How to use Internet Explorer

The following article has
been on site for a few years now during which time Internet Explorer has
not only changed somewhat but has also been superseded by other browsers
such as Chrome, however, although some of the symbols and icons may
have changed, many of the basics still apply so I thought
it was worthwhile leaving it on site.

Regular visitors to Hints and Things will know that the
ethos of the site is to provide basic, simple but useful information on a
variety of subjects.  The use of computers is one of the subjects in
question and, with this in mind, we have been very lucky in obtaining
permission to reproduce some Course Notes supplied by Bear
Computer Services Limited.

Before using this information please read the
Important
Notice at the foot of the page.

Starting the web browser

1.     

Double Click on the Internet Explorer
icon on the screen

OR

2.     Click on the Internet Explorer icon on your task bar

OR

3.     

Click Start (on the task bar), Programs, Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer is started and
your Home Page is displayed
           

Accessing a known web site address

If you know
a web site address, such as, www.bbc.co.uk then you can enter this address
in the Address bar.

The example address above is
preceded with ‘http://’ you don’t have to type this in as part of
the address.

1.   
Start Internet Explorer.

2.    Click on the Address bar.  Any
existing address will be highlighted.

3.    Type the web site address.  i.e.
www.bbc.co.uk

4.    Press Enter.

Using the Internet Explorer Tool Bar

You can use
the Back and Forward buttons in
Internet Explorer to move forwards and backwards through the web pages
that you have been viewing. 

If
you have started to make a connection and decide that you do not want
to continue with it, you may use the Stop button to cancel the navigation. 

You
may occasionally need to Refresh a web page to ensure that you have the latest version of
it. 

The
Home button will move you back
to your home web page. 

The
other really useful button in the tool bar is the

Print
button, as its name implies, it will print the page you are looking at to
the default printer.

Navigating a web page

Once you
have loaded a web page you can navigate around that page and other pages
that are linked to it.  You
can identify a link by the fact that the mouse pointer changes to a
(pointing) hand when you move across it. These links, which may be
pictures or text, may go to another web page or to a different place in
the same web page.  To make
links easier to identify they are sometimes underlined if they are text,
see the illustration below.

1.     
To use one of the links, position your cursor over link you want to
use. 

The mouse pointer will change.

2.     
Click on this link.

A new web page will be displayed or you will be moved to a new position
within the same page.

Adding web sites to ‘Favorites’

Once you have found some web
sites that you like (or use regularly) you can add them to your ‘favorites’,
to do this :- 

1.     
Access the web site that you wish to store.

2.     
Click on the favorites menu.

3.     
Click on Add to Favorites, you will be asked to supply a title then
click OK.

The web site (with the title you gave it) is now added to the favorites
folder.

SEARCHING

The Internet is a great
source of information, you can find web sites relating to the subjects
that interest you by using Search Engines.  There are many search engines that you can use, we will just
look at a couple.

Using the search button

1.    
Click on the Search button on the toolbar.

Your screen
will split into two areas (called frames), the left frame displays the
search options and the right will keep your current web page. 
You can Select a different search engine from the drop down list in
the left frame if you want to, although it is not necessary to do that.

2.    
Type keywords that identify the information that you want to look
for i.e. children’s free software.

3.    
Click on the Search button (next to the keywords you just typed). 

A list of web sites with possible matches is now
displayed in the search area.  You
can click on them to view the site.

Specialist Search Engine web sites

You do not have to use the search engine built in to
Internet Explorer, you can use one of the hundreds of internet search
engine web sites that are available, some of these include :-

AOL
Search               
http://search.aol.com

Ask Jeeves                
http://www.uk.ask.com

Google                      
http://www.google.co.uk

HotBot                      
http://www.hotbot.com

Lycos                        
http://www.lycos.com

Bing                          
http://www.bing.com

Yahoo                       
http://www.yahoo.co.uk

To use one of the above sites :-

1.    
Click into the Address bar.

2.    
Enter the address of the search engine you want to use.

3.    
Press Enter
Some search engines allow you to narrow down the search by first selecting
a category i.e. Computers, Hobbies, select the category if necessary.

4.    
Type keywords that identify the information that you want to look
for i.e. children’s free software.

5.    
Click on the Search button (next to the keywords you just typed)

You may find
information on the internet that you want to keep, this may include text
or pictures.  Be careful when
you do this to ensure that you are not breaking any copyrights.

To save the current page on
your computer

1.    
On the File menu, click Save As.

2.    
Select the folder you want to save the page in.

3.    
In the File Name box, type a name for the page, and then click
Save.

Note: Internet Explorer saves only the text on a page, not the graphics.

To save a picture

1.    
Right-click the picture

2.    
Click Save Target As.

3.    
Select the folder you want to save the page in.

4.    
In the File Name box, type a name for the item, and then click
Save.

IMPORTANT
INFORMATION

The names, places, and/or events used in this publication are purely fictitious and are not intended to correspond to any real
individual, group, company, or event. Any similarity
or likeness to any real individual, company, or
event is purely coincidental and unintentional.

NO WARRANTIES OF ANY NATURE ARE EXTENDED BY THE DOCUMENT. Any product
and related material disclosed herein are only
furnished pursuant and subject to the terms and
conditions of a duly executed license or agreement. Bear Computer
Services Ltd. cannot accept any financial or other responsibility that
may be the result of your use of the information in this document or software material, including direct, indirect, special or
consequential damages.