Copyright: Copyright ICL 1997,1998


Launcher Help Index

Introduction

Browse the Web

Mail

News

Additional Tools

Advanced Settings

Dialler Settings


Introduction

The Launcher provides access to your Internet applications. From its main window you can run the tools which access Netscape Online. It automatically makes dial-up connections when they are required. It also provides you with facilities to change dialler settings and customise its environment.

The Launcher can be password protected so that only you can use it to browse the Web and access your email and news accounts.


Browse the Web

Netscape Communicator is used to provide you with the facility to surf the World Wide Web. From your Internet home page, you can browse or search for pages of interest or type URLs directly into the Address bar. You can save the addresses of your favourite pages so that you can easily return to them later.

For accessing your email, the Launcher allows you to use:

•	Netscape Communicator

•	Microsoft Internet Explorer

If you want to change the program used for browsing the Web, open the Advanced Settings window and choose a browser client from the appropriate drop-down list.


News

Netscape Online News gives you access to over 30,000 special interest newsgroups on topics as diverse as science fiction, magic, insurance business and UK education.  You can read messages posted by other people with similar interests and use your email account to post your own messages.

The first time you use the newsreader, it will ask you to download the list of newsgroups. You cannot read any news until you have done this. Because there are so many newsgroups, it will take a few minutes to download them all. If you like, you can browse the Web or read your email while the newsgroups are being downloaded.

Choose to subscribe to the newsgroups that you are most interested in so that they will appear automatically when next you start the newsreader software.

As with email, you can use Netscape Communicator (supplied), Internet Mail and News, Outlook Express or Outlook 98 Newsreader. Note that the Outlook 98 Newsreader is actually Outlook Express running in a mode that causes it to show newsgroups only.

If you want to change the program used for accessing newsgroups, open the Advanced Settings window and choose a news client from the appropriate drop-down list.


Additional Tools

Your Netscape Online Launcher comes with the tools listed below:

Ping

Ping is a tool that will tell you whether a remote server is available. It can be useful if you are having difficulty accessing a web page.

Telnet

Telnet provides a terminal emulation window for logging onto a remote server.

FTP

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.  A method of transferring files across the Internet.

Connect / Disconnect

Click on the telephone icon to manually initiate or disconnect a dial-up connection. If the modem is not connected, a connection is made. If the modem is already connected, it is disconnected.

Connection Status

While a dial-up connection is being made, the connection status is displayed alongside the telephone icon. When the connection is complete, the message displays a counter showing the number of hours, minutes and seconds that the connection has been open.If the connection method is not via a LAN (if available) and the modem is not connected, the message displays the total amount of connection time accrued by the current user on the PC.


Dialler Settings

Note that if you change the dialler settings while a dial-up connection is in use, the changes will not be applied to the active connection.

Modem

Use this drop-down list to specify which modem the Launcher should use. The list displays the modems installed on your system. You can add modems or change the properties of the existing modems by clicking the Setup button.

Dialling

If you are within the UK, you should use the UK Local Rate Call option.

If you are outside the UK, you can make an International Call, although this will not be available at launch, please check out the Netscape Online home page (http://www.netscapeonline.co.uk/) for further information.

The Edit Locations button allows you to specify any dialling prefix you need to get an outside line and the type of dialling expected by the exchange (pulse or tone dialling). Note that if you need a dialling prefix you must set the long-distance prefix (Dial-up Networking considers any number requiring an area code to be long distance). If you use the Launcher from more than one location where the dialling properties need to be different (e.g. at work you need a 9 prefix to get an outside line and at home you need no prefix) then you should set up multiple locations by using the Edit Locations button.

Connection Method

The Launcher can make a dial-up connection when you need it, saving you the need to connect manually. You can specify the circumstances when the Launcher should make a dial-up connection for you. If your account is for LAN (if available) access only, you can only select the LAN option. The following options are available:

•	LAN - With this option (if available), the Launcher will never automatically dial when you start an application that uses the Internet. If you have a modem, you can manually make a dial-up connection by clicking on the connect hotspot of the Launcher.

•	LAN If Detected - With this option (if available), a dial-up connection will be made only if the Launcher does not detect a local area network. Note that it can only detect Windows Networking and Novell networks; it will not detect a TCP/IP network. If the Launcher is not running, then connections will be via the LAN. This option is useful with notebook computers that are connected to a Windows Network at work and no network when off site. Under these circumstances, the Launcher will use the LAN at work and dial-up networking off site.

•	 Modem If Launcher Running - When you start Netscape Communicator, a dial-up connection will only be made if the Launcher is already running. This option is the most useful if you have both a local area network and dial-up networking on your computer. It allows use of the LAN (if available) when the Launcher is not running and use of dial-up networking when it is running.

•	Modem - If you start Netscape Communicator then the Launcher will make a dial-up connection. If the Launcher is not running at the time, it will start up. This option is the most useful if you do not have a local area network.


Advanced Settings

The Advanced Settings dialog provides the following facilities:

•	Log in as a different user

•	Account administration

•	Display connection time information

•	Choose different browser, mail and news software

•	Customise the Launcher

•	Manage the access security settings

Accounts

The Holder field displays the username of the account holder.

The Current User drop-down list contains all the usernames that are registered with your account. Selecting a different name from the list causes the username and password dialog to be displayed. If you correctly enter the password then you are re-logged in as the selected username. If you have mail or news applications running, these are closed and the properties for these applications changed to reflect the preferences of the selected username.

The Setup button runs the Registration Wizard which allows you to change your account details and password. If you are the account holder you can also add and remove names for additional users of your account.

If a special email address has been set up for you, then you can specify your email address in the Mail Address box. If you change this setting without making arrangements with your service provider, then email sent to that address might not arrive.

Programs

This panel allows you to select which browser, mail and news clients to use with the Launcher. The Select which Browser to use pull-down menu box lists suitable web browsing software installed on your PC. You can change the default web browser by setting this menu box to the appropriate application.

The Select which Mail and News Clients to use box allows you to select whether to use the same software for reading your email and browsing the newsgroups, or use different software for both. Ifyou select to use the same client for both then select the appropriate software from the Mail and News pull-down menu. If you select to use different client software for both then select the software from the Mail and the News pull-down menu boxes. For example, you could select to use Netscape Messenger as your mail client and Microsoft Outlook Express for your newsgroup browsing.

Connection Time

This panel shows the total amount of dial-up connection time accrued for this month by all users of the account on this PC. Time connected via a local area network (if available) is not included, neither is any dial-up connection time made from other PCs. You can view the totals for previous months by changing the currently selected month. Information for the previous 12 months is available. The connection time used by the current user is also displayed in this panel. The current user's time may be reset to zero by clicking the Reset button. Resetting a user's time to zero does not affect the total time recorded for the account.

Security

When you start the Launcher, you may be prompted for a username and password. Exactly what you are prompted for and how you select your response is determined by the level of security you opt for:

•	Low  no username or password is required, the Launcher will start straight away.

•	Medium - a list of valid usernames is provided, the Launcher will start once the password has been entered. This is the default setting.

•	High  the username and password must be entered directly.

Schemes

This panel allows you to select your preferred sound and visual schemes. If your PC does not have a soundcard installed, the sound scheme option is unavailable.

If you wish, you can create your own sound schemes by creating directories under the Sound subdirectory of the Launcher installation directory. You can determine the required filenames by examining the SCHEME.INI files in the supplied schemes.

Your version of the Launcher may be provided with multiple visual schemes, for example at different sizes or using different colour depths. If so, you can choose the visual scheme from the drop-down list.

Mailbox On Closing Launcher

The Launcher can be configured to change the Outlook Express mail folder when the Launcher is closed. The mail folder will be used by Outlook Express if you run it without the Launcher. The following options are available:

•	Last User  Outlook Express is left using the mail folder belonging to the account that last used the Launcher.

•	Folder  Outlook Express will use thespecified folder. This option is useful if you wish to use another mail account and keep the mail folders separate. Note that the specified folder should be the parent of the Mail folder, not the one containing the .MBX and .IDX files.


Mail

Internet Mail allows you to send messages to more than 30 million email users around the world. Email messages sent to you are copied onto your own PC for you to read at your leisure. Once you have retrieved your email, you can read it and write your replies without having to remain connected, thus minimising your phone bill. For accessing your email, the Launcher allows you to use any of:

•	Netscape Messenger (supplied with Netscape Communicator)

•	Outlook Express (supplied with Internet Explorer)

•	Outlook 98

•	Internet Mail and News (supplied with Internet Explorer 3)

A separate inbox is provided for each email name when used with Internet Mail and News or Outlook Express. Each time a different user runs the Launcher, the appropriate inbox is set up.

When used with Outlook 98, normally a single inbox is used by all mail addresses. However, by installing the optional Corporate Workgroup option of Outlook 98, each user can create a personal profile with its own inbox. In this case, the Launcher will not switch inboxes. This must be done by the end user selecting the profile he or she wishes to use. Outlook 98 also allows these profiles to be password protected.

If you use Outlook Express as the mail client, you can download mail from all the mail addresses into your inbox in one go (you need to know all the passwords). Select Accounts from the Tools menu then select the Mail tab on the Internet Accounts window. Foreach mail address in turn, select it and click on the Properties button. On the General tab of the email address Properties window, check the Include this account when doing a full Send and Receive option. On the Servers tab, enter the password for that email address into the Password field, then click OK. The passwords will be remembered until you log in to the Launcher with a different username.

If you want to change the program used for accessing email, click the right mouse button over the Internet Explorer or The Internet icon on the desktop and select Properties from the pop-up menu. In the Internet Explorer Properties (or The Internet Properties) window, select the Programs tab. Choose a mail client from the drop-down list. Note that the list may include mail programs that are not supported by the Launcher. The next time you start the Launcher (if you chose a supported mail program), it will ask you if you wish to change your Launcher mail client to the program you chose.

If you want to change the program used for accessing mail, open the Advanced Settings window and choose a mail client from the appropriate drop-down list.