EditURLs is a small program that works with Internet Explorer and allows you to edit and save the dropdown list of URLs that Internet Explorer uses in the address box for URLs that are typed in manually.
I occasionally have the opportunity to observe how people use their browsers at work, and one function that is used surprisingly frequently is the autocomplete for URLs typed in the address box.
Which, I suppose, makes sense; bookmarks very quickly proliferate and require maintenance and management, while the address box is quick and easy (and will auto-populate the rest of your URL as you type).
All well and good, except the list of autocomplete URLs will itself grow too big, will frequently contain undesirable entries, and will disappear altogether when you perform periodic system or browser cleaning actions (say with a program such as CCleaner). EditURLs will remedy this: it will let you maintain a list of all the URLs you want to have in your autocomplete list, and will allow you to easily add new entries from any new URLs that you might have typed into the browser.
What I like about this program:
- Can create a desktop “restore” shortcut: go to “help” then “generate shorcuts” and create a “Restore URLs from Master” shortcut on your desktop. This will allow you to instantly restore the list of URLs into Internet Explorer without opening the program dialog itself.
- Does not reside in memory. Use this program when you need it, and the close it.
What I am less enthusiastic about
- On first use, it listed 25 URLs that were stored in IE, but left many others out. I suppose this is no a biggie, since the whole point is to narrow down to a desired group of URLs.
- Allows you to create a “delete all URLs” desktop shortcut, but it doesn’t seem to delete anything.
- Messages: contains an “ad” for the developer’s other programs, one of which is free. But I wouldn’t call this adware.
The verdict: I like original concepts in programs, and this program is both original and interesting. The interface is somewhat clunky and could be better designed and streamlined, but ultimately it does what it promises to do. I really like having a single shortcut on the desktop that will re-populate all the URLs that I use into Internet Explorer’s address box after a system cleanup.
Having said that, if you’re into typing to get your URLs check out IE Alias, which allows you to associate your URLs with any word that you like (e.g. “freeware” to open Freewaregenius, for example).
Version Tested: 2.02 build 2.2.0.30,
Compatibility: WinAll. Internet Explorer 4.0 – 7.x.
Go to the program page to download the latest version (approx 473K).
