Added 10/23/09

I've lost some data from my online storage account, what can I do?
Please send a private message to the Recovery Team stating your online storage login details together with a recent date of when the items were last there. The team will attempt to recover them and will notify you of the outcome. Note, the team may be in a different time zone to you and that recovery may not always be possible or immediate.

Why can't I sign in to my online storage?:
Some users can't sign in to online storage at a certain time during the day.
That is because the online storage backups data everyday around 4:30am UTC(11:30PM EST) and it lasts about 40 minutes.
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Where are my Groups?
In AB 11, all group functionality has been merged with bookmarks. By default, your old groups should have been imported to a folder called Groups under Bookmarks.

What happened to the Links bar
The links bar is now called the Bookmarks bar. See View - Toolbars to enable it.

How can I disable the close button &/or loading bar on the tabs?
See Tools - Tab Options

How do I change the default search engine in Avant's search toolbar?
You must type in the search strings by hand. Click here for step by step instructions.

Where is my Google &/or Roboform toolbar?
Don't worry, they're still available... Actually AB 11 now supports a majority of the IE add-ons. You just have to enable them in options. See next question.

How do I enable IE add-ons and toolbars?
See here for a quick guide.

Why aren't my favorites synchronized with Internet Explorer?
By default Avant 11 uses its own proprietary bookmark system. If you prefer using IE favorites as in previous versions of Avant, go to Tools - Avant Browser Options - Miscellaneous and check the Enable IE Favorites as Bookmarks box. Note: Due to file size restraints, IE favorites are not supported for use with the Online Storage feature. See [INFO] Setting Avant 11.x to use IE favourites for more information

Why isn't Avant translated to my language anymore?
Most likely this is because no one has yet updated the translation file for the current build in your language. Avant relies on the community for its translations. If you would like to help with translation, please e-mail jasmine AT avantbrowser.com or see the translator area of this forum.

General

What is Avant Browser?
Avant Browser (AB) is an Internet browser that provides a great user interface while keeping the Internet Explorer page rendering engine to provide great web site compatibility. This "best of both worlds" has made it very popular with its users.

What's the difference between full-screen and full-desktop?
Full desktop shows the Windows task bar, full-screen does not. If you don't see this difference, right click on the task bar, select Properties and then make sure Always on Top is checked and Autohide is unchecked.

Does (insert name of plug in software here) work with Avant Browser?
Do a search of the forum, many of them have been discussed. If you can't find the answer, try it yourself and let us know!

Something is not working properly
Some AB features require IE 6 to work properly. You should upgrade if you have not already done so. Also, some AB features will not work with Windows 95 or NT.

Where can I download older versions of Avant?
Thanks to MysteryFCM, you can get older versions here. You might also find older versions at FileMirrors.

What are feeds?
Feeds, or XML/RSS feeds, are an alternative way of viewing news from various web sites in a simple uncluttered manner. Click here for more information on Newsfeeds.

Does Avant support the new features of the Windows XP SP2 security update?
Yes & no. Out of the box, Avant does not recognize the SP2 update features. However there are two methods to get around this:
1. Rename the Avant Browser executable in the Avant Browser program directory from avant.exe to iexplore.exe Or...
2. There is also a simple registry tweak that can be made. See here for details and DrDrrae has posted a .reg file to do this automatically.

Usage

How can I move the tabs bar to the top of the screen?
Click View - Show Window Tabs on Top... Or Make sure the toolbars are unlocked and drag the bar wherever you like.

How do I hide the bar on the left side of the screen?
Tools - Avant Browser Options - Miscellaneous - Hide splitter bar

Can I remove the floating toolbars on images, flash animations, &/or highlighted text?
Yes, these can also be disabled under Tools - Avant Browser Options - Miscellaneous

Can I disable the url tool tips that pop up when an ad or pop up is blocked?
Yes go to Tools - Avant Browser Options - Popup Blocker and uncheck "Display URL of blocked popup window" Or go to Tools - Avant Browser Options - Ad Blocker and uncheck "Display URL of blocked AD" respectively.

How do I send a shortcut for a web page to the desktop?
Right-click on the page and select Create shortcut. Alternatively, find a link to the page, and drag it onto the desktop.

How do I set the default action for the new window button (open blank page, current page or home page)?
Tools - Avant Browser Options - New Window

How do I get search results (from the search bar) to appear in a new tab?
Go to Tools - Avant Browser Options - New Window and under "Always open a new window for" check Search Results. Or hold down the shift key while pressing the search button. Shift-click works for any link.

What's up with Auto-complete? It doesn't work!
This has been reported by a few users and actually isn't a bug at all. There are two or three options in Internet Options that you have to check. Read more here.

Where can I find skins?
In the skins/downloads section of this forum, here Or try Getskinned.org

Can I make my own skins?
Sure, download Skin Factory and play around. Post your creations here on the forum!

NB: A tutorial for creating skins can be found here

How do I disable the custom Avantfind error page?
This can be disabled under Tools - Avant Browser Options - Miscellaneous

Can I open multiple AB instances?
Yes, As of version 10.01.01 Alpha, multiple instances are available for those that would like to use it. Select File - New Avant Browser or right click any link & choose Open in New Avant Browser.

Common problems

I can't open anything with Avant! What's going on??
Most likely, this is caused by a problem with a firewall. If you are not running a firewall and are still having this problem, please post your problem.

I can't see the Title bar.
You are probably in "Full Desktop" mode. Press the F12 button to get out of it. (If nothing changes, you were probably in Full Screen mode and just switched to Full Desktop mode. Press F12 again to return.)

I can't see the Title bar or the Windows Start Button
You are probably in "Full Screen" mode. Press the F11 button to get out of it. (If nothing changes, you were probably in Full Desktop mode and just switched to Full Screen mode. Press F11 again to return.)

When I open a new window in Avant, it opens only 1/2 way or so. I want my full window!!!
From other users who have reported this problem, you probably have windowblinds installed. Right now, Avant is not compatible (evidentially) with windowblinds, and thus it creates a problem. However, hopefully this will be fixed in the future.

Can I use Windowblinds with Avant?
There is a known incompatibility with Windowblinds that may cause Avant to act strangely or not work at all.

Avant Browser freezes on start up at the splash screen
As an added security precaution, another application probably added restrictions so that no program you run can change any Internet Explorer settings. To change this, open the registry and;
1. Visit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
2. Click Edit|Permissions
3. Click Advanced
4. Under the Permissions tab, select each 'Deny' or 'Deny Set Value' permission entry, and click Remove.
5. Click OK twice.
6. Restart or run Avant.
Thanks mensan for this solution.

FTP doesn't work right
Tools - Internet Options - Advanced and uncheck Enable Folder View for FTP Sites

How do I remove the links in Favorites
One way to do this is to simply tweak the registry and then delete the folder from IE. You can read more about this here.

Sometimes a pop-up window gets passed the blocker.
That can happen from time to time. It may be possible to add the sites url to the blocker black list to catch it. Post the site in question on the forum and someone may be able to assist you further.

Google Toolbar and Windows 98/ME
Anderson has been unable to resolve compatibility issues so the Google toolbar does not work with these versions of Windows. The search engine built in to Avant, however, can be set to Google. Tools->Avant Browser Options->Search Engines.

Sometimes I click on a link in Outlook or MSN (or similar) but the page opens in IE, not AB.
First, make sure that AB is your default browser: Tools - Avant Browser Options - Files and Protocols - Set Avant Browser... If it still doesn't work, and you're comfortable modifying the registry, then do this: navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/http/shell/open/command and change the value to "ABpath" %1. If desired, repeat this procedure with other protocols you wish to support (https, html, ftp, etc...) by replacing http in the path above with the new protocol. Thanks zeflash for this solution. Also look here.

MSN Messenger links won't open in Avant, just IE
SweetLou has posted a registry hack for working around this problem. Download the registry hack here & be sure to read the included install notes.

Links in ICQ don't work
Do the following: Tools - Internet Options - Programs, press the Reset Web Settings button, uncheck Also reset my homepage and press yes. Close (File - Exit) and then reopen AB, press no when prompted to make AB your default browser. Finally, go to Tools - Avant Browser Options - Files and Protocols and check all boxes except for *.url and Avant Browser should check... and press Ok. Thanks bocina for this solution.

Shortcuts on desktop, start menu, etc. don't work in XP SP2
Open My Computer Tools>>Folder Options Click on the File Types tab. Scroll down until you see "Internet Shortcut", highlight "Internet Shortcut" and click on the "Advanced Button". Highlight Avant Browser and click on the "Edit" button. In the box labeled, "Application used to perform action:" type

Code: Select all

rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,OpenURL %l

You might have to do the same thing for URL extensions. Now, open Avant, go to Tools>>Avant Browser Options>>Files and Protocols. Uncheck url. Avant might have over written what you just did for file types, you might have to do that again.

What happened to Avant's colored system buttons?
These were changed to smaller black icons to better suite the new compact style. If you prefer the old colored buttons, Hornakapopolis has released a pack of skins using the older versions. See here

Why aren't my settings saving? (Added 5/29/2006)
If you have SpySweeper, make sure it is disabled when you are making changes to the Avant Browser settings.


This FAQ is constantly being updated. Any errors/omissions, PM one of the moderators.