Hints for Newbies and the Cyber Challenged.
 

I am in awe of the ease with which many of you navigate cyber space and you will all probably laugh at some of the things that I didn't know and had to work out on my own. These are a couple of Webflyer tricks that I have finally worked out that have made it a little easier for me. On the outside chance that there is anybody else out there who is as computer challenged as I, here are two small things that help me:

1. When I am reading Webflyer the posts, I go to the UAL site and open the Airport Code Search window and then leave it in a reduced state at the bottom of my screen. That way I can figure out instantly what people are talking about when they throw in strange airport codes like RAP, TAG, BET or BOO.

2. It also took me a while to figure out how much faster I could navigate if I used the closing X in the upper right hand corner of the screen to return from a referred site or from reading a profile, and to use the back arrow when reading multiple threads.

If anybody else knows any tricks that us slow folk might not know, I would appreciate your posting them. http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 07-26-1999).]

My secret to reading FT is that once I'm at the front page with all the different forums listed, when I want to read a forum I right click on it and "Open a new window" ... then when I'm done reading that forum I just close the window and I'm back at the front page ... and repeat ...

Punki, great idea for a thread. Those of us who are somewhat more familiar with cyberspace often take “simple” tricks for granted which “newbies” could benefit from. And as is evident from the FF knowledge shared on this board, even veterans (fliers or web surfers) can always pick up an new trick or two.

I took the UAL Airport Code idea a step further. I cut-and-pasted the 26 airport code lists together into a Text file, so that I have the all codes accessible at all times on my computer, instead of only when I’m online. (This is particularly useful while reading threads offline to catch up on FT backlog.)

In addition, having a file containing all the data in one place (Airport Code, City, Country, Airport Name) allows more sophisticated searches on any possible string contained in the data. For instance, UAL’s online search requires a full City Name or Airport Name; using the file allows partial name searches.

If anyone’s interested in a copy of the file in:
.txt (85 kb),
Word 6.0/95 (114 kb), or
Excel 5.0/95 (200 kb)

just drop me an email and please specify format desired.

[This message has been edited by bokich (edited 07-25-1999).]

[This message has been edited by bokich (edited 07-25-1999).]

The nice thing about "right clicking" as Beckles suggests, is that it doesn't mess up the lights (since you don't activate the cookies again). They stay lit to show what threads have had postings since last you visited.

great idea, bokich...I just sent you an e-mail.

Thanks

Thanks Beckles your idea has already helped me immensely. Really speeds up navigation when I get stuck with a slow computer.

bokich, will the file work on Word 7.0/95? (Don't laugh guys, if I knew these things I wouldn't have to ask.) http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Just think how smart we'll all be next week if everybody contributes a trick or two.

Just wanted to add to Macintosh users (based on the number of complaints about AA's electronic schedule being Windows-only, there must be a lot of us here) who have no "right button," to open a link in a new window you hold the mouse button down over a link for a second or two, then pick that entry from the pop-up menu that appears under the cursor. All recent releases of both Netscape and Internet Explorer work this way.

When I use my old, slow PC at home, I find it easiest to make a handwritten note of which forums I want to visit and then I navigate using the scrolling menu at the screen bottom. This also has the effect that I always read the board from the bottom up.... The 'next newset topic' button is also your friend if you carefully read the menu in each forum. When using a fast computer at work, I heartily second Beckles' suggestion.

punki, re the Word file compatibility:

Yes, it should work. Broadly speaking, newer/higher versions of Word will open files saved in the older versions.

Alternatively, the Text (.txt) file can be opened in any version of Word. You could then use the SAVE AS option on the FILE menu and save it as a Word (.doc) document.

FYI - A text file is just what the name says. It allows you to save text, but virtually no other formatting, unlike what you might be used to be doing in Word. It is useful when you want to work with or transmit simple data since the file sizes (see above) are typically a lot smaller than the equivalent Word file.

The easiest route to Flyertalk Pictures is to click the info button on any of Rudi's posts. The web page he lists is the Rogue's Gallery. http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif One of my favorite places.

Thanks, bokich, could you please then send me the Word file. Thanks.



[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 07-26-1999).]