How to Get Rid of the Favorites Button in IE8

Written by: Finn Orfano • Edited by: Michele McDonough
Published Sep 30, 2009 • Related Guides: Windows Registry | Internet Explorer 8

Having trouble with the Favorites button in Internet Explorer 8 that refuses to disappear? Read on to find out how you can get back some valuable screen real estate by shrinking the Favorites button.

Introduction

Internet Explorer has its share of design problems, one of them is the Favorites button which refuses to disappear upon unchecking it from the options menu. We are given complete control over display of the various toolbars, but the Favorites button, the one with the orange star to the extreme right of your tabs menu, cannot be disabled. Netbook users who use Internet Explorer 8 would benefit from extra screen real estate to display their open tabs. Granted, the Favorites button is in the same line as the tabs, but having the ability to disable the Favorites button and display an extra tab is definitely an advantage for those using a 10-inch screen to surf online.

Workaround that Doesn't Work

click to enlarge

One possible method to fix the problem is to disable the command bar, which consists of the horizontal toolbar and the tabs, by editing the Windows registry. It involves setting a registry entry that disables the command bar to 1. The unfortunate consequence of doing this is that you lose the ability to browse using tabs altogether, since the Favorites button and the tabs display are part of the same horizontal toolbar.

You would need to resort to opening pages in new windows which can get cumbersome. Moreover, it defeats the whole purpose of using a browser for user-friendly surfing.

Solution

Since you cannot disable the Favorites button and get rid of it, you could save some screen real estate by just displaying its icon instead of the entire button with its text. It provides some consolation to netbook users and to those who value their screen space and want to maximize usage of their on-screen free space while browsing.

To shrink the favorites button to an icon do the following:

Right Click the toolbar which displays your tabs.
Navigate to the Customize option in the pop up menu.
Check the option Show Only Icons.

You will now have an orange icon occupying the favorites button area.

So thats it folks, for those of you who have absolutely no use for the Favorites button, this is the only possible way to have the Favorites button take up the least amount of space without hampering your browsing experience in Internet Explorer 8.

Related Reading: For more tips and tricks, check out this article on how to repair, reset, or restore Internet Explorer 8.

Dc Jan 7, 2012 5:44 PM

RE: How to Get Rid of the Favorites Button in IE8

While I've never been able to make the Favorite Button disappear, I was able to make it move off of the Favorites Tool Bar using a registry tweak. Go to : [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\CommandBar] In the key "FavBandRow" change the value to "3" and the Favorites Button will move off the Favorites Bar and up to the Bar directly above. This then leaves more room on the Favorites Bar itself for more favorites.

scott Jul 14, 2011 3:47 PM

favorites bar and toolbar combined

The graphic you posted within the article is a screenshot depicting buttons (home, feeds, mail, print, page safety, tools, help, etc.) all located on the same line as the favorites buttons (but to the right of them).
On my screen, all of those buttons are below my favorites button. How can I get my toolbar to look like yours with favorites and other tools on the same line? I too want to free up more of my screen real estate.

Thanks, Scott

How to Get Rid of the Favorites Button in IE8

Introduction

Workaround that Doesn't Work

Solution

Comments