Toolbar 2.2 Frequently Asked Questions
Toolbar | RSS/Ticker | Popup BlockerGeneral
System Requirements
Installation
Toolbar Operations
MetaCrawler Toolbar Preferences
Troubleshooting
Cursor Search
General
- Q: What is the MetaCrawler toolbar?
A: The MetaCrawler toolbar allows you to search using the powerful search capabilities from wherever you are on the Web. It’s the fastest, most convenient way to access the Web, Yellow Pages, White Pages, personalized weather and stock information online.
- Q: How much does the MetaCrawler toolbar cost?
A: Nothing, the Toolbar is free and downloads in seconds.
- Q: Does the MetaCrawler Toolbar access the Internet or do automatic updates?
A: The Toolbar will do periodic checks to see if there are any software updates. Small updates that effect settings or Web addresses happen automatically and will not interrupt your browsing. Major changes may require you to install an update to the Toolbar. In that case the Toolbar displays an update message and give you the option to install the new version. No personally identifying information is passed in this process. If you have personal firewall software install, it may notify you that the Toolbar is trying to access the Internet. That is how the Toolbar stays up to date. You should set your firewall software to allow this.
System Requirements
- Q: What are the minimum system requirements needed to run the MetaCrawler toolbar?
A: Minimum system requirements to download the Toolbar:
Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
- Q: What browser do I need to run the MetaCrawler toolbar?
A: Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. To check what version of Internet Explorer you currently have installed, click “Help” and then “About Internet Explorer” in the Internet Explorer menu bar.
- Q: When will the MetaCrawler toolbar be available for other browsers?
A: At this time, we do not know when the Toolbar will be available for other browsers and operating systems.
Installation
- Q: I installed the MetaCrawler toolbar, but I don’t see it. Why?
A: If you do not see your Toolbar click the “View” menu on your browser, select “Toolbars” and click on the MetaCrawler Toolbar option.
- Q: I installed the MetaCrawler Toolbar, but the Ticker, Horoscope, or Weather buttons are just white boxes?
A: This can happen if something happened to interrupt the installation process. You can usually fix this by installing the Toolbar again.
- Q: I’ve tried several times to install the MetaCrawler Toolbar, but it still fails. What should I do?
A: Have you checked to see if your problem is addressed by any of the others listed on this FAQ? If your installation problem is not addressed by this FAQ, please send us feedback.
- Q: How large is the MetaCrawler toolbar download file?
A: The Toolbar download file is less than 580 KB.
- Q: When I try to install the MetaCrawler toolbar on Windows NT or Windows 2000, it fails. What’s happening here?
A: If you’re using Windows NT or Windows 2000, check that you have the Administrative privileges required to install applications. If you are unsure of the status of your system privileges, check with your system administrator.
- Q: Is the MetaCrawler Toolbar spyware?
A: Absolutely not. On the Internet, spyware is programming that is put in someone’s computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. The MetaCrawler Toolbar does not secretly gather or relay information to any outside source. Any and all information (like ZIP Code and birth date) is used to customize your Toolbar with relevant information. It is never given to any outside source.
- Q: After installing the MetaCrawler toolbar, my other toolbar disappeared. How do I get it back?
A: You can view more than one toolbar at a time and each toolbar will not interfere with the other. To activate your other toolbar click the “View” menu on your browser, select “Toolbars” and click on the name of the Toolbar you are no longer seeing.
- Q: How do I uninstall the MetaCrawler Toolbar?
A: To uninstall your Toolbar, open the Toolbar Menu by clicking on the MetaCrawler logo and select “Toolbar Uninstall.” Once you have finished, please close all browser windows since the Toolbar will still exist in those windows, although it is no longer functional.
Toolbar Operations
- Q: How do I add or remove my buttons?
A: To add or remove buttons, click on the MetaCrawler logo and select “Toolbar Settings” from the Toolbar menu. This will open a dialog box with the available Toolbar buttons.You can turn the buttons on or off by checking the boxes within the dialog box. A check mark to the left of the icons indicates which items are turned on. Click “Save Settings” to close the dialog box.
- Q: How do I hide my toolbar?
A: You can hide the Toolbar so it does not show up on your browser. (Remember you can always restore your Toolbar so it appears on your browser.)
Follow the directions below to hide the Toolbar: - Click “View,” which is located on the IE menu bar.
- Select “Toolbars” and click on “MetaCrawler Toolbar.” This will hide your MetaCrawler Toolbar (a check beside the item means it is active; no check means it is hidden).
- Q: How do I move my toolbar?
A: To move your Toolbar, simply click on the separator bar to the left of the Toolbar logo and drag the Toolbar to the desired location.
- Q: How do I switch Toolbars?
A: You can view more than one Toolbar at a time and each Toolbar will not interfere with the other. To activate your other Toolbar click the “View” menu on your browser, select “Toolbars” and click on the name of the Toolbar you are no longer seeing.
- Q: I just upgraded to IE 6.0 and my Toolbar disappeared, why?
A: Follow these steps to correctly configure Internet Explorer, then download the MetaCrawler Toolbar again. - In IE, click on the “Tools” menu and choose “Internet Options.”
- Click the “Advanced” tab.
- In the “Browsing” section, make sure “Enable third-party browser extensions” is selected.
- Close all IE windows and open a new instance of IE.
- Reinstall the Toolbar at http://www.metacrawler.com/info.metac.toolbar/tbar/.
- Q: Where did my IE toolbar go?
A: Are you missing the Internet Explorer toolbar that displays the “File,” “Edit,” “View” menus? If so, make sure that you have not moved your MetaCrawler Toolbar over the IE menu.
Instructions for moving the toolbar:
- Directly to the left of the logo, you should see a thin vertical bar. Click on this bar with the left mouse button and hold the mouse button down.
- Now, move the mouse straight down and release the button.
If you do not see the IE menu, please push the F11 key twice on your keyboard. This should resolve the issue.
- Q: Why does IE crash when I run the MetaCrawler Toolbar and Hotbar at the same time?
A: There appears to be some sort of an incompatibility between these two applications. We are investigating the cause, but in the mean time recommend that you do not run both toolbars at the same time.
- Q: I see the MetaCrawler Toolbar, but clicking the buttons doesn’t work. Why?
A: If all MetaCrawler toolbar buttons are taking you to “404 Document Not Found” error pages, please check the following:
- Make sure your Internet connection is working. Can you type Web addresses into your Web browser?
- Do you have an incompatible program running? Following are examples of programs incompatible with the toolbar:
- Norton Internet Security PE 2001 3.0
- RealGuide icon and MSN Messenger icon in IE toolbar
- Netzip Download Demon (often from RealPlayer 7)
- WebWasher
- Anonymiser
- VX2
- Q: Does the MetaCrawler toolbar keep a log of the Web sites that I visit?
A: No. The Toolbar does keep a history of searches that you make in order to assist you in doing searches. This history is only stored on your computer and can be deleted by clicking the Clear History button on your Toolbar. Please note that the information is for your own reference only. MetaCrawler does not access or use your information in any way. For more details, please refer to the Privacy Policy.
- Q: How do I delete the history of my search terms in the search toolbar?
A: The history can be deleted by clicking the Clear History button on your toolbar. You can turn off the history feature in the Toolbar Settings dialog under the toolbar's main menu.
MetaCrawler Toolbar Preferences- Q: Can I get back to the MetaCrawler Toolbar Preferences screen that I saw just after installing the MetaCrawler Toolbar?
A: Yes. Go to the Toolbar Settings dialog box where you can change these preferences. Other preferences can be set by selecting Browser Settings from the Toolbar logo menu.
- Q: How do I set MetaCrawler as my home page?
A: To set MetaCrawler as your home page, select Tools from your main browser menu. Then select Internet Options. Next, type http://www.metacrawler.com into the Address textbox and click the OK button. Now, each time you load your browser, the MetaCrawler home page will appear.
- Q: How do I search with the MetaCrawler Toolbar when my browser cannot find a Web site?
A: Users with Internet Explorer versions before 5.5 will use MetaCrawler to search when the browser cannot find a Web site. Those with Internet Explorer versions 5.5 and later will use the InfoSpace search product.
- Q: How do I reset my Web settings for Internet Explorer?
A: Select Tools from your main browser menu. Then select Internet Options. Click on the Programs tab. Click the Reset Web Settings button. When asked if you want to reset your Web settings, click the Yes button. This will reset your browser to the original default home page and Web search settings (MSN Home, MSN Search).
- Q: What do the different options on the Browser settings menu mean?
A: There are three different options available that configure your browser.
- Set MetaCrawler as my home page - This loads the home page each time you open your browser.
- Search with MetaCrawler when the browser cannot find a Web site - This uses MetaCrawler to search when your browser cannot locate a URL you enter.
- Use MetaCrawler as my default search engine - This uses MetaCrawler when you click the Search button on your main browser window.
Troubleshooting
- Q: How do I report a problem?
A: To report a problem with your Toolbar, please send us the details. Be sure to include your Operating system (e.g., Windows 2000) and browser version (e.g., Internet Explorer 5.5) to help us have a better idea of how to solve the problem.
Cursor Search
- Q: What is Cursor Search?
A: Cursor Search is the ability to highlight a word or phrase within an HTML Web page and search for it on the Web. To do so, highlight a term, right-click it with your mouse, and an option will appear, click on “Cursor Search” and then you will automatically be taken to the results page.
- Q: I tried to use Cursor Search from my computer’s word processing program, but it didn’t work. How come?
A: At this time, Cursor Search only works within Microsoft Word 2000 and greater.
- Q: I installed the Toolbar, how come I don’t see Cursor Search in Microsoft Word?
A: When you install the Toolbar, Cursor Search appears the next time you start Word. If you had Word active when you installed the Toolbar, it needs to be restarted to activate Cursor Search. If you turn Cursor Search off or on again using the Toolbar Settings dialog, you will need to restart Word for the change to take effect. Cursor Search does not work for versions from Word 97 or earlier. Under some circumstances, you may need to restart your computer for the change to take effect.
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