I-A. Accessing the Internet

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We can get started by simply running the browser (either from the Start Menu or from the Desktop Icon)

Most of you will be using the Internet Explorer browser that came with your Windows operating system software, but there are many others available as well (See Lesson I-D Software Requirements and Options)

Starting the browser automatically takes you to a Home Page of your choice (we’ll see how to set this choice later on).

From the Home Page, you can travel anywhere you want. As always there are several different ways to do things on a computer. You can:

  1. Click on a URL address, called a "Link," in the window currently displayed by the browser. These are usually displayed in a different color and may be underlined, or they may be a picture or a button. You will know that your mouse cursor is on a link when the arrow or I-beam changes into a little hand with the index finger extended. Recently visited Links are usually displayed in a different color than those you have not recently visited.

  2. Click on the "Home" button on the toolbar (the icon is a picture of a little house). It will take you to the page from which you always start your browsing. We will learn how to set or change your home page in Lesson II-C Personalizing the Internet

  3. Use the "Back" and "Forward" buttons on the toolbar to move to the previous site visited or to the next (if there is one)

  4. Enter a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address in the Address box on your browser screen (a white box near the top of the screen labeled "Address")

  5. Use the Favorites feature.

    1. To access a previously created Favorite:
      1. Click on the Favorites button or choose the Favorites Menu
      2. Open the appropriate folder (if necessary) and click on the one you want.

    2. To create a new Favorite:
      1. Click on the Favorites button or choose the Favorites Menu
      2. Choose Add Favorites
      3. In the list of folders which appeares, click on the chosen destination.

    3. Note that since the Favorites are arranged in folders, you can create additional folders and sub-folders to meet your own needs and store Favorites in any way that you wish
      1. Click on the Favorites button or choose the Favorites Menu
      2. Choose Organize Favorites.
      3. Follow the instructions in the Organize Favorites dialog box

    4. To delete a bookmark you no longer want:
      1. Click to Organize Favorites, as described above
      2. Highlight the bookmark or folder you want to get rid of
      3. Click on the Delete button

  6. Use the "History" button on the Toolbar or press Ctrl-H to see a list of all the sites you've visited recently and to return to any one of them.

    1. To specify how many days of history to keep:
      1. Open the Tools menu and choose Internet Options
      2. Toward the bottom of the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, set the Days to Keep Pages in History scroll box to the number you want.

    2. To empty your history list (e.g. if you don't want your boss to see where you've been surfing):
      1. Open the Tools menu and choose Internet Options
      2. Toward the bottom of the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, click on the Clear History button

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