Fix IE7's Dopey Menu Bar Location
I installed IE7 on a test PC. (What, you think it'd go on my production machine? Not yet, it won't.)
The first thing I noticed is IE7's Menu bar -- File, Edit, View, Favorites, Tools, and Help -- is in the wrong spot. It belongs at the very top, just below the blue Title bar. And Microsoft has decided (decreed, actually) that you're not supposed to move it.
Tell hell with that. If you want to move the Menu Bar, you have two options.
The first IE7 Tools, a small, free utility designed during IE7's beta days. Click Options and choose Menu Bar Positioned at Top.
Here's the manual method:
1. As administrator, click Start, Run, and type gpedit.msc.
2. In the panel on the left, work your way down, starting with User Configuration --Administrative Templates -- Windows Components --Internet Explorer
3. Scroll to Moving the menu bar above the navigation bar and right click to get to Properties.
4. Select Enabled and then click OK.
5. Restart IE7.
You might be tempted to fiddle with the dozens of other options and there's really no harm in doing it. All you need to do is remember what you changed and then repeat the process above to reverse the setting.
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What's wrong with just hitting the "Alt" key.
It took me about 2 days to get use to doing that.
Pete
I am almost embarassed to point out to the boss of PC Annoyances that it is very annoying when people write about methods to fix menu bars citing the use of GPEDIT.MSC, without realizing, apparently. that that option is NOT available in WIN XP (Home). Gpredit is available only in the Pro edition, Steve.
Thanks, Mike, I was waiting for someone who had the Home edition to test it for me. I'll call on you again for other testing projects. [Grinning and ducking]
IE7 already has one bug, and a computer tech at work told me how IE7 keeps trying to go to the MSN website as the home page even after you change it. We had to run a registry fix for that. Not sure how MS missed that. Yes, we will go to it eventually, after all our programs that use it tell us that they are compatible. Which bugs me; these companies whose programs we use knew IE7 was coming, they knew it was close, yet when it was released pretty much every one was not compatible with it. What were they waiting for? I have it on a separate pc at work - and there's a toolbar that I can't move-it's on the same line as the tabbed option- so if you either want more space for more tabs, or turn the tab option off and want to move the toolbar on that same line to give you a little more screen space, you can't move it.
I use the Incredimail shell for Outlook Express. Along with the installation of IE7, came a very annoying change. All .eml e-mail attachments are changed from Incredimail to Outlook Express. This change effetively places Outlook Express as my default e-mail program intead of Incredimail. Because I have a watchdog program, "WinPatrol". I get notified of this change each time it occurs. This can be several times a day. When the message from "WinPatrol" appears, and I say yes to the change, my defaullt e-mail changes from Incredimail to Outlook Express. If I say no to the change, I get another notification of the change each time an e-mail comes in. Have you heard about this? If so, is there any way to prevent these changes by Microsoft?
ie7 has not work properly for me on winxp home after two different installs. ie7 prevents some connections to work cleanly. We can not get to a realtive's work accounts and handle the email at home.
ie7 blocks some games (with ads) from being played at all.
Every home page url has some kind of visual flaw.
After uninstall, the machine runs fine and no problems at all, and all is hunky dory.