Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Using Tabs

Tabbed browsing lets you view multiple Web pages at one time within a single Internet Explorer window. Tabs appear under the menu bar. When you use multiple tabs, each tab shows the title of the page that's currently open in that tab. To open a new tab and display a page in it, click the empty tab to the right of the open tabs, or press Ctrl+T. Then enter the URL of the page you want to visit in the address bar.

Note If tabs aren't available in your Internet Explorer, see ''Personalizing tabbed browsing,'' later in this section.

You can switch from one tabbed page to the next just by clicking any tab. To switch from tab to tab using the keyboard, press Ctrl+Tab to go to the next tab. Press Shift+Ctrl+Tab to go to the previous tab.

You can also open tabs in the background. When you do, the new tab opens to display a page. But you're not taken directly to that page. You stay where you are so that you can open additional tabs from the current page. To open a tab in the background, do any of the following:

• Hold down the Ctrl key while you click any hyperlink.
• Right-click any hyperlink and choose Open in New Tab.
• If your mouse has a wheel, click the hyperlink with the mouse wheel.

The new page opens in a separate tab, but you'll see only the tab, not the page. When you're ready to view the page, just click its tab.

When you close Internet Explorer with multiple tabs open, you'll see a prompt asking whether you want to close all tabs. Click Close Current Tab if your intent was to close only one tab. Otherwise, click Close Alls Tabs to close all open tabs and Internet Explorer. To stop seeing that message, select the Always Close All Tabs check box.

Here are some other good things to know about tabs:

• To open a page in a new tab and bring it to the foreground, hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys when you click a hyperlink.
• To open a new page in the foreground from the address bar, type the URL in the address bar and press Alt+Enter.
• To close a tab, click it with your mouse wheel. Or click it and then click the Close (X) button on that tab or press Ctrl+W.
• To close all tabs except one, right-click the tab you want to keep and choose Close Other Tabs.

Tip You can also save tab groups as favorites. See ''Managing Favorite Sites,'' later in this tutorial.