| To access the Internet, you need a program called a Web browser. Luckily enough, Windows XP includes Internet Explorer, which is a Web browser. You can use Internet Explorer to go to and view Web pages. tip  | Before you can take advantage of all the benefits of the Internet, you must set up your Internet connection. The specifics of setting this up depend on your type of connection and your provider. Therefore, follow the specific instructions you received from your Internet provider. You can learn more about getting connected in Chapter 5, "Getting Wired for Communication." |
To start Internet Explorer, follow these steps: 1. | Click Start and then click Internet.
| 2. | If prompted, enter your username and password (some information might have been completed for you), and then click the Connect button. Depending on the type of connection, you may not need to complete this step.
Windows then connects to your ISP and displays the Internet Explorer window. At this point, you see your start page, usually the MSN home page, in the program window (see Figure 8.1).
Figure 8.1. Take a look the various tools in the Internet Explorer program window. 
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Understanding the Internet Explorer Window tip | You can select a different start page as covered in Chapter 15, "Customizing Email and Internet Explorer." |
Like most programs, the Internet Explorer window has a toolbar with various buttons to help you navigate from page to page. Before you start on your Internet journey, take a few minutes to look closely at the program window, including the following key items: Title bar Like other program windows, Internet Explorer displays a title bar at the top. This title bar lists the title for the current page. Window controls In the upper-right corner you see window control buttons for changing the size of the window. You can close the window (and exit Internet Explorer). You can minimize the window as another option. For information on changing the size of the window, see Chapter 1, "Getting Started with Windows XP." caution  | If you have problems connectingthe line is busy, for exampletry again. If you continue to have problems, check with your ISP. |
Activity icon Right beneath the window controls, you see an icon with the Microsoft Windows XP logo. This icon moves when Internet Explorer is busy. For example, displaying some pages (especially pages with many graphics) can take a while. You may think that the program is stuck. A good way to see whether the program is stuck or just simply busy is to take a look at this icon. If the flag is moving, the program is still busy trying to display the page. tip | If the page is taking too long to display and you want to cancel the display, click the Stop button. |
Toolbar Underneath the title bar and menu bar, you see a row of buttons. Again, like many other programs, Internet Explorer includes a toolbar with buttons for frequently used commands. See the next section, "Using the Toolbar," for a description of each of the toolbar buttons. Address bar The address bar lists the address of the current page. You can type another address to go to a particular site. Using the address bar is covered later in "Typing a Web Address." Scrollbar If the page contains more than one screen of information (and most do), you see scrollbars along the right side of the window. You can scroll down the page by clicking the down arrow or by dragging the scroll box (the colored part of the scrollbar) up or down. To scroll up through a page, click the up scroll arrow. tip | You can customize what appears onscreen. For instance, you may also see a Links toolbar. For more information on customizing Internet Explorer, see Chapter 15. |
Status bar The status bar appears along the bottom of the program window. This displays link information. For instance, if you place your mouse pointer over a link (more on links later), you see the address of the linked page or site. If Internet Explorer is busy downloading data for the page, you see the status of this activity in the status bar.
Using the Toolbar The most common way to navigate from page to page is to use the toolbar buttons. To use most buttons, you simply click the buttons themselves. Other buttons have a down arrow next to them. For these buttons, you can click the down arrow and then select your choice from the button menu. For example, if you click the down arrow next to the Mail button, you see commands for mailing pages (see Figure 8.2). Figure 8.2. Some buttons include a drop-down menu for making a selection. 
Some buttons open a bar on the left part of the program window. You then use the options in this bar to display other pages. For instance, you can click the Media button to display a list of media sites. You can click the Search button to display a list of search tools (more on searching in the next chapter). As well as using any of the links within the bar, you can scroll through the bar (click the scroll arrows or drag the scroll box), resize the bar (drag the bar border), and close the bar (click the Close button). tip | If you are unsure what a button does, you can display its ScreenTip name. To do so, place the mouse pointer on the border of a button. The button name should pop up, but don't click it. |
Table 8.1 lists each of the buttons and provides a description of each one. Table 8.1. Internet Explorer ButtonsButton | Name | Click To… |
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| Back | Go to the last page you visited. You can click the button several times to go back several pages. You can also click the down arrow next to the button and select a page from the drop-down list. The same is true for the Forward button. | 
| Forward | Go forward a page. This button is available only if you have clicked Back to go back a page. | 
| Stop | Stop the display of a page. Use this button if the page is taking too long to display or if you change your mind. | 
| Refresh | Redisplay the page, refreshing the data on that page. | 
| Home | Return to your home page. | 
| Search | Display the Search bar to search for a site. See Chapter 9, "Searching the Internet" for more information. | 
| Favorites | Display a list of favorite sites. See Chapter 15. | 
| Media | Display a Media guide with access to music, videos, and other media features. | 
| History | Display a list of recently visited sites. See "Using the History List" later in this chapter. | 
| Mail | Email a page or the link to a page. See "Emailing Web Pages" later in this chapter. For more information on all email messages, see Chapter 7, "Sending and Receiving Email." | 
| Print | Print the current Web page. | 
| Edit | Open the page in a Web editing program. If you are interested in Web publishing, try one of Que's many guides to this topic, including 10 Minute Guide to Microsoft FrontPage 2002. | 
| Discuss | Join a discussion server for sharing comments about different topics. |
Viewing the Page Content tip | If you have Instant Messenger programs set up, such as America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) or Windows Messenger, you'll also see icons for these tools. You can click these to view and send online messages. |
Now that you are familiar with the program window, you can take a look at the page itself. The first page you see when you log on to the Internet is your start or home page. (Both names are commonly used to refer to that first page.) Your home page will vary. Your ISP may display its opening page as your home page. For instance, if you have a cable connection, you may see your Internet cable provider's page (such as Road Runner for Time Warner's cable connections). You may see MSN, the home page for Microsoft's online service. Otherwise, you may see a page you have selected yourself. You can customize the home page by selecting the page you want (see Chapter 15). Regardless of what page you see, all home pages (and almost all pages you visit on the Internet) have the same basic elements. Here's what you can expect to find in the content area of the Internet Explorer window: Links The great thing about the Internet is how information is linked. You can click a link to view other information. For instance, you may see a headline on a page. By clicking the headline, you can view the complete story. You learn more about using links in the next section. Information You also see articles about various topics, similar to the front page of a newspaper. You can review any of the articles posted on the page. Advertisements Nearly all Web content is provided free of charge. To finance this free information, most sites sell advertising. You may see ads at the top, bottom, or sides of the page. Table of contents Many sites provide a quick table of contents to the site. You can jump to other pages at the site using this table. These may also be named channels or categories. For instance, in Figure 8.1, you see the MSN channels. Here, information is organized into topics such as Business, News, and so on. You can find these table of contents links along the top, side, or bottom of the page. Sometimes they appear on the page in more than one place. caution | Don't be surprised if you see pop-up windows with advertisements when you log on. Usually, these are displayed in their own windows. You can click the Close button for that window to close the ad. Some have pop-behind ads, ads that appear behind the program window and show up when you close it. Again, you can click the Close button to close any advertisement windows. You can purchase and use software to block these intrusions. See "Ensuring Internet Security and Privacy" later in this chapter. |
Search button Because a site may include a lot of information, you may find a Search button on the page. Use this Search button to search for particular content at that site (see Figure 8.3). You may also see a Search button for searching the Internetthat is, one that is not limited to just content at the site. Chapter 9 is devoted to the topic of searching. Figure 8.3. You can navigate around a site by searching for a topic or item. 
Resource features Many sites include useful resource features. For instance, maps are common resource tools. You can click the link for maps to get directions to a place. Directories of businesses and other listings (such as the Yellow Pages) are other common resources. You can use these directories, for instance, to find the address or phone number of a company. Entertainment Many sites have multimedia elements. You can listen to music, view a short video, check out animations, and more. Custom information Many home or start pages let you customize what appears on the opening page. For example, you might display local weather or news stories. You might display your horoscope for the day. The process for customizing your home page depends on that particular site. Look for links on your home page for specific information on customizing the contents.
tip | The preceding list gives you a quick overview of what you can expect. You'll find much more information and many more links at your site. Also, the content is frequently updated. The best way to get a sense of what's available is to explore and experiment with your own home page. |
Now that you know what to expect on your start page, you are ready to jump from that page to other sites. Keep in mind that sites are constantly changing. Also, most sites follow a similar structurethat is, they have articles, a table of contents (sometimes called a site map), advertisements, and so on. The next section covers how to navigate from page to page using links. |
