Web browsers (such as Netscape Navigator/Communicator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or others) are programs that allow you to browse (surf) the Web from your computer. Hypertext markup language (or HTML) is the language used to create documents for the Web. Although most browsers will display any document that is written in plain text (ASCII text), there are advantages to putting documents into HTML. When HTML documents are read by Web browsers, the documents can include formatting, graphics and links to other documents.

Many Internet sites offer files which can be downloaded to your computer for viewing and use. Files available for downloading at a Web site can be obtained by clicking on the title of the file using a standard Web browser. The download will begin and you may be asked to specify the directory in which to store the downloaded file. You may want to create a "download" directory on your computer to store all files downloaded from the Web. Be sure you make note of the file name and where it is saved on your computer so you can access it once the download has finished.

A common format for files on the Internet is the portable document format (PDF) file. PDF format allows documents containing both text and graphics to easily be put onto the Internet. PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and download. Adobe Acrobat Reader can be obtained at no cost by clicking on the "Get Acrobat Reader" button at the bottom of the EnviroSource.com Home Page. Once Acrobat Reader has been installed on your computer, PDF files can be viewed by clicking on the file using a standard Web browser. This will automatically bring up Adobe Acrobat Reader and the file will begin downloading to your computer. The larger the file, the longer the download will take. Once the file has been downloaded, it can be viewed, printed or saved using Acrobat Reader.

Some files are only available for downloading in zipped (compressed) format. These files can be downloaded by clicking on the title using a standard Web browser. To access the file on your computer once it has been downloaded, you will need to "unzip" the file using WinZip, Pkzip or some other decompressing program. WinZip can be obtained at no cost by clicking on the WinZip icon at the bottom of the EnviroSource.com Home Page. Once WinZip has been installed, zipped files can be accessed by double clicking on the file using your computer's file manager. This will automatically start WinZip and allow you to unzip and read the file.

Files may also be available for downloading in word processing format (e.g. Word Perfect or Microsoft Word) or in spreadsheet format (e.g. Excel or Lotus). Once the download is complete you will need to access the file using the appropriate word processing or spreadsheet program.

Web Browsers can oftentimes be very sensitive. If a link does not work or takes too long, try using the stop button on the browser and then try the link again. Or try exiting the current page by using the back button and then return to the page and try the link again.