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Lesson 1: Using the WebYou are here: AustLII >> Technical Library >> Teaching Materials >> Online Tutorial >> Lesson 1: Using the Web |
In this lesson we will learn the basics of using a Web Browser such as Netscape. Most visitors to AustLII use the Netscape browser, but you may be using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, IBM's WebExplorer or the text browser Lynx. All work with AustLII (although not all work with this tutorial). Illustrations are of the OS/2 version of Netscape, which is essentially the same as the Windows and Macintosh versions. The basic browser layout is also the same for Internet Explorer.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Open the AustLII Home Page in Netscape.
Below is a picture of part of the Netscape window.
The top most line is called the title bar. It contains the name of the current page being displayed (between the square brackets).
Below the title bar is the menu bar. You can press on one of the menu names (eg File) to pull down the File Menu. The most useful is the Bookmarks menu -- it can contain a list of the sites you find most useful.
Next is the button bar or tool bar. It contains these standard buttons:
Below the button bar is the Location field. It contains the "URL" of the page you are viewing. A URL is an address used to identify the location on on the network of the page you are viewing. Every page has its own URL. You can type a new URL in here to go to a new page. For example, to go to the AustLII Home Page, you would type http://www.austlii.edu.au into the Location field (and press Enter).
Finally, there are some directory buttons, which take you to some useful Netscape web pages.
Some text that you read will look different to the rest. When you click on it with the mouse, a new page will load and be displayed. Such text is called a "hyperlink" (or "link" for short). For example, this is a hyperlink. If you clicked on this text, a new page will load. Try it now.
When the page has loaded, press the Back button on your browser. The page that was just replaced when you pressed the hyperlink should be restored (if you started from the beginning, this should be the AustLII Home Page).
Not all links need to be text however. For example, some images will also act as hyperlinks when you click on them. Try clicking on the AustLII Logo below to go to the About AustLII page (press Back to restore the Home Page).
![[AustlII Image]](/images/logos/AustLII_small.jpg)
The addresses of the pages you have accessed in your current research session are listed in Netscape's History List, located under the Go menu. Instead of using Back and Forward through your history, you can jump to any point by selecting the page from the Go menu.
Your history is cleared every time you restart Netscape. If you want to permanently save the addresses of places you've been, you must use Bookmarks.
If you find a page whose address you want to save (so that you can find it again easily), use the Add Bookmark option from the Bookmarks menu. First select Bookmarks, then click Add Bookmark. The picture below shows my Bookmarks menu (yours will be different).
You can save the address of the AustlII Tutorial now. Add a bookmark right now, then pull the bookmarks menu down again to see the entry for this tutorial.
Netscape is fairly easy to use, however more detailed instructions are available if you require them. Important Note: If you click on any of the links below, you will leave this tutorial. To return, press the Back button on your browser.
The instructions here are based on the Netscape Introduction in the AustLII Guide. This is a Microsoft Word document (also available in RTF for other word processors) that you can print out and use when researching on AustLII. It contains an overview of Netscape.
Netscape provides on-line documentation. From the Window menu, select "Online Handbook" (your version might have it listed on the Help menu instead).
Chapters 10 and 11 of Surend Dayal's Laying Down the Law OnLine, Butterworths 1996 is useful because it concentrates on legal materials.