What are the different tools on a web browser

How do I know if an Internet page is loading?

On each browser there are two indicators of a page loading on to your browser. Both Navigator and IE have a small picture in the upper right hand corner of the browser. When the image is moving, the browser software is pulling your data from a remote computer called a server. The browser downloads these files to your computer and displays them on your screen. How fast that process is depends on several factors - the size of the file you are downloading, the speed of your modem connection, how busy the server is and how busy the Internet is at the moment you are downloading.

The second indicator is the status bar at the bottom of your browser. It tells you what percentage of the site has loaded as well as the address that you are loading. It has a tendency to jump around, so you may see it say "10%" for a while, then suddenly surge to "30%." That is normal!

What Is the scroll bar and why do I need it?

Not all of the content of a single page may be visible on the computer screen, so you may have to use the scroll bar tool on the right hand side of your screen, and if the page is very wide, use the scroll bar at the bottom of your screen. A scroll bar is simply a slider that allows you to move up and down or side to side. You can also use your arrow keys or Page Up and Page Down keys to move around a page. If a page does fit on one screen, the scroll bar will disappear.

How does the history work?

As you move from website to website, your browser remembers where you have been by keeping a history of your actions. With Navigator, select "History" from the drop-down list under the Communicator menu. With IE, click the "History" button on the toolbar. Up will pop your recent history on the left side of your browser. To revisit a page, just click on the address. There is a definite downside to history. If, for example, you are playing around on websites you should not be looking at while at work, those sites will be listed in your history. So to protect yourself and cover your tracks, make sure to clear your history.

How do I block out advertising?

Much of the content that is on the Web is available for free because advertisements on the sites generate revenue for the companies providing them. These free sites are critical to the continued growth of this technology. The ads that pay for them are also critical to that growth. However, sometimes these ads get in the way of your research. These are ads that pop up another window (hence the name popup ad) to sell you something you probably don't care about. To make you look at them, usually these ads cover the site you were looking at. If you hate advertising, and many people do, there are a couple of ways to research on the Web without being overwhelmed by advertising. Some website ads, as Detroit Free Press columnist Heather Newman suggests, are like department store perfume salespeople. "They come on too strong, won't leave you alone, and just when you think you've gotten rid of them, another one appears," she says.

People have grown to hate popups so much that there are lots of websites devoted exclusively to their extinction. See popup-blockers.org. While these ads are routine on websites, now they are starting to overwhelm people as web-page style HTML email as well. They automatically fire up your browser program to display more of their ads. If this happens to you, there are a few things you can do to stop it.

In Internet Explorer browsers, pull down the Tools menu and select "Internet Options." Click on the "Advanced" tab. Then go down to the "Multimedia" part and uncheck the box next to "Show Pictures." Reload or open a new browser and you will see no ads on your browser's page. In Netscape, go to "Edit," then select "Preferences." In the "Category" box, click on "Advanced." Then uncheck the box next to "Automatically Load Images." But be aware - sometimes you will want to see photos. Rather than regularly overriding that setting each time you want to see a photo, all you have to do is go to the photo or ad you have blocked, click on your right mouse button on your PC and select "Show Picture" using Internet Explorer or "Show Image" using Netscape.

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