Enjoy The Internet

Full Speed Ahead:  No one can argue that technology is racing forward, with no speed limit! Websites are developed and maintained for the most current browser capabilities. Visual, audio, and security features are continually enhanced. 

It is Worth the Effort: The wonderful thing about the Internet is that users are in control of information. When you want something, you go get it, rather than have it handed to you. You are active, rather than passive. The same goes for keeping your system and your software up to date. Be active about it, don't get left behind!

Stay Up To Date For Free!

Keep Your Software Current:  Be sure to keep your browser updated. (And your email program, if separate.) Updates are released regularly. Sign up for email notification of new software versions, when available. Consider it free insurance for your secure Internet transactions. Updating your browser and email software will give you the most current protection for your sensitive information!

Windows Users:  Get the latest software updates for your computer from Windows Update:
 
 

Don't Forget Acrobat Reader:  Adobe(R) Portable Document Format (PDF) is the open de facto standard for electronic document distribution worldwide. PDF is a universal file format that preserves all of the fonts, formatting, colors, and graphics of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as intended by anyone with a free Adobe Acrobat(R) Reader. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, you should  download it. It works from within your browser, or separately. PDF is the ideal format for electronic document distribution because it transcends the problems commonly encountered in electronic file sharing. If you need to complete a form, the PDF file version will properly fit on the printed page. When you need to download or print information, such as brochures, the PDF format will be your best choice.

 

Access.Adobe.Com - Helping people with visual disabilities access electronic information, by allowing the blind and visually impaired users to read any document in Adobe PDF format.
 

Download Adobe:  The file library contains descriptions, information, and links to the files and programs available for download.

Create your Own PDF Files:  Do you need to get some information to someone, and you are not sure what file formats are compatible on their system? No problem... You can now access the first free Internet service that permits you to create PDF files on the fly! Simply paste your text into the window and click submit. Your  PDF file is returned to you along with a convenient form that will allow you to send your new PDF file on to your recipients.

Other PDF Sites:  Can't get enough PDF?

 
Keep Your Drivers Current:  Don't forget about all your hardware drivers. Periodic updates are beneficial for optimizing your system. Not just your video card, or sound card, also check on your printer or scanner, etc. Go to the manufacturer's website and find your hardware. You should be able to download the most current driver version. Windows has device drivers available.

Easy Web Navigation

Right Clicking in Windows:  The greatest thing since post-it notes! So efficient is the right mouse button. Explore your right mouse button in many different software applications, and on your desktop. In your browser, it is the key to efficient navigation, by saving the time it takes moving the mouse back and forth from the button bar at the top. You should be able to do all the most important navigational moves simply by right clicking. If your right button does not give you all of the following menu options, check your Windows preferences or mouse settings for additional options. Also, check any other related software or operating system settings you may have running on your system. Keep your eyes open for utility programs that add right click menu options.

Mac Commands Coming Soon:  We plan to add Mac commands as soon as possible. Here's some great links to navigation tips...

MAC - Mouse Shortcuts & Tricks for Launching Websites
 

Add Bookmark (Favorite):  Find a site you like? Bookmark it! If you leave on a link, you may never find your way back!

Bookmark Tips:

• Ctrl D creates a bookmark. You can also right click to "Add Bookmark".
• Organize Your Bookmarks. You can organize your bookmarks by adding new folders, just as you do to maintain the files on your hard drive.
• Save your bookmark file often! Keep it in more than one location on your hard drive, as well as, keeping a copy on a floppy. Don't find out, the hard way, how irreplaceable this file is.
• You can add to, or change the bookmark title, to help you identify or find the bookmark at a later date. Go to Bookmark Properties.
• Don't have time to organize your bookmarks? Need to locate a bookmark? Go to the menu bar, under "Edit" click on "Find in Bookmarks".
• So many links, so little time! To save a link address for later, you should have an option, while holding your mouse over the link, to "Add Bookmark" without actually activating the link.
• Accessing Netscape bookmarks in IE4 without importing them.
• Bookmarking repetitive searches.

 
Open Link in New Window:  Tired of getting sidetracked at websites? Overwhelmed by all the information available? Forget what you were originally pursuing? Get frustrated waiting for pages to load? Here's a way to browse through all the links that interest you, without loosing your place on the page you are at.

You can open each link in a new window. This will help you to keep your focus on the original web page that you started with. New windows are especially beneficial to "off site" links. You can recognize an "off site" link by holding your mouse over the link. Its address is displayed in the status bar. If the address is different than the site you are at, open it in a new window. Having your "side trips" truly on the side, will help you to stay focused on where you started.

When to open a link in a new window?
There are many times when using separate windows can be beneficial...

When the link will take you in a direction away from where you are headed.

When you want to follow an "off site" link.

Separate windows allow you to view one link, while you are waiting for a site to come up in another window. No more frustration waiting for pages to load!

You should be able to open a bookmark in a new window, from within your bookmark file.

Be sure to close each window when you are finished at that location. Your system resources will appreciate your prudent use of new windows.

If you are running several windows, you can keep them all minimized by putting your mouse on a blank area of the task bar, and right click to "Minimize All Windows".

The number of browser windows you can run at once will be determined by how powerful your system is, and how many other programs are running.

If you find yourself without a way to open new windows from within your browser, you have an alternative... If you have the option to "Create Shortcut" for a link, this will put an icon on your desktop for that link. Try creating a shortcut by dragging the link in a web page to the desktop. By clicking on the desktop shortcut, your browser will be launched and will go directly to the link address. Simply delete the icon from your desktop when done. Last resort... "Copy Link Location", launch your browser, and paste the link in the URL line.

NOTE:  If your usual browsing habits are to stay at one site, and you are not tempted to check out links that are unrelated to your quest, then you may not benefit from running more than two windows. This will keep your page history in tact. Should you need to find something you saw earlier, you can find it simply by hitting your back button till you get back to that page. Running only two windows will allow you to click back and forth between them... you can be looking at one page, while another is loading in the other window. Don't waste time waiting for pages to load.

Open Frame in New Window:  You may have an option to "Open Frame in a New Window". This will open the framed page in a new window, without frames. By opening a frame in a new window, you should see that the specific address, of that particular page, is displayed in the URL line at the top. Now this address can be identified, bookmarked, copied to paste, etc.

Back:  Another good habit. Many times you will just need to go a page or two back. If you had to, you could go all the way back to the page that the browser opened to. If you open "off site" links in new windows, you should never have to click back very far to get back on tract. Forward:  This directional is available only if you have gone back to previous pages.

Reload:  Reload refreshes the web page, or loads the most up-to-date version.

Stop:  Stops the current document transfer, or browser activity. If you change your mind and don't want to view a page, click Stop.

Cut, Copy and Paste:  Take advantage of right clicking to cut, copy and paste! This is a very fast way to utilize the windows' clipboard to transfer selected information from one application to another. Including web addresses! Hold your mouse over a link and right click on "copy link location". Then go to your browser's URL line, and right click to paste the address in. You can also paste the address into an email message, or word processing document.

Send Page:  To send someone a site address, hold your mouse over the link and right click on "send page". A new email window will open and the link address will be inserted into the email message.

View Info: For viewing information about the files that compose a page. In the upper portion of the Page Info window, you can see a list of the URLs (addresses) of the web page and files (usually graphics) that make up the page. Some of the URLs are links. Click a link to view information about it in the bottom of the window. Most important, you can view security information about the file. Whether it is encrypted or not. If a page is encrypted, other security information appears.

View Source: To view the HTML and other code that generates a web page.

Create Shortcut:  An Internet shortcut lets you jump to a web page, or email address, from your desktop. This is the fastest way to go to your most frequented sites. Try creating a shortcut by dragging the link in a web page to the desktop. This is another way to open links in new windows. Status Bar:  Is exactly that... the bar, at the bottom of the window, that displays the status of your current browser activity. You can follow the progress of a page as it loads. Email and link addresses are displayed in the status bar, along with, scrolling marquees and JavaScript error messages.

Secure or Unsecure Site:  The status bar also tells you whether or not you are on a secure page. Netscape has a a broken key to denote an unsecure site, and Communicator has an unlocked padlock. When entering a secure site, the key will become whole , and the padlock will be locked. Internet Explorer also displays a locked padlockwhen at a secure site. The lock disappears when at an unsecure site. Another way to recognize a secure site is by the addition of the letter "s" after "http" in the URL address. If you click on View Info you can view security information about the file. Whether it is encrypted or not. If a page is encrypted, other security information appears.

Search Tips:  Adding a few keystrokes to your search text can make a great  difference in the quality of your results. Make your search more specific.  Search Within the Page. Bookmark repetitive searches. The following sites have searching tips, both general guidelines and specific tricks.

WebFerret:  This is a great program that searches the top search engines simultaneously. Relevant articles and stories are also listed. You can save your searches for future reference. One of the most powerful, easy-to-use, Internet search tools available.

Email Tips:  The largest Internet behavior survey ever done, (and possibly the largest psychological/behavioral survey ever conducted solely on the Net), shows that of the time spent on the Internet, 75% of that time is spend emailing! Here's to time more efficiently spent...

Great Windows Tips of All Kinds:

Lockergnome:  Interested in a place where you can find really great programs and tips for making your computer even more powerful? Lockergnome offers the latest 32-bit downloads (freeware & shareware), websites, games, media, fonts, updates & patches, themes, tips & tricks, computer industry news, and more. You can subscribe to their free newsletter.

 

Top 50 Tips

Great Mac Tips of All Kinds:

TypeItIn:TypeItIn lets you define buttons that will type in any information you want into any application. You can use TypeItIn to fill out forms on the web!  How about each time you have to type your user name password... It's a great tool for applications where you frequently type the same thing, like creating HTML code or writing standard letters or emails. You can also launch applications or web sites with the click of a button. You can have up to 50 buttons in the free version, and with the Professional version you can have up to 50 password protected groups. TypeItIn can automatically type in the time, date, month, or day of the week too.

WebFerret:  This is a great program that searches the top search engines simultaneously. Relevant articles and stories are also listed. You can save your searches for future reference. One of the most powerful, easy-to-use, Internet search tools available.

Instant Messaging:  Sometimes e-mail just isn't fast enough. AOL Instant Messenger allows you to exchange personal messages instantly and privately. America Online offers their stand alone instant messenger software, free to anyone. You do not have to be an AOL member. (It comes bundled with Netscape Communicator.) This convenient, add on to your system, lets you chat with with all your AOL friends, as well as, anyone else using the AOL Instant Messenger software. When downloading the file, you will have to register with America Online, and choose an AOL screen name.

TypeIt4Me:  Anytime you enter text in your Mac by typing it at the keyboard, TypeIt4Me can help you do it faster and more accurately. This is easier than using a macro utility such as Quickeys or KeyQuencer.

You can use TypeIt4Me to fill out forms on the web!  How about each time you have to type your user name password... It's a great tool for applications where you frequently type the same thing, like creating HTML code or writing standard letters or emails.

First you define a number of abbreviations and the full text entries that they represent, then you watch the Mac expand them on the fly even as you continue typing! Once you define an abbreviation, it is available at all times, anywhere text can be typed, no matter if you are using your word processor, paint program, Finder, address book... any application at all!

Mac IE:  Microsoft Internet Explorer for Macintosh adds speed and easier Email to a host of features that make browsing the Web easier, safer, and more fun.

All Things Mac:  The BIG ONE!  Huge!  The top web site links for Mac users, so bookmark this page to quickly jump to the best of the web for Mac!

The Best for Mac: Where you will find a central online location for downloading great Microsoft for Mac-enhancing applications.

MacTopia:  Welcome to the Microsoft MacTopia Mac products page, where you can check out great products designed from the ground up for your Macintosh. 

Instant Messaging:  Sometimes e-mail just isn't fast enough. AOL Instant Messenger allows you to exchange personal messages instantly and privately. America Online offers their stand alone instant messenger software, free to anyone. You do not have to be an AOL member. (It comes bundled with Netscape Communicator.) This convenient, add on to your system, lets you chat with with all your AOL friends, as well as, anyone else using the AOL Instant Messenger software. When downloading the file, you will have to register with America Online, and choose an AOL screen name.