Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

Transcription

1 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Objectives To become familiar with the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) Web browser s capabilities. To be able to use IE6 to search the world of information available on the World Wide Web. To be able to use the Internet as an information tool. To become familiar with . To learn about instant messaging. To become aware of the differences between various browsers. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job. Sir Winston Churchill We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. J. William Fulbright

2 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 25 Outline 2.1 Introduction to the Internet Explorer 6 Web Browser 2.2 Connecting to the Internet 2.3 Internet Explorer 6 Features 2.4 Searching the Internet 2.5 Online Help and Tutorials 2.6 Keeping Track of Your Favorite Sites 2.7 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) 2.8 Customizing Browser Settings 2.9 Electronic Mail 2.10 Instant Messaging 2.11 Other Web Browsers Summary Terminology Self-Review Exercises Answers to Self-Review Exercises Exercises 2.1 Introduction to the Internet Explorer 6 Web Browser The Internet is an essential medium for communicating and interacting with people worldwide. The need to publish and share information has fueled the rapid growth of the Web. Web browsers are software programs that allow users to access the Web s rich multimedia content. Whether for business or for personal use, millions of people use Web browsers to access the tremendous amount of information available on the Web. The two most popular Web browsers are Microsoft s Internet Explorer and Netscape. This chapter focuses on the features of Internet Explorer (IE6) to view, exchange and transfer information, such as images, messages and documents, over the Internet. We provide an equivalent chapter-length treatment on Netscape 7.1 at our Web site, This chapter also introduces , instant messaging and alternative Web browsers. 2.2 Connecting to the Internet A computer alone is not enough to access the Internet. In addition to Web browser software, the computer needs specific hardware and a connection to an Internet Service Provider to view Web pages. This section describes the necessary components that enable Internet access. First, a computer must have a modem or network card. A modem is hardware that enables a computer to connect to a network. A modem converts data to audio tones and transmits the data over phone lines. Anetwork card, also called a network interface card ( NIC), is hardware that allows a computer to connect to the Internet through anetwork or ahigh-speed Internet connection, such as a local area network ( LAN), cable modem or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). After ensuring that a computer has a modem or a network card (most computers come with one or both of these), the next step is to register with an Internet Service Provider ( ISP). Computers connect to an ISP using amodem and phone line, or via anic using a LAN, DSL or cable modem. The ISP connects computers to the Internet. Many college campuses have free network connections available. If a network connection is not avail-

3 26 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 able, then popular commercial ISPs, such as America Online ( Microsoft Network ( and NetZero ( are alternatives. Bandwidth and cost are two considerations when deciding which commercial ISP service to use. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transferred through acommunications medium in a fixed amount of time. Different ISPs offer different types of highspeed connections, called broadband connections, which include DSL, cable modem, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and slower dial-up connections, each of which has a different bandwidth and cost to users. Broadband is a category of high-bandwidth Internet service that is most often provided to home users by cable television and telephone companies. DSL is a broadband service that allows computers to be connected at all times to the Internet over existing phone lines, without interfering with telephone services. However, DSL requires a special modem provided by the ISP. Like DSL, cable modems enable the computer to be connected to the Internet at all times. Cable modems transmit data over the cables that bring television to homes and businesses. Unlike DSL, the bandwidth is shared by many users. This sharing can reduce the bandwidth available to each person when many use the system simultaneously. ISDN provides Internet service over either digital or standard telephone lines. ISDN requires specialized hardware, called a terminal adaptor (TA), which is usually obtained from the ISP. Dial-up service uses an existing telephone line. If a computer is connected to the Internet, the user usually cannot receive voice calls during this time. If the voice calls do connect, the Internet connection is interrupted. To prevent this, users often install an extra phone line dedicated to Internet service. Once a network connection is established, the Internet Connection Wizard (ICW) in Windows 98 and 2000, or the New Connection Wizard in Windows XP, can be used to configure the computer to connect to the Internet. You can access either wizard through the Start menu. Select the Accessories option in the Programs menu (All Programs in Windows XP), then Communications and Internet Connection Wizard ( New Connection Wizard in Windows XP). Input the connection information provided by the ISP, following the instructions in the Internet Connection Wizard dialog (Fig. 2.1). 1 Click Tutorial (in Windows 2000 only) to learn more about the Internet and its features. Once the Internet Connection Wizard finishes, the computer can connect to the Internet. 2.3 Internet Explorer 6 Features AWeb browser is software that allows the user to view certain types of Internet files in an interactive environment. Figure 2.2 shows the Deitel Home Page using Internet Explorer 6 Web browser. The URL ( Uniform Resource Locator) is found in the Address bar. The URL specifies the address (i.e., location) of the Web page displayed in the browser window. Each Web page on the Internet is associated with a unique URL. URLs usually begin with which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the industry standard protocol (or set of communication rules) for transferring Web documents over the Internet. URLs of Web sites that handle private information, such as credit card numbers, often begin with the abbreviation for Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol ( HTTPS), the standard for transferring encrypted data over the Internet. 1. All screen shots in this chapter were taken on a computer running Windows Screen shots may differ slightly for Windows XP users.

4 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 27 Specify what type of connection to use by clicking one of the option buttons. Tutorial button Fig. 2.1 Internet Connection Wizard helps configure Internet access. Recent Back history Forward Stop Refresh Address bar Go Pointer (over ahyperlink) Scroll bars Fig. 2.2 Deitel Web site.

5 28 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 There are several techniques for navigating between different URLs. You can click the Address field and type aweb page s URL, then press Enter or click Go to request the Web page located at that URL. For example, to visit Yahoo! s Web site, type in the Address bar and press the Enter key. IE6 adds the prefix to the Web site name because HTTP is the default protocol used for the Web. Another way to navigate the Web is via visual elements on Web pages called hyperlinks that, when clicked, load a specified Web document. Both images and text may be hyperlinked. When the mouse pointer hovers over a hyperlink, the default arrow pointer changes into a hand with the index finger pointing upward. Often hyperlinked text appears underlined or as a different color than the text that is not hyperlinked. Originally used as a publishing tool for scientific research, hyperlinking creates the effect of the Web. Hyperlinks can reference other Web pages, addresses and files. If a hyperlink is an address, clicking the link loads the browser s default program and opens a message window addressed to the specified recipient s address. is discussed later in this chapter. If a hyperlink references a file that the browser is incapable of displaying, the browser prepares to download the file by prompting the user for information. When a file is downloaded, it is copied onto the user s computer. Programs, documents, images and sound files are all examples of downloadable files. IE6 maintains a history list of previously visited URLs in chronological order. This feature allows users to return to recently visited Web sites easily. The history feature can be accessed several different ways. The simplest and most frequently used method is to click the Forward and Back buttons located at the top of the browser window (see Fig. 2.2). The Back button reloads the previously viewed page into the browser. The Forward button loads the next URL from the history into the browser. The keyboard shortcut for Forward is Alt+Right Arrow, and the shortcut for Back is Alt+ Left Arrow or simply Backspace. When users view frequently updated Web pages, they should click the Refresh button to load the most current version. If apage is not loading correctly or is slow, click the Stop button or press Esc to stop loading the Web page. The user can view the last/next nine Web pages visited by clicking the down-arrows immediately to the right of the Back and Forward buttons; the user can then request one of the recently viewed pages by clicking the title of the page in the drop-down list. Clicking the History button (Fig. 2.3) divides the browser window into two sections: the History window (on the left) and the content window. The History window lists the URLs visited in the past 20 days by default. The History window contains heading levels ordered chronologically. Within each time frame (e.g., Today) headings are alphabetized by Web site name. This window is useful for finding previously visited URLs without having to remember the exact URL. Selecting a URL from the History window loads the Web page into the content window. The History window can be resized by clicking and dragging the vertical bar that separates it from the content window. URLs from the history can be displayed in adrop-down list when a user types a URL into the Address bar. This feature is called AutoComplete. Any URL from this dropdown list can be selected with the mouse to load the Web page at that URL into the browser (Fig. 2.4).\

6 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 29 Interactive History window History date options History button Site from folder Web site folder Click and drag here to resize Content window Fig. 2.3 The History menu lists previously visited Web sites. Partial address URLs Fig. 2.4 AutoComplete suggests possible URLs when given a partial address. For some users, such as those with dial-up connections, maintaining a connection for long periods of time may not be practical. For this reason, Web pages can be saved directly

7 30 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 to the computer s hard drive for off-line browsing (i.e., browsing while not connected to the Internet). Select Save As from the File menu at the top of the browser window to save aweb page and all its components (e.g., images). Individual images from aweb site can also be saved by clicking the image with the right mouse button and selecting Save Picture As from the displayed context menu (Fig. 2.5). Fig. 2.5 Saving apicture from aweb site. 2.4 Searching the Internet The Internet provides a wealth of information on virtually any topic. You might think that the volume of information would make it difficult for users to find specific information. To help users locate information, many Web sites provide search engines that explore the Internet and maintain searchable records containing information about Web site content. This section explains how search engines work and discusses two types of search engines. Search engines such as Google ( Yahoo! ( AlltheWeb ( AltaVista ( and Lycos ( store information indata repositories called databases that facilitate quick information retrieval. When the user enters a word or phrase, the search engine returns a list of hyperlinks to sites that satisfy the search criteria. Each search-engine site has different criteria for narrowing searches, such as publishing date, language and relevance. Using multiple search engines may provide the best results in finding the desired content quickly.

8 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 31 Sites such as MSN ( and MetaCrawler ( use metasearch engines, which do not maintain databases. Instead, they send the search criteria to other search engines and aggregate the results. IE6 has a built-in metasearch engine that is accessed by clicking the Search button in the toolbar (Fig. 2.6). As with the history feature, the browser window divides into two sections, with the Search window on the left and the content window on the right. Several predefined searching categories are provided. Type the keyword for which you are searching and click the Search button. The search results appear as hyperlinks in the Search window. Clicking a hyperlink loads the Web page at that URL into the content window. New search Search window Search button Toolbar Search categories Search word(s) Fig. 2.6 Searching the Internet with IE Online Help and Tutorials Web browsers are complex pieces of software with rich functionality. Although browser designers make every effort to produce user-friendly software, users still need time to familiarize themselves with each Web browser and its particular features. Answers to frequently asked questions about using the Web browser are included with IE6. This information is accessible through the built-in help feature available in the Help menu (Fig. 2.7). A good source for locating help about a specific feature is the Contents and Index menu item accessible through the Help menu. When Contents and Index is selected, the Microsoft Internet Explorer help dialog is displayed. The Contents tab organizes the help topics by category, the Index tab contains an alphabetical list of Help topics and the

9 32 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 Help menu Tabs Categories Fig. 2.7 IE6 Help dialog. Search tab provides capabilities for searching the help documents. The Favorites tab allows users to maintain alist of frequently used help topics. 2.6 Keeping Track of Your Favorite Sites As users browse the Web, they often visit certain sites repeatedly, and may want to record their URL and title. Internet Explorer provides a feature called favorites for bookmarking (keeping track of) such sites (Fig. 2.8). Any page s URL can be added to the list of favorites using the Favorites menu s Add to Favorites command. A Favorites window can also be accessed by clicking the Favorites icon on the toolbar. Favorites can be accessed at any time by selecting them with the mouse from the Favorites menu. Favorites can be categorized and grouped into folders in the Organize Favorites dialog (displayed when Organize Favorites is selected from the Favorites menu). These folders appear as sub-menus in the Favorites menu. The Organize Favorites dialog also allows users to rename, delete and move favorites between folders. For each favorite, the Organize Favorites dialog displays information about how frequently that page is visited. Favorites may also be saved for off-line browsing by selecting the Make available offline checkbox in the Organize Favorites dialog.

10 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 33 Add/ Organize Favorites Favorites Favorites window Site information Organize Favorites dialog Fig. 2.8 Favorites menu helps organize frequently visited Web sites. 2.7 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) As mentioned earlier,files from the Internet may be copied to acomputer s hard drive by a process called downloading. This section discusses the types of documents commonly downloaded from the Internet and techniques for downloading them. The most common Internet downloads are applications (i.e., software that performs specific functions, such as word processing) and plug-ins. Plug-ins are specialized pieces of software that extend other applications, such as IE6, by providing additional functionality. An example of an IE6 plug-in is the Acrobat Reader from Adobe, Inc. ( which allows users to view PDF ( Portable Document Format) documents that otherwise cannot be rendered by the browser. Another popular plug-in allows the browser to render Macromedia Shockwave content, which adds audio, video and animation effects to a Web site. To view sites enabled with Shockwave, download the Shockwave Player plug-in at sdc.shockwave.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi. Normally the browser prompts the user to download a plug-in when one is needed. Plugins may also be downloaded from CNET ( This site has a large, searchable index and database of many plug-in programs available for download.

11 34 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 When browsing the Web, downloading often is initiated by clicking a hyperlink that references a document at an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site. FTP is an older, but still popular, protocol for transferring information, especially large files, over the Internet. An FTP site s URL begins with ftp:// rather than sites are typically accessed via hyperlinks, but can also be accessed by any software that supports FTP. Such software may or may not use aweb browser. Ipswitch WS_FTP LE is apopular standalone FTP client that functions outside of a Web browser. It is free for noncommercial users and can be downloaded from When IE6 is pointed to an FTP site s URL, the contents of the specified site directory appear in the right side of the window, with FTP information on the left (Fig. 2.9). Two types of icons may appear in a directory: files and directories. Files are downloaded by right clicking their icons, selecting Copy to Folder and specifying the location where the files are to be saved. FTP address Folders in the FTP directory Login As window Fig. 2.9 FTP site access in IE6. When a user visits an FTP site, IE6 sends the user s address and name (which is set by default to anonymous) to the site. This procedure occurs on FTP sites that allow anonymous FTP access, where any user is permitted access. Many FTP sites on the Internet contain directories with restricted access; only users with authorized user names and passwords are permitted to access such directories. When a user is trying to enter a

12 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 35 restricted-access FTP directory, a Login As dialog like the one in Fig. 2.9 is displayed, prompting the user for log-in information. Transferring afile from the local machine to another location on the Internet is called uploading and can be accomplished using the FTP protocol. To place information on a Web site, the files must be uploaded to a specific restricted-access FTP server (this is dependent on the ISP). The process involves uploading the file to a directory on the FTP site that is accessible through the Web. 2.8 Customizing Browser Settings Internet Explorer 6 has many settings that determine how sites are displayed, how security measures are applied and how outputs are rendered. Most of these settings are located in the Internet Options dialog (Fig. 2.10). The default settings are usually adequate for normal browsing, but these settings can be customized to suit each user s preferences. Tools menu Internet Options dialog Options categories Changeable options Restore default settings Fig Internet Options in IE6. Consider some of the more significant options that affect your browsing experience. If you are browsing the Web with a slow connection, the page download time can be decreased by deselecting the Show Pictures setting, located in the Multimedia category under the Advanced tab. Toggling this setting off (i.e., unchecking it) prevents the browser from loading Web-page images. Images can require considerable time to download, so this toggle could save time during browsing sessions. [Note: Many Web pages rely

13 36 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 on images to display properly. Deselecting the Show Pictures setting may affect these pages functionality.] Default programs used for common Internet procedures such as sending are set in the Programs tab. These settings allow the user to specify which programs IE6 should execute when there is a need for their respective technologies while browsing. For example, if Microsoft Outlook Express is designated as the default program, every time an e- mail hyperlink is clicked, Outlook Express opens an message dialog addressed to the designated recipient. The security level for IE6 can be set under the Privacy tab. There are four levels of security. The most lenient level permits the downloading of cookies (text files that are placed on the computer by Web sites to retain or gather information about the user); the most strict level renders a constant flow of alerts and alarms about browsing security and might prevent certain Web sites from working correctly. Apersonal home page can be specified under the General tab. The home page is the Web page that loads when the browser is first opened and appears when the Home button at the top of the browser window is clicked. History options also may be adjusted in this category. By clicking the Settings button, the amount of disk space to be reserved for the Web page cache can be set. The cache is an area on the hard drive that abrowser designates for saving Web pages for rapid future access. When apage is viewed that has been visited recently, IE6 checks whether it already has some elements on that page (such as images) saved in the cache, to reduce download time. Having a large cache can considerably speed up Web browsing, whereas having a small cache saves disk space. Caching can sometimes cause problems, because Internet Explorer does not always check to ensure that a cached page is the same as the latest version residing on the Web server. Clicking the Refresh button at the top of the browser window remedies this problem by forcing Internet Explorer to retrieve the latest version of the Web page from the Web site. Once the Internet Options are set, click Apply and click OK. 2.9 Electronic Mail Electronic mail ( or for short) is a method of sending and receiving formatted messages and files over the Internet to other people. Other files, called attachments, can be sent along with s. Depending on Internet traffic, an message can go anywhere in the world in as little as a few seconds. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) issue e- mail addresses in the form username@ domainname (e.g., deitel@deitel.com). Many e- mail programs are available, such as Microsoft s Outlook Express (Fig. 2.11), Pegasus Mail and Eudora. programs must be configured to access an account. Client programs require users to input incoming and outgoing server names. These names are the addresses of servers located at the ISP that administers incoming and outgoing . The server addresses can be obtained from the network administrator or ISP. programs also allow users to set up newsgroup accounts. Newsgroups allow users to post and respond to messages in discussion groups on a wide variety of topics. There are tens of thousands of newsgroups where users can find people who have similar interests or knowledge in a specific field.

14 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 37 Mailboxes Message toolbar items Message list Address book Preview Pane Fig Outlook Express main screen. Post Office Protocol (POP) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) are two major protocols for accessing from servers. POP services store messages on a remote server until a user chooses to view the messages and download them onto alocal machine. IMAP mail services also store s on a remote server, but allow users to manipulate messages directly on the server without downloading the messages. Because POP servers require users to download s before viewing, accessing s from different machines scatters the messages among them. IMAP allows users to leave messages on the server, so that users can access s from multiple machines without distributing the messages over them. To send messages from server to server, most systems use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). Many free Web-based services are also available. Hotmail ( and Yahoo! Mail (mail.yahoo.com) are two such services. These services configure accounts for users. Web-based allows users to access their from any Web browser Instant Messaging Instant messaging (IM) allows two or more users to exchange text, image and audio messages in real time, provided that the users have compatible messaging services. Communicating by IM is also called chatting. The available instant messaging programs include AOL Instant Messenger ( Yahoo! Messenger (messenger.yahoo.com), ICQ (web.icq.com), MSN Messenger (messenger.msn.com) and Trillian ( AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ (short for I seek you ) and MSN Messenger

15 38 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 use proprietary messenger networks that allow users to send messages only to those who use the same service. America Online (AOL) maintains both AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ, however, so AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ users can communicate with one other. Trillian users can communicate with any of the previously mentioned services. Trillian is a client program, not amessaging service, that connects to each of the different messaging networks. If you have accounts on multiple services, you can use Trillian to access all your accounts. AOL Instant Messenger (Fig. 2.12), Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ and MSN Messenger also allow users to hold video conferences and send messages to mobile devices (e.g., cell phones and PDAs). Other communications and instant messaging programs, such as Windows Messenger and NetMeeting, feature more advanced collaboration tools. They allow a group of users to share control of a program running on a group member s computer. They also have a whiteboard feature, which allows sharing visual effects (e.g., drawings) with others. Buddy list Instant message Fig Buddy list and an instant message. (AOL screenshots 2003 America Online, Inc. Used with permission.) To start instant messaging, users must download and install the messaging program of their choice, and each user must create a screen name (or use an existing screen name). A screen name is a unique name that a user assumes when communicating on amessaging network. Users can then sign-on to a messaging network. Instant messaging allows users to communicate quickly and conveniently and is used by many companies to increase productivity. Each messaging program allows users to maintain apersonalized list of screen names called a buddy list or friend list.the buddy list in AOL Instant Messenger allows users to organize screen names into folders and show which members are available for chatting (Fig. 2.12). IM services also allow users to transfer files and set up chat rooms where a group of IM users can type messages that are seen by everyone in the group. File transfer allows one user to download and save an application or file from another user s computer.

16 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer Other Web Browsers Besides Internet Explorer and Netscape, many other Web browsers are available, such as Mozilla ( Opera ( and Amaya ( Amaya). All these browsers differ in functionality, speed and features. Also, they employ different HTML layout engines. Layout engines determine how a Web page displays in a browser. Netscape and Mozilla (Fig. 2.13) use Gecko as their layout engine. Opera and IE have their own engines. Fig Mozilla Web browser. (Courtesy of The Mozilla Organization.) Opera is a fast and lightweight browser, while Internet Explorer and Mozilla offer many features for programmers. Amaya is a combined Web editor/browser designed to create and update Web documents and demonstrate W3C standards. Because browsers use different HTML layout engines, they may display the same Web page differently. Additionally, some capabilities supported in one browser may not be supported in another. The existence of different browser functionality and features makes cross-browser compatibility difficult to achieve. In this chapter we introduced the features of Internet Explorer 6, showed how to search the Internet and introduced some of the exciting Internet technologies available. In the next chapter we introduce Adobe Photoshop Elements and show how to create graphics for the Web. SUMMARY Web browsers are software programs that allow users to access the Web s rich multimedia content. The two most popular Web browsers are Microsoft s Internet Explorer and Netscape. A computer alone is not enough to access the Internet. In addition to Web browser software, the computer needs specific hardware and a connection to an Internet Service Provider to view Web pages.

17 40 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 A modem is hardware that enables a computer to connect to the Internet. A modem converts data to audio tones and transmits the data over phone lines. A network card, also called a network interface card (NIC), is hardware that allows a computer to connect to the Internet through a network or a high-speed Internet connection, such as a LAN, cable modem or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). Bandwidth and cost are two considerations when deciding which commercial ISP service to use. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transferred through a communications medium in a fixed amount of time. Different ISPs offer different types of high-speed connections, called broadband connections, that include DSL, cable modem, Integrated Services Digital Network (IS- DN) and slower dial-up connections, each of which has different bandwidths and costs to users. Broadband is a category of high-bandwidth Internet service that is most often provided by cable television and telephone companies to home users. DSL is abroadband service that allows computers to be connected at all times to the Internet over existing phone lines, without interfering with voice services. However, DSL requires a special modem that is obtained from the ISP. Cable modems enable the computer to be connected to the Internet at all times. Cable modems transmit data over the cables that bring television to homes and businesses. The bandwidth is shared by many users. ISDN provides Internet service over either digital or standard telephone lines. ISDN requires specialized hardware, called a terminal adaptor (TA), which is usually obtained from the ISP. The Internet Connection Wizard (New Connection Wizard in Windows XP) can be used to configure the computer to connect to the Internet. The URL is the address of the Web page displayed in the browser window. Each Web page is associated with a unique URL. URLs usually begin with which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the industry standard protocol (or set of communication rules) for transferring Web documents over the Internet. URLs of Web sites that handle private information, such as credit card numbers, often begin with the abbreviation for Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), the standard for transferring encrypted data over the Internet. Several techniques are available for navigating between different URLs. A user can click the Address field and type aweb page s URL. The user can then press Enter or click Go to request the Web page located at that URL. Another way to navigate the Web is via visual elements on Web pages called hyperlinks that, when clicked, load a specified Web document. Both images and text server as hyperlinks. Hyperlinks can reference other Web pages, addresses and files. If ahyperlink is an address, clicking the link loads the computer s default program and opens a message window addressed to the specified recipient s address. When a file is downloaded, it is copied onto the user s computer. Programs, documents, images and sound files are all downloadable files. IE6 maintains a list of previously visited URLs. This list is called the history and stores URLs in chronological order. The History window contains heading levels ordered chronologically. Within each time frame headings are alphabetized by site directory name. This window is useful for finding previously visited URLs without having to remember the exact URL. URLs from the history are displayed in adrop-down list when a user types a URL into the Address bar. This feature is called AutoComplete. Any URL from this drop-down list can be selected with the mouse to load the Web page at that URL into the browser.

18 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 41 Web pages can be saved directly to the computer s hard drive for off-line browsing (i.e., browsing while not connected to the Internet). Select Save As from the File menu at the top of the browser window to save aweb page and all its components (e.g., images). Individual images from aweb site can also be saved by clicking the image with the right mouse button and selecting Save Picture As from the displayed context menu (i.e., pop-up menu). Search engines explore the Internet and maintain searchable records containing information about Web sites. Metasearch engines do not maintain databases. Instead, they send the search criteria to other search engines and aggregate the results. IE6 has a built-in metasearch engine that is accessed by clicking the Search button on the toolbar. As users browse the Web, they often visit certain sites repeatedly. Internet Explorer provides a feature called favorites for bookmarking such sites. Plug-ins are specialized pieces of software that extend (or upgrade) other applications, such as IE6, by providing additional functionality. Normally the browser prompts the user to download a plugin when aplug-in is needed. FTP (file transfer protocol) is an older protocol for transferring information, especially large files, over the Internet. An FTP site s URL begins with ftp:// rather than FTP sites are typically accessed via hyperlinks, but can also be accessed by any software that supports FTP. FTP sites with anonymous access allow any user access. Many FTP sites on the Internet have restricted access; only users with authorized user names and passwords are permitted to access such sites. Transferring a file from the local machine to another location on the Internet is called uploading and can be accomplished using the FTP protocol. Internet Explorer has many settings that determine how sites are displayed, how security measures are applied and how outputs are rendered. Default programs used for common Internet procedures, such as sending , are set in the Programs tab of the Internet Options dialog. Specifying these settings causes the designated programs to execute when there is a need for their respective technologies while browsing. The security level for IE6 can be set under the Privacy tab of the Internet Options dialog. There are four levels of security. The most lenient level permits downloading and cookies (files that are placed on the computer by Web sites to retain or gather information about the user); the strictest level renders a constant flow of alerts and alarms about browsing security and might prevent certain Web sites from working correctly. A personal home page can be specified under the General tab of the Internet Options dialog. The home page is the Web page that loads when the browser is first opened and appears when the Home button at the top of the browser window is clicked. History and cache options also may be adjusted in the General tab of the Internet Options dialog. By clicking the Settings button, the amount of disk space to be reserved for Web page cache can be set. The cache is an area on the hard drive that abrowser designates for saving Web pages and their elements for rapid future access. Electronic mail ( or for short) is a method of sending and receiving formatted messages and files over the Internet to other people. Internet Service Providers issue addresses in the form username@ domainname. Many programs, such as Pegasus Mail, Eudora and Microsoft s Outlook Express, are available. Post Office Protocol (POP) services store on a remote server until a user chooses to view the message and download the onto a local machine. Internet Message Access Protocol

19 42 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter 2 (IMAP) mail services also store s on a remote server but allow users to manipulate without downloading the messages. Most systems use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send messages from server to server. Instant messaging (IM) allows two or more users to exchange text, image and audio messages in real time, provided that the users have compatible messaging services. Abuddy list or friend list shows which contacts are available for chatting. The existence of different browser functionality and features makes cross-browser compatibility difficult to achieve. TERMINOLOGY Address bar Address Book Adobe Acrobat Reader Amaya anonymous AOLInstant Messenger applications AutoComplete Back button bandwidth broadband connection buddy list cable modem cache chat context menu cookie database dial-up connection Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) download electronic mail ( ) server Favorites file transfer File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Forward button Help menu History home page Hotmail HTML layout engine hyperlink Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) ICQ Inbox Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Internet Connection Wizard (ICW) Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) Internet Options Internet Service Provider (ISP) Macromedia Shockwave metasearch engine Microsoft Internet Explorer Microsoft Outlook Express modem Mozilla MSN Messenger Netscape network New Connection Wizard off-line browsing Opera Portable Document Format (PDF) Post Office Protocol (POP) priority Privacy public access restricted access Search search engine security level sharing Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) terminal adaptor (TA) Trillian Uniform Resource Locator (URL) uploading Webbrowser Webeditor whiteboard Windows Messenger Yahoo! Messenger

20 Chapter 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 43 SELF-REVIEW EXERCISES 2.1 Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements: a) The two most popular Web browsers are and. b) Abrowser is used to view files on the. c) The location of afile on the Internet is called its. d) The element in aweb page that, when clicked, causes anew Web page to load is called a(n) ; when your mouse passes over this element, the mouse pointer changes into a in IE6. e) The list IE6 keeps of visited URLs is called the. f) You can save an image from aweb page by right clicking the image and selecting. g) The feature of IE6 that provides options for completing URLs is called. h) The feature of IE6 that enables the user to save URLs of frequently visited sites is called. 2.2 State whether each of the following is true or false. If the statement is false, explain why. a) A whiteboard is adrawing application that makes it possible to share visual effects with others in Windows Messenger or NetMeeting. b) There are approximately 1,000 newsgroups on the Internet. c) Plug-ins must be downloaded and installed in order to use them. d) MSN Messenger users can chat with ICQ users. e) FTP is a popular Internet mechanism by which files are uploaded and downloaded. f) You can access any FTP site by logging in with the user name anonymous. ANSWERS TOSELF-REVIEW EXERCISES 2.1 a) Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator. b) Internet and the Web. c) URL. d) hyperlink, hand. e) history. f) Save Picture As. g)autocomplete. h) Favorites. 2.2 a) True. b) False. There are tens of thousands of newsgroups, and more are added every day. c) True. d) False. Only AOL and Trillian users can chat with ICQ users. MSN users are on adifferent messaging network. e) True. f) False. Many FTP sites are restricted and do not admit the general public. EXERCISES 2.3 Spell out the following acronyms, and include abrief description of each: a) HTTP b) FTP c) URL d) DSL e) PDF f) ISP g) SMTP h) IMAP 2.4 Use Internet Explorer s FTP capability to access ftp.cdrom.com and sunsite.unc.edu. List the directory output for both sites. 2.5 Create an ICQ screen name. Then log onto ICQ Messenger Service and initiate aconversation with afriend. 2.6 Start a chat room using AOL Instant Messenger and initiate a conversation with multiple friends.

21 44 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Chapter Go to and download the Shockwave Player to your computer. Use the Shockwave plug-in to view shockwave content from Download and install the Opera ( Mozilla ( browsers. Go to your favorite Web sites and try to observe any differences in speed, appearance and functionality.