If you share a computer or use public workstations, you may not want to leave your search history on display. If you use search engines like Google, Lycos or Fast, along with the Internet Explorer browser, your search commands may be saved for the next user to see.
Fortunately, you can erase terms from your history when you are done searching. A few search engines, like Yahoo, don't display your history at all. There is also a way to turn off the browser's save feature for future sessions.
Where is your search history?
Internet Explorer (IE) keeps track of all the terms you use to search whenever the IE AutoComplete Forms feature is turned on. This feature is turned on by default in the basic Jeff-IT configuration for staff computers, so you may have it without realizing it.
Check to see whether your browser is collecting your history:
- At Google, for example, just click in the search box; a list of recent terms will appear.
- If you have a search engine's toolbar included directly in your browser, use the pulldown menu button next to the search box to see your history.
- Or, just start typing a search term -- a box will display any terms in the history that start with the same letters.
IE saves search statements from session to session; just closing the browser won't delete them.
Delete a single entry
This method only works on a single term at a time at the search engine's site (e.g., Google) and assumes that your AutoComplete Forms setting is checked. (See the example below for an image of the AutoComplete dialog box.)
- Click in the search box to display the search history.
- Use your computer's arrow keys to move up and down the list -- highlighting one term at a time.
- Highlight the term to be erased.
- Now use your keyboard's Delete button to erase the search term.
Delete the whole history & prevent future saving
In IE version 5 or higher, choose Tools from the top menu bar of your browser, and Internet Options from its pulldown menu. Choose the Content tab in the dialog box that pops up.
- Click the AutoComplete button in the Personal Information section.
You should see the following dialog box:
- On the Use AutoComplete For list, make sure the box for Forms is not checked. This will prevent your browser from saving future searches.
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- In the Clear AutoComplete History section, click the button for Clear Forms. This will erase all of the searches in your search history.
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Note: These options will also affect any other form-based information your browser is saving, so if you are a repeat user of certain forms -- and like the convenience of automatic completion of your entries -- then you won't want to use this approach. Stick to deleting single search terms, instead.
Toolbar users
Have you downloaded a search engine toolbar directly into your browser? If so, you will only be able to erase your whole history -- not single terms.
Google is the most popular toolbar addition here at Jefferson. It's a great convenience, and free and easy to obtain at http://toolbar.google.com/. To see your search history, click on the pulldown menu arrow at the right of the search box in the toolbar.
To remove all of the search terms at once from the search history box, click on the Google logo to the left of the search box on the Google tool bar. From its pulldown menu, choose "Clear Search History."
What else can you delete?
Of course, you may want to delete the history of sites you have visited, as well. Choose Tools from the top menu bar of your browser, and Internet Options from its pulldown menu. In the dialog box that pops up, choose the General tab, if it doesn't pop up automatically as the default.
Under the General options will be two selections: Temporary Internet Files and History.
Under Temporary Internet Files, click the Delete Files button. This will delete your recent page views.
Under History, click the Clear History button. This will delete the site links preserved by the browser.
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