Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

By Greg Perry

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Wake Up with Windows XP
  • Hour 1. Taking a Bird's-Eye Look at Windows XP
  • Hour 2. Getting Started with Windows XP
  • Hour 3. Managing the Windows XP Interface
  • Part II: Morning Windows Desktop Exploration
  • Hour 4. Working with the My Computer Window
  • Hour 5. Navigating Files with Windows Explorer
  • Hour 6. Calling for Help
  • Hour 7. Improving Your Windows Desktop Experience
  • Part III: Early Afternoon Windows Exploration
  • Hour 8. Installing Programs with Windows XP
  • Hour 9. Finding Files, Folders, and Friends
  • Hour 10. Using the Desktop Accessories
  • Part IV: Late Afternoon Internet Integration
  • Hour 11. Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer
    • Introduction to the Internet
    • The WWW: World Wide Web
    • Introducing the Internet Explorer Web Browser
    • Surfing the Internet
    • Locating Information
    • Helpful Browsing Tools
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Hour 12. Tying Windows into the Web
  • Hour 13. Networking with Windows XP
  • Hour 14. Managing E-mail and Newsgroups with Outlook Express
  • Part V: An Evening with Advanced Windows
  • Hour 15. Exploring Your Hardware Interface
  • Hour 16. Understanding Printing and Fonts
  • Hour 17. Using Windows on the Road
  • Hour 18. Giving Windows XP a Tune-Up
  • Hour 19. Managing Your Hard Drives
  • Hour 20. Tinkering with the Advanced System Tools
  • Part VI: Having Fun at Nighttime
  • Hour 21. Using Media Player
  • Hour 22. Picturing Windows XP Graphics
  • Hour 23. Making Movies with Windows XP
  • Hour 24. Advanced Windows XP Tips
  • Part VII: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Differences Between the Windows Home and Professional Edition
  • Appendix B. Glossary
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes

Introducing the Internet Explorer Web Browser

Before you can access and view Web information, you need a program that can display Web page information, including text, graphics, audio, and video. The program you need is called a Web browser—or just a browser. Although several companies offer browsers, Windows integrates one of the best Web-browsing programs, Internet Explorer.

This 24-hour tutorial uses Internet Explorer in the figures and descriptions. Some people prefer to use a competing Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator, to access Web pages. Internet Explorer generally integrates the best with Windows because Microsoft wrote both products.

Before you can access the Internet's Web pages, you need to get Internet access through an ISP, or Internet service provider. Several national ISPs exist that you've probably heard of such as America Online (AOL) and Microsoft Network (MSN). Many people can access the Internet through a local Internet provider. Whichever provider you use, your provider will tell you how to set up Internet Explorer to access the Internet.

Internet Explorer is easy to start. You literally can access the Internet with one or two clicks by running Internet Explorer. The following To Do item explains how to start Internet Explorer. You must already have Internet access through the Microsoft Network or another provider, and you must have already set up Internet Explorer to access your provider. You can access the Internet through a dial-up modem, satellite, or one of the other connections available today.

To Do: Starting Internet Explorer

1. Select Internet Explorer from your Windows Start menu. If you've displayed the Quick Launch toolbar area, you can click the Internet Explorer icon located on your Windows taskbar.
2. If required, enter your Internet ID and password and click Connect to dial up the Internet. For users with a DSL or cable modem system, the connection will not always require an ID and password.
3. Assuming that you have properly set up an account with a service provider, Internet Explorer dials your provider and displays the page setup to be your initial browser's home page. Depending on the amount of information and graphics on the page, the display might take a few moments or might display right away.

Internet Explorer makes it easy to navigate Web pages. Before looking further at Internet information, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the Internet Explorer screen by following this To Do item:

To Do: Managing the Internet Explorer Screen

1. Study Figure 11.2 to learn the parts of the Internet Explorer screen. The figure shows the Search Companion, available by clicking the toolbar's Search button. Internet Explorer displays your home page and lists its address in the address area. Your screen might differ slightly depending on your Internet Explorer configuration. Internet Explorer is fully customizable. For example, you can hide a toolbar to make more room for the Web page content.

   The Search Companion, the window pane to the left of Figure 11.2's browser's Web page, is just one option available for this section of your Web browser. The general name for the window pane on the left is the Explorer Bar. By selecting from the View, Explorer Bar menu, you can select one of several items to place on the Explorer Bar.

Figure 11.2 Learn the Internet Explorer screen so that you can utilize its many features when surfing the Web.

2. Some Web site addresses are lengthy. Drag the Links label to the right of the Address box left to shrink the Address Bar and see links to other Web pages. If you cannot drag the Links area left, your toolbars are locked into place; select View, Toolbars, Lock the Toolbars to unlock the toolbar positions and allow for the dragging of toolbar widths left and right. The more room you give the Address text box, the less room the other toolbar buttons have.
3. Click the down arrow at the right of the address entry to open a list of recently traversed site addresses. If this is the first time you or anyone has used your computer's Internet Explorer, you might not see sites other than the current start page sites. The toolbar's History button switches from whatever you had in the window's left pane to the History Bar. Click the History button to see the History Explorer bar, such as the one in Figure 11.3 that enables you to return to sites you've gone to in past Internet visits. If you click any of the sites (click any date name to open its list of sites), the display area at the right of the screen updates to show that site. You can return to a full-page view by clicking the Explorer Bar's Close button.
   

   Figure 11.3 Internet Explorer uses the Explorer Bar for various Internet-traversal functions such as this history list.

4. Click the scrollbar to see more of the page. Most Web pages take more room than will fit on one screen.
5. Select View, Full Screen (or press the F11 shortcut key) to dedicate your entire screen, except for part of your toolbar at the top, to the Web page.
6. To return from the full screen view, press F11 once again.

Familiarize yourself with Internet Explorer's screen elements. As you traverse the Internet, Internet Explorer will aid you—as you will see throughout the rest of this hour.

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