If we were on the Enterprise, we could say "Computer, transport me to the bridge." That's how keywords work. When you use a keyword, you're saying "Computer, beam me to this part of America Online." Once you learn to use keywords, you can navigate AOL quickly and without cluttering your desktop with a stack of windows.
Appendix A of the FAQ contains an up-to-date list of keywords on AOL. Use the Find command under the File menu to find the keyword you need.
While online, choose Keyword from the Go To menu (or type Command-K). Then enter the keyword and click the OK button. Keywords are case insensitive; i.e., "MCM", "mcm", and even "mCm" are treated as the same keyword.
 
Click the Keyword Help button if you don't know the correct keyword. You can use keyword help while in a free area. Browsing through the keywords provides a good overview of America Online. The following table lists keywords of general interest. Areas that are free of hourly connect charges are marked "Free."
classifieds A place for buying and selling, esp. computers.
clock Shows the current time and amount of time signed on.
consumer Consumer Reports magazine.
credit Obtain credit for bad downloads or wrong charges.
discover Take a quick tour of AOL's services.
comptons Access Compton's Encyclopedia.
file search Locates files by name or keyword.
friend Sign on a friend, get free hours. Free.
geographic National Geographic Society Forum.
grandstand Sports talk, scores, and sports files.
help Access a central area for online help. Free.
hot Features hot areas and new features of AOL.
internet Access Internet services.
kool Enter Kids Only Online.
library Library of Congress Online.
mhm Enter Members Helping Members. Free
new Find out about new areas and features.
reference A master index of reference materials and databases.
research Academic Assistance Center.
quote Stock quotes and portfolios.
shorthand A glossary of terms like :) BAK and BTW.
smithsonian Smithsonian Online.
software Browse the AOL software libraries.
titf Shows the forum calendar and live discussions.
weather Get weather information and download weather maps.
upgrade Order AOL software upgrade. 2.1 is newest. Free.
13.02 Customized Go To menu
Once you've learned how to use keywords, you can customize the Go To menu to create keyword macros. Customizing the Go To menu makes keywords better in two ways. First, keywords become a one-step process, without the need to bring up the Keywords window and then enter the keyword. Second, you no longer have to remember keywords. And didn't we all buy computers so we wouldn't have to remember anything?
What was I saying? Oh yeh. Choose Edit Go To Menu from the Go To menu. In the window that appears, enter the keyword in a field on the right. Enter a meaningful label in the opposite field on the left. Click Save Changes when you finish. Your new macros will appear at the bottom of the Go To menu. You can do all of this while offline.
As easy as that was to explain, actually editing the Go To menu is even easier. Go try it right now. I'll wait.
This is what my editor window looks like:
KEY* MENU ENTRY KEYWORD**
_______ _________________ ________________
1 File Search file search***
2 Forum Calendar titf
3 Online Support help****
4 Billing billing
5 Online Clock clock*****
6 Internet Center internet
7 Beginners abf
8 Communications mcm
9 Operating System mos
0 The Exchange exchange
*Hold down the command key and press the number to activate the keyword.
**Keywords are not case sensitive or space sensitive. "File Search", "file search", and "filesearch" are equivalent keywords.
***"file search" and "quick finder" are equivalent keywords.
****"help", "support", and "ask aol" are equivalent keywords.
*****The keyword for the online clock used to be "time", but "time" is now the keyword for _Time_ magazine.
13.03 FlashSessions
FlashSessions allow you to set a time for uploading mail, downloading mail, and downloading files placed in the Download Manager. A FlashSession is like an autopilot script. Set it and forget it.
 
If the telephone is a limited resource in your house, you can set a FlashSession to begin in the middle of the night when everyone's asleep. If the AOL access number in your area is busy in the evening, a late night FlashSession will make sure your mail and files get transferred. You can also set FlashSessions to sign on automatically every few hours or every day. You can even pick which days to sign on.
 
To view the options, choose FlashSessions from the Go To menu, then click the Schedule FlashSession icon. For unattended FlashSessions you'll need to click Enter Stored Passwords and enter your password. Once entered, the password appears as eight asterisks (********), no matter how long the password really is.
You can begin a FlashSessions manually with the Activate FlashSession Now command under the Go To menu.
For information about saving money with FlashSessions, see chapter 14.
13.04 Download Manager
The Download Manager (DM) debuted with version 2.0 of the AOL software. Before Download Manager, you could only select one file at a time for downloading. Then you twiddled your thumbs, waiting for the download to finish so you could start the next download.
The Download Manager allows you to place multiple files in a batch for later downloading. When you find a file on AOL, you'll see two buttons: Download Now and Download Later. Clicking Download Later places the file in a download queue (batch). You can keep adding files to the queue until you're ready to download. If you like, you can sign off and download the files at some other time.
After you've selected all the files you want, choose Download Manager from the File menu. Click the Start Download icon to begin downloading. A window appears that gives you the option of automatically disconnecting you when the download is complete. This means you can start the download and leave your computer unattended.
 
Files in the Download Manager can be automatically downloaded later via FlashSessions.
You can view your last 50 downloads in the Download Manager. Just choose Download Manager from the File menu and click the floppy disk icon that says "View Completed Downloads." You'll see the file names, file sizes, and the completion dates.
You can schedule a maximum of 100 downloads in the Download Manager. To add more items to the Download Manager, you'll need to download or delete some of the files. To delete a file from the DM list while offline or online, choose Download Manager from the File menu. In the Download Manager window, click the file name, then click the trash can icon labeled "Delete List Item."
13.05 Address Book
The Address Book remembers email addresses so you don't have to. It's especially handy for storing those long Internet addresses. Rather than listing addresses by screen name, the Address Book lists entries according to any name you choose, so if you and John361592 are gossiping about John847526, this might save you the embarrassment of sending mail to the wrong John.
 
To use the Address Book, simply place the cursor in the To field of a message and click the Address Book icon. Doubleclick on the addressee's name, or singleclick the name and click OK. Address Book will insert the screen name into the To field. To select multiple addressees, check the Select Multiple box. Clicking the Edit Address Book window brings up a window for creating, modifying, and deleting address book entries.
The Address Book also facilitates mailing lists. You can enter multiple screen names in the Accounts field, separating each screen name with a comma. Mail sent to that Address Book entry reaches everyone in the Accounts field.
13.06 Logs
"What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs
rolls over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack and fits on your back?
It's Log, Log, Log!"
-The Log Tune, from Ren and Stimpy
You may not realize it, but a tremendous amount of information goes whizzing past your eyes when you're online. Human memory being what it is, you'll probably forget most of it. Logs preserve that information by saving it to your hard drive.
There are three types of logs: System, Chat, and Instant Message. System logs record information you read in articles and message boards. Chat logs record all conversation while you are in a conference or People Connection room. Instant Message logs record any Instant Messages you receive.
Logs can't capture the text of electronic mail messages. To save email to your hard disk use the Save command on the File menu or click the Save to FlashMail icon. The File menu's Save command will save email messages as individual files on your hard drive. The Save to FlashMail function saves the mail to your mailfile. To read mail saved this way, launch AOL and choose Read Incoming mail from the Mail menu.
 
To open a log, choose Logs from the File menu. Select the appropriate log -- System, Chat, or Instant Message -- and click Save. A standard file dialog will prompt ask prompt you to select a destination on your hard drive. After you're finished online, choose Logs from the File menu and stop or suspend the current log.
For information about saving money with Logs, see chapter 14. For information about reading logs with the EasyView AOL Browser, see chapter 15.
13.07 Window management
Movable, resizable windows are a standard part of the Macintosh interface, and AOL is no exception. You can resize most windows by dragging the lower right-hand corner of the window with your mouse. You can quickly enlarge a window to fill the monitor by clicking in the zoom box in the window's upper right hand corner. You can even resize windows while the beachball cursor is spinning.
To move windows, place the mouse pointer over
the window's title bar (the bar that stretches across the top of the window). Hold down the mouse button and drag the window to a new location.
To make a window open to the same size and position every time, choose Remember Size from the Windows menu. This option is not available in all areas of AOL. The Forget Size command causes AOL to use the default size and location for that window.
The Windows menu also has an option called "Clean up windows". This command will neatly arrange open windows. You can quickly bring any open window to the front by choosing it from the Windows menu.
13.08 Miscellaneous tips
•After you doubleclick America Online, you can start typing your password as soon as the first menus appear. You can type in your password and press the return key before the Welcome to America Online window appears if you've got fast fingers or a slow computer.
•Pressing the return key is the same as clicking on a button with a heavy black border. This is a standard part of the Macintosh interface, and works in all programs. That's one of the great things about Macs: you can apply what you learn in one program to other programs.
•You can save text from any window to your hard disk by choosing Save from the File menu.
•You can print the text from any window by choosing Print from the File menu. Do your printing offline to save money. Save the text to the hard disk, sign off, then open the file and print.
•Use Copy and Paste to move text from one window to another.
•AOL's windows default to a size small enough to fit on a 9 inch monitor. To expand the window to the full size of your monitor, click the zoom box in the window's upper right hand corner.
•Command-W is a standard Mac command to close the active window. It works on all windows which have a close box in the upper left corner.
•You'll work faster if you learn keyboard shortcuts. The command key shortcuts are listed on the menus.
•Most people use the Sign Off command to sign off, then use Quit to quit the AOL application. Instead, choose Quit (Command-Q). When asked if you really want to quit, click the Quit button (or press the return key). AOL will sign you off and quit in one fell swoop.
13.09 Command-period
Have you ever opened a window that kept scrolling for what seemed like an eternity? You can stop new information from appearing in a window by typing Command-Period. This saves money and frustration. If the cursor is spinning but no information is coming through the modem, wait a few minutes, then use Stop AOL. Stop AOL is described in the Software Hall of Fame chapter.
Command-Period is the International Macintosh Distress Code. Whenever you find yourself screaming "STOP!!!!" at the top of your lungs, try typing Command-Period. To type Command-Period, hold down the command key and type a period. The command key is to the left of the space bar, and has a clover symbol. On most keyboards, the command key also has an open apple symbol. Command-Period can also do the following:
•stop AOL from loading into memory
•stop the sign on process
•stop downloads
•stop printing
•press the Cancel button in most dialogs
13.10 Preferences
While offline, select Preferences from the Members menu and spend some time experimenting with the settings. You won't regret the effort. For instance, I used to hate the way incoming text scrolled the window downward, causing the window to come to rest at the end of a message. Then I turned off the Auto-Scroll Incoming Text feature under System Preferences. Life has been blissful evermore.
Downloading preferences deserve special attention. There are two options: Auto-Expand Files and Delete Compressed Files. With Auto-Expand Files selected, AOL will wait until you are offline, then decompress the files you downloaded. With Delete Compressed Files selected, AOL will delete the original compressed files after they are decompressed. Only the decompressed copy remains. Both features are a tremendous blessing to anyone who downloads files. Auto-unstuffing is on by default.
If those America Online Network News announcements annoy you, you can choose to ignore them in System Preferences.
AOL allows you to set the font and font size for chat, and instant messages, mail, and the system. If you have any vision disorders, using a larger font or a more readable font can alleviate eyestrain.
