Help for Browsing

• How to Browse
• How to Return to the Homepage for a Particular Subject Matter
• Elements of the Homepage
• Options Available on Information Pages
• Recommended Browsers and Plug-Ins

How to Browse

There are a number of ways to browse through the Department's Web site:

• Web Site Header
• Horizontal Navigation Menu
• Vertical Navigation Menu
• End of Page Menu

Web Site Header

In the top left corner, click on the name of the Department to return to the homepage of the Web site.

In the blue menu bar:

• Home returns you to the homepage of the Web site.
  
  
• Site Map provides an overview of all the topics and sections available at the Web site.
  This makes it easier to browse through the contents.
  
  
• Mail displays contact information to reach us.
  Use this feature to submit comments and suggestions.
  
  
• Québec Portal allows you to access the Portal for the Gouvernement du Québec.
  
  
• Search allows you to conduct a full text search within the entire Web site.
  
  
• Français allows you to access contents in French.

Horizontal Navigation Menu

This menu appears on all pages of the Web site below the header. Use the horizontal menu to browse among the areas of interest available on the Web site, up to two levels:

To go to the homepage of a particular subject matter (ex. Department, Fire, Civil Protection, etc.), click on the desired heading.

To select an item under a subject matter, place your cursor on the desired item to display a pull-down menu which indicates the subsections available.

Vertical Navigation Menu

Each vertical menu corresponds to a subject matter and allows you to browse between sections.

When you click on a section, the vertical menu displays all of the related subsections available. When you leave the section, the vertical menu closes.

For example, if you click on Prevention in the vertical menu under Fire, the menu opens up into subsections and displays additional information (Fire Prevention Week, Material, Prevention Tips).

End of Page Menu

All of the subject matters can be accessed from the end of page menu.

The following items can also be accessed:

• Citizen Services Charter,
• Privacy Policy,
• Information regarding the Web site and support staff,
• A link with the Gouvernement du Québec portal (Québec flag),
• A link to explanations about protection of intellectual property rights to contents on the Web site (©).

How to Return to the Homepage for a Particular Subject Matter

To return to the homepage for a particular subject matter, you can:

• click on the horizontal navigation menu for the desired subject matter,
• click on the title for the subject matter above the vertical navigation menu,
• use the links available in the end of page menu.

Elements of the Homepage

The latest Press releases, issued by the Minister or the Department, are displayed on the left side of the homepage, except for the Coroner section, where press releases are displayed in the centre of the Web page. To search for a press release among those that have been issued since January 1998, click on Press releases under Department.

Use the Shortcuts at the top of the centre column of the homepages for each subject matter to go to the contents that are consulted most often.

The Toolbox in the bottom left features a number of options:

• a search engine,
• help for browsing,
• a tool informing the Department that the information searched was not found,
• an easy way to send a page to a friend.

Each day, Did you know? capsules display information related to useful statistics and information.

Options Available on Information Pages

On the right below the horizontal navigation menu, a small box appears beside two possible options:

• Use the Printer Friendly! option to print text without editorial graphics or browsing menus.
  
  
• Use the Related Links option to access links of interest related to the current page. These links are listed at the bottom of the page. This option, however, may not always be available.

Recommended Browsers and Plug-Ins

Use the latest version of your favourite browser.

To take full advantage of the information available at our Web site, download the following plug-ins: