Microsoft Internet Explorer
Web Basics

What's On A Page

You'll discover, as you start browsing the Web that every Web page is different, but there are some common elements. For example:

Hyperlinks

A hyperlink is an electronic path to another page or location (URL) on the Internet. Sometimes is appears as a piece of colored and/or underlined text, or perhaps a picture with or without a colored border around it.

If you're not sure where the hyperlinks are, move the mouse pointer around the screen until the pointer turns into a hand.

URL

Every webpage has an address, known as a Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. You'll see it in the Address bar, near the top of Internet Explorer, every time you open a new webpage.

A URL usually appears as a string of letters, punctuation and slashes, such as http://www.gionline.net, but it may contain numbers as well. (Note that URLs DO NOT use backslashes. They use frontslashes.)

There is no right or wrong way to explore the Internet. You can type Internet addresses in the Address bar, follow a chain of hyperlinks, or use search services to find interesting things on the Internet.

Starting Microsoft Internet Explorer:

If you're just setting up, Internet Explorer should be running. Otherwise just double-click the Internet icon on your desktop, Internet explorer displays the start page (this may vary slightly, depending on the version of Explorer you have). the start page appears every time you start Internet Explorer.

The Button Bar

Paging Forward and Backward:

There will be times when you go to a new webpage and find that you'd rather go back to the previous one. Click the "Back Button". To move forward to a page you've already visited click the "Forward Button".

Stop!

Some pages take what seems like forever to load. If a page takes too long, you can click your "Stop Button" and try again later.

Refreshing your page

When you open a web page for the first time, Internet Explorer saves the pictures and text in a memory cache (pronounced "cash"). When you return to a page you've already visited, Internet Explorer can either show you what's in cache or return to the page to see if anything has changed.

By showing you what's already in memory, Internet Explorer saves the time it takes to reconnect and re-download the same webpage. But if you suspect something might have changed since your last visit---for example a stock price or a weather radar picture---you might want to click on the "Refresh Button" and Internet Explorer downloads the page again.

Going Home

By Clicking the "Home Button" you will return to the page that appears when you start Internet Explorer. You can customize the start page to what ever you would like by going to the Internet site and then clicking "View" on your "Menu Bar" then to "Options" and under Navigation or Start and Search pages click "Use Current" and this will set your page.

Searching the Internet

The search page in Internet Explorer includes links to several Internet and Web search services (called Search Engines). Each one of these services works a little differently, but generally speaking, searching for a topic is as easy as typing a key word or phrase and then clicking the search button. The search engine displays a list of pages that contain the word or phrase you are searching for.

Changing Sizes of the Fonts on the Screen

Since every monitor is not set the same some fonts on webpages may be difficult to see. Click your "Fonts" Button to change the page font to what is most comfortable for your viewing.

Managing your Favorite Sites

Sooner or later you'll find a website that you know you'll want to visit again and again. There are two ways to make sure you can always return to the site quickly an easily: (1) saving shortcuts in your Favorites list and (2) creating a shortcut on your desktop.

To save a shortcut in the Favorites List:

1. View the Webpage you want to add to the list.
2. On the toolbar, click the "Favorites" Button.
3. On the menu that appears, click "Add to Favorites". A shortcut that points to the page is added to the Favorites List.
4. To view the favorites list Click the "Favorites" button.

To place a shortcut to a page on your desktop:

1. Connect to the webpage you want to add as a desktop shortcut.
2. On the file menu, click "Create Shortcut"

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