On completion of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Use hyperlinks to move from one web page to another
- Recognise different types of hyperlinks
- Use the Back and Forward buttons to move between pages you have visited
- Use the Stop and Refresh buttons to control the display of pages
- Understand and set your home page
- Browse in full-screen mode
- Find text in a page
- Open HTML files on a PC or PC Network
What is a Web Page?
The world wide web is a collection of hyperlinked web pages published on the internet. Web pages are published by organisations and individuals interested in putting themselves on the web. A collection of web pages belonging to one organisation is called a website.
Each web page has an address on the internet. This address is called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A hyperlink is a piece of text or a graphic that provides a link to something's URL. The "something" could be a heading on the same web page, the next page in a website, a page in another website, a sound file or digital video and so on. When you click a hyperlink, the link's target is opened in Internet Explorer.
The size of each page can vary considerably. Internet Explorer can only show you the size of the page that fits in its current view window. To view the rest of the page you can use the scroll bars at the bottom and right of the view window to scroll the page. This is exactly the same as any other Windows application.
When visiting sites on the internet the browsers may not all make the same interpretation of the page viewed. Different browsers made available at different times may or may not be able to present all of the features available on a particular site. However, as Internet Explorer is a very popular browser, most websites are designed with it in mind.
Browsing the Web
Moving around and between web pages is known as browsing (or navigating, or sometimes "surfing the web"). You can browse web pages in several different ways.
Hyperlinks
Almost all web pages have hyperlinks. These links connect:
- One page to another part of the same page (useful if it is a really large page)
- One page to another page somewhere on the web
- A page to a file, such as a sound clip, video, a spreadsheet or a Word document
These links to other pages can be links to things stored anywhere on the internet. Hypertext links are indicated by underlined text highlighted in blue (usually). Hyperlinks are also frequently in the form of buttons, graphics or pictures.
To find hyperlinks on a page move your mouse pointer over the page and where there is a hyperlink the pointer will turn into a hand with a pointing finger.
In the example below, both the graphic and the underlined text link to the same page. You could click either to follow the link.
As you surf around the web, Internet Explorer remembers where you have been. You will notice that hypertext links you previously selected are now coloured purple. Internet Explorer does this to remind you that you have already visited the page identified by this link.
Note: Sometimes website designers prevent Internet Explorer from re-colouring links in this way in order to preserve the colour scheme they have created for their website. In the example above for instance, the hypertext link Mortgage mirth or misery? is always black.
Navigation controls
The designer of a website will usually put a lot of thought into creating ways for you to move around the site. There is no set way for navigation controls to appear on web pages. However, as you browse websites, you will notice that some of the following controls are used regularly.
Often hyperlinks to the main sections of a website will be grouped into panels at the top or left-hand side of the web page. When you click links from these panels, the main body of the web page changes but the panel remains.
Another commonly used device is the list box. You can select what area of the site you want to go to by clicking the down arrow on the list box and scrolling through the hyperlinks to the available areas. When you have selected an area, click the Go button next to the box (SpeedKey: Return).
Note: In the example above, you can also use a list box to change which city the weather is displayed for. In this case, only that part of the web page would be affected. The rest would look the same.
- Forms (text boxes and buttons)
A form is a web page where you can enter information easily. Forms are used to collect information to enable you to search databases, send messages to the website owner, play games and so on.
Some forms may be very simple. For example, most websites have search engines, consisting of a text box for you to type search text into and a Search button for you to submit the request. Objects such as text boxes and buttons are called controls.
Other forms may be more complex, using several text boxes, list boxes, option buttons and so on, but they all work on the same principle: type the information into the boxes and press the button to send it.
- To move between controls use the mouse or press Tab
- To submit the form, click the button or press Return
Some websites may contain hyperlinks to sections with sound, video and animation. Depending on how the website is designed, you may be prompted to download a plug-in file to browse this kind of content. A plug-in is an application that extends Internet Explorer's features.
If you want to download the plug-in, follow the instructions on the website.
Note: Plug-ins could possibly carry viruses, which can damage your PC or gain access to private information. Only download plug-ins from trustworthy sites, and check any plug-in you want to use with an up-to-date virus scanner.
