Using AutoComplete

Internet Explorer remembers URLs you've typed in the past. When the URL you're typing matches ones you've typed in the past, a history menu will drop down, showing those previous URLs. For example, you can select (drag the mouse pointer through) all the text after the http://www. to select it. Start typing the replacement text, and the drop-down menu will show previously visited pages that start with the same letters.

Tip The drop-down list in IE8 includes your browsing history and favorites, so you can get to these sites quickly and easily. To clear out or disable the drop-down list, see ''Deleting the Browser History,'' later in this tutorial.

Using hyperlinks

When you're at a Web site, you may not have to do much more typing of URLs. After you're at a page, you can click any hyperlink (also called a link) to go to whatever page the link represents. A hyperlink can be text, a picture, or a button. A text hyperlink is usually blue, underlined text. However, if you've already visited the page that a text hyperlink points to, the hyperlink is purple.

A picture hyperlink might not look like anything special. But you can tell whether a picture is a hyperlink by putting the mouse pointer on it. If the mouse pointer changes to a small, pointing hand, you can click the picture to go to the page or item that's linked to the picture.