Netscape



Netscape is the browser we are using to look at the World Wide Web (WWW). A browser is simply a piece of software that allows us to view html (hyper-text markup language). The World Wide Web is another name for the part of the internet that allows us to view graphics, text, animations, sounds, etc. In a cool graphical format. So, Netscape gives you the ability to look at public information on many computers worldwide by just clicking on links.

Netscape is a public-domain program created by (you guessed it) Netscape. Its free to the public, and because of this, it is the browser we are using for the class. There are many other browsers also, and Netscape should not be considered the only one, or even the best.


Terms to become familiar with

As with all aspects of computers, browsers would not be fully accepted unless they had a bunch of terms that you can spout off and sound like you know what you are talking about. Luckily, the whole WWW thing is new, so there aren't too many terms.

Web page A page of information on the WWW. Also often called a home page if it is created for a person.

http Hyper-text Transfer Protocol. This is the beginning of the addresses that you will be typing in to find things on the WWW.

URL Uniform Resource Locator. This is the techie way of saying "the address of the page I am looking at". It is used synonymously with Location, Address, Go To, and other terms.

Image A picture. Easy enough. Also called a graphic.

Link These are usually blue, underlined words, or pictures with blue outlines. A link is a connection from one web page to another. By clicking on the link, you may be brought to another page on the same computer, on a different computer, or a different computer in a whole different country.

Download means to get information from one computer and bring it to you. As in "downloading a graphic".

Upload is the opposite. Send something from your computer to somewhere else.

Search also called a Net-search. This is a way to find information out on the WWW on a specific subject. Much of lab 2 will be devoted to this.


How do I use Netscape?

There is no substitution for playing with Netscape, and much more information will be covered in the next lab. But here are a few skills you should have.

Open up and close down Netscape

To open in windows, double click on the Netscape icon.
To close down, same as windows, double-click on the title bar icon, or go to the file menu and chose "exit".

What is Netscape, and how does it find information?

Netscape is a graphical browser for the WWW. It finds information by reading in different URLs. Once this URL(address) is entered, Netscape searches out that computer, and finds the specific web-page.

Using the Back, Forward, Home and Reload buttons

By clicking on the "Back" button on Netscape, you can return to the previous page you were viewing. After going back, you can click on the "Forward" button to move forward again. If the page comes up messily, or you want to redraw it for whatever reason, click on the "Reload" button. Finally, to return to your starting point when you first loaded Netscape, click on the "Home" button.

Using menus

Same as windows. Click here to review how to use menus, if needed.

Go to a specific web page using it's address (URL)

Click in the box marked location. Using your arrow and delete keys, erase all of the information in the box (keep in mind that you are moving to a different page, to return to here, you will be able to use your back button). Try typing in a different address such as:

http://www.yahoo.com
And press return. To return to the starting page of these lessons, type in:
http://www.DaveDoyle.com/pastProjects/1001/5weeks/

Follow links to other web pages

Find a link on the page you're on, shown by a blue, underlined word, or a picture with a blue outline, and click on it. Use the back key to return to the previous page if you wish.

Scroll around the information on a webpage

You should already know how to scroll. Click here to go to the windows skills page if you need to review.



Congratulations on learning the very, very basic Netscape.
(More covered in next lab)

If you'd like to test yourself on the skills. Click Here
To return to Lab 1 Click Here.