Internet Explorer: Clear your drop down address bar
Is your drop down address bar full of old addresses that you will never use again? Mine isn’t, because I have fixed that problem by getting rid of them. Want to know how? Then keep reading.
Warning: This tip involves entering the registry. If at any point you get confused or are not completely sure what I mean, STOP , and re-read the steps to make sure you are doing this exactly right. If followed correctly these procedures are completely safe. I would also not recommend messing around in the registry unless you know what you are doing.
First click the Start button. Then click on Run . Enter ” regedit ” (no quotes), and click OK . This will bring up the registry editor.
Under the My Computer directory open the HKEY_CURRENT-USER directory by double clicking it. Next open the Software directory in the same way. Under the Software directory open the Microsoft directory. Under Microsoft open the Internet Explorer directory. Under the Internet Explorer directory, open the TypedURLs directory.
Now the section on the right will be filled with a bunch of text that at first may seem rather meaningless, and the address below will be displayed at the bottom of the Window:
” My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs ”
If this is the case you are in the right place. If not, go back and make sure you have followed the steps correctly.
All the entries in the right are actually just a list of all the address you have entered. You can now click on any entry and press delete to get rid of it. For each one you delete you must confirm that you want to delete it by clicking yes in the box that appears. If it is easier for you, you can delete multiple entries at once by selecting them using either a box or the control key.
When you are finished simply close the registry editor window. (Unless you want to see something else you can do in the registry which is explained below) All those useless URLs are gone! Whenever that address bar gets full again, just do the same thing.
Since we are here in the registry let’s change the message in the title bar of Internet Explorer. Just go back to the Main directory under the Internet Explorer directory. Now there is some more stuff in that right window. Scroll to the bottom and look for an entry entitled ” window title ” double click it to change its value.
Enter the text you want to be displayed in the title bar, and click OK . Now you can close the registry editor. If there was no entry named ” window title ” you can make one. Click on Edit , go to new , and click on ” String Value .” Name it window title and set the value as indicated above.
Now open Internet Explorer and you can see your text in the title bar, and all those old addresses are gone!
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Tags: address_bar, Internet, quotes, regedit, registry_editor, Software, start button, Windows, windows vista, windows xp
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Browser War (Round 2) | Ask Rea Maor (dot) Com - Technology and Money Making at its best on 19 Nov 2007 at 8:07 pm #
s no way to do this already? I know in Firefox you just highlight the item you want to use and hit “shift-delete” – the same way you clear old search entries, too, and from any text box with a drop-down list of past entries, for that matter. It ispossible in IE7, but involves some finagling with the registry. So I guess they mean have it like Firefox does it. “Desktop icon arrangement – allow me to save.” – Don’t you hate it when you get your icons sorted the way you want them, and somebody else
mo on 09 Jul 2007 at 5:41 pm #
hi i tried that but the sites are still in address bar
sage on 24 Aug 2007 at 8:19 am #
I have done the all things described above and still have sites on my drop down list. MSN, and other automatically pop up on the drop down list when begining to type m, etc.
Anyone have a solution to this? Done the internet options, clear history, passwords, etc.
StumbleUpon » Your page is now on StumbleUpon! on 30 Sep 2007 at 3:07 am #
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How to remove addresses from the toolbar that remain after clearing history? on 23 Dec 2007 at 5:57 am #
[...] bar, does the URL appear in the dropdown list? If so you will need to delete it from your registry: http://www.pctipsbox.com/internet-explor... There a tools you can download that will do this for you. Just search for "clear address [...]
The Windows 7 Wishlist - I Wish It Were Linux « Biguncledave’s Weblog on 06 Apr 2008 at 3:57 pm #
[...] entries, too, and from any text box with a drop-down list of past entries, for that matter. It is possible in IE7, but involves some finagling with the registry. So I guess they mean have it like Firefox does [...]
Private on 25 Nov 2008 at 11:13 am #
It amazes me how much insipid, nonsensical work you PC/Windows users have to go thru in order to get things done.
I have an easier solution for every entry on your website.
For every question – simply respond, “Go buy a Mac!”
Have a nice day.
Oh, and “I am DEFINITELY NOT a PC!”
Tom on 26 Jan 2009 at 1:39 pm #
Try closing your browser before you delete and close the regedit window. Mine stayed in the box originally, but after I closed IE then deleted the registry values they went away.