If you've been wanting to see more real estate through your browser's window, but can't afford one of those new, large screen monitors - here's a way to get a bigger view of those Web pages without breaking the bank.

By Joe Ebner

When you were talking with the salesperson who sold you your current personal computer, he probably tried to get you to buy a bigger monitor. You wanted one, but the price might have been out of the budget. After all, those 17 inch and larger monitors are quite pricey.

Or, maybe you're a notebook owner with that little LCD display. It sure doesn't give you much of a view of those Web pages. You're forever scrolling - scrolling - scrolling. It gets old real fast.

Admit it. Those 14 inch screens are hard on the eye balls after surfing for any length of time. Replace it? That's a solution if the old one wears out. Problem is, monitors seem to last forever. I have an old 14 inch EGA display that's been working for 7 years now - steady! It's difficult to get rid of something that's not broken.

An answer to the problem is to increase the viewable window your browser displays. It's easy to do, and it don't cost you anything to do it. Most browsers in use today are customizable in a myriad of ways -- one being the way the screen is presented to the user. You can make use of these options to increase your window on the Web.

These techniques are presented for Netscape Navigator, but Microsoft's Internet Explorer also has user options that will accomplish the same goal.

The first thing to get rid of is that row of buttons across the top of the screen. You know, the ones that have the icons with the words in them - BACK, FORWARD, etc. You can gain up to a half inch of vertical real estate by getting rid of the cutesy buttons and just having the browser display the text. (You CAN read)

It's easy to eliminate this button row and replace them with text. Just click on Options at the top of your Navigator screen, choose General Preferences, then Appearance. Check the Show Toolbars as Text option and that does it - an instantly larger monitor.

You can add another bit of usable viewing area by turning off the Show Location box at the top of your screen. (It's that box that you type in a Web address. If you use this option, then don't clear it.) If you do away with this box, you'll also lose the animated "N" up in the left-hand corner. (It gets on my nerves anyway!)

Need more space? Wipe out those directory buttons by checking the Show Directory Buttons option under Options.

Windows 95® users can gain a bit more screen area by getting rid of that ever present Task Bar on the bottom of the screen of every application - including your Web browser. You'll be rewarded with an additional quarter-inch of useful screen space.

Click your Start button, Settings, then Taskbar. Now, click on Auto Hide and the bar is gone. You can always bring the bar back onto your screen by putting you mouse pointer down where the Taskbar was originally. It'll pop back up right where is should be. Click anywhere off the bar and it disappears again.

You now have more room on your screen to see more of what the Web has to offer. And, it didn't cost you anything! Pretty cool.