Navigator 2.0 Is More Than a Web Browser

Navigator 2.0 Is More Than a Web Browser

Although Netscape Navigator started out its life as a basic Web browser, as it has grown increasingly popular, it has become much more.

Unlike earlier browsers and today's basic Web applications, Navigator 2.0 provides authors with numerous tools to step beyond the traditional constraints of HTML. Instead of simply combining text, pictures, sound and video, authors now have finer control over document layout, fonts, and color; they are able to extend the functionality of the browser using plug-ins and Java; and they can produce interactive applications using JavaScript.

A quick look at the Netscape Web site shows that today's Navigator can do so much more than previous versions—even without special programming by Web developers. With freely available plug-ins from leading software companies, Web authors can include native CorelDRAW graphics or Microsoft Word files in their documents, as well as view VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) worlds, and view documents formatted in Adobe's device-independent Acrobat format.

On top of all this, however, Navigator 2.0 provides several tools that Web page developers and authors can take advantage of to enhance their documents and add dynamic interaction with the information they are providing on the Internet.