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Understanding
links Let's start
browsing Using your
Web browser Where on earth do I
go?
Contrary to what many people think, the Web isn't the
Internet -- it's a network within the Internet. But it
has fast become the biggest, most important part of the
Internet -- and it's certainly the best place to start
surfing.
Understanding
links
Web pages are based on the concept of `hypertext', a way of linking related items of information without regard to their physical location. Once you understand this concept, you'll basically understand how to use the World Wide Web.
If you've ever used a Windows Help file you've used hypertext -- those underlined words which take you from one help screen to the next. Hypertext is also used in reference CD-ROM titles such as Encarta to create hotlinks which jump from one topic to another. To give you an idea click here to jump to top of this page, then click `Understanding Links' to get back here.
Now imagine hypertext on a global scale, forging connections between information anywhere on the Internet -- allowing you to jump to another spot in the same page, to another file on the same computer, or to a file on a computer on the other side of the world!
But that's not all! Web pages allow links from graphics as well as words -- and link to more than ordinary documents -- they can show glorious colourful pictures, play sound and video clips, even transfer software onto your PC.
All of these links create a web which spans the globe:
hence, the World Wide Web.
Let's start browsing
Information on the Web is presented in the form of pages viewed on your PC screen with a piece of specialised software called a Web browser.
Collections of pages make up a Web site and are stored on a computer, known as a Web server, connected to the Net. Each site has it own address in a standard Internet form such as www.pcuser.com.au (see Internet Addresses Made Easy). You connect to an individual Web site by entering this address.
The main page on each Web site acts as a front door or index and is often called the homepage.
Web pages can be as stark or stunning in their look,
and contain as little or as much content, as their author
desires. This is why it's important to choose your Web
browser -- not all browsers allow you to make the most of
these more sophisticated pages. See Choosing your Web browser.
Using your Web browser: a crash course
While Web browsers can vary significantly in the features they offer, most share a basic set of features designed to help you surf in comfort:
The Address, Netsite or Location line: Underneath the menu and iconbar at the top of the screen is the Address line -- well, it's called different things in different browsers but it always does the same thing: just type the Internet address in here, hit Enter and you'll be taken to the site.
Forward and Back buttons: When you view each page it is stored in a special `cache' directory on your PC's hard disk (the name and location of the cache depends on the browser you use). This means you can retrieve these pages without having to actually re-visit the site by using the browser's Forward and Back buttons. Your browser will also probably have a Go To option in the menu, which will take you to most recently cached pages. The Home button will take you to your browser's specified home page.
Bookmarks or Favourite Places. As you explore the Web you'll discover some fantastic sites, to which you will want to return to time and time again. Web browsers let you save the address of these sites under a Bookmark or Favourite Places menu so you can visit them with the click of a button.
Print or Save. From the File menu, you can print a Web page or save it as an HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) file for later reference.
The Stop button. Sometimes -- if a Web page has a lot of graphics, or if the computer holding it or a link between you and that computer is overloaded -- a Web page is taking just too long to load. Just hit the stop button -- you can always come back to it another time.
Links.
If you see a word or phrase underlined in a different
colour (such as Understanding Links, below), or if the
mouse cursor changes as it passes over a graphic (such as
the File menu pic, above) just click on the word or
graphic. This will take you to another page on that same
site -- or on our PC User Offline CD -- or a totally
different Web site on the other side of the planet! Or
they might `download' a file onto your computer's hard
disk, play a video or sound clip, and more! See Understanding Links.
Where on earth do I go?
On the Web you'll find sites on any topic you can think of -- and many more besides. There's just one problem -- this wealth of information is untamed. The Web can be likened to a huge library in which all the books have been thrown on the floor: somewhere is the knowledge you need, but how to find it?
`Search engines' are Web sites which do the legwork for you: clever librarians who have not only read every book (or indexed every Web page) but remember what they read and where they read it. As soon as you venture onto the Internet you should get to know a few good search engines. See Using Search Engines to learn more.
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All text © 1997 Australian Consolidated Press - PC User Magazine