Usually, you go to a Web site and review the information. When doing so, you may want to email the link (or the page itself) to someone. For instance, you may email a book review to your mom. You may also print a page. For example, you may print an order form to order a product via the telephone or fax. You can also work with the text and images on a page. As an example, you can copy an image from a Web page to a document. For example, you might copy a logo to include in a report. This section covers some of the basic tasks you can do with Web pages and their contents. Emailing Web PagesOften in your Web browsing, you come across sites that might be of interest to others. Internet Explorer makes it convenient to send a link or the actual page to others. (You can also open your mailbox and review your mail, using the Read Mail command.) Follow these steps to send a link or a page via email:
If you send the page, the recipient can view the contents of the page, but usually cannot use any of the links. (This is like taking a snapshot of the page.) If you send a link, the link is included as an attachment or as a link within the message text. The recipient can open the attachment or click the link to go to that page. The recipient can then access any of the information and links at that site. Printing Web PagesIn addition to emailing pages, you can also print Web pages. For instance, suppose that you are doing research on Leonardo da Vinci and you find a site with a detailed bibliography. Rather than reading this information onscreen, you might want to print and review the information away from your computer. To do so, you can print the page(s). To print a Web page, follow these steps:
Working with Text and ImagesIf you want to quote a passage from a Web site, you can retype it. Otherwise, you can copy the text from the site to a document as a shortcut. (Keep in mind that you should cite all sources and should never present someone else's ideas, images, or words as your own.) Likewise, you can copy an image from a Web site to a document. Follow these steps to copy text or an image:
tip
Downloading FilesSome sites provide programs, images, documents, or other file types for you to download. You may download programs to add to your computer, such as Adobe Reader, a popular program for sharing documents. Some companies provide add-ons or updates to their programs via the Web; you can download these add-ons or updates. You may also download documents, such as an Adobe Acrobat document (or PDF file) that you can open and read using Adobe Reader. If you have Microsoft Office, you can go online and access its clipart or design gallery and download templates, images, fonts, and so on. The specifics for downloading a file depend on the site, but most commonly, you click the link for the file and then are prompted to save or open the file. (Usually, you save it, but you can also open and run a document from a site.) If you select to save the file, you next specify a drive and folder and then start the download process. Often, a progress box shows the estimated amount of time needed to download the file, as well as the time already elapsed. Keep in mind that sharing files is one way to get a computer virus (and potentially put your documents and computer at risk). You should use a virus program to check any downloaded files, especially program files, before you run them. You can find out more about virus programs in Chapter 17. |