Like all web browsers, Safari keeps track of the websites you’ve visited and when you went to them. This can be very helpful if you’re trying to track down websites you’ve been to but can’t seem to find again.

Clearing Safari History

Although seeing where you’ve been and what sites you’ve looked at can be helpful, it also takes away from some of your privacy. To clear your history you can select History from your menu bar and then click Clear History. Additionally, you can clear your Safari browsing history by selecting Safari on the menu bar and then clicking Reset Safari (This method also allows you to clear all personal data Safari may have stored on your system).

Restoring Safari History

If for some reason after you’ve cleared your Safari history you discover you can’t find a website you know you visited 3 weeks ago, Time Machine is there to help.

To Restore your Safari Browsing History:

1. Close Safari and Open Finder
2. Select your user account under Places (There will be a Home icon next to it)
3. Open the Library folder, and then Safari folder
4. Open Time Machine - Time Machine will open displaying the Safari folder in Safari you’ve navigated to
5. Select the date you’d like to restore your browsing history from
6. Select the History.plist file and click restore - A dialog box will open asking you if you want to proceed - Click REPLACE
7. Open Safari and click History on the menu bar

If the restore was successful, you should see today’s history plus the date you restored from below it. Navigate down to the Date and the history of sites you visited on that date will be displayed.

Exclude Safari History From Time Machine Backups

Now that we’ve showed how easy it is to restore your browsing history… you may want to keep that information as private as possible.

To keep Time Machine from backing up Safari History:

1. Command Click (right click) on Time Machine in the Dock and select Time Machine Preferences…
2. Click Options
3. Click the + button
4. Navigate to your User folder, Library, and then Safari
5. Select History.plist and click the Exclude Button (To keep everything in Safari Private, select the Safari Folder and click exclude)

This should add history.plist or all your Browsing personal information out of Time Machine backups. This, combined with Safari’s Private Browsing feature will allow you to browse the web without anyone being able to trace your steps.

There have been a number of recent articles describing the way that consumers user their iPhone. Interestingly enough, compared to normal smartphone users iPhone users talk less and browse the web more then their counterparts.

In fact:

“iPhone owners spend the time they use their iPhones engaged in voice calls (that number is 71.7 percent for BlackBerry owners). Also, iPhone owners in the US claim to spend 12.1 percent of their iPhone time on the net (compare that to 2.4 percent for all other mobile phones on average)”

- TUAW

Sync Safari Bookmarks From Your Mac to Your iPhone & iPod Touch

If you find yourself using your iPhone and iPod Touch to browse the web more and more each day then be sure to setup your iPhone/iPod Touch to sync your Safari Bookmarks.

1. Open iTunes and connect your iPhone/iPod Touch
2. Select the iPhone/iPod Touch in iTunes
3. Select the info Tab
4. Scroll Down to Web Browser and check the box next to Sync Safari Bookmarks
5. Click Sync and check your iPhone/iPod Touch for the updated Bookmark list

Discover interesting sites while on the go and able to check back on them when you return to the larger screen comfort of your Mac. Taking your bookmarks with you has never been easier.

With the update to the Safari browser yesterday Apple has improved its browser to give it more of a fighting chance in the web browsing market.

The addition of developer tools, increased speed, and some user interface improvements puts Safari in a position where it can help pull back the OS X Firefox users and catch a few additional Windows users.

But Safari was a great browser before the update. Safari, like most applications, requires a user to really become comfortable with software before you can full appreciate it. With that in mind, here are 10 ways to help you enhance your Safari web browsing experience.

1. Learn Safari’s keyboard shortcuts - The keyboard shortcuts in Safari will allow you to quickly move throughout the web without needing to navigate using the mouse. Switching tabs, opening new windows, and accessing your bookmarks are just a few keystrokes away.
2. Let Safari do the reading for you - If you often find yourself trying to do to much at once this feature is perfect for you. I often have Safari read back to me cooking recipes or some of the RSS feeds I subscribe to while I accomplish other tasks. Just be sure you can get use to the computer voice on your Mac.
3. Put the web on your dashboard - With the ability in Leopard to make dashboard widgets out of your favorite websites Safari adds a capability you can’t get from any other browser. Pull the web from the browser and stick it on your dashboard.
4. Add plugins! - While Firefox has become famous for the large number of plugins created for the browser, many forget that Safari supports plugins to… While it does lack a large developer community there are plugins to help make Safari all you want it to be. Pimpmysafari.com provides a number of safari plugins.
5. Add spotlight like features to your Safari searches - While this works through a plugin, the ability to get additional information on search terms while you’re still typing them out gives this Safari enhancement its own recognition.
6. Browse in Private - Often we have the need to keep our history, downloads, or any web activity private from others that may use the computer. Safari allows Private Browsing which is perfect for paying bills, looking at bank accounts, and any other web pages you might want to keep private
7. Customize The Toolbar - Many people love the how simple the user interface in Safari is but there are others (myself included) that want just a bit more on the toolbar. Add the home button, autofill, or other buttons and arrange them in the order you feel most comfortable with. A customized web browser is a happy web browser.
8. Use Tabs - Tabbed browsing is one of the greatest additions to all web browsers. It allows you to keep all of the different websites you’re surfing in one window so your desktop stays clear of window clutter. If you find yourself in old habits and are being over run by Safari browser windows, Safari lets you merge them all back into one window with multiple tabs. Stay organized for your own safety.
9. Learn the Track pad - It is true that Apple included additional track pad control for browsing Safari on their new Macbook Air and Macbook Pro computers, but two finger scrolling and “right” click with two fingers has made browsing without a mouse that much more tolerable. If you have a Macbook Air or a new Macbook Pro, three finger swipes moves you forward and back in Safari effortlessly… well, with just a bit of effort from your fingers.
10. Get the latest updates! - Apple often releases updates to all their software line. We saw yesterday how significant these updates can be. Don’t miss out on Safari’s updates or you could miss out on features like web developer tools, or the all might new tab double click. Even if an update just addresses a security issue, without the update your Safari Browsing experience could end very very badly.

What else do you do to make Safari more enjoyable? Leave a comment and let us know!

Apple released an update to Safari today and brought the system to version 3.1. While updates are often made to Apple software, this update to Safari was a significant one.

To help you take advantage of the updates to Safari we’ll walk you through them and how they may impact your browsing experience.

Improvements

Two improvements are listed in the details to the Safari update. While these improvements don’t add additional user options they will impact your browser experience.

1. Performance
2. Improved JavaScript performance

There were reports before this release that Apple would soon release an update to Safari that would double the browsers speed. Safari was already one of the fastest browsers so it may be difficult to notice the increase browser speed.

Web Standards

Safari’s upgrade included improvements in Web Standards compliance.

1. Adds support for CSS 3 web fonts
2. Adds support for CSS transforms and transitions
3. Adds support for HTML 5

This is great news for web developers but many of these additions won’t be seen on most websites and the majority of the market share (Internet Explorer, Firefox) still lag behind in this area. Apple will be ready when everyone catches up.

Compatibility and Stability

The release notice from Apple point to increased website compatibility and application stability. Now is your chance to to check out any websites that previously did not support Safari. Keep your fingers crossed.

Developer Support

Since Apple recently released Safari to both Windows and OSX users, they must have realized that they needed to increase the developer tools included in Safari. This should make website development and customization for Safari browsers easier. The updates include:

1. Adds option in Safari preferences to turn on the new Develop menu which contains various web development features
2. Allows access to Web Inspector
3. Allows access to Network Timeline
4. Allows editing CSS in the Web Inspector
5. Allows custom user agent string
6. Improves snippet editor

To enable the Developer Menu in Safari:

1. Open Preferences in Safari
2. Click the Advanced Tab
3. Check the box next to “Show Developer Menu in Menu Bar”

You should now see Develop on the menu bar. Some of the additional Developer options is to open the current page in another web browser, ability to disable images, and the ability to disable javascript on the current page. Check out the other options in the Developer Menu.

Other Additions

In addition to the increased speed, improved stability, and developer tools Apple added a few other features:

1. Double clicking on the Tab Bar opens new tab
2. Includes URL metadata when images are dragged or saved from browser
3. Opens Download and Activity window in current Space
4. Supports trackpad gestures for back, forward, and magnify on MacBook Air and compatible MacBook Pro computers
5. Shows Caps Lock icon in password fields

I personally enjoy the addition of the double click for a new tab (Thanks Firefox for the idea) and the Caps Lock icon in password feels… That caps lock button is always getting in the way.

Conclusion

Overall, the combined enhancements to Safari in version 3.1 make Safari even more competitive with the other browsers on the market. Additionally, Apple has seen the importance of web developers making websites that work well in multiple operating systems and on their mobile devices.

This software update has clearly positioned Safari in a competitive position amongst the leading web browsers. With additional support for plugin development, we may see Safari eat away at Internet Explorer and Firefox market share.

One of the greatest enhancements to web browsers over the past few years has been the addition of tabbed browsing. It has helped organize my web browsing experience and allowed me to easily keep track of the sites I was exploring.

But, even though tabbed browsing is a feature I use often in Safari, there are times that I find myself with a number of separate open Safari windows that seem to be taking over my desktop. I’ve often wondered how I could solve this problem after I’ve already created it….

Thanks to Safari no matter how many windows you have open you don’t have to loose hope of keeping control over your browsing experience. Safari lets you retake your desktop from the browser windows!

In just two clicks you can take the endless number of open browser windows and merge them into one. A tab will appear for each website that you had opened in separate windows and you’ll once again have control of your desktop.

To merge the Safari windows into one, select Window from the menu bar and finally select Merge all windows. Then witness the seamless transition as the windows merge into one with a tab set apart for each website.

Interestingly enough, the ability to pull a tab in Safari out to its own window often exists (But who really wants more windows?). To pop out a tab, select Window from the menu bar and then select Move Tab to New Window

The current tab will pop out to a new window and quickly clutter up your desktop!

Check out our other Safari Hints and Tips