by Ed Bott
Internet Explorer 4.0 delivers all the basic functionality you've come to expect from a web browser. It lets you gather information from servers located on your company's intranet or on the World Wide Web. It displays text and graphics in richly formatted pages, runs scripts, accesses databases, and downloads files. With the help of Internet Explorer 4.0, you can establish secure, encrypted sessions with distant servers so that you can safely exchange confidential information (like your credit card number) without fear that it will be intercepted by a third party.
Internet Explorer 4.0 also makes it easier for you to protect your computer. It uses the concept of security zones, for example, to tightly restrict the ability of unknown web servers to interact with local computers and network resources. With one set of security settings for your local intranet, another for trusted sites, and another for the Internet at large, you can automatically download files from local servers but control downloads from external sites.
Using subscriptions, you can transfer web-based information automatically to a desktop or notebook PC and then view those pages even when you're not connected to the Internet.
Internet Explorer 4.0 looks different, too. You can use the versatile Explorer bar--a simple frame that locks in place along the left edge of the browser window--to organize your Favorites list, search for information on the web, or browse pages stored in your local cache. Because the browser shares code with the Windows Explorer, you can display the contents of a folder on your local PC or network and then jump to a web site in the same window. And there are dozens of configuration options to make the interface more comfortable.
To open Internet Explorer and display your home page, click the Internet icon on the desktop or the Quick Launch bar. Figure 30.1 shows the default browser window.
In order to open a web page, you have to specify its location, which you do either by clicking on a shortcut or link that points to the file, or by entering its full name and path in the Address bar. For an HTML document stored on your local PC or a network server, use the familiar drive:\filename or \\servername\sharename\filename syntax. For web pages stored on a web server on the Internet, you'll need to specify a Uniform Resource Locator, or URL.
NOTE: Some otherwise-credible sources insist that URL actually stands for Universal Resource Locator, but the organizations that set Internet standards agree that U is for Uniform. Opinion is evenly divided on whether to pronounce the term "earl" or say the letters "U-R-L."
As Figure 30.2 shows, each URL contains three essential pieces of information that help Internet Explorer find and retrieve information from the Internet. (Some optional types of information, including port numbers and query parameters, might also be part of a URL.)
FIG. 30.1 The Internet Explorer interface includes these basic navigational elements.
FIG. 30.2 Every URL is different, but these basic components help define the location of all sorts of web resources. Here's a breakdown of the parts of a URL:
TIP: To display a blank page in your web browser, use the URL about:blank.
There are a surprising number of prefixes you can type in the Address bar. Each uses its own protocol or retrieval method to gather information. For a detailed listing of the most common URL prefixes, see Table 30.1.
| Prefix | Description |
| about: | Displays internal information about the browser. IE4 uses this prefix to display some error messages, including about:NavigationCanceled. |
| file: | Opens a local or network file. Used in other browsers but not required with IE4 when the Windows Desktop Update is installed. |
| ftp: | Connects with a server running the File Transfer Protocol. |
| gopher: | Connects with a server running the Gopher or Gopher+ protocol. |
| http: | Retrieves information from web servers using Hypertext Transfer Protocol. |
| https: | Creates a connection with a secure web server and then encrypts all page requests and retrieved information over Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol. |
| mailto: | Launches the default email client and begins composing a message to the address named in the URL. |
| news: | Connects with a Usenet news server using the default news reader. |
| nntp: | Connects with a Usenet news server using the NNTP access. |
| res: | Resource within a binary file; IE4 uses information with DLL files to display some help information. |
| telnet: | Launches the system's default Telnet client to create an interactive session with a remote host computer. |
| wais: | Connects with Wide Area Information Servers that contain large databases. |
The basic building blocks of the World Wide Web are simple text documents written in Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML. To communicate with the web server where a given page is stored, your browser uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP.
Every time you open an HTML document, Internet Explorer interprets the formatting tags and other coded instructions in that document and displays the fully formatted results in your browser window. A single web page might contain text, graphics, links to other pages or to downloadable files, and embedded objects such as ActiveX controls and Java applets. When you load that web page, it might in turn load dozens of additional linked files, especially graphic images.
HTML pages can incorporate scripts that cause specific actions to take place in response to a trigger event (such as the clicking of a button to submit data from a web-based form for processing by a web server). Dynamic HTML instructions let the contents of the browser window change as you work with the page.
To see the underlying HTML code for the current web page, choose View, Source. Internet Explorer uses its basic text editor, Notepad, to display HTML source code, as shown in Figure 30.3.
FIG. 30.3 Because HTML documents are strictly text, you can view the underlying source code in the bare-bones Notepad editor.
TIP: FrontPage Express adds an Edit button to the Internet Explorer toolbar. When you install Microsoft's full-strength web page editor, FrontPage, it takes over this function. Click this button to begin editing the current web page.
Hyperlinks are HTML shortcuts you can activate with a single click. Clicking a link has the same effect as typing its URL into the browser's Address bar. The specific action that occurs depends on the prefix: Clicking a link with the http: prefix, for example, allows you to jump from page to page. Other prefixes typically found in links carry out specific actions. For example, a link can allow you to begin executing a script (javascript:), download a file (ftp:), begin composing a mail message (mailto:), or open Outlook Express to read a linked newsgroup message (news:).
On a web page, the clickable portion of a hyperlink can take several forms. Text links appear in color (blue, by default) and are underlined. A web page designer can change the look of a text link and can also attach a link to a picture or button on the screen. Internet Explorer changes the shape of the pointer when it passes over a link. To see additional information about a link, look in the status bar or inspect its properties. Some web pages, such as the one in Figure 30.4, include pop-up help text for the image under the pointer; the status bar shows where the link will take you.
FIG. 30.4 The pop-up ScreenTip and the status bar offer helpful information about this link; you can also right-click to inspect its properties.
TROUBLESHOOTING:I click a link, but the linked page doesn't open properly. Most of the time when clicking a link fails it's because the specified page has been moved or no longer exists on that server. It's also possible that the author left out a crucial portion of the web address or simply mistyped it. You can sometimes open the link (or its parent) anyway, although it might take several extra steps: Right-click on the link and choose Copy Shortcut; select the entire contents of the Address bar, right-click, and choose Paste; then edit the URL as needed and press Enter.
To copy the underlying URL in text format from a link to the Windows Clipboard, right-click on the link and choose Copy Shortcut. For a link that's attached to a graphic, choose Copy only if you want to copy the image itself to the Clipboard.
Normally, clicking on a link replaces the page displayed in the current window. To open the linked page in its own window without affecting the current page, right-click on the link and choose Open in New Window.
The browser window opens automatically when you click on a hyperlink or an Internet shortcut. To open Internet Explorer and go directly to your home page, use the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop or on the Quick Launch bar.
TIP: You can have two or more browser windows open at one time--a technique that's handy when you're gathering and comparing information from multiple sources. To open a new browser window, use any of these three techniques:
There are at least six ways to display a web page in the current browser window:
You can click in the Address bar and painstakingly type a full URL to jump to a particular web page, but Internet Explorer 4.0 includes several shortcut features that reduce the amount of typing required for most web addresses.
There's no need to start with a prefix when you enter the address of a valid Internet host. For example, when you type
www.microsoft.com
the browser automatically adds the http:// prefix. If the address you enter begins with ftp, it adds the ftp:// prefix.
CAUTION: There's an important distinction between the forward slashes used in URLs and the backslashes used in local files and in UNC names that refer to network resources. If you enter \\servername in the Address bar, you'll see a list of all the shared resources available on a network server; if you enter //servername, you jump to the default HTML page on the web server with that name.
If you type a single word that doesn't match the name of a local web server, Internet Explorer automatically tries other addresses based on that name, using the common web prefix www and standard top-level domains--.com, .edu, and .org. To tell Internet Explorer to automatically add www to the beginning and com to the end of the name you typed, press Ctrl+Enter.
As you move from page to page, Internet Explorer keeps track of the URL for every page you've visited. Each time you begin to type in the Address bar, Internet Explorer checks the History list and attempts to complete the entry for you, suggesting the first address that matches the characters you've typed. You can see the results of this AutoComplete feature in Figure 30.5. Note that the characters you type appear on a plain white background, while the suggested completion is highlighted.
FIG. 30.5 The AutoComplete feature suggests the first address that begins with the characters you've typed.
When it makes an AutoComplete suggestion, Internet Explorer scans the list of addresses you've entered previously, in alphabetical order, and then chooses the first matching address. If you type www.m, for example, www.matrox.com might be the first suggestion. To accept the completed address, just press Enter.
If the suggested address isn't the one you want, you have two alternatives: If you continue typing, Internet Explorer will revise its suggestion based on the new text you type. In the previous example, if you press i so that the contents of the Address bar read www.mi, Internet Explorer might suggest www.microsoft.com.
What do you do if there are dozens of pages in your History list that begin with the same domain name? After AutoComplete makes its first suggestion, use the down arrow to cycle through every entry in your history list that begins with that string of text. When you reach the right address, press Enter to load that page.
You can simply ignore AutoComplete suggestions and continue typing the address. If you find the feature more confusing than helpful, follow these steps to turn AutoComplete off:
Click the Back button to jump to pages you previously visited, and then click the Forward button to return. When you right-click on either button (or use the arrow at right), a list of the nine most recent pages appears, as seen in Figure 30.6. (The same list of up to nine pages also appears at the bottom of the File menu.)
FIG. 30.6 Right-click or use this drop-down arrow for a faster alternative to repeatedly clicking the Back or Forward button.
If you own a Microsoft IntelliMouse, you can use the wheel (located between the buttons) to take advantage of three navigational shortcuts:
TIP: Virtually every object on a web page is accessible via shortcut menus. Right-click to inspect properties, copy or print an image, or add a page to your Favorites list, for example.
Frames are an effective way for clever designers to make web pages more usable. Unlike ordinary pages, which fill the browser window from border to border, frame-based pages split the window into two or more zones, each with its own underlying HTML code and navigation controls. The most common use of frames is to add a table of links along one side of the browser window, with pages displayed in the frame on the other side; because the frame containing the list of links is always visible, it's easy to quickly move through the site without constantly hitting the Back button. Not surprisingly, Microsoft's developer pages (Figure 30.8) make good use of frames.
FIG. 30.7 Use your IntelliMouse to automatically scroll at a controlled speed; in this example, moving the pointer down makes the page scroll more quickly.
FIG. 30.8 Look carefully and you'll see four frames in this page. In addition to the obvious navigation area at left, there are two frames along the top. The main browser window is a frame with its own scrollbar.
Working with frames takes practice. The Back and Forward buttons, for example, won't let you navigate within a frame. To move back and forth within a frame, you have to select the frame itself, right-click, and then click the Back or Forward shortcut menu choices. Likewise, to view the source code for a frame, you'll need to right-click in the area of interest and choose View Source from the shortcut menu. When you save or copy a frame-based page, make sure you've selected the portion of the document you want and not just the small master document that contains pointers to the frames!
For most people most of the time, the mouse is the best way to navigate using Internet Explorer. But the web browser also offers superb keyboard support, which is important for users who have physical disabilities that make it difficult or impossible to use a mouse. Keyboard shortcuts are also a useful way to accelerate web access for skilled typists who prefer to keep their hands on the keyboard while they work.
Most of the movement keys in Internet Explorer 4.0 work as they do elsewhere in Windows. Home and End go to the top and bottom of the current page, for example. The Up and Down arrow keys move through the page, and the Page Up and Page Down keys move up and down in bigger jumps.
You can use shortcut keys to choose commands and view documents. Many of the pull-down menus include pointers to keyboard alternatives. Table 30.2 lists the most useful keyboard shortcuts in Internet Explorer.
| To Do This... | Press This |
| Go to the next page | Alt+Right Arrow |
| Go to the previous page | Alt+Left Arrow, Backspace |
| Display a shortcut menu for a link or object | Shift+F10 |
| Move forward between frames | Ctrl+Tab |
| Move back between frames | Shift+Ctrl+Tab |
| Move to the next link on a page | Tab |
| Move to the previous link on a page | Shift+Tab |
| Activate the currently selected link | Enter |
| Refresh the current page | F5 |
| Stop downloading a page | Esc |
| Open a new location | Ctrl+O |
| Open a new browser window | Ctrl+N |
| Save the current page | Ctrl+S |
| Print the current page or active frame | Ctrl+P |
One popular navigational aid on some web pages is the image map. Instead of assigning links to a series of graphic objects or buttons, a web designer can create links to specific coordinates of a single large image. The image map in Figure 30.9, for example, lets you jump to linked pages using a map of Houston, Texas. How do you know when you're working with an image map? Watch the status bar at the bottom of the browser window as the mouse passes over the image; if you see coordinates, as in this figure, there's an image map under the pointer.
FIG. 30.9 The coordinates at the end of the URL in the status bar are your tip-off that this site is using an image map for navigation.
Image maps are clever and useful jumping-off points on web sites. Their only drawback is that they require the use of the mouse. There's no way to use an image map with the keyboard.
Each time your browser makes a connection with a web server, valuable information appears on the status bar along the bottom of the screen. Figure 30.10 shows the Internet Explorer status bar.
FIG. 30.10 You'll find important information about the status of the current page here.
The status bar shows the following:
TIP: Want to quickly adjust Internet Explorer options? Double-click on the status bar; that has the same effect as choosing View, Internet Options from the pull-down menus.
There are many reasons why a web page doesn't load properly, but the most common is too much traffic on the server you're trying to reach or on one leg of the connection between your browser and the remote server. Click the Stop button (or press Esc) to immediately stop a download. Take this step if you're certain the page you requested has stalled or is unavailable and you don't want to wait for the browser to time out. It can also be a time-saving tactic if the page contains many bulky graphic elements and you can already see the link you want to follow or the section you want to read.
The Refresh button is especially valuable when you're viewing frequently updated pages--such as weather information, traffic maps, or stock quotes--because it guarantees that the version you see is the most recent and not a stale copy from the Internet Explorer cache. You should also click the Refresh button when a download fails in the middle of a page or when one or more objects on a page fail to load, as in the example in Figure 30.11.
FIG. 30.11 The icon in each empty box means that a graphic file failed to load. Click the Refresh button to reload the entire page, or right-click to download just one image.
TIP: You don't have to refresh the entire page if a small portion of the page failed to load. Look for a red X or a broken image icon, which indicate that a linked file failed to load. To refresh just that portion of the page, right-click and choose Show Picture.
Every time you start Internet Explorer, it loads the page you designate as your home page. By default, Microsoft takes you to home.microsoft.com, where you can follow links to assemble a home page based on your own interests. You can designate any web page as your home page; if you're connected to a company intranet, you might prefer to set a local page to load automatically at startup.
To reset your home page, load the page you want to use and then choose View, Internet Options and click on the General tab (see Figure 30.12). Click Use Current to set the current page as your home page. Click Use Default to restore the default Microsoft home page. Click Use Blank to replace the home page with a blank page that loads instantly.
FIG. 30.12 Choose your preferred home page, and then navigate to this dialog box to designate that page as the default that runs every time you start Internet Explorer.
TIP: When you're choosing a home page, make sure it's readily accessible so it won't cause delays when you start your browser. Better yet, use FrontPage Express to construct your own home page, with links to favorite sites inside your intranet and on the World Wide Web. See Chapter 36 for more details on how to use FrontPage Express.
Pieces of the Internet Explorer interface can get in the way of data, especially on displays running at low resolutions. There are several ways to make more space available for data in the browser window. Most involve hiding, rearranging, or reconfiguring these optional interface elements.
The simplest way to reclaim space for data is to hide the toolbars and status bar. To hide the status bar, choose View and click Status Bar; to eliminate one or more of the three built-in toolbars, right-click on the menu bar and remove the check marks from Standard Buttons, Address Bar, or Links.
You can also rearrange the three toolbars, placing them side-by-side or one on top of the other. You can even position any toolbar alongside the menu bar. To move a toolbar, click on the raised handle at the left and then drag the toolbar to its new position. Drag the same handle from right to left to adjust the width of the toolbar.
Want to cut the oversize buttons on the browser window down to size? Choose View, Internet Options, click on the Advanced tab, and check the option to use the smaller Microsoft Office-style buttons instead; then choose View, Toolbars and clear the check mark from Text Labels. The results should resemble what you see in Figure 30.13.
FIG. 30.13 These smaller buttons without labels fit comfortably alongside the Address bar to make room for more data in the browser window.
To configure Internet Explorer for the absolute maximum viewing area, load any page, and then click the Full Screen button. This view, shown in Figure 30.14, hides the title bar, menu bar, Address bar, and Links bar. The Standard buttons toolbar shrinks to its smallest setting, and even the size and position of the Minimize and Close buttons in the upper-right corner are adjusted.
TIP: If you prefer the extra screen real estate you get with Full Screen view, you can configure IE4 to automatically open all web pages this way. You can also configure IE4's channels to appear by default in Full Screen view. To set up either option, choose View, Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, and check the boxes labeled Launch Browser in Full Screen Window or Launch Channels in Full Screen Window.
In Full Screen view, right-clicking on the toolbar lets you add the menu bar, Address bar, or Links bar to the same row. The Auto Hide choice on the same shortcut menu lets every last piece of the interface slide out of the way; to make the toolbar reappear, move the mouse pointer to the top edge of the screen.
To switch back to normal view, click the Full Screen button again.
FIG. 30.14 Click the Full Screen button to expand the Internet Explorer browser window to its maximum size.
Can you change the look of a web page? That depends on decisions the designer of the page made when creating it. Some web pages use only generic settings to place text on the page. Sophisticated designers, on the other hand, use web templates called cascading style sheets to specify fonts, colors, spacing, and other design elements that control the look and feel of the page. You can specify fonts and colors you prefer when viewing basic web pages; advanced settings let you ignore style sheets as well.
The primary benefit is for people with physical disabilities that make it difficult or impossible for them to read the screen. To adjust any of these settings, choose View, Internet Options, and then click the General tab.
TIP: If you're curious about how a web designer created the specific look of a page, use the View Source option to inspect the HTML code. If you like a particular look, you might be able to copy and paste the code to adapt the design for use in your own web page.
To adjust the default fonts, click the Fonts button. Besides selecting from a limited assortment of options for proportional and fixed fonts, you can also change the size that Internet Explorer uses for basic web pages from its default Medium. Choose smaller settings to pack more information onto the screen; use larger values to make text easier to read.
Click the Colors button to change the default values for text and backgrounds on basic web pages. By default, Internet Explorer uses the window colors you defined using the Windows Display; with the Standard Windows settings, that means black text on a white page. To change the defaults, you must change that systemwide setting or click to clear the Use Windows Colors check box and then specify different Text and Background colors, as shown in Figure 30.15. Internet Explorer also allows you to reset the colors for links here.
FIG. 30.15 Setting alternate font choices affects only basic web pages--those that don't use style sheets.
Changes you make to default fonts and colors will not apply to pages that use style sheets unless you make one final adjustment. Click the Accessibility button and check the appropriate boxes to tell the browser to ignore colors, font styles, and font sizes specified in style sheets.
You can increase or decrease default font sizes exclusively for pages you open in the current session. Choose View, Fonts, and select one of the five relative sizes from that menu. This change will apply only when viewing pages that use standard fonts, and Internet Explorer will return to normal settings if you close and then reopen the browser window. When you adjust font sizes, be aware that pages can look odd and, in some cases, can even become unreadable. If you find yourself using this feature regularly, go to the Advanced tab on the Internet Options dialog box and check the option to add a Fonts button to the Standard toolbar.
Do you frequently find yourself browsing pages created by designers using an alphabet that's not the same one used in your Windows language settings? Before Internet Explorer can display foreign-language pages, you must use the IE4 setup program to install Multi-Language Support for the appropriate languages. You'll find a Pan-European add-on that enables Internet Explorer to display most Western European languages correctly. There are Japanese, Korean, and Chinese add-ins as well.
After you install the additional font support, you should be able to see pages in any of those alphabets, as shown in Figure 30.16.
FIG. 30.16b If you try to view foreign-language web pages, you might see only a garbled mess (left); you'll need to add fonts for the extra languages to see them correctly (right).
TIP: If you regularly view web pages that are designed to be displayed in your choice of languages, tell IE4 which one you prefer. Choose View, Internet Options and click the Languages button on the General tab. Add support for the appropriate languages, and then place your preferred language at the top of the list.
When you first install Internet Explorer, it includes most of the capabilities you need for browsing basic web pages and handling other types of data, such as streaming audio and video. IE4 allows you to dramatically expand its capabilities using a variety of add-in programs. Some install themselves automatically with your permission, while others require that you run a separate setup program.
Core components of Internet Explorer let you view text formatted with HTML as well as graphics created in supported formats, including JPEG and GIF images. To view other types of data, you must install add-in programs that extend the capabilities of the basic browser. Add-ins can take several forms:
FIG. 30.17 This ActiveX control on MSNBC's home page allows you to browse news headlines and jump to linked pages using cascading menus.
TIP: There's no need to seek out ActiveX controls. Pages that require add-ins will offer to install the control when you need it, and most controls download in a matter of minutes, even over relatively slow connections.
ON THE WEB: To download the most recent streaming audio and video player from RealNetworks, follow the links from this site:
http://www.real.com
ON THE WEB:
To find the most recent version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader, follow the links from this site:
http://www.adobe.com
FIG. 30.18 When you view a formatted document using the Adobe Acrobat Reader, it takes over the browser window and adds its own toolbars.
One of the most intriguing uses of Internet bandwidth is the delivery of so-called streaming media. Unlike conventional sound and video files, which require that you download the entire file before beginning to play it back, streaming media begins playing as soon as the first bits reach your browser. With streaming media, radio stations can "broadcast" their signals over the Internet, making it possible for sports fans, for example, to follow the exploits of their hometown heroes no matter how far they roam.
Streaming media can consist of audio, video, or both. On a normal dial-up connection at 28.8KB, audio will typically work well, but video signals are unbearably choppy because the pipe between server and client simply can't deliver data fast enough. Video broadcasts are more practical on company intranets, where network cables can deliver data fast enough to handle broadcast-quality signals.
Internet Explorer includes two useful streaming-media players--RealPlayer and NetShow. For video broadcasts, the NetShow player can function as an ActiveX control, with the viewing screen embedded in the HTML page, or it can run as a standalone application with its own menus and VCR-style controls. (See Figure 30.19 for an example of the NetShow player in action.)
NetShow includes several useful customization options. To access the NetShow properties sheet, right-click on the image window or on the player controls and choose Properties. You'll see a dialog box like the one in Figure 30.20.
FIG. 30.19 With its menu bar and VCR-style controls, the NetShow player looks like a standard Windows application. If only the video window is visible, right-click to set options.
FIG. 30.20 Use the settings on the Advanced tab to configure NetShow to work through a proxy server.
Click the Settings tab to shrink the video window to half-size or expand it to double the default size. Another drop-down list on this tab lets you choose full controls, simple controls, or none at all.
Use the options on the Advanced tab to configure NetShow on a network that uses a proxy server. You'll need to check the documentation from the server to see which TCP and/or UDP ports are required.
Basic title information appears on the General tab, while the Details and Statistics tabs display information about the current connection.
The Mail button on the Standard toolbar launches your default email program. Links that begin with the news: prefix fire up your default news reader. If you have more than one program that can work with Internet Explorer, you can control which one starts up when it's needed. To switch between Outlook 97 and Outlook Express as your default mail program, for example, choose View, Internet Options, click the Programs tab, and choose the preferred program from the drop-down lists shown in Figure 30.21.
FIG. 30.21 To switch from one helper program to another, use these drop-down lists. Only programs specifically written to work with Internet Explorer will appear here.
Tuning Internet Explorer for speed and responsiveness involves inevitable tradeoffs between rich content and quick results. Elaborate graphics, video clips, sound files, and other large elements add fun and extra dimensions to the web, but waiting for those elements to download over a slow connection can quickly become frustrating.
Selectively filtering out some types of downloadable content can reduce the amount of time it takes to load a page the first time. Intelligently managing the browser's cache makes it much faster to access pages a second or subsequent time. Of course, even the most careful configurations can't overcome traffic jams on the Internet.
When slow downloads are a problem, the most common culprit is a page that's overstuffed with graphics, sound, and video files, which take time to download. To turn Internet Explorer into a lightning-fast text-only browser, follow these steps:
With multimedia options turned off, Internet Explorer will show generic icons, empty boxes, and simple text labels where you would normally see images. It will also ignore any sound files, animations, or video clips embedded in the page. Some sites work perfectly well without images; Fortune magazine, for example, offers an all-text page (see Figure 30.23) that loads quickly and doesn't require any graphic images. (You can always use right-click shortcut menus to manually request any content you've turned off.)
FIG. 30.22 Clear all the check boxes in the Multimedia section to transform Internet Explorer into a speedy text-only browser.
FIG. 30.23 Who needs graphics? Even without images for its buttons, this all-text page is eminently readable, thanks to excellent labels.
Although turning off the browser's ability to load image and multimedia files can dramatically improve performance, it can also block important information. On sites that use image maps as their only navigation tool, for example, there's literally no way to get around without displaying that image. To selectively show a picture after downloading the text-only page, right-click the icon that represents the image and choose Show Picture from the shortcut menu.
TIP: One of the most useful Internet Explorer Power Toys adds a Toggle Images button to the Standard toolbar. If you want to speed up downloads by selectively turning off the display of images--without having to continually open and close dialog boxes--this add-in is essential. You'll find it at the following location:http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie4/powertoys
With or without graphics, the best way to improve performance is to make sure the browser's cache is correctly configured. Each time you retrieve a new web page, Internet Explorer downloads every element and stores a copy of each one in a cache directory on your hard disk. The next time you request that page, the browser first checks the cache; if it finds a copy of the page, it loads the entire document from fast local storage, which dramatically increases performance.
When the cache fills up, Internet Explorer throws out the oldest files in the cache to make room for new ones. To increase the likelihood that you'll be able to load a cached copy of a page instead of having to wait for it to reload from the Internet, adjust the size of the cache. Choose View, Internet Options, and click the General tab (see Figure 30.24) to find all the controls you need to fine-tune the web cache.
FIG. 30.24 Give the browser cache extra working room, and you'll increase Internet Explorer's performance.
CAUTION: If you tell Internet Explorer you never want to check for a more recent version of cached pages, your browser will seem remarkably faster. Beware, though: For pages that update frequently, such as news headlines or stock quotes, you'll have to work to see the most recent version. If you choose this setting, get in the habit of clicking the Refresh button to make sure the page is up-to-date.
When should you click the Delete Files button? This action completely empties the Temporary Internet Files folder and can have a noticeable negative impact on how fast your favorite pages load. Under ordinary circumstances, Internet Explorer manages the size of the cache by itself. You might need to clear the cache manually, though, if a corrupt cached file is causing Internet Explorer to crash, or if you run out of disk storage and you need to make room for crucial files, or if you plan to do a full system backup and you don't want to include all these cached web files.
Normally, you use the History Explorer bar to browse full pages stored in the browser cache. But you can also view the individual objects in the cache--HTML pages, graphics, ActiveX controls, and even cookie files. Click the View Files button in the Settings dialog box to see a full listing, like the one shown in Figure 30.25.
FIG. 30.25 The Temporary Internet Files folder holds a copy of every object you've viewed in the browser recently. Right-click to open, copy, or delete any file.
The Temporary Internet Files folder is unlike any other folder you'll see in Windows. Notice the column headings, for example, which track the time a file was last created. Double-click on column headings to re-sort the list--that's particularly useful for finding and deleting large files that are cluttering up the cache. Use right-click shortcut menus to inspect the properties of stored objects and to open, copy, or delete objects.
NOTE: Where are cached pages really stored? Windows organizes all cached files using a maze of hidden folders inside the Temporary Internet Files folder. These folders have randomly generated cryptic names like 25NMCE84; shell extensions in Windows pull the contents of all these folders together into a single display in the Temporary Internet Files folder. Although you can use the DOS Attrib or Windows Find commands to see these files in their actual locations, avoid the temptation to move or delete these hidden objects. Instead, use Internet Explorer's View Files button to manage them.
Literally hundreds of options control how Internet Explorer browses web pages. Many of these settings are bunched together on the Advanced tab of the dialog box that appears when you choose View, Internet Options. Although most of these options are the same as those found in previous releases of IE4, a handful are new to Windows 98, and a small number are irrelevant to Windows 98 users!
The following sections describe what effect each of the Advanced options has.
Internet Explorer's Accessibility options are designed to make web browsing easier for users with physical disabilities. The options in Table 30.3 were not available in the original release of IE 4.0, but were added in IE 4.01 and are available in Windows 98.
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Move System Caret with Focus/ Selection Changes | This option makes it easier for screen-reading programs, typically used to help translate screen contents for users with impaired vision. | Unchecked |
| Always Expand Alt Text for Images | If you've turned off the display of pictures, you will see alternate text only when the size of the image box is large enough to contain the text. This option expands the size of the image box to display the alternate text associated with any image, even small ones. | Unchecked |
The set of options outlined in Table 30.4 helps define the basic behavior of the browser window.
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Notify When Downloads Complete | Normally, IE displays a confirmation dialog box and requires that you click OK after successfully downloading a file; clear this check box (new in Windows 98) to prevent the dialog box from appearing. | Checked |
| Disable Script Debugging | This option is meaningful only if you have installed a debugger for use with JavaScript and VBScript; check this box to hide the Script Debugger choice on the View menu. | Unchecked |
| Show Channel Bar at Startup (if Active Desktop is off) | Adds a channel bar to the desktop. | Unchecked |
| Launch Channels in Full Screen Window | By default, channels display in full screen mode; clear this check box to display in a normal browser window. | Checked |
| Launch Browser in Full Screen Window | Changes the default browser setting to full-screen display; this option hides the IE title bar, menu bar, status bar, and Address box, as well as the taskbar and Start button. | Unchecked |
| Use AutoComplete | Clear this box to prevent Internet Explorer from suggesting completions as you type a URL in the Address box. | Checked |
| Show Friendly URLs | Abbreviates the display of information in the status bar at the bottom of the browser window. | Unchecked |
| Use Smooth Scrolling | Removing this check mark might speed up the scrolling of web pages, but the effect is barely noticeable on most computers. | Checked |
| Enable Page Transitions | Page transitions are movie-like effects (dissolves and fades, for example) that occur when you switch from one page to another. Unchecking this box might improve performance, especially over slow connections. | Checked |
| Browse in a New Process | Forces web browser to use a separate copy of Internet Explorer instead of sharing code with the Windows shell; requires more system resources but decreases the chance that Windows will crash when a web page hangs. | Unchecked |
| Enable Page Hit Counting | If you use Active Channels, IE logs the time and date that channel pages were loaded into the browser in both offline and online modes. Clear this check box to prevent IE from sending this information to web publishers. | Checked |
| Enable Scheduled Subscription Updates | Clear this check box to prevent IE from automatically connecting with a web site to update a subscription; this option is most helpful for users with dial-up connections. | Checked |
| Show Welcome Message Each Time I Log On | Has no effect in Windows 98. | Checked |
| Show Internet Explorer on the Desktop (requires restart) | Clear this box to remove the Internet Explorer icon from the Windows desktop; has same effect as choosing Delete from that icon's shortcut menu. | Checked |
| Underline Links: Never Hover Always | Normally, all links on a web page appear with an underline; choose another option so that underlines never appear or appear only when the pointer hovers over a link. | Always |
Normally, Internet Explorer downloads all types of content associated with a page. Turning off one or more of the options in Table 30.5 can dramatically improve performance over slow connections, but it can also make navigation difficult or impossible.
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Show Pictures | Enables or disables display of photos and graphics; to display a picture when this option is unchecked, right-click the red X icon and choose Show Picture from the shortcut menu. | Checked |
| Play Animations | Enables or disables display of animated graphics, such as those used in banner ads. | Checked |
| Play Videos | Enables or disables display of video clips. | Checked |
| Play sounds | Clear this check box to disable automatic playing of sounds; a handy option if you browse the web in an open office and want to avoid annoying neighbors. | Checked |
| Smart Image Dithering | Dithering allows IE to display a larger number of colors than your display type normally allows by using a combination of available colors. Clear this check box only if you regularly see images with distorted colors. | Checked |
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Enable Profile | Allows IE to store personal | Checked |
| Assistant | information in encrypted form and then exchange it with web sites; although this feature has been available since the first release of IE4, as of mid-1998 no sites supported it. | |
| PCT 1.0 | Enables communication with web sites using the Private Communication Technology standard to encrypt data. | Checked |
| SSL 2.0 | Allows exchange of encrypted data (such as credit card numbers) using version 2.0 of the Secure Sockets Layer protocol. Because this is an older standard, some security- conscious users might choose to disable this feature, which will prevent access to some web sites. | Checked |
| SSL 3.0 | Allows IE users to exchange encrypted data using version 3.0 of the Secure Sockets Layer protocol. | Checked |
| Delete Saved Pages When Browser Closed | Deletes all cached pages in the Temporary Internet Files folder when you close the browser; prevents unauthorized users from viewing your cache to see which pages you've visited recently. | Unchecked |
| Do Not Save Encrypted Pages to Disk | Prevents IE from storing secure pages (such as those you might use for online banking) in the browser cache; prevents other users of your computer from viewing private or sensitive information. | Unchecked |
| Warn If Forms Submit Is Being Redirected | Displays a warning dialog box when you submit a web-based form whose contents will go to a web server other than the one that appears in your Address box. | Checked |
| Warn If Changing Between Secure and Not Secure Mode | Displays a dialog box when you switch in or out of secure mode; for some users, the https:// prefix and padlock icon are sufficient notice, and the warning dialog box is unnecessary. | Checked |
| Check for Certificate Revocation | Specifies that IE check the status of a web site's certificate before continuing with a secure transaction; this extra check can significantly increase the time required to begin a transaction. | Unchecked |
| Warn About Invalid Site Certificates | Displays a warning message if the URL associated with a site certificate is not valid. | Checked |
| Cookies: Always Accept Cookies Prompt Before Accepting Cookies Disable All Cookie Use | Lets you specify how IE handles cookie files, which store information about your interactions with the current page; see Chapter 32, "Internet Security," for a full discussion of cookies. | Always Accept Cookies |
Internet Explorer includes a Java Virtual Machine (VM), which provides the system support and security features needed to download and run Java applets. Table 30.7 lists the Java VM options.
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Java Console Enabled (requires restart) | Developers can use the Java console to display messages about the status of a Java program; this option is not relevant for ordinary browser use. | Unchecked |
| Java JIT Compiler Enabled | Enables the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, which speeds up performance of some Java applets. If you encounter a Java applet that doesn't run correctly, try disabling this option and reloading the page. | Checked |
| Java Logging Enabled | Another developer-oriented option, which captures messages from Java programs to a text file in the Windows folder; this option is not relevant for ordinary browser use. | Unchecked |
This category includes only one option (see Table 30.8).
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Print Background Colors and Images | On black-and-white printers, complex backgrounds can make text difficult or impossible to read; check this box if you have a color printer and you want to reproduce background images or colors on a printed page. | Unchecked |
If you type an address that IE doesn't recognize, it will attempt to find the page for you either by trying to automatically complete the address or by taking you to Microsoft's search page. Table 30.9 lists the Search options.
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Autoscan Common Root Domains | If you enter a single word in the Address box, IE will first look for a local server by that name; if it can't find that server, it will add the prefix www and add the root domain suffixes .com, .edu, .org, and .gov. Clear the check box to disable this feature. | Checked |
| Search When URL Fails Never Search Always Ask Always Search | Controls how IE responds when you enter an invalid URL. By default, it offers to help you find the correct address using Microsoft's default search page. | Always Ask |
Although the IE toolbar is not customizable, you can change the two settings listed in Table 30.10.
| Option | Description | Default setting |
| Show Font Button | Adds a button that lets you specify one of five font sizes for the current browsing session; use the Fonts button on the General tab to set a default font size that lasts from one session to the next. | Unchecked |
| Small Icons | Changes the size of the buttons on the main IE toolbar; if you run at 640*480 resolution , you must use this setting to see the Print and Edit buttons. | Unchecked |
Version 1.1 of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol significantly improves the performance of web pages. Windows 98 and IE4 fully support HTTP 1.1. Table 30.11 shows the HTTP 1.1 options.
| Option | Description | Default Setting |
| Use HTTP 1.1 | Tells the Web browser to send page requests using HTTP 1.1; if you experience difficulty with some older web sites that require HTTP 1.0, try disabling this option. | Checked |
| Use HTTP 1.1 Through Proxy Connections | Check this option to send HTTP 1.1 requests through a proxy server; check with your network administrator before making this change. | Unchecked |
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