*Following a link* literally tells the computer that you are finished with reading the Web page (file) which is currently displayed on your computer screen and instead you wish to read a different file, which is located at the address embedded within the link itself. You do not have to tell the computer where to go to retrieve the file you wish to see - the link contains this information and so does it for you! This particular bit of *computer magic* is what makes the World Wide Web so easy to use.
Lynx was also the browser that I learned to use first. Think of Lynx as a standard-transmission car (yes, the one with the clutch and stick shift!). Lynx is bare-bones basic but gets the job done with no frills. Once you have Lynx down, those graphical browsers (like Netscape) will be like cars with automatic transmission. You know, the *point [the car] and go* kind!
*Words in plain type are NOT links.
*Use your DOWN ARROW to move from link to link, progressing from left to right *down* a page.
*If you overshoot, use your UP ARROW to go back *up* link by link until you get to the one you wanted.
2) or you can hit M for Main and return to your *home page*from anywhere on the Web, with one command, no matter how many pages you have viewed since the last time you were there. (Read more about *home pages* below.)
3) or you can hit the LEFT ARROW key to go *back* to the previous Web
page (which you had just linked from).
*This is true even after you just hit M to go back to Main.The LEFT ARROW key
will take you straight back to wherever on the Web you were before!
(To go back further quickly in Lynx, hit the "delete" key to bring up the "history list" page.)
4) or you can enter a Web address of your own choosing called a *URL* (to go to a page not linked from that Web page).
A World Wide Web address is called a *URL* for Universal Resource Locator.
You can think of URLs like postal addresses. Instead of having several lines
for street address, city, state, and zip code, a URL is all one line and
contains similar information. Here is a sample URL and what it means:
I decided that I wanted type in a Web address not linked from this page. So
I typed in *G* for *Go*. Lynx then asked for the address which I wanted it to use to take me to this page with this prompt:
The URL which I typed in at the prompt is for my World Wide Web home page.
Private individuals, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies all have home pages. All that is required is access to one's own Web space. (I would not have a home page were it not for the fact that my fiance and I have our own commercial Web site for which we pay *rent* on a regular basis. More people have email accounts than have actual Web pages as well.)
My home page is likely atypical for the average individual's home page because mine is intended as a working reference librarian's home page. Here I keep links to sites I find useful in doing everyday ready reference work. (I keep most of my links to sites only of interest to me on the *home page* of my actual computer at home, not accessible via the Web.)
Now look at another portion of my home page, as seen in Lynx. It shows the term [Photo of Clif and Margaret]. Here Lynx is telling me that there was a graphic. This particular graphic happens to be the photograph of myself and my fiance. It is the only graphic on my Web page. (If I had not known what the graphic was already, Lynx would not have told me UNLESS it had an alt tag, which this one does. If the graphic had not had an alt tag, it might have said [INLINE] or [IMAGE] instead and left me none the wiser.)
Now, I wish to go from my home page to the search engine AltaVista's page and see what it looks like in Lynx. I can do this by using my DOWN ARROW KEY to move from link to link on my home page until AltaVista is highlighted. Then I hit the return key (OR I could hit the RIGHT ARROW KEY) to *follow this link* to AltaVista's page.
[AltaVista Search]
Search [the Web] for documents in [any language]
_________________________________________________________________
[(*)]search [( )]refine [Submit]
[Help] . [Preferences] . [New Search] . [Advanced Search]
AltaVista em [Portugujs] y en [Espaqol]
_________________________________________________________________
[Our Network] | [Add/Remove URL] | [Feedback] | [Help]
[Advertising Info] | [About AltaVista] | [Jobs] | [Graphics]
_________________________________________________________________
[Disclaimer] | [Privacy Statement]
[DIGITAL] Copyright 1997. All Rights Reserved
[(NORMAL LINK) Use right-arrow or to activate.]
Arrow keys: Up and Down to move. Right to follow a link; Left to go back.
H)elp O)ptions P)rint G)o M)ain screen Q)uit /=search [delete]=history list
*If you are ever confused about where the cursor is or what you are
supposed to do now, check this hint line.
File that you are currently viewing
Linkname: AltaVista: Main Page
URL: http://www.altavista.digital.com/
Owner(s): None
size: 33 lines
mode: forms mode
Link that you currently have selected
Linkname: [ AltaVista]
Filename:
http://www.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=tmpl&v=about.
html
Commands: Use arrow keys to move, '?' for help, 'q' to quit, '<-' to go back.
Arrow keys: Up and Down to move. Right to follow a link; Left to go back.
H)elp O)ptions P)rint G)o M)ain screen Q)uit /=search [delete]=history list
Choose a subject
* About Lynx
* Lynx Users Guide
* Key-stroke commands
* Help on HTML
* HTML Quick Reference Guide
* Help on URL's
HTML is a language that gives commands to the computer such as to draw a horizontal line here or center this headline there, etc.
A URL tells the computer to use http (hypertext transmission protocol) to reference the search engine AltaVista's Web site, that is to link the user so that the user can actually use the search engine at the AltaVista page. You do not need to know how to compose HTML. But it is useful to recognize it when you see it. It also tells the computer when something needs to be in larger type, like a paragraph heading or subheading. Think of it as an editing tool.
E)ditor : NONE
D)ISPLAY variable : NONE
B)ookmark file : lynx_bookmarks.html
F)TP sort criteria : By Filename
P)ersonal mail address : NONE
S)earching type : CASE INSENSITIVE
C)haracter set : ISO Latin 1
V)I keys : OFF
e(M)acs keys : OFF
K)eypad as arrows or Numbered links: Numbers act as arrows
preferred lan(G)uage : en
U)ser mode : Novice
Select capital letter of option line, '>' to save, or 'r' to return to Lynx.
Command:
There are 76 lines, or approximately 2 pages, to print.
You have the following print choices.
Please select one:
Save to a local file
Mail the file
Print to the screen
Commands: Use arrow keys to move, '?' for help, 'q' to quit, '<-' to go back.
Arrow keys: Up and Down to move. Right to follow a link; Left to go back.
H)elp O)ptions P)rint G)o M)ain screen Q)uit /=search
Lynx is fast, even if the screen is somewhat more difficult to read. (It becomes easier to read with practice.) The most difficult part is getting used to figuring out where on the screen the cursor is. Once you have that down, Lynx is a snap!
Follow the instructions on the screen and type lynx at the login prompt. Hit the enter key when you get the password prompt. This procedure allows you to anonymously login and use the Lynx browser at the University of Kansas (which, of course, developed Lynx in the first place). When you are done, type q (for Quit). Lynx will politely ask you if you are sure and you either type Y (for yes) or hit the enter key. The telnet session then logs out.
Or, if your browser automatically calls up your telnet program when presented with a telnet URL, simply follow this link to login at the University of Kansas and experience Lynx for yourself!