A Web browser is a program for accessing and displaying Web pages. The two most popular Web browsers are Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Communicator, both of which are free. While either browser will work fine for viewing most pages, there are some subtle differences that may affect the display of some pages, especially with respect to newer features of the Web. For this class, Netscape Communicator is recommended, but you may choose to use Internet Explorer if you wish.
Starting the browser:
Note: when you start the browser, the home page for that computer is automatically loaded. For computers on campus, the home page is most likely the Creighton University page. For your own personal computer, you can change the home page by selecting Preferences from the Edit menu in Communicator (or Internet Options from the Tools menu in IE).
- Click on the browser icon on the desktop. If the icon does not appear on your screen, you can start the browser by clicking on the Start button at the bottom-left of the screen, selecting Programs from the Start menu, and then selecting the desired browser from the Programs menu.)
Opening a Web Page
Note: you must be very careful when entering a Web address since any typo will most likely cause the browser to fail in locating the page.
- In the Address box, type the Web address (also known as its Uniform Resource Locator or URL) for the desired page. The Web address for this course is www.creighton.edu/~csc107
Opening a Local Web Page
Note: when you open a local Web page, the file name is preceded with file:// in the Address box of the browser. This distinguishes the local page from pages loaded over the Web, whose addresses are preceded with http://.
- To open a Web page that is stored on your local computer, select Open File from the File menu.
- In the box that appears, click on Choose File to search for and select the appropriate file.
- Once the file has been selected, click Open to open that file in the browser.
Viewing the Source of a Web Page
- Load the desired page in the browser (see above).
- Select Page Source from the View menu to display the HTML source for that page.
Downloading/Saving a Web Page
- Load the desired page in the browser (see above).
- Select Save As from the File menu.
- Enter the file name under which the file is to be saved. If you want the file stored in a location other than the default folder, click on the Save In box and the appropriate folder icons to select the desired location (e.g., the A: drive).
- Click the Save button.
Since a Web page is nothing more than a text file that contains special HTML tags, you can use any text editor you choose (even advanced word processors such as Word or WordPerfect, although you must be sure to save the file as plain text). For this class, the simple NotePad that comes with Windows is sufficient.
Starting NotePad:
Note: when NotePad opens, a new blank document is automatically opened and displayed. If you wish to create a new document, you can start typing directly in this untitled window.
- Click on the Start button at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Select Programs from the Start menu.
- Select Accessories from the Programs menu.
- Select NotePad from the Accessories menu.
Opening an Existing File using NotePad:
Note: if NotePad is set to be the default editor for Web pages in Internet Explorer (as specified in Tools -> Internet Options -> Programs), then a Web page can be opened simply by clicking the Edit button on the toolbar.
- Select Open from the NotePad File menu.
- Click on the Browse button and select the desired file.
- Click the OK button.
Saving a File using NotePad:
- Select Save from the NotePad File menu.
- If this is a new file, you will be prompted for a file name. Enter the name in the File Name box. If you want the file stored in a location other than the default folder, click on the Save In box and the appropriate folder icons to select the desired location (e.g., the A: drive).
- Click OK.
Copying a File using NotePad:
- Select Save As from the NotePad File menu.
- Enter the new file namein the File Name box and select the appropriate folder location.
- Click OK.
Getting Help about NotePad:
- Select Help from the NotePad File menu.
- Select Help Topics from the Help menu.
- Click on the topic on the left that you are interested in.
In order to make a Web page accessible to the world, it must be stored on a computer running special Web server software. For this course, this requires two steps, (1) uploading the file to the public_html directory of your bluejay account, and (2) setting the appropriate protection on the file so that Web broswers from outside of Creighton can view the page.
Transferring files to Bluejay
The procedure for uploading files to the server is different depending on the browser you are using. Separate instructions are provided below.
Using Netscape Communicator:
- Enter ftp://yourUserName@bluejay.creighton.edu in the Address box of the browser window, where yourUserName is your user name on Bluejay.
- Enter your Bluejay password at the prompt.
- Click on the link labeled public_html.
- A list of all your Web pages on Bluejay will appear in the browser.
- Drag the desired files onto the browser window by clicking on the file and holding the mouse button while you move the mouse to the browser window.
Using Internet Explorer:
- Enter ftp://yourUserName@bluejay.creighton.edu/public_html in the Address box of the browser window, where yourUserName is your user name on Bluejay.
- Enter your Bluejay password at the prompt.
- A list of all your Web pages on Bluejay will appear in the browser.
- Drag the desired files onto the browser window by clicking on the file and holding the mouse button while you move the mouse to the browser window. Alternatively, you can cut-and-paste the desired files onto the browser window.
Making BlueJay Web Pages Accessible
- Enter telnet://bluejay.creighton.edu in the Address box of the browser window.
- A separate telnet window will appear and you will be prompted for your user name and password.
- At the resulting $ prompt, enter the command webready. This command will set the appropriate protection modes for all of your files to make them accessible over the Web.
- Log out by entering the command exit at the $ prompt.
- A window will appear informing you that the connection to bluejay has been terminated. Click OK.
- Close the telnet window by clicking on the X at the top-right corner of the window.