Creating and using bookmarks

Once you have brought a page to screen, you can view (and store, if you wish) its URL. Every page is distinguished by its URL. Linking to a page via highlighted content, toolbar buttons, or menu items is a shortcut that enables you to display the page without having to explicitly request the page's URL. When no built-in link is available, you can display a page by entering the URL in the location field, then pressing the Enter (Return) key. (The label of the location field changes to Go to when you edit the field.) Alternatively, you can choose the File|Open Location menu item, enter the URL in the dialog box, then press the Open button.

Menu items offer each of the links available through toolbar buttons plus many more. The Netscape application keeps track of pages you have seen, lets you create easy-access lists of favorite pages, and points you to pages with current information about Netscape and the Internet. The page's title is displayed as the menu item.

History items from the Go menu display previously viewed pages. The Netscape application automatically appends the title of a page you have viewed as the topmost menu item in the history list. The View History menu item shows you how the history lineage is maintained.

Bookmark items from the Bookmarks menu display pages of your choice. You can add a bookmark menu item for the page you are viewing by choosing Bookmarks|Add Bookmark. The Window|Bookmarks menu item lets you establish lists of bookmarks for yourself and to share with others. Items from the Directory and Help menus display pages with up-to-date information on Netscape software and Internet exploration.

A pop-up menu offers utility features and a shortcut for certain links. On Windows and UNIX, you can click on the right mouse button to produce the pop-up menu (on Macintosh, press and hold down the mouse button). When the mouse button is pressed over a link or image, pop-up menu items let you go to pages, view individual images, save files onto your disk, copy locations to the clipboard, and perform other tasks. On the Windows 95 version, the pop-up menu item Create Shortcut lets you create Internet shortcut icons that you can place on the desktop or in any folder. Clicking on an Internet shortcut icon automatically opens the Netscape application and loads a particular page.

Using history and bookmark lists

When you pull down a menu that contains history or bookmark items, you see a list of page titles. To bring a page to your screen, choose the title of the page.

History items let you quickly retrieve pages that you've recently viewed in your current session. Only a single lineage of history items is displayed.

For example, a series of pages containing maps might show you increasing detail as you click on links. If you view consecutively linked pages with titles North America, United States, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, you'll see all four items appear in the history list with Philadelphia topmost in the list.

Furthermore, if you back up to the United States page, then view pages of California and San Francisco, California and San Francisco automatically replace Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. The new line of links replaces the old line of links.

Bookmarks items offer a more permanent means of page retrieval. Once you add a bookmark to your list, the title stays until you remove it or change lists. The permanence and accessibility of bookmarks make them invaluable for personalizing your Internet access.

Because bookmarks offer such ease of retrieval, the Netscape application offers many options for creating a bookmark list. Basic options let you add access to a page through a menu item. More advanced options let you create hierarchical menus, partial menu displays, multiple and shared bookmark files, list descriptions, and list searches.

The Bookmarks window, displayed by choosing the Window|Bookmarks menu item, gives you tools to manage bookmark lists. These tools might differ slightly depending on the platform you are using.

You'll find bookmarks and folders (a folder represents a hierarchical menu header) arranged like files and folders on your hard disk. You can double-click bookmarks to access pages, drag-and-drop icons to arrange your bookmarks, and use bookmark menu items to create new bookmark items and manipulate bookmark lists.

For example, to create a hierarchical menu, choose Item|Insert Folder from the Bookmarks window, give the folder (header) a name in the dialog box, close the dialog, then drag a bookmark into the resulting folder.

Don't let the advanced features dissuade you from the basic functionality of bookmarks. At its simplest, you can choose the Bookmarks|Add Bookmarks menu item to add the current page to your bookmark list, giving you direct access to your favorite pages.

Bookmarks window

Use the Bookmarks menu for fast and easy access to your favorite pages.:

• Choose Bookmarks|Add Bookmark to add the current Netscape page to the Bookmarks menu. Each time you add a page, the page's title is appended as a menu item. Simply select the title to display the page on your screen.
• Choose Windows|Bookmarks to display the Bookmarks window. The Bookmarks window has its own menu bar with items you can use to build and maintain one or more bookmark lists.

The Bookmarks window contains icons and folders to help you organize your bookmarks. Each bookmark icon corresponds to a menu item. Each bookmark icon in a folder corresponds to a menu item under a header (a hierarchical or multilevel menu). Folders can be nested in other folders:

• Double-click on bookmarks to access pages.
• Drag and drop icons among folders to arrange your bookmarks.
• To build a hierarchical menu, create a folder in the Bookmarks window (choose Item|Insert Folder from the Bookmark window's menu bar). You can then drag an existing bookmark into the folder or choose Item|Insert Bookmark to add a new bookmark.

Any changes you make to your bookmarks are saved and available the next time you start Netscape.

Bookmarks are maintained in lists, with each list represented by a bookmarks file. You can maintain multiple bookmark lists, each with its own set of titles linked to favorite pages, although only one bookmark list can be active at a time. You can select which list to display in the Bookmarks menu by choosing File|Open from the Bookmark window.

Bookmarks menu items

The Bookmarks window offers the following menu items:

• File|Open lets you select a bookmarks file to use as your active bookmarks file.
• File|Import lets you append the contents of a bookmarks file to the end of the active bookmarks file. Note that a bookmarks file is an HTML-formatted page; if you try to import an HTML page that is not a bookmark file, you may get nonfunctional bookmark entries.
• File|Save As saves the active bookmarks file as an HTML-formatted page. Enter a file name of your choosing, the press OK to create a bookmarks file.
• File|What's New checks your bookmarks to see which pages, if any, have undergone modifications since you last viewed them. Before the check, you're prompted as to whether you want to check all bookmarks or only selected bookmarks. After the check, a dialog tells you how many pages were reached and how many have changed.
• File|Close closes the bookmark window while saving the current list.
• File|Quit (Macintosh only) exits the Netscape application.
• Edit|Undo-Redo reverses the previous action.
• Edit|Cut removes the current selection and places a copy on the clipboard. If the selection includes a folder, the folder's contents are also included.
• Edit|Copy places a copy of the current selection on the clipboard. If the selection includes a folder, the folder's contents are also included.
• Edit|Paste places the contents of the clipboard into the bookmarks list after the current selection. If the selection is a folder, the new item is inserted into the folder as the first item.
• Edit|Delete removes the current selection. If the selection includes a folder, the folder's contents are also removed.
• Edit|Select All (Macintosh only) highlights all items in the window.
• Edit|Find Searches for items in the bookmark list (both titles and URLs). When a match is found, the item is selected.
• Edit|Find Again performs the Find command again.
• Item|Properties displays the Bookmark Properties window for a selected bookmark or header. It's only possible to see one properties window at a time.
• Item|Go to Bookmark displays the page specified by the current selection in the list (provided the current selection is a page title). This action is the same as double-clicking on a bookmark.
• Item|Sort Bookmarks arranges bookmark items in alphabetical order.
• Item|Insert Bookmark lets you add a new bookmark below the current selection in the list. You'll see the Bookmarks Properties window, where you enter the bookmark title you wish to use in the Name field (temporarily titled New Item) and the new item's URL in the Location field. You have the option of adding information to the Description field. The Last Visited field contains the date you last viewed the page. The Added on field contains the current date and time. Click OK to complete the insertion. Note that if the current selection is an open folder, the new item is inserted into the folder as the folder's first item. If the selection is a closed folder, the new item is inserted after the folder at the same level as the folder.
• Item|Insert Folder lets you add a new folder (and corresponding menu header) below the current selection. You'll see the Bookmarks Properties window, where you enter the name of the new folder (temporarily titled in the Name text field). You have the option of adding information to the Description field. The Added on field contains the current date and time. (There's no information for the Location or Last Visited field.) Click OK to complete the insertion.
• Item|Insert Separator creates a separator line below the current selection in the list
• Item|Make Alias lets you create an alternate bookmark (an alias) that works in the same manner as the original bookmark. Using aliases, you can have the same bookmark in multiple folders. Unlike a copy of a bookmark, an alias automatically reflects any change made to the original bookmark.
• Item|Set to New Bookmarks Folder makes the selected folder the default bookmarks folder, so that each time you choose Add Bookmark from the Bookmarks menu, the bookmark you add goes into that folder. The default is the topmost folder. First select a folder, then choose Set to New Bookmarks Folder.
• Item|Set to Bookmark Menu Folder limits the bookmarks that appear under the Bookmarks menu to those beginning at the specified folder. The default is the entire listing. First, select a folder, then choose Set to Bookmark Menu Folder.

Bookmarks shortcuts and tips

Selecting items:

• On Windows and UNIX, double-click on a folder to display or hide its contents. On Macintosh, click on a folder arrow to display or hide its contents.
• Single-click on a bookmark or folder item to select or unselect the item. When you single-click on a folder, subsequent actions (such as editing and positioning) act upon all the contents of the folder.
• On Windows, select multiple items by holding down the Ctrl key (noncontiguous) or Shift key (contiguous). On Macintosh, select multiple items by holding down the Shift key (noncontiguous).
• On Windows, when a single bookmark is selected, the status area displays the bookmark's URL. Otherwise, the status area displays the number of items selected.

Positioning items:

• Drag and drop items within a Bookmarks window to position them. While dragging an item around, you'll see a box or a line indicating the position where a drop will occur. When you drag an item over a folder, you'll see a box around the folder (a drop positions the item first in the folder list). When you drag an item over a bookmark or separator, you'll see a horizontal line between adjacent items (a drop positions the item at the line).
• Drag and drop a link from a Netscape page by clicking on the link and then dragging it into the Bookmarks window. The bookmark is added at the position of the drop.

Creating shortcut icons

• Bookmark shortcuts: On Windows 95 and Macintosh, drag and drop a bookmark icon from the Bookmarks window to the desktop to create a bookmark shortcut icon. You can double-click on a bookmark shortcut icon or drag the icon onto the Netscape window to open Netscape and display the page.
• Internet shortcuts: On Windows 95, drag and drop a link from a Netscape page to the desktop to create an Internet shortcut for a specific page.