APRIL TUTOR ■
NETSCAPE 6
customising
netscape
If you’ve installed Netscape 6 then you know there are plenty of improvements that you’ll
want to take advantage of. You can configure this feature-packed new release – includ-
ing the interface and browsing options – so it works your way. Here’s how it’s done.
he latest version of Netscape’s
T integrated Internet access pack-
age is more than an update; it’s
a total rewrite. With this level of
rewrite comes a few bugs and back-steps,
but Netscape 6 also brings a significant
new level of customisation possibilities.
You can tailor this version of Netscape to
a greater degree than any other Internet
access software currently available. All
aspects of Netscape 6 have been redone,
but we will restrict this discussion to the
browser and email components.
A WHOLE NEW LOOK
The first thing you notice about Netscape
6 is that it has a more modern look. But
this look is just the beginning. You can
change the appearance of the Netscape
i n t e rface by installing various themes,
which can radically alter Netscape’s per-
sonality.
If you click on View | Apply Theme |
G et New The mes , y ou a r e ta k en t o
N e t sc ap e ’ s We b s i t e ( h t t p : / / h om e .
netscape.com/ themes), where addition-
al themes are available for download.
You can also create your own themes,
changing window colours and even lay-
outs. You can modify the sound effects
and even the warning messages produced
by various tasks. You can find more infor-
mation on creating themes at http://home.
netscape.com/themes/createtheme.html.
90 April 2001
As attractive as the new Modern theme
is, there are a few glitches that can pop
up when you’re using it. For example,
the browser attempts to complete URLs
automatically as you enter them, based
Figure 1: Netscape 6 has a more modern,
sophisticated looking layout.
www.DITnet.co.ae
on your browsing history. That feature is
controlled by a button in the dialog you
access via Edit | Preferences | Naviga-
tor | Smart Browsing. Although you can
see the description of the auto-complete
button, the button itself isn’t there! If you
drag the bottom of the window down,
making it larger, the button comes into
view and you can activate this helpful
feature.
THE SIDEBAR MINI BROWSER
The sec o nd t hing you no ti ce a bout
Netscape 6 is the My Sidebar panel at the
left side of the window. The sidebar is
effectively a mini browser, offering access
to dozens of Web pages designed to fit
this narrow format.
The Search tab shows the power of the
sidebar. Search results appear in the side-
bar, letting you select a link that then dis-
plays in the main window. Thus you can
try other possibilities easily, without los-
ing track of the original results. You don’t
have to enter the search in the tab, either.
The field where you would normally enter
a URL now serves as a search keyword
field as well. The Search tab in the side-
bar is activated when you enter a search
term and results are displayed in the side-
b a r. You can change the engine that
Netscape uses for these on-the-fly search-
es by clicking on Edit | Preferences and
selecting Navigator | Internet Search.
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 ■ APRIL TUTOR
NETSCAPE 6

Going beyond appearance, Netscape 6

lets you customise the sidebar area – a
very powerful feature. You can access
key information without abandoning the
Web page in your main window just by
clicking a tab. Clicking on Tabs shows
you a range of installed sidebar tabs; you
decide which to display. You can also
customise the sidebar by installing addi-
tional tabs.
You are not restricted to the tabs includ-
e d w i t h N e ts c a p e , e it h e r. S u r f t o
http://search.netscape.com/mysidebar.tm
pl and you’ll find hundreds of addition-
al tabs. You can even create your own side-
bar tabs if, for example, you want to
improve information flow to a corpora-
tion’s employees and customers. See “Tai-
lor Netscape 6 for your Company.”
You may find that you’ve chosen so
many tabs that they crowd the sidebar
window and aren’t easily distinguished.
You can double the amount of space avail-
able by displaying a different set of tabs
in the mail window than you do in the
browser windows.
Figure 2: You can modify the appearance and structure of Netscape 6’s windows by applying various
REMEMBERING PERSONAL themes.
I N F O R M AT I O N
Netscape 6 also can remember your per-
sonal information and fill out Web forms idate all of your email accounts (as long guides you through account setup, and
automatically. The Form Manager (click as they’re accessible via POP or IMAP). you can check all of your mail without
on Edit | Preferences and select Advanced In the mail window, click on Edit | Mail leaving the Netscape window.
| Forms to activate and edit stored infor- | New Account Settings and you will see AOL’s purchase of Netscape means AOL
mation) creates a table of your personal a button marked New Account. A wizard Instant Messenger and Buddy List func-
i n f o rmation and how that inform a t i o n
maps to the forms displayed at Web sites.
Right click on any page that contains a
form and you can save the form data you
have entered or fill out the form based
on information you have already stored.
Netscape includes a nice security feature,
displaying all the form data – even pieces
that an unscrupulous Web designer may
have hidden on the form – so you can see
(and control) how much personal infor-
mation will be sent.
Netscape also offers a password man-
ager that can store your passwords for
restricted sites. This is optional, of course,
and if more than one person uses your
computer, you can protect the stored pass-
words by clicking on Tasks | Privacy and
Security | Password Manager | Encrypt
Sensitive Information.When a Web site
asks for your password, you give Netscape
your decryption code and the password
manager fills in the password.

MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS, INSTANT

M E S S AG E S
Many people have more than one email
account to keep track of. Netscape 6 Figure 3: My Sidebar allows quick access to the Web mini-pages you select.
makes this easier by letting you consol-

www.DITnet.co.ae ■ www.PCmag-mideast.com April 2001 91

APRIL TUTOR ■
NETSCAPE 6 FOR YOUR COMPANY
Creating your own sidebar tabs
lets you provide quick access to
important information for your
c u st o m e r s a n d e mp lo y e e s .
Remember to keep display e d
i n fo r m ation brief and gra p h i c s
small enough for the sidebar win-
d ow (you’re sa fe st if you ke e p
things no wider than 120 pixels),
but other than that, there are no
re strictions on what you can
include.
You can USE CDD, DOM, HTML 4,
MIME, RDF and XML in a sidebar
tab. In fact, using meta refresh
instructions is ideal for keeping
your tab updated. Use the tar-
get=‘content’ tag in any links on
tions are now tightly integrated into
Netscape. In fact, the Buddy List is avail-
able as a tab in the sidebar, so you can
be notified when friends are online and
communicate with them even if you don’t
have the AOL software installed.
PUTTING COOKIES ON A DIET
The new Cookie Manager gives you much
tighter control over cookies (bits of code
that Web sites place on your system to be
retrieved later; cookies are often used to
collect information about you). You can
designate which Web sites are allowed
to store cookies on your system.
If you prefer, you can instruct Netscape
to learn your cookie preferences. Click
on Edit|Preferences and select Advanced
| Cookies, then click on Warn me before
storing a cookie. When a site tries to store
a new cookie or update an existing cook-
ie, Netscape asks if you want to permit
it. If you tell Netscape to remember that
decision, you will never be asked again
about cookie settings or updates fro m
that site; Netscape handles the process
automatically.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS
Netscape 6 does not store your history
information by default. Should you want
to be able to see “that page I went to last
Thursday,” click on Edit | Pre f e re n c e s
and select Navigator | History. You can
then set the number of days for which his-
tory information should be retained.
Another default setting gathers the
a d d resses of all email messages you
receive and adds them to your address
92 April 2001
NETSCAPE 6
the tab, so that the link is acti-
vated in the main window.
You install your new tab using
the JavaScript addPanel method.
Surf to http:// h o m e . n e ts c a p e
.com/sidebar/how.html for more
details on creating your own side-
bar tab.
Creating your own theme is also
a great way to tailor Netscape 6
for your organisation. You can go
even further in creating your own
version of Netscape 6 (even pack-
aging your own installation pro-
g ram) by using the Client Cus-
tomization Kit available free at
http://home.netscape.com/brows
ers/6/cck.
book, which is great if you expect to write
back to most of the people who send you
mail. But if you are on a lot of mailing
lists, your address book can become clut-
tered quickly. That may not seem like a
YOUR SEARCH RANGE
The Search tab built into My Side-
bar is a handy way to locate infor-
mation on the Web, but some pop-
ular search engines (such as North-
ern Ligh t and Ya hoo!) are n ’ t
included. You can add additional
search engines to the tab, though,
and here’s how.
Macintosh users will be familiar
with Sherlock, a search format that
allows a common interface to many
different Web sites. You can add
any search engine to the Netscape
sidebar as long as you can find a
Sherlock (SRC) file for that engine.
A g ood pl a ce t o l o ok is
h t t p : // w w w. a p p l e-d o n u ts . c o m
/sherlocksearch, where you will
find Sherlock files for a number of
search sites that Netscape didn’t
include.
Once you have downloaded the
file, you will have to expand it from
its compressed form. Because Sher-
l o ck is a product of the Apple
world, the files are in StuffIt, rather
than Zip, format. You’ll need a util-
www.DITnet.co.ae
problem, but when you start to address
a new email, the address auto-complete
feature presents you with a long list of
unwanted addresses rather than those
you need. To stop this automatic storage,
click on Edit | Pre f e rences and select
Mail and Newsgroups | Address Books.
You can then de-select email address col-
lection.
If you have to use other people’s com-
puters a lot, you’re probably using a Web-
based email service that can be accessed
through any browser. If you use Netscape
Netcenter for email, Netscape 6 allows
you to synchronise your local addre s s
book with the one you have stored at
Netcenter, letting you access your contacts
as easily as you can access email. From
your home computer, click on Tasks |
A d d ress Book and select File | Sync
Netscape Address Book to activate this fea-
t u re .
MAKING IT YOUR OWN
Putting all of this together, Netscape 6
lets you personalise your Internet access
tools far more thoroughly than ever before.
And isn’t being able to access what you
want, when you want it, and how you
want it what the Internet is all about?
ity like MindExpander (http://
www.zdnet.com/ downloads/sto-
ries/info/ 0,,0013FI,.html) to con-
vert the Macintosh files if you’re
using a PC.
Move the expanded Sherlock file
into the \Netscape6\searchplug-
ins directory. Apple machines use
a different text file format than
PCs, so you may have to edit the
S h e r l o ck file. Open the file in
Notepad and replace all the solid
b l o ck ch a ra c t e rs with carriage
returns. You may also want to cre-
ate a small icon that will appear
beside the name of your chosen
search engine. If Netscape sees a
GIF file with the same name as the
.src file in the searchplugins direc-
tory, that icon will display auto-
matically.
Onc e y ou h ave cl os ed a nd
reopened Netscape, your new loca-
tion appears under All Engines. You
can then edit your search cate-
gories and add the new location to
the list.
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