FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT

NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR & COMMUNICATOR

1. What is Netscape Navigator?

Netscape Navigator is a special software program called a Web browser that lets you interact with all components that make up the Internet. With Navigator, you can view or "browse," and even create your own electronic Web pages on the World Wide Web.

2. How much does Navigator cost?

The usual retail price is between $49 and $89 (Prices will vary. Best buys are at computer and office superstores. Keep in mind that Netscape offers various rebates and promotions.) However, a copy of the latest version of Navigator 4.0 is included in the Infodisk ProPlus.

3. What's the difference between Navigator and Communicator Standard?

The download version of Navigator includes the Web browser and Netcaster, the company's subscription push channel service (see questions 67-68). Netscape Communicator Standard edition includes a full suite of components such as Messenger, that let you send and receive E-mail; Collabra, that lets you read and subscribe to newsgroups (see questions 97-98); Composer, that lets you create your own Web pages; and Conference to perform advanced Internet communications such as audioconferencing. For advanced users, a Professional edition has even more features, including Calendar, a Web-based personal information manager.

4. Which one should I get?

The Infodisk ProPlus CD-ROM includes both the Netscape Navigator and the Commnicator 4.x.

5. How do I install Navigator?

If you have Navigator on diskette or CD-ROM, you can install it just like any other software. (For more information, see "Installing Communicator & Navigator" in this issue.)

6. What do the rest of the buttons on the Navigation Toolbar do?

Clicking "Home" zips you to your start page. Reload forces your current Web page to be retransmitted or reloaded. The Print button sends the current web page to your printer and prints it.

7. What about the other buttons?

The Security button controls Navigator security settings such as passwords and making sure sites are secure. (Secure sites have a closed lock icon displayed in the bottom left-hand corner of the Navigator screen.) The Search button sends you the Netscape Net Search page with links to popular Web search engines such as Yahoo! The Guide button takes you to a "best of" listing of what's on the Internet with familiar categories ranging from Business to Sports. Stop halts the transfer of any incoming Web page.

8. What's underneath the Navigation Toolbar?

That's called the Location Toolbar. It houses your Bookmarks and Location bar.

9. How come the space underneath the Navigation Toolbar is blank?

That area is called your Personal Toolbar. It's where you can put your favorite Web sites. It works like a bookmark, but favorite Web sites appear as shortcut buttons.

10. How do I customize the Personal Toolbar?

Easy. Go to the Web site you want to add to your Personal Toolbar. Move your mouse over the Page Proxy icon located between Bookmarks and Location bar. The icon will move and your mouse arrow will turn into a hand. Hold the left button on your mouse down, drag the icon to your Personal Toolbar and then release the mouse button. Ba-bing! A button containing the Web site shortcut appears on your Personal Toolbar.

11. Is there any way to speed up Web browsing?

One of the fastest and easiest ways is to reduce the amount of data coming in. The more pictures, graphics and images stored on a page, the longer a Web page takes to load. To turn multimedia effects on or off, from the Edit menu, click Preferences, and under Category, click Advanced. Depending on whether you want to turn them on or off, select or unselect Automatically load images, Enable Java, and Enable JavaScript. If something looks interesting, you can always click the icon and call up the image.

12. What is a plug-in?

A small software program can be added to your Web browser in order to extend its capabilities. For more information on specific plug-ins, see the "Plug-ins" section of this issue.

13. What's an example of a plug-in?

RealAudio and Shockwave are two plug-ins that let you listen to audio and play video and animation files, respectively. Presently, there are more than 176 plug-ins for Navigator.

14. How do I know what plug-ins I have?

Communicator comes with the most popular plug-ins already built in. To find out which plug-ins you have go to Help, then select About Plug-ins. You'll see a chart that tells you exactly what plug-ins have been installed.

15. How do I know if I'm missing a plug-in?

If you need a plug-in to activate a special feature on a Web site, a window will pop-up in Navigator and tell you.

16. How do I get a plug-in?

You'll be given the opportunity to go download the missing plug-in, install it, and then return to the original site to see what you were missing.

17. Is there any one place on the Web that will tell me about plug-ins?

Certainly the best place is on the Netscape site. The company tests every plug-in before making it available. You also can check Browser Watch's Plug-In Plaza (http://browserwatch.internet.com/plug-in.html).

18. After I get the file, how do I install it?

Win95 users open Windows Explorer, Windows 3.x users open File Manager. Look for the folder Navigator indicated to which it would download the file. When you find it, double-click the .EXE file, and the setup program will start.

19. Does every download work the same?

Not exactly. Some files are compressed, which means the files have been smooshed together. Compressing the files saves time during the download. These compressed files, which usually will have a .ZIP or .EXE file extension, have to be decompressed. In most cases, double-clicking the file starts the process.

20. Where else can I find software to download?

The Web is brimming with places such as CNET's Download.com (http://www.download.com) or Shareware.com (http://www.shareware.com). Both warehouse every flavor of software imaginable. Also check www.telepages.com for downloads of promotional marketing software that may be offered from time to time.

21. How can I find out about other Navigator or Communicator software?

You can subscribe to Netcenter News, a free monthly service. To read a sample issue and subscribe, go to http://home.netscape.com/netcenter and select In-Box Direct. Netcenter is also a terrific one-stop gateway to find lots of information about Netscape products. Bookmark it. You also can click on Help to find the latest version of Navigator, plus links to plug-ins and other member services.