A slice of the web

Web Slices give you easy access to relevant information.

Time is an important asset that constantly trickles through our fingers, and as we spend more of our time online, conducting our lives, we must do as much as possible to spend it more efficiently.

How many times a week do you log on to internet banking, look up an address if you're going to a party later, bid on that commemorative issue of a Spiderman comic, or want to keep tabs on the current sports scores?

It is inconvenient to constantly check a website for changes and, to that end, what if there was a way to do it all from the same page? Well now there is, and I will show you how.

Download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit
Download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit
Download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP

What is a Web Slice?

Web Slices in Internet Explorer 8 break all the rules and allow you to gather all of this information without leaving your current site.

A Web Slice is a preview (or snippet) of your favourite site or service available directly from the Favourites bar of your browser.

When you visit a web page that has a Web Slice available, a Web Slice icon is displayed. You can then easily subscribe and add the item to your Favourites bar.

When the Web Slice is updated, your Favourites bar will flash and the text will turn bold, indicating that shiny new content is available.

Clicking on your Web Slice in the Favourites Bar opens and displays the latest content. Clicking on the preview navigates your browser directly to the original web site.

Web Slice functionality is included out of the box with IE8. You don't need to go through the laborious process of finding an add-on and installing.

How to add a Web Slice

You don't need to be a genius to start adding Web Slices. Find a Web Slice by hovering your mouse over the content you're interested in.

Click on the green Web Slice icon to add it to your collection.

Handy fact: In user tests, Accelerators and Web Slices saved users almost a minute performing common tasks.

It is easy to set how often Internet Explorer 8 checks for updates and new content.

Once you have added a Slice, simply right-click to select Properties. Here you can select the frequency and alter the schedule accordingly.

But what if you don't want to track a Web Slice's updates anymore? To delete, right-click and select Delete from the menu - hardly rocket science now is it?

Download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit
Download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit
Download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP