WEB NAVIGATION 101:
TIPS FOR THE BEGINNING WEB SURFER

New to the Internet?  

You may not yet have learned the little tricks for getting around on what used to be called the "Information Superhighway."  We hope novice users will find this page of tips to be helpful.  This material is longer than what you can see in your monitor screen.  You will need to "scroll down" to see all the content. 

Scrolling through pages: 

When the content on a web page is longer than what your monitor's screen can display, a vertical "slider bar" will appear on the right side of the page.   This is a case where you may want to click and hold.  Simply move your mouse cursor to that bar and press and hold down the left button, then you can move your mouse to drag the slider down toward the bottom of your screen.  This "scrolls" the page down.

You can also scroll down by clicking your left mouse button on the downward-pointing arrow below the slider or by simply pressing the "Page Down" button or the down arrow button on your keyboard.

Some mouses have a little wheel in the center, between the right and left buttons.  Usually (but not always), you can put your pointer anywhere in the web page and roll the wheel with your finger.  The page will move up or down depending on the direction you move the wheel.  If you would prefer to move the whole mouse instead of rolling the wheel, just press the wheel down until it clicks.  A double-headed arrow will appear where your cursor was.  Now you can take your finger off the wheel and move the mouse up and down (or side to side to scroll left or right on wide pages).  To cancel this feature, simply click the wheel again.

The process is the same for scrolling back up the page.  Just reverse the direction you move the mouse.  You may also press the "Home" button on your keyboard to return to the top of a page.  Likewise, pressing the "End" button takes you immediately to the bottom of a page.

Sometimes you will find a website that is wider than your screen can display.  If the text or pictures appear to be cut off at the right side of your screen, look for a horizontal slider at the bottom of the page.  Move this slider just as you did the vertical one, except left to right instead of top to bottom.

If you find that a lot of sites you visit are wider than your screen can display, you may want to consider changing the "resolution" of your monitor.  This is beyond the scope of this tip sheet, but if you find you would like to do that and need instructions, feel free to contact us.

"Clicking" your mouse

This refers to pressing one of the buttons on your mouse down until it clicks, then immediately releasing it.   Most of the time, you will be clicking the left mouse button to follow links, just as you did to get to this page.  This is also referred to as left-clicking.  "Click" or the phrase "click here" refers to clicking the left mouse button.  (Note that the left and right buttons are assigned certain tasks by default, but they can be switched if desired.  Configuring your mouse is beyond the scope of this tip sheet, but feel free to contact us if you would like to know how to re-configure your mouse.)

If you are trying to follow a "link" (links are described below) or click on a button, do not move the mouse while clicking - even a small amount of movement while clicking will result in nothing happening or perhaps you will accidentally select ("highlight") some of the page's content.  If you suddenly find that a portion of the text where you have clicked has been highlighted, you can cancel the highlighting by clicking again.  There are, however, some times when you will want to move the mouse while holding down the left button - this is referred to as "Click and Hold" and is used to highlight portions of text or sometimes to move things around.  But for just "surfing the Internet" you will normally just be clicking or double-clicking.

Clicking the right button opens a menu with some helpful features which can help you to quickly "bookmark" a page (add it to your list of Favorites), print, copy, paste, save images and more, depending on where your cursor is pointing when you right-click.  You can also right-click on a link and select "Open in new window" if you want the linked-to page's content to appear in its own browser window.

"Double-clicking"

Double-clicking your mouse's left button is sometimes required to access programs or, in some cases to follow links.  If clicking once on something does not give you the desired result, wait a moment and then double click.  A Double Click is two clicks in rapid succession -- again without moving the mouse.  Your mouse can be configured to respond to a slower double-click if necessary.

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks, or "Links" refer to content on a web page that, when clicked on, take you to a different part of the website or to a different website altogether.  It used to be that you could easily tell if a word or portion of text was a link because it was blue and underlined.  This is no longer necessarily true.  Although we as web designers discourage it, some people want to emphasize something on their web page by underlining it (as we did the link example in this paragraph), so underlined words do not necessarily a link make.

Depending on how a site is built, links can now be any color and may or may not be underlined.  Sometimes the only way you can tell that a word or portion of text is a link is by placing your mouse cursor over it and seeing if your cursor changes to a pointing hand.  (The pointing hand is a default "icon," some websites can change the appearance of the icon).  Often, you will also find that links change color when you pass your cursor over them; they may change in size or perhaps they may be only underlined when you mouse-over them ("Mouse-over" refers to passing the cursor over something).  Mouse-over this line to see how links are displayed on this site. 

Images can also be links - photos or buttons can be clicked on many sites to take you to different pages of the site.

Either way, links are the key to navigating the Internet.  You will quickly find that you have somehow lost track of the time you spend following links here and there, sometimes forgetting what you were originally looking for!  Some links open new browser windows (screens) when clicked, others just change what appears in your original browser window.  If no new windows have been opened since you started clicking, you can always find your way back to where you started by simply pressing the "Back" button on your keyboard until you get back to where you want to be.  If new windows have opened in the process of following links, you can close them to return to the page from where they were "launched" (opened).

A Word About Computer Viruses

It is IMPORTANT for you to have the latest version of an anti-virus program running on your computer at all times while you are online.  It used to be you could only get a virus by clicking on an email attachment or by using an infected disk.  That's no longer true - some websites can install viruses on your computer just by you visiting the site - even for a moment!  Keep your anti-virus software updated with the latest virus definitions.  Some new viruses can actually shut off your anti-virus program and block your access to anti-virus websites, so keep your anti-virus software updated.  Consider also installing a firewall for your own protection.  All of this is especially important if you have an "always on" Internet connection.

We hope you have found these tips to be helpful. If you have any questions about how to enhance your Internet experience, don't hesitate to contact us and ask!

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