This section on on-screen fundamentals describes what you see in the main Netscape window. Most of the tools and text field that help you to navigate the Internet are visible, though you have the option of hiding some tools in order to give more space on the screen to the content area.
The next section describes a window's graphical elements. Subsequent sections go into more detail on page displays and button actions. Subsequent chapters explore mail, news, bookmarks, primary menu items, preferences panels, and additional application features.
You can open multiple Netscape windows to view multiple pages of information. The title bar of the window shows the title of the currently loaded page. You'll also find that some pages are designed to be a patchwork of pages. These patchwork pages contain rectangular frames, each frame presents its own page information (similar to the picture-in-picture feature offered in some television sets).
Content area, frames, and text fields
Content area
The content area contains the current page brought by the most recently requested link. Vertical and horizontal scroll bars might be present to view pages larger than the screen area. The content area displays HTML-formatted pages that often include inline images stored in the GIF and JPEG graphic file formats. Other file formats represented by links in the content area (for example, a sound file) can be accessed using external helper applications. You can copy text to the clipboard by selecting the text, then choosing File|Copy. Unlike a word processor, you won't see a blinking insertion bar. Alternatively, you can select text by clicking once at one end of a selection, then holding down the shift key and clicking a second time with the cursor pointing at the other end of the selection.
Frames
The content area of some pages is segmented into rectangular frames, each frame containing its own page. A page containing frames is a top-level page (or frameset). Generally, toolbar and menu items affect the top-level page. The pages within each individual frame may have scroll bars. You can select a frame by clicking inside it. Some commands, such as keyboard shortcuts, affect only the selected frame. Likewise, some menu items, such as printing and document mailing, apply to a frame alone. You can resize frames by positioning the cursor in the border between frames (the cursor changes shape) and dragging the adjacent frames to a new position. Clicking on a link within a frame may affect the page within the frame, pages within other frames, or the top-level page. Frames and the actions of their links are created by page authors using HTML.
Backgrounds
The background of the content area may vary according to a preference item you can set in the Color panel (not on UNIX). You can set the background to a default of gray, a custom color of your choosing, or an image file you select. You can also determine if your choice of background should always be used or if the background transmitted with a page should override your choice.
Location/Go to
The location field shows you the location of the current page and can be used to enter the location (the URL address) of the page you wish to go to next. The label of the location field reads Location after you bring a page. The label changes to Go to if you enter text into the field. Pressing the return key brings the page specified in the Go to field and changes the label back to Location. On Windows, a pull-down menu at the right of the field lets you choose a URL (the 10 most recent locations you've entered into the field are stored as menu items) to revisit pages.
Status message
The status message area contains text describing a page's location or the progress of a connection to a page. When the cursor is positioned over highlighted words (or an image) serving as a link to a page, the status message field shows the URL that will be used to bring the page to the screen. When the Auto Load Image option is unchecked and the cursor points over an image, the status message shows the alternate text for the image and, if the image is a link, the URL. When the cursor points over an image with active areas, the status messages shows the description for the active area. During connections, the status message field reports progress in contacting the URL source, loading pages, and loading inline information.
Error messages
Error message result from a variety of situations. The Netscape application tries to evaluate any problem you encounter and present information to help you solve or circumvent it. The most common error messages result from trying to view a page that isn't available. Often, this occurs because the server issuing the page is temporarily shut down or too busy with other connections to handle your request. Occasionally, the page is no longer available at the specified URL. If you would like to report a problem, you should note the exact wording of the error message. The Help menu offers items for giving feedback and getting support.
Security indicators
A document has one of three security states: secure, insecure, or mixed. The most prominent security indicator, located at th screen's bottom-left, is a doorkey on blue for secure documents and a broken doorkey on gray for insecure documents. Th secure doorkey icon varies slightly depending on the grade of encryption: the doorkey has two teeth for high-grade and on tooth for medium-grade. The color bar over the content area is blue for secure and gray for insecure. A mixed document, wit insecure information omitted, is shown as secure.
A URL beginning with https:// shows that the document came from a secure server. To connect to an HTTP server that offers security, insert the letter "s" so that the URL begins with https://. Use http:// otherwise. Similarly, a news URL that starts with snews: (instead of news:) shows that the document comes from a secure news server (again, insert the letter "s" if your news server offers security). Use two slashes (//) after the colon (:) for news servers other than the default one. Chose the View|Document Info menu item for security details.
A secure document can only have inline information from secure sources. The insecure information on a mixed security document is replaced by a mixed security icon. Bringing a mixed security document to screen produces a notification dialog.
If a form appears on a secure page that has an insecure submit process, a notification dialog always appears. The warning states that although the document is secure, the submission you are about to make is insecure and could be compromised by a third party. If you are sending passwords, credit cards numbers, or other information you would like to keep private, it would be safer for you to cancel the submission.
If an insecure document contains secure information (either inline or as part of a form), no special action is taken. The document is considered insecure. This includes insecure forms with secure submission processes.
Several notification dialog boxes inform you about the security status of documents. You can choose whether or not to receive these dialogs by setting the panel items in Options|Security|Alerts (or by unchecking a dialog's Show this Alert Next Time box).
Notification dialog boxes
When entering a secure document space, you are notified the secure document is encrypted when transferred to you and any information you send back is also encrypted. When leaving a secure document space, you are notified the insecure document could be observed by a third party when transferred to you and any information you send back could also be read by a third party. When viewing a document with a mix of secure and insecure information, you are notified the secure document that you just loaded contained some insecure information that will not be shown. When you submit a form using any insecure submit process, you are notified the submission process you are about to use is insecure. This means that the information you are sending could be compromised by a third party. You will always be notified if the document was expected to be a secure document but is actually an insecure document (the document location has been redirected to an insecure document). This means that a third party could observe the document you are about to bring.
Document information
To view elements of a document's structure, composition, and security status, choose View|Document Info. The information, displayed in a separate Netscape window, helps you establish the document's authenticity and other security characteristics.
In the upper portion of the window, the document's structure is presented as a hierarchy of the component URLs (for example, the URLs of image files contained in the document). The lower portion of the window consists of several fields stating location, type, source, cache, length, modification, and character set encoding information, plus the particulars of a document's security status.
To interpret the security status of a document, you should verify that the information you see:
In addition, the server certificate presents data that identifies:
Like documents, certificate information is protected by encryption to ensure authenticity and integrity. The data can include the following:
Back
Displays the previous page in the history list. A history list references a hierarchy of pages you've already viewed.
Forward
Displays the next page in the history list. When you use Back or a history menu item to retrieve a page, using Forward gets the proceeding page. Forward is only available after you use Back or a history item.
Home
Displays the home page designated in the General Preferences|Appearance panel. The default is the Netscape home page location.
Reload
Redisplays the current Netscape page, reflecting any changes made prior to the original loading. Netscape checks the network server to see if any change to the page has occurred. If there's no change, the original page is retrieved from the cache. If there's a change, the updated page is retrieved from the network server. If you press the Reload button while holding down the Shift key (Option key on Macintosh), Netscape retrieves the page from the network server regardless of whether the page has been updated (the cache is not used).
Images
Loads images into pages. This is useful when the Options|Auto Load Images menu item is unchecked and icons have been substituted for images. By loading images, you replace the icons with the intended images.
Open
Lets you enter a URL to display the specified page in the content area.
Print
Prints the content area of the current Netscape page. A dialog box lets you select printing characteristics.
Find
Lets you specify a word or phrase to locate within the current Netscape page. You can specify case sensitivity and search direction. If a match is found, the text is selected and displayed.
Stop
Halts any ongoing transfer of page information.
Directory buttons can also be accessed from the Directory or Help menus.