Browser Operations

Update Your Browser
If you use an older browser, you may be lacking useful features. But be wary of the very latest or "beta-test" versions that may still contain programming "bugs". The version number of your browser is located in the Help>About menu. This page describes features currently available in the Windows version of Microsoft Explorer 6.00.

Scrolling Hints
To move rapidly through a page, drag the "elevator button" on the vertical scrollbar. The size of the button shows the percentage of the page contents visible on the display – the smaller the button, the larger the page. To read a page one screen at a time, use the Page Up and Page Down keys.

Find In Page
To search for keywords on the current page, use the Edit>Find function. For example, when reading a long article on "Diabetes In Pregnancy", you can use this feature to find each occurrence of the related keyword "eclampsia".

Open A Second Window
You usually open a link by left-clicking. If you right-click, you will open a pop-up menu with an option to "Open Page In New Window". This is useful for comparing the contents of two pages or returning to a page without waiting for it to reload. A website may preset a link to automatically open in a new window.

Select a Home Page
A browser displays a pre-selected "home" page when you start the program or click the "Home" button. You can change this to display your favorite web page or to "blank" to avoid wasting time loading an unwanted page. In Explorer, the path is Tools>Internet Options>General.

Printing
You don't have to print the entire contents of a web page. Use File>Page Preview and File>Print to preview and print a selected range of pages. Explorer allows you to select text by highlighting it, then using the File>Print Selected Text option. It also lets you select Landscape mode (11 x 8.5) to print pages that are wider than the standard Portrait mode (8.5 x 11).

Send a Web Page By E-mail
Use File>Send to send an interesting page to a friend or colleague. Or send a message to yourself, so that you can re-visit the page from a different computer.

Favorites
Browsers usually provide a way to return to your favorite websites quickly.