Getting started with Opera

About Opera

Welcome to Opera help, covering the essential functionality of the Opera Web browser.

Opera is a "Web browser", a computer program which can be used to visit Web pages on the Internet. You can also read e-mail, read news and send instant messages in Opera.

More information on-line

There is a vast amount of information about Opera on-line. If you want more information than what is available in this help, try these links.

Tip: To search for help on a topic in Opera's knowledge database, for example "skins", type "o skins" in Opera's address field.

Getting on-line

If you have problems connecting to the Internet, first of all check...

When these things are confirmed, try the following...

Sometimes things beyond your control will prevent you from getting on the Internet...

If other Internet programs on your computer are working, but Opera is not, visit Opera Support to look for help.

Downloading Opera

The latest version of Opera for supported operating systems and languages is always available from Opera Software's download pages.

Download Opera now

Installing Opera

Once you have downloaded Opera to your computer, run the installation program and follow the instructions in the installation procedure.

The free version of Opera comes with a banner ad. You have three options.

If you plan to use the free version, specifying your interests in the advertising preferences will give you more relevant ads.

Learn more about installing Opera

Buying Opera

If you wish to buy Opera so you can use it without advertisements, please visit our secure site.

Buy Opera now

When you have bought Opera, you will receive registration information, usually by e-mail. Carefully enter the registration information through Register Opera under the Help menu. Read the e-mail for details on how to register.

Learn more about registering Opera

Surfing for the first time

Here is a list of things that could be useful to people who are unfamilar with the Internet.

Learn more about surfing the Internet

Opera concepts

If you are new to Opera, this list shows some essentials concepts in Opera.

Bookmarks Your collection of links to Web pages Ctrl + Alt + B
Contacts Store information about your friends and contacts Ctrl + Alt + C
Full screen Use your entire computer screen to view Web pages F11
Gestures Use the mouse for frequent actions Learn
History Get a full list of all Web sites you have visited recently Ctrl + Alt + H
Hotclick Copy, translate, look up and search the Web for a word in a Web page Double-click on the word
Preferences Fine-tune Opera to work the way you want Alt + P
Search Find text in the Web page you are currently viewing, or search on the Web directly through Opera's user interface Shift + F8
Shortcuts Use the keyboard for a wealth of actions Learn
Zooming Move in closer on a Web page Numeric + Numeric -

Be also aware that a lot of the things you usually click on with your left mouse button also have contextual menus with many choices if you click with the right mouse button.