Internet Explorer 8 is a new browser released in 2009 that has a number of new features. One of these features is the ability to preview and verify URLs. This article will show you how to do this in Internet Explorer 8. To preview and verify URLs, open Internet Explorer 8 and click on the three lines in the top left corner of the screen. This will open a dialog box that will show you all of the URLs that are currently open in your browser. You can click on any of these URLs to preview them in your browser. If you want to verify whether a URL is valid, you can click on it and then press the check box next to it. This will cause Internet Explorer 8 to print out a message telling you whether or not the URL is valid.
Preview and Launch URL in Action
Adding the accelerator is easy…just click on Add to Internet Explorer, confirm the installation, and you are ready to go (link below).
Note: Browser restart not required.
For the first example we used a regularly formatted link. Right click to access the context menu, move to All Accelerators, and either hover (or click on) the Preview and Launch URL listing.
Hovering your mouse will open a preview thumbnail of the page with the URL shown directly beneath it.
Clicking on the listing opens the page as normal in a new tab.
The second example was a text only URL.
Highlight the URL and follow the same menu procedure for a regular links to see the preview. Clicking on the listing will open the text URL in a new tab as shown above.
The accelerator also works well with shortened URLs. Right click on the URL and go to the Preview and Launch accelerator listing. There will be a difference though…you will see the shortened URL and be asked if you would like to expand it. Click on the shortened URL in the preview window to expand it and see a preview.
Notice that the full URL behind the shortened URL is now displayed with the preview.
Clicking on the accelerator listing works the same as for the other types of links.
You may occasionally see this message for a link preview. Simply move your mouse back to the main context menu for a moment and then back to the accelerator link to see the preview.
Conclusion
The Preview and Launch URL accelerator can be very helpful when you want to see the site behind the links…especially when it concerns shortened URLS.
You also might want to check out our article on how to verify shortened URLs in Firefox and also how to verify shortened URLs in Google Chrome.
Link
Add the Preview and Launch URL Accelerator to Internet Explorer 8
