Using Internet Explorer. Student Guide

Transcription

1 Using Internet Explorer Student Guide Document reference:

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3 Using Internet Explorer

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5 Contents Using Internet Explorer... 1 Getting started with Internet Explorer... 2 Running Internet Explorer... 2 The browser window... 2 Using links... 3 Navigation buttons... 4 The web outside Edinburgh... 6 Error messages... 6 Cancelling a page access request... 7 Using World Wide Web addresses... 7 Favourites... 8 Using Favourites... 8 Archiving and restoring your Favourites... 9 Searching the web Keyword search Category search Appendix Some URLs you might like to try Using Internet Explorer

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7 1 Using Internet Explorer The World Wide Web - or simply 'the Web' - consists of a large number of document pages on computers all over the world, linked by the global Internet. The pages are written using a standard language (HTML) which allows any computer connected to the Internet to access pages which have been made available on any other computer which is also linked to the Internet. Pages are stored on a specific machine which is identified with a specific address (simply URL or Uniform Resource Locator, URL address). The URL is used in links to reference documents on the Internet. In this way pages stored on geographically separate computers can be connected in such a way that a simple click on a keyword will allow access to the linked information. A page on a computer in the United States can be easily viewed by clicking on a linked keyword on a page on a computer in London being accessed from a computer in Sydney. This topic shows you how to access the World Wide Web, how to locate particular pages of information, and how to search for pages containing information on a specific subject. These are the basic navigation tools for travelling on the World Wide Web. To read web pages you need a browser. A browser is a program that interprets HTML and displays the information on your screen including text, pictures and media files. At Edinburgh University you are offered either Firefox or Internet Explorer to browse the Internet. In the Learning Resource Centre there are also Internet browsers for people with special needs which, for example, allow pages to be read aloud. For more information please visit the LRC or the Disability Office. For more detailed information about the Internet, HTML standards and historical information about the Web you can visit which is the international consortium in charge of providing the protocols to use the full potential of this technology. Using Internet Explorer

8 2 Getting started with Internet Explorer Running Internet Explorer If you have not already done so, log on to the computer. Double-click the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop. You will see the Edinburgh University Home Page: The University of Edinburgh home page is your starting point for navigating around the World Wide Web. From this page you can access information about various aspects of the University, of the city of Edinburgh, and information sources from around the world. There may be slight variations in the content of the University home page from time to time so the screen you see may not be exactly like the one above. The browser window If the window is not already maximised, you may wish to adjust the window size to suit. Inside the Browser window you can identify various toolbars. At the top of the window you can find:

9 3 The Command Bar has quickly identifiable icons such as the standard navigation buttons, and some other basic commands. The Address Bar lets you type in the URL addresses. At the bottom of the window you can find the Status Bar which contains useful indicators telling you what the browser is doing: this includes a Message Bar and Progress Bar (active when a page is loading) which provide you with information on the current connection, the status of transfer of documents to your machine and how long is left before the transfer is complete. The Security Details Bar provides details on the connection (i.e. encryption and security). The Zoom Level button lets you zoom in and out on the current webpage. Using links Look over the University home page. Move the mouse pointer over some of the text. Notice that the cursor changes from an arrow to a hand with one finger pointing. This indicates that a link is available from this page to another page on the World Wide Web. Move the pointer over the words Present Students. The pointer should change to the pointing hand. Click once with the left mouse button. This is how a link is activated. Internet Explorer will identify the place on the Web where the linked page is stored and contact the computer there, requesting that the page is sent, or downloaded, to your screen. The time taken will depend on where the other page is stored and how busy the communications lines to that place are. Look at this page by scrolling up and down it. Locate the Quick Links box at the top of this page. Click on it to activate a drop-down menu. From this menu, choose Students' Assoc, then click on the Go button. Click on the link to Your Societies on the left-hand bar. A pop-up menu will appear. Click on the link Societies A-Z for an Alphabetical list of Societies. This is a list of various University societies. Using Internet Explorer

10 4 Navigation buttons Going Back The browser keeps a list of the last few sites recently visited (from the time you started the program), and a History of the sites visited (usually 9 days). In order to navigate around the World Wide Web, it is useful to be able to go from the page you most recently accessed to the previous page. You can do this by clicking on the Back button near the top of the Explorer window. You can use the Back and Forward buttons repeatedly to navigate around the various pages and links or go directly to the desired page on the list of recently viewed pages by clicking the small black arrow beside the blue arrows. History Function The Browser keeps track of the sites you have visited. You can access the list of websites stored in your history by clicking the pointing arrow at the right of the Address Bar. This will expand the menu and you can select any of the addresses on the list. Whenever you start typing a URL the browser will check in the history if there is one with the same initial letters. If it finds a match it will give you the option to select directly from the history instead of typing the entire URL.

11 5 Alternatively you can access the full history with the keyboard shortcut [CTRL]+[H] which will expand the History pane in the left section of the window. You can also click on the Favorites Center icon in the Standard Buttons toolbar, then click the History button. Now move around the University of Edinburgh information, navigating through links and experimenting with the Back and Forward features. Going Home Click on the Home button in the Command bar. Wherever you are on the World Wide Web, this button will return you to the University of Edinburgh Main Page which is set as the default home page. Click on the text link The City of Edinburgh. From here you will be able to access a new set of pages concerning points of interest in the city itself. Click on the Home button to return to the University home page. Your College and School should have information under Academic Units on the University Home Page. Click on the Academic Units link and click on the name of a College to view the Schools in that College. Alternatively use the alphabetical index at the foot of the page to access a particular School. You may be interested to see what information there is about your course on the Edinburgh University web site. Visit the MyEd portal linked to the Present Students section. This enables you to access your personal details and library account. Using Internet Explorer

12 6 The web outside Edinburgh Just as the University of Edinburgh has created information pages on the World Wide Web, many other universities, companies, and even individuals across the world have done so. On the University of Edinburgh home page, click on the Search button. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link to the Online Reference Library. Choose a category that interests you, and look around some of the linked web pages. Click on the Home button when you have finished. Error messages The Web pages outside Edinburgh are stored on computers elsewhere on the Internet. Sometimes those computers are off-line because of problems either with the computers themselves or with communications lines between them. When this happens Explorer will usually try to make a connection for a minute or so and then print a message that there was a problem retrieving the requested Web page similar to the one below: There are reasons why you may not be able to find a page: You typed the wrong URL (make sure that the address is correct, as sometimes these are case sensitive). The page is no longer available on the Web (as the web is continuously changing and growing, sometimes pages change and links are no longer available). Pages are temporarily not available (e.g. too many users trying to access them).

13 7 In any of these instances, you can check if the browser is trying to establish the connection by looking at the status bar, which indicates the amount of information to be downloaded and the current status. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to try again later. For the purposes of this exercise, if you find such a problem then simply try a different link. When accessing Web pages stored outside of the UK, you can generally expect the pages to take longer to arrive, or download. For example, it can be faster to access US information outside US business hours. Cancelling a page access request If you get bored waiting for a page then you can cancel the request by clicking on the Stop button: Using World Wide Web addresses Most of the time, instead of going through the University website you may want to simply use a URL. These addresses can be used directly to find and access information published on the Web. Click in the white box at the top of your Explorer window: Delete the current contents of the box and type: This is the Web address of The Natural History Museum's WWW server. Press [Return] when you have finished typing the URL and you will be taken directly to the page. When you have the URL address for a World Wide Web page, you can use this feature to access the published information. The Appendix has some URLs of WWW sites which you may find interesting. Using Internet Explorer

14 8 Favourites Pages which are of particular interest to you can be added to your Favourites list. Return to a Web page which you have found interesting. Click on the Add to Favorites button in the Command Bar. Select Add to Favorites from the menu. You can edit the name of the webpage link and choose a folder in which it should appear, if you wish. Then click Add. This will add a link for the current Web page to your personal list. Using Favourites Viewing your Favourites List Clicking on the Favorites Center button in the Command Bar lists your favourites.

15 9 Notice that you are allocated a default list of Favourites and any new entries are added to these. You can also remove entries in order to customise your personal list. Deleting entries from your Personal Favourites List Click on the Add to Favorites button, then choose Organize Favorites. A task pane will appear that allows you to organise your personal list. Click on any of the Favorites entries that you no longer wish to keep. Click on the Delete button and the Favorite will be removed. Using your Favorites Click on the Favorites Center button (and click on the Favorites button if the Favorites list is not displayed by default) and select a web page from the list. Archiving and restoring your Favourites Archiving your Favourites Although your Favourites are stored in your user profile, you may want to occasionally make a copy for safe keeping: you can store your personal list in your My Documents folder or one of the removeable media: Click the Add to Favorites button. Choose Import and Export... from the menu and an Import/Export Wizard will appear. Click on Next and then select Export Favourites from the Choose an Action to Perform list, and click on Next. Using Internet Explorer

16 10 Select the Favourites folder and click Next. Click on the button Export to a File or Address and click on the Browse button: This will give you the option of saving your Favourites to one of your drives. For example, choose My Documents from the Save In: box. Then click on the Save button. Restoring your Favourites When you next use Explorer you may want to use the personal list that you saved. Click the Add to Favorites button. Choose Import and Export from the menu and an Import/Export Wizard will appear.

17 11 Click on Next and then select Import Favourites from the Choose an Action to Perform list, and click on Next. Click on the button Import from a File or Address and click on the Browse button. Choose My Documents from the Save In: box. Click on Open. Choose the bookmark file and click on Save. This will return you to the Import/Export Wizard. Click on Next. Choose Favourites as your destination folder and click on Next. Your Favourites list should now be imported and ready for use. The Favourites list you imported will replace any Favourites already stored in Explorer. Using Internet Explorer

18 12 Searching the web The best way to search the World Wide Web is to use a search engine. A search engine is a Web-based service which indexes a huge number of pages, stores the entries in a database and presents a page that lets you enter a keyword or two to describe what you are looking for. A keyword is simply a word or phrase which will help narrow down the search. It is important to choose the keyword carefully. Different search engines use different strategies to index pages, but mostly they use the content of the documents or descriptors in very much the same way as Yellow Pages. Keyword search We will use a search engine called Google (its URL is This can be accessed directly from the link marked Search on the Edinburgh University Home Page. From the University Home Page, click on the link Search. Click in the long white box under Search Using Google. Make sure the Search WWW option is selected by clicking the little button to the left of it. Say we want to find some information on the first book of the Bible. Type the word: Genesis Press [Return] and you will be taken to the Google results page for your search for 'Genesis'. After a short time Google will begin to present you with links to the best Web pages matching your search. Google will list sites with relevant content, with 10 links on a page, and if there are more than 10 relevant links, you can click on the word Next (at the foot of the page) to see some more. Look at some of the pages offered by clicking on the links and using the Back button to return to the list of pages found by Google. The problem is that a search on the keyword Genesis turns up more pages concerned with the rock band, the international corporation, and the software projects, than references to the Bible. In deciding upon keywords to use in a search it is important to consider ambiguity. Return to the Google search page using the Back button. In the white box at the top of the screen, type in the following two keywords separated by a space: Bible Genesis Click on the Google Search button. This time Google will search for documents containing both words. It can save search time to consider carefully which keywords would be most appropriate for any given search.

19 13 It is strongly recommended that you read the search guidelines or tips published on the search engine's website. Category search Sometimes it is very difficult to locate information using only keywords. Using Google's many categories, we can list Web pages all related to one specific topic. For example: Return to the Google search page. Click on the Google logo at the top of the screen to go to the Google home page. Click on the more >> link under the Google logo. Click on the link to Directory. Click on the link to Arts, then Music. Scroll down and click on Bands and Artists. Here you can choose between looking for a band or artist by name, or using the By Style link to look for the type of music you like. Using the categories rather than a keyword search has given us a more accurate list of relevant sites. However, you need to know exactly what you are looking for in order for them to be of use. Use Google to find some pages related to one of your own hobbies, interests, or subjects of study. To repeat an identical search it is important to remember which Search Engine you used, and to use the same combination of words. Note that the Web changes so quickly that after a couple of months even the same Search Engine and the same words may not find the same result. Tip: To get to this search engine in future, it may be quicker to open the location Alternatively, you could bookmark this page. There are quite a number of other search engines available. There's a good list on the Edinburgh University Library Online web site. Go to the Edinburgh University home page by clicking on Home, then click on The Library. Now click first on Search this Site and Beyond on the top right-hand side of the library homepage. Then click on Other searches, information, and resources, and then click on the Search engines, Directories & Research Tools. This provides a list of links to search engines. Using Internet Explorer

20 14 Appendix Some URLs you might like to try The Scotsman MTV British Army BBC Channel 4 The Fortean Times Journal of Strange Phenomena NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Wired Magazine On-Line Yahoo UK; an index of Internet sites 10 Downing Street European Football Association Project Gutenberg E-Text library A Guide To Arts in Scotland Tornado and Storm Research Organisation European Space Agency The Tate Gallery The Edinburgh Fringe If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: Viki Galt, Disability Information Officer, Information Services 5 Buccleuch Place University of Edinburgh EH8 9LJ viki.galt@ed.ac.uk