Technology tip: Home Page Tabs

Geoff Rasmussen

28 Jan 2010

The first thing I do in the morning (after taking my new puppy outside) is spend a few minutes in front of the computer. After checking my email I have a short list of websites that I like to view (national news, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, local news, and weather).

In the past I've either typed in these web site addresses or used my Favorites links to view each page. Now I use Internet Explorer's Home Page Tabs. So, when I launch Internet Explorer (and I'm sure the Firefox and Chrome browsers would so the same thing), each of these web pages is automatically loaded on separate tabs – and I don't have to type a thing or click on any bookmarks. When I'm done with one of the sites, I just close the tab and view the next site.

Here's how…

1) After loading one of the web pages you want to view in Internet Explorer, click on the small arrow just to the right of the Home button in the Command Bar. Then click on "Add or Change Home Page".

2) Select "Add this webpage to your home page tabs" and click Yes:

Now, navigate to the next web site that you frequently visit and follow steps 1 and 2 again.

Do this for each web page that you want to view in the morning. I'd suggest adding www.legacynews.typepad.com, but I'm a bit biased towards this site….

Now, either close and reopen Internet Explorer, or just click on the Home button in the Command Bar. Did you see what happened? Each of these websites automatically loaded into its own tab:

Pretty neat, isn't it?

If this is new to you, give it a try and let me know how it went.

Comments (2)

I agree with Mark – Opera has had this feature for some time and is far superior. Opera provides 9 “Speed Dial” links whenever you open a new tab, click on one and you’re in. It doesn’t pre-load the pages like IE, which is great for those of us with slower connections, and the linked pages can be changed with a few clicks.

Great ability for a browser even though Microsoft was probably the last to the party with that capability. With IE 8, you are limited to eight tabs which may be sufficient for most users.
Opera’s browser, http://www.opera.com, probably has a limitation, but it is way beyond eight and suits my needs better. I had a slight learning curve with Opera, but now use it almost exclusively. Some hyperlinks need to open in IE, and Windows Update obviously functions solely within IE. After spending time with Opera and learning more of its capabilities, I rank it far superior to IE and it is far more secure.

MH
Mike Hurburgh

15 years ago

I agree with Mark – Opera has had this feature for some time and is far superior. Opera provides 9 “Speed Dial” links whenever you open a new tab, click on one and you’re in. It doesn’t pre-load the pages like IE, which is great for those of us with slower connections, and the linked pages can be changed with a few clicks.
MT
Mark Trevithick

15 years ago

Great ability for a browser even though Microsoft was probably the last to the party with that capability. With IE 8, you are limited to eight tabs which may be sufficient for most users.
Opera’s browser, http://www.opera.com, probably has a limitation, but it is way beyond eight and suits my needs better. I had a slight learning curve with Opera, but now use it almost exclusively. Some hyperlinks need to open in IE, and Windows Update obviously functions solely within IE. After spending time with Opera and learning more of its capabilities, I rank it far superior to IE and it is far more secure.