Handbook:
Mail,
News, and
Bookmarks
Tools for the Internet
In the previous chapter you read about the onscreen fundamentals for
exploring the Internet. This chapter covers primary tools for
interacting with others on the Internet and organizing the
information you find: Mail, News, and Bookmarks.
As you read about mail and news, you'll see their features overlap
substantially. Essentially, mail and news perform the same tasks:
letting you correspond with others. For both mail and news, you
create messages in the Message Composition window.
The core difference between mail and news is in its scope of
distribution. Mail is distributed on a person-to-person basis; news
is distributed on a publication-for-all basis.
- A mail message is sent to an email address for collection by an
individual or organizational entity.
- A news message, commonly called a news article, is sent to a
newsgroup (posted to a computer operating as a bulletin board) for
collection by any Internet user who chooses to browse the list of
posted messages.
You'll find that Netscape's Mail and News windows offer numerous
features to help you organize the volumes of Internet correspondence.
For example, you'll want to be able to distinguish old correspondence
that you've read from new correspondence that you've yet to read.
Some organizational tools pertain to mail or news, but not both. For
example, to organize mail messages you can drag and drop the messages
into mail folders. News messages, on the other hand, are already
organized among newsgroups and the News window does support the
dragging and dropping of messages.
The last sections of this chapter detail the operation of the
Bookmarks window and Address Book window. Bookmarks let you organize
URLs using the same drag-and-drop metaphor used to organize files in
operating systems such as those used by Macintosh and Windows 95
computers. Both the Bookmarks and Address Book windows offer custom
menu items to help you set up and use their features.
Message Composition window
You can create and send email and newsgroup messages using the Message
Composition window. When sending email, you can transmit Internet
pages and disk files as attachments, including fully formatted HTML
pages displayed within your mail message.
Netscape automatically recognizes the text of URLs and displays the
text as highlighted, clickable links. For example, when you send a
mail or news message using the Message Composition window, the
recipient of the your message sees any URLs you've entered as links.
To display the Message Composition window, choose File|New Mail
Message or File|Mail Document, or one of several toolbar
buttons and menu items in the Mail and News windows. You can also
display the Message Composition window by clicking on a page link or
a button designed to initiate email.
The View menu items let you hide or display numerous types of address
fields. Fields can contain more than one address.
- The From field shows your email address.
- The Reply To field contains the email address where you
want replies to your email sent.
- The Mail To contains the email address where you want your
message sent.
- The Mail Cc field contains the email address where you
want a copy of your message sent.
- The Mail Bcc field contains the email address where you
want a blind copy of your message sent. A blind copy does not display
the address of the copy recipient
- The File Cc field contains the location where you want to
store a copy of the message you're sending. By default, messages are
stored in the folder specified in the Mail and News|Servers
panel.
- The Newsgroups field contains the name of the newsgroup
where you want to post your news message. If you're posting from a
newsgroup listing or message, this field is preset with the name of
the newsgroup.
- The Followup To field contains the name of the newsgroup
where you want replies to your message posted.
- The Subject field contains a description of your email or
posting. If you're sending mail or posting from news messages, this
field is preset with the name of the current page.
- The Attachment field shows the page name or file name of
any attachments you've designated.
Enter a message or include the text of the current page in the large
message field. If you're sending mail, this field is preset with the
current page's URL. If the Mail and News|Identity panel specifies a
text file containing your signature, the signature is appended.
On Windows, you can click on some field labels to produce the Address
Book window or Attachment file dialog to simplify text entry. On
Macintosh, you can click the small triangle icon in the upper-left of
the window to show or hide the address and attachment fields.
Here are the Message Composition buttons:
- Send (Now), available when you check Options|Immediate
Delivery, distributes the current message into the network and
closes the window.
- Send (Later), available when you check Options|Deferred
Delivery, stores the current message in the Outbox folder on your
disk for distribution into the network at a later time. Choose
File|Send Mail in Outbox to distribute deferred messages.
- Quote puts the current message into the quoted text format.
- Attach lets you send a separate document along with the
email message. Press Attach Location (URL) to specify an HTML
page. Press Attach File to specify any other type of file.
Press Delete to remove a selected entry. The dialog also
offers radio buttons for choosing how to send the attachment. Select
the default, As Is (Source), to send files in their original
form. Choose Convert to Plain Text if you want your attachment
sent as ordinary ASCII text. By attaching an HTML page in source
format, the recipient of the attachment can use Netscape to view the
page fully formatted directly in the Mail window. The View
menu in the Mail window offers options that let you view attachments
either inline (the page appears within the message body) or as links
(a link to the page appears within the message body).
- Address opens the Address Book window.
- Stop halts transmission of the message you are sending.
Here are the Message Composition menu items:
- File|Send Now (Same as Send Now toolbar button.)
- File|Send Later (Same as Send Later toolbar button.)
- File|Attach File (Same as Attach toolbar button.)
- File|Include Original Text imports the text of the current
page into the message field. The imported text is appended to any
other content in the field and each line is preceded with a
greater-than (>) symbol.
- Edit|Paste as Quotation inserts the contents of the
clipboard into the message as quoted text (each line preceded by the
greater-than (>) symbol.
- View|Show All displays all possible address fields
available in the Message Composition window. Other View menu
items let you individually select the fields you want visible in the
window.
- View|Wrap Long Lines, when checked, automatically
line-wraps the messages you send such that no line is longer than 72
characters. The width of the Message Composition window does not
affect line-wrapping, nor are the line breaks you see necessarily the
wrapping that is sent. When unchecked, messages are sent without
automatic line-wrapping and the line breaks that you see are sent.
The default is checked.
- Options|Mail and News Preferences (Same as the
Options menu item in the Netscape, Mail, or News window.)
- Options|Immediate Delivery, when checked, specifies that
the Message Composition window offer a Send Now menu item and
toolbar button so that messages you have written are sent over the
network immediately. The option is saved across sessions.
- Options|Deferred Delivery, when checked, provides a Send
Later menu item and toolbar button so that the messages you've
written are stored in your Outbox folder (deferred) until you
explicitly decide to send them. Choose the Mail window's File|Send
Mail in Outbox menu item to deliver deferred messages. If you
close the Mail window with mail in your Outbox, a dialog asks you
whether you want to send the deferred messages now. The option is
saved across sessions.
Mail window
Choose Window|Mail to display the Mail window and
check for new messages. Alternatively, you can click on the mail icon
(the small envelope in the bottom-right of the Netscape and News
windows).
When you first open the Mail window, you're prompted to enter your
email password. Use the password that you established with your
Internet service provider or system administrator when you set up
your Internet account. You'll have to enter your email password once
per session or specify in the Mail and News|Organization panel
that Netscape remember your password.
When you open the Mail window, Netscape checks the server and
retrieves any new mail. Thereafter, Netscape can periodically recheck
the server for new incoming messages, though does not automatically
retrieve the messages. You can set the number of minutes between
checks in the Mail and News|Servers panel.
To retrieve new messages, press the Get Mail toolbar button or
click the mail icon. You can also click on the mail icon from the
Mail window to manually check the server and retrieve new messages.
The mail icon shows you of the availability of new messages.
- A question mark (?) adjacent to the envelope indicates Netscape
cannot automatically check the status of the mail server. This
appears before you've opened the Mail window or if you haven't
supplied your password.
- The envelope alone indicates there are no new messages for you.
- An exclamation point (!) adjacent to the envelope indicates that
new messages are available for retrieval. On Macintosh, you'll also
be notified of new messages by a mail icon flashing in the menu bar.
The Mail window consists of three panes: the mail folder pane, the
message header pane, and the message content pane.
The mail folder pane contains a hierarchical list of your mail folders
and three columns:
- Mail Folder shows the name of the mail folder.
- Unread shows the number of unread messages.
- Total shows the number of messages within the folder.
Four Netscape-generated folders can appear at the top of the list of folders:
- The Inbox folder holds incoming mail messages to you. The folder
always appears.
- The Outbox folder holds your unsent messages. The folder is
created when the Message Composition window's Options|Deferred
Delivery item is checked and you specify that a message be sent
later.
- The Sent folder holds copies of your sent messages. The
folder is created when a mail file is specified in the Mail and
News|Composition panel and you send a message.
- The Trash folder holds mail messages you are deleting. The folder
is created when you delete a message.
Using menu items, you can add more mail folders to help organize your
mail. Any new folders you create will appear after the automatically
created folders.
When you select a mail folder by clicking on it, the message heading
pane displays the titles of messages contained in that folder and the
following columns:
- Sender shows the name of the sender of the mail message. In
the Outbox and Sent folders, you'll see the title Recipient
instead of Sender, and the column shows the email address of
the mail recipient.
- The Flag icon shows if the message has been marked as noteworthy.
Click the icon to toggle the flag status.
- The Read icon shows if the message has been viewed. Click the icon
to toggle the read status.
- Subject shows the subject line of the message.
- Date shows the date and time the message arrived at your
Inbox.
You can move a message stored in one folder to another by dragging the
message icon in the message list to a message folder. You can also
use Message|Move or Message|Copy to put messages or
message copies inside folders.
Mail messages are unthreaded by default. You can change the setting in
the Mail and News|Organization panel. On Macintosh, the
message headings pane offers an area above the scroll bar that you
can click on to show the current headings threaded or unthreaded.
When you select a message heading by clicking on it, the message gets
displayed in the message content pane along with header information
such as Subject, Date, From, To, and
CC.
You can use toolbar buttons or menu items to move on to the next
message or read a previous message.
You can resize each of the three panes to accommodate mail information
by positioning the cursor on the border lines between two panes (the
cursor changes shape) and dragging to the proportions you desire. You
can also modify the layout of the panes using options in the Mail
and News|Appearance panel.
If the message sender has included a page attachment, you can check
the View|Attachments Inline menu item to display fully
formatted HTML page information appended to the message body or check
the View|Attachments as Links menu item to display a link to
the attached page. If the message sender has included a file
attachment, you can click on a link that presents the Save As dialog
for saving the file to your hard disk. Beside each link to an
attachment, you'll find information detailing the attachment's name,
file type, and encoding.
The Mail toolbar buttons and menu items offer further options for
viewing, creating, sending, and storing mail messages.
Mail toolbar buttons
- Get Mail
Connect to the mail server and bring any available mail messages
into the Inbox.
- Delete
Puts the currently selected message in the message heading field
into the Trash folder.
- To: Mail
Displays the Message Composition window for creating a new
mail message. The To field is blank.
- Re: Mail
Displays the Message Composition window for replying to the
current mail message. The To field is pre-addressed to the original
message's sender.
- Re: All
Displays the Message Composition window for replying to the
current mail message. The To field is pre-addressed to the original
message's sender and all other recipients of the current message.
- Forward
Displays the Message Composition window for forwarding the current
mail message as an attachment. The To field is blank. The original
Subject field is prefixed with Fwd.
- Previous
View the previous unread message in the message list.
- Next
View the next unread message in the message list.
- Print
Prints the currently selected message in the message heading
field.
- Stop
Halts any ongoing transmission of messages from the mail server.
Mail menu items
When you position the mouse over each Mail window pane, you can use
the pop-up menu as a shortcut to several of the menu bar items listed
here.
- File
New Web Browser creates a new Netscape window.
New Mail Message displays the Message Composition window for writing a new mail message.
New Folder creates a new mail folder.
Add Folder (Open Folder) displays the standard Open Folder dialog box.
Save As produces a dialog box for saving the current message as a file.
Get New Mail connects to the mail server and retrieves messages addressed to you.
Send Mail in Outbox connects to the mail server and sends any outgoing messages you have stored in the Outbox folder for deferred delivery.
Empty Trash Folder permanently removes messages placed in the Trash folder.
Compress Folder recovers disk space from deleted messages.
Page Setup displays the standard Page Setup dialog box.
Print Messages prints a selected message.
Close closes the Mail window.
Exit/Quit exits the Netscape application.
- Edit
Undo/Redo reverses the last action.
Cut removes the current selection and places a copy on the clipboard.
Copy places a copy of the current selection on the clipboard.
Paste puts a copy of the contents of the clipboard at the position of the selection marker.
Delete Message moves the current message to the Trash folder.
Delete Folder permanently removes the selected folder.
Select Thread selects all messages in the current thread.
Select Flagged Messages selects messages in the current thread that are designated in the Mark column of the message headings pane.
Select All Messages selects all messages in all threads.
Find searches for text in the current message.
Find Again searches for the same text as the previous search.
- View
Sort lets you arrange the position of messages in the
message heading field according to Date, Subject,
Sender, or Message Number and can specify
Ascending order. Choose Again to sort again. Choose
Thread Messages to sort messages so that messages and their
responses are grouped together.
Unscramble (ROT-13) lets you decode a certain type of
message in which the sender has shifted the message's characters.
Wrap Long Lines, when checked, displays long lines in the
message in shorter, more numerous lines. When unchecked, long lines
are more likely to extend off the screen and require the horizontal
scroll bar for viewing. The default is unchecked.
Reload brings the message from the server again.
Load Images displays the images of the current message if they have not been automatically loaded.
Refresh redraws the current message.
Document Source produces a View Source window showing the current page in HTML format.
Attachments Inline, when checked, lets you to view a page
attachment as part of the message. If the sender has included an HTML
page as an attachment, the formatted page is appended to the message
body.
Attachments as Links, when checked, lets you to access a
page attachment using a link. If the sender has included an HTML page
as an attachment, a link to the formatted page is appended to the
message body. Clicking on the link displays the page in the message
content pane.
- Message
Reply displays the Message Composition window for writing a
response with the Send To field pre-addressed to the sender of
the previous message.
Reply to All displays the Message Composition window for
writing a response with the Send To field pre-addressed to the
sender and other recipients of the previous message.
Forward displays the Message Composition window for sending
the current messages as an attachment with the Subject field
and Attachment field automatically filled in.
Forward Quoted displays the Message Composition window for
sending the current message as quoted text in the content area.
Mark as Read designates that the current message has been viewed.
Mark as Unread designates that the current message has not been viewed.
Flag Message distinguishes the current message with a small
icon in the flag column of the message headings field.
Unflag Message removes the current message's distinguishing icon.
Add to Address Book creates an address book entry of the
sender of the current message.
Move transfers the current message to the folder you select.
Copy transfers a copy of the current message to the folder you select.
- Go
Next Message displays the next message listed in the message heading pane.
Previous Message displays the previous message.
First Unread displays the first unread message.
Next Unread displays the next unread message.
Previous Unread displays the previous unread message.
First Flagged displays the first marked message.
Next Flagged displays the next marked message.
Previous Flagged displays the previous marked message.
Stop Loading halts any ongoing transmission of messages from the mail server.
- Options
Show All Messages, when checked, displays both read and
unread messages in the message header pane.
Show Only Unread Messages, when checked, displays only
unread messages in the message header pane.
Show Headers, lets you control the number of header
information fields displayed when viewing messages. All
displays all possible header fields. Normal displays the
primary address fields. Brief displays only subject and
recipient fields.
Document Encoding lets you select which character set
encoding a document uses when document encoding is either not
specified or unavailable.
Save Options (UNIX only) preserves any changes made to your
menu settings for subsequent sessions (excluding the preferences
panel items, which are saved by pressing OK).
- Window
This menu lets you switch among Netscape's primary or currently open windows.
- Help
This menu contains the same items as Netscape's main window.
News window
Choose the Window|News menu item to display the News window.
The window has a toolbar, distinct menu items, and three panes
containing news information.
The newsgroup pane is a hierarchical list of news servers, categories,
and newsgroups. Note that you need to set the host name of your news
(NNTP) server in the Mail and News|Servers panel before you
can access Usenet news.
The outer-level (leftmost) folders in the newsgroup pane show the news
servers (news hosts) you've connected to. Typically, you'll have
connected to only the default news server and have only one
outer-level folder.
To view the full set of available news categories and newsgroups,
choose the Options|Show All Newsgroups menu item. A news
category, notated by a folder icon and an asterisk in its name,
contains newsgroups sharing the same prefix. Click on a category
folder to display all its newsgroups.
The newsgroup pane contains the following columns:
- News Server shows the names of the news servers and
newsgroups.
- The Subscribe icon shows if you are subscribed to the newsgroup.
Click the icon to toggle the subscribe status.
- Unread shows the number of unread messages in the newsgroup.
- Total shows the number of read and unread messages in the
newsgroup.
The Subscribe column (notated by a check mark) that lets you limit the
visible newsgroups to those of your choosing. You can subscribe to
newsgroups by first showing all newsgroups, then clicking a
particular newsgroup's Subscribe icon in the newsgroup pane.
After subscribing to newsgroups, you can change the Options
menu setting so that you view only subscribed newsgroups (or only
active newsgroups which are subscribed newsgroups with unread
messages). Other columns in the newsgroup pane tell you the number of
unread messages and the total number of messages per newsgroup.
Your newsgroup subscription information is stored in a News file. If
you have no previous News file, Netscape creates one that lists a
couple of newsgroups designed for new users.
When you select a newsgroup by clicking on it, the message headings
contained in the newsgroup are displayed in the message headings pane
and has the following columns:
- Sender shows the name of the sender of the news message.
- The Flag icon shows if the message has been marked as noteworthy. Click the icon to toggle the flag status.
- The Read icon shows if the message has been viewed. Click the icon to toggle the read status.
- Subject shows the subject line of the message.
- Date shows the date and time the message was posted.
News messages are threaded by default. You can change the setting in
the Mail and News|Organization panel. On Macintosh, the message
headings pane offers areas above and below the scroll bar that you
can click on. Click the top area to show the current headings
threaded or unthreaded. Click the bottom area to show get more
messages (same as File|Get More Messages menu item).
When you select a message heading by clicking on it, the message is
displayed in the message content pane along with the header
information such as Subject, Date, From,
Organization, Newsgroups, and References.
The Newsgroups and References fields contain links to
the newsgroup(s) containing the current message and where replies
should be posted.
You can use toolbar buttons or menu items to move on to the next
message or read a previous message.
You can resize each of the three panes to accommodate the news
information by positioning the cursor on the border lines between two
panes (the cursor changes shape) and dragging the panes to the
proportions you desire. You can also modify the layout of the panes
using options in the Mail and News|Appearance panel.
The News toolbar buttons and menu items offer further options for
viewing, creating, sending, and storing news messages.
News toolbar buttons
- To: News
Displays the Message Composition window for creating a new
news message.
- To: Mail
Displays the Message Composition window for creating a new mail
message.
- Re: Mail
Displays the Message Composition window for replying to the
current message's sender. The To field is pre-addressed.
- Re: News
Displays the Message Composition window for replying to the
current news message thread.
- Re: Both
Displays the Message Composition window for replying to the
current news message thread and replying by mail to the message's
sender.
- Forward
Displays the Message Composition window for forwarding the current
news message as an attachment. The To field is blank. The original
Subject field is prefixed with Fwd.
- Previous
Displays the previous unread message in the thread.
- Next
Displays the next unread message in the thread.
- Thread
Marks messages in the thread as read.
- Group
Marks all messages in the group as read.
- Print
Prints the currently selected message in the message heading
field.
- Stop
Halts any ongoing transmission of messages from the news server.
News menu items
When you position the mouse over each News window pane, you can use
the pop-up menu as a shortcut to several of the menu bar items listed
here.
- File
New Web Browser creates a new Netscape window.
New Mail Message displays the Message Composition window for writing a new mail message.
New News Message displays the Message Composition window for writing a new news message.
Save As lets you save the current message as a file.
Open News Host prompts you to specify the news server to access and add to your news server list.
Remove News Host deletes the selected news server from your list.
Add Newsgroup lets you select a new newsgroup to add to your subscription list.
Get More Messages lets you retrieve an additional group of news messages.
Send Mail in Outbox connects to the mail server and sends any outgoing messages you have stored.
Page Setup displays the standard Page Setup dialog box.
Print Messages prints a selected message.
Close closes the News window.
Exit/Quit exits the Netscape application.
- Edit
Undo/Redo reverses the last action.
Cut removes the current selection and places a copy on the clipboard.
Copy places a copy of the current selection on the clipboard.
Paste puts a copy of the contents of the clipboard at the position of the selection marker.
Select Thread selects all messages in the current thread.
Select Flagged Messages selects messages in the current thread that are designated in the message headings pane.
Select All Messages selects all messages in all threads.
Find searches for text in the current message.
Find Again searches for the same text as the previous search.
Cancel Message removes the selected message you've sent to the newsgroup.
- View
Sort lets you arrange the position of messages in the
message heading field according to Date, Subject,
Sender, or Message Number and can specify
Ascending order. Choose Again to sort again. Choose
Thread Messages to sort messages so that messages and their
responses are grouped together.
Unscramble (ROT-13) lets you decode a certain type of message in which the sender has shifted the message's characters.
Wrap Long Lines, when checked, displays long lines in the
message in shorter, more numerous lines. When unchecked, long lines
are more likely to extend off the screen and require the horizontal
scroll bar for viewing. The default is unchecked.
Reload brings the message from the server again.
Load Images displays the images of the current message if they have not been automatically loaded.
Refresh redraws the current message.
Document Source produces a View Source window showing the current page in HTML format.
Attachments Inline, when checked, lets you to view a page
attachment as part of the message. If the sender has included an HTML
page as an attachment, the formatted page is appended to the message
body.
Attachments as Links, when checked, lets you to access a
page attachment using a link. If the sender has included an HTML page
as an attachment, a link to the formatted page is appended to the
message body. Clicking on the link displays the page in the message
content pane.
- Message
Post Reply displays the Message Composition window for
writing a response with the Send To field pre-addressed to the
newsgroup of the previous message.
Post and Mail Reply displays the Message Composition window
for writing a response to the current message thread and replying to the message's sender.
Mail Reply displays the Message Composition window for
replying to the current message's sender. The To field is
pre-addressed.
Forward displays the Message Composition window for
forwarding the current news message as an attachment. The To field is
blank. The original Subject field is prefixed with Fwd.
Forward Quoted displays the Message Composition window for
sending the current message as quoted text in the content area.
Mark as Read designates that
the current message has been read.
Mark as Unread designates that the current message has not
been read.
Mark Thread Read designates in the message headings field
that the messages in the current thread have been read.
Mark Newsgroup Read designates in the message headings
field that the messages in the current newsgroup have been read.
Flag Message distinguishes the current message with a small
icon in the flag column of the message headings field.
Unflag Message removes the current message's distinguishing icon.
Add to Address Book creates an address book entry of the
sender of the current message.
- Go
Next Message displays the next listed message in the message content pane.
Previous Message displays the previous message.
First Unread displays the first unread message.
Next Unread displays the next unread message.
Previous Unreaddisplays the previous unread message.
First Flagged displays the first marked message.
Next Flagged displays the next marked message.
Previous Flagged displays the previous marked message.
Stop Loading halts any ongoing transmission of messages from the news server.
- Options
Show Subscribed Newsgroups, when checked, displays only
newsgroups in your subscription list.
Show Active Newsgroups, when checked, displays only
subscribed newsgroups with new messages.
Show All Newsgroups, when checked, displays all available
newsgroups from your news server.
Show New Newsgroups, when checked, displays only
newsgroups new since you previously connected to the news server.
Show All Messages, when checked, displays all messages of
the selected newsgroup.
Show Only Unread Messages, when checked, displays only
unread messages.
Show Headers, lets you control the number of header
information fields displayed when viewing messages. All
displays all possible header fields. Normal displays the
primary address fields. Brief displays only subject and
recipient fields.
Add from Newest Messages, when checked, displays the most
recent messages first.
Add from Oldest Messages, when checked, displays the
oldest messages first.
Document Encoding lets you select which character set
encoding a document uses when document encoding is either not
specified or unavailable.
Save Options (UNIX only) preserves any changes made to your
menu settings for subsequent sessions (excluding the preferences
panel items, which are saved by pressing OK).
- Window
This menu lets you switch among Netscape's primary or currently open windows.
- Help
This menu contains the same items as Netscape's main window, plus
an On News item on Windows and UNIX that displays a page
describing Usenet news.
Bookmarks window
Use the Bookmarks menu for fast and easy access to your favorite pages.
- Choose Bookmarks|Add Bookmark to add the current Netscape
page to the Bookmarks menu. Each time you add a page, the page's
title is appended as a menu item. Simply select the title to display
the page on your screen.
- Choose Windows|Bookmarks to display the Bookmarks window.
The Bookmarks window has its own menu bar with items you can use to
build and maintain one or more bookmark lists.
The Bookmarks window contains icons and folders to help you organize
your bookmarks. Each bookmark icon corresponds to a menu item. Each
bookmark icon in a folder corresponds to a menu item under a header
(a hierarchical or multilevel menu). Folders can be nested in other
folders.
- Double-click on bookmarks to access pages.
- Drag and drop icons among folders to arrange your bookmarks.
- To build a hierarchical menu, create a folder in the Bookmarks
window (choose Item|Insert Folder from the Bookmark window's
menu bar). You can then drag an existing bookmark into the folder or
choose Item|Insert Bookmark to add a new bookmark.
- Use the File|What's New menu item to find out if a
bookmark's page has been modified. The bookmark icon reflects the
command results.
Any changes you make to your bookmarks are saved and available the
next time you start Netscape.
Bookmarks are maintained in lists, with each list represented by a
bookmarks file. You can maintain multiple bookmark lists, each with
its own set of titles linked to favorite pages, although only one
bookmark list can be active at a time. You can select which list to
display in the Bookmarks menu by choosing File|Open from the
Bookmark window.
Bookmarks menu items
The Bookmarks window offers the following menu items:
- File|Open lets you select a bookmarks file to use as your
active bookmarks file.
- File|Import lets you append the contents of a bookmarks
file to the end of the active bookmarks file. Note that a bookmarks
file is an HTML-formatted page; if you try to import an HTML page
that is not a bookmark file, you may get nonfunctional bookmark
entries.
- File|Save As saves the active bookmarks file as an
HTML-formatted page. Enter a file name of your choosing, then press
OK to create a bookmarks file.
- File|What's New checks your bookmarks to see which pages,
if any, have undergone modifications since you last viewed them.
Before the check, you're prompted as to whether you want to check all
bookmarks or only selected bookmarks. After the check, a dialog tells
you how many pages were reached and how many have changed. A page
that has been modified is notated with accentuating lines in the
bookmark icon; a page whose modification has not been verified is
notated with a question mark in the bookmark icon.
- File|Close closes the bookmark window while saving the
current list.
- File|Quit (Macintosh only) exits the Netscape application.
- Edit|Undo-Redo reverses the previous action.
- Edit|Cut removes the current selection and places a copy on
the clipboard. If the selection includes a folder, the folder's
contents are also included.
- Edit|Copy places a copy of the current selection on the
clipboard. If the selection includes a folder, the folder's contents
are also included.
- Edit|Paste places the contents of the clipboard into the
bookmarks list after the current selection. If the
selection is a folder, the new item is inserted into the folder as
the first item.
- Edit|Delete removes the current selection. If the selection
includes a folder, the folder's contents are also removed.
- Edit|Select All (Macintosh only) highlights all items in
the window.
- Edit|Find searches for items in the bookmark list (both
titles and URLs). When a match is found, the item is selected.
- Edit|Find Again performs the Find
command again.
- Item|Properties displays a window describing bookmark or
header information for the current selection. A single bookmark or
header must be selected to enable the menu item.
- Item|Go to Bookmark displays the page specified by the
current selection in the list (provided the current selection is a
page title). This action is the same as double-clicking on a
bookmark.
- Item|Sort Bookmarks arranges bookmark items in alphabetical
order.
- Item|Insert Bookmark lets you add a new bookmark below the
current selection in the list. You'll see the Bookmarks Properties
window, where you enter the bookmark title you wish to use in the
Name field (temporarily titled New Item) and the new
item's URL in the Location field. You have the option of
adding information to the Description field. The Last
Visited field contains the date you last viewed the page. The
Added on field contains the current date and time. Click
OK to complete the insertion. Note that if the current
selection is an open folder, the new item is inserted into the folder
as the folder's first item. If the selection is a closed folder, the
new item is inserted after the folder at the same level as the
folder.
- Item|Insert Folder lets you add a new folder (and
corresponding menu header) below the current selection. You'll see
the Bookmarks Properties window, where you enter the name of the new
folder (temporarily titled in theName text field). You have
the option of adding information to the Description field. The
Added on field contains the current date and time. (There's no
information for the Location or Last Visited field.)
Click OK to complete the insertion.
- Item|Insert Separator creates a separator line below the
current selection in the list
- Item|Make Alias lets you create an alternate bookmark (an
alias) that works in the same manner as the original bookmark. Using
aliases, you can have the same bookmark in multiple folders. Unlike a
copy of a bookmark, an alias automatically reflects any change made
to the original bookmark.
- Item|Set to New Bookmarks Folder makes the selected folder
the default bookmarks folder, so that each time you choose Add
Bookmark from the Bookmarks menu, the bookmark you add goes into
that folder. The default is the topmost folder. First select a
folder, then choose Set to New Bookmarks Folder.
- Item|Set to Bookmark Menu Folder limits the bookmarks that
appear under the Bookmarks menu to those beginning at the specified
folder. The default is the entire listing. First, select a folder,
then choose Set to Bookmark Menu Folder.
Bookmarks shortcuts and tips
Selecting items
- On Windows and UNIX, double-click on a folder to display or hide
its contents. On Macintosh, click on a folder arrow to display or
hide its contents.
- Single-click on a bookmark or folder item to select or unselect
the item. When you single-click on a folder, subsequent actions (such
as editing and positioning) act upon all the contents of the folder.
- On Windows, select multiple items by holding down the Ctrl key
(noncontiguous) or Shift key (contiguous). On Macintosh, select
multiple items by holding down the Shift key (noncontiguous).
- On Windows, when a single bookmark is selected, the status area
displays the bookmark's URL. Otherwise, the status area displays the
number of items selected.
Positioning items
- Drag and drop items within a Bookmarks window to position them.
While dragging an item around, you'll see a box or a line indicating
the position where a drop will occur. When you drag an item over a
folder, you'll see a box around the folder (a drop positions the item
first in the folder list). When you drag an item over a bookmark or
separator, you'll see a horizontal line between adjacent items (a
drop positions the item at the line).
- Drag and drop a link from a Netscape page by clicking on the link
and then dragging it into the Bookmarks window. The bookmark is added
at the position of the drop.
Creating shortcut icons
- Bookmark shortcuts: On Windows 95 and Macintosh, drag a bookmark
icon from the Bookmarks window to the desktop to create a bookmark
shortcut icon. You can double-click on a bookmark shortcut icon or
drag the icon onto the Netscape window to open Netscape and display
the page. On Windows 95, you can drag the URL link icon (to the
left of the location field) to the Bookmarks window to create a
bookmark for the page you are viewing.
- Internet shortcuts: On Windows 95, drag the URL link icon to
create a shortcut for the page you are viewing. Drag a link from a
Netscape page to the desktop to create an Internet shortcut for the
linked page.
Address Book window
Use the Address Book to simplify the process of addressing the email
you send. To display the Address Book window, choose Window|Address
Book. The window operates similarly to the Bookmarks window. You
organize your addresses with address book icons and mailing list
folders.
Any individual you add to your address book is represented by an icon.
These individual icons appear first in the address book. Mailing list
folders appear after the individual icons. Use the Address Book's
menu items to create and modify entries.
Adding addresses: To add an individual, choose Item|Add User.
You'll see the Address Book Properties dialog where you can enter a
nickname, name, email address, and description. To modify an address
book entry, select the icon to modify, then choose
Item|Properties.
You can enter an abbreviation or other alternative name in the
Nickname field to further simplify addressing the mail you send. When
you compose new mail, simply enter the nickname (rather than the
email address), then press Enter or Return. The nickname
automatically expands to the corresponding email address in the
address book.
Mailing lists: Mailing lists, represented by folder icons,
contain aliases to individuals in your address book. Each individual
in a mailing list is also represented by an individual icon outside
of the mailing list.
To add an address to a mailing list, drag and drop the individual icon
on to the mailing list folder. The individual icon remains in its
place and the alias, notated in italics, is stored in the folder.
Choose Item|Add List to create a new mailing list folder.
Address Book menu items
Menu items specific to the Address Book window work as follows
- File|New Mail Message displays the Message Composition
window for writing a new mail message to selected users.
- File|Import lets you append the contents of an address
book file (an HTML-formatted page) into the active address book file.
- File|Save As lets you save the active
address book file (as an HTML-formatted page). Enter
a file name of your choice, then click OK.
- File|Close closes the Address Book window while saving the
current list.
- File|Quit (Macintosh only) exits the Netscape application.
- Edit|Undo-Redo reverses the previous action.
- Edit|Cut-Copy-Paste (Macintosh only) performs the standard
editing features.
- Edit|Delete (Delete Address on Macintosh) removes the
current selection. If the selection includes a folder, the folder's
contents are also removed.
- Edit|Find lets you search for items in the Address Book
list (both names and addresses).
- Edit|Find Again performs the Find command
again.
- Item|Add User lets you create a new email address entry.
You can enter an abbreviated name in the Nickname field that
serves a shortcut when addressing email. Enter the full name you want
to use in the Name field and the proper address in the
Email field. You have the option of adding information to the
Description field.
- Item|Add List lets you insert a new folder (mailing
list) below the individuals in the list. You can enter an abbreviated
name in the Nickname field to serve as a shortcut when
addressing email to the entire list. Enter a name for the new mailing
list folder (temporarily titled New Header). You have the
option of adding information to the Description field.
- Item|Properties (Edit Address Book Entry on
Macintosh) lets you edit the information of the selected
address or folder.
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