Browser Tips Revised 4-25-07 to revise for IE 7
How to print this page

These tips are not dependent on operating system, but may change depending on program version.

What is a "Browser"? It is a program on your computer that allows you to Surf or browse around the Internet. You must be connected to the Internet for the Browser to work. Then you must start a Program called a Browser. If you are Using AOL or CompuServe, the browser is integrated into the entire program. If you connect with any other service, you have a choice of Browsers.

Click Here to check the page for Internet connection information

Click Here for a general discussion of Internet use.

Click Here for a discussion of Surfing

Click Here for a discussion of Cookies

Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) is bundled with and an integral part of Windows (all versions). Do not try to delete it even if you don't use it.

A second browser that is used by about 5% of users is Netscape. (As of 2003. No idea hat 2007 holds) Netscape was purchased by AOL some time ago, but AOL still uses MSIE as it's core browser. Netscape had over 70% of the market a few years ago, but Microsoft has reversed that lead over the years. Other browsers are in use by a few including Opera. Worth looking at. You can download it from www.opera.com.

Another browser that has gained popularity is Firefox which appears to be as popular as IE as of this writing in April 2007. You can also download it from download.com/ and read about it by searching for Firefox in Yahoo or Google.

I have deleted any reference to Netscape. If you have any interest in it, just search the web for info. My take on the other browsers is that they are more trouble than they are worth because I'm basically lazy and hate tinkering. MS has done all it can to prevent other programs from being successful and making them work becomes a headache. A classic example is the attempt to make Yahoo your default browser.

Also many web page programmers don't make their page work with all browsers and in many cases IE is the only one that will display a file correctly. So why fight it?

Now that you know what a browser is, how do you use it? There are 3 basic ways to find pages on the Net. 1) Type in the web address, 2) click on a favorite or bookmark, or links on pages, and 3) use a search engine. Also check the page on Surfing.

1) If you know the web address (commonly called URL), Just type it in the address location field at the top of the browser. You can also click File, Open or Open Page and type the address in there. You do not need to type the http:// part of the address. Actually you only need to type the name and the program will default to http://www.(Name).com. If it is a .gov, .net, .org, .edu, it requires the www.(Name).gov or other. Therefore I feel it is just easier to do it all the time.

2) Clicking on a Favorite or Bookmark only works if you have some. Many programs provide a set of them for starters. You can add them as you surf so you can easily return to a site. Very soon you get too many and need to organize them. Click Here to learn how. Clicking on links in a page is much like clicking on a favorite. As your mouse moves over a link, it changes to a pointing hand. That indicates that if you click the mouse (Single) on the link, you will open a new page to view. If you want to keep the current page open as you open a new link, right click on the link and choose, Open In New Page.

3) Using a search engine is the second most used feature of surfing. Click Here for instructions and tips on searching the web.

Listed below are ways to use the keyboard and mouse to make operations easier.

Browser Shortcuts

These are taken from the IE7 Help file. I do not use Netscape or Firefox, but there are some Firefox shortcuts at the bottom. As you will notice, many are standard Windows shortcuts, like Ctrl A to select all. Additionally many shortcuts are displayed in the menus.

Also note some shortcuts are new to version 7 and may not work in earlier versions.

To do this

Press this

Display Help

F1

Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window

F11

Move forward through the items on a webpage, the Address bar, or the Links bar

TAB

Move back through the items on a webpage, the Address bar, or the Links bar

SHIFT+TAB

Go to your home page

ALT+HOME

Go to the next page

ALT+RIGHT ARROW

Go to the previous page

ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE

Display a shortcut menu for a link

SHIFT+F10

Move forward through frames and browser elements
(only works if tabbed browsing is disabled)

CTRL+TAB or F6

Move backward between frames (only works if tabbed browsing is disabled)

CTRL+SHIFT+TAB

Scroll toward the beginning of a document

UP ARROW or SHIFT+SPACEBAR

Scroll toward the end of a document

DOWN ARROW or SPACEBAR

Scroll toward the beginning of a document in larger increments

PAGE UP

Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments

PAGE DOWN

Move to the beginning of a document

HOME

Move to the end of a document

END

Find on this page

CTRL+F

Refresh the current webpage

F5

Refresh the current webpage, even if the time stamp for the web
version and your locally stored version are the same

CTRL+F5

Stop downloading a page

ESC

Open a new website or page

CTRL+O

Open a new window

CTRL+N

Close the current window (if you only have one tab open)

CTRL+W or ALT+F4

Save the current page

CTRL+S

Print the current page or active frame

CTRL+P

Activate a selected link

ENTER

Open Favorites

CTRL+I

Open History

CTRL+H

Open Feeds

CTRL+J

Open the Page menu

ALT+P

Open the Tools menu

ALT+T

Open the Help menu

ALT+H

Working with Tabs ( A new feature in IE 7)

To do this

Press this

Open links in a new tab in the background

CTRL+click

Open links in a new tab in the foreground

CTRL+SHIFT+click

Open a new tab in the foreground

CTRL+T

Switch between tabs

CTRL+TAB or CTRL+SHIFT+TAB

Close current tab (or the current window if tabbed browsing is disabled)

CTRL+W or ALT+F4

Open a new tab in the foreground from the Address bar

ALT+ENTER

Switch to a specific tab number

CTRL+n (where n is a number between 1 and 8)

Switch to the last tab

CTRL+9

Close other tabs

CTRL+ALT+F4

Toggles Quick Tabs (thumbnail view) on or off

CTRL+Q

Using Zoom

To do this

Press this

Increase zoom (+ 10%)

CTRL+PLUS SIGN

Decrease zoom (- 10%)

CTRL+MINUS SIGN

Zoom to 100%

CTRL+0

Using Search

To do this

Press this

Go to the search box

CTRL+E

Open your search query in a new tab

ALT+ENTER

Open the search provider menu

CTRL+DOWN ARROW

Using Print Preview

To do this

Press this

Set printing options and print the page

ALT+P

Change paper, headers and footers, orientation, and margins for this page

ALT+U

Display the first page to be printed

ALT+HOME

Display the previous page to be printed

ALT+LEFT ARROW

Type the number of the page you want displayed

ALT+A

Display the next page to be printed

ALT+RIGHT ARROW

Display the last page to be printed

ALT+END

Specify how you want frames to print
(this option is available only if you are printing a webpage that uses frames)

ALT+F

Close Print Preview

ALT+C

Using the Address Bar

To do this

Press this

Select the text in the Address bar

ALT+D

Display a list of addresses you've typed

F4

When in the Address bar, move the cursor left to the
next logical break in the address (period or slash)

CTRL+LEFT ARROW

When in the Address bar, move the cursor right to the
next logical break in the address (period or slash)

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW

Add "www." to the beginning and ".com" to the end of the text typed in the Address bar

CTRL+ENTER

Move forward through the list of AutoComplete matches

UP ARROW

Move back through the list of AutoComplete matches

DOWN ARROW

Using Toolbar Menus

To do this

Press this

Open the Home menu

ALT+M

Open the Print menu

ALT+R

Open the RSS menu

ALT+J

Open the Tools menu

ALT+O

Open the Help menu

ALT+L

Using Feeds, History & Favorites

To do this

Press this

Add the current page to your favorites

CTRL+D

Open the Organize Favorites dialog box

CTRL+B

Move selected item up in the Favorites list in the Organize Favorites dialog box

ALT+UP ARROW

Move selected item down in the Favorites list in the Organize Favorites dialog box

ALT+DOWN ARROW

Open the Favorites Center

ALT+A

Open Favorites Center and display your favorites

CTRL+I

Open Favorites Center and display your history

CTRL+H

Open Favorites Center and display your web feeds

CTRL+J

Open Add to Favorites menu

ALT+Z

Display all feeds (when in feed view)

ALT+I

Mark a feed as read (when in feed view)

ALT+M

Put cursor in Search box in feed view

ALT+S

Using Editing

To do this

Press this

Remove the selected items and copy them to the Clipboard

CTRL+X

Copy the selected items to the Clipboard

CTRL+C

Insert the contents of the Clipboard at the selected location

CTRL+V

Select all items on the current webpage

CTRL+A

Using the Information Bar

To do this

Press this

Move focus to the Information bar

ALT+N

Click the Information bar

SPACEBAR

I don't use Firefox so David Rippner of www.aeesolar.com provided some shortcuts:
(He is currently using version 2.0.0.3 of Firefox & loves it.)

Save time with these IE7 and Firefox keyboard shortcuts:
Ctrl-B Opens & closes the Favorites or Bookmarks window.
Ctrl-D Creates a new favorite or bookmark.
Ctrl-F Opens the Find dialog box.
Ctrl-H Opens History.
Ctrl-N Opens a new browser window.
Ctrl-O Opens a URL window in IE7 & a local doc in Firefox.
Ctrl-E Opens Search in the address (URL) field.
Ctrl-I Opens Favorites in the address field.
Right click on a link to choose Open In New Window
Right click on any graphic and choose to Save or make Wallpaper
Alt-left arrow Same as clicking on Back.
Alt-right arrow Same as clicking on Forward.
Alt-D Selects the text in the Address bar.
Esc Same as clicking on Stop. Space bar Scrolls down a page one screen length.
Shift-Space bar Scrolls up one page.
F4 Lists recently visited sites.
Ctrl-I Opens Search in Firefox.
Type the following in the address (Location) field of Firefox for special information:
"about:cache" gives a list of all files in the disk cache
These used to work in Netscape but do not work in IE or Firefox:
"about:global" lists all the places you've visited and when.
"About:image-cache" lists all image files in the cache.
"About:memory-cache" lists all files in the memory cache.

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