Internet Hints & Tips
- How do I bookmark a web page so I can easily return to it in the future?
- What should I do if a web page does not appear to have updated even though changes have been made?
- What should I do if a Web page is taking a long time to open or isn't displaying properly?
- How do I clear temporary internet files from the hard drive of my computer to free up space or to ensure I have the latest version of a page?
- How do I download the most recent version of my browser?
- Glossary of internet terms
1. How do I bookmark a web page so I can easily return to it in the future?
Internet Explorer
From your Favourites menu, choose 'Add to Favourites' and click OK.
The next time you want to return to the page, go to your Bookmarks menu, highlight the name of the page and click once with your mouse.
Mozilla Firefox
From the Bookmarks menu, choose Bookmarkthis Page' (or Click Ctrl+D) and then 'Add Bookmark' from the dialog box.
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2. What should I do if a web page does not appear to have updated even though changes have been made?
Internet Explorer
Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the Refresh icon (or the F5 button) in your browser.
This will delete the copy of the page from your hard disk and reload the entire page. NB Use the refresh button or hit F5 when you want to reload the current page eg if downloading was interrupted.
Mozilla Firefox
Hold down the Ctrl+R keys to reload the page and click on the Reload button in your browser.
This will delete the copy of the page from your hard disk and reload the entire page. NB Use the Reload button or F5 by itself when you want to reload the current page eg if downloading was interrupted.
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3. What should I do if a Web page is taking a long time to open or isn't displaying properly?
Internet Explorer
If a page you are trying to view is taking too long to open, click the Stop button and try again. If you get a message that a Web page cannot be displayed, click the Refresh button.
Mozilla Firefox
If a page you are trying to view is taking too long to open, click the Stop button and try again. If you get a message that a Web page cannot be displayed, click the Reload icon or hit F5.
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4. How do I remove temporary internet files from the hard disk of my computer to free up space or to ensure I have the latest version of a page?
Temporary internet files are web pages and files which are stored on your hard disk as you view them. This speeds up the display of pages you frequently visit or have already seen, because your browser can open them from your hard disk instead of from the Web.
Internet Explorer
From the Tools menu, choose Internet Options and under the Temporary Internet Files heading, choose Delete Files.
Mozilla Firefox
If a page you are trying to view is taking too long to open, click the Stop button and try again. If you get a message that a Web page cannot be displayed, click the Reload icon or hit F5.
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5. How do I download the most recent version of my browser?
Upgrading your browser is simply a matter of downloading the new version from the web. Upgrading is free and does not take long plus the latest browsers are faster and have more features than the older ones.
Internet Explorer
Go to the download section on the Microsoft website. Choose the upgrade which matches your requirements and follow the instructions to download the new version of your browser.
Mozilla Firefox
Go to the download section on the Firefox website. Choose the upgrade which matches your requirements and follow the instructions to download the new version of your browser.
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6. Glossary of internet terms
Browser - short for web browser; it's the tool that allows you to surf the web. The most popular web browsers are Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Cache - a cache memory is a small but very fast memory used to store frequently used data or instructions. Internet files are stored in your cache as you view them. This speeds up the display of pages you frequently visit or have already seen because your browser can open them from your hard disk instead of from the Web.
Download - the transfer of information from the internet to your computer. Every time you instruct your computer system to retrieve your mail, you are downloading your data to your computer. You may also download programs to your computer.
Link - a link will transport you from one internet site to another or to another section within a website with just a click of your mouse. Links can be text or graphic. Text links usually will be underlined and often a different colour than the rest of the text on your screen.
Scroll - to look at the parts of the page that fall below (or above) what you see on your screen. The long bar at the far right of this screen is a scroll bar. The small square in it will allow you to scroll through the rest of this page. Just place your mouse pointer over the square, hold down the left click button on the mouse and slide the square up or down.
Site - a page on the internet. Every web page has a location where it resides which is called its site. Every site has an address usually beginning with "http://".
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - the standard way to give the address of a website. It usually begins with "http://" A URL looks like this: http://www.lexisnexis.co.nz
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