Internet Explorer Help

Tips & Tricks

Tips & tricks

Button Bar shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Context menu shortcuts

Menu command descriptions

File helper directory

Tips & tricks

Increase the size of the cache to browse previously viewed pages faster.
Turn off sound, video, and pictures to display pages faster. You can always download pictures on a individual basis.
- Click Load Images from the View menu to download all pictures on a page.
- To download an individual image, point to the icon for the picture that you want to download, hold down the mouse button, and then select Load Missing Image from the shortcut menu.
Use multiple connections to download different elements of a page at the same time to save time. How will this help you? If you downloaded a page with multiple images without using multiple connections, the images would load one at a time. With multiple connections, the images could download at the same time.
The Explorer Bar makes it easy to find what you're looking for on the Internet and then return whenever you want. For example, use the Search tab to keep your list of search results in view while you check out the Web pages that the list referred you to. You won't have to keep clicking the Back button to return to the search list. Similarly, the Favorites and History tabs provide a convenient way for you to browse through your favorite Web pages and sites you've previously viewed. Page Holder makes it easy to browse through links on a Web page. You won't have to click the Back button to return to the page you're browsing. The Explorer Bar can be turned on and off from the View menu.
If you plan to browse through a page with several links, add it to Page Holder. This eliminates the need to click the Back button to return to the page containing the links.
If you plan to view a page often, you might want to add it to your collection of favorite pages, and then turn on subscriptions for the page so that you'll be notified when information there changes.
To cancel a page that is taking too long to appear, click Stop Loading from the View menu.
Microsoft Internet Explorer keeps track of the pages you've viewed by adding them to the bottom of the Go menu so that you can easily see where you've been.
The Download Manager (available from the File menu) maintains a history of the files you have downloaded. If you can't remember where a file was downloaded, just double-click the file in Download Manager.
AutoFill (available from Preferences in the Edit menu) maintains a list of information about yourself that you enter. If you want to quickly fill out a form on a Web page, just click the AutoFill button on the Button Bar, and your name, address, phone number, and other information is automatically inserted for you. The inserted information is highlighted in yellow so that you can check it before you submit the form. This saves you time and eliminates possible mistakes every time you fill out a form on a Web page.
AutoComplete (available from Preferences in the Edit Menu) maintains a list of phrases and words that you enter. Those words or phrases are then recognized by Internet Explorer as you type them into a form field, and Internet Explorer automatically finishes the typing for you.
Avoid eye strain by making the text on the page larger. To do so, on the View menu, point to Text Size, and then select the font size you want.
Don't like the font displayed on the page? Change it! On the View menu, point to Character Set, and then select the font you want. The language kit for the specified character set must be installed on your computer. Some pages will use their own fonts instead of the ones you specify. To prevent this, click Preferences from the Edit menu, and in the Preferences dialog box, click Web Content. Then clear the Allow Page to Specify Fonts check box.

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The following is a list of keyboard shortcuts for frequently used commands. To see if a shortcut exist for a command that you use, click the menu under which the command is located. The shortcut is listed beside the command. Don't forget that the context menu and the Button Bar also provide quick access to commands.

To do this

Press this

Move to the previous page (Back button)

- [

Move to the next page (Forward button)

- ]

Update subscriptions

- U

Open a file on your local disk

- O

Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments

Page Down

Scroll toward the beginning of a document in larger increments

Page Up

Move to the beginning of a document

Home

Move to the end of a document

End

Refresh the current page

Stop loading a page

Esc

Go to a new location

- L

Open a new window

- N

Add a Web site to your favorites

- D

Show source code of a web page

- E

Automatically fills out common fields on a Web form (you must have previously filled the form information in AutoFill Profile located in Edit menu/Preferences Forms AutoFill).

- =

Shortcut for working with the Explorer Bar

Press the OPTION key and hold down the mouse over any Explorer Bar tab to open the Explorer Bar pane over (instead of next to) the current page of the main browser window. When you move the mouse away, Explorer Bar automatically closes.

Shortcuts for working with the folders in the History and Favorites window

The following shortcuts can be used in the Favorites and History window only. You cannot use these shortcuts in the Explorer Bar.

To do this

Press this

Expand the contents of a selected folder

- Right arrow key

Collapse the contents of a selected folder

- Left arrow key

Expand all the subfolders in a selected folder

- Option key - Right arrow key

Collapse all the subfolders in a selected folder

- Option key - Left arrow key

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Context menu shortcuts

The context menu (also know as the shortcut menu) is displayed when you hold down the mouse button over the browser window. For commands related to images or links, the pointer must be over the item for you to use them.

Command Description

Internet Explorer Help Opens Internet Explorer online Help

Back Opens the previous page.

Forward Opens the next page.

Refresh Page Reloads the contents of the current page or frame.

Add Page To Favorites Adds the current page to the favorites list.

Add Page To Toolbar Favorites Adds the current page to Toolbar Favorites.

Open Link Opens the Web page in the same browser window. If the link is part of a framed document only the contents of the link page will be displayed.

Open Link In New Window Opens the Web page in a new browser window. If the link is part of a framed document, only the contents of the link page will be displayed.

Download Link To Disk Opens the Save dialog box where you can specify where you want to save the Web page.

Copy Link To Clipboard Places a copy of the link on the Clipboard. You can use the Paste command to insert the link into another document.

Add Link To Favorites Adds the link to the favorites list.

Load Missing Image Downloads the missing image. Use this command when you have cleared the Show Pictures check box in the Preferences dialog box, but want to view a specific image on a page.

Copy Image Places a copy of the image on the Clipboard.

Download Image To Disk Opens the Save dialog box where you can specify where you want to save the image.

Open Image In New Window Displays the image in a new browser window.

Clone Window Opens a new browser window displaying the same page as the original. If the Web page contains frames, only the original frameset is displayed.

Set Home Page Sets the current page as the default home page.

Set Search Page Sets the current page as the default search page.

View Source Displays the HTML source for the current page or frame. To view the source of a frame, click inside the frame, and then click View Source.

Open Frame in New Window Only visible when you hold down the mouse button on a framed page. Displays the frame in a new browser window.

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Menu command descriptions

File menu

Command

Description

New Window

Opens a new window, showing the home page.

Open File

Opens a file on your hard disk.

Open Location

Opens an address on the Internet.

Closes the active window. When the command is Close All, all windows will be closed.

Save As

Saves the current page to a file.

Get Info

Shows the name, Internet address, comments, and visited dates of the selected favorite or history item. When you select an item from the favorites list, and then click Get Info, you can subscribe to favorite pages. You can also set offline browsing settings and personal account information.

Import

Imports an HTML document into the favorites list.

Export

Exports the favorites list or history list.

Download File

Opens the Download File dialog box, where you can specify the URL of the file you want to download. You can also specify where you want to save the file.

Download Manager

Opens the Download Manager window where you can view the status of the files you have downloaded. You can double-click on a file to get more information on the file and to specify whether you want to use a Helper application when the file is launched.

Page Setup

Changes the page setup for printing.

Print Preview

Displays the page in a reduced size so you can check the layout before you print. Also lets you set several print features, such as printing with images, printing without the background, and cropping the page to fit.

Prints the current page. To print the contents of a frame, click inside the frame, and then click the Print command from the File menu.

Offline Browsing

Enables and disables offline browsing. Offline browsing lets you view your subscribed favorites without connecting to the Internet. Because you are viewing pages that are cached, the pages you view may not contain the most up-to-date information.

Quit

Closes all open windows and the browser.

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Edit menu

Command

Description

Cut

Removes the current selection and copies it onto the Clipboard.

Copy

Copies the current selection onto the Clipboard.

Paste

Inserts the contents of the Clipboard into the selected location.

Clear

Removes the current selection without copying it onto the Clipboard.

Select All

Selects all the text on the current page.

Find

Searches the current page for text.

Find Again

Searches again for the same text.

AutoFill Forms

Automatically fills out common fields on web forms (you must fill out the information one time only in the Preferences AutoFill dialog box).

Preferences

Opens the Preferences dialog box where you can change the options for Internet Explorer.

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View menu

Command

Description

Button Bar

Shows or hides the Button Bar, which contains shortcut buttons for frequently used menu items.

Address Bar

Shows or hides the Address Bar, which contains a field for typing Internet addresses.

Status Bar

Shows or hides the Status Bar, which shows the destination of the link the mouse pointer is over, status of the currently loaded page, or a description of the button on the Button Bar that the pointer is over.

Favorites Bar

Shows or hides the Favorites Bar.

Explorer Bar

Shows or hides the components of the Explorer Bar (Favorites, History, Search, and Page Holder).

Text Size

Increases or decreases the font size.

Character Set

Changes the character set for the current page.

Stop Loading

Stops opening a file.

Refresh

Reloads the contents of the current page.

Load Images

Loads images for the current page.

Java Messages

Opens the Java Message Log window.

Source

Displays HTML source for the current page. To view the source for a file contained in a frame, hold down the mouse button inside the frame, and then select View Source from the shortcut menu.

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Go menu

Command

Description

Back

Opens the previous page.

Forward

Opens the next page.

Home Page

Opens the home page.

Search The Internet

Opens the search page.

Open History

Opens the History window.

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Favorites menu

Command

Description

Add Page To Favorites

Adds the current page to the favorites list.

Add Page to Toolbar Favorites

Adds the current page to the toolbar (note that as you add pages, some may drop out off the end of the toolbar, but will remain in the Toolbar Favorites list in the Favorites menu).

Organize Favorites

Opens the Favorites window.

New Folder

Adds a new folder to the favorites list.

New Favorite

Adds a new item to the favorites list.

New Divider

Adds a new divider to the favorites list.

Update Subscriptions

Reviews the pages in your favorites list that you've subscribed to and updates any pages that have changed.

Opens a dialog box that lets you add the current page to your list of subscribed favorites.

Toolbar Favorites

Lists the sites that are on your Favorites Bar.

Channels

Lists the sites that are in your Channels folder.

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Window menu

Lists all open windows.

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? (Help) menu

Command

Description

Internet Explorer Help

Opens Internet Explorer Help.

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File helper directory

The table below lists common MIME types and provides suggested helper applications. Please read the Microsoft disclaimer before visiting the sites listed below.

MIME Type Description Extensions Suggested File Match

application/pdf Adobe Acrobat file pdf Adobe Acrobat Reader

application/rtf Rich Text Format file rtf Most word-processor applications including Microsoft Word

application/x-compress UNIX compressed file Z StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)

application/x-director Macromedia Director animation file dcr Shockwave

application/x-gzip GNUzip compressed file gz StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)

application/x-tar TAR file archive tar StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)

application/x-zip compressed PKZIP compressed file zip StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)

audio/basic Sun/NeXT sound file au, snd Built-in Support

audio/mp2 MPEG sound file mp2 MPEG Audio for Macintosh

audio/x-aiff Apple (AIFF) sound file aiff, aif, aifc Built-in Support

audio/x-pn-realaudio RealAudio sound file ra, ram, rar RealAudio Player

audio/x-wav Windows sound file wav Built-in Support

image/gif GIF graphic gif Built-in Support

image/jpeg JPEG graphic jpeg, jpg, jpe Built-in Support

image/tiff TIFF graphic tiff, tif NIH Image

text/html HTML file html Built-in Support

text/plain Plain text file txt Built-in Support

text/tab-separated-values TSV graph tsv Built-in Support as plain-text or most popular spreadsheet applications including Microsoft Excel

video/fli Autodesk video fli, flc MacAnim Viewer

video/mpeg MPEG video mpeg, mpg, mpe Sparkle

video/quicktime QuickTime movie (version 2.5 or later) qt, mov Built-in Support

video/x-msvideo Windows movie avi Built-in Support

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Click	To do this
Back	Move backward through the pages that you've visited.
Forward	Move forward through the pages you've visited.
Stop	Stop downloading a page.
Refresh	Reload the current Web page.
Home	Visit your home page. Your home page is the Web site that Internet Explorer accesses when it is first opened. You can change the home page.
Search	Opens the Search tab in the Explorer Bar. You can change the search page.
Mail	Displays a menu for performing mail and news-related activities.
Favorites	Opens the Favorites tab in the Explorer Bar.
History	Opens the History tab in the Explorer Bar.
Larger	Increases the text size displayed on the Web page.
Smaller	Decreases the text size displayed on the Web page.
Preferences	Opens the Preferences dialog box where you can customize your settings. For specific information on each field in the Preferences dialog box, click the Help button located in the bottom left-hand corner of the dialog box.
AutoFill	Automatically fills common fields in Web forms, such as your name, email address, and street address. Go to the Preferences dialog box to fill out the form information for the first time.

MIME Type	Description	Extensions	Suggested File Match
application/pdf	Adobe Acrobat file	pdf	Adobe Acrobat Reader
application/rtf	Rich Text Format file	rtf	Most word-processor applications including Microsoft Word
application/x-compress	UNIX compressed file	Z	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
application/x-director	Macromedia Director animation file	dcr	Shockwave
application/x-gzip	GNUzip compressed file	gz	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
application/x-tar	TAR file archive	tar	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
application/x-zip compressed	PKZIP compressed file	zip	StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (with DropStuff 4.0)
audio/basic	Sun/NeXT sound file	au, snd	Built-in Support
audio/mp2	MPEG sound file	mp2	MPEG Audio for Macintosh
audio/x-aiff	Apple (AIFF) sound file	aiff, aif, aifc	Built-in Support
audio/x-pn-realaudio	RealAudio sound file	ra, ram, rar	RealAudio Player
audio/x-wav	Windows sound file	wav	Built-in Support
image/gif	GIF graphic	gif	Built-in Support
image/jpeg	JPEG graphic	jpeg, jpg, jpe	Built-in Support
image/tiff	TIFF graphic	tiff, tif	NIH Image
text/html	HTML file	html	Built-in Support
text/plain	Plain text file	txt	Built-in Support
text/tab-separated-values	TSV graph	tsv	Built-in Support as plain-text or most popular spreadsheet applications including Microsoft Excel
video/fli	Autodesk video	fli, flc	MacAnim Viewer
video/mpeg	MPEG video	mpeg, mpg, mpe	Sparkle
video/quicktime	QuickTime movie (version 2.5 or later)	qt, mov	Built-in Support
video/x-msvideo	Windows movie	avi	Built-in Support