The first part of the address is called the protocol designation and is always followed by a colon. A protocol is set of rules that tells your computer know how to interpret the information at that address. The protocol designations for our examples are

HTTP is the protocol for the World Wide Web This page used the HTTP protocol to transfer to your computer. FTP is a simple protocol for transferring files and is usually how software (like netscape) is downloaded. Gopher is a sort of precursor to the WWW that has all sorts of downloadable information and resources organized by subject. Gopher is mostly out of date now but there are many good resources for older computers that are only available through gopher.

The second part of the address is the name of the server and is always preceded by two slashes. A server is a computer that has information on it and will send it to you (the client) when you request it. The server names in the above examples are:

The third part of the address is called the pathname and is always preceded by a single slash. A path is way of organizing files into separate folders or directories. The pathnames in the examples above are:

As you can see, this portion of the address doesn't always look the same. Sometimes there isn't a pathname after the single slash as in the second example and sometimes there are more than one single slash as in the third example. That's okay. When there isn't a pathname name after the slash it just means that the pathname "index.html" is assumed. "Index.html" is the Web's equivalent of "Occupant." When there are more than one single slash it just signifies different divisions in the pathname.

How Do I Use the Internet Address to Go to a Specific Location?

1. You can click on a link to move from one location to another. Netscape will automatically move you to the address referenced by the link.

2. Type the address in the location box which is right below the toolbar.

   

   To do this, select the text in the box. (Position your pointer either at the beginning or at the end of the text. When the pointer turns into an I-beam, hold down the mouse button and drag the I-beam over the rest of the text until it is all selected. Release the mouse button.) Now type in the address.

3. Click the Open button in the toolbar. Then type the address in the box provided and click the Open button. As you can see in the example below, when you use this option you don't have to type the protocol designation.

   

   
   

This is really important: Internet addresses are case-sensitive. This means that when you use an address like:

you must type "Curriculums" with an uppercase "C." If you type "curriculums" with a lowercase "c", Netscape will not find the page you want.