Error message page
When you request a page that can't be found on a Web server, Internet Explorer shows its own error message. Internet Explorer 5 refers to this error message as a "friendly http error." You can turn off this message and see the page the Web site's designer intends you to see when something goes amiss by following these steps: 

Choose Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced Tab to bring it forward. Scroll down to the selection Show Friendly Errors and uncheck it. Click OK to save your changes.

Store favorite on the Web
http://www.backflip.com 
Its service allows you to store all of your Favorites on the Web, organized into folders you create. It's free, easy to manage, and the best part is that you can access your Favorites from any computer, anywhere."

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Click a link to download whatever it links to
The link opens the file straight from the Web (for example, a WAV file of your favorite TV character). Try right-clicking the link instead, and then choose Save Target As, you should then be able to save the file to your hard drive."
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To alphabetize Favorites other than just moving them one at a time
Click the Favorites menu on the toolbar (not the Favorites button). Right-click a folder, then choose Sort By Name. You should be all set, though you'll need to take this step periodically to keep things in alphabetical order. 

Right-click a scroll bar in Internet Explorer 5.5
You get a context menu with a variety of scrolling options: Top, Bottom, Scroll Up, Scroll Down, Page Up, and Page Down. But my favorite, especially for long Web pages, is Scroll Here. Instead of dragging the scroll bar up and down, I can right-click where I want to go (relatively) and click Scroll Here to get to a specific portion of the page. This also works with the bottom scroll bar!"

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Toolbar makeover
Toolbar Wallpaper, a utility from that lets you choose a bitmap file to appear on your  Internet Explorer 5 toolbar. You can download it here: 
http://www..com/windows/ie/webaccess/tbwlpapr.exe 

It comes with ten pre made wallpapers, but you can use just about any bitmap (.bmp) file on your system. After you install it, restart MSIE 5. You'll see a new Wallpaper button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. And you can access the tool by choosing Tools, Toolbar Wallpaper. 

There is another way to change your toolbar background, but it requires a Registry edit. In general, we don't recommend editing the Registry unless it's really necessary. Also, back up the Registry before making ANY changes. Make copies of the system.dat and user.dat files in your Windows folder. Then put them on a floppy disk or elsewhere on your hard drive (anywhere but the Windows folder) If so, select Start, Run, and type regedit Navigate to the following key: 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\. In the right pane, right-click a blank area and choose New, String Value. Then type in a path to the bitmap on your system--for instance: c:\windows\Circles.bmp 
Exit the Registry editor. Restart your computer and launch MSIE 5. 

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Shrink toolbars
Need more room for browsing? Try reducing the size of your Standard Buttons toolbar. Right-click a button on the toolbar--say, the History button (it doesn't matter which one--you can even select a blank space). From the pop-up list that appears, choose Customize. From the Icon options menu, choose Small Icons. Select the Text options menu and select Selective Text On Right or No Text Labels to gain even more space. Choose Close to apply your changes. 

Page Hit Counting
In the Internet Options dialog box, you can choose whether to allow Page Hit Counting. 
Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced Tab. There you'll see the Enable Page Hit Counting selection, which you can turn on or off by clicking with the mouse. Page hit counting allows Web sites to track the pages you view at their site. This lets them get an idea of how successful they are at keeping you on the site. It also allows them to tailor their content toward the things you typically check out. If you find this intrusive, deselect the option and click the OK button to save your changes.

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If you have ever customized Internet Explorer 5, you know the Internet Options box is where the magic happens. From here you can delete your cache, reset your home page, and set all manner of browsing options. To open this dialog box quickly, press Alt-T, then press the O key. If after making changes you'd like to return to the default settings, choose the Advanced Tab, then click the Restore Defaults button. Choose OK to apply your new settings.

History list management
You can control the number of days Internet Explorer 5 keeps track of the pages you've visited. Choose Tools, Internet Options. From the General Tab, enter the number of days you want your history tracked in the History area. Click OK to save changes. 

Graphics with Internet Explorer 5
Here's how to use Internet Explorer 5 to view images. This tip is handy if you've installed a graphics program that has taken over your image file associations--and takes what seems like forever to load. 

Find an image file (such as a GIF or JPEG file) on your hard drive Then, in Windows Explorer, press the Alt key while right-clicking the image file. Choose Open With from the pop-up menu that appears. Select iexplore in the list of programs that displays in the Open With dialog box. Check Always Use This Program To Open This Type of File. 

This tip isn't just for graphics. You can use it to change the association on just about any type of file on your PC. 

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Open Web page from Run
You can open a Web page directly from the Run dialog box. Choose Start, Run, and enter the address you want. If you have AutoComplete enabled and you've been to the site recently or have bookmarked it, Internet Explorer will try to complete the address for you. 

Send a message from Internet Explorer 5
Just select File, New, and choose Message. You can also use this tip to open your newsreader (choose Post instead of Message in the New menu.) You can also launch Netmeeting by choosing Internet Call in the New menu. 

You can change the programs that open when you make selections from the new menu by selecting Tools, Internet Options, then clicking Programs. Choose the program you want to use for e-mail or your newsreader, for example. Then click OK to save your changes.

Change link colors
Hyperlinks tend to appear in blue on the Web, but you can change them to anything you like. For instance, we use a slightly darker blue, which we think is a little more subtle. Choose Tools, Internet Options. From the General Tab, choose Colors. In the Links area, click the color swatch pop-up menus to choose the colors of your visited and unvisited links. You can also choose the color for links over which you're hovering (but haven't yet clicked). Select Use Hover Color, and then select a color from the Hover menu that appears.

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Go Search
Want to run a search from the Address Bar? You can type any of the following to let Internet Explorer 5 know you want to start a search rather than visit a Web site: 
For example, you could type 
? monkeys or go HO model trains 
However, if your query is more than one word (as in our last example), you don't need to type anything first. This tip is most helpful when you need to search for just one word.

Content Control
If you share your computer with people who have little (and sometimes sticky) fingers and boundless curiosity, you might consider setting up Internet Explorer 5's filtering feature, called Content Advisor. Choose Tools, Internet Options. Select the Content Tab to bring it forward. Click the Enable button. Select a category, then move the slider to adjust levels of language, nudity, sex, and violence allowable in MSIE 5. Choose OK. When prompted, enter a password (and enter it again to confirm). Click OK twice to close all open dialog boxes and saves your changes. 

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• Play animations 
• Play sounds 
• Show pictures 

Clear history
Typically you clear your Internet Explorer 5 History list by choosing Tools, Internet Options, then clicking the Clear History button. But sometimes the list is sticky and won't clear. You can get around this unusual bug by rebooting to DOS and clearing the History from the command prompt. Choose Start, Shut Down, and select Restart in MS-DOS mode. Click OK. At the command prompt, type the following: 
cd \windows 
Then type: deltree history 
When asked to confirm, enter y and press the Enter key to delete the history contents. That should do the trick.

Move and Resize toolbars
If you don't like the look of Internet Explorer 5's toolbars, you can easily change them. You can hide toolbars by selecting View, Toolbars, and deselecting the ones you don't want. (Active toolbars appear with a check next to their names). You can also move a toolbar so it shares the same line as another toolbar. Click the vertical bar on the left of a toolbar until you see a double-sided arrow icon. Move the toolbar to the position you want, then release the mouse. 

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C:\Program Files\ Office\Office\Excel.exe 

in the Address bar, then pressing Enter.

Alternative Navigation
For quickly navigating the Web using keyboard shortcuts: 

"To navigate back and forward, press Alt-left arrow (to go back) or Alt-right arrow (to go forward). This works when the Backspace key (which also lets you jump back a page) will not--for example, when you are in a text box. To go home, press Alt-Home." 

Truly Refreshing
When using Internet Explorer, there's one sure way to make sure you're looking at the most recent copy of a page "To truly refresh a page from the source--not from your cache--press Ctrl-F5."

Fast Addressing
"Next time you are surfing to a site that ends with .com (rather than, say, .edu, .mil, or .org), try this: Type the name in the address bar--for example: microsoft Then press Ctrl-Enter. 

"The www. micosoft .com are added for you, and you're off and running.  Internet Explorer has a lot to offer the lazy surfer!"

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Sorting Your Internet Explorer Favorites List 
Do you ever feel a need to sort your Favorites? Many Internet Explorer users do. To sort your Favorites folders, choose Favorites (the menu item--not the button). Now, right-click the folder you want to sort and choose Sort By Name. Repeat this procedure for all the folders you want to sort.

Underlining In Internet Explorer 
 Internet Explorer 5 and greater underlines each link on a page by default. If you'd rather not have the links underlined, you can easily turn off this feature. Choose Tools|Internet Options. When the Internet Options dialog box opens, click the Advanced Tab. In the "Underline Links" area, select Hover or Never. Click OK and the underlines no longer appear.

Create Compressed Folder 
Within Explorer, select File and New. One of the options is "Compressed Folders." With this option you can automatically have files compressed within a folder, saving disk space. Note: This option is available in Windows 98, but only if you installed the Plus!98, and within Windows Me.

Importing And Exporting In Internet Explorer 6
You can now import and export Favorites and cookies in Internet Explorer. Let's say that you want to export your Favorites to back them up. Choose File|Import and Export. When the Import/Export wizard opens, click Next. Now, select Export Favorites and click Next. Select the folder to use as the source and click Next. At this point, you need to select a destination. Select the radio button labeled "Export to a File or Address" and then click Browse. Select a target location, name your backup file, and then click Next. Click Finish and you're done.

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Explorer Menu Control 
Do you want to remove certain items from the "New" menu in Explorer? You can do this within TweakUI (a free utility). First, open TweakUI from within the Control Panel, and choose the New Tab. Then, uncheck any unwanted items. You can also click 'Remove,' but I don't recommend doing this because it makes the items completely unavailable if you later want to re-add them back to the Explorer menu.

Note: Applications also add things to the 'New' menu in Explorer, so check it occasionally to keep it clean.

Super Expansion 
Press the '*' key on the numeric keypad while in Explorer to immediately expand all folders and subfolders on that drive. Be careful of what you choose to expand, however; if it's a giant Network drive, you could be sitting idle for a minute or two.

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Now, choose View|Text Size and choose the text size you want to use.

Note that these changes won't work on all Web pages, but they do work on most.

Adding Favorites In Internet Explorer
When you need to add a site to your Internet Explorer Favorites folder, you can choose Favorites|Add to Favorites. Then you can choose which sub folder you want to save the URL in. But, this isn't the only way to add to the Favorites folder. You can right-click the page you want to add and choose Add to Favorites. This opens the Add Favorite dialog box where you can choose which sub folder you want to use.

If you want to quickly add a Web page to your Favorites folder without making any choices about which sub folder to save it in, you can just press Ctrl + D. You won't see anything happen, but the page will now appear in your main Favorites folder.
Disable Autocomplete In Internet Explorer
With IE's AutoComplete function active, many of the sites you visit that have forms will end up automatically filled in. If you don't want others using the computer to view your personal information, you need to turn off AutoComplete.

To do this, choose Tools|Internet Options. When the Internet Options dialog box opens, click the Content Tab. Click the AutoComplete button deselect "Forms" check box. Click OK to save the changes and exit the dialog box.

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You can also click the small arrow at the right side of the forward and back buttons and make your choice from the menu.

Navigating Internet Explorer With A Wheel Mouse 
Here's an Internet Explorer feature that we just recently heard about (of course, you may already know about it). If you hold down the Alt key while you move the wheel on your super new wheel mouse, Internet Explorer will navigate backward and forward through visited pages. Just like clicking the Back and Forward buttons, or holding down the Alt key while you click the left or right keypad arrows.

Web Page Update Date In IE 
Would you like to know when a specific Web page was last updated? After all, you don't want to think you're reading current information if the material was last updated in 1997. If you use Internet Explorer, you can easily determine when a page was updated last. Navigate to the page you want to check and type into the Address Bar

javascript:alert(document.lastModified)

and press Enter. A dialog box will open display the date and time of the last update.

Note that you must enter the line exactly as shown here. You can copy the line from here and paste it into the Address Bar if you like.

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To do this, press Ctrl + D to add the URL to your Favorites folder. Now, choose Favorites and then right-click your new URL and choose Make Available Offline. Just follow the wizard, and you can read that story tonight.

Searching For Keywords In The IE Address Bar 
Although Internet Explorer has an excellent built-in Search Assistant, you don't necessarily need all that power. Suppose all you want to do is get some information about dogs on the Internet. Just click in the IE Address Bar and type "? dogs." This will open MSN Search and provide you with a list of dog sites.

Setting The Internet Explorer Cache Size 
The size of the Internet Explorer cache can determine how fast you can surf the Web. However, since the cache resides on your hard disk, its size depends on how much disk space you can afford to use.

In this brave new world of super-sized hard disks, you may want to increase your IE cache size. To do this, run IE and choose Tools|Internet Options. When the dialog box opens, click the General Tab (if necessary) and then click Settings. When the Setting dialog opens, adjust the "Amount of disk space to use" slider to increase (or decrease, if necessary), your IE cache size.

After you make your changes, click OK. Back in Internet Options, click OK again to close the dialog box.

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You can use this method in Netscape too.

Fine-Tune Your Internet Explorer Searches 
You don't have to accept the standard searches in Internet Explorer -- all you have to do is click Search and, when the Search Assistant opens, click Customize. Now you can tell Internet Explorer which type of searches you would like to have appear in the Search Assistant and which search engines to use.

Some Internet Explorer Shortcut Keys 
Here is a list of Internet Explorer 5.x shortcut keys that you can use to speed navigation.

Pressing Backspace will take you to the previous document (just like clicking the back button in the IE toolbar).
Pressing Alt + Backspace moves you forward one document (equivalent to clicking the forward button).
F5 reloads a Web page and is the same as clicking the Refresh button in the toolbar.
To print the current frame in IE, press Ctrl + P.
You can press the Home key to move to the top of a document, and you can press End to move to the bottom of the current document.
To open a new Explorer window, press Ctrl + N.

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While you're in the "Files of type" list box, you'll see that you can open any number of file types including JPG, GIF, AU, etc.

How To Disable Friendly HTTP Error Messages In Internet Explorer 5.X 
Internet Explorer 5.x recognizes http error messages, for example "Error 404: Page not found," and then displays a friendly version of the error message. If you'd rather see the original error messages from the Web server you're accessing, you can turn off the friendly http errors feature. To do this, go to Tools|Internet Options. When the dialog box opens, click the Advanced Tab. Now, deselect the check box labeled "Show friendly http errors" and click OK to close the dialog box and record your new selection.

Save Some Keystrokes In IE 5.X
You can type just the domain name of a dot-com address into the Address Bar, for example "emazing," and then press Ctrl + Enter and Internet Explorer 5.5 will fill in all the blanks to produce http://www.emazing.com .

This only works for .com addresses, so you'll still have to enter the full name for other domains, like .org and .net.

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-nohome

and click OK. Your Internet Explorer will now open with no page at all. You can achieve the same end with IE open by clicking on Tools, then Internet Options, and selecting "use blank" in the Home Page box.

Change IE 5.X Font Size With The Scroll Wheel 
For those of you who have a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can easily change the font size in  Internet Explorer 5.x without taking your hand off of the mouse. All you have to do is hold down the Ctrl key and scroll the wheel to increase or decrease the font size.

Autocorrect In Internet Explorer 
There is a feature in Internet Explorer 5 and greater that you may not even notice -- it's called AutoCorrect. AutoCorrect works in the background to automatically correct common mistakes) in the "http" and "ftp" portion of addresses that you type into the Address bar.

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Internet Explorer 5+ doesn't offer the versatility of a full-featured FTP client, but many of us don't need all the added features anyway.

Saving Pictures In Internet Explorer 
If you right-click a picture and choose Save Picture As, you usually have two format choices -- the original picture format or BMP. So, if the picture at the Web site was originally saved in GIF, then your choices are GIF and BMP. If the original format is BMP, then BMP is your only choice.

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Now, still holding down Ctrl + Alt + Alt, click the Close box (the X in the upper right corner of the window) to close it. IE will now open maximized -- usually. If you open IE from something that calls for a Normal (rather than Maximized) window, IE will take on the new size. This usually happens when you click Start|Windows Update.

Personalized Favorites Menu 
If you use Internet Explorer 5.5 or the new Internet Explorer 6 (preview), you can instruct the program to display only those Favorites that you use most frequently. To do this, run Internet Explorer and choose Tools|Internet Options. When the Internet Options dialog box opens, click the Advanced Tab. Now locate "Enable Personalized Favorites Menu" and its check box. Click OK to close the dialog box and record your selection.

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Cleaning Up The Internet Explorer Toolbar 
You may well not need all the icons in the Internet Explorer toolbar. Why not remove the ones you never use? To do this, run Internet Explorer and choose View|Toolbars|Customize. When the Customize Toolbar dialog box opens, click any object in the right pane that you don't need and then click Remove.

On the other hand, if you'd like to add some buttons to the toolbar, you can click on the desired button in the left pane of the dialog box and then click Add.

When finished, click Close.

Stop Long Page Loads In Internet Explorer 
When a page is taking forever to download its entire graphics, press the Spacebar to stop the graphics and allow you to read the text. Another trick is to click Stop and then click Refresh. Sometimes starting over will get you a faster download.

Note that you can't stop file downloads by clicking Stop. To stop a file download, click Cancel in the Download dialog box.

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Locking The Internet Explorer 6 Toolbar 
One of the new IE 6 features that we like is the ability to lock down the toolbars. It seems our toolbars were always changing (or someone was changing them for us). But, in Internet Explorer 6, you can right-click a toolbar and choose Lock the Toolbars.

This is a toggle command. If Lock the Toolbars is checked, the toolbars are locked. If it isn't checked they are not locked.

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Resetting Internet Explorer To The Default Settings 
We realize that it's only rarely that any of us makes a mistake when changing the Internet Explorer settings. But, if it should happen that you make numerous changes and then Internet Explorer is no longer working as it should, you can go back and reverse the last few changes you made to see if that helps.

If things have gone beyond the last few setting changes you made in IE, you just reset the whole thing and start over again. To do this, choose Tools|Internet Options. When the dialog box opens, click the Programs Tab and then click Reset Web Settings. Click OK to close the dialog box and start with fresh default settings.

Quick access to Internet Options
If you have ever customized Internet Explorer 5, you know the Internet Options box is where the magic happens. From here you can delete your cache, reset your home page, and set all manner of browsing options. To open this dialog box quickly, press Alt-T, then press the O key. If after making changes you'd like to return to the default settings, choose the Advanced Tab, then click the Restore Defaults button. Choose OK to apply your new settings.