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Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
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Help: Homepage
2 Homepage
2.1 Search Box
2.2 Customizable Content
2.2.1 Content Box Features
2.2.1.1 Box Titles
2.2.1.1.1 Customize your homepage
2.2.1.1.2 Daily Infotainment
2.2.1.1.3 Dictionary-related
2.2.1.1.4 Weather and Bookmarks
2.2.1.1.5 My Word List
2.2.1.2 Box Title Bar
2.2.1.2.1 Title
2.2.1.2.2 Edit
2.2.1.2.3 X
2.2.1.3 Box Content Area
2.2.1.3.1. XML
2.2.2 Add/Restore Content
2.2.2.1 Customization Used
2.2.2.2 Pre-selected Content
2.2.2.3 Custom RSS Feeds
2.2.2.4 Restoring content
2.2.3 Saving Customization
2.2.4 View Archive
2.3 Premium Content
2.4 Making TheFreeDictionary Your Homepage
2 Homepage TheFreeDictionary homepage contains two major components: a multi-dictionary/encyclopedia search box and a portal with customizable content. The homepage is optimized for all modern browsers; full functionality in older browsers is not guaranteed.
2.1 Search Box See Search Box help.
2.2 Customizable Content The portion of the homepage that features a light gray, striped background contains customizable content. You can create your own personal homepage by adding and removing, dragging and dropping, and "using or losing" existing content windows. In addition, you can add your own bookmarks, weather, and RSS feeds from anywhere on the web.
2.2.1 Content Box Features Below, you will find descriptions of our titles and learn how to operate the boxes that contain our features.
2.2.1.1 Box Titles Below, you will find more information about our default titles.
2.2.1.1.1 Customize Your Homepage You can eliminate this box as soon as you learn how to customize your page.
2.2.1.1.2 Daily Infotainment Our unique content is completely free of charge and is updated daily. Title bars of daily infotainment boxes are color-coded gray by default, but can be changed to a custom color with the edit feature.
2.2.1.1.2.2 Word of the Day Each day, we feature a new word that will help strengthen your vocabulary. Each word is accompanied by its pronunciation, synonyms, and an example of how it is used in a sentence. Clicking on the sound icon will play a sound bite of the word being pronounced in American English. Clicking on the word will take you to its complete definition in our main dictionary.
2.2.1.1.2.3 In the News A summary of a current news item, updated daily. The links will direct you to encyclopedia articles that relate to subjects discussed in the blurb.
2.2.1.1.2.4 Quotation of the Day A quote from a famous person, updated daily. The links will direct you to an encyclopedia article about the author of the quote.
2.2.1.1.2.5 This Day in History An event of interest or historical significance that occurred on this date in history, with a link to a full encyclopedia article on the subject.
2.2.1.1.2.6 Article of the Day A brief introduction to an article of interest, updated daily, with a link to the full encyclopedia text.
2.2.1.1.2.7 Today's Birthday  A famous (or infamous) figure whose birthday falls out on today’s date. The links will direct you to an encyclopedia article about the person.
2.2.1.1.2.8 Match Up A puzzle to test your knowledge of words and their synonyms. Your goal is to match the words in the left column with their respective synonyms in the right column. See how many pairs you can identify!
  1. Click the word in the left-hand column that you would like to match.
  2. Click the synonym in the right-hand column that you believe corresponds to your word; your matched pairs will be highlighted in the same color.
  3. To change an answer, simply click on a different word choice; to start over, press the “Clear” button.
  4. When you’ve finished matching pairs, click the “Answer” button to see your score and compare your choices with the correct answers.
2.2.1.1.2.9 Hangman Our own version of the classic hangman game. Your goal is to save the hangman from the gallows by identifying the hidden word before you run out of guesses.
  1. In the box marked “your guess,” type letters that you believe the hidden word contains.
  2. If you choose a letter that is part of the hidden word, the computer fills in the blank(s), showing you where your letter appears in the word.
  3. If you choose a letter that is not part of the hidden word, it appears in the “garbage bin,” and a line is added to the hangman’s gallows.
  4. Guess correct letters and spell the hidden word before the hangman’s gallows are completed, and you win the game!
2.2.1.1.3 Dictionary-related Contains information relating to TheFreeDictionary’s functionality. Boxes in this category have titles that are color-coded in blue.
2.2.1.1.3.1 What's inside A list of all our dictionaries and encyclopedias that correspond to the tabs on search result pages. This is useful when you want to search in or read about a specific dictionary or encyclopedia.
2.2.1.1.3.2 For Surfers See Free Tools for Surfers help.
2.2.1.1.3.3 For Webmasters See Free Tools for Webmasters help.
2.2.1.1.3.4 Recent Searches Lists all your past searches. This information is stored in a cookie, which also contains your homepage customization information.
2.2.1.1.3.5 A-Z An alphabetized guide of all the entries and articles contained in TheFreeDictionary. This is a good way to begin your exploration of our website if you cannot think of a good search term.
2.2.1.1.4 Weather and Bookmarks Click on "Miscellaneous" in the drop-down menu to access these useful features.
2.2.1.1.4.1 Weather Get up-to-date weather reports for any area you choose.
  1. Click "Edit" and enter your desired location.
  2. Click the "Save" button to apply changes and exit the editing area.
  3. Scroll down to enjoy your 6-day forecast.
The "more details" link at the bottom will take you to qwikcast.com for additional weather information for your area.
2.2.1.1.4.2 Bookmarks

This feature gives you instant, easy access to your favorite websites.

To add bookmarks:
  1. Click "Edit" to enter your bookmarks.
  2. Click "Add" to add any number of websites to a temporary, editable list.
  3. Click "Save" to apply changes and exit the edit mode. Your new bookmarks will appear in the content area of the bookmarks box.
To delete bookmarks:
  1. Click "Edit."
  2. Click the "X" button to the left of the bookmark you wish to delete.
  3. Click "Save."
2.2.1.1.5 My Word List The "My Word List" feature allows users to personalize a word list and track recent search terms. In order to begin tracking terms with this feature, merely search for a word or term. On the right side of the searched page, there is a box titled "My Word List" and below that the option: "Add current page to the list." Click on the "Add current page" button. The searched term will then appear within the word list box. A red "x" next to each entry allows users to selectively remove unwanted words/entries, while clicking the word itself loads the webpage for the saved search term.
2.2.1.1 Box Titles
2.2.1.1.1 Customize Your Homepage
2.2.1.1.2 Daily Infotainment
2.2.1.1.2.2 Word of the Day
2.2.1.1.2.3 In the News
2.2.1.1.2.4 Quotation of the Day
2.2.1.1.2.5 This Day in History
2.2.1.1.2.6 Article of the Day
2.2.1.1.2.7 Today's Birthday
2.2.1.1.2.8 Match Up
2.2.1.1.2.9 Hangman
2.2.1.1.3 Dictionary-related
2.2.1.1.3.1 What's inside
2.2.1.1.3.2 For Surfers
2.2.1.1.3.3 For Webmasters
2.2.1.1.3.4 Recent Searches
2.2.1.1.3.5 A-Z
2.2.1.1.4 Weather and Bookmarks
2.2.1.1.4.1 Weather
2.2.1.1.4.2 Bookmarks
2.2.1.1.5 My Word List
2.2.1.2 Box Title Bar This bar supports the drag-and-drop feature. You can relocate content boxes by dragging them by their title bars and dropping them anywhere on the page.
2.2.1.2.1 Title See the list of titles on the right for full descriptions.
2.2.1.2.2 Edit When you click on the edit icon, it toggles "edit" mode by opening up a section with various options.
2.2.1.2.2.1 Close This hides the editing section without applying changes.
2.2.1.2.2.2 Save This applies your changes, saves them in a cookie, closes the edit mode, and causes changes to appear in the content area of the box.
2.2.1.2.2.3 Background

This feature changes the background colors of the box’s title bar and content section.

Option 1: use a pre-configured background color:

  1. Click on a box to select
  2. Click "Save" to apply

Option 2: Use a custom background color:

  1. Enter a hexadecimal value preceded by a #.
  2. Click "Save" to apply.

Title bar colors are calculated automatically.
2.2.1.2.3 X Removes the content box from the homepage. You can restore a box by using the "Add/Restore Content" menu in the top left-hand corner of your screen.
2.2.1.3 Box Content Area The content area of each box contains the information found on the homepage (pictures, text, links, games, etc). The default background color of each box is white. You can change a particular box’s background color by using the "edit" button in the box’s title bar.
2.2.1.3.1. XML

This button links you to an RSS/XML feed of our content, which is updated daily. You can add any or all of our feeds using news aggregator software.

This is not designed to be read in your browser; to view the contents of this XML file, please use the "View Source" function of your browser.
2.2.2 Add/Restore Content This option is your control panel for customizing content.
2.2.2.1 Customization Used This bar indicates the extent to which you have customized your content (i.e. how much you have strayed from the default settings).
2.2.2.2 Pre-selected content "TheFreeDictionary" contains our proprietary features and "Syndicated News" contains external news feeds.
  • Grayed-out items are items currently featured on your homepage.
  • Underlined items are available for addition to your homepage.
2.2.2.3 Custom RSS Feeds To add a custom feed, use the "URL of the RSS/Atom feed" form field at the bottom of the “Add/Restore content” box.
  1. Copy an RSS/XML/Atom/Podcast feed link from the originating website.
  2. Paste the link in the form field.
  3. Click "Add" to make it appear in a box on your homepage.

Custom feeds do not get listed in the "Add/Restore Content" control panel.

Once added, a custom feed can be removed by deleting its respective box.

To restore a deleted custom feed, you need to add it again at the bottom of the "Add/Restore Content" control panel.
2.2.2.4 Restoring content Restore pre-selected (default) content boxes:
  1. Open the "Add/Restore Content" control panel and find the item you wish to restore. It should appear underlined.
  2. Click on the underlined title to make it re-appear in the content area.
  3. Close the control panel.
To restore a custom feed, you’ll have to add it again from scratch. Follow the steps in Custom RSS Feeds.
2.2.3 Saving Customization

Your customized page is saved by default via a cookie in your computer.

If you wish to use your customized page on another computer or if you need to clear cookies, you can still save your customized homepage.
2.2.4 View Archive Allows you to access an archive of the daily infotainment content for the previous four months.
2.3 Premium Content See Premium Content help.
2.4 Making TheFreeDictionary your homepage In Internet Explorer
  1. Click on the "Set as Home Page" link at the top of the customizable content section.
  2. Click "OK" at the next dialogue box.
In Firefox (see step-by-step screenshots for visuals)
  1. In your browser's Address Bar, select and copy the http://www.thefreedictionary.com URL.
  2. Go to Tools > Options menu.
  3. Select and delete your current homepage URL from the Locations bar.
  4. Paste http://www.thefreedictionary.com into the Locations bar.
  5. Click "OK."
In other browsers: follow steps similar to those described for Firefox.
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Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.