WORKING WITH THE WEB

Transcription

University of KwaZulu-Natal
School of Computer Science
COMP104
Computer Literacy for the Humanities
2006
WORKING WITH THE
WEB
Course Notes written by Jan Smith, printed with permission.
http://www.jegsworks.com/Lessons/index.html
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Jan Smith , Copyright © 1997-2006
Copyright © 1997-2006
Jan Smith <[email protected]>
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents
Table of Contents.........................................................................................................2
Working with the Web ....................................................................................................6
What you need .............................................................................................................6
Icons.......................................................................................................................10
Before you start... How these lessons work...............................................................10
Who is this for?......................................................................................................10
What's covered?.....................................................................................................11
Lesson Design........................................................................................................11
What you see may not match! ...............................................................................11
Interrupted Work ...................................................................................................12
How detailed..........................................................................................................12
Working with the Web: Browser Basics .......................................................................13
Lesson Objectives..................................................................................................13
What is the Web?.......................................................................................................13
The Internet............................................................................................................13
The Web ................................................................................................................14
HTML....................................................................................................................14
Address of a Web page..........................................................................................15
The Language of the Web .....................................................................................16
Browser Basics: Connecting to the Web ......................................................................17
What you need to access the Web .............................................................................17
Hardware ...............................................................................................................17
Software you need .................................................................................................19
Browser Basics: Open IE...............................................................................................19
Starting Internet Explorer ..........................................................................................20
Step-by-Step: Open IE...............................................................................................20
Browser Basics: IE Interface ........................................................................................24
Browser Basics: Toolbar ..............................................................................................25
Toolbar Sections ....................................................................................................25
Step-by-Step: Customize Toolbars............................................................................27
Display/Hide Bars..................................................................................................27
Add/Remove Text Labels......................................................................................28
In IE4 ............................................................................................................28
IE5 & IE6:....................................................................................28
In
Browser Basics: Address & Links Bars .......................................................................29
Step-by-Step: Address & Links Bars.........................................................................29
Change Widths ......................................................................................................30
Separate & Rejoin Bars .........................................................................................30
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Add to Links Bar ...................................................................................................30
Rename Link..........................................................................................................30
Delete Link ............................................................................................................31
Browser Basics: Status Bar...........................................................................................31
Message Area ........................................................................................................31
Progress Bar...........................................................................................................32
...............................................................................................................................33
Status Icons............................................................................................................33
Security Zone.........................................................................................................33
Browser Basics: Navigating .........................................................................................34
How a page loads.......................................................................................................34
What's first? ...........................................................................................................34
Tables.....................................................................................................................35
Images....................................................................................................................35
Cache .....................................................................................................................35
Cookies ..................................................................................................................36
Browser Basics: Navigating Techniques......................................................................36
Step-by-Step: Navigating Techniques .......................................................................37
Browser Basics: Frames ...............................................................................................39
Step-by-Step: Frames ................................................................................................40
Open framed site....................................................................................................40
Invisible frames .....................................................................................................41
Opens in another frame..........................................................................................42
Opens in the same frame .......................................................................................42
Spot on the same page ...........................................................................................43
Browser Basics: Back and Forward..............................................................................43
Step-by-Step: Back and Forward...............................................................................44
Back and Forward: Buttons ...................................................................................44
Back and Forward: Lists:.......................................................................................44
Browser Basics: History ...............................................................................................46
Step-by-Step: History ................................................................................................46
Browser Basics: Favorites ............................................................................................48
Step-by-Step: Using Favorites...................................................................................48
View Favorites.......................................................................................................48
Add to Favorites: Drag and Drop to pane..............................................................49
Add to Favorites: Drag and drop to menu .............................................................50
Add to Favorites: Right click menu.......................................................................51
Add to Favorites: Explorer ....................................................................................52
What You Have Done................................................................................................54
Browser Basics: Organize Favorites.............................................................................55
Step-by-Step: Organizing Favorites ..........................................................................55
Move shortcut ........................................................................................................55
Delete a shortcut ....................................................................................................57
Browser Basics: Address Bar .......................................................................................57
Getting to Web Pages ............................................................................................57
Step-by-Step: Address Bar ........................................................................................58
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Clear Cache............................................................................................................58
Address Bar: Enter Address ..................................................................................59
Type an address: ................................................................................................59
Key Combo to complete address:......................................................................59
Using Links............................................................................................................61
Link on page: .....................................................................................................61
Link in Favorites:...............................................................................................61
Link in drop list .................................................................................................61
Link in History ..................................................................................................62
Browser Basics: Address Paths ....................................................................................62
Paths to Files and Folders..........................................................................................62
How confusing is it? ..............................................................................................63
What can happen?..................................................................................................63
How to get back to IE if the toolbars changed?.....................................................64
Step-by-Step: Address Bar Paths...............................................................................64
In IE: Text File ......................................................................................................64
In IE: Word doc .....................................................................................................65
In IE: Folder...........................................................................................................66
Return to Browser Interface ..................................................................................67
Browser Basics: Searching ...........................................................................................68
Ways to find interesting places on the Web ..........................................................68
Searching the web......................................................................................................68
Search engine.........................................................................................................69
Web directory ........................................................................................................70
Metasearch.............................................................................................................70
Searching Tips ...........................................................................................................70
More: .....................................................................................................................71
Browser Basics: Search Engine....................................................................................72
How many results? ................................................................................................72
Order of results ......................................................................................................72
What kinds of pages?.............................................................................................73
Multiple words.......................................................................................................73
Require a Phrase ....................................................................................................73
Require Multiple Words/Phrases...........................................................................74
Eliminate Words ....................................................................................................74
Read the Help page! ..............................................................................................74
Step-by-Step: Keyword Search .................................................................................75
Search: One Word .................................................................................................75
Search: Two words ................................................................................................77
...............................................................................................................................78
Search: Required words.........................................................................................78
Search: Eliminate word .........................................................................................78
Search: Phrase........................................................................................................79
Browser Basics: Web Directory ...................................................................................80
Dig down through the category tree ......................................................................80
Search the categories .............................................................................................80
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Step-by-Step: Keyword Search .................................................................................81
Web Directory: Choose categories ........................................................................81
Web Directory: Keyword search ...........................................................................82
Browser Basics: Summary............................................................................................84
Summary of Web Project 1: The Web.......................................................................84
Important Terms ........................................................................................................85
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Working with the Web
The speed with which the Internet has developed is truly astounding. In the blink of
History's eye we have gone from the Stone Age of writing with quills and carrying
notes by hand to the Information Age of email and live video over the Internet. The
pace is not slowing down yet. Businesses have dived into electronic commerce even
though the waters are still cold and dark. But even if no one ever makes a profit off of
Internet business (at least as far as the tax collectors will know!), there is no turning
back from the glories of meeting and greeting electronically. Once you have surfed the
Web or exchanged messages with folks halfway around the world, you will be hooked.
The projects in this tutorial will take you a long way toward understanding and
working with the Internet, and with the World Wide Web in particular. You will surf
the Web, visiting web sites around the world. You will search the world's web pages
for specific information and for general topics. You will even learn how to create a
simple web site.
What you need
These lessons are written with the assumption that you have already worked though the
Working with Windows lessons and at least the first project of Working with Words.
Below is a summary of what you are expected to already understand. The Windows
skills are very important. The Word skills are needed when you create your own simple
web page.
1. Browser: Internet Explorer 4 or greater.
Illustrations are mostly from IE5.5.
The general discussions will be useful no matter what browser you use. The
Step-by-Step directions may not work for a different browser or even an older
version of Internet Explorer. In HTML Basics you will need Internet Explorer
to go with the editing software.
You can, of course, use any recent browser to just view the lesson pages. If you
want to use a different browser in the Step-by-Step sections, you will have to
figure out how to adapt the directions. Some features are probably different in
your browser. Not necessarily worse!
Netscape 4+ may get confused and lose some of the formatting following a
table.
2. Connection to Internet:
Project 1: Browser Basics:
If you download the resource files, you can work through the main project
offline (without being connected)
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Exercises for Project 1- A connection is required.
Project 2: HTML Basics - A connection is required for checking some URLs
and for uploading your pages to web space, if you wish to do that.
3. Basic Windows skills: The skills covered in the Windows unit o using a mouse to click, double-click, drag, & right click
o parts of a window
o moving, resizing, maximizing, & minimizing a window
o scrolling
o using the folder tree
o creating and managing folders
o naming files
o opening and closing a program
o opening and saving files
o using dialog boxes
o using Help
o printing
4. Typing skills: You need to be familiar with the computer keyboard and have
some skill in typing.
5. Resource files:
Browser Basics: Web pages for practicing browsing and searching.
Nothing is quite the same as being on the Internet yourself. If you have slow
connection or are in a classroom where not all the computers can connect to the
Internet at the same time, you may want to install the resource files to your hard
drive. That way you could learn and practice without being connected to the
Internet. Your instructor may have put these files on your computer already.
They are also available on the CD of this site.
HTML Basics: The images and documents you need for the project and the
exercises
Detailed directions about downloading the resource files.
6. Removable File Storage: USB drive or several floppy disks
You need removable storage for a working copy and a backup copy of your
documents.
If you have a computer of your own, keep an up-to-date copy of your work on
your home computer, too. Start good backup habits early and you won't kick
yourself later when your files are lost or corrupted.
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USB drive: Recommended
Called by many different names: flash drive, flash pen, thumb drive, key
drive, jump drive, and mini-USB drive. A USB drive is an excellent choice for
storing your class work. Your data is much safer on a USB drive than on a
floppy disk.
Before you buy:
Check the following for both the classroom computer AND your home
computer-
Computer does have USB ports.
You are allowed to use one of the USB ports.
You can physically get to the USB port.
Some are on the the back of the computer case.
o Operating system will recognize a USB drive.
Windows 2000, XP, and Me will automatically recognize your USB
drive. For Win95 and Win98, you must install drivers.
o Physical arrangement of USB ports - Are they side by side? one
above the other?
Some USB drives are wider or thicker than others and may not fit all
port arrangements, especially if a neighboring USB port has something
plugged into it. Many drives come with a short extension cable.
o
o
o
If you do not have a computer at home, consider buying 2 USB drives so that
you can use one to keep a backup copy of your work. Don't lose them both at
the same time!
Floppy disks: Cheaper; Not as reliable
You will need at least
two blank 3½" floppy disks at a time to store
the documents you create. One you will use to save your documents as you
work and on the other you will make a backup copy of the first disk. Keep a
third blank floppy on hand as a spare in case of floppy disasters.
You'll need more than 2 floppy disks if you don't delete any of the documents
you create. After you have put more than one document on the floppy, keep
that spare blank floppy disk handy. It is no fun at all to do a lot of work and
then find that the changed file won't fit on the disk!
Floppy disks are cheap and handy but it is easy to lose the data on them from
magnetic damage and physical damage when you are carrying them around all
day. Be careful and have several backup copies.
More on caring for floppy disks and caring for data
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How to handle a full disk
7. Software:
Browser Basics: Just a current version of Internet Explorer
HTML Basics:

FrontPage 2000/2002 or FrontPage Express (FPX)- Both use Internet
Explorer as their internal browser.
Where to find FrontPage Express:
o
o
o
o
full install of Internet Explorer 5 (but not 5.5 or 6)
typical install of Win98 (but not Win98 Second Edition).
Extract from a CD: On a CD that installs IE5.0, find the file
Fpesetup.cab (Many free installation CDs for AOL, MSN, and
such include an installation of IE.) Copy this cab file to your
hard disk and extract all the files in it to a folder on your hard
disk, using WinZip or similar compression program. Find the
file fpxpress.exe in Explorer and double click it. This will install
FPX.
The Help may not work, but it is not worth much anyway. The
File | New command may not work. Use Notepad to create a
blank htm file (as described in these lessons later) and save it.
Use File | Open to open this existing, blank document and edit
away.
Download: In Google or another search engine, search on the
keywords FrontPage Express and download (or FPX and
download). There are several sites that offer installation copies
of FPX. I cannot vouch for their safety or effectiveness.
FPX is not available for Windows 2000 or XP due to software
conflicts, according to Microsoft. But others have reported no
problems with using FPX on those systems when installed
separately.

Anti-virus software - Should be up and running every time you
connect to the Internet!

(Optional) Microsoft's Personal Web Server: If your site is on a web
server on your own computer, you can test your pages to make sure all
the features work, including the ones that only work on a server.
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: How to set up a personal web server (Windows 9x/NT
Link
platforms but not WinXP)
Icons
A footprint marks the hands-on topics, where you are to follow Step-by-Step
directions.
marks a tip - something you might find useful to know.
marks a warning about possible problems.
marks a comment about a feature of IE that is different from IE5.
marks a comment about a feature of IE5 that is different from IE4.
marks a comment about a feature of IE6 that is different from previous versions.
Disclaimer: All names, addresses, and phone numbers used in the lessons and
exercises are fiction! Any similarity to a real person, business, or place is a
coincidence.
The author cannot be held responsible for any damage to hardware, software, or
data resulting from your attempts to follow the directions.
Before you start... How these lessons work
This set of lessons on The Web is part of a set of tutorials that go with Jan's
Illustrated Computer Literacy 101 . The tutorials cover Computer Basics, Windows,
word processing, spreadsheets, the web (which is the section you are in now!) and
presentations.
Who is this for?
The whole course is designed for people who are new to computers, but even old pros
need a refresher from time to time. You might even learn something new, or at least be
reminded of tips and tricks that you have forgotten.
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Clearly, if you are reading this page in a browser, you already have some computer
skills, or else you have a handy helper or instructor close by.
What's covered?
The Web lessons will start with Browser Basics, where you will learn how to navigate
different kinds of web pages and how to manage Internet Explorer 4/5/6. Then you will
learn how to search the web using keywords and web directories. These activities use
web pages especially created for this tutorial, so there is no problem with a site
vanishing in the night or with inappropriate content.
Project 2 covers how to write web pages with HTML.
Lesson Design
Each lesson has:
•
•
•
•
Topics - info for you to read
Step-by-Step directions - for things to do at the computer.
Quiz - multiple choice questions
Exercises- to give you practice and to take you further.
You must actually follow the directions while at the computer!!
You cannot just read about a technique and expect to be able to do it yourself later. It is
different when you are doing it yourself!
You might want to print the steps out if your monitor or resolution is small. It can
be hard to read directions on the screen while you are trying to follow the directions!
You may can print just the parts you want. Select the part to print and go to the File
menu and then the Print... command. There may be a choice in the dialog to print just
the "Selection", depending on which browser you are using to read the directions.
If you want to work with directions on the screen, you can switch between the
directions in the browser and the application window where you are working by
clicking on the Taskbar icon or with the ALT + TAB key combination. Or if you are
using a high resolution, perhaps you can arrange your windows so that you can see
both at the same time.
(These techniques are taught in the exercises in the Windows lessons.)
What you see may not match!
What you actually see on your computer may vary from what is shown and described
here. Things change quickly in the world of computers. Don't let it fluster you!
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•
New version or update - Each one makes changes, some minor and some quite
noticeable. Your software may be older or more recent than mine.
•
Customized - Everyone likes to arrange things to suit themselves. So your
computer may not have the default settings any more, and, therefore, not
behave as the lessons describe. This, too, is part of the world of computers!
The Step-by-Step sections will explain how to set the features that will affect how
your computer responds to the directions. If your computer still does not behave as you
expected, look in the Help for the program or ask your instructor or network
administrator (or a even more experienced friend). That's why they are there! . [Note:
You may not be allowed to change some settings on classroom or network computers.]
The directions and images were prepared mostly from Internet Explorer 4 (IE), with
some discussion of Internet Explorer 5/6 (IE5 and IE6) where the difference is
significant. The basic skills and approach are the same, even when the details change a
lot.
Interrupted Work
You may need to stop before finishing all of the directions in a Step-by-Step section.
Pay attention to what lesson page you are on when you quit. If you are sharing a
computer, write down the page's address from the browser's address bar. If you are on
your own computer, you can bookmark the page in the browser. Bookmarks on a
classroom computer may not be there when you get back to it!
Some of the Step-by-Step exercises will have a Start with: line that tells you what the
situation should be when you start the exercise. This can help when you had to stop
before finishing the document. The steps build on one another to complete a document,
so don't try to skip steps even if you know how to do the skill being illustrated. Perhaps
you'll learn a different way to accomplish a task!
If you were creating a document, don't forget to save it, or you will have lots to
redo when you return to the computer!
How detailed
The amount of detail in the directions and illustrations will decrease as you gain more
experience.
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Working with the Web:
Browser Basics
Lesson Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Describe the Internet & the World Wide Web
Know what a browser does
Know what HTML code is
Know the parts of a web address
Know what you need to work with the Web
Know the parts of the IE interface
Set the Options for IE
Use all types of links: address, text, graphic, imagemap
Navigate around a page, between pages, in frames
Use a form
Use Back and Forward buttons
Use the History list
Create and manage Favorites
Use the address bar
Save a page, an image, a selection
Subscribe and unsubscribe to a page.
Configure page for printing
Print a page, a selection
Use a search engine and a web directory and know what each is best for
What is the Web?
The World Wide Web (or WWW or Web for
short) and the Internet are terms that are often
used as though they mean the same thing.
Actually, the Web is only a portion of the Internet.
So let's start with finding out what the Internet is.
The Internet
The Internet is simply a network of computer
networks. But there is nothing simple about this network. Unlike most networks, the
Internet is not under a central control. From the beginning, this network, which was
started by the US Department of Defense, has been designed to be very hard to shut
down. The idea was to have a network that could have big chunks blown up without
losing the whole network. It has many, many connections between the member
networks and no one place controls the whole network. In fact, there is no one "in
charge" of anything about the Internet except the assigning of addresses! It is amazing
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that thousands of people working all over the world can manage to create such a huge
system that actually works.
The original purpose of the Internet was to enable people in different locations to share
text-only documents. Now there is much more you can do using the Internet. You can
send and receive email messages; you can search the world for particular files or for
files that contain particular words; you can have a live conversation using typed text or
voice or even video; you can read electronic magazines and newspapers; you can check
on the weather forecast or the score of a ball game; you can play computer games with
several people at once; you can post messages to newsgroups on a common topic; you
can buy books, CDs, software, wine, or just about anything.
The Web
The Web is that part of the Internet that uses hypertext documents, also called Web
documents or Web pages. Words in hypertext are generally underlined and in a
special color, like this. They have an address attached to them so that clicking on the
hypertext accesses the file at that address. The file can be one that is on the viewer's
own computer (like C:\My Documents\letters\5-10-98 to mother.doc) or halfway
around the world (like http://www.microsoft.com/default.asp). Such text is called a
hypertext link, hyperlink, or just a link. Web pages have come a long way from the
original plain text documents. Now they can show movies, play songs, and react to
what the user clicks on in many imaginative ways.
It was only in 1989 that development began by CERN (the European Laboratory for
Particle Physics) on the beginnings of what became the World Wide Web. The
physicists wanted the ability to handle all Internet work though a single interface, to
simplify the sharing of documents between their widely scattered sites. By 1992 the
system was functioning well enough to publicize and invite others to move to the new
approach. Very quickly numerous browsers were developed for a variety of operating
systems. The Web soon became the most popular way to access the resources on the
Internet.
HTML
Hypertext documents are written in HTML (HyperText Markup Language), a coding
language that does much more than just create hyperlinks. HTML code puts special
marks in a text document to tell browser software how to display the text. For example
<FONT FACE=ARIAL COLOR=#FF0000> means to use the font Arial and the color red
when displaying the text. The language's instructions are based on English. Each new
version of the HTML standards adds more formatting choices and the ability to do
other things like playing sounds and running animations.
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HTML source code for a web page
One of the unique features of HTML documents is that the text wraps to the size of the
window. In a word processor the text will wrap to the size of the paper page. So a web
page can fit in a wide variety of window sizes, monitor sizes, and resolutions without
making you scroll across the page.
Most people like to point and click on a hyperlink better than to type long addresses.
They like pictures better than plain text. This explains why the Web has rapidly
become so popular.
Address of a Web page
Each web page has a unique address called a URL, or Universal Resource Locator,
which tells where a file is located among all the computers that are part of the Internet.
A URL usually has three parts: protocol://domain/path
Example, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/default.asp
Protocol: tells the computer what kind of coding to expect.
For web pages the address always starts with http:// which stands for hypertext
transfer protocol. For a site that just downloads files you might use ftp:// which stands
for file transfer protocol. There are other protocols that you are less likely to use.
Domain: the unique name for the computer to which you are connecting.
All domain names have a 4-part number address like 207.46.130.150 but most have a
name using letters, too, like www.microsoft.com (which is much easier to
remember!). A dot character always separates the parts of a name. The www stands for
World Wide Web and is used for most web pages as the first part of the domain name.
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The com part stands for "commercial" and is one of several extensions allowed for the
top level domain. Others include gov for government, edu for educational institution,
org for organization, mil for military, and net for network. It is common in many
countries to include the country identifier in the domain, such as .us for the United
States, .fr for France, or .ar for Argentina. List of country codes
Seven new top-level domain names have been approved by ICANN (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers): .pro, .biz, .coop, .info, .museum,
.aero, and .name.
Path: is the list of folders on the computer, down to the actual file, like
/windows/downloads/default.asp If no file name is listed at the end of the path, the
browser will look for the default file, usually named index.html . If no such file is
found, the browser will try to show a list of the files in the last folder in the path. It
may find that it needs special permission or a password to show the list of files.
You can expect to see htm or html as the extension for most web pages. The extension
asp (Active Server Page) is used for a page that uses special codes from Microsoft in
addition to HTML. The extension shtml ( Secure HTML) is for pages that are
encrypted because they involve sensitive information like credit card numbers.
The spelling and punctuation of an Internet address must be exactly right,
including the use of upper case letters. Many servers that handle web pages use the
operating system UNIX, for which myfile.htm, MyFile.htm, myfile.HTM are all
different names. Type carefully! A forward slash / is not the same as a back slash \. A
colon : and a semicolon ; are not the same. A comma , is not the same as . the dot
character.
The Language of the Web
Did you notice that the address extensions are based on English, and the HTML code
uses English terms? Many English terms and phrases have been adopted as the
standard names for things having to do with the Internet, especially in HTML and in
coding languages like JavaScript. It is another special area of learning. In ballet the
terms are French. In music the terms are Italian. In computing most of the terms are
English.
You can find more materials on the Web in English than in any other language. Major
sites are rapidly building versions in the major languages of the world. But the primary
language of the Internet is English and many sites are available only in English. The
more English at your command, the more resources there will be that are available to
you.
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Browser Basics:
Connecting to the Web
In order to join the flood of people getting connected to the Web, you need some
hardware and some software. Exactly what you need depends on what you want to do
and how much you can afford to pay to do it. To play games over the Internet requires
a much faster computer system and a faster connection than just about anything else. A
3D-video card and superior speakers are important for top quality gaming also. But for
basic access, a fairly ordinary computer (by today's standards!) and a moderate
connection speed will enable you to meet and greet all over the world.
What you need to access the Web
Hardware
1. Computer: Of course! You'll need empty hard drive space for the software you
will install. You'll need to have enough memory to run the software. A
computer that can run Windows XP will work well.
For older systems:
Internet Explorer 4 (IE) suggests as a minimum (and this truly is a slow,
minimum system):
- A 486 with a 66 MHz processor (Pentium processor recommended)
- For Microsoft Windows 95/98: 8 MB of RAM minimum, 16 MB with Active
Desktop
- 40 to 70 MB of hard-disk space (depending on installation type for IE)
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2. Connection: You need some way to connect to the Internet from that
computer.
a. Network: If your computer is connected to a network, you may not
need any more hardware. Many networks are permanently connected to
the Internet.
b. ISP: If your computer is not on a connected network, you must sign up
with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or with an online service. In
addition to the connection, an online service, like America OnLine,
provides content like discussion forums, information articles, and other
web pages and services. Usually you use a telephone line and a modem
to connect your computer to the ISP's server computer, which is
connected to the Internet. Costs vary widely. Different accounts at the
same ISP provide different services and different amounts of time
online. There is no standard pricing. Your ISP will tell you how to
configure your computer to connect. It involves some scary sounding
settings and you may need to install some more things from your
Windows installation CD. Just follow all the directions from your ISP.
It's not really that hard to do.
3. Connection device: The device must match the type of connection you have
arranged.
a. Modem: connects your computer to your ISP or online service over a
regular telephone line. Modems come in several different speeds. Do
not settle for 28.8 Kbps if your ISP can handle higher rates. Be careful
that your kind of modem works well with the kind that your ISP uses.
b. ISDN terminal adapter: a digital device that works in an entirely
different way from a modem, but it is often called a modem anyway.
ISDN requires a special kind of connection with your telephone
company. This will cost extra. The advantage is a much higher speed of
data transfer than with a modem.
c. Cable modem: uses the your cable TV wire to send data at very high
rates, but the speed depends on how many other cable TV users are
using their cable modems when you are. No need to dial! A permanent
connection.
d. DSL: (Digital Subscriber Line) allows your computer to be
permanently connected to the Internet using telephone lines. No more
dialing! There are a number of different types of DSL connection. All
will be available at a higher cost and only in areas that are fairly close to
the telephone company's transmission center.
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Software you need
1. Browser: handles the display of the data that the modem or network
connection brings to your computer. Netscape and Internet Explorer are the
most popular browsers and are both free now, but there are many other good
browsers out there. Older browsers may be text only. An online service may
provide its subscribers with a browser with a special interface.
2. Email: handles the creating, sending, receiving, and storing of email messages.
3. Other useful software:
a. FTP program- for file transfers
b. IRC (chat) or instant messaging program- for discussions and general
conversation using text.
c. Newsgroup program - for exchanging messages about a particular
topic, like Windows installation problems.
d. HTML editor - Writing your own web pages can be done with just a
text editor like Notepad, but it's easier with an HTML editor. FrontPage
Express is a WYSIWYG (sort of) editor and can get you started, but it is
quite limited. Microsoft FrontPage is a more advanced editor.
If you install the complete set of programs that come with Internet Explorer, or
the programs that are available as additions, you will have IE as your browser,
Outlook Express for both email and newsgroups, Microsoft Chat for IRC
chatting, and FrontPage Express for creating web pages (depending on which
version of IE you install). If you install a recent version of Netscape, you will
also have software that performs all these important functions. Neither Internet
Explorer nor Netscape have an FTP program. Both sets of programs do their
jobs. Each has certain advantages over the other. If you don't like either of these
suites of programs, there are many other programs available from other
companies.
Browser Basics:
Open IE
A browser is a program that allows you to view documents which are written in
HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Such documents are usually called web
pages, even when they are on a hard disk or floppy disk and not on the Web at all.
The first browsers could display only text - no graphics. You could download graphics
but you had to view them separately. Mosaic was an early browser that could show
pictures on the same page as the text. Netscape Navigator was developed from Mosaic
and rapidly became the dominant graphical browser.
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Currently, the vast majority of people accessing the Web use some version of
Microsoft Internet Explorer. The battle for users is not over. New browsers are released
all the time.
Web pages continue to get more and more complex. People want to see and hear more
and more, faster and faster. Web authors want more control of the display of the page.
To satisfy these desires the HTML code and associated features like stylesheets keep
getting more powerful, and therefore more complicated. Browsers have to change, too,
in order to use the new features. Older browsers cannot properly read pages that use
new plug-ins or new HTML tags. Some day the situation will settle down... maybe!
Starting Internet Explorer
You have quite a number of choices of how to start up your browser.
Quick Launch: Starting with IE4+ and Win98+ a new area appears on the Taskbar.
This area contains shortcuts to several programs, including Internet Explorer.
Desktop icon: Somewhere on your Desktop there is an icon for IE, by default.
Start menu: Open the Start menu and then Programs. The icon for IE is probably in
the area below the folders and also in the folder named Internet Explorer.
Since you are reading this page in a browser, you probably already have your favorite
method of opening it! However, you should at least read through the steps below. Your
particular situation is not the only way to connect to the Internet. You need to be aware
of other situations so you won't be totally confused when you use a different computer!
Step-by-Step: Open IE
What you will learn:
to start IE
to connect to the Internet
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Start with:
the icon for Internet Explorer in
1. Click on
the Quick Launch area of the taskbar. One
click does the trick!
What happens next depends on the status of
your connection to the Internet.
a. Already connected to the Internet:
Internet Explorer opens and loads the
page you have assigned as the Home
page, the first page to load. You are
ready to start using your browser.
This happens if your computer is part
of a network that is connected directly
to the Internet or has a DSL or cable modem connection, or if you have
already established a connection separately.
b. Not connected to the Internet & IE is set to connect automatically:
Your computer automatically attempts to connect or to dial up your
default ISP or online service.
A dialog tells you what is happening throughout the dialing process.
Once the computers talk to each
other a bit, you may be prompted
for your user name and password,
but an automatic connection may
take care of that for you. You
must wait for the name and
password to be verified. Then you
should get the message that you
are connected. The dialog box
shows the how long you have
been connected and the base
connection speed.
The Connected to dialog is a bit
different, depending on your
Windows version. If your dialog
has an OK button, clicking it
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minimizes the dialog to the Tray on the Taskbar. If the dialog has a
Minimize button on the title bar, clicking it minimizes the dialog to the
Taskbar.
Next IE opens and loads the page you have selected to be your Home
page.
You will see an icon in the System tray like
or
for your modem, unless you chose to hide it. The icon's
colors will blink between red and green to show modem activity.
A modem usually makes a lot of very odd noises as it dials the
telephone number and then
tries to find a common
language with the modem on
the other end. With a little
practice, you will learn to
recognize when the modem is
having trouble and when it is
just babbling along. An ISDN
terminal adapter, a cable modem, a DSL connection, and a network
connection do not make noises.
c. Not connected & IE is not set to connect automatically:
Most people use a page on the Web as their Home page , the page that
loads first. The default home page for IE is at Microsoft. (Surprised?) If
your browser's home page is on the Web, when you try to open IE, you
will see a dialog that tells you that your
online home page is not available. The
dialog offers you the choice between
Connect and either Stay offline or
Work Offline, depending on your
version of Windows.
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If you choose Offline , a boring page will load and tell you the obvious.
If your Home page is a on your hard drive, it will load even when you
are working offline. This is a good reason to write your own Home page
that contains links to the places you go to often.
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Browser Basics:
IE Interface
When you open Internet Explorer, the window that you see on your computer screen
has a few new features in addition to all the standard window parts: title bar, status bar,
scroll bars, menu bar, toolbar, and the maximize, minimize, and close buttons. The
items on the Menu Bar and the Toolbar are different from what you see in other
programs like MS Word and MS Excel.
Click on each label in the image below. A short explanation of the part's function
will appear in a separate window. Or you can go straight to the explanations in a new
window. You will work with each part in the Step-by-Step activities.
OR
View all of the descriptions on one page in a new window.
Other programs may add other toolbars. For example, Microsoft Windows Media
Player adds a Radio bar so you can listen to a radio station while browsing.
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Browser Basics:
Toolbar
The Toolbar is a collection of buttons for frequently used commands.
If the text labels are showing in IE4, some of the buttons will be
hidden at any window size less than 800 x 600. There is no indicator
that there are more buttons off to the right.
In IE5/6 the buttons are somewhat smaller, so the whole
toolbar will fit across a 640 x 480 window. When the window is
smaller than 640 pixels across, there is a double arrow button (or
chevron) at the right edge of the toolbar that opens a drop list of the
hidden buttons.
Toolbar Sections
The default toolbar is divided into three sections by a separator. Each section is shown
separately below.
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Click on each button below. An explanation of what it does will appear in a
separate window. You will work with most of these buttons later in the Step-by-Step
activities.
OR
View all of the descriptions on one page in a new window.
Section:
Purpose:
Navigation- Handles
moving between pages and
the loading of a page.
Lists- Each button opens a
list of links in a pane on the
left of the browser. Clicking
the button again toggles the
pane off.
IE4's Channels function is
no longer supported.
The Media button is new to
IE6.
Other - Handles assorted
other tasks. These buttons
don't show in a small
window, but the actions are
also available from the
menu.
The Discuss and
Messenger/AIM buttons are
examples of buttons that
appear only if certain
software is installed.
The Full Screen button is an
example of a button that you
can add to the toolbar in the
Customize dialog. It was on
the default toolbar in earlier
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versions.
The Channels and Full Screen buttons are no longer on the default Toolbar in IE but
were in IE4.
Step-by-Step: Customize Toolbars
Start with:
to display/hide toolbars and Status Bar
to display/hide text labels
(Internet Explorer open)
Display/Hide Bars
1. Open the View menu and its
submenu Toolbars . The various bars that can
display in the browser are controlled by the
first two menu items: Toolbars and Status
Bar . Toolbars opens a submenu to show your
choices.
A check mark means that the bar is visible.
Clicking on a name toggles that bar on or off and then closes the menu. The
next time you open the menu you can see the change in the check mark beside
the name you clicked.
Your list may be somewhat different. Some programs that work with a browser
add their own toolbars to the list. For example, Windows Media Player adds the
Radio bar so you can listen to radio stations while browsing.
2. Hide the Status Bar and all the visible toolbars (the ones with a check mark) by
clicking the names in the menu. [Since the menu closes each time you click,
you may have to open the menu several times.]
Your browser has much more room for the web page without all the bars! But,
you will need most of them as you work through the lessons.
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3. Display, using the menu, the Toolbar with Standard Buttons, the Address
Bar, the Links bar, and the Status Bar. [The menu will close each time you
click so you will have to do this 4 times.]
Add/Remove Text Labels
You can turn off the labels, once you are familiar with the buttons, but for now let's
work with them turned on. If your labels are not on...
In
IE4
1. Right click on the Toolbar itself.
2. Display the labels by clicking on Text Labels from the popup menu.
(Assuming that they weren't already on, of course!)
In
IE5 & IE6:
1. Right click on the Toolbar itself. A popup menu of toolbars appears.
2. Choose Customize . A dialog appears which gives you more choices than are
available in IE. You can actually add and remove buttons.
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3. Click on the arrow at the end of the two text boxes to see what the choices are.
4. Click the Reset button to return the toolbar to the default settings.
5. Click on the Close button to apply your changes.
Browser Basics:
Address & Links Bars
The Address Bar shows the address of the page that the browser is currently showing.
You can type web address in the Address Bar and press ENTER to load the new page.
You will work more with the Address Bar later, in the Navigating section.
The Links Bar is a collection of shortcuts to pages that you visit frequently. Internet
Explorer comes with several links here already to help get you started traveling the
Web. So this can be your personal toolbar. You must be online to see the pages that are
not on your hard drive, of course.
The Address and Links Bars are usually found side by side so they look at first glance
like they are a single bar. They are actually two separate toolbars.
Step-by-Step: Address & Links Bars
Start with:
to change widths of bars
to separate and rejoin bars
to add a link to the Links Bar
to rename a link on the Links Bar
to delete a link from the Links Bar
(Internet Explorer open)
For this exercise it does not matter what page is showing in the browser.
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Change Widths
1. Drag the handle at the left of the Links bar sideways back and forth to adjust
the widths of the two bars.
Separate & Rejoin Bars
You can use the technique below on the Menu bar and the Toolbar as well. It can get
confusing with these bars slide around unexpectedly!
1. Drag the handle of the Links Bar down and drop below the Address Bar.
TaDa! It's a separate bar.
2. Drag the handle of the Links Bar back up and drop on top of the Address Bar.
Back together again! [If you miss, just try again. You may have to look
carefully if the Links Bar is now attached to the Toolbar or is on the left of the
Address Bar.]
Add to Links Bar
Use the Links Bar to hold links to the places you visit regularly. It
won't show many at once, so choose carefully.
1. Drag the icon at the left of the current address over to the Links
Bar.The pointer changes to [ once you are over a place where you
can drop.
2. Drop at the right of "Links" or between two items already on the Links Bar.
The new shortcut uses the page title as the name of the
shortcut. Some titles are quite long!
Rename Link
1. Right click on the new shortcut on the Links Bar.
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2. From the popup menu select Rename . A dialog appears with the current name.
3. Type in the dialog a short name and click OK.
Short names let more links show at once.
Delete Link
When you don't want a link on the
Links Bar anymore, it is simple to get
rid of it.
1. Right click on the link you just
created.
2. From the popup menu, select Delete . Your new link is gone!
Browser Basics:
Status Bar
The Status Bar displays messages and icons that tell you what the browser is doing.
The four sections of the Status Bar are described below. You will use the Status Bar
information in later exercises.
Message Area
The primary use of the message area is to tell you what is happening as a web page
loads. There are several stages in the process and sometimes it seems to take forever!
Also, when the mouse pointer hovers over a link, the message area will show what
address is attached to that link.
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Some web authors use Javascript to put their own message in the Status Bar. This can
be helpful, but it is often quite annoying since you can no longer see the link addresses.
When you see:
the browser is:
Looking for a site. You see this if the site is
slow to respond, it does not exist, or you are
not connected to the Internet after all. In this
example the URL is mis-spelled, so the site
does not exist.
Contacting the site that it found. (Yeah! it
exists!!)
Waiting for the site to send the data to the
browser.
Receiving data from the site. The progress bar
will now show the percent completed.
Downloading parts of the page. Counts images
and objects that have not yet been received
Finished loading.
The message area is often too short to completely show many of the messages
completely. Use a large resolution and run the browser maximized to get the best view
of the messages.
In IE5 the Status Bar is much smarter about how to use the space. The message
area includes the progress bar space until the progress bar is needed.
Progress Bar
The dark blue area expands as the page loads. This gives you a visual indication that
something is actually happening!
The progress bar is only a rough indicator of how much of a page the browser has
received. Sometimes it grows longer while nothing is actually downloaded. It is acting
like a timer. Eventually, you'll see an error message, if nothing is really happening.
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Status Icons
Various status icons keep you informed of special circumstances.
The icon in the left status bar box shows a network drive with the small red x
shows. This means that you are working offline. That is, your browser is not talking to
the Internet. That is usually because you are not connected, but you could choose to
work offline with File | Work offline . This square is blank when you are connected.
The padlock in the right status bar box shows that a secure transaction is going
on. This means that the web site has taken special precautions so that you can safely
send them information like your credit card number or other personal information. Of
course you would not normally see both of these icons at the same time!
Other special icons appear more rarely. Each version of IE seems to add new status
icons.
Privacy: The status bar shows an eye with the international sign for NO in
the middle status bar box when your privacy controls block something from an Internet
site. If you double-click the icon, a dialog appears that tells you what was blocked.
There are only 2 boxes for status icons in IE5, instead of 3.
IE6 returns to using 3 status icon boxes. Whatever!
Security Zone
The security zone refers to how trustworthy you feel a site is. You
can adjust settings at View | Internet Options... | Security to help ensure that the
browser does not load pages that you think may be dangerous to your computer or your
data.
There are 4 different zones and 4 levels of security to choose from for each zone. The
icons in IE4
, IE5
, and IE6
are sometimes different.
The Internet Zone with Medium level security is the default for all web pages.
The browser will warn you before loading a page with certain kinds of code in it.
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The Intranet Zone is for pages inside your own network. You would
certainly trust these more than pages written by strangers!
The Trusted Zone is for sites you always trust. IE won't warn you about actions
that might be dangerous.
The Restricted Zone is for sites that you think might damage your computer or
your data. (Why are you there at all???)
Browser Basics:
Navigating
There are a many ways of getting around on a web page and of moving between pages.
You can use your mouse, the keyboard, toolbar buttons, Favorites, and History. Frames
and forms have their own little tricks.
In next several pages you will use web pages from the resource files to practice all the
navigation techniques. These pages will let you experience some of the problems that
you will run into in the "real world".
If you don't have a copy of these files yet, download and install them now: resource
files
Before we get started with navigating web pages, let's first look at how a page loads.
How a page loads
What's first?
When your browser asks for a simple web page, it first receives the source code for the
page. This HTML file contains the text of the page. Your browser reads the code and
starts displaying it while it asks for any other files that are used in the page, such as
images, sound files, and attached files for scripts and stylesheets. The browser receives
these one at a time. This process can take quite awhile for long pages, pages with many
graphics, or for a page with a large graphic.
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Tables
If the page contains tables, you can't see anything in the table until the browser has
finishing calculating the sizes for all the rows and columns. Some pages are blank for
quite a while and then the whole page pops into view because the whole page is a
single table! A table displays faster if the web author gives the dimensions for all the
table parts and all the images in the table.
Images
Your browser inserts a placeholder image
for every image on the page that it has
not displayed yet. It's strange, but there is no way to control the order that images
appear.
Until an image or other object is displayed, you might see some text in the spot where
the image or object will go. This text should describe the object or its
use, especially if it is a link. Such descriptions are actually read out
loud by software that reads a page to blind people. Some people turn
off the loading of images to move along faster. They like this ALT text
(for alternate), too. The ALT text also appears in some browsers as a popup tip when
the pointer hovers over the image or object.
Cache
The browser stores all the files it receives on your hard drive in the browser's cache.
By default, Internet Explorer uses C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files to store
these files.
On a return visit to a page, your browser will look in this folder to see if it already has
what it needs to display the page. If it does, then the browser does not have to ask the
web server for that material again. The page will display much faster on return visits.
You can actually open the pages in the cache without being online at all.
You set limits for how much space this folder can be allowed to use ( View | Internet
Options... | General | Settings... ). New pages will eventually overwrite the files for
pages that you saw earlier.
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Cookies
In your cache you may see some cookies . This kind of cookie is not a sweet baked
dessert. It is just a small text file that a web site created to store information about your
visit to the site. Only the site that created the cookie can read it again. Web sites that let
you personalize the page you see are probably using a cookie to keep track of your
choices. The next time you visit the site, the page may greet you by name and forms
can automatically fill in your name and address.
You do not have to wait for a page to finish loading before you can use the links on
the page. Do not waste your time when you know that you want to go somewhere else!
Sometimes you may have to click the Stop button on the toolbar to make the browser
stop loading so it can respond to your mouse.
Browser Basics:
Navigating Techniques
What will you learn while working through the pages on Navigation Techniques?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A hypertext link contains the address of a file on your computer or on the
Internet.
Clicking on the link opens the file in the browser.
If the browser does not know how to open the file, it will download it to your
computer.
To move around on a web page, use the scrollbars and the navigation keys
(Page Up, Page Down, Home, End and the arrow keys).
TAB and SHIFT + TAB move you from link to link on the page.
Clicking on a link will move you to a new page or to a specific spot on the
page.
Links can be text or graphics.
A graphic can have different addresses attached to different areas of the
graphic.
Move around a form using the mouse or the tab key.
When the focus is in an input control, some of the navigation keys will not
move you around the page.
It is time to work with some web pages! The directions below will guide you to other
pages which contain more directions. Sounds a little crazy, doesn't it! Don't get lost!
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Step-by-Step: Navigating Techniques
to use text and image links
to download a file from a link
to navigate a form
to navigate between pages
Use the scrollbars or the Page Up and Page Down keys if you need to see part of a
page that is off the screen.
Start with:
1. Open a new browser window with the key combo CTRL + N. Now you can
keep these directions in one window, while doing the exercise in a separate
window. Let's call this new window the Exercise Window. (Clever, huh!?)
2. Switch to the Exercise Window and click on
show the home page for these exercises.
the Home button to
[You set that page as the Home page in the earlier IE Settings exercise. If some
other page displayed, My Home Page will take you to the correct page on the
Web.
Or, if you installed the resource files on your hard drive, you can use the path
C:\My Documents\complit101\web\Start\index.html to open the copy on your
hard drive.]
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3. Move the mouse pointer to the page My
Home Page and hover over the link
Navigation Techniques until it changes to
the hand shape. This shows you are over a
link. (The color of the link text will change
to red if you kept the default color settings
in Internet Options.)
4. Click on the link. The browser loads a new page.
Notice that the title bar shows the title of the new
page, which is not the same as what shows on the page itself. There is a
separate HTML code for a page's title. This is important to know later when
you do a search.
5. Click on the link Text link. A page opens that explains this term. You used a
text link to get there to start with!
6. Read the whole page and follow the
instructions about Text Link.
The symbol
indicates an action for
you to perform. (If you do not have the
font Wingdings installed you will see a U
with two dots over it instead, like Ü.)
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At the top of the pages you will see a set of links that act like a table of
contents. Many web pages, but not all, change the look of the link to the current
page. In this page, the name of this page is not a link
at all. It's just plain text.
The arrows at the bottom of each page are navigation
links to the previous page, to the top of the page, and
to the next page.
7. When you have finished with this page, click on the Next arrow to continue.
Continue working each page in the sequence. You will practice using the
various types of links and navigation methods.
8. After reading and working through all the Navigation Techniques pages,
click on the picture of the house at the top of the page to return to My Home
Page.
9. Switch back to the window you started in... this one and go to the next page.
Browser Basics:
Frames
If a web site has a lot to say, it is hard to get it onto a short page. But long pages can
take longer to load than the viewers want to wait. In large sites people can get lost
while wandering from page to page.
One way of breaking the information into smaller pieces and of keeping navigation
links always in view is to use frames. A master document divides the screen into
rectangular areas. Each area is called a frame. Each frame displays a different
document. Commonly a frame at the top or side contains links to navigate the site. A
larger frame is used to show the information pages of the site.
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One problem with framed sites is that they can load pages from other sites inside their
own frames. If that other site is also framed, you can run out of room to see anything
but the frames!
If the frame borders are invisible and the page colors and backgrounds are carefully
chosen, you may not realize right away that a site is framed.
Step-by-Step: Frames
to use a navigation frame
to recognize invisible frames
Start with:
Open framed site
You can't tell from the link whether the site it
leads to is framed or not.
1. On the page My Home Page, click the text
link to World Travel Inc. The browser
loads a set of 3 framed pages for a fictional
travel agency.
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2. Resize the window shorter, if necessary, until vertical scrollbars appear in the
the bottom two frames.
3. Scroll down in both frames to see the parts that are off screen. It's not much fun
to have to scroll to get to navigation links.
The navigation frame on the left has links to other documents in World Travel's
site. It also has links to other sites. (You must be online to see some of these
pages.)
Many sites do not make it clear when a link is to a page that is not part of
the site. You can find yourself unexpectedly far, far away.
Invisible frames
1. In the Address Bar change index.html to invisible.htm and then press
ENTER.
2. Resize the window smaller and
larger. A scrollbar never appears!
What happened?
In this version of the World Travel
page, the borders between the frames
and the scrollbars are turned off. This
does look better. In a small window,
however, as in the illustration, some
of the links are out of view at the
bottom of the left frame. A visitor won't know they are there! Whoops!
A suspicious visitor could use the TAB key to tab through the links to get to
the offscreen ones.
3. In the Address Bar change invisible.htm to invisible2.htm and press
ENTER.
This version of the World Travel
page includes a scrollbar for the
navigation frame when the window
size is small. With a scrollbar, the
invisible frames do not look as good.
At least it is clear that part of the
document is not in view.
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4. Use the Back button twice to return to the page with bordered frames.
Opens in another frame
1. In the left frame click on the link Prices and
Packages.
A new page appears in the frame on the right.
The link changes color to show that is has been
visited. The code for the link controls where the
new page appears. It is not random!
Opens in the same frame
1. In the frame on the right, click on the
link Tahiti in the text at the top. (Do
not click on the tickets at the bottom
yet! That opens a different document.)
A new page appears in the same
frame. This is the default behavior for
links. Special code must be used to get
a link to open a page somewhere
besides the current frame.
There is also a link Tahiti in the left navigation frame to this page. This link
will not change color, however, until that frame is refreshed.
2. Click
the Refresh button. The whole framed page is refreshed. All
visited links turn purple. The links in the Tahiti document will all turn purple
at the same time even though you did not click any of them yet. They are links
to spots on their own page.
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3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Tahiti document in the right frame .
4. Move from the top of the page to the bottom and back using the keyboard:
Top of Page: Use the key combo CTRL + HOME to go to the top of the
page. (Hold the CTRL key down while pressing the HOME key.)
Bottom of Page: Use the key combo CTRL + END to go to the end of
the document.
Spot on the same page
1. Click on the link Map at the top of
the Tahiti page.
It takes you to a different place within
this same document. These kinds of
links are very useful for long pages
containing several topics.
2. Practice going from the top of the
page to the bottom, using links and
key combos . [Up and down and up
and down. Don't get too dizzy!
Browser Basics:
Back and Forward
You will often find yourself needing to return to a page you visited a few minutes
ago. Then you might want to pop right back to the page you just left. The Back and
Forward buttons simplify this immensely when you are within a few pages of where
you have already been.
It gets a little more complicated with a framed site. In older browsers, using the Back
button would move you to the previous whole page (or frameset), not the previous
document you saw inside the frames.
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For example, suppose you used Internet Explorer 3 to go from My Home Page to the
World Travel site and then you viewed several pages in the site. The Back button
would take you all the way back to My Home Page. You could not revisit a page
within the World Travel site. Very annoying! Modern browsers will take you back
through each of the framed pages you saw. Much more helpful!
Let's go practice with the World Travel Inc. site.
Step-by-Step: Back and Forward
to use the Back & Forward buttons
to use the drop lists of sites for Back and Forward
Start with:
If necessary, open the World Travel Inc. site again:
http://www.worldtravelinc.net
Did you just finish the previous exercise - Frames? If not, you need to do the last two
exercises there first. Your list of visited pages will be a bit different, but you should be
able to see what to do in the exercises below.
Back and Forward: Buttons
1. Click on
the Back button on the toolbar. You are moved back to the
top of the page, where you last used a link.
2. Click on
yet?)
the Forward button. You return to the map. (Getting dizzy
Back and Forward: Lists:
1. Click on the arrow beside the Back button to
see the list of where you have been.
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2. Click on World Travel Home page to return to the beginning of this site.
For framed documents, IE5 shows the file name instead of the page title.
3. Click on
the Refresh button to
make IE look again at all of the framed
pages and reload them.
All links for pages you have just visited
are now purple.
To refresh a single frame, right click
in it and choose Refresh from the popup
menu.
4. Click the arrow beside the Forward button and
select the Prices_Packages page.
The full title did not fit in the list. Notice that an
underscore replaced the & in the title.
5. Click on
in the table at the
bottom of the Prices and Packages page.
A new page loads in the frame.
The button Forward is grayed out,
meaning you are at the most recently
visited page.
6. Open the list beside the button Back. It no longer shows
the page World Travel: What to See and Do in Tahiti!
But you have visited it. What happened?
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You took a different direction this time when leaving the page Prices and
Packages. Only one continuous route through web pages is available using the
buttons Back and Forward. All the pages are still shown in the History list,
however. You will practice with that feature next.
Browser Basics:
History
Where were you on the Web yesterday? What sites did you visit last week?
These kinds of questions are hard to answer for most of us. Internet Explorer's History
feature is designed to help you find that great site you saw 3 days ago.
When you click the History button, Internet Explorer digs into its memory of all the
sites you have visited. These are sorted by site and by date, starting with Today.
The History pane has more options under IE5 than in IE4.
Step-by-Step: History
to open the History pane
to return to a page you visited earlier
the button History on the Toolbar. A pane opens on the left
1. Click on
showing the places you have been.
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Only the pages you visited since the list was last cleared will show. The current
page is highlighted. Can you find the page What to See and Do in Tahiti in
the list?
You can drag the pane border on the right to make it wider so you can see
more of the page title.
2. Hover over each of the pages in the History pane. A popup tip shows the full
title and path to the page.
In IE5 the framed documents will show the filename instead of the page
title.
3. Right click on the page What to See and Do in
Tahiti and from the popup menu select Delete .
4. Click on Yes in the dialog that appears to
ask you if you really want to delete this
entry.
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5. Close the left pane by either clicking on the X button or by toggling the
History button off on the toolbar.
Browser Basics:
Favorites
If you browse the Web very much, you will find many sites that you might want to go
back to someday. Remembering the web addresses is entirely too hard for the normal
brain! Your web browser can keep a list for you that will keep the strain off your brain.
Most browsers record these bookmarks with an HTML file, but not Internet Explorer.
You have the choice of viewing your Favorites as cascading menus from the IE menu
or as a hierarchy of folders in the Favorites pane. You will no doubt find that you
prefer one method over the other.
When using a shared computer, keep in mind that other users may change your
bookmarks. Copy your bookmarks.htm file or your Favorites folder to a floppy disk as
a backup.
Step-by-Step: Using Favorites
to open the Favorites pane
to add a shortcut to Favorites with 4 methods
Start with:
View Favorites
1. Pane: Click on
button on the toolbar.
the Favorites
A new pane appears on the left of the
display area. Your computer may have
already folders besides the ones that come
with IE.
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The advantage of this pane is that the links stay visible so you can quickly
choose a different one. The disadvantage is that it reduces the space available
for the page.
2. Menu: Select the menu Favorites . A
cascading menu opens. Do not click on any of
the choices.
The menu has the advantage of displaying
quickly and it does not take up screen space
after you choose a link. Having to open and
maneuver through the menu each time is its
disadvantage.
3. Press ESC to close the menu. Leave the
Favorites pane open.
Add to Favorites: Drag and Drop to pane
1. With the World Travel site displayed in the viewing area, drag the icon next to
its address in the Address Bar down to the Favorites pane. Do not drop yet.
2. Hover over the Links folder until it opens and then move the pointer onto the
list. A heavy black line appears to show where the link will be
dropped.
3. Drop the link at the top of the list under Links. A new item
appears, but not at the top of the list - index.html . This is not
a very helpful name!
4. Right click on the new link and choose Rename .
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5. Type the name World Travel and press ENTER
6. Test the link: First change the page by clicking on the Home button in the
toolbar. Then click on your new Favorite in the left pane - World Travel. The
browser should show the framed pages for the site World Travel
If you have trouble clicking a shortcut in the Favorites pane, try clicking the icon
instead of the name.
Add to Favorites: Drag and drop to menu
1. With World Travel displayed, return to the icon at the left of the
address bar and drag it up to the menu Favorites and hover
there. Do not drop yet.
As the pointer moves, it will change to
where you cannot drop.
when over areas
2. After the Favorites menu opens,
drag down the menu. A heavy
black line shows where the link can
drop.
3. Drop above the first folder.
A new entry appears with that unhelpful name index.html , and after a brief
hesitation, the menu closes. You need to test this link.
4. Click on the Home button to change pages.
5. Open the Favorites menu and click on the new link: index.html
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The framed page for World Travel should appear in the browser. This shows
that you can have more than one link to the same page but in different Favorites
folders. Very convenient!
Add to Favorites: Right click menu
1. In the left frame (not the left pane), right click on the link
Tahiti.
2. From the popup menu select Add to Favorites... The dialog Add Favorite
opens.
3. Click on the button Create in>>. The
dialog box expands to let you choose a
folder from the folder tree or use the button
to make a new folder.
4. Click the button New Folder… and create a new folder named My Class .
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5. Click on OK.
6. With the new folder My Class selected, click on OK in the Add Favorite
dialog. The dialog closes.
7. In the Favorites pane, click on My Class to expand it. Your new
shortcut is there!
8. In the Favorites pane, click
on Tahiti . The Tahiti page
opens in the full display area
rather than in a frame! This is
what happens if you create a
link to a document that is in a
frame.
Many framed
documents don't work well
outside of their frames.
There may be no way to get
to other pages on the original
site. The page by itself may
not make much sense.
Add to Favorites: Explorer
If you know a web address or the path to a file on your computer, you can put a
shortcut to it in the Favorites folder. You are not limited to just pages on the Internet.
You must do this from Explorer. Add to Favorites from Internet Explorer will only
make a shortcut to the page currently being shown in IE.
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1. Without closing IE, open an Explorer window to C:\Windows\Favorites\My
Class
2. With the contents of My Class showing in Explorer's right pane, right click in
an empty area of the right pane. From the popup menu choose New |
Shortcut...
The Create Shortcut dialog opens.
3. Type in the Command line text box
the URL:
http://www.jegsworks.com/Lessons/
web/start/hurrah.htm . (You may use
the equivalent path to the resource
files if you installed them on your
hard drive.)
4. Click the button Next. The dialog box
changes.
5. Type Hurrah in the text box Select a
name for the shortcut and click the
button Finish. Your shortcut is added
to the Favorites folder at the bottom of
the list in the right pane.
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Don't forget -- When you add files or folders in Explorer, they are at the
bottom of the list in the right pane until you refresh the window. If the list is
long, your new items will be out of sight. Don't get lost!
6. Press the F5 key to refresh the display.
The items will be re-sorted.
7. Switch to the Internet Explorer window
and look at the Favorites pane.
8. Click on the new shortcut Hurrah.
Success!
By the way, no other pages have a link to
this one.
What You Have Done
You now have now created 4 shortcuts using 4 methods.
Shortcut
In folder
By method
World Travel
Favorites/Links
Drag and Drop from Address Bar to Favorites
pane
index.html
Favorites
Drag and Drop from Address Bar to Favorites
menu
Tahiti
Favorites/My
Menu or right click menu - Add to Favorites...
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Class
Hurrah
Favorites/My
Class
In Explorer window, menu Create shortcut
(must know address)
Browser Basics:
Organize Favorites
Once you have several folders and shortcuts, you will want to reorganize them from
time to time. A single list gets too long to manage very quickly.
Using Favorites | Organize Favorites... you can create, move, and delete folders and
shortcuts. You can also make these changes from Explorer or My Computer. After all,
Organize Favorites is actually a specialized My Computer window. The shortcuts are
stored in C:\Windows\Favorites.
You can drag or delete shortcuts directly in the left pane in Internet Explorer or on the
Favorites menu, but you cannot create a folder directly on the menu.
Some special folders are created inside Favorites when IE is installed. Of special
interest is the folder Links, which contains the links that are shown on the Links bar.
You can personalize this bar simply by adding links to the sites you visit the most.
Step-by-Step: Organizing Favorites
to organize your Favorites into folders
Start with:
Move shortcut
1. Select from the menu Favorites | Organize Favorites...
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A dialog opens from which you can manage the folders and shortcuts.
In IE5 the dialog has
been redesigned.
2. Click on index.html once to select it and, after a pause, click it
again to edit it. Retype the name as World Travel and then click
in a blank area to accept the change.
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You can have shortcuts with the same name if they are in
different folders. (Remember - you already have a World
Travel shortcut in the Links folder from the previous
exercise.)
3. Drag and drop the entry World Travel to the new folder My Class.
4. Click on the Close button to close the Organize Favorites dialog.
5. In the Favorites pane open, if necessary, the folder My Class
to see the shortcut World Travel along with the shortcuts to
Tahiti and Hurrah.
The order of the shortcuts in the Favorites pane and in the
menu may not be the same, especially right after you create a
shortcut. You can refresh the pane by pressing the F5 key.
Delete a shortcut
1. Display Favorites in the left pane, if necessary.O
2. Open the folder Links. The shortcut you created earlier to World Travel is
there.
3. Right click on the shortcut to World Travel.
4. From the popup menu select Delete .
The shortcut is removed.
On a shared computer, do not remove folders or shortcuts unless you put them
there yourself!
You can make a backup of your Favorites by copying the folders and shortcuts to
another folder or to a floppy disk. You can select and copy several folders (or all of
them) at a time in an Explorer or My Computer window. Then open an Explorer or My
Computer window to your destination (folder or floppy drive) and paste.
Browser Basics:
Address Bar
Getting to Web Pages
The Address Bar can get you to a web page in two ways:
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1. Type it: Type the web address into the Address Bar and press ENTER, or click
the Go button. Of course you must know the address! It is a great method when
you do not have a shortcut in Favorites to the site or it's an address that you can
remember. (It was probably a short one!)
2. Drop list: The addresses that you typed previously in the Address Bar are kept
in a list that drops from the bar. New places will eventually replace the old
addresses on the list. Only the addresses that you typed yourself are listed.
Step-by-Step: Address Bar
to clear browser cache
to enter a web address
to stop a page from loading
to use the Address Bar droplist
Start with:
The first icon above means "Connect to the Internet." You must be actually connected
to the Internet for most of the following steps to work. A page on your hard drive or on
a CD will load too fast for you to do some of the steps below. If you do not have an
Internet connection, just read the directions to see how it works.
For the purposes of this section it does not really matter what site you view as long as
it takes a while to load the page. Web sites are updated and completely rearranged from
time to time. Do not be surprised if the illustrations below do not match what you see.
If a web address in the directions doesn't work, use any address that does work.
Sometimes we have to get creative!
Clear Cache
For this exercise, you need to clear the cache (temporary Internet files) first so that the
browser will have to download the page from scratch. This is not something you need
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to do normally. You will be looking at what happens as a page is loaded, so read the
directions first and then follow them.
1. Select from the menu View | Internet Options... and in the Options dialog
click the button Delete files to clear the Temporary Internet files.
Address Bar: Enter Address
Type an address:
1. In the Address Bar type http://www.microsoft.com/argentina/ and check the
time. Then press ENTER.
2. Watch the Status bar as IE contacts the site and starts loading the default page
for this directory.
How long does it takes for the page to finish loading all of the items? (That is,
when does the Status Bar say Done?)
As the page loads, you may see a number
of "items remaining" in the Status Bar
message. These are are usually images.
They might be sound files or other
embedded objects.
Did you notice a blank page loading first?
Sometimes a blank page has code on it that
is checking what browser you are using so
it can present you with a page that will
work well in your particular browser. Or it
may be automatically redirecting you to
the page's new location.
Key Combo to complete address:
1. In the Address Bar type microsoft . (The browser may try to automatically
complete the address. The highlighted parts will be ignored in the next step.)
2.
Hold down CTRL and press ENTER. (CTRL + ENTER) Be prepared to
be fast with the next step below!
3. Before the page finishes loading, click on
stop the process of loading the page.
the Stop button. This will
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Your key combo adds www before
and com after what you typed in the
Address Bar. IE then proceeds to load the
page, Microsoft's home page for your
browser version. You can use this
keyboard shortcut for any address that
starts with www and ends with com.
If your connection is fast and you are close
to the server, the page may load too
quickly for you to stop it. That is not likely
if you cleared the temporary Internet files
earlier. If you were late in clicking Stop,
clear the temporary files and try again.
4. Scroll the page and look for what parts did not load. Images that are not loaded
yet show as a standard icon
.
Once the browser knows the height and width of an image,
you will see a outline that is the size of the image. If the height
and width are not included in the source code, you will see just
the standard size icon until the browser can calculate the size. The
page will rewrap as the browser calculates the size of each image.
This can make the page jump around a lot! Very annoying!
5. Click on
the Refresh button to
load the page again. This time let it finish.
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Using Links
First you will visit a few pages and then see how you can use the drop list to return.
You will see that the drop list only remembers certain addresses that you visited.
Which ones?? That's for you to find out below.
Again, it does not matter what pages you visit for this exercise. But, be sure to use the
same methods as in the directions, so you can
see what happens with the drop list.
Link on page:
1. Click on Support at the top of the
Microsoft page. This link is actually part
of an image.
A new page loads that tells about various
support options. [If you are using a
different page, just choose a link on the
page.]
2. Click on a text or image link or two that look interesting. You may look around
the site a bit, but you are just passing through for now.
Link in Favorites:
1. From the menu select Favorites | Links | Today's Links .
The page that loads is Microsoft Network's home page. [If you do not find
Today's Links in your Favorites list, just use a link that is there. You are
practicing using Favorites from the menu, so the particular link does not really
matter.]
Now that you have visited several pages, the drop list on the Address Bar may
have something interesting to show.
Link in drop list
1. Click on the arrow at the end of the
Address Bar. Hmmm. Only the sites
that you have typed into the text box
show. The sites you reached by clicking
a link on a page or from a shortcut in
Favorites are not listed here.
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All the pages you saw are shown in the History pane, as the next step will
show.
Link in History
1. Click on
the History button on the toolbar.
The History pane lists the sites that you visited and then the
titles of the pages you saw. A page can show up twice with a
slightly different name, depending on how you accessed it.
Hover over a page title and a popup tip will show the full
URL.
The History pane in IE5 looks a little different but the
principle is the same. All pages that you visited are listed.
2. Open several folders in the History pane and inspect the
entries.
3. Close the History pane by clicking the
at the top right of
the button again..
the pane or by clicking
4. Open the drop list on the Address Bar again and choose
http://www.microsoft.com/ .
You should be able to tell that it loaded faster this time. On this return visit to
the page, IE could use what it had stored in the temporary files on your hard
drive.
Browser Basics:
Address Paths
Paths to Files and Folders
In the Address Bar you can also type the path to a folder or a file. This lets you work
in the IE window with some things besides web pages. However, you may think you
have lost your browser! The toolbar may change considerably.
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How confusing is it?
A normal URL to a page on the Web looks like:
http://www.jegsworks.com/Lessons/connecting.htm
It starts with the protocol, then the domain name, then the path to the particular page.
A path to a file on your computer looks like:
c:\My Documents\complit101\mypage.htm
A path to a folder on your computer looks like:
c:\My Documents\complit101\
How is a path is different from a URL? The slashes go the other direction. There is a
drive letter instead of a protocol. Subtle but very important differences.
What can happen?
If you enter the path to a file or to just a folder in the Address Bar, what you see may
puzzle you. Here are the possibilities.
Path to
File:
•
Some programs, like Word and Excel, will use the IE window to
display the document.
These programs may change the menu bar or add their own
toolbars to the window. This is very useful since you can edit the
document right in the IE window. It can look weird though!
•
The file will open in the program associated with that file extension, if
IE cannot display the file in its own window
Path to IE will show what's in that folder, just like Explorer and My Computer do
Folder: when using Web view. The toolbar will show Explorer buttons.
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Surprise! The list of addresses in the drop list changes to a folder tree.
How to get back to IE if the toolbars changed?
•
•
Use the Back button.
If you are already looking at the drop list of sites on the Address Bar, scroll to
the bottom of the tree. Click on the IE icon and you are returned to your
Home page. Success!
Step-by-Step: Address Bar Paths
to enter a path
to return to IE interface
Start with:
Your browser can display some kinds of files on your hard drive. It can be quite a
shock, if you are not expecting some of the changes that occur when you do this.
In IE: Text File
1. In the Address Bar type the full path
C:/Windows/General.txt and press
ENTER. In most cases, this plain text file
displays right in the browser window
instead of opening another program. The
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extension txt is one that IE understands, so it can display the file contents.
The toolbar buttons do not change for a text file.
Be careful to use the forward slash that is used for web addresses instead
of the backslash that is used for a path on your computer. If you use
backslashes, Notepad or another text editor will open and display the file. This
time we don't want that.
In IE: Word doc
This part assumes that you have some version of Word installed on your computer
1.
Open a new browser window with the key combo CTRL + n.
2. In the Address Bar of the new window,
type the path to the Word document
C:\My
Documents\complit101\word\Win98 article.doc . Watch the spacing!
This file is in the resource files that you installed on your hard drive.
If you don't have this file, you may use the URL
http://www.jegsworks.com/resources/word/Win98 article.doc
The document opens in the browser window instead of starting up Word.
3. Look at the window. What has changed? What is the same?
The red arrows point out features from Word: Word's menu, a new button,
rulers, and Word's buttons at the right and bottom left
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4. Open each of the menus to see the commands. Internet Explorer's or Word's?
5. Click on
the new button Tools.
Surprise! Word toolbars appear. Now
you have the formatting and editing
features of Word, without having to open
a separate program.
The downside is that all these bars take
up lots of room, and confuse the eye.
In IE: Folder
1. In the Address Bar type the partial path C:/Windows and press ENTER.
What has changed?
2. Open the menus. Which have changed?
The Status Bar is different. The Toolbar
now shows Explorer buttons and the
window shows the contents of the folder
Windows. Wow! That will make your
heart pound if you aren't expecting it!!
3. Scroll down the window until you find the file General.txt and then doubleclick it. (If you have trouble finding it, rearrange the icons by Name View |
Arrange | by Name . Then the files will be in alphabetical order.)
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The program that is associated with the extension txt (Notepad by default) will
open and display the file. Did you think the file would show up in the same
window as the icon? Not this time. The window behaves like Explorer instead
of like Internet Explorer. (Even the names are confusing now!)
4. Close Notepad.
Return to Browser Interface
1. Click on the arrow at the end of the Address Bar. A
change! The drop list now shows the hierarchy of
folders on your computer instead of the addresses that
you typed. A person could get really confused!
How can you get back to the regular Internet Explorer
from here??
Internet Explorer from the drop
2. Select
list. The window returns to Internet Explorer and
shows your Home page.
3. Open the drop list for the Back button. It shows all the places you've been,
including the Word document and the Windows folder.
Another way to return to IE is to use the Back button on the Toolbar to
return to a previous HTML page. You will lose the items you skip in the Back
button list, however.
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Browser Basics:
Searching
You have now learned how to get around on the Web and how to save and print the
wonderful stuff you find there. But wait a minute! How can you find something
wonderful enough to bother with?
That's like asking how to find a good book. There are lots of ways!
Ways to find interesting places on the Web
1. Surfing the Web - Following links from page to page without a particular plan
is called surfing. You can often find fascinating places on the Web this way.
Sites may have links to similar sites or to sites with related materials. You can
quickly wander far from your original purpose. But it's great fun!
2. General Publications - You might see a web address in an advertisement, in
an article in a magazine or newspaper, or on a business card or letterhead.
3. Special Publications - Many magazines and web sites have lists of interesting
web sites. Huge books have been published describing web sites that are useful,
informative, or just plain fun. Unfortunately web sites can fade faster than the
sunset. So be quick to follow up on an interesting site. It may not be there later!
4. Word of mouth - A friend might tell you about a cool place she found. Or
maybe a friend of a friend of a friend found it.
5. Search - Special web sites called search engines or web directories keep track
of what's out there on the web.
Searching the web
If you are looking for specific information, rather than just
something interesting, you need special help. A search engine or
a web directory can help you find what you need in the vast pile
of web pages around the world.
The major web directories and search engines are now joining
forces to create search sites that work both ways - directory
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categories and keyword searches at the same time. In such a site you will see a list of
general categories as well a search text box.
The home page for all of the major searching sites will be in English. To find a
version of the site in another language, look for a link to International versions or for
a link for the language or country of your choice.
Search engine
A search engine is like an index in the back of a book. A search engine uses a
computer program, called an intelligent agent, a spider, a crawler, a robot, or just a
bot, which crawls through the Web looking at the pages.
The spider analyzes each page based on such things as:
•
•
•
•
•
words in the actual URL
words in the text and ALT text on the page
words in the TITLE tag
keywords hidden in the source code of the page
how many other pages link to the page
You ask the search engine to look in its database for web pages that contain certain
words or phrases. You get back a list of all such pages that the search engine knows
about. You can easily get a list of tens or hundreds of thousands of web pages.
Each search engine uses a different method of evaluating a page. They differ in how
often they update their data. Thus, you will get a different list from each search engine,
even if you use the same words in your search request.
There are a number of powerful general purpose search sites. Plus, there are other
search sites which specialize in particular areas of
interest or in the documents on a particular network.
New search engines are being developed all the time.
They are getting better all the time - faster, more pages in
the database, better at guessing which pages are actually
what you are looking for!
Major search engines include Google, AllTheWeb,
Yahoo, MSN Search, AltaVista, and Excite.
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Web directory
A Web directory or subject guide is like the table of contents for a book. It sorts web
pages into general categories, like Travel, Technology, Science, and Art, and then into
more specific subcategories. For example, the category Travel might include such
subcategories as Europe, Asia, air travel, cruises, travel agents, lodging, and maps. By
digging down through several levels of categories, you can reduce the huge number of
web pages related to Travel to a manageable pile of pages closely related to your
question. Such directories are a good choice when you are looking for general
material. A search engine is a better choice when you need specific information.
Some web directories list only pages that the human staff has reviewed and
categorized. They may also give rankings like
or
based on how interesting
or useful the page actually is.
Pages can also be categorized by "intelligent" software. However, people think more
like you do than computer programs do. The pages categorized by people are more
likely to be what you want. Sadly, no staff can keep up with the immense number of
new pages that are posted to the Web every day. Search engines will have more pages
in their databases than web directories do since they can find pages automatically.
A web directory can be searched itself. Some can even show you pages that are related
to your keywords but which do not actually contain the words you picked for the
search. For example, if you search using the words "elderly people", you might be
shown pages about "retired people" also. Very smart!
Major web directories include Yahoo, Open Directory, Ask Jeeves, LookSmart, Lycos,
and Snap.
Metasearch
A metasearch site runs your search on several search engines and web directories at
the same time and presents you with a single list of results. Even if this shotgun
approach does not produce the pages you want, it could show you which search
services to use to dig deeper. Different services work best for different types of
searches. Do not restrict yourself to just one.
Major metasearch sites include Search.com, Dogpile, Mamma, and Go2Net.
Searching Tips
Spelling
Correct spelling usually works best! On the other hand, some web
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authors are not very good spellers, especially of names. You might find
that special page by checking spelling variations on your search words.
For example, for Clarence Thomas you could also look for Clarance
and Tomas.
Plurals
A search for car is not the same as a search for cars. You may need to
include both words in the search to get what you want or else search on
each separately.
Similar
words
Check out synonyms for your words. For example, to look for sites
about cars you could include words like auto, sedan, or minivan in
addition to car.
Natural
language
Many search engines invite you to enter a regular question instead of
keywords, like Where can I find a good restaurant in New York?
You are more likely to find what you are looking for if you just use
several keywords: "New York" restaurants. The "intelligent"
software that interprets your question is not quite intelligent enough yet
to waste your time typing the extra words to form a sentence.
Improvements are coming rapidly, however.
Where are
you
searching?
On many search pages you can easily search within a category when
you meant to search the whole web, or the other way around. Searching
the category Travel for the keywords lung cancer will not produce
many related web pages!
Save
If you get an interesting list of search results, save the page that lists the
results or save selected items in the list. If you run the search again
tomorrow, you may not see the same list. Those wonderful sites may be
buried in the pile again.
More:
For up-to-date information about of search engines, web directories, and metasearch
sites, check out Search Engine Watch. The Major Search Engines page lists both
search engines and web directories. Most major search sites provide both kinds of lists.
MetaCrawlers page lists major metasearch sites.
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Browser Basics:
Search Engine
A search engine is a computer program that automatically searches the Internet for
web pages and makes an index of what it finds. All the major search engines index the
entire text of the page.
For a simple search, a search service provides a text box for you to enter a keyword,
for example octopus . Click on the Search button and the
search engine looks in its database for pages that contain that
word.
The search results are displayed in a list, usually the first 10 or 25 that it found. The
results will vary from day to day as pages appear and vanish on the Web.
How many results?
The short answer is: probably lots! When I did a search, allowing all languages, for the
English word octopus , the search engine AltaVista found 111400 pages that used the
word. But when I entered the word pulpo , which is Spanish for octopus, Alta Vista
found only 2767 pages. That's still a lot of pages! This also illustrates how much
information on the Web is in English. If you repeat this search today, your numbers
will be different - guaranteed!
Order of results
While some search engines still throw up a results list that is just a random selection of
the pages found, most searches try to read your mind. They put at the top of the list the
pages they think are most likely to be what you are looking for.
Each search site uses a different method to decide how likely it is that a page is what
you want. Here are some features that are important in different search engines:
•
•
•
•
•
•
page title
hidden keywords: the keywords META tag in the source code (doesn't show
on the page)
links: number of other pages that link to the page
frequency: number of times a search word is used on the page
location: how close to the top of the page a search word is used
nearness: how close to each other (for multiple search words)
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•
•
click-through: number of times the page has been opened from a results list
money: A few search engines accept money to guarantee higher ranking in the
results list.
What kinds of pages?
A search can turn up an amazing variety of
sites. Search results for the English word
octopus included a employment agency, a
business selling cables, a music site, a video
producer, a diving medicine page about the
blue-ringed octopus, a page of underwater
photos, and an environmental site. The only
thing they have in common is the word
octopus!
Some search sites have filters that are
intended to remove offensive pages, such as
pornographic sites, from the results. You may have the option of turning such a filter
on and off.
Multiple words
To target your search better you can put several words in the search box. For example,
to look for recipes that use octopus you could search using the two words octopus and
recipe .
Some search engines will list the pages that contain any of the words or phrases you
type in the search box. Some will show only pages that have all of the words.
For example, entering octopus recipe in AltaVista's search box will produce pages
containing either the word octopus or the word recipe anywhere on the page.
AltaVista's results increased from 111400 to over 141250 using these two words. Pages
with recipes moved to the top of the list since Alta Vista thinks you are more likely to
be interested in pages with both words. Smart!
The same search in Google, shows only pages that contain both the word
octopus and the word recipe . While searching on octopus in Google found 138000
pages, searching on both words found only 2870 pages. A substantial difference from
AltaVista! But the results in Google are more likely to be what you want.
Require a Phrase
To require the phrase octopus recipe to be on the page, you usually enclose the words
in double quotes like "octopus recipe" . Alta Vista found only 7 page that used this
phrase. This phrase is probably too restrictive, since many pages that actually have
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recipes using octopus may not ever put the two words together in this way. But, in
other situations, using an exact phrase might give you a better list of pages to look at.
Require Multiple Words/Phrases
To insist that your keyword or phrase is on the page, place a + in front of it. By using
+octopus +recipe you require that both words appear on the page. AltaVista's results
shrank to 6590 using this combination.
Eliminate Words
If you want to eliminate from the list the pages that have a certain word or phrase,
place a - in front of the word or phrase. To try and remove from the results list those
recipes that use raw octopus, try +octopus +recipe -raw . Alta Vista's list shrank to
5532 entries.
Read the Help page!
You should review the Help or Tips page for any search site that you use. Every search
service has its own special features and methods. You have to know the rules to play
the game!
Common Features to Check for:
Capitalization
Stemming
Wild Cards
All forms
AND / OR
Will Octopus give the same results as octopus ?
Will a search for book also list pages with words that start
with "book", like books , bookends , and bookkeeper ?
Can you use * or some other special character to search for
stemming variations? That is, can you type in book* to find
pages that include words that start with book like books ,
bookends , and bookkeeper ?
Does the search engine look for all forms of a word? If you
search for octopus will you also see results for the plural
octopi ? For a verb like write would you also see pages
with the other verb forms, like wrote , written , and
writing ?
If you include two search words, like octopus recipe does
the search engine look for pages with both octopus AND
recipe, or does it look for pages with octopus OR recipe.
Can you type in the AND or OR yourself to control what
happens?
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Can you use + to require a word or phrase to be present and
- to require that it not be present on the page? This has
become very widely used, but there are still search sites that
don't use this procedure.
+-
Step-by-Step: Keyword Search
to search using one or more words
to require a word or words be on the page
to require that a word not be on the page
to search with a phrase
Start with:
In this Step-by-Step section you will do several searches with a simulation of a search
engine, called Quick Search. Your goal is to find recipes that use octopus as an
ingredient.
In this simulation, you must type exactly what you are instructed to type or
nothing will happen when you click the Search button. Spelling is always important,
but in the simulation, spaces are important, too. If nothing happens when you click the
Search button, check your spelling and look for spaces at the end or beginning or
between words.
The URLs and pages shown in the search results lists are not real! I made them all
up!! Only a few items will be listed on the example results lists instead of the normal
10 or 25. (Sorry, my imagination got tired.) The links will not go anywhere.
Search: One Word
You will start your search for recipes for octopus by searching with the single word
octopus .
1. If necessary, open the page My Home Page from the Internet or from your hard
disk C:\My Documents\complit101\web\Start\index.html .
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2. Click on the link Search the Web on the page My Home Page.
A page opens that pretends to be a search engine named Quick Search. There is
a keyword search box at the top of the page. Web directory topics are listed at
the bottom. You will practice with first with keyword searching.
3. Type in the first text box the word
octopus as your keyword. Leave
the second box at the default
choice the Web .
4. Click the Search button. The results of
the search appear in a new page.
Note the total number of documents so
you can compare with later searches.
5. Scroll up. The search boxes at the top
display what you entered to generate the
list at the bottom.
Total: Most search engines will first show the total number of documents
found that match your search choices and then show 10 or 25 results at a time.
If the list is longer, there will be a link of some sort to move to the next part of
the list.
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Title: what shows on the Title bar. Some programs used to write web pages
will automatically put something in as a temporary title, like "Write Title here".
Such phrases are not helpful to the visitor, but are supposed to remind the
page's author to create a title.
Description or Quote: the first words on the page unless the page's author put
a description paragraph into a special hidden tag on the page. Instead of a
description, some search engines, like Google, quote the part of the page that
contains your search word(s) so you can see its use in context.
Date: when the page was updated last. This does not tell you what about the
page was changed. It might be just a punctuation correction. Or it could be a
complete revision of the page's contents.
Size: the page itself, not including all its graphics. This can give you an idea of
how much information is on the page. Of course a barebones entrance page to a
large site could be very small. This makes the description paragraph or page
quote important to help you decide whether the site is worth looking at.
URL: The URL of the page can provide information about what organization
is providing the page. If the page won't load, go to the site's home page and try
to find it by working down through the site structure. Sites get reorganized
from time to time. (You can usually find the home page by typing in just the
first part of the URL in the Address Bar.)
Search: Two words
You will search for pages that contain either the word octopus or the word recipe .
1. At the top of the results page, type the word recipe after octopus in the
keyword box with one space
between them.
2. Leave the Web in the second
box.
3. Click the Search button.
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Another results list displays. This one has a different total and different items in
the list. Are these pages closer to what you seek?
Search: Required words
Many of the results you got using the one word octopus did not have anything to do
with the octopus that lives in the sea. Adding recipe still included recipes besides ones
that use octopus. Rather than read all 8749 items on the list, you will do a search that
requires both words to be used on the
page. That should help.
1. Scroll up to the top of the results
page for octopus recipe .
2. Leave the Web in the second box.
3. Type a + in front of each of the
two words in the keywords text box. Hint: Use the big + key at the right of the
keyboard.
Another results list displays. Notice that the
total number of pages has gone all the way
down to 73. Each page on this list must
contain the word octopus and the word
recipe . Of course there is still room for
confusion since a page might use those
words but still not have a recipe for octopus.
At least the list to look at is much smaller
now.
Search: Eliminate word
You want to be sure the recipe actually
cooks the octopus. You will attempt to
restrict the results list to pages with
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recipes that use octopus but not raw octopus.
1. In the keywords text box at the top of the page, type the word -raw after
+octopus +recipe .
2. Click on the Search button.
A new page displays which looks very similar to the previous one. The total
number of results has decreased
some to 56 and the third result
shown is different from before.
Apparently not many pages in the
previous results list used the word
raw. There must be a lot of people
like you, who don't want their
octopus to squiggle.
Search: Phrase
Sometimes there is a specific phrase that should be on the page you are looking for. It
can be trickier than it looks to pick the correct phrase. But it can be worth a try. Wrap
your phrase with double quotes.
1. In the search text box type "recipe for octopus" , including the double-quotes
marks. Leave the Web in the Search where? box.
2. Click on Search. The results page appears.
There is only 1 page that uses this exact phrase. Apparently this phrase was not
a very good choice!
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Browser Basics:
Web Directory
A web directory groups the web pages it has found into major categories like
Education, Sports, Family, Life, and Computers. Subcategories divide up the pile in
each category.
Who decides what goes in which category? Directories may allow web authors to
submit their sites to the category that the author thinks it goes in. Other directories
have their own staff who surf the Web and include the sites that they find useful.
You can use a web directory two ways:
•
•
dig down through the category tree
search the categories
Dig down through the category tree
The web directory's home page will show only the top level of categories at first.
To locate a page about a particular subject, you first select one of the top levels of
general categories. A level of subcategories opens from which you pick again. You
may need to work down through several levels but eventually you will be shown a list
of short descriptions of the first 10 or 25 web sites that are assigned to the final
category.
The advantage of a web directory is that the results list shows sites that are all about
the same topic (the subcategory). The listings are for sites as a whole, rather than each
individual page in a site. In a search engine results list the pages may be on a variety of
topics as long as they contain the search words.
The disadvantage of a web directory is that it is sometimes difficult to figure out what
general category you should start with and what subcategories to choose. For example,
to find recipes using octopus, should you look in Health or Hobbies or Leisure or
Travel? Unless Cooking is one of the categories, it is hard to know which one to start
with to find a recipe. Different directory services use different categories, so the
choices that worked in one may not work in another.
Search the categories
A directory service will normally let you search the categorized sites. The results list
shows the category that each site listed came from. If you find a site that seems
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appropriate, you can then back up and view the whole category it was in. It's sounds a
bit backwards, but it can work quite well.
Step-by-Step: Keyword Search
to choose a category and subcategories
to search categories with keywords
Web Directory: Choose categories
You are interested in recipes for octopus and other seafoods. You decide that your
search for recipes that use octopus can be expanded somewhat. You will try the
categories in the web directory. In this simulation, only certain of the choices will
actually do anything. You can't go wrong!
Start with:
1. Return to the home page for Quick Search. (Hint: Click on the magnifying
glass at the top of your last search page or from My Home page click on the
Search the Web link.)
2. Scroll down, if necessary, and click on the general category Hobbies.
A column of subcategories opens to the
right.
3. Click on the subcategory Cooking.
Another column of subcategories opens
to the right. (Sometimes the nesting of
categories seems to go on forever! To be
kind, I kept this set of categories short.)
4. Click on the subcategory Seafood
Recipes.
Finally, a list of results displays at the bottom of the page. All of these pages fit
the category, so they all contain a recipe using seafood. But not all will use
octopus in particular.
Remember that a web directory lists
only a few of the pages on the Web.
The sites that appear in a category
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usually cover the topic as a whole. You would not likely find the individual
pages inside a site in this list.
Web Directory: Keyword search
There may be thousands of different subcategories in a web directory. With so many
choices, it can be hard to know where to look for the category that has the sites you
want. You can search the web directory itself to find a site that might lead you to an
appropriate category.
1. Scroll back up to the top of the home page for Quick Search.
2. Select the categories in the Seach
where? box.
3. Type in the keyword text box the
word octopus .
A new page displays the categories that actually use the word and then lists the
web pages in the web directory that contain the word octopus. In some search
pages you might next find a list of pages from the Web which are not in the
web directory. These would come from a partner search engine site.
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5. Scroll the page to see what the search found. Several categories contain pages
that use the word octopus but only one category uses octopus in its own name.
Notice that a page can appear in more than one category, as does the page The
Dock.
With this search you should get better results, but fewer of them than you got
when you searched the whole Web. Finding a category that actually uses the
word you are searching with is hitting the jackpot. You may be a big winner!
6. Click on the red category Octopus at the top of the results.
A page appears that lists the items
in this category. It is a short list.
From the brief descriptions, it does
not appear that these pages will
have recipes. This category is about
animals rather than food. Should
have noticed that!
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7. Use the Back button to return to the page of results.
8. Scroll the page, looking at the
categories for the sites that used your
search word.
One category looks interesting. It seems
to have recipes that use octopus. You
would want to visit this category if you
thought there might be other entries you
could use. (This is the same category
you found by expanding the list of
categories.) Enough for now!
Browser Basics:
Summary
Summary of Web Project 1: The Web
The Internet is a network of computers from all over the world. No one is in overall
control of the Internet. The World Wide Web, or Web, is the part of the Internet that
has documents called web pages that are written in HTML, HyperText Markup
Language. You use a browser like Internet Explorer 4 to view the web pages. Web
pages include text and image links. Clicking a link opens the page at the address
attached to the link. An Internet address consists of several parts:
protocol://domain/path. The domain has several parts separated by the dot character,
like www.myisp.net The path lists the hierarchy of folders down to the actual file like
~myname/mywebdocs/index.html
Internet Explorer has Back and Forward buttons to move you back and forth between
pages you just saw. With the History and Favorites lists you can visit places you saw
longer ago. Framed pages show two or more documents at the same time. With frames
some information can stay in view while you view various documents in a different
frame.
You can subscribe to a page or download it for viewing when you are offline. You can
save a document manually with your browser but you must then save the images
separately. You can print a web page or a selection using your browser, but it may not
fit on your paper. Search engines and web directory sites can help you find interesting
and helpful pages on the Internet using keywords or categories.
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Important Terms
Quick Launch
email
Internet Service
Provider
(ISP)
asp
Favorites
IRC
Search
Back
Forward
ISDN terminal adapter
search engine
background
image
full path
keyword
shortcut
ftp
link
spider
History
Mail
Status Bar
Home
Menu Bar
Stop
HTML
metasearch
subscribe
HTML
editor
modem
toolbar
chat
navigate
URL
connection
http
network
Web
copyright
hyperlink
newsgroup
web directory
database
hypertext
online service
web page
path
World Wide Web
(WWW)
address
Edit
Address Bar
refresh
bookmark
browser
cable modem
Channel
debug
image
default
index.html
portal
domain
Internet
protocol
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