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Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 White Paper |
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Start Menu and Taskbar Get Web Savvy
Start Menu and Taskbar Get Web Savvy
In developing the Windows 95 user interface, we learned from customers that a single, always-visible anchor for the environment makes the system easier to learn and use. The Start menu and taskbar provide that anchor in Windows 95, giving users one center for starting and switching tasks. In Internet Explorer 4.0, we extend those elements to integrate Web tasks and Web paradigms into a user interface that today's users have already mastered.
Together, the Start menu and taskbar make Web tasks easier and include specific enhancements that Windows 95 users have asked for, while leveraging investments in Windows 95 training.
- Start menu for the Web. Windows 95 users know that there is one place that they can always go to accomplish the tasks that they need: the Start menu. With Internet Explorer 4.0, the Start menu is now ready for the Web. There are new commands for Favorites and History (Beta 2) directly on the Start menu, making it easy to get to sites and documents. Also, the Find command now includes Find/On the Internet and Find/People, making searching for Web content and e-mail aliases one simple step.
- Easy customization of the Start menu. Internet Explorer 4.0 makes the Start button customizable, as users can customize their Favorites menu, the entire Programs menu, and even the top of the Start menu simply by using drag and drop.
- Taskbar for the Web. The Internet Explorer 4.0 taskbar makes starting and switching easier through a number of enhancements:
- Task-launching buttons—Quick access to your most common Web tasks such as browsing, sending and receiving mail, and so on.
- Address bar—Users can add a type-in address bar to the taskbar for launching Web sites, applications, folders, or documents.
- Links bar—The QuickLinks bar is now available on the taskbar.
- Desktop button—Provides one-click access to your Active Desktop.
- Easy customization of the taskbar. As requested by many customers, we've made the taskbar highly customizable and very extensible.
- Adjustable "bands" —All of the enhancements above are available in their own band, so users can adjust the contents of the taskbar in the same way they adjusted the Internet Explorer 3.0 toolbar. Furthermore, bands can be removed and docked on any edge of the screen.
- Create your own bands—Users can add bands to the taskbar by right-clicking it and choosing the "New band" command from the menu, or by dragging and dropping any folder or URL to the blank space next to the Start menu or the notification area.
- Extensible for ICPs, ISVs, and Corporate MIS—Organizations can add bands to the taskbar, implemented in any language. For example:
- A Web site can offer a Java applet that displays real-time information in the taskbar.
- A corporate MIS department can provide an HTML-based, intranet search form for the taskbar.
- An ISV authoring a CPU-meter or other utility in C can add it to the taskbar.
What are the Benefits?
- Increased productivity. By integrating Internet technologies into the Start menu and taskbar, it’s faster and easier to access Internet or intranet pages. It’s easier to find information on the Web, get to the Web sites and applications you use most often using taskbars and favorites, and with the Address bar for your desktop, it’s fast to get to any Web site you need.
- Leverage Windows 95 training. Internet Explorer 4.0 is simply an extension of the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 user interface, so users will be able to learn it quickly.
- Personalized user interface. With Internet Explorer 4.0, users can customize the desktop with the Internet technologies they use most often. By providing custom Start menus and taskbars, each user sets up the user interface so that it’s most useful to them.
How Does It Work?
Start Menu
By adding the Favorites menu to the Start menu, users can get to Web sites directly from their desktop. The new Find command on the Start menu starts the browser automatically, optimized for searching. This way, users get the most complete search results with the fewest steps. Find/People integrates with Outlook Express LDAP support, enabling users to find anyone on the Internet. Finally, users can click any object above the Start menu or in the Programs or Favorites menus, and rearrange its contents by dragging and dropping the shortcuts wherever they want them.
Taskbar Extensibility
The Internet Explorer 4.0 taskbar is able to host bands exactly as the Internet Explorer 3.0 toolbar does. Users can adjust these bands however they would like, varying the size of the taskbar and the amount of space used by each band. Furthermore, any band can be moved from the taskbar to an edge of the screen, where it can be set to Always On Top or AutoHide, just like the taskbar in Windows 95.
Users can create three types of bands on the taskbar:
- Folder band. This band references a file system folder and works just like a toolbar with buttons for each item in the folder. The user can choose Large Icon or Small Icon view, and adding and removing items works by using drag and drop. The right-click context menu is also available for individual files.
- HTML band. This band references any URL. MIS departments or ICPs can create rich HTML experiences that are always available to users on the taskbar or on edges of their screen by using the HTML band. Furthermore, the HTML content in these bands is cached locally, so bands work even when the computer is offline. (And, of course, any HTML band can include Java applets, ActiveX, and so on.)
- Custom-coded band. ISVs can write code in any language and have their functionality hosted in a band.
©1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.
Last updated: Tuesday, April 29, 1997
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