Internet Browsers

This article tells how to set the default homepage in the three major web browsers as well as some practical tips on opening web pages and using keyboard shortcuts.

Web Browser Tips

Setting Your Homepage

Your homepage is the page that your browser opens by default each time you launch it. When you install a browser it defaults to a webpage selected by the browser's publisher, because everyone wants your eyeballs on their ads.

However, your homepage can be any web page on any Internet website, or even a local html page on your computer that you created yourself containing links to your favorite Internet destinations.

There are several ways to set a browser's homepage, but the straightforward, simple method, which is supported by all browsers, is to open the page you want and then tell the browser to use that page as the homepage. Here's how in detail:

Google Chrome

  1. Display the page you want to become the homepage
  2. Click the "Customize and Configure Chrome" tool to the right of the address bar
  3. Click on "Settings"
  4. In Settings, find the "On start-up" section
  5. In "On start-up", click in the radio button that says "Open a specific page or set of pages."
  6. Click "Set Pages"
  7. In the dialog box that appears, click on "Use current pages"
  8. Close "Settings"

Firefox

  1. Display the page you want to become the homepage
  2. Open the Firefox menu at top left of program window
  3. Click on "Options"
  4. Click on "General"
  5. In the "Startup" panel click on "Use current pages"
  6. Click OK

Internet Exploder

  1. Display the page you want to become the homepage
  2. Click "Tools" on the menu bar
  3. On the Tools menu, click "Internet Options"
  4. Click on the "General" tab
  5. In the "Home Page" section, click on "Use Current"
  6. Click OK

Opening Links in New Windows/Tabs

Try this: instead of left-clicking on links, right-click them and then click on "Open in New Window" or "Open in New Tab" in the shortcut menu.

There are a several advantages to this method:

  • When linking from a search engine results page, the results remain open for your convenient return.

  • You can open and queue up as many links as you want simultaneously.

  • Opening pages in separate windows or tabs lets you begin reading pages right away while others load in the background, saving time and frustration - especially on a slow Internet connection.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts in Your Browser

In browsers, just as in nearly all applications, the efficiency king is the keyboard - keyboard shortcuts are way easier and faster than mousing.



Bruce Miller, 2006, 2014