Netscape Communicator Tips #14



*1. SLIDING SORT            
        
The previous tip showed you how to sort the History list from 
the History menu. You can also sort the list by moving the 
column headers. Press Ctrl-H to open the History list. Point 
your cursor to the column headers and select the column that 
you want to sort on. Then, hold the mouse button down and slide 
this column all the way over to the left. This becomes the 
sorted column.

*2. CLEAR IT            
        
The History list is a file and therefore it takes up more 
space as it grows larger, which it will do if you set a fairly 
long expiration time. This means it makes sense to clear the 
list every now and again. To do this, open Communicator and 
select Edit, Preferences, then click Navigator in the Category 
list. Click Clear History in the History section, and you're 
all set. Before you do this, however, make sure that you make 
note of any sites that are important (like those you've 
forgotten to bookmark).


*3. HISTORY INTO BOOKMARKS            
        
The most likely reason you consult the History list is that you 
forgot to bookmark a Web site you liked. Of course, this means 
that you can easily add a page from the History list to your 
bookmark list. Press Ctrl-H to open the History list, then 
select the sites that you want to bookmark. Right-click to open 
the context menu, then select Add To Bookmarks. That's 
it--you've got a new bookmark.


*4. NO MOUSE            
        
If you want to get away from pointing and clicking with the 
mouse, use the keyboard to execute Communicator menu commands. 
To do this, press the Alt key, then the underlined letter of 
the menu command. For example, to access the File menu, 
press Alt-F.


*5. END GAME            
        
Here's a way to move quickly through Web pages. Press End to 
move immediately to the end of a line of text. Press Ctrl-End 
to move to the end of the document.


*6. QUICK SELECTION            
        
To select the entire contents of a Web document quickly, 
press Ctrl-A.

-From here, you can press Ctrl-C to copy the contents to the 
Clipboard. Keep in mind, however, that many Web pages contain a 
lot of text and graphics.


*7. GET THE MESSAGE            
        
To open the message center without going to the menu, press 
Ctrl-Shift-1. To open the Address Book, press Ctrl-Shift-2.


*8. MESSAGE RETRIEVAL POP OPTIONS            
        
Netscape Communicator's Messenger has a couple of options for 
getting your e-mail messages, depending on your mail server. If 
your incoming mail account is on a POP3 server, you can delete 
your messages from the server after you've retrieved them, or 
you can leave them indefinitely on the server. If you choose to 
leave them on the server, you can access them at a later date. 
This can be really helpful if you get your mail on two 
computers, such as work and home. To set this option, open the 
message center and choose Edit, Preferences, Mail & Groups-Mail 
Server. If you want to leave your messages on the server after 
you retrieve them, select the option Leave Messages On Server 
After Retrieval. If you want them deleted, leave this option 
deselected. Click OK to close the Preferences box and save 
your settings.


*9. MESSAGE RETRIEVAL IMAP OPTIONS            
        
If you get your mail from an IMAP server, the messages are 
always kept on the server after you retrieve them. You 
re-access them every time you access the server. Your option 
here is to store copies of your messages on your own computer 
so that you can view them when you're not attached to the 
server. To do this, open the message center and choose Edit, 
Preferences, Mail & Groups-Mail Server; then select the option 
Keep Copies Of Messages Locally For Offline Reading. Click OK 
to close the Preferences box and save your settings.


*10. SURFING BY PROXY            
        
If you run your computer on a network, you may access the 
Internet through a proxy. This is just a computer that acts as 
an intermediary between the Internet and the network, helping 
secure the network against Internet hanky-panky. If the network 
uses proxies to access the Web or FTP, you may need to use the 
proxy's URL in your Netscape preferences. To do this, select 
Edit, Preferences to open the Preferences dialog box, then 
choose Advanced-Proxies from the Category list. Check Automatic 
Proxy Configuration, then enter the URL. Click OK to close the 
Preferences box and save your settings.
