How to Customize the Internet Explorer Toolbar

Toolbars can be a helpful, convenient part of your Internet browsing experience. They can also be unwieldy and bothersome, taking up valuable space on your monitor. They may be full of icons you never use and even icons you can't identify. In a lot of cases, the only thing you can do with a troublesome toolbar is to remove it from your computer. However, this may not be a practical option if the toolbar has even one or two icons you use regularly. Internet Explorer has devised a way to deal with the toolbar problem by allowing you to customize its toolbar. You can drop, add and move the icons in the Internet Explorer toolbar as you choose, making it into something you can actually use and enjoy.

Things You'll Need

• Hook-up to the Internet
• Computer
• Internet Explorer Version 7

Instructions

Makeover Your Toolbar to Suit You

1. Open up Internet Explorer on the desktop of your computer. If it isn't already installed, visit the Microsoft Web site to download the latest version (see Resources below).

2. Use your mouse to right-click on the Internet Explorer toolbar.

3. Click 'Customize.'

4. Utilize the list on the left to find toolbar buttons you wish to add to your toolbar. Click on a button you want to add, then click 'Add.'

5. Get rid of unwanted toolbar buttons by going to the list on the right. Click on a button you want to take off of your toolbar, then click 'Remove.'

6. Move your toolbar buttons around by clicking on 'Move Up' and 'Move Down.' This will allow you to place your toolbar buttons where you want them in the toolbar.

7. Change the font size in your toolbar by clicking on 'Icon Options,' then choosing 'Small Icons' or 'Large Icons.'

8. Give labels to your toolbar buttons, move them or take them away. Click 'Text Options,' then use the drop-down menu to select whether you want your toolbar buttons to have text labels, where you want those labels placed or decide to have no labels for your buttons at all.

9. Click on 'Close' when you are done making all of your changes.

Tips & Warnings

• Get more help with how to customize the Internet Explorer Toolbar by going to the Internet Explorer FAQs page (see Resources below).

• Internet Explorer 7 will run on computers using Windows XP, Vista or Server 2003 with a 233MHz processor or higher.

• Internet Explorer does not come with anti-virus software. Since viruses are rampant online and you want to protect your computer, purchasing software to detect and eliminate them is a smart thing to do.

• Customizing your toolbar, as described by this guide, is done using Internet Explorer version 7. If you are running a prior version, you may need to upgrade your browser.