Setting Commonly Used Features & Troubleshooting for the Top 3 Desktop Web Browsers - Part 1

Regardless of which web browser you use, understanding how to make certain changes and troubleshoot common issues can save time and energy.  Below are examples of some of the most commonly used features and issues with how-to information for three of the most common desktop web browsers, listed in alphabetical order.  For this blog, the versions of each browser are:  Chrome version 32, Firefox 27.0, and Internet Explorer 11.

Finding the Browser Version

1. Chrome - Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then select "About Google Chrome" from the pop-up menu.
2. Firefox - Click on the Firefox button in the upper left corner, hover over Help, then select "About Firefox" in the pop-out menu.
3. Internet Explorer - Click on the Settings iconthen select "About Internet Explorer" from the pop-out menu. 

Setting the Homepage(s)

1. Chrome - Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then select "Settings" from the pop-up menu.  Under the On startup heading, click the "Set Pages" link at the end of the bullet to "Open a specific page or set of pages".  Here you can view existing home page(s), add or remove pages.  Click OK when finished.
   


2. Firefox - Click on the Firefox button in the upper left corner, hover over Options, then select "Options" in the pop-out box.  In the Options dialog box, click the General tab.  Under the Startup heading, type in the home page you want or select "Use Current Page", then click OK to save.
3. Internet Explorer - Click on the Settings iconthen select "Internet Options" from the pop-out menu.  In the Options dialog box, click the General tab.  Under the Home Page heading, type in the home page(s) you want to use and click OK to save.

Creating a bookmark

1. Chrome - From the webpage you want to bookmark, click the star symbol in the URL bar at the top of the browser window.
2. Firefox - From the webpage you want to bookmark, click the star symbol in the URL bar at the top of the browser.
3. Internet Explorer - From the webpage you want to bookmark, click the star symbol in the upper right corner of the browser window, then click the Add to Favorites button.

Accessing Existing Bookmarks

1. Chrome - Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then select "Bookmarks" from the pop-up menu.  Click on the bookmark you want to visit.
2. Firefox - Click the star icon after the URL bar which will list all bookmarks. 
3. Internet Explorer - Click the star icon in the upper right corner next to the settings icon.  From the pop-out menu, click the bookmarked page you want to visit.

Deleting Browser History / Cache / Cookies

1. Chrome - Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then select "History" from the pop-up menu.  In the History pop-up, click the "Clear Browsing Data" button.  At the next pop-up, choose which settings to delete and click "Clear Browsing Data".                                                      
2. Firefox - Click on the Firefox buttonin the upper left corner, hover over Options, then select "Options" in the pop-out box.  In the Options dialog box, click the "Privacy" icon.  Under the History heading, click the "clear your recent history" link.  In the pop-up, select the time period to clear, verify options selected, then click the "Clear Now" button.  Note:  To clear only the recent history, click the Firefox button, hover over History, and click the "Clear Recent History" button.
   
3. Internet Explorer - Click on the Settings iconthen hover over Safety from the pop-out menu and select "Delete Browsing History".  Under the Browsing History tab, click the "Delete" button.  Check the box for each option you want to delete the history for, then click the "Delete" button at the bottom.
   
   
   

Setting the Default File Download Location

1. Chrome - Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then select "Settings" from the pop-up menu.  At the bottom of the Settings page, click the link to "Show Advanced Settings".  Under the Downloads heading, click the "Change" button.  Navigate to the default download folder you want, then click OK.
2. Firefox - Click on the Firefox buttonin the upper left corner, hover over Options, select "Options" in the pop-out box.  In the Options dialog box, click the General icon.  Under the Downloads heading, click the "Browse" button, navigate to the default download folder you want and click "Select Folder".  Click OK to save.
3. Internet Explorer - Click on the Settings iconthen select "View Downloads" from the pop-out menu.  In the View Downloads dialog box, click the "Options" link.  In the Downloads Options dialog box, click the "Browse" button and navigate to the default download folder you want, then click "Select Folder' to save.  Click OK, then Close to close the remaining open dialog boxes.
   

Setting the Default Browser

1. Chrome - Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then select "Settings" from the pop-up menu.  In the Settings menu, click the "Make Google Chrome my default browser" button.
2. Firefox - Click on the Firefox button in the upper left corner, hover over Options, then select "Options" in the pop-out box.  In the Options dialog box, click the "Advanced" tab.  In the Advanced tab, under the System Defaults heading, click the "Make Firefox the default browser" button and click OK.
3. Internet Explorer - Click on the Settings iconthen select "Internet Options" from the pop-out menu.  In the Options dialog box, click the "Programs" tab.  Under the Default web browser heading, click the "Make Default" button, click OK to save.

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