Tutorials | Web Browsers

Web Browsers - OK, I’m connected to the Internet, now what?

If you have an Online Service like America Online or CompuServe, you will automatically be connected to their home page. From their home page, you can connect to the World Wide Web using whichever browser they have available.  With an ISP, depending on how your system is set up, chances are that after you connect, you will have to open your own web browser in order to begin using the World Wide Web.  The two most popular web browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape.

Internet Explorer

There are several versions of Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is the latest version of Internet Explorer and includes a full installation of the Web browser.

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 is the most recent version of the Internet Explorer 6 core technologies in Microsoft Windows® XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. Internet Explorer 6 SP1 provides a private, reliable, and flexible browsing experience for users of Windows XP, Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows NT® 4.0 Service Pack 6a.

Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1)  can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/
critical/ie6sp1/default.asp
Depending on your Internet connection and the speed of your modem, it could take quite a while for you to download the program, as it is rather large.

With skill in using just a handful of Explorer's features, you will be able to navigate the Internet easily and comfortably. This segment will introduce you to the main features of the Windows version of this software package.

What You Need to Know:

• Explorer Web Browser: Learn about the main parts of the Explorer browser window - the menu bar and toolbar.
• Print web pages: Print the whole page or just a specific frame.
• Navigate between pages: Use hypertext links; move back and forward between pages, review where you have been.
• Go to other places: Learn how to enter the address of a site you want to see.
• Cache in on history: Revisit sites by using your history list.
• Add favorites: Save the addresses of places to which you wish to return.
• Change start page: Have IE open automatically to a site you choose.
• Get help: Get additional information about the features of Internet Explorer from Microsoft.

Internet Explorer Control Panel

The Explorer control panel consists of tool buttons and bars at the top, a scroll bar on the right side, and a progress bar at the bottom. This will describe what you see at the top of IE.

Menu Bar:

Would you like to see at a glance everything you can do with Explorer? Point the mouse arrow at File on the Menu Bar and hold down the button. Read the drop-down menu. Repeat for all the other items.

Toolbar Buttons:  

Do you prefer quicker access? The Toolbar gives one-click access to the most frequently used functions with these buttons: go Back a page, move Forward a page, Stop downloading a page, go Home to your start-up page.

Address Bar:

Where are you? The Address Bar displays the address of the document you are reading.   The address is called a URL - pronounced "you-are-ell", or Uniform Resource Locator. You can enter new URLs in this space to take you to new places.

Netscape Control Panel

Menu Bar

Navigation Toolbar

The Navigation toolbar, pictured here, helps you move around the Web.

Moving to Another Page

You move to a new page by typing its URL---its location (address) on the Web. URLs normally begin with the abbreviation "http://," followed by one or more names that identify the address.

1. Click the Location Bar to select the URL that is already there.
2. Type the URL of the page you want to visit. The URL you type replaces any text already in the Location Bar.
3. Press Enter.
   
   Tip: To quickly select the URL in the Location Bar, press the Ctrl key and L at the same time.

Personal Toolbar

The personal toolbar is completely customizable—you decide what you want to keep there. The personal toolbar comes with some buttons already enabled, including your My Netscape page, your home page, search, and shopping. You can easily add, delete, and rearrange items in the personal toolbar.

Rearranging the Personal Toolbar

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In your Bookmarks window, click the Personal Toolbar Folder.
3. Select a bookmark or folder and drag it to a new location.
4. When you are finished rearranging items, close your Bookmarks window.