Navigating Through Britannica CD

The Button Bar

Navigation Button Bar

Navigating through Britannica CD is simple when you use the Button Bar. The Button Bar can be found at the top of each Britannica CD screen.

Back

The Back button returns you to any previous searches you have conducted and viewed.

Forward

The Forward button moves forward in your search string. You can use this button after you've returned to the Home Page or previously viewed article.

Home

The Home button returns you to the Britannica CD Home Page so you can begin a new search without closing and reopening the program.

Note: if you have a previous version of Netscape that you use for browsing the Internet, your Home Page may be set to another document.

Reload

The Reload button brings up a fresh screen, removing any highlighting when cutting or pasting earlier information.

Images

The Images button lets you view illustrations such as chemical formulas, maps, or tables that relate to the retrieved article, when they are available.

Open

The Open button allows you to open the CD Source Files (*.htm) you have already viewed in this session. You can also launch other application files from this menu item.

Note: the Reload, Images, and Open buttons are used mostly by the Netscape browser for accessing Internet documents. They have little or no use in Britannica CD.

Print

The Print button displays the Print Box so you can print Britannica documents. For additional information, see Printing, Saving, and Copying.

Find

1. The Find button allows you to locate specific text strings in Britannica articles you have retrieved. When you click on this button, the Find Dialog Box will appear.

2. In the Find Dialog Box, enter the word, phrase, or text string you wish to locate. Unlike the Search feature, Find is limited to the exact string you enter.

3. Choose an Up or Down search direction. If you wish, you can also check the Match Case box to find upper- and lowercase characters exactly as you typed them in the Find box.

4. Click on the Find Next button. Britannica CD will locate all instances of the text or text string in the articles you have already retrieved.

Stop

The Stop button terminates the search and loading of a Britannica CD article or document. You can use this button to stop the loading of a long article. The cancel button on the search gauge also stops a search.

Using the Query Box

A Query Search box is available on the Home Page and at the top of every article.

To search, enter text in the empty box then click the Search button to bring up a Hitlist of articles. Click on any one of these article links to bring up a new page of information.

See How to Search Britannica CD for techniques to use this powerful feature.

Using Links

Links are your primary means of movement throughout the databases. Hyperlinked (colored and underlined) words are links to other articles or locations. They can also link to illustrations or other graphic images such as tables or maps.

To follow a link, place the cursor on the highlighted text. When you place the cursor over the link, the cursor changes into a small hand. Click on the left mouse button to go to the linked article or illustration.

Some standard links are:

Britannica CD next to the Search box. Click here to go to the Home Page.
Help at the top of an article. Click here to get help using the program.
Highlighted items in a search hitlist. Click on these to go to the full article.
[INDEX] in an article. Click on these links to go to the location in the index where your current article is referenced. Read Searching the Index for complete information on this feature.
Index entries. Click on these to go to the article referenced.
Items in a List of Related Articles. Click on these to go to the article.
Cross-references. Click on these to view related articles, index entries, or dictionary definitions.

The default color of a hyperlink is blue. Once you follow the link, it will turn purple. To stop a link in progress, click Stop or press the Esc key.

Using the History List

Britannica CD tracks every page that you view in a history list. A history list makes it easy to go back and forth between articles of interest.

When you choose View History from the Go menu, a window containing your history list appears. Scroll through the list to find an article you want to revisit.

The View History window shows the documents you have already viewed. Highlight the article and click Go to, or double-click on the article. The article page is displayed in the main window, but the View History window remains open so you can select another article as desired.

Using Bookmarks

You can flag any article, search hitlist, or index page with a Bookmark. The bookmark marks the page, just as it does in a physical book. This is a convenient way to set up your own reference system within Britannica CD.

To place a bookmark on a page on the screen, open the Bookmarks menu and choose Add Bookmark. Every page you mark is then added to the bookmark list. A bookmark list is similar to a history list in that it lets you go back to a page you’ve already seen. The difference is that you create this list yourself.

To go to a bookmark, open the Bookmarks menu and choose the page from the bottom portion of the menu. You can also choose Bookmarks, View Bookmarks from the menu line.

When you choose View Bookmarks, a window listing your bookmarks appears. Highlight the article and click Go To, or double-click on the article. The article page displays in the main window, but the View Bookmarks window remains open so that you may select another article.