Web Wise

Retrieving Information From The Internet

While you are surfing the Web you will surely come across information that you will want to save for later use. Basically, what you need to do is get the information off of the Internet and onto your computer or printer. This transfer of information can be done many ways -- downloading, file transfer protocol (FTP), saving, printing, and copying and pasting. All of these terms mean saving information on your computer.

Downloading Files
Downloading a file from the Web is virtually the same as saving a file on your computer, however, there are two separate ways that downloading occurs. Each time you go to a different site your browser downloads the page onto your computer. In this case, the file is being saved in a cache file. Browsers use this caching technique of holding previously loaded web pages rather than downloading the page again from the server. If you seem to be getting old information from a Web site you have viewed before, it may be because you are accessing information from the cache file. If you think that the page has changed or the transfer was interrupted, just "Reload" the page and it will check the information on the server. You can also go to your Network Preferences and manipulate the cache file preferences.

Some Web Sites allow you to download programs and other files from their site. Usually there is a link says "download" or the name of the software. When you download files in this fashion you are transferring the file from their server to your computer and saving it in a folder that you can access at a later time. The files are transferred in the same way as FTP.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
The FTP method is usually how large files and programs are transferred over the Internet. The protocol is the way in which a page is accessed, or the type of protocol that your browser will use to get a file. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http://) is how most information is obtained (viewed) on the Web.

To use FTP you don't need to have Web access, but you do need to be connected to the Internet. There are many file transfer programs like Gopher and Fetch that will allow you to connect to a FTP Site without Web access. Many Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) have information stored in both the http:// and ftp:// protocols.

Freeware and Shareware
Some FTP Sites can only be accessed by authorized personnel but most sites that you find on the Web are anonymous FTP Sites. They usually contain freeware or shareware (utilities, games, graphics, software) archived on servers. Freeware programs can be downloaded at no charge and shareware programs have a small charge that you are supposed to pay if you keep using the software. Shareware should be registered within 30 days of downloading and you are reminded of this every time you open the program. Once you send in your payment you will be given a registration number that you can type in so the message won't appear again. When you decide to download software make sure that it is compatible with your platform (Windows, OS-2, Macintosh, Unix...). Also, beware of computer viruses and only download files from reputable sites.

Saving Files
Downloading and FTP are ways of saving files on your computer that you can't see and use over the Internet. You can also save Web page files on your computer. Choose "Save As" from your menu and the information will be saved as a text file. Also, if your mouse is over an image you can hold down your mouse button or click on the right mouse button and a menu will appear that will let you save the graphic.

Printing, Copying And Pasting
An easy way to get information off of a Web Site is to print it out from the Browser. Remember, though, that the format that prints out won't always be exactly what you have seen on the screen. Some sites will have the page formatted for printing, but others may be too wide and appear distorted.

Copying and Pasting is a great way to get just the information that you will need from a page. To copy text you can use your mouse to highlight what you want duplicated and then you can copy and paste in a word or text file. Remember to copy the URL too -- in both printing, and copying and pasting -- in case you need to go back to the site for further reference.

Geek Speak
Archie: A search engine designed to help users find FTP sites. One place you can find it is at: http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/archieplex/

Domain extensions at the end of a URL tell us about the site:
U.S. Sites:

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