March 2006 / Microsoft Internet Explorer Tips and Tricks

Internet Explorer-Specific Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are sets of keystrokes that when pressed simultaneously perform a predefined command. While there are many keyboard shortcuts that work universally throughout the Office application suite, the following are IE-specific. They all require you to hold down the CTRL key and press a corresponding key. 

To Add the current page/document to your favorites press CTRL+D
To Open the IE search utility press CTRL+E
To Open the FIND box to search the current document press CTRL+F
To Open the History utility press CTRL+H
To Open the Favorites utility press CTRL+I
To Go to a new location/document press CTRL+L
To Open a new Explorer window press CTRL+N
To Refresh the current page/document press CTRL+R. Also you can use the F5 key
To Close the current Explorer window press CTRL+W

Quick Jump to the Address Bar
To get to the address bar quickly, simply press the F6 key. This will not only move the curser to the address bar, but it will also highlight the current address so it can be deleted if you press any alphanumeric key. 

Adding www. and .com to a Web Address
One of the most useful IE tricks; type the name web address in the address bar then press the Ctrl + Enter keys. IE will automatically add “www.” and “.com” for you. For example, if you type “thrivenetworks” into the address bar then press Ctrl+Enter, “www.thrivenetworks.com” will appear and you’ll be automatically taken to the site.

Quick Tips for Browsing With a Scroll Mouse
If your mouse has a scroll wheel you’ll be able to perform these specialized IE tricks: 

• Hold down the Ctrl key and use the scroll wheel on the mouse to increase or decrease the font size on a webpage
• Hold down the Shift key and use the scroll wheel to move forward and backward in your current browsing session’s page history

Full Screen Browsing
Make IE run in full screen mode without toolbars by pressing the F11 key. To restore the normal view, simply press F11 again.

Open a Link in a New Window
To quickly open a link in a new IE browser window, hold down the Shift key and click on the link.

Print Sections of a Web Page
If you only want to print a portion of a web page, hold down the Left Mouse Button and Highlight the section you want. Then Right Click and select Print.  In the printer dialog window under Page Range, choose the option for Selection. This will print only the section of the web page that you selected.

Note: this trick is not supported by some printer drivers

Changing Your Homepage
The homepage is the first web page that IE loads when you start it. Many people set their homepage to the page they use frequently (like email or news), or even a blank page so they won’t have to wait for their browser to load. To change your homepage: 

• Click Tools on the toolbar, then select Internet Options
• In the Homepage section, type the address of the homepage you would like to set, or if the page you are currently is the one you’d like to use, press Use Current. To make the homepage blank, select Use Blank

Stop Animated Images
To stop animated images from distracting you while you are trying to read a webpage, simply press the ESC key to freeze them. To stop them completely, go to the Tools menu then select Internet Options. In the Advanced tab, under the Multimedia section de-select Play Animations.

These are just a few simple tips that will help the everyday Internet Explorer users increase their productivity and understanding of the program. If you would like information on more in-depth Internet Explorer or Microsoft Office training, Contact Thrive.

Sincerely,

Dylan O'Connor, MCSE, CCA
Chief Technology Officer

email: doconnor@thrivenetworks.com
phone: 978.461.3999
web: www.thrivenetworks.com