The Internet

A vast network of computers around the world all linked by special software and a telecommunication link. Think of the Internet as a massive global electronic library.

How to get on the Internet?

From Home you will need a modem(so the computer can transmit and receive information down a telephone line)/An Internet service provider( see the list of ISP’s)/Special software(usually provided by your ISP) and a telephone line.

From a University or Academic establishment you may be given free access to the Internet. The establishment acts as the Internet service provider. A modem may not be used for this type of access as it is usual for academic establishment to have faster Internet access via their own network connections.

Buzz words

Arc.
Stands for Academic Reference Centre and is a group of databases geared to nursing and medical requirements. This service is not free and the University purchase the rights to access it on University P.C.

Archie.
An up-to-date database of publicly accessible files and programs stored on FTP sites (Archie and be searched using a client program, web browser or by e-mail.

E-mail (Electronic mail)
A system of sending messages and attachments between computers on a network/Internet

File Transfer Protocol (F.T.P.).
A Standard method of moving/downloading files across the Internet.

Gopher.
A menu-based system that enables you to browse and retrieve files from Gopher servers.

Hypertext.
A link to other web pages by clicking on highlighted text/graphic or icon.(This can be checked by positioning the mouse over the hypertext link - if it is a link the web address will appear on the bottom left side of the screen).

Netscape.
The Internet Web browser that York University use and recommend.

Newsgroups
Internet discussion groups devoted to specific topics, in which people can post comments or information.
There are over 25’000 Newsgroups accessed by more that 40 million Internet users.

Pine.
An basic electronic mail software used by the University of York now replaced on campus by Netscape Messenger.

Telnet.
A protocol that allows you to log on to a remote computer and use it as if you were at that terminal.

Web browser.
This is a software program such as Netscape or Internet Explorer (Microsoft) that allows you to download and display Web documents.

Web site.
Although this actually refers to a computer that stores Web pages, the term is commonly used as a synonym for a collection of web pages created by the same organization/person.

World Wide Web. (browsing tool)
Is not the Internet but a large part of it and growing all the time (millions of pages of information containing text/graphics/sound and video using hypertext links).

York DataNet.
YorkDataNet provides access to locally held CD-ROM and other databases across the University of York network. YorkDataNet complements other database host services such as BIDS, EDINA, MIDAS and ARC. There are currently 26 titles available through YorkDataNet with more being planned for the future.

How to use an Internet browser:

Double click the Internet Icon on your computer or select the Internet from the Program menu.
The Internet opens onto the home page of your Internet service provider. Now you can use Hypertext to visit other pages

What the buttons do? (Netscape Communicator)

BACK: to the last page you looked at.

FORWARD: to the next page in the string but only after the page has been open once.

RELOAD: use if a web page doesn’t load correctly.

HOME: to the ISP home page

GUIDE/SEARCH: links to a netscape search page with a choice of search engines to use.

PRINT: opens a print box (if the page won’t print it may have a print block on it, try copying the text and then paste it into a word processing document).

SECURITY: gives information on encryption and security of e-mails and web pages.

STOP: stops the downloading of a web page.

BOOKMARKS: opens the bookmark folder. a bookmark is an Internet shortcut to a web page.

LOCATION/NETSITE: by clicking and dragging on the location button you can add the viewed page to an e-mail or bookmark.

Menus:

FILE MENU

NEW - will open a new copy of the web browser to search or view other pages.

OPEN PAGE - opens a location box to type an address in.

SAVE AS - saves a page to disk.

SEND PAGE - allows you to send the web page address included in an e-mail.

EDIT PAGE - allows you to edit the viewed page.

OFFLINE - allows you to select offline mode

PAGE SETUP - allows page settings to be altered.

PRINT PREVIEW - views the document page by page. PRINT-prints the open web document.

CLOSE/EXIT - shut down the Internet link.

EDIT MENU

CUT - to cut text from a document ready to paste it elsewhere.

COPY - to copy text from a document ready to paste it elsewhere.

PASTE - to paste text that has been cut or copied via the clipboard.

SELECT ALL - selects all the text on the page.

FIND IN PAGE - opens a find file box to search for a word in a current document.

FIND AGAIN - repeats the find operation.

SEARCH INTERNET - links to a search page with a choice of search engines to use.(search directory may be on this menu for accessing e-mails)

PREFERENCES - allows setting to be changed.

VIEW MENU

RELOAD - reloads the current document.

SHOW IMAGES - reloads the images in current document.

REFRESH - redraws the current document.

STOP PAGE LOADING - stops the downloading of a web page.

STOP ANIMATION - stops running an animation.

PAGE SOURCE - view the source code of the current web page.

PAGE INFO - gives the structure and information of the present web page.

ENCODING/CHARACTER SET - changes the character set of the present document.

GO MENU

BACK - to the last web page looked at.

FORWARD - to the next page in the history list

HOME - back to the home page

(also shows a list of visited web pages)

COMMUNICATOR MENU

NAVIGATOR - opens another web browser.

MESSENGER - opens the e-mail client

COMPOSER - opens web page making software

AOL INSTANT MESSAGE SERVICE - allows user to know when a friend is on-line for a chat.

BOOKMARKS - allows the bookmark folders to be accessed. a bookmark is an Internet shortcut to a web page.

NEWSGROUPS/COLLABRA - allows access to Newsgroups

ADDRESSBOOKS - opens an addressbook dialog box for editing.

TOOLS - gives access to Netscape tools

SERVER TOOLS - gives access to the server tools when available.

WINDOW - allows you to select another window.

HELP MENU

Gives access to all of the help files and documents.

Saving Bookmarks to and from Disk.

To import from disk.

Open Netscape Communicator.

Put disk in A drive

Click on bookmarks from Communicator menu.

Click on File and then Edit (an Edit Bookmark page appears)

Click on File on this page and then Import (import file as bookmark box appears).

From the Import file as bookmark box select A drive.

Select Bookmark from the list of files.

Bookmarks are now loaded.

To save to disk.

Open Netscape Communicator.

Put disk in A drive

Click on - Bookmarks from Communicator menu.

Click on File and then Edit (an Edit Bookmark page appears)

Click on File on this page and then Save as (Save as box appears).

Name the file

Select the drive you wish to save the file to (A or C)

Click OK. Your bookmarks are saved to disk.

Addressing a site

Select File from the menu in Netscape Communicator

Select Open Page (box appears)

Type in the address for the web site you wish to view.

Click on OK.

Please note: type the web site address exactly as you see it.

FINDING A SITE WITHOUT ADDRESS.

Open a search engine and type keywords for the subject or site you require.

Different search engines will come up with different results - try more than one with the same keywords.

Search engines usually prioritize the first word typed in.

Search Engines

Some of the best ones are:

Yahoo www.yahoo.co.uk

Webcrawler http://www.webcrawler.com/

Alta vista www.altavista.com

Netcenter www.netscape.com

Hotbot www.hotbot.com

Excite www.excite.co.uk

Infoseek www.infoseek.co.uk

UK Plus www.ukplus.co.uk

lycos www.lycos.co.uk

Deja News www.dejanews.com

Big Foot www.bigfoot.com (e-mail address search)

Browsing The Yahoo Virtual Library

Yahoo is an example of a virtual library. virtual libraries are popular because the information has already

been classified into main subject headings. These services are manually updated and maintained

In your WWW browser click on the Open button andtype in the URL: http://www.yahoo.com/

Scroll down the Yahoo page until the topic Government is visible, then click on the link.

Scroll down the page until the topic Countries is visible, then click on this link.

Scroll down the page until the topic United Kingdom is visible, then click on this link.

Scroll down to see the number of Government Departments which are on the Web, and investigate the resources available.

Searching the Yahoo Virtual Library

Click on the Back button until you return to the page on Government: Countries.

Enter the search term Local Government in the UK in the search box, and click on the Search all of Yahoo button. Press the <Enter> key.

Follow the link Local Government in the UK.

Click Back until you return to the page on Government: Countries. Search for other resources available at Yahoo. Use the options to search both the Countries section of Yahoo and all of Yahoo.

Browsing The WWW Virtual Library

The WWW Virtual Library is another example of a virtual library. Note that information resources

available in virtual libraries are normally collected manually.

In your WWW browser enter the URL: http://www.w3.org/pub/DataSources/bySubject/

This URL is case-sensitive.

Scroll down the page and click on the link International Affairs.

Select the link Government Info. Scroll down to the United Kingdom link, then select Government Information System.

You should now be in the Central Government Information Server.

Note the similarities and differences between Yahoo and the WWW Virtual Library.

Using AltaVista

AltaVista allows different levels of searching. It is a very fast search engine,

In your WWW browser enter the URL: http://www.altavista.digital.com/

Search for UK Central Government.

How does the search engine handle Boolean searches (eg UK and Central Government)?

Advanced Use of AltaVista

AltaVista has an advanced user friendly search interface.

Click on the Advanced Query option located at the top of the AltaVista home page.

Enter the search term UK and Central Government.

Enter CCTA into the Results Ranking Criteria box. This will extract the CCTA related sites from the mass of search results, thus helping your selection.

Notice the use of the Boolean 'AND' Try a few other search terms and see what results are returned. Notice the number of documents returned ('hits') and the quality and relevance of the hits to your requirements. Explore the other query options available on the advanced query page, for example limiting your search to documents within a certain time frame, and using the Results Ranking Criteria option.

Using Excite

Excite is another search engine which collects and indexes WWW pages automatically. The Excite interface supports both concept-based and keyword-based searching.

In Your WWW browser enter the URL: http://www.excite.com/

Enter the search phrase exchange rate and click on the Search button. In a few seconds, results ('hits') will be returned. Read through the first 10 hits. How many are relevant to your search term? Note that Excite search results do not display the URLs of the documents found.

Refine Excite searches. One wav to refine an Excite search is by providing more search words. Now do a search with the phrase US UK currency exchange rate. Read through the results and compare them with the results of the above search. What is the current US/UK exchange rates

Using Lycos

Lycos is an automated search engines. Unlike the virtual libraries. automated search engines often provide access to large amounts of resources, which are collected automatically.

In your WWW browser enter the URL: http://www.lycos.com/

From the Lycos Home Page enter the search term Exchange Rate and press <Enter>.

After a short time you will be presented with a page showing the results of your search. Take a little time to read through this page. Note the number of documents you found, how many pages appear more than once, and how Lycos decides which pages it 'thinks' best satisfy your search parameters.

Did you get the pages you expected? How many (or how few!) relate to actual currency exchange rates? Try following some of the links to see how accurate the abstract beside each link is.

Using WebCrawler

WebCrawler is another example of an-'automated search engine. Webcrawer is very good at

searches and getting an early feel for how a search is likely to fare.

In your WWW browser enter the URL: http://www.webcrawler.com/

Enter the term exchange rate in the search box and click on the Search button. Explore some of the resources you find.

Note the differences between Lycos and Webcrawler:

Webcrawler does not have the same in-depth searching options that Lycos offers (Boolean

search patterns, for example).

Webcrawler doesn't deliver the same number of documents that Lycos gives you.

Also note whether it takes longer for Webcrawler to complete your search, and whether you get more errors when you explore the links it offers.

E-mail using Netscape Communicator/Messenger

(To somebody or a newsgroup)

Open Netscape Communicator

Click on Messenger from the Communicator menu.

Netscape Messenger (e-mail client) opens.

You may be asked for a ID and Password if used on a network.

What the buttons do?

Get Msg: checks to see if you have any new messages.

New Msg: Opens a Compose box for you to send an e-mail.

Reply: Opens a Compose box for you to send a reply to the viewed message.

Forward: Opens a Compose box for you to send forward a message and any attachments that came with the original message.

File: Allows you to file the message in a folder

Next: allows you to view the next message

Print: Opens a print dialog box allowing you to print the message

Security: gives information on encryption and security of e-mails and web pages.

Delete: Allows you to delete the highlighted message.

To send a message

Click on New Msg. (a composition box appears).

Type the e-mail address in the To: box.

Type the subject in the Subject box.

Type the message in the space provided.

(If you wish you can attach a file or Web page to the message)

When finished click on send.

How to use Newsgroups (for Collabra see below)

Open Netscape Messenger.

Right click on the word News (menu appears).

Select Subscribe to Newsgroups from this menu.

A Subscribe box appears (you may be asked to type an I.D. and password).

The Newsgroups are now shown - to subscribe to one, click the newsgroup once then click the Subscribe button (the messages appear as e-mails)

How to use Collabra (Not on all versions of Communicator)

Click on Communicator.

Click on Collabra discussion groups (this opens the Netscape message center).

Click on Subscribe.

A Subscribe box appears (you may be asked to type an I.D. and password).

The Newsgroups are now shown - to subscribe to one, click the newsgroup once then click the Subscribe button (the messages appear as e-mails)

Telnet Links

Sending a message via Mailer (PINE E-MAIL)

Click on Telnet mailer icon.

At the login prompt type your User I.D.name and Password.

To access Pine type 2

To view messages key in (i).

To view main menu key in (m)

To compose an e-mail key in ( C )

The commands are listed along the bottom of the telnet screen.

After composing the message type Ctrl and X to send or Ctrl and C to cancel the message.

To exit Pine type Q for Quit.

Please note:

The mouse will not work with Pine.

USING THE EWAN TELNET

Click on Ewan Telnet icon.

Select the service you require Library or Mailer

For Mailer

At the login prompt type your User I.D.name and Password.

Follow instructions as above.

For Library

At login prompt type libcat and then return

Using Cochrane Library via York DataNet

Double click on York Data Net icon

Type in the password jbm369

Double click on the health folder

Double click on the Cochrane Library icon

Click on continue when the Cochrane Library page appears.

Single click on search button and type in keyword(s)

To view results click on the red arrows until you can see the titles.

Double click on the title to view article.

When finished click on exit button

Then click on file and exit from the Infoware menu

Using ARC Databases

Click on the ARC icon.

Choose one or more of the available databases.

Select OK

Once the search page is viewed enter keyword (s) in the search box.

Click on show options to change the record options.

Printing:

Click on the bullet point at the side of the search information to bookmark that item for printing. Click on File and then Print Record.

From the Print Record Box click on print.

Save to disk:

From the File menu click on Save search history.

In the save search history box select A drive.

Name the file then click OK

Import from disk:

From the File menu click on Load & Run Searches.

Click on A drive.

Select Search File then click OK.

The Search information is loaded

User's guide to ATHENS - creating your own personal account

http://admin.athens.ac.uk/personal.athtml

ATHENS is an authentication system which allows control of access to online resources. If you have been given a username and password for an ATHENS access account for the purposes of self-registration, you can log on to the ATHENS service

and create a personal account.

1. The personal accounts home page

In addition to providing access to various online resources, your access account will admit you to an ATHENS user's interface, which will allow you create a personal account.

The Access accounts administration page can be accessed via the ATHENS home page by selecting the Personal User Accounts button. This will take you to the ATHENS personal accounts page (the user's interface home page) where you have

the choice of two links:

Create a personal account from an access account or View or Modify a personal account . Selecting the Create a personal account from an access account link will take you to the Access accounts administration page.

You will be asked to enter the username and password. If you enter them correctly (note that the password is case sensitive) the Access account administration page will be displayed. It will show you which resources can be accessed by a personal

account created from this page, and who the administrator of the account is. The administrator is responsible for the access account and should be consulted if you have any problems using it.

2. Creating a personal account

Select Create a personal account. You will be given a form on which to enter your personal details.

Note in particular:

All the boxes in Part 1. are mandatory and must be completed before a new account can be created.

The first part of the username (prefix) appears outside the box and cannot be changed. Please enter your choice of letters/numbers in the box (you can also use - and _ ) to complete your username which must be up to 20 characters long (with a minimum of 6 characters including the prefix and must not contain spaces).

Usernames are case insensitive but are displayed in lower case.

The password must be between 6 and 20 characters long and is case sensitive. It must contain at least one letter and one character which is not a letter (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 or ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + | } { ~ \ " : ? > < , . / ; ' ` [ ] - =).

You must enter your password twice.

It is important that you give a correct email address as this may be used to warn you if your account is about to expire, or provide other important service-related information. your ATHENS administrator will be able to view the personal details which you have given and check that they are accurate

When you have finished, click the Submit details button once to submit your details. If you wish to restore the original form, selecting the button Restore defaults will restore a blank form.

If your personal account is created successfully, a screen confirming the details of the new account will appear after a few moments. If you have failed to complete one of the boxes in Part 1. of the form, or if one of your entries (such as password or

email address) is in an incorrect format, you will be asked to go back and correct the mistake. If you have requested a username which is already in use, you will be invited to go back and choose another username.

Finally, there is a limit on how many new personal accounts may be created from an access account. If you get a message saying that this limit has been reached, you should contact the administrator of the access account.

3. Your new personal account

Once you have successfully created a personal account, you should make a note of the username and keep a record of the password separately. If, later on, you wish to change your password, you can access the Personal accounts administration page directly via the ATHENS home page by selecting the Personal User Accounts button and then the View or Modify a personal account link.

As well as the personal details which you entered on the form, your personal account will have certain properties (such as resources which it is permitted to access, expiry date for username/password, etc.) which it has automatically 'inherited' from

the access account.

If you wish to change any of them, or to alter your personal account details (apart from the password which you can change yourself), contact your administrator, who is the same as the administrator for the access account.

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Created by Ian Cole
class_software@yahoo.co.uk
Last updated Nov 2001