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Use the Options dialog box to set preferences for how Web pages are displayed and stored, and to configure your connections and navigation.
You may want to print this topic, or use the following procedure, to view Help while you are viewing the Options dialog box.
To view Help while you are viewing the Options dialog box
Show Pictures
Specifies whether graphical images should be included when pages are displayed.
Pages that contain several graphical images sometimes display very slowly. If you want to display pages more quickly, make sure this check box is cleared.
When this check box is cleared, you can still display an individual image by right-clicking the icon that represents the graphic and then clicking Show Picture.
Play Sounds
Specifies whether music and other sounds can play when pages are displayed.
Pages that contain audio clips sometimes display very slowly. If you want to display pages more quickly, make sure this check box is cleared.
If a RealAudio is installed, or if an AVI is playing, sound may not be disabled.
Text
Specifies the color you want to use to display the text on a page.
To select a color, click the box, and then click the color you want.
Background
Specifies the color you want to use to display the background of a page.
To select a color, click the box, and then click the color you want.
Use Windows Colors
Specifies to use default text and background colors you have set for all Windows programs on your computer.
Links
Try using a combination of colors and underlining to make hyperlinks easy to find.
Visited
Specifies the color you want to use for visited hyperlinks.
To select a color, click the box, and then click the color you want.
Unvisited
Specifies the color you want to use for hyperlinks you have not visited.
To select a color, click the box, and then click the color you want.
Underline Links
Specifies whether to underline hyperlinks.
Standard Buttons
Specifies whether to display the standard toolbar.
Address Bar
Specifies whether to display a toolbar that shows the current Web site address—for example, http://www.microsoft.com/.
Links
Specifies whether to display a toolbar that contains hyperlinks to your favorite Web sites.
Text Labels
Specifies whether to display the names of the buttons in each toolbar.
Background Bitmap
Specifies whether to display background graphics for all toolbars.
Font Settings
Click this to change your font settings and language settings.
Use this tab to specify whether to use a proxy server to connect to the Internet, and to specify the Internet address and port number of the proxy server you want to use to gain access to the Internet over HTTP, Secure, FTP, Gopher, and Socks protocols.
Use these options only if you are connecting to the Internet through a proxy server on your local area network (LAN). For more information, contact your network administrator.
Connect Through a Proxy Server
Specifies whether you want to connect to the Internet through a proxy server on your local area network (LAN).
A proxy server acts as a security barrier between your internal network and the Internet, keeping other people on the Internet from gaining access to confidential information on your internal network.
HTTP
A server using Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the protocol used on the World Wide Web for storing and displaying content on Web pages.
Gopher
A server using Gopher, which is similar to HTTP, but designed more for distributed document delivery. Information is presented and organized in a file-and-directory type of hierarchy.
FTP
A server using File Transfer Protocol, a protocol used to make files publicly available for transfer over the Internet, with or without authentication.
Security
A server using and providing security using SSL and PCT protocols.
Socks
A server used to connect to other servers.
Bypass Proxy On
Provides a space for you to type the protocols that should not be used over your proxy server.
If you have a computer on your Intranet that you want to connect to, make sure that you type its address in this box. For example, if a computer is named Joe1, type this into the box.
You can use "wildcards" to match domain and host names or addresses—for example, www.*.com; 128.*.240.*; *.mygroup.*; *x*, and so on.
The start page is the page you see each time you start Internet Explorer. You can return to the start page at any time by clicking the Home button on the toolbar.
The search page is the page you see when you click the Search button on the toolbar.
You can also specify that a hyperlink on the Links bar points to one of your favorite Web pages.
You can only specify one page for your start page and one page for your search page, but you can specify multiple hyperlinks to other pages on your Links bar.
Page
Displays the page you are currently using as the start page, search page, or a hyperlink on the Links bar.
Name
Displays the name of the page you are currently viewing as the start page, search page, or a hyperlink on the Links bar.
You cannot change the name of the start page or search page, but you can name any of your hyperlinks.
Address
Displays the Internet address of the the page you are currently viewing.
Use Current
Sets the current item as the start page, search page, or hyperlink on the Links bar.
Use Default
Returns to your default setting for the default start page, search page, or page on the Links bar.
History
Specifies the number of days that Internet Explorer should keep track of your viewed pages in the History list.
Internet Explorer keeps track of pages you view in this and previous sessions. If you are low on disk space, you might want to decrease this number.
View History
Displays your History window, which contains shortcuts to the most recently viewed pages.
Clear History
Empties the History window. This window stores shortcuts to the pages you viewed during this and previous sessions.
Specifies whether to use Microsoft Internet Explorer or a MAPI-comatible mail program with Internet Explorer.
File Types
Click this to associate a program with a file type in order to open or run a file.
Internet Explorer Should Check To See Whether It Is The Default Browser
Specifies whether you want Internet Explorer to remain your default Internet browser even if you install additional Web browsing software.
When this check box is selected, each time Internet Explorer starts, it checks to make sure it is still registered as the default Internet browser. If another program is registered as the default browser, Internet Explorer asks whether you want to restore Internet Explorer as your default browser.
Use Internet Explorer To Read Internet Newsgroups
Specifies whether you want Internet Explorer to be your default newsreader.
News Server Address
Specifies the server and provides a space where you can type the server name.
Name
Specifies the "friendly" name associated with your e-mail address. When you send e-mail or post messages to a newsgroup, this friendly name appears in the From field of your outgoing messages.
Address
Specifies the e-mail address that people should use when sending mail to you at this account. The e-mail address must be in the format name@company—for example, PatSmith@acme.com.
Sites
Click this to use security certificates sent from secure Web sites before you send information. Secure Web sites send Internet Explorer a certificate that provides certain information about security for that site. Certificates are issued to a particular organization for a specific period of time. Internet Explorer verifies the Internet address stored in the certificate and that the current date precedes the expiration date. If there is a problem, Internet Explorer can display a warning. Viewing information almost never presents a security risk, but sending information, such as your credit-card number, often does. Therefore, you might want to disable the warnings for viewing Web pages but retain them for sending information.
Enable Plug-ins
Specifies whether Internet Explorer should automatically use items that use plug-ins to show content.
Run ActiveX Scripts
Specifies whether Internet Explorer automatically runs ActiveX scripts from Web sites.
Warn Before Sending Over An Open Connection
Specifies whether you want to be warned before sending data to an Internet site that is not secure.
When you select this check box, you can then specify when Internet Explorer warns you.
Only When I'm Sending More Than One Line Of Text
Specifies that you want to be notified only when you are about to send more than one line of text to an Internet site that is not secure.
Typically, this level of security is sufficient for everyday use.
Always
Specifies that you want to be notified every time you are about to send data to an Internet site that is not secure (even if you are sending only a small amount of data).
Typically, this level of security is necessary only if you are sending highly confidential information, such as a credit-card number.
Warn If Changing Between Secure And Unsecure Mode
Specifies whether Internet Explorer should warn you if you are switching between Internet Web sites that are secure and sites that are not secure.
Warn About Invalid Site Certificates
Specifies whether Internet Explorer should warn you if the URL in a security certificate of an Internet site is not valid.
Warn Before Accepting "Cookies"
Specifies whether Internet Explorer should warn you if you are receiving a "cookie" from an Internet site. For example, if you subscribe to an online magazine, the Web site might download information to your computer so that you could be identified the next time you go to that site.
Settings
Click this to define the amount of disk space you want to make available for your temporary Internet files, to move the location of the files, and to empty the folder containing the files.
Show Friendly URLs
Specifies whether to show the full Internet address or URL for a page on the status bar.
For example, the full address for the Microsoft home page on the World Wide Web is http://www.microsoft.com/.
Show Script Errors
Specifies whether to display script errors when loading a page.
Cryptography Settings
Click this to define the cryptography protocols.