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- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- NCSA Mosaic For The Macintosh FAQ
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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?
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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)
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 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.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- 8. When Is Licensing Required?
-
- For information on licensing NCSA Mosaic, contact Mike Goode at:
-
- mgoode@ncsa.uiuc.edu
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Macintosh Development Team - Software Development Group
-