Do More with These Internet Explorer Tips

If you've been using Internet Explorer 9 and want to get more out of the web browser, take a look at some of the Internet Explorer tips we have complied to enhance your user experience. While these tips have been tested on IE9, you can also try them on future versions of the browser, but there may be slight variations in the steps.

Get More Done with These Internet Explorer Tips

How to Disable Thumbnail Previews in Internet Explorer 9

One of the cool features of Internet Explorer 9 on a Windows 7 PC using Aero theme is the ability to view a thumbnail preview of open individual tabs. Thumbnail previews help in quickly identifying the window you want to open from among a bunch of open windows. If, for any reason, you find the feature annoying, and don’t want to access the thumbnail preview feature, here's how you disable thumbnail previews in Internet Explorer 9.

1. On the top-right corner of the IE 9 browser window, click the Tools icon and select Internet Options.

2. In the Internet Options dialog box, in the Tabs section, click Settings.

3. In the Tabbed Browsing Settings dialog box, uncheck the option Show previews for individual tabs in the taskbar.

4. Click OK to close the Tabbed Browsing Settings dialog box.

5. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

Now restart the browser. You will notice that the thumbnail views of individual tabs are disabled and only the current active windows’ thumbnail is displayed.

How to Remove the Default Web Browser Notification in IE 9

As much as I love IE 9, it’s not my default browser. So every single time I open up the browser an annoying “Would you like to make Internet Explorer your default browser?” notification pops-up. For those of you who find this just as annoying as me, this tutorial shows you how to remove the default web browser notification in Internet Explorer 9.

1. Choose Tools-> Internet options.

2. In the Internet Options dialog box, select the Programs tab.

3. In the Default web browser section, uncheck the Tell me if Internet Explorer is not the default web browser check box.

4. Click Apply and then click OK.

Now you no longer have to bother with the default web browser notifications while surfing the net on your IE 9 browser.

How to Add Aero Feature in IE 9 Tabs

There are many customization options in Windows 7, for instance, changing the appearance of icons on the taskbar, add gadgets to the desktop, adding window colors and more. If you enjoy using the Aero features in Windows 7, then you will certainly enjoy the having the feature in the IE 9 tabs as well. This is made possible by an app called Aura, which works by applying the Aero effect according to the currently open IE 9 window with additional options to set the Aero color from the currently active wallpaper and from the active window icon. Let's see how to add Aero feature in IE 9 tabs.

1. Download the Aura app

2. Run the exe file. The Aura icon will be added to the notification area.

3. Right-click the Aura icon and select Options.

4. In the Aura options dialog box, select an option and click Apply. Then click OK to close the dialog box.

5. Open Internet Explorer 9, and browse through various pages to view the Aero effect.

How to Add a Website to the Start Menu in IE 9

Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7 combine to provide many interesting features, some of which add value to our day to day tasks, such as the use of jump lists, and some, which are not so effective. I’m not sure where this one stands and will let you be the judge of it. The feature in question is the ability to add any website to the Windows Start menu and access it as you would other programs. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to add a website to the Start menu in IE 9.

1. Ensure that the Command bar is turned on.( Right-click the tab bar and select Command bar to do this.)

2. Click the Page menu and select Add site to Start menu.

3. In the Windows Internet Explorer dialog box, click Add.

4. You can now access the website you added to the Start menu by navigating to Start->All Programs.

Now that you’ve checked out the feature, let us know if you find it worthwhile to add websites you frequent to the Start menu.

How to Pin Multiple Websites to the Taskbar in IE9

1. Open the web page you want to pin to the taskbar.

2. Drag the icon within the address bar to the task bar to pin the page to the task bar.?

3. Open the additional sites that you want to pin in the tabbed windows within the same browser.

4. Right-click the favicon next to the Back and Forward buttons and select Add as a home page.

The next time you open the pinned window, the pages that you set as the home page will open up.

This feature helps you open up your most favorited pages in just a mouse click and is something yet to be made available in other browsers. Firefox did have a feature that allowed you to save tabbed windows before closing, but apparently does not work in its latest release FFX 4. Sadly the limitation with this feature in IE9 is that it works only on browsers installed on Windows 7. So if you do have IE on Windows 7, be sure to use it to get the maximum potential out of IE 9’s new features.

How to Block Websites in Internet Explorer 9

If you are concerned that your child may be exposed to inappropriate content while browsing the PC, you may take certain measures to restrict access to such content. You can do this in a number of ways, one of which is to block websites in Internet Explorer, if that is indeed the browser of your choice. Let's see how to block websites in Internet Explorer 9.?

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click the Tools, wench icon (at the top-right of the screen) and select Internet Options.

3. In the Internet Options dialog box, select the Content tab.

4. In the Content Advisor section, click Enable button.

5. In the User Account Control message box, click Yes.

6. In the Content Advisor dialog box, select the Approved Sites tab.

7. In the Allow this website text box, enter the URL of the website you want to block in the box given and click Never.

8. Add as many websites as you want to and you’ll notice that the URLs are listed in the box below with a red icon.

9. Now you need to add a password to ensure that your restrictions are not removed. Select the General tab.

10. Notice that the Supervisor can type a password to allow users to view restricted content option is checked. Anyone wanting to visit the restricted website will have to type in the password that you set.

11. Click Create password.

12. In the Create Supervisor Password dialog box, type in your password, confirm the password, and type a hint question if you want to and then click OK.

And you're done.

The next time you try to access the restricted site, you will be prompted to enter the password.

As always, you can only do so much to prevent access to inappropriate sites. Your kid can always download or use another browser to browse stuff, so be aware of your limitations.