontal bar shows slightly less info and takes up less space.

 

 




IT WORKED JUST YESTERDAY

This week we've been checking out the Alexa add-on for IE5, which can offer all kinds of cool factoids about the pages you browse. The 65KB download is available at

http://www.alexa.com

One of the coolest aspects of Alexa is its Archive feature. Say you try to launch a site, but you receive an error message and it won't display. Usually you're stuck and you'll just have to try later. But Alexa has been archiving sites at breakneck pace, and now offers about 13 terabytes of backed-up Web pages. Now you can check out your favorite site even when the server is down. Just browse to the site as usual. Should you encounter an error, click the Archive link in the Alexa toolbar. (If Alexa isn't displaying after you've installed it, select Tools, Explorer Bars, Alexa Vertical). The information held in the archive may not be the most up-to-date, but it can save you trouble if you're trying to pull up info you've found before.

 

 




JUMPIN' JPEGS (AND GIFS)

When you install new graphic-editing software, sometimes the new application takes over the file associations for JPEGs, GIFs, and other image types you may want to preview quickly. Since the editing program may take longer to load than IE5, try this trick for quickly opening the files in your browser.

First hold down the Shift key, then right-click the file you want to open. From the pop-up menu that appears, choose Open With and scroll down to Iexplore. (Note: You can get there faster by clicking the I key on your keyboard and using the cursor keys to jump further down, if necessary). If you always want to open a GIF or JPEG file with Internet Explorer, click the check box marked "Always use this program to open files of this type." Then click OK. This is a pretty powerful trick whenever any application takes over the program association of a file type you open frequently. Use it only for good, never for evil.

 

 




AUTO NOT SO COMPLETE

One of our faithful readers is having a bit of trouble with the AutoComplete feature in IE5, and poses this question:

"I am currently using IE5 at home and at work. At work the application automatically drops down selection lists for fields as you type, listing those entries previously made that start with the letter(s) entered. I like this feature, but my IE5 at home doesn't do this and I can't find where the option is enabled and disabled. Can you help?"

No sweat. Select Tools, Internet Options. In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab. In the section marked Browsing, check the box marked "Use inline AutoComplete for Web addresses." Then click OK. That should do the trick.

 

 




LET'S EXPLORE

Organizing Favorites with IE5 can sometimes be a hassle. You can only see a small number of your Favorites, and dragging files into folders can sometimes be awkward. Thankfully, there's another way. Right-click the Start menu and select Explore from the pop-up window that appears. The Windows folder automatically expands. Open the Favorites menu. Now you can move, delete, and rename your bookmarks (aka Favorites) just as you would any other file on your system.

 

 




NO DISCONNECT

When you exit IE5, do you get a message asking if you want to close your dial-up networking connection? You're not the only one. Postings about this very problem fill newsgroups. We've tried everything, including changing the settings under Tools, Internet Options, Connections, and hacking the Registry. Nothing seems to work, so for now unfortunately you'll have to consider this a known issue. But we feel your pain. We're in contact with Microsoft about a fix, but so far we've had no luck there either. As soon as we find a solution, you'll be the first to know.

 




TIPS FOR DOUBLE AGENTS

If you use both Netscape Navigator and IE5, here's a good way to synchronize your bookmarks in IE5. Select File, Import and Export. When the Import/Export Wizard appears, click the Next button. Select Import Favorites and click Next. The program may autodetect Navigator; if so, click Next.

If not, click the Browse button to find the bookmark file you want to import, then click Save. Click Next.

The wizard asks where to import the bookmarks (by default they'll go in your current IE5 Favorites Folder--choose a subfolder if you wish). Click Next, then Finish, and click OK when IE5 tells you it has successfully imported the bookmarks.

 




ADD TO FAVORITES QUICKLY

Want to add a favorite site to your, uh, Favorites? You likely do so by clicking Favorites, Add To Favorites, OK. That's all fine and dandy, but there's a faster way--just click Ctrl-D.

 




MULTIWINDOW BROWSING

When you're searching the Web, you'll often find a list of sites you want to check out. Instead of jumping back and forth between the sites and the links that got you there, try this: Hold down the Shift key when clicking the link. This launches the link in a new window, and you can repeat the step as often as you need.

 




WHAT, NO RADIO?

In a few recent tips, we offered advice on using Internet Explorer 5's new Radio toolbar, which lets you listen to streaming audio files. (To see the toolbar, choose View, Toolbars, Radio). This feature appeared in the final version of IE5, so if you're using a beta version, you won't see it. Also, if you downloaded a custom version, and you don't have the Windows Media Player on your system, you need to install it to use the radio. You can download the Media Player at

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6372,00.html

 




WHERE DID IT GO?

As you surf the Web, you may find a great site that, alas, you forget to bookmark. No problem. As long as you haven't cleared your history, try running a search for it. First click the History button. The History pane launches in a pane on the left side of your browser. Click the Search button. Type a word from the page title or domain. For example, to find a site you browsed on the subject of cats, type

 

cats

or

 

cats.com

Then select a site from the returns that appear in the History pane. The page appears in the right pane.

 




A TIP ABOUT TIPS

Not satisfied with the daily tips yours truly offers? Try setting Internet Explorer 5 to display a tip as you start each day. Select Help, Tip of the Day. A new pane appears at the bottom of the browser. To see more, click the Next Tip link. Close the window by clicking the Close button--marked with an X at the top left of the pane.

 




SAY GOODBYE TO FORMS NOW

We've received several e-mails from folks who want to edit the Forms AutoComplete list. This feature stores entries from forms you type on the Web. When you return to the form, Internet Explorer 5 prompts you to use one of the entries you put in previously. One problem: It stores incorrect entries too, and the list gets crowded fast.

We don't know of a way to edit individual entries, but there is a way to clear the list entirely. Choose Tools, Internet Options, and select the Content tab. Then click the AutoComplete button and select the Clear Forms button. If you want to delete your password list as well, click the Clear Passwords button. When a message box appears asking if you want to go ahead, click OK.

 




SHORTER SHORTCUTS

If you find a link on a site you'd like to bookmark, you don't need to visit the site first. Right-click the link and choose Add To Favorites. You'll be prompted to name the bookmark. Choose a name (or leave the default as it is) and click OK.

 




A FAVORITE TRICK

To save yourself a few steps when bookmarking a site, try this quick trick: Click the icon to the right of the word Address, and drag it to the Favorites menu, which opens. Drag the icon where you want to place it on the menu, then release the mouse. You won't get a prompt to name the file, but you can do that later. Just select the Favorites menu, scroll to the favorite you want to rename, and right-click it. Choose Rename from the menu that appears, type a name, and click OK.

 




HEY, WHERE'D MY BUTTONS GO?

When you shrink your screen, you may not see buttons you could have sworn were there a minute ago. No sweat--they're still there. Just click the button at the far right of the toolbar. (Two arrows mark the button.) Then select the particular button you seek.

 




ADDRESS-BAR SHORTCUTS--PART 1 OF 3

If you surf a lot, you'll type "www" and "com" more times than you care to remember. To cut down on typing, enter the domain you want (that is, "cnn" rather than "www.cnn.com") and click Ctrl-Enter. Internet Explorer 5 adds the rest for you. Your fingers will thank you.

 




ADDRESS-BAR SHORTCUTS--PART 2 OF 3

To highlight all the text in the Address bar, just press Alt-D. You can then begin typing immediately to jump to the next site.

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ADDRESS-BAR SHORTCUTS--PART 2 OF 3

Most of your heavy lifting happens in the Address bar. When you're editing a URL in the Address bar, why not speed up the process by using a smart shortcut? You can jump to the next period (.) or slash (/) by pressing Ctrl followed by the left or right arrow. Surfing was never so quick and easy. OK, maybe that's an overstatement. But it's slightly better than it used to be--and isn't that what really counts?

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CHECK MAIL AUTOMATICALLY

Fabulous TipWorld subscriber Paul R. poses this Outlook Express question: "Is there a way to tell if you have mail waiting in Internet Explorer 5, without clicking on Mail, Read Mail?"

Sure thing. Just set OE to download mail at intervals you choose. First, open Outlook Express (by selecting Start, Programs, Outlook Express). Select the Tools menu and click Options. Under Send/Receive Messages, select Check For New Messages Every X Minutes, where X is a number you fill in. A number greater than 10 is generally appreciated by the folks who run your mail server.

Click the OK button to save your changes. You're all set. Just make sure you're connected to the Internet via a Dial-Up Networking connection, and the mail will roll in every X minutes.

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IE5 AND ACTIVE DESKTOP

TipWorld subscriber Jim M. asks why he no longer sees the Active Desktop since he installed Internet Explorer 5. Here's the deal. With the release of IE5, Microsoft decided to let Windows 98 handle Active Desktop duties. It gets a little confusing, so bear with us.

If you install IE5 on a Windows 95 machine (without IE4 installed), you won't see the Active Desktop. The only way to get Active Desktop on a Windows 95 machine is to first install IE4 (or Windows 98), then install IE5. Note that IE5 won't uninstall Active Desktop if you already have it.

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SET HOME PAGE TO BLANK PAGE

Does Internet Explorer 5 try to connect to the Internet each time you launch the program? Here's a quick way to save yourself a little time at startup: Change your home page to a blank page. Begin by selecting Tools, Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box will open with the General tab selected. Under Home Page, click the Use Blank button. You're set.

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TURNING OFF GIF ANIMATIONS

Animated images are great--the first 1,000 times they loop. To rid yourself of animated images, make a quick change in Internet Explorer 5's program options. First, select Tools, Internet Options. Then, press the Advanced tab. Under Multimedia, deselect Play Animations. Click OK to save your changes.

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SETTING LINKS STYLE

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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SEARCHING FROM THE ADDRESS BAR

For fast Web searches, try entering your query in the Address bar. It's a heck of a timesaver. Just enter the words you want to search for (where you normally would type a Web address) and click Enter. If you're searching for just one word, precede the word with a question mark.

For example, if you enter

? combs

Internet Explorer 5 will run a Web search for sites that offer information on combs.

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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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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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SAVING COMPLETE WEB PAGES

Previous versions of Internet Explorer made it difficult to save Web pages (and the associated graphics) for viewing later. Now you can easily save a page you're viewing. Just select File, Save As. Notice that the Save As Type box says Web Page, Complete. The HTML page and its graphics will be stored on your hard drive. Navigate to the location where you would like the page copied, then click the Save button. To open the page later, just double-click it.

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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!

 

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.

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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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SAY HELLO, WITH A WEB PAGE

When you see a page you like in Internet Explorer 5, you can quickly mail it off to a friend, co-worker, or perhaps even a very smart Internet-capable pet. Just select File, Send, Page By E-mail. Or choose File, Send, Link By E-mail (better for those on slower connections or who don't use HTML-capable e-mail clients). Doing so launches your default e-mail client. Address and send when ready.

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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.

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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.

An eye-opening experience, eh?

In our next tip, we look at software for managing cookies.

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AD MUNCHER

OK, so who loves Web banner ads? What's that? Nobody? Perhaps it's time to try a tool for blocking these Internet annoyances.

Consider @Guard, a shareware file you can download and try for free (there's a $30 registration fee if you decide to keep it). In addition to banner ads, the software can block cookies and background music, among other potential bandwidth wasters. It can even act as a firewall, which lets you restrict access to your PC by intruders when connected to the Net. You can get it at the following address:

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6049,00.html

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COOKIE MONSTER

The easiest way to speed your browsing is to cut out unnecessary downloads. Yesterday we mentioned @Guard, a shareware tool for blocking Web banner ads, cookies, and other unwanted downloads. Another fine tool for the job is interMute.

Like @Guard, you can try interMute for free. If you decide to keep it, the cost is $20 (this price is $10 cheaper than @Guard). Potential downside: interMute has no firewall feature (@Guard does). You can download interMute at

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5483,00.html

or try @Guard:

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6049,00.html

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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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SAVE A GRAPHIC YOU LIKE

As you zip around the Web, you may come across images you'd like to store on your hard drive for later viewing. Just right-click the image and choose Save Picture As. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the file. Then click Save.

Here's how to view the image later in your browser. Select the image with your mouse and drag it into an open IE5 window.

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SAVE SCREEN REAL ESTATE--PART 1 OF 3

If you browse on a small monitor, every bit of screen real estate counts. To get more useable space, try removing text labels from the buttons on the Standard Buttons toolbar. Select View, Toolbars, Customize. Under Text Options, select No Text Labels. Then click the Close button.

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SAVE SCREEN REAL ESTATE--PART 2 OF 3

One of the more noticeable and less useful new features in IE5 is the Go button. Save a little wrist pain each day by simply pressing Enter (on your keyboard) after typing in a Web address, rather than clicking the Go button. You can remove the button by right-clicking it, then deselecting Go Button.

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SAVE SCREEN REAL ESTATE--PART 3 OF 3

Over the last few tips, we've discussed reorganizing the interface to make more room for browsing. To reduce the size of your icons, choose View, Toolbars, Customize. Under Icon options, choose Small Icons. When you finish, click the Close button.

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STOP A PAGE FROM LOADING

Often a page that normally downloads quickly hangs up for no apparent reason. The Web server could be under an unusually heavy load. Or network traffic might gum up the works. In either case, it's often faster to stop the download and then click the link again. Just hit the Esc button to stop a download, or click the Stop button on the Standard Buttons toolbar.

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QUICKLY OPEN SEARCH

Want to start a search without picking up the mouse? Press Crtl-E to open the Search Explorer bar.

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HISTORY SHORTCUT

You probably open the History bar (down the left side of the browser) by clicking the History button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. There's a faster way. Click Ctrl-H and the History bar pops open.

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CUSTOMIZE YOUR SEARCHING

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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CHOOSE DEFAULT SEARCH SETTINGS

Over the last few tips, we've shown you how to make changes to the Search bar in IE5. To recap: Open the Search bar by clicking the Search button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. When the bar opens, click the Customize button. IE5 will present you with a Customize Search Settings dialog box, in which you can go crazy customizing your searching preferences.

If you've made a number of changes only to find that you like the way IE5 searched better before (it happens), click the Reset button. Before you do, remember that all of your changes will be lost. Say goodbye to customization, make any other changes you wish, and click OK to save them.

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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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HOVER TO SEE MORE

Here's a way to make your searching even more efficient. First, open the Search bar by clicking 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, you can get a bit more information about them by pointing with your mouse at a result (but not clicking it). When you "hover" over a result in this way, a short paragraph appears describing the search result. Neat, eh?

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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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TAB SHORTCUTS AHOY

To jump more quickly through the IE5 interface, look no further than the Tab button. To jump through links on a Web page, the Address bar, and the items on the Links bar, click Tab. Go too far? To jump backward, click Shift-Tab.

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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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THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITES ICONS

When adding a site to your Favorites, you may have noticed that the site displays its own icon. As an example, you could bookmark the following site:

http://www.nlsearch.com

Just surf to the site, then press Ctrl-D to add it to your Favorites. You'll see a sailboat icon (the Northern Light Search logo) in your Favorites menu. What gives?

This new feature of Internet Explorer 5 displays the site's icon when you download an ICO file from the Web site you are viewing to a folder on your hard drive.

If you object to this small bit of advertising on your browser, here's a way to remove it. Right-click the icon and choose Properties. Select the Web Document tab, then the Change Icon button from the dialog box that appears. Select a new icon and click OK twice to save your changes.

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SMARTER BACK AND FORWARD

Before you click the Back and Forward buttons several times to revisit a site, try this instead: Click the downward-pointing arrow next to the Back and Forward buttons. You'll see a list of all the sites you've opened since launching the browser. Choose a site to jump to it.

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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

Good luck!

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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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PRINT A BOOKMARK

Want to print a bookmark without loading the page in your browser? Here's a cool trick. Open your Favorites menu. Right-click a favorite, then choose Print from the pop-up menu that appears. This retrieves the page and sends it to your printer without disrupting the page you are viewing. Simple enough?

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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 SAILING

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.


----------------------------------------------

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!

----------------------------------------------

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

TipWorld reader Joshua Snow writes in to ask how to 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?"

No sweat, Josh. 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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RESTORE THE ANIMATED INTERNET EXPLORER LOGO

TipWorld reader David Ortega poses this puzzling IE5 question:

"When I signed up with my previous ISP, I used a 'cobranded' version
of Internet Explorer. I no longer use this ISP and have uninstalled
its software. However, I still see the previous ISP's name in my
browser's title and its logo where IE's spinning globe and Windows
logo normally appear. How do I eliminate this and return to the 'pure'
form of Microsoft IE 5.0?"

I'm afraid, David, that we've got just half the answer--and it
requires a Registry edit. Messing with the Registry can cause bad
mojo, so follow this step only if you're desperate to unload the old
spinning logo. If you decide to edit the Registry, make sure to back
up the system.dat and user.dat files in your Windows folder,
preferably to a floppy or another folder on your hard drive. Here
goes.

Launch the Registry Editor by clicking Start, and selecting Run. Type

regedit

in the Run dialog box that appears. Navigate to the key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar

In the right pane, select BrandBitmap and SmBrandBitmap. Delete these
entries. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Perhaps some savvy reader will send in the other half of the answer to
your question. In the meantime, we'll keep a lookout for info on how
to remove the ISP's name from your title bar.

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CHANGE YOUR HOME PAGE


Every now and then it's fun to switch home pages. Lycos and Yahoo--as
well as many others--have customizable start pages, which track stock
quotes and news, among other offerings. Here's how to make the switch.

Choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the General tab (if it's not
already selected). Enter an address in the Home Page area. You can
also click Use Blank Page or Use Default.

The default page may vary depending on which version of IE5 you use.
In my case, the default is the Microsoft Network. Some cobranded
versions may send you to the page of the company that provides it--for
example, your ISP.

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USE FAVORITES AS HOME PAGE

Faithful TipWorld subscriber Jack Decker writes in with this fancy
bookmark question:

"I have my bookmark folder set as the home page in Netscape. When
Netscape starts, it displays all my bookmarks as clickable links. Is
there any way to do this with Internet Explorer 5? I know I can make
the Favorites folder the home page, but I would like all the favorites
displayed the same way as in Netscape."

Here's a way to make a Favorites page you can use as your home page.
The problem is that it won't be updated as you add new Favorites. But
it will display your Favorites, the way Netscape does.

>From IE5, choose File, Import And Export. The Import/Export wizard
appears. Click the Next button. The Import/Export Selection screen
opens. Select Export Favorites from the list of options. Click Next.
The Export Favorites Source Folder page appears. Select the topmost
Favorites folder (if it's not already selected). Click Next. In the
following screen, choose the Export To A File Or Address option. Then
enter a path and file name in the corresponding textbox--for instance,
we chose:

C:\windows\desktop\bookmark.htm

Click Next, and in the following screen click Finish. The Favorites
file appears on your system (in this example, on the desktop).

Now choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the General tab, and in the
Address textbox, enter the path and file name to which you exported
your bookmark.htm file. Again, it looks like this:

C:\windows\desktop\bookmark.htm

Click OK. Now when you start your browser or click the Home button on
the toolbar, your bookmark.htm file will appear, with your favorites
listed as clickable links. Tomorrow, we look at the exciting world of
setting the Favorites folder as your home page.

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SET FAVORITES FOLDER AS HOME PAGE

Yesterday we told you how to create an HTML page consisting of your
Favorites and set it as the home page. The problem with this tip is
that the page won't update as you add new Favorites. You can, however,
set the Favorites folder as your home page, which is less convenient
for your browser, but stays more current. Here's how to set it up.

Choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the General tab and in the
Address textbox, enter the following:

C:/windows/favorites

where C: is your root drive. Click OK and you're set. Restart your
browser or click the Home button on the toolbar to check it out.

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TURN OFF AUTOCOMPLETE

Reader John E. LeHew Sr. lets us know that he finds the AutoComplete
feature "very maddening" and hasn't succeeded in turning it off, after
several attempts.

John correctly tried turning AutoComplete off by selecting Tools,
Internet Options, selecting the Advanced tab, and deselecting 'Use
inline AutoCompete for Web addresses' and 'Use inline AutoComplete in
Windows Explorer'.

Here's something else to try. Select Tools, Internet Options, and
select the General tab. Then click the Clear History button. Hang in
there, John--it's bound to get better.

----------------------------------------------

SET SMART SEARCHING

Based on your settings, you may see various things when you click the
Search button in Internet Explorer 5. Over the next couple of days
we'll look at how to make visible more options (such as searching for
a person's address or a map) when using the IE5 Search tool.

Thomas A. Chipps lets us know that you may need to click the Search
button on the toolbar, then click the Customize button and check the
option marked 'Use the Search Assistant for smart searching'. Finally,
click OK to finish up.

You should now see a series of categories in the Search pane. Select
one (such as Find A Business) to run that type of search.

Thanks for the tip, Mr. Chipps.

----------------------------------------------

REMOVE GO BUTTON

With some frequency, we receive letters asking how to remove the Go
button from the Internet Explorer toolbar. To use the Go button, type
a URL in the Address box, then click the Go button to jump to the Web
address you entered. The button serves little purpose, since clicking
the Enter key does the same thing. To remove the button, right-click
it and deselect Go Button. Repeat these steps if you'd like to return
the button to the toolbar.

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DUMP CACHE

>From TipWorld reader Bob Bruce comes this straightforward request:
"How do you get rid of the cache in Internet Explorer 5?"

Good question. The cache stores pages you have visited on your hard
drive so IE5 can retrieve them more quickly and speed up your
browsing. Here's how to clear it and take back some disk space.

Click Tools, Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box
appears. Select the General tab (if it's not already selected). Click
the Delete files button to get back a good bit of disk space. Then
click OK to finish up. Empty disk space awaits you.

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REMOVE AUTOCOMPLETE LIST

Another question regarding AutoComplete, a love-it-or-hate-it feature
in Internet Explorer 5.

"I am a subscriber and I would like to know how to remove addresses
from the drop-down address bar, either singularly or completely," says
reader Steve Tumasian.

To remove them altogether, choose Tools, Internet Options. Select the
Advanced tab and deselect 'Use inline AutoComplete for Web addresses'.

To remove individual entries, click the History button on the toolbar.
Find the entry, highlight it, and click the Delete key. Click the Yes
button when the confirmation box appears. If you don't see the entry
you want to remove, click the Search button in the History pane. Enter
the name of address you want to remove and click Search Now. Then
follow the directions above for deleting the entry.

----------------------------------------------

LOSE THE CLICK

Here's a good question from TipWorld subscriber Tom Kelley: "Is there
any way to get rid of the ANNOYING click that comes through your
speakers when you change pages in the latest release of Internet
Explorer 5?"

Give this a shot: Select Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click
the Sounds icon. In the Windows Explorer area of the list that
appears, click the sound you want to affect (likely Start Navigation
and Complete Navigation). Under Name, click None. Click OK to finish
up. This should help you keep your auditory wits when working with
IE5!

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TURN OFF GIF ANIMATION

Ah, GIF animations. They're great the first 1000 times they loop.
Don't like 'em? Here's how to turn off the jumping, flashing, spinning
images. Select Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. Under
Multimedia, deselect Play animations. Click OK to save your changes.
That's all there is to it!

----------------------------------------------

HIDE LINKS FOLDER

Every now and then we get a letter from a reader who is doing some
housekeeping and wants to remove the Links folder from the Favorites
list in Internet Explorer 5 (click Favorites on the menu bar to see
it).

This can get a little confusing, so don't attempt this tip if you're
not comfortable working with system files in Windows. Seriously.

OK, you're still with me. Find your links folder, likely in
C:\Windows\Favorites\Links. Right-click the Links folder and choose
Properties. Select Hidden in the Attributes area. Click OK. When you
next start IE5, the Links folder will be missing.

So how do you get it back?

>From Windows Explorer, open the Windows/Favorites folder. Choose View,
Folder Options. Click the View Tab. Select Show All Files. Click the
OK button. Now right-click the Links folder and choose Properties.
Deselect Hidden in the Attributes area. Click OK.

----------------------------------------------

HOME PAGE SHORTCUT

Want to jump to your home page quickly? No need to pick up the mouse.
Click Alt-Home to zip over to your home page.

The Alt key is pretty handy for all types of keyboard shortcuts. Try
Alt-left arrow to jump to the page you just visited. Press Alt-right
arrow to jump to the next page (this is the same as clicking the
Forward button).

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ORGANIZE FAVORITES

Here's a way to alphabetize your Favorites list quickly. Select
Favorites, then right-click and choose Sort By Name. What if you want
to move a particular favorite to the top of the list? Click the
Favorites button on the toolbar. The Favorites pane opens. Select the
favorite you want to affect from the list. Click Alt-up arrow to move
the item up in the list. Click Alt-down arrow to push the favorite
down in the list.

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BROWSE WITHOUT IMAGES

Slow connection? Try browsing without images. It won't be nearly as
exciting, but when you need to do some seriously fast browsing, it
does the trick. Click Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab.
Under Multimedia, deselect Show Pictures. Click OK.

----------------------------------------------

SET LINK UNDERLINE OPTIONS

As you browse Web pages, you'll see that text hyperlinks appear
underlined by default. You have several options regarding how linked
text appears. Click Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab.
In the Underline Links area, choose Always, Hover, or Never. Click OK
to save your changes. Always and Never are pretty self-explanatory.
Hover displays the underline only when you point at links with the
mouse (without clicking).

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PRINT JUST ONE PAGE

Here's a puzzling printing problem from TipWorld reader MaryAnn B.:
"When I print pages in Internet Explorer 5, I am never given the
option to print only one page. I always end up printing extra pages of
advertising."

Give this a shot. Try selecting File, Print, but don't click the OK
button yet. In the Print Range section, select the Pages radio button.
Then type 1 in the From and To boxes. Now click OK, and only the first
page will print. Also, you could try first selecting the text you want
to print. Then choose File, Print (or click Ctrl-P) and click the
Selection button. Click the OK button, and only the selected text will
print.

Note that the Selection, uh, selection isn't available unless some
text is first, er, selected.

----------------------------------------------

TRY A NEW SKIN

Tired of your boring old Internet Explorer 5 interface? NeoPlanet, an
MSIE 5 add-on, provides "skins" or multimedia add-ons that immediately
affect the program's look. You can choose from hundreds of skins, with
themes ranging from sports to movies. Each skin consists of a few
hundred kilobytes of graphics and sound files that enhance the look of
your browser. Check out NeoPlanet at this address:

http://www.neoplanet.com

----------------------------------------------

EXPLORE EXPLORER BARS

Internet Explorer 5 allows the use of customizable Explorer bars. You
can choose these add-ons from content providers such as Alexa (site
reviews and stats), the New York Times (perhaps you've heard of it),
or CNN. You'll find a collection of Explorer bars at the following
address:

http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/IE/WebAccess

----------------------------------------------

FLYSWAT


In our last tip we told you about Explorer bars, which allow you to
customize your browser through small downloads. Explorer bars appear
as a new pane in your browser, and provide updated content from a
specific provider, such as the New York Times or CNN.

In addition, Explorer bars can add new features to your browser. A
notable add-on is Flyswat, a new utility that adds its own links to
words on a page as you browse. Flyswat recognizes names and places on
a page, for example, and can link those words to online biographies,
travel, and historical information. When Flyswat recognizes an
existing link on a page, it adds a small icon. When you click the
icon, more information appears from a pop-up menu.

Check out Flyswat at the following address:

http://www.flyswat.com

----------------------------------------------

LOSE THE FTP CLOSE DIALOG BOX

When you download files, are you miffed by a box that tells you the
download is complete? You can lose this box by making a quick change
to your Internet Explorer 5 settings.

Select Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab to bring it
forward. Deselect Notify When Downloads Complete and click OK to save
your changes.

----------------------------------------------

PICK A NEW MAIL CLIENT

We all know that IE5 comes with Microsoft's free e-mail client,
Outlook Express. But what if you prefer, say Eudora Light? It's easy
to associate your program of choice with Internet Explorer 5. Select
Tools, Internet Options.

Click the Programs tab to bring it forward. Under the E-mail area,
click the downward-pointing arrow and select your e-mail client. Click
the OK button to save your changes. Now, when you click a link that
says something like "Click here to send e-mail," your favorite e-mail
client appears, ready to fire off a note.

----------------------------------------------

INTERNET EXPLORER 5.0 BUG

Microsoft recently acknowledged that there is a potential security
hole in Internet Explorer 5.0 that could allow someone to take over
your system. The hole is in Internet Explorer 5.0's
Import/Export/Favorites feature, which you use to import and export
lists of your most often accessed Web addresses. A skilled hacker
operating a Web site can run executable code on the computer of
someone visiting that site. Microsoft recommends that IE 5.0 users
disable Active Scripting to protect themselves until the release of a
patch. To disable Active Scripting in IE, select Tools/Internet
Options, then click the Security tab. Next, select Internet Zone, then
click the Custom Level button. Finally, under Scripting, find the
entry labeled Active Scripting and set it to Disable. Click OK twice
to return to IE, then keep an eye on the Microsoft site for news of
the patch's release.


----------------------------------------------

 

EUDORA AND INTERNET EXPLORER 5

If you're using Eudora 4.x to handle your Internet mail, you may
experience problems with IE5 and Eudora. In some cases, when you
update from previous versions of Internet Explorer to IE5, Eudora
displays HTML source code for all messages viewed with Eudora 4.x. You
can resolve this problem by downloading and installing the update for
Eudora 4.2. You can get the updater from the Eudora Web site at the
following address:

http://eudora.qualcomm.com/pro_email/updaters.html


----------------------------------------------

QUICK TIP

With your cursor in the Address bar, you can jump from points in the
address by holding down Ctrl while clicking the left arrow (to go
back) and the right arrow (to jump forward). For instance, if your
Address bar displays http://www.tipworld.com, clicking Ctrl and the
right arrow will jump to the point after the last slash (/) and, if
you click again, after each dot (.). Take this information and run
with it, my friends.

----------------------------------------------

WINDOWS UPDATE

Need to see which security add-on, bug fix, or critical update for
Windows Microsoft recommends? Just pop over to Microsoft's Windows
Update site at:

http://www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com

The site checks your browser to determine which components you have
installed. Or you can just select Tools, Windows Update (make sure
you're connected to the Internet first).

>From there you can select the components you want to add. The software
downloads and installs on your system automatically. Neat, eh?

----------------------------------------------

AND NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY (ANIMATED LOGOS)

Last month we told you how to remove the animated logo from a
customized version of Internet Explorer 5. For instance, if your ISP
provides your version of IE 5, you may see a logo associated with your
ISP instead of the usual spinning globe. We told you how to get the
default logo back, but we left out part of the story.

If you have a cobranded browser, you may also see the name of the
company in the title bar. Here's how to remove both of these
annoyances. Note: Messing with the Registry can cause all kinds of
weirdness with your PC. If you don't know what you're doing, it's best
to live with these inconveniences.

OK, brave souls, if you decide to edit the Registry, make sure to back
up your system.dat and user.dat files in your Windows folder,
preferably to a floppy (second choice would be another folder on your
hard drive). Now launch the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run.
Type

regedit

in the Run dialog box that appears. Navigate to the key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar. In the
right pane, select BrandBitmap and SmBrandBitmap. Delete these
entries.

To get rid of the name in the title bar, navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\Main\WindowTitle. Select the name in the right pane and
delete the entry. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Thanks to everybody who wrote in with this tip, including D.
Gerstenberger and Danny Niblett.

----------------------------------------------

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

Do you feel that Internet Explorer 5 isn't quite--well, personal
enough? The interface is a bit cold and steely, no? You can shake
things up with IE Personalizer 2.0.

This utility enables you to edit the title menu to whatever you want,
change the toolbar background to the wallpaper of your choice, or even
add your own logo. It even slices and dices (well, not really). All
this for the very fair price of zero dollars--it's freeware.

You'll find Personalizer at the following address:

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6630,00.html

Thanks to friendly and customization-savyy TipWorld reader Jarrett
Jones for the tip.

----------------------------------------------

SAME OLD STORY

Every month we get two requests: how to change the Favorites list so
that it sorts alphabetically, and how to clear entries from the
AutoComplete list that appears when you fill out a form on a Web page.
These problems are so prevalent that I'll address them here, albeit in
a new format.

A DUCK walks into a bar.

DUCK: Bartender, how can I sort Favorites Alphabetically?

BARTENDER: Single-click the Favorites button on the menu bar. This is
not to be confused with the Favorites button--which has an icon--on
the Standard buttons toolbar. They're different.

DUCK: Then what?

BARTENDER: When the menu appears showing your favorites, right-click
the menu. Choose Sort By Name.

DUCK: Swell. How do I clear entries from the AutoComplete list that
appears when I fill out forms on a Web page?

BARTENDER: Just use the cursor keys to select the entry you no longer
want, then click the Delete key.

DUCK: (Nodding in agreement) Quack. FADE TO BLACK.

----------------------------------------------

HIDE THE TEXT


Want extra room for browsing? To see more of your favorite Web pages
and less of the Internet Explorer 5 toolbar, hide the text labels for
the buttons on the Standard Buttons toolbar. Right-click the menu bar.
Select View, Toolbars, Customize. Under Text Options, select No Text
Labels.

----------------------------------------------

PRINT ONE FRAME

When you view a frames page, oftentimes you may want to print the info
in a single, selected frame (especially when you want to skip ads or
other extraneous information). To do so, click Ctrl-P to open the
Print dialog box. Select Only The Selected Frame if it's not already
selected. Then click the OK button. Simple enough for you?

----------------------------------------------

CAN'T REMOVE MSIE5

If you install Window 98 with Internet Explorer already on your
system, you may find yourself unable to remove IE 5. Ideally, you
should uninstall IE5 before installing Windows 98. However, if you
have already installed Windows 98 and want to remove IE5, check out
the following Knowledge Base article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q222/5/64.asp

Unfortunately, these steps involve reinstalling Windows 98. And we all
know how painful installing Windows can be.

----------------------------------------------

EDIT WITH NOTEPAD

If you run your own Web site, you may occasionally want to edit a page
directly from Internet Explorer 5. This means you can open any
document you want, then check out and edit (aka borrow) somebody
else's source code. Or you can quickly open your own pages, then edit
and save them.

Just click the Edit button on the Standard Buttons toolbar in IE5.
Click the downward-pointing arrow and you can choose between FrontPage
Express and Windows Notepad (helpful if you like editing your own HTML
tags).

Of course, you shouldn't use copyrighted code. But there's nothing
stopping you from learning from the techniques the pros use.

----------------------------------------------

ADD AN EDITOR

Yesterday we mentioned that you can edit pages you view online--just
click the Edit button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. You can change
the default editor if you like, and save yourself an extraneous click.

Choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Programs tab to bring it
forward. Under HTML Editor, click the downward-pointing arrow and
choose from the programs in the pop-up list. Click the OK button to
save your changes.

----------------------------------------------

ADD COMMUNICATOR AS YOUR EDITOR

This week we've been using the Edit button to open pages you are
viewing for editing. Just click the Edit button on the Standard
Buttons toolbar. You can even select the editor of your choice.

Click Tools, Internet Options. Click the Programs tab. From the HTML
Editor pop-up list, make your selection (for instance, Windows
Notepad). Click OK.

But what if your editor doesn't appear? This tip shows you how to add
an editor. In this example, we'll use Netscape's Composer. To do so,
we'll need to edit the Registry. Keep in mind that editing the
Registry can cause all kinds of bad craziness on your PC. If you don't
know what you're doing, it's best to avoid this tip altogether.

OK, daredevils, make sure to first back up your system.dat and
user.dat files in your Windows folder, preferably to a floppy (second
choice would be another folder) on your hard drive. Also, if you don't
know how to create new keys in the Registry, don't try now, because
it's beyond the scope of a daily tip. It's just not worth the
potential hassles. Onward...

Launch the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run. Then type

regedit

in the Run dialog box that appears. Navigate to the key
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.htm\OpenWithList\Netscape
Navigator\shell\edit\command. The Default value should display the
following data value: C:\Program
Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\Netscape.exe -edit %1. If it's not
there you'll need to add it.

Then quit the Registry Editor, restart your computer, and launch
Internet Explorer 5. The choice should now appear in the HTML Editor
pop-up list.

----------------------------------------------

REMOVE FAVORITES ICON

Sometimes when you add a site to your Favorites list, you may notice
that the site displays its own icon. For instance, if you click Ctrl-D
while viewing the following site, its logo will appear in Favorites:

http://www.altavista.com

To get rid of this icon or any others, you need to clear the cache.
Click Tools, Internet Options. Select the General tab. Click the
Delete Files button. Click the OK button to finish up.

----------------------------------------------

CREATE FAVORITES ICON

In several tips we've mentioned how Internet Explorer 5 can display
custom icons in the Favorites list. This feature allows sites to use
their logo or other graphics, which display when you click the
Favorites button on the menu bar. If you run your own site, you can
easily create one of these icons. Check out this tutorial at the
Microsoft Developer's Network:

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-ie51123%2C00.html

----------------------------------------------

BROWSE LOCAL FILES

You probably know that Internet Explorer 5 lets you browse the files
on your computer just as you browse the Web. Here are a few shortcuts
for quickly accessing files.

Just type the following in your Address bar:

C:\

where C is the drive whose contents you want to view. The rest of the
shortcuts are pretty obvious:

My Computer Desktop

My Documents

If you use AutoComplete for Web addresses, you likely won't need to
type the entire name. Just type the first few letters and the rest of
the name appears. Click the Enter button to select the correct entry.
Use the cursor keys to move up and down the list.

Next time, we'll tell you how to turn on the AutoComplete feature.

----------------------------------------------

BROWSE LOCAL FILES

Last time we mentioned how easy it is to browse local files and
folders through Internet Explorer 5. For instance, you can access the
My Documents folder by typing

My Documents

in the IE 5 Address bar. Of course, if you use AutoComplete for Web
addresses, you'll only need to type the first few letters to make your
directories appear.

To turn on AutoComplete, select Tools, Internet Options, and click the
Advanced tab. Select Use Inline AutoComplete For Web Addresses and Use
Inline AutoComplete For Windows Explorer. Click OK to save your
changes.

----------------------------------------------

JUMP TO FULL SCREEN

Want to move quickly from your regular viewing mode to full-screen
mode? Keeping your browser open at full screen is especially handy
when you're making presentations. And you can get there quickly: Just
press F11 to toggle from one mode to another. Simple enough for you?

----------------------------------------------

RECONNECT AUTO-DISCONNECT

Friendly TipWorld subscriber Scott Tyler asks this puzzling
Auto-Disconnect question:
"How do you use Auto-Disconnect if you have turned it off previously
and asked not to be asked again?"

Easy enough, Scott. Just choose Tools, Internet Options. Now click the
Connections tab to bring it forward. Click the Settings button to open
the Settings dialog box. Click the Advanced button. The Advanced
Dial-Up dialog box opens. Select "Disconnect when connection may no
longer be needed."

Click OK three times to close all open dialog boxes.

----------------------------------------------

DISCONNECT WHEN IDLE

Yesterday we responded to a reader message about enabling
Auto-Disconnect (Internet Explorer will prompt you to close your
connection when you close the browser). Today, we look at
disconnecting automatically if you aren't using your browser for a
specified amount of time.

Choose Tools, Internet Options. Now click the Connections tab to bring
it forward. Click the Settings button to open the Settings dialog box.
Click the Advanced button. The Advanced Dial-Up dialog box opens.
Select "Disconnect if idle for X minutes" (where X is the number of
minutes you enter).

If you like, you can also enable Auto-Disconnect as described in the
first paragraph. Select the "Disconnect when connection may no longer
be needed" option.

Click OK three times to close all open dialog boxes.

----------------------------------------------

OPEN, LOAD, AND NEW

Trying to get around the Web a little faster? Here are a few shortcuts
you can use daily. Press Ctrl-O or Ctrl-L to enter the page you want
to visit. Press Ctrl-N to open a brand-new window. You can use a new
window to browse two or more sites simultaneously.

----------------------------------------------

FIND FAVORITES

TipWorld reader Joan More can't locate the Favorites on her system:

"Internet Explorer must store the URLs in my Favorites list somewhere,
but I can't find the file. What I want to do is copy the URLs I use at
work to my home machine. Help me!"

No problem. Typically, Favorites are stored in the Windows/Favorites
folder on your root drive. To export your Favorites, open Internet
Explorer 5. Choose File, Import and Export. The Import/Export wizard
launches. Choose the Next button and select Export Favorites from the
list that appears. Click Next twice. MSIE5 stores your Favorites in a
file called bookmark.htm in the My Documents folder.

Good luck!

----------------------------------------------

ENCRYPTION QUESTION

Here's an anonymous question from a flummoxed TipWorld reader:

"How do I activate 128-bit encryption in Internet Explorer 5? I have
tried and tried, to no avail."

MSIE5 and secure Web sites typically handle encryption automatically
to protect the information from snoops as you upload and download
information. Most users won't need 128-bit encryption for day-to-day
tasks such as online shopping, but if you do, check out the Microsoft
site for the latest, most secure version:

http://www.microsoft.com/ie

----------------------------------------------

SORT BY NAME

More letters from the "Sort Favorites Alphabetically" file:

Reader Mary Kerins writes: "I have repeatedly tried to follow your
directions for alphabetizing my Favorites, but after I select them I
don't know where to right-click to get the Sort By Name menu."

Here's a potential hitch we should have mentioned in previous tips. To
use this feature, you must be using Windows 98 or, if you use Windows
95, you must have Internet Explorer 4 installed before you install IE
5. You won't get Active Desktop features if you install IE 5 on a
Windows 95 machine. To sort by name, click the Favorites menu, then
right-click the menu when it appears and choose Sort By Name. You can
also do this by choosing the Start button in Windows, then selecting
Favorites.

Good luck!

----------------------------------------------

GOT A TIP, LEAVE A TIP

Here at TipWorld, we're always on the lookout for a few good tips. Got
a special time-saver or a helpful shortcut (say, clicking F5 to
refresh a page)? Is your system crash proof? By all means, drop us a
line. You can contact our crack tip team at

mailto:pheltzel@hardlearner.com

----------------------------------------------

WORK OFFLINE

When you work from a laptop, you can often save time by browsing pages
(only ones you have recently visited) from your cache. In Internet
Explorer 5, choose File, Work Offline. Click the History button. Then
choose a site. If your cache is large enough, the file will open. If
the file name is grayed out, the page is unavailable.


----------------------------------------------

RESIZE YOUR CACHE

Yesterday we talked about working offline. Today we bring you the
exciting world of how to resize your cache in Internet Explorer 5.
Choose Tools, Internet Options. Select the General tab (if it's not
already selected). Then click the Settings button. To increase the
size of the cache, move the slider to the right or enter a number in
the text box marked "Amount of disk space to use". This will make
browsing faster when you open pages you have seen previously. To
reduce the size of the cache, move the slider to the left or enter a
smaller number in the text box. Click the OK button twice to save your
changes.

----------------------------------------------

SKIP THE CACHE

Sometimes when you view a page you've seen before, you get an older
version of it. What's up? Internet Explorer 5 stores some pages on
your system for faster viewing later.

To make sure you always see the latest version of a page, you can tell
IE5 to load a fresh version every time--although in doing so you trade
off a bit of speed. Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the
Settings button. Under the section marked "Check for newer versions of
stored pages", select "Every visit to the page". Click the OK button
twice to finish up.

----------------------------------------------

RESORT HISTORY

Say you can't remember the URL of a page you opened recently in
Internet Explorer 5, but you need to retrieve it. No sweat. Click the
History button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. When the History bar
opens down the left side of your browser, choose the site you want
from the list, and it opens. To sort your History list differently,
select View from the History pane, then select one of the following
options: By Date, By Site, By Most Visited, or By Order Visited Today.

Good luck!

----------------------------------------------

CLEAR HISTORY

Sometimes you may want to clear the History list in Internet Explorer
5 to keep your browsing from prying eyes. Click Tools, Internet
Options. The Internet Options dialog box opens. Under the History
section, click Clear History, then choose OK when the confirmation box
appears. Pow! Your History list magically disappears.

----------------------------------------------

HISTORY HASSLES

Yesterday we told you how to clear your History list in order to
protect your privacy (and save disk space) in Internet Explorer 5.
Click Tools, Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box opens.
Click the Clear History button and choose OK when the confirmation box
appears.

You can also tell IE 5 how long to make pages available in your
history--this also helps manage disk space. From the Internet Options
dialog box, enter a number in the box marked "Days to keep pages in
history". Click OK twice to save your settings. Now you should be all
set without any History hassles.

----------------------------------------------

MAKE A PAGE AVAILABLE OFFLINE

Hitting the road? Internet Explorer 5 offers a couple of cool features
for browsing offline. To make the page you're viewing available for
reading offline, try these quick steps. First add the page to your
Favorites: Select Favorites, Add To Favorites. Select the Make
Available Offline box, then click the OK button. Before you take off
for your trip, connect to the Internet as you normally do. Then select
Tools, Synchronize. You should get the latest version of your page
downloaded to your system. Cool, huh?

To view the page later, choose File, Work Offline. Then click the
Favorites menu and choose your page from the list that appears.

----------------------------------------------

NAVIGATION SHORTCUTS

To browse like a pro in Internet Explorer 5, leave your mouse where it
is and try a few keyboard shortcuts. You can jump quickly around a Web
page by selecting Tab to move from link to link down the page. To
select a link, just click Enter and the page opens.

----------------------------------------------

NEW IE5

Microsoft recently released a new version of Internet Explorer 5. It
won't wow you with new features, but it does offer a few bug fixes and
better security features. You can download the latest version at

http://www.microsoft.com/ie

Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------

REJECT COOKIES

Cookies personalize your browsing experience, and most are harmless
entries to a text file on your system. If you find them invasive,
however, give them the boot. In Internet Explorer 5, choose Tools,
Internet Options and click the Security tab to bring it forward. Click
the Custom Level button. Scroll down (or type the letter C) to jump to
the Cookies section. To disallow cookies completely, select Disable.
To allow cookies only after getting a prompt that says they will be
downloaded to your system, select Prompt. Warning: This latter option
can get tiresome, since so many sites employ cookies, and you may run
into quite a few in one visit.

Also keep in mind that rejecting cookies may get rid of some
personalization features--for instance, at a shopping site like
Amazon.

----------------------------------------------

MSIE 5 PROGRAMMING BUG

Microsoft recently identified a problem you may experience with
Internet Explorer (Programming) version 5. Internet Explorer reports
an "Invalid character" error when a Unicode .js file is included with
the SCRIPT tag--for example:

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" SRC="Sample.JS">

If the script debugger is enabled, it reports that the first two
characters in the .js file (the Unicode Byte Order Mark, or BOM) are
the source of the problem.

Another closely associated problem occurs if the Byte Order Mark is
removed from a Unicode format .js file and the file contains Unicode
characters. When the .js file is included during Internet Explorer
page rendering, Unicode characters in the .js file are interpreted as
simple ASCII and cause either a script error, as above, or the display
of garbage characters. Similarly, removing the BOM from a UTF-8
encoded file containing non-ASCII Unicode characters results in
garbage characters displaying on the rendered Web page.

Note that in the Internet Explorer Advanced dialog box (from the Tools
menu, select Internet Options), you must clear the option Disable
Script Debugging or select the option Display A Notification About
Every Script Error in order to receive a detailed error message for
this problem. If these two options are not set correctly, the Internet
Explorer status bar indicates there are errors on the page. The page
loads, but the .js file does not.

Microsoft says it is possible to work around the problem in most cases
by embedding Unicode escape sequences in the .js file saved in ASCII.
For instance, the following JScript statement in an ASCII .js file can
specify the Hiragana character NO:

var s = String("Hiragana NO = \u306E")

When the ASCII .js file loads from the SCRIPT tag, there is no Unicode
Byte Order Mark, and the \uXXXX escapes convert to proper Unicode
characters that appear on a Web page.


----------------------------------------------

RENAME FAVORITES

Some Favorites in Internet Explorer 5 can have unwieldy names that may
not accurately describe the page. You don't have to stick with the
original name. To change a Favorites title, select Favorites from the
menu bar. When your Favorites menu appears, right-click the Favorite
you want to rename. Select Rename from the menu. Type a new name in
the text box and click OK.

----------------------------------------------

WHAT'S UNDER THE HOOD

To find out what version of IE 5 you're using, choose Help, and select About Internet Explorer. You'll see a version number. Here are some common version numbers and their translations:

5.00.2014.0216 Internet Explorer 5
5.00.2314.1003 Internet Explorer 5 (Office 2000)
5.00.2614.3500 Internet Explorer 5 (Windows 98 Second Edition)
5.00.2919.6307 Internet Explorer 5.01
5.50.3825.1300 Internet Explorer 5.5 Developer Preview (Beta)
5.50.4030.2400 Internet Explorer 5.5 and Internet Tools Beta

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT IS FORTEZZA

You've probably come across a few unclear options in Internet Explorer 5's Advanced Internet dialog box. Under Security, you'll see one marked Use Fortezza. What's Fortezza? It's a hardware-based method of encoding data for secure transmission of information over a network. Employees of the U.S. Defense Department use this form of encryption via Fortezza crypto cards in their PCs. If you don't work for the feds, feel free to turn this option off (it's on by default). Click OK to finish.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WEB-BASED MAIL

Reading your mail on the road is a snap if you use a Web-based mail account. Plenty of companies provide free accounts, including Yahoo!, Bigfoot, and Juno. Microsoft's offering, Hotmail, is another solid choice. You can sign up for a Hotmail account directly through Outlook Express. Launch Outlook, then choose Tools, New Account Signup, Hotmail. Follow the instructions in the wizard that appears.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VERSION 5.5 FINALLY HERE

Microsoft released the final version of Internet Explorer 5.5 in July. It's usually a good idea to wait a month or so after a new release to download it. After a wide public release, a few bugs appear, and an update will follow. In fact, Microsoft announced an update soon after the final version of the program debuted.

So what's new? The latest features in 5.5 include better Dynamic HTML (DHTML) support and print preview controls--not necessarily compelling to a large number of users, so stick tight if you're happy with your version of MSIE 5. That said, we've been using version 5.5 for several weeks without any problems. The latest version is available at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/

Enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USE IE 5 TO VIEW HARD DISK SPACE

Want a quick way to see how much space is on your hard drive? Double-click the My Computer icon on your hard drive, then select View, As Web Page. Single-click your hard drive (C:). A pie chart should appear showing you how much space is available.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE FOR SECURITY

Readers often ask when they should upgrade their browser. It's an especially pertinent question after announcement of a new release that doesn't boast any major feature improvements.

One good reason to upgrade, though--regardless of whether the new version offers additional features--is that you'll get security updates produced throughout the life of the PREVIOUS version. Internet Explorer is currently at version 5.5, but already Microsoft is planning a security update. You can find more about security updates at the following address:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/default.htm

Of course, if you stay current with security updates, you may have no reason to upgrade. And if you rarely buy goods online or feel confident with your current version, stick with it. Security is important, but don't worry about it unnecessarily. If it ain't broke...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UNINSTALL IE 5.01

We've received many complaints from users of Internet Explorer 5.01, and in particular a lot of requests on how to get rid of it. For those of you who wish to return to the trusy old version 5, read on.

The steps take a little explaining, and you can find more information at the following URL from the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q246/1/94.asp

Note: If you have not installed Outlook Express before installing IE 5.01, you'll end up removing OE completely. The uninstall process reverts back to the last full version of OE, and if it finds no version, it simply removes OE. Proceed with caution.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UNDERLINES BE GONE

By default, most Internet Explorer 5 installations underline each link on a page. It's easy to turn this feature off. Select Tools, Internet Options. From the dialog box that appears, click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Underline Links area and choose Hover or Never. Click OK and you're ready to go, without any underlines to get in your way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TWEAK MSIE 5

Hey, nobody likes Internet Explorer more than we do--but it can act a little odd sometimes. If you'd like to take a bit more control, check out a handy program called TweakIE at the following address:

http://www.tweakie.com

The software offers a handful of additions to MSIE's features, including tools that make it easy to view the files in your cache (by type), completely clear out your page history even when MSIE 5 can't seem to, and change the text in the title bar--for instance, when you download a cobranded version and want to change the name on your title bar.

You can download and use a trial version for 30 days. If you decide to register the program, the cost is $15.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TURN OFF UNDERLINE

Do you find underlined hyperlinks distracting? You can change the way hyperlinks appear by opening the Tools menu, then clicking Internet Options. Choose the Advanced tab. In the Underline links section, choose Hover or Never.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TURN OFF SOUND

If you recently installed Windows 98, you'll find a series of event sounds associated with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, which comes bundled with the operating system. These sounds get annoying fast.

To surf in silence, select Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click the Sounds icon. In the Windows Explorer area of the list that appears, click the sound you want to affect (likely Start Navigation and Complete Navigation). From the Name pop-up menu, select None. Click OK to finish up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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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TIPS, PLEASE

We're hardy tip writers here at the old TipWorld ranch, but sometimes while we're hanging around the rusty server farm, we pine for more excitement in our lives. Then your e-mails arrive, and we're content again.

We don't just publish any tip that comes along. But if you have a great shortcut or time saver, we ask that you kindly send it our way:

pheltzel@hardlearner.com

You'll gain the respect of the staff and tens of our readers.

Thanks!

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TAKE OUT THE CACHE

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 helps you browse more quickly by storing recent versions of Web pages you've already opened. The problem is, the cache eats up valuable hard drive space. If you don't mind a slight delay when you're browsing and want to recover more space, tell MSIE 5 to empty the cache each time you close the browser. Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Under Security, check Empty Temporary Internet Files Folder When Browser Is Closed. Click the OK button to save your changes.

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SURF AD-FREE

Banner ads pay the bills on the Web, but the animated, jumping beasts can get out of hand. If you'd like to surf in silence, consider downloading an ad blocker that will work with Internet Explorer 5.

The AdSubtract SE tool, free for personal use, can stop ads from appearing as you browse and may also speed surfing since banners consume valuable bandwidth--especially on slow modem connections. You can find the utility at

http://www.adsubtract.com/pro/features.html

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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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SPEED UP BROWSING

If you use a cable modem or DSL, you can quickly speed up your browsing by making changes to two Registry settings called MTU (Maximum Transmission Units). Or you can download a patch that will change the Registry settings for you. You can find the patches to download (for Windows 95/98) here:

http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_patches.shtml

The speedup can be pretty impressive. If you aren't seeing the sort of results you expect from your service, give this a shot.

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SORT FAVORITES

A frequent Favorites request appears once more from a TipWorld reader named Doneta:

"In one tip, you mention alphabetizing Favorites. I have looked everywhere and I can't figure out how to do that."

Look no more, Doneta. Click the Favorites menu (not the Favorites button), then select a favorite link and right-click. From the menu that appears, choose Sort By Name.

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SKIP THE WWW

Often you can save time when entering an address by skipping the www part. While it's a widely used convention, the suffix is often unnecessary. Of course, you'll save more time if you use AutoComplete (choose Tools, Internet Options, Content, click the AutoComplete button, and select Web Addresses). If you begin typing the domain of a Web site you're revisiting (for instance, pcworld.com), Internet Explorer 5 adds www and com for you.

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SHOW PICTURES

While browsing, you may come across a Web page where the images won't load. You right-click the image and choose Show Picture, but nothing happens. What's up? Well, the Show Picture option is meant for folks who browse with images off. They want control over which pictures appear, and they can display individual images by right-clicking their placeholders and choosing Show Picture. Unfortunately, this option won't do you any good when a Web server can't display the picture (likely because of an error on the server, something you can't control).

To browse without images, choose Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down the list of options and deselect Show Pictures.

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SHOW ALEXA LINKS

An often-overlooked capability of Internet Explorer 5 is the Show Related Links feature. When you finally find the site you're looking for, you can also quickly find other relevant sites by choosing Tools, Show Related Links. The selection queries an Alexa database, then returns sites other surfers have used. Alexa is a free service that finds and ranks sites, which often leads to better search results than you might find trudging through the returns of your average search engine. If you like this feature, consider installing the Alexa download, a free browser add-on, which lets you view user rankings and reviews of the sites you visit.

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SHORTCUTS FOR SHORTCUTS

In some instances, you may want to copy a link you've found and paste it into a document or e-mail, for later use or maybe to send to a friend. To do so, first right-click a link and choose Copy Shortcut. Then open the application where you want to paste the link--say, a word processor or e-mail program. Choose Ctrl-V to paste the link. There you go!

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SHORTCUTS AHOY

 

Here at TipWorld, we love shortcuts. Speedy and efficient, they're a

(human) browser's best friend. Try Ctrl-O or Ctrl-L to open a new page

in an already open window. Press Ctrl-W or Alt-F4 to close an open

window.

 

 

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SHORTCUT TO DESKTOP

A reader named Linda has a simple request:

"If I am on a Web site I like, how do I create a shortcut on my desktop?"

This is a really handy way to make a quick link to a site you often use, and you can even place a shortcut in your Quick Launch toolbar at the bottom of your screen (next to the Start button typically). Just click the page's icon in the Address bar, which--no surprise here--appears next to the word Address. Drag it to your desktop and let go. It's that simple!

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SHORTCUT ICONS

Ever wonder why a particular favorite has its own icon? Some Web sites add a bit of script to their site that downloads an icon file (*.ico) to your hard drive. If you bookmark the main Yahoo! site, for example, you'll see a red Y! image. Typically the icons disappear when you clear your cache (select Tools, Internet Options, then click Delete Files, OK). However, if you like the icon, you can add it to your Quick Links toolbar. Here's how.

Surf to a site that uses a Favorites icon (for instance, NLSearch.com or MSNBC.com). Then bookmark the site (press Alt-D). Select the Favorites menu. When it opens, right-click the icon for the page you just bookmarked and drag it to the Quick Links toolbar.

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SHORTCUT HOME

Need to get home in a hurry? You can jump to the beginning of a Web page by clicking the Home button or, predictably, go to the bottom of the page by clicking the End key. Lost something in between? Click Ctrl-F to find text on a page.

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SET IMAGE AS WALLPAPER

See something you like? If it's an image on the Web, you can save it to your hard drive and display it as wallpaper. Right-click the image you want to save, then choose Save As Wallpaper. If you need images to browse, you can find a royalty-free collection of downloadable art, including animations, at the Microsoft Clip Gallery:

http://microsoft.com/clipgallerylive/

Enjoy!

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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.

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SEND US YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR

Over the last week, we've sent you a bunch of tips about removing Internet Explorer 5.01 and 5.5. If you have a good tip for USING either of these versions (instead of removing them), drop us a line at pheltzel@hardlearner.com. Got a question? Send it to editors@tipworld.com.

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SEND DESKTOP SHORTCUT

You can e-mail Web pages and other documents without even opening Outlook Express. Right-click the document you want to send. Now select Send To, Mail Recipient. Enter an address for the recipient and click Send. You can also send Web pages from within Internet Explorer 5 by selecting File, Send, Page By E-mail.

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SECURITY OPTIONS

If you share your computer, you may want to tell Internet Explorer 5 not to store encrypted files on your hard drive. Since MSIE 5 saves some pages to your disk cache to speed browsing, you can tell the browser to skip secure pages, such as e-commerce sites where you enter a password, your credit card number, or other sensitive information.

To do so, click Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. Scroll down and check the box marked Do Not Save Encrypted Pages To Disk. Click OK to finish.

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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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SAVE PAPER WHEN PRINTING

The average Web page runs longer than just one printed page. Here's a good way to save some trees when printing from the Web. If the situation allows, first select the text and images you want to appear on your printout. With your selection highlighted, choose File, Print. The Print dialog box appears. Now, click the Selection radio button, and choose OK. You get only what you want and nothing you don't. At Topica, we aim to please.

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SAVE A PAGE AS TEXT

If you'd like to save a page, but don't need the graphics or formatting, save the page as text. Choose File, Save As, and the Save Web Page dialog box appears. Then select Text File from the Save As Type menu. Click the Save button. This tip often comes in handy when you plan to use the page's text in a word processing document. Of course, you can always select all the text in a page by pressing Ctrl-A, then copy (Ctrl-C) and paste (Ctrl-V) the text directly into the document of your choice.

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Bonus Tip:

Avoid intruders in your online space. Our choice to protect your privacy.

http://click.topica.com/aaaaC1bz8QVebAd5Mra/Paincware

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SAVE A CLICK OR TWO

In a hurry? You can open Web pages directly from the Start menu. Choose Start, Run, and type the address of the page you want to visit, then click Enter. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 launches with the page already open. Note that if you open pages in this way, AutoComplete can speed the process by guessing the rest of the URL as you type. This tip is especially helpful if you don't want to have to first open the home page you have designated.

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SAVE A BACKGROUND GRAPHIC

You probably know you can save images you see on a Web page to your hard drive. You can also save background images. Right-click the background, then choose Save Background As. Enter a name and click Save. In addition, you can copy the background image and paste it into another file by choosing Copy Background from the pop-up menu.

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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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REPAIR IE 5 WITH WINDOWS 98 SE

Yesterday we told you how to use Internet Explorer 5's Repair option. (Abridged directions: Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel. Choose Add/Remove Programs. Select Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Select Repair Internet Explorer. Click OK. Click Yes.) Some folks with Windows 98 SE report that the Repair feature isn't available to them. If that's your situation, try the following.

Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and select System Information. Select the Tools menu, and choose Internet Explorer Repair Tool. Choose Repair Internet Explorer. Choose OK. Finally, click Yes when prompted.

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REPAIR IE 5

If Internet Explorer 5 starts to behave badly, try the Repair option. Note: In some cases, folks who have Windows 98 Second Edition can't find the Repair feature for IE 5 (we'll give you a special tip tomorrow).

First try this. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel. Choose Add/Remove Programs. Select Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools (the name of your IE 5 may vary slightly, but it should be pretty obvious). Select the radio button marked Repair Internet Explorer. Then click the OK button. Choose Yes when the confirmation box appears.

Good luck!

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RENAME FAVORITE LINKS

Oftentimes you'll bookmark several pages from the same site that may have the same name. What to do? Why not rename your favorites something a bit clearer?

Here's how. Select Favorites from the menu bar. When your Favorites menu appears, right-click the Favorite you want to rename. Select Rename from the menu that appears. Type a new name in the text box that appears and click OK. You're all set.

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REMOVE WINDOWS 98 INTEGRATION

Microsoft may debate it, but you actually can remove the integration between Windows and Internet Explorer 5. Personally, we find the integration helpful. Others may disagree.

A small file (113KB), called IE-Off Now, will do the trick. You can download it here:

http://www.annoyances.org/win98/features/integration.html

Wisely, the program lets you turn integration back on if you so choose.

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REMOVE RADIO LIST

Here's a Radio request from a TipWorld reader:

"I have Windows 98, and have the Net radio turned on in my browser. How can you remove a radio station from the Favorites list?"

You can clear the radio station list, but the only way we know how is to do a Registry edit. Unless it really bothers you, don't try this. Editing the Registry can lead to bad mojo on your system, including inability to boot your system. Before editing anything in the Registry, back it up by copying your system.dat and user.dat files from the Windows folder. Place them outside your Windows folder, preferably on a Zip or floppy disk. Consider that fair warning.

To start the Registry Editor, select Start, Run. Type

regedit

and press Enter. Navigate to this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Radio\MRUList

Right-click Radio_Station_Count and choose Modify from the pop-up list that appears.

Type

0

in the Value Data text box. Select OK and close the Registry Editor. Whew. That should clear it. (Note: type the numeral zero, not the letter "O").

Good luck!

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REMOVE IE 5.5

Yesterday we talked about removing Internet Explorer 5.01. Other readers have complained about the beta version of IE 5.5, and wish to remove it. Here's how.

Close IE 5 if it's running. Open the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel). Double-click Add/Remove Programs. Choose Internet Explorer 5.5 And Internet Tools. Choose Add/Remove.

You should end up with the version of IE you had installed previously--simple enough?

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REMOVE BRANDING

We often get this request from readers who use cobranded versions of Internet Explorer 5--how do you remove the branding indicators? For instance, if your ISP provides your browser, you may see a logo associated with the ISP instead of the usual spinning globe. You may also see the name of the company in the title bar. Here's how to remove both of these annoyances.

Note: Messing with the Registry can cause all kinds of strange weirdness on your PC. If you don't know what you're doing, it's best to live with these inconveniences.

If you decide to edit the Registry, make sure to back up your system.dat and user.dat files in your Windows folder, preferably to a floppy or to another folder on your hard drive.

Launch the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run. Type

regedit

in the Run dialog box that appears. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar. In the right pane, select BrandBitmap and SmBrandBitmap. Delete these entries.

To get rid of the name in the title bar, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title. Select the name in the right pane and delete the entry. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Good luck!

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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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REFRESHING SHORTCUT

If you return to a page to find that it's not quite, well, fresh, you might need to reload it. Depending on your settings, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 may load a version of a page you've already seen, and it could be dated. To make sure you get the latest, click F5 to refresh the page, and IE 5 won't serve up a page from the cache.

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REFRESHING FRAME TIP

If you need to refresh a page with frames, save yourself some time. Just right-click the frame you want to load again and choose Refresh. Now only the frame you want reloads, rather than making you wait for several frames on the page (as would happen when you click the Refresh button or F5). This can be helpful, especially when you're using Web-based mail programs, when you want your in-box to reload, but don't want those new ads.

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REFORMATTING THE HARD DRIVE--FOR EXTREMISTS ONLY

A TipWorld reader named Pete writes in with the biggest hassle we've seen this month:

"I am running Internet Explorer 5 on my 486 DX2-66 computer, which has 32MB of RAM. I notice slow performance, and although my computer is very slow to begin with, my question is this: Since I have been running Windows 95 for a long time on the same installation, would it be wise at this point to reformat my hard drive and do a clean install of Windows again? Would that help IE 5 run more smoothly once I reload it? I ask this because I have also noticed slow performance across the board in Windows, which leads me to believe it's time to clean things out."

Too true. Starting from scratch can breathe new life into a system, although a 486 will obviously be a little sluggish running any more recent Microsoft applications.

It's no small feat to clean house, but it can be rewarding. Reformatting a drive and installing Windows again is beyond the scope of these tips. However, you'll find an excellent explanation of how to go about it in the following article from PC World:

http://www.pcworld.com/current_issue/article/0,1212,3967,00.html

It's a serious commitment of time, and you must be very careful to back up all your data before proceeding (for instance, don't forget to export your mail before you start, an often overlooked item).

Good luck, and may the force be with you.

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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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RADIO BAR

If you want to use Internet Explorer 5's Radio toolbar (View, Toolbars, Radio) to play streaming audio, you'll need to download Windows Media Player. Microsoft recently released version 7 of the media player. You can get it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/

To make the toolbar stay open each time you open Internet Explorer 5, you'll need to make a change in Internet Options. Select Tools, Internet Options. Select the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Multimedia section. Select Always Show Internet Explorer Radio Bar.

You can use the Radio bar to listen to streaming media in the Windows Media format. To find a radio station, just choose Radio Stations from the Radio bar.

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QUICKLY OPEN NEW BROWSER WINDOW

One of the fastest ways to browse is to open more than one link simultaneously. To do so, right-click a link and choose Open In New Window, or simply press the Shift key when you click the link.

It sounds simple because it IS simple.

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PUT A FAVORITE UP FAST

Want to speed up your bookmarking? When you find a worthy site for your quickly growing Favorites menu, click the icon to the right of the word Address, then drag it to the Favorites menu, which opens. Drag the icon where you want to place it on the menu, then release the mouse. You won't get a prompt asking you to name the file, but you can do that later. Just select the Favorites menu, scroll to the Favorite you want to rename, and right-click it. Choose Rename from the menu that appears, type a name, and click OK.

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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.

Adios, amigo...

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PRINT A SINGLE FRAME

When you visit a site, often you may want to print just one frame to save paper and to make the printout easier to read. Here's how. Open a page, then click the frame you want to print. Choose Ctrl-P to launch the Print dialog box. Click OK and you're done.

Note: Internet Explorer 5.5 users will see three choices--As Laid Out On Screen (to print all frames as they appear), Only The Selected Frames (usually selected by default), and All Frames Individually (for printing each frame as a separate page).

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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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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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PASTE SPECIAL INTO WORD

Do you use both Internet Explorer 5 and Word 2000? If so, you may get some use out of this tip.

When you cut and past hyperlinked text from MSIE 5 to Word, you'll notice that Word retains the formatting of the text you copied. Word also maintains the hyperlink. You may find this helpful when you want active links in a word processing document, but often it's just a nuisance.

Here's how to get around the problem: Instead of pasting the text as you usually do, select Edit, Paste Special, Unformatted Text. Then click the OK button. (Note: This tip may also work with Word 97, but we haven't tested it.)

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OUTLOOK EXPRESS: DELETED MAIL

Even after you send e-mail in Outlook Express to the Deleted Items folder, it's still available to you. You can read the mail or send it to another folder--that is, until you right-click the Deleted Items folder and choose Empty 'Deleted Items' Folder.

You can also tell Outlook Express to trash the messages in this folder when you close the program. From within Outlook, choose Tools, Options. Click the Maintenance tab to bring it forward. Select Empty Messages From The 'Deleted Items' Folder On Exit. Then click OK to save your changes.

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OUTLOOK EXPRESS NEWSGROUP SHORTCUTS

And now we'll give you a few of our favorite newsgroup shortcuts for Outlook Express. You can use all of these for e-mail or when you're browsing and posting to Usenet newsgroups.

Ctrl-N: Create a new message
Esc: Stop a Send And Receive
Ctrl-M: Send And Receive Mail
Tab: Make the next pane active
Ctrl-Enter-Q: Mark message as read
Ctrl-Shift-Enter: Mark message as unread
Alt-S: Post or send message

How about them apples?

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OPEN THE WEB FROM A FOLDER

With Active Desktop, you have several ways to open Web pages from within a folder. You can click a favorite from the links bar, or you can type the full address in the Address bar. And, of course, you can choose a page directly from the Favorites menu. Last, you can choose View, Explorer Bar, then choose Search, Favorites, or History.

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OPEN NEW WINDOWS MAXIMIZED

Last month we ran a tip about opening Internet Explorer 5 maximized from the get-go.

To recap, click the Maximize button (it's the middle button of the three at the top right of the screen), then click the Close button. IE 5 will open up maximized the next time you launch it.

We received nearly a hundred letters, all of which said essentially, "Great, thanks for the tip, but how about one that opens NEW browser windows maximized?" One e-mail, from Herman Chia (who wrote in from Singapore), also noted that we said the Maximize button was on the top LEFT of the window, not the top right. Oops. Good catch--thanks.

OK, so here's how to open new windows maximized: From IE 5, right-click a URL and choose Open In New Window. Now go to the first window you opened and close it (don't forget this step, or the tip won't work). Go back to the newly opened window and drag it to the size you want, but DON'T use the Maximize button. Close the browser window. From now on, when you open a new window, it should open to this size--personalized just the way you like it.

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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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OPEN A WINDOW IN HERE

Need to open a window quickly in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5? Browsing with two windows open can speed your surfing considerably. Launch a new window by pressing Ctrl-N. Or you can launch a hyperlink in a new window by holding down the Shift key when you click the link. You can also right-click a link and choose Open In New Window.

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ONE CLICK OR TWO

You can use Active Desktop to choose whether to open programs and files by clicking them once or twice. Choose Start, Settings, Folder Options. Select Web Style for single-click opening, or Classic Style for two-click opening. You can also select Custom to take full control of how folders appear. We'll tell you more about setting custom options tomorrow. For now, click OK to save changes.

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ODIGO ADD-ON

Odigo is a separate program you can download that lets you chat with other users while you surf the Web. As you jump from site to site, Odigo tells you whether other users are also viewing the page. You can drop them a line, start a chat session, or post a message other Odigo users will see when they view the site. Another cool feature: Odigo interoperates with the instant Messaging software ICQ. You can download Odigo from

http://www.odigo.com

Enjoy!

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NAMING FAVORITES

In our last tip, we told you how to rename a favorite. Select Favorites from the menu bar, then right-click the Favorite you want to rename. Select Rename from the menu that appears. Type a new name in the text box that appears and click OK.

Here's a good reason to name your favorites carefully. If you have a uniquely named favorite, you're just a couple clicks from bringing it up. Click the Favorites menu, then type a letter. If several favorites start with the same letter, Internet Explorer 5 jumps to the topmost choice. But if you have just one favorite named with a certain letter, the page opens immediately--no fuss, no muss.

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MSIE 5.5 EXPERIENCE

We typically recommend that users wait to upgrade until a few weeks after the release of a new browser. We've now been using the latest version of Internet Explorer 5.5 on two machines, a desktop and laptop, for more than a month with no problems. Users often have trouble with the latest releases of MSIE, but we've noticed fewer complaints recently and feel comfortable recommending an upgrade for users of versions 4, 5, and 5.01.

Good luck!

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MSIE 5, THE FIRST VERSION

A reader name John asks where he can get Internet Explorer version 5.0 (rather than 5.01 or 5.5 beta): "I can't find a site to download it; Microsoft doesn't seem to have it anymore."

Try this URL, John:

http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10058-100-906260.html?tag=st.dl.10001_103_1.lst.td

We currently use IE 5.01 and consider it a stable release. Each new version usually comes with growing pains, which may include infrequent crashing or other maladies. If you have IE 5.0 and it's working for you, there's no reason to upgrade. But if you're starting from scratch, IE 5.01 looks like a good bet.

Good luck!

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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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MSIE 5 REPAIR TOOL MISSING

So you've been reading up on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, and you hear about this handy tool that will repair MSIE 5. The tool looks for corrupt files and reinstalls them if necessary. Trouble is, if you installed Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), the tool does not appear. You'll only find the tool if you install a version of MSIE 5, 5.01, or 5.5 after installing Windows 98 SE. If you have installed a version of MSIE 5 over Windows 98 SE, you'll find the repair tool by opening the Add/Remove Programs control panel, selecting Internet Explorer 5, then clicking the Add/Remove button. But be careful when you're digging around in there!

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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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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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MICROSOFT WALLET

Microsoft introduced Microsoft Wallet in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 so you could enter credit card and personal information into MSIE just once, and the program would later submit it for you at participating sites.

You may still see the Wallet button in MSIE 5 (select Tools, Internet Options and click the Content tab). However, MSIE 5.01 and later versions removed the Wallet feature--Microsoft Passport has largely replaced it. For more information, go to

http://www.passport.com

Note that an e-commerce site must support Microsoft Passport to make this feature work. You can find a list of participating sites at the Passport Web site.

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MAXIMIZE NEW WINDOW

Subscriber Tom Veik has a maximize question:

"Your recent tip for opening a new browser window in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 (press the Shift key while clicking a link) is one I use a lot. But the new window NEVER opens maximized, which really bugs me. Is there a way to get the new windows to open maximized?"

Sure. Just press Shift, then click a link. Now--and this is important--go back to the first window and close it. Stretch the second window to the full size of your screen (don't use the Restore button at the top right of your browser). Close the second window. From now on, when you Shift-click a link, the second window should open maximized.

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MAKE RADIO TOOLBAR PERSISTENT

So you've been using the Microsoft Internet Explorer Radio toolbar (View, Toolbars, Radio). But you notice that when you close and reopen the browser, the Radio toolbar disappears. What gives? Well, the toolbar won't stay open unless you tell IE 5 to do so. Here's how: Choose Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Multimedia section, and choose Always Show Internet Explorer Radio Bar.

If you don't have the Radio toolbar available on your View menu, you may first need to download and install the Windows Media Player. You can get it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer

Good luck!

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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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MAIL A WEB PAGE

Here's a way to share the cool things you find online: Mail the URL or full page from within Internet Explorer 5. Select File, Send, Page By E-mail. Or choose File, Send, Link By E-mail (better for slower connections or for those who don't use HTML-capable e-mail clients). Doing so launches your default e-mail client. Address and send when ready. Ah, the beauty of the Internet knows no bounds.

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LOWDOWN: THE ACTIVE DESKTOP

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 users hear a lot about Active Desktop. What exactly is it? Active Desktop was introduced in the MSIE 4 Windows Desktop update, which integrated parts of the Windows OS with the Internet. Active Desktop includes certain items, like the Quick Launch toolbar and folders that can preview image files.

Keep in mind that Active Desktop is part of both Windows 98 and MSIE 4. If you use an older version of Windows 95, you won't have Active Desktop (unless you first installed MSIE 4). You can tell if you have Active Desktop by looking just to the right of the Start button. If you see the Show Desktop, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express icons, you've got it. Don't see them? You haven't got it.

Got it? Tomorrow, we'll tell you about exploring and customizing Active Desktop.

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LOSE THE UNDERLINING

You can make pages appear cleaner and still retain their usefulness by telling Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 to underline only those links to which you point. Choose Tools, Internet Options, and select the Advanced tab. Under Browsing, select Hover. Now you can tell when text is hyperlinked by pointing at it, but you won't see all the links on the page underlined. Click OK to save your changes.

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LOOK FOR SECURE SITES

When purchasing goods or entering passwords online, check for SSL encryption on the site. The padlock symbol in the bottom right corner of Internet Explorer appears locked when you open a site that uses encryption and that has passed your browser a certificate verifying its identity. If you don't see the locked padlock, don't enter any sensitive information.

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LOG IN TO PASSWORD-PROTECTED SITE

This trick won't work at every site, but it can be helpful in some cases (we use it for Yahoo mail, for instance). If you log in to password-protected sites, try this. You can enter your user name and password in the Address bar, rather than filling them in once you reach the site. Here's the format:

http://Username:password@sitename.com

As I mentioned, it doesn't always work. For example, at my Yahoo account, only my user name gets filled in, not my password. You win some, you lose some.

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LINKS BAR--PART 1 OF 5

The Links toolbar is one of the best features of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, if you use it for good (never for evil). This handy toolbar sits below the Address bar, and puts you one click away from your favorite sites. By default, it's filled with links to the Microsoft Web site--but it doesn't have to be. Here's how to make it your own.

Quick Links roundup: If you don't see the Links toolbar, select View, Toolbars, Links. To delete a favorite from the Links toolbar, right-click it and choose Delete. To move a favorite to a new position on the Links bar, simply click and drag it to a new position.

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LINKS BAR--PART 2 OF 5

Yesterday we took a quick look at the Links toolbar, a handy way to provide fast access to your favorite Web sites. When you first install the Links toolbar, it contains a handful of shortcuts to the Microsoft Web site--but you can delete the shortcuts you don't want and quickly add ones you DO want. Placing shortcuts on the Links toolbar gives you faster access than putting them in the Favorites menu.

The Links toolbar, like the Favorites menu, has a corresponding folder on your hard drive. From within this folder, you can add and organize shortcuts. You'll find the Links folder on your system under Windows/Favorites/Links.

You can more easily view and edit the contents of the Links toolbar by choosing Favorites, Organize Favorites, then double-click the Links folder.

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LINKS BAR--PART 3 OF 5

You can add a page you are currently viewing to the Links toolbar by clicking and dragging its page icon (from the left side of the Address bar) to the Links toolbar. When a vertical line appears, you can release your mouse. Your favorite should now appear on the Links toolbar.

Note: If you don't see all your favorites on the Links toolbar, you may have more links than can display at one time. If so, click the double arrow on the right side of the toolbar, and you'll see the rest of your favorites. To make more room, you can remove an unwanted favorite from the Links toolbar by right-clicking the favorite and choosing Delete.

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LINKS BAR--PART 4 OF 5

The Links toolbar provides a handy way to access your favorite Web sites quickly. You can increase its usefulness by adding subfolders.

As you probably know, creating folders (and subfolders) is key to file management. To create subfolders on the Links toolbar, choose Favorites, Organize Favorites. Then double-click the Links folder. Click the Create Folder button. Your new folder appears, with its name highlighted. Type a new name for the folder, then click OK twice to save your changes. Now you can access folders of your often-used shortcuts without having to open the Favorites menu.

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LINKS BAR--PART 5 OF 5

Over the past several tips, we've been talking about getting more use out of the Links toolbar in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Not everybody's a big fan of this toolbar, however. If you want more space to browse, you can simply hide it (choose View, Toolbars, and deselect Links).

If you want the corresponding Links folder to disappear from the Favorites menu, it'll take a bit more work--and it's not something you should attempt if you're uncomfortable mucking around in the Windows folder.

Here's how. Find your links folder, likely in C:\Windows\Favorites\Links. Right-click the Links folder and choose Properties. Select Hidden in the Attributes area and click OK. When you next start MSIE, the Links folder will be missing.

So how do you get it back?

From Windows Explorer, open the Windows/Favorites folder. Choose View, Folder Options. Click the View Tab. Select Show All Files and click the OK button. Now right-click the Links folder and choose Properties. Deselect Hidden in the Attributes area. Click OK.

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KNOW THE CODE

To view the HTML code used to construct a page, select View, Source. The page opens in Notepad, where you can edit and save the HTML document. Current Web page editors have made editing source code a thing of the past for most folks. But if you'd like to learn more about HTML editing, check out the HTML Crash Course at

http://edweb.gsn.org/htmlintro.html

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KIOSK MODE

Seems like a lot of folks who read TipWorld like to browse in full-screen mode (try pressing the F11 key to toggle this mode on and off). Mubashir Nabi writes in with a tip on working in kiosk mode, which lets Internet Explorer 5 take over your whole screen without displaying any toolbars. It's especially helpful for presentations. Here's a way to open IE 5 in this mode, straight from Nabi:

"Create a shortcut to IE 5 on the desktop. To do this, choose Start, Programs, then right-click the Internet Explorer icon and drag it to the desktop. When you finish dragging, choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the pop-up menu that appears. Do not create a shortcut from the Internet icon on your desktop, or this tip may not work.

"Right-click the shortcut's icon. Choose Properties from the contextual menu. In the Target box, write or amend the text so it displays the following:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -k

"Click OK. When you click THIS icon, IE 5 launches in kiosk mode. To open a Web site, press Ctrl-O to launch the Open dialog box. Since there is no Close button, you can shut down IE 5 by pressing Alt-F4.

"You can have two IE 5 icons--one that opens normally and one that operates in kiosk mode."

Thanks for the tip, Nabi.

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JUMP BACK

About to hit the Back button to reopen a previously visited site? Instead of clicking it multiple times to jump back several pages, press the downward-pointing arrow to the left of the Back button on the toolbar. A list of previously visited sites appears. Select one to visit, and you'll instantly jump to the appropriate site.

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INTELLIMOUSE TRICK

Kerrie L May writes in with this Intelli-gent tip:

"If you have a scrolling mouse, you can hold down the Ctrl key and scroll your mouse button to change the size of the text. This is great if you have to print something. Just make the text smaller, then increase it again."

Thanks, Kerrie!

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INTELLIGENT MOUSE

 

If you use a Microsoft Intellimouse for browsing, consider this speedy

trick. To navigate quickly, press the Shift key and move the mouse

wheel up to go back to the page you last visited and down to go

forward. In addition, you can increase the size of the page by

pressing the Ctrl key, then rolling down to zoom in, up to zoom out.

 

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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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HOME PAGE SHORTCUT

Here's an interesting tidbit--another way to reach your home page, from TipWorld reader Patti Koch: "Just thought you would like to know that if you type two periods in the Internet Explorer 5 address bar, it will take you to your home page."

If you're already in the Address Bar, you may find this tip a good shortcut. At least it's a good party trick--if you sit around computers at your parties.

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HOME AGAIN

You can make the page you're currently viewing the home page just by dragging the page's icon (in the Address bar) to the Home icon on the toolbar. You'll see a confirmation dialog box. Click Yes to save the change. If you use the Active Desktop, you can also drag items such as text files from folders, including the desktop, to your Home button.

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HOME AGAIN

Want to jump quickly to your home page? Click Alt-Home to go there. Another handy use of the Home key: Click the key to jump to the beginning of the document. It's not rocket science, but it can help you save a little time each day.

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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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HISTORY SEARCH

Can't find the page you're looking for in the History Explorer bar? Try searching for it. Click Ctrl-H to open the History list. Then click the Search button, enter the site, and click the Search Now button. The results appear in the History bar. Click a link to open it in the main browsing window. It's just that simple.

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HISTORY LESSON

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5's History Explorer bar is a pretty simple feature, right? It keeps track of where you've gone so you can quickly return with a click. Not so fast--is stores history and cache info on your hard drive, in files with a .dat extension. Sometimes the .dat index files grow so large they can cause your system to act strangely. In fact, you may have difficulty clearing your History folder at times. If so, try this.

Restart your computer in MS-DOS mode. Click Start, Shut Down, Restart In MS-DOS Mode. When the computer restarts, type the following at the command prompt:

deltree c:\windows\history

Press the Y key to confirm that you want to clear your History (if asked).

Then type

deltree c:\windows\tempor~1

Click Y to confirm that you want to clear the cache.

You can use a program like TweakIE at

http://www.tweakie.com

or Webroot Software's Window Washer 3 at

http://www.webroot.com

to handle these tasks for you, without having to reboot to DOS. They can also rid your system of unwanted cookies.

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HIDE THE LINKS TOOLBAR

The Links toolbar is a handy timesaver, but it also takes up valuable screen real estate. If you want to hide the toolbar, right-click the toolbar in a blank area (for instance, on the word Links). Choose Links to deselect it.

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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

Good luck!

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GRAB MORE DESKTOP REAL ESTATE

Want more space on your desktop? Then try placing the Internet Explorer logo somewhere else. You can click and drag it to your Quick Launch toolbar, for example.

Once you find a good location for your Explorer logo, send the desktop shortcut packing. Select the Internet Explorer icon, then click the Delete key.

If you decide later that you want the icon back on the desktop, an option in Explorer lets you quickly make that change. From within Internet Explorer, choose Tools, Internet Options, and select the Advanced tab to bring it forward. Under Browsing, select Show Internet Explorer On The Desktop. Click OK to save your changes.

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GOOD HOMEMADE TIPS

If you need to get to your home page in a hurry, leave the mouse where it is and hold down the Alt key while pressing the Home key. You can also choose View, Go To, Home Page. And, of course, you can press the Home button.

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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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GIVE PLUG-INS THE HEISMAN

Every now and again, you install a plug-in that no longer serves its purpose. How do you unload it? Just open the Downloaded Program Files folder, located in your Windows folder. You uninstall a plug-in by right-clicking it and choosing Remove.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GET RIGHT TO IT

Need to save a link or image to your hard drive? No problem. You can copy a page by right-clicking a link--you don't even have to open the page. Here's how: Right-click the link, then choose Save Target As and click the Save button when prompted. To save an image, right-click the image and choose Save Picture As. Then click the Save button.

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FREE ISP

So you've been hearing about free Internet access and wondering why you should pay when you don't have to. It's a fair question: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 is free; why shouldn't your Net access be? If you have a tolerance for blinking ads, you might find a free ISP a good fit. Here are two we think do a pretty fair job:

AltaVista Free Access at

http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/altavista/index.html

and

Netzero at

http://www.netzero.com

Both offer local access numbers for most areas in the United States. As we mentioned, banner ads pay the bill, but if you have a reasonably large monitor (17 inches or greater, possibly 15 inches), you can probably live with the intrusion. One of these services might at least make a good backup for those times when service goes down or when two folks in your house want to log on (if you have two phone lines).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FORM JUMPER

You probably know that when you're filling out a form, you can jump from line to line by clicking the Tab button. Another quick tip: You can submit most forms when you finish filling them out by clicking the Enter key. In some cases, you may have to tab until the Submit button is highlighted, then press Enter.

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FLYSWAT

You can add a set of helpful features to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 with a small (184KB) add-on that adds links to words as you browse. Called Flyswat, the program can identify names and places, then link these words on a Web page to related sites on the Web. The program can help you find biographies of people, travel information related to place names, and background information on companies. Even better, the program is free.

http://www.flyswat.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLUSH AUTOCOMPLETE LIST

In our last tip, we told you how to delete individual AutoComplete entries that appear when you're filling out Web forms. (When the list pops up, just use your cursor keys to select the incorrect entry, then press the Delete key to remove it.) To clean out the entire list, choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Content tab, then click the AutoComplete button. Click Clear Forms or Clear Passwords. Then click the OK button twice to save your changes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIX LINKS IN MSIE 5

In some cases, if you remove a browser other than Internet Explorer, such as Netscape Navigator or Opera, clicking a link in Outlook Express may not work.

To fix the problem, select Tools, Internet Options. Then click the Programs tab. Select the option Internet Explorer Should Check To See Whether It Is The Default Browser. Click OK, then close and restart MSIE 5. When prompted, click Yes to make it your default browser.

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FIRST A CORRECTION, THEN A TIP

Last month we ran a tip about the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 repair tool for users of Windows 98 SE. We left out a couple of important points. Windows 98 SE removes the IE 5 repair tool, and now lets the System File Checker handle missing and corrupt files. The feature does appear, though, if you download and install IE 5.01 on Windows 98 SE. Sorry for the confusion.

Now it's tip time. TipWorld reader Barb Wyatt needs a quick solution for when she accidentally clicks a link: "Is there any way I can abort a link click before my (elderly, slow) computer gets it loaded far enough to activate the Stop button?"

Just click the Esc key on your keyboard and the page will stop loading. In fact, it's a good idea to do so when a page hangs. Sometimes resubmitting the request can get a slow-loading page to come across more quickly than just waiting for it.

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FIND WITHIN A PAGE

Once you find a Web page you're hunting for, you'll likely want to run a search for an individual word on that page. Select Ctrl-F to launch the Find dialog box. If you want to search a portion of the page, first click it with the mouse. Then choose Up or Down in the Direction area of the dialog box. Consider cutting and pasting the same search string you used at a search engine.

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FIND PALS

Can't find a friend? You can run a search right from within Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Press Ctrl-E to open the Search Explorer Bar. Select the radio button marked Find A Person's Address. Choose the mailing address or e-mail address from the Search For pop-up menu. Enter the relevant information and click the Search button. Results appear in the main browsing window.

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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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FAVORITES SHORTCUTS

You can create shortcuts to often-used pages in several ways. Click Alt-D when visiting a page to add it to your Favorites list. You can also drag a link directly from a Web page to a folder on your hard drive to create a shortcut. Or you can create a shortcut for the page you are currently viewing by dragging its icon (from the left side of the Address bar) to any folder on your hard drive.

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EXPORT COOKIES

Many people think cookies are intrusive, but in most cases they are helpful personalization tools. When you're checking your bank balance or buying books online, they save time, because you don't have to log in each time you visit sites where you maintain accounts. Here's how to move cookies to a new machine or to your laptop.

Choose File, Import And Export. The Import/Export wizard appears. Click the Next button. Choose Export Cookies and click Next. In the next screen, select Export To A File. Click the Browse button if you want to change the location where you save the file (called cookies.txt). Click Next again. In the next screen, click Finish.

You've saved your cookies. To import them, just launch the Import/Export wizard again, and this time choose Import Cookies. Easy as pie, or as cookies--whatever your taste may be.

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EDIT SHORTCUT FROM LINKS BAR

It's time for a little fall cleaning on your Links toolbar. To move a shortcut on the Links toolbar, simply click and drag the shortcut with your mouse. Once the cursor changes to a vertical line, you can release the mouse. Want to remove a shortcut from the Links toolbar? Right-click the shortcut, then select Delete.

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DOWNLOAD OLD MSIE VERSIONS

Some folks swear by older of versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape. I know perfectly sane computer professionals who won't upgrade past version 3 of either browser. If you'd like to take a walk down memory lane, here's a site that archives past versions:

http://cws.internet.com/ie.html

The site also reviews the browser versions and add-ons for MSIE.

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DOWNLOAD A FIREWALL

Since sophisticated Web users demand more and more speed, cable modem and DSL use is climbing quickly. Broadband Internet connections are more vulnerable to hackers since they're "always-on" connections.

To monitor incoming and outgoing Internet traffic from your PC, you can install a software firewall. ZoneAlarm will help you surf safely while hiding your presence from hackers. The program is free for personal use, $19.95 for business users. You can download ZoneAlarm 2.1 at

http://www.zonelabs.com/

Good luck! May the force be with you--and against all those hackers.

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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CUSTOMIZE LINKS TOOLBAR

Want to make an item on your Links toolbar more eye-catching? Right-click the shortcut, then click Properties from the menu that appears. Click the Change Icon button. Choose an icon from the list that appears, then click the OK button. You can also click the Browse button to search for icons (.ico files) on your hard drive. Once you find one, double-click the icon file to select it, then click the OK button twice to finish up.

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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.
For MSIE 5.5, press:

Alt-minus key (-) to zoom out.
Alt-plus key (+) to zoom in.
Alt-C to close Print Preview.
Nifty, eh?

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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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CREATE FOLDERS TO ORGANIZE FAVORITES

Folders can really help you clean up your Favorites list. And if you decide you're no longer interested in a particular subject or project, you can delete all related shortcuts at once by deleting the folder. Convenient, no? To create a folder for your favorites, press Alt-A, then O (or choose Favorites, Organize Favorites). Click the Create Folder button and enter a name, then click Enter. You can click and drag individual favorites into your new folder to keep things tidy.

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CREATE FAVORITES ICON

In several tips we've mentioned how Internet Explorer 5 can display custom icons in the Favorites list. This feature allows sites to use their logo or other graphic, which appears when you click the Favorites button on the menu bar. If you run your own site, you can easily create one of these icons. Check out this tutorial at the Microsoft Developer's Network:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/dhtml/howto/ShortcutIcon.asp

You can also find information at

http://www.favicon.com

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COPY FROM INTERNET EXPLORER 5, SANS WEB LINKS

Need to copy text from a Web page to a word processing document? It's simple. Just select the text, then press Ctrl-C to copy, move over to your word processor, and press Ctrl-V to paste. If you use a Web-enabled word processor such as Microsoft Word, you may also take all the formatting and hyperlinks with you. If you don't want them, just paste the information into Notepad, then cut and paste it into your word processor. You'll remove all formatting and save yourself the trouble of converting from tables to text, removing hyperlinks, and changing the formatting of the text.

Good luck!

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CONVERT NETSCAPE TO MSIE 5 BOOKMARKS

Want to add a few bookmarks from Netscape into Microsoft Internet Explorer 5? You could import the whole lot (choose File, Import And Export to launch the Import/Export Wizard). Or you could just import a few you really want.

First find the bookmark.htm file on your hard drive. You can search for it by selecting Start, Find, Files Or Folders. Open the bookmark.htm file, then right-click each bookmark you want to import. When the pop-up menu appears, choose Add To Favorites.

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CONTENT ADVISOR

Here's a tip from TipWorld reader Sami Wais on Content Advisor, a handy tool for those with young surfers in the house:

"Choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Content tab. Click the Enable button in the Content Advisor area. Choose the category you want to filter, then adjust the slider. Click the OK button. Type your password, then type it again to confirm it. Then click OK and have fun."

Thanks for the tip, Sami!

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CONNECT BY YOURSELF

TipWorld reader Thomas has a pesky Dial-Up Networking problem:

"Whether I'm working online or offline, the Dial-Up Properties dialog box keeps popping up. I find this very distracting and would appreciate assistance."

If you find yourself in Thomas's situation, try this. Select Tools, Internet Options, then click the Connections tab to bring it forward. Select Never Dial A Connection. Click OK twice to close all the dialog boxes. This should stop the madness.

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CLOSE ALL THOSE WINDOWS

We recently told you that surfing with more than one window open can really speed things up. Press Ctrl-N to launch a new window displaying the contents of the window you are currently viewing. Or Shift-click a hyperlink to open a page in a new window.

The problem is all those windows can really clutter your screen. Thankfully, you can close all the multiple windows at once. Press the Ctrl key while clicking the windows in the taskbar. Once you have all your windows selected, stop pressing the Ctrl key. Right-click any one of the windows and choose Close. All the selected windows will close at once.

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CLEAR PASSWORDS

TipWorld reader Edwin Persons needs to clear out a mistyped password from the Internet Explorer 5 AutoComplete feature:

"If you register at a new site, and it finds the user name and password you have already used, you end up with a saved user name and password you don't need. Where is this list of saved user names, and can I edit or delete them? I'd like to clear that register and reinput them so only the ones I use pop up."

Here's the trick: Just select the one you don't need from the pop-up list that appears, then click the Delete key. To clear the entire list, choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Content tab, then press the AutoComplete button. Click the Clear Password button. Then choose OK twice to close all dialog boxes.

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KTVT-WeatherWarn@central.weatherwarn.netURGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX

345 AM CST WED DEC 13 2000

 

BELL-BOSQUE-COLLIN-COMANCHE-COOKE-CORYELL-DALLAS-DENTON-EASTLAND-

ELLIS-ERATH-FALLS-GRAYSON-HAMILTON-HILL-HOOD-JACK-JOHNSON-LAMPASAS-

LIMESTONE-MCLENNAN-MILAM-MILLS-MONTAGUE-NAVARRO-PALO PINTO-PARKER-

ROBERTSON-ROCKWALL-SOMERVELL-STEPHENS-TARRANT-WISE-YOUNG-

 

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON. A MIXTURE OF

FREEZING RAIN...FREEZING DRIZZLE...AND SLEET WILL FALL THIS MORNING

WITH ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN 1/4 INCH. ROADS...

BRIDGES...AND OVERPASSES ARE ICE COVERED AND TRAVEL SHOULD NOT BE

ATTEMPTED THIS MORNING UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. DRIVING

CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY IMPROVE THIS AFTERNOON AFTER THE PRECIPITATION

ENDS AND TEMPERATURES RISE ABOVE FREEZING.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Storm Advisory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

view map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...CORRECTION

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX

328 AM CST WED DEC 13 2000

 

BELL-BOSQUE-COLLIN-COMANCHE-COOKE-CORYELL-DALLAS-DENTON-EASTLAND-

ELLIS-ERATH-FALLS-GRAYSON-HAMILTON-HILL-HOOD-JACK-JOHNSON-LAMPASAS-

LIMESTONE-MCLENNAN-MILAM-MILLS-MONTAGUE-NAVARRO-PALO PINTO-PARKER-

ROBERTSON-ROCKWALL-SOMERVELL-STEPHENS-TARRANT-WISE-YOUNG-

 

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON. A MIXTURE OF

FREEZING RAIN...FREEZING DRIZZLE...AND SLEET WILL FALL THIS MORNING

WITH ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN 1/4 INCH. ROADS...

BRIDGES...AND OVERPASSES ARE ICE COVERED AND TRAVEL SHOULD NOT BE

ATTEMPTED THIS MORNING UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. DRIVING

CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY IMPROVE THIS AFTERNOON AFTER THE PRECIPITATION

ENDS AND TEMPERATURES RISE ABOVE FREEZING.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Storm Advisory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

view map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX

300 AM CST WED DEC 13 2000

 

BELL-BOSQUE-COLLIN-COMANCHE-COOKE-CORYELL-DALLAS-DENTON-EASTLAND-

ELLIS-ERATH-FALLS-GRAYSON-HAMILTON-HILL-HOOD-JACK-JOHNSON-LAMPASAS-

LIMESTONE-MCLENNAN-MILAM-MILLS-MONTAGUE-NAVARRO-PALO PINTO-PARKER-

ROBERTSON-ROCKWALL-SOMERVELL-STEPHENS-TARRANT-WISE-YOUNG-

 

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON. A MIXTURE OF

FREEZING RAIN...FREEZING DRIZZLE...AND SLEET WILL FALL THIS MORNING

WITH ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN 1/4 INCH. ROADS...

BRIDGES...AND OVERPASSES ARE ICE COVERED AND TRAVEL SHOULD NOT BE

ATTEMPTED THIS MORNING UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. DRIVING

CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY IMPROVE THIS AFTERNOON AFTER THE PRECIPITATION

ENDS AND TEMPERATURES RISE ABOVE FREEZING.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DENTON COUNTY TX

ADVISORIES: 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C l o s e s t S t a t i o n s

 

 

 

end of record 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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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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CLEAR AUTOCOMPLETE ENTRY

Here's a question from TipWorld reader Donald Prince that we receive nearly each month (not from Donald each time, of course): "Is there a way to edit the AutoComplete list to remove errors? Or do you have to clear the whole list?"

When the list pops up, just use your cursor keys to select the incorrect entry. Then press the Delete key to remove it.

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CHOOSE A FAVORITE

After bookmarking sites by adding them to your Favorites list (press Alt-D), you can access the list in several ways. You can select the Favorites menu, click the Favorites button, or choose Favorites from the Start menu. The list is the same, no matter how you access it, and points to the Favorites folder on your hard drive, under the Windows folder.

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CHECK FOR A CERTIFICATE

In Internet Explorer 5's Advanced Internet dialog box, you'll see a box marked Check For Server Certificate Revocation. Secure Web sites pass certificates to your browser to authenticate the identity of a site where you may enter sensitive information, including passwords and credit card numbers. Checking this option tells MSIE 5 to first see whether the site has a current certificate. Click OK to finish.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHANGE MSIE 5 WINDOW TITLE

Got a strong desire to change the name of your Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 title bar? Actually, this tip requires a Registry edit, so we don't recommend it unless you have a very strong desire to change the name.

First back up the Registry. Make copies of the system.dat and user.dat files in your Windows folder, and save them on a floppy or other removable drive (like a Zip).

Now open the Registry Editor. Click Start, Run, then type:

regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Then add a String Value called Window Title (right-click and choose String Value). Set the Value Data to whatever you want to call your browser.

Messing with the Registry can lead to serious problems with your system. If you're not sure how to back it up, it's probably best to avoid working with the Registry Editor. No kidding.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHANGE LINK COLORS

You can change the color of links you point to, making them stand out a bit from the standard blue. Select Tools, Internet Options. From the General tab, select the Colors button. Select the Use Hover Color check box. Now select the box next to the word Hover, choose a color, and click OK three times to close all open dialog boxes and save your changes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHANGE HOME PAGE TO CURRENT PAGE

If you want to change your home page to the page you are currently viewing, select Tools, Internet Options. Click the General tab to bring it forward. Click the Use Current button under Home Page. Or you can save time by choosing Use Blank, and Internet Explorer 5 will start without launching a page.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHANGE HISTORY

If you need to save disk space, try decreasing the number of days Internet Explorer 5 keeps track of pages you've visited. Choose Tools, Internet Options. In the General tab, enter a number in the box marked Days To Keep Pages In History. To clear the history completely, click the Clear History button, then click the OK button.

In most cases, Internet Explorer 5 will clear your history automatically. You shouldn't have to clear the history unless you want to. To see your history, choose Ctrl-H.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BROWSING OFFLINE

To browse offline, just choose File, Work Offline. Now you can view files on your system without jumping to the Web to download them. For instance, you can open your History explorer bar (Ctrl-H) and see what files are available to you without connecting. You can view any Web pages in your History or Favorites list that display in black. Grayed-out files are unavailable until you connect again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BROWSE WITH IMAGES OFF

To reduce the data you download and view pages faster, you can tell Internet Explorer 5 to stop displaying image files.

Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Multimedia area and deselect the box marked Show Pictures. While you're in the multimedia area, select the box marked Show Image Download Placeholders. This may alleviate the jumbling of text on some pages you visit. Click OK to finish.

If you still find the formatting on some pages displaying oddly, open the Advanced Internet Options dialog box again (select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab). Select the option Always Expand ALT Text For Images, which forces text boxes to take up the same amount of space they would with images displayed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BROWSE TWICE AS FAST

When downloading a large file, don't hang around and watch the meter run. Open a new window to browse more than one site at a time. Press Ctrl-N to open a new window. For faster navigating, press Alt-left arrow to jump back (instead of pressing the Back button) or Alt-right arrow to jump forward.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BRING BACK SECURITY DIALOG BOX

When you begin using Internet Explorer 5 and you enter a site that uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, you'll see a dialog box stating that you're entering a secure site. Most folks turn off this warning by clicking the option marked In The Future, Do Not Show This Warning. But if you would like notification when you go from a secure to an insecure page (or vice versa), here's how to get the dialog box back.

Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Check the box marked Warn If Changing Between Secure And Not Secure Mode. Click the OK button to save your changes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOOT A CONTACT

Who ARE all those people in your Contact list? If some of the names don't ring a bell, you might consider telling Outlook Express to stop adding them to your contacts.

From Outlook Express, choose Tools, Options. Click the Send tab to bring it forward, then deselect the box labeled Automatically Put People I Reply To In My Address Book.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BETTER BACK

You may notice that when you click the Back button on your browser, you may not always see every site you've visited since opening the browser. You could open the History Explorer Bar (Ctrl-H) to get around the problem. But if you only want to see the sites surfed in your latest session, press Alt-V, then O (or select View, Go To) and select the page you want to open.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACK UP YOUR BOOKMARKS OR FAVORITES

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 has a handy Favorites exporting tool (choose File, Import And Export to launch the Import/Export Wizard).

But there's another simple way to back up your Favorites. Open the Windows folder and locate the Favorites folder. Just press the Ctrl key while dragging the folder to a floppy, a removable media disk, or a partition on your hard drive (depending on your situation). This will copy the folder to the location of your choice.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTOHIDE IN FULL-SCREEN MODE

And now, we proudly present an Auto-Hide tip for those who run Internet Explorer 5 in full-screen mode, from helpful reader John Bradley, who isn't satisfied with the F11 key (try using it to toggle full-screen mode on and off). Ahem:

"When using MSIE 5 in full-screen mode, you can hide the remaining toolbar at the top of the browser. Just right-click a blank part of the toolbar and select Auto-Hide."

Thanks, John. To see the bar again, just point to the top of the screen with the mouse.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTODIAL A CONNECTION

Want to dial your Internet connection each time you open Internet Explorer 5? Choose Tools, Internet Options, then choose the Connections tab to bring it forward. Select Dial Whenever A Network Connection Is Not Present. Click OK to save your changes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANIMATED GIFS BEGONE

Animated GIFs can hamper and distract your surfing experience when you're trying to read pages. You'll see an increase in browsing speed if you turn them off. Choose Tools, Internet Options. Then press the Advanced tab. Under Multimedia, deselect Play Animations. Click OK to save your changes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALPHABETIZE FAVORITES

Running over this month's TipWorld mail, we see several requests for alphabetizing favorites. Most folks can't seem to figure out how to sort favorites in this way, so we run this tip pretty often. Please bear with us if you've heard this one before.

Just click the Favorites menu (not the Favorites button), then select a favorite link and right-click. From the menu that appears, choose Sort By Name.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADVANCED SHORTCUT

We often publish tips requiring that you make changes to the Internet Options dialog box. Here's a quick way to open the dialog box without touching your mouse. Select Alt-T, then press the O key.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADVANCED HELP

As you browse through the Advanced options in Internet Explorer 5 (choose Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab) you'll find many unfamiliar options. To find out what they do, click the question mark icon in the upper-right area of the dialog box, then click the option you want to investigate. Go ahead, Matlock, we know you want to.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDRESS BAR SHORTCUT

Want to jump around quickly in the Address Bar? Hold down Ctrl while clicking the left arrow to jump one step back and forth through a Web address. Press Ctrl and the right or left arrow keys to move through the address. If your URL is

http://www.flyswat.com

then pressing Ctrl plus the right arrow key will move you from http:// to www. to flyswat. to .com.

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ADDRESS BAR IN TASKBAR

For quick surfing, you can add the Address bar to your Taskbar in Windows 95 and Windows 98. (Note: To do this, you must turn on the Active Desktop. This feature is not available for Windows 95 users who installed Internet Explorer 5 from the get-go rather than installing version 4 first, then installing 5.)

To add the Address Bar to the Windows taskbar, right-click the taskbar and choose Toolbars, Address. Now you can quickly open a page without first launching MSIE 5.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADD FAVORITES QUICKLY

This week we've been using the right-click contextual menu quite a bit, and here's another handy way to use it. To add a hyperlink from a page you're viewing to your Favorites list (without having to open the page first), right-click the link and choose Add To Favorites. Or you can just click and drag the link into the Favorites menu until it opens, then drop it where you want it. You can also drag a link directly to the Links toolbar.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADD EXPLORER BARS

Explorer bars are the fuzzy dice of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Offered by third parties, this collection of add-ons provides your browser with specialized content in a convenient pane. We'll check out a couple helpful bars over the next two days. First up, the New York Times Explorer bar is available for download at the following address:

http://www.nytimes.com/partners/ie50/ie5.html

Once you click the Times link, you can choose Save This Program To Disk from the dialog box that appears and install it later. Or you can choose Run This Program From Its Current Location and install the program right away.

The Explorer bar provides headlines and stock-quote lookup, as well as links to various sections on the Times, including Technology and Politics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACTIVE DESKTOP: VIEW GRAPHICS

Active Desktop was introduced in the Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 Windows Desktop update, an important tool for MSIE users (note that users of Windows 95 and MSIE 5 won't have Active Desktop unless they first installed MSIE 4--sorry about that).

You can use Active Desktop to view thumbnail previews of documents on your hard drive. Open a folder on your hard drive, preferably one with some image files in it. From the folder, select View As Web Page. Select an image file (but don't open it). You should see a preview of the image in the left pane of the folder. You may need to expand the window to see the preview pane on the left.

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ACTIVE DESKTOP: ENABLE THUMBNAIL VIEW

Yesterday we talked about how to view previews of individual image files using Active Desktop. Today we'll show you how to make an entire folder's image files simultaneously appear as small images rather than file icons.

First, open a folder that contains images. Next, right-click a blank area of the folder. From the menu that appears, choose Properties. Now select Enable Thumbnail View and click the OK button. Right-click a blank area of the folder and choose Refresh. If your files don't appear as thumbnails in the folder, you may also need to choose View, Thumbnails.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACTIVE DESKTOP: CUSTOM FOLDERS

Active Desktop integrates Internet features into the Windows OS. Some of these features allow you to customize folder views. Yesterday, we talked about choosing whether to open items on your system with a single or double click. You can make other changes as well.

To do so, choose Start, Settings, Folder Options. If you'd like to create your own system settings smorgasbord, select Custom, Based On Settings You Choose:, then click the Settings button. For instance, here you can choose to open each folder in its own window, or open items with a single click. Make your changes and click OK twice to close the open dialog boxes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACTIVE DESKTOP: CONSISTENT FOLDERS

Over the past several tips, we've looked at customizing Active Desktop in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. After making adjustments to your folder styles, you can choose to make all folders look the same. Choose Start, Settings, Folder Options. Select the View tab to bring it forward. Then click the Like Current Folder button. Click OK to save your changes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACTIVE DESKTOP: ADD WINDOWS EXPLORER

One of the best features of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5's Active Desktop is the ability to add often-used items to the Quick Launch toolbar. For instance, we've added a shortcut to Windows Explorer so we can quickly get to files on our system.

To try this, select the Start menu, then select Programs. Right-click Windows Explorer and drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar until you see a thick vertical line. Release the mouse. You'll see a pop-up menu. Choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A TOOLBAR OF YOUR OWN

If you use the Active Desktop, you can create a toolbar for any Web site or folder on your hard drive. Just right-click a blank area of the Taskbar (for example, just to the left of the System Tray, where you see the Date/Time), and choose Toolbars, New Toolbar. In our case, we selected a folder of music files on our hard drive, then clicked the OK button. Once your toolbar is set up, you can click it and drag it to another edge of the screen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TILE WINDOWS VERTICALLY OR HORIZONTALLY

If you open a lot of windows on your system (Ctrl-N to open a new window), your desktop gets messy in a flash. You can quickly organize all the open windows on your system. Just right-click the Windows Date/Time area at the bottom right corner of your Desktop. Then choose Tile Windows Horizontally or Tile Windows Vertically.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIDE YOUR READ MESSAGES

When you get back from vacation, you may find yourself overloaded with messages. You can organize your Outlook Express Inbox to suit your needs. After downloading all your mail, you might want to hide the read messages so you can quickly address your unread mail. Select View, Current View, Hide Read Messages. Now all you'll see are the e-mails you haven't read yet. To see them all again, choose View, Current View, Show All Messages.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMET CURSOR

Comet Cursor is a program you may come across that animates your cursor when you browse certain Web sites. Downloads from big-name providers like Mindspring and RealNetworks bundle the program. That said, you may discover the program on your system unexpectedly, and of course you have the right to get rid of it. Just select Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. Choose Comet Cursor from the list of programs, then click the Add/Remove button.

Some users complain that the program can be difficult to get rid of, since various providers offer it. Keep a lookout for it in your Add/Remove control panel, and extract it whenever you see it there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SORT FAVORITES ALPHABETICALLY

An oldie but a goodie--the Favorites menu sorts shortcuts chronologically, not alphabetically. If you like things filed A to Z, try the following trick.

Click the Favorites menu in the toolbar (not the Favorites button). Right-click a Favorite, then choose Sort By Name. That should do it, though you'll need to periodically repeat this process to keep the list in alphabetical order.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PUT YOUR ADDRESS BAR IN FULL-SCREEN MODE

When you surf with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 in full-screen mode (press F11), do you ever wonder where the Address bar goes? To see it again, right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Toolbars, Address Bar. Now you get full-screen browsing, with the benefit of telling MSIE 5 where you want to go. Sheesh.

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PROBLEMS SAVING PASSWORDS

We see a lot of users who have problems saving passwords in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. If the password check box is unavailable, you may not be properly logged onto Windows. This password problem can happen for several other reasons. For more information, check out this Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q137/3/61.asp

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MORE ON FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL

Last time we talked about logging on to FTP (file transfer protocol) sites with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Here's a recap:

To open an FTP site, click in the Address Bar and type

ftp://ftp.thesiteyouwant.com

Substitute the real URL for "thesiteyouwant," of course.

If the site requires a password, choose File, Login As. The Login As dialog box appears. Type your user name and password, then click OK. (Some don't require a password--for instance, ftp://ftp.aol.com doesn't.)

To download a file, right-click it, then choose Copy To Folder. The Browse For Folder dialog box appears. Choose a folder where you want to store the file, then click OK.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MESSAGES IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES

If you read mail from more than one computer, you may find it frustrating to have some mail on this one, some on that. Here's a way to ease the problem. Set one computer to leave messages on your mail server rather than erasing messages from the server once downloaded (as is done by default). For instance, set your laptop to leave mail on your server. In this scenario, messages you read on your laptop will still download to your desktop PC when you get home.

In Outlook Express, choose Tools, Accounts, and select the Mail tab. Double-click your e-mail account. Select the Advanced tab. Select Leave A Copy Of Messages On Server. Close all open dialog boxes. Now, when you download mail from your laptop, a copy stays on your server. On your desktop, the mail downloads your PC, then gets removed from the server.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIND ADVANCED SECURITY HELP

The Advanced tab in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5's Internet Tools dialog box (Tools, Internet Options, Advanced) allows you to customize your security settings.

To find out more about security options, click the question mark in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. Then click the security option about which you want to learn more. You can use this tip for getting info on any feature in the Internet Options dialog box. However, the security options tend to be pretty foreign to most people--the Help button, labeled with a question mark, can clarify them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL--WHAT IS IT

FTP (file transfer protocol) is a way of uploading and downloading files from Internet file servers. You don't need a separate program to access an FTP site--Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 does a pretty good job. In the Address Bar, type

ftp://ftp.thesiteyouwant.com.

Note that you should insert the real URL for "thesiteyouwant.com."

That will let you log on to an FTP site anonymously. If the site requires a password, you may see an error message. That's OK. Just choose File, Login As. The Login As dialog box appears. Type your user name and password, then click OK. You can then access files and folders on the FTP server.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL--THE FINALE

Over the last two tips, we've talked about accessing FTP (file transfer protocol) sites using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. These Internet-based file servers are a great way to find shareware and other files. They can also be useful for backing up files from your PC. Your ISP probably provides you with a little FTP or Web server space where you can back up important documents, e-mail, or whatever else won't exceed your storage limit (usually a few megabytes or more). Here's how to log in to an FTP site and upload a file.

Click in the Address Bar and type

ftp://ftp.thesiteyouwant.com

Substitute the real URL for "thesiteyouwant," of course.

If the site requires a password, choose File, Login As. The Login As dialog box appears. Type your user name and password, then click OK. (Some sites don't require a password--for instance, ftp://ftp.zdnet.com doesn't.)

Now you should see a list of folders and files. You can upload a file by clicking and dragging it from your Desktop or from another folder on your hard drive, then releasing it when you reach a folder on the FTP server. Now just sit and wait for the transfer to finish.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLEAR YOUR ADDRESS DROP-DOWN MENU

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 keeps track of URLs you enter in the Address bar. Click the downward-pointing arrow at the far right side of the Address bar to jump to an address you've typed in before. You can clear the list, but this will erase your entire History list (click Ctrl-H to see your History).

To clear the Address drop-down box--and your History list--choose Tools, Internet Options. Click the Clear History button. Click OK. You may need to restart MSIE 5 to see the change.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHANGE URL STATUS DISPLAY

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 lets you see the file name of a hyperlink when you point at it (but haven't yet clicked it). However, sometimes Web addresses are so long that you can't see the whole thing in the status bar. (The status bar appears at the bottom of the MSIE 5 screen, at the far left). You may find it more helpful to use "friendly" URLs, which display just the last part of the address (you can usually see the first part of the address in--no surprise--the Address bar).

To check out these truncated URLs, choose Tools, Internet Options, then click the Advanced tab. In the Browsing Group, choose Show Friendly URLs. If you don't like the effect, just go back and deselect the Show Friendly URLs box.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACK UP YOUR MAIL AND FAVORITES

You can copy your favorites from the C:/Windows/Favorites folder. Or you can export them using the Import/Export wizard in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 (File, Import And Export). Here's a shareware program that can make things even easier:

Express Assist 2000
http://ajsystems.com/oexhome.html

The program will back up (into a compressed ZIP file) your favorites, as well as your address book, mail rules, account preferences, and all your e-mail. Then you can easily restore the file to another computer, or from a backup disk if disaster strikes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WEB-BASED WALLPAPER

See a Web image you really like? You can save it as your desktop wallpaper. Just right-click the image and choose Set As Wallpaper.

When you get tired of the image, right-click the desktop and choose Properties. With the Background tab selected, choose the wallpaper you want from the list that appears. Then click OK.

If you want your Web-based wallpaper back again, choose Internet Explorer Wallpaper from the list. Note that the Internet Explorer Wallpaper selection won't appear until you set a Web graphic as your wallpaper. Windows stores just one image under this selection, so if you choose a new wallpaper image from the Web, Windows deletes the previous one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WEB MAIL TRICK

Savvy TipWorld subscriber Gerry Coughlan read our tip last month about picking up Web-based mail through Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. We pointed readers to popular services like Hotmail, Yahoo, and others for grabbing mail on the road. He recommends another service, Mail2Web, which allows you to pick up POP3 e-mail mail via the Web, but doesn't require you to sign up for an account. Check it out:

http://www.mail2web.com

Mail2Web also offers version for PDAs and mobile phone mail access. Thanks for the tip, Gerry.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RUN PROGRAMS FROM MSIE 5

If you use Windows 98 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, you can run programs by typing their names into the Address bar. Just enter the application name and press the Enter key. For example, we can launch Excel on our system by entering

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Excel.exe

in the Address bar, then pressing Enter. Neat, eh?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MOVE AND RESIZE TOOLBARS

If you don't like the look of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5's toolbars, you can easily change them.

You can hide toolbars by selecting View, Toolbars, and deselecting the ones you don't want. (Active toolbars appear with a check next to their names). You can also move a toolbar so it shares the same line as another toolbar. Click the vertical bar on the left of a toolbar until you see a double-sided arrow icon. Move the toolbar to the position you want, then release the mouse.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHOOSE YOUR E-MAIL CLIENT

If you use an e-mail client other than Outlook Express, tell Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 about it. That way, when you click a mail link, MSIE 5 will open the e-mail program of your choice.

Select Tools, Internet Options, and choose the Programs tab. Choose your program from the E-mail drop-down menu. Then click OK to save your changes.

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