We've tried to make this site easy to use but if you are having problems, this section should help you.
How do I get around this site?
To move around the site, click on the menu items with your mouse. The main menu is on the left. When you have clicked on a main menu item, a sub-menu appears beneath it. Sometimes a section will have more links at the top of the main text area.
Whenever your cursor looks like a hand rather than an arrow, it means you can click and go to another page. Links in the text areas are underlined.
You can also use the back button on your browser to return to the page you last visited
Access Keys
Each of the main areas also have an AccessKey assigned to them. This means that you can use the keyboard to jump to any main area from anywhere else in the site.
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Netscape and Explorer also have various keyboard shortcuts that may be useful:
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Browser
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PC
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Mac
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Go back to previous page
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Netscape
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alt left arrow
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cmd left arrow
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Explorer
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alt left arrow
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cmd left arrow
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Go forward to next page
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Netscape
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alt right arrow
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cmd right arrow
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Explorer
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alt right arrow
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cmd right arrow
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Search on current page
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Netscape
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ctrl f
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cmd f
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Explorer
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ctrl f
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cmd f
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Refresh page
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Netscape
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ctrl r
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cmd r
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Explorer
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F5
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cmd r
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Add page to favourites
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Netscape
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ctrl d
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cmd d
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Explorer
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ctrl a
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cmd d
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Cycle through open windows
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Netscape
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alt tab
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not available
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Explorer
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alt tab
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cmd ~
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Close window
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Netscape
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ctrl w
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shift cmd w
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Explorer
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ctrl w
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cmd w
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How do I change my screen settings?
This site looks best with a screen resolution (the size of what is shown) of 800 x 600. To change this on a PC running Windows operating systems, go to Start > Settings > Control panel > Display > Settings and change the desktop area by using the sliding bar.
On an Apple Macintosh, you can use the Monitor & sound control panel to change the resolution.
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What are PDFs and how do I read them?
PDF stands for Portable Document file. It's an established way of publishing documents on the web and retaining their original printed look. We've used PDFs on the site for application forms for certain services for you to print off and return to us by mail.
You need a plug-in called Adobe Acrobat to read these files. This is available to download free of charge at www.adobe.com.
How can I view a Word file if I don't have Microsoft Word software?
Microsoft has made a free Word Viewer available to download.
The text is too small for me to read - how can I change it?
In Internet Explorer go to View > Text size and select the text size, e.g. Larger or Largest
Netscape works in a similar way.
My browser out of date - how can I get a new one?
This site is designed to be viewed using version 4 and above of Internet and Netscape browsers.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape can be downloaded free of charge from their web sites:
Internet Explorer
www.microsoft.com
Netscape
www.netscape.com
You'll also find that lots of the computer magazines for sale in newsagents include CDs with copies of the latest browsers.
Other questions?
For more online help, visit the BBC's site at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/webwise/
If you have any questions about this site, or you find something that we haven't covered in this section that you would like to know about, use the form in Contact us to let us know and we will do our best to answer your questions.
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