The Internet is a loose association of thousands of networks and millions of computers across the world which allows access to such resources as library catalogs, electronic books and journals, discussion groups, association home pages, and much more.
How to get connected to the Internet
The UW-Milwaukee Information and Media Technologies Division (I&MT) provides UWM access to the Internet; any UWM student, staff, or faculty member with an "alpha" account is eligible to sign up for an Internet account. To open a UWM "alpha" account, visit I&MT, Bolton Hall, Room W 225, or visit http://www.uwm.edu/~WWW/how2Alpha.html to set up an account electronically. To make Internet access available from a remote location (home computer), check out the UWM RESOURCE CD-ROM, with a valid UWM ID card, from the UWM Libraries, Reserve Desk, East Wing, first floor or obtain a non-returnable copy of the disk from any I&MT microlab. For more campus technology information, visit I&MT Client Services Department at http://www.uwm.edu/IMT/Computing/Computing.html.
World Wide Web (WWW)
The World Wide Web is an Internet navigation tool which allows the user to find and retrieve information on practically any topic. The World Wide Web works with the use of hypertext. The blue highlighted words that appear in home pages serve as links to other documents which make Netscape or Internet Explorer and the World Wide Web a hypertext system. By placing the mouse on a highlighted phrase and clicking with the left mouse button, the system will access the information corresponding to that phrase. After clicking the mouse, the system will load the document. When it is in the process of loading a document, the symbol in the upper right hand corner will be animated. After the document is loaded, browse through this information and, in many cases, additional links can be accessed. Once a link has been accessed, the link changes color. While that site may be accessed again, the color change indicates that the site has already been visited.
Access to the World Wide Web at UWM can be done in two ways: text-only (Lynx) and text-with-graphics (Netscape, Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox). In the "alpha" account, type lynx at the prompt to access a text-only version of the web. For fancier, graphics-enhanced access, use a graphical Web browser such as Netscape, Internet Explorer (IE), or Firefox.
Search engines offer access by keyword to resource material on the Web. Examples of search engines include: Alta Vista, Google, and HotBot. For more information on basic search engines, see the RIS guide "Locating Internet Resources."
Netscape, Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox
Netscape, Internet Explorer, and Firefox are Internet information browsers and World Wide Web clients. Information is presented as a text document in graphical form, with highlighted phrases or images which are hyperlinks to another document or information resource somewhere on the Internet. These resources may include other hypertext documents, or various Internet resources.
The Browser bar: [Netscape, IE, and Firefox have menu bars near the top. These are the navigational guides to using the web browsers.]
Accessing a Known Address:
If an address to a site is known, enter the address in the Search/Address text box on the menu bar. Type in the address of the site and hit [Enter]. If the address is correct, the web browser will retrieve that page. An example of a World Wide Web address is:
To find a site on a topic, use a subject directory or a search engine. After entering selected terms, hit [Enter] or click the mouse on the Submit button to initiate a search. NOTE: Since each search engine is different, check the help screens to see how to formulate search queries.
Stopping a Process/Going Back a Step:
Once a link has been clicked on, the loading process can be stopped by using the left mouse and clicking on the Stop button on the bar. This will stop the connection/data transfer process and return the user to the document from which that link was selected. To go back to the document prior to the present one being viewed, use the mouse to click on the Back button, the picture of the arrow pointing left.
Going Forward a Step:
After using the Back option, the user may go forward a document by clicking on the Forward button, the arrow pointing right.
Going back to the Home Page:
To quickly return to the original home page, click on the Home button {this most frequenlty looks like a house}.
Downloading:
Much text data from the Web can be saved to a disk. The easiest way to download is to click on the File icon in the menu bar and then click on Save As. Insert a high-density disk or CD-ROM and select drive a:\. This produces a dialog box which allows a document to be saved in one of two ways: as a source file, which maintains the HTML formatting code of the original page (i.e., with the mark-up codes and symbols); or as a text file, which saves the document in plain text. Documents and images may also be saved to a disk without viewing them. Drag the mouse over the link to save, and click the right mouse button to access a pop-up menu which offers such options as Save this Link as and Save this Image as. Click on the appropriate option to get a dialog box like the one mentioned above.
Printing:
Most Web pages can be printed by going to the File icon on the menu bar, and selecting the Print option, or by selecting the Print button on the button bar. Frames may not print the full page as the "frame" takes up part of the space to print; downloading and then printing works best. Some websites restrict printing.
