Get started with Internet Explorer 11 Preview

[This information is preliminary and subject to change.]

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How do I download Internet Explorer 11 Preview?

Internet Explorer 11 Preview is a feature of Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview, so it's included in your upgrade. To open Internet Explorer, tap or click the Internet Explorer tile on the Start screen.

Where's the address bar?

From the address bar you can search, go to your frequent and favorite sites, switch between tabs, and access page tools. To bring up the address bar, you only need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen, or right–click anywhere, and then start browsing:

  • Enter a URL in the address box and press enter (or click Go) to go to that site.

  • Search from the address bar. Begin entering a search term and you'll see suggestions appear above the address bar.

  • Tap or click the address box to see sites that you visit frequently. Tap or click on any of the tiles to go to a site.

If you want the address bar to always appear on screen, here's how:

  1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen and move the mouse pointer down), and then tap or click Settings.

  2. Tap or click Options, and under Appearance, turn Always show the address bar and tabs to On.

How do I open new tabs?

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or right-click to show the tabs bar. The tabs bar shows any tabs or windows you have open in Internet Explorer. From the tabs bar, tap or click the New tab button, and then enter a search term in the address bar or select a site from your Frequent sites.

Where are my favorites?

To view favorites, bring up the address bar, and then tap or click the Favorites button. Your favorites are now shared between Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer in the desktop. Use the Favorites dropdown to view different folders, or tap or click All to view all favorites.

How do I add favorites?

If you've upgraded from Windows 8 and signed in using your Microsoft account, any favorites you had will be imported, and any pinned sites will be added to Start automatically.

To add a site to your favorites, bring up the address bar, tap or click the Favorites button, and then tap or click the Add to favorites button. Enter a name for this site, and then select which folder to save the favorite in, or create a new folder. This site will now show up in your list of favorites.

How do I pin sites to the Start screen?

To pin a site for instant access from your Start screen, bring up the address bar, tap or click the Favorites button, and then tap or click the Pin site button.

How do I change my home page?

Choose which pages to automatically open each time you open Internet Explorer.

  1. Go to a site that you'd like to set as your home page.

  2. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen and move the mouse pointer down), and then tap or click Settings.

  3. Tap or click Options, and under Home pages, tap or click Customize.

  4. Tap or click Add current site, edit the URL if you'd like, and then tap or click Add.

Home pages will only open automatically each time you start a new browsing session in Internet Explorer.

How do I delete my browsing history?

  1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen and move the mouse pointer down), and then tap or click Settings.

  2. Tap or click Options, and under History, tap or click Select.

  3. Select the types of browsing data you want to remove from your PC, and tap or click Delete.

Why do pages appear broken or take a long time to load?

Internet Explorer 11 Preview is software that's still in development. With the preview release, you'll get to try out the many new features, but you might also encounter errors that you wouldn't encounter using a released version of Internet Explorer.

Where can I get help for Internet Explorer 11?

Although we don't offer technical support for prerelease software, including Internet Explorer 11 Preview, here are some resources that might be helpful.