Hello! Below you will find frequently asked questions about the new Welcome Screen:

Q: Why did you change the Welcome Screen?
A: It's been quite some time since we made any updates to the Welcome Screen, to the point that it was beginning to look and feel dated. It was also lacking many of the enhancements that we've been doing on AOL.com. Now we can take the best of AOL.com and make it available on the Welcome Screen.

Q: What's new? What's different?
A: Several things!

1) Design: The page has experienced a design refresh -- we're leaving behind the boxiness and sometimes cluttered feeling of the old page and moving towards a lighter, brighter page with bigger images (something users have been asking for).

2) Directory: We've moved the directory up on the page to make it easy to get to where you need to go on AOL. It runs across the top of the page just under the logo and search box.

3) Video: Broadband users will see daily video offerings, including the award-winning "You've Got" series.

4) Previews: We don't offer as many preview panels as we used to, however you will find the AOL Mail preview available in the same place you found it before.

5) Weather: You can now get the current weather temp in the upper right corner of the page. Hover over the weather image to get a description (mine says 106 and sunny right now -- whew!). Or click on it to go off to AOL Weather. There is also a weather image next to the AOL Mail preview -- this will shortcut you down the page to the Local News and Weather section -- this is where you can get the three-day forecast.

Q: Can I go back to the classic Welcome Screen?
A: Unfortunately no, there is no option to go back to the old screen. We hope that in time you will be as comfortable and familiar with this new screen.

Q: How do I refresh the page?
A: A simple click to the AOL logo in the top left corner will refresh the Welcome Screen.

Q: Why is the screen size different?
A: If you formerly had a wide screen size, you were likely opted in to our old "Wide Welcome Screen". The AOL software is at it's best when it's narrow, so that you have plenty of room to multitask between Welcome Screen, Buddy List, your inbox, etc., which is why we've opted to go back to having only one screen size -- the original narrow width.

Q: What about the favorites I created on the wide screen Welcome Screen ("My Links")?
A: "My Links" is not a feature on our new screen. You can still get to these links when you close the Welcome Screen -- they will be up at the top of the directory strip that comes up. We highly recommend that you add these links to your Favorites listing at Keyword: Favorites as this directory strip will likely change in the new future. We don't want you to lose these!

Q: How do I refresh the page (the refresh link is gone!)?
A: A simple click to the AOL logo in the top left corner will refresh the Welcome Screen.

Q: Where is my weather preview?
A: The weather forecast is now apart of the Local News section in the right column. It will give you a similar three-day forecast like the one that was in the weather preview panel. Clicking on the weather image next to the AOL Mail preview will shortcut you down to the local section.

Q: Why do I keep getting the tour?
A: If you regularly clear your cookies, or if you have a security setting set to higher than medium in Internet Explorer, you will see the tour on each visit until on or around 8/9. We apologize for the inconvenience!

Q: Where are the themes or background settings?
A: On the classic screen, there was the option to have light colors behind some of the sections of the page. That is not currently in the plans for this new page. However, we are going to be offering some additional background art choices (also called canvases) for the logo area very soon, so look for that in the near future!

Q: Where is the background art I had set on my wide welcome screen?
A: Due to the narrow width of the new page, we are not able to offer all of the background art (aka "canvases") unfortunately. However, we are going to be rolling out some options in the near future that you can opt into to in order to add some pizzazz to your page. Look for messaging on this in the near future!

Q: Why is my screen so big when it opens?
A: If your Welcome Screen has lots of extra white space on the sides, it's possible that you previously selected the "Remember Window Size and Position" option from the Window dropdown in the AOL software. Our recommendation would be to resize the Welcome Screen the way you want to see it load, and then click on Window and Remember Window Size and Position.

Q: Why am I seeing images and text overlapping?
A: Sometimes the font sizing you have set or zoom setting creates problems on the Welcome Screen. We recommend that you adjust this setting and see if this fixes the issue. If you are using AOL 9.6, please use this AOL Help article as a guide to accessing the settings. If you are using AOL 9.5 or lower, this article should help. If you continue to see the problem after making adjustments, please contact using the "Send Us Your Feedback" link at the bottom of the Welcome Screen.

Q: Where is the AOL directory listing?
A: We've moved the directory up on the page to make it easy to get to where you need to go on AOL. It runs across the top of the page just under the logo and search box.

Learn more about the new Welcome Screen here.

We'll continue to add to this list as new questions come in! If your question wasn't answered here, please submit it now.

Cheers,
The AOL Homepages Team