Internet Explorer AutoComplete

Don Bradbury takes you through some options

AutoComplete, in any application, may be viewed as either a godsend or a curse. In Internet Explorer, for example, when you start to enter a web address with "www", the application senses your action and presents a list of sites you've previously visited and lists the addresses for your selection.

That's great when the address is very long, and helpful even if it's short, but what if there's an error in a previous entry, you know about it, and want to get rid of it so that you don't select in forgetfully?

Whereas with earlier versions of IE you could select that entry and hit the Del key to erase it from the list, with more current versions you have no recourse but to select Tools, Internet Options, General, and click on Clear History. That, unfortunately, gets rid of the lot and so you have to let AutoComplete start accumulating all your favourite entries again.

The answer is to be careful when making web address entries if you're a keen fan of AutoComplete. If you're not and want to put a stop on the facility altogether, then select Content (instead of General), then the AutoComplete tab, and deselect any or all of Web Addresses, Forms, User Names or Passwords on Forms.

The former is for storing web addresses, Forms is for quick recall of any text entries you make in web pages such as your name, and the latter is for storing User Names for recall. For security reasons, only asterisks are displayed on screen in this case, but the facility saves you having to remember them. On this screen you can also clear Forms or Clear Passwords.

Don Bradbury