Netscape Navigator 3.X Tips #10



*1. SNAPPY SIGS

On the subject of multiple signature files, you can use a macro 
program such as ShortKeys to store them. ShortKeys is free and 
available at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-n30621%2C00.html 

For the Mac, try a similar shareware program called TypeIt4Me. 
You'll find it at 

http://www.hebel.net/~rettore/Welcome.html


*2. RUNAWAY TRAIN

Are you seeing e-mail messages with lines that run right off 
the edge of the screen, forcing you to scroll right to read 
them? Try this: In Mail, choose View, Wrap Long Lines. That 
should round up most stray thoughts. Unfortunately, there's no 
way to make this the default setting in Netscape Navigator 3.x.


*3. SITE UNSEEN

You don't even have to visit a Web page to bookmark it. If you 
see a link that looks interesting, but you don't have time to 
check it out, save it for later. Just right-click the link and 
choose Add Bookmark from the menu. When you're ready to explore 
the page, open your Bookmarks file, find the new addition, and 
double-click it.


*4. BOOKMARK HARMONY

Would you like your Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet 
Explorer bookmarks to coexist in peaceful harmony? Take a look 
at NavEx, a shareware program that manages URL sets. You can 
find out all about it and download a copy at 

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/
0,1458,4008,00.html  

What's postcardware, you ask? That means the author of a given 
program is offering it free of charge, asking only that you 
send a postcard if you wind up using the program.


*5. LANGUISHING IN OBSCURITY            
  
The more pages you bookmark, the longer your bookmark file 
gets. Pretty soon you may find that the list extends off the 
left side of the Navigator window, obscuring parts of the names 
(particularly when they're long). If your bookmark names are 
falling off the edge of your screen, you have a few choices. 
First, you can clean up your act, deleting bookmarks you don't 
need anymore and moving others into submenus. Another option is 
to shorten bookmark names. To do so, right-click the bookmark, 
choose Properties to open the Bookmark Properties box, and 
modify whatever you find in the Name field for brevity's sake.


*6. DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

Would you like to view your bookmarks file as an HTML page? 
Open Navigator and choose File, Open File (or File, Open File 
In Browser, depending on your Netscape version), then navigate 
to bookmark.htm--ordinarily it resides in your Netscape 
directory. Click Open, and your bookmarks open in the Navigator 
window in HTML format.


*7. BOOKMARK YOUR BOOKMARKS

Last time we talked about how to view your bookmarks file as an 
HTML page. If you like the idea but find the method cumbersome, 
we recommend actually bookmarking your bookmarks file. First 
choose File, Open File (or File, Open File In Browser, 
depending on your version of Netscape), then navigate to 
bookmark.htm--ordinarily it resides in your Netscape directory. 
Notice that the complete path of the file now appears in the 
Location box. Right-click the page and choose Add Bookmark. 
Next time you want to see the page in all its HTML glory, just
open Bookmarks and double-click its entry.


*8. HOME OF THE BOOKMARKS

Sure, bookmarking your bookmarks is a clever move. But if 
you're a heavy user of those bookmarks, you might as well go 
all the way and turn that newly HTML-ized bookmarks file into 
your very own home page. After all, it's a more logical 
launching pad than the Netscape home page. To do this, select 
Options, General Preferences to open the Preferences dialog 
box. On the Appearance tab after Browser Starts With, click the 
Home Page Location radio button and enter the full path of your 
bookmark.htm file (if you can't remember the path, navigate to 
the page, then cut and paste the path from the Location box). 
Click OK to close the box and save your setting. The next time 
you open Netscape, your bookmarks will greet you.


*9. LEARN WHEN A BOOKMARK WAS CREATED AND LAST VISITED

Want to know when you (or a loved one) last visited a 
bookmarked site? Pull down the Bookmarks menu and choose Go To 
Bookmarks. When the Bookmarks window pops up, right-click the 
bookmark you want to check and choose Properties from the 
shortcut menu. The Bookmark Properties box tells you not only 
when the site was last visited but also when the bookmark was 
created.


*10. CREATE A FOLDER JUST FOR NEW BOOKMARKS

Want to keep all your new bookmarks in one neat package? Not a 
problem. Choose Bookmarks, Go To Bookmarks (or press Ctrl-B). 
Create a new folder and call it something like New Bookmarks 
(to create the folder, select Item, Insert Folder). Highlight 
the new folder, right-click it, and choose the Use For New 
Bookmarks option from the menu. Now you're in business. Any new 
bookmarks you add will be sent to this folder automatically.
