When IE5 first came out you could check Internet Options: Search from the Address Bar>When searching>Display results, and go to the most likely site. With this checked you could type a work like “Abit” (without quotes) in the address bar in a normal IE window and it would open a split screen with the most likely site in the large right screen and a list of alternatives.

In the case of Abit it goes to a motherboard peddler which probably isn’t what you are looking for, but the fifth item down on the left is Abit Computer Corp which is Abit’s home page. It was my first choice for simple searches.

Several months later the feature disappeared. If you typed just Abit in the Address bar you opened a full page on MSN’s search with the term Abit already entered – handy but not as good as it was before. It also removed the selection to “Display results, and go to the most likely site” every time you did a search from the address bar.

I asked what had happened to the feature on the board but nobody seemed to use the feature or realize it was gone. I think M$ decided to generate some revenue from address bar searches by taking you to their MSN page where you are exposed to advertising. OK with me as they are providing an excellent browser gratis, but I missed the old search.

It has been back for a few months now but you can’t access it through the Internet Options selection. Type a word like “books” (no quotes) in the address bar and enter (or Go). The MSN search page will open. Scroll down the page until you see a little blurb to the effect that M$ has vastly improved their search from the address bar function but if you are not bright enough to appreciate the wonderful improvement you can click on a link to put it back like it was before. I think you have to do this with two successive address bar searches to make it permanent. It still removes the selection in Internet Options every time you do an address bar search, but evidently a cookie directs it to the old split screen search. Also works for 5.5, but I haven’t tried IE6 yet.