Even the most popular programs have features that people seldom use. It's not because the features aren't helpful or complex. Instead, it's usually because people haven't discovered them. One example is people who retype web addresses or navigate through their Favorites list for frequently used sites in Internet Explorer rather than using the Links toolbar. (Includes additional flash tutorial.)

We find the Links toolbar to be the most underutilized feature of Internet Explorer. When you first look at the Links toolbar, it's a bit unassuming. On many systems, the toolbar is scrunched to the right and people don't see the contents. Many people told us they dismissed it as they concluded it was a branding toolbar for Microsoft as it only contains links to their properties. However, the Links toolbar can help you quickly access websites and programs you choose.

Benefits of the Links Toolbar

We use the toolbar as a quick access to sites we frequent regularly. We also have different items based on which machine we're using. These links might include sites for web mail, weather, alternate search engines and our own site. Apart from adding websites, you can also add links for programs or folders. This feature is handy when you display the Links toolbar in your Windows taskbar.

To display and resize the Links toolbar,

1. From the View menu, select Toolbars

2. Make sure the Links toolbar is checked

3. Make sure the Lock the Toolbars menu is unchecked.

4. Using your mouse, left-click and either resize the toolbar or drag it down so it displays under the address bar. We prefer this method as it offers more room for links.

5. You can right-click on a link name and select Delete if you don't want a default link.

Now that you have the Links toolbar visible, you can start adding websites or programs to it.

To add a website to your Links toolbar,

1. Navigate to the site you would like to add.

2. Left-click with your mouse and drag the web page icon onto the Links toolbar.

3. Internet Explorer will add the link with the page name. You can rename a link by right clicking the link name and selecting Rename from the menu.

4. Repeat the process for each page you'd like to add.

You can also add programs or folders in a similar fashion. As example, I added CuteFTP by left clicking and dragging the icon on my Windows Start menu up to the Links toolbar.

Additional Resources

• 3 Minute Links Toolbar tutorial