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New Berlin Public Library |
Navigating the World Wide Web
Getting into the World Wide Web and navigating around it requires the use of "browser"
software. There are currently two popular "web browsers", Netscape and
MicroSoft Internet Explorer (MSIE). Both of these software products have gone through
several revisions. Users can easily find 3 different versions of each in common use.
This makes for some confusion. Luckily even though all these versions can at first
glance appear different, in fact they all pretty much work alike.
In Addresses we talked about entering a URL address into a browser to go to a specific
location. Let's look at navigating now. Browsers got their name for a reason. They
are designed to make it easy for you to "browse" both a web page and any
pages that it's linked to. You can recognize a link usually by it's blue
color and an underline.
If it's a graphic then there will often be
a blue line box around the little picture.
Like any rule there are lots of exceptions. In fact links can be any color and graphics can have no indication whatsoever that they are a link except for when you "click" on them you go someplace else (surprise). Try the Waukesha County and WILS logos at the top and bottom of this page for proof. The one way to always identify links is when the arrow touches a link it turns into a hand.
There are two common formats for presenting links on a page. The first is a menu format such as this:
The other is to include the links as part of the regular text. You would notice first Link Number 1 and then later on you might see Link Number 2. That would be followed at some point by Link Number 3 and finally when the author is ready to wrap it all up then you'd find Link Number 4.
You can browse and browse and browse to your hearts content this way. Hopefully going to more and more locations that you find interesting. When you want to go back to the imediately previous page you can click on the Back button.
Or you can return to the home page (in this case the New Berlin Public Library page) by clicking on the Home button.
Finally most Web Pages don't fit completely on the computer screen. You need to move
the display down to see the additional information. This is called scrolling, and
it can take some practice to do, but if you use the keyboard it can be easy. Look
at your keyboard, note the typewriter section on the left, then note the calculator
section on the right, finally notice the "magic" keys in between. Among
those keys you'll find the Page Up and Page Down keys. Use those keys to see more
of your screen. You can also use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to move the screen
display.
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Page Up Key |
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Page Down Key |
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