| Windows Live Toolbar | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Windows Live Toolbar | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Final release | 14.0.8064.0206 / 12 February 2009; 16 years ago (2009-02-12) |
| Operating system | Windows Server 2008,Windows XP,Windows Vista,Windows 7 |
| Type | Browser extension (Toolbar) |
| License | Freeware |
| Website | Archived official website at theWayback Machine (archive index) |
Windows Live Toolbar was abrowser extensiontoolbar forInternet Explorer. It superseded MSN Search Toolbar.[1] Windows Live Toolbar provided a simple search interface that starts to list results as the user types in a search query and usesBing as its search engine. The toolbar also allows users to synchronize theirInternet Explorer favorites across multiple computers and provides an interface toWindows Live andMSN services.
Microsoft also added more tools to Windows Live Toolbar by acquiringOnfolio and integrating it into Windows Live Toolbar.
Founded byJJ Allaire,Allaire Corporation co-founder and creator of the programming languageColdFusion, along with Adam Berrey[2] and Charles Teague,[3] Onfolio was an online research tool that could be used to collect data from the web and make annotations such as inking and text highlighting. Onfolio could be used to download online pages for offline viewing, including document files such as AdobePDF. It could also be used as anRSS reader. Users could share the information and feeds collected by Onfolio viaemail andblogs.[4][5] After Microsoft acquired Onfolio, it integrated the product with Windows Live Toolbar, which was the only way to get Onfolio.[6] As of August 2008 however, Microsoft announced that the Onfolio has been discontinued.[7]
Older versions of Windows Live Toolbar also provided aform filler and a highlight viewer, but these features have been removed.
Windows Live Toolbar is included withWindows Live Essentials "Wave 3" release.[8] However, it is no longer a part of the "Wave 4" version of Windows Live Essentials (released on 30 September 2010[9]); it is replaced withBing Bar.[10] According to Microsoft, Windows Live Toolbar was officially discontinued on 31 March 2011.[11]
The IE Favorites syncing option was previously included initially as favorites.live.com and then in the Windows Live Toolbar, it is now part of the Windows Live Essentials suite, in the Windows Live Mesh solution.
Windows Live Essentials programs [~snip~] Toolbar: Search instantly from any webpage.
Windows Live Essentials beta programs [~snip~] Bing Bar: Get search results from Bing without leaving the website you're on.
If you used Live Mesh beta, Windows Live Toolbar, or Windows Live Sync (all discontinued on March 31, 2011), here's what you need to know before you start using Windows Live Mesh...