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Headings on this page :

Introduction

There are two types of information on this Help page :

• Specific information about this site - eg using the drop-down menus and sitemaps.
• General information on using any website :
  Depending on your level of IT skills, you'll know:
  -  some of it / most of it / all of it / a lot more than we do.

Please forgive us if (at times) we seem to be spelling out the blindingly obvious.

Display

Display - Screen resolution

Most text on the site is single-column, with a simple layout. Therefore the site is best viewed at lower resolutions - either :

• 800 x 600 pixels screen resolution, or
• 640 x 480 screen resolution.

At the lowest resolution (640 x 480) usually you will need to use the full width of the screen to view the full width of the website (then you don't need to scroll horizontally). So if you're using a second pane (eg Search, Favorites, or History) you need to close it. Alternatively press the Full Screen F11 function key.

So, we suggest you consider changing the resolution if needed (details below).

'What's my current screen resolution?'

Click the following link to find out your screen resolution setting (uses JavaScript).

Navigating

Ways of navigating the site :

• drop-down menus
• popup sitemap
• (static sitemap - only needed if JavaScript is not enabled on your computer)
• links
• searching the site (using PicoSearch)
• searching a single page (with your browser)
• History panel of your browser

Each of these is described below.

Navigating - Using the drop-down menus (top of pages)

Most of the site's pages have drop-down menus. These are the best way of navigating the site. 

To return to the drop-down menus anytime, just press the Home key, which takes you to the top of any page.

JavaScript (JS) is used to operate the menus. So, in order to see the menus, it's crucial that you have JavaScript enabled (ie switched on) in you browser's settings. For example, in Internet Explorer this can be done via Tools > Internet Options.

As far as we know, if you enable JavaScript, it doesn't pose a security risk - so long as you've followed the normal precautions for safe computing - such as :

• keep your copy of Windows up-to-date (eg using 'Windows Update'), and
• use anti-virus software (eg AVG Free), and
• use a firewall (eg ZoneAlarm - free version).

If no JavaScript - If you don't have JavaScript enabled, you can still use the site, but navigation is less easy - you have to use the static sitemap (details below). To help you, we've also provided a few links at the top of each page, to key pages (links similar to those at the bottom of pages). These links at the top only stay visible if the drop-down menus don't appear.

Page highlighting is used to enhance the menus - in other words the page you're browsing is highlighted (with a background colour) on the menu. This allows you to see where you are in the menu structure. If the page appears more than once on the menus, all the instances are highlighted - eg links to the 'What's new' page.

Status bar - On some menu items we've used the status bar at the bottom left of the screen to display more information (instead of it just displaying the page's filename).

Tooltips - With a few menu items, a tooltip text box appears next to the item (after a short delay). This too provides more information.

Links to sections of pages - Most items on the menus are complete pages. However, a few take you to sections of pages (eg 'Help').

Completeness - Almost all the site's pages have an item on the menus.

Duplication - A few items appear more than once on the menus (such as "Our aims" and "What's new").

Development - We continue to experiment with the menus and welcome your views.

Our thanks to Milonic Solutions Limited - suppliers of the menu software.

Navigating - Using the sitemap

What's it look like?

It has a similar format to sitemaps on other websites - it's a bulleted list of the web pages on the site, in a logical order, with groups of items progressively indented to show the structure. It resembles the table of contents (ToC) of a book. Each item has a link.

On our site, the sitemap is an exact replica of the items on the drop-down menus, and it's in the same order - but it's arranged in a single-column list.

Why use the sitemap?

Generally, when navigating the site, it's preferable to use the drop-down menus (and the cross-referencing links within the text of each page).

However, we've included the sitemap for three reasons :

1. You can print it out - it gives an excellent overview of the site as hardcopy.
   - Details below.
2. You can use it to imitate 'frames', for quick navigation of the site.
   - Details below.
3. It's essential for navigation if JavaScript isn't enabled on your computer (the drop-down menus rely on JavaScript).
   - Details below.

The two versions of the sitemap

The website provides two (slightly different) versions of the sitemap :

1. a popup sitemap  =BEST - as it's always up-to-date.
   It's generated in real time by JavaScript (dynamic HTML), using the current data in the drop-down menus.
2. (a static sitemap - This is a recent copy of the popup sitemap.  However, usually it's slightly out-of-date, so ignore this version unless you haven't got JavaScript enabled.)

Accessing the popup sitemap

• It's on the drop-down menus (under 'Site help & Sitemap') at the top of most pages.
• Also, it's on the footer of most pages.

The sitemap window

• Both versions of the sitemap open in a new (second, 'child') browser window.
• The page you were on is kept open (it's called the parent window).
• Once you've opened the sitemap, you can leave it open as long as you like.
• At any stage you can use the original (first, 'parent') window (or open a new window) to continue browsing as normal.

The popup sitemap window is a 'reduced' browser display - there's no toolbars etc at the top.
However, the static sitemap window is a normal browser display.

1. Printing the sitemap - You may find it helpful to print out the sitemap (it uses around 4 pages of A4). It's best to print the popup sitemap (rather than the static sitemap) - this ensures it's 100% up-to-date.  To print it, right-click on any blank/whitespace part of the sitemap panel, then choose 'Print' from the menu that appears.

2. Using either version of the sitemap to imitate 'frames' for navigation (optional)

Introduction - A few websites still use 'frames'.  These make navigation easier (using a list of links in a tall, narrow left-hand panel).  However, they have disadvantages and nowadays are 'deprecated' - in other words, frowned upon.  We describe below a neat way you can use the Sitemap to imitate frames.  This gives you the best of both worlds - the navigation advantages, but without any of the disadvantages. Follow the instructions below.

Instructions - Once you've called up either version of the sitemap, clicking on any of its links will open the chosen page in the other (parent) browser window.  This allows you to imitate web page frames as follows :

• First, resize the two browser windows so they more-or-less abut (no overlapping). For instance:
  (1) move and resize the sitemap window so it occupies (say) the left 25% or so of the screen, and
  (2) resize the parent window to occupy the remaining 75%.
  SEE THE DIAGRAM BELOW  
• Then, when you click on successive links on the sitemap list on the left, each page appears in the larger right-hand (parent) window.  This allows you to move from page to page more rapidly than by using the drop-down menus.  If you're using 800x600 screen resolution or higher, you can see the full width of each page in the parent window.
   
  This 'frames' method is useful if you want to look at lots of pages briefly.  Once you've finished using the sitemap window, you can leave it running or close it.  Either way, you can resume browsing as usual, in the remaining (main) window.

Sitemap window =list of links (scrolls)

main (parent) window

3. Using the sitemap if you haven't got JavaScript enabled

Over 90% of computer users have JavaScript enabled. So most people can ignore this section.

If you haven't got JavaScript enabled, the drop-down menus and popup sitemap won't work (as they use JavaScript).

To cope with this, we've added a 'static sitemap' to the site. This enables you to navigate the site.  However, bear in mind that the static sitemap is only a snapshot file and it becomes progressively out-of-date until we next re-create/update it.  It's a standard (static) HTML web page, produced by us and updated periodically, using the data in the drop-down menus.

Accessing the static sitemap:   At the top of most pages there's a link to it.  Note: The link is normally hidden after a few seconds by the JavaScript-powered drop-down menus.  But if you haven't got JavaScript enabled, the menus won't appear - so the static sitemap link remains visible.

Navigating - Using links

In addition to the usual links within the text of each page, the following links are provided :

The drop-down menus at the top of most pages :  Details of these are given above.

Links - at the top of each page : These are quick links to a few key pages.  However, if the drop-down menus appear successfully, they'll cover up the links at the top (after a few seconds). This is deliberate.

Links - at the bottom of each page :  These are quick links to a few key pages such as the Homepage, Help and Contact us.  However, generally it's best to go to the top of the page (eg just by pressing the Home key) and then use the comprehensive drop-down menus.

Links - the list of headings (ToC) near the top of most pages :  Near the top of many pages (below the drop-down menus and the page heading) we've placed a list of the headings used on the page.  This is like a Table of Contents (ToC) for the page.  Many of them have links to the headings themselves.

Links - External versus Internal :

• External links - These are links which go to other websites.
  We've added a red double-arrow ' ' symbol immediately after them, thus :
        www.an-imaginary-site.org.uk
  Most of these links open in a new (second) window (see below for an explanation).
• Internal links - These are links to other parts of our website.
  These links don't have a red double-arrow suffix.
  These links don't open in a new (second) window (with 2 or 3 exceptions).

Note - In some cases, where we mention another website (such as the Charity Commission) and give a link, it doesn't have a red double-arrow. This is because it's an internal link - it doesn't go directly to that website, but goes to another part of our site where we give further information on that organisation (including an external link).

Exceptions - We've not used red double-arrows on the following pages or sections :

• The three pages which largely consist of external links (ie the pages called 'Useful links', 'Links A-Z' and 'List of abbreviations and organisations - A-Z'). 
• The 'Related pages and Useful links' sections of pages.

Links - Style :

• Colours of links - We've used the following :
     link - default     link - visited     link - hover     link - active
• What's underlined? - We've used a simple rule :
  - If something's underlined - it's a link.
  - If it's not underlined - it's not a link.

Image links :  We've added only a few links on images.

Navigating - Searching the site  

A site search facility is included - provided by www.picosearch.com :

• The search box is at the bottom of most pages.
• The search-results page opens in a new (second) browser window.
• The searching only works when you're online (as the index is kept on the PicoSearch website).
• We have no control over the design or content of the search results page.
• Because we're using the free version, the results page includes sponsored links (ie advertisements).
• We re-index the site frequently.

Site design and compatibility

Most of the site uses a simple design and standard, well-established software, components, fonts and the like. This should maximise compatibility with different types of computers and browsers. Tell us if you get any problems.

We haven't used:   frames, Flash, video, blinking text, unreasonably small font sizes.

There's an animated image and one sound.

We use :

• OS - Windows
• Browsers - mainly Internet Explorer (IE); and Opera

Browsing with Netscape - We haven't tested the site with Netscape.  We anticipate there will be some problems with the site using Netscape - eg alignment, tables.

JavaScript - The drop-down menus (details above) use JavaScript.  So, to see the site properly, you need to ensure that (a) you use a browser which is compatible with JavaScript, and (b) your browser options are configured so that JavaScript is enabled.  According to W3Schools, 90% of users have JavaScript enabled.  The popup sitemap (details above) also uses JavaScript.

Files

• The default page (the site's homepage) has an "htm" extension (index.htm).
• However, most of the site's pages have an "shtml" extension (eg help.shtml). This is because "Server-side include" files (SSIs) are used on these pages - eg to provide standard headers and footers.
• See below for details of the image files, Adobe Acrobat PDF files and MS Word files.

Images

Please see the About images page.

Size of site

When last counted; figures approximate :

• 105 web pages
• 230 A4 pages when printed out
• 70,000 words
• a few files in Adobe Acrobat .pdf and Microsoft Word .doc formats
• Links to around 200 other websites

Printing out  

Printer-friendly pages - Most of the site's pages are printer-friendly. Their full width should print out (although page breaks will be random).

Not so Printer-friendly pages - There are a few such pages. Two reasons for this are :

• Tables - We've used a specified, absolute width (eg '738 pixels') for a few tables - for instance with certain press releases. This ensures the line-breaks etc faithfully match the originals.
• Graphics - There are a few large (wide) graphics - eg scanned images of whole pages of the 1939 Act.

If you print these pages with your usual printer settings, the right-hand margin may be missing.

One way of solving this problem is to tell your printer to output in landscape (horizontal) format rather than the default format of portrait (vertical).

Help (Computing/IT) :
Related pages and Useful links

Note:  There are no red double-arrow symbols next to the external links below.

 

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