Remove Single Items from Internet Explorer History

Have you ever wanted to delete a single address or URL from your Internet Explorer history? When you try to delete your Internet Explorer history through Internet Explorer's Tools menu or a third-party application, you delete all your history. Luckily, there is a way to delete just the addresses you want without removing your entire Internet history.

What Internet Explorer Doesn't Delete

When you delete items from your Internet Explorer history, one thing is not deleted - your address bar AutoComplete. When you first start to type an address into the address bar, a list of possible matches appears based on your browsing history. For instance, if I typed "http://www.associated," two entries automatically appeared. The first was the full URL for Associated Content and the second was simply Associated Content. The methods below will show you how to delete single items from the address bar and your history list.

Delete from History

The easiest part is deleting single items from the actual history list. Open an Internet Explorer window. Press the "Favorites" button or icon on the toolbar above your browser window. Select the "History" tab. If you have multiple days, weeks or months of history listed, select the day you want to delete the history item from. Right-click the desired history item and choose "Delete." Do not close your browser window just yet.

Delete from Address Bar

Begin typing the address you wish to delete from your Internet Explorer address bar. Once it appears in the list, press "Shift" plus the "Delete" key. When you hover your mouse over an entry, a red "X" now appears to the right of the entry. Press the "X" to delete the entry.

If you want to view all history items in the address bar, delete any text in the address bar and press the down arrow to the right of the address bar to view the entries.

Final Clean Up

One more step exists to completely remove your history items. Open your "Recycle Bin" on your desktop. Press "Empty the Recycle Bin" on the left side of the screen.

Deleting single history items is a great way to keep shopping for gifts or surprise travel plans private on a shared computer. No matter what your reason for deleting history items, you can quickly remove just the tracks you want without disturbing your other Internet Explorer history items or the history of other users on the same computer.