Searching everywhere

Tip of the day - 7

Add-ons for quick searching

Google is a useful search engine but there are times when an alternate search tool would serve you better.
Add a range of other Search Providers in IE and now you are one click away from searching the tool you need without having to go to that site first.

1. IE 8 - Select the down arrow on the far right side of the top tool bar. (IE9 Select the gear icon and choose Tools)
2. Choose Find More Providers Add your choices and select whether you want to have search suggestions turned on or off. 
3. Choose Manage Search Providers to put them in your preferred display order.

Now when you click in the search bar, select the tool of your choice before entering your search term.

Inspiration for this post came from Chris Betcher, who tweeted a link to his excellent Searching Everywhere tutorial for Chrome. Thanks again Chris.

The bottom toolbar - Customise IE

Tip of the day - 4

IE Toolbars 2

The bottom toolbar in IE has a handy tool which reveals all the directories, folders and files on your computer. To see them at a glance, turn on the Desktop Toolbar. Here's how to do it.

Right click in a blank space on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen to reveal this menu. Select Desktop to turn on this useful tool.

Now the word Desktop will appear on the bottom toolbar.
Click on the double arrow to reveal the menu, roll up to My documents or My Computer to see all the directories, folders and files on your computer. Simply move your mouse to the left to reveal files inside folders without having to click open folder after folder.

Stuck with IE? - customise the toolbars

Tip of the day - 3

IE toolbars - 1

Stuck with Internet Explorer as your browser at work? Make its toolbars work for you.
Right click in the blank grey space below the web address (URL) or Choose View - Toolbars

Make sure Lock the Toolbars is turned off i.e. it does not have a tick next to it.
Now you can drag the favicon for any site (the little symbol at the beginning of the URL) on to your toolbar for quick access. Left click and drag to the “grey space.”

Help desk could be useful!

The shortcut to your library is indispensable of course!

Right click on any favicon you now have on your toolbar and rename it to suit your needs.
Now you have instant access to oft visited sites without cluttering your desktop, trawling through your Favorites folders or finding them in your online bookmarks.

Here’s a section of my Toolbar