Tips for Internet Explorer 8

In a previous issue of TechTips (Latest Browser Use – March 11, 2010), we recommended upgrading your browsers for better security, performance, and compatibility.

Once you upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), use the following keyboard shortcut tips to quickly perform some useful actions.

Select text with the keyboard: 

In older versions of IE, it was often difficult or impossible to select the exact text you wanted to copy into an e-mail or document.

IE8 finally solves this problem using Caret Browsing, which allows you to select text by moving the arrow keys.

Just press F7, or Page|Caret Browsing, and use the arrow keys or other navigation to find the place in the text where you want to start copying; hold down the Shift key and use the arrows or other navigation keys to extend the selection.

View sites as they are intended to appear:

Many Web developers designed their sites to display correctly in Internet Explorer, using IE’s older proprietary layout methods. In IE8, these sites typically display with some layout errors.

You can make those sites appear as their designers intended by using Page|Compatibility View. You can also click on the “broken page” icon that displays at the end of the address bar to evoke compatibility view.

Add accelerators: 

When you select anything on a Web page, IE8’s new accelerator feature displays a double-arrow icon next to the selection. If you click on this icon, IE pops up a list of “accelerators” – tiny bits of code that perform operations on the selected text, such as translating it in Google Translate, displaying a map of a place, or any of dozens of other functions.

IE8 comes with some Microsoft-centric accelerators by default, but you’ll probably want to install third-party versions as replacements or additions. To add accelerators, use Tools|Manage Add-Ons; click on Accelerators, then Find More Accelerators.