NCSA Mosaic for MS Windows User Guide: Advanced Features

Advanced Hotlist Manager

The Advanced Hotlist Manager (select Advanced Hotlist Manager... from the Navigate menu) manages your list of links to Internet resources, which is referred to as your hotlist or your bookmarks. These resources are typically HTML documents, but you can include links to FTP sites, image files, audio and movie files, gopher servers, and search engines. You can even create a Telnet link to a remote machine.

Some of the Advanced Hotlist Manager's features include the ability to search for keywords in document titles. The manager can update links, alphabetize your list, and open and close your hotlist folders. The Advance Hotlist Manager can even automatically "surf" a set of sites for you and save the resulting information in your disk cache so you can view the documents off-line.

The new graphical user interface offers an easy-to-use toolbar and visual references when using Mosaic's drag and drop capabilities. Mosaic also offers a variety of context-sensitive, right mouse button menus. From these menus you have direct access to functions that are directly related to a hotlist folder or a hotlist item.

The elements of a hotlist can be arranged in many formats--from a single list of links to a hierarchical (nested) list. The specific arrangement is up to you. Use the Hotlist Manager's drag-and-drop feature to configure your hotlist.

Mosaic hotlist files are identified by the .hot file extension. You can have any number of .hot files. However, Mosaic can only display one .hot file at a time. Each file has a limit of 250 lists including sublists, and each list has a maximum of 250 items or links (a total of 65,536 items).



The Advanced Hotlist Manager window contains six parts:

  1. Menu bar--contains the File, Edit, Options, Search, and Help menus (explained below)
  2. Toolbar--contains buttons to the most common features
  3. Hotlist: field--displays the drive, directory path, and file name of the current hotlist
  4. Add to: field--displays the name of the hotlist folder that is linked to the Add Current to Hotlist function. When you select the Add Current to Hotlist function from Mosaic's toolbar, select this function from the Navigate menu, or click on , Mosaic adds a link for the current document to this hotlist folder.
  5. Hotlist display area--displays the document titles using a tree structure similar to the Windows File Manager. You can move items from one list to another by clicking the left mouse button while on an item and dragging the item to its new location. Release the mouse button to drop the item. When you drag and drop, Mosaic inserts the highlighted items above the targeted item.
  6. Data display section--displays information about the selected hotlist item, which is either the document's location (i.e., its URL) or the name of the current list. This section also displays a count of the total number of lists and sublists defined in the current .hot file.

Toolbar

From the toolbar you have access to some of the most frequently used tools. These tools, which are also available on the menus, include:

Opens a new hotlist file (File, Open...)
Saves current hotlist (File, Save As...)
Opens Properties dialog box (Edit, Properties...)
Alphabetizes a folder or all entries in the hotlist (Options, Alphabetize)
Updates entries in a folder or all entries in the hotlist (Options, What's New?)
Open all hotlist folders exposing all entries (Options, Open All Folders)
Closes all hotlist folders (Options, Close All Folders)
Opens the Hotlist Manager's Find dialog box (Search, Find...)
Adds the current document to the hotlist; the insertion point is determined by the position of the cursor within the hotlist display area (Edit, Add Current to Folder)
Opens Advanced Hotlist Manager Help file (Help, Contents)
NOTE: Earlier versions of Mosaic stored the hotlist information in the mosaic.ini file. The Hotlist Manager can read and interpret the hotlist information in the mosaic.ini. Save your hotlist information in a separate .hot file by selecting Save from the toolbar or on the File menu.

Hotlist Display Area

The hotlist display area displays the contents of your hotlist folders and hotlist items using a hierarchical tree structure similar to the Windows File Manager. You can move items from one folder to another or arrange the items in a folder by dragging and dropping the folder or item to the desired location.

Data Display Area

The data display area shows information about the item highlighted in the hotlist display area. The name of the current folder or the address (URL) of the highlighted item is shown as well as a count of the total number of lists and sub-lists defined in the current hotlist file.

Hotlist File Menu

New
Creates a new hotlist .hot file. A new hotlist is created with an untitled hotlist folder. Change to the folder by right mouse clicking on the folder and selecting the Properties option. Save the new hotlist by selecting Save As... from the File menu (or Mosaic will prompt you when you close the application).
Open...
Opens a hotlist .hot file using the standard Windows interface. Locate the appropriate directory, select a file, and click OK to open another hotlist. Mosaic can read hotlists from .hot files and from the mosaic.ini file.
Save
Saves the current hotlist file to its current filename and in its current format.
Save As...
Saves the current hotlist file as a .hot or .htm file. Choose a directory, file name, and file type, then click OK.
If you save your current hotlist file as an HTML (.htm) file, you can share this file with a colleague or a friend. (See
"Sharing Hotlists" on page 5-7 for more information.)

Import HTML File...
Opens the standard Windows dialog box where you select an HTML file for importing. This option adds a folder to the current hotlist file, copies the appropriate links to the new folder, and displays the HTML file in Mosaic's document view window.
Use this option to add or create a new Mosaic hotlist (.hot) folder using other hotlist or bookmark files saved in HTML format. (The original HTML file is not altered.)

Import Anchors From Current Document
Copies the anchor names and URLs contained within the current document to a new folder in the current hotlist. The title of the current document is used as the name for the new folder.
Export to HTML File...
Exports the current hotlist (.hot) file into an HTML(.htm) file.
Close
Closes the Hotlist Manager window.

Hotlist Edit Menu

Properties...
Lets you edit the properties of a hotlist folder or item. Select a folder and Properties... to edit its name. Select a hotlist item to edit the title, URL, date, and/or time stamp properties.
Delete
Deletes the selected hotlist folder or hotlist item. The DELETE key on the keyboard also deletes a folder or an item.
A folder deletion must be confirmed; an item is deleted immediately without confirmation.

Insert New Item...
Adds a new item to a hotlist folder. Enter a document title and location (URL) in the dialog box and click OK. The new item is added above the item the cursor is pointing at, or it is added to the bottom of a folder if the cursor is pointing to a hotlist folder.
Insert New Folder...
Defines a new hotlist folder or subfolder. The new folder is inserted above the current selection point.
Add Current to Folder
Creates a link to the current document and inserts it above the item the cursor is point at, or the link is added to the bottom of the folder if the cursor is pointing to a hotlist folder.

Hotlist Options Menu

Always on Top
Puts the hotlist manager on top (upper-most window) where it cannot be covered by another application
Open on Startup
Opens the Hotlist Manager when you start a Mosaic session
On Menu Bar
Displays the top level hotlists on Mosaic's menu bar
One Root
Displays the hotlists under one menu item (Hotlists); each hotlist becomes a sublist of the top level Hotlist menu item.
To display each hotlist separately on the menu bar, select On Menu Bar and do not select the One Root option.

Change Font...
Opens the Font dialog box where you can change the Hotlist Manager's font, style, and font size.
Open All Folders
Displays the contents of all hotlist folders.
Close All Folders
Closes all hotlist folders. Only top level folders will be displayed.
Alphabetize
Alphabetizes the contents of a folder or all folders.
AutoSurf
Downloads documents from your favorite sites to your disk cache for later viewing. For example, you could send Mosaic to a list of sites to download files and save these files for viewing off-line.
Update Time Stamps
Updates the time stamps of each item in a folder or the entire hotlist to be the current date and time.
What's New?
checks a hotlist folder or an entire hotlist to verify that the items are up-to-date. This feature checks the date of the items listed in your hotlist and displays its findings next to each item.
If the date of your current link differs from the file on the server, the Advanced Hotlist Manager marks the file as new .

If the file has moved and no longer exists, Mosaic marks it with a red X .

If the Web server or Mosaic times out during the date request, it marks the item with a question mark .

If the document hasn't change, Mosaic marks the file with a document icon .

What's New Since...
contains everything the What's New feature offers except it lets you to define the date to begin the search. Select a date and watch Mosaic update your hotlist.
Remove Items That Don't Exist
Removes from your hotlist all items marked with a red X. An item is marked with a red X when Mosaic finds that the file no longer exists.

Hotlist Search Menu

Find...
Opens the Find Hotlist Item dialog box. Enter the word(s) you are searching for in the Find What: field and select Find Next to begin a search of the document titles in your hotlist.
Find Next
Continue searching for the next instance of the word defined in the Find Hotlist Item dialog box.

Hotlist Help Menu

Contents
Opens the Hotlist Manager's Help window
Search for Help On
Opens the Help window with the keyword search field
How to Use Help
Opens the Windows Help tutorial

Sharing Hotlists

Using the Hotlist Manager, Mosaic saves your hotlists in the standard Mosaic format (.hot) or in a definition list HTML format (.htm). If you want to send your current hotlist to a colleague you could:

If you receive a .hot file, select Open from the Hotlist Manager's File menu. Locate the file and open it.

If you receive an HTML hotlist file (with a .htm extension), you can view it with Mosaic. If you want to convert it to a form the Hotlist Manager can read, select Import... from the Hotlist Manager's File menu and save the .htm file as a .hot file.

Step-by-step Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions for the most commonly used features of the Hotlist Manager.

NOTE: All references to menus refer to the pull-down menus available in the Advanced Hotlist Manager window.

Opening

The Advanced Hotlist Manager can be opened manually or automatically. To manually open the Advanced Hotlist Manager, select Advanced Hotlist Manager from the Navigate menu. To open automatically when you start a Mosaic session, check the Open on Startup option in the Options menu.

To open a hotlist file:

  1. Choose Open... from the File menu. The Open Hotlist dialog appears.
  2. Select the appropriate directory and hotlist file (.hot) from the menu.
  3. Click OK to load the file.
NOTE: The Advanced Hotlist Manager will only open .hot files. If you have an HTML file you want to view with the Advanced Hotlist Manager, use the Import HTML File function in the File menu.

Saving

The Advanced Hotlist Manager automatically saves the current hotlist when you:

If you want to manually save the current hotlist file, choose Save... or Save As... from the File menu.

Save...
Saves the current hotlist file using the default hotlist format (.hot).
Save As...
Allows you to choose between the default format (.hot) or the HTML format (.htm). To save a hotlist in the default format, name the file and click OK. To save a hotlist file in HTML format, click on the Save File as Type: and select HTML Hotlist, define the name and/or directory of the new file, and click OK.
Another way to save your current hotlist in HTML format is to use the Export to HTML File... command in the File menu. This feature invokes the Save As... command with the HTML attributes preselected.

Importing

On the File menu are two methods of importing hotlist files: Import HTML File... and Import Anchors of Current Document.

Import HTML File...
Imports an HTML file and adds the file contents to a new Hotlist folder in your present hotlist.
Import Anchors of Current Document
Creates a new folder using the current document title, creates a list of anchors on the current page, and adds these links to the new folder.

Inserting

On the Edit menu are three ways to insert to your hotlist. The point of insertion is defined by the position of the cursor within the window.

Insert New Item...
Manually creates a link to a network item. Enter the title of the new item and its URL. The date field is used by the Hotlist Manager to determine if the item has changed since you last visited.
Insert New Hotlist...
Creates a new hotlist folder in the current hotlist. Enter the title of the new folder and click OK. The hotlist appears in your list at the selection insertion point (defined by the position of the cursor in the hotlist menu).
Add Current to Hotlist
Adds the URL of the current file to the end of your hotlist.

Deleting

To delete a hotlist item or folder:

  1. Highlight the item or folder.
  2. Select Delete from the Edit menu or from the right mouse button menu.
  3. Acknowledge the confirmation by clicking OK.

Editing Item or Folder Properties

  1. Highlight the hotlist item or folder.
  2. Choose Properties from the Edit menu or from the right mouse button menu.
  3. Edit the name of a hotlist folder or the name and URL attributes of a hotlist item.