Using a Web Browser for interactive material has three advantages: (1) Browsers are free, (2) usually installed already, and (3) results work across many operating systems.

This is a Quick Look at some JavaScript s that, mixed with carefully-written text, create Browser pages that are easier to use than plain text – and more fun to learn from. The result is , a phrase that harmless drudges¹ haven't put in dictionaries yet.

The allusion above, , is a tiny example to show what we mean. If you don't get the allusion, it can sound awkward and make you hesitate. So, a considerate writer might explain in a footnote or a hyperlinked page. We provided both. Did you read either? In practice, many people wouldn't bother – for the reasons we explain in each.

There's a better way: hover your mouse over this and then over . Now check the purple version of that allusion above. We'll wait here while you do ...

We call this an . It's more convenient than footnotes or hyperlinks, so it's more likely to be consulted. And its use is less likely to disturb your concentration.

 
An is ideal for isolated explanations. But with a set of related terms, a box is better. What is it? Click on (or any other term in dark blue) to find out. We link each occurrence of these glossed items to their clickable box.

You needn't close the window; it will disappear beneath this window as you click back here to read on, and close automatically when you leave this page.

Our techniques are designed to allow users to , and still use interactive pages to the full. This cuts network traffic, and it's also important for users with metered connections. Click on for details, and now.

All the interactive features will continue to operate while you're offline.

Practise following cross-references (if you haven't tried it): click now and, in the window that opens, click on the term s to follow the cross-reference; then, from the window, click . Try the Back and Forward links, too.

can grow as your knowledge grows. For example, click now, and check that, at the moment, its window mentions nothing about being Context-sensitive.

In a Course of Lessons, it helps if the reference on a term isn't cluttered with details that won't be understood until later. In this Quick Look, we'll simulate starting a new Lesson at this stage. Click again and the Context-sensitive point now appears.

Our full-scale Batch File Course and our Lessons on HTML for newcomers each use Context-sensitive for their Course Reference. The number of terms covered, and the amount of detail shown for each term, grow as you progress. By the way, remember you can hover your mouse over a or a to read more.

For example, each time the <> tag occurs in our HTML for newcomers Lessons, you can click on the term to remind yourself of its use. Try clicking on<> for yourself (in this Quick Look, cross-references from <> to further terms are inactive).

As well as the for a term each time it's mentioned, we also use a pull-down list so students can consult the Course Reference directly. We include it in each Lesson; the list grows automatically as more terms are covered.

 
The next we'll look at is the . With Lessons, most of the content is taught as short Exercises. Students get involved; they remember content more easily, and learning is more fun. A few Exercises will explain.

Each Exercise has a preview pane that shows either:

• Summary of the main stages in the Exercise, or
• Simulation of a parallel window used in the Lesson

 Note  To show you've used it, the button for turns  grey . This keeps track of where you are; but you can always use a  grey  button again to review an Exercise.

s can guide students through an extended task, in series of steps. This is useful when working on the Windows Desktop with the main Lesson window minimized.

Glance through the preview, then click the button :

We also use s to simplify working with a text editor (such as Windows Notepad). In , we looked briefly at the screen layout for using Notepad interactively in an Lesson.

The main Lesson window takes up the full screen. Overlying it are the Exercise , any figure window (in the top left), and other working windows, such as the Notepad window (bottom left).

Any text you need to type will be in the Exercise , so it can be read while you are working in Notepad.

The result is that students work quickly and smoothly, with no need to look at notes or print outs. The windows "remember" their positions throughout a Lesson, with their Taskbar buttons used to switch between them.

 Note  The layout we use works for 800x600 monitor resolution and higher. With no need to look away from the screen, it's easy to maintain concentration, even for long sessions. For this reason, we recommend a for work than you'd use for casual browsing (to minimize eyestrain from continuous concentration on the screen).

An Lesson often involves gradually building up written work in Notepad (or a similar editor). For this, we use a that simulates (part of) the Notepad window. Sections of text we've created already are shown subdued, so it's easy to see where the new text is to go.

In an Edit-style , the preview pane is repeated in the itself, so the student can work directly from it. Click the button now :

Before we end this Quick Look at , there's one more thing to try. To help fix key points in memory at the end of a Lesson, we use a Question and Answer , which we call a . Try the following demonstration for yourself:

¹	If you read a footnote straight away, you lose your place in the text. And if you read it afterwards, its context is lost. So footnotes such as this are often not read at all.