Master hidden features of Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer (IE) has been the most popular web browser for many years now. The latest version, IE8, was made available for download late last year but some of its new features remain a mystery to many.

We will take a close look at the lesser-known but highly useful features of IE8 and show you how to make the most of them.

If you don’t already have it, you can download IE8 here. If you do not know what version you are running, press Alt, H and click on About Internet Explorer.

Upgrading to IE8
If you are leaping straight from IE6 to IE8, you will notice quite a few changes to the interface. The toolbar at the top with the File, Edit, View, Favorites, Tools and Help menus will disappear. Instead, all tools and preferences have been shifted to the right of the screen under the Page, Safety and Tools menus.

You will be pleased to hear the old toolbar can be temporarily resurrected by pressing the Alt key. And if you really cannot do without it, it can be permanently restored by clicking on View, Toolbars and Menu Bar.

IE7 users should find the transition easier since IE8 makes very few changes to the basic interface and location of common features.

Managing add-ons
One of the great features of IE8 is the huge range of customisation options and downloadable tools (Add-ons) it offers. The Manage Add-ons tool lets you quickly review, add and remove individual components. To open this, click on the Tools menu and select Manage Add-ons.

Take a moment to familiarise yourself with the Manage Add-ons tool.

On the right, you will notice four add-on types: Toolbars and Extensions, Search Providers, Accelerators and InPrivate Filtering. Click on any of these and all associated add-ons will be displayed in the right-hand section of the window along with their status (enabled or disabled).

To change the status of an add-on, highlight it and click Enable or Disable at the bottom of the window.

You can add new add-ons by clicking on the ‘Find more…’ link at the bottom. This takes you to a Microsoft website where you can download more add-ons.

Browsing in private
There will be times when you would rather your internet activities were not recorded, for example when using a public computer or when buying a surprise gift for a member of your family.

IE8 comes with a built-in feature called InPrivate Browsing. As its name suggests, websites you visit when this feature is activated will not be recorded, nor will any cookies be saved.

It can be activated at any time by clicking on the Safety menu located at the top left of the IE8 window and selecting the InPrivate Browsing option. Or, press Ctrl, Shift and the P key.