Netscape Communicator 7.0 Tutorial
Getting the Program

• Netscape Communicator is a free download that is found at the Netscape Site. http://home.netscape.com/computing/download
• You are looking for Netscape Communicator Version 7.
  

Basic Controls/ Text

The text tools in an HTML editor are much the same as in a word processing program. This tutorial assumes you have a working knowledge of word processing and will only cover differences between that and webpage design.

• There are tools for type format, size, color, style, bullets, numbering, indents and alignment.
• It is important to know that you can not use tabs in HTML.
• To simulate tabs, and move text around you can use the indent tools.
• To work with text you can either just type the text directly into the page or copy and paste text from a word processing document.

-HINT: Any formatting the text originally has on the word processing document will be lost once it is on the webpage!

• Although many computers have a great many fonts available to use in your webpage it is important to remember that if you choose a font that is specific to your machine other computers may not have that font. If the remote machine does not have this font it will substitute a different font for yours. It is therefore safest to choose either Arial, Helvetica, or Times. These fonts are found on most systems and will result in less formatting problems.

Basic Controls/ Images

1. It is important to note that there are only 2 types of image files that work on webpages: GIF and JPEG. If you have pictures in a different form you will need to use a graphic editing tool such as Adobe Photoshop,Macromedia Fireworks, Graphic Converter or something else to change your file into the correct type.
   
2. Once you have scanned, designed, or captured a picture you wish to use in your webpage place the cursor in the place on the page you wish to put your image and then click on the insert image button on the toolbar.
   
3. Now you will see this window...
   
   
4. You want to click Choose File... and then find your file.
   -Once you have found the file you want you will be able to change the size, by clicking on the Dimensions.
   -Determine whether the text is wrapped around the image, by clicking on the Appearance tab. You will not be able to see the text wrapping until you preview the page in the browser, and how much space is around the image You can. You can also make the image into a link by clicking on the Link tab.
   
5. When you have set all the options you want then click OK. The image will be placed into the page.
   
6. One extremely nice feature of Netscape 7 is that it will prompt you to add alternative text. This is used if someone has their images turned off or is handicapped and is using a reader to access the webpage. It is always a good idea to use alternate text. If the image is a button tell where the link will go and if it is an image then describe the image.

1. To create a link you need to first select the text or object you wish to use as a link. Do this by clicking on the object, if it's an image, or by "dragging" over and selecting text.
   
2. Next click on the link button on the menubar.
   
3. You will now see the Link window.
   
4. You will see, in the the Linktext box, what you have chosen to be a link.
   
5. Below that you will see the Link Location, this is where you will tell the program what file you wish to link to.
   
6. In the empty box type in the complete address of the page you wish to link to, including the http://.
   
   HINT: It is much easier to open your browser, go to the page you want to link to and then copy the address from the location and then paste it into your page!
   
7. You may also link to a file that is located on your own computer by clicking the Choose File button and finding the file you want.
8. Click OK and you're done! Open the page in the browser window,
   click on , and see if your links work!

Linking to Another Part of Your Webpage

1. The first thing you need to do is to put an "anchor" on the page where you wish to link to.
   
2. To do this place your cursor in the desired spot and go to Insert..Named Anchor.
   
3. You will then be asked to name the anchor, do so and click OK.
   
   HINT: Make sure you follow the naming guidelines from above! Do not use spaces or characters (except an underscore_).
   
4. Follow the first five steps above for "Linking to Another Webpage".
   
5. Once you have the link window open click on the arrow to the right of the blank box. It will show you a list of your anchors. Choose the one you want to link to and click OK.
   

1. Follow the directions above for "Linking to Another Webpage".
   
2. Place your cursor in the URL (page location) or File.
   
3. Type mailto: followed by the email address you wish to use.
   Example: mailto:jsmith@navi.net

Changing the Background
One important aspect of webpages is the ability to customize the look and feel. The background is an important part of this.

1. To change the background color go to the FORMAT drop-down menu and then choose Page Colors and Backgrounds from the bottom of the window.
   
2. The top part of the window is concerned with colors. Here you can change text, link, visited link, active link, and background colors. To do this just click on the colored box to the right of the text you wish to change, choose a new color and then click OK.
   
3. The bottom part of the window is the control of the background image. You may use an image as a background instead of plain color.

HINT: Try to choose a background that is not very large in size. Whatever image you choose will be tiled so a very small piece is all that's needed. Don't use large images, they will take a long time to load!

Working with Tables

Webpages are built on a programming language called HTML (hypertext markup language). This is a very imprecise system of presentation. To combat this problem it is important to use tables. Tables enable designers to arrange information and graphics on a page and be relatively sure that it will stay in that orientation on another computer.

1. The first step in using a table is to insert one. Simply place your cursor on the page where you want the table to be and then click on the table button .
   
2. An Insert Table window will open. This is where you will be able to control how many rows and columns a table has, whether it has a border, and it's width.
   
3. Once the table has been inserted into the page you can place text, images, graphics etc. into it.
   
4. To control the table after it has been inserted into the page you need to place your cursor inside the table somewhere and then go to Table and choose Table Properties...
   
5. Here you will be able to control the table properties. Most of the controls are self-explanatory, click on the different tabs and check it all out.
   
6. If you wish to add a row, column, cell, or table you need to choose TABLE...INSERT... and then whatever you wish to add.
   
7. If you wish to delete a row, column, cell, or table you need to choose TABLE...DELETE...and then whatever you wish to add.

Christi Boggs
Director of Technology
College of Education
766-3572
cboggs@uwyo.edu
http://ed.uwyo.edu/tech