Beginner's guide to the internet
(This guide has been written for Windows users)
Getting where you want to go
Moving around the page
Where are the links?
Buttons and menu options
Introduction
The internet is a vast international network of computers. It allows individuals and organisations to publish information so that anyone else in the world with a computer connected to the internet can retrieve it.
Every web page has a unique address (rather like a phone number) which identifies it and tells your computer how to find it.
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Using the browser
Getting where you want to go
A "browser" is a program used to gain access to the internet. Your internet service provider (ISP) will provide you with a browser when you sign up for their internet service.
If you have a website address (this will usually begin with "http://") you use your browser to gain access to the website in the following way:
- click on the white strip marked "Address" that appears at the top of every web page (pictured below). Any text in the strip (e.g. the address of a site previously accessed) will become highlighted
- delete any text in the strip by pressing the "Delete" key on your keyboard. You can now type in the new address you want to go to
- press "Enter" on your keyboard
- the site which you want to access will appear on the screen.
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Using the browser - moving around the page
Many web pages are longer than a single screen, so you often need to move up and down the page.
Browsers work exactly like other Windows software, so you can click on the Up/Down arrows on the right hand side of the page (or drag the bar) to "scroll" up and down the page.
You can also use the cursor (arrow) keys on your keyboard. The up arrow will take you up the page; the down arrow will take you further down. Use the horizontal arrows to move from right to left and vice versa as you need to.
Occasionally, pages are wider than your screen. In this case, you'll notice a horizontal "scroll" bar, similar to the vertical one, so you can "scroll" from left to right and back again.
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Using the browser - where are the links?
Most web pages contain links to other pages on the site they belong to, or elsewhere (e.g. to other websites). This means that you can simply click on the link to get to these other pages or sites: you do not need to enter any extra information.
It used to be the case that all links were highlighted in blue and underlined. For many sites, this is still true. However, the increasing use of pictures and graphics means that not all web pages conform to this rule.
If in doubt about where the links are on a particular page, just try clicking on different sections of the page. Don't worry if this takes you to a page you didn't want. In this case just click on the "Back" button to return you to the page you were on when you clicked (see below for details).
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Using the browser - buttons and menu options
At the top of web pages, you will normally see a range of "buttons" and menu options. If you roll your mouse over the "button" it will display the function of the button.
Saving web pages
There are several ways to save pages which you think you may want to visit again:
you can simply make a note of the address for when you need to refer to it again
you can save it as a Favourite so you can go straight to that page without having to navigate to it again
you can cut and paste relevant sections into your word-processed documents
Finding information within large web pages
If you are looking for a particular word in a long document (e.g. "conveyancing") and don't want to have to read the whole document before you find the word, click on the "Edit" menu and then select "Find (on this page)". A dialogue box will appear in which you can type the word you are looking for (e.g. conveyancing); then click on "Find". If the word is in the document, this procedure will highlight that word in the document for you.
Size of text on the screen
The "View" menu then "Text Size" feature allows you to change the size of text on the web page you are looking at. For example, if the size of the text is too small, you can make it bigger.
Favourite Pages (aka Bookmarks)
You can "bookmark" a page as a favourite page by clicking "Favourites" then "Add to Favourites". You can subsequently click on "Favourites" to browse the list of pages which you have marked
This list, however, remains only on the PC you are using and cannot be transferred to another PC.
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Search engines explained
Search engines are massive databases which store the details of millions of websites, including not only links to all these sites but also a short summary of their contents.
Search engines are available via certain websites. Click on the button marked "Search" above this page for example.
In each case, the search engine web page will include a text box where you can type in a word or phrase relating to the information you want to find: (see picture taken from Lycos, below). Once you have entered the word or phrase, the search engine will retrieve a list of results. To view one of the listed pages, you simply click on the relevant result.
Pictured below is the beginning of a list of results (i.e. web pages featuring your selected word or phrase).
Important:
Although there is a great deal of overlap between search engines, each search engine has different information and organises it in its own way. This means that it is always worth using two or three different engines if you can't find something on one of them. Do check any reference on the search page to "search tips" or "search options" if you're having problems; these will be designed to help you formulate your search as efficiently as possible.
Tips and techniques
- Yahoo, Excite, Google and Lycos all have "UK only" options which limit searches to UK sites
- all UK universities and government bodies have their own websites. For government bodies, try Directgov; and for universities try HERO
- think of synonyms – e.g. if you want to know where Charles Dickens was born, try "charles dickens birthplace" or "charles dickens birth" or "charles dickens born"
- many of the search engines maintain lists of categories of sites (see a selection from Yahoo, pictured below) in addition to their search facility. It can be useful to browse through these categories if you have a very general research question
- all search engines interpret your queries in different ways. Some will expect you to type "and" between separate words and phrases, some will not. Always check any information about how to search; try "Search Options" or "Search Tips". Always try another search engine if you can't find something!
- different search engines will list results in different ways; for example, the Hotbot search engine lists results by a percentage score. This is the database's guess at how relevant the web page will be to your search (e.g. based on the number of times your word/phrase appears in the web page)
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