PPM and Proxies

If you use a proxy server or firewall, you might have trouble running PPM. Here is the solution.

NOTE: If none of the changes in this document work for you, you may download individual packages from here and install them according to the directions in the README file contained within the ZIP file. If you want, you can also keep a local repository, with several .ppd files in a permanent repository directory, and their .tar.gz files in an x86 directory beneath that.

1. Set Environment Vars

Up to three environment variables need to be set.

Under Windows NT
Right click on "My Computer", click on "properties", select the "environment" tab. These are your environment settings. Make the following changes:

1. Add the setting HTTP_proxy, with your proxy name as the value (you must include "http://" ), followed by a colon and the proxy port, if applicable; e.g., "http://proxy:8080"
2. If you require a user name and/or password to access your proxy, add the settings HTTP_proxy_user and HTTP_proxy_pass, with your user name and password as the respective values

Under Windows 95
In your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, place the following lines then reboot so the changes can take effect:

1. SET HTTP_proxy=<your proxy server (you must include "http://" >, followed by a colon and the proxy port, if applicable; e.g., SET HTTP_proxy=http://proxy:8080
2. SET HTTP_proxy_user=<your user name> (if required)
3. SET HTTP_proxy_pass=<your password> (if required)
   
   

2. Try using PPM

With your internet connection active, try using PPM again. Try to install a small package, like File-Slurp. You'll know that it still fails if you see an error stating that it can't find a ppd file for the specified package.

3. Further Information and Help

If there were problems with any of the above hints, please see here on how to get further help.