Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Tips #9



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*1. SERVING UP NEW NEWS         
 
Reader James D. sends this Outlook Express question: 

"I saw an article recently about using a Microsoft news site. Is
 there a way to set up the Microsoft site using Outlook Express?" 

Yes, James. In fact, we use msnews.microsoft.com ourselves.
 Here's how you can set up this news server in Outlook Express: 

Begin by starting Outlook Express and choosing Tools, Accounts.
 When the Internet Accounts dialog box opens, click the News tab
 and click Add, News to open the wizard. Here you cycle through
 the dialog boxes, entering your name, e-mail address, the
 server address, and a "friendly" name for the server. In this
 case, the server address is msnews.microsoft.com 

The "friendly" name you choose can be any easily recognizable
 name, such as Microsoft or MSnews. 

Finally, choose your connection type, enter all the necessary
 data, and then click the Finish and Close buttons to dismiss the
 Internet Accounts dialog box and save your changes. Your new
 server should now be ready for use. 

(Note that some ISPs may not be able to access the Microsoft
 news server.)

*2. THE DAILY DOUBLE         
 
We recently reported incorrectly (4/8/99) that you can't run
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5
 on the same computer and in the same operating system. Readers
 Benjamin G., Andrew D., and several others have pointed out that
 you can indeed run both browsers on the same computer. 

As Benjamin D. writes, "Once you download the IE5 setup file and
 open it, go to Custom Installation and click the Advanced tab. A
 window comes up with three options. One of them deals with the
 issue of running IE4 and IE5 together. Check that box and click
 OK. Then you will be able to run both browsers at the same time." 

Thanks to Benjamin, Andrew, and all the other readers who pointed
 out this error.


*3. WALLPAPERING MADE EASY         
 
Reader Kevin P. sent this Active Desktop tip: 

"If you use the Active Desktop, you can choose from a wider
 selection of picture files for your wallpaper--you can use BMP,
 JPG, and GIF files." 

If you'd like to try this, right-click the desktop and choose
 Active Desktop. Then choose View As Web Page. This activates
 Active Desktop. 

Right-click the desktop again and choose Properties. When the
 Display Properties dialog box opens, click the Background tab,
 then click Browse. Now locate the picture and double-click it
 to use as wallpaper. 

Thanks for the tip, Kevin.


*4. SAY GOODBYE TO CHANNELS--BUT LINKS ARE PERMANENT         
 
Reader Allen C. sent this question, which we receive from
 readers every month: 

"I have no real use for either Links or Channels. Is there a way
 to get rid of these two folders permanently? When I delete them,
 they always reappear later." 

Sorry, Allen. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 always rebuilds the
 Links folder if it's missing--but at least you can lose the
 channels. Start by choosing Favorites, Organize Favorites, then
 click Channels to select it. Once you've selected Channels, just
 press Delete to get rid of it.


*5. A CASE IN POINT         
 
Reader Morris C. reminds us, "Many new users have problems on the
 Internet simply because they tend to ignore the case of various
 addresses and so forth--for example: 

MyAddress.com 

is the same as 

myaddress.com  

but 

http://www.myaddress.com/Index.html 

is not the same as 

http://www.myaddress.com/index.html 

Morris also reminds us that in general, e-mail addresses and host
 names (the part between www. and .com) are not case sensitive;
 but the file name portion of the URL (such as index.html in the
 example) is case sensitive. What's more, you should always use
 lowercase for newsgroup names--for example, 

alt.this.that 

rather than 

alt.This.That 

Thanks for the reminder, Morris!


*6. BACK IN BLACK         
 
Here's an Active Desktop question from reader Tina S.: 

"I recently installed Windows 98 and, of course, Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4 and the Active Desktop with it. I like the
 idea of the Active Desktop, but I hate the black background. Can
 I keep the desktop as it is, but change the background to some
 other color?" 

Of course you can, Tina. We're not quite sure why Microsoft chose
 black as the default, but you're certainly not stuck with it.
 All you have to do is right-click the desktop and choose
 Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the
 Background tab. Next you can scroll through the Wallpaper list
 and select any background you want. After you make the
 selection, click Apply to see how it will look on your screen. 

If you'd prefer a solid color to a wallpaper image, you can
 select a new color by first choosing "None," then clicking the
 Appearance tab. Then click the arrow at the right side of the
 Color list box to expand that list. When the list opens, click
 Other, then choose a color from the Color dialog box. After you
 make your selection, click OK to close the dialog box and save
 your selection. Once you're back in the Properties dialog box,
 click OK to close the dialog box and save all your changes.


*7. YOU MAKE ME FEEL AUTOCOMPLETE         
 
Reader Lou Anne I. asks this Address Bar question: 

"I understand that you can type a partial address into the
 Address Bar and the program will complete the address for you if
 you've entered it before. But what happens when you type in
 several addresses that are almost the same? For example, if you
 had already entered 'www.microsoft.com' and 'www.microstuff.com'
 and then you enter 'www.micros' in the Address Bar,
 what will you get?" 

Interestingly, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 looks for the
 shortest matching address already entered. Therefore, it will
 complete "microsoft," which is one letter shorter than
 "microstuff." However, to get "microstuff," you need only keep
 typing until you've entered "www.microst."


*8. DON'T FORGET TO RIGHT-CLICK         
 
Subscriber Alora G. sends this Address Bar tip: 

"Many people tend to ignore the right-click features of Windows
 95 and 98 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4. For example, most
 users know you can click the arrow at the right side of the
 Address Bar to expand the list of previously visited Web sites.
 However, many users don't realize you can right-click in the
 Address Bar itself to open a menu that offers Undo, Cut, Copy,
 Paste, Delete, and Select All." 

Good point, Alora, and thanks for the tip.


*9. DRAG-AND-DROP LINKS         
 
Here's a handy tip from reader Gerald N.: 

"I recently ran across this tip, and thought other readers might
 like it as much as I do. 

"If you want to add a Web page to your Links bar quickly,
 navigate to that page, then drag the E-icon from the top left
 corner of the page down to your Links bar. Release the mouse
 button when you find a spot on the Links bar--this makes the Web
 page available as a link until you decide to delete it." 

Thanks for the tip, Gerald. 

The icon Gerald is talking about is the one associated with the
 Web page's Command box in the upper left corner of the Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4 window.


*10. PUT MESSAGES IN A NEW FOLDER         
 
We don't often cover Outlook Express tips, but since reader
 Charles K. asked us so nicely to discuss how to drag mail and
 news messages to a new folder in Outlook Express...well, what
 the heck. This one's for you, Charles. 

If you would like to drag messages (mail or news) to a different
 folder, you first need to have that folder visible. If your
 folders aren't currently visible, run Outlook Express and choose
 View, Layout. When the Layout dialog box opens, select the
 Folder List check box (it's under Basic), then click OK to close
 the dialog box and record your new setting. The folder list now
 appears at the left side of the Outlook Express window. 

To create a new folder, choose File, Folder, New Folder. When the
 Create Folder dialog box opens, type a name for your new folder.
 Now click Outlook Express in the folder list, then click OK to
 close the dialog box and create your new folder. 

With the new folder visible on the left side of the Outlook
 Express window, you can use the mouse to drag messages from the
 current folder (Inbox, News, and so forth) to your new folder.
