Lesson 5: Saving Time
Course Sessions
This section will help you understand common terms and tools of the internet: Sending Page by E-mail, Reading Offline, Synchronizing, Using Shortcuts, Creating Web Shortcuts, Adding Favorites, Moving between Hyperlinks, Viewing Source Code, Setting Wallpaper.
In the computer world, there are often several different ways to perform the same task. Sometimes, the way you choose to perform a task is simply a matter of preference, but other times you will find there is a better, shorter way to perform a task at hand.
For example, if you would like to share a Web page with someone, there are several ways to approach this task. You could highlight and copy the URL of that page, then open your e-mail program, and type a note letting that person know you want to share this Web page with them. Then paste the URL in the e-mail. That is the long way.
You have another shorter, easier choice using the browser's Menu Bar. Let's check it out.
Sending Page by E-mail
When sending a page by e-mail, did you notice on the dropdown box that you had two choices, one that said "Page by e-mail" and another that said "Link by e-mail"? Did you wonder which was the best choice? Sending the page itself could take longer for it is a larger document to travel over the Internet. Sometimes the link to that particular Web page will do just fine. You decide; both ways take only a click of your mouse.
Reading Offline
While surfing the Web, you may find some great information that you would like to spend time reading and digesting. At that particular moment, you are pressed for time. Yes, your browser will let you save that information to read later. Even better than that, you can read it offline, saving you valuable online time.
When you make a Web page available offline, you can read its content when your computer is not connected to the Internet. For example, you can view Web pages on your laptop computer when you don't have a network or Internet connection. Or you can read Web pages at home without tying up a phone line. You can specify how much content you want available, such as just a page or a page and all its links. You can even choose how you want to update that content on your computer.
Let's find out how to take advantage of this feature. First of all, you have to save that Web page for later reading.
To make an existing Favorite item available offline, go to your Favorites menu and click Organize Favorites. Click the page you want to make available offline. Select the Make Available Offline check box.
Synchronizing
Properties
Web pages change often. You may want to make sure that your offline viewing shows the latest version of the Web page. You can have Windows synchronize the data on your computer and the data on the Internet so that both are up to date. To do so, before you disconnect from the Internet, go to the Tools menu and click Synchronize. When the synchronize menu appears, select the check box for any item you want to synchronize from the list of Offline Web Pages. Then just click on Synchronize.
You can specify a schedule for updating that page by clicking Properties.
Schedule Tab
On the Schedule tab, indicate the schedule you want to follow by clicking Add, completing the schedule information, and clicking the inevitable OKs.
Using Shortcuts
You may have noticed during these lessons that the computer world often has several ways to do the same thing. There are also many helpful shortcuts that can save you time and aggravation. Here are a few simple shortcuts that will make your Internet browsing a little easier and more enjoyable.
Creating Web Shortcuts
Create Shortcut
When you come across a Web page that you want to visit often, you can make it a Favorite, but you can also put a shortcut to that Web page right on your desktop. Just surf over to the page you like and right-click anywhere on that page. Then click Create Shortcut. A notice will appear telling you that a shortcut to the current page will be placed on your desktop. Click on OK. When you return to your Windows desktop, you will see the shortcut. When you are connected to the Internet, clicking on that shortcut will take you directly to the designated Web page.
Adding Favorites
Another useful shortcut is saving a Web page to your Favorites. We learned you could click Favorites when you are at the Web page you want to save as a Favorite. Or on the Favorites menu, just click Add to Favorites. An even quicker way is to press CTRL+D.
Moving between Hyperlinks
Showing Dashed Rectangle
Want to know how to move quickly between hyperlinks: To move forward through the items on a Web page, click your mouse on any blank area on the Web page, then press your Tab key. Press the Tab key repeatedly to cycle through the hyperlinks. As you press the Tab, you will see the active link surrounded by a dashed rectangle.
Viewing Source Code
Even if you are not interested in computer programming, seeing the computer code behind a Web page can be an interesting adventure. On any Web page, just click on View from the menu at the top of the page, then click Source. A window will pop up showing the actual computer code that was used to create the Web page. Just click on the X in the upper right hand corner to close this page after your curiosity has been satisfied.
Setting Wallpaper
Have you seen computers that have colorful pictures as the background for the desktop? The image or background pattern you see on monitors is called wallpaper. Making a wallpaper selection is often difficult because there is an abundance of great graphics, pictures, and backgrounds on the Internet. Many of these images make great desktop wallpaper. All you have to do to select one as your background is right-click the picture you want and then click Set as Wallpaper or Set as Background.
