Browser Basics
^{Published November 2003}

If you're new to the internet and are not sure how to bring up a website you know the address of, or how to search for a site you don't know the address of, then this column is for you. It may sound really simple but a lot of first time users get tripped up. When you want to go onto the internet the first thing you do is open up your Browser. The two most common browsers are Internet Explorer (IE) & Netscape. Their icons (picture buttons) vary slightly depending on the version of your browser but the most common are shown above. The E is Internet Explorer, the N is for Netscape versions 6 and above and the wheel, Netscape versions 4.

The graphics below show how IE (6) and Netscape (7) appear once opened.

If you know the address of the website you want to go to, for example, ccs.frogwrite.co.nz (the address for the archive of these columns) then type it in the Address Bar and either push the GO button or press the ENTER key on your keyboard. DO NOT PRESS SEARCH or if IE offers to search for you ignore it—PRESS GO. If it comes back saying no such page exists, check you've typed the address correctly and try again. If it comes back saying you have a spelling error then you have probably pushed search by mistake instead of pressing GO.

If you don't know the address of the site and want to search type in the Address Bar, www.google.co.nz and press GO or enter on your keyboard. This will take you to the search engine Google (which is less confusing than searching from your address bar). Once Google is on your screen type in your search string. Detailed information on how to search can be found on http://ccs.frogwrite.co.nz/netsearch.htm.

If you wish to save a page go to FILE and select SAVE AS or SAVE PAGE AS. If you want to save only the address use the Favourites or Bookmark options and follow the instructions as they appear.

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