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Home » Software Chat, Technical Chat

IE7, Quick Guide to What’s New With Internet Explorer 7 and Handy Shortcuts

Submitted by J. Pisano on October 21, 2006 – 10:31 pmComments    


IE7 Logo

With the new release of [tag]Microsoft[/tag]’s [tag]Internet Explorer[/tag], people are asking what is [tag]new[/tag] with the [tag]IE7[/tag] release? I have put together a list of the latest features listed in two categories: Immediately Noticeable and Additional Improvements.  In addition, I have included a quick list of keyboard/mouse [tag]shortcut[/tag]s for moving along quicker within the web interface.

IMMEDIATLY NOTICABLE:

Tabbed Browsing:
IE7 offers the ability to have multiple web-sites open and contained within “tabs”.  Changing from one website address to another is easily accomplished by pressing “tab buttons” that are visible across the top of the screen.  All tabbed windows may be viewed, at once, in different visual configuration such as cascaded or horizontal layouts.

Instant Search Box:
Located to the right of the address search box is the “Instant Search Box”.  By using this ”box” any one of the major search engines may be queried to find information quickly; of course, the default is MSN.

Favorites and Notes:
An updated version of the “[tag]IE[/tag] favorite bookmarks” has also been included.  It’s easier to manage and use than the those of the pervious versions.  There is also an import/export wizard to easily add bookmarks from previous versions. In addition, you can quickly open the Microsoft Notepad to “jot” down any information you may come across by selecting it from the menu bar.

Less Clutter and More of the Screen for Viewing Sites:
IE7 includes a more streamlined and friendly visual experience.

Improved Printing:
This release includes the ability to rescale the site so that it fits on the printed page.  Options are also available for simply printing the text.

RSS Feeds:
Atom, RSS and other XML feeds will show up correctly and are automatically detected.  In addition, there are options to quickly subscribe to an RSS feed.

Page Zoom:
With a few clicks and keystrokes IE7 can be made to enlarge or shrink both texts and graphics on a web page dynamically.

ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS:

Security Status Bar:
If you go to a site that has a questionable security certificate or is known to be malicious, IE7 will warn you by displaying related messages.   In addition, the “gold padlock” is much easier to see as it is now adjacent to the address bar.

Phising Filter:
In addition to the Security Status Bar, IE7 will check the site that is being visiting to check if it is a “clone” of a legitimate site.  If it determines that something is “fishy” with the site, a screen will appear with warning information.

Built-in “Tracks” Eraser:
A single window has been included that will allow you to easily erase all of the cached pages, form data, cookies and history data contained within the browser.

Fix My Settings and Check My Connection :
Two features that will help you “repair” things faster. First, there is a one click “default” setting that will bring all the security settings back to the original states.  Second, there is a one click option that will check if there are any problems that could be caused by the Internet connection.

Extra Security Settings:

There are many additional features within IE7 that pertain to security issues.  Check the help file for more information.

Quicker Browsing:
Due to the caching and improved support for CS Sheets and other speed related improvements.  IE7 should load web sites faster than before.

ADD-ONS:
Although not quite “widgets”, IE7 offers the ability to easily download add-ons that will increase the usability and expandability of the program

**********************************************

Microsoft Vista, Unique Features:

Protected Mode:
“Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system. Exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.”

Parental Controls:
The ability for parents to control browsing behavior through a set of “parental” controls.

**********************************************
Useful IE7 Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts:

Please note an exhaustive list of these shortcuts can be found within the “HELP” file of IE7.

Viewing and Exploring Web-pages:

Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window
F11

Move forward through the items on a web-page, the Address bar, or the Links bar
TAB

Move back through the items on a web-page, the Address bar, or the Links bar
SHIFT+TAB

Go to your home page
ALT+HOME

Go to the next page
ALT+RIGHT ARROW

Go to the previous page
ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE

Scroll toward the beginning of a document in larger increments
PAGE UP

Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments
PAGE DOWN

Move to the beginning of a document
HOME

Move to the end of a document
END

Find on this page
CTRL+F

Refresh the current web-page
F5

Refresh the current web-page, even if the time stamp for the web version and your locally stored version are the same
CTRL+F5

Stop downloading a page
ESC

Open a new website or page
CTRL+O

Open a new window
CTRL+N

Working With Tabs:

Open a new tab in the foreground
CTRL+T

Switch between tabs
CTRL+TAB or CTRL+SHIFT+TAB

Close current tab (or the current window if tabbed browsing is disabled)
CTRL+W or ALT+F4

Open a new tab in the foreground from the Address bar
ALT+ENTER

Switch to a specific tab number
CTRL+n (where n is a number between 1 and 8 )

Switch to the last tab
CTRL+9

Close other tabs
CTRL+ALT+F4

Toggles Quick Tabs (thumbnail view) on or off
CTRL+Q

Using Zoom:
Increase zoom (+ 10%)
CTRL+PLUS SIGN

Decrease zoom (- 10%)
CTRL+MINUS SIGN

Zoom to 100%
CTRL+0

Using Search:
Go to the search box
CTRL+E

Open your search query in a new tab
ALT+ENTER

Open the search provider menu
CTRL+DOWN ARROW

Opening Menus:
Open the Home menu
ALT+M

Open the Print menu
ALT+R

Open the RSS menu
ALT+J

Open the Tools menu
ALT+O

Open the Help menu
ALT+L

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  • Daniel,

    Hello and thanks for writing.

    A couple of quick points to consider with Windows' Vista:
    You need to have a fairly new computer to run it.
    Because it is new, it may have a few kinks... you might want to wait a little and see how it goes...or until the first major service pack is released.

    Personally, I am upgrading as soon as possible so I can work though the "bugs" as I see them. Unless you are very techincal with computers, I would wait awhile before upgrading.

    I used to be a fan of Norton's Anti-virus, I no longer am. Their software is large and resource intensive... and quirky. -Especially their complete "network security" solution. For my buck, I would check out the http://grisoft.com site and download there Freeware Anti virus edition... and get my buck back! It's free and it works great!

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