Browser Annoyances

Existing browsers are far from perfect, as detailed below for the two main browsers on Windows Vista:

Internet Explorer 7 annoyances:

• You can't add to the two default toolbar rows:  This problem affects functionality that many people use many times a day.  For example, if you want to use the Google toolbar instead of Microsoft's search control, you need to dedicate a third toolbar row to the Google toolbar because IE7 doesn't allow you to move anything to the first two rows of toolbars.  This is a bother because the Word Find feature of the Google toolbar gives one-click searching on a Web page, and the less versatile word find functionality in Microsoft's search control takes 4 clicks.
• Sending an email with the URL of the current page is inconvenient: Sending a URL is one of the most common actions that people do while browsing.  Using IE7 this takes two clicks, versus one click on IE6.  Furthermore, the current Web page won't close until the email is sent or closed.
• Copying text using "Ctrl C" often fails:  Copying text from by right clicking and selecting Copy works, consistently, but there are instances in which the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl C" doesn't work.  Here is a case that reproduces the problem consistently on Vista:

1. Open IE7 to http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/06/18/space.shuttle.ap/index.html
2. From the Page button choose "Send Link by E-mail", which on my system opens a new Windows Mail message.
3. Select a paragraph in the CNN article using the mouse and type "Ctrl C".
4. Paste into the email message using either right click Paste or "Ctrl V".

The selected paragraph doesn't get pasted; the clipboard has its previous contents.  Surprisingly, if a new email message is created by the "Create Mail" button in Windows Mail, pasting works fine.

• FIXED: Clicking an external hyperlink replaces an open browser page: If you have turned off tabs and click a hyperlink in an external program such as an email or a Microsoft Word document and a browser window is already open the external hyperlink uses the existing browser window and replaces the current browser content.  This can be a nuisance since it can wipe out existing material.  To fix this, go to "Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab | Browsing section" and remove the check from the item "Reuse windows for launching shortcuts (when tabbed browsing is off)"

Firefox 2 annoyances

• Firefox has poor Tablet PC support: The GeckoTIP extension that allows inking into text fields on Windows XP doesn't work on Vista, though one can invoke the Tablet PC Input panel manually as needed.  The Grab And Drag extension does work on Vista, but IE7 on Vista has a "Panning Hand" with similar functionality. 
• Firefox has bugs that have been around for years:  For example, if the Google Toolbar is installed, Firefox displays an error message when the user clicks on a shortcut or opens a browser window from PowerPoint, as detailed at this link.  Registry changes to fix it need to be re-done after every minor Firefox upgrade.  The situation is particularly annoying since being able to use the Google toolbar instead of Microsoft's clumsy search bar is one of the major arguments for using Firefox.
   

Copyright © 21 April 2008 Mickey Segal.  Thanks to Tom Porterfield and Jim Chen for help on workarounds and fixes.  If you have workarounds, fixes or more annoyances to add please let us know.  See also Vista Annoyances and Windows Live Mail Undermines Mobile Computing.