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Shortcuts in Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7)

Shortcuts work in Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) by default.

However, if you have problems, there are some browser settings you may change to make shortcuts work again. In particular, you may need to reconfigure your browser's search settings

For IE7 users, we recommend that you set your default search engine to Live Search (MSN).

If changing the default search engine does not work or is not preferred, you may choose to disable searching from the address bar.

  1. Go to Tools/Internet Options/Advanced in IE 7.
  2. Scroll down the list and find Search from the Address bar
  3. Select Do not search from the Address bar
  4. Click OK

If shortcuts still don't work after configuring your search settings, please check if you have installed any web accelerators. They may interfere with shortcuts.

If you have ruled out any web accelerator issues, please try the following tests to show you are properly directed to our OpenDNS guide page. We're confirming that you are using OpenDNS on the computer you're currently using, since shortcuts require that you be using OpenDNS.

  1. Type "opendns" in the address bar, and note whether you land on the OpenDNS Guide Page. The URL should look something like this: http://guide.opendns.com/?url=opendns
  2. Now, type "opendns opendns" in the address bar and note whether you land on our OpenDNS Guide Page. The URL should look something like this: http://guide.opendns.com/?url=opendns+opendns&client=ie7

For network-wide shortcuts, make sure the following is true:

  1. The given shortcut is defined in the OpenDNS account.
  2. Shortcuts are enabled in network preferences.
  3. All or tagged shortcuts have been applied to your current network.
  4. Your current IP address matches the IP for the network in your OpenDNS account .
  5. If your current IP does not match your IP for your OpenDNS account, update it by doing the following:
    • Make sure Enable Dynamic IP Update is ON, via MyAccount/Networks/(wrench icon)/Dynamic IP Update
    • Either, verify you have a DDNS client installed to handle automatic IP updates
    • Or, go to MyAccount/Networks and click on the Manual IP Update button (green arrows icon) between two network IP addresses, previous IP and current IP. If a manual IP update is necessary, please wait 5 -10 minutes for the shortcuts to be applied to the new IP.

For personal shortcuts, make sure the following is true:

  1. You are signed in to your OpenDNS account from your browser.
  2. The given shortcut is defined in your OpenDNS account.

Note: a network advisory was sent in May 2007 regarding an IE7 patch issued by Microsoft. The patch affected search related registry keys and may interfere with shortcuts in IE7. The following is where the problematic registry keys exist: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SoftwareMicrosoft/Internet Explorer/SearchScopes

Delete all the sub keys which indicate the various search engines and settings. After the sub keys are deleted, restart the computer and then start IE7. E7 will set the default search engine to its system default with no parameters for searching.