Internet Explorer 8 (IE8)

Download this page as PDF

Introduction

Internet Explorer is the default browser for Microsoft Windows and is developed by Microsoft. Internet Explorer 8 is configured for use in all CCS managed labs at Ryerson. To begin using Internet Explorer, double-click the Internet Explorer icon on your computer:

Video Tutorial

Click to open Microsoft's Video Guides to Internet Explorer 8

Understanding The Internet Explorer Interface

Fig. 1 - Internet Explorer 8 - Click Image to Enlarge

Address Bar Search Bar Menu Bar Command Bar Tabs Explorer Bar Scroll Bar Display Content Status Bar

Menu Bar

By default, the Menu Bar is hidden for IE 8.0 when you first install and use the browser. To show the Menu Bar, select Tools in the Command Bar and check Menu Bar. The Menu Bar offers commands that work with the Internet Explorer window

Address Bar

Internet Explorer 8 Navigation Toolbar Options
Back Button	Go back to the last document viewed. The button will be grayed out if you have only loaded one page. The back button can be used repeatedly to go back through all the pages viewed since the browser was opened. Click on the small downwards arrow to the right and a “history list” will drop down, allowing you to choose any previously visited web pages.
Forward Button	Go forward to the next document. The forward button is grayed out until you use the back button to view previously visited pages. Forward becomes useful when you have moved back through previously loaded pages and wish to move forward to more recently loaded ones. Use the smaller arrow for previously viewed web pages.
Reload Button	Reload the current page. Useful if there are problems loading a page and you are editing an HTML file on your workstation, and want to view changes you have made. Reload is also useful to see updates on a regularly updated page if you have been idle.
Stop Button	Stop (terminate) a connection if a site is taking too long to load. When a document is completely downloaded and displayed, the highlighted stop sign will turn gray.

Command Bar

Fig. 2 - IE8 Command Bar in Windows 7

The Command bar is located on the right end of the Tab bar. The Command bar serves as a simplified version of the Menu Bar, including only the most commonly used options (e.g. Print, Home, View Source) with a more streamlined interface. You may use the Tools drop-down menu to add or remove options from the Command bar by selecting Toolbars > Customize…. The Command Bar can also activate the Menu Bar through the Options menu as well.

The Command Bar hosts the Home button which will return you to your designated home page.

Search Bar

To the right of your address bar, you will see a smaller text field, this is your Search Bar. This feature allows you to use a search engine without having to first navigate to the search engine website, you can just do it from the browser. Entering keywords in the Search Bar performs the same action as entering those keywords on the search engine page. The Search Bar is a quick and efficient way to make use of search engines. To learn how to configure your search bar, visit the Search Engine page.

Status Bar

The last line on the window is reserved for messages. Here you will see the location of where you will connect to if you click on the link your cursor is positioned over, how much of an image or document has been retrieved during loading, and any error messages which you may receive.

Explorer Bar

The Explorer bar contains Favorites, Feeds and History, and is hidden by default. The Explorer bar will appear when you click the Favorites button, which opens your Favorites Centre, located before the Tab bar - or - click View > Explorer Bar > choose Favorites, Feeds, or History.

Fig. 3 - Explorer Bar showing Favorites, Feeds, and History tabs

Favorites

As you are browsing the Internet you will come across interesting web sites that you will like to return to later on. Click the favorites button to add the page you are viewing to your Favorites.

To organize your favorites, click Favorites > Organize Favorites. Once you are in the Favorites explorer bar, click on a site name to visit the site. Click on a folder or link for more Favorites options.

Feeds

Feeds are content frequently updated by a web site. IE will search for and display feeds when you first view a site. If feeds are available, the Feeds button will turn orange; expand to add the appropriate feeds for the site. You can visit the Ryerson User's Guide Glossary page to learn more about Feeds.

History

History keeps track of all the sites that you have visited. Sites are organized in folders named by the root of the site’s server. For example, if you visited www.ryerson.ca/ccs and www.ryerson.ca/essr, then both of these sites will be listed under a folder titled www.ryerson.ca. The sites and folders are stored according to the format you chose. By default, the sites are sorted by date, but you may expand the drop down menu for options to sort or search the web site in History according to site, most visited, or by order visited today. Right click on the days to delete or expand the categories. To change how many days a site should be remembered, click Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Browsing History Settings.

To clear your history, which will free up space on your hard drive, select Tools > Delete Browsing History from the Menu Bar or Command Bar.

Tabbed Browsing

The Tab bar is useful for viewing multiple web pages on one window. This avoids having to open many browser windows to view different sites. Click File > New Tab or click the tab at the end of the Tab bar, then enter a new URL and a tab will be listed in the window.

Fig. 4 - Tabs in Internet Explorer 8

	The two buttons at the left of the Tab Bar help organization and management of tabs. This is useful if you have too many tabs open to clearly see on the tab bar. The icon with four squares will navigate the current window to a screen with each tabbed page organized in a grid for quick reference. The arrow button on the right offers a drop-down list of all open tabs which does not navigate away from your current page.
	These are your tabs. The open tab will be displayed as in the fore-front of the bar and highlighted with a blue tint. An "X" icon is also present which allows you to close the page and tab. Clicking other tabs will switch to their respective window.
	Clicking on this blank end tab will open a new tab in the window.

At the very left of the Tab bar, there are two star shaped buttons which are short-cuts to the Favorites menu. Clicking the favorites button opens your Favorites Centre and click the favorites button with the green plus sign, allows you to add web pages to your Favorites list.

Security

Your browser collects digital clutter as you “surf” the web. In order to ensure that your browser automatically minimizes this clutter you can adjust the following settings.

• Click Tools > Internet Options
• Select the advanced tab
• Scroll down until you see the Security heading
• Check the box that reads “Do not save encrypted page to disk”
• Also Check the box beside “Empty temporary internet files folder when browser is closed”

Now your browser will automatically clear the “clutter” when you restart your browser.

Scroll Bar

To the right of the document area is a scroll bar that allows you to move a display up or down. Point the mouse to any location on the bar, click, and the display moves accordingly. To move the display more slowly, position the cursor on the Top or Bottom Arrow on the bar and click. You can also drag the “elevator” button that moves in the scroll bar to move to any place in the document. Sometimes, depending on the current web page and the size of the browser window that you are viewing it in, there is also a horizontal scroll bar located at the bottom of the window that moves left and right. Correspondingly, there may or may not be a vertical or horizontal scroll bar depending on the width and length of the web page you are viewing.

Page Display

Loaded web pages are displayed just below the Tab bar. Web pages can include text and graphics. Some sites also provide animation and video [with slower Internet Connections, these features will take longer to appear on the page and play]. To view these, click on their link. To be able to hear any of the sound options provided, your PC must have speakers and the appropriate hardware and software installed. Your Internet Connection will determine how quickly these pages display.