Mapping Your Route on the Information Superhighway

Sister Kathleen Burns, IHM

Maximizing the Use of Your Browser

$$ Buttons $$ Functions $$ Preferences $$ Bookmarks/Favorites $$

These directions were benchmarked for Netscape Communicator 4.04 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 for Macintosh. PC and earlier versions of these programs have similar functionality. The AOL browser is based on an earlier version of Internet Explorer.

Watch this document for more specific directions for the PC versions. Normally, the Control key on PCs is used like the Command key on Macintosh computers.

Buttons

Button	Netscape Communicator	Internet Explorer
Back/Forward	Move back and forth among current session sites
Reload/Refresh	Reloads current page -- for frequently updated pages (e.g., CNN)
Home	Return to your start up page -- set in preferences
Search	Search Internet	Search Internet -- set search engine in preferences
Guide	Sites of general interest provided by Netscape	Similar functionality from 'Best of Web' and 'Today's Links' buttons
Images	Load/Reload images -- Image display controlled in preferences	View--> Show Images (Command-I) (Mac)
Print	Prints current page or frame -- Set headers & footers in Page Setup	File--> Print (Command-P) (Mac)
Security	Displays security information about the current page
Stop	Stops the process of loading a page
Netscape/Explorer Icon	Links to Netscape site	Links to Microsoft IE site
Mail	Icon on bottom of screen	Read & Send Mail & Send Links
Bookmarks	Ribbon in text menu bar	Favorites
Larger/Smaller	Font size can be set in preferences	Change font sized on the fly
Preferences	Edit--> Preferences	Set browser preferences

Functions

Function	Netscape Communicator	Internet Explorer
Enter URLs	Type in Location Box Command-L (Mac) File --> Open--> Location in Navigator (Mac)	Type in Address Box Command-L (Mac) File-->Open Location (Mac) allows choice for new window
Open Files from Disk	Command-O (Mac) File--> Open--> Page in Navigator (Mac)	Command-O (Mac) File--> Open File (Mac)
Navigate Previous Session Pages	Netscape Menu Icon--> History Command-H (Mac) Set number of days recorded in Preferences	Go--> Open History Command-H (Mac) Set number of links recorded in Preferences
Extra Browser Windows	File--> New--> Navigator Window	File--> New Window -- set number permitted in preferences
E-Mail Document	File--> Send Page	Mail Button--> Send Link
Save Document to Disk File--> Save As	Text or HTML	Text, HTML, or Web Archive(?)
Hide/Show Toolbars	View Menu
Subscribe to Websites		Favorites--> Subscribe -- set frequency of updates in preferences

Preferences

Preference	Netscape Communicator	Internet Explorer
Function to Start With	x
Toolbar	x	View Menu
Select Font	x	x
Select Font Size	x	Limited
Override Font Choices	x	x
Select Colors	x	x
Override Color Choices	x	x
Underline Links	x	x
Startup Page	x
Specify Home Page	x	x
Set History Length	# Days	# Links
Expire Visited Links	x
Select Language	x	x
Select Helper Applications	x	x
Enable/Disable Picture	x	x
Enable/Disable Java, Javascript, etc.	x	x
Enable/Disable Cookies	x	x
Select Search Page		x
Subscriptions		x
Security		x
Specify Number of Connections	Unlimited	x
Remember Site Passwords		x

Bookmarks/Favorites

Function	Netscape Communicator	Internet Explorer
Edit Bookmarks/Favorites	Command-B (Mac) Netscape Menu Icon--> Bookmarks	Command-J Favorites--> Open Favorites
Add Items	New Bookmark New Folder New Separator	New Favorite New Folder New Divider
Import/Export	Import/Save As	Import/Export
Track Web Sites		Subscription

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Comments to Sr. Kathleen Burns, IHM: skb@ac.marywood.edu