The Web Trainer
The Web Trainer

for Netscape Navigator


This page was created for people who would like to practice using a web browser. If you've mastered the basics of Web navigation, click here. This introduction is being provided to get you used to the look and feel of the web and is not meant to take the place of any formal instruction.


Navigating on the Web with a Mouse


There is (or there should be) a mouse to the side of the keyboard. Don't touch the buttons yet. The mouse controls the arrow/mouse pointer on the screen. Without touching the buttons, move the mouse and watch the arrow as it moves across the screen. The proper way to hold the mouse is to keep the "tail" end pointed up. To the right of the screen there is a SCROLL BAR with UP and DOWN arrows. Very carefully, move the mouse pointer over the DOWN ARROW and click with the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON to move down this page. To read more of this page, continue clicking the DOWN ARROW. To move up this page you would move the mouse pointer over the UP ARROW and click as many times as necessary.

Use only the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON when browsing the Web. The right mouse button activates a small menu and can easily make you lose your place if you're not careful, so refrain from using it for the time being. 'Clicking' is a term used to mean "pressing the MOUSE button." You 'click' on buttons and links. Try moving the mouse and the pointer around the screen and get a feel for how far you have to move to get from one area on the screen to another. Once again, do not press any buttons while doing so. The mouse pointer will at times turn into an I-beam or a hand then back to an arrow. This is natural. There's a reason for this seemingly simple exercise. Some Web pages you will be viewing later on will expect you to be quite proficient with a mouse.

Take a moment now to examine the screen of web browser you're using. There are a number of buttons at the top of the screen and some words below and above them. To browse the web you do not need to know all of these features. In fact, you'll usually be using only three of the big buttons at the top of the screen: BACK, FORWARD, and STOP. Before we use them, we need to know what they mean and how they work.

BACK - This button takes you back to previous web pages you have visited. Note: some browsers have a BIG LEFT ARROW instead of a button labelled "BACK," but it works the same way.

FORWARD - Press this after you press the BACK to return to the web page you were viewing. Note: some browsers have a BIG RIGHT ARROW instead of a button labelled "FORWARD," but it works the same way.

STOP - Clicking this button will stop a web page from loading. Why would you want to do that? Sometimes web pages take too long to load into your web browser, or occasionally you may realize you clicked on the wrong button or link. In these cases you would click STOP.

As you see, these buttons are used DURING or AFTER you've visited some web pages. Now we'll discuss how you actually VISIT a web page.

If any of these buttons are "inactive" or "gray," you cannot click them.


URLs and the Web Browser


You should be familiar with the ideas of URLs and HYPERTEXT. If you are not, then you are not really ready to "surf the web" and should attend an Internet workshop before you proceed any further.

Most links are underlined and in a different color like this. To click on a link, move the mouse pointer over the underlined link and click once with the LEFT MOUSE button. Doing so now will not do anything, as these past two examples are not real links. If they were, and were you to have clicked on one of them, your browser would have jumped to the location on the Web specified by that link. Sometimes links will simply take you to another part of the same web page. If you click on a link, you can go back to where you were before by pressing the browser's BACK button.

We are now going to enter a URL into Netscape. Without touching any of the mouse buttons, move the mouse pointer up to the TEXT BOX at the top of the screen, where the text http://www.thrall.org/webtrain.htm appears. Click ONCE anywhere in the text box. After doing so the text should now be highlighted. You may now TYPE a URL into the text box. Try the following URL:

http://www.thrall.org/verygood.htm

After you type it, check your spelling and press the ENTER key. That web page should now load. If you have a problem, click once on the BACK button to return here and re-enter the URL and press ENTER.

















































































[Web Trainer - Part II]

You did it!


You not only entered an URL, but you just clicked a link to get here. Now we're going to make use of the BACK button. Here is what you're going to do:

First, you're going to press the BACK button. This will take you to the page you saw a moment ago. After that page loads up, you're going to press the FORWARD button. Click each button only once. Are you ready? Go for it! When you return, please
click here.















































































[Web Trainer - Part III]

Congratulations!


If you got to this point following the directions and using the mouse, you did very well, and you're probably ready to venture off into cyberspace.

Here are the items we covered today:

If you would like to review any or all of these topics, you may
click here to jump to the top of this review.

However, if you're truly ready, click here to begin your web journey. Enjoy yourself and be sure to fully explore our web site. There are many fine links to remote sites. Also be sure to check out our SPECIAL FEATURES page and ONLINE READY REFERENCE LINKS (found in the REFERENCE department's page) to see some of the finer points of the World Wide Web.

Take care, good luck, be patient, and have fun!

Yours truly,
The Webmaster

This page was last updated on March 7, 1997