Tips For Using Internet Explorer 3.0

This collection of tips, tricks, and techniques will help you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 like a pro.

Internet Explorer automatically bookmarks all the sites you have visited recently. To go back to a site: check the Go/Open History Folder, the just double click on the site.

Want to know how old an updated Web page is? Click on the File/Properties and see the date on the "Updated" line.

To resize any of the toolbars that appear in your Internet Explorer 3.0 screen, grab the edge of the toolbar with the mouse and drag up or down until the toolbar is the size you want. To move a toolbar, grab it with the mouse and drag it to its new location.

The new IE4 contains some dramatic improvements over the previous version. Get full details and a free download at Microsoft's Web site. (Unfamiliar with downloading? Read our downloading tutorial The Lowdown On Downloading to learn more.)

The "Home" and "Search" buttons on IE pint to default locations determined by Microsoft. You can easily change these locations to point to any location you prefer. Click View then Options and select the Navigation tab. Enter the URL's you prefer under the appropriate button title and click the Apply button.

Find a graphic or background on a Web page interesting? You can quickly save it to your hard disk by right-clicking on the item you wish to save, then select Save picture as from the menu.

Waiting - waiting - waiting. If this is you when a page seems to take forever to load, hit the Stop button. or, just hit your Esc key. Then, try the Reload button. It may come up quicker this time.

If you don't want to run Java applets you can turn them off by selecting View, Options, Security, and unchecking the Java box.

It's easy getting lost while you're surfing the Web. Keep your bearings by viewing a new page in a new window. Just press and hold the Shift key when you click on a link. The new page will open in a new window. To return to the previous page, either close the top window or minimize it.

By default, Internet Explorer will load Microsoft's home page when you launch it while connected to your provider. To change it to another page of your choice, first go to the page you would like as your new starting page. Click on View located on the menu bar at the top of Explorer. Now, click Options then the Navigation tab. Look at the drop-down box for Start Page. Click the Use Current button to set it for your new page.

If you find that the type displayed in Explorer's window is hard on your eyeballs simply increase the size by clicking your mouse pointer on the font icon located at the top of the navigation bar. It's the button marked with the "A".

Remembering your favorite sites is easy by using the Favorites menu, but here's an easier way to enter them without moving your pointer to the Favorites button. Right-click on a blank area of the page you wish to add to your Favorites list then select Add to Favorites from the dialog box.

It's nice to have all your most visited sites in your Favorites menu but now and then you run across a site that you find yourself going back to again and again. Why not put a shortcut to these right on you Windows desktop? Do it, first go to the page and right-click on a blank area on the page. Select Create Shortcut from the menu. The shortcut will be placed on your desktop for easy one-click access.

Most Webmasters recommend that you can learn how a page is built using HTML, or you want to copy a particular design for your own Web page is to view the source. You can do this by clicking on View, then selecting Source, but an easier and quicker way is to right-click on a blank area of the page you wish to view and selecting Source from the open menu.