Browsers
Browsers are the software that allows you to
access the World Wide Web. The most popular browsers are Netscape's
Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Other browsers include
America Online, Mosaic, Lynx and WebTV.
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Microsoft has recently released version 5 of Internet Explorer for
Windows. Netscape will soon follow with a new major release of
Navigator. Both programs are available separately or as a part of a
suite that includes an e-mail program, a news reader, an html editor
and more. See the E-Mail, etc. section for
more information about these other services.
Previous versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are
still very good programs. However, it is becoming increasingly
prevalent for web page designers to write code for the latest
versions of these browsers. To get the full benefit of these web
sites, you need to upgrade to the latest version. In addition, since
Jan. 1, 2000, the security certificates for many old browsers have
expired causing errors to occur when accessing secure web pages.
To avoid this problem, the best solution is to upgrade your
browser to the latest version.
Browser Features
Choose your browser and version from the list below to see an
illustration of your browser's window. The illustration will appear
in a new window. You may need to resize this new window so that you
can see both the illustration and this window at the same time. (If
your browser is not on this list, you can pick one that is close, or
check your browser's help system. If you send me a screen shot of
your browser, I'll try to incorporate it into a future version of
this page.)
You can see an illustration of many of these features by clicking
on the button
next to the description. The illustration will appear in a new
window. You may need to resize this new window so that you can see
both the illustration and this window at the same time.
[Editors Note: Please tell me what you think of this
method of illustration. My goal is to stay away from a lot of
graphics that would cause the page to download slowly, so I thought
this might be a good compromise. If it is confusing or awkward, or
you have a suggestion, please e-mail me at webmaster@about-the-web.com].
- Address, Netsite or Location Bar
- This area is where the URL (web page address) for the web page is displayed
or entered. In Netscape 3 it was called the location field.
(A field is a text entry or display area.) In Netscape 4 and 5 it is called
the Netsite field.
In Internet Explorer, it is called the Address field.In
many of these browsers, there's a little downward facing arrow next to this
field. When you click on the arrow you will see a list of recently visited
websites. Clicking one of these URLs will take you to that website. You
can also enter a URL into this field and then press enter or return to go
to the website. In some versions of Internet Explorer, there is a "Go"
button
next to this field that initiates a server request after typing in a URL.
By the way, you don't usually have to type in the "http://" part of the URL.
Most browsers will add that information in for you when you press enter or
return.
- Autofill Button
- Internet Explorer for Macintosh offers a nifty feature called Autofill.
When you encounter a page that has a form on it, such as an order page, this
button
will make filling out the form much easier. See the Autofill section in Preferences
to use this feature. Just another great reason to own a Macintosh.
- Back Button
- Use this button to go back to the previous page opened in this particular
browser window. Here's what it looks like in Internet Explorer for Windows
(IE4WIN) ,
Internet Explorer for Macintosh (IE4MAC)
and Netscape Navigator (NN4).
In some browsers, holding the mouse down on this button produces a menu of
previous pages, that you can then choose from. In other browsers, there's
a little arrow next to the Back button that produces this menu.
- Bookmarks or Favorites
- You can easily create a shortcut to your favorite web pages by using the
Bookmark menu or button in NN4 ,
or the Favorites menu in Internet Explorer.
This is a very important feature and it works a little differently in each
browser. In Internet Explorer, use the Favorites Menu to Add to Favorites.
You can then use the Organize Favorites menu item to place your bookmark in
a folder or particular place in the list. In NN4 for Windows, choose
Add Bookmark from the Bookmark menu
or choose File Bookmark to place the new bookmark in a particular folder.
You can also use the Bookmark icon
 to
drag your new bookmark to any place in the bookmark menu .
You can then choose Edit Bookmarks to create folders and/or rearrange your
bookmarks. In NN4 for Macintosh, choose Add Bookmark from the menu
just to the right of the Go menu
(it looks a little like a green bookmark). Then organize
your bookmarks by choosing Bookmarks from the Navigator menu which is
the one between the green bookmark menu and the Help menu.
- Channels Button
- Internet Explorer for Windows offers a special kind of Favorite called a
Channel which
delivers content directly from a web site to your computer, so you can read
the information offline.
- Close Box
- In Windows, this button
in the upper right corner of the screen will close the browser window. The
button at the bottom of the screen representing that window will also be gone.
If there is only one browser window open, the program will exit. One way to
tell if you have more than one browser window open is to look at the button
bar at the bottom of the screen. If you see more than one button with the
icon of the browser you are using, you can switch between the open windows
by clicking on these buttons. Another way to deal with multiple windows is
to Minimize or Restore the
window to its pre-maximized size. On the Macintosh, there's a similar button,
but separate windows are more obvious and closing the last one does not quit
the browser.
- Fonts or Larger or Smaller
- In Windows, Internet Explorer offers a button called Fonts
 which
gives you a menu to choose the size of the text displayed in the browser window.
On the Macintosh, Explorer offers two buttons, Larger and Smaller
to change the size of the text.
- Forward Button
- Like the Back button, the Forward button takes you to pages that you have
previously seen in a particular browser window. The Forward button
is only available if you have used the Back button and want to go Forward
to where you were before. Here's what it looks like in IE4WIN ,
IE4MAC
and NN4.
In some browsers, holding the mouse down on this button produces a menu of
previous pages, that you can then choose from. In other browsers, there's
a little arrow next to the Forward button that produces this menu.
- Fullscreen Button
- Internet Explorer for Windows offers a button which makes the window go
fullscreen.
You can also do this with any browser window by clicking the Maximize
button.
- Grow (or Resize) Box
- On the Macintosh, use this corner of the window
to change the size of the browser's window. In Windows, if the window is Maximized,
click on the Restore button to return the browser window
to its pre-maximized size and then drag any of the corners or sides to resize
the window.
- Guide Button
- Netscape for Windows offers a Guide button which
when held down produces a menu of places you can go to look up information.
Clicking the button takes you to a Netscape website.
- History Button
- Internet Explorer offers a History button which
allows you to look at the last several hundred web pages you've been to, and
select one of them for an easy return path.
- Home Button
- This button takes you to the page that has been designated as your "home"
page. You can select your "home page" in the browser's Preferences (or Internet
Options) section. Here's what it looks like in IE4WIN ,
IE4MAC
and NN4.
- Favorites, Links or Personal Toolbar
- You can add your own buttons to this toolbar. In Explorer it is called Favorites
or Links Toolbar
and in Netscape it is called the Personal Toolbar.
These toolbars can be hidden or shown by using the View menu.
- Maximize Button
- In Windows you can use this button
to make the browser's window enlarge to full screen. When the window is already
maximized this button is replaced by the Restore button.
(See also: Minimize or Restore
and CloseBox.)
- Menubar
- In Windows the Menubar is a part of each browser window. Here's what it
looks like in Internet Explorer
and Netscape Navigator.
In Explorer you will see File, Edit, View, Go, Favorites and Help. In Navigator
you will see File, Edit, View, Go, Window and Help. On the Macintosh, these
Menus are always at the top of the screen.
- Mail Button
- This button is used to access Outlook Express from Internet Explorer. Here's
what it looks like in IE4WIN
and IE4MAC.
- Minimize Button
- In Windows you can use this button
to make the browser's window disappear from the screen. You can restore the
window by clicking its button on the bottom of the screen. (See also: Maximize
or Restore and CloseBox.)
- My Netscape Button
- In Netscape Navigator, this button
takes you to your personalized Netscape Home Page.
- Page Holder
- Internet Explorer for Macintosh provides a feature that allows you to hold
one page in the left part of the window and then open links from that page
in the right part of the window. It's sort of like do-it-yourself frames.
- Print Button
- You can print any web page by clicking this button. Here's what it looks
like in IE4WIN
 ,
IE4MAC
and NN4.
- Reload or Refresh Button
- If you suspect the contents of a browser's window may have changed since
the last time you viewed it, you should click the Reload (NN) or Refresh (IE)
button to update the page. Here's what it looks like in IE4WIN ,
IE4MAC
and NN4.
- Restore Button
- If the browser's window is maximized you can use this button
to restore the size of the window so that it no longer fills the entire screen.
This is very useful if you want to see more than one window at the same
time. (See also: Minimize or Maximize
and CloseBox.)
- Search Button
- Use this button to go to the page you have designated as your "search" page.
You can select your "search page" in the browser's preferences section
or by clicking the "Choose a Search Engine" button in the Search window in
Internet Explorer 4 (or above) for Windows. Here's what it looks like in IE4WIN
,
IE4MAC
and NN4.
- Security Button
- In Netscape Navigator 4 this button shows
a dialog with which you can control security features. Security Info is available
for Browser, Messenger Message, and Discussion Message windows.
- Security Indicators
- Most of the newer major browsers show a padlock icon in the lower left corner
of the window. If this padlock is in the locked position (i.e., looks
like this)
 ,
you know you have a secure server connection. If the padlock is unlocked
(i.e., it looks like this)  ,
then you do not. Another way to tell is by the URL or web site address. If
the URL begins with https:// then the server connection is secure.
- Sherlock Button
- If you're using Internet Explorer for Macintosh and MacOS 8.5 or greater,
this button will
appear in your browser window, allowing you to access the Sherlock search
feature.
- Status Bar
- The bar along the bottom of the browser's window shows you what is being
loaded into the browser window at the moment or the URL of the link your
mouse is over. There is usually also a progress indicator that shows how
much of a file has already been downloaded. Here's what it looks like in IE4WIN
and NN4.
- Stop Button
- Use this button if you want to stop loading the contents of a page. Here's
what it looks like in IE4WIN ,
IE4MAC
and NN4.
- Toolbars
- Internet Explorer offers the following toolbars: Buttons,
Address Bar,
Links,
Status Bar,
& Explorer Bar (Mac)
(Win) .
Netscape Navigator offers: Navigation,
Location
& Personal.
All of these can be hidden or shown from the View menu.
- Window Border
- You can select a browser's window by clicking anywhere in the window including
on its border.
This is particularly useful when selecting windows that are behind other windows.
On the Macintosh you can also move a window by dragging its border. In
Windows, dragging a border resizes the window.
- Window Title
- The title of the web page appears in the browser window's title.
Sometimes pages don't have titles. When you bookmark a page, the window's
title is used to identify the bookmark.
- What's Related Button
- In Netscape Navigator this button
will search the Internet for pages of related information.
-
How Do Browsers Work
A web browser works by using a protocol called HTTP to request a
text document from a web server. The text document contains special
instructions (written in HTML) that tell the browser how to display
the document on the user's screen. The instructions may include
references (hyperlinks) to other web pages, information about text
formatting and color, and position information for images contained
in the document.
There are many browsers available:
Current Versions (as of 11/11/99)
|
Browser
|
Windows 95/98/NT
|
Windows 3.5.1
|
Mac
|
Amiga
|
Unix
|
OS/2
|
Linux
|
VMS
|
|
Arachne
|
|
1.5 (DOS)
|
|
|
|
|
1.5 (DOS)
|
|
|
AOL
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Emacs/W3
|
4.0
|
|
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
|
4.0
|
|
Cello
|
1.01a
|
1.01a
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HotJava
|
3.0
|
|
3.0
|
|
3.0 (Solaris 2.6, JavaOS)
|
|
3.0
|
|
|
Internet
Explorer
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
4.5
|
|
5 (Solaris & HP)
|
|
|
|
|
NCSA
Mosaic
|
3.0,
2.1.1
(95/NT)
|
2.1.1
|
2.0.1
|
|
2.6
|
|
|
|
|
Netscape
Navigator
|
4.7
|
4.7
|
4.7
|
|
4.7 (AIX, HP, IRIX, x86, Linux, OSF/1, SINIX-Z, Solaris,
Tru64 UNIX)
|
|
|
|
|
Lynx
|
2.8.2
|
2.8.2
|
|
|
2.8.2
|
2.8.2
|
|
2.8.2
|
|
Opera
|
3.60
|
3.60
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Web
Prowler
|
5.10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Great Links about Browsers
|
|
