View source for Software:Netscape Communicator

{{Short description|Discontinued Internet software suite}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Netscape Communicator
| logo = Netscape icon.svg
| logo size = 200px
| screenshot = 
| caption = 
| developer = Netscape Communications Corporation
| released = {{Start date and age|1997|06||df=no}}
| discontinued = yes
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1410913|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1410913|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1410913|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1410913|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
 <!-- | programming language   = ? -->| platform = Cross-platform
 <!-- | language               = ? -->| replaced_by = Netscape 6
| genre = Internet suite
 <!-- | license                = ? -->| website = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621060209/http://archive.netscape.com:80/ |date=June 21, 2011 |title=archive.netscape.com }}
}}
'''Netscape Communicator''' (or ''Netscape 4'') is a discontinued Internet suite produced by Netscape Communications Corporation, and was the fourth major release in the [[Software:Netscape (web browser)|Netscape]] line of browsers. It was first in beta in 1996 and was released in June 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Netscape Ships its Most Advanced Client Software Suite for Macintosh: Netscape Communicator 4.01 for the Mac Now Available for Download |work=Netscape.com |access-date=2016-01-19 |date=1997-06-27 |url=http://www101.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease437.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971022102416/http://www101.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease437.html |archive-date=October 22, 1997 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Netscape Announces Availability of Netscape SuiteSpot 3.0 and Netscape Communicator: First Delivery for Enterprise Developers at Netscape's Internet DevCon; Product Available Online to Millions of Users Worldwide |work=Netscape.com |location=Tokyo and Mountain View |access-date=2016-01-19 |date=1997-06-04 |url=http://www101.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease417.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971022102622/http://www101.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease417.html |archive-date=October 22, 1997 }}</ref> Netscape Communicator addressed the problem of [[Software:Netscape Navigator|Netscape Navigator]] 3.x being used as both the name of the suite and the browser contained within it by renaming the suite to Netscape ''Communicator''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.its.hku.hk/news/ccnews70/ns4.htm|title=Netscape Communicator 4.0 Available|access-date=2014-09-04|publisher=Information Technology services. The University of Hong Kong|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318192647/https://www.its.hku.hk/news/ccnews70/ns4.htm|archive-date=2015-03-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> It included more [[Groupware|groupware]] features intended to appeal to enterprises.

In February 1998, Netscape announced that [[Organization:Mozilla Foundation|Mozilla.org]] would co-ordinate the development of Netscape Communicator 5 as "a dedicated team within Netscape with an associated Web site that will promote, foster and guide open dialog and development of Netscape's client source code."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Netscape Announces Mozilla.org, a Dedicated Team and Web Site Supporting Development of Free Client Source Code |work=Netscape.com |date=1998-02-23 |url=http://www.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease577.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980706003741/http://www.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease577.html |archive-date=July 6, 1998 }}</ref> However, the aging Communicator code proved to be difficult to work with, so it was abandoned. The whole source code of Communicator was re-written by Mozilla, who were then testing it as [[Software:Mozilla Application Suite|Mozilla Application Suite]]. Netscape, now owned by AOL, finally released Communicator's successor Netscape 6 in November 2000, based on Mozilla Application Suite with changes and additions. Minor updates to Communicator continued to be issued, culminating in the release of Netscape Communicator 4.8 in August 2002.

== Editions ==
Netscape Communicator was available in various editions, such as "Professional" and "Complete". The following components were included in Netscape Communicator (different editions had different components and some components were dropped in later editions):

===Features===
*[[Software:Netscape Navigator|Netscape Navigator]]&nbsp;— [[Software:Web browser|Web browser]]
*Netscape Messenger&nbsp;— e-mail client and (in version 4.5 and above) news client
*Netscape Collabra&nbsp;— news client (merged into Messenger in version 4.5)
*Netscape Address Book&nbsp;— [[Engineering:Address book|address book]]
*[[Software:Netscape Composer|Netscape Composer]]&nbsp;— [[HTML editor]]
*Netscape Netcaster&nbsp;— [[Engineering:Push technology|push technology]] client (dropped in version 4.5)
*Netscape Conference&nbsp;— multi-user communication client (dropped in version 4.5)
*Netscape Calendar&nbsp;— enterprise calendar client (dropped in version 4.72 because Netscape's license to use the underlying technology expired<ref>"[http://sillydog.org/netscape/kb/calendar.php What happened to Netscape Calendar?]". SillyDog701.</ref>)

===Updates===
In October 1998, a major update to the program was released as Netscape 4.5.<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://www.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease688.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20000815210905/http://www.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease688.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = 2000-08-15| title = Netscape Communicator® 4.5 Ships Today, Making Internet Navigation Easier for Millions of Consumers| work = Netscape.com| location = Mountain View| date = 1998-10-19}}</ref> This included many improvements, mostly to the Messenger e-mail client, which now also took on the features of Collabra. However, some of the less popular components, such as Netcaster, were dropped. A feature called "Roaming Profiles" was added in version 4.5 that synchronized a user's bookmarks, address book and preferences with a remote server, so that a user's home and work browsers could have the same bookmarks.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070914131539/http://www.acns.colostate.edu/aspx/www.acns/bulls/nsroaming_whatsroaming.html Netscape Roaming Profiles - What is it?]". Colorado State University (via Archive.org).</ref> By the time version 4.5 was released, Netscape had started the Mozilla [[Open-source software|open source]] project and had ceased charging for Communicator.

The term "Navigator" referred to the browser component alone, while "Communicator" referred to the suite as a whole, as established in version 4.0. However, due to user confusion, the names were often used interchangeably. Also, because none of the applications besides Navigator were popular on their own, and because Netscape never produced any other desktop software that approached the popularity of Navigator, people would often refer to both the Communicator suite and the Navigator browser as simply "Netscape".

The Mozilla Foundation continued to develop the Netscape code base, providing the Mozilla Application Suite as a continuation of Netscape Communicator. The Mozilla Foundation decided in 2006 to discontinue development of the Application Suite. A community-maintained version called [[Software:SeaMonkey|SeaMonkey]] has come to replace the Application Suite.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/165080/|title=Two discontinued browsers|publisher=LWN.net|date=21 December 2005|access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Software:List of web browsers|List of web browsers]]
*[[Software:List of Usenet newsreaders|List of Usenet newsreaders]]
*[[Software:List of HTML editors|List of HTML editors]]
*[[Software:Comparison of web browsers|Comparison of web browsers]]
*[[Software:Comparison of Usenet newsreaders|Comparison of Usenet newsreaders]]
*Comparison of e-mail clients
*[[Software:Comparison of HTML editors|Comparison of HTML editors]]
*[[Software:SeaMonkey|SeaMonkey]] application suite

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226083916/http://archive.netscape.com/releases |date=February 26, 2008 |title=The Netscape Archive }}
*[http://sillydog.org/narchive/full4.php Netscape Browser Archive - Communicator] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722010157/http://sillydog.org/narchive/full4.php |date=2011-07-22 }}, SillyDog701

{{sequence|
 prev=[[Software:Netscape Navigator|Netscape Navigator]] (1-4.08)|
 list= Netscape Communicator (4)|
 next=Netscape 5<br>(developing suspended)|
}}
{{mozilla}}
{{gopher clients}}
{{Internet suites}}
{{Timeline of web browsers|1990s}}

[[Category:Cross-platform software]]

{{Sourceattribution|Netscape Communicator}}