The Browser

This Masterclass tutorial will help you make the most of that new computer with its Internet access and teach you how to make the most of the browser.

Part 1: the browser
The browser is the installed Internet access product that comes with your machine, or of course you can add another by subscribing to a new ISP. The first thing we need to do is to load up the Internet on your machine.

From your desktop click on the Internet icon on your desktop with the mouse

With the browser open the first thing we will be taking a look at is the address box at the top of your page. You will notice that almost all addresses start with 'http://', there are a few with 'https://' but most use the former. As most addresses start with 'http' the machine will assume an address has this as its beginning and thus when you type in an address you do not have laboriously key this in, instead you can begin by just keying in 'www'. To look for a Website:

Click inside the 'Address' box' Begin to key in the URL address with 'WWW'

As you key in these details you will notice a bar drop down with addresses that you have visited before key in. The computer is trying to second guess where you are going according to sites that you have visited before. This is very handy if, like us, you spend a lot of time returning to the same sites frequently.

The 'Go' button to the right of the 'Address' box is the same as using the 'return' key on your keyboard. Just to the left of the 'Go' button you will see a small arrow.

Click on the arrow' From the drop down menu click on the addresses of a site you have visited before Click on the 'Go' button

Your browser will now automatically take you to a site you have been to recently. Above these tools you will see a bar with larger buttons on and some of these are very important and useful. The 'History' tool stores all the Websites that your machine has ever been to. This is wonderful if you went to a site a long time ago and now want to revisit it for some information.

Click on the 'History' button on your browser From the pane that appears in the left hand side of your screen select a way of viewing Click on 'View' Select 'Today', 'by Date' with the mouse Scroll down and click on the file of the Website you wish to visit Select the page from the drop down file menu

Toppers' tip: Search within your History

Part 2 Setting Up a Toolbar
In the middle of these toolbars you will see one for 'Links'. If your computer is new it is likely that all of these will link to Microsoft pages. These can be deleted off and you can set up links that require just one click to get to the sites that you use the most. To delete a link:

Place the mouse over the link button Right click the mouse Scroll down to 'Delete' in the pop up menu Click on 'Delete' Click 'Yes' to confirm

You can now replace the deleted links with anything but Microsoft and add links to the pages you use the most.

Load the page you want from the History, or buy keying in the URL address With the page loaded click on the 'e' to its left Drag, with the mouse, the page into the 'Links' bar

It is best to use the 'Links' bar for the sites that you use the most. For you next most popular sites, add them to the 'Favourites' file, which is listed under the 'Favourites' button in the tool bar.

Load the site you want to add When the page is on your screen click on the 'Favourites' button From the drop down menu scroll down to 'Add Favourites'

The browser has a number of tools that are designed to make your Internet usage as easy as possible. The 'Back' button will flick back through each page you have looked at during this browse. The 'Forward' button works the same, but in the opposite direction obviously. 'Stop' will immediately stop a page from loading up if you realise it is rthe wrong one.

The 'Homepage' button allows you to add one particular page as the page that your Internet browser will open at.

Go to the page you wish to be your 'Homepage' Copy the URL address with 'Control C' Click on the 'Tools' option in the 'Toolbar' Scroll down to 'Internet Option' When the dialogue box comes up delete the current address and add the new one Paste in the new 'Homepage' with 'Control V' Click on 'Apply' Click on 'OK' Check that the change has been made by quitting Internet Explorer and then reloading

Your browser will allow you to complete many tasks including using it for e-mail, print Web pages off, and by using the 'Edit' tool you can navigate around the desktop.

Toppers' tip: Change the Toolbars to include your favourites