The Heinze Group Browser Assistance Page

This browser assistance page is here to help you use many of the features of Netscape and other web browser programs. It was developed several years ago and is based on the 16 bit version of Netscape 2, however, much of it will apply to todays web browsers.

May we suggest that you print this page now, then it will make a handy reference. You should be able to print this page by using the "Print" button on your browser's tool bar, or you can select the "Print" function under your file menu. A little warning. If you are using a color printer, change your settings to black and white first, otherwise you might blow your color cartridge.


Netscape Screen Layout

The default screen layout consists of 7 major sections. Six rows and the viewing area. From top to bottom they are:

1. The title bar, which tells you the title of the web page you are viewing.
2. The Menu Bar, which consists of several pull down menus.
3. The Tool Bar, which consists of several clickable buttons or icons.
4. The Location Field, displays the URL or address of the document you are viewing.
5. The Directory Buttons, more clickable buttons to help you navigate the web.
6. The Viewing Area, what you spend most of your time looking at.
7. The Status Bar, to tell you what is happening.

General Operating Functions

In this section we will discuss some of most widely used functions.

The Menu Bar

This row consists of several very useful pull down menus, many with further submenus. To access them, click on the desired item (or hit F10 and move your cursor around them using the arrow keys). The following is a description of many of these menu items.

File Menu

Open Location: If you know the address or URL of a site that you want to visit, you can enter it using this function. Enter the address and select "OK". With some browsers, like Netscape 2, you can start with www and skip the http:// part. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

Open File: This function can be used to view a file you have previously saved (see save as below). You can do this either on or off line. If you start Netscape when you are off line, it might say unable to locate hosts or a server name. This is because you are not connected to the net, just click "OK" and do not worry about it.

Save as: This is a great feature. Say you just loaded a picture of the Hyakutake comet and you wanted to save it to view later. You can use this feature to save the file. Using this feature you can select a file name and select the directory where you want to save the file. Many users set up special directories to store these things. There are two important things to remember though. 1) Remember to respect any copyrights. Most people do not mind you saving their work if it is only for your personal use, but beyond that you should ask permission. 2) This function only saves the source file. So for example if you save one of our pages, you will get the page without the pictures. If you have loaded only the picture, the picture should be the only thing on the screen and the location in the Location field should finish with the extension .jpg or .gif. If you wish to save a picture that is imbedded in a file, put your mouse pointer over it and click your right mouse key for further options.

Print: This function works like a print screen function, it should print the page to look much like what you are viewing. It works just like any print function under windows. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

View Menu

Reload: If a file does not load properly, or seems to have stalled during the loading process, try hitting reload. This will often rectify the problem. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

Load Images: If under the Options menu you have turned off the Auto Load Images function, this will cause the images (pictures) on the page you are viewing to load. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

Document Source: This function will show you the actual file (htmll document) that you are viewing. This feature is often used by web site authors to see how a feature was created. It can also be used to determine the file name of a picture, so that it can be individually loaded, then saved using the "save as" command. Whoops, wonder if we should have told you that?

Document Information: This function allows you to view some statistics about the document you are viewing, like the location (URL) of the file, date of last update, and the URL's of the image files included in the document. Whoops, another way to find a picture file address.

Go Menu

Back: This function will take you back to the previous page that you viewed. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

Forward: This function can be used after you used the back function. It will take you forward again, or back to where you went back from, if you follow our drift. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

Home: This function will take you to the familiar old site that you have designated as your startup page under Options, General Preferences, Appearances, discussed in the "Important Maintenance Functions" section below. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

Stop Loading: If you change your mind about loading a page, or decide that you do not want to wait any longer for it to load, this function will stop the loading process. This function can also be found on the Tool Bar.

History: This is another great feature. When you select the "Go Menu," netscape provides a list of the last ten sites you visited. Click on any one of them to return to that site. Very handy when you want to jump back several pages.

Bookmarks Menu

The bookmarks are another great feature. They allow you to save the location (URL) of a page so that you can easily return to it at a later date. When you click this menu item, you will see two menu options (Add & Go to Bookmarks), then a list of your bookmarks. To go to a location, click on it. We sure hope that you remember to bookmark one of our pages.

Add: By clicking on this, you add the page to your bookmarks. It is usually a good idea to click the bookmark menu item again, and see what the page you just marked will be called, as it is often not what you would expect. The page you just saved will be the one on the very bottom of the list.

Go to Bookmarks: This feature allows you to better manage your bookmarks. It will show you a list of folders and bookmarks that are not in folders. A folder is like a directory of bookmarks. To create a folder select "Item," then "Insert folder." Then enter a new folder name and hit enter. To put a bookmark into a folder, use your pointing devise to drag it to the appropriate folder. To edit a folder or bookmark, highlight the item, select the "Items" menu item then "Properties".

To open a folder and select a bookmark from it while running Netscape, click the "Bookmarks" menu, then click on the folder, then click the page you want. We should note that sometimes Netscape is fussy about where on the folder line you click, and it just starts loading the first item in the folder. If that happens, hit stop, then try again, this time clicking to either side of where you did last. Some experimenting will help you get a feel for this. Personally, we also have some more experimenting to do, as we do not always get it right either. Of course you can also use your arrow keys.

Options Menu

General Preference - Appearances: See the "Important Maintenance Functions" section below.

General Preference - Fonts: Lets you change to a different style of writing like Japanese etc.

General Preference - Colors: Lets you change text and background colors. We recommend that you do not change the defaults here.

General Preference - Images: Lets you change the way images are loaded.

General Preference - Apps: Supporting Applications; Discuss with your internet provider.

General Preference - Helpers: Tells Netscape how to handle different types of files. For example if you add a movie viewer, you can us this area to tell Netscape how to use the viewer.

General Preference - Language: Use this to change the language that you are viewing in.

Mail & News Preferences: Use these items to receive and send email and to set up and view different newsgroups. Your Internet service provider can give you information on the mail settings and what newsgroups you have access to.

Network Preferences - Cache: Proper cache management can significantly effect the performance of netscape. See "Important Maintenance Functions" below for discussion on this item.

Network Preferences - Connections: This effects how netscape receives data from the internet.

Network Preferences - Proxies: If you are accessing the internet through a network as opposed to through an internet service provider, the network may be protected by a firewall. This is to protect the server from outside access. Your systems operator (sysop) will be able to advise you on this.

Security Preferences: This will allow you to disable Java & to set up warnings to alert you when you are transmitting an unsecured document. Most users will choose to leave the alerts on and many will want to disable Java as there have been concerns about the ability of Java to create problems on your computer.

Show Toolbar: By clicking on this item, you can change the appearance of your screen. This turns the Tool Bar on and off. Turning it off gives you more screen area, but turning it on makes some very handy tools readily available. If you turn it off, you can still access the functions through the menu items, just not as conveniently.

Show Location: By clicking on this item, you can change the appearance of your screen. This turns the Location Field Bar on and off. Turning it off gives you more screen area, but many of us like to be able to see the address of the page we are at.

Show Directory Buttons: By clicking on this item, you can change the appearance of your screen. This turns the Buttons Bar on and off. Turning it off gives you more screen area, but turning it on makes some choices of places to go readily available. If you turn it off, you can still access the choices through the menu items, just not as conveniently.

Auto Load Images: By clicking on this item, you can change how Netscape loads a page. This turns the image loading on and off. If you are looking for speed turning this off can greatly speed up page loading, as the images will not be loaded or shown. If you want to see the images or pictures, just click the "Images" button on the Tool Bar. If this is turned on (the default) then images will load automatically.

Save Options: If you change this last group of options, you may want to save your changes using this function.

Directory Menu

Netscape Home: Clicking this will connect you to Netscape's Home Page.

What's New: This will connect you to a Netscape site that lists some new internet sites. This function can also be found on the Directory Buttons.

What's Cool: This will connect you to a Netscape site that lists some cool internet sites. This function can also be found on the Directory Buttons.

Internet Search: This will connect you to a Netscape site that will link you to several different search engines & directories. Use these engines to search for sites by topic. This function can also be found on the Directory Buttons.

Help Menu

There are several items under the Netscape help menu. To use them you must be on-line, as they connect you directly to the Netscape site.

The Tool Bar

Back: This function will take you back to the previous page that you viewed.

Forward: This function can be used after you used the back function. It will take you forward again, or back to where you went back from, if you follow our drift.

Home: This function will take you to the familiar old site that you have designated as your startup page under Options, General Preferences, Appearances, discussed in the "Important Maintenance Functions" section below.

Reload: If a file does not load properly, or seems to have stalled during the loading process, try hitting reload. This will often rectify the problem.

Images: If under the Options menu you have turned off the Auto Load Images function, this will cause the images (pictures) on the page you are viewing to load.

Open: If you know the address or URL of a site that you want to visit, you can enter it using this function. Enter the address and select "OK". With some browsers, like Netscape 2, you can start with www and skip the http:// part.

Print: Click this button to print the page that you are viewing.

Find: Click this button to search the site you are viewing for a specific word or phrase.

Stop: If you change your mind about loading a page, or decide that you do not want to wait any longer for it to load, this function will stop the loading process.

The Location Field

This line tells you the address or URL of the page you are viewing. You can also use it to enter a new location. Just edit it then hit enter. This can be especially handy when you want to go to an address very similar to the one you are on, such as a different file in the same directory or another directory on the same server.

The Directory Buttons

What's New: This will connect you to a Netscape site that lists some new internet sites. This function can also be found on the Directory Menu.

What's Cool: This will connect you to a Netscape site that lists some cool internet sites. This function can also be found on the Directory Menu.

Net Search: This will connect you to a Netscape site that will link you to several different search engines & directories. Use these engines to search for sites by topic. This function can also be found on the Directory Menu.

Net Directory; This will connect you to a Netscape site that will link you to several different search engines & directories. Use these engines to search for sites by topic.

The View Screen

This one is kind of obvious. This is where you look to see the many wonders of the internet. You are reading it now.

The Action Bar

This is the bar at the bottom of the page. It has three items.

The first is a key. If it is solid, you have a secure link, where you can send data using some of Netscape's security features. The key is usually broken, meaning that the data is less secure.

The next area takes up most of the bar. It tells you what is going on, are you loading, at what rate etc.

The last area consists of a small bar that indicates how much of the site has loaded.

Important Maintenance Functions

In this section we will discuss some important functions which will help you keep Netscape running at peak efficiency, even though the net may not be.

Options Menu - General Preferences - Appearance: Under the options menu, select General Preferences, then Appearances. From here you can make some decisions. The first group effects the appearance of the Toolbar. The next group effects what happens on startup. You will note that the default is for Netscape to go immediately to Netscape's site on startup. You might want to enter a different location in this section, perhaps the Homepage of your internet provider, or a site that you especially like. This location is also where you will go whenever you click Home. You can also mark the start with a blank screen box. We use this because it speeds up loading, however, you still need to enter a home location. Finally you can make some choices regarding links. Note that visited links are a different color than unvisited links, so you can tell where you have been, this is where you choose for how long etc.

Options Menu - Network Preferences - Cache: Under the options menu, select Network Preferences, then Cache. From here you can make some decisions effecting your cache. When Netscape is running it saves the files it reads into a Cache directory. This makes it possible for it to operate faster as it does not have to download the files again. However, it must be set up properly and maintained to work.

The default for memory cache is 600 kilobytes, we have never seen any reason to change this. The Disk Cache must be above zero to work. We have ours set at 3000 kilobytes (3 meg.) and that seems to work for us. The Disk Cache Directory must be a directory that exists and should only be used for this function. Make sure it exists, and after taking Netscape for a test run, make sure that some files are in it. Our cache directory is C:\Netscape\Cache.

The Verify Document option is personal. It tells Netscape how often to compare a file with one in it's Cache. We have selected Once per session. This way when we load a document for the first time in a session, it is not loading an old version from our computer, however when we return to a page during a session, it loads faster as it is coming from our hard drive and not downloading over the net again.

One last very important thing about your Cache. Be sure to clean it out regularly. The best way to do this is to click the "Clear Disk Cache Now button" on this page. The other way is to delete the files from the directory using the DOS Delete command. If you do not clean your Cache, Netscape can get bogged down and performance will be lost, not to mention that you are filling up your hard drive with old unwanted files.

Options Menu - Mail & News Preferences: Under the options menu, select "Mail & News Preferences," then 'Identity." Here you can enter information about yourself. Then select "Servers," where you can enter information about yourself and your internet provider's server.

That's it folks. We hope this information helps you get more from the net. If it did, tell your friends about it, or suggest to your internet provider that they link this page directly from their Home page. Happy surfing and don't get wet.


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Heinze Group Index Page.

Heinze Group of Companies: Find out about our Companies, their services and our backgrounds.

Financial Insight Financial Insight is our on-line investment letter. A Canadian letter written in plain english for the average investor.

The Heinze Family Page. This page about the Heinze family includes information and pictures about us, our Golden Retrievers, wildlife, scenic places and our interests.

Stock Valuator IFC Stockvaluator is our software for analysing stocks. Go to our download page to get details and download a copy of the shareware version.

IFC Tax Manual For The Owner Operated and Home Based Business: If you own a small business in Canada, this manual is a must. It is an easy to understand tax manual for people running a small business in Canada.

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