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Using Netscape Online Accelerator
 
 
1) Launching Netscape Online Accelerator
2) Accessing the User Interface
3) Setting Username and Password Information
4) Changing the Image Quality Setting
5) Changing the Pop-Up Blocker Settings
6) Starting and Stopping
7) Closing Netscape Online Accelerator
8) Changing Your Connection Settings
9) Bypassing the Netscape Online Accelerator for Selected Sites
10) Accelerating E-mail
11) View Your Acceleration Statistics
12) Accessing Product Version Information
13) Updating Software
14) Using Netscape Online Accelerator Diagnostics
15) Uninstalling Netscape Online Accelerator
1) Launching Netscape Online Accelerator

The Netscape Online Accelerator launches automatically every time you start Windows. It operates in the background to accelerate your internet connection. No user intervention is required.

If the Netscape Online Accelerator is not running and you need to launch it manually, in the Windows Start Menu, an icon titled "Netscape Online Accelerator" is located under the Netscape folder.



The Netscape Online Accelerator taskbar icon appears in the Windows taskbar at the lower right of your screen to you show you it is running.



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2) Accessing the User Interface

Netscape Online Accelerator, once launched, will remain in the system tray at the lower right of your screen. For the most part, there will be no need to access the accelerator user interface during web browsing. Should you wish, you can access the user interface to change settings, view connection status, or acceleration statistics.

To access the user interface features, click on the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. The Settings window menu will be displayed (see below). Choose the Accelerator option to view a menu of features. Selecting and single-clicking any of the menu items will access that particular feature.




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3) Setting Username and Password Information

Your username and password information is located in the Connection Status dialog. To set your username and password:

  1. Click the Settings button of the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option and select Settings from the Accelerator menu.
  2. Click on the "Connection" tab.



  3. Enter your Netscape Online username and password in the fields provided. To avoid having to do this each time you connect, ensure that the "Save password" box is checked.
  4. To save your settings, press OK.


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4) Changing the Image Quality Setting

The image quality setting changes the quality of images that appear in your Netscape Online Accelerator. The higher the quality you select, the longer it will take to load. For slower Internet connections, it is recommended that you lower your image quality. This slider can be adjusted anytime while browsing.

You can easily obtain full image quality for a particular image (described below), so don't be overly conservative about lowering your image quality setting.

  1. Click the Settings button of the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option and select Settings from the Accelerator menu.
  2. Select "Settings...".
  3. Select the "Image Quality" tab.
  4. Use the slider bar to adjust the image quality setting.
  5. Press OK to save the settings.


Getting Full Image Quality

Note: The following information applies only when browsing with Internet Explorer.

While browsing, if you would like to request the full quality image, simply right-click on the desired image from within Internet Explorer and select "Show Original Image" from the menu (shown below).



The full quality image will appear in place of the lower quality image (shown below).



If you want to see the full quality version of all images on the current page, simply right-click on any image from within Internet Explorer and select "Show All Original Images" from the menu (shown below).





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5) Changing the Pop-Up Blocker Settings

The Netscape Online Accelerator can prevent pop-up windows and floating flash advertisements from appearing while you browse the Internet. This behaviour is enabled by default, and no user intervention is required. However, you can disable these features at any time.

A limited number of websites require pop-ups to function correctly. The Netscape Online Accelerator allows you to specify a "White List" of sites where pop-ups will not be blocked.

You can also see a list of all pop-ups that were blocked. This information is useful if you suspect a website is not functioning properly because pop-ups are being blocked.

Enabling and Disabling the Pop-Up Blocker

  1. Click the Settings button of the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Select "Pop-Up Blocker".
  3. Select the "Options" tab.



  4. To hear a beep whenever a pop-up is blocked, check "Notify blocked pop-up by PC speaker beep".
  5. To disable the blocking of floating Flash advertisements, uncheck "Block Floating Flash-Ads".
  6. To disable all pop-up blocking for all sites, uncheck "Enable PopUp Blocker".
  7. Press OK to save the settings.
Disabling the Pop-Up Blocker for Specific Sites

  1. Click the Settings button of the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Select "Pop-Up Blocker".
  3. Select the "White List" tab.



  4. Use the "Add", "Remove" and "Remove All" buttons to manipulate the White List.
  5. Press OK to save the settings.
Viewing the Pop-Up Blocker Log

  1. Click the Settings button of the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Select "Pop-Up Blocker".
  3. Select the "Logging" tab.



  4. To add a website to the "White List" so that pop-ups are no longer blocked from that site, right click on the site and click "Add to Whitelist".
Adding Sites to the White List

You can add sites to the White List within the Pop-Up Blocker dialogs, shown above, or from within Internet Explorer.

  1. Right-click on any text while browsing within Internet Explorer.
  2. Select "Add to Whitelist" from the menu to add the current site to the White List.



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6) Starting and Stopping

When the Netscape Online Accelerator is launched it automatically connects. Occasionally, you may need to stop or start manually.

To Stop:

If you are connected and you want to manually disconnect, click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option and click the Stop button (as show below).



The Netscape Online Accelerator system tray icon will turn red as pictured below.




Alternatively, you can also right-click on the Netscape Online Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Stop Accelerator".

To Start:

If Netscape Online Accelerator is stopped and you want to manually start, click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option and click the Start button (as shown below).



The red window in the Netscape Online Accelerator system tray icon will change to green.

Alternatively, you can also right-click on the Netscape Online Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Start Accelerator".




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7) Closing Netscape Online Accelerator

To close the Netscape Online Accelerator:

  1. Right-click on the Netscape Online Accelerator system tray icon and select "Exit" from the pop-up menu (see below). Netscape Online Accelerator will disconnect and close. Doing this will not close any open browser windows.



    Note: The Netscape Online Accelerator will automatically launch again the next time you reboot your computer.


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8) Changing Your Connection Settings

Normally, the connection settings that are set during installation do not need to be changed. If however, Netscape Online provides new connection settings, you may change the preset ones using the "Settings" dialog.

  1. Click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Select "Settings".
  3. Click on the "Connection" tab.



  4. Press "Advanced...".



  5. Change the "Remote Server Hostname" and "Server Port" to those provided by Netscape Online. If you live west of the Ontario/Manitoba border, the Remote Server Hostname field should read: western.services.netscape.ca. In most cases, it is unnecessary to change the "Local Listening Port".
  6. Press "OK" to close the "Connection" dialog box.
  7. Press "OK" to save your new connection settings. These settings will be used next time you connect with the Netscape Online Accelerator.


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9) Bypassing the Netscape Online Accelerator for Selected Sites

If you wish to bypass the Netscape Online Accelerator for certain websites (websites on your local corporate intranet, for instance) then simply click the "Proxy Exclusion" button found under the "Features" tab on the "Settings" dialog (see below). You have two options for bypassing sites:

  1. If you have already defined a proxy exclusion list in your web brower, then select "Use browser's proxy exclusion settings" to configure the Netscape Online Accelerator to exclude these sites as well.
  2. You may also "Specify a proxy exclusion list" by selecting this option. In the given text field, list all the websites, separated by semicolons, that you wish to bypass Netscape Online Acceleration.





  3. Stop and then start the Netscape Online Accelerator.
Note: In step 1, Netscape Online does not support the wildcard (*) operator.



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10) Accelerating E-mail

The Netscape Online Accelerator can reduce the amount of time it takes to send and receive email. The Netscape Online Accelerator accelerates e-mail transparently without any user intervention, so you can use your mail program exactly as you normally would. It is compatible with any POP3/SMTP client, including Outlook Express, Eudora and Netscape Online Mail. E-mail acceleration is enabled by default.

To change e-mail acceleration settings:

  1. Click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Select "Settings".
  3. Select the "Features" tab.



  4. Select "enable" or "disable" as desired.
  5. Press OK to save the settings. The changes will take effect the next time the Netscape Online Accelerator and your mail client are restarted.


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11) View Your Acceleration Statistics

You may view the acceleration statistics and how they change dynamically using the Statistics dialog.
  1. Click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option. Alternatively, you can click on the Netscape Online Accelerator taskbar icon to access the pop-up menu.
  2. Select "Statistics", to display the Statistics summary dialog.
  3. Click "Reset" to reset the statistics. You may do so at anytime while browsing without affecting Netscape Online Accelerator's performance or operation.
  4. Click the "Details" button to view more detailed statistics information (see below).
  5. Press OK to save the settings. The changes will take effect the next time the Netscape Online Accelerator and your mail client are restarted.




    6. Consult the following table for a description of the values.

    Original DataSize of the original (uncompressed) data.
    Actual DataAmount of data sent by the Netscape Online Accelerator.
    Savings RatioFactor of reduction in data. E.g. A savings ratio of 4.00 means your connection is 4 times faster than a normal connection on average.
    Text-basedThis row contains compression information regarding text-based content.
    GraphicsContains compression information regarding graphical content.
    OthersContains information regarding content that is neither text nor graphical.
    UpstreamLists the total original and compressed amounts of data uploaded.


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12) Accessing Product Version Information

You may view the product version in the About dialog.
  1. Click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option. Alternatively, you can right-click on the Netscape Online Accelerator taskbar icon to access the pop-up menu.
  2. Select "About" to display the About dialog (see below).



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13) Updating Software

AutoUpdate will inform you of any major or minor software upgrades to the Netscape Online Service. By default, you will be notified of all software upgrades.

If you want to manually update the Netscape Online Accelerator:
  1. Click the Settings button on the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Open the "Settings" dialog.
  3. Click on the "Update" tab.
  4. Select “Update Now?to upgrade to the latest version (see below).
  5. Press OK to save the settings.





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14) Using Netscape Online Accelerator Diagnostics

Netscape Online Accelerator allows you to test the performance and configuration of your Netscape Accelerator settings (note: this function may be required if contacting Netscape Online technical support at 1-866-NETSCAPE).

  1. Click the Settings button of the upper left corner of the Netscape Online connection screen. Choose the Accelerator option.
  2. Select "Diagnostics ". The blank diagnostics window screen will appear.
  3. Click the “Generate?button. Netscape Online Accelerator diagnostics will execute (as seen in the window below). Text will output a log file which will provide information regarding the effectiveness of your Netscape Online Accelerator configuration.
  4. Select "Update Now" to upgrade to the latest version (see below).
  5. You can copy the log file to paste to another word processing application by clicking the “Copy Log?button.





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15) Uninstalling Netscape Online Accelerator

If you want to manually uninstall the Netscape Online Accelerator:
  1. Under the Windows Start Menu, select icon titled "Uninstall Netscape Online Accelerator" located under the Netscape folder (as shown below).



Alternatively, you can uninstall Netscape Online Accelerator under the Windows Control Panel:
  1. Under the Windows Control Panel, select "Add or Remove Programs".
  2. Select Netscape Online Accelerator and click Remove.
  3. The uninstaller will launch and guide you through the uninstallation procedure.


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