Web Browsing Example 2

In this example we will cover some common browser settings and options that a Web surfer needs to know to stay afloat:)

Bookmarks

Web browsers provide a facility for storing favorite site URLs. This allows easy access to Web pages, (sites), without having to remember and type in the URL. To create a bookmark for the currently viewed page, begin by clicking on the "Communicator" menu and selecting "Bookmarks" and then selecting "Add Bookmark" from the nested menu. (In MS IE this is accomplished by choosing "Add to Favorites..." from the "Favorites" menu.) Hint - You can accomplish the same task by right clicking in the document and selecting "Add Bookmark" from the popup menu.

The title of the bookmarked page can now be accessed anytime by selecting "Bookmarks" from the "Communicator" menu and scrolling down the list of bookmarks. Alternatively, if the list of bookmarks is long, one may need to choose "More Bookmarks..." from the bookmarks submenu to open the "Bookmarks" window and double click on the desired page.

Using the above directions, bookmark the current page and check its addition to your bookmarks list.

History Lists

While surfing around the Web, browsers automatically keep a linear trail of where you have been called a history list. If you wish to return to a page you were previously on, simply click on the "Back" button. Likewise, if you want to go one page forward, click on the "Forward" button. The History list can be accessed directly by choosing the "Go" menu and selecting the desired page in the list.

Use the Back, Forward buttons and the History list to traverse your current history list.

Home Page

When Web browsers start execution they will attempt to contact and load a default site/page from the Web. This is termed the user's home page. By selecting the "Edit" menu and choosing "Preferences..." one can change their home page, by entering any URL they wish to use as a home page. (In MS IE, select "View", "Options..." and choose the "Navigation" tab to set the start page.)

Follow the above directions to set your lab browser home page to the CS Dept Home Page: "http://www.cs.vt.edu/". Hint - for fast browser loading set your home page to be blank or create your own page and load it off of your hard drive.

Helper Applications

Any document type may be encountered on the Web. If a browser does not know how to handle a particular document type it will inform you and likely ask to save the document on your hard drive. If one knows the type of application that is needed to read/view a particular document the browser can be setup to automatically execute applications and open documents in them. These applications are called "Helper Applications" in browser terminology. To see what helper applications your browser has been setup to use select the "Edit" menu, choose "Preferences..." and click on the "Applications" subentry under "Navigator".

Scroll down the list and check to be sure that the the Adobe Acrobat PDF Viewer helper application is set. Select it and choose "Edit..."to check its settings, (it may be entered as "Portable Dpucment FormaT' in the description. If it is not in the helper list click on the "New Type..." button and enter the field settings as shown below:

Practically any application can be setup as a helper applictation. For more information on Helper Apps see the links on the Web Browser intro page.

Advanced Surfing

To effectively surf the Web there are a few advanced Browser features that one should understand. In order to access the advanced settings, begin by selecting the "Edit" menu and choosing "Preferences..." then click on the "+Advanced" entry.

If you have a slow Web connection or pages you encounter have large graphics you might wish to un-check the "Automatically load images" box. All images will show up as an image icon as shown at the right. To download and view individual images just click on the particular image icon.

All other settings should be left to the default settings. Note - cookies are very small files that Web sites create on your hard drive to store visitation data. They can be prevented if desired.

Click on the plus beside of the "+Advanced" entry to expand it and choose the Proxy subentry.

Use of a proxy server can save significant download time. A Web proxy server is a local machine with a large hard drive devoted to storing commonly accessed Web pages. By going through a proxy, a check will be made by the browser to determine if the page is stored locally on the proxy and retrieved quickly. Otherwise, the page will be transferred normally across the Net. Use the above directions and settings to check your Web browser proxy setting.