4       Annotations



Use the Annotate menu to add your comments to a document. 
NCSA Mosaic currently supports only personal annotations, 
which cannot be viewed by anyone else. In the future, work-
group and public annotations may be options.

How Annotations Work

Should you decide to annotate a document, opening the Anno-
tate Window provides a large space to append your com-
ments. The annotation, which becomes a separate file, is 
added to the end of the original document as a hyperlink 
under the heading Personal Annotations.

Each time you open the original document, the hyperlink is 
displayed under the Personal Annotations heading. An infi-
nite number of annotations can be made to a specific docu-
ment. You can edit and delete annotations.

Each annotation entered separately through the Annotate 
Window becomes a new annotation document. 

How to Use Annotations

Creating an Annotation

Select Annotate from the Annotate menu. The Annotate Window 
opens as shown in Figure 4.1. Edit the Annotation Author and 
Annotation Title default entries if desired. 

Figure 4.1       The Annotate Window



Enter your annotation in the Enter the annotation text box, which 
has plenty of room for your comments. The text does not 
wrap, so insert hard carriage returns to make the annotation 
easier to read. (The annotation can be coded using HTML, the 
Web markup language. See HyperText Markup Language on 
page 5-1 for more information.) To quickly clear all text from 
the window, click the Clean Slate button. 

The Include File button lets you include an existing file in your 
annotation. Click this button to open the Include File in Anno-
tation window. Use the File Selection Box with the Directories 
and Files fields to reach the file you want to included. When 
the filename is highlighted, click the OK button to add the file 
contents to the annotation.

Click Commit to add your annotation to the original document. 
Notice that a hyperlink has been added at the bottom of the 
document under the Personal Annotations heading, as shown 
in Figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2       Personal Annotation Displayed at End of Anno-
tated Document

Editing an Annotation

You can edit an annotation once it is displayed on your screen 
as the active window. Display the annotation by clicking on 
the hyperlink. 

NCSA Mosaic recognizes this document as an annotation and 
makes the Edit This Annotation... item on the Annotate menu 
active. Select Edit This Annotation.... The Annotate Window opens 
with the text of your annotation.

You can now edit the contents. Use the Clean Slate and Include 
File buttons from the top of the window as necessary. 

Deleting an Annotation

To delete an annotation, click on the hyperlink to display the 
annotation in the Document View window.

NCSA Mosaic recognizes this document as an annotation and 
makes the Delete This Annotation... item on the Annotate menu 
active. Select Delete This Annotation.... A dialog box opens and 
asks you to confirm your choice. Click Yes or No as appropri-
ate.

If you instead select Edit This Annotation..., the Annotation Win-
dow opens showing your comments. Selecting the Delete but-
ton closes the window and deletes the annotation file (the 
same function as selecting Delete Annotation...).

Formatting Annotations with HTML

Annotations can be entered as straight text into the Annotate 
Window. Specific coding or formatting is not required, 
although inserting hard carriage returns 
into your annotation text makes it easier to read later. If you 
do not insert carriage returns, all your text is still available; 
however, you must scroll horizontally to see it.

An annotation can also be coded using the HyperText Markup 
Language (HTML). This has two advantages:

1.      Your text can include such styles as bold, italics, and 
nested lists.

2.      You can include hyperlinks in your annotation.

For more information about HTML, refer to the Beginners 
Guide to HTML. Select On HTML... from the Help menu.

Annotating an Annotation

You can add an annotation to the text of an existing annota-
tion. This is done the same way you annotate a regular docu-
mentselect Annotate from the Annotate menu when you have 
the existing annotation open in your Document View window. 
The Annotate Window is displayed, and you enter your com-
ments. When you commit the annotation, a hyperlink is 
inserted in the first annotation.
