The Standard Buttons toolbar should contain the icons and buttons you use most often. To see what icons are available to you by default, hover the mouse over the icon. If you see an icon that you don’t use much, you can remove it; for instance, if you don’t have a printer installed, there’s no need for the Print icon! Conversely, if you feel that the toolbar is lacking somehow, you have the option of adding icons. There are a variety of icons that can be added to your toolbar, and we’ll look at those here.

To customize which icons (or text) are showing on the toolbar, right-click an empty area of it and choose Customize. The Customize Toolbar dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 11-2. The list on the left shows the available toolbar buttons, and the list on the right shows the current toolbar buttons. You can highlight any button in either list to add or remove it. For instance, to delete the Print icon, click the icon to highlight it, and then click Remove. When you’re done making your selections, click Close. If you decide later that you’d like to add the icon back to your toolbar, you’d do the same thing, except click Add.

Figure 11-2. You can customize the Standard Buttons toolbar by right-clicking it and choosing Customize.

If you’d like to organize your icons into groups, the separators come in handy for that. Separators are lines that can be added to the toolbar to separate groups of icons. To add a separator, click Separator in the Available Toolbar Buttons list, click Add, and in the Current Toolbar Buttons list, click and drag the new separator to the desired position. The new separator will appear on the toolbar immediately. You can continue to move separators and existing icons up or down in the list until you get the desired effect. It takes a little while to figure out what works best for you, but once you find that right combination, you’ll be one efficient Web surfer.

Here are some of the available icons and reasons you might or might not want to remove them:

Do the default screen colors and colors on Web pages you visit just not move you? Do you find that the colors for the links you’ve visited don’t stand out enough? What about the color for the Web page’s background? You can change these and more quite easily. For instance, I changed the colors on my dad’s computer because he has a hard time telling the difference between reds and greens, and blues and yellows. I changed the default colors to ones more suited to his visible color range. This might be something you haven’t considered before, and you might want to run over to your mom’s house and change the colors to something brighter if she has problems viewing the pages. While enlarging the text seems like an obvious option for viewing problems, bigger isn’t always the way to go.

To change the default colors you see on Web pages, follow these steps:

The least-used option available in IE6 on my computer is the Explorer bar, and every time I use it I wonder why I don’t use it more often. You’ll probably think the same thing once you discover it! Customizing the Explorer bar might be just the ticket for spicing up your Internet explorations, and it might end up being the ultimate personalization for your needs.

To select one of the Explorer bars available to you, click View, point to Explorer Bar, and click one of these options:

Depending on what programs you have installed, you might have several other options on your list; I’ve only shown the default ones. Figure 11-5 shows what the interface looks like with Favorites chosen as an Explorer bar, and how it is displayed on the screen. The Links folder is expanded to show a link inside the folder.

Figure 11-5. The Explorer bars are accessed from the View menu, and in this figure the Favorites Explorer bar is showing.

If the size of the Explorer bar is too big or small for your needs, you can resize it. Just position the mouse over the separator, and when the mouse pointer turns into a two-headed arrow, drag it to the appropriate size. (This trick also comes in handy for resizing the toolbars or for combining or expanding them.) Figure 11-6 shows a resized Search bar.

Figure 11-6. The Explorer bar can be resized and can contain various types of information.

There are many reasons to change the size of the text on your screen. Personally, I don’t need to enlarge the text size because I’m old, mind you; it’s just that my monitor is located a little too far away from where I sit (yeah, that’s it).

If you’re having problems viewing the small text on Web pages, you can increase or decrease the text size easily. To increase the text size, click View, point to Text Size, and then click the size you want. This menu is shown in Figure 11-7.

Figure 11-7. Changing the text size is easy, but sometimes the Largest text size isn’t large enough.

Unfortunately, the Largest setting is sometimes not large enough, and many Web pages don’t change very much when the Text Size settings are adjusted (some don’t change at all). Take a look at Figure 11-7. Text Size is set to Largest, but you can tell from looking at the screen shot that your grandfather would probably need his glasses to read it.

If you want to use the Largest text size no matter what Web page you’re visiting, and thus make the text large enough for even your great-grandmother to read, do this:

If you have a favorite font or fonts, you can tell IE6 to use your favorite font when you visit Web pages. The fonts you select are displayed on Web pages and documents that do not have a specified text font. As with text size, if you want your font to be used no matter what, you’ll have to specify it in the Accessibility dialog box, as described here:

Figure 11-10 shows a drastic change in color, font style, and text size. Making drastic changes can make the computer look and seem friendlier to those who are new to the Internet, like children and seniors. Changing the colors on computers in kiosks and public areas can also be a good way to bring attention to yourself and your business. The possibilities are endless, so have fun and personalize to your heart’s content!

Figure 11-10. You can change the text size, color, and style drastically, and even override a Web page’s default settings.

The content in the Today section changes daily, offering music videos, movie previews, and additional audio and video. You never know—you just might decide to see a movie tonight after viewing the preview! Besides movies, there’s a choice for More Audio And Video, which connects you to current events, news, editor’s picks for music, videos, and music, radio stations, and more. I particularly like the Current Events section where I can view videos and hear the latest news and current events. Figure 11-13 shows the Web site where news, video, and media content can be accessed and viewed.

Figure 11-13. At WindowsMedia.com, you can view more than music and video.

In addition to videos, you can also download music instantly. In the Media bar, expand Music, and choose a music download from the Music Downloads list, or choose More Great Music. You’ll have to pay for some music, and if that’s the case, follow the instructions for signing up, and have a credit card ready. If you just want to listen to music, browse through the More Great Music options, click the song you want to hear, and wait for it to play. You might even get a video as a bonus!

Have you ever wanted to see a film’s trailer before seeing it in a theater? What about viewing a clip or two to decide whether it’s too violent, too sophomoric, or too dark? You can!

Viewing movie clips is easy; just click Movies in the Media bar and the Movies section expands, offering you additional links. There are links to the latest movies, coming attractions, and finding more movies. Both the Media bar and the WindowsMedia.com window offer options to view movie clips. Most of the time the clip will show in the media player of the Media bar. However, on some occasions, you’ll have to access it from another site, deal with pop-up windows, or sit through a short commercial before viewing the video.

You can listen to Internet radio from the Media bar and IE6, too. Imagine being able to listen to any radio station any time you want, from any computer with an Internet connection and IE6. When your grandparents come to town you can wow them with a radio station from the "old country," or you can listen to a station in another country to help you learn a new language or to hear the news from a different point of view.

To listen to Internet radio, follow these steps:

You might have figured out by now that you can change the size of the Media bar by dragging from the separator bar. What you might not know is that you can also change the Media Options and undock the media player too. You can also view the content in full screen mode, although there might be some distortion at that size, and you can open any clip in Windows Media Player.

There are three Media Options: More Media, Radio Guide, and Settings. You already know that More Media and Radio Guide bring you more music, video, and radio selections, but what about the settings? Here’s what the settings are and what they mean:

By default, the media player in the Media bar is docked at the bottom of the pane. However, you can undock the player by clicking the icon above the volume slider. This Undock button allows you to place the media player anywhere on the screen, resize it, move it by dragging, and even maximize the media player window. Clicking the × returns the player to its docked position.

Consider moving the player to the upper-right corner of the interface so that you can see more of the Media bar content, or resize it to get a better view of the clip that’s playing. You can always restore the player to its original location by pressing the Esc key, and the Media bar can be closed by clicking the Media button on the toolbar or by clicking the × in the upper-right corner of the pane.

You can create almost any type of page using MSN’s easy-to-use options. Here’s an easy way to start personalizing:

Consider these home page options:

Remember, to change the default colors and fonts and to further personalize your IE interface, you’ll have to override the default Web settings. If you do this, remember to enable the Accessibility options on the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, as detailed earlier. You can also change the look and feel of the toolbars, and add an Explorer bar.

Once you’ve created a My MSN page, you can make it your default home page easily. By setting it as the default, each time you open IE6, this page will open first. Of course, you can set any page as your home page in the same manner.

To configure your newly created home page as your default home page, follow these steps:

If there’s no need to see the graphics when loading a Web page, turn them off and your pages will load much faster. You might not need sound or want to play videos in Web pages, which is usually the case at work. You can speed up your access to Web pages by disabling all of these features.

Here’s how to configure your computer to work faster and smarter while you’re on the job:

The AutoComplete feature saves previous entries that you’ve entered for Web addresses, forms, and passwords, and suggests them when you are filling in information that matches what it has in its cache. The matches make typing information much faster and are another way to make working with IE6 and the Internet more efficient. If what AutoComplete suggests is correct, use the arrow keys to select it, and press Enter. Figure 11-17 shows an example.

Figure 11-17. AutoComplete tries to guess what you might want to type by offering previously used words and searches.

If you share a computer with others or others have access to your computer, you might want to turn AutoComplete off. While AutoComplete does offer user names, addresses, and phone numbers, more private information like credit card numbers and passwords are shown cryptically. This makes it fairly secure, but if you want to keep your browsing and searches private, or you don’t want people logging on as you to a particular Web site, you won’t want this turned on.

To turn AutoComplete on or off, follow these steps:

SAVE TIME WITH THE PROFILE ASSISTANT

If you want to shop online, order prints of your digital pictures, register at Web sites, or ask for (or expect) personalized treatment on the Web, you’re going to have to give out information about yourself and cookies just don’t cut it. With IE6’s Profile Assistant you can give out your information safely and efficiently.

The Profile Assistant saves you from having to enter your personal information each time you visit a new Web site that asks for it. The information is safely stored on your computer, and only you can give it out. The Profile Assistant will also give you information about the site that’s asking for your information, including their Web address, what information is requested, how it will be used, and whether or not the site is considered a "safe" site. The information can even be encrypted as it is sent.

To set up the Profile Assistant, follow these steps:

1. In IE6, click Tools, click Internet Options, and click the Content tab.

2. Click My Profile.

3. If your profile doesn’t come up automatically, click Create A New Entry In The Address Book To Represent Your Profile, and click OK.

4. Fill out the required information and click OK twice to apply it. Now, anytime you need to fill out a form and the Web site requests information, you can use this data.

Here’s what your profile might look like.

When you choose to clear entries in AutoComplete, all entries are deleted. You cannot pick and choose which entries you want to delete. The same is true of Web addresses, forms, user names, and passwords.

You might not have any cookies in the cupboard, but you’ve got them on your computer! Cookies are little bits of information that tell Web sites who you are, what your preferences are, and how the Web site can contact you. In almost all cases, cookies are good things, and they make surfing the Internet more pleasurable and personal. For instance, when I go to Amazon.com, the Web page automatically shows me what it thinks I’d like to see, which includes technical books as well as calendars, and when I visit Microsoft’s support page it automatically knows I use Windows XP, and what my last search was.

There’ll be much more on cookies later in the "More About Cookies" section when I discuss security and privacy. For now, you should verify that cookies are enabled on your computer.

Here’s how to make sure you’ve got some cookies in the cookie jar:

To create more space for the Temporary Internet Files folder, follow these steps:

If you think you’re not getting the most up-to-date version of a Web page, if you’re having problems viewing a Web page you’ve visited before, if your network administrator has instructed you to delete temporary files, if you think the computer is sluggish, or if you simply have an unidentified problem, you should clean out the Temporary Internet Files folder. You should do this occasionally anyway, perhaps once a week, and then follow it up with an analysis of the hard disk using Disk Defragmenter. If it needs it, defrag it.

To remove the temporary files that have been stored on your computer, follow these steps:

There’s a second way to clean up your Temporary Internet Files folder, and using this technique you can also clean up other areas of your hard disk like your Recycle Bin, Offline Files, other temporary files on the computer.

To clean up temporary files, the Recycle Bin, and other areas of the hard disk, follow these steps:

YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY

After you’ve worked hard all day, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, policeman, teacher, firefighter, corporate CEO, or Wall Street trader, you need and deserve a break from reality. A 30-minute rest period isn’t too much to ask of your kids or your boss; in fact, I totally recommend it! To help you out in this regard and to get you started on the road to a better life and saner existence, Microsoft offers a Web site just for gaming. You don’t have to be a pro either; in fact, you don’t have to know anything at all about gaming, and you don’t even have to own a joystick. That’s right—just log on, choose your game, and take a break.

Take a reality break with MSN games.

The first time you visit this site, you’ll need to sign up. That really just involves signing in with your passport, choosing a nickname, and downloading the required software. You only have to do this once; from then on you’re home free! Here’s the basic setup:

1. At http://zone.msn.com/default/aspx, either select a game from any of the lists offered or click All Games or All Free Games to see a list of every single game available. There are also choices for kids’ games, board games, and casino games, just to name a few. Once you’ve chosen a game and clicked the link, you’ll be directed to the playing area where you might see information on how to play, and tips and strategies. You might also have to choose a room, which connects you to players who are of the same skill level as you are.

2. Sign in with your passport. Doing so gets you access to over a hundred online games, allows you to chat with your opponents while playing, puts you in the running for prizes, and more.

3. At the prompt to install and run the required software, click Yes to continue.

4. Once the download is complete (it took about three seconds on my 56 K modem), click Continue.

5. As you play new games for the first time, you might be prompted to install additional files. This only has to be done once, so click Install if prompted. If prompted, read and agree to the terms of agreement.

6. Once the files are installed, you can choose to put a shortcut to the Gaming Zone on the desktop, reconfigure privacy settings, add friends, and more. Close or minimize the ZoneFriends dialog box to continue.

7. Click Return Me To My Game to start playing. From here on out, you’ll simply be connected to the game, and the previous steps won’t be necessary.

8. Repeat step 1 to select a game. You’ll be prompted on how to proceed. In the graphic to the right, I’m ready to play a game of Chess in the Park Bench room. I "sat down" at table 5, and I’m logged on as Joli7228. I’m ready to chat and play!

   

   Playing chess for fun!

The problem with cookies is that some of them are not created and used on the up and up. Some sites use cookies that offer your personal information to others without your consent. This is a clear violation of your privacy. The only real way to take control of the cookies placed on your computer is to configure the privacy settings so that you’re prompted before any cookie is placed on your machine. While this might take a few extra seconds when visiting a Web page, it allows you to decide whether you trust the Web site or not, and whether you do want a cookie from them or you don’t. If you don’t, you can decline to have a cookie placed on your machine. You might want to do this if you visit less-than-reputable sites.

There are two types of cookies—first party and third party. First-party cookies are from the Web site you are visiting; third-party cookies are from the Web site’s advertisers or content providers. The default IE6 settings allow first-party cookies to be placed on your computer while restricting third-party ones, but you can change that setting on the Privacy tab of the Internet Options dialog box.

If you want to change the default cookie settings, follow these steps: