How do I change the home page for my web browser?

The term "home page" can have two meanings. The first and most common meaning is a web page that you created yourself to display information about you. For more about personal home pages and creating them at Indiana University, see At IU, what is Mypage, and how can I publish a web page there?

The second type of home page, addressed here, is the page that automatically opens when you start your browser or click the home button.

On this page:

• Firefox:
  • Firefox 3 and higher for Windows
  • Firefox 3 and higher for Mac OS X
• Internet Explorer 7 and higher
• Safari

Firefox 3 and higher for Windows

1. From the Tools menu, select Options... , and then click General or Main.
   
   
2. Set your home page(s) using any of the following methods:
   
   
   • Next to "Home Page:", type the URL you want to display when you start your browser, for instance: http://kb.iu.edu/

     If you would like multiple web pages to appear in tabs when you start Firefox, separate the URLs with a pipe ( | ), for example:

     http://kb.iu.edu/|http://uits.iu.edu
   • To make the current page or all currently open tabs your home page(s), click Use Current Page.
   • To select a site from your bookmarks, click Use Bookmark.
   • If you would like your browser to open to a blank page, next to "When Firefox starts:", select Show a blank page.
   
   
3. Click OK.

Firefox 3 and higher for Mac OS X

1. From the Firefox menu, select Preferences... , and then click General or Main.
   
   
2. Set your home page(s) using any of the following methods:
   
   
   • Next to "Home Page:", type the URL you want to display when you start your browser, for instance: http://kb.iu.edu/ If you would like multiple web pages to appear in tabs when you start Firefox, separate the URLs with a pipe ( | ), for example: http://kb.iu.edu/|http://uits.iu.edu
   • To make the current page or all currently open tabs your home page(s), click Use Current Page(s).
   • Click Use Bookmark to select a site from your bookmarks.
   • If you would like your browser to open to a blank page, select Show a blank page or Use Blank Page from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
   
   
3. Close the window to save the settings.

Internet Explorer 7 and higher

In Internet Explorer 7 and higher, you can set either a single home page or several of them, which will open in tabs.

1. Open the Tools menu. If the menu bar is not visible, press Alt to view it.
   
   
2. Select Internet Options.
   
   
3. In the text field in the "Home page" section, type the URL you wish to use as your home page. You may enter multiple URLs on separate lines, which will be loaded in separate tabs.

Safari

1. From the Safari menu, select Preferences... . In the preference window toolbar, click General.
   
   
2. Set your home page using any of the following methods:
   
   
   • In the "Homepage" or "Home page" field, type the URL you want to display when you start your browser, for instance: http://kb.iu.edu/
   • If you would like to make the page you are viewing your home page, click Set to Current Page.

     Using the pull-down menu next to "New windows opens with:", select the page that appears when you open a new browser window (but not when you click the Home button).

3. Click OK.

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