What is an address bar?(What is, Concept and Definition)

The term address bar refers to the text field in a web browser that identifies the user's location on the web and allows them to access different websites.The address bar is known as location bar , and in Google Chrome it's called omnibox.

Overview of the address bar

All address bars are at the top of the browser window, as you can see in the image below.

Note

When the browser is displayed in full screen mode, the address bar is hidden.To exit full screen mode and view the address bar again, press the F11 key or the Esc key.

Using the address bar

The user can edit the text to navigate to a new location.For example, clicking the address bar with the mouse allows you to change or delete the address and enter a new one.The address must be a URL, such as computerhope.com .

Examples of address bar

Below are some examples of how the address bar may look in your browser.

Internet Explorer 6 address bar.

Internet Explorer 7 secure address bar.

Opera address bar on Debian 8 Linux.

Microsoft Edge address bar in Windows 10.

Google Chrome Omnibox on macOS.

Using a keyboard shortcut to edit the address

On Windows or Linux operating systems with an open Internet browser, pressing Ctrl + L or Alt + D moves the text cursor to the address bar.Doing so also automatically highlights the full address to edit.

To do the same on macOS operating systems, press Command + L (hold down the Command key and press L ).

When the address is selected, press the left (or right) arrow key to move the cursor to the beginning (or end) of the current address.You can also start typing to overwrite the current address.

Press Enter when you're done, and the browser will navigate to the new address.

Tip

The Ctrl + E and Ctrl + K shortcut keys also place the text cursor on an empty address bar in most browsers.

Tip

After typing an address in the address bar, you can press the Alt + Enter shortcut key to open that address in a new tab.

What is the icon found in some address bars?

The icon displayed in the address bar of some websites is known as favicon .You will find more information and help creating this icon on the page linked below.