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| BASIC ONLINE FAQS | |||||||||
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This list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) is designed to help those who are new to the web or infrequent users who need a little prompting.
For detailed personal tech support you have several options; ask a friend or coworker, call or e-mail the appropriate supplier, search all the on line web sites, try a News Group dedicated to the subject in question, pay someone to solve your problem for you, or, if all else fails, read the manual (something especially abhorrent to Mac users).
No matter how much you want or need to solve the problem it isn't going to work till you can approach it with a calm, clear mind. |
Every machine and software application has its own little quirks.
Please note: The suggestions provided in this article are based on personal experience.
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Return to Table of Contents |
| 2) Saving the location of a page Typing long, arcane strings of text is not normal for most of us. Only a few years ago most people had never even heard of the web, now (like barcodes on product packaging) addresses are everywhere... on business cards, billboards, the back walls of race tracks and stadiums. Most browsers have a function to save the addresses of your favorite locations. In Safari its called a Bookmark. If your browser does not have this feature there are several shareware programs out there that do the same thing. In Safari there is a Bookmark Menu, a Bookmark Bar and Top Sites. The second selection on the Bookmarks menu is Add Bookmark. This saves the URL address (shown in the type field) to the Bookmark location you choose. The address appears in the location you choose. The entries on the Bookmark Bar behave like buttons and work best when the names are limited to less than 18 characters. Top Sites saves them as a page. On the Menu or in a folder they will appear at the bottom of the list and can be arranged as you wish later. Add Folders allows you to organize your addresses in nested folders. You can arrange the Bookmarks in any order you wish by opening the Bookmarks Sidebar (use the book icon or Show All Bookmarks command). Drag them and wait for a horizontal line to appear in the desired location before letting go. Safari does not currently provide automatic alphabetizing of bookmarks, as some browsers have in the past. Return to Table of Contents |
| 3) Saving the pages to disk Pages containing text that you want to keep for future reference are easily Saved to any location you choose. However, pictures will be replaced by [image] and tables will need some work in your word processor. The tables are read horizontally, line by line with a varying number of spaces between columns. Converting text to Adobe's Acrobat format is built into the Mac OS. Saving a web page with images, formatting and active text links is a simple process. Choose the Print command. At the bottom of the dialogue box is a button for creating a .pdf file. There are several choices, depending on your individual software configuration.
Sometimes its helpful to make a Screen Dump or Screen Capture of that portion of the page for reference, like the example above. You can use the key sequences built-in to every Mac, Shift-Command-3 for the entire visible screen area. If you wish to capture only a portion of the screen, use Shift-Command-4. The cursor changes to cross hairs, which you drag and then click, to choose an area. After a pause that freezes your mouse and an audible click, a file named "Picture" followed by a number arrears on the main level of your harddrive or Desktop. Older OS versions created PICT or PDF files. The newest version uses the PNG format. You can do the same thing on the PC by using the Print Screen Button. If you hold down the ALT key along with the Print Screen, the image will contain only the active window. Once upon a time, this command sent the image directly to your printer (hence the name). Now, however, Print Screen only puts the visible display image on the Window's Clipboard - and that means only one image at a time. If you hit Print Screen again it replaces the previous image with a new one. To keep the image you must Paste it into a document. The Window's Paint program is handy for this and allows you to save it in one of several formats. (Don't forget to open a New or existing document before attempting to Paste the image.) After you paste the image you can go back and do the next one. There are "Third Party" software utility programs for Mac and PC that give detailed control over the process and some allow custom naming during the process. On either platform, some dialog boxes and menus can be captured, along with the cursor. There are many dialogs and menus that cannot be captured this way. Some of the utility programs can capture these interface parts. They also have helpful features to control the size and file format of the captured image. Return to Table of Contents |
| 4) Text or Source? When you save something you have a choice of formats. Text is the one most used for saving web pages. If you want to maintain the HTML code of a page you can save it as Source. Newer browsers give you many additional choices. Some allow you to save linked documents and even entire web sites. In some e-mail messages an attachment that is not a text document (such as a utility program or a jpeg file) needs to be handled as Source when it is Attached and when it is Saved. One reason files are encapsulated in .hqx, .bin, or .zip is so they can be handled as text during their travels through the web and still retain their non-text functionality. More on this below. Return to Table of Contents |
| 5) Downloading Files and Pictures Hyperlinks (underlined names) and pictures are saved separately from the main page text. You can click on the links to see what happens. Some automatically download, some take you to another page where you need to make choices. Once in awhile you get the actual programming code. This usually happens only when your browser opens an application, image or document's coding instead of downloading it. Hold the mouse button down and the Control key, with the cursor over the link or picture until you get a popup menu. If all you see is Forward and Back the item cannot be downloaded. You generally have the option to Save the File/Image or the Address (Location or Link) to the location of your choice. Return to Table of Contents |
| 6) Opening downloaded files and Pictures Most native files, such as InDesign, PageMaker, Quark Xpress, etc., require a working copy of the program that created them. The Mac OS now has Preview and TextEdit (SimpleText) for viewing many frequently exchanged file formats. Double-clicking on the file icon should work... or you will get a dialog asking what program you want to use. Programs like Freehand and Illustrator can export and open EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) and other "vector" art files. PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements, Painter, and other "bit map," pixel based, photo editing programs can open most picture file formats. Canvas can handle There are also Shareware "Viewers" available for PICT, JPEG, and GIF files. Programs like Acrobat, Flash and PowerPoint create files that run with their free Reader/Player versions. Remember that clicking OK to dismiss a warning message in many small programs does not Quit the application. Look at the Finder Menu or Dock bar for open applications. If you have limited RAM memory, you don't want lots of unused programs running. Return to Table of Contents |
| 7) File "archive" formats All files are text. They contain coding that the individual program uses to create special formatting (margins, type faces, italics, etc.) and images. File extensions, three characters following a period at the end of the file name, are how most programs identify particular kinds of data files. Add an extension to a PC file and watch the icon change - even if it isn't the right file type.
Most of the Mac files available for downloading are in a double compression format; in a Self Expanding Archive (.sea) format, within a .hqx file. This allows the transfer of Mac files over PC and UNIX machines as text, without losing the resource information. The Mac is usually smart enough to reed files without them or you may have to locate the proper application by hand (see below for details). If you are sending a Mac file to a location (such as a service bureau) where they may be using a PC or UNIX server to download Mac files, the safest solution is to encapsulate it using DropStuff.
Mac OS X's Finder now gives you the ability to make archives easily from its Edit menu. Choose the item or items and use the Compress command the create a .zip archive.
If the Resource Fork is lost or damaged, you and the software can still identify the file type. The icon may appear as a generic document instead of an MS Word icon, or as a default chosen by your browser (example: SimpleText or Netscape icons on a JPEG file). Repair Utilities like Disk First Aid may report Errors such as the Bundle Bits are missing or Flags are set wrong, or something similar and fix them for you. It's not a "big Deal." Any of these archived files can be opened manually by first opening the appropriate utility. The .sea extension means it is a Self Expanding Archive. Just double click and follow directions.
With files going from a Mac to a PC (DOS or Windows) there are usually some preferences that need to be set. MacBinary format cannot be read by most PCs so make sure this option is turned off. Some of the automatic Preference Options may or may not help. If you are compressing GEDCOM files in MacZip turn off the options to automatically remove line breaks and change file names. With these and other files you may need to experiment. Archives save (export) a copy of the file to your disk and maintain the original within the archive. They are smaller than the working version and make good backup copies. If you accidentally Delete the file inside the archive, close the window WITHOUT saving changes and then reopen it. Return to Table of Contents |
| 8) Frames or no frames A Frame is a part of a web page that works independently. Some browsers can understand and display frames, some cannot. Some machines don't have enough resources (RAM memory, monitor size, display resolution, etc.) to allow practical use of frames. Many sites have entire duplicate web sites for different browsers as well as frame and non-frame versions.
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| 9) Sending files with your e-mail First of all - DON'T use the attachment process to Forward email messages. Use the Forward command, and PLEASE remove all the excess "garbage", like big lists of addresses and routing information, this cuts down on the list of names the spammers have to work with and your recipient doesn't have to wade through screens of junk to get to the message. With text you can Copy and Paste it into the text of your e-mail document. But save this for small sections that don't need to be formatted in a layout program, or recipients that can't receive attachments (Juno.com, ROOTS lists, etc.). The text of your message is "text with line breaks" and will require a great deal of extra work removing all those pesky Return characters. If you are sending text for incorporation into another document, a picture, or other type of file it must be sent as an Attachment. Check with your documentation for details.
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| 10) Receiving files in your e-mail You generally have two options for displaying your e-mail document; one with the attachments as links, and one with them "in line" or viewable within the text of the e-mail. This is a user customizable feature. The attachment must be separated from the message.
Outlook (not the same program as Outlook Express) on the Mac allows you to double-click on the attached file to open it or chose a place to save it. Return to Table of Contents |