|
|
Sun Microsystem's StarOffice is a productivity suite that contains an Internet browser. The key tool for this lesson, however, is the Netscape Navigator browser.
- StarOffice is configured to launch Netscape when a Web address is typed in the URL box (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- The URL will probably already contain some text. Move your mouse to position the mouse pointer until it is over this text box. Click the mouse button (the left button if your mouse has more than one button) in the box. The existing text should become highlighted blue (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- Type in the URL of the Smithsonian Institution, www.si.edu (Figure 1). The text that was in the box will disappear, replaced by what you type. If you make any mistakes, use the backspace key to fix them. You must type the address perfectly.
NOTE: You do not have to type the "http://." The browser will automatically fill in that information.
- Press the Enter or Return key on the keyboard. Netscape Navigator will launch. If it asks you to accept terms and conditions, press Y for yes. The Web site will load (Figure 3).
Figure 3
- All of the underlined texts are hyperlinks you can click on to jump to the appropriate pages. Move the mouse over a hyperlink, and you will see it change from a pointer to a hand. Next, click on the hyperlink, and the selected page will appear.
Some hyperlinks jump to other pages at the same site - for example, other pages on the Smithsonian site. Other hyperlinks may take you to another site at another institution. Don't assume that hyperlinks jump to pages within the same site. Links can take you anywhere.
Explore sections of the Smithsonian Web site by clicking on some of links.
- You can use the browser's "Back" button to return to pages you just visited (Figure 4).
Figure 4
There is no direction on the Internet when using hyperlinks for navigation. Use the "Back" to return to where you have been and Forward (the right arrow) to go to where you were before you went back, which is "Forward."
The "Reload" button reloads a page and is used to see recent changes on a dynamic site, such as news feeds, or to reload a page that may have had errors when downloading.
The "Home" button takes you back to your default page, the page that shows when you first open the browser, which may be your school Web site. You can set this default page to load any Web page you want. If you want to change, in Netscape, pull down from Edit > Preferences. Under Navigator, you'll see a section titled, "Home." In the Location bar, type in the address of the default Home page you desire.
- When a page is loading, you may want to stop the action. If so, use the "Stop" button (figure 5). Note that while a page is loading the Netscape icon will display shooting stars (figure 6). The icon doesn't move once the page is fully loaded.
Figure 5
|
Figure 6
|
|
|
