How Do You Use Your Browser?

I have about ten or so places that I visit each time I go online. And I find that I visit and revisit these sites multiple times (i.e. WindowsBBS is one of them). I've tried pinning their tabs (I use Firefox) but that somehow seems unsatisfactory to me. Instead, I've found the easiest way is to use the Bookmarks bar just under the Toolbar. Some of my sites are grouped together in folders on the Bookmarks bar and some (like Facebook) stand alone. Using the Bookmarks bar which is simply a strip of monitor real estate, keeps those ten or so sites always visible no matter what site I am on.

I've tried using IE9's pinning sites to the Taskbar but I find that much less efficient. It treats sites as though they were applications and while it's easy to open each site, it does not really allow for a continuous flow through the web. Instead of having my ten sites always available, I have to close that site then open another from the Taskbar. Oh... I could type the URL or part thereof into the address box but that's extremely inefficient when all I need to do is use a favorites bar (similar to the Bookmarks bar) just beneath the Toolbar.

Comments?

 

Geeze... 25 views and not a single response? This place is pretty much useless for feedback.

 

I use IE 9 and nothing else. I have about 8 places that I go to several times in a day. They are all on the Favorites bar in IE.

 

Thanks, MrBill. I was simply trying to see "how" others use their browser. With IE9 there are many who have forsaken the favorites bar in favor of pinning their favorite sites to the task bar. But for the life of me, I cannot see how that is more efficient than the favorites bar.

 

I can't either. I have MSN as home page. Look at it first then go from there. Oh well, to each his own I guess. Like the old saying "What ever floats your boat ".

 

I mostly use SeaMonkey but sometimes IE9, and with both of them I have my frequently used sites (14 of them) placed in the Bookmarks bar. Very convenient. I set up Google.com as my homepage with both browsers, also, and do my searching with it.

 

I have three browsers (IE 9, FF, and Chrome) and with each I have a favorites/bookmarks bar loaded with my favorite sites. I group sites that are the same into folders that I place on the favorites/bookmark bar (i.e. e-mail folder contains: gmail, hotmail, aol mail). The beauty, in my opinion, of having a favorites/bookmark bar "is" the simple fact that no matter where you go on the internet, it is always there above the site. There it is... you're ready to go to the next site with a single click. The problem with using a speed-type dial as Opera and Chrome has, is that after you go to a site and then wish to navigate to the next... you need to go back to the speed dial window (first click) and then click on the site you wish to go to (second click). AND doing it this way means you have to change the way windows and tabs works which I do not want to do.

Pinning sites to the task bar and then clicking on them opens a site as though it were an app. Now if you wish to go to the next place, you go back to your task bar and click on the next button. So far, it's exactly like the bookmarks/favorite bar operation. BUT if you wish to navigate "away from" that site, you cannot do it as easily as you do with the bookmarks/favorites bar set-up since the window you're in is a special app window. You have to try this to see what I'm saying. Trust me... it's simply not as efficient.

I've tried pinning sites to the tabs in FF but that also does not work as efficiently as the bookmarks bar.

Simply put... the bookmarks bar cannot be beaten. The only downside is that it takes up some monitor space, albeit not very much.

 

Hi Leushino, you started me thinking and I've had a little play.

I use Firefox 5.0 and have Google as the Home page.
If you go to > Most Visited > Right click on a web site > click on Open in New Tab > it launches > Right click in the Tab > click on Pin as App Tab.

You now have compact Tabs in the upper left above the Address Bar. Now when I launch my FF Browser, I just click on the Windows BBS square and we're here.

This is what I wanted to set up and didn't have the courage to try until your Post. Many thanks Neil.

 

Hi Neil. I've also tried the pinning sites to the tab and you're correct, it does work. It seems to have about the same effect in terms of efficiency as having the Bookmarks bar with these favorite or most visited sites just below your tool bar. The advantage to doing it your way is that you can eliminate one bar and gain some monitor space. The downside is (and I'm wondering about this), with a dozen sites pinned in tabs and sitting there during an hour's browsing session... does it draw resources from your computer whereas simply having bookmarked sites in a tool bar would not? It's a question in my mind that perhaps someone else can answer.

I got rid of the "most visited" folder some time back but can still mark sites and then pin them by simply visiting my favorite sites and then right clicking and pinning them as app tabs. But as I mentioned, I found that I was sometimes running into problems with passwords and with a computer that was slowing down. I'm just not sure. What do you think? It's one of the reasons I opened this thread for discussion and I appreciate the feedback.

 

I want to open as few Tabs as possible, for greater efficiency. In Seamonkey, which I am using now, this site is located in a folder of my Personal Toolbar.
In Firefox, I am using the Prefbar, in which I can place often used sites.

 

I use Firefox, have the Menu bar hidden (open it when needed with the Alt key), have 7 or 8 sites I visit every day on the Bookmarks toolbar, open links almost exclusively in new tabs by clicking with the mouse wheel.

I have both IE and Firefox set to open to a blank page. I can't remember when I last used a home page.

 

Leushino, to answer your question - I've got 4 sites pinned and Task Manager shows CPU running between 1% - 10%. Not a lot but you can switch between sites quite quickly.

I'll let you know if it is a pain or gives any trouble. Each to his/her own.
Cheers Neil.

 

Thanks, Neil. I may have to revisit this idea of pinning to the tabs.

 

Miz... it sounds like we do almost the same thing with the exception of the blank home page. I'm not sure I understand why you use a blank page since it's going to require a second click to get somewhere whereas you could have gotten there with one click if you had a home page (i.e. a portal like Yahoo for instance).

 

Stuck in my old ways, I still use the address bar but FF (and no doubt others) remember previous sites so for eg win, helpfully suggests windowsBBS in the dropdown, courier takes me to our local newspapers site etc.