The newest operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8, brought with it many new and improved applications, among which Internet Explorer 10 stands out. The present tutorial is the first in a series of articles and tutorials about Microsoft's latest browser and we hope our users will find it both useful and enlightening. We will start by tackling the main interface elements of Internet Explorer 10 for the desktop and the way they work.

Where to find Internet Explorer 10

Finding Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8 is very straightforward. The app icon for Internet Explorer 10 can be found on the Start screen, which loads automatically when you turn on your computer or when you press the Windows key. Just click once on the icon and the browser page opens, in its full-screen version. The process of setting the desktop version of Internet Explorer 10 as the default will be detailed in a forthcoming tutorial.

You can also find its shortcut in the taskbar, on the Desktop.

Obviously, in Windows 7, only the desktop version is available. But, it is not built into the operating system. You need to download it via Windows Update or from its official download page.

Once you open Internet Explorer 10, the window looks similar to the screenshot below.

It's easy to see that Internet Explorer 10 has had a bit of a facelift, when compared to older iterations. But, I must say that I find the new clean and uncluttered interface of Internet Explorer 10 to be very attractive and user-friendly.

What's new is a more organic relationship between Bing and Internet Explorer 10, which is illustrated by the background images and the dark grey borders peppered with Bing-related buttons, dubbed, by yours truly, the Bing Frame. The background images are fascinating, change frequently and you can find information about a certain picture and scroll through all the images available to you using the buttons on the bottom right-hand side of the Bing Frame. You have the option of disabling the Bing Frame by switching to Full Screen. Here the buttons are explained and the background picture is identified:

You will also notice that Internet Explorer 10's default homepage is www.bing.com, but you always have the option of setting a different homepage.

As was the case of its predecessor, Internet Explorer 9, the color of the Internet Explorer 10 window changes with the Windows 8 theme you apply, depending on the color used by each theme.

The Buttons on the Top Left-Hand Side of the Screen

Let's start with the buttons on the top-left side of the screen. The big arrows are for navigating Back and Forward between the web pages you visited during the current session. If you have visited only one website, well... those buttons will be grayed out and won't do anything.

Next is the Address bar. There you type the addresses of the websites you want to visit (say, www.7tutorials.com). As with any other modern browser, you can use it as a search box too. If you type any word and press Enter it will automatically search on Bing, or any other default search engine you have set, and return a page with search results.

Due to the apparent symbiosis that Bing and Internet Explorer 10 now share, and the fact that Internet Explorer 10's default homepage is www.bing.com, you have a wealth of options to choose from when it comes to online searches. As they are relatively self-explanatory, all you must do is explore the aforementioned Bing Frame.

Included in the Address bar, are a few symbols which function like buttons. Let's take them in order, from left to right:

• The magnifier button is obviously for searching. If Bing Suggestions are turned on, it will return to you suggestions from the search engine as you type. If you click on any of the suggestions, it will open a page with search results from Bing.
• Next is an arrow, oriented downward. If you click on it, you will access a list with the most recent sites you visited plus some of your Favorites.

  

• The third button is to Refresh the web page you currently have open.
• The X button is used to Stop a web page from being loaded or refreshed.

  

How to Open New Tabs in Internet Explorer 10

Due to the efforts Microsoft put into simplifying the new Internet Explorer 10, it stands to reason that opening new tabs is be simple and efficient.

Immediately after the Address bar, you will find the tabs you have opened. Next to the last opened tab is the New Tab icon. If you want to open a new tab, click the small New Tab icon, highlighted below.

When a new tab is opened, you will see a list with your most popular sites, or, in other words, your most frequently visited sites.

You can click on one of them, if that's what you want to view or simply type the address in the Address bar.

Top Right Buttons: Home, Favorites, Tools

On this final leg of the tutorial, let's explore the last three buttons found on the top-right side of the Internet Explorer 10 window, and the corresponding button of the Bing Frame.

When pressing the first button, it takes you to your Home page, if you have one set. If you don't, it will simply redirect to www.bing.com.

The second button, in the shape of a star, is a direct route to your Favorites, Feeds and History. If you click on it, a menu drops down, with three tabs, each with its specific type of content.

The third button, shaped like a cogwheel, allows you access to the Tools menu. Once you click it, it enables you to enter configuration menus and modify features: you can print, save a web page, zoom, access safety features, view your downloads, manage your add-ons, access developer tools and configure your Internet options.

And last, but not least is the Preferences button on the Bing Frame.

By clicking it, you can set and modify your Bing search settings.

What's Next?

This is only the beginning of our series of tutorials on Internet Explorer 10. We will continue to put articles forth until we feel we have covered this browser in a complete manner.

If you have questions regarding Internet Explorer 10, don't hesitate to ask using the comments form below. For more, always check out the articles recommended at the end of this article.