Computer Basics, The Internet, and Tutorials

Words that are underlined can usually be clicked. (Clicking means to position the pointer over the underlined word and clicking on the right button of your mouse.) This will usually link to (meaning go to) a new section or a new page. On this page a word that is underlined will take you to another section of this document that explains the meaning or usage of the underlined word or to a tutorial that explains how to use the function or program.

You can use the Back/Arrow Button at the top of your browser to return to the page you were previously viewing.

Computer Basics: What should I do if my Mouse doesn't seem to work properly?

Does your cursor not go where you want as you move your mouse, does it wiggle and move in jerks or starts? It could be lint or other dirt is clogging the rollers inside your mouse. This section will show you how to clean your mouse in just a few easy steps. Even if your mouse is working correctly, cleaning your mouse once in a while is still a good idea. *Note: close all open programs, like e-mail applications, before you start cleaning your mouse.

Turn the mouse over and look at the cover that holds a rubber ball in place. You should see arrows that show the direction that you can twist or slide the cover to remove it (usually it will be a twist counter-clockwise to open, and a clockwise twist to close it). The easiest way to do this is to slide or twist using using two fingers while holding the mouse firmly in the palm of your hand. Don't worry a mouse is not very fragile. Keep your hand in place over the cover and turn the mouse until the ball and cover fall into your hand (see picture below.

Wipe or blow away any specs of lint or dust that fall out and then inspect the cover and ball. Make sure both are clean and then set them down. Use the cover as a stand so the ball can't roll away (see image below). Very important, don't lose or damage the rubber ball! Now look inside of the mouse and notice that there are three rollers spaced equally apart inside (although some may have two rollers and a wheel inside, proceed in the same way).

Use your fingernail to remove the lint build-up on the center of each roller. You can see some bumpy detritus in the picture to the left-hand corner. When this builds up, it prevents the rollers from turning smoothly and the mouse from working correctly. Scrape in a side-to-side motion across the build-up while slowly turning the roller until all lint is removed. Repeat for all rollers (or the single wheel). Two of the rollers are held in place solidly while the third pushes back on a spring. This will be the hardest one to scrape, but it will come clean with persistence. * Note- use care, don't use a letter opener or other foreign object to clean the rollers or you may damage them.

Now all you need to do is put the mouse back together. Shake out or gently blow inside the opening to get rid of any loose lint clumps that may have fallen inside. Wipe off any lint from the ball and put it back in place. Then just return the plastic cover and twist or slide it in the opposite direction to close it again. The last thing to do is make sure to clean up the area of all of the dust and debris that has fallen out, especially on your mouse pad or it will wind up back in your mouse. You should give your mouse pad a good shake away from your desk to make sure it is clean and dust-free as well. Now your nice, clean mouse should point and click where you want it to! If you still have problems with your mouse and the cursor moving where it's supposed to you may need a new one. They are a fairly cheap item and can be picked up at any office or computer supply store. If you use a mouse often for work or play it may be worthwhile to pick up a more expensive, but ergonomic mouse that helps relieve issues such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

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What should I do if my computer is slow and freezes up on me?
Computers need to be cleaned up sometimes, just like many people do a spring cleaning of their homes, a computer needs periodic "sweeping up" as well. There are several ways to delete unused files and organize your file space. This will often free up system resources and allow your computer to run faster and more efficiently. The following are examples of ways that you can clean your computer as well as things that you should do as regular maintenance for your computer. It's a good idea to do at least some of these items at least once every three months as a minimum.

Empty Your Recycle Bin Regularly One important thing to remember is to empty your recycle bin/garbage can. Whenever you delete a file isn't actually deleted. It's stored in your recycle bin and saved in short term memory, using up RAM that your programs may need to run efficiently. To empty your recycle bin right click (second mouse button) over the icon of the garbage can and choose Empty Recycle Bin. (See picture to the right.) You can skip this step if you are going to use the Disk Cleanup Accessory in the following step.

Clean Unneeded Files Using the Windows Disk Cleanup Accessory Use the accessory that comes with most Windows operating systems called "Disk Cleanup". Go to the Start Button menu, choose Programs (or All Programs), Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup. See figure below. This program (shown to the right) will delete Temporary Internet Files, Downloaded Programs (which may have been installed, but the original downloaded file that is no longer needed is still taking up space), the Recycle Bin (garbage can), and Temporary files (files the computer saves automatically during some task, but which are not needed anymore). As you highlight each one, it will give you a quick explanation. This image shows what it says for Temporary Internet Files. Under the "More Options" tab there is the option to remove some of the Windows Operating System extras. These may include games, online services, address books not used by your e-mail program, etc. Deleting some of these extras can also help you reclaim space on your hard drive. The setting tab offers you a box to check if you want Disk Cleanup to start automatically if your drive runs low on space. This is always a good option to have checked. Check For Operating System Critical Updates Verify manually that your operating system doesn't have any critical updates that need to be applied. Go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and check for updates. Do this even if you think you have set your computer to apply updates automatically. This is a checkup, remember? You are doing it to make sure that nothing is wrong and one thing that could go wrong is your setting for automatic updates. This site automatically looks at your computer and then suggests high priority and optional updates specific to your operating system and your computer. Check Your Antivirus Software Check your antivirus software. Usually you can do that by clicking, double clicking, or right clicking on the little icon in the task tray. Check the date of the last virus definition file. If it has a red exclamation mark next to it is definitely out of date. Also if it isn't recent (within the last week) you probably don't have automatic updates turned on and should turn this feature on. (Automatic updates will update your virus definitions every time you connect to the Internet. Virus definitions are the files used by your antivirus software to prevent viruses.) Don't have antivirus software? Well then get some! Invest in some sort of Antivirus program like Norton Antivirus or McAfee VirusScan and update it regularly to prevent future problems and worries. A free and quick virusscan tool put out by McAfee is Stinger (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/) . It will help with certain most common viurus types and is free. However they still recommend getting a full virusscan program. Clean Up Your Mailbox There are two main reasons for organizing your mailbox. One is organizational, it will help when you try to find things in the future if they are each stored in a folder with a clear explanatory title. The other is that if you have a ton of messages in your inbox it can slow down all other functions of your computer when you have your e-mail open. If you are using something like Outlook or Outlook Express and leave it open so you can see when you have a new message, then all of those messages in your inbox will effect your temporary memory. This means that if you are working on a large document in another program and it needs lots of memory to do something like save or insert a giant picture/graph your computer may freeze/crash and you may lose whatever you were working on. Organizing your mailbox and deleting old messages or moving them to folders on a regular basis is worth it. (Note: You must remember to delete messages in your deleted folder or have the option to delete them when you close your e-mail turned on. Otherwise they are still around and taking up space. Also keep in mind many programs save your sent e-mails as well. That's a great place to start if you need to free up some space. So don't wait until you have 50,000 messages to start deleting or organizing your inbox!) Backup Your Hard Drive I can't emphasize enough how important doing regular backups is. Hard drives fail...all the time. Average life span of a hard drive is about 1 1/2 to 2 years. So how old is yours? If the data on your hard drive isn't too important to you what about your contacts? Or the info from your Palm or Pocket PC. Could you recreate all the important dates, phone numbers, etc. in your life? If the answer is no, back it up. Today most computers come with CD burners. Burn your files and folders to CD or buy a USB Flash Memory Key for your really crucial stuff. A great program from Symantec is Norton Ghost or True Image by Acronis. These program take a “picture” of your hard drive or partition exactly the way you have it now. Another thing offered by many newer computers running Windows XP is Systems Restore. Start Menu>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore. Get your system exactly the way you want it and then set a Restore Point. Note: All changes to your computer will be deleted so every time you add a program or save a significant file or set of files, set another restore point otherwise it will not be on your system any more if you do a restore! Run Defrag Regularly- especially after deleting lots of files. Defrag is a command that reorganizes your files. It is has the same effect as reorganizing your closet to use the space more efficiently after getting rid of a bunch of old things. Files are saved by the computer by breaking them down into little pieces (bytes) and saving these in lots of locations on your hard drive. When you delete files it leaves lots of little holes that aren't always used again. By running defrag you are pushing all the data together to fill in these holes, leaving more big empty spaces to fill later. This helps your computer run more efficiently as well, because these big empty spaces are utilized whenever a task takes more memory than you have in RAM (short term storage). Before you begin Defrag, close all open programs, including e-mail, files, etc. and turn off your screensaver (click once on your desktop anywhere there are no icons, choose Properties, click on the Screen Saver tab, and click on the drop down arrow and choose None). To Defrag your computer click on the Start Menu button and choose Programs (or All Programs), Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. (It is right below the Disk Cleanup command.) Then click the OK button. * Note: if you have never run defrag before it may take a very long time to finish. If you need to do something on your computer, hit the Pause button and then the same button to Resume when you finish your task. Each time you do something on your computer without pausing you will cause the program to restart from scratch because the contents of your computer will have changed.

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1. Some computer some where gets infected.
2. The infection gathers all the e-mail addresses on that computer (from the address book, inbox, sent file, etc.).
3. The infection sends an e-mail message to every address that it finds AND USES A RANDOMLY SELECTED ADDRESS AS THE "FROM" ADDRESS.

A. Removes the infection
B. Sends a notice to the person who the virus was directed to
C. Sends a notice to the person who (it appears) the message was sent from.

Computer Basics: Aids for Computer Use for Individuals with Disabilities.
The computer can provide a means of participating in activities that would otherwise not be available for individuals with disabilities. For example, special software has been written to allow individuals who are blind to use the computer to read, individuals with cognitive impairments to use the computer to supplement or enhance their memory, and individuals who have hearing deficits to use the computer to communicate over telephones. In addition, there are special devices which enable individuals with disabilities to use a computer and the Internet. These can include: access aids, such as switches and head pointers; input devices such as modified or alternative keyboards; and output devices such as voice or Braille.

For more examples and information about aids for computer use please see the following Web sites:

Apple Computer's site for People with Special Needs
This site has information on computer access solutions for individuals with disabilities.
http://www.apple.com/disability/

TASH Inc.
This site features a company that sells a variety of access devices. http://www.tashinc.com

Virtual Assistive Technology Center
This site provides information about free and inexpensive software that helps individuals with disabilities use computers and the Internet. http://vatc.freeservers.com/

Synapse Adaptive
Speech Recognition & adaptive technologies for individuals with disabilities. http://www.synapseadaptive.com

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The Internet is a vast network of computers made up of thousands of networks worldwide. We don't know exactly how many computers are currently connected to the Internet, but it certainly numbers in the millions and is increasing at a phenomenal rate. A Web page is nothing but a a single document that resides on a computer/server and that you view with a browser.

There is no governing body in control of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and try to set standards for creating applications for it, but there is no one entity or person in charge of it. The Internet originated when several Universities decided to form a network to exchange information and ideas. From there it took on a life of it's own and became what it is today, a global marketplace, a workplace, a repository of information from the divine to the absurd, and a community that can include any country or place with the ability to connect to it. However, most Internet traffic does flow over networks that are owned by private companies and universities.

All computers on the Internet communicate with each other using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user's local client machine (i.e. your computer). Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology, these are usually referred to as plugins. (These can include programs such as viewers and readers like Flash, Real Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader, etc.)

As a user of the Internet you have access to a wide variety of services such as: electronic mail (e-mail), file transfer, vast information resources (see section on Search Engines), special interest groups, bulletin boards, chat groups, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting (webcasts), shopping, breaking news, and much more.

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Internet Basics: The Terms
Internet/World Wide Web-- The Internet, the World Wide Web, or the Web are all names used to describe the vast network of information in cyberspace, available to anyone who has access to a computer, a browser (software), and a connection to an Internet service provider through a modem (or other connection such as DSL, ISDN, LAN etc.). Many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web (a.k.a. the Web) interchangeably, but in fact the two terms are not synonymous. The Internet and the Web are two separate but related things.

The Internet is a massive network of networks, i.e. a networking infrastructure. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. Information that travels over the Internet does so via a variety of computer languages known as protocols.

The Web is a way of accessing information over the medium of the Internet. It is an information-sharing model that is built on top of the Internet. The Web uses the HTTP protocol, only one of the languages spoken over the Internet, to transmit data. This stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, or HTTP (this is usually automatically loaded as part of an address when you type an address/URL into a web browser). This is what you see in the first part of many web site addresses (or URL's). The Web uses browsers such as Internet Explorer or Netscape, to access documents called Web pages that are linked to each other via hyperlinks. Web documents also contain graphics, sounds, text and video.

Producing hypertext for the Web is accomplished by creating documents with a language called HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. With HTML, tags are placed within the text to format documents by adjusting such things as font size, italics and bold, and the adding of hypertext links (links to other documents and files). Graphics may also be incorporated into an HTML document. HTML is an ever changing and evolving language. New tags are added as the language is updated, developed, and released (examples would be XML and DHTML or HTML 4).

Programming languages such as JavaScript, Visual Basic, Cold Fusion, ASP and PHP are extending the capabilities of the Web (these programs can do a wide range of things from creating dynamic html effects to interfacing with databases and displaying customized views online). An increasing amount of information on the Web is being stored in databases and such programs help to make it accessible. The Web is therefore not a fixed entity, but one that is in a constant state of flux and growth.

The Web is just one of the ways that information can be exchanged over the Internet. The Internet, not the Web, is also used for e-mail (abbreviation for electronic mail), which relies on SMTP, FTP, news groups, instant messaging, and Telnet.

If you don't have an Internet connections, many colleges, public libraries, and an increasing number of Internet cafes offer free access to the Internet. There are also many businesses (such as Kinko's) that lease time on the Internet.

BLOG-- A Blog, short for web log or weblog, is usually a personal, time-stamped, online journal that appears on a website. It can be periodically updated by the owner, sometimes called a blogger. Many sites offer free software to create blogs on personal websites. One of the most popular blogger sites is owned by Google.com and can be found at: http://www.blogger.com.

Chat Rooms & instant messaging-- Chat programs allow users on the Internet to communicate with each other by typing in real time. They are sometimes included as a feature of a Web site, where users can log into the "chat room" to exchange comments and information about the topics addressed on the site. Chat may take other, more wide-ranging forms. For example, America Online is well known for sponsoring a number of topical chat rooms.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a service through which participants can communicate to each other on hundreds of channels. These channels are usually based on specific topics. While many topics are frivolous, substantive conversations are also taking place. To access IRC, you must use an IRC software program.

A variation of a chat program is instant messaging. With instant messaging, a user on the Web can contact another user currently logged in and type a conversation. Most famous is America Online's Instant Messenger. ICQ is another commonly-used chat program.

Downloading-- is when you take a file from someone else's computer and put it on your own. A file can be anything from a pretty picture to the entire text of the Declaration of Independence. Larger files, like video or music clips, can take longer to download than smaller, text-only ones. After a while, you'll recognize which will take two minutes and which will take two hours. For more information on how to download, see the section below that explains how to download from the Internet.

E-mail-- is the more common abbreviation for Electronic mail. It allows computer users locally and worldwide to exchange messages. Each user of e-mail has a mailbox address to which messages are sent (example: abrennan@med.miami.edu). Messages sent through e-mail can arrive within a matter of seconds. A powerful aspect of e-mail is the option to send electronic files to a person's e-mail address or even to oneself for retrieval at a different location. In this way information sharing and retrieval is available any where with access to the Internet. Unfortunately, this also often leads to the propagation of viruses. So make sure to take care when opening attachments. Use a virus protection program ( like Norton Antivirus or McAfee VirusScan) and if possible a firewall program as well (like Black Ice, Zone Alarm, or Norton Internet Security).

E-mail discussion groups-- one of the benefits of the Internet is the opportunity it offers to people worldwide to communicate and share information. The Internet is home to a large community of individuals who carry out active discussions organized around topic-oriented forums distributed by e-mail. These are administered by software programs. Probably the most common program is the listserv.

A great variety of topics are covered by listservs, many of them are academic in nature. When you subscribe to a listserv, messages from other subscribers are automatically sent to your electronic mailbox. You subscribe to a listserv by sending an e-mail message to a computer program called a listserver. Listservers are located on computer networks throughout the world. This program handles subscription information and distributes messages to and from subscribers. You must have a e-mail account to participate in a listserv discussion group.

Visit Liszt at http://www.liszt.com/ to see an example of a site that offers a searchable collection of e-mail discussion groups. Majordomo and Listproc are two other programs that administer e-mail discussion groups. The commands for subscribing to and managing your list memberships are similar to those of listserv.

FAQ, RFC, FYI-- FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. These are periodic postings to Usenet newsgroups that contain a wealth of information related to the topic of the newsgroup. Many FAQs are quite extensive. FAQs are available by subscribing to individual Usenet newsgroups. A Web-based collection of FAQ resources has been collected by The Internet FAQ Consortium and is available at http://www.faqs.org/.

RFC stands for Request for Comments. These are documents created by and distributed to the Internet community to help define topics. They contain both technical specifications and general information.

FYI stands for For Your Information. These notes are a subset of RFCs and contain information of interest to new users.

FTP-- stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is both a program and the method used to transfer files between computers. Anonymous FTP is an option that allows users to transfer files from thousands of host computers on the Internet to their personal computer account. FTP sites contain books, articles, software, games, images, sounds, multimedia, files, and much more. If your computer is directly connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable, you can use one of several software programs, such as WS_FTP for Windows, to conduct a file transfer.

FTP transfers can be performed on the World Wide Web without the need for special software. In this case, the Web browser will suffice. Whenever you download software from a Web site to your local machine, you are using FTP.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)-- connects you to the Internet, just as your long distance carrier connects you to the telephone network. Some of the most common Internet service providers are America Online, AT&T World Net Service, BellSouth.net and MSN. The average cost of this service is about $20 per month but varies based on actual usage. The site www.freedomlist.com compiles an up-to-date listing of companies that offer free or low-cost (less than $10 per month) access to the Internet.

LISTSERV-- A listserv is a small program that automatically redistributes e-mail to names on a mailing list. Users of a listserv subscribe to the mailing list. Then each subscriber will automatically receive all future e-mail postings. One caution for new users of listserv's- remember that if you hit reply from an e-mail program the message will go to every subcriber on the distribution list. It has the same effect as using the Reply All function in a regular e-mail. To send a response to only one person on the list, type in their e-mail address instead.

Newsgroups-- (also called Usenet discussion forums) are global electronic bulletin board systems used by millions of participants to exchange information and views on a vast range of topics. The major difference between news groups and e-mail discussion groups is the fact that Usenet messages are posted online and stay at a central location. To view these messages users must go online to read or download these messages. With e-mail distribution all messages are automatically sent to the every list member at the same time to their electronic mailbox. Newsgroups can be organized around any topic. Most ISP companies offer you newsgroup services in the form of a newsgroup server address. You indicate from a list which ones you are interested in and subject titles are delivered to a news reader for you to look at during your leisure.

Search Engines/Search Directories-- a search engine is a searchable database of Internet files collected by a computer program (this program is sometimes called a wanderer, crawler, robot, worm, spider, etc.). An index is created from the collected files, e.g., title, full text, size, URL, etc. There is often no selection criteria for these collection of files, except a ranking of "best fit" results. Beware: many commercial sites take money from websites to list them higher in the ranks when a search is run. The best search sites use a system of ranking/weighted results based on the number of times the site has been clicked on by users searching the same or similar terms. Click here for a list of general and specialized search engines or to learn more about search engines.

SSH-- (Secure Shell) was developed by SSH Communications Security Ltd., to log into another computer over a network, to execute commands in a remote machine, and to move files from one machine to another. It provides strong authentication and secure communications over insecure channels through encryption. This provides some protection against malicious attacks from viruses, worms, or hackers.

URL-- stands for Uniform Resource Locator. The URL specifies the Internet address of a file stored on a host computer connected to the Internet. Every file on the Internet, no matter what its access protocol, has a unique URL. Each web site must have its own specific address, similar to the way each home must have a unique address to in order to receive mail delivery service. URL's are usually case-sensitive (this means that each letter must be typed in exactly as it appears in the address, using upper or lower case letters). A URL begins with the characters http://, often followed by www. Common URL suffixes are .com (for commercial organizations), .edu (for educational institutions), .gov (for government agencies), .net (for network related entities), and .org (for non-profit groups and organizations).

Web Browsers-- a web browser is software, installed on your computer, that allows you to navigate the Internet. Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are two of the most commonly used web browsers. See below for more information on, "How do I use the Internet/What's a Browser?"

Web Sites-- contains all the information offered by a particular organization, individual, or company, and will sometimes include links to other sites as well. Each web site generally starts with a home page and then links to other pages within the site containing various types of information and/or services/products. A website can be made up of a single webpage document or hundreds/thousands, limited only by the size restrictions of the webserver it is housed in.

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Internet Basics: How do I use the Internet/What's a Browser?

To access the World Wide Web, you must use a Web browser. A browser is a software program that allows users to see and navigate documents called web pages. There are two types of browsers:

Graphical: Text, images, audio, and video are retrievable through a graphical software program such as Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, or AOL. These browsers are available for both Windows-based and Macintosh computers. Navigation is accomplished by pointing and clicking with a mouse on highlighted words and graphics.

You can install a graphical browser such as Netscape Navigator in your Windows-based or Macintosh machine by downloading. Navigator is available for downloading on the Netscape Web site: http://home.netscape.com/. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is available from the Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/. (There are many other browsers offered by other companies, AOL offers a browser of their own as part of their ISP package.) To use these programs to access the Web, you need a connection to the Internet, through a network connection or an ISP.

Text-only: Lynx is a browser that provides access to the Web showing only text. To navigation a person must use the arrow up and down keys to indicated links, and press the forward arrow (or Enter) key to follow the link. Pictures are translated by using any alternative text the creator has supplied for it. Unfortunately many web page creators forget to include alternative or Alt Tags for pictures.) For more information, see the following web page, Albany Library's Guide to Using Lynx.

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Internet Basics: How do I use Netscape?
Navigating the Internet with Netscape
Netscape is a suite of software programs that includes the well-known Netscape Navigator Web browser, it comes with e-mail, news, and HTML editing clients as well. You can install Netscape in your Windows-based or Macintosh machine. The program is available for downloading on the Netscape home page: http://home.netscape.com/.

• Before you can use a browser to access the Internet, you need a connection. To connect you must use either: a network connection (used for connecting to networks, such as in a work/office environment or university/college through a LAN (Local Area Network, a smaller network); or a WAN (Wide Area Network, large network, usually made up of two or more LAN's); or a dialup connection through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) like MSN or AOL using a modem; or through alternative methods such as through digital cable lines.

The Toolbars
Navigator has three toolbars at the top of the screen:

• Navigation Toolbar: The first row of icons are for navigating among Web pages, searching the Web via sites chosen by Netscape (Search & My Netscape), printing (Print), and security options and information on the page your browser is currently open to (Security).

Back and Forward move you to Web pages you have previously viewed. Reload will make a Web page that loaded incorrectly or one that stopped in the middle of loading, try to load again for better viewing. *Note: If you have recently been to a page before and dates or images that you know have changed appear to be the same ones you viewed before, hold down the Ctrl button and click on the Reload button at the same time. This will load any changes. Web browsers often save images and copies of Web pages in memory to facilitate faster load times, Crtl + Reload tells the browser to dump this old, information and load the site from scratch again.

Home takes you to what ever you choose as your homepage (That is the page that the browser loads every time it is opened. By default it is Netscape's homepage. To change it choose Edit from the very top menu, go to Preferences. A dialogue box pops up. The second item is setting a homepage. Type in the URL (web address) of the page you would like your browser to start up with.

• Location Toolbar: Second row, contains the browser's Bookmarks file, and the window that displays the address of the current Web page you have accessed.
• Personal Toolbar: Contains the bookmarks in the Personal Toolbar folder of the bookmarks file. The program comes with certain links pre-installed. These can be deleted, or you can add your own.

To place your own bookmarks here:

• Go to a Web page that you want to bookmark, make sure the full name is displayed in the location box.
• Place your mouse over the icon pictured here. (It is a folder with a blue "bookmark" in it). This message will briefly appear: "Drag this to create a link to this page."
• Hold down the left mouse button and drag from this icon into the Personal Toolbar below. The bookmark will then be installed.

Making the Toolbars Disappear
You may make any of these three toolbars disappear during a session in order to give yourself a larger viewing window. (Or conversely someone else may choose to hide them and you want to get them back.) There are two ways to do this:

• Click on the far left hand grill of the toolbar. To bring back the toolbar, click again on the grill. That is the little downward pointing arrow and dots shown in this picture. When clicked on, they hide the toolbar (Personal Toolbar is shown here "hidden"), click again and it opens.

• Or Select from the top menu, the word View, then Hide Navigation or Hide Location or Hide Personal Toolbar. To bring back the toolbar, select the hidden toolbar from the menu again.

How to Get Around With the Netscape Browser

If you have the URL (Web address) of a Web page on the Internet
Type the URL to go directly to the page. Navigator gives you two ways of doing this.

• Type the URL in the location box on the Location Toolbar, next to Bookmarks. To accomplish this, click on the location box to highlight the current URL. Then type in the new one and press the Enter key.
• Or click on File, then Open Page. The Open Page dialogue box pops up and you can now type the location into the blank line and press the Enter key. (This is also a good way to look at web pages or images saved on your computer (just click the Browse button, and find the location of the file you want to view).

If you are on a Web page.
A clickable link will usually be indicated by one of the following:

• Words or images that change the shape of the mouse pointer from an arrow to a hand when it is placed over them. (They may also display the links URL on the bottom of the screen.)
• Words that are underlined.
• Underlined words on screen that are darker or have changed color since you first loaded the page. (This color change indicates that the resource has been recently accessed by your computer.)

Note: The colors blue and purple are generally the default colors for text that contains a link (blue is the unclicked link), and text representing a link that has been visited in the recent past (purple). Also, by default most links are underlined. However, currently Web page creators are coloring their links in all sorts of ways and have the option of of not having links underlined. The best way to figure out which text represents a link is to point your mouse over the words or image and see if the pointer shape changes from an arrow to a hand. The hand always represents a link.

If you want to use Pre-installed links
Netscape offers a few icons on the navigation bar at the top of the screen with access to pre-installed resources. For example:

• Search takes you to Net Search. Be aware that the services on this page have paid millions of dollars for the privilege of being located here. There are a great many more search engines that should also be explored. Please see our section on search engines for more choices.
• Bookmarks this opens to a list of resources of preset links covering subjects like news, travel, shopping, etc. You can also add your own bookmarks.

Saving Internet Documents for Later Use/How to Download, E-mail, & Print

DOWNLOAD TO DISK

1. Click on File/Save As (top left of screen). A pop-up window will appear.
2. Save in: Choose "3 1/2" Floppy (A:)"
3. Convert Save as Type to "Plain Text (*.txt)"
4. Add the txt extension to the filename, e.g., myfile.txt
5. Click on Save

E-MAIL
Note: Current versions of Navigator do not offer the ability to mail a Web page stripped of its HTML tags. Even those versions which offer the option to convert a page to "Plain Text Only" in its format options screen will not change the file to ASCII. The following directions are a work-around for this limitation. This alternative will insert page text as quoted text (> in front of each line) in the body of your e-mail message. As a drawback, only about 30K of text can fit into the message window.

1. Click on File/Send Page (top left of screen). A new pop-up window will appear.
2. To: Enter the e-mail address, including everything after the @sign
3. Click on the Quote icon.
4. Click on the Send icon (top left corner of window)

TO PRINT
Printing the entire document.

1. Click on the Print icon (top of screen)
2. Click on OK

 Printing selected pages.

1. Click on File/Print Preview (top left of screen)
2. Click through the pages to determine which pages you want to print
3. Click on the Print button (top left of screen)
4. Click on the circle next to "Pages"
5. Type in the page range you want to print From: and To:
   
6. OR, to print a single page, type in this page number after both From: and To:
7. Click on OK.

Printing light fonts on dark backgrounds.

Some Web page creators have chosen to design their pages with a dark background and light fonts. In these cases, a normal print operation will result in text that is usually too light to read. Note: Most newer browsers, automatically render text to black text and ignore background colors.

To ensure a readable printout, follow these steps:

1. Click on File/Page Setup.
2. Click the white box next to, Black Text. A check mark will appear.
3. Click on OK.
4. Print the page.

How Do I Increase the Font Size of Web Pages for Better Viewing?
From the Menu bar at the top of the browser choose View/Increase Font (or hold down the CTRL while pressing the ] buttons). See the image below for an example.

Other Options: Using the Right Mouse Button
The right mouse button offers a number of useful features if you are using a PC (the same does not hold true for Macs because they use a single button mouse). To view the possibilities, press down on the right mouse button and hold it. Options will display in a pop-up window.

The following is a selected list of right mouse button options:

When the mouse pointer is on the screen (but not on a link or an image).

• Back: Moves back to the previously visited page in your history list (same as Back icon)
• Forward: Moves forward to the next page in your history list (same as Forward icon)
• Reload: Reloads the current page from the server
• Stop: Stops loading the current page
• View Source: Brings up the HTML tags of the current page
• View Info: Brings up the page information screen, which lists various structural, date, and security information
• Add Bookmark: Adds the current page to the Bookmark file
• Create Shortcut: Creates a shortcut to the current Web page on the Windows 95 desktop
• Send Page: E-mails the current page

When the mouse pointer is over a link:

• Open in New Window: Opens the Web page link in another window with the browser open to that page, it does not change the old window with the original Web page still displayed in it.
• Open Link on Composer: Opens the page in Composer, the HTML editor of Communicator
• Back: Moves back to the previously visited page in your history list
• Forward: Moves forward to the next page in your history list
• Reload: Reloads the current page from the server
• View Source: Brings up the HTML tags of the current page
• View Info: Brings up the page information screen, which lists various structural, date, and security information
• Add Bookmark: Adds a bookmark for the destination of the current link
• Create Shortcut: Creates a shortcut to the linked-to Web page on the Windows 95 desktop
• Send Page: E-mails the current page
• Save Link as: Saves the link destination to the drive that you choose
• Copy Link location: Copies the URL for the current link into the Windows Clipboard for pasting into another Windows application

When the mouse pointer is over an image:

• Back: Moves back to the previously visited page in your history list.
• Forward: Moves forward to the next page in your history list.
• Reload: Reloads the current page. *Note: If you have recently been to a page before and dates or images that you know have changed appear to be the same ones you viewed before, hold down the Ctrl button and click on the Reload button at the same time. This will load any changes. Web browsers often save images and copies of Web pages in memory to facilitate faster load times, Crtl + Reload tells the browser to dump this old, information and load the site from scratch again.
• View Source: Brings up the HTML (source document) of the current page.
• View Info: Brings up the page information screen, which lists various structural, date, and security information
• View Image (filename): Loads the image into a new page in Navigator. You can click on the Back arrow to return to the previous page.
• Set As Wallpaper: Uses the image as the Windows background image on the desktop.
• Add Bookmark: Adds the image to the Bookmark file
• Create Shortcut: Creates a shortcut to the page containing the image on the Windows 95 desktop
• Send Page: E-mails the current page
• Save Image As: Saves the image file in its original format (gif or jpg) to the drive that you choose
• Copy Image Location: Copies the URL of the image into the Windows Clipboard for pasting into another Windows application

How to Navigate Web Pages Using Frames
Web pages created with frames divide the computer screen into two or more active windows. It is not easy to navigate a site that uses frames. Netscape Navigator offers several features to assist the user in working within the frames environment.

To move back to a previous frame.
When working in a frames environment, special navigation techniques must be used in order to move forward and back inside a particular frame. Let's say that you have clicked on a link and the file loads into one of the frames. How do you return to the previous item in that frame?

You can either: Click on the Back arrow (top left of screen), or press down on the right mouse button (not on a link or an image) and hold it. A pop-up window will appear with two choices. Slide down the mouse until you highlight the choice, Back. Let go of the mouse button. The previous file will appear in the frame. To move forward to a frame.If you have loaded several new files into a particular frame and have traveled backwards using the above procedure, you can then go forward again one by one through the files. You can either:

Click on the Forward arrow, or press down on the right mouse button and hold it. A pop-up window will appear with two choices. Slide down the mouse until you highlight the choice, Forward. Let go of the mouse button. The next file will appear in the frame.

To download, e-mail, or print within a frame.

To print, download, or e-mail a file within a frame, it is usually best to load this frame into a separate full-screen window. Especially in the case of printing, Navigator asks that the frame be "selected" before acting on it. This requires that you click on the desired frame. In other cases, you need to be sure that the frame you want is the file that you are downloading or mailing. Sometimes your target frame is exactly what Navigator will download, e-mail, or print, but this is not always the case. To ensure success, load the frame into a new copy of the browser. Navigator allows you to open a second copy of the browser for this purpose.

To accomplish this, use the right mouse button as follows:

Place your mouse pointer in the frame you wish to work with

1. Hold down the right mouse button. A pop-up window will appear with several choices. Slide down the mouse and highlight, Open Frame in New Window
2. Let go of the mouse button. A new copy of Navigator will launch with the frame loaded into the entire screen.
3. Print, download, or e-mail the file

Other Frames Features: The Right Mouse Button
The right mouse button offers additional flexibility within the frames environment.

If the Mouse is positioned inside a frame (but not on a link or an image):

• Open Frame in New Window: Loads the current frame into a new copy of Navigator
• Back: Returns to the previous file loaded within that frame
• Forward: Moves forward through the history list of the particular frame
• Reload Frame: Retrieves the current frame from the server
• View Frame Source: Brings up the HTML tags of the current page
• View Frame Info: Brings up the page information screen, which lists various structural, date, and security information
• Add Bookmark: Adds the current page (within the frame) to the Bookmark file
• Create Shortcut: Creates a shortcut to the current framed page on the Windows 95 desktop
• Send Page: E-mails the current page (within the frame)

If the Mouse is positioned inside a frame and on a link:
These additional functions are available:

• Open in New Window: Loads the destination of the link into a new copy of Navigator
• Open Frame in New Window: Opens the entire current frame in a new copy of Navigator
• Save Link As: Saves the destination of the link to the drive of your choice
• Copy Link Location: Copies the URL of the link into the Windows Clipboard for pasting into another Windows application

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Internet Basics: How do I use Internet Explorer?
Navigating the Internet Using Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer is a Web browser produced by the Microsoft Corporation. This tutorial will cover the major features of version 6. For the sake of brevity, we will refer to the software as IE. * NOTE: Most of these features are also available on earlier versions of IE. Also make sure you apply any available patches to fix vulnerabilities to hackers for your browser version. It is strongly recommended that you download and run these updates to prevent viruses and malicious attacks to your computer.

The Toolbars

Internet Explorer has three toolbars at the top of of the browser window:

• Menu Bar: Contains menu items that open up dropdown lists for related options. Among the items are options for printing, customizing IE, copying and pasting text, managing Favorites, and accessing Help.

• Navigation Toolbar: Contains icons for a variety of features including navigating among Web pages, searching the Web using a selection of search tools, accessing and managing Favorites, viewing a History of visited pages, printing, and accessing email and newsgroups.
  
• Address Bar: This is not really a toolbar, but this is where you type in the URL (Web address) of the page. When you press the Enter key, it will take you to this address. An alternate way to type in a Web address is to click on File from the Menu Bar, then Open. A pop-up window will appear with a text entry window. Within that window, type the URL of the site (or file) you wish to retrieve. You can also view saved Web pages from your hard drive this way. Just use the Browse button and select the folder and file name, then press the Enter key.

How to Get Around With Internet Explorer

If you have the URL (Web address) of a Web page on the Internet

Type the URL to go directly to the page. IE gives you two ways of doing this.

Type the URL (Web address) in the Address Bar and press the Enter key or click on File, then Open. The Open Page dialogue box pops up and you can now type the location into the blank line and press the Enter key.

If you are on a Web page.
A clickable link will usually be indicated by one of the following:

• Words or images that change the shape of the mouse pointer from an arrow to a hand when it is placed over them. (They may also display the links URL on the bottom of the screen.)
• Words that are underlined.
• Underlined words on screen that are darker or have changed color since you first loaded the page. (This color change indicates that the resource has been recently accessed by your computer.)

Note: The colors blue and purple are generally the default colors for text that contains a link (blue is the unclicked link), and text representing a link that has been visited in the recent past (purple). Also, by default most links are underlined. However, currently Web page creators are coloring their links in all sorts of ways and have the option of of not having links underlined. The best way to figure out which text represents a link is to point your mouse over the words or image and see if the pointer shape changes from an arrow to a hand. The hand always represents a link.

If you want to use Pre-installed links
E 6 offers a collection of Web sites in its Favorites collection. Click on Favorites on either the text bar or the tool bar at the top of the screen to access these resources. You can also add your own links to this list, clicking on favorites and choosing Add Favorite.

Toolbar Options: Navigating the Internet with Internet Explorer
IE allows you to move back and forth among the Web pages that you visit during a session.

Back Button (to go back to previous sites): Click on the small Back left arrow on the navigation bar near the top left corner of your screen. Each time you click on this arrow, you will return to the next previous site that you visited. If you hold your mouse over the Back arrow, the title of the upcoming page will briefly appear. To skip farther back, click on the small black triangle to the right of the word Back. This will bring up a list of pages you have visited. Click on any one of these choices to return to the desired page. This is the equivalent of clicking on the Back arrow several times.

Forward Button (to move forward after going back):

• When you have returned to previous sites with the Back arrow, you can go forward again by clicking on the small right-pointing arrow next to the Back arrow. If you hold your mouse over this arrow, the title of the upcoming page will briefly appear.
• To move farther ahead, click on the small black triangle to the right of the Forward arrow in the menu bar at the top of the screen. This presents a list of several sites you have visited. Click on any of the choices to return to the desired site. This is the equivalent of clicking on the Forward arrow several times.

Stop: The circle containing the X will stop a page while it is in the process of loading. This is useful if a page is not successfully or speedily retrieving.

Refresh: The square containing the two curved arrows re-retrieves the page you are currently viewing. This is useful if the page does not load successfully or completely. *Note: If you have recently been to a page before and dates or images that you know have changed appear to be the same ones you viewed before, hold down the Ctrl button and click on the Refresh button at the same time. This will load any changes. Web browsers often save images and copies of Web pages in memory to facilitate faster load times, Crtl + Refresh tells the browser to dump this old, information and load the site from scratch again.

Home: The home icon takes you back to the page that was on the screen when you first started IE. You can customize your selection. See the section below "Customizing Internet Explorer".

Search: The search button opens up a function that uses one or more Web search tools. You can choose the search tool(s) you want as your default.

You can also customize your search experience. After clicking on Search, choose the Customize option and make your selection. A pop-up window called "Customize Search Settings" will appear. If you choose to "Use Search Assistant" broad search topics will be displayed and the appropriate search tool will be queried. You can also opt to have IE remember your last 10 searches so that you can easily repeat them. Also notice that you can click a button called "Autosearch settings." This allows you to choose the search tool you want when you use the Address bar as a search window. You can also customize this option on the "When searching" line. You can even choose to turn off the use of the Address bar as a search window. If you do this, all words you type into the Address bar will be interpreted as URLs.

Favorites: Favorites are Web sites you have visited that you would like to store for easy access. You can add, delete and organize your Favorites.

To add the current Web page as a favorite, click on Favorites and then Add. To choose the folder where you want to store this listing, click on Create in and choose the folder you want. At this point, you also have the option to create a new folder.

To delete a Favorite, simply right click on the item and choose Delete. Or, you can choose Organize Favorites select the desired item, and click on the Delete button.

To move a favorite to another folder, click on Organize Favorites, select the desired item, and click on Move to folder. In the pop-up window, select the folder where you would like to store this listing.

History: The history function allows you to view and select Web pages you have recently visited. You can sort your items by clicking on the black triangle to the right of the word View. You can sort by size, date, the number of times visited, and the order you have visited today.

Mail: You can read email from this window. Choose the email software you wish to use by going back to the Menu Bar and choosing Tools/Internet Options/Programs.

Print: Allows you to print the current page. This option will be explained in more detail below under Printing.

Edit: You may edit the current page in the HTML editor of your choice. Choose the editor by going back to the Menu Bar and choosing Tools/Internet Options/Programs.

Discuss: You may set a default Usenet newsgroup server.

Toolbar Options for the Menu Bar
The menu bar at the top of the screen includes some useful options. Here are a few highlights.

File/New/Window: You can open up a second copy of IE by using this feature. This allows you to visit more than one Web page at a time.

File/Edit with...: You can edit the current Web page using the editor of your choice. Select the editor by going back to the Menu Bar and choosing Tools/Internet Options/Programs. You choices will be determined by software installed on your computer.

Edit/Find (on This Page): IE allows you to do a text search of the document on your screen. Choose this option and type in the word or phrase you wish to search.

Tools/Show Related Links: IE will display pages that are related in content to the current page. This is a Web content and traffic analysis company. The Tools menu offers you many ways to customize IE. This will be covered below under Customizing Internet Explorer.

How Do I Increase the Font Size of Web Pages So That I Can Read Them?
From the Menu bar at the top of the browser choose View/Text Size and choose from the following options (see image below) depending on your personal preferences and degree of visual acuity.

Saving Web pages: How to Download, E-mail and Print
You can download to disk, email, or print the Web page on the IE screen.

To Download

1. Click on File/Save As (top left of screen). A pop-up window will appear.
2. Save in: Choose the desired drive.
3. Save as type: Make sure you save the page to the file type that will be useful to you. If you save the page as a Web page, you will need a Web browser or HTML editor to view it. A text file (txt) can be viewed in a word processing program such a Word or WordPerfect.
4. Click on Save.

To E-mail

1. Click on File/Send (top left of screen).
2. You may send the current page as an email message, or you may insert the link to the current page within an email message. Once you make your selection, your email software will open. You can change the default software by going to the Menu Bar and choosing Tools/Internet Options/Programs. You choices will be determined by software installed on your computer.

To Print
   Printing the Entire Document:

1. Click on the Print icon on the Tool Bar
2. Click on OK

   Printing Selected Pages:

1. Click on File/Print Preview (top left of screen)
2. Click through the pages using the navigation arrows and make a note of which pages you want to print
3. Click on Print (top left of screen)
4. Click on the circle next to "Pages"
5. Type in the pages separate by commas, e.g., 1, 5-6, 7, 9
   
6. OR, to print the page displayed in the Print Preview window, choose Current Page.
7. Click on OK.

Other Options: Using the Right Mouse Button
The right mouse button offers a number of useful features if you are using a PC. To view the possibilities, press down on the right mouse button and hold it. Options will display in a pop-up window. The following is a selected list of right mouse button options.

When the Mouse Pointer is on a Web page (but not on a link or an image):

• Back: Moves back to the previously visited page in your history list (same as Back icon)
• Forward: Moves forward to the next page in your history list (same as Forward icon)
• Select All: Selects all the text on the page for copying and pasting
• Create Shortcut: Creates a shortcut to the current Web page on your desktop
• Add to Favorites: Adds the current Web page to your Favorites
• View Source: Brings up the HTML source code of the current page
• Encoding: Allows you to choose a language
• Print: Prints the current document
• Refresh: Reloads the current page again.

When the Mouse Pointer is on a link:

• Open: Opens the page
• Open in New Window: Opens the link in a new copy of IE
• Save Target As: Saves the link as a file
• Print Target: Prints the link
• Copy Shortcut: Copies the URL to the Clipboard for pasting into a text editor or word processing program
• Add to Favorites: Adds the selected page to your Favorites

When the Mouse Pointer is over an image:

• Save Picture As: Saves the image to a disk drive of your choice
• E-mail Picture: Opens your default email program and attaches the image to the message
• Print Picture: Prints the image on your default printer
• Set as Background: Uses the image as your desktop wallpaper
• Set as Desktop Item: Sets the image as an Active Desktop item
• Copy: Copies the image to the Clipboard for pasting into a graphics editing program
• Add to Favorites: Adds the selected images to your Favorites

Customizing Internet Explorer
IE offers a number of customization options. This section will highlight some of the more useful features available under Tools/Internet Options on the Menu Bar. Tools/Internet Options is divided into six tabs. Each one is explained below.

General:

• Home Page: Specify the URL of the page you want to appear whenever you open IE, or whenever you click on the Home icon
• Temporary Internet Files: This option allows you to view the files in your browser's cache. The cache holds viewed Web pages for subsequent quick viewing. Retrieving a file from the cache is much faster than repeated trips to the remote Web server where the file originated. You can customize the Settings to decide how often to check for newer pages, to specify how much disk space to reserve for your cache, and to view files in the cache.
• History: This option customizes your access to pages you have visited with the History function. Here you can set the number of days to keep pages in your history.
• Colors: Choose colors for links, visited links, and link hovers (the color appearing when your mouse is over a link). You can also set a default text and background color.
• Fonts: Select the language script, the font displayed in Web pages, and the font displayed as plain text.
• Languages: Select the language that will display Web pages accessed with IE
• Accessibility: Choose to ignore colors, font sizes and font styles on Web pages. You can also set a style sheet as the display template for all Web pages viewed with IE.

Security: Here you can set levels of security for individual Web pages. See IE's Help menus for more information.

Content:

• Content Advisor: You can enable ratings of objectionable content to control the pages that may be viewed with this browser.
• Certificates: This feature allows you to manage the identification certificates you may have. See the Help menus for more information.
• Personal Information: This consists of two options.
• AutoComplete will store entered Web address, information entered into forms, and usernames and passwords needed to access sites you have visited. When you are using your browser, previous entries will come up as choices so that you don't have to retype the information. This can make your work go much faster. You can customize these options, and delete your settings.
• My Profile offers a template for entering personal information. If a Web site requests this information, you can give permission for it to be used.

Connections: Here you can store the information about your Internet Service Provider, configure your LAN settings, or send your browser requests through a proxy server.

Programs: Here you can set the programs you want the browser to use for HTML editing, email, Usenet news, collaboration ("Internet Call"), your calendar and contact list.

Advanced: This screen offers a number of options in the categories of accessibility, browsing, HTTP settings, Microsoft VM (Virtual Machine), multimedia access, printing, searching and security. Set these options if you are comfortable with them.

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Internet Basics: How do I Download Files?

Downloading-- is what you do to copy a file from Internet and save it on your computer or disk. A file can be anything from a picture to a large word document. Larger files, like video or music clips, can take longer to download than smaller, text-only ones. It is dependant on the speed of your modem or network connection. If you have an old modem, downloading can be a long, tedious process.

*Note: Some types of files can be harmful to your computer. If you mistakenly download something with a hidden virus or other type of malicious program it can install itself on your computer and wreak havoc with your system. Be careful about where you download from, and be especially careful about downloading any file with an ".exe" on the end of its name. This applies even more strongly to e-mails. If you received a suspiciously worded e-mail (either from a stranger or an inappropriately worded e-mail with an attachment from someone you know, such as with a subject of "I Love You" or offer of a "Wicked Screen Saver" from a casual acquaintance or co-worker, just delete the message.) To stay on the safe side, it would also be prudent to buy some virus-protection software, update it regularly, and set it to check the files you download (two popular brands are Norton Antivirus and McAffee, but there are others available as well). It's also a good idea to have a firewall, which protects files from being sent to or from your computer while online without your expressed approval. These are small investments that's may well be worth the costs.

Step 1: Create a folder for your downloaded files.
When you download a file, you'll need to put it into a folder on your desktop. Putting these files into the same folder (or into category folders, like "videos" or "music") will help you easily find and use them. (If you don't create a folder, then the download will go to a default folder, either a temporary Internet folder or to the last place that you had saved anything to.)

To create a folder using Windows:

• Right-click anywhere on the desktop.
• A pop-up menu will appear. Highlight New, then select Folder.
• Type a word such as "Downloads" into the dialog box, and press Enter on your keyboard.
• The new folder will appear on your desktop.

To create a folder using a Macintosh:

• From the Apple menu at the top-left corner of the screen, choose Control Panels, then choose Internet.
• A dialog box will appear. Click on the Web preferences tab.
• Click on the Select button. Another box will appear, which will contain a list of your available drives.
• Choose your hard drive and click Open.
• Click the Create New Folder button and give it a name such as "Downloads."
• Click the Create button and then close the dialog boxes by clicking the box at the top-left of each window.

  Step 2: Download the file.
  Not all files on the Internet are available for download. But the ones that are will usually be clearly marked by a button or a group of underlined words.

  Buttons will be titled "Download," "Get file," or a similar, easily understood command. Groups of underlined words will often be contained in a paragraph describing the file. They may read "Get file" or even double as the file name itself.

  You can find files to download almost anywhere, but a sure bet would be to do a search for "shareware" (free software). A good place to find a variety of free software is at: www.download.com.

  When you click on the button or group of words, a dialog box will (usually) appear, giving you an opportunity to download the file. Use the pull-down menu in the dialog box to navigate to your Downloads folder, and click OK or press Enter on your keyboard. The dialog box will disappear, and a horizontal progress bar will take its place. The bar will move to the right until downloading is completed, then it will disappear.

  Note: If you get a message that tells you the file is of an unknown type, and asks you if it should be saved anyway, click Yes and continue until you save the file in the folder on your desktop. The message means your browser isn't recognizing the file, which means the file needs to be decompressed.

  Step 3: Decompress the file.
  Almost every file you'll download will be compressed. This is because compressed files are smaller and faster to download. A compressed file also lets you download any necessary information along with the file itself in one easy step. To decompress files, you'll use software such as WinZip (for Windows, click on the name here to download this program. It will automatically decompress itself when you click on it after downloading it to your folder.), or StuffIt Expander (for Macintosh, click on the name here to download this program. It will automatically decompress and install itself when you double-click on it after downloading it to your folder).

  Once it's installed on your computer, you can double-click on the compressed file, and it will automatically launch the appropriate software.

  But different types of files behave in different ways. You can tell what type of file it is by its name (its last few letters will contain the file type), or the site you're downloading from will indicate what type of files are offered.

Here's what to expect from the most common types.
The following types of files are available for use on Windows machines only. They will not run on a Macintosh:

• EXE files are self-extracting (they will decompress themselves without launching any decompression software). To open them, double-click on the file you downloaded into your Downloads folder. If it's a software file, it may offer to install itself on your computer as well. If this is the case, and you choose to let it install, you may skip Step 4. Just remember that these files are potentially harmful, so scan them with your virus software before opening them.
• ARC, Z, or ZIP files must be extracted with software such as WinZip: Double-click on the file. WinZip will automatically launch and a dialog box will appear. Inside the dialog box, you'll see any individual files that were contained inside the single, compressed file. Click on the Extract button. A dialog box will appear, asking you where you want to put the extracted files. Use the pull-down menus to navigate to the appropriate folder on your desktop, and then click on the Extract button again.

The following types of files are Macintosh-exclusive, and will not run on Windows machines:

• SEA files, like EXE files, are self-extracting. To open them, double-click on the file. A dialog box may come up, requiring you to press Continue. Then another dialog box will appear asking you where you want to put the extracted files. Use the pull-down menus to navigate to an appropriate folder on your desktop.
• HQX or SIT files must be extracted using software such as StuffIt Expander. Double-click on the file. If you're lucky, StuffIt Expander will automatically launch, and present you with that same dialog box, asking where you want to put the extracted file(s). Navigate to an appropriate folder and click Save. If the file won't open when you double-click on it, drag it onto the StuffIt application icon to launch StuffIt, then just follow the above directions.

  When you're finished downloading a file, and you've determined it's working properly, you can drag the compressed file (which is now just taking up space) to the Trash or Recycle Bin icon on your desktop (and empty it when you're done). Or, if you want to save the compressed file so you don't have to download it again if it gets lost or moved, save it onto a disk or similar back-up system. After that, it's up to you to make use of (and enjoy) your newly downloaded stuff.

Step 4: Install the downloaded software (optional). If the type of file you downloaded is a piece of software, chances are you'll need to install it before you can put it to use. If you're using Windows, double-click on the Read Me file (or something similarly named) that came with the download. This will open specific instructions for installing the software. If you're using a Macintosh, extracting the file usually places the software on your computer without the need to perform any additional installations. A Read Me file (or something similarly named) will contain any additional instructions for installing the software.

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Basic Computer Tutorials
New Computer User Tutorial(Excellent place to begin created by TLN Technology Committee, with pictures!)
Computer Basics Tutorial by Western North Carolina University (Great index for finding out how to do specific tasks. They also provide tutorials in the basics of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.)
Assorted Computer Tutorials- Hardware to Software (Explanations, tutorials and tips about computers and the Web)
Brain Booster Basics (5-Minute Tech Tutorials for PC users to learn practical Web and home skills. )

Internet Tutorials
Learn the Net
Internet 101
Internet for Beginners

Microsoft Word Tutorials
By North Carolina University (Great index for finding out how to do a specific task.)
EZ Instruction's Quick Information Sheets (Detailed explanations for specific tasks.)
Microsoft Word 2002 Help Page (Getting started with the basics.)

Corel Word Perfect Tutorials
An Extensive Listing of How To's for WordPerfect 9 (Lots of user friendly how to documents complete with screenshots and descriptive step by step instructions.)
Getting Started with WordPerfect (An online tutorial that addresses many of the basics of WordPerfect.)
WordPerfect Universe (Very informative! Includes a section on Tips and Tricks, a Forum, a How Do I? and FAQs. )

Excel Tutorials
By North Carolina University (Great index for finding out how to do a specific task or function.)
EZ Instruction's Quick Information Sheets (Detailed explanations for specific tasks.)

PowerPoint Tutorials
By North Carolina University (Great index for finding out how to do a specific task.)
PowerPoint Tutorial (By the Department of Computer Science at The University of Rhode Island)
PowerPoint 2002 Help Page (Getting started with the basics.)

Access Tutorials
Microsoft Access Tutorials (You must have Acrobat Reader to download and open these tutorials.) *Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free program used to open .pdf documents.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html Just follow the directions at the bottom of the above website to download this program.)

Outlook
Outlook Tutorial (Very good, by Millsaps College, but it for Outlook 97/98)
Microsoft's Outlook Website

Research Basics in a Digital World http://scholar.library.miami.edu/researchbasics/
Provides a series of tutorials on how to use resources to conduct research. This online tutorial includes the following instructional units:

1. Searching an Online Catalog
2. Searching an Electronic Database
3. Searching a Subject Specific Database
4. How to do an Internet Search
5. How to do an Advanced Internet Search
6. Searching for Government Information
7. How to Evaluate Your Information
8. How to Cite a Source

Each unit not only provides a general introduction to a specific set of skills and digital and online resources, but also activities that will make you much more effective in doing research online—whether you are focusing on resources found on the Internet and World Wide Web, or the resources of your college or university library.

 

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How do I Search the Internet?
An Internet search engine allows the user to enter keywords relating to a specific topic and retrieve information and links to sites that contain these keywords. However, the Internet is not a library, which is carefully indexed, with items that are easily identified and retrievable by a single catalog. In fact, no one knows how many individual files reside on the Internet. The number is certainly in the many millions and is growing at a very rapid pace. This number is constantly changing because the Internet is a self-publishing medium. That means that anyone with a small amount of technical skill and access to a host computer can publish online. (Many ISP's offer space on their host computers to customers, hence the ever increasing number of amateur homepages.

Internet sites come and go according to the commitment, abilities, and inclination of the creators. Some sites are created by expert's, while others are amateur efforts. Some are updated daily, while others may be extremely outdated. As with any information resource, it is important to properly evaluate what you find on the Internet and maintain a healthy dose of skepticism when reading information published online. Beware sites that may contain biased information, either from commercial sites or individuals. Make sure to gather information from reliable and verifiable sources! Also be aware that the addresses of Internet sites frequently change or disappear altogether. Do not expect stability on the Internet.

When conducting a search you will often get a large number of hits (returns) in response to a well-formulated search. Often multiple pages are returned from a single site because they all contain your search terms. AltaVista, Excite and HotBot are among the engines that avoid this problem by results grouping. This means all the results from one site are listed together into one result. You can view all the retrieved pages from that site if you choose. With these engines, you may get a smaller number of results from a search, but each result is coming from a different site.

What If I Have Too Many Search Results, or Results that are Not Relevant?
Try some of the following strategies:

• Add concept words.
• Use vocabulary that is specific to your topic, e.g., Ford rather than cars.
• Link appropriate terms with the word "AND" or a ( + ) so that each term is required to appear in the record.
• Narrow your search to individual parts of the Web page such as title, first page level, etc.
• Use the word "NOT" to keep out records containing terms you don't want.

What If I Have Too Few Search Results? Try the following methods:

• Drop off the least important concept(s) to broaden your subject.
• Use more general vocabulary.
• Add alternate terms or spellings for individual concepts and connect with the word "OR".
• Try the option available on some engines to find related documents to one or more of your relevant hits. Google, ProFusion and Raging Search (a text-only engine powered by AltaVista) all offer this type of feature.
• You could also try using a "Meta search engine" this is a type of search engine which simultaneously searches multiple search engines. They are also referred to as parallel search engines, multithreaded search engines, or or mega search engines. A good example of this type of engine is Dogpile. There is a list of "Meta Search Engines" below, under the topic Specialty Search Engines. These are useful when:
  • you have an obscure topic.
  • you are not having luck finding anything when you search.
  • your search is not complex.
  • you want to retrieve a relatively small number of relevant results.

  How do I Conduct an Educational/Research Search?

  If you want to explore a large number and variety of sources, try The Librarians' Index to the Internet. Supported by a federal grant, a large number of indexers select and annotate Web resources across a broad range of topics. Resources are extensive but careful selected to try and eliminate biased sites. It also contains many objective and useful annotations.

  The WWW Virtual Library is one of the oldest and most respected subject directories on the Web. This directory consists of individual subject collections, many of which are maintained at universities throughout the world.

  INFOMINE is a large directory of mostly academic Web sites compiled by the University of California. The directory can be browsed or searched by subject, keyword, or title and each site listed is given with a description.

General Search Engines
About.com - commercial directory site, contains a large collection of topical collections gathered by company-certified subject specialists.
AllTheWeb - returns results quickly from an extremely large database; offers multimedia, Flash and FTP searches; also returns categorized topics to further focus a search.
AltaVista - searches Web sites and Usenet newsgroups with advanced Boolean and field search options. See also: Babel Fish, the AltaVista translation service.
AOL Search - engine that defaults to AND logic and offers an Options template for easy search construction; has an option to view results by popularity.
Ask Jeeves - submit questions in plain English and view suggested relevant sites. Great for new users of search engines.
Google - ranks pages by the number of links from pages ranked high by the service. Google offers a number of Services & Tools that are worth exploring, including:

Google Image Search - to search for images, can be limited further to file types, size, colors, and filtering.
Google Groups- http://groups.google.com/ Post and read comments in Usenet discussion forums.
Google Web Directory- http://directory.google.com/ The web organized by topic into categories.
Google Language Tools- http://www.google.com/language_tools for locating pages written in particular languages and located in specific countries and offers a range of translation services.
Google University Search - http://www.google.com/options/universities.html Narrow your search to a specific school website.
Google Government Search- http://www.google.com/unclesam
Unclesam, a searchable database of U.S. government Web sites (.gov and .mil) ranked by link popularity.
And much more. For a complete list of Google related tools and services, see the following website: http://www.google.com/options/

LookSmart - large collection of links to reviewed sites in thousands of categories
Lycos - emphasizes search results from the Open Directory and offers Web sites from the FAST Search index. Site includes its channel content with the results for searches on broad or popular terms.
Teoma - returns results in three sections: popularity-ranked Web pages based on the number of same-subject pages that reference them; suggested terms to refine a search; and link collections created by topic experts.
Yahoo!- one of the largest directories on the Internet but lacks reliable site evaluation, it is a subject directory site. This means it is uses directories organized by subject which consist of links to Internet resources with annotations below written by the web page creator. Offers news, stock quotes, maps, free e-mail and many other services.

Specialized Search Engines
Dogpile - search 20+ search engines and retrieve results separately, offering custom search options.
Firstgov.gov - Integrated government sites, searchable on a state or national level. Whatever you want or need from the U.S. government, it's here on FirstGov.gov. You'll find a rich treasure of online information, services and resources.
Google - offers many specialized services and tools for searches, including university specific, government specific, language specific, image specific searches, and others.
SearchEdu.com - service that limits results to the .edu, domain (i.e. college/university sites); also offers to search well-known dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, etc. See also: SearchGov.com - .gov domain (government) and SearchMil.com - .mil domain. (military)

Meta Search Engines (Search multiple engines at once):
Dogpile - search 20+ search engines and retrieve results separately, offering custom search options.
Ithaki - searches engines, directories, and numerous good sources.
Ixquick - searches engines, directories, and news, MP3 files, and pictures; ranks results based on top ten rankings from the source sites; allows any type of search syntax and will translate and direct your search accordingly.
Mamma - retrieve results in relevancy ranked order; power search offers a user-friendly template for building a query.
MetaCrawler - retrieve results in relevancy ranked order; useful power search available with a template of search options.
ProFusion - meta engine that allows results to be sorted by relevance, title and URL; offers topic-based vertical search groups for targeted searching.
Virtual Learning Resources Center - searches several high quality directories; also offers its own directory.

Multimedia & Images (see also meta search engines above.)
AltaVista Photo Finder - searchable collection of multimedia on the Web: search by media type: images, videos or audio files
The Amazing Picture Machine - searchable collection of a variety of image types including architecture, animals, maps, artwork, world leaders and more.
Ditto - offers searches for images by word or phrase.
FindSounds.com - searchable collection of sounds and sound effects on the Web, with options to hear similar sounds, and to search for sounds by mono/stereo, resolution, sample rate and file size.
Lycos Multimedia Search - search tool for audio, video and pictures.
Picsearch - offers image searching by word and phrase; also offers and advanced search for animations/non-animations, color/black & white, and size.
Singingfish - searches streaming content including music, movies, news, radio, sports, television and finance.
SpeechBot - search engine of popular U.S. radio shows, offering the option to listen to an audio clip containing your search terms.
TimePix - photos, prints and illustrations from Time-Life magazines series and the historical Mansell photograph collection, a registration is required.
Webshots - screen savers, picture galleys, online photo storage, and more. Offers a photo search utility of their database of saved images.
Yahoo! News Image Gallery - presents current news photos and a searchable directory of archived news photos.

Research Sites:
Direct Search - large compilation of links to the search interfaces of a wide variety of research resources on the Web compiled by Gary Price (wrote the book, "The Invisible Web: Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can't See" also see Invisible-web.net - a searchable directory of quality databases on the Web compiled by Chris Sherman and Gary Price as a companion to this book.)
INFOMINE- a large directory of Web sites of scholarly interest compiled by the University of California. The directory may be browsed or searched by subject, keyword, or title. Each site listed is accompanied by a description.
The Librarians' Index to the Internet- a large number of indexers select and annotate Web resources across a broad range of topics. With its extensive but careful selection, objective and useful annotations, and hierarchical organization
Virtual Learning Resources Center - searches several high quality directories; also offers its own directory.
WWW Virtual Library- one of the oldest and most respected subject directories on the Web. This directory consists of individual subject collections, many of which are maintained at universities throughout the world.

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What are Shortcut Keys and How do I Use Them?
Shortcut keys also sometimes called "hot keys" are created to allow easier maneuverability in and between applications and to quickly manipulate documents using your keyboard instead of the mouse and menus.

Below you will find lists of different shortcut keys for the basic Windows environment and for some of the more common Microsoft Office programs. These keys will help you get the most out of your programs and get to where you need to go in the fastest way possible. (It's also a great way to do things if your mouse is missing or malfunctioning. For information on fixing some common problems with your mouse see the section about cleaning your mouse.) To find other shortcut keys in other programs you may use, look at the picture below. See that the word File in this menu has an underlined F. This indicates that you can press Alt + F to drop down the file menu. Once open, see that many of the functions have Ctrl+ a letter to the left of each one. This is the shortcut key. For example, notice that to the right of New in the below picture you have Ctrl + N. This means that you can press Ctrl + N (both at the same time) and this will create a New file.

As you begin to work with shortcut keys you will notice that several applications share the same shortcut keys. Remember many short cut keys will only work if you select the text, file(s), icons, and/or programs, before you can apply a short cut function. To select something you must click on it once with the mouse or highlight it in some way.

BASIC SHORTCUT KEYS (most of these will work in any windows-based program such as Internet Explorer, e-mail programs, MS Office products, etc. so they will not be repeated in the other sections.)

Short Cut Keys	Description
Alt + F	File menu options in current program.
Alt + E	Edit options in current program
F1	Universal Help in 90% of Windows programs.
Ctrl + A*	Select all text.
Ctrl + X*	Cut selected item.
Shift + Del	Cut selected item.
Ctrl + C*	Copy selected item.
Ctrl + Ins	Copy selected item
Ctrl + V*	Paste
Ctrl + F	Find (or Find and Replace) dialogue box will pop up. Use this to search a document or web page for a specific word or phrase.
Shift + Ins	Paste
Home	Goes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl + Home	Goes to beginning of document.
End	Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl + End	Goes to end of document.
Shift + Home	Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift + End	Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl + Left arrow	Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl + Right arrow	Moves one word to the right at a time.
Ctrl + Backspace	Delete word to the left of cursor.
Ctrl + Del	Delete word to the right of cursor.

*Especially useful when copying text from any Windows program to another. You must highlight the text you wish to copy/move/delete.

WINDOWS SHORTCUT KEYS

Short Cut Keys	Description
Alt + Tab	Switch quickly between open applications.
Alt + Shift + Tab	Switch backwards between open applications.
Ctrl + Esc	Bring Up Start button.
Alt + Esc	Switch Between open applications on taskbar.
F2	Renames selected file or icon.
F3	Starts Find option.
F4	Opens the drive selection when browsing.
F5	Refresh Contents
Alt + F4 or Ctrl + w	Closes current open program or window.
Ctrl + F4	Closes a window in Program
Alt + Enter	Opens properties window of Selected icon or program.
Shift + F10	Simulates right click on selected item.
Shift + Del	Permanently deletes a file without moving it to Recycle Bin.
Holding Shift	Boot safe mode or by pass system files.
Holding Shift	When putting in an audio cd will prevent CD Player from playing.
Crtl + Alt + Delete	Brings up task manager in Windows. (Use this option when a program stops running and you need to close it.)
Windows Key* + m	Minimizes all windows
*Windows Key has a picture of the flying windows symbol/logo. Sits between the Ctrl and Alt buttons.

EXCEL SHORTCUT KEYS

Short Cut Keys	Description
F7	Spell check selected text and or document.
Ctrl + Shift + ;	Time
Ctrl + ;	Date
Alt + Shift + F1	Insert New Worksheet
Shift + F5	Bring up search box.
Ctrl + B	Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + I	Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + U	Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + 5	Strike through highlighted selection.
Ctrl + P	Bring up the print dialog box to begin printing.
Ctrl + F9	Minimize current window.
Ctrl + F10	Maximize currently selected window.
Ctrl + F6	Switch between open workbooks / windows.

WORD SHORTCUT KEYS

Short Cut Keys	Description
Ctrl + B	Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + I	Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + U	Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase selected font +1
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease selected font -1
F4	Repeat the last action performed (2000+)
F7	Spell check selected text and or document.

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Last Updated: June 18, 2009

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