Netscape Communicator Tips #3



*1.   WISH LIST

Lists are effective ways to present bite-size information on Web
pages, and you can easily create lists in Composer. There are 
two basic list styles: bullets and numbers. You can add bullets
or numbers to an existing list, or you can create the bullets or
numbers as you go. Begin your new list or select an existing 
list, and click on either the Bullet List icon or the Numbered 
List icon from the Text Editor bar. Boom, youve got an instant
list. If you create a numbered list, you won't see the numbers 
until you preview or browse the page. In Composer, you'll just 
see number signs (#).


*2.   ADVANCED LISTS

Often, simply creating a bulleted or numbered list isn't enough.
Fortunately, Composer includes some advanced options for your 
lists appearance. To set these, select all the text that 
encompasses the list, right-click, then choose Paragraph/List 
Properties from the floating dialog box. This opens the 
Character Properties dialog box. You'll find the various list 
options in the middle section. Feel free to experiment to see 
what looks best for your page. For instance, you can change the
list's alignment by clicking the Left, Center, or Right radio 
buttons. Click OK to apply your changes and close the Character 
Properties dialog box.


*3.   A LINK IN A BLINK

Text and graphics are an integral part of any Web page, but the 
Web is really about links, those handy shortcuts to other Web 
pages. Adding links couldn't be easier in Composer. Enter or 
select the text you want to hyperlink. Next click the Link 
button from the Composition toolbar or choose Insert, Link from 
the Composer menu. The Character Properties dialog box opens to 
the Link tab. Notice that the text you've selected appears in 
the Linked Text field. Now just enter the full  path and file 
name of the page you want to link--for example:

http://www.tipworld.com 

in the Link To A Page Location Or Local File field. Click OK to 
close the box and save your link.


*4.   SNEAK PREVIEWS

It makes sense to test your link before you finish your page. 
The Composer window gives you a way to lay out the Web page, but
it doesn't actually contain real links. To do some testing, 
click the Preview button from the Composition Toolbar. This 
brings up your page in the Navigator window (you must have the 
page saved locally to make this work). You'll actually see the 
page as your viewers will see it. Click the links you've 
inserted to test them.

If you don't want to go through the hassle of previewing just to
check a link, right-click your link in Composer and choose 
Browse to: (http://www.yourlink.com) where yourlink is the 
hyperlink you've created. The linked page opens in Navigator.


*5.   TARGET SHOOTING

We know that links in Web pages bring you to other Web pages 
with a click. Well, Composer includes a feature that allows you 
to create links within pages. These are called targets. Let's 
say you have a really long page with lots of separate sections. 
You can use targets to allow readers to click back and forth 
between the sections. Anything can be a target: text, pictures, 
links, and so on. Here's how to make a target:

First go to the section that you want to make a target, then 
place the cursor just to the left of this and click the Insert 
Target button on the toolbar. The Target Properties dialog box 
opens. Enter a name for the target (let's call it "Target"), 
then click OK. An icon appears next to the target. Now go to 
the area (on this page or on another page) and place the cursor 
where you want to make the link. Click the Insert Link button. 
The Character Properties box opens to the Link tab. You'll see 
that Target now appears in the bottom text box. Enter the text 
you want for the link in the Link Source box, then select the 
target from the box. Click OK. Composer returns to your page 
with the link inserted.


*6.   PICTURE LINK

Pictures can make great links in Web pages, and it's really easy
to create image links in Composer. Select the image you want to 
hyperlink, then right-click. A context menu appears. Now select 
Create Link Using Selected, and the Image Properties dialog box 
opens to the Link tab. Note that the image file name appears in 
the Link Source box. Now just enter the URL or local file to 
which the image links in the Link To section. Click Apply and 
you're all set--the image becomes a clickable link.


*7.   ADDRESS BOOK 'EM

Like most e-mail applications, Messenger includes an Address 
Book function. This allows you to address messages without 
typing in full names and addresses. Like an electronic Rolodex 
file, the Address Book lets you flip through the files and 
select addressees. Before you can do any flipping, however, you 
must put addresses in the book. There are several ways to do 
this, but here's the easiest.

Open the Message Center and select a message from the Message 
List pane. After the full content appears in the Message Content
pane, you see a blue underlined link in the To, From, and Cc 
headers at the top of the message. Click any of these you want 
to add to your Address Book, and a New Card dialog box appears. 
Fill in all the fields you want in the name tab, then click OK. 
The card is complete, and you've just made an entry in 
your Address Book.

8.   QUICK NICKNAME

When you filled out the card for your Address Book (last tip), 
you saw the Nickname field in the New Card dialog box. This 
gives you an even easier way to enter an address in a mail 
message. Once an Address Book entry has a nickname, you can 
enter the nickname in the To field of a message, and the rest 
of the address fills in automatically. Make the nickname short 
and easy to remember.


9.   NICKNAME ONLY

The last tip told you how a nickname allows you to address an 
e-mail quickly. When an address book entry has a nickname and 
you enter this in the To (or Cc) field of a message, the e-mail 
address fills in automatically. However, you'll probably notice 
that the address also fills in automatically if you enter the 
full name. This is a Communicator default setting, but you do 
have the option to have only nicknames expand to 
the e-mail address.

To set this, select Edit, Preferences, Mail & Groups, Messages, 
then click the More Options button from the Messages window. 
This opens the More Messages Preferences dialog box. In the 
section When Addressing Messages, check the option Expand 
Messages Against Nicknames Only. Click OK to close the More 
Messages Preferences dialog box, then click OK again to close 
the Preferences dialog box.


*10.   VERY RICH TEXT

Communicator's Messenger allows you to create e-mail in rich 
text--that is, using HTML to set color and various text styles 
and sizes. However, many users can only receive messages in 
plain text format, so by default Messenger asks before you send 
a message if you want to send it in HTML, plain text, or both.

If you know your recipient can and wants to receive rich text 
messages, you can set Messenger to send messages automatically 
in this format. Open the Address Book (select Communicator, 
Address Book), then double-click to open the card for the 
recipient. Check the option Prefers To Receive Rich Text (HTML) 
Mail, then click OK to close the recipient's card.

Messenger won't ask again; it now sends messages to this 
recipient in HTML format.
