═══ 1. What Is WebExplorer? ═══ Welcome to WebExplorer! An abundance of information is available on the Internet - online tools, the latest weather and news, directories of Internet users, electronic books, forums, recipes, and more. WebExplorer is a World-Wide Web browser for OS/2* users. It provides a graphical, interactive interface to assist you in finding, displaying, and obtaining information on the Internet. Using WebExplorer, you can jump from one item of interest to another by simply selecting highlighted text or images. WebExplorer is very similar to Mosaic**. This online help will assist you in starting, using, and exiting WebExplorer. It also contains information about the various functions of WebExplorer and WebExplorer terms and concepts. The help also contains a copy of the World Wide Web FAQ, which is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. The FAQ contains information that is useful to new users of the Internet, as well as to users who interact with the Internet on a daily basis. ═══ 1.1. Starting WebExplorer ═══ If you want to use WebExplorer via your service provider, select the icon from the Internet Connection for OS/2 folder. If you want to use WebExplorer via your LAN connection (using a LAN adapter or a point-to-point connection such as SLIP or PPP), select the WebExplorer icon from the TCP/IP folder. WebExplorer connects to the default URL and opens a WebExplorer window. To specify a home document, select Servers from the Configure pull-down menu. You can customize your session by specifying the following optional parameters in the WebExplorer Settings Notebook (Program tab, Optional Parameters field): -i filename Where filename is the full path name of your alternate initialization (INI) file. -t number Where number is the number of image loader threads. A maximum of eight can be specified, and the default is four. -q Specifies quiet mode. You will not be asked to confirm that you want to exit your WebExplorer session ═══ 1.2. What Can I Do with WebExplorer? ═══ You can use WebExplorer to browse the vast expanse of information that is available on the Internet. You can access information on your home document (URL) or on other URLs. And, if you are looking for a specific topic, you can search the current document for a word or phrase. To make it easier to access frequently used information, you can add documents to a QuickList. And to help you navigate through the various documents and URLs, WebExplorer maintains a history list (WebMap) that shows the path you took to get to the current menu or item. In addition, you can customize your WebExplorer session, including the color scheme and fonts. ═══ 1.2.1. Defining and Accessing the Home Document ═══ If there is a specific document that you access frequently, you can define that document as the home document (URL). To specify a home document: 1. Select Servers from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Servers window is displayed. 2. Specify the document (URL) to be your home document. 3. If you want to access the home document every time you start WebExplorer, select the Load document at startup checkbox. 4. Select the OK push button. To return to the home document, select Home document from the Navigate pull-down menu or select the push button on the tool bar. Note: If you specify a URL when you start WebExplorer or if you have specified a URL as a parameter in the Settings notebook, this will override the home document. To access the home document, select Home document from the Navigate pull-down menu or select the push button on the tool bar. ═══ 1.2.2. Accessing Other Documents ═══ Using WebExplorer, you can access HTML documents, FTP servers, news servers, and Gopher servers. To access a document (or Uniform Resource Locator): 1. Select Open document (URL) from the File pull-down menu or select the push button on the tool bar. The Open document (URL) window is displayed. 2. Specify the document or URL that you want to access. 3. Select the Open push button. Note: To return to a previously accessed URL, select WebMap from the Navigate pull-down menu. ═══ 1.2.3. Locating Information in a Document ═══ To locate an item in the current document: 1. Select Find in document from the File pull-down menu. The Find window is displayed. 2. Enter the word or phrase that you want to locate. 3. Select the OK push button. ═══ 1.2.4. Accessing Frequently Used Documents ═══ You can mark documents for future use. This is useful if, for example, there are documents that you frequently access, or if you must leave the WebExplorer program before you finish browsing a document. When you mark a document for future use, it is added to the QuickList. To add the current document to the QuickList, select Add current document from the QuickList pull-down menu or select the push button on the tool bar. The name of the document is added as an option to the QuickList pull-down menu. To access a document that you have added to the QuickList, select the document from the QuickList pull-down menu. Note: If you want to change the name of a document in the QuickList or remove a document from the QuickList, select More/edit from the QuickList pull-down menu. ═══ 1.2.5. Displaying the History List (WebMap) ═══ As you move through the WebExplorer menus, viewing items and accessing other menus, you might want to go back to something that you accessed earlier. Or, you might want to refresh your memory regarding the path you took to get to a particular item. To help you do this, WebExplorer provides a history list or WebMap. It lists all the WebExplorer items that you have opened (since you last started WebExplorer). To access the WebMap, select WebMap from the Navigate pull-down menu or select the push button on the tool bar. The WebMap shows you where you are by placing a notation (an arrow) beside the current document. To move to another document listed in the WebMap, select the document name. ═══ 1.2.6. Customizing Your WebExplorer Session ═══ You can select your own: o Colors for text and background o Fonts o Viewers ═══ Setting Your Colors ═══ To change the colors of the text, links, or background: 1. Select Colors from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Colors window is displayed. 2. Select the component you want to change. When you select a component, the Sample window displays the current setting and the current color is selected in the Colors window. 3. Then select a color. 4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to set the color for each component as desired. 5. Select the OK push button. Your preferences are saved in the WebExplorer initialization file, EXPLORE.INI. ═══ Setting Your Fonts ═══ To change the font: 1. Select Fonts from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Fonts window is displayed. 2. To change the font, select the symbol to the right of the Font field to move through the available fonts. Your selection is displayed in the Sample window. 3. To change the size, select the symbol to the right of the Font Size field to move through the available sizes. Your selection is displayed in the Sample window. 4. Select the OK push button. ═══ Setting Your Viewers ═══ To specify the program to use for viewing the various elements that may be contained in a document, select Viewers from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Viewers window is displayed. To define a program as a viewer for an element: 1. Select the symbol to the right of the Viewer field and select an element. 2. Specify the name of the program to use for viewing this element. If you are unsure of the path or name of a program, select the Browse push button. 3. To complete the assignment, select the OK push button. ═══ 1.3. Exiting WebExplorer ═══ To exit WebExplorer, select Exit program from the File pull-down menu. ═══ 2. WebExplorer Functions ═══ The actions available on the pull-down menus on the WebExplorer main window allow you to browse the information available on the Internet. The actions available on the WebExplorer window are: o File o Options o Configure o Navigate o QuickList o Help ═══ 2.1. File ═══ Using this pull-down menu, you can: o Open a new document (URL) o Open a local file o Save the current document o Print the current document o Set up your printer options o Locate information o View the HTML source o Stop loading a document o Exit WebExplorer ═══ 2.1.1. Open document (URL) ═══ To access another document (or Uniform Resource Locator), select Open document (URL) from the File pull-down menu. The Open document (URL) window is displayed. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. Or, if you have selected Show current URL from the Options pull-down, you can specify a URL in the Current URL window. Note: To return to a previously accessed URL, select WebMap from the Navigate pull-down menu. ═══ 2.1.2. Open file ═══ To open a file on your workstation, select Open file from the File pull-down menu. The Open File window is displayed. ═══ 2.1.3. Save as ═══ To save the source of a Hypertext Markup Language document to a file on your computer, select Save as from the File pull-down menu. The Filename to Store window is displayed. Note: Most Web servers use the High-Performance File System (HPFS), which supports file extensions over three characters in length. If you are saving a file to a drive that uses the File Allocation Table (FAT) system, you will need to reduce the file extension to three characters. ═══ 2.1.4. Print ═══ To print a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document, select Print from the File pull-down menu. The Print window is displayed. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. Note: If you have not selected a printer to use, the Printer Setup window is displayed. ═══ 2.1.5. Printer setup ═══ To specify or configure a printer, select Printer setup from the File pull-down menu. The Printer Setup window is displayed. ═══ 2.1.6. Find in document ═══ To locate a word or phrase in the current document, select Find in document from the File pull-down menu. The Find in Document window is displayed. ═══ 2.1.7. View file (HTML) ═══ To view the source of the current Hypertext Markup Language document, select View file (HTML) from the File pull-down menu. The source is displayed in a system editor window. ═══ 2.1.8. Halt loading document ═══ If you have requested to open a document (by selecting a hypertext link or by selecting Open document (URL)), and you change your mind or find that the document is taking too long to load, you can select Halt loading document from the File pull-down menu. Alternatively, you can select the activity icon to the right of the tool bar. ═══ 2.1.9. Exit program ═══ To exit WebExplorer, select Exit program from the File pull-down menu. ═══ 2.2. Options ═══ Using this pull-down menu, you can set the following options: o Underline links o Load graphics o Internal viewer o Presentation mode o Customized animations o Showing current URL o Save to disk mode ═══ 2.2.1. Underline links ═══ To toggle between whether or not hypertext links are underscored, select Underline links from the Options pull-down menu. ═══ 2.2.2. Load graphics ═══ To toggle between whether or not graphics are loaded when the document is loaded, select Load graphics from the Options pull-down menu. Loading graphics may cause a delay in loading HTML documents. If you deselect Load graphics, static graphics will not be displayed and active graphics will be represented by the following icon: Note: If you change this option, the change will be effective when you access another document. To implement the change for the current document, select Reload document (URL) from the Navigate pull-down menu. ═══ 2.2.3. Use internal viewer ═══ To toggle between whether or not the internally-defined viewers or the user-defined viewers are used, select Use internal viewer from the Options pull-down menu. ═══ 2.2.4. Presentation mode ═══ To toggle between presentation mode and normal mode, select Presentation mode from the Options pull-down menu. Presentation mode hides the window frame, the menu bar, the tool bar, and the status area. Only the document area is displayed. This mode is useful when making presentations. To return to normal mode from presentation mode, press Ctrl and P simultaneously. ═══ 2.2.5. Customized animations ═══ Some documents may contain a customized animation (which is displayed to the right of the menu bar and tool bar). To toggle between whether or not customized animations should be used in place of the default animation, select Customized animations from the Options pull-down menu. ═══ 2.2.6. Show current URL ═══ To toggle between whether or not the current Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is displayed, select Show current URL from the Options pull-down menu. If you select Show current URL, the current URL is displayed in a field below the tool bar. You can also use this field to specify another URL that you want to access. ═══ 2.2.7. Save to disk mode ═══ To toggle between whether or not files associated with HTML documents are saved to your computer when they are loaded, select Save to disk mode from the Options pull-down menu. If you activate Save to disk mode, each time you select a graphic or text link, the Filename to Store window is displayed. Note: Saving all files to your computer could exhaust your disk space quickly. ═══ 2.3. Configure ═══ Using this pull-down menu, you can configure: o Default server settings o Fonts used in the windows o Colors used in the windows o Viewers used for different file formats o Caching options ═══ 2.3.1. Servers ═══ To configure default servers, your home document URL, and your e-mail address, select Servers from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Servers window is displayed. ═══ 2.3.2. Fonts ═══ To select the font used in the WebExplorer windows, select Fonts from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Fonts window is displayed. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. ═══ 2.3.3. Colors ═══ To select the colors used in the WebExplorer windows, select Colors from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Colors window is displayed. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. ═══ 2.3.4. Viewers ═══ To specify the viewers to be used for the different elements of HTML documents, select Viewers from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Viewers window is displayed. ═══ 2.3.5. Caching ═══ To set your caching options, select Caching from the Configure pull-down menu. The Configure Caching window is displayed. ═══ 2.4. Navigate ═══ Using this pull-down menu, you can: o Move back to the previous document o Move forward to the next document o Return to the home document o Refresh the document o Display the history list (WebMap) ═══ 2.4.1. Backward ═══ As you move from one HTML document to another, WebExplorer keeps track of the path you have taken. To return to the previous HTML document, select Backward from the Navigate pull-down menu. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. This option is available only if you have accessed additional information in the current document (by selecting a hypertext link). ═══ 2.4.2. Forward ═══ As you move from one HTML document to another, WebExplorer keeps track of the path you have taken. If you have moved backward to a document, select Forward from the Navigate pull-down menu to return to the next document. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. This option is available only if you have moved backward to a previously viewed document. ═══ 2.4.3. Home document ═══ To return to the home document URL, select Home document from the Navigate pull-down menu. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. If a home document has not been defined, this option and the associated push button are not available. To define a home document, select Servers from the Configure pull-down menu. ═══ 2.4.4. Reload document (URL) ═══ To access information that may have been added or modified in the document since you last accessed it, or if you have changed an option (such as Load graphics), select Reload document (URL) from the Navigate pull-down menu. ═══ 2.4.5. WebMap ═══ As you move from one HTML document to another, WebExplorer keeps track of the path you have taken. It stores this history log in the WebMap. To access the history log, select WebMap from the Navigate pull-down menu. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. ═══ 2.5. QuickList ═══ Using this pull-down menu, you can: o Add the current document to the QuickList o Access the list of URLs on the QuickList As you add documents to the QuickList, they will also appear on this pull-down menu between the Add current document and the More/edit items. ═══ 2.5.1. Add current document ═══ To add the current document to the QuickList, select Add current document from the QuickList pull-down menu. Having documents in the QuickList is useful if, for example, there are documents that you frequently access, or if you leave the WebExplorer program before you finish viewing a document. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. Or, you can select More/edit from the QuickList pull-down menu, then select the Add push button. When you add a document to the QuickList, it is added to the QuickList pull-down menu. You can then access the document by selecting it from the QuickList pull-down menu. Alternatively, you can select the push button on the tool bar. Or, you can select More/edit from the QuickList pull-down menu, then select the Load push button. ═══ 2.5.2. More/edit ═══ To add, access, delete, or modify (the name of) a document in the QuickList, select More/edit from the QuickList pull-down menu. ═══ 2.6. Help ═══ Using this pull-down menu, you can access: o The online help index o Online help for the current window o Instruction for using online help o Help for accelerator keys o Task-oriented help o Copyright information ═══ 2.6.1. Help index ═══ To display an alphabetic list of references to the topics contained in the help that you are currently viewing, select Help index on the Help pull-down menu. ═══ 2.6.2. General help ═══ To display overview information for the current window, select General help on the Help pull-down menu. ═══ 2.6.3. Using Help ═══ To access instructions for using the online help facility, select Using help from the Help pull-down menu. ═══ 2.6.4. Keys Help ═══ To access information about the WebExplorer accelerator key assignments, select Keys Help from the Help pull-down menu. ═══ 2.6.5. Getting Started ═══ To display instructions for starting, using, and exiting WebExplorer, select Getting Started from the Help pull-down menu. ═══ 2.6.6. Product information ═══ To view copyright information for the current program, select Product information on the Help pull-down menu. ═══ 3. WebExplorer Terms and Concepts ═══ When using WebExplorer and the Internet, you may encounter unfamiliar terms and concepts. They are explained here. o Active Graphics o Cache o Firewall o FTP o Gopher o HTML o HTTP o News o Proxy Gateway o Selectable o Socks Server o Static Graphics o Telnet o URL ═══ 3.1. Active Graphics ═══ Active graphics are pictures that are linked to other documents or pictures. These graphics are surrounded by a frame, indicating that they are selectable. ═══ 3.2. Cache ═══ A cache is special-purpose buffer storage, smaller and faster than main storage, used to hold a copy of data that may be frequently accessed. Use of a cache reduces access time, but may increase memory requirements. ═══ 3.3. Firewall ═══ A firewall is a system that connects a private network, such as a business, to a public network, such as the Internet. It contains programs that limit the access between two networks. ═══ 3.4. FTP ═══ File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows you to share, store, and distribute data between your computer and other computers on the Internet. When you access an FTP server using WebExplorer, the initial directory that you access is the default directory associated with the user ID that you specified. For example, if the user ID of anonymous is assigned a default directory of /PUB, when you log in using anonymous, the initial directory accessed is /PUB. Because the URL for FTP does not allow you to specify drives, access is limited to directories relative to the default directory. Any path specified that is not relative to the default directory is invalid. ═══ 3.5. Gopher ═══ Gopher provides a hierarchical, menu-driven interface to assist you in finding, displaying, and transferring information that is maintained on the Internet. ═══ 3.6. HTML ═══ Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a tag language used to create hypertext documents. Hypertext documents include links (shown in underscored blue) to other documents that contain additional information about the highlighted term or subject. ═══ 3.7. HTTP ═══ Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol used to transfer HTML documents. ═══ 3.8. News ═══ News allows you to share information with others using the various newsgroups on the Internet. A newsgroup is basically an electronic conversation among people who share a common interest. You gain access to these newsgroups by connecting to a User Network (USENET) news server. On a USENET news server, you will find facts, opinions, and information on almost any subject. ═══ 3.9. Proxy Gateway ═══ A proxy gateway (or CERN proxy) is a type of firewall that protects computers in a business network from access by users outside that network. The proxy gateway: 1. Verifies that your computer (host name) and user ID are allowed to access external networks, such as the Internet 2. Redirects all of the WebExplorer's requests for documents to the external network 3. Captures data coming from the external network and forwards it to the WebExplorer Currently, the CERN proxy code only supports a few, limited protocols. ═══ 3.10. Selectable ═══ Active graphics and active text (hypertext links) are selectable, which means that when selected, they will cause another document or graphic to be displayed. Selectable graphics are surrounded by a frame. Selectable text is, by default, blue with underscoring. As you move your mouse around the document area and over the active graphics and text, the status area displays the URL information for the link. Also, when your cursor is over an active graphic or text, it changes to a document icon. ═══ 3.11. Socks Server ═══ A SOCKS (SOCKet Secure) server is a type of firewall that protects computers in a business network from access by users outside that network. It is similar to, but provides more function than, a proxy gateway. The SOCKS server verifies that your computer (host name) and user ID are allowed to access external networks, such as the Internet. Then, whenever the WebExplorer requests a document, the SOCKS server establishes a direct connection between the WebExplorer and an external computer. This avoids a level of redirection required by the CERN proxy server. ═══ 3.12. Static Graphics ═══ Static graphics are pictures displayed in a document that are not selectable and do not link to other documents. ═══ 3.13. Telnet ═══ Telnet allows you to log in to other computers on the Internet. Once you are logged in, you can access information and programs located on other computers. ═══ 3.14. URL ═══ The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) indicates the location of an HTML document. It includes the protocol followed by the fully-qualified host name, and can include the path and file name. Following are the formats for the most commonly accessed server types. Brackets ([ ]) indicate that the information is optional. o For HTTP servers: http://hostport[/ path] [?search] o For FTP servers: ftp://login/ [path] [!ftptype] o For Gopher servers: gopher://hostport[/ path][? search o For News servers: news:newsgroup o For Telnet servers: telnet://login ═══ HostPort ═══ Specify the following: host[:port] For example: gopher.almaden.ibm.com:70 Where gopher.almaden.ibm.com is the name of the host and 70 is the port you want to connect to. ═══ Path ═══ Specify the path (directories and subdirectories only) on the remote host that contains the document you want to open. ═══ Search ═══ Specify the string that you want to search for. ═══ Login ═══ Specify the following: [userid[:password]@]host[:port] For example: tony:piano@mus.unc.edu Where tony is the userid, piano is the password, and mus.unc.edu is the name of the host. ═══ FTPtype ═══ Specify one of the following: A for ascii I for image ═══ Newsgroup ═══ Specify the name of an article, the name of a newsgroup (such as news.announce.newusers), or an asterisk (*). An asterisk will display all newsgroups. ═══ 32-bit Dotted Decimal Notation ═══ 32-bit dotted decimal notation consists of four 8-bit numbers written as a decimal and separated by periods. For example, when the bit patterns 00001001 00100010 10000000 00100010 are converted to decimal and separated by periods, the 32-bit dotted decimal notation is 9.34.128.34. ═══ 4. WebExplorer Initialization File ═══ WebExplorer maintains a private initialization file, named explore.ini, in the directory referenced by the ETC environment variable. This is the same directory that the other Internet Connection for OS/2 and TCP/IP programs use to maintain their customization. You can specify an alternate initialization file in the Settings Notebook (Program Tab, Optional Parameters field) by entering: -i full_path_INI_filename The initialization file contains configuration information that is used when WebExplorer starts. This information is grouped into sections of the file called stanzas. Each stanza is preceded by a label that is enclosed in brackets, for example the settings for window preferences are contained in the [screen] stanza. The initialization file contains the following stanzas: o screen, which contains settings for: - Screen size (presentation mode or normal mode) - Font - Colors o cache, which contains settings for the number of documents and images held in buffer storage o option, which contains settings for: - Whether or not to save files to disk - Whether or not to load graphics - Whether or not links are underscored - Whether or not internal viewers are used o network, which contains settings for: - Your home document (URL) - Your e-mail address - Default proxy server - Default news server - Default SOCKS server o advanced, which allows you to add viewer support for file types that may not be listed on the Configure Viewers window. o viewers, which specifies the programs used to view files o quicklist, which contains the names and URLs for items in your QuickList Note: Do not modify the viewers stanza. Also, we recommend that you do not modify the advanced stanza unless you are an experienced user. If you erase this file, WebExplorer loses all of your customizations and returns to its built-in defaults: o The window is displayed in normal mode. o Text is black. Links are royal blue. The background is light grey. o The font is a medium size Helvetica. o Caching is on. A maximum of 64 documents and 16 images may be cached. o Graphics are loaded with documents. ═══ Trademark ═══ Trademark of International Business Machines. ═══ Trademarks ═══ The following terms are trademarks of the organization listed. o Mosaic - trademark of the National Center for Supercomputing (NCSA) at the University of Illinois. ═══ Adding Viewers ═══ You can modify the advanced stanza of your EXPLORER.INI file to add viewer support for file types that aren't listed on the Configure Viewers window. To add viewer support: 1. Create or modify an EXTMAP file. An EXTMAP file maps a file type (by extension) to a mime type. Each entry in the file is in the format: mime/type extension_list where mime/type is the mime type that you want to assign to a file type (this will be the mime type that is listed in the MAILCAP file) and extension_list is the list of file extensions to be mapped to this mime type. This file should have an extension of .EXT. 2. Specify the path, name, and extension of your EXTMAP file on the extmap line of the advanced stanza. 3. Create or modify a MAILCAP file. A MAILCAP file is a file that contains entries that assigns a viewing program to be used for files of a specific Mime type. Each entry in the file is in the format: mime/type; program_name parameters %s where mime/type is the mime type that you assigned in your EXTMAP file, program_name is the name of the program (EXE) that you want to use to view that mime type, and parameters are any parameters to be used when the program is started. This file should have an extension of .CAP. 4. Specify the path, name, and extension of your MAILCAP file on the mailcap line of the advanced stanza. ═══ WebExplorer Main Window ═══ The WebExplorer main window is divided into four parts: o The menu bar o The tool bar o The document area o The status area Also, in the upper-right corner of the window is an activity icon, a computer. When you issue a request, such as opening a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the objects on the computer monitor move to indicate that WebExplorer is processing the request. To interrupt the processing of a request, select the activity icon. Alternatively, you can select Halt loading document from the File pull-down menu. ═══ Menu Bar ═══ The actions available on the WebExplorer main window menu bar are: o File o Options o Configure o Navigate o QuickList o Help ═══ Tool Bar ═══ The push buttons on the tool bar provide quick access to some of the WebExplorer functions. To move backward in the WebMap To move forward in the WebMap To open a new URL To change the fonts used in the WebExplorer windows To change the colors used in the WebExplorer windows To access the WebMap To access the QuickList To add the current document to the QuickList To print the current document To load the home document As you move your mouse around the tool bar area and over the push buttons, the status area displays information about the purpose of each push button. ═══ Document Area ═══ The content of the document area varies depending on the document (URL) that you have loaded. This area may contain graphics (static or active), text (static or active), fields, or push buttons. The content depends on what the author of the document has included. Graphics Graphics may be static or active. Active graphics are surrounded by a frame and are selectable. As you move your mouse around the document area and over the active graphics, the status area displays the URL information for any hypertext link that your cursor crosses. WebExplorer supports OS/2 drag and drop functions for images. To copy an image from a document to another application, place your mouse over the image, select the image using mouse button 2, then while holding the mouse button down, drag the image to the other application and release the mouse button. If you drag the image to the desktop or to an application that does not support images, WebExplorer will place the image in the OS/2 clipboard. Similarly, you can drag image files from other applications or file folders to the WebExplorer window to view them. The default is for graphics to be loaded with the document. This may cause a delay in loading a document. If you would prefer to load the documents without the graphics, deselect Load graphics from the Options pull-down menu. If you deselect Load graphics, static graphics will not be displayed and active graphics will be represented by the following icon: Text By default, all text is displayed in normal Helvetica font. If you want to change the font, select Fonts from the Configure pull-down menu. Static text is displayed in black and is not selectable. If you want to change the color of the text, select Color from the Configure pull-down menu. Active text (hypertext) is displayed in blue with underscoring and is selectable. When you select a hypertext link, another document or graphic is displayed. As you move your mouse around the document area and over the active text, the status area displays the URL information for any hypertext link that your cursor crosses. If you want to change the color of the links, select Color from the Configure pull-down menu. If you want to remove the underscoring, deselect Underline links from the Options pull-down menu. Fields Some documents contain fields. The fields may be entry fields or selection boxes. For example, some documents contain fields that allow you to specify search parameters to search documents for words or phrases. Push Buttons Some documents contain push buttons. Push buttons typically submit requests, clear fields, or cancel requests. ═══ Status Area ═══ The status area of the WebExplorer main window displays different types of information: o As you move between documents, the status area displays messages that indicate the progress of your request. For example, when you select a hypertext link, this area displays separate messages to indicate the status of: - Loading and formatting documents - Loading and formatting images o As you move your mouse around the document area and over the active graphics and text, the status area displays the URL information for any hypertext link that your cursor crosses. o As you move your mouse around the tool bar area and over the push buttons, the status area displays information about the purpose of each push button. ═══ Open Document (URL) Window ═══ This window allows you to access a new Uniform Resource Locator. Enter the URL in the Enter document Uniform Resource Locator field and select the Open push button. ═══ Open File ═══ This window allows you to open a file that exists on your computer. To open the file, either specify the filename or select the drive, directory, and file from the list boxes. Then, select the OK push button. ═══ Filename to Store ═══ This window allows you to save the current Hypertext Markup Language document to your computer. To save the file, either specify the filename or select the drive, directory, and file from the list boxes. Then, select the OK push button. Note: Most Web servers use the High-Performance File System (HPFS), which supports file extensions over three characters in length. If you are saving a file to a drive that uses the File Allocation Table (FAT) system, you will need to reduce the file extension to three characters. ═══ Print ═══ This window allows you to print the current document to the selected printer. (To change the selected printer, select Printer setup from the File pull-down menu.) Specify the number of copies you want to print and the priority of the print job. Then, select OK. ═══ Printer Setup ═══ This window allows you to select the printer you want to use to print documents. Select the printer you want to use and select the OK push button. If you want to alter the postscript job properties, such as orientation and scaling, select the Job Properties push button. Note: Some printer drivers may allow you to select printer fonts using the Job Properties dialog box. However, WebExplorer will override any fonts you select. The font used in the windows is the default printer font. ═══ Find in Document ═══ This window allows you to specify a term or phrase that you want to locate in the current document. Specify the term or phrase in the field and select the OK push button. ═══ Configure Servers ═══ This window allows you to configure the following defaults: o The Home document URL and whether you want it loaded at startup. o Your e-mail address o A News server o A Proxy gateway o A Socks server When you have entered the information for your defaults, select the OK push button. Your changes are effective immediately. ═══ Configure Fonts ═══ This window allows you to specify the font, including its size, to be used in the document area. To change to the specified font, select OK. ═══ Configure Colors ═══ This window allows you to specify the color to be assigned to a component of the document area. To change to the specified color, select OK. To reset the components to their default colors, select Defaults. The default colors are: Black for text Royal blue for links Light grey for the background ═══ Configure Viewers ═══ This window allows you to specify a program to be used to display the viewers (or file types) that may be contained in the document area. After you select a viewer (file type) and specify a viewing program, select the OK push button. If you are unsure of the path or name of a program, select the Browse push button. If you need to configure a viewing program for file types that are not listed, you can modify the [advanced] stanza in the EXPLORE.INI file to assign a viewing program to a file type. ═══ Configure Caching ═══ This window allows you to specify the maximum number of documents and graphics you want to hold in a cache. If you do not want to use caching, select the Disable all caching checkbox. ═══ QuickList ═══ This window allows you to load, delete, or edit the name of a document in the QuickList. Select the document and select a push button to perform the desired action. You can specify whether you want the Document List to contain the title or URL value of the each item in the QuickList. You can also select the Add push button to add the document currently open in the WebExplorer Main window to the QuickList. To close the QuickList window, select the Close push button. ═══ Keys Help ═══ WebExplorer key definitions: Key Use F3 Exits WebExplorer F5 Reloads the current document Alt+C Displays the Configure pull-down menu Alt+F Displays the File pull-down menu Alt+H Displays the Help pull-down menu Alt+N Displays the Navigate pull-down menu Alt+O Displays the Options pull-down menu Alt+Q Displays the QuickList pull-down menu Ctrl+A Adds the current document to the QuickList Ctrl+B Moves backward in the Webmap Ctrl+F Moves forward in the Webmap Ctrl+H Displays to the home document Ctrl+P Toggles between presentation and normal modes Ctrl+Q Displays the QuickList window Ctrl+W Toggles display of the Webmap Esc Halts the loading of a document Each action in a pull-down menu contains an underscored character. Once you have opened a pull-down menu, you can select an action by typing the character that is underscored in that action. ═══ Edit QuickList Item Window ═══ This window allows you to change the name of a document in the QuickList. This changes only the name listed in your QuickList window and on your QuickList pull-down menu. ═══ Select Viewer Program Window ═══ This window allows you to locate a program that you want to use to display elements of a document. To locate the program, select a drive and directory. The files contained in that directory are displayed in the file list box. You can limit the types of files displayed by specifying a filename pattern. The default is *.EXE. When you have located the program, select the file from the File list box. Then, select the OK push button. ═══ Current Uniform Resource Locator (URL) ═══ When Show current URL is active, this window displays the current URL. If you want to access another document (URL) you can specify the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that you want to access in this window and press Enter. ═══ Enter document Uniform Resource Locator ═══ Specify the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that you want to access. ═══ Open/Save as filename ═══ Specify the name and extension of the file you want to open or save to. If you are saving a file and you specify the name of a file that currently exists in the specified drive and directory, the existing file will be overwritten. Note: You can specify the full path (drive and directory) to override the current settings for those fields. ═══ Drive ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field. A drop-down list displays the available drives. Select the drive of the file you want to open or save to. If you select a different drive, the directory list and file list change to display the directories and files currently on that drive. ═══ Directory ═══ Select the directory of the file you want to open or save to. You can use the scroll bar at the right of this field to scroll up or down through the list of current directories. If you select a different directory, the file list changes to display the files currently in that directory. ═══ File ═══ Select the name of the file you want to open or save to. You can use the scroll bar at the right of this field to scroll up or down through the list of current files. If you want to save the file to a new name (not overwrite any existing files), enter that name in the Open/Save as filename field. ═══ Copies ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field to specify the number of copies you want to print. You can specify up to 99 copies. ═══ Priority ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field to specify the priority you want to assign to this print job. You can specify Default, Low, or High. ═══ Printer ═══ This list box lists the printers that are configured (through OS/2) for your workstation. Select the printer you want to use. ═══ Home document URL ═══ Specify the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that you want to use as your home document. If you want to use this URL as the default URL at startup, select the Load home document at startup checkbox. ═══ Load document at startup? ═══ Select this checkbox if you want to use the URL specified in the Home document URL field as default URL at startup. ═══ E-mail Address ═══ Specify the e-mail address that others are to use when sending electronic mail to you. An example of an e-mail address is bbfan@mailserv.ibm.com, where bbfan is the user ID and mailserv.ibm.com is the host name of the mail server. ═══ News Server ═══ Specify the host name or 32-bit dotted decimal notation Internet Protocol (IP) address of the default news server you want to use. An example of a news server name is newsserv.ibm.com ═══ Proxy Gateway ═══ Specify the URL (http:// followed by the host name or 32-bit dotted decimal notation Internet Protocol (IP) address) of the default proxy gateway you want to use. Contact your system administrator to ensure that you are authorized to use the proxy services. ═══ Socks Server ═══ Specify the host name or 32-bit dotted decimal notation Internet Protocol (IP) address of the default SOCKS server you want to use. Contact your system administrator to ensure that you are authorized to use the SOCKS services. ═══ Font ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field to move through the possible choices. The possible fonts are Helvetica, Courier, and Times Roman. As you move through the possible choices, the Sample window displays each font in the current size. The default is Helvetica. ═══ Font Size ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field to move through the possible font sizes. The possible font sizes are Small, Normal, Large, and Extra Large. As you move through the possible choices, the Sample window displays the current font in each size. The default is Normal. ═══ Component ═══ Select the component to which you want to assign a new color. When you select a component, the Sample window displays the current setting, and the current color is selected in the Colors window. ═══ Colors ═══ Select the color you want to assign to the selected component. When you select a new color, the Sample window displays the current component in the selected color. ═══ Viewer ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field. A drop-down list of the WebExplorer elements is displayed. When you select an element, any currently assigned program is displayed in the Program field. ═══ Program ═══ Specify the program that you want to use to view the element displayed in the Viewer field. If you are unsure of the path or name of a program, select the Browse push button. ═══ Number of documents to cache ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field to specify the number of documents to hold in a cache. The possible values are 2 through 256. The default is 16. ═══ Number of images to cache ═══ Select the symbol to the right of the field to specify the number of graphics to hold in a cache. The possible values are 2 through 256. The default is 64. ═══ Disable all caching ═══ Select this checkbox if you do not want to hold any documents or images in cache. Disabling all caching may increase response time. ═══ Document List ═══ Select the document you want. You can then select a push button to load, delete, or edit the name of this document. ═══ List as Titles ═══ Select this radio button to list the items in the Document List by title. ═══ List as URLs ═══ Select this radio button to list the items in the Document List by URL. ═══ Edit Title of Document ═══ Specify a new name to be used as the title for this document. This changes only the name listed in your QuickList window and on your QuickList pull-down menu. ═══ Text to search for ═══ Specify the word or phrase that you want to locate in the current document. ═══ internet address ═══ The unique 32-bit address identifying each device or workstation in the Internet. Also known as IP address. ═══ OK Push Button ═══ Select OK to accept any specified data and perform the requested action. ═══ Cancel Push Button ═══ Select Cancel to close the window without performing the requested action. ═══ Help Push Button ═══ Select Help to display information about the current window. ═══ Job Properties Push Button ═══ Select Job Properties to specify properties of a print job such as resolution, orientation, and duplex options. ═══ Defaults Push Button ═══ Select Defaults to return the font or colors to the default. The default font is normal Helvetica. The default color for text is black. The default color for Links is royal blue. The default background color is light grey. ═══ OK Push Button ═══ Select OK to accept any specified data and perform the requested action. ═══ Clear Push Button ═══ Select Clear to remove the information currently specified in the field(s). ═══ Browse Push Button ═══ Select Browse to search through your drives and directories for a viewer program. The Select Viewer Program window is displayed. ═══ Load Push Button ═══ Select Load to access the selected document. ═══ Add Push Button ═══ Select Add to add the current document to the QuickList. ═══ Delete Push Button ═══ Select Delete to remove the selected document from the QuickList. ═══ Edit Push Button ═══ Select Edit to change the title of the selected URL. The Edit QuickList Item window is displayed. ═══ Open Push Button ═══ Select Open to open a the specified document. ═══ Close Push Button ═══ Select Close to close the current window, preserving any changes. ═══ The WWW Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ═══ WORLD WIDE WEB FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS This is part 1 of a 2-part posting. Part 2 begins with section 5 (providing information to the web). It should be the next posting in this thread. _This document resides on the World Wide Web on Sunsite (URL is http://sunsite.unc.edu/boutell/faq/www_faq.html). If you are unfamiliar with the term "URL", read on and learn!_ Contents * 1: Recent changes to the FAQ * 2: Information about this document * 3: Elementary Questions + 3.1: What are WWW, hypertext and hypermedia? + 3.2: What is a URL? + 3.3: How does WWW compare to gopher and WAIS? * 4: Accessing the Web (User Questions) + 4.1: Introduction: How can I access the web? (Even by email!) + 4.2: Browsers Accessible by Telnet + 4.3: Obtaining browsers o 4.3.1: Microsoft Windows browsers o 4.3.2: MSDOS browsers o 4.3.3: Macintosh browsers o 4.3.4: Amiga browsers o 4.3.5: NeXTStep browsers o 4.3.6: X/DecWindows (graphical UNIX, VMS) browsers o 4.3.7: Text-based Unix and VMS browsers o 4.3.8: Batch-mode "browsers" + 4.4: How can I access the web through a firewall? + 4.5: What is on the web? o 4.5.1: How do I find out what's new on the web? o 4.5.2: Where is the subject catalog of the web? o 4.5.3: How can I search through ALL web sites? + 4.6: How can I save an inline image to disk? + 4.7: How can I get sound from the PC speaker with WinMosaic? + 4.8: I have a Windows PC (or a Macintosh). Why can't I open WAIS URLs? + 4.9: I'm running XMosaic. Why can't I get external viewers working? + 4.10: Hey, I know, I'll write a WWW-exploring robot! Why not? + 4.11: How do I send newsgroup posts in HTML to my web client? * 5: Providing Information to the Web (Provider Questions) 5.1: Introduction: How can I provide information to the web? + 5.2: Obtaining Servers o 5.2.1: Unix Servers o 5.2.2: Macintosh Servers o 5.2.3: Windows and Windows NT Servers o 5.2.4: MSDOS Servers o 5.2.5: VMS Servers o 5.2.6: Amiga Servers + 5.3: Producing HTML documents o 5.3.1: Writing HTML Documents Yourself o 5.3.2: HTML editors o 5.3.3: Converting other formats to HTML + 5.4: How do I publicize my work? + 5.5: Can I buy space on an existing server? + 5.6: Advanced Provider Questions o 5.6.1: How do I set up a clickable image map? o 5.6.2: How do I make a "link" that doesn't load a new page? o 5.6.3: Where can I learn how to create fill-out forms? # 5.6.3.1: How can I create hidden fields in forms (keeping state)? # 5.6.3.2: How can users email me through their browsers? o 5.6.4: How do I comment an HTML document? o 5.6.5: How can I create decent-looking tables and stop using 
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? o 5.6.6: What is HTML Level 3 and where can I learn more about it? o 5.6.7: How can I make transparent GIFs? o 5.6.8: How come mailto: URLs don't work? o 5.6.9: How can I restrict and control access to my o 5.6.10: Which format is better for WWW images, JPEG or GIF? o 5.6.11: How can I mirror part of another server? server? o 5.6.12: How can I keep robots off my server? * 6: What newsgroups discuss the web? * 7: I want to know more. * 8: Credits 1: RECENT ADDITIONS AND CHANGES TO THE FAQ * 9/2/94: Email forms * 9/2/94: Keeping robots off your server * 9/2/94: Quadralay commercial-grade Mosaic * 9/2/94: New location of alternate BBEdit tools * 9/2/94: Emacs-W3 browser works on the Amiga * 9/2/94: Enhanced imagemaps section (URLs for other editors wanted!) * 9/2/94: Big Dummy's Guide is now EFF's Guide * 9/2/94: Fixed location of Postscript HTML tutorial * 9/2/94: Added Mac program to transparent section * 9/2/94: Enhanced section on problems with XMosaic external viewers * 9/2/94: Removed references to obsolete HTML+ draft * Closed all tags. Should make browsers happier. * 9/2/94: Updated location of WinMosaic * 9/2/94: Updated URL of web space leasing document * 9/2/94: Email access to the web 2: INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT This is an introduction to the World Wide Web project, describing the concepts, software and access methods. It is aimed at people who know a little about navigating the Internet, but want to know more about WWW specifically. If you don't think you are up to this level, try an introductory Internet book such as Ed Krol's "The Whole Internet" or "EFF's Guide to the Internet". The latter is available electronically by anonymous FTP from ftp.eff.org in the directory pub/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide. This informational document is posted to news.answers, comp.infosystems.www.users, comp.infosystems.www.providers, comp.infosystems.www.misc, comp.infosystems.gopher, comp.infosystems.wais and alt.hypertext every four days (please allow a day or two for it to propagate to your site). The latest version is always available on the web as http://sunsite.unc.edu/boutell/faq/www_faq.html. (see the section titled "What is a URL?" to understand what this means.) The most recently posted version of this document is kept on the news.answers archive on rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers/www/faq. For information on FTP, send e-mail to _mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu_ with: send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources in the body (not subject line) of your message, instead of asking me. Thomas Boutell maintains this document. Feedback about it is to be sent via e-mail to boutell@netcom.com. In all cases, regard this document as out of date. Definitive information should be on the web, and static versions such as this should be considered unreliable at best. The most up-to-date version of the FAQ is the version maintained on the web. Please excuse any formatting inconsistencies in the posted version of this document, as it is automatically generated from the on-line version. 3: ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS 3.1: What are WWW, hypertext and hypermedia? WWW stands for "World Wide Web". The WWW project, started by CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics), seeks to build a distributed hypermedia system. The advantage of hypertext is that in a hypertext document, if you want more information about a particular subject mentioned, you can usually "just click on it" to read further detail. In fact, documents can be and often are linked to other documents by completely different authors -- much like footnoting, but you can get the referenced document instantly! To access the web, you run a browser program. The browser reads documents, and can fetch documents from other sources. Information providers set up hypermedia servers which browsers can get documents from. The browsers can, in addition, access files by FTP, NNTP (the Internet news protocol), gopher and an ever-increasing range of other methods. On top of these, if the server has search capabilities, the browsers will permit searches of documents and databases. The documents that the browsers display are hypertext documents. Hypertext is text with pointers to other text. The browsers let you deal with the pointers in a transparent way -- select the pointer, and you are presented with the text that is pointed to. Hypermedia is a superset of hypertext -- it is any medium with pointers to other media. This means that browsers might not display a text file, but might display images or sound or animations. 3.2: What is a URL? URL stands for "Uniform Resource Locator". It is a draft standard for specifying an object on the Internet, such as a file or newsgroup. URLs look like this: (file: and ftp: URLs are synonymous.) * file://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors/msdos/graphics/gifkit.zip * ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors * http://info.cern.ch:80/default.html * news:alt.hypertext * telnet://dra.com The first part of the URL, before the colon, specifies the access method. The part of the URL after the colon is interpreted specific to the access method. In general, two slashes after the colon indicate a machine name (machine:port is also valid). When you are told to "check out this URL", what to do next depends on your browser; please check the help for your particular browser. For the line-mode browser at CERN, which you will quite possibly use first via telnet, the command to try a URL is "GO URL" (substitute the actual URL of course). In Lynx you just select the "GO" link on the first page you see; in graphical browsers, there's usually an "Open URL" option in the menus. 3.3: How does WWW compare to gopher and WAIS? While all three of these information presentation systems are client-server based, they differ in terms of their model of data. In gopher, data is either a menu, a document, an index or a telnet connection. In WAIS, everything is an index and everything that is returned from the index is a document. In WWW, everything is a (possibly) hypertext document which may be searchable. In practice, this means that WWW can represent the gopher (a menu is a list of links, a gopher document is a hypertext document without links, searches are the same, telnet sessions are the same) and WAIS (a WAIS index is a searchable page, returning a document with no links) data models as well as providing extra functionality. Gopher and World Wide Web usage are now running neck and neck, according to the statistics-keepers of the Internet backbone. (Of course, World Wide Web browsers can also access Gopher servers, which inflates the numbers for the latter.) This is changing as WWW reaches critical mass (usage of the server at CERN doubles every 4 months -- twice the rate of Internet expansion). 4: ACCESSING the WEB (USER QUESTIONS) 4.1: Introduction: how can I access the web? You have three options: use a browser on your own machine (the best option), use a browser that can be telnetted to (not as good), or access the web by email (the least attractive, but for some it's the only way). It is always best to run a browser on your own machine, unless you absolutely cannot do so; but feel free to telnet to a browser for your first look at the web, or use email if the telnet command does not work on your system (_try it first!_ The following sections cover telnetting to a browser and obtaining your own browser; if neither of these are possible for you (because you have only an email-and-news connection to the Internet), here is how to access a web page by email: Send email to listserv@info.cern.ch containing the following single line. (What you put on the subject line doesn't matter; blank is OK. This line should go in the text of the message.) You will receive as a reply a simple page intended to help you learn more about the Web. send http://www.earn.net/gnrt/www.html 4.2: Browsers accessible by telnet An up-to-date list of these is available on the Web as http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/FAQ/Bootstrap.html and should be regarded as an authoritative list. info.cern.ch No password is required. This is in Switzerland, so continental US users might be better off using a closer browser. www.cc.ukans.edu A full screen browser "Lynx" which requires a vt100 terminal. Log in as www. Does not allow users to "go" to arbitrary URLs, so GET YOUR OWN COPY of Lynx and install it on your system if your administrator has not done so already. The best plain-text browser, so move mountains if necessary to get your own copy of Lynx! www.njit.edu (or telnet 128.235.163.2) Log in as www. A full-screen browser in New Jersey Institute of Technology. USA. www.huji.ac.il A dual-language Hebrew/English database, with links to the rest of the world. The line mode browser, plus extra features. Log in as www. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. sun.uakom.cs Slovakia. Has a slow link, only use from nearby. info.funet.fi (or telnet 128.214.6.102). Log in as www. Offers several browsers, including Lynx (goto option is disabled there also). fserv.kfki.hu Hungary. Has slow link, use from nearby. Login is as www. 4.3: Obtaining browsers The preferred method of access of the Web is to run a browser yourself. Browsers are available for many platforms, both in source and executable forms. Here is a list generated from the authoritative list, http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Clients.html. 4.3.1: MICROSOFT WINDOWS BROWSERS NOTE: These browsers require that you have SLIP, PPP or other TCP/IP networking on your PC. SLIP or PPP can be accomplished over phone lines, but only with the active cooperation of your network provider or educational institution. If you only have normal dialup shell access, your best option at this time is to run Lynx on the Unix (or VMS, or...) system you call, or telnet to a browser if you cannot do so. Cello Browser from Cornell LII. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.law.cornell.edu in the directory /pub/LII/cello. Mosaic for Windows From NCSA. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in the directory PC/Windows/Mosaic. 4.3.2: MSDOS BROWSERS NOTE: These browsers require that you have SLIP, PPP or other TCP/IP networking on your PC. SLIP or PPP can be accomplished over phone lines, but only with the active cooperation of your network provider or educational institution. If you only have normal dialup shell access, your best option at this time is to run Lynx on the Unix (or VMS, or...) system you call, or telnet to a browser if you cannot do so. DosLynx DosLynx is an excellent text-based browser for use on DOS systems. You must have a level 1 packet driver, or an emulation thereof, or you will only be able to browse local files; essentially, if your PC has an Ethernet connection, or you have SLIP, you should be able to use it. DosLynx can view GIF images, but not when they are inline images (as of this writing). See the README.HTM file at the DosLynx site for details. You can obtain DosLynx by anonymous FTP from ftp2.cc.ukans.edu in the directory pub/WWW/DosLynx; the URL is ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/WWW/DosLynx/. 4.3.3: MACINTOSH BROWSERS NOTE: These browsers require that you have SLIP, PPP or other TCP/IP networking on your PC. SLIP or PPP can be accomplished over phone lines, but only with the active cooperation of your network provider or educational institution. If you only have normal dialup shell access, your best option at this time is to run Lynx on the Unix (or VMS, or...) system you call, or telnet to a browser if you cannot do so. Mosaic for Macintosh From NCSA. Full featured. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in the directory Mac/Mosaic. Samba From CERN. Basic. Available by anonymous FTP from info.cern.ch in the directory /ftp/pub/www/bin as the file mac. MacWeb From EINet. Has features that Mosaic lacks; lacks some features that Mosaic has. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.einet.net in the directory einet/mac/macweb. 4.3.4: AMIGA BROWSERS AMosaic Browser for AmigaOS, based on NCSA's Mosaic. Supports older Amigas as well as the newer machines in the latest versions, I am told; available for anonymous ftp from max.physics.sunysb.edu in the directory /pub/amosaic, or from aminet sites in /pub/aminet/comm/net. see the site for details. See the URL http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/AMosaic/home.html. Emacs-W3 The Emacs-W3 browser works under Gnu Emacs on the Amiga (see section 4.3.7). 4.3.5: NEXTSTEP BROWSERS Note: NeXT systems can also run X-based browsers using one of the widely used X server products for the NeXT. The browsers listed here, by contrast, are native NeXTStep applications. OmniWeb A World Wide Web browser for NeXTStep. The URL for more information is http://www.omnigroup.com/; you can ftp the package from ftp.omnigroup.com in the /pub/software/ directory. WorldWideWeb, CERN's NeXT Browser-Editor A browser/editor for NeXTStep. _Currently out of date; editor not operational._ Allows wysiwyg hypertext editing. Requires NeXTStep 3.0. Available for anonymous FTP from info.cern.ch in the directory /pub/www/src. 4.3.6: X/DECWINDOWS (GRAPHICAL UNIX, VMS) BROWSERS NCSA Mosaic for X Unix browser using X11/Motif. Multimedia magic. Full http 1.0 support including PUT-method forms, image maps, etc. Recommended if you can run it. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in the directory Mosaic. NCSA Mosaic for VMS Browser using X11/DecWindows/Motif. For the VMS operating system. Multimedia magic. Full http 1.0 support including PUT-method forms, image maps, etc. Recommended if you can run it. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in the directory Mosaic. Quadralay GWHIS Viewer (Commercial Mosaic) Quadralay offers a commercial-grade (not free!) version of Mosaic for Unix systems, with Windows and Macintosh versions expected in the future. (URL is: http://www.quadralay.com/products/products.html#gwhis) tkWWW Browser/Editor for X11 Unix Browser/Editor for X11. (Beta test version.) Available for anonymous ftp from harbor.ecn.purdue.edu in the directory tkwww[extension] (followed by an extension possibly dependent on the current version). Please ftp to the site and look for the latest version (or use the link above). Supports WSYIWYG HTML editing. MidasWWW Browser A Unix/X browser from Tony Johnson. (Beta, works well.) Viola for X (Beta) Viola has two versions for Unix/X: one using Motif, one using Xlib (no Motif). Handles HTML Level 3 forms and tables. Has extensions for multiple columning, collapsible/expandable list, client-side document include. Available by anonymous FTP from ora.com in /pub/www/viola. More information available at the URL http://xcf.berkeley.edu/ht/projects/viola/README. Chimera Unix/X Browser using Athena (doesn't require Motif). Supports forms, inline images, etc.; closest to Mosaic in feel of the non-Motif X11 browsers. Available for anonymous FTP from ftp.cs.unlv.edu in the directory /pub/chimera. 4.3.7: Text-mode Unix and VMS browsers These are text-based browsers for Unix (and in some cases also VMS) systems. In many cases your system administrator will have already installed one or more of these packages; check before compiling your own copy. Line Mode Browser This program gives W3 readership to anyone with a dumb terminal. A general purpose information retrieval tool. Available by anonymous ftp from info.cern.ch in the directory /pub/www/src. The "Lynx" full screen browser This is a hypertext browser for vt100s using full screen, arrow keys, highlighting, etc. Available by anonymous FTP from ftp2.cc.ukans.edu. Tom Fine's perlWWW A tty-based browser written in perl. Available by anonymous FTP from archive.cis.ohio-state.edu in the directory pub/w3browser as the file w3browser-0.1.shar. For VMS Dudu Rashty's full screen client based on VMS's SMG screen management routines. Available by anonymous FTP from vms.huji.ac.il in the directory www/www_client. Emacs w3-mode W3 browse mode for emacs. Uses multiple fonts when used with Lemacs or Epoch. See the documentation. Available by anonymous FTP from moose.cs.indiana.edu in the directory pub/elisp/w3 as the files w3.tar.Z and extras.tar.Z. 4.3.8: BATCH-MODE "BROWSERS" Batch mode browser A batch-mode "browser", url_get, which is available through the URL http://wwwhost.cc.utexas.edu/test/zippy/url_get.html. It can be retrieved via anonymous FTP to ftp.cc.utexas.edu, as the file /pub/zippy/url_get.tar.Z. This package is intended for use in cron jobs and other settings in which fetching a page in a command-line fashion is useful. 4.4: How can I access the web through a firewall? For information on using NCSA Mosaic from behind a firewall, please read the following. In general, browsers can be made useful behind firewalls through the use of a package called "SOCKS"; the source must be modified slightly and rebuilt to accommodate this. Whenever possible, work _with_ your network administrators to solve the problem, not against them. An excerpt from the NCSA Mosaic FAQ: NCSA Mosaic requires a direct Internet connection to work, but some folks have put together a package that works behind firewalls. This is _completely unsupported_ by NCSA, but here is the latest announcement: _November 15, 1993:_ C&C Software Technology Center (CSTC) of NEC Systems Lab has made available a version of SOCKS, a package for running Internet clients from behind firewalls without breaching security requirements, that includes a suitably modified version of Mosaic for X 2.0. _Beware: such a version is not supported by NCSA; we can't help with questions or problems arising from the modifications made by others._ But, we encourage you to check it out if it's interesting to you. Questions and problem notifications can be sent to Ying-Da Lee (_ylee@syl.dl.nec.com_). 4.5: What is on the web? Currently accessible through the web: * anything served through gopher * anything served through WAIS * anything on an FTP site * anything on Usenet * anything accessible through telnet * anything in hytelnet * anything in hyper-g * anything in techinfo * anything in texinfo * anything in the form of man pages * sundry hypertext documents 4.5.1: HOW DO I FIND OUT WHAT'S NEW ON THE WEB? The unofficial newspaper of the World Wide Web is What's New With NCSA Mosaic (URL is http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/whats-new.html), which carries announcements of new servers on the web and also of new web-related tools. This should be in your hot list if you're not using Mosaic (which can access it directly through the help menu). 4.5.2: WHERE IS THE SUBJECT CATALOG OF THE WEB? There are several. There is no mechanism inherent in the web which forces the creation of a single catalog (although there is work underway on automatic mechanisms to catalog web sites). The best-known catalog, and the first, is The WWW Virtual Library (URL is http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html), maintained by CERN. The Virtual Library is a good place to find resources on a particular subject, and has separate maintainers for many subject areas. There is also a newer cataloging system called ALIWEB that requires very little effort to maintain and is growing rapidly (URL is http://web.nexor.co.uk/aliweb/doc/aliweb.html). 4.5.3: HOW CAN I SEARCH THROUGH ALL WEB SITES? Several people have written robots which create indexes of web sites -- including sites which have not arranged to be mentioned in the newspapers and catalogs above. (Before writing your own robot, please read the section on robots.) Here are a few such automatic indexes you can search: * WebCrawler (URL is http://www.biotech.washington.edu/WebQuery.html) builds an impressively complete index; on the other hand, since it indexes the content of documents, it may find many links that aren't exactly what you had in mind. * World Wide Web Worm (URL is http://www.cs.colorado.edu/home/mcbryan/WWWW.html) builds its index based on page titles and URL contents only. This is somewhat less inclusive, but pages it finds are more likely to be an exact match with your needs. You can read about other robots in the robots section. 4.6: How can I save an inline image to disk? Here are two ways: 1. Turn on "load to local disk" in your browser, if it has such an option; then reload images. You'll be prompted for filenames instead of seeing them on the screen. Be sure to shut it off when you're done with it. 2. Choose "view source" and browse through the HTML source; find the URL for the inline image of interest to you; copy and paste it into the "Open URL" window. This should load it into your image viewer instead, where you can save it and otherwise muck about with it. 4.7: How can I get sound from the PC speaker with WinMosaic? This piece of wisdom donated by Hunter Monroe: This section explains how to install sound on a PC which already has a working version of Mosaic for Microsoft Windows. Be warned in advance that the results may be poor. To get Mosaic to produce sound out of the PC speaker, first, you need a driver for the speaker. You can get the Microsoft speaker driver from the URL ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/SPEAK.EXE or by doing an Archie search to find it somewhere else. SPEAK.EXE is a self-extracting file. Copy the speak.exe file to a new directory, and then type "SPEAK" at the DOS prompt. Do not put the file SPEAKER.DRV in a separate directory from OEMSETUP.INF. Now, you need to install the driver. In Windows, from the Program Manager choose successively Main/Control Panel/Drivers/Add/Unlisted or updated drivers/(enter path of SPEAK.EXE)/PC Speaker. At this point some strange sounds come out as the driver is initialized. Change the settings to improve the sound quality on the various sounds: tada, chimes, etc. Click OK when you are finished and choose the Restart windows option. Having installed the speaker driver, you will now get sounds whenever you start Windows, make a mistake, or exit Windows. If you do not want this, from the Main/Control Panel/Sounds menu, make sure there is no X next to "Enable System Sounds." Now, you need a sound viewer program that Mosaic can call to display sounds. NCSA unfortunately recommend WHAM, which does not work well with a PC speaker. Get the program WPLANY instead. You can find a copy nearby with an Archie search on the string "wplny"; the current version is WPLNY09B.ZIP. For details on archie and other basic issues related to FTP, please read the Usenet newsgroup news.announce.newusers. Move the zip file to a new directory, and use an unzip program like pkunzip to unzip it, producing the files WPLANY.EXE and WPLANY.DOC. Then edit the MOSAIC.INI file to remove the "REM" before the line "TYPE9=audio/basic". Then, you need lines in the section below that read something like: audio/basic="c:\wplany\wplany.exe %ls" audio/wav="c:\wplany\wplany.exe %ls" where you have filled in the correct path for wplany.exe. The MOSAIC.INI file delivered with Mosaic may have NOTEPAD.EXE on the audio/basic line, but this will not work. Now, restart Mosaic, and you should now be able to produce sounds. To check this, with Mosaic choose File/Local File/\WINDOWS\*.WAV and then try to play TADA.WAV. Then, you might try the Mosaic Demo document for some .AU sounds, but you are lucky if your speaker produces something you can understand. 4.8: I have a Windows PC or Macintosh. Why can't I access WAIS URLs? This answer provided by Michael Grady (m-grady@uiuc.edu): The version of Mosaic for X has "wais client" code built-in to it. This was relatively easy for the developers to do, because there was already a set of library routines for talking to WAIS available for Unix as "public domain" (freeWAIS). I don't think there is such a library of routines for PC/Windows or Mac, which would make it much more difficult for the Mosaic versions for Windows and the Mac to add "wais client" capability. Therefore, at least for now, neither the Windows or Mac versions of Mosaic support direct query of a WAIS server (i.e. can act as wais clients themselves). 4.9: I'm running XMosaic. Why can't I get external viewers working... ... No matter what no matter what I do to my .mailcap and .mime.types files? Answer provided by Ronald E. Daniel (rdaniel@acl.lanl.gov): Mosaic only looks at the .mime.types file if it has no idea what the document's type is. This is actually a very rare situation. Essentially all servers now use the HTTP/1.0 protocol, which means that they tell Mosaic (or other browsers) what the document's MIME Content-type is. The servers use a file very much like Mosaic's .mime.types file to infer the Content-type from the filename's extension. It is pretty simple to find out if this really is the problem. Use telnet to talk to the server and find out if it is assigning a MIME type to the document in question. Here's an example, looking at the home page for my server. ( idaknow: is my shell prompt) idaknow: telnet www.acl.lanl.gov 80 // Connect to the httpd server Trying 128.165.148.3 ... Connected to www.acl.lanl.gov. Escape character is '^]'. HEAD /Home.html HTTP/1.0 // replace Home.html with your document // you supply the blank line HTTP/1.0 200 OK // the rest of this comes from the server Date: Wednesday, 25-May-94 19:18:11 GMT Server: NCSA/1.1 MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/html // Here's the MIME Content-type Last-modified: Monday, 16-May-94 16:21:58 GMT Content-length: 1727 Connection closed by foreign host. idaknow: In the example above, /Home.html will get http://www.acl.lanl.gov/Home.html. Normally servers will be configured to supply a Content-type of text/plain if they don't know what else to do. If this is the problem you are having, take a look at the TypesConfig documentation for NCSA's httpd. You can have the server look at the filename extension, supply the correct Content-type, then use your local .mailcap file to tell Mosaic what viewer to use to look at the document. Russ Segal adds: The answer from Ronald Daniel is essentially correct, but it needs a small addendum. When starting Moasic, you can specify a "fileProxy" which will fetch files for you: "*fileProxy: http://socks/" If you do this, file: URLs are no longer strictly local accesses. So even if the URL is not fttp:, the proxy server must be upgraded as Mr. Daniel suggests. 4.10: Hey, I know, I'll write a WWW-exploring robot! Why not? Programs that automatically traverse the web can be quite useful, but have the potential to make a serious mess of things. Robots have been written which do a "breadth-first" search of the web, exploring many sites in a gradual fashion instead of aggressively "rooting out" the pages of one site at a time. Some of these robots now produce excellent indexes of information available on the web. But others have written simple depth-first searches which, at the worst, can bring servers to their knees in minutes by recursively downloading information from CGI script-based pages that contain an infinite number of possible links. (Often robots can't realize this!) Imagine what happens when a robot decides to "index" the CONTENTS of several hundred mpeg movies. Shudder. The moral: a robot that does what you want may already exist; if it doesn't, please study the document World Wide Web Robots, Wanderers and Spiders (URL is: http://web.nexor.co.uk/mak/doc/robots/robots.html) and learn about the emerging standards for exclusion of robots from areas in which they are not wanted. You can also read about existing robots there. 4.11: How do I send newsgroup posts in HTML to my web client? How to do this depends greatly on your system; if you have a Mac or Windows system, the answer is completely different. But, as food for thought, here is a simple shell script I use on my Unix account to send posts from rn and related newsreaders to Lynx. Put this text in the file "readwebpost" and use the "chmod" command to make it executable, then put it somewhere in your path (such as your personal bin directory): Additional information is contained in Part 2. ═══ The WWW Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Part 2 ═══ 5: PROVIDING INFORMATION to the WEB (PROVIDER QUESTIONS) 5.1: INTRODUCTION (TO PART 2): HOW CAN I PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE WEB? Information providers run programs that the browsers can obtain hypertext from. These programs can either be WWW servers that understand the HyperText Transfer Protocol HTTP (best if you are creating your information database from scratch), "gateway" programs that convert an existing information format to hypertext, or a non-HTTP server that WWW browsers can access -- anonymous FTP or gopher, for example. To learn more about World Wide Web servers, you can consult a www server primer by Nathan Torkington, available at the URL http://www.vuw.ac.nz/who/Nathan.Torkington/ideas/www-servers.html. If you only want to provide information to local users, placing your information in local files is also an option. This means, however, that there can be no off-machine access. 5.2: Obtaining Servers Servers are available for Unix, Macintosh, MS Windows, and VMS systems. If you know of a server for another operating system, please contact me. See http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Daemon/Overview.html for more information on writing servers and gateways in general. 5.2.1: UNIX SERVERS NCSA httpd NCSA has released a server, known as the NCSA httpd; it is available at the URL ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Web/ncsa_httpd. CERN httpd CERN's server is available for anonymous FTP from info.cern.ch (URL is http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Daemon/Status.html) and many other places. Use your local copy of archie to search for "www" in order to find a nearby site. GN Gopher/HTTP server The GN server is unique in that it can serve both WWW and Gopher clients (in their native modes). This is a good server for those migrating from Gopher to WWW, although it does not have the server-side-script capabilities of the NCSA and CERN servers. See the URL http://hopf.math.nwu.edu/. Perl server There is also a server written in the Perl scripting language, called Plexus, for which documentation is available at the URL http://bsdi.com/server/doc/plexus.html. 5.2.2: MACINTOSH SERVERS There is a server for the Macintosh, MacHTTP, available at the URL http://www.uth.tmc.edu/mac_info/machttp_info.html. 5.2.3: MS WINDOWS AND WINDOWS NT SERVERS HTTPS (Windows NT) HTTPS is a server for Windows NT systems, both Intel and Alpha -- based. It is available via anonymous FTP from emwac.ed.ac.uk in the directory pub/https (URL is ftp://emwac.ed.ac.uk/pub/https). (Be sure to download the version appropriate to your processor.) You can read a detailed announcement at the FTP site, or by using the URL ftp://emwac.ed.ac.uk/pub/https/https.txt. NCSA httpd for Windows The NCSA httpd for Windows has most of the features of the Unix version, including scripts (which generate pages on the fly based on user input). It is available by anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in the Web/ncsa_httpd/contrib directory as the file whtp11a6.zip, or at the URL ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Web/ncsa_httpd/contrib/whtp11a6.zip. SerWeb A simple, effective server for Windows writtten by Gustavo Estrella. Available by anonymous ftp from winftp.cica.indiana.edu (or one of its mirror sites, such as nic.switch.ch), as the file serweb03.zip, in the directory /pub/pc/win3/winsock. There is also a Windows NT version of SerWeb, available by anonymous FTP from emwac.ed.ac.uk as /pub/serweb/serweb_i.zip. WEB4HAM Another Windows-based server, available by anonymous FTP from ftp.informatik.uni-hamburg.de as /pub/net/winsock/web4ham.zip. 5.2.4: MSDOS SERVERS KA9Q NOS (nos11c.exe) is a Internet server package for DOS that includes HTTP and Gopher servers. It can be obtained via anonymous FTP from one of the following sites: inorganic5.chem.ufl.edu biochemistry.cwru.edu 5.2.5: VMS SERVERS CERN HTTP for VMS A port of the CERN server to VMS. Available at the URL http://delonline.cern.ch/disk$user/duns/doc/vms/distribution.ht ml. Region 6 Threaded HTTP Server A native VMS server which uses DECthreads(tm). This is a potentially major performance advantage because VMS has a high overhead for each process, which is a problem for the frequently-forking NCSA and CERN servers that began life under Unix. A multithreaded server avoids this overhead. Available at the URL http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html. 5.2.6: AMIGA SERVERS NCSA's Unix server has been ported to the Amiga, and is bundled with the AMosaic browser. See the URL http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/AMosaic/home.html for details. 5.3: Producing HTML documents HTML is the simple markup system used to create hypertext documents. There are three ways to produce HTML documents: writing them yourself, which is not a very difficult skill to acquire, using an HTML editor, which assists in doing the above, and converting documents in other formats to HTML. The following three sections cover these possibilities in sequence. 5.3.1: WRITING HTML DOCUMENTS YOURSELF You can write an HTML document with any text editor. Try the "source" button of your browser (or "save as" HTML) to look at the HTML for a page you find particularly interesting. The odds are that it will be a great deal simpler than you would expect. If you're used to marking up text in any way (even red-pencilling it), HTML should be rather intuitive. A beginner's guide to HTML is available at the URL http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html. You can also find a plain text version (at the URL ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/ncsapubs/WWW/HTMLPrimer.txt) and a compressed Postscript version (at the URL ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/ncsapubs/WWW/HTMLPrimer.ps.Z). (Since the latter two are FTP URLs, you can fetch them by hand using FTP if you do not yet have a web browser.) There is also a good set of HTML documentation available at the URL http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/htmldoc.html. There is also an HTML primer by Nathan Torkington at the URL http://www.vuw.ac.nz/who/Nathan.Torkington/ideas/www-html.html. 5.3.2: HTML EDITORS Of course, most folks would still prefer to use a friendlier, graphical editor. Some editors are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), or close to it; others simply assist you in writing HTML by plugging in the desired markup tags for you from a menu. Fans of the EMACS editor can use EMACS and html-helper-mode , an EMACS "mode" for HTML editing (URL is http://www.reed.edu/~nelson/tools/). There is also another Emacs HTML mode, html-mode.el (URL is ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Web/elisp/html-mode.el). For Microsoft Windows users, there is an editor called HTML Assistant with features to assist in the creation of HTML documents. It can be had by anonymous FTP from ftp.cs.dal.ca in the directory /htmlasst/. Read the README.1ST file in this directory for information on which files to download. A WYSIWYG editor for the Web, *SoftQuad HoTMetaL*, is available for downloading at NCSA and other Mosaic server sites. Many mirror sites exist; if you can't get through to one, try another, don't give up! That's what mirror sites are for. (Also be sure to use the copy closest to you geographically if possible.) Known mirrors: * ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic/contrib/SoftQuad/sqhotmetal-1.0.tar. gz * ftp://ftp.ifi.uio.no/pub/SGML/HoTMetaL * ftp://sgml1.ex.ac.uk/SoftQuad * ftp://doc.ic.ac.uk/pub/packages/WWW/ncsa/contrib/SoftQuad * ftp://askhp.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de/pub/infosystems/mosaic/contrib/Sof tQuad * ftp://ftp.cs.concordia.ca/pub/www You need a Sun SPARC or Microsoft Windows system and 6MB of disk (6MB of RAM minimum for MS Windows). Because it is context-sensitive, HoTMetaL guides users in creating new HTML documents and in cleaning up old ones. A Publish command changes appropriate SRC and HREF attributes from local paths to http locations. For more information, FTP the README file from the same directory, or send email to hotmetal@sq.com. A HoTMetaL Pro commercially supported version is available for purchase from SoftQuad and its resellers. An editor for all X users: TkWWW (listed above under X browsers) supports WYSIWYG HTML editing; and since it's a browser, you can try out links immediately after creating them. Also for X users, there is a package called htmltext which supports WYSIWYG HTML editing. More information is available at the URL http://web.cs.city.ac.uk/homes/njw/htmltext/htmltext.html. For Macintosh users, there is evidently a near-WYSIWYG package called HTML Editor (URL is http://dragon.acadiau.ca:1667/~giles/HTML_Editor). Also for Macintosh users, the BBEdit HTML extensions allow the BBEdit and BBEdit Lite text editors for the Macintosh to conveniently edit HTML documents. (URL is http://www.uji.es/bbedit-html-extensions.html.) You can also obtain the extensions package by anonymous ftp from sumex-aim.stanford.edu as info-mac/bbedit-html-ext-b3.hqx. There is an alternative BBEdit extension package available as well (URL is http://www.york.ac.uk/~ld11/BBEditTools.html). it is available by FTP from ftp.york.ac.uk in the directory /pub/users/ld11/BBEdit_HTML_Tools.sea.hqx. NCSA's List of Filters and Editors, for which the URL is http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/faq-software.html#ed itors, mentions several editors, including two for MS Windows. In some cases, the "editor" amounts to a set of macros for an existing word processor, which can provide a near-WYSIWYG environment. Note that this URL contains uppercase and lowercase letters; certain operating systems won't allow mixed case on the command line, or will only allow it if it is quoted (VMS), so if you are launching Lynx or another client and specifying a URL at the command line, try quoting the URL in double-quotes ("URL"). Another option, if you have an SGML editor, is to use it with the HTML DTD . 5.3.3: CONVERTING OTHER FORMATS TO HTML There is a collection of filters for converting your existing documents (in TeX and other non-HTML formats) into HTML automatically, including filters that can allow more or less WYSIWYG editing using various word processors: Rich Brandwein and Mike Sendall's List at CERN. The URL is http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Tools/Filters.html. (Note that this URL contains uppercase and lowercase letters; certain operating systems such as VMS require you to quote mixed-case URLs when launching a borwser from the command line. This is NOT a bug in the browser.) There is also a Word for Windows template for writing HTML documents, available at the URL http://www.gatech.edu/word_html/release.htm. 5.4: How do I publicize my work? There are several things you can do to publicize your new HTML server or other offering: * Submit it to the NCSA What's New Page at the URL http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/whats-new.html (see the page for details on how to submit your listing!). * Post it to the newsgroup comp.infosystems.announce. Please read the group first to get a feel for the contents. You should not post to comp.infosystems.www.users,.misc,.providers, etc., but if you feel compelled to do so, please choose .misc as announcements are of interest to both providers and users (and those who wear both hats). * Submit it to the maintainers of various catalogs, such as the WWW Virtual Library (at the URL http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html) and the ALIWEB index (at the URL http://web.nexor.co.uk/aliweb/doc/aliweb.html). 5.5: Can I buy space on an existing server? Yes, you can. A list of sites offering WWW space for lease is available (at the URL http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/www/leasing.html ). 5.6: Advanced Provider Questions 5.6.1: HOW DO I SET UP A CLICKABLE IMAGE MAP? There are really two issues here: how to indicate in HTML that you want an image to be clickable, and how to configure your server to do something with the clicks returned by Mosaic, Chimera, and other clients capable of delivering them. You can read about image maps and the NCSA server at the URL http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu/docs/setup/admin/Imagemap.html. Using imagemaps requires that you create a map file; you can do this by hand or with a WYSIWYG tool. I wrote Mapedit (URL is: http://sunsite.unc.edu/boutell/mapedit/mapedit.html ), which is such a tool for Microsoft Windows and the X Window System. Other tools are available. (URLs, anyone?) _Important Note:_ Creating imagemaps requires a cooperative server administrator and a real web server. Don't waste time making maps before making sure you have the necessary tools to deliver them. 5.6.2: HOW DO I MAKE A "LINK" THAT DOESN'T LOAD A NEW PAGE? Such links are useful when a form is intended to perform some action on the server machine without sending new information to the client, or when a user has clicked in an undefined area in an image map; these are just two possibilities. Rob McCool of NCSA provided the following wisdom on the subject: Yechezkal-Shimon Gutfreund (sg04@gte.com) wrote: : Ok, here is another bizzare request from me: : I am currently running scripts which I "DO NOT" want to return : any visible result. That is, not text/plain, not text/HTML, not : image/gif. The entire results are the side effects of the : script and nothing should be returned to the viewer. : It would be nice to have an internally supported null viewer : so that I could do this, more "cleanly" (ok, ok, I hear your groans). HTTP now supports a response code of 204, which is no operation. Some browsers such as Mosaic/X 2.* support it. To use it, make your script a nph script and output an HTTP/1.0 204 header. Something like: HTTP/1.0 204 No response Server: Myscript/NCSA httpd 1.1 (You can learn more about nph scripts from the NCSA server documentation at the URL http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu/docs.) Essentially they are scripts that handle their own HTTP response codes. 5.6.3: WHERE CAN I LEARN HOW TO CREATE FILL-OUT FORMS? You can read about the Common Gateway Interface (at the URL http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/cgi/). In addition to documenting the standard interface for which scripts can now be written for both NCSA and CERN-derived servers, these pages also cover HTML forms and how to handle the results on the server side. See the section on email forms for a simple solution to the most commonly desired form. 5.6.3.1: How can I create hidden fields in forms (keeping state)? Use INPUT TYPE=hidden. An example: By now, most if not all browsers can handle the hidden type. Note that "hidden" doesn't mean "secret"; the user can always click on "view source". 5.6.3.2: How can users send me email through their browsers? If you have access to the server's configuration files, or if your server administrator permits users to create their own CGI scripts, you can arrange it. I've written a simple email forms package (URL is: http://siva.cshl.org/email/index.html), which does it in ANSI C. There is also a package floating around in Perl (URL, anyone?). 5.6.4: HOW DO I COMMENT AN HTML DOCUMENT? Use the tag. Note that comments do not nest, and the sequence "--" may not appear inside a comment except as part of the closing --> tag. You should _not_ try to use this to "comment out" HTML that would otherwise be shown to the user, since some browsers (notably Mosaic) will still pay attention to tags inside the comment and close it prematurely. _Thanks to Joe English for clearing up this issue._ 5.6.5: HOW CAN I CREATE DECENT-LOOKING TABLES AND STOP USING 
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? Tables are a standard feature in HTML Level 3, a new version of HTML. Unfortunately, they are at present implemented only by the Viola and Emacs-W3 browsers, to my knowledge. _However_, there is a way to use HTML Level 3 tables now and convert them automatically to HTML, allowing you to design proper tables and install those pages directly when table support arrives in the majority of clients. You can do this using the html+tables package, by Brooks Cutter (bcutter@paradyne.com), which is available for anonymous ftp from sunsite.unc.edu in the directory pub/packages/infosystems/WWW/tools/html+tables.shar. This package requires the shell language Perl, which is primarily used on Unix systems but is also available for other systems (such as MSDOS machines). html+tables accepts HTML Level 3 and outputs html using the 
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construct to represent tables, allowing you to write HTML Level 3 now, knowing that it will look better when clients are ready for it. 5.6.6: WHAT IS HTML LEVEL 3 AND WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT IT? HTML Level 3, also known as HTML+, is an enhanced version of HTML designed to address some of the limitations of HTML. HTML Level 3 supports true tables, right-justified text, centered text, line breaks that do not double space, and many other desired features. However, most clients support only a handful of HTML Level 3 features (such as forms in Mosaic) at this time. You can access information about new developments in HTML at the CERN server (at the URL http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Markup/Markup.html ). (HTML Level 1 is the original version. HTML Level 2 is essentially the same, but with the addition of forms.) 5.6.7: HOW CAN I MAKE TRANSPARENT GIFS? Transparent GIFs are useful because they appear to blend in smoothly with the user's display, even if the user has set a background color that differs from that the developer expected. There is a document explaining transparent GIFs available at the URL http://melmac.corp.harris.com/transparent_images.html. You can fetch the program giftrans by anonymous ftp from ftp.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de at the path /pub/net/www/tools/giftrans.c. There is also a utility for the Macintosh, Transparency (URL is: http://www.med.cornell.edu/~giles/projects.html#transparency). 5.6.8: HOW COME MAILTO: URLS DON'T WORK? The mailto: URL is an innovation found in Lynx and a few other browsers. It is not yet found in Mosaic, the most popular browser. Hopefully it will be present in future versions. In the meantime, you can set up forms which send mail to you; there is documentation on this at the URL http://siva.cshl.org/email/index.html. 5.6.9: HOW CAN I RESTRICT AND CONTROL ACCESS TO MY SERVER? All major servers have features that allow you to limit access to particular sites, and many clients have authentication features that allow you to identify specific users. There is a tutorial on security and user authentication with the NCSA server and Mosaic available, written by Marc Andreessen (URL is http://wintermute.ncsa.uiuc.edu:8080/auth-tutorial/tutorial.html). See your server documentation for further information. 5.6.10: WHICH FORMAT IS BETTER FOR WWW IMAGE PURPOSES, JPEG OR GIF? JPEG does a better job with realistic images such as scanned photographs. Most browsers cannot handle inline JPEGs, however, so you must link to them as external images (using a regular <A HREF...> instead of . GIF does a better job with crisp, sharp images, such as those typically used to construct buttons, graphs and the like. All browsers that can display graphics at all can display GIFs inline. 5.6.11: HOW CAN I MIRROR PART OF ANOTHER SERVER? Scripts are available to do this, but at this time they are not very friendly to the server you are attempting to mirror; their behavior resembles that of the more poorly written WWW robots. If you are trying to improve access times to a distant server, you will likely find the "proxy" capabilities of CERN's WWW server to be a more effective and general solution to your problem. 5.6.12: HOW CAN I KEEP ROBOTS OFF MY SERVER? Programs that automatically traverse the web can be quite useful, but have the potential to make a serious mess of things. Every so often someone will write a "depth-first" searching robot that brings servers to their knees. See the section on writing robots (4.10) for details. Fortunately, most robots on the web follow a simple protocol by which you can keep them off your server if you wish, or keep them out of portions of your server which are robot traps (ie, they contain an infinite number of possible links). Read the document World Wide Web Robots, Wanderers and Spiders (URL is: http://web.nexor.co.uk/mak/doc/robots/robots.html) and learn about the emerging standards for exclusion of robots from areas in which they are not wanted. You can also read about existing robots there, including useful cataloging robots you probably do _not_ want to keep off your server. 6: WHAT NEWSGROUPS DISCUSS THE WEB? You can find discussion of World Wide Web topics in three newsgroups, and one newsgroup which will soon be removed: comp.infosystems.www.users A forum for the discussion of WWW client software and its use in contacting various Internet information sources. New user questions, client setup questions, client bug reports, resource-discovery questions on how to locate information on the web that can't be found by the means detailed in the FAQ and comparison between various client packages are among the acceptable topics for this group. Please specify what browser and what system type (Windows, Mac, Unix, etc.) your post is about if you are asking questions about a specific program. comp.infosystems.www.providers A forum for the discussion of WWW server software and the use of said software to present information to users. General server design, setup questions, server bug reports, security issues, HTML page design and other concerns of information providers are among the likely topics for this group. comp.infosystems.www.misc A forum for general discussion of WWW (World Wide Web)- related topics that are NOT covered by the other newsgroups in the hierarchy. This will likely include discussions of the Web's future, politicking regarding changes in the structure and protocols of the web that affect both clients and servers, et cetera. comp.infosystems.www (DEFUNCT) The old catch-all newsgroup, which may still exist on your system but will be removed on September 7th, according to David Tale, moderator of news.announce.newgroups. 7: I WANT TO KNOW MORE To find out more, use the web. This FAQ hopefully provides enough information for you to locate and install a browser on your system. If you have system specific questions regarding FTP, networking and the like, please consult newsgroups relevant to your particular hardware and operating system! Once you're up and running, you may wish to consult the World Wide Web Primer by Nathan Torkington. It is available at the URL http://www.vuw.ac.nz/who/Nathan.Torkington/ideas/www-primer.html. Later you may return to this FAQ for answers to some of the more advanced questions. I encourage you to check out the changes listed early in the document each time the FAQ appears. 8: CREDITS * Thomas Boutell _boutell@netcom.com_ * Nathan Torkington _Nathan.Torkington@vuw.ac.nz_ * Marc Andreessen _marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu_ * Tony Johnson