Finding your way around

The site can be navigated in several ways:

1. Using the search box

You can use the quick search box located at the top right-hand corner of every page to go directly to the page you are looking for.

Some pages also have special search boxes to help you find particular types of information. For example, many of the pages in the Publications section allow you to search specifically for publications containing certain words or phrases. This can be useful if, for instance, you already know the title (or at least part of it) of a particular publication.

Once you have typed one or more words into the search box, press the return key on your keyboard or click the ‘Go’ button next to the search box. You may have to wait a little while for the search to be carried out. A new page will then appear with a list of all pages containing the words you have searched for. The most recent pages are shown first. 

2. Navigating the site with the drop-down menu

Alternatively, you can use the main navigation bar on the left-hand side of this page to navigate your way through the different levels of the site.

If you move your computer’s mouse pointer over one of the headings on the navigation menu, you will see that the menu expands sideways to show you the pages within that heading.

The page you have currently selected is shown on a dark background with orange letters. For example, if you move your mouse pointer over the ‘About us’, the menu expands to reveal the next ‘branch’ down, and so on:

You can go straight to any of these pages by clicking once with your left mouse button.

3. The site map

The site page lists all pages within this site, in section order, together with a short summary of what that page is about.

Whatever page you are in, you can access the site map by clicking on the ‘Site map’ link at the right-hand side of the coloured bar near the top of the screen.

The site map is useful if you want to see some additional information about what a page contains before visiting it.

You can try out the site map here .

4. Using the breadcrumb trail

At the top of each page, just under its main heading, you will see a 'breadcrumb trail'. This shows where the current page sits within the overall structure of the site.

You can use the breadcrumb trail to re-trace your steps if you get lost within the site, or need to quickly go back and forth between one page and the pages immediately below it in the site structure.

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Navigating within a page

Once you are within an individual page, you can use the column on the right-hand side of the page to jump to different points within that page, or to go to other, related pages. This column is known as a 'sidebar'.

The links on the sidebar are normally shown in blue, and change to orange when you move your mouse pointer over them.

Some pages also allow you to directly download documents, such as publications or briefing documents, directly from the sidebar. Click here for more information about downloading documents.

Many pages also have a ‘Links’ section within their sidebar. This points you towards other websites which contain related information. If you click on a link, the new page will open in a new window.

At the bottom of the sidebar, you will find information about when the page was last updated.

Links within the text of a page

Some pages also contain links to other pages within their main text. These links look like this:

• Link to a new page

 

Links to external websites appear as: 

• Link to an external website

 

When you click on a link to another page within this site, the new page will appear in the current browser window. External links will appear in a new window.

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