System Requirements: Windows 98/NT/2000/ME/XP and Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher.
Before You Begin
Please verify the following Internet Explorer settings to ensure proper installation of the Sofast Toolbar:
1.
Goto Start > Control Panel > Internet Options (or, if you have an Internet Explorer browser window open, goto Tools > Internet Options...).
2.
Click on the Advanced tab.
3.
Scroll down the list and verify that "Enable Install On Demand (Other)" and "Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart)" are both checked.
Follow the steps provided in the auto installer dialog.
4.
Once the toolbar has been successfully installed, Internet Explorer will be restarted and browser window will open notifying you of the successful installation. You should see the Sofast Toolbar directly underneath the standard Internet Explorer toolbars as shown below...
If the toolbar is not visible, goto View > Toolbars, and click Sofast Toolbar.
You will be taken to the Sofast Toolbar Configuration screen (options explained below). The toolbar is automatically updated as you make changes.
Open a new window to display results each time you search
Each time you perform a search from the Sofast Toolbar, your search results will be displayed in a new Internet Explorer window.
Auto Complete
The Sofast Toolbar "remembers" the words/phrases you have entered in the search box. As you type within the search box, Auto Complete will begin matching previously searched words/phrases in an attempt to complete your typing (for more details, see Usage).
Keep a search history in a drop-down list under the search box
The Sofast Toolbar "remembers" the words/phrases you have entered in the search box. By selecting this option you can access these words/phrases by clicking on the arrow next to the search box (for more details, see Usage).
Automatically run a search when you select from the search history
The Sofast Toolbar "remembers" the words/phrases you have entered in the search box. By selecting this option, when you select a word/phrase from the drop-down list a search will be performed on that word/phrase (for more details, see Usage).
Run Search Drag Automatically
Selecting this option allows you to highlight a word/phrase on a Webpage and drag-and-drop it into the search box. A search will be performed on the word/phrase you dropped into the search box (for more details, see Usage).
Show Descriptive Text
This option allows you to display or hide the descriptive text next to the icons on the toolbar.
Show Word-Find Buttons
When this option is selected, for every word you type into the search box a Word-Find Button is created on the toolbar. Clicking on a Word-Find button highlights the first instance of that word on the page; clicking the Word-Find button again highlights the next occurance of the word, and so on... (for more details, see Usage).
Update Toolbar Automatically
Selecting this option allows the Sofast Toolbar to check for updates when you are online. If an update is found you will be alerted and asked if you would like to update your toolbar.
Sofast Webmail Configuration: Username & Password
Enter your Sofast account Username & Password for 1-click access to your Sofast Webmail (for more details, see Usage).
Clear Search History
Clears the search words/phrases out of the Search Box (see Search Box for details).
Options...
Takes you to the Sofast Toolbar Configuration screen where you can manage your toolbar options (see Configuration for details).
Help
Contact Us... - Link to www.sofast.net/about/contact.php Sofast Toolbar Help - Link to support.sofast.net/toolbar Update Sofast Toolbar - Updates your toolbar to the most current version.
Uninstall Sofast Toolbar - Uninstalls the Sofast Toolbar from your browser.
To begin a search, type a word or phrase into the search box and press Enter on your keyboard (or click the Search Web button on the toolbar). This will perform your search with Google, the default search engine of the Sofast Toolbar. To perform your search with a different search engine, click on the arrow to the right of the Search Web button and select from the list:
Auto Complete
When this option is enabled in the Sofast Toolbar Configuration (see Configuration for details), as you type within the search box, Auto Complete will begin matching previously searched words/phrases in an attempt to complete your typing.
In the example below, we begin typing the phrase "internet access" into the search box. Since we had previously searched on that phrase, Auto Complete filled-in the rest (as denoted by the highlighted portion of the phrase):
Search History Drop-Down List
When this option is enabled in the Sofast Toolbar Configuration (see Configuration for details), all the words/phrases you have searched on will be stored in the drop-down list of the search box. To access this list click on the arrow on the right-hand side of the search box:
Drag-And-Drop Searching
When this option is enabled in the Sofast Toolbar Configuration (see Configuration for details), you can highlight a word/phrase on a Webpage and drag-and-drop it into the search box. A search will be performed on the word/phrase you dropped into the search box.
In the example below, we find a term on a page that we want to search on. So, we highlight the phrase (in this case, the phrase "Cut Bank"), and drag it into the search box:
A search is performed on the phrase that we dropped into the search box:
The Search Web Menu gives you access to a variety of seach engines to perform your search with. To begin a search, type a word or phrase into the search box and press Enter on your keyboard (or click the Search Web button on the toolbar). This will perform your search with Google, the default search engine of the Sofast Toolbar. To perform your search with a different search engine, click on the arrow to the right of the Search Web button and select from the list:
The Popup Blocker successfully eliminates popup ads from the sites you visit. By default, the Popup Blocker is turned on and will keep a running tally of popups that have been blocked:
Clicking the Popup Blocker button toggles this feature on/off:
Clicking the Highlight Button toggles highlighting of search terms for the page you are on. Each term in your search phrase will be highlighted in a different color.
In the example below we searched for "montana dialup internet" and clicked the hightlight button. Each term in the phrase is hightlighted on the page in its own unique color:
For every word you type into the search box a Word-Find Button is created on the toolbar. Clicking on a Word-Find button highlights the first instance of that word on the page; clicking the Word-Find button again highlights the next occurance of the word, and so on...
In the example below we typed the phrase "montana dialup internet" in the search box, and three Word-Find buttons - "Montana", "Dialup" and "Internet" - were created on the toolbar: