You're probably comfortable with the idea that information on the Internet is presented on pages you see on the screen. Even the navigational concepts are pretty easy:
You start with a home page.
You click on highlighted words (colored or underlined) in a page to bring another page of related information to your screen.
You click on arrow buttons to go back (or forward) to a page you have previously seen.
Plus, you can go directly to pages that interest you by choosing menu items:
History items in the Go menu display pages you have viewed before.
Bookmarks items in the Bookmarks menu display pages you have designated as worthy of easy access.
Directory items in the Directory menu display pages that help you use Netscape and Internet features.
Ideally, the act of finding pages becomes secondary to what you really care
about: the page's content. Like pages of a magazine, you'll want to flip
from one screen page to another, sometimes to continue with the same article
and other times to begin a new article. But you can't hold screen pages in
your hands like you can a magazine. Screen pages are rarely uniform in
length and, displayed one page at a time, don't provide intuitive feedback
on where the information begins and ends.
So even though Internet pages bring information to you rather gloriously,
there is something distinctly uncomfortable about content that continues
over numerous links to pages of varying lengths. Anyone who has witnessed a
slide show of a neighbor's family vacation can identify with the queasy
sensation of boundlessness.
Readers of electronic pages need tools to keep track of pages. The Netscape
text fields, toolbar buttons, and menu items provide you with the ability to
manage pages of information that might otherwise leave you feeling
overwhelmed and unfocused. Each time you open the Netscape window (you can
have multiple Netscape windows open concurrently), you begin a new session
of Internet interaction.
Finding, starting and stopping links
A link is a connection from one page to another. You find a link by looking
for one or more words highlighted with color, underlining, or both in the
content area of a page. Images and icons with colored borders also serve as
links. When the mouse cursor points over a link, the URL location of the
link appears in the status field. A link within a page that contains frames
can be a connection that brings one or more new pages within frames, or an
entirely new top-level page replacing all frames.
You can bring a linked page to your screen by clicking once on the
highlighted text, image, or icon. Clicking on a link transfers page content
from a server location to your location. After you click on a link, the
Netscape status indicator animates to show you that the transfer of the page
to your computer is in progress. You can stop a transfer in progress by
pressing the Stop button or choosing the Go|Stop Loading menu item.
You can stop a transfer in progress whenever the transfer takes longer than
you like. This might happen if the content of the page is large or if the
server computer is sluggish. Sometimes the page specified by a link just
isn't available. You'll usually get a message if a connection was not made
or a page not found. Examine the status field and progress bar to receive
feedback about the progress of a transfer.
When you bring a page to your screen, you'll see the whole page or, if the
content is extensive, only a portion. (Scroll bars let you see the rest.)
Often the portion you see is the beginning of the page, but sometimes a link
brings you content from the page's middle or end. A link can display a new
page or display a different portion of the same page (in effect,
automatically scrolling for you). For example, the beginning of a page might
include a table of contents that links each chapter title to its respective
content further down the page.
Linking via buttons and menu items
In addition to links in the content area, you can also access links using
Netscape buttons and menu items. Many of the links controlled by buttons and
menu items bring pages you have viewed at least once before. Button links
are particularly useful for going back and forth among recently viewed
pages. Menu item links directly access a wide range of pages such as a
history list of pages you have viewed or a bookmark list of pages you (or
others) have personally selected as noteworthy.
The toolbar offers the following button links:
Back displays the previous page in the history list. The history list is a reference to pages you have viewed.
Forward displays the next page in the history list. (Available only after using the Back command or a history menu item.)
Home displays the home page designated in your preferences.
Open displays a dialog box where you can enter any URL.
Menu items offer each of the links available through toolbar buttons plus
many more. The Netscape application keeps track of pages you have seen, lets
you create easy-access lists of favorite pages, and points you to pages with
current information about Netscape and the Internet. The page's title is
displayed as the menu item.
History items from the Go menu display previously viewed pages. The Netscape application automatically appends the title of a page you have viewed as the topmost menu item in the history list. The View History menu item shows you how the history lineage is maintained.
Bookmark items from the Bookmarks menu display pages of your choice. You can add a bookmark menu item for the page you are viewing by choosing Bookmarks|Add Bookmark. The Window|Bookmarks menu item lets you establish lists of bookmarks for yourself and to share with others.
Items from the Directory and Help menus display pages with up-to-date information on Netscape software and Internet exploration.
Using history and bookmark lists
When you pull down a menu that contains history or bookmark items, you see a
list of page titles. To bring a page to your screen, choose the title of the
page.
History items let you quickly retrieve pages that you've recently viewed in
your current session. Only a single lineage of history items is displayed.
For example, a series of pages containing maps might show you increasing
detail as you click on links. If you view consecutively linked pages with
titles North America, United States, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, you'll
see all four items appear in the history list with Philadelphia topmost in
the list.
Furthermore, if you back up to the United States page, then view pages of
California and San Francisco, California and San Francisco automatically
replace Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. The new line of links replaces the
old line of links.
Bookmarks items offer a more permanent means of page retrieval. Once you add
a bookmark to your list, the title stays until you remove it or change
lists. The permanence and accessibility of bookmarks make them invaluable
for personalizing your Internet access.
Because bookmarks offer such ease of retrieval, the Netscape application
offers many options for creating a bookmark list. Basic options let you add
access to a page through a menu item. More advanced options let you create
hierarchical menus, partial menu displays, multiple and shared bookmark
files, list descriptions, and list searches.
The Bookmarks window, displayed by choosing the Window|Bookmarks menu item,
gives you tools to manage bookmark lists. These tools might differ slightly
depending on the platform you are using.
You'll find bookmarks and folders (a folder represents a hierarchical menu
header) arranged like files and folders on your hard disk. You can
double-click bookmarks to access pages, drag-and-drop icons to arrange your
bookmarks, and use bookmark menu items to create new bookmark items and
manipulate bookmark lists.
For example, to create a hierarchical menu, choose Item|Insert Folder from
the Bookmarks window, give the folder (header) a name in the dialog box,
close the dialog, then drag a bookmark into the resulting folder.
Don't let the advanced features dissuade you from the basic functionality of
bookmarks. At its simplest, you can choose the Bookmarks|Add Bookmarks menu
item to add the current page to your bookmark list, giving you direct access
to your favorite pages.
Choosing the screen look
You can tailor the look of the Netscape application by showing or hiding
certain graphical elements on the screen. You'll find the basic alternatives
listed in the Options menu.
The default settings show the toolbar, location field, and directory
buttons. These graphical elements provide simplified access to links,
commands, and page location information. By hiding any or all of these
graphical elements, you increase the amount of screen real estate available
for page content.
Checking the Show Toolbar item displays a row of easily accessible buttons that substitute for widely used menu items.
Checking the Show Location item displays URL information that's useful for tracking a page's whereabouts or requesting a new page.
Checking the Show Directory Buttons item displays a row of handy buttons that substitute for some Directory and Help menu items.
Selecting a home page
You can designate your own home page (the page the Netscape application
first brings to the screen each time you open a new window) by supplying a
URL as a preferences panel item. The home page designated initially with
Netscape software (the default) has this URL: http://home.netscape.com/index.html
You can change your home page (and change back to the default) clicking the
radio button Home Page Location in Options|General|Appearance, then typing
the URL of the new home page you want. Alternatively, you can check the
radio button Blank Page if you want the home page to be empty of content.
Each time you ask the Netscape application to open a new window, the
designated home page is brought to screen. The URL can designate a page from
a remote computer or one on your hard disk.
To get the URL of a page on your hard disk, choose File|Open File. Then
select the page (file) on your hard disk (for example, you can choose your
bookmarks file). After the page opens, you'll see its URL in the location
field. You can select and copy the URL, then paste it into the Home Page
Location text field in your preferences.
At first, you probably won't have any pages stored on your hard disk. But
later, you might want quick and sure access to certain pages, such as one
with valuable links or one you've created for yourself.
Printing and finding
Many of the File and Edit menu items in the Netscape application work as
they do on other applications. To print the contents of the current page,
choose File|Print or press the Print button in the toolbar. A Print dialog
box lets you select printing options and begin printing. On Windows, you can
choose File|Print Preview to see a screen display of a printed page.
When printing a page, the Netscape application formats content according to
the size of the printed page rather than the size of the onscreen window.
The print command rearranges the page layout (text is wordwrapped and
graphics are repositioned) in order to accommodate paper size.
To set up the page for printing, choose File|Page Setup. You can use this
command to choose landscape printing (across the long side of paper) instead
of the more common portrait orientation.
To cut, copy, and paste, choose the respective items from the Edit menu.
Note that Cut and Paste items are only effective in certain editable fields.
The content area is a read-only field that only enables you to select and
copy text for use elsewhere.
To find a word or phrase within a page, choose or press the Find button in
the toolbar. A Find dialog box lets you enter the string of characters you
wish to find. Check the Match case radio button (Case Sensitive on the
Macintosh and UNIX) to require capital letters to match.
On Windows, check the Up or Down radio button to direct the search toward
the beginning or end of the document. If there is a current selection, the
search begins at the selection and does not wrap around. On Macintosh and
UNIX, check the Find Backwards check box to start the search from the
beginning or end of the document.
To find the same word or phrase again, choose Edit|Find Again.