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OS/2 Help File
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1995-03-16
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ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. What Is WebExplorer? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Starting WebExplorer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. What Can I Do with WebExplorer? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2.1. Defining and Accessing the Home Document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2.2. Accessing Other Documents ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2.3. Locating Information in a Document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2.4. Accessing Frequently Used Documents ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2.5. Displaying the History List (WebMap) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2.6. Customizing Your WebExplorer Session ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
You can select your own:
o Colors for text and background
o Fonts
o Viewers
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Setting Your Colors ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Setting Your Fonts ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Setting Your Viewers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Exiting WebExplorer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To exit WebExplorer, select Exit program from the File pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. WebExplorer Functions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.1. Open document (URL) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.2. Open file ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To open a file on your workstation, select Open file from the File pull-down
menu.
The Open File window is displayed.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.3. Save as ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.4. Print ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.5. Printer setup ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To specify or configure a printer, select Printer setup from the File pull-down
menu.
The Printer Setup window is displayed.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.6. Find in document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.7. View file (HTML) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.8. Halt loading document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1.9. Exit program ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To exit WebExplorer, select Exit program from the File pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.1. Underline links ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To toggle between whether or not hypertext links are underscored, select
Underline links from the Options pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.2. Load graphics ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.3. Use internal viewer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.4. Presentation mode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.5. Customized animations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.6. Show current URL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2.7. Save to disk mode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Configure ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.1. Servers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.2. Fonts ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.3. Colors ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.4. Viewers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.5. Caching ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To set your caching options, select Caching from the Configure pull-down menu.
The Configure Caching window is displayed.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Navigate ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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)
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.1. Backward ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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).
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.2. Forward ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.3. Home document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.4. Reload document (URL) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.5. WebMap ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. QuickList ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5.1. Add current document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5.2. More/edit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To add, access, delete, or modify (the name of) a document in the QuickList,
select More/edit from the QuickList pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6.1. Help index ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6.2. General help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To display overview information for the current window, select General help on
the Help pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6.3. Using Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To access instructions for using the online help facility, select Using help
from the Help pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6.4. Keys Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To access information about the WebExplorer accelerator key assignments, select
Keys Help from the Help pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6.5. Getting Started ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To display instructions for starting, using, and exiting WebExplorer, select
Getting Started from the Help pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6.6. Product information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
To view copyright information for the current program, select Product
information on the Help pull-down menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. WebExplorer Terms and Concepts ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Active Graphics ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Active graphics are pictures that are linked to other documents or pictures.
These graphics are surrounded by a frame, indicating that they are selectable.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Cache ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Firewall ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. FTP ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Gopher ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Gopher provides a hierarchical, menu-driven interface to assist you in finding,
displaying, and transferring information that is maintained on the Internet.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.6. HTML ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.7. HTTP ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol used to transfer HTML
documents.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.8. News ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.9. Proxy Gateway ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.10. Selectable ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.11. Socks Server ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.12. Static Graphics ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Static graphics are pictures displayed in a document that are not selectable
and do not link to other documents.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.13. Telnet ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.14. URL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> HostPort ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Path ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Specify the path (directories and subdirectories only) on the remote host that
contains the document you want to open.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Search ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Specify the string that you want to search for.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Login ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> FTPtype ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Specify one of the following:
A for ascii
I for image
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Newsgroup ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> 32-bit Dotted Decimal Notation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. WebExplorer Initialization File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Trademark ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Trademark of International Business Machines.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Trademarks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The following terms are trademarks of the organization listed.
o Mosaic - trademark of the National Center for Supercomputing (NCSA) at the
University of Illinois.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Adding Viewers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> WebExplorer Main Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Menu Bar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The actions available on the WebExplorer main window menu bar are:
o File
o Options
o Configure
o Navigate
o QuickList
o Help
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Tool Bar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Document Area ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Status Area ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Open Document (URL) Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Open File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Filename to Store ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Print ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Printer Setup ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Find in Document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Configure Servers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Configure Fonts ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Configure Colors ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Configure Viewers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Configure Caching ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> QuickList ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Keys Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Edit QuickList Item Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Select Viewer Program Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Current Uniform Resource Locator (URL) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Enter document Uniform Resource Locator ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Specify the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that you want to access.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Open/Save as filename ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Drive ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Directory ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Copies ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Priority ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Printer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This list box lists the printers that are configured (through OS/2) for your
workstation. Select the printer you want to use.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Home document URL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Load document at startup? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select this checkbox if you want to use the URL specified in the Home document
URL field as default URL at startup.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> E-mail Address ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> News Server ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Proxy Gateway ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Socks Server ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Font ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Font Size ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Component ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Colors ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Viewer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Program ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Number of documents to cache ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Number of images to cache ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Disable all caching ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select this checkbox if you do not want to hold any documents or images in
cache. Disabling all caching may increase response time.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Document List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select the document you want. You can then select a push button to load,
delete, or edit the name of this document.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> List as Titles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select this radio button to list the items in the Document List by title.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> List as URLs ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select this radio button to list the items in the Document List by URL.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Edit Title of Document ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Text to search for ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Specify the word or phrase that you want to locate in the current document.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> internet address ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The unique 32-bit address identifying each device or workstation in the
Internet. Also known as IP address.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> OK Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select OK to accept any specified data and perform the requested action.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Cancel Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Cancel to close the window without performing the requested action.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Help Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Help to display information about the current window.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Job Properties Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Job Properties to specify properties of a print job such as resolution,
orientation, and duplex options.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Defaults Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> OK Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select OK to accept any specified data and perform the requested action.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Clear Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Clear to remove the information currently specified in the field(s).
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Browse Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Browse to search through your drives and directories for a viewer
program. The Select Viewer Program window is displayed.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Load Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Load to access the selected document.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Add Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Add to add the current document to the QuickList.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Delete Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Delete to remove the selected document from the QuickList.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Edit Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Edit to change the title of the selected URL. The Edit QuickList Item
window is displayed.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Open Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Open to open a the specified document.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Close Push Button ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Select Close to close the current window, preserving any changes.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> The WWW Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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 <PRE>...</PRE>?
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 <A NAME> 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.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> The WWW Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Part 2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
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:
<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=state VALUE="hidden info to be returned with form">
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 at the beginning of EACH line commented out; close
this for EACH line with 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 <PRE>...
</PRE>?
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
<PRE>...</PRE> 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 <IMG SRC...>.
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