# I hate IE7's layout **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987 "2009-06-16T20:42:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/41 "2009-06-18T04:08:40Z")
> [@Petek](#): > > Well, if you look at the properties of the iexplore.exe file in the C:\WINDOWS\ie7 folder, you’ll see that it is version 6. Also, Google for “ie7 ie6 interface” (without the quotes) and you’ll see that I’m not just making this up! > > Petek No. It is IE7. It seems you have IE6 installed there and maybe IE7 elsewhere. I only have IE7. Maybe you have a beta of IE7 elsewhere but what you are launching is IE6. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/42 "2009-06-18T04:11:11Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Are you referring to the comments about how much screen space is wasted by the menu bar and button bar? If so, then I too agree that it is an awful waste which I wish I could reverse. > > But I disagree with your phrase “objective fault”. Other could argue that it was an artistic and esthetic decision, and that they feel the screen “looks better” this way. They might even concede that some space is indeed wasted, but they’d add that with larger screens becoming more common, this is an unimportant (to them) concern. > > Ultimately, neither you nor I like this design, but I don’t think we can claim it to be faulty or defective. Having a choice is always better than not having that choice. IE6 gave me a choice that IE7 does not give me. In that regard IE6 is clearly superior. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/43 "2009-06-18T04:56:24Z")
I had the same problem. HATED IE7. I ended up downloading ie7pro ( [http://www.ie7pro.com/](http://www.ie7pro.com/) ) Worked a treat. Buttons and explorer bar in the right places, great ad blocking, download youtube etc… Might be worth a try for you too ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/44 "2009-06-18T04:59:39Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Are you referring to the comments about how much screen space is wasted by the menu bar and button bar? If so, then I too agree that it is an awful waste which I wish I could reverse. JFTR, are you familiar with full-screen mode? (Hit F11) ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/45 "2009-06-18T09:02:46Z")
Those of you hating IE7 might want to give IE8 a try. It utilizes space better than IE7 or Firefox and it’s a huge improvement in speed. The accelerators and add-ons make it comparable to Firefox in many ways. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/46 "2009-06-18T13:50:31Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Those of you hating IE7 might want to give IE8 a try. It utilizes space better than IE7 or Firefox and it’s a huge improvement in speed. The accelerators and add-ons make it comparable to Firefox in many ways. Thanks, I might install it on another computer and give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/47 "2009-06-19T03:12:39Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Are you referring to the comments about how much screen space is wasted by the menu bar and button bar? If so, then I too agree that it is an awful waste which I wish I could reverse. > > But I disagree with your phrase “objective fault”. Objective may not have been the right word. However, what I was intending to convey is that it was something that **sailor** was able to point to as a definite issue he didn’t like for a rational reason, and not something that could possibly be regarded as something with which he was unable to cope, simply because it was a change. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/48 "2009-06-19T16:50:51Z")
Thanks for the help guys. I think I’m going to switch over soon, when I’m not busy at work anymore. I can’t install Firefox here at work, but going directly to IE8 seems like a solution. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/49 "2009-06-19T17:43:16Z")
So I installed IE8 in one of my computers and now I just wish I could go back because it is even more fucked up. The layout is just as bad as IE7 (How can I get rid of the Live Search window?) and now the background of the menu and other bars is completely black so you cannot read anything. It is just black on black. It really looks like Microsoft just wants me to use Firefox or anything else but IE. Fuck. I should have left things as they were. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/50 "2009-06-19T18:04:54Z")
After restarting it several times and just generally messing with it the background color of the bars is now the usual grey. But the interface is pretty much the same as IE7 so no improvement there. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Dogberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7bcc69/32.png) [@Dogberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogberry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/51 "2009-06-19T19:05:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Nothing can be moved around (there is a menu option ‘lock toolbars’, but unchecking it to unlock the toolbars does nothing useful - the only thing that can be moved is the toolbar with the home icon on it, and the only place it can be moved is off the edge of the screen) Not sure why you are having that problem. I unlocked the toolbars, and the Menu and Links bars can move all over the place. After unlocking them, did you grab the vertical bar at the left of the toolbars and try dragging them around? (The Explorer Bar and the Navigation Bar are, however, not movable as far as I’ve been able to see. Maybe those are what you’re talking about?) > [@](#): > > The browsing history is accessed by clicking a control that at times appears greyed out/disabled. Never seen that, but I suspect it would (rightly) be grayed out if there is no browsing history (e.g. after deleting the browsing history). > [@](#): > > There is no way to open the browsing history through the menu structure (as far as I can see) In the menus, View-\>Explorer Bar-\>History, or use the shortcut Ctrl-Shift-H (as shown in the menu), which is a toggle. > [@sailor](#): > > I would be happy if it would allow you to configure the bars at the top. I hate having a menu line which is almost blank space taking up screen space. Unlock the toolbars and move your Links bar into the blank space next to the menu. That’s where I keep mine, immediately to the right of the Help menu. Gives me room for plenty of quick link buttons. I also customize the Command Bar, eliminating the things I don’t use, to free up more space for tabs on the toolbar below. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/52 "2009-06-19T20:43:49Z")
> [@Dogberry](#): > > Not sure why you are having that problem. I unlocked the toolbars, and the Menu and Links bars can move all over the place. After unlocking them, did you grab the vertical bar at the left of the toolbars and try dragging them around? (The Explorer Bar and the Navigation Bar are, however, not movable as far as I’ve been able to see. Maybe those are what you’re talking about?) My bars pretty much do not move either. > [@](#): > > Unlock the toolbars and move your Links bar into the blank space next to the menu. That’s where I keep mine, immediately to the right of the Help menu. Gives me room for plenty of quick link buttons. I also customize the Command Bar, eliminating the things I don’t use, to free up more space for tabs on the toolbar below. I have no use for the links bar so it is disabled. Other than that I wish I could have it like I had IE6 which is the menu at the top left followed by toolbuttons on the same row, then the address bar on the next line. I _hate_ having the buttons all over the place. And, BTW, when I installed IE8 I spent quite some time unchecking and disabling all sorts of goodies which MS wanted me to have but which I did not want. I do not want Live this or Live that Or Live BS. I just want a browser. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987/53 "2009-06-20T01:19:47Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > My bars pretty much do not move either. > I have no use for the links bar so it is disabled. Other than that I wish I could have it like I had IE6 which is the menu at the top left followed by toolbuttons on the same row, then the address bar on the next line. I _hate_ having the buttons all over the place. > > And, BTW, when I installed IE8 I spent quite some time unchecking and disabling all sorts of goodies which MS wanted me to have but which I did not want. I do not want Live this or Live that Or Live BS. I just want a browser. Ok - just mentioning ie7pro again. It lets you move all sorts of stuff around. At the moment my configuration is: Menus top left all by themselves Google toolbar Links Back and forward, History, address bar, refresh, stop, another google search that I have been too lazy to remove. Favourites, add to favourites, the various tabs and the buttons I find most useful (home, print etc..) I have ad blocker and flash blocker enabled Download youtube enabled And a few other goodies The best bit of course is the fact it is free. > **[IE7Pro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IE7pro)** > > IE7Pro is an add-on for Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 that aims to enhance the feature set provided by the browser. IE7Pro adds features such as tab enhancement, an ad blocker and flash blocker, mouse gestures, inline search, privacy enhancements, online bookmark service, Greasemonkey-like user script support, and plug-in support. IE7Pro is available in several languages – this is made possible by user translations. > The support of the product was discontinued after the release of minor version 2... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-ie7s-layout/499987.md?page=2)