Internet Explorer Help

Tips & Tricks

Tips & tricks

Button bar shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Context menu shortcuts

Menu command descriptions

File helper directory

Tips & tricks

Turn off sound, video, and pictures to display pages faster. You can always download pictures on a individual basis.
Increase the size of the cache to browse previously viewed pages faster.
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.
To cancel a page that is taking too long to appear, choose 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 the Download Manager.
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 on it changes.
You can save the current page on your computer.
If you want to know when one of your favorite pages has changed, subscribe to it, and you will be notified when it changes.

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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

Open a file on your local disk [Command] - 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 F5

Stop loading a page Esc

Go to a new location [Command] - L

Open a new window - N

Add a Web site to your favorites list. - D

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Context menu shortcuts

The context menu is displayed when you hold down the mouse button over the browser window. For commands related to images or links, the mouse pointer must be over the item in order for you to use them.

Command Description

Clone Window Opens a new browser window displaying the same page as the original.

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

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

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

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 choose the View Source command.

Refresh Reloads the contents of the current page.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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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 local file.

Open Location

Opens an address on the Internet.

Closes the active window.

Close All

Closes all windows.

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 choose Get Info, you can subscribe to favorite pages.

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.

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

Quit

Closes all open windows and the program.

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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.

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 mouse pointer is over.

Favorites Bar

Shows or hides the Favorites bar.

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, press and hold down the mouse button inside the frame, and then choose View Source from the menu that appears.

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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.

Open 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.

Subscription Options

Opens the Subscription Options dialog box where you can specify how often you want Internet Explorer to look for updates to a subscribed page, and how you want to be alerted.

Toolbar Favorites

Lists the sites that are your Favorites bar.

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Window menu

Lists all open windows.

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? (Help) menu

Command

Decription

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 qt, mov Built-in Support

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

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Click	To do this
Back	Move backwards through the pages that you've visited.
Forward	Move forward through the pages you've visited.
Stop	Stop downloading a page.
Refresh	Reloads 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	Visit your search page. You can change the search page.
Mail	Open your mail reader.
News	Open your news reader.
Favorites	Open your favorites list.
Larger	Increase the text size displayed on the Web page.
Smaller	Decrease the text size displayed on the Web page.
Preferences	Open the Preferences dialog box where you can customize your settings.

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	qt, mov	Built-in Support
video/x-msvideo	Windows movie	avi	Built-in Support