Mouse Clix

By: Hobie Lunin

Exploring Internet Explorer

If you were to ask me what the greatest invention inside my computer is, I would tell you the Internet Browser. I have Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both interpret the code that the Internet pages are written in: HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). The web servers that hold the pages that you call for when you enter an Internet Address, or click on a link, send the page’s code to your browser. There your computer follows the instructions to place text in the right place and with the correct font and locates the page where the pictures are and puts them into the correct size and position. All of this browser work brings you a wonderfully colorful and rich page in just an instant. To see what any web page code looks like, go onto the web, get any page on your screen and then click on View and Source. You will see a black and white page with many instructions, the text being between > and <. The instruction as to what font, location, picture or link is between a < and >.

Let us get started exploring the browser. A good idea would be to get on-line to do this. I will be explaining Internet Explorer. If you use Netscape, it will be similar. I understand that AOL will start using a browser that more closely resembles I.E. in the not too distant future.

Starting in the upper left corner, click on File. (I will be covering what I think are the essential points here and you can explore some of the others yourself. If you have specific questions about something I have not included, write me.) The first menu item in file is New. When you click on Window, it will bring up another Explorer window allowing you to view two sites at the same time. Toggling between these two sites would, e.g., allow you to compare prices from two different web sites. Clicking on Open brings you a window you can put a web address in. Handy if you do not have the address toolbar on all the time. The Edit With menu is to allow you to edit your web page if you have one of your own. The Save As button will allow you to save a web page to your hard drive. Print is there for you to be able to print the web page that is on the screen. Send, Page by Mail is a way to send the page to a friend. Properties will give you some info about the page you are looking at. Close turns the page off as if you clicked the X in the upper right corner.

Edit allows you to Copy and Paste a web page or part of it into another file. Find will help you locate a word or phrase on the page. Click View and then Toolbars. If you click each of these items one at a time, you will see which they are; this is self-explanatory. Stop; there probably is a Stop button on your toolbar somewhere else. It is an X in a red circle. This stops a page from downloading when you have changed your mind. Text Size; you can change the text size on any web page for easier readability. Try all the sizes to see which you prefer. Full Screen is the same as the maximize button. Favorites help you find a page you have been to before and want to go back to it. When you are on the page the first time, click on Favorites and then Add To. When you want to come back again from different location, just click on favorites and find the page there and click. If you have a great number of favorites, you can click Organize to sort them into various folders making them easier to find by category.

Next is Tools. Show Related Links can help you get more info on a subject or web page. Internet Options: here you can select your Home Page; this is the first page you will see when you come on to the Internet each time. My choice is Yahoo News so that I can see the breaking stories each time that I go on-line. In addition, you can delete your Temporary Internet Files from this menu. Do this regularly to keep your computer running as fast as possible. Under Tools, check “Tip of the Day” for additional browser info.

Advanced: look through this list. Don’t worry about all of it but this gives you, among other things, the opportunity to have your printer print the background colors of pages (look out, this uses a lot of ink) and control whether you want to accept cookies or not. Help, About, will allow you to see what version of Internet Explorer you are using in case you are being offered a free upgrade.

Another tool bar has the Back and Forward buttons that take you either back one page (the last page you looked at) or forward to bring you back again, to where you were. The X button stops loading a link selected and the little page with two curvy arrows is Refresh. This tells your ISP to go back to the web site and bring a fresh copy of the page. The icon that looks like a house, when clicked, will take you to your home page. Search will help you locate sites from a menu. History helps you find pages you previously visited but which are not in you favorites.

Yes, I skipped some tool bar items, so experiment on your own. The browser is a great invention and you should try to use all of its innovations. It will save you time and bring more information to light.

Hobie Lunin is a Computer Instructor and Consultant. He can be reached at mouseclix2@yahoo.com

Previous articles can be seen at http://mouseclix.tripod.com