Netscape Navigator

Different versions of Netscape may use slightly different terminology. These instructions are for Netscape Navigator 4.8 for Windows. For additional information, choose Help from the menu.

Locate the Netscape Navigator  or Netscape Communicator  icon and double-click on it to start the program. Refer to the Help menu for detailed information on all of Netscape’s features.

Getting Started with Netscape Navigator

Every web page has a unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The URL appears in the Location toolbar. For example, Willamette’s home page URL is: http://www.willamette.edu/

Location Toolbar

 

Clicking on any link (underlined text or a button) will open another web page. If you know the URL for a web page, enter the URL in the Location: box, then press ENTER.

Navigation Toolbar

 

Back and Forward: visit recent pages Reload: refresh the current page Home: return to your home page Search: go to Netscape's search engine page

Print: print the current page Security: information about Netscape's Internet security features Stop: stop loading the current page

The Go menu and the pull-down list at the right end of the Location toolbar provide other ways to return to recently visited pages.

Preferences

You can customize Netscape with the Preferences control panels (choose Edit > Preferences from the menu).

• Navigator: Set a default Home page that will appear when each time your start Netscape or when you click on the Home button.
• Mail & Newsgroups: Fill out the identity information to enable the send e-mail message feature. If you want to use Netscape Messenger to receive e-mail, you may need to submit a WITS service request to upgrade your software. If you choose to do this on your own, refer to Netscape Communicator User Profile, then check all of the settings listed in Configuring Netscape Messenger after you install Netscape Communicator.
• Other useful preferences items include default fonts and colors, languages, memory and disk cache options, and helper applications for displaying or downloading different file types.

Using Bookmarks

Bookmarks provide a way to build a list of interesting web pages. Click on the Bookmarks button on the Location toolbar, then choose Add Bookmark to add the current page to the list. Select a bookmark from the Bookmark menu to display that page. Bookmarks are saved on the computer you are using. The bookmark file can be saved to another location and opened in any web browser.

Finding Information on the Web

You can find information on the web using a subject-oriented index or by doing a key word search. The various search engine pages all have a similar look and feel. You will see a search form that allows you to construct a query. A query allows you to target your search using keywords and sometimes other commands. Look for links on the search form that may provide searching assistance. The indexes are arranged by topic, with the topics appearing as links on the page.

To start searching, click on the Search button. Select one of the search services, enter keywords on the form, then press ENTER or click on a button to begin the search. Most search engines and directories are combined services. Scroll to the bottom of either page for a complete list of services. To use a selection of current search engines, visit the Hatfield Library's Internet Search Tools page.