WebJunction

Internet Explorer is one browser you can use to navigate through information resources on the Internet. But there are others you can use depending on your operating system and your ISP. For example, in addition to Internet Explorer, you can also download Netscape Navigator, http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp), iCab (for the Mac only at http://www.icab.de/dl.php), Opera (http://www.opera.com/download/), or you can use the browser built into America Online, if you are an AOL subscriber. All these browsers let you access and read publications and view pictures stored on a Web site anywhere in the world.

The World Wide Web is a popular way of navigating the Internet using hypertext links. Clicking a hypertext link in a document will take you to a related document. Following links this way is often called “surfing the Web.” Locations on the World Wide Web are called Web sites, and Web sites are made up of Web pages. Each Web page has its own address, formally known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Getting started with Internet Explorer (IE)

While this article focuses specifically on Internet Explorer, most browsers are similar in their layout and use.

If you don't already have Internet Explorer, download it here. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp

To launch Internet Explorer, move the mouse pointer over the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop or in your hard drive, and double-click. The main browser window will open and automatically load a Web page.

Layout of the IE environment

There is a Title bar at the top of the screen. This bar appears in all Windows applications and is a reminder of which program you are using and which document you have open.

Below the Title bar is the Menu bar. There are six menu options on the Menu bar: File, Edit, View, Go, Favorites, and Help. There may be some variation of this depending on the version of your browser. For instance, some have File, Edit, View, Favorites, Tools, and Help. If you click any of these, a drop-down menu appears below it.

Toolbar buttons

Most of the commands you can choose from the menus are duplicated as buttons on the toolbar for easier access. Use the toolbar buttons to perform the actions described below.

• Back takes you to the most recently viewed Web page.

• Forward advances to the next page if you have moved back.

• Stop stops a Web page from loading. This is handy if a Web page is taking too long to load.

• Refresh reloads a page. This is useful for sites with information that is continually updated, such as online stock quotes.

• Home takes you to the default Web page, which can be specified by the library.

• Search takes you to a search engine, which allows you to search the Internet for specific keywords.

• Favorites lets you choose from a list of your favorite sites, which you can add to using the Add to Favorites command (described later).

Other icons such as Media, History, Mail, Print, may also appear in the toolbar. Third party vendors have also created add-ons to the toolbar.

Other screen elements

To the right of the toolbar buttons is an animated globe. When a Web page is loading (being sent to your computer across the Internet), this icon (also called a throbber) spins around. You will know when a page has finished loading when the animation stops.

Another way of knowing where the program is in the process of loading a page is to glance at the message in the Status bar at the bottom of the screen. Some of the messages you will see there include: “Finding site . . ., ” “Connecting to site . . . ,” and “Opening page . . . .”

Below the toolbar is the Address text box. This is where you type Internet addresses (URLs) to which you want to go directly. If you lose track of where you are in your surfing, you can look at the address in this box to get an idea of where you are, or click the downward-pointing arrow to the right of the Address window to see the URLs of the pages you recently visited. Finally, the main browser window is below the Address text box. This is where you view Web sites.

Going directly to a Web site

If you know the URL (address) for a Web site, you can go there directly.

1. Move the mouse pointer into the Address text box, and click once. The text or space will be highlighted, which indicates you can type over it.

2. Type or cut and paste a URL. As you type, IE may try to guess the URL based on others you have visited. If the correct URL appears, select it from the list to save time typing.

3. Press Enter. The browser window will display the Web page.

Using hypertext links

Once a page has loaded, move the mouse pointer over different areas of the page. The cursor will change from an arrow to a pointing hand when it is over a hypertext link. A link can be text, which usually appears underlined or in a different color than the rest of the text, or it can be an image. If you click the link, you will visit a different Web page. Usually the text or graphic will indicate where you will go if you click it. To go back to where you were before, click the Back button on the toolbar.

Searching for a Web site

If you are looking for a Web site on a particular topic, you can use a search engine to find it. A search engine is a program that indexes Internet resources. You can use a search engine to search for specific words or phrases. You can go to a search engine directly by entering its URL in the address window.

There are many search engines available; some of the most popular are Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com), AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com), Google http://google.com), and Excite (http://www.excite.com).

You can also access a search engine by clicking the Search button on the IE toolbar. When you click the Search button, a Search window opens on the left side of the screen. Enter keywords in the text box and press the search button to begin your search.

For example, to search for information about Shakespeare, click inside the text box in the Search window, type Shakespeare, and then click the search button in the window.

If the search engine finds any matches to your keywords, they will be listed as hyperlinks below the Search text box.

Tips for dealing with errors

• Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are important when you type Internet addresses. If you get an error like the one below while trying to access a Web page directly, check your spelling first.

• If you get a “file not found” error, try deleting the part of the URL after the last slash (“/”). That will take you up one level in the computer's file structure and may produce a Web page.

• The Internet can change rapidly. A Web site can change its address or completely disappear overnight, so you may run into dead ends while you are surfing.

• Other errors may mean there is a problem with the computer on the other end, or too many people are attempting to access the site at the same time. Try again later if you get an unexplained error.