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NCSA Mosaic For The Macintosh FAQ


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Frequently Asked Questions Topics

   1. Notes About This Document
 
   2. What Is NCSA Mosaic?
        a. A WWW Browser
        b. Other Platforms/Versions
    
   3. How Can I Get NCSA Mosaic?
        a. NCSA FTP Server
        b. Mirror Sites
    
   4. What Do I Need To Use NCSA Mosaic?
        a. System Requirements
        b. MacTCP
        c. Using A Modem
        d. Helper Applications
        e. Related Applications
    
   5. How Do I Get Started?
        a. Navigating With Links
        b. Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)
        c. Inline Images
        d. External Images/Sounds/Movies
        e. Reading Newsgroups
        f. Load To Disk
        g. Searching A Page Or An Index
        h. Canceling Connections In Progress
        i. Printing And Window Size
        j. Changing The Home Page
    
   6. What Am I Doing Wrong?
        a. Creating QuickTime Movies
        b. Opening Local Documents
        c. Error Displaying Inline Images
    
   7. Where Can I Find Help?
        a. On-Line Documentation
        b. Hard Copies
        c. Newsgroup Discussions
        d. Technical Support

   8. When Is Licensing Required?


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1. Notes About This Document

The term NCSA Mosaic will be used quite frequently.  Since this is the FAQ
for the Macintosh version, it can be assumed that NCSA Mosaic will almost
certainly be referring to NCSA Mosaic for the Macintosh.  A certain amount
of familiarity with the Macintosh computer, the Internet, and the World Wide
Web (WWW) and associated terms is assumed by the author.  As with any
instruction manual or other document, read the entire document twice.  Once,
to get a good idea of what is discussed, and then again to make sure that
you clearly understand everything that is discussed.

The writer of this FAQ does some of the technical support for the Macintosh
version of NCSA Mosaic.  The information in this FAQ can be generally
regarded to be up-to-date as of the last revision of NCSA Mosaic for the
Macintosh.  Like any other document, this FAQ is likely to contain errors
and oversights.  If you are aware of such mistakes, please inform us of the
error and the correction to be made.

Although this document briefly mentions version 2.0, it is important to
remember that this document primarily addresses 1.0.x features.  As version
2.0 matures, the information in this FAQ will also be changing to reflect
the differences in 2.0.


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2. What Is NCSA Mosaic?


     a. A WWW Browser

NCSA Mosaic is an Internet-based global hypermedia browser, available free
for academic, research, and internal commercial use.  NCSA Mosaic provides a
hypertext interface to the World Wide Web, including common Internet tools
such as anonymous ftp, gopher, wais, and more.  NCSA Mosaic makes navigating
the Internet very easy for anyone by using a point-and-click system of
following links to different documents.


     b. Platforms/Versions

NCSA Mosaic is currently available for the X Window System, Apple Macintosh,
and Microsoft Windows.


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3. How Can I Get NCSA Mosaic? 

   
     a. NCSA FTP Server 

The latest version of NCSA Mosaic for the Macintosh can be found at the NCSA
FTP server.  The file is compressed with StuffIt and encoded with BinHex.
The archive must be decoded and decompressed with the proper utilities to
make the application usable.  The most popular way to do this is to use
StuffIt Expander, a freeware utility that decodes and decompresses with a
simple user interface. This utility can also be found at the NCSA FTP Server
in the "Helpers" directory.  See Helper Applications in section 4 for more
information.

The links below are to the directories that contain the current version of
NCSA Mosaic for each platform.

   Link: Mac Directory
   URL:  ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic/Mac    

NCSA Mosaic is also available for other platforms.  These versions can also
be found at the NCSA FTP Server.

   Link: X-Windows Directory
   URL:  ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic

   Link: MS-Windows Directory
   URL:  ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic/Win  


     b. Mirror Sites 

As an alternative to the NCSA FTP Server, here is a list of "unofficial"
mirror sites that may have NCSA Mosaic available.

USA:

   site:     sunsite.unc.edu
   location: /pub/packages/infosystems/WWW            (all versions)

Canada:

   site:     journal.biology.carleton.ca
   location: /pub/mirrors/ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic    (X-binaries)

Australia:

   site:     miriworld.its.unimelb.edu.au
   location: /pub/clients/                            (all versions)

Europe:

   site:     ftp.luth.se
   location: /pub/infosystems/www/ncsa                (all versions)

   site:     ftp.sunet.se
   location: /pub/mac/Mosaic                          (Mac version)
             /pub/pc/windows/www/Mosaic/              (PC version)
             /pub/www/Mosaic                          (X version)


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4. What Do I Need To Use NCSA Mosaic? 


     a. System Requirements

NCSA Mosaic will run on any Macintosh with at least:

   * System 7 or later.
   * MacTCP 2.0.2 or later.  We recommend version 2.0.4 or later.
   * 4 MB RAM or more.  NCSA Mosaic requires a partition of at least 2 MB.
   * Hard disk.  NCSA Mosaic itself takes less than 1.0 MB.

Mac Mosaic will run with earlier versions of MacTCP, but because of bugs in
those versions, each document loaded will cause memory usage to increase by
12 KB.  Eventually, memory will run out, and either NCSA Mosaic or the
computer will need to be restarted.

MacTCP is not essential for NCSA Mosaic , but without a TCP connection the
only files available will be those on a local volume.


     b. MacTCP

The current version of MacTCP is 2.0.4.

Adam Engst's book, The Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh, includes MacTCP 
2.0.2 and other connection software.  It is priced at around $30 and should
be available at a local bookstore.  Its ISBN number is 1-56830-064-6.

It may also be worthwhile to mention that System 7.5 (rumored to be released
in August) will include MacTCP.

The updater from version 2.0.2 to version 2.0.4 can be found as the follows:

   Link: MacTCP.2.0.4.sea.Hqx (Update from 2.0.2 -> 2.0.4) 
   URL:  ftp://ftp.austin.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.SW.Updates/Net.and.Comm.SW/MacTCP.2.0.4.Update

In addition to this site, it can be found at many other major FTP sites,
probably under a similar file name.


     c. Using A Modem

Almost by definition, NCSA Mosaic requires a TCP/IP (Transfer Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) connection. The World Wide Web is a TCP/IP based
service and NCSA Mosaic is a client.

NCSA Mosaic may be used over a modem connection, but this modem connection
must support TCP/IP. These methods include SLIP and PPP; there is also a way
to 'tunnel' TCP/IP packets through an AppleTalk (ARA) connection. In
addition, MacTCP should be installed and properly configured as NCSA Mosaic
delegates transfer duties to the MacTCP driver. PPP is public domain,
MacSlip comes from a company called TriSoft & ARA is Apple.  One of these
applications is what you use in place of your standard communications
package.  It will handle the dialing, etc. In order to use this type of
application, the dialin port at the other end must support a SLIP type (or
TCP style) connection.  For that information you will need to check with
your provider. Once you dial in with one of the above methods, NCSA Mosaic
will be able to run the same way it would if it were directly wired into
the network.

Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) will work with any modem as long as the
Macintosh has a SLIP driver and the point of connection supports SLIP.  In
this scenario, MacTCP hands off TCP/IP packets to the SLIP driver which then
acts as a bridge to the server. The server routes these packets on to the
rest of the network.

Point to Point Protocol (PPP) is a more general protocol than SLIP, but it
works in much the same way for TCP/IP. Again, one would need a PPP driver on
the Mac and a remote point of connection that understands PPP.  The major
surface difference between SLIP and PPP is that PPP may support many more
communication protocols than just TCP/IP.

The indirect method over AppleTalk requires a hardware solution that will
intercept TCP/IP packets encapsulated within AppleTalk and route them to the
rest of the network. Shiva's FatsPath and Cayman's Gatorbox will do just
this type of translation and routing. This solution will work for wired
AppleTalk networks as well as for over-the-modem connections with ARA
(AppleTalk Remote Access). Unlike SLIP and PPP, ARA does not require a
special terminal server; however, it does require something like a FatsPath
on the remote network.

For a more detailed discussion of ARA, SLIP, and PPP, please consult the
comp.sys.mac.comm FAQ available periodically through the newsgroup. The
latest version of this FAQ is also archived at the following place.  For
information on using one of the methods above, please refer to this
document.  In particular, section 5 contains a wealth of information on this
exact topic.  Also in the same section is information on how to obtain the
proper driver software.  The entire  document contains useful information
and it is recommended reading.  However, for those who are only interested
in the information discussed above, it can be found in part 3 of the
comp.sys.mac.comm FAQ.

   Link: comp.sys.mac.comm FAQ (4 parts)
   URL:  ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.mac.comm


     d. Helper Applications

To display external images, play sounds, and show movies, NCSA Mosaic needs
the help of outside applications to handle all of the different file types.
When NCSA Mosaic receives a file that needs one of these applications, the
application will be spawned to open the file externally.

The types of files that can be opened in this fashion are specified in the
Preferences... under Helper Applications.  The MIME type of the file is
specified and then the application to open that type of file is selected.
The end result is that any application can be chosen to open a particular
type of file.  In addition, more file type extensions and applications to
work with them can be added to the list at any time.  The online
documentation describes this is greater detail.

There are many applications that can work with NCSA Mosaic to handle these
file types.  Listed below are shareware and freeware applications that will
handle practically every type of file that a user may encounter.

   * JPEGView, GIFConverter, GraphicConverter         
     To display external images in JPEG, GIF, TIFF, or PICT format.

   * SoundMachine
     For sound files

   * Sparkle
     For MPEG and Quicktime Movies

   * Stuffit Expander
     For Binhexed and Compressed Files

The current versions of these applications can be found at the NCSA FTP
Server.

   Link: Various Helpers Applications
   URL:  ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic/Mac/Helpers


     e. Related Applications
     
There are a few applications that can assist the user in organizing URLs and
creating HTML documents.  There is also an application that can make a Mac
into an HTTP Server.

   * Hotlist-to-Html
     Takes an NCSA Mosaic hotlist and convert it to an HTML document.  This
     application will leave the original file untouched, and create a new
     text file in HTML format with the titles and links intact.

   * Hotlist Sorter
     Takes a hotlist and create a new hotlist with the entries sorted
     alphabetically.

   * RTF-to-HTML-Converter 
     Takes an RTF (rich text format) and make an HTML approximation from it.  

   * BBEdit Lite
     A freeware text editor.  One of many text editors that can be used to
     create HTML documents.  Its HTML extension and Get URL extension can
     also help in creating HTML documents.

   * HTML Edit
     A Freeware HTML Editor.

   * MacHTTP
     Allows a Macintosh to act as an HTTP server.

   NOTE: None of these applications are NCSA products and are not supported
         by NCSA. Please contact the author of the application for support
         questions.
      
These related applications are available from the NCSA FTP Server.

   Link: Various Related Applications
   URL:  ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mac/Mosaic/Related


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5. How Do I Get Started? 


     a. Navigating With Links

The easiest way to begin navigating in NCSA Mosaic is to use links.  A
simple mouse click is all that is needed to activate a link.  By default,
NCSA Mosaic shows unvisited links as blue and visited links as red.  The
first time that NCSA Mosaic is used, all the links will be blue.  Find one
and click on it.  The NCSA Mosaic icon in the upper left hand corner
provides information on the type of information that is being transferred.
If the graphic is animated, it is transferring information of some kind.

The user can then follow an unlimited number of links to an unlimited number
of different places without ever having to touch the keyboard.

Clicking on a new link while a document is still loading will allow you to
link to another document without waiting for the first transfer to load
completely.

Version 2.0 of NCSA Mosaic features an "eyeball mode" or a "header mode".
This will allow the user to retrieve additional information about a link
without actually having to follow it.  This information includes server
status, file type, file size, etc.  


     b. Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)

Locations of documents are specified with a URL.  The idea behind the URL is
that the location of anything on the WWW can be specified by its URL.  So,
if a document can be specified by a URL, the user can retrieve and use the
information with great ease.

The URL of a link can be seen by turning the Show Status Messages option on
in the Options menu.  On the NCSA Mosaic window a gray bar will appear just
above the text window.  As the pointer is moved over the various links in
the page, the URLs of the links will appear.  Clicking on a link when a URL
can be seen will transfer that document to the user.  Using Open URL... in
the File menu and entering the URL of the link will accomplish the same
thing as clicking on that link.

A URL is on the general form: 

   http://host.name/path/file        (for HTTP connections)
   file://host.name/path/file        (for FTP connections)
   ftp://host.name/path/file         (another way to specify FTP)
   gopher://host.name/path/file      (for Gopher connections)
   telnet://host.name                (to open a telnet session)
   news:news.group.name              (reading USENET newsgroups)

A specific port on a server may be specified by replacing the host.name part
with host.name:port.  The /path/file portion is not completely necessary for
FTP and Gopher, but will allow for direct access to a document without
having to search for it first.

A specific URL can be opened with NCSA Mosaic by using the Open URL...
option in the File menu.  Type the URL in the box and then hit return to
open it. If the URL is correct, then that document will appear in a window.
A local file can be opened by using the Open Local option in the File menu.
A standard dialog box will be brought up requesting that the user find the
desired file to open.  Since NCSA Mosaic has no way of determining the type
of file beforehand, NCSA Mosaic will open the file and view it according to
the file extensions set in the preferences.


     c. Inline Images

NCSA Mosaic is set to load images specified as inline (see the Preferences
for the mappings) directly into the NCSA Mosaic window.  There may be times
when it is desirable not to have these pictures loaded right away.  Under
the Options menu, there is an option called Auto-Load Images.  If there is a
check mark beside that line, then all images that are specified as inline
pictures will be loaded automatically.  If there is no check mark, then
those pictures will not be loaded and a placeholder will be shown in its
place.

Setting this option to off or on will take effect with the next page that is
loaded.  If Auto-Load Images is turned off when a page is retrieved,
placeholders will be used.  To load all of the images on this page, turn
Auto-Load Images on, then use Reload (or Command-R) from the File menu.  The
page will then be loaded with all the images.

If the images are not loaded, then it is possible to view a particular image
by clicking on its placeholder.  The image will be retrieved and displayed
within the page.

Currently, NCSA Mosaic in general will only allow .xbm and .gif files as
inline.  In addition, the Macintosh version will support .pict files.  In
the future NCSA Mosaic may be able to load .jpeg files as inline images.


     d. External Images/Sounds/Movies

To display external images, play sounds, or watch movies, NCSA Mosaic needs
the help of other applications.  See the Helper Applications section for a
list and locations of some applications that can be used for this purpose.

To watch QuickTime movies on a Macintosh, it is necessary to have the
QuickTime extension loaded at startup.  

   Link: quicktime1.6.2.sea.hqx
   URL:  ftp://ftp.austin.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/Supplemental.System.SW/QuickTime.1.6.2

SimplePlayer is a Quicktime Movie viewer that is available from the NCSA FTP
server.  However, SimplePlayer is a copyrighted product of Apple Computer,
Inc.  It is not public domain and can be distributed only with a QT
distribution license.

   Link: SimplePlayer.sit.hqx
   URL:  ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic/Mac/Apple/SimplePlayer.sit.hqx


     e. Reading Newsgroups

NCSA Mosaic is capable of reading USENET newsgroups and their articles.
That is about it.  NCSA Mosaic is not a full-fledged news reader.  It is not
possible to thread articles, post articles, or reply to articles within NCSA
Mosaic.

NCSA Mosaic can read news articles, nothing more.

To access a newsgroup, a news server must be specified in the Preferences.
It is preferable that a local news server be used if one exists.  The URL
format below can then be used when accessing a news group:

   news:news.group.name

news.group.name is, of course, the name of the usenet group to be accessed. 


     f. Load To disk

There are many documents that require the use of an external application to
display them.  NCSA Mosaic loads these applications when necessary, but some
machines may not be able to run more than one application due to memory
constraints, or the user may like to save the document for later use.

This is accomplished by using Load to Disk from the Options menu.  It is
similar to Auto-Load Images option in that it takes effect with the next
activated link.  This option will save the URL that is opened as a file on a
local volume.


     g. Searching A Page Or An Index

There are two different types of searches that can be performed on a page.
The most obvious example is to search a particular document for an
occurrence of a particular string of characters.  This is done just like
every other Macintosh application.  Under the Edit menu, there is a Find...
command.  Make the appropriate selection and a new dialog box appear on the
screen.  Enter the string, select the options to use in the search, and then
hit enter.  The current document will be searched for the next occurrence of
the indicated string.  To continue searching for additional occurrences of
the word in the same document, choose Find Again.

The other instance will involve using the Search field and button at the top
of the NCSA Mosaic window.  This is only available for use with searchable
indexes.  That search field will always be active, but the button will not.
If the current document is searchable by these means, then the Search button
will become active.  Type in the appropriate data and then click the Search
button.  Pressing return in the search box will not begin the search.  The
Search field and button will no longer appear in the upper right hand corner
in NCSA Mosaic 2.0.  Instead, a form will be generated at the top of the
window which contains the Search field and the button.  Note: The form will
only be generated if there is a searchable index.


     h. Canceling Connections In Progress

As in most other Macintosh applications, use Command-. to cancel a transfer.
Also, clicking once on the NCSA Mosaic logo icon in the upper left hand
corner will have the same effect.  There is a minor problem with NCSA Mosaic
1.0 and 2.0 that might cause it to freeze, or even crash the computer.  This
should be fixed in the future versions of NCSA Mosaic .

This cancellation will work on any type of URL, no matter what is on the
other end of the transfer.  Just hit Command-. once or twice.  Be patient.
It may take a while.


     i. Window Size And Printing

Changing the size of the NCSA Mosaic window will affect how the page is
printed.  If the default window size is used to print out the documents, the
page will fit in portrait mode.  If the window is enlarged, then the setup
for the page must be changed to landscape mode to fit the width of the window.  


     j. Changing The Home Page
     
When NCSA Mosaic opens a new window, it will attempt to read in the URL that
is specified in the Home Page selection of the Preferences.  This file can
be any valid URL.

To change the home page.  First open the URL that will be used as the new
home page.  Turn on Show URLs in the Options menu.  The URL of the current
document will be shown in the window.  Copy this URL and paste it in the
Preferences.  Finally, opening a new window or clicking on the home button
should bring this page up as the new home page.

It is also possible to change the default home page by altering a resource
in NCSA Mosaic.  For those who have experience with a resource editor, the
STR# resource ID 2345 contains this information.  Simply alter the resource
to the desired URL and the next time NCSA Mosaic creates a new prefs file,
the home page will be set to that URL.


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6. What Am I Doing Wrong?


     a. Creating QuickTime Movies

When creating a QuickTime movie to be retrieved by NCSA Mosaic , it is
important to remember to make the file "self-contained" and "playable on
non-Apple computers".  If this is not done, the movie will not be
recognized.  This option can be found in the Save as... dialog box of
QuickTime movie editors.


     b. Opening Local Documents

Why does NCSA Mosaic not recognize my local files sometimes?

   Most often, the problem is related to illegal characters in the file's
   name or path.  Macintosh users are fairly unlimited as to what characters
   they can put in their file names, but other platforms are more limited in
   the characters they are allowed to use.  Since the you never really know
   what platform a user may be using  to view the files, you must make your
   filenames compatible with the lowest common denominator.

What this means is that neither the path nor the filename can contain a '/'.
If a URL is used with this character in it, then the part after the '/'
will be interpreted as  a file in a directory specified by the part before
the '/'.  The same goes for the ':' character.  NCSA Mosaic uses that as a
special character in the URL specification.  The URL will not be interpreted
correctly if a it contains a ':' as part of the file name.  Additionally,
files should not contain the '#' character as part of the  filename.  This
is a problem since the standard for specifying a link within a page uses the
'#' as a delimiter.


     c. Error Displaying Inline Images

If NCSA Mosaic returns this message when displaying inline GIFs...

   Unknown inline image format:image/gif 
   Do you want to launch an external viewer?

It is likely that the Preferences file for NCSA Mosaic has been corrupted.
Try the following.

   * Write down the information from the Preferences that you wish to keep.
   * Quit NCSA Mosaic.
   * Throw out the Preferences file for NCSA Mosaic.
   * Restart NCSA Mosaic.
   * Enter the old Preferences.


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7. Where Can I Find Help? 


     a. On-Line Documentation

The online documentation can be accessed through the balloon help menu.
There are also some related documents which may be useful.

Balloon Help items should be fully functional in the 2.0 version of NCSA
Mosaic.


     b. Hard Copies

Hard copies can be obtained by downloading the documentation in the Common
Ground format.  The first file is the actual documentation and the second
file is the Common Ground Miniviewer necessary to view and print the
documentation.

   Link: MacMosaicUserGuide.dp.sea.hqx
   URL:  http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/MacMosaic/Docs/MacMosaicUserGuide.dp.sea.hqx

   Link: cg-mac-miniviewer-1.1.hqx
   URL:  http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/MacMosaic/Util/cg-mac-miniviewer-1.1.hqx

Another document giving a walk through of all the menu items will be
available at a future time as well.


     c. Newsgroup Discussions 

Currently, there is no world-wide group dedicated to the discussion of NCSA
Mosaic.  There are groups of a more general nature that might include
discussions of NCSA Mosaic.  These world-wide groups are listed below:

   * comp.infosystems.www (Discussions about the World Wide Web)
   * comp.sys.mac.comm (Discussions about communications on the Macintosh)

A newsgroup created at the University of Illinois is dedicated to
discussions on NCSA Mosaic.  The local server listed in the Preferences must
have access to uiuc.* newsgroups.

   * uiuc.sw.mosaic


     d. Technical Support 

Questions, suggestions, or concerns should be sent to:

   mosaic-mac@ncsa.uiuc.edu

It is also possible to send us mail to the same address above by using the
Mail Developers feature in the File menu.  Please be sure to enter the email
address where the response should be sent in the Preferences prior to
sending the message.

Please be as specific as possible when describing a problem. 


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8. When Is Licensing Required?

For information on licensing NCSA Mosaic, contact Mike Goode at:

   mgoode@ncsa.uiuc.edu


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Macintosh Development Team - Software Development Group
