Search the Internet
It's one thing to know how to navigate the Web, but finding the information you
need is another matter entirely. A ton of info is available, but without the
right search tools and techniques, it's easy to get lost. Internet Explorer
tries to plow through the sea of Internet information with several built-in
features and functions. (For more Web search tips, check out CNET's "Ultimate
Guide to Search.")
Use IE's Search Assistant
One of IE 5's handiest and most effective tools, the Search Assistant, helps
locate sites, places, and people on the Web by accessing several different
search engines, including:
Yahoo, AltaVista, Go.com. To display the Search Assistant, click the Search
button in the toolbar. A new pane opens on the left side of your browser window.
Pick the kind of search you want to perform, either for a Web page, an address,
a business, a map, or results from one of your previous searches. Enter the text
you want to find, then click Search. By default, IE 5 uses Go.com to run Web
site searches. To run the search using a different search engine, click the Next
button in the Search Assistant pane, and a drop-down menu displays the services
you can choose from.
Fine-Tune Your Searches
It's also possible to fine-tune the Search Assistant. Click the Search button on
the toolbar and select Customize. Now you can specify which types of searches
you want to appear in the Search Assistant window and which sites the assistant
will use for those searches.
Type Keywords Into the URL Box
In addition to the handy Search Assistant, IE 5 also lets you type search terms
directly into the URL address field. So rather than typing, say, www.macys.com
into the URL field, just type macys directly into the URL box, and IE
will automatically perform an MSN search of the Web.
Find Related Links
If you're interested in a site you're currently viewing and would like to check
out similar sites, select the Show Related Links from the Tools menu. IE uses
the interest-matching service Alexa to
search for Web pages on similar topics, then displays them in the browser's
normal Search window.
Search Your History
Suppose you need to find some information you recently saw on a Web site, but
you can't remember where or when you saw it. Provided you haven't erased your
History in a while, IE will search your previously visited sites for keywords.
Just click the History button, select Search from within the Explorer bar, and
hunt away.
Sift Through Long Pages
Say you've performed a Web search for a specific word or phrase, but the
resulting page of links is so long that you can't find the site you need. Just
search for keywords on the currently open page. Choose the Edit menu option and
select Find (on This Page) or hit Ctrl-F. Enter the word you're looking for into
resulting the dialog box and hit Enter. As with other Windows-type searches, you
can limit your search by clicking the Match Whole Word Only or Match Case boxes.
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