The web browser on your computer may be Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or one of many other available web browsers. Because your web browser is the one software program most users use most often I am going to continue here with a description of the basic commands everyone should learn in order to get the most out of their web surfing experience.
In my opinion, the best thing to happen to all of the aforementioned web browsers in the last decade has been the inclusion of “tabs.” Tabbed browsing is an old feature finally found now in most web browsers. Tabbed browsing is the feature that allows uses to surf and view multiple pages by loading the web sites into “tabbed” sections of one page, rather than separate and multiple windows. This allows the user to easily one-click back and forth between sites in one window making navigation much easier.
So why would I say tabs are “an old feature?” As is too often the case in today’s litigious world, this innovative idea was tied up in court for years. Adobe Systems obtained patents in the United States and Europe on certain uses of tabs even though there was prior art going back to 1987. Adobe sued Macromedia Inc. for infringement and won US$2.8 million in damages. Macromedia countersued and won a US$4.9 million ruling against Adobe. Finally the legal matters were rendered moot when the two companies merged in 2005. All of the “tabs” patents owned by Adobe, Micromedia, Apple, IP Innovation, and Xerox are now widely held to be trivial patents and so now at long last we users may benefit from using them.So, for those users who are not yet “tabaholics” a short explanation of the basics is in order. In practically every browser when you open any web page the name of that page will be displayed above the content in what appears to resemble a file folder tab. To the right of the first tab is usually a plus sign [+] and if you hover your mouse above this there is usually a pop-up balloon explaining that you may “open a new tab. Opening another browser tab is the ideal thing to do if you think you might want to return to the tab you just left. Note that each tab has a letter [X] similar to the icon used to close the entire program. Clicking on the [X] in a tab closes only that tab and not the entire browser.
The next time you see some link on a web page and you are curious to see where that goes but at the same time do not want to loose train of thought or loose track of the page you are browsing, give tabs a try. Rather than clicking that link, right-click on the link then on the context menu that appears click on “open in new tab.” Mac OS-X users without a right mouse button may hold down the [Command] key while clicking a link to open it in a new tab.
Most browsers permit opening several tabs as your home page. This means if you have two email accounts and you also like to read the news, you may have your home page open three tabs automatically when the program starts. There is not really a limit to the number of tabs you are permitted to open, but as a practical matter if you have more than a few dozen open at once your browser may become sluggish.
Finally, your browser is going to have several tab configuration options you might want to experiment with. These are usually found under Tools/Options. You may configure your browser to open a new tab immediately, or to simply to open the tab while keeping you on the current page. My favorite is to choose that my browser open a new tab rather than a new window when clicking on links, and this prevents web pages from opening new windows and leaving me with my screen full of a dozen browser windows I have to close.
Occasional Reporter Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with more than 20 years IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted through his web site at SMAguru.com.