The Back and Forward buttons should be second nature to you by now. What you may not know is that Netscape keeps a history list of everywhere you go on the World Wide Web. When you select the Back and Forward buttons, you are basically moving up and down this history list. You will often notice that the Foward button is not highlighted in black (de-selected). When the Forward button is de-selected, you are at the last item on the history list--there is no place to go but backward. As soon as you move back one step on the history list, the Foward button will become highlighted again--now there is someplace to go forward to. Think about it and try it and you will have a better understanding of how it all works.

When you launch Netscape and log onto the World Wide Web, your browser automatically defaults to a specific home page. This default home page can actually be any place on the Web that you want. In the Online Assignment for this lesson you are going to set your own default home page. Having a default home page is useful because sometimes you get to wandering around on the Web and get lost. Clicking on the Home Button brings you back to familiar territory.

Sometimes an error occurs when a home page is being sent to your computer or your browser will not display the home page correctly. The Reload Button tells Netscape to get a "fresh" copy of the home page and to display it again. Also, Netscape stores recently visited home pages. This saves time because you can view a stored copy rather than having to go back out on the Web to retireve the home page again. There is only one problem with this approach--if changes are made in the home page you may wind up looking at the older stored version rather than the new updated version. The Reload button helps solve this problem because it will reload a "fresh" version of the home page.

If you have a slow Internet connection, pages with lots of graphics can take a long time to download. If you are impatient, you can select Options from the Tool Bar and turn off Netscape's ability to automatically download images. If there is a check mark by Auto Load Images under Options, Netscape is set to automatically display images on a home page and the Images button will not be highlighted (de-selected). If there is no check mark by Auto Load Images under Options, Netscape will ignore images on a home page and the Images button will be highlighted (selected). In this case, if there is an image you want to see, you can click on the Images button.

There are several ways to enter the URL of a web site you want to visit. You can visit any site by selecting the Open button, typing in a URL address, and pressing the Enter key.

The Print button is pretty obvious. Selecting the Pring button prints the current home page you are viewing.

Sometimes you may want to scan a home page quickly for a keyword or phrase. The Find button is the tool you need for searching a home page. When you select the Find button, a small window opens that lets you type the keyword or phrase you want to find. There are several options you can select that control the way the search is performed. Try it now by seracheing for the phrase "home page" in this document.

The Stop button does just what you would expect. It stops a home page that is being loaded. Normally, the Stop button is not highlighted (de-selected). When you start to load a new home page, the button turns red. If you clidk on the Stop button when it is red, you will interrupt the home page that is being downloaded. Why would you want to do that? Sometimes you may change your mind after you have chosen a home page to view. Selecting the Stop button lets you stop the transmission. Sometimes you may select a home page to view and nothing seems to be happening--the page is not downloading. You can use the Top button to terminate the transmission and go on to something else.