[Page 132]
Objective 2. Navigate the Internet
Most Web pages contain links that you can use to navigate to other sites on the Internet. In addition, Internet Explorer provides commandsaccessible either from the
menus
or from the Standard
Buttons
toolbara History list, and the Address bar that you can use to navigate the Web. In Activities 1.2 through 1.6, you will use each of these tools to access different Web sites.
Activity 1.2. Performing Commands Using the Menu Bar
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1.
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On the menu bar, click
View
to display the
View
menu and notice the list of commands on this menu.
With the commands on this menu, you control what displays on the screen and how it is displayed. The commands,
toolbars
, status bar, and Explorer bar allow you to display or hide
parts
of the browser window. The commands Go To, Stop, and Refresh control the Web page being displayed. The commands Text Size and Encoding control the font displayed on the Web page. Some commands display an arrow, which, when pointed to, will display another menu called a
submenu
.
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2.
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From the
View
menu, click
Toolbars
to display commands that let you display or hide the Standard Buttons toolbar and Address bar. Compare your screen with Figure 1.5.
Check marks
indicate
commands that are currently active and displayed. If you click a checked command, the check mark is removed and the command is deactivated.
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[Page 133]
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3.
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Click
Address Bar
to hide the Address bar. Click it again to display it.
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4.
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From the
View
menu, click
Toolbars
, and then click
Standard Buttons
to hide the Standard Buttons toolbar. Click it again to display it.
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5.
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On the menu bar, click
Tools
to display the Tools menu and notice the list of commands on this menu. These commands are used to manage the manner in which Internet Explorer works for you.
One commonly used command on this menu is the
Pop-up Blocker
command, with which you can
turn
on or off this feature.
Pop-ups
are those distracting
windows
that display on your screen without you actually requesting them. Usually they are advertisements. Many Web users prefer to block pop-ups to speed up the load time and viewing of a Web site.
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Activity 1.3. Performing Commands Using the Standard Buttons Toolbar
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1.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Back
button
to return to your home page, and then notice that the
Forward
button
becomes available.
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[Page 134]
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2.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, point to, but do not click, the
Forward
button
, and then compare your screen with Figure 1.6.
A ScreenTip identifies the Web page that will display when you click the button.
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3.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Forward
button
to redisplay the
MSN.com
home page.
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4.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Home
button
.
Regardless of how many Web pages you view or Web sites you visit, clicking the Home button returns you to the site that is set on the system at which you are working.
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Activity 1.4. Accessing Web Sites from the Address Bar
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1.
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Near the top of the Internet Explorer window, click
anywhere
in the
Address Bar
box.
The existing Web address is highlighted indicating that it is selected.
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2.
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With the current Web address selected, type
www.firstgov.gov
Press
, and then compare your screen with Figure 1.7.
[Page 135]
The
FirstGov.gov
site's home page displays. When an existing Web address is selected, typing a new address
replaces
the selected text. As you type, a list might display. Internet Explorer remembers the last 25 Web addresses you entered and displays a list containing site addresses that start with the
characters
you type. When you type the
www
, Internet Explorer displays a list of all the sites you have accessed recently that begin with
www
. The list gets shorter with each character you type. If you see the site you are typing in the Address Bar list, you can click the site
name
in the list rather than typing the complete address.
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3.
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Take a moment to study the table in Figure 1.8 that describes how Web addresses are
formed
.
[Page 136]
Figure 1.8. Anatomy of a Web Address
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Part of Web Address
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Description
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http
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The abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocolthe standard
protocol
for retrieving Web sites. Another protocol is
ftp,
or File Transfer Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules for transferring data over the Internet.
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://
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Three characters identified by Internet
creators
for separating the protocol from the rest of the Web address. These particular three characters were identified because they had never appeared together in computer programs and other computer-
related
contexts.
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www.firstgov.gov
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The domain name. In this case, the domain name includes the abbreviation for World Wide Web (www), the name of the organization, and the domain type
.gov
stands for government. Not all domain
names
start with www, but many do. Other domain types include
.com
(commercial),
.edu
(education),
.org
(organization),
.net
(network),
.mil
(military), and
.mus
(music). Most
countries
have their own domain type such as
.ca
for Canada and
.fr
for France.
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4.
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Click the
Address Bar
box again, type
www.bls.gov
and press
. Compare your screen with Figure 1.9.
The
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Web site displays. Recall that because sites are regularly updated, your screen will likely not match Figure 1.9 exactly. The .
gov
in the Web address is called a top-level domain and identifies the site as a government site.
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[Page 137]
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5.
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At the right end of the
Address Bar
box, click the
Address Bar box down arrow
and point to, but do not click, the
http://www.firstgov.gov
Web address. Compare your screen to Figure 1.10.
The list of recently accessed Web sites on your computer will
differ
from those shown in Figure 1.10. The sites listed represent those most frequently visited on your computer.
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[Page 138]
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6.
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In the displayed list, click the
http://www.firstgov.gov
Web address. Then, in the
Address Bar
box, type
www.ed.gov
and press
.
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7.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, locate the
Back button down arrow
, and then click the arrow to display the most recently visited Web sites. Click on the listing for the
FirstGov.gov
Web site. Then, click the
Forward
button to return to the
U.S. Department of Education
Web site. Compare your screen with Figure 1.11.
[Page 139]
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8.
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From the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Favorites
button to display the task pane. Click
MSN.com
, and watch this site's home page for a few moments and notice that text and images change.
Web sites frequently use
animated banners
to
attract
attention and stimulate interest to the Web site. Animated banners are a series of rotating or changing text and images embedded within the Web page. Compare your screen to Figure 1.12.
[Page 140]
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9.
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In the
Favorites
task pane, click the
Close
button
. In the
Address Bar
box, type
www.psu.edu
and press
. Compare your screen with Figure 1.13.
Internet Explorer displays the
Penn State
Web site. The .
edu
extension is reserved for
schools
, colleges, and universities.
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[Page 141]
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10.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Home
button
to return to the home page set on your computer.
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Activity 1.5. Displaying Web Pages with
Hyperlinks
Most Web sites contain
hyperlinks
, which provide another navigation tool for browsing Web pages. Hyperlinks are text, buttons, pictures, or other objects displayed on Web pages that, when clicked, access other Web pages or display other sections of the active page. Linked Web pages can be pages within the same Web site or Web pages on sites of other companies, schools, or organizations. In this activity, you will use hyperlinks to display Web pages about college financial aid.
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1.
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In the
Address Bar
box, type
www.students.gov
and press
. Move the mouse pointer around on the screen to locate areas where the
Link Select pointer
displays, as shown in Figure 1.14.
Internet Explorer displays the
students.gov
home page. As you review Figure 1.14, notice that the mouse pointer displays as a pointing handthe
Link Select pointer
when you point to an item that links to another Web page. Many Web pages contain links that connect to other pages on the site. These other pages contain links that lead back to the home page that displays each time you access the other pages.
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[Page 142]
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2.
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Locate and then click the link for
Scholarships and grants
. Compare your screen to Figure 1.15.
The
Scholarships and grants
screen displays. The address in the Address bar still shows the
students.gov
Web site, but the URL has expanded to identify the
path
for this page.
[Page 143]
Alert!: Web Site Doesn't Appear?
Because Web sites are updated frequently, the links on the Web sites also change. If the Scholarships and grants link on the
students.gov
Web site does not display, select another link to follow.
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3.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Back
button
.
The
students.gov
home page displays.
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4.
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Scroll down as necessary to locate the link for
State financial aid
and click it. Compare your screen with Figure 1.16. If you want to do so, scroll down and try to find information about your state. At the bottom of the screen, click the
numbers
to move forward in the list of states. Each link to state financial aid information will
open
in a new window. When you are finished, return to the
State financial aid
Web page by clicking the
Close
button in the upper right corner of the new window. This will close the window that displayed the
State financial aid
page and return you to the
students.gov
Web page.
Internet Explorer opens each of the links shown on the
State financial aid
Web page in a new window. Each Web page contains settings that control whether linked pages open in a separate window or in the same window. In addition, settings that are active on your computer control the linked page's display.
[Page 144]
The new Web page opens in a separate window because the window displays as a pop-up on top of the
State financial aid
window. Notice that another button displays on the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen that shows the name of the new Web page. Both the Back and Forward buttons of the new window are unavailable.
So far, all the links you have used connect to other pages within the
students.gov
Web site. Other sites contain links that connect you to other Web sites.
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5.
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Click in the
Address Bar
box, type
www.usgovernment.com
and press
. Compare your screen with Figure 1.17.
[Page 145]
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6.
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Locate and then click the link for
Government Education Grants
. Click one of the Sponsored Results links. Compare your screen with Figure 1.18. The new window that opens may differ from the one shown here. On the Web page that provided Search Results links, click the link to
www.freescholarshipguide.com
. Notice that the top-level domain name (.com) in the Address bar is a commercial Web site. It has paid to be listed prominently in the search returns.
Internet Explorer opens each of the links shown on the
Government Education Grants
Web page in a new window. You can tell the new Web page opens in a separate window because the window displays as a pop-up on top of the
Government Education Grants
window and another button displays on the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen that shows the name of the new Web page. Both the Back and Forward buttons of the new window are unavailable. When you have finished viewing this new Web page, click the Close button in the upper right corner of the new window.
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[Page 146]
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7.
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On the displayed Web site's title bar, click the
Close
button
to close the new window. Then, on the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
Home
button
to return to your home page.
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Activity 1.6. Using Internet Explorer History
The Internet Explorer
History
feature tracks recently visited Web pages and sites. You can display the History list and select a site that you recently visited. By default, Internet Explorer tracks sites visited in the last 20 days. To reduce the amount of disk storage space required to maintain the History list, you can customize the settings to change the number of days tracked and to clear the list. In this activity, you will use the History list to display recently visited sites.
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1.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
History
button
, and then compare your screen with Figure 1.19.
The History task pane displays on the left side of the Internet Explorer window. The listings of items on your computer will differ from those shown in the figure. However, many of the listings shown for Today should be the same. Notice that the links to sites accessed today display in alphabetical order.
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[Page 147]
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2.
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In the
History
task pane, click the
bls (www.bls.gov)
link, and then compare your screen to Figure 1.20.
The Web site name associated with the folder displays as a link below the folder.
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[Page 148]
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3.
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Scroll down the
History
task pane as necessary, and then click the
firstgov
link to display the associated Web site name for the
Firstgov.gov
Web site.
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4.
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On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the
History
button
again to close the History pane. Alternatively, click the task pane's Close button.
The History button
acts as a toggle to display and hide the History pane.
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More Knowledge: Setting History Options
The default setting for the History pane displays Web pages visited in the last 20 days. You can change the options that control the History pane and also clear the History list by setting Internet Options. On the Internet Explorer menu bar, click Tools, and then click Internet Options to open the Internet Options dialog box. In the dialog box, click the Clear History button to remove all site listings; then click Yes to confirm the deletion. You can also click the spin arrows beside
Days to keep pages in history
to increase or decrease the number of days tracked on the History task pane.
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