What are the functions of the Internet browser?

The main function of a browser is to link you to resources anywhere on the worldwide web.

I will describe a browser from the left to the right alon6 with each icon, but   remember that all browsers are different  and may have different  functions and that   icons might be located on some other area of the too bar.
The top tool bar will have all the icons to control the browser most of the time.
Icon's functions are :

1. "BACK" will take you back to a web site page.

2.   "FORWARD" will take you to web pages that you visited before.

3. "RELOAD"  to refresh the page you are using. You might use this function many times when using the Internet.

4. "HOME" an (icon of a house)means the page that your Internet server comes from.

5. "SEARCH" to search the World Wide Web ( the Internet) for important information that you may      need for school or work and /or other needs.

6. PRINT (photo of a printer). You can print any page on the Internet or your e-mail documents with this function .

7. STOP ( to stop loading web pages that are taking too long to load) If needed click the STOP button to stop loading all pages on the web site  to your computer. This function you will use a lot of times if your pages do not appear.

8. ARROWS on the right side of the page, Move up and down the page by clicking

9. To Close Netscape Navigator: Click on the X button on the upper right hand side. or click on the  File to Exit  Netscape Navigator.

10. BOOKMARKS save a web  page address in a file. You may set up your favorite sites to visit at a later date.

11. SPECIAL TOOL BAR  Some browser functions like Netscape Communicator have a tool bar that you may set up, to meet your needs. You can use this tool bar to set up your favorite web sites.

NOW I will describe how to use the Internet browser functions

URL,  location bar icon box:
What's a URL?

Near the top of the Navigator browser window or any other browser, the Location field contains the address of the page being viewed. This address is called a URL (Universal Resource Locator). Each page on the web has its own unique URL that identifies its location. Like an address, the URL tells Navigator where to find the page.

Note: Some pathnames use special characters. When typing a URL into the Location field, you'll need to enter the characters exactly as specified in the URL. For example, some URLs contain the tilde character (~), which designates a particular home directory on a server.

A URL has the format protocol://computer/directory/filename. The protocol tells Navigator which transfer method to use to get the page.
Some commonly used protocols are

• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol),
• Here are some sample HTTP URLs:

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol), news (the protocol used by Usenet news groups),
• Here are some sample FTP URLs:
• ftp://ftp.netscape.com/pub/guide.html

• gopher (an alternative transfer protocol). The second part of the URL (after the //) tells Navigator the name of the computer, the directory where the page can be found, and the page's filename. Here are some sample gopher URLs:
• gopher://mysystem.com/new/report.htm

• HTML  Pages typically have filenames that end with an .htm or .html extension. The extension means that the file is a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) file that can be displayed in a web browser such as Navigator or other browsers.

• ISP Internet Service Provider

• Some Links you can click on usually are underlined and  in a different color or appears as graphical buttons.

• Some browsers have links to their company using their name.

• Click one of the buttons in the component bar to open or switch to a different Communicator component.

 Tip
If you don't know the URL for a page, you may be able to find the page by typing a key word or phrase in the Location field.  For example type LVA Harry Seda and see the list of addresses you will receive.

There are many ways to explore the difference web sites.  What kind of interest do you have?  Picked one specific idea and choose a word or words of a topic of interest.

What do you use to locate your subject?

There are many search engines that are used to locate topics of interest. Listed below are some search engines.

Netscape                                        http://home.netscape.com/

Alta Vista                                       http://www.altavista.com

Google                                           http://www.google.com/

CNETs Search.com                         http://www.search.com

Excite Search                                  http://www.excite.com

Hot Bot                                           http://www.hotbot.com/

Infoseek                                         http://www.infoseek.com/

Lycos                                             http://www.lycos.com

Web crawler                                    http://www.webcrawler.com/

Library Spot                                     http://www.libraryspot.com/

Yahoo                                              http://www.yahoo.com

Magellan                                           http://www.mckinley.com

Starting Point                                    http://www.stpt.com/

Mining Company Subject Site Guides  www.miningco.com/
 
 

The Messenger e-mail browser lets you exchange files send and receive electronic mail (e-mail) to and from anyone who has an e-mail address so you can share with others on the web.

You can use e-mail to do the following:

Write notes
Write letters
Send pictures
Receive advertisements
Order online
Pay bills
Bank
or many other ways

The following are suggestions on how to prepare to send e-mail.  I would suggest  compose your notes or letters ahead of time to save time on-line.

A: To use and open the e-mail browsers:

1. Click your preferred Internet browser.

There are many kinds of browsers. I will attempt to describe some of the most common browsers.

2. If you are, using Netscape communicator click on the Start Up menu  a drop down menu will appear. Scroll up to the Programs.

3. As you go up the words will be highlighted. Stop at Programs.

4. Scroll to the right arrow.

5. A NEW Window will appear. Scroll to the words "Netscape Communicator" and another drop down menu will appear. Scroll to the words "Netscape Messenger" and click.

6. Now your Netscape Messenger browser will appear.

7. Click on the icon that says "New Message" (it will be abbreviated like this "New Msg").

B:  COMPOSING your first e-mail:

1.  You will see a black line flashing in the box that says (To:) type in the e-mail address to which you are sending too.

2. Next hit the "Tab" key on the KEYBOARD. The cursor will move to the next box

3. With the word, "Subject" type in your subject line.  To move to the next step hit the "Tab" key again.

4. Now you can either type your message or  "Paste" it in the Netscape Message window.

5. When finished, Click on the icon that says "Send" with the envelope above it.

If you are using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser some of the words describing the above functions are very similar, but some of the words might be different.  By exploring your browsers you will find the proper way to use them to send e-mail or use the Internet.

C: how to reply to your friends and family's e-mail.

1. When replying to your e-mail you need to Highlight the message you want to reply to.

2. Point your mouse pointer to the text. It will be Highlighted in the text box and

3. Click your right mouse button. This will open a NEW WINDOW. There you will see many options.

4. Scroll down to the words "Reply to Sender Only" and Click the Highlighted text.

5. A New window will appear. Type the address of the person you wish to, starting at the black cursor that's flashing in the text box.  Just simply type your message to respond.

6. You will see below the cursor the name of the person you are writing to.  After finishing your note, click on the icon that says "Send".

D: Save e-mail addresses in your computer address book:

If you are using Netscape's browser it is very easy to save addresses:

1. Click on the address in blue of the name of the person you wish to save.  A New Window will appear saying "New Card". This will automatically enter the e-mail information that you received, and if the person is using the computer address card it will automatically enter the name of the person as well.

2. Change any information you need to correct, by hitting the "Tab" key.

3. The information will be Highlighted Just type in your corrections.

4.  If you do not need to correct that specific line just hit the "Tab" key again to go to the next line.

5. You may use the mouse pointer to place the cursor in the box as well.

E: Using your e-mail address book:

As you start saving e-mail addresses you will have the names and e-mail addresses of friends and family.  This is the process you need to follow to send e-mail:

1. Open your e-mail browser and select New Message ("New Msg"). A New window will appear.

2. Look at the icon that says "Address" with address cards above.  Click the icon. A New Window will appear with the title  "Personal Address Book".

3. Highlight the desired name.  Or type in the e-mail address.

4. The browser will recognize some of the characters. As you type them in, it will automatically display the name in green of the person or address that you are sending to, automatically. Now just stop typing and before you finish and......

5. Hit the enter key and it will automatically fill in the full e-mail address and full name if any.

F: Attaching pictures or documents:

This is a very complicated concept to understand. I will explain step-by-step to help you to learn how to attach documents or pictures.

• Click the icon that says "Attach" with a paper clip above.

• Point to the word "File"….  Click IT.

• Find the desired file you wish to attach.

Note: most files are located in My Documents in your computer.  I would suggest locating these files before you are ready to send your e-mail with the attachments.  I will describe one specific way only.

G: At the menu, it will say "Enter File to Attach". Look for the box that says programs.

1. Use your mouse pointer to open drop down menu.

2. Click on C drive new display will appear.

3. Click on "My Documents", or if it is Photos Click on that file.

4. Choose desired file.

5. Highlight desired files and Click it two times.

Now it will be added to your e-mail.  You may repeat the same steps as many times as needed.
 

These are all suggestions and tips to make your learning experience fruitful and productive as you learn how to use the e-mail browser.

If you need further assistance in understanding how to use any browser you may contact me at 845-856-4098 or at my web site at http://harry_I_seda_lva.tripod.com/ I hope you fine these suggestions helpful to improve your life.