Safari Top Sites - Setting Up, Viewing and customizing

This feature works with Windows 7 and should work with Vista. Does not work with XP.

After you’ve downloaded Safari, with the Top Sites page on the screen, click the gear icon at the top right on your screen. Click Preferences on the drop-down menu. On the General tab, choose “set to current page” beneath the Home Page slot. (While you’re there, choose your preferred search engine, too.)

(Unless you specify otherwise – see * below), Safari identifies your favorite sites and displays previews of them on the Top Sites page. Safari chooses Top Sites based on how often and how recently you’ve visited each site. As you explore the web and discover new websites, the Top Sites page changes to match your interests.

To view Top Sites:

Click the Top Sites icon in the bookmarks bar. The icon looks like a little checkerboard of black squares. It’s the 2^nd item on your favorites bar, just to the right of an open book icon.

To visit a Top Sites page, click its preview picture on your screen. Pages with new content have a star in the upper-right corner.

To add a page to Top Sites:

On the Top Sites page, click the bottom left Edit button. Then do any ONE of the following:

Open the webpage in a second Safari window, highlight the page’s address (URL) in the address field, and drag the address to the Top Sites page, or copy it into the Safari address bar. If you do the latter, click + to the left of the address bar. In the pop-up dialog box, w/Top Sites showing in the drop-down menu, click Add. (I usually do it the way I’ve underlined.)

Drag a link from a webpage, an email message, text document, or other source to the Top Sites page.

Type the address in a document, highlight it, and drag it to the Top Sites page.

When you are finished adding pages, click Done.

To customize Top Sites:

On the Top Sites page, click the Edit button at the bottom. Then do any of the following:

* To specify that a page should be kept in Top Sites and not replaced by other pages (even if visited often),

Click the pin icon in the page’s upper left corner.

To reverse this action, click the pin icon again.

To specify that a page should never be included in Top Sites, click the X in the page’s upper-left corner.

To display 24, 12, or 6 webpage previews, click Small, Medium, or Large.

To rearrange the pages, drag them.

When you are finished making changes, click Done.

--Ann Finley, August 2010