Safari’s Web Browsing Tools
As with any software, you can get the most out of the Safari web browser when you are familiar with the tools it offers. Here’s where to find each tool and give you a general idea of the purpose of each tool.
The Safari toolbar occupies the top view of the browser. On the left side of the toolbar, as shown in the figure, you see the following tools:
1. Back: takes you to the previous web page (unless this is your first stop); Click again to go back to another page, and so on, until you end up on the first page you saw when you launched Safari.
2. Forward: Takes you to the page you’ve backtracked from; Click again to advance to the next page you backed off, and so on, until you end on the last page you visited before you clicked the Back button.
3. Home: Click Home to return to the web page that opens when you open Safari.
4. iCloud: Opens iCloud tabs, which shows websites open in Safari on your other iOS devices.
5. Share: Use this tool to easily grab the link of the page you are reading and send it to someone else or save it as a bookmark or in your reading list.
6. Add: Open a new tab.
7. Search and Address: Type a web address here or enter a search term.
8. Sidebar: In the sidebar pane, see your bookmarks, reading list and shared links..
9. Top Sites: Your Mac keeps track of the sites you visit most frequently and helps you get back to them quickly.
On the right side of the toolbar, you will see these tools illustrated in this figure:
1. Private Browsing: While this option is selected, Safari forgets your browsing history when you leave Safari. This is a good choice if you want to keep your online shopping secret away from prying eyes who might use your computer and see it before the holidays.
2. Reload: Clicking the small circle of arrows icon on the right side of the address bar will reload the current webpage and display any new information that has changed since you arrived at the webpage (such as breaking news on the New York Times homepage). When Safari loads or reloads a webpage, the circle of arrows turns into an X icon. Clicking the X icon stops Safari from loading or reloading the webpage.
3. Reader: If the Reader option is available, as described in the Reading in Reader section, clicking this button will open the text in Reader.
4. Full screen view: Safari supports full screen view. Click the Full Screen button in the upper-right corner to make full use of your screen. To return to partial screen view, press the Esc button or move the cursor in the upper-right corner until you see the full screen view switch, then click it once.
If Safari looks different on your Mac than these figures, you probably have different options selected for the Toolbar (or are using a different version, in which case, upgrade and then return here). To add or delete the buttons on the Safari Toolbar, choose View→Customize Toolbar. A pane opens, as shown.
Click and drag the icons to and from the toolbar and the pane to create a toolbar that meets your browsing needs.