How to Use the Explorer Bar in Internet Explorer

ID: Q171232

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

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use the Explorer bar in Internet Explorer. The following topics are discussed:

Enabling and disabling the Explorer bar
Using the Explorer bar
Resizing the Explorer bar

MORE INFORMATION

The following Explorer bars are available in Internet Explorer:

Search bar
Favorites bar
History bar
Channels bar

Enabling and Disabling the Explorer Bar

To enable the Explorer bar, point to Explorer Bar on the View menu, and then click the specific Explorer bar you want to display.

To disable the Explorer bar, point to Explorer Bar on the View menu, and then click None.

Using the Explorer Bar

When you enable the Explorer bar, a left pane and right pane are displayed in the Internet Explorer window. If you select the Favorites, History, or Channel bar, the contents of your Favorites, History, or Channels folder are displayed in the left pane. If you click an object in the left pane, the object is displayed in the right pane.

If you select the Search item, Internet Explorer opens the following Web site in the left pane:

   http://home.microsoft.com/search/search.asp

NOTE: This Active Server Pages file loads a random search engine that changes each time you start Internet Explorer. If you do not want to use the random search engine to perform your search, click a search engine in the Select Provider box. This will be used as your default search engine when you open the Search bar. You must be connected to the Internet the first time you select Search.

If you conduct a search, the results of the search are displayed in the left pane. If you then click an item in the left pane, the Web page associated with the item is displayed in the right pane.

Resizing Explorer Bars

To resize the Explorer bar, drag the border between the left and right panes to the left or right until the Explorer bar is the size you want.

Additional query words: 4.00 5.00

Keywords          : kbtool msiew95 msient win98 msiew98 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,4.01,5.0,98
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: March 18, 1999