|
BOOT CAMP
220 (09/04/02)
INTERNET EXPLORER HINTS AND TIPS
Microsoft Internet Explorer is the world’s most popular
‘browser’ program, not because it’s bundled free with Windows, or it’s part of
Bill Gate’s plan for world domination, but because it does the job, and does it
well. There are plenty of alternatives, some them also free and a couple of them
have superior features to IE, but for sheer ease of use and, more importantly,
effortless compatibility with the multitude of standards and protocols flying
around the internet, IE is hard to beat.
Just about anyone can learn to use IE and start surfing the
web in about five minutes flat but there’s a lot of hidden features that many
users never find out about and that’s the subject of this week’s Boot Camp.
Internet Explorer has recently gone through a major revision
with the launch of version 6 and this available from Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/ie6/default.asp
and on many PC magazine cover mount discs) and included with Windows XP, however
IE version 5x remains very popular and most of the following tweaks work on both
versions.
We’ll kick off with a simple but effective tip to reduce the
amount of time it takes to get IE up and running and ready for use and that’s to
change the ‘Home Page’ to one with fewer graphics and images, or none at all. My
own personal favourite is the Google search engine (www.google.co.uk), which is normally my
first port of call in any event. There are two ways to do it, the easiest is to
type in the address of the site then go to Internet Options on the Tools menu,
select the General tab and in the Home Page section at the top click the ‘Use
Current’ button. You can also type in the address in this box and hit the return
key (don’t click Use Current or Use Default as this will almost certainly change
the site address to something else). To make IE to open even faster click the
‘Use Blank’ button.
Internet Explorer has a wealth of keyboard short cuts that
simplify and speed up repetitive actions. Here are a few worth remembering. It’s
often useful to open a new browser window when clicking on a link (it saves
reloading the page if you want to go back to the previous page) just hold down
the shift key before you click. You can also open a new browser window at any
time using Ctrl + N. When reading through a long multi-part/page document,
rather than clicking on the Next button use Alt + right arrow (Alt + left arrow
to step back). F5 refreshes the current web page and to save time when entering
dot.com web addresses just type the main word or title in the Address window and
press Ctrl + Enter and IE automatically adds ‘www.’ at the front and the ‘.com’
extension.
You can easily change Internet Explorer to your way of
working. Right click into an empty area of the Toolbar and select Customise.
From here you can add and remove Toolbar icons and change the order in which
they appear. If you copy and paste a lot of material from web pages it’s worth
adding a Copy button, and you can probably get rid of two or three rarely used
buttons. Don’t worry, you won’t be loosing anything, every Toolbar function is
represented on the drop-down menus.
If Internet Explorer starts playing up it’s worth trying the
built-in repair function. Go to Control Panel (Start > Settings) and select
Add/Remove Programs. Locate Microsoft Internet Explorer on the Install/Uninstall
list, click the Add/Remove button and select Repair. Another trick to get IE
back into line, especially if you’ve made a lot of changes, is to reset it to
its default condition. Go to Internet Options on the Tools menu, select the
Programs and click the Reset Web Settings button.
Internet Explorer has lots of security features built in but
they are often set at a perilously low level. Make sure that no Active X
controls can be loaded onto your PC without you knowing about it, these can
contain potentially harmful viruses or ‘spyware’ components that can compromise
privacy and make use of your Internet connection. Go to Internet Options on the
Tools menu, select the Security tab and click the Custom Level button. Make sure
that ‘Prompt’ and ‘Disable’ are selected under ActiveX Controls and Download
Unsigned ActiveX respectively. In IE 6 there’s a useful extra option on the
Privacy tab; click the Advanced button and ‘Block’ third-party cookies, which
are often used by adware and spyware programs.
As you probably know Internet Explorer keeps a detailed log
of the web sites you’ve visited and anyone with access to your PC can see what
you’ve been up to by clicking on the ‘History’ icon. It can be useful however and rather than clearing it completely (Tools > Internet
Options > General tab), you can delete single entries by right clicking on
them in the History list.
Finally, if several people use your PC you should be aware
that IE’s AutoComplete feature can store details of words you’ve entered into a
web site’s ‘search’ field and it stores passwords used to access sites. To
switch it off and clear AutoComplete entries go to Internet Options and select
the Content tab, click the AutoComplete button and enable or disable as many
features as you deem appropriate.
Next week – WINDOWS ACCESSIBILITY
JARGON FILTER
ACTIVE-X
Powerful programming tools used to add multimedia components
and features to Internet web pages
COOKIES
Small test file, stored on your PC by web sites you’ve
visited, that can contain a wide range of data including personal details and
preferences and information about web sites you have visited
HOME PAGE
The Internet page or web site that your browser goes to
automatically as soon as you go on line
TOP TIP
If you are using an older version of Internet Explorer and
you are happy with it just make sure you are fully up to date with all of the
latest security patches and updates at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp
Since version 5 has been around for a while there are lots of
extras and add-ons, which can be used to improve its functionality and
appearance. A good place to start is the Microsoft web site, which has a useful
selection of free to download accessories at the following locations: www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/previous/webaccess/ie5wa.asp
www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/previous/webaccess/default.asp
|