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

1.	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.
2.	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.   Figure 1.5. (This item is displayed on page 133 in the print version) 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.
3.	Click Address Bar to hide the Address bar. Click it again to display it.
4.	From the View menu, click Toolbars, and then click Standard Buttons to hide the Standard Buttons toolbar. Click it again to display it.
5.	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.

Activity 1.3. Performing Commands Using the Standard Buttons Toolbar

1.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Back button to return to your home page, and then notice that the Forward button becomes available.
2.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, point to, but do not click, the Forward button , and then compare your screen with Figure 1.6.   Figure 1.6. A ScreenTip identifies the Web page that will display when you click the button.
3.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Forward button to redisplay the MSN.com home page.
4.	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.

Activity 1.4. Accessing Web Sites from the Address Bar

1.

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.
 

2.

With the current Web address selected, type www.firstgov.gov Press , and then compare your screen with Figure 1.7.
 

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Figure 1.7.

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.
 

3.

Take a moment to study the table in Figure 1.8 that describes how Web addresses are formed.
 

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Figure 1.8. Anatomy of a Web Address

Part of Web Address	Description
http	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.
://	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.
www.firstgov.gov	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.

 

4.

Click the Address Bar box again, type www.bls.gov and press . Compare your screen with Figure 1.9.
 

Figure 1.9.

(This item is displayed on page 137 in the print version)

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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5.

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.
 

Figure 1.10.

(This item is displayed on page 138 in the print version)

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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6.

In the displayed list, click the http://www.firstgov.gov Web address. Then, in the Address Bar box, type www.ed.gov and press .
 

7.

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.
 

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Figure 1.11.

 

8.

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.
 

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Figure 1.12.

 

9.

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.
 

Figure 1.13.

(This item is displayed on page 141 in the print version)

Internet Explorer displays the Penn State Web site. The .edu extension is reserved for schools, colleges, and universities.
 

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10.

On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Home button to return to the home page set on your computer.
 

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.

1.	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.   Figure 1.14. (This item is displayed on page 142 in the print version) 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 pointerwhen 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.
2.	Locate and then click the link for Scholarships and grants. Compare your screen to Figure 1.15.   Figure 1.15. (This item is displayed on page 143 in the print version) 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.   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.
3.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Back button . The students.gov home page displays.
4.	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.   Figure 1.16. (This item is displayed on page 144 in the print version) 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.   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.
5.	Click in the Address Bar box, type www.usgovernment.com and press . Compare your screen with Figure 1.17.     Figure 1.17.
6.	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.   Figure 1.18. (This item is displayed on page 146 in the print version) 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.
7.	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.

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.

1.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the History button , and then compare your screen with Figure 1.19.   Figure 1.19. (This item is displayed on page 147 in the print version) 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.
2.	In the History task pane, click the bls (www.bls.gov) link, and then compare your screen to Figure 1.20.   Figure 1.20. (This item is displayed on page 148 in the print version) The Web site name associated with the folder displays as a link below the folder.
3.	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.
4.	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.

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.

Objective 3 Create and Manage Favorites