Through policy, you can customize two types of URLs that are available in Internet Explorer:
Important URLs. URLs used for the browser home page, support page, and search page
Favorites and links. Additional URLs made available to users on the Favorites menu
Both types of URLs can help users save time and be more productive. By customizing the important URLs, you can provide quick ways for users to access your organization’s home page, get support, and find what they are looking for. By creating custom lists of favorites and links, you can make it easier for users to find internal and external resources that they frequently use.
Customizing the Internet Explorer home, search, and support URLs will make users’ lives a bit easier. After all, these options put the key resources that users need on a daily basis at their fingertips.
You can configure the Internet Explorer home page, search, and support URLs by completing the following steps:
Access Group Policy for the system you want to work with. Then access User ConfigurationWindows SettingsInternet Explorer MaintenanceURLs.
In the right pane, double-click Important URLs. As shown in Figure 8-4, you can specify a custom home page, a search bar page, and an online support page.
To specify a home page URL, select Customize Home Page URL. In the Home Page URL text box, type the URL of the home page you want to use, such as http://intranet.adatum.com/. The home page URL is opened whenever the browser is started or the user clicks the Home button on the Internet Explorer toolbar.
Tip
For convenience, you’ll probably want to set the home page URL to the home page of your organization’s intranet or to the department-level page for the OU you are working with. If your organization doesn’t have an intranet, you might want to set this URL to the home page of your company’s external Web site.
To specify a search page URL, select Customize Search Bar URL. In the Search Bar URL text box, type the URL to the search page you want to use, such as http://intranet.adatum.com/search.asp. The search page is opened in a side frame of the Internet Explorer window whenever a user clicks the Search button.
Caution
When developing your search page, you should note two specific requirements: The search page must be formatted as HTML and should include links targeted at the main frame. If your organization already has a search page, you must create a separate version that is modified to work as a side frame.
To specify a support page, select Customize Online Support Page URL. In the Online Support Page URL text box, type the URL to the support page you want to use, such as http://support.adatum.com/. The support page is opened when a user selects Online Support from the Internet Explorer Help menu.
Click OK.
Internet Explorer provides several ways to access commonly used resources. In addition to browser buttons, history lists, and the like, you can use Favorites and Links lists. In Internet Explorer, you access Favorites and Links through the Favorites menu. This menu offers options that allow you to add, organize, and access favorites. Links lists are provided as a subfolder of Favorites that you can customize as well.
Through Group Policy, you can add favorites and links that make it easier for users to access commonly used online resources, such as essential documents, important forms, and corporate phone directories. This saves users time and might also increase use of these important resources. Any favorites and links you add can either replace the existing URL lists or add to them.
You can add URLs individually or you can import an existing folder containing a set of URLs you want to use. These options are discussed in the sections that follow.
To create favorites and links one by one, complete the following steps:
Access Group Policy for the resource you want to work with. Then access User ConfigurationWindows SettingsInternet Explorer MaintenanceURLs.
In the right pane, double-click Favorites And Links. This displays the Favorites And Links dialog box (Figure 8-5). Any favorites and links you add are available to all users subject to the current policy.
When you plan to add several favorites or links, you can create a folder to hold the options. The folder you create appears as a submenu under the Favorites menu in Internet Explorer. To create a submenu, select Favorites and then click Add Folder. In the Details dialog box, type a name for the submenu in the Name box, and then click OK.
To add individual menu options, select Favorites, Links, or a folder entry and then click Add URL. This again displays the Details dialog box. Type the name of the menu option, such as Purchase Request Form, and then type the URL to the resource, such as http://finance.adatum.com/forms/purchase-req.asp. Click OK. The entry is added to the menu or submenu you selected.
After you define the favorites and links you want to use, you can specify additional preferences for adding the items to the Favorites menu. These additional preferences include the following:
Place Favorites And Links At The Top Of The List In The Order Specified Below. Places the items at the top of the menu and in the order in which you entered them in the list box. If you select this option, you can also use the Up and Down buttons to change the order of submenus and menu items in the list box.
Delete Existing Favorites And Links, If Present. Removes any existing favorites and links, replacing them with the items you created. Using this option alone removes existing items created by both users and administrators.
Only Delete The Favorites Created By The Administrator. Removes previous favorites and links created by the administrator but doesn’t remove those created by users. This is a good option to use if you previously configured favorites and links and now want to replace those entries with your current items.
Click OK.
Another way to create Favorites and Links lists is to import an existing folder containing a set of URLs you want to use. This folder becomes a submenu of the Favorites menu in Internet Explorer.
You can create and import a folder by completing the following steps:
Create a folder on a network or local drive and then add URL shortcuts that point to the locations you want to be able to access. These shortcuts will become the items in the submenu you are creating. Set the names for the folder and its shortcuts as you want them to appear on the Internet Explorer Favorites menu.
Access User ConfigurationWindows SettingsInternet Explorer MaintenanceURLs in Group Policy, and then double-click Favorites And Links in the right pane.
In the Favorites And Links dialog box shown earlier in Figure 8-5, select Favorites, Links, or a folder entry, and then click Import. In the Browse For Folder dialog box, select the folder you created in step 1 and then click OK. The folder and its contents are added as a submenu of the selected item.
When you are finished defining the favorites and links you want to use, you can specify additional preferences for these items, including the following:
Place Favorites And Links At The Top Of The List In The Order Specified Below. Places these items at the top of the menu and in the order in which you entered them in the list box. If you select this option, you can also use the Up and Down buttons to change the order of submenus and menu items in the list box.
Delete Existing Favorites And Links, If Present. Removes any existing favorites and links, replacing them with the items you created. Using this option alone removes existing items created by both users and administrators.
Only Delete The Favorites Created By The Administrator. Removes previous favorites and links created by the administrator but doesn’t remove those created by users. This is a good option to use if you previously configured favorites and links and now want to replace those entries with your current items.
Click OK.