"Internet and Web Basics All in One" is designed to teach the new computer user how to work with the Internet.

Table of Contents

Introduction. I. INTERNET BASICS. 1. What Is the Internet and What Can You Do There? Understanding the Net (Easy Version). Making the Net Work: Clients and Servers. What Can You Do Through the Net? Summary. 2. What Hardware and Software Do You Need? Modems-Wherein the Lack of Speed Kills. Choosing a Computer. Getting Internet Software. Summary. 3. Getting Connected to the Internet. Types of Internet Accounts. Who Can I Get Dial-up Access From? How Do I Choose a Dial-up Internet Plan? Getting Connected. Using the Connection Wizard on Your Own. Summary. 4. Basic Browsing. About Your "Home Page". Understanding Web Page Addresses. Going Straight to Any Web Address. Basic Jumping Around. Fussing with Frames. Summary. 5. Sending and Receiving Email. Types of Email Programs. Understanding Email Addresses. Setting Up Your Email Program. Getting Around in Your Email Program. Composing and Sending a Message. Receiving Messages. Replying and Forwarding. Using an Address Book. Attaching Files to Email Messages. Using the Web for Email. Summary. 6. Chatting and Instant Messenger. Understanding Internet Chatting. Chatting Through Your Browser. Chatting in AOL. Using Microsoft Chat. Joining a Chat Room. What Is Instant Messenger? Summary. 7. Participating in Newsgroups and Mailing Lists. Getting Started with Newsgroups. Reading Newsgroup Messages. Composing and Replying to Messages. The Basics of Mailing Lists. Working with Mailing Lists. Online Communication Tips and Tricks. Summary. 8. Using Internet Explorer 6. Why Choose Internet Explorer? Where and How to Get Internet Explorer. Features of Internet Explorer. Setting Your Internet Options. Summary. 9. Using Netscape Navigator 6. Why Choose Netscape Navigator? Where and How to Get Netscape Navigator. Features of Netscape Navigator. Working with the Preferences. Working with Bookmarks. Summary. 10. Using AOL 6. Understanding AOL. Taking a Quick Tour of AOL. Where Can I Get the AOL Software? Summary. 11. Plug-In and Add-On Programs. Understanding Plug-Ins, Java, and Other Programs in Pages. Playing Audio and Video. Downloading and Playing CD-Quality Music (MP3 Files). Summary. 12. Searching. What's a Search Site? Can I Really Search the Whole Web? Where Are the Major Search Sites? Simple Searching by Clicking Categories. Understanding Searches. Phrasing a Simple Search. Phrasing a Serious Search. About Site Searches. Finding People. Summary. 13. Downloading Programs and Files. What's Downloading, Anyhow? Choosing Files You Can Use. Finding Sites That Help You Find Files. Working with Zip Files. Watching Out for Viruses. Downloading Files in AOL. Summary. 14. Enjoying Safe Family Fun and Games. Choosing a Family Starting Point. Important Family Safety Steps. Online Rules for Kids. Resources for Parents. Censoring Web Content. Using AOL's Parental Controls. Summary. 15. Buying and Selling on the Net. Shopping 'Til You Drop. Finding All the Sites Online That Sell What You Want. Buying and Selling Through Online Auctions. Summary. 16. Going Wireless. What Is Wireless Internet/Email? Real-Time Versus Synched. Hardware to Get You Going. Summary. II. USING A FREE WEB-AUTHORING PROGRAM. 17. Understanding Web Authoring. Anatomy of a Web Page. How a Web Page Works. Pictures, Sound, and Other Media. Extensions: Love 'Em!, Hate 'Em! Ways to Organize a Web Site. Summary. 18. Getting Started with a Web Authoring Program. Opening Composer. Exploring the Composer Toolbars. Starting a New Web Page. Saving and Naming Web Page Files. Editing Pages You've Saved. Checking Out Your New Page in a Web Browser. Printing Pages. Summary. 19. Choosing a Title, Text Colors, and Other Page Basics. About Page Properties. Choosing an Effective Page Title. Helping Search Pages Catalog Your Page. Choosing Custom Colors for a Whole Page. Summary. 20. Adding, Editing, and Formatting Text. Understanding Paragraphs and Their Properties. Understanding What Each Paragraph Property Does. Entering Text and Assigning Properties. Aligning and Indenting Text. Editing Your Text. Checking Your Spelling. Tips for Good Text Design. Summary. 21. Formatting Text. Working with Lists. Dressing Up Text with Character Properties. Summary. 22. Organizing Text with Tables and Rules. About Horizontal Lines. About Tables. Summary. 23. Making Links. What's in a Link? What's Linkable? Web Pages. Anchors in Pages. Local Files. Creating New Links. Creating a Signature (Linking to Email). Copying Links from Other Pages. Checking That Links Lead Where They're Supposed To. Editing Links. Delinking Text. Understanding Targets. Creating Targets in a Page. Deleting Targets. Linking to Targets. Creating Links that Download Files. Summary. 24. Using Links to Build a Web Site. The Basic Act: Linking One Page to Another. Linking from One Page to a Target in Another. Site-Design Tips. Summary. 25. Adding Pictures (and Picture Backgrounds). Inserting a GIF or JPEG Image in Composer. Using the Same Image Multiple Times. Deleting an Image. Choosing an Image's Size and Other Properties. Entering Images in Table Cells. Inserting Fancy Bullets and Rules. Using an Image as a Link. Adding a Picture Background. Summary. 26. Editing HTML. Reading an HTML File. Viewing the HTML Source Code of a Document. Using Composer to Insert an HTML Tag. Adding Attributes with the Composer Advanced Edit Buttons. Editing an HTML Source File Directly. About HTML Assistant Pro. Editing Composer Pages in HTML Assistant Pro. Using HTML Assistant Pro to Add Sound and Video to Your Web Pages. Summary. 27. Dividing a Page into Frames. What Does It Take to Make a Frames Page? Using HTML Assistant Pro to Create a Frames Page. Creating Frames in HTML. Specifying the Frame in Which a Linked Page Opens. Accommodating the Frame-Intolerant. Summary. 28. Designing Fill-in-the-Blanks Forms. Understanding Forms. Creating the Visible Form. Summary. 29. Putting Multiple Links in One Picture. About Imagemaps. Server-Side Versus Client-Side. Choosing (or Creating) Images Suited for Imagemapping. Creating an Imagemap. Summary. 30. Publishing Your Page. About Web Servers. How Much Space Do I Need? Preparing to Publish. Publishing from Composer. Viewing Your Page Through the Internet. Testing and Maintaining Your Page Online. Summary. 31. Developing Your Authoring Skills. Getting Your Own Domain (Your Own Dot-Com). Advancing to New Authoring Tools and Techniques. How to Grow as a Web Author. Summary. III. CREATING YOUR OWN WEB GRAPHICS WITH PAINT SHOP PRO. 32. Paint Shop Pro Basics, Tools, and Preferences. Overview of New Features. Overview of the Paint Shop Pro Interface. The Standard Toolbar. The Toolbox. The Menus. Using the Palettes. Setting Preferences. Summary. 33. Opening, Saving, and Printing Files. Opening a File. Importing Files. Saving Files. Exporting Files. Printing Basics. Multi-Image Printing. Summary. 34. Creating Your First Image. Issues to Consider Before Constructing an Image. Creating a Simple Image. Editing a Simple Image. Fixing Errors. Summary. 35. Creating and Working with Selections. Using the Selection Tools. Editing Selections. Summary. 36. Working with Deformations. Using the Deformation Tool. Summary. 37. Drawing Tools and Techniques. The Drawing Tools and Their Options. Drawing Shapes. Drawing Lines. Summary. 38. Painting Tools and Techniques. Painting and Drawing with the Paint Brush Tool. Using the Airbrush Tool. Using the Flood Fill Tool. Learning the Mysteries of the Clone Brush Tool. Summary. 39. Creating Cool Text Effects. Using the Text Tool. Creating Wooden Textured Text. Creating Chrome Text. Adding a Drop Shadow. Adding a Glow to Your Text. Creating Text on a Path. Vector Text. Summary. 40. Applying Filters. Why Filters? Where You Can Get Plug-ins. Using Built-In Filters. Using Third-Party Filters. Summary. 41. Retouching Your Images. Using the Retouching Tools. Retouching to Remove Portions of an Image. Summary. 42. Preparing Your Graphics for the Web. Working with File Formats. Adjusting Color Depth. Using Palettes. Previewing Your Images in SmartSaver. Understanding Dithering. Understanding Anti-aliasing. Summary. 43. Buttons and Seamless Tiles. Creating Buttons. Creating Seamless Tiles. Summary. 44. Animation. Animation Concepts. Why Use Animation? Building an Animation. Using Transitions. Creating Text Effects. Summary. 45. Advanced Animation. Using Layers and Masks in Animation. Summary. Index.

Author Biography

Ned Averill-Snell has been making technology make sense since 1986, when he began writing beginner's documentation for one of the world's largest software companies. After writing manuals and training materials for several major technology companies, Snell switched sides and became a computer journalist, serving as a writer and editor for two national magazines, Edge and Art & Design News. A freelance writer since 1991, Snell has written more than two dozen computer books and hundreds of articles. Between books, Snell works as a professional actor in regional theater, commercials, and industrial films.