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Internet browsers are the tools we all use to look at the world wide web. These are programs that know how to access other sites, and show you the information they provide. In other words, they translate the program code of the internet in to something we can understand. The three most popular browsers today are Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox. Despite the fact that most of us use them every day, very few people know how to use them to their full potential. |
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Over the years all 3 have gone through many changes, but today, they are more of less the same for the average user. No matter which one of these you like best, there are simple tricks which they all share that can make your use of the internet much better and much faster. Tabs Most of your time on the internet you are likely to only look at one website, but there are times when you need to have two or more open at the same time. This does not mean that you need to open another browsing window, you can just open another tab. In current browsers you can have a large number of sites open in the same window, but in different tabs How do you open a new tab? Did you see a link you want to enter? Instead of clicking on it with your left mouse button, right click on the link and then left click on the "Open in a New Tab" option. The link will open in a new tab which you will be able to see at the top of your browser. A faster way of doing so is clicking on the link with your mouse scroll wheel, if you have one. This way, you won't lose the website you were visiting, but will add another tab to the new location you wish to open, having both available to you. Managing Your Tabs
In each of the browsers you can open a new tab without a link and it will open a blank page or your home page. You can do so by clicking on the new tab button at the top of the browser, (see square #1), or pressing Ctrl + t. Are you done working on a tab but you still want to keep the rest of your browser open? You can close each tab individually by pressing the small X next to it, (see square #2) To switch between working tabs and keep them open, just click with your mouse in the center of the tabs you want to view (see square #3).
Chrome
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Favorites
This is a great way to save yourself a lot of time and trouble. By keeping an organized favorites list you will have a much easier time going to the websites you visit the most. Any site you add to your favorites will be accessible from your favorites list, bookmarks, or tool bar. How do you bookmark a site?
*On each of the browsers you will see a small star icon next to the internet address line (the URL), (see square #1) . Click that icon when you are visiting the site you want to bookmark. |
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Firefox
Go to the Mozilla Add-on Center and search for the add-on you are looking for (see square #1) or have a look at the featured extensions. When you find something you want to have on your Firefox browser, click the "+ Add to Firefox" icon next to it (see square #2). A small popup will appear for you to verify your choice by pressing "Install now" (see square #3). |
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Explorer Go to the Internet Explorer Gallery and type what you are looking for in the search bar (see square #1). Click the orange "Add to Internet Explorer" once you have found what you need (see square #2).
Press "add" in the window that will appear. |
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Add-on Management While it might be really helpful for you to have an add-on working, you might not be the only person using the computer, and even if you are, you might not always want to have a certain add-on active. Here is how you can disable or remove the add-ons on your browser. If you see an add-on that you don’t remember installing, it's better to disable it first and see how it affects your browsing, before removing it completely. Chrome In the URL line (where you normally type the name of the site you want to go to) type chrome://extensions (you can copy it from here) and press enter. You will now see a full list of all installed add-ons on your chrome browser. Click the check box to activate or disable an add-on (1), click the trash icon to remove it completely (2). |
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Firefox Open the Firefox menu by clicking on the orange icon in the upper corner (1) and click the extensions/add-ons option (2). Click enable or disable (3) on each of the add-ons you want to turn on or off. |
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Explorer Click the gear icon at the top of the browser (1) and select the "Manage Add-ons" option (2). A new window will open, showing all the add-ons that were installed by you and all of those that are installed by default. Click the type of add-ons you want to look at from the list on the side (3). Click on the name of the add-on you want to manage (4) and press disable (5) or remove (6) to preform your desired action. |
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Recommended Add-ons:
Chrome Firefox
1. Click & Clean – Delete all your history and temporary internet files in one click.
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