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About Fanciful Navigator | Installation of Fanciful Navigator | Configuration of Fanciful Navigator

What features does Fanciful Navigator offer?

The Fanciful Navigator (FNav) is a suite individual programs called "clients." The Fanciful Navigator is a customized version of Wildcat Navigator for Windows. Each client offers its own set of special features. This page contains several "thumbnail" pictures of the clients. Almost any Winsock compliant client that does not absolutely require a dedicated IP address will also work with Fanciful Navigator. This includes Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator, Eudora Lite & Eudora Pro, Pegasus Mail, WS_FTP, and many, many others.

Connection Manager
The first part of Fanciful Navigator that you see is the Connection Manager. The Connection Manager can keep track of your user name and password, if you check "Remember my Password", and includes an option to "Check for new mail at logon."

The Connection Manager allows you to connect to Fanciful Online either through a direct dial modem connection to Fanciful Online, or through an Internet connection. You can even switch back and forth between the two methods, connecting to a Fanciful Online over the Internet one day, and dialing directly the next.

The connection manager is not used when a Fanciful Navigator login is initiated through a web browser.

Web Browser
After the Connection Manager connects you to the site, it turns control over to the other clients in the Fanciful Navigator suite. One of the first clients to launch will be your web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 is shown to the right). The web browser is different from the other clients built into Fanciful Navigator in that you may choose your own web browser (although we strongly recommend using either Netscape version 3.0 or higher, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 or higher). You will use your web browser to view web pages hosted by Fanciful Online, or to view web pages from other Internet sites.

Since the web browser is not built into Fanciful Navigator, you may need to configure it before you begin -- be sure to follow the instructions on the Configuration page.

Message Client
The heart and soul of most Bulletin Board Systems is the message area, and Fanciful Online is no exception.

When you first open the Message Client, you will  see a list of conference groups available to you. Open one of the groups, and a list of individual conferences appear. Conferences that have new mail in them will appear in bold text, while conferences without new mail will appear in plain text. When you select a conference, you will see a list of new messages in that conference. Double-click on a message to read it, and a new window will open.

Unlike viewing messages in your web browser, each message does not appear as a new web page. Instead, the interface looks much more like an Internet email program, or a specialized word processor. Advanced options are included, such as a spell checker, a personal address book, and automated file attachment support.

File Client
We have many files available online for you to download if you choose, and the File Client is a simple and familiar interface to get to them. The windows in the File Client look similar to the Explorer windows found in Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, with the bonus of having short textual descriptions of each of the files available for download. When you double-click on a file, a Transfer Client automatically handles the download, allowing you to continue working while the file is copied to your computer.

Chat Client
When the Chat Client opens, you'll find chat rooms listed, where you can talk "live" to other users on our system. It takes at least two people to make the Chat Client worthwhile (since you'll need someone to chat with), but the live interaction is a different experience from sending email messages back and forth. You can even use your own private chat channel if you wish, where only the users you choose to invite can join in. Chat becomes particularly interesting when users from different parts of the world meet online!

Who's Online
If you're going to chat with someone, you're going to need to find out who is on our system to chat with! That's where the Who's Online Client comes in. The Who's Online Client shows you who else is connected to Fanciful Online. From the Who's Online Client, you can page other users, or ask them to join you in a live chat session. Or, you can just satisfy your curiosity and watch how busy Fanciful Online is as people come and go.

Terminal Client
The text-based side of our system looks much like a conventional BBS or Telnet site, and in fact it is. (You can even telnet directly into Fanciful Online, or dial up using a conventional ANSI terminal program.) The Terminal Client allows you access to this text-based system, which is identical to the system dialup callers see through an ANSI terminal program, or that telnet users see through an ANSI telnet client. Web browser Only users cannot access the Terminal Client, so they need to run a separate telnet client to see this side of Fanciful Online.

Personal Properties
Change your password, determine if others can page you for chats, and see what your personal statistics are like in the Personal Properties Client.

Should I use Fanciful Navigator?

Only you can decide this for certain. There are some benefits and drawbacks to using Fanciful Navigator, and it's up to you to decide how the scales are tipped. Here's a summary of some of the benefits and drawbacks:

Another Option . . .

You can of course choose to access Fanciful Online using a terminal/telnet program, such as Qmodem Pro, or Hyperterminal through the Internet.

Last Updated: May 3, 2003