Windows XP Power Hound

Chapter 7. Web Browsers

For many people, PCs are for surfing the Web. And while using a browser may seem straightforward, Internet Explorer (which comes installed on nearly every Windows XP machine) and similar programs have all kinds of hidden features and fancy tricks that you've probably never tried.

This chapter outlines nearly three dozen hints on better browsing, like changing Internet Explorer's title bar, searching the Web more efficiently, and making better use of your Favorites list. It also gives you a few good alternatives to Internet Explorer.

Smarter Surfing

Whether you spend twenty minutes a week online or twenty hours a day, a few tricks can help you surf more effectively. This section shares surf-master secrets, and they apply to pretty much all browsers. Those that work only with Internet Explorer say so.

Address Shortcuts

Want to save a few keystrokes when opening a Web site? When you type a URL in the Internet Explorer address bar, type only the domain name (for example, if the URL is http://www.dogfancy.com, type only dogfancy) and press Ctrl+Enter. Explorer figures out the missing info and heads right to the site.

Note

This technique works only for URLs that end in .com. If you want to visit a Web site that ends in .net, .org, .edu, or any other extension, it won't work. So, for example, if you wanted to visit the University of Cincinnati Web site, and typed uc then pressed Ctrl+Enter, you would end up at http://www.uc.com, not http://www.uc.edu.

Getting the ...