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Internet Explorer Toolbar Customization

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 display the menu bar below the address bar in the header area of the web browser. The menu bar contains links to menus like File, Tools or Help while the address bar is being used to load websites and perform searches on the Internet.

Most web browsers use a different display of toolbars with the menu bar on top and the address bar below which is also the default display in all windows and applications in the Windows operating system. There is however no option to customize Internet Explorer toolbars in the browser itself.

The only way to change the location of the Internet Explorer Toolbar is to edit the Windows Registry. To do that press [Windows R], type [regedit] and hit [enter].

Before:

internet explorer toolbar

After:

internet explorer toolbars

Navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser

Add a new DWord by right-clicking in the left panel of the Registry and selecting New > DWord Value. Name the new Registry key ITBar7Position. Double-click it afterwards and give it the value 1.

itbar7position

Restart Internet Explorer afterwards and you should see that the Internet Explorer Toolbars have been exchanged. The menu toolbar should now be on top and the address toolbar below.

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.

Author: , Sunday January 4, 2009 -
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Responses so far:

  1. Paul. says:

    Thanks Martin not only a cristal clear explanation, but also now my MS int.explorer looks great/ much better. The only thing is that actually i would realy like, to have the menu bar and also the address bar on the same line.
    And also i would like this possibility for main standard brouwser, namley Firefox. Is this possible? Do you know a app/link? I have looked and maybay i looked with main nose, but i can not find one.

  2. ds5929 says:

    Great! Now,is there a way to put the refresh/stop buttons over by the back/forward ones instead of half a screen apart, the way MS locked them in? And, any way to remove the (to me) useless takes-up-valuable-screen-space bar below the ‘links’ bar? (I’m guessing the links bar can be deselected) Have installed and uninstalled IE7 twice. Just can’t stand the layout and the fact that I can’t move sturf around where I want it. If I wanted to do things only the way the Company wanted, I’d have bought a mac.

  3. Dwight Stegall says:

    Back when I was just a naive youngster (55) I used Internet Explorer. I wish then I had known about these Chinese clones.

    http://www.ioage.com/

    Another one is

    http://www.maxthon.com/

    I perfer the first one best.

  4. Seaweed says:

    “Just can’t stand the layout and the fact that I can’t move sturf around where I want it. If I wanted to do things only the way the Company wanted, I’d have bought a mac.”

    My impression exactly. I’m trying it out, but right away, I can’t customize the bars like I used to be able to in IE6. They knew this was an issue, but have not really given the controls back to us that they took away.

    Fix it or lose market share. Firefox is totally customizable thank you.

  5. Anon Emouse says:

    I remember back in the early 90s when a UI was hardcoded and nothing could be arranged the way you wanted it. Micro$$$osft must have re-hired some of those “retired” millionaire “eng-in-eers”.

  6. Michael Peace says:

    My screen is full of toolbars the current designs, stacked tool bars are ridiculous! I would like to see a completely customizable toolbar that has an interface similar to Microsoft Office 2007 that uses layers each layer associated with the task you are trying to accomplish. I believe this would be the ultimate toolbar. Hopefully you can see what I am trying to explain.

  7. Leslie Fung says:

    The address bar seems to have completely disappeared. Under View, Toolbars, the address isn’t even listed. I have also gone to regedit to delete web browser and a layout command in shell browser, and explorer. Nothing.

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