Using Netscape Navigator and E-Mail

NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR

What is a browser?

Browsers are software programs that ease the task of finding information on the internet. Most of today's most popular browsers are run on graphical operating systems like Windows 95, Mac OS, or Windows 3.x, though character-based browsers exist for many other computing environments. Browsers such as the Netscape Navigator have largely accounted for the virtual explosion in popularity of the World Wide Web because they permit average computer users to easily "browse" through seas of linked information. See the Handbook's section on Introduction to the Web for background information on using the Web and the Internet.

You typically start your browser on its home page (it can also be blank). From your home page, you can dive into the world of the unknown through linked pages of information stored on computers around the world. Through embedded hyperlinks called URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), each Web page you visit can connect to others using the URL address. You can enter any URL into your browser's "Location" (sometimes called the "Netsite") window that appears between the rows of buttons near the top of your screen, as shown in the figure below (displaying part of Concentric's home page).

The URL for any live link appearing on a Web page also appears in a small window at the bottom of your screen as your cursor passes over a linked area. Linked text also appears in a different color. Click on it to take you to the location shown in the small windows at the bottom of your screen.

What is Netscape?

Netscape is a Silicon Valley company that sells the most popular browser for the World Wide Web -- "Navigator." Netscape Navigator is known as a "client" program, meaning that it runs natively on users' personal computers. It loads or transfers Web pages to your computer from another location (usually a remote server) whenever you click on a new hyperlink. The speed with which Web pages appear on your screen depends on many factors, including the speed of your modem; the amount of text, graphics, sound or video being transferred; the speed of the host (server) computer sending the information; and how many people are trying to get information from the same site at the same time.

Netscape also sells "server" products -- the industrial strength software programs residing on servers -- that provide networking access to stored Web pages, electronic files, and other Internet tools.

Can Netscape record where I have visited before?

Yes! If you find a Web location that you want to return to on a regular basis -- such as one of Concentric Network's Web education pages -- you can set a bookmark to easily locate it again. To set a bookmark:

• Go to the Web page you want to remember (type its address, such as "http://www.concentric.net" (without quotes), in the "Location:" space near the top of Navigator's display, then press the ENTER key).
• From Navigator's main menu, click on "Bookmarks", as shown in the figure below.
• From the pull-down menu, select "Add bookmark...." That's all there is to it!

How can I organize my bookmarks?

If you want to organize your bookmarks into something more than a long list of unrelated topics, Netscape Navigator permits you to create folders and subfolders for organizing your bookmarks. To do this:

• From Navigator's main menu, click on "Bookmarks."
• From the pull-down menu, select "Go to bookmark...." This brings up a file list, as shown in the sample figure below.
• If you want to add an entirely new folder, place your cursor (click on it once) on the top folder to highlight it. It should have a name such as "Julie Smith's Bookmarks" (replace Julie's name with yours). Otherwise, place the cursor on the folder topic for which you want to create a new subfolder.
• From the menu, select "Item|Insert Folder..."
• Type in the name of the new folder you want.
• While you are still in the Bookmarks dialog box, highlight all bookmarks related to a single folder topic (click once on each, holding down the control key to select more than one) .
• While these bookmarks are still highlighted, hold down your left mouse button while dragging the files on top of the new folder name you have created, then let go. This moves your bookmark files to the folder in which you want them.
• Close the Bookmarks dialog box when you are done moving files into the folders you want.

I want to use my own browser instead of Netscape. What settings do I need to now?

Netscape sets many of its features' behavior as a default, while Concentric adds its own settings to ease your connecting to the Internet. If you wish to use a browser other than Navigator, you will have to enter information about yourself and the Concentric Network servers. Bear in mind, however, that your other browser may lack some of the features that are automatically configured by Netscape and that few other browsers come with integrated e-mail, so you will have to separately enter your e-mail account information in some other e-mail program.

Information about yourself to tell your browser and/or your e-mail program is:

• Your name: e.g., Julie Smith.
• Your e-mail: e.g., jsmith@Concentric.net.
• Your organization's name if you want it to appear in your e-mail.
• Your Reply-to Address if you want responses to go to another address.
• Your signature file if you want standard information, such as title and company name, to automatically appear at the end of your e-mails.

Information about the Concentric server to tell your browser and/or e-mail program is:

• CNC's Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: smtp.concentric.net.
• CNC's Incoming Mail (POP) Server: pop3.concentric.net.
• CNC's POP User Name: (your user name, e.g., jsmith).
• Mail Directory: the directory in which you store your e-mail on your computer.
• CNC's News server: news.
• News RC directory: a directory on your computer where you keep your newsgroup subscription information.
• Maximum e-mails to retrieve at login: 100

 

Troubleshooting FAQ's

 

Sometimes I get error messages saying, "Unable to locate server", "Cannot connect to host" or "Server does not have a DNS entry." What do these mean?

You get these messages when your computer cannot connect to the server to which you are trying to link. Many elements may affect this, but the most common reason is that too many people are trying to connect to this location at one time. Try accessing the site at other times during the day, preferably early in the morning or late at night, to see if this makes a difference. Other reasons include:

• The server to which you are trying to link is down (experiencing network problems).
• Your system may be behind a security firewall, prohibiting you from accessing the outside world without authorization from your system administrator.
• The server to which you are trying to link does not exist.
• You have misspelled or mistyped the server name.
• You may be having problems with your PPP dial-in connection.

If you are using the software you received from Concentric Network, you are a licensed Netscape Navigator user. If you are having trouble using any of Netscape Navigator's features, you have two ways to get help

1. If you are having difficulty connecting to Concentric Network, see the section of this handbook on "Troubleshooting." If you are still unable to connect after reviewing this section, you can call the Concentric Network Help Line at 1-800-745-2747.

2. Concentric Networks Support web site is filled with information that can help you with your problem.

3. Visit Netscape's Customer Support Pages at "http://help.netscape.com" on the Web.

What does a URL tell me and how do I find these locations?

Every Web page has a unique address called its URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Netscape displays URLs in the narrow Location: window near the top of your Netscape Navigator screen. The sample Web page below shows the Concentric Network home page URL in the Navigator location window. Since the cursor passed over a link to Concentric's URL entitled "Network Status Report" (in the lower portion of the screen), the URL corresponding to this link appears in the small windows in the lower left corner of the Navigator window.

 

To find other Web pages, you click once on a link, identified by one or more colored or underlined words on a Web page. Images and icons, some with colored borders, can also serve as links.Clicking on a link transfers its content to your computer. Netscape monitors the transfer's progress with a status indicator at the bottom right of your screen. You can stop a transfer by pressing the "Stop" button or by choosing the Go|Stop Loading menu item.

Since the location information is included as part of a highlighted link, you often do not need a page's URL; Netscape already knows it when you click on highlighted text or select a menu item. But if you only have the URL (perhaps from a newspaper), you can enter it directly into the Location window, and press ENTER, to start linking to it.

Netscape uses the URL to link to a page, section of a page, image or other item among all the computers connected to the Internet. The URL's text identifies:

• the protocol (rules for interpreting computer information),
• the server (the computer storing the information you want), and
• the path to the item (its directory location and file name on the server).

The URL for Concentric's dynamic Web catalog page, for instance, is http://home.concentric.net/catalog.html. It shows the protocol followed by a colon (http:); the server preceded by two slashes (//home.concentric.net); and the path preceded by a single slash (/catalog.html).

I get an error "404 Not Found" message when I click on a link. What does this mean?

Error 404 occurs when a server or Web page (which stores the information you want) cannot be found. Typically this happens when the server has changed locations, is removed from public view, or is down. Some servers operate only during limited hours. Make sure you have correctly entered the URL location: every character, including the dots, is meaningful.

You also can get a 404 error code if the Web page to which you are trying to connect does not exist, or if Navigator's buffer size set too low. To check the buffer, select "Options|Network Preferences..." from the main menu, click on the "Cache" tab, and make sure your "memory cache" is set to at least 600 kilobytes (raise this to 1024 if you are consistently getting this error message). Then check to make sure your "disk cache" is at least 5000 kilobytes. Restart Netscape Navigator, then retry accessing the Web pages.

How do I save Web pages, files or images to my hard disk?

From Navigator's main menu, select "File|Save As" to save a page to your hard disk in source or text formats. Source format saves the file with the HTML codes needed to faithfully reproduce the text's or image's formatting; text format saves the file as straight text without the HTML code. To save a page without displaying it onscreen, place your cursor over a link or image, click the right mouse button to display a pop-up menu, and select either "Save this Link as" or "Save this Image as." You also can click on any link with the Shift key depressed to display a save dialog box.

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NETSCAPE E-MAIL

What is e-mail?

Short for "Electronic mail", e-mail is a software program that permits users to send and receive electronic messages (mail) using a computer. To use it, a user must have:

• An e-mail address in the form of <user name>@<e-mail server name>.
• E-mail software, such as the program integrated into Netscape Navigator, or separate programs such as "Eudora", among many others.
• An active account on an e-mail server, such as "SMTP.Concentric.net." or "POP3.Concentric.net."
• An active connection to the e-mail server where the user's account exists (called the "domain"). This might be a "dial-up" connection where your computer calls into an e-mail server, or it may be through a LAN network connection at work.

What is Netscape Mail?

Unlike many other Web browsers, Netscape Navigator integrates a full-fledged e-mail program and companion news reader program, permitting users to quickly and easily switch between them. With Netscape Mail, you can compose, send and receive e-mail, or send or receive files of all types. You can also include links to other Web pages in your e-mail -- as attachments or directly into the mail -- which will remain "live" while your recipient remains connected to the Web while reading his or her e-mail (reading their e-mail on-line).

Using Netscape's USENET News, you can access newsgroups -- the Internet's Bulletin Board System. News permits you to view, send and receive written conversations focused on hundreds of topics. These electronic discussion threads are organized in newsgroup folders by topic.

How do I set up Netscape Mail and News?

You must tell Netscape how to handle your mail before it can send it or deliver it to you. You do this by filling in the spaces provided in the "Preferences" dialog box opened from the main menu under "Options|Mail and News Preferences...," as shown in the figure below. The most important preferences for your identity and servers are covered below; you can discover the joys of changing your personal preferences in appearance, composition and organization at your leisure.

Assuming you encountered no difficulties installing the Netscape Navigator version bundled with the Concentric Network Internet Access Kit, your e-mail account should be already configured and ready to go. If you did not install the CNC Internet Access Kit, however, or if you had problems with the installation, follow these instructions on configuring your e-mail:

• From Netscape Navigator's main menu, select Options|Mail and News Preferences....
• Click on the "Server" tab of the preferences dialog box.
• Type "SMTP.concentric.net" (without quotes) into the space for Outgoing mail (SMTP) server.
• Type "POP3.concentric.net" (without quotes) into the space for Incoming Mail (POP) server.
• Type in your user name (your e-mail name only -- the part to the left of the @ sign) into the space for POP user name. If your name is Julie Smith, for example, your e-mail address might be "jsmith@concentric.net" and your user name would be "jsmith."
• Type in "News" in the space for the News (NNTP) Server.
• Leave the default settings for the remaining configuration items unless you want to change them.
• Click on the "Identity" tab of the Preferences dialog box.
• Type in your first and last name in the space for "Your Name:"
• Type in you full e-mail address in the space for "Your Email:." If your name is Julie Smith, for example, your e-mail address might be "jsmith@concentric.net."
• Type your full e-mail address in the space for "Reply-to Address" unless you want replies to your e-mail sent to some other location, in which case, you should enter the address to which you want your replies sent.
• Optionally, enter your organization (as you want it to appear in e-mail) if you want your e-mails to reference an organization with which you are connected.
• Optionally, type in (or click on the browse button to search for) the name of your signature file -- a text file you create containing standard signature information, such as "Your truly, John Doe, Senior Vice President and Chief Internet Techie, ..." -- if you want all of your e-mails to have it.
• Click on the "OK" button.

How do I send e-mail?

• Address it, specify the subject, compose it, then send it. See the sample figure below. For more details, see the Netscape Navigator Handbook's "Learning Netscape" section on "Receiving and sending email." Here's a brief review of the steps:
  1. From the main menu, select "File|New Mail Message." (You can also access this window by selecting "Window|Netscape Mail|File|New Mail Message").
  2. Type in your recipient's e-mail address in the space provided next to the "Mail To:" button, or press this button if you have already entered names into your e-mail address book. If you want to send it to more than one person, separate their addresses with a comma.
  3. Type into the box next to the "Cc:" button the e-mail address for anyone you want to receive a "carbon copy." If you "cc:" more than one person, separate their addresses with a comma.
  4. Type in a brief subject description in the "Subject" field space provided.
  5. Press the "Attachments" button if you wish to attach a file to your e-mail. This will prompt you to enter the name of a file (which you also can enter by browsing, then clicking on its file name). Alternatively, you can enter a URL of information you want to send (the contents of your or someone else's Web page).
  6. Press the tab button or click in the large blank box provided under the Attachment button to start typing your message.
  7. After you have completed typing your message, click on the "Send" button at the top left of your display. That's it!

  How do I check my e-mail?
  
  A brief description of the steps follow. For more details, see the Netscape Navigator Handbook's "Learning Netscape" section on "Receiving and sending email." Note that if you want to view references to other Web pages attached to e-mail sent to you as a "live" connection, select from your e-mail window's menu "View|Attachments as Links." If you want to see your attachments included as part of your e-mail, select "View|Attachments inline."

  1. From Navigator's main menu, select "Windows|Netscape Mail" (or click the mail icon at the bottom right of your Navigator display).
  2. Provided you have already set up your e-mail account and any passwords, you should next enter your password when prompted. When you press ENTER, you begin linking to your incoming (POP3) mail server. If you have mail, it will be downloaded to your inbox folder.
  3. After initially checking for your mail, to check again you must click on the "Get Mail" toolbar button or again click on the mail icon at the bottom right of your screen. You can also configure Netscape Navigator to periodically check the mail server for new mail, but you still have to manually tell the program when to actually retrieve the mail. After you've entered your password, you are notified of new mail messages with an exclamation mark (!) next to the envelope icon.
  4. Click on the "Inbox" folder icon in the mailbox pane. This displays the message headers (Sender, Subject and Date in the box to the right) for each e-mail message in your inbox. If you click on one of these, the contents of the corresponding message appears in the message window below.
  5. If you wish to resize the windows, position your cursor between the panes (changing the cursor shape) and drag a window border to where you want it.
  6. If you wish to temporarily sort your mail by Sender, Subject or Date, click on the respective column title in your message header window.
  7. If you wish to designate mail as read or unread, flagged or unflagged, click on the small dots under the respective icons in the message header window corresponding to each message you want designated in this way.

How can I organize my e-mail?

To better organize your e-mail, select "File|New Folder" from Netscape Navigator's mail menu and type in the name of the new folder you want. You can then drag select e-mails from the mail header window and drop them into your new folder.

How do I send an attachment?

• To send a Web page as an attachment, or to attach one or more files to your e-mails, do this:
   
  1. From the main menu, select "File|New Mail Message." (You can also access this window by selecting "Window|Netscape Mail|File|New Mail Message").
  2. Fill in the body of the e-mail you want to send.
  3. Click on the "Attachment" button.
  4. To send a file, click on the "Attach File" button.
  5. If the file you wish to attach is in the directory you are in, click on the file name to highlight it, then click the "Open" button, then click on the "OK" button.
  6. If the file you wish to attach is not in the directory that opens up, click on the up-arrow icon until you get to the directory you want, or click the down-arrow in the "Look in" box to locate the directory containing the file you want to attach. Once you have located the directory you want, click on the file you want to highlight it, then click the "Open" button, then click the "OK" button.
  7. To send a URL corresponding to a Web page you want to send with your e-mail, click on the "Attach Location (URL)" button after clicking the "Attachment" button in you e-mail window.
  8. When prompted, type in the URL you want to attach (it automatically enters the URL of the Web page you are on if you are sending it while on a Web page).
  9. To send just the contents of a Web page without entering additional information, first go to the Web page you want to send, then select from the main menu "File|Send Document", and fill in the "Mail to:" field with the e-mail address to which you want to send it, then click on the toolbar's "Send" button. You can also send files in this way, using the same procedure for attaching a file described above.

Why do I get a "Cannot Find UIDL" error message?

If you are still using Netscape 2.0 or earlier, you may get this message. The server holding your incoming e-mail can track messages which have yet-to-be downloaded by uniquely identifying those messages with the optional "UIDL" command . Most, but not all, POP3 servers support this command.

Netscape 2.0 implements the "Keep Mail on Server" and "Maximum Message Size" preferences by using the UIDL command. You cannot use these options if your server does not support UIDL.

Netscape 3.0 (installed with your CNC Internet Access Kit) implements these preferences without relying on UIDL and should eliminate this problem.

If I take my computer while traveling, can I still connect to the network and check my e-mail?

Sure! Using your e-mail depends only on your ability to connect to CNC's network, not on where you are. CNC has over 200 local access numbers across the U.S.A., plus an 800 number for anyone not within a local calling area. You can also keep your current settings and simply connect by placing a long-distance call to your regular local access number. For information on changing your dialer settings, see the Handbook section on Configuring Your Dialer (for Windows 95, Windows 3.x or the Mac) or call CNC's Customer Support.

I'm already using another e-mail program. How do I switch to Netscape Mail?

It's easy! Just stop using your other one (you can delete it from your computer if you like, but it is not necessary), and configure Netscape e-mail as discussed above.

I want to use my own e-mail program instead of Netscape Mail. What settings do I need to know?

Your Netscape e-mail is automatically configured for you when you installed the CNC Internet Access Kit. If you want to continue using your own e-mail instead, change your settings on your old e-mail to match those set for Netscape Mail. Click here for details.

I can send e-mail, but I can't receive it.

If you can send mail, but not receive it, chances are that you do not have your incoming (POP) server properly configured. To set it now, select from Netscape's main menu "Options|Mail and News preferences..." and make sure your POP server is set to: "pop3.concentric.net" (no quotes).

I can receive e-mail, but I can't send it.

If you can receive mail, but not send it, chances are that you do not have your outgoing (SMTP) server properly configured. To set it now, select from Netscape's main menu "Options|Mail and News preferences..." and make sure your SMTP server is set to: "smtp.concentric.net" (no quotes).

Someone sent me an attached file, and I now I can't find it.

When someone sends you e-mail attachments, you have the option of viewing the attachments as part of your e-mail (Attachments inline), or as a link (Attachments as links). If you have opted to view attachments as links, the linked attachment will not transfer to your computer as a separate file until you click on the hyperlink (it often has actually transferred already, but has not been separately recognized as a file until you click on the link).

Since hundreds, if not thousands of file types exist, Netscape cannot guess what type of file someone might send you. To accommodate users in viewing many types of files, Netscape Navigator permits users to designate helper applications -- applications which can handle your incoming attached files. If your browser is currently not set to view a dBASE file attached to your e-mail, for instance, you can select from Netscape Navigator's main menu "Options|General Preferences...", then click on the "Helpers" tab, and click on the "Create New Type" button and follow the on-screen instructions to add Borland's dBASE file types (adding a ".dbf" file extension) to permit Netscape Navigator to read your dBASE attachment.

Finally, if you receive complaints that some of the files you send as attachments are not readable, try using Netscape Navigator's alternate methods of interpreting e-mail attachments. To do this, select from Netscape Navigator's main menu "Options, Mail and News Preferences...", click on the "Composition" tab, and select the "MIME Compliant (Quoted Printable)" radio button. This uses the common MIME standard for encoding your attached binary files.

How do I connect to News groups?

The thousands of newsgroups and tens or hundreds of thousands of news messages within USENET (also called Net News) clearly require that you employ some way of filtering which newsgroups you view. To do this, you subscribe to specific newsgroups from the CNC News Server that comes pre-configured when you installed the CNC Internet Access Kit. Subscribing to a newsgroup means you want to your computer to automatically check it each time you go online.

• Although there are many newsgroups, they major ones include those that begin with:
• alt. - alternative or racey.
• comp. - computer-related
• misc. - miscellaneous
• news. - about newgroups themselves
• rec. - recreation, arts, and sports
• sci. - science
• soc. - social issues
• talk. - lively debate
• In the sample newsgroup figure below, someone is asking for advice on the appropriate hardware to use for heavy graphics use on his personal computer:
  
  To list news articles of interest to you (subscribing - it doesn't cost more to do it), do this:
  1. You must first connect to the Web using Netscape Navigator.
  2. Assuming Netscape was configured when you installed your CNC Internet Access Kit, you are already connected to the CNC News Server. To check (and view your default newsgroups to which you are already subscribed), select from the Netscape's main menu "Window| Netscape News."
  3. Select from the menu "Options|Show All Newsgroups."
  4. Scan the list of newsgroups for a hint of whether you want to subscribe. Note the number of unread and total messages appears to the right of the newsgroups names. Newsgroups that have subgroups are designated with a "+" sign to the left of the newsgroup name. Click on the "+" to see a list of the subgroups.
  5. Place a check mark in the box next to each newsgroup to which you wish to subscribe.
  6. When you are done selecting which ones you want, select from the menu "Options|Select Active Newsgroups."
  7. Close the News window ("File|Close" from the menu) when you are done.

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