Helpful Information For New Computer Users

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Use the mouse.

• Pointing the mouse.
  The mouse is the part of you computer that you use to interact with, or control, the program that lets you use the internet. Move your mouse around on a flat surface and notice the pointer on the screen moving around in the same motion as you are moving the mouse. That is all there is to moving the mouse and its pointer on the screen. You can also use your mouse for control of clicks and drags. There are three type of mouse pointers you will see on all web pages.
  • Arrow- This is what your mouse pointer is when it is not positioned over something you can interact with.
  • Pointing Hand- This is what you see when the pointer is positioned over a link that you can click on or over the drag bar.
  • Cursor- This is what you see when the pointer is positioned over text that is not a link or it is positioned over a text area that allows you to use the keyboard to type.
    Note: Sometimes you can click on a picture when your pointer is an arrow.
• Dragging the mouse.
  If there is more information on the web page than will fit on your screen you will see a drag bar on the right side of the page. One way to see the rest of the page, above or below the part of the page you are looking at, is to move the drag bar button. To move it, put your mouse pointer over it and hold down the mouse button you use for clicking. Now, with the mouse button held down, drag the drag bar button up or down. You will see the page move to follow your action. You can also click on the bar above or below the drag bar button to view above or below the part of the page you are looking at. Another way to move the page is to press the up/down arrow keyboard keys. It is a bit confusing at first, but practice a little bit on this page and refer to these directions when you are unsure of how to do something.

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Click to see more things.

• Click on words, some pictures, and menu items to see more information related to them. If your mouse has more than one button, click (press and release quickly) the left button to follow a link.
  Here's how you do it.
  • Move your mouse around on a flat surface and notice the pointer on the screen moving around in the same motion as you are moving the mouse.
  • Now, move the pointer so that it is over the link below which is the word" here ". It takes a little practice to make the pointer go where you want it to. See how the pointer changes from an arrow to a pointing finger when it is directly over the link? When you see the pointing finger you are ready to click. Click here to practice. If you hit the link correctly, you will see the page move up to the list. Click the link "Clicking" to move the page back down again.
  • Did you miss it? Click and release the button quickly and smoothly. If you missed the link, try again. Practice clicking back and forth between the links "Clicking" and "here". It is important to relax your whole arm, wrist, hand, and fingers to be a successful clicker. If you continue to miss the links, let your arm hang down and gently shake your hand to help relax your whole arm.
• Just as you clicked on a link to get to this web page, you can click on words and pictures to go to other information. Clickable words are usually underlined and a blue color, but not always. Pictures are links sometimes. You can try it out anytime you want to. When you are browsing the Web, try clicking on pictures and words you find in lists too. To move the page up or down, press the up or down arrows on your keyboard. You can also drag the bar down on the right side of the page. To drag, click and hold (click, but do not release) the mouse button on the drag bar and pull it down or up by dragging you mouse down or up.

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Use the keyboard.

You can type something into the web browser address box or into a web page with the keyboard, but you have to do two things before you type.

• You must put the pointer over the area where you want to place the text.
• You must click in the box to actually place the cursor in the text box.

Now you can type in the box. Then press the enter key to activate whatever you typed.
Note: Sometimes you must delete text that is already in the text box. You can do this with either the backspace key or the delete key. Try this by typing www.yourguide.com into the address location text box at the top of the screen. Now press the enter key to activate your text. After you see what happens click the "Back" arrow to return to this page.

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Find something on the internet.

There are four ways to find things on the Internet when you start at YourGuide.

• Use the eight pointed YourGuide logo with blue dots (buttons), found on every subject page, which is YourGuide's way to present you with information considered to be the best on the internet for particular topics. Try it here .
• Use the Top 40 page which is a fun way to just surf the net rather than search for a specific thing. Try it here .
• Click on the "MORE" button in the center of the eight pointed YourGuide logo. This action will bring up additional (perhaps thousands) of links to information related to the subject of the YourGuide page you are on. Try it here on the Themeparks page.
• Use the search engine box that accepts your typed words and will search for your information reviewed by YourGuide or search the entire open internet. Try it here .
  • When you are searching for something, you can type your request into the text box to the right of the compass rose. After you type your request (one or two words is best), press ENTER on your keyboard, or click the Search button next to the text box you typed in.
    • If you see another compass rose, just click on any topic to follow the link to information.
    • If you see a list of choices, click on the first part of any choice to follow that link to information.
    • If you get no results from your search, click the spot next to The Web and try your search again.

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Definitions

• Web Page - A document written in HTML, that allows one to interactively gain access (mouse click) to other resources by way of active links.

• Link or Hyperlink - a reference in a Web Page that refers to another Web page or some other kind of resource. Links are often defined by a color, colored line, or box, but not always. When you pass your mouse pointer over a link, the pointer will change. When you click on the link, you jump to what the link describes.

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) - is the language with which Web pages are written. Originally invented by Tim Berners-Lee while at CERN, HTML is undergoing changes and improvements as time passes.

• Internet - A worldwide network of computers and people.

• Favorite / Bookmark -One entry in a list of web pages that you have saved to return to at another time.

• Follow this link to an extensive Internet Glossary
• Follow this link to an extensive Email Glossary

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Share web pages with Email.

You can send an email message to someone at the same time you look at a web page. There are several ways to send email, but you must have your email program set up first. Your Internet service provider can help you set up your Email program.

• From a web page you want to share with someone, click and hold on the "File" menu at the top left of the screen (not in the web page window, but at the very top left of the monitor screen). With your mouse button held down, follow the menu until you see the word "Send" or "Send Mail". You may have to follow an arrow with your mouse pointer to another menu depending on which browser software you are using. Release the mouse button when the pointer is over the "Send" menu item. Your Email program will then open and you can enter the address of the person you want to send a message to.
• Some web pages have a form that you can enter the name and email address of the person you want to send it to. Click here for an example.
• Sometimes the web page you are looking at will allow you to send a message to the web site "webmaster" by filling out a form within the page. Click here for a YourGuide site example.
• You can use your email program directly too.
  • Open your email program.
  • Enter the address information of the person it is going to be sent to.
  • Place a few key words in the subject text area (something like "Check out this cool web site!").
  • Type a message if you want to or just copy the whole address of the web page, from the address location bar located at the top of the screen, into the message area of your email progam. It should look something like this
    http://www.yourguide.com
  • Click "Send".

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Use Bookmarks and Favorites.

Bookmarks and Favorites are collections of links that lead to web pages that you have saved. You can easily share these pages with someone at a later time. When you save, or add a web page as a bookmark or favorite, the address and title of the page are kept in a list so that you can find them again without searching the Web.
Add web page addresses to your Bookmark or Favorite list.

• First find a web page that you want to return to sometime.
• Now move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen and place it over the "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" menu name.
• Click and hold down the mouse button on the menu name while you drag the pointer to the menu item "Add".
• Release the mouse button. If you have other options at this point, it is up to you to decide how to follow them.

Look at your bookmarks or favorites and return to a web page address you saved.

• Move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen and place it over the "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" menu name.
• Click and hold down the mouse button on the menu name while you drag the pointer down the list until you place it over the name of the web page you want to visit again.
• Release the mouse button when the name of the web page you want to visit again is highlighted. This action will make the browser software find and open that page for you.

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Put your bookmarks online so that you can access them from any online computer.

When you start collecting web pages in a favorites list, you will at some point want to look at your list from another computer (at a friend or relatives, school, library, cafe, or airport). A good way to share your favorite web pages with others and have them available for you to use, no matter where you are, is to copy them to an online bookmarks service. One such service is called MURL.com and is found on the web here . Go to their web page and follow the instructions if you are interested in this service.

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Avoid mistakes.

The best way to stay away from unwanted situations on the internet is to know what you want to do and act deliberatly.

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Shop wisely.

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You will see advertising designed to trick you.

Advertising pays for much of the expense of many of the web pages you will see as your surf the web. Most of the ads are straightforward and invite you to learn more about the product by clicking on the ad. If you click on the ad, you browser software will leave the page you were looking at and show you a new web page that relates to the ad. This is usually harmless and only requires you to click the back arrow to return to the previous page. But, clicking on some ads can lead you down a tricky trail of web pages designed to trap the unsuspecting web surfer. If you do not want to be taken advantage of by slick advertising follow these simple guidelines.

• When you are learning how to surf the web, disregard advertising and flashing or moving suggesstions to click on something, like a bouncing ball or skipping monkey.
• Only click on ads that you are truely interested in.
• Ignore messages in boxes that tell you your computer speed is low or can be improved (this is a ploy that attempts to get you to click on a link to their website).

Enjoy your web surfing experience from the links you find at YourGuide. The links you will find here are reviewed and only allow for friendly advertising (ads that will not "trick" you into clicking on them). If you see misleading ads at a website linked to YourGuide, please tell us by clicking on any Contact Us so we can change the link to a website that does not use dubious ads.

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Maintain your privacy.

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A few words of warning -

Exlporing the net is an adventure that can lead you to unexpected places. As you become familiar with the internet, you will begin to explore outside of the prescreened links of YourGuide. Once you leave the YourGuide family of web pages, you may see anything imaginable and some things that are unimaginable to you. Most web pages you experience are acceptable to the general public, but some are adult oriented, and a few others display unacceptable and immoral subjects. If you are searching outside of YourGuide, be prepared to click the "Back" button or close your browser window if you don't like what you see. If you have a difficult time having a pleasant surfing session because of objectionable material you find, consider using web page screening software (the blue "software" word is a link you can click on) that rejects unacceptable pages before you see them.
Remember , once you leave the YourGuide family of web pages, you will be viewing the open world wide web and may encounter unacceptable material for family viewing.

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