World Wide Web Hands-On 1

Module W02h v.04, for use with Netscape Communicator 4

To read this document, you can use the arrows on the keyboard:
the down-arrow lets you see what's below the lower edge;
the up-arrow brings you back to material above the top edge.

Contents of World Wide Web Hands-On 1

How to use this document
Getting Started with your Browser
Getting Around in the Browser
Control Panel
Menus
URL Window
Extra Buttons
Status Information
Something to Do

How to use this document

Your can read this document on paper, but to get much good out of it, youshould be using Netscape and reading at the same time. That's because itcombines both information and things to do. So:

Read through the text, look at the illustrations, and at the things yousee on the Netscape window.
From time to time, you'll see this: Try it with some instructions on what to do. That'syour opportunity to learn by doing.
In some places, as well as doing the activities, you'll be asked to printthings out. You'll see this icon, when you're asked to print something: .If you are working through this as an exercise for credit, collect theseprintouts and turn them in together. (There's a summaryof printouts at the end of the document.)

Getting Started with your Browser

This module is intended to be used with Netscape 4, with Netscape up-and-runningon a computer.

So, if you're not running Netscape now, find its icon on your desktopand open it (double-clicking is the usual way to open).

Getting Around in the Browser

Since all web browsers run under "Graphical User Interfaces" such as UnixOpen Windows, Macintosh Operating System, or Microsoft Windows, we'll assumeyou already know how to get around inside the browser's window.

The main purpose of a browser is to present information with hyperlinksin it. These links let you jump from one piece of information to another,tracking down leads of interest to you.

Links can either be text or graphics (pictures).

Text links are usually underlined and shown in a contrasting color
Graphical links have a colored border around the edge of the picture -usually the same color as the text link.
When your screen pointer moves over a link, it changes to a special shape- usually a pointing hand, as in this illustration:
In the lower edge of the browser window, at the left, the address of thelink will appear. Every file on the World Wide Web has an address knowas a URL, or Universal Resource Locator.
To show the material from that location on your screen, just click oncewith your left mouse button.

Try it by clickinghere.(We'll return to this spot soon!)

Return-spot... Look at the link-text in the line above. Is itthe same color as before? Usually, links start out being blue and changeto red when you click on them; when you return, they become pink. Thatway, you have an idea about where you've been and where you still needto go!
If you would like to returnto the Contents links for this document, click this arrow wherever it appearsin the document.

Control Panel

The upper part of the Netscape window is a control panel with several horizontalareas like bars. They are (from top to bottom):

Title bar
Menu bar
Navigation toolbar
Location toolbar
Personal toolbar

The lower three of these bars can be moved around; or you can "fold" oneor more up in order to see more of the Web page.

To move the bars around, put your mouse pointer on one anywhere there areno buttons; holding the left button down, you can drag the bar to a newposition, and the other bars will adjust themselves.
To "fold up" a bar, you click on the little bumpy-looking tab on the leftside. You can fold one, two, or all three; folding all three gives youa control panel that looks like this:

To use the toolbar buttons, point to the one you want and click oncewith the left mouse button.

Buttons that are not appropriate and have been de-activated show dim,like the "Forward" button in these illustrations. Clicking them won't doanything. In a context where they are meaningful, they appear in full colorand can be used.

Where have you been?

When you visit a Web page, the browser makes a note of the fact that youhave been there. It keeps the note until you either exit from the browser,or return to your "Home" position. You can takeadvantage of this "trail" either by using the Backand Forward buttons, or the Gomenu.

Here's what the more useful buttons do:

Backbutton: after you have followed a link, the Back button returns youto your previous location.
Forwardbutton: only active after you have gone back to an earlier link; thenit takes you to the next link you visited.

Reload button:Sometimes a Web location you see will be frequently updated. The Reloadbutton tells the browser to get the latest version of the current file.For example, if a Space Shuttle is in orbit, NASA has a Web page with amap indicating the Shuttle's current position. This page is updated everyminute or so, and you can force your browser to reload it so you can keepcurrent with the Shuttle's position. (If you want to check the NASA shuttlesituation, try clicking here.Return by using the Back button.)

Try it: clickthe reload button. (It probably won't make any difference on this file,but on others it might.)

Homebutton: takes you to your starting-place. Netscape can be set to startat any Web site in the world, or at a file on your computer's disk. Netscape'sdefault will take you to Netscape's home page in California; some instructorsset Netscape to start at a class information page on the local computer.

Try it:

followthe links to the Home, Back and Forward buttons and to the Go menu; thenuse the Back and Forward buttons to return.

Print button:This lets you print a Web page. Netscape is pretty good at printing textand graphics, except that it sometimes starts new pages in the strangestplaces.

Try it: clickthe Print button to get a printed copy of this lesson.

Put your name on itand start a collection of Web printouts.

(If you are takingthis course for credit, these printouts are for credit!)

Search: Ifyou want to look for key words on the entire World Wide Web, click thisbutton. Searching is easy; finding what you want is a bit more tricky.For more detail on searching, see "How to Find World Wide Web Sites" (moduleW12c).
Guide: Letsyou search in categories: the Web, People, Yellow pages, What's new, andWhat's cool.

Stop: stopsthe loading process. Helpful if a file is taking too long to load, or ifyou discover you're going to the wrong place.

Try it whenever a Web page takes a long time to load.

Location window: clickin the window to type in a Web page address, or paste in an address fromthe "clipboard". (The clipboard is part of the computer memory that saveshighlighted objects and allows you to "paste" them into a new location.)Note: When you click once or twice, the current address stays highlighted.If you type anything, the URL will be replaced by whatever you type.If you want to edit the line, press the mouse button a third time.

Try it: clickin the Location window; then type this URL in the box:

The prefix

is optional: it is put in automaticallyby Netscape (and by most browsers). The / mark at the end is also optional.Pressthe <Enter> key.

This will get you to the Library of Congress Legislative Informationpage.

Print a copy for yourcollection.

Return by using the Back button.

Bookmarks Menu/Button highlights

Add: Saves the title and address of a Web page in a file bookmark.htmfor you to use later. A very useful feature!
Go to bookmarks... shows a window with all your bookmarks. (Thisimportant feature is discussed in detail in module W10c, "WorldWide Web Tricks and Tips".)

As you add bookmarks, they will appear under the Bookmarks menu, and youcan visit them just by selecting that menu item.

Menus

Get acquainted with the menus available in the browser. Here are Netscape'smenus; pull down each one (just point and click) and see what the optionsare. We'll hit the high spots for each one.

File Menu highlights

Open Page lets you type in the URL (address) of a Web page or otherresource not on your local computer. Same as the Open button.

Try it: selectthe

menu item; then type this URL in the box thatappears:

http://www.wccnet.org/

Press the <Enter> key.

This will get you to the Washtenaw Community College home page.

Print a copy for yourcollection.

Return by using the Back button.

Open File lets you open a local file
Save As lets you save the Web page you're looking at onto your owndisk
Print and Print Preview let you print the Web page you'relooking at (slow, but good quality). The Print option and the Printbutton do the same thing.
Exit does just what you'd expect - it lets you out of the browser!

Edit Menu Highlights

Cut, Copy, Paste: you can highlight things on your screen and copythem to other files. Paste, except within the mail program, doesn't doanything very useful.
Find in Page is very useful when you have a large Web page and needto find a word or phrase buried somewhere in it.

View Menu highlights

Reload, Refresh: the browser will either ask for the latest contentsof the Web page again (Reload), or re-draw it on the screen (Refresh).Reloadis the same as the Reload button.
Document Source: lets you see the actual HTML code behind a page

Go Menu highlights

Back, forward: let you "follow the trail" of Web sites you havevisited recently. Toolbar buttons are also available for this. Sameas the Back and Forward buttons.
Home: go to the place designated as your starting location (canbe set in the Options menu) Same as the Home button.

A history list will grow under the Go menu, letting you return to any siteyou've visited since being at "Home".

Communicator Menu highlights

These options let you access auxiliary Netscape windows. You can use theNews reader, the mail handlers, or use several related programs which aren'tbrowsers, but help people use the Internet..

Try it: Use theCommunicator menu to visit your history list.

Help Menu highlights

Help on several topics is available. The most useful is:

Contents: Points the way to information stored on your disk, whichcovers all the features of Netscape Communicator.

Try it: Visitthe Netscape Help Contents. How useful is its information to you? (Onlyyou can decide.)

Print a copy of thefirst page, and add it to your collection.

The Print button is at the bottom of the Help window. You may haveto drag the Help window up an inch or two to see it!
To print only the first page (save paper!) find the Print Rangesection of the print window. Fill in the little blanks by "Print pages:From 1 to 1"

Return by using the Back button.

Location Window

The Location Window lets you type or paste in addresses directly. You'vetyped into it before; now let's try using copy-and-paste...

Try it: highlightthe next line using your mouse:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Releasing the mouse button, move to the Edit menu and selectCopy.
Then move to the Location window and click in it. It shouldbe highlighted; go back to the Edit menu and select Paste.Press the <Enter> key. This will get you to the White house Informationpage.
Print a copy for yourcollection.
Return by using the Back button.

Extra Buttons

In the bottom row of buttons are several that can be handy, but most areduplicates of other buttons.

Internet: same as the Guide button, Web option
Lookup: People or Yellow Pages, as on the Guide button
New & Cool: Same as the Guide button's What's New and What's Coolsoptions
Netcast: essentially advertisement for another Netscape product.

Try it: visit atleast three "What's New" sites and at least three "What's Cool" sites.

Pick ONE of the sixthat is your favorite. Print that one for your collection. Note:Many "New" and "Cool" Web pages are set so that you can't print them. (Whenyou click on the Print button, nothing happens.) Keep trying different"cool" Web pages until you find one that will print!
Return here using the Go menu or the Window, History menu option.

Status Information

The lower bar ofthe screen gives you progress and status information, and when you pointto a link, it shows you the URL for that link before you jump to it. (Formore information about what the browser is doing, see module W10c, "WorldWide Web Tricks and Tips".)

Something to Do

Now, here's something to give you more opportunity to practice your Webskills.

Try it: Visitthe Web site for your course - it may be the Home location for your class.
Home locations for classes at Washtenaw Community College:

If your course is...	Your class URL is...
CIS 100	http://courses.wccnet.org/~krieg/100_home.htm
CIS 101	http://courses.wccnet.org/~krieg/101_home.htm
CIS 160	http://courses.wccnet.org/~krieg/160_home.htm

Each class home page has links to the student syllabus, and to the courseschedule. Follow the links to your course schedule...

Print a copy of thecourse schedule and add it to your collection.

This is the end of instruction for this module. If you read and tried everythinghere, Congratulations! Here is a summary of the printouts you were askedto make:

This lesson (World Wide Web Hands-On 1 (W02h v.3) L.Krieg Washtenaw ComColl)
Library of Congress Legislative Information page (http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas2.html)
Washtenaw Community College home page (http://www.wccnet.org/)
Netscape Help Contents (first page only) - from the Netscape Help menu
White house Information page (http://www.whitehouse.gov)
Your favorite page from Netscape's current "What's New" and "What's Cool"listings.
Your course schedule.

More about Getting Around

If you clicked the first link in the section "GettingAround in the Browser" you should see this.

Some links lead to different parts of the same Web document. What you justdid just got you lower down in the lesson page. Later, we'll use linksthat go to other Web documents entirely. They could be on the same computeror anywhere in the world!

In addition to text, graphical images can also be links. To return towhere you were before, click the arrow. Try it:

Audience:

This is for people who have access to the Internet and want to knowthe basics about using World Wide Web browsers. This version of W02h isfocused on Netscape Navigator 2.01. For more information about the WorldWide Web, see module W01c "WorldWide Web Concepts". For access to the World Wide Web at WCC, see moduleNL02h "Beginning to Use Networks" or the equivalent information from yourinstructor.

Objectives:

When you successfully complete this lesson, you will be able to...

Identify the type of service available from each menu heading on the browserlist
Use the tool-bar buttons on the browser
Make use of information given by the browser while retrieving files
Type in a URL directly to receive information
Follow hyperlinks within a Web document
Get help on aspects of browser operation not covered here
Retrieve and print useful information from the Web.

About this document...

Module W02h v.4: World Wide Web Hands-On 1

Author:: LaurenceJ. Krieg
Institution:: Departmentof Computer Information Systems, WashtenawCommunity College
History:: Original: 20 Nov 1995; Version 4: 21 Oct 1997; minor revisions 21 Sep 1998

World Wide Web Hands-On 1

Module W02h v.04, for use with Netscape Communicator 4

To read this document, you can use the arrows on the keyboard: the down-arrow lets you see what's below the lower edge; the up-arrow brings you back to material above the top edge.

Contents of World Wide Web Hands-On 1

How to use this document

Getting Started with your Browser

Getting Around in the Browser

Control Panel

Where have you been?

Bookmarks Menu/Button highlights

Menus

File Menu highlights

Edit Menu Highlights

View Menu highlights

Go Menu highlights

Communicator Menu highlights

Help Menu highlights

Location Window

Extra Buttons

Status Information

Something to Do

This is the end of instruction for this module. If you read and tried everythinghere, Congratulations! Here is a summary of the printouts you were askedto make:

More about Getting Around

If you clicked the first link in the section "GettingAround in the Browser" you should see this.

Audience:

Objectives:

About this document...

Module W02h v.4: World Wide Web Hands-On 1

To read this document, you can use the arrows on the keyboard:
the down-arrow lets you see what's below the lower edge;
the up-arrow brings you back to material above the top edge.