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Problems
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Problems
========
This file is part of ArcWeb, and acts as a troubleshooting guide for those
who have had difficulty installing, configuring and operating ArcWeb. It
assumes that you have read 'Instruct' and 'ReadMe1st', and if the question
is about proxies, then 'WotIsProxy' as well.
Recent changes: questions and/or answers for Q24a, Q26
Question Summary
================
Q1. I try to run !ArcWeb I get a message saying:
"Find ChangeFSI before loading".
Q2. When I try to load !ArcWeb, it says that it requires at least
version Y.YY of module XXX. What is it and where do I get it?
Q3. When I use the Open URL dialogue box and specify something like
http://www.demon.net/ in the box, I get an error saying that there is
no application loaded which can fetch that URL. What's this mean?
Q4. When I try to use the Open URL dialogue box to open a local file using
local: URLs, I get an error saying that no fetcher is available for that
URL.
Q5. When I try to use the Open URL dialogue box to open a local file using
riscos: URLs, I get an error saying that no fetcher is available for that
URL.
Q6. Sometimes when I load a page, the inlined images are not displayed
Q7. I have heard that UniSys have been threatening to enforce a patent on
the LZ compression used in the GIF file format, as used by many WWW sites.
Does this affect ArcWeb?
Q8. When I try to load !ArcWeb, it says 'nager: Sprites22'. What on
earth does this mean?
Q9. [obsolete & removed]
Q10. How do I change fonts, colours and default options if I don't like
them?
Q11. How do I set up !ArcWeb for use on a shared network
Q12. I try to run ArcWeb and nothing happens/machine locks up/odd errors
appear (eg. Permission denied).
Q13. What does icon 'x' do?
Q14. When I follow a link to some URLs, I get a dialogue box saying that
authentication is required. What does this mean?
Q15. When I follow a link to some URLs, I get a dialogue box saying that a
non-default port is being used. What does this mean?
Q16. When I try to run !ArcWeb, I get a stack backtrace/Directory Full
errors
Q17. Why do I get a save dialogue box when trying to read some pages, even
when the object is HTML?
Q18. Sometimes I get 'Too Long' (or similar) error messages whilst the page
is being drawn and then none of the graphics are on the page. Why?
Q19. What do I do to cure 'unable to lookup host's address' errors?
Q20. ArcWeb keeps dying with fatal internal error type=5 messages.
What can I do to stop this?
Q21. When I try to run ArcWeb, I get a message that my Filter Manager is
too old and that I need version 0.09 or later. Why?
Q21a. Why doesn't ArcWeb attempt to load the more recent Filter Manager that
I've got in my !System.
Q22. Why does ArcWeb take up so much memory?
Q23. Email and ftp work fine on my machine, but ArcWeb has trouble
downloading anything at a reasonable speed: why?
Q24. How do I enable the font blending options?
Q24a. When I've enabled Font Blending, all the text everywhere seems to come
out completely black and unreadable.
Q25. When I try to run ArcWeb it tells me that "The cache has been locked by
a browser running on another machine". Should I click Cancel or should I
override the lock?
Questions & Answers
===================
Q1. I try to run !ArcWeb or !ArcWebImg and I get a message saying:
"Find ChangeFSI before loading".
A1. ArcWebImg uses ChangeFSI as its image manipulator. It invokes it on the
command line to transform GIFs, JPEGs and other formats into RISC OS sprite
files. If the Filer has not seen ChangeFSI, then ArcWebImg does not know
where it will be able to find this tool. Open a directory viewer containing
!ChangeFSI and then try to run ArcWebImg again. If ArcWebImg was auto run
by ArcWeb, then you will have to quit ArcWeb and load it again, or open the
!WebHelper application (double-click it - no SHIFT required) and run !ArcwebImg
directly.
Q2. When I try to load !ArcWeb, it says that it requires at least
version Y.YY of module XXX. What is it and where do I get it?
A2. All the necessary modules are provided in the !System supplied with this
version of ArcWeb (ie. in the separate toolbox.arc archive). You should merge
the !System directory with your master copy. RISC OS 3.1 users should run
!SysMerge to do this. For RISC OS 3.5 and later, double-click on your !Boot
directory and click on the System icon and drop the new !System directory
into the new window, although some people have reported that this doesn't
work properly, but that using !SysMerge does.
Q3. When I use the Open URL dialogue box and specify something like
http://www.demon.co.uk/ in the box, I get an error saying that there is
no application loaded which can fetch that URL. What's this mean?
A3. ArcWeb has rejected the URL as one it cannot handle itself, and it
has failed to find another application willing to deal with it. If you
need a specialise application loaded and it isn't already loaded, you
should load it and retry the URL. Otherwise, look in the Network options
(from the icon bar Configure submenu) and check that the appropriate
protocol box at the top of the window is checked. You cannot check WAIS
because this is not supported by ArcWeb.
Q4. When I try to use the Open URL dialogue box to open a local file using
local: URLs, I get an error saying that no fetcher is available for that
URL.
A4. This shouldn't happen since local: URLs are handled by Arcweb
internally. However, this may indicate some failure occurred finding the
file. This may be because:
i) the filing system you used does not exist
ii) the URL specified a non-existent file
iii) you did not specify the URL correctly. Remember that all / and .
characters after the :: in the filing system name, are transposed.
Remember that these URLs will look odd. Examples of valid URLs:
local://ADFS::HardDisc4/$/WWW/index.html (ADFS::HardDisc4.$.WWW.index/html)
local://SCSI::ScsiDisc7/$/Internet/me.gif (SCSI::ScsiDisc7.$.Internet.me/gif)
local://resources:/$/Apps/!Help (resources:$.Apps.!Help)
Note in particular the strange format for local URLs on filing systems which
do not use device names (eg. resources:)
Q5. When I try to use the Open URL dialogue box to open a local file using
riscos: URLs, I get an error saying that no fetcher is available for that
URL.
A5. riscos: URLs were handled by earlier versions of ArcWebLcl. This URL
naming scheme is now obsolete, superceded by local: URLs, which you must now
use. NOTE: Running on old version of ArcwebLcl alongside the new ArcWebLcl
will not work, as support for the riscos: name system in ArcWeb itself has
been removed. This is because separate routines were needed for resolving
relative references involving riscos: URLs, and these no longer exist.
Q6. Sometimes when I load a page, the inlined images are not displayed
A6. Look at the page's menu under the Options submenu to make sure that you
haven't disabled the loading of inlined images. Alternatively, there may not
have been enough memory available to perform a conversion from the original
graphics format to sprite format. There is another problem caused whenever
early versions of ImageFS are loaded and intercepting GIF and JPEG formats.
You should disable such versions of ImageFS whilst using ArcWeb for the
moment. The latest ImageFS should be fine though.
Q7. I have heard that UniSys have been threatening to enforce a patent on
the LZ compression used in the GIF file format, as used by many WWW sites.
Does this affect ArcWeb?
A7. No. ArcWeb does not contain any code for handling GIF format graphics
files. It merely tests files for filetype &695 (GIF) or for starting GIF87a
or GIF89a, and pulls out the image pixel size (for imagemaps). [GIF is a
registered trademark (and service mark) of CompuServe Inc.]
Q8. When I try to load !ArcWeb, it says 'nager:Sprites22'. What on
earth does this mean?
A8. This is a fault in RISC OS 3.50. An error has occurred whilst trying
to run the !ArcWeb.!Run file but due to the OS fault, the error message
has been overwritten with the end of the string "WindowManager:Sprites22".
The error could be any number of things, from a failure to locate a module
in the RMEnsure statements; failing to set ArcWeb$CacheDir; failure to
allocate enough memory. You need to check the following common causes:
* Not having FilterManager 0.09 or later (see Q21 for details)
* Failing to load a sufficiently up-to-date version of the DrawFile module.
Q10. How do I change fonts, colours and default options if I don't like
them?
A10. There are two levels at which the changes can be made - system wide,
or user specific. ArcWeb checks the following files for font definitions
and colour schemes in this order: 1) <WebCache$Dir>.Choices
2) <ArcWeb$Dir>.Defaults 3) built-in defaults (you can't change these).
All the configuration windows are linked from the the Options menu on the
web pages or on the Configuration submenu of the icon bar menu. You can
alter the settings and then make them permanent by using "Save Options".
Q11. How do I set up !ArcWeb for use on a shared network
In order to stop proliferation of ArcWeb into everyone's home directories,
ArcWeb is willing to cooperate in a network environment. !ArcWeb may be
installed in a read-only filing system. Users will also need to have seen a
!WebCache application to which they have exclusive use and to which they have
read-write access. Only one instance of ArcWeb may use any !WebCache
directory.
If you are connected to the Internet via a UNIX gateway, then I strongly
recommend running some form of proxy HTTP server on it.
The system administrator may wish to edit !ArcWeb.!Run to refuse to run if
Arcweb$CacheDir is not set (as supplied, if it isn't set, it sets it to a
subdirectory of itself). The system administrator may choose to edit the
!ArcWeb.Defaults file to change any system wide options.
Q12. I try to run ArcWeb and nothing happens/machine locks up/odd errors
appear (eg. Permission denied).
A12. This might be caused by !WebCache not being installed in a read/write
filing system. Unless you have appropriate archiving software (eg. SparkFS
or ArcFS 2), you will have to extract the !WebCache application to a
writable filing system, and then double-click on the WebCache icon to
install it.
Q13. What does icon 'x' do?
A13. ArcWeb supports interactive help. Load the Acorn !Help application and
you will be given help about the buttons under the pointer when in an ArcWeb
window. Note that in the window displaying the page itself, the help is
purely the URL which would be opened if you were to click SELECT.
Q14. When I follow a link to some URLs, I get a dialogue box saying that
authentication is required. What does this mean?
A14. To allow information providers to restrict access to certain web
pages, there is an authentication capability in the HTTP protocol. The
authentication domain is a combination of the host name and a 'realm' (just
a keyword indicating which user/password is required). If you do not have
a valid user name and password, then you will not be able to access the URL.
If you do, then enter them in the boxes and press RETURN (or click OK). If
you toggle the authetication window to full size, you will see which server
is asking for authentication and in which domain. NOTE: Authentication
checking is performed at the *server* not the client, so you can't get
around it by hacking at ArcWeb. ArcWeb will cache the user/password
together with the server and realm and attempt to auto-authenticate you in
future connections to that server. This cache is destroyed when ArcWeb
exits (although you can override this behaviour).
Q15. When I follow a link to some URLs, I get a dialogue box saying that a
non-default port is being used. What does this mean?
Most Internet based protocols such as FTP, HTTP, Finger, SMTP, NNTP etc. are
defined as existing at a particular 'port' on a server which supports the
protocol. eg. HTTP is usually at port 80, FTP is at port 21. Sending
control messages of one protocol to a different server port may cause damage
at the local machine (your machine!) or at the server, or it may connect you
to undesirable (and sometimes illegal - although this is very uncommon)
services. To help you recognise these rogue URLs, you will be asked for
confirmation when ArcWeb finds that the default port has been overridden
(except for HTTP, as it is commonly run on port 8001, 8080 as well as 80).
It's not by any means a foregone conclusion that any non-standard port
connection is dangerous or illegal, but this way you at least have the option
of blocking the connection.
Q16. When I try to run !ArcWeb, I get a stack backtrace/Directory Full
errors
A16. You must remove your old !WebCache directory before installing the
new !WebCache because the directory hierarchy underneath the !WebCache.Data
directory has changed in order to allow you over a 1000 entries in the cache
instead of limiting it to 75. If this isn't the problem, then email me the
stack backtrace. (Tech: you can capture the stack backtrace to a file by
adding " 2>stacktrace " to the end of the last line of !ArcWeb.!Run. The
stack backtrace will then appear in a file called stacktrace in the current
directory.)
Q17. Why do I get a save dialogue box when trying to read some pages, even
when the object is HTML?
A17. If the server did not send, or the fetcher failed to parse, the special
Content-Type header returned by the server (this won't happen with KA9Q), then
ArcWeb does not know what to do with the object. From version 0.25, there is
an option on the Options menu to attempt to 'execute' unknown objects. There
is also a fix for an incorrect parse of Content-Type headers in A/TCP 0.21
Q18. Sometimes I get 'Too Long' (or similar) error messages whilst the page
is being drawn and then none of the graphics are on the page. Why?
A18. ArcWeb uses external programs to convert GIF and JPEG files into
RISC OS sprites. To do this, it constructs a command line which invokes
the translator and tells it the input and output files. When RISC OS runs
the command string through its routines, it is possible for an overflow to
occur (ie. the command ends up longer than the maximum permitted command
length). This is when the OS generates the Too Long error. To fix it, you
need to move the relevant programs closer to your root directory.
Specifically, !WebCache and !ChangeFSI are the programs that are
concerned. Using ..$Path variables does not seem to help, as the OS is
canonicalising the paths.
Q19. What do I do to cure 'unable to lookup host's address' errors?
A19. First of all, check you've spelt the hostname correctly in the URL.
Check the DNS configuration. Open the DNS tester by choosing it
from the Show menu on the icon bar menu. If all three of the DNS boxes
at the top read 'None', then it indicates that the resconf file was not
found. Check that InetDBase$Path points to a directory containing a
resconf and hosts files. If it doesn't you need to do:
*Set InetDBase$path The.full.pathname.to.!Internet.files.
(including the final .) If the DNS resolvers are known, then click on
the Lookup Name icon next to the top one. The Answer box should come
back with the official name of the machine. If it fails, then it means
that all the DNS servers in your list are not working (or that your
computer cannot find a way to reach them because you aren't connected
or something).
Q20. ArcWeb keeps dying with fatal internal error type=5 messages.
What can I do to stop this?
A20. This means that something has gone wrong internally for some
reason. Although the problem might not be caused by ArcWeb, something which
it interacts with has caused some condition which was unexpected. The
best way to deal with this is to follow the instructions on sending
bug reports by following the link from the default home page.
Q21. When I try to run ArcWeb, I get a message that my Filter Manager is
too old and that I need version 0.09 or later
Q21a. Why doesn't ArcWeb attempt to load the more recent Filter Manager that
I've got in my !System.
A21/A21a. ArcWeb requires FilterManager 0.09 or later to be installed on
your machine. It may be the case that you have this module in your System
directory but have an earlier version in ROM. ArcWeb will NOT kill the
earlier Filter Manager module if it is active, because some tasks which don't
behave properly fail to cope with the Filter Manager dying and the whole
desktop dies task by task. The cure for this is to ensure that FilterMgr is
loaded BEFORE entering the Wimp on boot up by loading it during your boot
sequence. For Risc PC owners, this will be in the Misc section of
!Boot.Choices.Boot.PreDesktop. For other machines, it will depend on your
setup.
Q22. Why does ArcWeb take up so much memory?
A22. Simply because it contains so much code. ArcWeb attempts to cater for
all kinds of rubbish being downloaded (either maliciously or accidentally).
Some things which are required are not available as part of the OS, so have
to be implemented by me instead (eg. multiline text icons in the cookie
and meta-info dialogue boxes). Some code is included as a work around for
bugs in the OS (libjpeg). Code for handling most foreign graphics formats is
ported from other platforms where code size is not considered important. Such
code is too complicated for me to develop myself so there's no chance of me
writing an optimised version I'm afraid.
Q23. Email and ftp work fine on my machine, but ArcWeb has trouble
downloading anything at a reasonable speed: why?
A23. Sometimes the Internet just gets overloaded, however, Web browsing
puts a heavy load on your computer compared with things like ftp --
especially if you are using a modem -- and your poor machine just can't keep
up with all the data being thrown at it. If you are running lots of nice
desktop enhancements, these can use more processor time than you might
imagine. Try not using any more software than is necessary when running
ArcWeb, and use smaller screen modes with fewer pixels and colours to consume
less bandwidth on older machines. [Thanks to Chris Latham]
Q24. How do I enable the font blending options?
A24. First of all, you must have RISC OS 3.7 or later. If you don't, then
this facility (provided by the Font Manager) is not available - sorry. If
you do, then just enable the option in the Browser configuration window
Q24a. When I've enabled Font Blending, all the text everywhere seems to come
out completely black and unreadable.
A24a. Make sure you haven't set the InverseTable dynamic area to be virtual
in the Virtualise configuration window. [Thanks to Andreas Feldner]
Q25. When I try to run ArcWeb it tells me that "The cache has been locked by
a browser running on another machine". Should I click Cancel or should I
override the lock?
A25. This message may appear if your machine crashed whilst ArcWeb was
running. If this was the case, then you should override the lock. If you
are using a shared directory for the cache, then it is possible that another
machine is already using the !WebCache directory. If two running versions of
ArcWeb attempt to share the same cache, it's asking for trouble (Choices,
bookmarks and cache contents can become corrupt). If the machine named is
not running ArcWeb, then you can safely override the lock.
--
Stewart Brodie
3rd June 1997