Using Netscape Navigator

Welcome to Netscape Navigator! Navigator is an Internet browser that
you can use to visit web pages and search the Web.


In this section:

* Navigating Web Pages

* Searching

* Copying, Saving, and
Printing Pages

* Improving Speed and
Efficiency


Navigating Web Pages


Viewing Your Home Page

When you start Navigator, you will see your home page. By default,
you will see Navigator's home page.


Tips:


* To display more web content on the screen, you can use Full Screen mode.
Full Screen mode condenses the Navigator's Toolbars into one small
toolbar. To enable Full Screen mode, simply select
View > Full Screen or press
F11.

* To go to your home page quickly, press AltOpt+Home.



Moving to Another Page

You can move to a new web page by typing in its Internet address or URL
into the Location Bar. URLs normally begin with "http://" followed
by one or more names that identify the address. One example is
"http://www.mozilla.org/".



1. Click the Location Bar to select the URL that is already there.

2. Type the URL of the page you want to visit. The URL you type replaces
any text already in the Location Bar.

3. Press EnterReturn.

4. Navigator will correct common errors made while typing URLs, like .cmo or htp://. You can have the browser confirm the change with you first by right-clicking on the Location Bar and choosing "Confirm Corrections."



Tip: To quickly select the URL of the Location Bar, press
CtrlCmd+L.




Don't know a URL? Try typing something specific to the page
you want to visit, e.g. a name, into the Location Bar and hit EnterReturn.
This will take you to the top result in Google for that term.


Clicking a Link

Most web pages contain links you can click to move to other pages.



1. Move the mouse pointer until it changes to a pointing finger. This
happens whenever the pointer is over a link. Most links are underlined
text, but buttons and pictures can also be links.

2. Click the link once. While the network locates the link's page, status
messages will appear at the bottom of the window.



Sharing and voting on Web pages

Internet news has become more social, and Netscape 9 has made it easier than ever to participate. While you're browsing, you'll notice some buttons in the Location Bar. If the Location Bar shows a set of three buttons. This means that a Netscape.com member has submitted the page you're reading to be voted and commented on. You can vote for the page by clicking the orange vote button, or you can view the comments about the page by clicking on the green comment icon. The gray arrow is for "sinking" (or voting against) a page. This should be reserved for pages with inaccurate or worthless content.

If you see a "Share" button, this means that the page you're looking at hasn't been submitted to Netscape.com.

If you find the page interesting, you can submit it for voting and discussion by clicking the "Share" button. If enough people vote for it, it can reach the front page of Netscape.com!


Retracing Your Steps

There are several ways to revisit pages:



* To go back or forward one page, click the Back or
Forward button.

* To go back or forward more than one page, click the small triangles on
the Back and Forward buttons. You'll see a list of pages
you've recently visited; to return to a page, choose it from the list.

* To see a list of any URLs you've typed into the Location Bar, click the
down arrow at the right end of the Location Bar. To view a page, choose it
from the list.



* To choose from pages you've visited during the current session, open the
History menu and use the list in the bottom section of the menu.

* To choose from pages you've visited during the past several sessions,
open the History menu and choose Show in Sidebar. You will see the
History Sidebar. The History Sidebar displays a list of folders.
Clicking the folders displays subfolders or titles of web pages.
You can click a page's title to view that page.



Stopping and Reloading

If a page is loading too slowly or you no longer wish to view a page,
click the Stop button.


To reload the current page or to get the most up-to-date version, click
the Reload button or press CtrlCmd+R.


Tabbed Browsing

When you visit more than one web page at a time, you can use Tabbed
Browsing to navigate the Web faster and easier.


Tabbed Browsing lets you open tabs, each displaying a web page, within a
single Navigator window. You don't have to have several windows open
to visit several different web pages. This frees up space on your desktop.
You can open, close, and reload web pages conveniently in one place without
having to switch to another window.


For more info, see Tabbed Browsing.


Using the Sidebar

The Sidebar is an area on the left side of the screen that you can use for
various tasks:


* Viewing bookmarks

* Viewing history

* Browsing webpages, via the "Mini Browser." (Hint: open any link in the sidebar by right-clicking and selecting "Open in Sidebar")

* Monitoring your Netscape friends' activity

* Displaying Netscape News

* Storing links with the Link Pad

* Tracking the latest activity at Netscape.com



Extensions may add new ways to use the Sidebar as well.


To view an item in the Sidebar, select View >
Sidebar. From there you can select the Sidebar tab you want.




Searching


Searching the Web


Searching for web pages on a particular topic is as easy as typing a few
words into Navigator's Search Bar.




For example, if you want to find information about baby dolls:


1. Click in the Search Bar.

2. Type the phrase baby doll. Your typing replaces any text
currently in the search bar.

3. Hit EnterReturn to search.



Search results for "baby doll" appear in the Navigator window.


Selecting the Search Engine


You can switch the Search Engine by clicking on its icon and selecting the
Search Engine of your choice. Some Search Engines, like Google, search the
whole web; others, like Amazon.com, only search specific sites.


Manage Search Engines

Click on the icon of the Search Engine and select Manage Search
Engines... to add, reorder, remove, or restore the default Search Engines.
Select a Search Engine and click the appropriate button to move it around
within the list or to remove it. You can install new search engines by
clicking the Get more search engines... link.


Searching the Web for
Words Selected in a Web Page


Navigator allows you to search the web for words you select within
a web page:



1. Select (highlight) any words in a web page.

2. Right-clickPress Ctrl,
click the mouse button, and choose Search [Search Engine] for
"[your selected words]" from the popup menu.



Navigator opens a new tab and uses the currently selected Search
Engine to search for your selected words.


Searching Within a Page


To find text within the page you are currently viewing in
Navigator:



1. Press CtrlCmd+F or select Edit >
Find in This Page... to open the Find Toolbar at the bottom of
Navigator.

2. Type the text you want to find. The search automatically begins as soon as
you type something into the search box.

3. The Find Toolbar offers the following choices:


* Next: find text in the page that is below the current
cursor position.

* Previous: find text that is above the current cursor
position.

* Highlight all: highlight occurrences of your search
string in the current page.

* Match case: limit the search to text that has the
same capitalization as your search string.






To find the same word or phrase again, press F3 or select
Edit > Find Again.


Tip: Enable the Search for text when I start typing
optionpreference in the General tab of the Advanced panel of
Tools > OptionsEdit > PreferencesNavigator > Preferences to enable the Quick Find mode of the Find Toolbar.
When enabled, the Quick Find toolbar automatically opens and starts
searching as soon as you type something. Unlike the Find Toolbar, the
Quick Find toolbar will close automatically after a few seconds of
inactivity.


Copying, Saving, and Printing
Pages


Copying Part of a Page


To copy text from a page:


1. Select the text.

2. Select Edit > Copy from the Menu
Bar.



You can paste the text into other programs.


To copy a link (URL) or an image link from a page:



1. Position the pointer over the link or image.

2. Right-clickPress Ctrl
and click on the link or image to display a popup menu.

3. Choose Copy Link Location or Copy Image Location. If an image is also a
link, you can choose either menu item.



You can paste the link into other programs or into Navigator's
Location Bar.


Saving All or Part of a Page


To save an entire page in Navigator:



1. Select File > Save Page As. You will see
the Save As dialog box.

2. Choose a location for the saved page.

3. Choose a format for the page you want to save:


* Web Page, Complete: Save the whole web page along
with pictures. This choice allows you to view it as originally shown
with pictures, but it may not keep the HTML link structure of the
original page. Navigator creates a new directory where the
page is saved to save pictures and other files necessary to show the
whole web page.

* Web Page, HTML Only: Save the original page
without pictures. This choice preserves the original HTML link
structure in one file.

* Text file: Save the original page as a text file.
This choice will not preserve the original HTML link structure, but
will allow you to see a text version of the web page in any text
editor.




4. Type a file name for the page and click Save.



To save a frame from within a web page:



1. Position the mouse pointer within the frame.

2. Press Ctrl and click onRight-click the frame to display a popup menu.

3. Select This Frame > Save Frame As from
the submenu. You will see the Save As dialog box.

4. Choose a location for the saved page.

5. Choose a format for the page you want to save.

6. Type a file name for the page and click Save.



Saving a file onto your hard drive lets you view the page when you aren't
connected to the Internet.


To save an image from a page:


1. Position the mouse pointer over the image.

2. Right-clickPress Ctrl
and click on the image to display a popup menu.

3. Select Save Image As. You will see the
Save Image dialog box.

4. Choose a location for the saved image.

5. Type a file name for the image and click Save.



To save a page without displaying it (which is useful for retrieving a
nonformatted page that isn't intended for viewing):



1. Position the mouse pointer over a link to the page.

2. Right-clickPress Ctrl
and click on the link to display a popup menu.

3. Select Save Link to Disk. You will see the
Save As dialog box.

4. Choose a location for the saved page.

5. Type a file name for the page and click Save.



Important: Some links automatically download and save files
to your hard drive after you click them. The URLs for these links often
begin with "ftp" or end with a file-type extension such as
"au" or "mpeg." These links might transmit software,
sound, or movie files and can launch helper applications that support the
files.


Tip: To set an image as your desktop background,
right-clickpress Ctrl,
click the mouse button on an image and choose Set As Desktop
Background... from the popup menu.


Printing a Page


To print the current page:



* Select File > Print.



To print selected text:


* Select the text in the current page.

* Select File > Print. The print dialog
box will appear.

* Under Print Range, click Selection.



The web page's author and the size of the printed page, not the size of the
onscreen window, determine placement of content on the printed page. Text is
wrapped and graphics are repositioned to accommodate paper size.


Using Print Preview


To have an early look at how a page will look before it is printed, you can
use Print Preview:



* Select File > Print Preview.



In Print Preview, you can do the following with pages you want to print:


* View a preview of each page: Click the
Next ,
Previous ,
First ,
or Last
button to move between pages.

* Change the scale (size) of pages: In the Scale
drop-down menu, choose "50%" to make each page half the size of
the original page. To automatically resize pages so that they fit the width
of the paper, choose "Shrink to Fit". You can also type in your
own percentage by choosing "Custom...".

* Change the orientation of the page: Choose
Portrait
to position the page with the shorter side facing up. Choose
Landscape
to position the page sideways with the longer side facing up.

* Go to Page Setup: Click Page Setup to further
customize pages you want to print.

* Go to Print: Click Print to print the
pages.



Note: Some Print Preview functions are different or
unavailable on Mac OS and Linux.


Using Page Setup

Note: Some Page Setup functions are different or
unavailable on Mac OS and Linux.


To customize how pages are printed in Navigator, you can use Page Setup:



* Select File > Page Setup.



In Page Setup, you can change the following settings for pages you want to
print:



* Format & Options: Choose the orientation, scale, and other
options:


o Orientation:


+ Portrait: Choose this to position the page
normally, with the shorter side facing up.

+ Landscape: Choose this to position the page
sideways, with the longer side facing up.




o Scale: Type in a percentage of the original size. For example,
type "50" to make each page half the size of the original page.


+ Shrink To Fit Page Width: Select this to automatically
resize the page to the width of the paper.




o Options:


+ Print Background (colors and images): Select this to
print background images and colors. If unselected only pictures and color in the
foreground (in front) are printed.







* Margins & Header/Footer: Click this tab to set up margins,
headers, and footers:


o Margins:


+ Top, Bottom, Left, Right: Type a margin in the given units
for the top, bottom, left, and right margins.




o Headers & Footers: Each drop-down list represents either
a header or a footer area. The top row of drop-down lists are for the left, center, and
right header areas. The bottom row are for the left, center, and right footer areas. In
each drop-down list, choose one of the following options:


+ --blank--: Show nothing in this area.

+ Title: Show the web page title.

+ URL: Show the web page URL (URL's usually start with
"http://").

+ Date/Time: Show the date and time when the web page is
printed.

+ Page #: Show the page number of each page.

+ Page # of #: Show the page number along with the total number
of pages. For example, if you print a five page web page, "3 of 5" would
be shown on the third page.

+ Custom: Type your own text. You can include any of the
following codes to print specific information:


# &PT: Page Number with Total (Example: "3 of
5")

# &P: Page Number

# &D: Date

# &U: URL

# &T: Page Title












Tip: To see a preview of changes made to Page Setup, use
Print Preview.


Improving Speed and Efficiency


Managing Different File Types

Navigator can handle many types of files. However, for some files such
as movies or music, Navigator needs Plugins or external applications
that can handle those files. If Navigator doesn't have the needed
Plugin or doesn't know what application to use to open the file, it can still
save the file to your hard disk. When saving files, you can keep track of them
using the Download Manager.


Plugins extend Navigator's functionality and run within it.
Plugins like Sun Java, Macromedia Flash, and RealNetworks RealPlayer allow
Navigator to show multimedia files and run small applications such as
movies, animations, and games. You can find common Plugins on the Plugins page
at Mozilla Update.


When files cannot be opened within Navigator, you can choose to open
them with applications outside of Navigator. For example, you can use
the media player of your choice to play MP3 files.


You can specify how Navigator handles files it can't display in the
Download Actions dialog. To open this dialog, select Tools > OptionsEdit > PreferencesNavigator > Preferences,
open the Content panel, and click the Manage... button in
the File Types section. You can change the action for a file type or
remove it.
More information about this dialog is available in File Types.


When you click on a file and Navigator doesn't know how to handle it,
an Opening dialog box is displayed, offering these choices:



* Open with: Navigator opens the file using the
default program in your system settings. You can also choose a different
program by selecting Other... in the drop-down list.

* Save to Disk: Navigator allows you to select a
location to save the file. If you have selected Save all files to (this
folder) in the Main panel of OptionsPreferences,
the file will automatically be saved to the default folder; otherwise
Navigator will ask you where to save it.

* Do this automatically for files like this from now on:
When this is selected, Navigator will automatically perform the
selected action the next time you download a file of this type.



Tip: You can clear your saved optionspreferences for Do this
automatically for files like this from now on in the Download
Actions dialog.


Making Navigator Your
Default Browser


Navigator displays web pages on the Internet and
on your computer. To easily open web pages, you can make Navigator
your default browser.


To make Navigator your default web browser, select Tools > OptionsEdit > PreferencesNavigator > Preferences
and click the Check Now button in the Main panel.


Changing Cache Settings

Navigator stores copies of frequently accessed pages in the cache.
By doing this Navigator doesn't have to retrieve the page from the
network each time you view the web page.


To set the size of the cache:



1. Select Tools > OptionsEdit > PreferencesNavigator > Preferences.

2. Open the Advanced panel and click the Network tab.

3. Enter a number in the Use up to field to specify the size of the
cache. The default size is 50MB.



Important: A larger cache allows more data to be quickly
retrieved, but more of your hard disk space is used.


When you quit Navigator, it performs cache maintenance. If
maintenance takes longer than you wish, try reducing the size of the disk
cache.


To reload a page at any time, click the Reload button in
Navigator's Navigation Toolbar. Navigator then loads
and displays the latest version of the page.

Posted in: browser