SCROLLING
If you look at the right edge of your computer screen, you will see a scroll bar.  At the top and bottom of the scroll bar are little buttons with tiny triangle-shaped arrows on them.  In between the buttons is a long, narrow box called the slider.

A browser shows a scroll bar when a web page is too large to fit on the computer screen all at once.  A scroll bar lets you move a web page up and down so you can read the whole page.  Moving a web page up and down is called scrolling. 

Imagine holding a long paper scroll in your hands; you can only read the part that's unrolled. If you want to read past that, you have to unroll from the bottom and roll up at the top to reveal a new portion of the scroll.  Scrolling a long web page is similar; because you can only see part of the page on your screen, you have to move the page in order to keep reading.

Put your pointer over the button at the bottom of the scroll bar and click several times.  See how the page moves?  It is scrolling down.  Now click on the top button several times.  The web page will scroll up.  Notice that the slider also moves up and down as you scroll.

There are lots of different ways to scroll.  You can:

  • Click on the little up and down arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar, like you've been doing.
  • Click on the scroll bar above or below the slider.
  • Put your pointer over the slider, then hold down the left mouse button while moving the pointer up and down.  (This is called dragging the slider.)
  • Use the four arrow keys on your keyboard.
  • Use the "Page Up" and "Page Down" keys, which are just above the arrow keys on your keyboard.
  • If your mouse has a little "wheel" in between the two mouse buttons, you can scroll by gently turning the wheel.
Try each of these ways of scrolling, then click on the arrow below to continue.

 
 
 

Glossary of terms used so far:
  • browser - A computer program that helps people use the Internet.
  • click - To quickly press and release the left mouse button.
  • drag - To move an onscreen object by putting the pointer over it, holding the mouse button down, and moving the pointer.
  • Google Chrome - A browser.
  • Internet Explorer - A browser.
  • Mozilla Firefox - A browser.  Firefox is an updated version of Netscape Navigator.
  • pointer - The little arrow that moves around the computer screen when the mouse is moved.
  • Safari - A browser.
  • scroll - To move a web page up and down on the computer screen.
  • scroll bar - A bar that appears at the edge of the computer screen when a web page is too large to fit on the screen.
  • slider - Part of a scroll bar; the box that moves up and down as a web page is scrolled.
  • web page - A computer file that looks like a printed page when viewed with a browser.
  • web site - A group of related web pages.