Internet Explorer offers many options to help you access information.

Show all

Zoom on a webpage

Zoom in on any webpage for better readability. Zoom enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including text and images.

To zoom on a webpage

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen and move the mouse pointer down), and then tap or click Settings.

  3. Tap or click Internet Options, and then under Zoom, move the slider to increase or decrease zoom.

To zoom on a webpage using Internet Explorer for the desktop

  1. Open Internet Explorer for the desktop.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Zoom.

  3. Select a predefined zoom level, or specify a custom level by tapping or clicking Custom and entering a zoom value.

Make text larger or smaller

You can increase or decrease the font size on a webpage to make it more legible in Internet Explorer for the desktop.

To change the text size

  1. Open Internet Explorer for the desktop.

  2. Press the Alt key to display the menu bar.

  3. Tap or click View, and then tap or click Text size.

  4. Choose to make text larger or smaller than the size on the screen.

Use a keyboard to surf the web

Press the Tab key to move forward and Shift+Tab to move backward through screen elements like the following:

  • Links that are text or images

  • Text fields on website forms

  • Hotspots on image maps

  • The Address bar

  • The tabs bar

  • HTML frames

You can also press the F7 key to use Caret browsing to select text and move around within a webpage using the standard navigation keys on your keyboard—Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and the arrow keys.

For more info about using the keyboard, see Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts.

Change the font, formatting, and colors on webpages using

You can choose the font type and size as well as the foreground and background colors that are used to display webpages. You can also choose the color used for links in pages.

To choose website fonts

  1. Open Internet Explorer for the desktop.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, tap or click Fonts.

  4. Select the fonts you want to use, tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

To choose website colors

  1. Open Internet Explorer for the desktop.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, tap or click Colors.

  4. Clear the Use Windows colors check box.

  5. For each color that you want to change, tap or click the color box, select a new color, and then tap or click OK.

  6. Tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

To override all font and color settings for websites

  1. Open Internet Explorer for the desktop.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, tap or click Accessibility.

  4. Select the Ignore colors specified on webpages, Ignore font styles specified on webpages, and Ignore font sizes specified on webpages check boxes.

  5. Tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

Customize Internet Explorer to work with a screen reader or voice recognition software

Some Internet Explorer features can cause screen readers to give confusing or incorrect information.

To make Internet Explorer work better with screen readers

  1. Open Internet Explorer for the desktop.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the Advanced tab.

  4. Make one or more of the following changes:

    • Set the cursor to determine where to read or magnify. Under Accessibility, select the Move system caret with focus/selection changes check box.

    • Display text in place of pictures. Under Accessibility, select the Always expand Alt text for images check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures check box.

    • Stop page transitions from causing problems with your screen reader or voice recognition software. Under Browsing, clear the Enable page transitions check box and the Use smooth scrolling check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures check box.

    • Help prevent webpage sounds from interfering with your screen reader. Under Multimedia, clear the Play sounds in webpages check box.

  5. Tap or click OK.

Improve the legibility of printed webpages

You can stop printing background colors and images to make text stand out more clearly.

To stop printing background colors and images

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Tap or click the arrow next to the Print button, and then tap or click Page setup.

  3. Under Page Setup dialog box, clear the Print background colors and images check box, and then tap or click OK.

Internet Explorer offers many options to help you browse view the web more easily.

Show all

Use a keyboard to browse the web

Press the Tab key to move forward and Shift+Tab to move backward through screen elements like the following:

  • Links that are text or images

  • Text fields on website forms

  • The Address bar

  • HTML frames

Press Ctrl+Tab to switch between tabs.

You can also press the F7 key to use Caret browsing to select text and move around within a webpage using the standard navigation keys on your keyboard—Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and the arrow keys.

For more info about using the keyboard, see Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts.

Zoom on a webpage

Zoom in on any webpage for better readability. Unlike changing font size, zoom enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including text and images.

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Zoom.

  3. Select a predefined zoom level, or create a custom level by clicking Custom and entering a zoom value.

Make text larger or smaller

You can increase or decrease the font size on a webpage to make it more legible in Internet Explorer.

To change the text size

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Press the Alt key to display the Menu bar.

  3. Tap or click View, and then tap or click Text size.

  4. Choose to make text larger or smaller than the size on the screen.

Change the font, formatting, and colors on webpages

You can choose the font type and size as well as the foreground and background colors that are used to display webpages. You can also choose the color used for links in pages.

To choose website fonts

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Fonts.

  4. Select the fonts you want to use, tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

To choose website colors

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, tap or click Colors.

  4. Clear the Use Windows colors check box.

  5. For each color that you want to change, click the color box, select a new color, and then tap or click OK.

  6. Tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

To override all font and color settings for websites

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, tap or click Accessibility.

  4. Select the Ignore colors specified on webpages, Ignore font styles specified on webpages, and Ignore font sizes specified on webpages check boxes.

  5. Tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

Customize Internet Explorer to work with a screen reader or voice recognition software

Some Internet Explorer features can cause screen readers to give confusing or incorrect information.

To make Internet Explorer work better with screen readers

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, and then tap or click Internet options.

  3. Tap or click the Advanced tab.

  4. Make one or more of the following changes:

    • Set the cursor to determine where to read or magnify. Under Accessibility, select the Move system caret with focus/selection changes check box.

    • Display text in place of pictures. Under Accessibility, select the Always expand Alt text for images check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures check box.

    • Stop page transitions from causing problems with your screen reader or voice recognition software. Under Browsing, clear the Use smooth scrolling check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures and Play animations in webpages check boxes.

    • Help prevent webpage sounds from interfering with your screen reader. Under Multimedia, clear the Play sounds in webpages check box.

  5. Tap or click OK.

Improve the legibility of printed webpages

You can stop printing background colors and images to make text stand out more clearly.

To stop printing background colors and images

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Tap or click the Tools button, point to Print, and then tap or click Page setup.

  3. Under Paper Options, clear the Print background colors and images check box, and then tap or click OK.

Internet Explorer offers many options to help you access information.

Show all

Use a keyboard to surf the web

Press the Tab key to move forward and Shift+Tab to move backward through screen elements like the following:

  • Links that are text or images

  • Text fields on website forms

  • Hotspots on image maps

  • The Address bar

  • The tabs bar

  • HTML frames

You can also press the F7 key to use Caret browsing to select text and move around within a webpage using the standard navigation keys on your keyboard—Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and the arrow keys.

For more info about using the keyboard, see Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts.

Zoom on a webpage

Zoom in on any webpage for better readability. Unlike changing font size, zoom enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including text and images.

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Zoom.

  3. Select a predefined zoom level, or specify a custom level by clicking Custom and entering a zoom value.

Make text larger or smaller

You can increase or decrease the font size on a webpage to make it more legible in Internet Explorer.

To change the text size

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Press the Alt key to display the menu bar.

  3. Tap or click View, and then tap or click Text size.

  4. Choose to make text larger or smaller than the size on the screen.

Change the font, formatting, and colors on webpages

You can choose the font type and size as well as the foreground and background colors that are used to display webpages. You can also choose the color used for links in pages.

To choose website fonts

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Fonts.

  4. Select the fonts you want to use, click OK, and then click OK again.

To choose website colors

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Colors.

  4. Clear the Use Windows colors check box.

  5. For each color that you want to change, click the color box, select a new color, and then click OK.

  6. Click OK, and then click OK again.

To override all font and color settings for websites

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Accessibility.

  4. Select the Ignore colors specified on webpages, Ignore font styles specified on webpages, and Ignore font sizes specified on webpages check boxes.

  5. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Customize Internet Explorer to work with a screen reader or voice recognition software

Some Internet Explorer features can cause screen readers to give confusing or incorrect information.

To make Internet Explorer work better with screen readers

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the Advanced tab.

  4. Make one or more of the following changes:

    • Set the cursor to determine where to read or magnify. Under Accessibility, select the Move system caret with focus/selection changes check box.

    • Display text in place of pictures. Under Accessibility, select the Always expand Alt text for images check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures check box.

    • Stop page transitions from causing problems with your screen reader or voice recognition software. Under Browsing, clear the Use smooth scrolling check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures and Play animations in webpages check boxes.

    • Help prevent webpage sounds from interfering with your screen reader. Under Multimedia, clear the Play sounds in webpages check box.

  5. Click OK.

Improve the legibility of printed webpages

You can stop printing background colors and images to make text stand out more clearly.

To stop printing background colors and images

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, point to Print, and then click Page setup.

  3. Under Paper Options, clear the Print background colors and images check box, and then click OK.

Internet Explorer offers many options to help you access information.

Show all

Use a keyboard to surf the web

Press the Tab key to move forward and Shift+Tab to move backward through screen elements like the following:

  • Links that are text or images

  • Text fields on website forms

  • Hotspots on image maps

  • The Address bar

  • The tabs bar

  • HTML frames

You can also press the F7 key to use Caret browsing to select text and move around within a webpage using the standard navigation keys on your keyboard—Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and the arrow keys.

For more info about using the keyboard, see Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts.

Zoom on a webpage

Zoom in on any webpage for better readability. Unlike changing font size, zoom enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including text and images.

To zoom in on a webpage

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. On the bottom right of the Internet Explorer screen, click the arrow next to the Change zoom level button.

  3. Select a predefined zoom level, or specify a custom level by clicking Custom and entering a zoom value.

Make text larger or smaller

You can increase or decrease the font size on a webpage to make it more legible in Internet Explorer for the desktop.

To change the text size

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Page button, click Text Size, and then click the size you want.

Change the font, formatting, and colors on webpages

You can choose the font type and size as well as the foreground and background colors that are used to display webpages. You can also choose the color used for links in pages.

To choose website fonts

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Fonts.

  4. Select the fonts you want to use, click OK, and then click OK again.

To choose website colors

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Colors.

  4. Clear the Use Windows colors check box.

  5. For each color that you want to change, click the color box, select a new color, and then click OK.

  6. Click OK, and then click OK again.

To override all font and color settings for websites

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the General tab, and then, under Appearance, click Accessibility.

  4. Select the Ignore colors specified on webpages, Ignore font styles specified on webpages, and Ignore font sizes specified on webpages check boxes.

  5. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Customize Internet Explorer to work with a screen reader or voice recognition software

Some Internet Explorer features can cause screen readers to give confusing or incorrect information.

To make Internet Explorer work better with screen readers

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.

  3. Click the Advanced tab.

  4. Make one or more of the following changes:

    • Set the cursor to determine where to read or magnify. Under Accessibility, select the Move system caret with focus/selection changes check box.

    • Display text in place of pictures. Under Accessibility, select the Always expand Alt text for images check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures check box.

    • Stop page transitions from causing problems with your screen reader or voice recognition software. Under Browsing, clear the Enable page transitions check box and the Use smooth scrolling check box. Under Multimedia, clear the Show pictures check box.

    • Help prevent webpage sounds from interfering with your screen reader. Under Multimedia, clear the Play sounds in webpages check box.

  5. Click OK.

Improve the legibility of printed webpages

You can stop printing background colors and images to make text stand out more clearly.

To stop printing background colors and images

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Click the arrow next to the Print button, and then click Page setup.

  3. Under Page Setup dialog box, clear the Print background colors and images check box, and then click OK.