Web Navigation

If you are fairly new to life on the Web, you will find the following descriptions of Internet Explorer's features helpful. Other browsers have different features, but most are similar in nature to what we'll describe hereWeb addresses. Each page on the Web is assigned an address (a URL)-just like a postal address for buildings and homes. These addresses are typed in the white Address Bar.

Most often, you will use the Address Bar to reach the home page of a website. To reach That Network's site, for example, type http://www.thatnetwork.com. This will take you directly to the site, but here's a shortcut to reduce your keystrokes. Because nearly all web pages begin with "http://" followed by "www.", just type "thatnetwork.com" in the Address Bar, and the browser adds the "http://www." for you.

Links. When words on a web page are underlined and in a different color than other text, this indicates they are links (also called hyperlinks or text links). Mouse-clicking these words take you to another page within the website or to an external website-no Address Bar typing required. Buttons and images can be links, too. To know for sure, place your mouse cursor over the item. If the arrow icon turns into a pointing-finger icon, it's a link.

Buttons. Your browser's buttons are your steering wheel and brakes-it's how you navigate the Internet road. Here's what the main buttons do.

* Back and Forward. The Back button takes you to the previous web page you visited. Click this button more than once to go back the corresponding number of pages. Click the Forward button to go back toward where you started.
* Stop. The Stop button stops a web page from being displayed in your browser.
* Refresh. The Refresh button reloads the web page you are currently visiting.
* Home. The Home button takes you to the web page that appears when you first open your browser.
* Favorites. Clicking the Favorites button opens a pane in which you can view and click pages you have bookmarked for a return visit.
* History. The History button shows the web pages you have recently visited.

Menus. The words at the top of the browser are called menus, and many of their functions are the same as the buttons. To learn how to use these features, experiment with them by selecting menu items (such as File, Edit, and View) to see what they do. Don't worry; you won't damage anything by fiddling with an item you don't fully understand.

Browsing Your Computer. Internet Explorer can be used for more than just browsing the Web. It also can be used to browse your file directories and open files stored on your computer or on other computers connected to your network.

To do this, go to the File menu, select Open, and then click the Open dialog box's Browse button to find the file you are looking for.