Option Description
-anonymous Applies restrictions for anonymous accounts; see also -restrictions
-auth=ID:PASSWD Sets the authorization ID and password for protected documents at startup. Be sure to protect any script files that use this switch.
-blink Forces high-intensity background colors for color mode, if available and supported by the terminal
-book Uses the bookmark page as the startup file
-cache=NUMBER Sets the NUMBER of documents cached in memory. The default cache is 10.
-case Enables case-sensitive string searching
-cfg=FILENAME Specifies a Lynx configuration file other than the default lynx.cfg
-color Forces color mode on, if available. The default color control sequences are assumed if the terminal capability description does not specify how to handle color. (show_color=always setting found in a .lynxrcfile at startup has the same effect)
-connect_timeout=N Sets the connection timeout where N is given in seconds -crawl -traversal Outputs each page to a file
-crawl -dump Formats the output the same as -crawl -traversal, but sends it to the terminal
-editor=EDITOR Enables external editing using the specified EDITOR (vi, ed, emacs, and so on)
-emacskeys Enables emacs-like key movement
-ftp Disables FTP access
-help Prints the Lynx command syntax usage message -homepage=URL Sets the home page separate from the start page -image_links Includes all the links for images within a document -index=URL Sets the default index file to the specified URL -justify Justifies the displayed text
Continued
Table 7-3 (continued)
Option Description
-link=NUMBER Starts the count for lnk#.datfiles produced by the -crawl option
-localhost Disables URLs that point to remote hosts -nobrowse Disables directory browsing
-noexec Disables the execution of local programs (default)
-number_fields Forces the numbering of links as well as form input fields in a document
-number_links Forces the numbering of hypertext links in a document -partial Toggles the display of partial pages while loading -print Enables the print functions (default)
-source Works the same as -crawl -dump, but outputs HTML source instead of formatted text
-startfile_ok Allows a nonHTTP startup file or home page with -validate
-telnet Disables the recognition of all telnet commands -term=TERM Tells Lynx which terminal type to assume it is using -validate Accepts only HTTP URLs (for validation). This implements
complete security restrictions also.
-version Prints Lynx version information
-vikeys Enables vi-like movement using the keyboard
You can find the global settings for Lynx in the /etc/lynx.cfgfile. This is a huge file to make sense of, but each item has comments explaining what it does. You should have no difficulty understanding this file.
If you need to customize any settings for yourself or tweak Lynx beyond the global settings, you can do this in one of two ways. The first, most common method is to use a .lynxrcfile in your home directory that contains special customization. The other method is to copy and modify the global configuration file.
First, copy the global configuration file (/etc/lynx.cfg) to your home directory.
Modify this copied file (~/lynx.cfg) to contain INCLUDE:/etc/lynx.cfg. You can then launch Lynx from the command line to use the new configuration by employ-ing the argument (-cfg /where/is/lynx.cfg) or by adding an environment vari-able to .profileor .login. The environment variable looks like this:
LYNX_CFG=~/lynx.cfg; export LYNX_CFG # in .profile for sh/ksh/bash/etc.
setenv LYNX_CFG ~/lynx.cfg # in .login for [t]csh
Navigating this browser is a little more complicated because you can’t use a mouse to click links, images, and such. Instead, you use keyboard commands to navigate from hypertext link to hypertext link. By default, Lynx is set to Novice, which pro-vides some basic commands at the bottom of the screen. Here is a list of some of the basic commands you need to begin using this browser:
✦Up arrow and down arrow scroll through the hypertext links. In color mode, the current link changes color while mono color mode becomes bright.
✦Right arrow or Enter follows a highlighted hypertext link to the next page.
✦Left arrow retreats backwards from the current page.
✦Type Hor ?to access the online help and descriptions of the keys.
✦Typing Kgives a complete listing of the current key mappings for the commands.
✦Type Oto access the session options. This works like a form, so the naviga-tion works the same.
✦Typing Qquits Lynx altogether.
You may never need to use Lynx if you only work on one workstation. For those of us who use multiple workstations — or at least connect to multiple workstations — this program can come in handy.
Mozilla
Because Mozilla is Open Source, it is included in the Debian distribution. Mozilla is at the core, developed from the Open Source release of Netscape. Mozilla has been in various stages of development for some time. It may not be as integrated as some of the other browsers on other platforms, but it’s only a matter of time.
The Mozilla interface, shown in Figure 7-7, incorporates many of the features that the popular browsers enjoy today. The left column incorporates a customizable sidebar. This sidebar enables the end user to view bookmarks, execute searches, look up related topics, and more. However, this may be more of an annoyance than a help to some users. If this is the case, never fear. You can disable it through the View menu options.
You can install Mozilla through the same method you employ for any other Debian package (using the dselectprogram). Once installed, you can run the browser from a command line (type mozilla) or from the Window manager menu. The first time you start Mozilla, you must set up a profile through a setup wizard. Profiles enable multiple people to use the same browser while maintaining their personal-ized information, such as bookmarks, My Sidebar, and more. This information is created in ~/.mozilla, but most of the contents of the directory are just links to the global files.
Figure 7-7: Mozilla provides a smooth, modern look to the browser interface.
If you start Mozilla using a terminal command line, the debug information is out-put to the terminal display. This comes in handy when reporting problems to the development team.
When trying to download files through the Web page interface of the browser, right-click the link and select Save link as.... If there is a file at the other end of the link, the file is saved to the specified location. Otherwise, the file may be down-loaded and viewed in raw form through the browser rather than being saved as a file. This solution works on all the browsers.
Because Mozilla is constantly undergoing development, you can stay on top of this development by looking at the official www.mozilla.orgWeb site for software-spe-cific updates. You can also watch www.mozillazine.orgfor more general news on this browser.
Opera
For a commercial version of a Web browser, turn to Opera. Opera is a cross-platform Web browser with a fresh look. Figure 7-8 shows the style of this browser.
You can see from the picture that the address link shows up at the bottom of the window. When it is connecting and downloading the page information, the address changes to a status bar showing the progress of the load.
Tip Note
Opera uses the Qt 2.1 libraries — the same libraries that KDE uses. This means that if you run the K Desktop on your Debian system, then you should have no problem running Opera on your system. Otherwise, you need to download the Qt 2.1 libraries and install them on your system before Opera can work. This is all explained on the Opera Web site at www.opera.com/linux/index.html.
Figure 7-8: Opera gives a fresh new look to a browser.
Opera does provide its application in the Debian package format. You can easily download it from the Opera Web site. The price for a copy of Opera is $39 ($20 for educational use) with a discount scheme for quantity purchases. Obviously, you only get the binary version.
Netscape
For most of the popular distributions of Linux, Netscape is the regularly included browser. Originally, this was because it was the only stable, freely available browser for Linux. This is no longer true. Other browsers exist; however, in the minds of some people, Netscape is still the tried and true Internet browser of choice.
Figure 7-9 shows the Netscape browser as it is commonly known today. The beta version of Netscape, version 6, looks surprisingly like Mozilla (see Figure 7-6). In fact, it was taken from Mozilla, which explains why they look the same. I’ve heard
many comments from peers regarding their frustration with the instability of the earlier versions of Netscape on the Linux platform. Perhaps the new version 6 will show some improvements in that area.
Figure 7-9: The stable release of Netscape for Debian is version 4.73.
You can install Netscape 4.73 through the Debian packages using dselect. You can find the package under netscape-basein the list of packages. You can also down-load the version of Netscape you wish to use through the anonymous FTP site (ftp.netscape.com). You have the choice of several languages, platforms, and ver-sions. Each has its own easy installation routine. The UNIX versions come in com-pressed tarformat; depending on the version you select, you may have the choice of a self-extracting archive (sea), an Internet installer, or an old-fashioned compile-the-source installation. Whichever version you choose, be sure to read the README file for detailed instructions on installing the program on your system.
If you choose to install a version through the Netscape site instead of through the Debian packaged version, you might end up returning to the classic Debian package because of the easy updates and upgrades.
When the Netscape program opens for the first time, you must create the prefer-ence files in the home directory. This happens the first time Netscape starts. After that, Netscape opens right up because the files exist.
Netscape by itself is only a browser. However, Communicator includes the Netscape browser and adds mail and news client tools as well. See Chapter 6 for more details on these other features.
Summary
Now that Linux is becoming more popular, many people are migrating to it from other operating systems. Of course, the masses are entrenched in Windows, so giv-ing up the collection of software that has accumulated is difficult. Just remember that “you can have your cake and eat it, too”.
Emulators and virtual machines create an environment in which all those programs that you thought were lost still have a chance to function while you look for replacements. That’s not all; most of the programs that you would replace them with are free. The difference, again, between the emulator and a virtual machine is that the virtual machine actually emulates the hardware to install a legitimate oper-ating system. Meanwhile, the emulator simply runs interference between the appli-cation and the foreign operating system.
Advancements are made every day it seems with Linux applications. In the graphics arena, Gimp is that shining beacon of light. Although there are other graphical manipulation tools available for Linux, Gimp actually resembles graphical creation programs on other platforms.
Let’s not forget the milestones that browsers have made on Linux. They have come a long way from text browsers to graphical browsers. Even the graphical browsers have made their own improvements. Both Netscape and Mozilla are going in the same direction concerning the look of the browsers.
✦ ✦ ✦
Note