Tips and Tricks for Internet Explorer and FireFox

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COMP1260 > Using the Internet



Introduction

There is a variety of Internet browsers you can use for surfing the web, but invariably Internet Explorer(IE) and FireFox(FF) are the most popular. If you are using a Windows computer, chances are you're using IE or FF already. Utilization of these browsers is very similar, but here are some tips and tricks you may not be aware of.

FireFox vs. Internet Explorer

 

...by students

Always use FireFox as your default browser. If you encounter a problem where a page won't display properly, then resort to Internet Explorer. The security vulnerabilities of IE make it far riskier to use. Generally FireFox runs faster as well and many people prefer it's interface. If you are stuck with IE and aren't happy with the lack of a regular menu bar, you can add it so IE appears more natural. Click Tools, then pick Toolbars and select Menu Bar. IE will now display the regular menu with File, Edit, View etc.

Tabbed Browsing

Both IE and FF support tabbed browsing which is a way of viewing multiple pages without having a separate window open for each page.

Opening a new tab

To open a new tab in FF click the '+' icon(located at the top of the page next to the page title, below the address bar). In IE and FF pressing Ctrl+T will open a new tab as well. When you open a new tab it will be displayed immediately, and you can enter a URL in the address bar, or click a bookmark to navigate to the page you want. When you need to return to the page you were previously at, click the 'tab' at the top of the page with the heading of your previous page.

Navigating through tabs

The simplest method for navigating through your tabs is to click on the one you want. A shortcut is to press Ctrl+Tab to switch to the next open tab. You can also press Ctrl+ # where # is the number of the tab you want to select.

Dragging tabs

You can reorganize your tabs by clicking and dragging the tab at the top of the page to another location. In FF you can even drag the tab out of the browser window to open a new window with that tab as its page.

Common Commands

Here are some common tasks when using FireFox and Internet Explorer.

Adding a Bookmark

A bookmark is used to save the address of a web page you want to view later. To create a bookmark in FireFox you can simply select Bookmarks from the top of the page and select Bookmark This Page. Now, click Bookmarks again, and you should see the name of the page you are currently visiting at the bottom of the list. You can also add bookmarks to a toolbar that appears just under the URL for easy access. In Internet Explorer, Bookmarks are called Favorites. To add a favorite in IE, click the Favorites button at the top left side of the browser, and select Add to Favorites. This works almost exactly the same as FF. The shortcut for either browser is to press Ctrl+D to add a bookmark/favorite.

Changing Font Size

If you are viewing a page where the text is too small to read, pressing Ctrl++(That's Ctrl and the plus key) will increase the size of everything on the page. Similarly, pressing Ctrl+- will decrease size.

Changing the Home Page

Your Home Page is the website that appears when you start your browser. The simplest way to change it is to go to the page you want as your new Home Page. Next click Tools and then Options(or Internet Options in IE). Once you have the options menu open, make sure you are viewing the Main or General tab of the menu. You should see the address of your current home page displayed near the top of the menu. Just underneath it, click Use Current Page to set your home page.

Sidebars

In Internet Explorer and FireFox you can add a sidebar to display your bookmarks or history at the side of your page for easy access.

  • In FF click View, then select Sidebars, and click the bar you want displayed
  • In IE click Tools, then select Explorer Bars and click the bar you want displayed

The side bars can be closed similarly

Add-ons

There are many user developed add-ons for FireFox and Internet Explorer. Add-ons can be used to change:

  • The appearance of your browser
  • How your browser manages bookmarks
  • News plug-ins - For example, display news headlines
  • Language Support
  • Enhanced Security
  • Improved performance for specific sites or types of sites.
  • Social & communication plug-ins

And much more. Add-ons can be found for FF and IE at the links at the bottom of this page.

Keyboard Shortcuts

These shortcuts are common to FireFox and Internet Explorer.

ShortcutDescription
BackspaceBack -- moves you back one page
Shift+BackspaceForward -- moves you forwards one page
Alt+HomeHome -- takes you to your homepage
Ctrl+RReload/Refresh -- reloads the current page
Ctrl+EWeb Search -- Selects the integrated search engine associated with your browser. You can also select this by clicking the text field at the top right corner of the browser. Type what you want to search for, then press Enter
Ctrl+FSearch for text -- Opens up a text field at the top or bottom of your browser window that allows you to search for a word in the text of the page you are currently viewing

Summary

Using FireFox and Internet Explorer is fairly similar, and so everything that works on one, will usually work on the other. Of course FF and IE are not the only browsers available, there are many browsers available like Google Chrome and Safari that are only a free download away.

Further Reading

For more keyboard shortcuts see: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Keyboard+shortcuts

For more information on tabbed browsing see: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Tabbed+Browsing

To find and download FireFox addons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

To find and download Internet Explorer addons: http://www.ieaddons.com/en/

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