Quick Tips
The Quick Tips page contains tips to help you find information more quickly and effectively on the About Canada section of the Canada Site.
Things To Look For:
- Site Map - A Site Map is a page full of hyperlinks to the major pages on a Web site. This link is usually found near the top or bottom of the main page. The About Canada section of the Canada Site has a Site Map link at the top of every page.
- Help - A Help page contains information on how best to use a Web site and how to find the most sought-after information.
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Search - A Search engine helps you find information based on words you enter. Some Web sites will have a small text box with the word "Search" beside it; others will have a link to a "Search" page.
- Home - The Home button on a Web site brings you back to the starting page of the site you are on.
Web Browsers
A Web browser is the software program you use to access the World Wide Web. Browsers come with a variety of helpful features. For the most up-to-date information about your browser and a complete tutorial, check your browser's Help menu or go to the Web site of the company that made it.
The Web Browser Toolbar
The row of buttons at the top of your Web browser, known as the toolbar, helps you navigate the Web.
The Back button returns you to the last page you visited before the page you're viewing now. If you have used the Back button, use the Forward button to return to the page you visited after the page you're viewing now.
The Home button on your browser toolbar takes you to whichever home page you have chosen. If you have not chosen a home page yourself, your browser has a default home page.
Reload or Refresh will reload the current page. If a Web page is updated frequently, as may be the case with news or financial data, you may not get the most current information. By reloading the page, the most current data is updated from the Web server.
Print lets you print the current page.
The Stop button stops the browser from loading the current page. It will also stop any animations that are currently displaying on the Web page.
Search connects to search tools on your browser.
Bookmarks or Favorites lets you record the addresses of Web sites you want to revisit. Once you add a URL to your list, you can return to that Web page simply by clicking on the link in your list, instead of retyping the entire address.
The Location Bar
Just under the toolbar, you will see a box labeled "Location", "Go To" or "Address". This is where you enter the address of a Web site you want to visit. After you enter it, press the Return or Enter key to access the site. By clicking the small triangle (down arrow) to the right of the Location box, you will get a drop-down list of the most recent Web sites you have visited. To revisit a Web site, just click on the address.
The Menu Bar
Located along the top of the browser window, the menu bar offers a selection of things you can do with a Web page, such as saving it to your hard drive or increasing the size of the text on a page. Many of the choices are the same as the buttons on the toolbar below. Click once on a word to access the drop-down menu, then click on the selection you want to make.
The Status Bar
At the bottom of your Web browser is the status bar. You can watch the progress of Web page transactions, such as the address of the site you are contacting, whether the host computer has been contacted and the size and number of files to be downloaded.
The Scroll Bar
The vertical bar to the right of the browser lets you scroll down and up a Web page. You can do this by placing your arrow pointer on the up or down arrows and holding down your left mouse key. You can also place the pointer on the slider control, hold down the left mouse key and drag the slider. If a Web page is too wide to fit your screen, a horizontal scroll bar will appear at the bottom on your browser. This scroll bar works the same way.
Browser Keyboard Shortcuts
| Feature |
Shortcut |
Description |
| Find Text |
Ctrl+F |
To search for text on any Web page, hit Ctrl+F. A window will appear and you can enter the text you want to search for. |
| Open URL |
Ctrl+O |
To open a new URL, hit Ctrl+O. A window will appear and you can enter the URL you wish to visit. |
| Print Page |
Ctrl+P |
To print the page you're viewing, hit Ctrl+P. |
| New Browser Window |
Ctrl+N |
To open a new browser window, hit Ctrl+N. A new window will appear on top of the one you're currently viewing, and it will load the same page as the one before. |
| Change Text Size |
Alt+V |
To change the text size, first hit Alt+V. You will see the View menu of your browser drop down, now hit X, and then you can hit the following keys to select the corresponding font size.
G - Largest
L - Larger
M - Medium
S - Smaller
A - Smallest |
| Go Backward |
Alt+Left Arrow |
If you want to go through the previous pages you've visited, hit Alt+Left Arrow. You will be brought one page at a time backwards through your current visited pages list (History). |
| Go Forward |
Alt+Right Arrow |
If you've gone backwards through the pages you've visited and want to go forward, hit Alt+Right Arrow. You will be brought one page at a time forward through your current visited pages list (History). |
| Bookmark |
Ctrl+D |
To create a bookmark for a Web page, hit Ctrl+D while on the desired page. The link will now be in your bookmark list. |
| Refresh Page |
Ctrl+R |
To refresh the current page, hit Ctrl+R. This will ensure you get the latest copy of the page. |
| Close Browser |
Alt+F4 |
To close your browser, hit Alt+F4 or Ctrl+W. The top-most window on your screen will close. |
Some Quick Browser Tricks
As you go from Web page to Web page and Web site to Web site, your browser remembers where you've been. This is called your History. This button is probably on your browser's toolbar, but it depends on which browser you have. There you'll find a list of all the Web pages you have visited during a specified period of time. To revisit a page, just click on the address.
Another way to move between Web pages with your browser is by clicking the right mouse button. A pop-up menu will appear and you can choose to move forward or back.
Speed Up Downloads
While text downloads quickly, images can really slow things down. There are two ways to speed things up. Since text appears first, after it loads, click the Stop button. The images won't appear, but should you want to look at an image, use the right mouse button to click on the image icon, then select View Image.
You can view Web sites in text-only mode by turning off the auto-loading of images function under the Options menu of your browser.
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