AOL's purchase of Netscape means AOL Instant Messenger and Buddy List functions are now tightly integrated into Netscape. In fact, the Buddy List is available 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 cookie, 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 from 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 | Preferences and select Navigator | History. You can then set the number of days for which history information should be retained.
Another default setting gathers the addresses of all email messages you receive and adds them to your address 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 cluttered quickly. That may not seem like a 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 | Preferences and select Mail and Newsgroups | Address Books. You can then de-select email address collection.
If you have to use other people's computers a lot, you're probably using a Web-based email service that can be accessed through any browser. If you use Netscape Netcentre for email, Netscape 6 allows you to synchronise your local address book with the one you have stored at Netcentre, letting you access your contacts as easily as you can access email. From your home computer, click on Tasks | Address Book and select File | Sync Netscape Address Book to activate this feature.
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?
Tailoring Netscape 6 for Your Company
Creating your own sidebar tabs lets you provide quick access to important information for your customers and employees. Remember to keep displayed information brief and graphics small enough for the sidebar window (you're safest if you keep things no wider than 120 pixels), but other than that, there are no restrictions 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 target= 'content' tag in any links on the tab, so that the link is activated in the main window.
You install your new tab using the JavaScript addPanel method. Surf to http://home.netscape.com/sidebar/how.html for more details on creating your own sidebar 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 packaging your own installation program) by using the Client Customisation Kit available free at http://home.netscape.com/browsers/6/cck.
Expanding Your Search Range
The Search tab built into My Sidebar is a handy way to locate information on the Web, but some popular search engines (such as Northern Light and Yahoo!) aren'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 good place to look is http://www.apple-donuts.com/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 Sherlock is a product of the Apple world, the files are in StuffIt, rather than Zip, format. You'll need a utility like MindExpander (download now) to convert the Macintosh files if you're using a PC.
Move the expanded Sherlock file into the \Netscape6\searchplugins directory. Apple machines use a different text file format than PCs, so you may have to edit the Sherlock file. Open the file in Notepad and replace all the solid block characters with carriage returns. You may also want to create 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 search plugins directory, that icon will display automatically.
Once you have closed and reopened Netscape, your new location appears under All Engines. You can then edit your search categories and add the new location to the list.
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