Task Seven: Saving a Document / Using Document elsewhere

Netscape 6

To save a file, one can simply press the disk button on the menu bar, or conversely, go to the File menu and choose save as. It should be noted, however, that this method does not save the inline images. These images must be saved separately, using the right mouse button. It should also be noted that these saved images will not be correctly referenced if the containing HTML document used absolute references to them. Relative references are required in this situation. This can make saving documents quite a chore.

In order to use a HTML document in another (possibly non-HTML) document, the user is essentially required to cut and paste from Netscape to the destination document. This process is quite lacking in the fact that it loses all formatting and styles in the original file. In addition, pictures can not be copied to the clipboard.

Mosaic 6

Mosaic handles this situation in exactly the same way as Netscape, with individual file saving and copy-pasting without formatting.

Lynx 4

To save a file, the user presses the 'a' key and then chooses to save the file. Since this is text-based, style, formatting, and images are not a concern. The resultant text file can then be incorporated into other documents in the standard method.

OmniWeb 10

To save a file in OmniWeb, all that is required of the user is to press Command-s to save the HTML file. In addition to the HTML format, the user may drag the icon out of the well in the top right hand corner of the screen and drop it in an appropriate folder in Workspace Manager. This will save the file in RTF format if no images are involved, or in RTFD format otherwise.

It is astonishingly easy to remove parts of a document (even images!) for use in another application. All the user has to do is select the desired portion of the text, copy it with Command-c, and then paste it with Command-v in the desired location. Images alone may be transfered by simply dragging them out of the document to the destination.

Many of these advantages are afforded by the better interface of the OS, but this is certainly an area where the other browsers could improve.


The Winner Is:

OmniWeb