Playing favorites: How to control which browser is 'Head Honcho' on your PC
Published: May 23, 2005
By Sandi Hardmeier, MVP
By nature, I am a very curious person, and have always enjoyed experimenting with different Web browsers. Tabbed browsing, for me, was never reason enough to change default browsers, but pop-up blocking and protection from malware was.
Now that Internet Explorer has a pop-up blocker, an Add-On Manager, and improved protection from potentially harmful downloads, it’s getting harder to find a reason to not use Internet Explorer. Add to that the fact that Internet Explorer 7 is not far away and promising some fantastic improvements, and I anticipate that some people (including me) may want to give the new version a go and revert back to having Internet Explorer as their default browser. So, let’s have a look at how to swap between different default Web browsers.
What happens when I change my default Web browser?
Your choice of default Web browser is managed by something called "file type associations." Web browsers can examine file type association settings to check which program is currently our browser of choice, and edit those same settings to take over as the default.
File type associations tell Windows which program to use.
How do I change my default Web browser?
| • | Using Set Program Access and Defaults If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 1 or 2, or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 or 4, you have access to a special feature called ”Set Program Access and Defaults” (SPAD) which allows you to choose not only your default Web browser, but also your default e-mail program, media player, instant messaging program, and Java virtual machine. This feature can be accessed in one of two ways: 1. |
Via the right pane of the Start menu (directly under the Control Panel icon);
 Access SPAD via Start menu. | 2. |
In Control Panel, via Add/Remove Programs.
 Access SPAD via Control Panel. |
Once open, SPAD presents you with three default options: Microsoft Windows, Non-Microsoft, and Custom. Sometimes, you will also be able to choose "Computer Manufacturer" defaults, a list of preconfigured programs as selected by the company or person that built your computer. The Microsoft Windows default Web browser is, of course, Internet Explorer. Non-Microsoft depends on what browsers are currently installed, and whether or not they are properly registered within Windows. If your preferred choice of Web browser does not appear in SPAD under Non-Microsoft, despite being installed on your computer, I encourage you to write to the program vendors and ask them to ensure that future releases of their product are enhanced to take advantage of this feature. For the purposes of this article, we shall concentrate on the Custom default option, which is the most flexible of all, allowing us to choose, if we so wish, a mixture of Microsoft and non-Microsoft products.
Once you have opened SPAD and selected the Custom option, click on the arrow button to the right of screen to reveal all available Web browser options.
 Choosing the Custom default option.
Changing your default Web browser is simply a matter of selecting the one that you want to use, then clicking on the OK button.
 SPAD makes it easy to choose a default Web browser program. Enable access to this program simply ensures that a shortcut for a particular program appears on the desktop, and in the Start menu. Turning this option off does not block access to the program.
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| • | If you don’t have SPAD
If you do not have access to the SPAD feature, or your preferred choice of Web browser does not appear in SPAD, then you can turn on a default browser prompt for your preferred browser, shut down the program, restart, choose Yes and then turn the prompt back off again.
 Take-over prompts are the easiest way to change default browser if SPAD is not available. If you have previously turned off the default browser prompt, it will be necessary to turn it back on by adjusting the relevant browser’s user settings. Some examples of how to do this are: 1. |
Internet Explorer – Click on Tools, then Internet Options, then the Programs tab. Select the Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser check box.
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Firefox – Click on Tools, then on Options, then on General. Select the Firefox should check to see if it is the default browser when starting check box.
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Opera – Click on Tools, then on Preferences, then on Default Application. Select the Check if Opera is default browser on startup check box.
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Deepnet Explorer – Click on Tools, then on Web Browser Options, then on General. Select the Prompt if Deepnet is not the default browser check box.
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Transferring data between Internet Explorer and other browsers
When you change default browsers, you will most likely want to transfer information such as Favorites, cookies, History, and stored passwords. The procedure used to transfer data, and the type of data that can be transferred, varies from browser to browser. Some of the more common browsers work as follows:
Firefox
Firefox includes a very comprehensive Import Wizard which is accessed from within Firefox via File, then Import. This wizard is able to import Internet Explorer’s Internet Options, cookies, Browsing History, Saved Form History, Saved Passwords, and Favorites in just a few steps. Simply ensure that the various types of data that you wish to import are checked, then click Next.
Firefox has a comprehensive Import Wizard, but only exports Bookmarks.
Firefox does not have an Export Wizard. That being said, Bookmarks, which are the equivalent of Internet Explorer’s Favorites, can be exported into an Internet Explorer friendly format by using the Bookmark Manager accessed via Bookmarks, Manage Bookmarks. Once within Bookmark Manager, click on File, then Export. Choose a file name, and a destination directory, and then click Save.
IMPORTANT Firefox uses a file called "cookies.txt" which is identical in name to the file created by Internet Explorer’s Import/Export Wizard, but the file used by Firefox is not compatible with, and cannot be imported into, Internet Explorer.
Opera
Opera has separate import and export wizards. The Import Wizard, which can import Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, and Konqueror bookmarks is very easy to use. To import Internet Explorer Favorites, simply click on File, then Import, then Internet Explorer Favorites. The Wizard will automatically navigate to the Internet Explorer Favorites folder. Check that the correct folder is selected, and then click OK.
Tip: Opera 8 is slightly different to that described above. You will need to click on File, Import and Export, and then Import Internet Explorer Favorites.
With Opera’s Export Favorites Wizard, an Internet Explorer compatible file can only be created by selecting File, then Export, and then Bookmarks as HTML. Once you have selected Bookmarks as HTML, simply choose a file name, and a destination directory, and then click Save.
Cookies cannot be exported from Opera, nor can they be imported.
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer has a simple Import/Export Wizard which can be used to export Cookies and Favorites. To start the Import/Export Wizard, go to File then click on Import and Export. This will start the Wizard then it is simply a matter of selecting what you want to import or export and following the instructions.
Internet Explorer is able to import HTML favorite files as exported from Firefox and Opera, but the Export Wizard is generally used for backup purposes, because most alternative browsers have their own import wizards that are able to retrieve Internet Explorer’s Favorites and Cookies without any need to export them first.
I’d like to change back to Internet Explorer, but there are features of my current browser that I will miss
The latest version of Internet Explorer was a big step forward, but there are still some missing bits such as tabbed browsing and RSS support.
For example, we can add RSS feed abilities to Internet Explorer by installing a product such as Pluck.
Pluck allows us to add the ability to read RSS feeds to Internet Explorer.
If you want tabbed browsing, you can add this to Internet Explorer by using plug-ins such as Microgarden Web Tools or by using browser overlays such as Deepnet or Maxthon, both of which feature RSS readers and tabbed browsing. A browser overlay avoids the need to import or export Favorites or cookies when swapping between such overlay browsers and Internet Explorer. This is a real benefit until alternative browsers improve their import AND export abilities.
Tip: All plug-ins and browsers overlays mentioned in this article are available for download via Windows Marketplace
In conclusion…
Choosing one particular browser as your default is not an all-or-nothing decision. It is possible to swap back and forth between different browsers quite easily. Although some user preferences will often be lost, such as passwords, favorites can always been exported and imported as needed. If you wish to avoid data loss, use an Internet Explorer skin such as Deepnet or Maxthon.
