View multiple sites in a single browser window. Easily switch from one site to another through tabs at the top of the browser frame.

Easily select and navigate through open tabs by displaying thumbnails of them all in a single window.

Tabs can be grouped and saved into logical categories, so you can open multiple tabs with a single click. A Tab Group can easily be set as the Home Page Group so the entire Tab Group opens every time Internet Explorer is launched.

A redesigned, streamlined interface maximizes the area of the screen that displays a webpage, so you see more of what you need, and less of what you don't.

Internet Explorer 7 automatically scales a webpage for printing, so the entire webpage fits on your printed page. Print options also include adjustable margins, customizable page layouts, removable headers and footers, and an option to print only selected text.

Web searches using your favorite search provider can now be entered into a search box within the toolbar, eliminating the clutter of separate toolbars. You can easily choose a provider from the dropdown list or add more providers.

Get quick and easy access to your Favorites, Tab Groups, Browsing History, and RSS Feed subscriptions. Your Favorites Center expands when needed, and can be anchored in place for even easier access.

Internet Explorer 7 automatically detects RSS feeds on sites and illuminates an icon on the toolbar. A single click on the icon allows you to preview and subscribe to the RSS feed if you want—so you’re automatically notified as content is updated. Read RSS feeds directly in the browser, scan for important stories, and filter your view with search terms or site-specific categories.

Enlarge individual webpages, including both text and graphics, to either focus on specific content or to make content more accessible to those with vision limitations.

Disable nearly all pre-installed ActiveX controls to prevent potentially vulnerable controls from being exposed to attack. You can easily enable or disable ActiveX controls as needed through the Information Bar and the Add-on Manager.

Color-coded notifications appear next to the address bar to make you aware of website security and privacy settings. The Address Bar changes to green for websites bearing new High Assurance certificates, indicating the site owner has completed extensive identity verification checks. Phishing Filter notifications, certificate names, and the gold padlock icon also appear next to the address bar for better visibility. You can easily display certificate and privacy detail information with a single click on the Security Status bar.

This filter warns you about and helps to protect you against potential or known fraudulent websites, and blocks the sites if appropriate. This opt-in filter is updated several times per hour using the latest security information from Microsoft and several industry partners.

Internet Explorer 7 helps to prevent the script on webpages from interacting with content from other domains or windows. This enhanced safeguard gives you additional protection against malware by helping to prevent malicious websites from manipulating flaws in other websites or causing you to download undesired content or software.

Clean up cached pages, passwords, form data, cookies, and history, all from a single window.

Every window, whether it's a pop-up or standard window, will show you an address bar. This helps to block malicious sites that imitate trusted sites.

In addition to adding support for International Domain Names in URLs, Internet Explorer also notifies you when visually similar characters in the URL are not expressed in the same language—protecting you against sites that could otherwise appear as known, trustworthy sites.

Redesigned URL parsing ensures consistent processing and minimizes possible exploits. The new URL handler helps centralize critical data parsing and increases data consistency throughout the application.

To help protect you from browsing with unsafe settings, Internet Explorer 7 warns you with an Information Bar when current security settings may put you at risk. Within the Internet Control Panel, you will see certain critical items highlighted in red when they are unsafely configured. The Information Bar will continue to remind you as long as the settings remain unsafe. You can instantly reset Internet security settings to the "Medium-High" default level by clicking the "Fix My Settings" option in the Information Bar.

If you have difficulties launching Internet Explorer or reaching specific websites, you can start Internet Explorer in "No Add-ons" mode, where only critical system add-ons are enabled.

These features are available only with Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista:

• Protected mode Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system. It restricts exploits and malicious software from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files, unless the user provides explicit consent.

• Parental controls To help keep kids safer online, parents can control browsing behavior through the parental control settings built into Windows Vista. The child's safety level can be monitored and changed remotely. The safety level carries over to many PC activities, such as playing games or browsing the Internet. A child's browsing session can be examined by a parent afterwards and cannot be removed without the parent's permission.

These improvements address many of the inconsistencies that can cause web developers problems when producing visually rich, interactive webpages. The improved support for CSS 2.1, including selectors and fixed positioning, allow web developers to create more powerful effects without the use of script.

This toolkit helps IT pros and developers understand any incompatibilities their websites, applications, and deployments may have with Internet Explorer 7.

This channel supports transparency within the PNG image format, which results in better-looking websites that are simpler to build.

Get support for all aspects of Internet Explorer settings through Group Policy, greatly easing management across an enterprise.

OEMs and deployment specialists can pre-package Internet Explorer with customized settings or additional programs for their users. The IEAK7 now includes an .MSI installer to simplify enterprise deployment.

This support improves the implementation of the XMLHTTP Request as a native Javascript object for rich AJAX-style applications. While Internet Explorer 6 handled XMLHTTP requests with an ActiveX control, Internet Explorer 7 exposes XMLHTTP natively. This improves syntactical compatibility across different browsers and allows clients to configure and customize a security policy of their choice without compromising key AJAX scenarios.

In conjunction with Amazon.com, a set of RSS Simple List Extensions were submitted to the RSS community and released under the Creative Commons license. Among other features, these extensions greatly simplify development of applications that interact with Open Search-compatible search providers.

This platform provides rich functionality for downloading, storing, and accessing RSS feeds across the entire operating system, helping more users than ever before embrace RSS. Once a user subscribes to a feed in one application, that subscription and all the associated content are made available across the operating system for any application that wishes to consume it.

Internet Explorer 7 is more compatible with top web features than ever before. It supports many new web standards to make development easier and browsing a richer experience. Every new feature in Internet Explorer 7 also offers full control through Group Policy, which makes the administration of Internet Explorer easy, even for the largest enterprises.