Netscape software gives you the opportunity to save a page as a file on your computer. You can do this after or instead of bringing the page to your screen.
Some links, for example those that transport software, sound, or movie files, don't transmit pages. You can often identify these links by noticing a URL that begins with ftp or ends with a file-type suffix such as au or mpeg. Clicking on these links can automatically download (save) a file to disk and launch helper applications that support the file's format. Most links, however, point to pages that you can bring to your screen or specifically save on your disk.
The File|Save as menu item produces a dialog box that lets you save the current page as a source (HTML) file or a text file on your disk. (On UNIX, you can also save in PostScript format.) A file saved in HTML source format retains the formatting of the original page. A file saved in text format is presented as plain text. You can save an image file, but not a page's inline images.
When you view a page containing frames, the File|Save Frame as menu item replaces File|Save as and lets you save only the page of a currently selected frame. The dialog box options for saving the page are unchanged.
By using a pop-up menu item, you can save a page as a disk file instead of bringing the page to the screen. While pointing over a link, click on the right mouse button (on Macintosh, hold down the mouse button) to pop up the menu. The Save this Link as item saves to disk (instead of bringing to screen) the page whose link you are clicking on. The Save this Image as item saves to disk (instead of bringing to screen) the image whose link you are clicking on.
Saving to disk is particularly useful for retrieving a nonformatted page (such as a data file) not intended for viewing. You can also produce the dialog box for saving a page to disk by clicking on a link with the Shift key held down (option key on Macintosh). Other pop-up menu items let you copy page and image locations (URLs) to the clipboard.
After saving a file to disk, you can use the File|Open File menu item to display the local file as a Netscape page. (A file on your disk is a local file; a file out on the network is a remote file.) For GIF, JPEG, or other nontext files to appear as available files in the Open File dialog, make sure to select "All Files" as the file type (on Macintosh, hold down the Option key while selecting the Open File menu item).
The View|Document Source menu item lets you view the current page in HTML source format. By default, source text is displayed in a window. On Windows and Macintosh, you can override the default source viewer by specifying a supporting text application (such as your word processor) in the View Source field of the General|Applications panel. Subsequently, when you choose View|Document Source, the HTML text appears in a window of your selected application.
The File|Mail Document menu item produces a window that lets you send the current page URL along with an email attachment of the page. The Window|Bookmarks menu item produces a window that lets you save page links in a file.
Note: Netscape software works on several computer platforms and reserves the use of a few special characters to help interpret URLs. To avoid problems, don't use the following characters when you create a file name:
Many of the File and Edit menu items in the Netscape application work as they do on other applications. To print the contents of the current page, choose File|Print or press the Print button in the toolbar. A Print dialog box lets you select printing options and begin printing. On Windows, you can choose File|Print Preview to see a screen display of a printed page.
When you view a page containing frames, you'll see the File|Print Frame menu item in place of File|Print. The command lets you print only the page of a currently selected frame. The dialog box options for printing the page are unchanged.
When printing a page, the Netscape application formats content according to the size of the printed page rather than the size of the onscreen window. The print command rearranges the page layout (text is wordwrapped and graphics are repositioned) in order to accommodate paper size.
To set up the page for printing, choose File|Page Setup. You can use this command to choose landscape printing (across the long side of paper) instead of the more common portrait orientation.
To cut, copy, and paste, choose the respective items from the Edit menu. Note that Cut and Paste items are only effective in certain editable fields. The content area is a read-only field that only enables you to select and copy text for use elsewhere.
To find a word or phrase within a page, choose or press the Find button in the toolbar. A Find dialog box lets you enter the string of characters you wish to find. Check the Match case radio button (Case Sensitive on the Macintosh and UNIX) to require capital letters to match.
On Windows, check the Up or Down radio button to direct the search toward the beginning or end of the document. If there is a current selection, the search begins at the selection and does not wrap around. On Macintosh and UNIX, check the Find Backwards check box to start the search from the beginning or end of the document.
To find the same word or phrase again, choose Edit|Find Again.
How can I save files and images onto my hard disk?
Choose File|Save As to save a page locally (to your hard disk) in source, text, or PostScript format (UNIX only). Source format produces a text file encoded with the HTML necessary to reproduce the formatted text or image faithfully; text format saves text without the HTML code. Where some links, such as many FTP links, automatically download and save a file to disk, Save As manually saves page files.
You can also save a page to disk without displaying the page onscreen. Position the mouse over a link or image, then click the right mouse button (on Macintosh, hold down the button) to produce a pop-up menu with the items Save this Link as and Save this Image as for saving a file. Clicking on any link with the Shift key depressed (Option key on Macintosh) also produces a save dialog.
Saving a file to your hard disk allows you to display the page's information without any network connection. You can choose File|Open File to display the HTML-formatted text or graphic image of any local file saved in source format (though a page's inline images might be replaced with icons).
On Windows, you'll need to select "All Files" for GIF, JPEG, or other nontext files to show up in the Open File dialog. On Macintosh, GIF and JPEG images are available in the Open File dialog, though for other nontext files to show up, you'll need to hold down the Option key while selecting the Open File menu item.
The pop-up menu item View this Image lets you see an isolated image file. The pop-up menu item Copy this Image Location copies the URL of the image file to the clipboard. Once you have the URL, you can open the image and save the image to your hard disk in source format using File|Save As or the pop-up menu. You could also use View|Document Source to find the URL of an inline image embedded in HTML code).