[UAS Logo] U NIVERSITY OF A LASKA
S OUTHEAST
SITKA CAMPUS
COMPUTER INFORMATION SERVICES
Elaine Craddick-Patt

Microsoft Internet Explorer Information

Introduction

Microsoft Internet Explorer (M.S.E) is a program, called a browser, for viewing information on the Internet via the World Wide Web. Browser applications request and then display information from other computers on the Internet. There are two basic types of browsers, a graphical and a text-based interface. Graphical interface browsers, such as M.S.E and Netscape, will display images and text. Text-based interface, such as Lynx, display only text. On ACAD1, Lynx is the default browser being used.

The World Wide Web, or WWW, is a system that links information together globally on the Internet through hypertext keywords. M.S.E is designed for viewing WWW information. The WWW is based on Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) which places codes in a plain text files that control document formatting. Browsers like M.S.E interpret the HTML code and display the information accordingly.

To run M.S.E you must have a TCP/IP connection to the Internet. Campus locations with ethernet connections have a TCP/IP connection. Modem users must install software for a SLIP/PPP connection. For information on establishing a SLIP/PPP connection see the handouts on MacTCP/MacPPP, Mac Free PPP SLIP/PPP for Windows 3.X compatibles or Windows 95.

Accessing Microsoft Internet Explorer

Once you have successfully installed and configured M.S.E., to start the program simply double click on the M.S.E. icon (occasionally labeled "The Internet"). Documents in the WWW are called pages. The first page displayed is called your home page. Your home page can be changed at any time by clicking on View/Options/Navigation and changing the address. The area near the top of the screen after the word Address: shows you the web address of this page. The status bar at the bottom of the screen shows what M.S.E. is currently doing and if you point to a keyword link, it will show the address of the link.

Exiting Microsoft Internet Explorer

From the File menu, choose Close if you are on a Windows system or Quit if you are on a Macintosh.

Commands in Microsoft Internet Explorer

The power of the World Wide Web are hypertext links to other documents stored throughout the Internet. A link in M.S.E. will usually appear as a phrase of underlined text, or a highlighted graphic (image with a colored border). As you move the mouse pointer (the arrow) over a link it turns to a hand:

To find out more about a link, point and click on the highlighted object. You will be taken to that web page. Calling up another page is not always fast, so have some patience especially when viewing a file with lots of graphics.

Once you have moved to another page, to go back to the previous page, click the Back button. When a page is longer than your screen, use the scroll bar on the right hand side of the screen to view more of the document.

Menu Tools

Below the menu bar in M.S.E. is the toolbar with function buttons such as Back, Home, Print, etc. The Address line has a Links button at the end of the bar. Click on Links for a new bar offering listings of Microsoft's favorite links.

Todays Links
Sites new to the Internet.

Best Of The Web
Microsoft's idea on what is really neat on the Internet.

Gallery
Microsoft's guides to building a Web Page.

Product News A showcase of Microsoft technology.

Microsoft A showcase of Microsoft technology.

Accessing Resources

Each Internet resource you can access with M.S.E. has an address. This web address is called a URL or Uniform Resource Locator. Each URL is specific for each web page. It includes information about the resource, the computer it is on, and if applicable, the directory or folder and specific file to access. An example of a URL is:

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/camai/help.htm

The first part, http, is the type of resource, a web page. After the :// is the name of the computer system, www.uaa.alaska.edu. A slash (/) separates the name of the computer from the directory called camai and the filename help.htm from the directory name.

The most common resource type is http for a web document. M.S.E. and some other browsers allow you to drop the http:// if the resource you are calling is a web document. So instead of typing http://www.cnn.com you may only have to specify www.cnn.com . Web documents are not the only type of resources available on the Internet. Other types of resources available are:

Resource             Explanation
telnet               Sign onto other computers
ftp                  File transfer protocol for transferring files
gopher               a distributed document delivery service
news                 Read USENET news

Favorites

Each person uses M.S.E. to access different resources and uses some more than others. Favorites serve as custom place holders for locations you want to access regularly or return to at a later time. Favorites keep you from having to remember the often complex web address because they are stored in a list along with the document title. The list is available by going to the Favorites menu and selecting the title of the document.

Before adding a web page to your Favorites menu, you must generally go to that location. Once there, go to the Favorites menu and choose Add to Favorites. You will be returned to the document and it may seem like nothing happened. If you go select the Favorite menu again you should see the document title at the end of the Favorite list. If the document list is long you may have to select More Favorites to find the one you just added.

To delete a Favorite go to the Window menu and choose Organize Favorites. A new dialog box will appear. Highlight the Favorite you want deleted and choose Delete under the Edit menu item.

Finding Information on the Web

Trying to find a particular site or document on the Internet or just looking for a resource list on a subject? Use one of the many available web search engines. There are a number of programs that allow you to search the Internet. M.S.E. provides a smaller listing of search engines by clicking on the Search button. In general when accessing a search program you type in the subject of your search and then click on the Search button. Make your request as specific as possible for the best results.

Most search engines include help on searching. C|Net's Search.com is a collection of over 250 search tools with help on how to use most of them. To access search.com use the address:
http://www.search.com/

If you want to look through a subject index, try Yahoo's List at:
http://www.yahoo.com

Remember basic computerized search strategies when using any web search tool. If your search provides too many items, narrow your search by becoming more specific. So if you search for "dogs" you may want to narrow it by specifying "sled dogs". If your search does not give you enough items, broaden your search by using more general or related terms. For example if you are looking for information on the "life cycle of tsetse flies" you may want to simply search for "tsetse fly".

Citing References from the Web

More and more people are using web documents in their reports. This brings up the question of how to cite a web document as a reference. Unfortunately there is no standard accepted yet for the APA or MLA Styles of Citation because the technology is still so new. However some standards are being proposed. Check with your instructor if they have a preferred method of citation for web documents. Here are some documents which suggest formats for citations:

MLA Style of Citation:
http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/mla.html
http://www.classroom.net/classroom/CitingNetResources.htm

APA Style of Citation:
http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/apa.html
http://www.wilpaterson.edu/cpcpages/library/citing.htm

Handbook

To learn more about M.S.E., go to the Help menu and choose from the list of subjects given under contents or click on the Web Tutorial. Most common answers on using M.S.E. are given in Frequently Asked Questions in the Help/Microsoft on the Web menu.

Copyright 1996, University of Alaska Anchorage. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage and that the material duplicated is attributed to Computing and Technology Services, University of Alaska Anchorage. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires specific permission and/or a fee.

Microsoft Internet Explorer Information

Exiting Microsoft Internet Explorer