Website glossary

We have aimed to make our site as user-friendly as possible, but sometimes we have to use technical words to describe something accurately. If you are new to the Internet, you may find the glossary below to be a useful starting point in understanding some of the terminology.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a program or plug-in used to read PDF documents. See the downloads section for the latest version.

Attachment

A file that is sent with an email is called an attachment. These files can be almost any kind including word processing documents, spreadsheets, sounds or movies.

Browser

A browser is software that allows you to use the World Wide Web. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari are some of the most popular browsers. See downloads for more information.

Download

Download means to save a file from the Internet to your computer including documents, software, videos and images.

Email

Email (electronic mail) is used to send messages back and forth using your computer by using an email program or web based email (webmail).

Email address

An email address is needed to send and receive email. An email address is unique, so it works just like an electronic letterbox. This usually takes the form user@host.com.au.

FAQ (Frequently asked questions)

Frequently asked questions are commonly asked with an answer provided for each question. See frequently asked questions.

Favourites or Bookmarks

When using a browser you can add a web page to your list of Favourites or Bookmarks which is a very useful method of organising the sites you visit regularly.

Home page

This is usually the starting or front page of a website.

Install

When you have a new piece of software you need to load, or install, it onto your computer before you can use it. You may need to restart your computer before you can use the new software.

Internet

The internet is millions of computers worldwide all joined together by a common protocol (TCP/IP) - which means they can all communication with each other.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

A popular web browser provided by Microsoft. See the downloads section for the latest version of this browser.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)

Most people use an ISP to gain access to the internet.

Link

A link is a highlighted word or phrase often underlined that you can click on to go to another web page. The Centrelink website different coloured links if you have clicked on that link before.

Modem

A modem is needed by your computer to connect to the internet.

Mozilla Firefox

Another popular web browser, which replaces Netscape Navigator. See downloads section for the latest version of this browser.

Offline

Generally refers to not being connected to the Internet.

Online

Means that you are currently connected to the Internet or refers to material that is located on the Internet as in "You can get that information online.".

PDF (Portable Document Format)

A document format that ensures it prints well from any kind of computer. A PDF document will always have a filename ending in .pdf

Software or plug-ins are required to open PDFs, including Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Plug-ins

Are small extensions that add extra features to your web browser. They can sometimes be downloaded for free.

Refresh or Reload

When using a browser you sometimes need to click on the Refresh or Reload button to ensure that you are viewing the most current version of a web page.

RTF (Rich Text Format)

A format for text documents that ensures it can be opened and used by most word processing programs.

Search Engine

Enables users to search for keywords on web pages throughout the World Wide Web. You can search the Centrelink website. Search is also built into your browser to quickly search the page you are currently on.

TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)

This is a set of protocols which allow computers to share information. TCP/IP transfers 'packets' of information which are delivered separately, then put back together to provide the full set of information. This happens very quickly and without you needing to be aware of it. You may notice when you open a new web page it doesn't always load all at once, this is because not all of the packets have arrived at your computer.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

This is the address of a website. For example, the Centrelink URL is http://www.centrelink.gov.au/

Website

A website is a group of pages on the internet. It can be compared to a book - short or long with lots of pages that you can flick through in page order or randomly. You can even use a virtual bookmark as a placeholder.

WWW (World Wide Web)

The web is millions of websites all linked together that you can use to search for information, chat online, internet banking, research and many other purposes. Sort of like one big library full of every bit of information you can think of.