Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Tips #10



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*1.  NEW ICONS         
 
Reader Billy R. asked this Links bar question: 

"I'd like to add some of my Favorites sites to the Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4 Links bar. Is it possible to use some icons
 other than the bland globe icon Microsoft makes the default?" 

Yes, you can select another icon. Start by right-clicking the
 link and choosing Properties. When the Properties dialog box
 opens, click the Internet Shortcut tab, then click Change Icon.
 When the Change Icon dialog box opens, select a new icon from
 those listed.  

If you don't care for any of the listed icons, click Browse. This
 opens a dialog box allowing you to search the entire hard disk
 for an icon. Click a file you want to search, then click Open.
 Now click the icon of your choice, then click OK to close the
 dialog box and record your choice. Back in Properties, click
 OK to close the dialog box and save your selections.


*2. SAVE AS         
 
This question is from reader Sarah D.: 

"In the past, when I chose Save As to save a Web page or graphic,
 the list of files and folders used to come up alphabetically in
 ascending order, with the folders first and the files last.
 Something I did has changed that. Now they come up with the
 files first and in ascending order by date modified. I've been
 into the File tab in the Folder ptions dialog box (I think
 that's what got changed), but no matter what I do, that Save As
 list still comes up screwy. How can I get it back the way
 I want it?" 

It sounds like you've accidentally clicked the Modified label in
 the Save As dialog box. To set things right again, run Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4, navigate to any Web site, right-click a
 picture, right-click a graphic, and choose Save Picture As from
 the menu. When the Save As dialog box opens, click the Details
 button (it's the button on the far right side of the Save As
 dialog box). Now click Name and the List button (just to the
 left of the Details button). Click Close to close the dialog box
 and save your settings. This should get you back to your
 original setting.  

Note: If your files are now listed before the folders, click Name
 again. This is a toggle. Each time you click it, you switch
 between an ascending and a descending sort.


*3. QUICKLY LAUNCHING QUICK LAUNCH ITEMS         
 
Reader Darren G. sent in the following question: "I have several
 items I dragged to the Quick Launch toolbar. I know it isn't
 possible to simply drag the items out of the toolbar. How can I
 delete the ones I no longer need?" 

Who said you can't drag items out of the Quick Launch toolbar?
 We're using Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 version 4.72.3110 with
 SP1, and we have no problem dragging Quick Launch items to the
 Recycle Bin. 

Another way to get rid of unneeded Quick Launch items is to
 right-click them and choose Delete.  

You can also run Windows Explorer and navigate to
 \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
 All the Quick Launch items will now appear in the Windows
 Explorer right pane. You can select any of them and then
 click Delete.


*4. TYPING TIPS FOR THE LAZY         
 
Longtime subscriber Daniel M. submitted this browser tip:  

"I have discovered a keystroke that will help Microsoft Internet
 Explorer 4 users. When typing a URL into the Address Bar, just
 type the name (for example, microsoft) and then press
 Ctrl-Enter. This keystroke appends http://www. and .com to
 whatever you type in the Address Bar." 

Thanks for the tip, Daniel. Here's another you might like to try:
 If you type the name (as you described), then simply press
 Enter, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 first looks for the site as
 entered. When it fails to find the site, it appends http://www.
 and then it tries .com, .org, .edu, and so forth to try to
 locate the site. For example, if you type into the Address Bar 

pcworld 

and press Enter, Explorer fills in the full address  

http://www.pcworld.com


*5. TAKING BACK WHAT YOU POST         
 
Reader James F. asks this newsgroup question:  

"There are times when we may post a message to a newsgroup and
 then have second thoughts. Is it possible to delete a message
 after you have posted it to a newsgroup?" 

Yes, you can delete a  messages after it appears on the
 newsgroup. Just right-click the message and choose Cancel. Note
 that all this does is send a message to the newsgroup requesting
 a cancellation. It may take some time before the message
 actually disappears. So be careful about posting any potentially
 embarrassing messages.


*6. DON'T LET EXPRESS BE A SPACE HOG         
 
Here's a tip from reader Dan R.:  

"I recently noticed a file extension that takes up a lot of space
 when backing up my hard drive, and it appears to do nothing more
 than keep track of every piece of mail that goes through my In
 Box, Out Box, Deleted, and Sent folders. After backing up my
 hard drive, the file extension MBX on my Deleted folder was over
 14MB (the folder was empty), so I deleted it, rebooted, and got
 a welcome message from Microsoft as if I was a new user.
 Everything seems to be working normally, so why haven't you told
 people to delete the MBX files to free up some space?"  

We have mentioned this several times. When you delete the MBX
 files, Outlook Express will re-create them. Dan is correct--this
 is a very viable method to use when you need to free up some
 disk space. Just make sure you have no files you might need
 later in any of the folders.


*7. STACK 'EM HOW YOU WANT 'EM         
 
The following question came from subscriber Dan: 

"When you're saving items to a Favorites folder in Internet
 Explorer, things tend to get mixed up and out of order after a
 while. Is there a way to make the Favorites folders display all
 items alphabetically?" 

Well, yes and no. You can display the items alphabetically, but
 you're going to have to do all the work. In some ways,
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 allows you to go one better than
 just an alphabetized list--you can arrange the items any way
 you like. Try this: Run Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and choose
 Favorites. When the menu opens, use the mouse to drag whichever
 item is at the bottom of the list to the top of the list. When
 you reach the top of the list, release the mouse button, and the
 last item becomes the first item.  

You can use the mouse to drag all the folders and URLs in your
 Favorites menu into whatever location you desire.
 That includes alphabetical order.


*8. A NEW ADDRESS FOR THE ADDRESS BOOK         
 
Here's an Outlook Express question from reader Alison L.:  

"I know you have probably answered this question before, but how
 do you move your Outlook Express address book to another hard
 drive? Can you e-mail your address book to a
 different location?" 

If you used the default Outlook Express installation,
 you'll find your address book at
 \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book
 The address book will have a WAB extension and its name will
 depend on the information you gave your system during Setup.
 For example, if you typed in Alison when you set up Windows 95
 or 98, your address book will be named Alison.wab. 

To copy your WAB file, run Windows Explorer and go to
 \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book. Now use the
 mouse to drag Alison.wab to a new location. After you finish
 the copy, you can close Windows Explorer (choose File, Close). 

Yes, you can e-mail your address book. Assuming you use Outlook
 Express, open the program and enter a recipient's address. Type
 in whatever message you wish and then choose Insert, File
 Attachment. When the Insert Attachment dialog box opens, go to
 \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book and
 double-click your address book (WAB) file to insert it.
 Now click Send. 

Note that e-mailing your address book could be a problem if the
 file is very large.


*9. I NEED MORE AND I NEED IT NOW         
 
Here's an Outlook Express tip from reader Jerry N: 

"In your Outlook Express tips, you have often mentioned how to
 create a new folder. However, I have never seen any mention of
 the fact that you can quickly create a new folder by simply
 right-clicking the folder in which you want to place
 the new folder." 

Jerry is correct. Let's say you are currently working in the
 Outlook Express Inbox, and you would like to create a new folder
 inside the Inbox folder. All you have to do is right-click the
 Inbox folder (in the folder list) and choose New Folder.
 When the Create Folder dialog box opens, type a name for your
 new folder and click OK to create the folder and close
 the dialog box.


*10. PASTE YOUR WAY TO ERROR-FREE ADDRESSING          
 
Reader Bob F. suggests we remind everyone that the ability to cut
 and paste between various Windows 95/98 programs means you can
 copy an e-mail address from almost any Windows program (Word,
 Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and so forth), then paste it into the
 Outlook Express address line.  

All you have to do is select the address in your Windows program,
 then press Ctrl-C to copy it. Next, go to Outlook Express and
 click Compose Message. When the New Message window opens, click
 in the To entry box and press Ctrl-V. Now you can finish
 composing your message.
