How to Add Domain Types to Autoscan List in Internet Explorer

ID: Q182291

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01 for Windows 95
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01 for Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows 95
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows NT 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to add domain types to the list of domains Internet Explorer searches when the Autoscan Common Root Domains option is enabled.

NOTE: The Autoscan Common Root Domains option is enabled by default.

MORE INFORMATION

When the Autoscan Common Root Domains option is enabled, you can type only the domain root in the Address box and Internet Explorer attempts to locate the correct Web site by searching different domain types. For example, if you type "microsoft" in the Address box, Internet Explorer searches the domain types in the Autoscan list until a domain name match is found (in this case, www.microsoft.com).

By default, Internet Explorer searches the following domain types when the Autoscan Common Root Domains option is enabled:

.com
.org
.edu

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To add a domain type to the Autoscan search list, add the string value "<n>" with a value of "%s.<domain>" and a string value "<n>" with a value of "www.%s.<domain>" (without quotation marks), where <n> is the next available number and <domain> is the domain type, under the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/ 
      Url Template

For example, if you want to add the .gov domain type and there are already 7 domain types listed, add a string value "8" with a value of "%s.gov" and a string value "9" with a value of "www.%s.gov" (without quotation marks).

NOTE: The order in which Internet Explorer searches domains is based on the string value. For example, the domain type associated with string value 1 is searched before the domain type associated with string value 2.

REFERENCES

For additional information about how to use the Autoscan feature in Internet Explorer, click Contents And Index on the Help menu in Internet Explorer, click the Index tab, type "autoscan" (without quotation marks), and then double-click the "Autoscan Common Root Domains" topic.

Additional query words: 4.00 4.01 5.00

Keywords          : kbenv msiew95 msient msiew98 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,4.01
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: March 18, 1999