How to Pin a Website

  • Article

This topic explains how users of Windows Internet Explorer 9 can pin a website to the Windows taskbar and Windows 8 users can pin to the Start screen. For info on using Internet Explorer 11 to make Windows 8 live tiles, see Create live tiles for your websites in IE11.

Note  You can pin http and https websites only.

 

  • How to Pin a Website
  • How to Pin a Website using the Keyboard
  • The Pinned site Window
  • How to View a Jump List
  • How to create an old-style URL shortcut
  • Related topics

How to Pin a Website

To pin a site with Internet Explorer 9, drag the tab from the browser to the taskbar. Alternatively, you can drag the site icon from the address bar or from the New Tab page and drop it on the taskbar to pin the site.

Note  Windows 8: In Internet Explorer 10, site pinning on the desktop works the same as Internet Explorer 9. In the new Windows UI experience, however, you pin a site by pressing the Pin to Start button.

 

How to Pin a Website using the Keyboard

To pin a site shortcut by using the keyboard, press Alt+T (for the Tools menu). Select Add site to Start menu by pressing M (in Internet Explorer 9) or R (in Internet Explorer 10). When the dialog box appears, press Alt+A or Return to click the Add button. After the application is running on the taskbar, you can pin the shortcut there by navigating to the taskbar button, pressing the Application key to open the Jump List, and using the arrow keys to select Pin this program to the taskbar.

The Pinned site Window

When you launch a Pinned site shortcut, notice that the browser window is different than a normal instance of Internet Explorer 9. The Pinned site window has a clean design that reinforces the site’s brand, as follows:

  • The Home button on the right is removed, and the site icon of the website is placed on the left. Clicking the site icon returns you to the home page of the site.
  • The Back and Forward buttons pick up the predominant color of the site's icon. The web developer can specify another color in the Pinned Site's metadata.
  • All windows and tabs that you launch from the Pinned site are treated as a single group on the taskbar.
  • The Pinned site window does not load any add-ons or third-party toolbars.

The following image shows how the buttons and site icon appear when Internet Explorer 9 is launched from a Pinned site shortcut.

Note  Windows 8: In the new Windows UI, when the browser is launched from a pinned site shortcut, the Pin to Start button changes to the Site tasks button. That is the only visual difference.

 

How to View a Jump List

To view a Jump List, right-click the taskbar button. You can also open a Jump List by pressing **Alt+Window Logo key+**number, where number is the taskbar position of the Pinned site. To view a Thumbnail Toolbar, hover the mouse point over a taskbar button until the thumbnail window appears. Be aware that icon overlays are visible only when the website is running, and when using the default setting of large icons for taskbar buttons.

Note  Windows 8: In the new Windows UI experience, you can view the Jump List by pressing the Site tasks button. This button replaces the Pin to Start button when the browser is launched from a pinned site shortcut.

 

How to create an old-style URL shortcut

Starting with Internet Explorer 9, the browser creates a .website file when you pin a site to the taskbar, drag a site icon from the address bar to the desktop, or add the site to the Start menu. Previous versions of Windows Internet Explorer created .url files when you dragged the icon to the desktop.

A .website file is opened in an instance of Internet Explorer that enables pinned site features. You cannot open a .website file in a regular instance of Internet Explorer.

To create an old-style URL shortcut (.url file) on your desktop for a site that you do not want to pin, hold down the SHIFT key before you drag the site icon from the address bar to the desktop.

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