Netscape Communicator Tips #13



*1. BROWSING WITH COMMUNICATOR--FINDING INFORMATION            
        
Communicator's Location box is not just for entering Web site 
URLs anymore. It now offers many smart ways for you to find 
information on the Internet. For example, you can use it as a 
search tool. If you enter a couple of words you want to search 
for, Communicator automatically engages an Internet search 
engine (such as Excite or AltaVista) and searches for the 
terms. However, you may have to fiddle around with your search 
terms. A recent search on the words "saving private ryan" 
resulted in Communicator attempting to access the "private 
ryan" server. However, searching on "saving private" resulted 
in many sites that are related to the film Saving Private 
Ryan. So feel free to tweak your search terms for the 
best results.


*2. COMMUNICATOR MESSAGING--MAKING THINGS RIGHT            
        
Nothing is more embarrassing than sending an important e-mail 
message that contains a spelling error. Therefore, you should 
get in the habit of using Communicator's spelling checker 
before you send every message. Just click Spelling on the 
Message toolbar or select Tools, Check Spelling from the main 
Communicator menu. The Check Spelling dialog box opens and 
locates any suspect words. You can choose from a list of 
suggested correct words, enter your own version, or ignore 
the selection.


*3. COMMUNICATOR MESSAGING--SUPPLEMENTING THE DICTIONARY            
        
Communicator's spelling checker contains an extensive 
dictionary of terms. However, you probably use many words in 
your business and personal e-mail messages that won't be 
there--words such as personal names, company terms, acronyms, 
and so on. It's nice, then, that Communicator allows you to add 
your own words to the dictionary. Just click Edit Dictionary in 
the Check Spelling dialog box, enter the word in the New Word 
field (make sure you spell it the way you want), then click 
Add. The word immediately appears in the dictionary list.


*4. BAKING COOKIES            
        
If you've done a lot of Web surfing, you've probably run into 
"cookies." These are essentially bits of information that a Web 
site sends to and stores on your computer's hard drive. Although 
some people get a little nervous about cookies, they tend to be 
benign. To find out the technical lowdown on cookies, go to the 
Netscape cookie documentation page at 

http://home.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html 

You'll find more than you'll ever need to know.


*5. COOKIE INGREDIENTS            
        
Cookies are bits of information that a Web site stores on your 
computer's hard drive. In most cases, this data helps the site 
"remember" useful things about your computer from session to 
session, such as a particular color configuration. A cookie can 
send the Web site information, including the type of computer 
you have and the browser you use. It can also record the number 
of times that you visit the site and the amount of time you 
spend there.  

However, don't fret too much about security or loss of privacy. 
Cookies cannot tell the Web site your name or e-mail address 
unless you specifically register at the site.


*6. TAKING A QUICK COOKIE LOOK            
        
The cookies that a Web site sets are stored in files on your 
computer's hard drive. This is a simple text file, commonly 
named Cookies.txt. Therefore, if you're interested in knowing 
which cookies you have stored and the Web sites that set them, 
just locate and open the Cookies.txt file on your system (the 
actual path varies).


*7. WARNINGS AND ACCEPTANCE            
        
Because the idea of cookies makes some people nervous, 
Communicator has a few ways for you to handle them. To make 
your cookie settings, select Edit, Preferences, then click 
Advanced. In the Cookies section, you can choose to accept all 
cookies; accept only those that send their information to the 
originating server, not another URL; or disable (reject) any 
cookies. You can also choose to be warned before accepting any 
cookies. This last option seems to make sense if the idea of 
cookies makes you uneasy, but here's a word of warning about 
that warning: You'll end up clicking a lot of 
cookie-warning boxes.


*8. GET BACK            
        
Forget to bookmark that cool site and now you can't remember 
the URL? You can go back again. Open Communicator, then press 
Ctrl-H to open the History list. Now select Edit, Search 
History List, which opens the Search History List dialog box. 
Select the search criteria and enter the search terms (for 
example, "Title" "Contains" "tipworld"), then click Search. 
Communicator soon returns any sites that match the 
search criteria.


*9. SET TO EXPIRE            
        
If your search of the Communicator History list was 
unsuccessful, the page may have expired. Each Web site you 
visit is added to the History, but Communicator sets an 
expiration date. To see the expiration date, select Edit, 
Preferences, then click Navigator in the Category list. The 
History section has a setting named Pages In History Expire 
After: X Days. Enter a new number here if you want to change 
the expiration date. Click OK to close the box and save 
your settings.


*10. ARRANGING HISTORY            
        
If you do a lot of Web surfing, you can quickly build a 
crowded History list. To help you manage things better, 
Communicator lets you arrange the list in various ways. Press 
Ctrl-H to open the History list. Now select View from the menu, 
then choose the criteria to sort the list items (By Title, By 
Location, and so on). You can also choose to sort the items in 
ascending or descending order.
