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Browser Tips

Website slow to load?

Click Stop and then Reload/Refresh.

Open a link in a new tab.

Right-click the link and then choose from menu.
OR
Hold Control key while you click the link.

Too many toolbars?

Hide or uninstall. Search Google for instructions for your browser.

Control +, -

Zoom your browser by holding the Control key along with either the + or - sign.

Control F

Hold the Control key along with the F key to open a search box.
Finds a word on a webpage or in a PDF.

Copy / Paste

  1. Highlight the text
  2. Right-click and choose from menu

OR

  1.  Highlight the text
  2.  Hold CTRL key along with C key (copy) or V key (paste)

 

HIDE GUIDE LEVEL BREADCRUMB

Search Engines

A search engine is a tool that searches the Internet.

It indexes the content of webpages and allows you to search using keywords.

Examples:

You will use an Internet browser to access the search engine and display the results.

What about databases?

Library databases also have searchable indexes. The main difference is that library databases contain articles from selected journals, while search engines look at anything posted online.

What is an Internet Browser?

Internet Browser: a program on your computer that accesses the Internet and displays webpages.

Examples: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, & Safari.

See recommended browser settings & help for anyone using the Walden Library.

Parts of a Browser

  • Address Bar / URL: contains the address (URL) for the website.
  • Back Button: loads the previous page.
  • Bookmark / Favorites: save links to favorite websites. You may see bookmark, favorite, or star icon, depending on the browser. You may not be able to bookmark individual articles in the library.
  • Browser Window: area that displays your web browser program. You can have more than one window open.
  • Button: icon that allows you to execute a command (e.g. Search) or link to another webpage. Buttons are usually a colored box.
  • Header / Banner: located on top of every page of a website. It includes the logo of the company, the publisher, or owner of the website and links back to the homepage of the site.
  • Link: connects you to a different page on the Internet. Links are often embedded in text which is colored and/or underlined. Links may also be embedded in images or icons.
  • Navigation Menu: links to other pages in the website. Navigation menus are typically found at the far left, right or top of a webpage.
  • New Tab: opens a new tab in your browser.
  • Reload / Refresh: reload the webpage. Use if there is a problem with the original loading of the page.
  • Scroll Bar: allows you to move (scroll) to see portions of a webpage that are not currently visible in your browser window.
  • Search Bar: search box for a search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo) that is permanently embedded into your browser.
  • Status Bar: provides information about the status of a webpage. Done indicates that all webpage items are loaded.
  • Toolbar: strip of buttons, search boxes, links, etc. that allow you to quickly perform web functions.

Browser History, Cache, & Cookies

History: the websites you’ve been to.

Cache: saved elements from those sites. This may include pictures, cookies, etc. The cache makes loading the webpage faster the next time to go to it.

Cookies: small pieces of data about you saved in your browser. Cookies let the website keep track of some of your activities, such as your login information. This way you can log into a site (like the Library) one time, instead of every time you open new page. Cookies reduce privacy, but aren't a computer virus.