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Microsoft Internet Explorer 8

View an Archived Copy of a Web Page you are Browsing

SUMMARY: With an Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator, access the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to see archived copies of a site you are browsing or a hyperlink on a page.

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine is a growing archive of billions of web pages going all the way back to 1996. With it you can see how your favorite websites looked in the past or display sites that no longer exist.

Via an Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator you will not need to access this site directly. Just visit a website in your web browser, right-click, and use "Find with Wayback Machine" to view archives. Or if you find a link to a website that is no longer online, right-click the link and use "Find with Wayback Machine" to see archives of the page.

1. From Internet Explorer, visit the following URL:

http://www.ieaddons.com/en/details/searchhelpers/Find_with_Wayback_Machine/

2. Click the "Add to Internet Explorer" button.


Adding the "Find with Wayback Machine" Accelerator to Internet Explorer 8



3. Confirm the Accelerator information is correct. If you want this to be the default Accelerator for the "Find Accelerator" category, meaning you do not have to go through a second step of accessing an "All Accelerators" submenu, click the "Make this my default provider for this Accelerator Category" box. Then click the "Add" button.


Confirming adding the "Find with Wayback Machine" Accelerator



The Accelerator is now ready for use. After accessing it by right-clicking on a webpage or hyperlink and choosing "Find with Wayback Machine", a new tab will open where you can see archived copy dates of the selected site/URL, if any. Choose a desired date and the archived copy will open.


Right-clicking on Google's webpage then selecting the "Find with Wayback Machine" accelerator




Viewing an archive of Google from January 17, 1999




And here's another website from January, 1999...



The Internet Archive is huge, but not complete. You may come across pages not in the archive, images that do not appear, and form functions that do not work.

Return to the Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 page.

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