In this dialog box in Internet Explorer® Maintenance (IEM), you can customize the Favorites folder and the Links bar. For example, you can add links to sites related to your company or services. You can also add links to the default folders or add new folders.

To enable the Links bar, right-click the Internet Explorer toolbar and then click Links. In Internet Explorer 6, Links appears as a folder on the Favorites menu and as an item on the toolbar. In Internet Explorer 8, Links appears as a folder in the Favorites Center on the left side of the main window and as an item on the toolbar.

You must be a member of the Administrators group to work with IEM and Group Policy objects (GPOs).

To add, remove, or organize Favorites and Links for Internet Explorer using IEM

  1. In IEM, expand Internet Explorer Maintenance.

  2. In the left pane, click URLs, and then in the right pane, double-click Favorites and Links.

  3. Then, do one or more of the following:

    • To change the order of links: Select the Place favorites and links at the top of the list in the order specified below check box to specify that the favorites and links you choose are moved to the top of the users' lists, making them easier for users to find. When you select this option, the Up and Down buttons become available.

    • To delete existing links: If you are a corporate administrator, select the Delete existing Favorites and Links, if present check box to delete the items on the users' Favorites and Links lists. You should use this setting with caution because it removes, among other links, the items that your users added.

    • To delete administrator-created links: Select the Only delete the favorites created by the administrator check box to just delete the items on your users' Favorites and Links lists that an administrator set up for them earlier. This option becomes active if you select the Delete existing Favorites and Links, if present check box.

    • To delete channels: If you are a corporate administrator, select the Delete existing channels, if present check box to delete any channels on your users' computers. Channels are available only on computers that have been upgraded from Internet Explorer 4.0 or Windows® 98.

    • To add a link: Click Favorites or Links, or a folder within one of these categories, and then click Add URL. Then, do the following:

      Type a friendly name for link in the Name box.

      Type the destination of your link in the URL box.

      To specify a 16 x 16-pixel custom icon for this link, type the name and location of the file in the Icon box, or click Browse to locate the file. This is optional.

      If you are a corporate administrator, select the Make available offline check box to make this page available to users who are not connected to the Internet. This option can be helpful for users with laptop computers.

      Note

      You can add up to 200 links to the Favorites folder.

    • To add a folder: Click Favorites or Links, or a folder within one of these categories, and then click Add Folder. Type the name of your folder in the Name box.

    • To edit a link: Select the link you want to change, and then click Edit. Follow the same steps that you did for Add for specifying information for the Name, URL, and Icon fields.

    • To remove a link from Favorites or Links: Click the link, and then click Remove.

    • To test a link: Click the link, and then click Test URL. This opens an instance of Internet Explorer that attempts to connect to that URL.

    • To import an existing folder of links: Click Favorites or Links, and then click Import. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, locate, and then click the folder of desired links on your computer. If you are using Windows XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows Server® 2008, these links are most likely located in the <SystemDrive>:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Favorites folder.

Additional references

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