Educational Resources on the Web

Browser Basics

A web browser is a software application that allows you to easily access text and graphic files located on computers around the world. In general, when using your web browser, clicking on any underlined text displayed in a contrasting color or on any graphic image outlined in a contrasting color will take you directly to another location on the Web. Sometimes the links are graphics or buttons on the screen. Moving the mouse pointer over a link will change the arrow to a little pointing finger. A link that you have already visited will be displayed in a different color. World Wide Web navigation is a simple matter of pointing and clicking your mouse button.

The two most widely-used web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Both display the URL (web address) of the current webpage in an Address or Location box located directly above the webpage itself. Above this Address/Location box are located the basic navigation buttons or icons that you will use to navigate around the world wide web. The arrangement of these buttons is slightly different in Internet Explorer and Netscape but the function of each is exactly the same.

All browsers offer on-screen Help for the new user. Exploring the Help files (located in the Menu bar row on both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator) will be most useful as you develop your understanding of the features of the web browser. As you upgrade to newer versions of the browser software, this is where you will want to look first to figure out how to use the new features that are being continually added to each new release.

No matter where you wander on your journeys through the world wide web, clicking on the Home button (the little house icon) will always return you to the webpage you have selected as your home location. Most web browsers come pre-configured with a home location set by your Internet Service Provider, but you can change this page if you find a better by clicking on the Edit menu and selecting Preferences. On the dialog box that appears, look for Home Page. You can type the web address of the page you wish to use and click on OK.

The Stop button is used to stop the download of a new webpage if you suddenly change your mind or if the page is taking forever to download (an all-too-frequent occurrence these days with increasing web traffic and the increase in high-density, graphics-laden webpages!)

Clicking on the Print button or icon will initialize your printer and print a copy of the webpage currently on your screen.

The Refresh or Reload button sends another request to the webserver asking it to download the current page again. You may need to do this if the graphic images on the webpage you are downloading don’t display properly (This just happens sometimes… you will see an image icon displayed instead of the graphic that should be there. Clicking on Refresh will usually take care of the problem.) You will also want to use the Refresh button when accessing websites that are frequently updated. The browser will, by default, load any pages that you have visited recently from the disk cache, a location on your hard drive where the browser temporarily stores the pages you have visited. If the browser sees that the webpage you have selected is in the disk cache, it will load the older version rather than a fresh, new one. This is actually a great feature as it cuts down on network traffic and causes the pages to appear on your screen much quicker than if you had to reload each and every page. If you want or need a updated version of the webpage, just click on Refresh and you’ll get a fresh copy.

The Back and Forward buttons also use the disk cache we mentioned a minute ago. After you have moved away from your homepage and followed several links in your current excursion on the Web, you can click these buttons to almost instantly navigate to previously visited pages. You will notice that these buttons don't work when you first open the web browser for a new session. You can’t go back if you haven’t been there and you can only go forward if you’ve already been there and then gone back… makes sense doesn’t it?

Most web browsers have a great little mouse trick that can save you the trouble of moving the cursor back up to the button bar. If you hold down the mouse button, a little menu will pop up on the screen giving you the option of going Back or Forward.

All browsers have another feature that allows you to easily return to the interesting websites that you find in your exploration of the world wide web. Microsoft Internet Explorer calls this feature the Favorites List and Netscape calls it the Bookmarks List. Adding a Favorite or Bookmark to your list is a simple matter of clicking on the Favorites or Bookmarks menu and selecting Add Page to Favorites or Add Bookmark.

If you know the web address of webpage you would like to visit, you can click in the Address or Location box, remove the current web address and type the new address. In most cases, you no longer have to type the entire address beginning with http://... just begin with www and complete the address. Be sure to include the periods!

All web browsers have built-in links to search tools that will help you find the information on the web. Internet Explorer "hides" this feature behind the Search tab on the left side of the screen. Clicking on the Search tab will open a panel with a text entry box and a button to initiate the search. When you are finished with the search, click the Search tab again to hide the panel. Netscape Navigator has a Search button in the toolbar. Clicking the Search button will open a new screen with a text entry box and a button to initiate the search. Click the back button to return to the previous page.

These are all the "Browser Basics" you will need to get started on your exploration of the World Wide Web. You can count on new web browser features appearing on a regular basis. For the most part these will be enhancements to the web browser you are already familiar with.

Next you will explore some online libraries.

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