Using the Web Browser
From Freespire
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The default browser in Freespire - Lbrowser is based on Mozilla's Firefox web browser.
How to launch the Web Browser
You can open it from the Quick Launch bar
or from the the Launch menu - Launch -> Run programs -> Internet -> Web Browser
The components of the main window
Menu bar
The menu bar allows the user to have point-and-click access to window-specific functions, such as saving a file, copying text, or opening a help window.
Mozilla Firefox Menu Bar Reference
Navigation Toolbar
- The Back button lets you return to the previous page in the browsing history list. If you click on the small downwards pointing triangle to the right of this button, you can see a menu of web pages that you can go back to. Note: Back is only available after you have visited more than one web page. The browsing history list is discarded every time you quit Lbrowser.
- The Forward button lets you display the next page on the browsing history list. If you click on the small downwards pointing triangle to the right of this button, you can see a menu of web pages that you can go forward to. Note: Forward is only available after you click the Back button or click a web page in the browsing history list. Remember the browsing history list is discarded every time you quit the browser.
- When displaying a web page, Lbrowser transfers a copy of the web page from the Internet onto your computer. Therefore if the page changes, you can update the page in your browser window by clicking the Reload button.
- If the page is taking too long to load, you can stop the process by clicking on the Stop button. Sometimes a page will load faster on the second or third try (press the Reload button to try loading the page again).
Location Toolbar
Near the top, the Location Toolbar holds the address of the page being viewed. This is called the URL (Universal Resource Locator) and each page has its own unique URL. Some URLs are case-sensitive and all have to be typed exactly, including spaces or special symbols such as ~. If you know the URL of the page you want to visit, you can click in the white Location field, delete the current URL, type in your URL, and click 
. If the URL begins with
http://, you can leave this part off since the Web Browser automatically adds it. You can choose from a list of URLs you've previously typed by pulling down the menu on the right of the white Location field (appears as an arrow pointing down 
).
Search engine
You can enter regular words or phrases in the Search Bar and click the magnifying glass 
to search the Internet. However, the search results are limited to web pages found by your search provider. You can select a different search provider (e.g. Google, Yahoo), by clicking on the downwards pointing triangle
Bookmarks toolbar
The Bookmarks Toolbar displays your bookmarks (your favourite web pages).
- If you click on that button, Lbrowser will open new blank page. You can also do that from File > New Tab.
- The Lbrowser window displays the home page upon launch. The Home button lets you return to the home page that you set. The home page by default is Welcome to Freespire
Tab Bar
The Tab Bar allows you to have multiple web pages open at once in a single window. Each pages will appear under a separate tab, and you simply click on the tab to access that page.
Status bar
It displays information about the current state of the browser's window.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks provide a permanent and easy way to remember your favorite web pages.
Creating a bookmark and a bookmark folder
1.Go to the page you want to bookmark.
2.Go to Bookmarks in the Menu Bar and select Bookmark This Page.
3.In the Add Bookmark window, you can specify a Name for the bookmark and choose which folder you want to save it in from the pull down menu. If you choose the default folder Bookmarks, your bookmark will be added to the bottom of the Bookmarks menu. If you choose the folder Bookmarks Toolbar, your bookmark will appear as a button in your Bookmarks Toolbar.
4.When you are done creating a bookmark, click OK to exit out of the window.
Viewing bookmarked web pages
Go to Bookmarks in the Menu bar to view the list of bookmarks. Select a bookmark to view by clicking on it.
Organizing your bookmarks through the Bookmarks Manager
Lbrowser lets you arrange your bookmarks in folders and add separators. Open up the Bookmarks Manager window by going to Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks in the Menu Bar. The Bookmarks Manager window will display bookmarks and folders in a list. You can put the bookmarks anywhere you want by simply dragging them to the desired position or into a folder. You can also rename the folder.
To create a new folder
1.Make sure the Bookmarks Manager window is open and active.
2.Go to File > New Folder or click the New Folder button 
3.Type a name for the folder and click OK.
To add bookmark buttons on the Bookmarks Toolbar
1.Make sure the Bookmarks Manager window is open and active.
2.Select a bookmark and drag it into the Bookmarks Toolbar folder.
To change the name of the bookmark
1.Make sure the Bookmarks Manager window is open and active.
2.Click the bookmark you want to change.
3.Go to Edit > Properties or click on 
.
4.Change the name in the Name field and then click OK.
Saving Web Pages and Images
To save an image
1.In order to save an image on a web page, put your mouse pointer over the picture that you want to save.
2.Right-click on the image and choose Save Image As.
3.Choose the location on your hard drive where you want to save the image and click Save.
To save a web page
1.To save a web page onto your hard drive, go to the page that you want to save.
2.From the File menu, choose Save Page As....
3.You can type a new filename if you wish or you can just leave the name as is.
4.In the Save as type drop-down menu under the File name field, choose whether to save the page including the images (Web Page, complete), save only the HTML of the page (Web Page, HTML only), or save only the plain text (Text Files).
5.Choose the location of where you wish to save this page and then click Save.
Download manager
Lbrowser download manager starts automatically whenever you try to download something. It mainly consists of 2 functions, you can view current downloads, and finished downloads.
In the screenshot above you see a download in action. As you see the download manager tells you how far it has come, what speed it's downloading at and how much time remains before the download completes. You've also get the choice to cancel or pause the download.
The Clean up button will let you clean the list of finished downloads on your download manager list.
Page setup, print preview and printing
First of all, from the drop down menu in the top left corner of the browser, you can choose "File" > Page setup...and you will get these two options:
In "Format & Options" you can choose orientation, portrait or landscape. You can scale or make it auto-adjust. If you want the background printed out (usually that's not necessary) just check the box which says "Print background (colors & images)".
In "Margins & Header/Footer" you can adjust margins, as well as choose what you want or don't want in the headers and footers.
Go to File > Print Preview... and you will see exactly how your pages will look when they are printed. When you are ready click on the Print button.
Browsing history
By pressing "Ctrl + H" you will get this window:
The browsing history option gives you a variety of options. As you see the history is divided into different days, and you can go in and check each one of them. As shown in the screenshot above, you can also search for websites, containing keywords.
Lbrowser Extensions
Extensions are small add-ons that add new functionality to Lbrowser.
To get new extensions
1.Go to Tools > Add-ons .
2.In the Add-ons window, click the Get Extensions link in the lower right corner.
3. This will take you to the Firefox Extensions page, where you can search for and browse a complete list of extensions available for Lbrowser. Click the extension you would like to install and follow the web page's instructions.
4.Once you have installed an add-on, most require you to restart Lbrowser before changes can take place.
To check for updates to your extensions
1.To check for updates, go to Tools > Add-ons.
2.In the Add-ons window, click the Find Updates button on the lower left.
3.Install any updates that Lbrowser finds by clicking Install Updates.
To uninstall extensions
1.To uninstall extensions, go to Tools > Add-ons .
2.In the Add-ons window, click on the extension you want to uninstall. Click Uninstall.
3.Close and reopen Lbrowser in order to have the changes taken place.
Searching for words on a web page
If you want to search for a text string within the current page:
1.Go to Edit > Find In This Page or press CTRL+F on your keyboard .
2.The Find Toolbar will appear at the bottom of the screen:
3.Type in the text you want to search for. As you type, Lbrowser will highlight and jump to the first instance of the search term on the page.
4.To find the next instance of your search term, click Find Next. If Lbrowser does not find the text in the current document, then the background of the text field will turn red.
How To Clear Your Private Data In Lbrowser
Click on Tools in the Menu bar located at the top of your browser. When the drop-down menu appears, scroll down and click on the Clear Private Data choice.
The user is given several options at this point regarding what types of data he or she would like to delete. If the box next to a menu option is checked, that particular data type will be cleared upon clicking the Clear Private Data Now button. Once you are ready, click Clear Private Data Now and all of the item types that you selected will be cleared out.
Translating text into other languages
To do that
1.Mark the text you wish to translate
2.Right-click the mouse and select the languages
Increasing and decreasing text size
To increase the text size in Lbrowser simply use Ctrl and the '+' key. To reduce the text size use Ctrl and the '-' key. Ctrl 0 sets the text to 'normal' size, the default setting for text throughout the site.
Preferences Window
Click on Edit in the Menu bar located at the top of your browser. When the drop-down menu appears, scroll down and click on the Preferences choice.
Main Options
Startup
- When Web Browser starts
Here you are able to specify the action that Web Browser will take when you launch it. Choose "Show my home page" to make Lbrowser go to your home page, each time you launch Lbrowser. Choose "Show a blank page" to make the browser show a blank page, each time you launch Lbrowser. Choose "Show my windows and tabs from last time" to make Lbrowser open the webpages you had open when you last closed the browser.
- Home Page
Here you are able to specify the page (or tab group) that Lbrowser will show when you press the Home button. Enter the address in the Location(s) field.
- Click Use Current Page(s) to use the page you're currently visiting. You can also use multiple home pages. If more than one browser tab is currently opened, this button will set the whole tab group as a start page.
- To specify the home page(s) using a bookmark, click Use Bookmark.... You can even select a whole bookmark folder to be used!
- If you want to restore the default home page, click Restore to Default.
Downloads
- Show the Downloads window when downloading a file
With this option selected, Lbrowser will open the Downloads window when you start downloading a file.
- Close it when all downloads are finished.
Select this option to have Lbrowser close the Downloads window when all downloads currently in progress finish.
- Save files to:
This is the default option. It allows you to specify a default folder where all downloads will be saved to, such as the Desktop. You can select a different folder by clicking on the Browse... button, which will open the folder in the default file manager.
- Ask me where to save files
Lbrowser will ask you where you want a file to be saved when you download something.
Tabs Options
Tabs Options Panel contains options related to the tabbed browsing feature.
New pages should be opened in:
- a new window
With this option selected, any web pages opened by web links or other applications will be displayed in a new window.
- a new tab
With this option selected, any web pages opened by web links or other applications will be displayed in a new browser tab.
Warn me when closing multiple tabs
If you're trying to close a window with more than one tabs opened, Lbrowser will display a confirmation dialog before the window is closed, to prevent accidental dataloss.
Warn me when opening multiple tabs might slow down Lbrowser
If you accidentally try to open a large set of tabs, which may slow down performance, Lbrowser will display a confirmation dialog, giving you a chance stop it from opening so many pages at once.
Always show the tab bar
If you're only viewing one Web page in a browser window, the tab bar is not shown. Check mark this option to show the tab bar all the time.
When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately
When you middle-click on Web links (or hold down Ctrl while clicking with the left mouse button), the links will be opened in a new tab. That tab will not be shown directly; it will be loaded in a background tab. Check this option to load the link in a foreground tab instead, which will show that tab directly.
Content Options
Block pop-up windows
By default, Lbrowser blocks annoying pop-up windows on web sites. Unchecking this option will disable pop-up blocking. Some sites make legitimate use of pop-up windows. Therefore, the pop-up blocking feature has a simple whitelist mechanism to allow certain sites to open pop-ups anyway. To add a site to the whitelist, click Exceptions and enter the address of the web site and click Allow.
Load images automatically
By default, images are loaded on web pages. Uncheck this option to disable images completely. If images are loaded, you can still specify not to load images from certain sites by clicking Exceptions.
Enable JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language commonly used to construct web pages. Programmers use JavaScript to make web pages more interactive; for example, to display forms and buttons. Disabling JavaScript may cause some sites not to work properly, including this one. While it is usually recommended to keep JavaScript enabled, there are some functions that you may want to disable. Click the Advanced... button to display these options.
Allow scripts to:
- Move or resize existing windows
Uncheck this option to disable moving and resizing windows using scripts.
- Raise or lower windows
Uncheck this option to make sure scripts cannot raise (bring to the front) or lower (send to the back) windows.
- Disable or replace context menus
Uncheck this option to prevent web pages from disabling or changing the Lbrowser context menu.
- Hide the status bar
Check mark this option to allow scripts to hide the status bar in pop-up windows.
- Change status bar text
Check mark this option to allow scripts to use status bar text scrolling and Web address hiding.
Fonts & Colors
Normally, web pages are displayed in the default font set by your browser or in a font chosen by the web pages' authors. Here, you can select the font and font size used when web pages don't specify one. For more advanced font options, click on Advanced..., or for colors options, click on Colors....
- Fonts for:
You can actually set a specific default font for various types of fonts, and character sets.
To change the default fonts by font type and character set:
1.From the "Fonts for" drop-down list, choose a character set. For instance, to set default fonts for the Western (Roman) character set, choose "Western".
2.Select whether proportional text should be serif (like "Times New Roman") or sans-serif (like "Arial"). Then specify the font size you want for proportional text.
3.Specify the font to use for Serif, Sans-serif and Monospace fonts. You can also change the size for Monospace fonts.
Finally, you can set the minimum font size to be used on screen. This can be useful on some sites that use very small fonts that are barely readable.
- Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above
By default, Lbrowser uses the fonts specified by the Web page author. Uncheck this option to force all sites to be using your default fonts instead.
- Character Encoding
The character encoding selected here will be used to display pages that do not specify which encoding to use.
Text and Background
Here you can change the default text and background color to be used on Web pages that haven't specified that information. Click on the color samples to select colors.
- Use system colors
Check this option to use the colors defined in your OS settings instead of the colors specified above.
- Link Colors
Here you can change the default colors for Web links. Click on the color samples to select colors.
- Underline links
By default, links are underlined on Web pages. Uncheck this option to disable this. Note that many sites specify their own styling rules (including this site) and this option has no effect on those sites.
- Allow pages to choose their own colors, instead of my selections above
By default, Lbrowser uses the colors specified by the Web page author. Disabling this option will force all sites to be using your default colors instead.
File Types
This panel controls how Lbrowser handles different file types such as applications, compressed files, multimedia, etc. Click on Manage... to change the action for each file type.
Download Actions
This list contains file types that you have downloaded. You can choose what Lbrowser should do when clicking on a specific file type. Select the file type you want to modify and click the Change Action... button.
This will display the Change Action window, where you can choose to have the file type being opened by an application or saved to disk. For example, if you view lots of media files on Web pages, you might want to specify that it always open it in your media player, instead of asking where you want the file to be saved.
- Open them with the Default application:
Select this option to open this file type in the default application for that file type (determined by the Operating System).
- Open them with this application:
Select this option to specify another application that should handle this file type. You will see a dialog asking you to specify the application to use. If not, click the Browse... button.
- Save them on my computer:
This option will save the files to your computer. If you have the Save all files to option selected, the files will be saved automatically.
- Use this plugin:
This option will make Lbrowser use a plugin to open the files.
Feeds Options
Web Feeds are specially formatted documents which summarize the content of web sites. You can view the content of feeds in Lbrowser, create Live Bookmarks for them, or add them to a feed reader on your computer or on the Web. The options in this pane determine what Lbrowser does when you view a feed.
Show me a preview and ask me which Feed Reader to use
When you view a feed within Lbrowser, you will be shown a preview of its contents. With this option selected, you are always given a choice of what you would like to use to subscribe to the feed at the top of the preview page.
Subscribe to the feed using
Instead of displaying a preview of the feed when you view one, you can have the feed be opened directly in a feed reader by selecting a reader from the list of available readers. You can choose to use an application on your computer to subscribe to feeds by clicking the Choose Application... button and finding the application on your computer. Alternately, you can choose to automatically subscribe to feeds by saving them as Live Bookmarks. To choose a subscription method, simply select it from the list.
Privacy Options
The Privacy panel contains options related to your privacy. As you browse the web, information on where you have been, what pages you have visited, etc are stored here.
History
- Remember visited pages for the last ... days.
Here you can specify for how many days you want the browser to remember what pages you have visited. The default is 9 days.
- Remember what I enter in forms and the search bar
When you enter information in web forms or the search bar, Lbrowser remembers what you type and automatically makes suggestions when you enter information again. To stop this behavior, uncheck this option.
- Remember what I've downloaded
This option controls whether or not past downloads show up in the Downloads window. The Downloads window (accessible from the Tools menu or by pressing Ctrl+J) displays a list of your recent downloads. Downloads options are available in the Main panel.
Cookies
A cookie is a file created by a web site that stores information on your computer, such as your preferences when visiting that site. For example, this site stores the navigation menu behavior (locked or unlocked) in a cookie file.
- Accept cookies from sites
By default, cookies are enabled. Uncheck this option to disable the use of cookies. Note that some sites may not work properly when this feature is disabled.
To display the stored cookies, click Show Cookies. Click the Exceptions button to allow or deny specific sites to store cookies on your computer, regardless of the global settings.
You have three options of for how long Lbrowser should store cookies, as explained below:
- until they expire
This is the default option. Cookies will be stored for as long as the site specifies.
- until I close Lbrowser.
This will remove cookies when you close the browser.
- ask me every time
Select this option to gain maximum control of which cookies are allowed to be stored on your computer. A confirmation dialog will be displayed each time a site tries to save a cookie.
Private Data
- Always clear my private data when I close Lbrowser.
You can choose to have Lbrowser clear your private data when you close it. To configure what data is cleared, click the Settings... button.
- Ask me before clearing private data
With this option selected, Lbrowser will ask you before automatically clearing the data specified by clicking Settings....
If you wish to clear your private data right now, you can click the Clear Now... button to do so. To clear your private data from outside the options dialog, either press Ctrl+Shift+Del or select Tools > Clear Private Data....
Security Options
- Warn me when sites try to install add-ons
By default, Lbrowser allows some specific web sites to install add-ons for Lbrowser. To view and edit this list of allowed sites, click Exceptions. This whitelist mechanism works the same way as the Block Popup Windows feature explained above.
- Tell me if the site I'm visiting is a suspected forgery
Check this option if you want Lbrowser to actively check whether the site you are visiting may be an attempt to mislead you into providing personal information (this is often referred to as phishing).
- Check using a downloaded list of suspected sites
With this option selected, Lbrowser will check the current site against a frequently updated list stored on your computer. No data about the sites you visit is transferred to third-party anti-phishing providers during normal browsing. Since phishing techniques and sites evolve quickly, this mode of protection may not be as effective as having an anti-phishing provider check every site you visit.
- Check by asking ... about each site I visit
With this option selected, Lbrowser will send the address of the current page over an encrypted connection to the selected third-party anti-phishing provider in order to verify its identity. This method offers the greatest protection, but information such as your IP address and browser version may be transfered and stored by the selected provider. You will be prompted to review and agree to the selected data provider's privacy policy after selecting this option.
Passwords
- Remember passwords for sites
Lbrowser is capable of securely storing passwords you enter in web forms to make it easier to log on to Web sites. You can manage the saved passwords and delete individual passwords by clicking Show Passwords. To stop saving passwords altogether, uncheck this option.
Even with this option checked, however, you'll still be asked whether to save passwords for a site when you first visit it. If you select Never for This Site, that site will be added to an exceptions list. To access that list or to remove sites from it, click the Exceptions... button.
- Use a master password
Lbrowser can protect sensitive information such as saved passwords and certificates by encrypting them using a master password. If you create a master password, each time you start Lbrowser, it will ask you to enter the password the first time it needs to access a certificate or stored password. You can set, change, or remove the master password by by checking or unchecking this option or by clicking the Change Master Password... button. If a master password is already set, you will need to enter it in order to change or remove the master password.
Warning Messages
Click the Settings... button to configure the security warnings Lbrowser displays while you browse the web.
Advanced Options
General
- Accessibility
- Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages
Specifies whether to move the system caret whenever the focus or selection changes. Some accessibility aids, such as screen readers or screen magnifiers, use the system caret to determine which area of the screen to read or magnify.
- Search for text when I start typing
Find As You Type is a very useful feature in Lbrowser. It is a fast way of finding links or text in a Web page without the need of displaying complex search dialogs. Read more about Find As You Type at mozilla.org.
- Browsing
- Use autoscrolling
Autoscrolling is a useful feature which allows you to scroll the page by just holding down the middle mouse button (usually the scroll wheel) and move the mouse up or down. Some people find this annoying so here's the option for it.
- Use smooth scrolling
Smooth scrolling can be very useful if you read a lot of long pages. Normally, when you press the Page Down key, the view jumps directly down one page. With Smooth Scrolling, it slides down more smoothly, so you are actually able to see how much it scrolls. This makes it easier to resume reading from the point you were before.
- Check my spelling as I type
When this option is enabled, Lbrowser will check your spelling and offer possible corrections as you type in web forms. Note that you may need to download a dictionary; to do so, right-click on any text field, enable spellchecking if necessary, and then use the provided Languages menu to download a dictionary.
- Languages
Some web pages are offered in more than one language. Click the Choose... button to specify your preferred languages.
Network
- Connection Settings
Many organizations block access from the Internet to their networks. This prevents outside parties from gaining access to sensitive information. The protection is called a firewall. If your organization has a firewall, the browser may need to go through a proxy server before connecting you to the Internet. The proxy server prevents outsiders from breaking into your organization's private network.
- Configure Proxies to Access the Internet
- Direct connection to the Internet
This is the default option. Choose this if you don't want to use a proxy.
- Auto-detect proxy settings for this network
Choose this if you want Lbrowser to automatically detect the proxy settings for your network.
- Manual proxy configuration
Choose this if you don't have a proxy location (URL). Ask your system administrator for the names and port numbers of the servers running proxy software for each network service and enter the information in the appropriate fields.
- Automatic proxy configuration URL:
If there's a proxy configuration file at your workplace, ask the system administrator for its URL and enter it here. Press Reload to load the settings.
- Cache
Pages you view are normally stored in a special cache folder for quicker viewing the next time you visit the same page. Here you are able to specify the amount of disk space the cache can use.
Clicking on Clear Now immediately clears the current contents of the cache, freeing the disk space used by the cache.
Encryption
- Protocols
- Use SSL 3.0
Specifies whether you want to send and receive secured information through SSL3 (Secured Sockets Layer Level 3), a protocol that is intended to be more secure than SSL2, standard protocol for communicating securely with web sites. Disabling it will prevent you from visiting some sites.
- Use TLS 1.0
Specifies whether you want to send and receive secured information through TLS (Transport Layer Security), an open security standard similar to SSL3 (Secure Sockets Layer). Note that some Web sites might not support this protocol.
- Certificates
Certificates help perform encryption and decryption of connections to secure sites.
- Select one automatically
When a web site requests a secure connection, Lbrowser will by default automatically use an appropriate certificate.
- Ask Every Time
If you wish to manually choose a certificate (for example, if you wish to use a certain type of encryption instead of what is automatically selected), select this option and you'll be in complete control of what certificates you use while browsing.
Click the View Certificates button to view stored certificates, import new certificates, and back up or delete old certificates in Lbrowser.
Lbrowser can use Certificate Revocation Lists (also known as CRLs) to ensure that your certificates are always valid. Click the Revocation Lists button to manage the CRLs installed on your computer.
Lbrowser can verify the validity of your certificates using OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) every time they are viewed or used. Lbrowser does not use OCSP by default, but if you want to enable it, you can click on the Verification button. You will most likely only need to change this if your Internet environment requires it.
Security devices can encrypt and decrypt connections and store certificates and passwords. If you need to use a security device other than the one in Lbrowser, click the Security Devices Security Devices button.
Auto Marking
- Auto Marking
Lbrowser will automatically try to determine words and phrases that may be of interest to you. With Auto-Marking, searchable words and phrases are underlined with a green dotted line. Left-clicking on, or holding your mouse cursor over, these "hot words" will cause a search menu to appear, presenting you with the appropriate search options.
- Hover-N-Highlight
If you move your mouse cursor over a word in a webpage or email and let it stay over the word for a while (default is 0.5 seconds but can be specified in preferences), the word will be highlighted. Left-clicking on the highlighted word will cause a search menu to appear, allowing you to search the word in a variety of different categories.
Getting Foxnews.com Videos to Work
To get foxnews.com videos to work in Web Browser; a.k.a. LBrowser, a.k.a. Firefox:
As of sometime around May 2008, foxnews.com videos should work without any tampering !
