Favorites are Internet sites that you want to be able to get back to easily without searching. Netscape calls them Bookmarks. This tutorial is about how to add sites to the Favorites list, and how to manage and use that list most effectively.

Adding Internet sites to the Favorites list - There are three ways to add Favorites to the list.

From the Menu bar select Favorites, then Add to Favorites...

From the Toolbar select Add

Use the keyboard shortcut that you already know from Netscape - Hold down the Command key (Apple), and tap the D key.

Organizing the Favorites list - Three actions that will be most helpful to you are: renaming, deleting, and placing into folders.

Rename - When a web page is written the title of the page is put into a part of the page that is not seen in the browser window. However, that title is displayed in the Application title bar - the colored bar that fills the top of the window. Look at that part of the screen right now. You should see "Using Favorites Effectively - Microsoft Internet Explorer." Not all web authors are careful about placing a title that makes sense in that area.

Look at the web page posted by an elementary school in Texas (chosen at random from Web 66). A new browser window will open. After you see the title of the page, close the window to return to this page. If you had added that page to the Favorites, it would be a prime candidate for renaming.

• Select Organize Favorites from the Favorites menu or the Favorites pane

• Select the entry to be renamed by clicking one time on the name

• Type a new name for the Favorite entry

Delete - If you are developing a student project or looking for sites to use in a WebQuest, add an entry into the Favorites list for anything that you think you might use. After the student project or WebQuest has been written, go back to the Favorites list and delete all unneeded bookmarks. If you do not clean out your Favorites list it become less useful. Deleting entries from the list is easily done.

1. Select Organize Favorites from the Favorites menu.
2. Select the entry to be deleted by clicking one time on the name
3. Select the Delete button.

You may also make use of Mac's contextual menus to delete, especially if you also use a PC and are accustomed to right-clicking. Locate the entry you wish to delete in the list of favorites listed when you select Organize Favorites. While holding down the Control key, click on the favorite. Choose delete from the pop-up menu.

Did you notice that you can also change the name of the favorite using contextual menus?

Placing Favorites into Folders - If you have entries in the Favorites list that you want to keep, consider creating a folder to put them into. I created one named Daily Dose and drug a listing into the folder. If you have already created the folder, there are two ways to move favorites into the folder.

1. Select Organize Favorites from the Favorites menu or the Favorites pane
2. Select the entry to be moved by clicking on it with the left mouse button. Leave the button depressed.
3. Slide the mouse pointer to the folder the listing is to be moved into.
4. When the folder darkens (as in the image below) release the mouse button and the Favorite entry goes into the folder.

Using the Toolbar Favorites Folder - One of the most useful features of the Netscape browser application is the personal toolbar. IE has the same capability. Immediately below the Address bar in the image below you will see the Favorites toolbar.

To add a link to this toolbar click on the IE icon immediately to the left of the URL. With the mouse button depressed, drag this icon onto the toolbar. When a dark vertical line appears let up on the mouse button to drop a link on the Favorites toolbar.

Toolbar Favorites is actually a folder in Favorites. The Toolbar Favorites folder has a lot of listings that are not needed in the classroom. My recommendation is that you clean out the entire folder. Any page that you go to quite a bit should be stored in the links folder.

1. Select Organize Favorites from the Favorites menu.
2. Click one time on the Toolbar Favorites folder to open it.
3. Delete all unwanted items in the folder.
4. Move other Favorites listings into the folder. I highly recommend Internet4Classrooms for the Toolbar Favorites folder.

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