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Re: lynx-dev User Agent
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From: |
Ismael Cordeiro |
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Subject: |
Re: lynx-dev User Agent |
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Date: |
Sun, 29 Aug 1999 21:59:44 -0400 (EDT) |
On Sun, 29 Aug 1999, Philip Webb wrote:
> 990829 Ismael Cordeiro wrote:
> > I agree with those "lynx-devers" and I got your page, removed all <BR>
> > and put it at http://ismael.cordeiro.com/lhfb.html
> > so you can see how more readable it is without all those <BR>.
>
> please take another look at my document at my site kindly observe what it
> & now says at the beginning. i'm willing to accept that your motives were
> innocent, but reproducing other people's work without permission is a good
> way to cause bad feeling.
>
> as for formatting, take your pick & i'll take mine.
Don't feel bad. I have no intention of keeping that document in my site. I
put it there just to show you and others how better it looks without all
those BR.
By the way, I downloaded the new version of the document, removed all BR
tags (a "minor formatting change"?) and replaced the one at
http://ismael.cordeiro.com/lhfb.html
Ismael
--
______________________________________________________________
| |
| ISMAEL CORDEIRO | mailto:address@hidden |
| Production sound mixer | http://www.ismael.cordeiro.com/ |
| Montréal - Québec - Canada | ftp://ftp.cam.org/users/ismael/ |
|______________________________________________________________|
<!-- X-URL: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~purslow/lhfb.html -->
<!-- Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 01:50:43 GMT -->
<BASE HREF="http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~purslow/lhfb.html";>
<HTML>
<HEAD><TITLE>Lynx Help for Beginners</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="f0f0f0">
<H1>Copying:</H1>
This document was created by Philip Webb as a service to Lynx users.
It may be copied -- with minor formatting changes -- , provided
no other changes are made & authorship is clearly acknowledged.
Any other reproduction constitutes breach of copyright.
<p>
Readers are encouraged to inform <A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>
the author</A> of any apparent errors or omissions.
<H1>Introduction:</H1>
This outline is specially for people who are just starting to use Lynx
or have used it for some time without exploring its features very far.
It answers the sorts of questions everyone asks at first.
For a more systematic account of Lynx, the Internet & related matters,
explore the many links on the Main Help Page: to go there, enter `h' .
<P>
You should be aware that there are 3 levels of Lynx user:
<P>
<OL><LI><EM>Anonymous</EM>, who have free access to the Internet
without a personal password, typically via a library or freenet:
some Lynx features may not be available to them,
depending on the system manager;
<LI><EM>Shell accounts</EM>, which normally require a password,
but give users general access to a computer system like UNIX:
again, the system manager controls some features of Lynx;
a variation on this is people who use a pre-compiled binary
& are constrained by the choices of whoever made it;
<LI><EM>Self-compiled</EM>, ie people who compile their own Lynx
in their own PC or in their own directory under eg UNIX:
they have complete control over how Lynx is configured.
</OL>
If you find some features outlined below are not available & you fall
into the first 2 groups, you should consult your system manager
to find out whether their version of Lynx is limited by them;
if you fall into Group 3, you should check <cite>userdefs.h</cite>
& <cite>lynx.cfg</cite> to see what you need to change.
You should also check settings
in the Options screen, which most users can change (enter `o').
<H1>Contents:</H1>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#CP">Moving around the current document</A>
<LI><A HREF="#GT">Using the goto & jump -- `g j' -- commands</A>
<LI><A HREF="#ES">How to escape from things</A>
<LI><A HREF="#UI">Some useful information commands</A>
<LI><A HREF="#BF">The bookmark file</A>
<LI><A HREF="#FS">Forms & security</A>
<LI><A HREF="#FI">Tables, frames, images, cookies</A>
<LI><A HREF="#CS">Character sets</A>
<LI><A HREF="#GS">Grabbing stuff without being interactive</A>
<LI><A HREF="#HT">Creating a WWW page with Lynx</A>
<LI><A HREF="#BC">There's a bug or a crash!</A>
<LI><A HREF="#SL">Which systems does Lynx run on?</A>
<LI><A HREF="#VI">Lynx for the blind and visually impaired</A>
<LI><A HREF="#IC">Who's in charge of Lynx?</A>
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="CP">Moving around the current document:</A></H1>
<H2>Simple commands:</H2>
<UL><LI>to goto the beginning/end of the document, enter `^a' or `^e' ;
<LI>to move up/down by 1 screen, enter `-' or `Space' ;
<LI>to move up/down by half-a-screen, enter `)' or `(' ;
<LI>to move up/down by 2 lines, enter `^p' or `^n' ;
<LI>no, you can't move the screen just 1 line at a time.
</UL>
<H2>Numbered links:</H2>
<UL><LI>You can number the links in each document:
enter `o' for Options, then `k' for Keypad Mode.
<LI>If links are numbered, `123' takes you straight to URL [123]:
ie you can get a document just by entering its link number;
<LI>`123g' simply moves the hilite to link [123]
without downloading that document;
<LI>`123p' takes you to the top of page 123 in the current document;
<LI>you can also add `+' & `-' to give relative movements:
eg `7p+' goes down 7 pages & `5-' follows the 5th link above.
</UL>
<H2>Searching:</H2>
<UL><LI>One way to skip around long documents is to search with `/' ;
<LI>enter `n' for the next occurrence of the same string;
<LI>you can recall previous strings with `UpArrow' or `DownArrow'
after you have entered `/' & then edit them:
for line-editor commands, see the Main Help Page.
<LI>No, you can't search backwards using Lynx,
but Lynx will search again from the beginning of the file
if there isn't an occurrence ahead of you.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="GT">Using the goto & jump -- `g j' -- commands:</A></H1>
<UL><LI>You can enter any URL following `g':
Lynx will supply `http://' if you omit it
& may guess if you omit part of the URL (eg `www.' or `.ca').
<LI>You can recall previous URLs using `UpArrow' or `DownArrow'
& edit them (see Main Help Page for details of the line editor).
<LI>To access files on your own machine start with `file://localhost',
followed by the full path for the file.
<LI>You can use `g' to send e-mail by starting with `mailto:'
-- <EM>no</EM> `//' -- ; you can include the current document
in the e-mail & edit it as you wish.
<LI>You can goto the current directory on your machine by entering `.'
following `g': all subdirectories & files are listed as links,
as is the next-higher directory.
</UL>
<UL><LI>There is also the jump command `j', which allows you to call URLs
from a prepared list in your jumpfile; you need to define the file
in <EM>lynx.cfg</EM> & add whatever URLs you commonly consult.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="ES">How to escape from things:</A></H1>
<UL><LI>`q' exits Lynx, but prompts first;
<LI>`Q' exits without a prompt; `^d' is an emergency exit;
<LI>`^z' suspends Lynx, going to the original shell:
in UNIX, `fg' returns to Lynx;
<LI>`!' suspends Lynx, creating a new shell: `exit' returns;
<LI>`z' interrupts a mistaken or slow download.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="UI">Some useful information commands:</A></H1>
<UL><LI>`h' gets you the full range of on-line help files;
<LI>`k' gives a list of keystrokes with their functions;
<LI>`o' goes to the Options list, where you can change settings;
<LI>`=' gives details of the current document & link;
<LI>`V' lists <EM>all</EM> the documents you have visited in order;
<LI>`^h' lists <EM>just</EM> those documents you will return to
with a series of `LeftArrow' commands;
<LI>`l' lists all the links in the current document.
</UL>
<UL><LI>The bottom line of the screen is controlled by an option:
you probably have it set to Novice, with 2 lines of help;
you can change it to show the URL of the current <EM>link</EM>
by entering `o' & then changing to Advanced Mode.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="BF">The bookmark file:</A></H1>
<UL><LI>`a' adds the current document URL to your bookmark file;
<LI>`v' calls up the bookmark file with its links;
<LI>`r' is supposed to remove bookmarks, but can be cantankerous:
it is best to use an editor to remove the bookmark line directly;
<LI>NB <EM>don't</EM> add or alter bookmark-file lines,
except for simple changes of name or URL;
<LI>it's a good idea to keep a back-up copy of your bookmark file,
in case some inadvertent error renders it unusable.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="FS">Forms & security:</A></H1>
<UL><LI>You can use your regular editor in a textarea
& there are various commands for extending a textarea:
see <EM>Users Guide</EM> for details (starting with 2-8-2).
<LI>If you want to enter a regular Lynx command in the middle of a form,
enter `^v', which will ask for the command: this also allows you
to exit the form by jumping to another part of the document;
<LI>you may want
<A HREF="http://www.crl.com/%7Esubir/lynx/why.html#post-redirect";>
special help</A> when asked to redirect content;
<LI>sometimes problems can arise with
<A HREF="http://www.crl.com/%7Esubir/lynx/why.html#forms-nesting";>
badly constructed forms</A>.
</UL>
<UL><LI>You can access `https' sites using Lynx,
but you need <A HREF="http://www.cryptsoft.com/";>SSLeay</A>
& must compile in <A HREF="http://www.moxienet.com/lynx/";>SSL patches</A>;
there are strict restrictions if you live in the USA
& looser rules apply if you live in Canada;
<LI>For more detailed help on compiling with SSL goto
<A HREF="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ejeffwong/lynxstuff/SSL/index.html";>
Lynxstuff</A>.
</UL>
<UL><LI>You can use Lynx with a proxy: see <EM>lynx.cfg</EM>.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="FI">Tables, frames, images, cookies:</A></H1>
<UL><LI><EM>Tables</EM> are not handled well by Lynx, due to the fact
that it is a `one-pass' browser & so doesn't know in advance
how wide it should make table cells.
<LI><EM>Frames</EM> are fully accessible to Lynx, but are displayed
as separate documents, preceded by a document listing them as links:
<EM>don't</EM> be put off by warnings that "Your browser doesn't
understand frames: get Notstraight or Exploiter":
these should simply be ignored.
<LI><EM>Images</EM> can be downloaded using Lynx; you can also compile
Lynx to use a viewer like xv, if you have the necessary system access.
<LI><EM>Cookies</EM> are handled by Lynx,
but aren't stored between sessions: there is
<A HREF="http://www.crl.com/%7Esubir/lynx/why.html#cookies";>more help</A>.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="CS">Character sets:</A></H1>
Lynx 2-8 (or later) has good support for multilingual character sets:<P>
<UL><LI>to see 8-bit characters properly,
enter `o', goto the Display Character Set,
then fill in the one corresponding to the font
you <EM>really</EM> have installed for your terminal;
<LI>if you're not sure, try `7 bit approximation' as the safest.
<LI>You can tell the remote site which characters to use:
enter `o', then goto Preferred Document Character Set.
<LI>Some documents look broken because they do not specify
the character set properly: you can complain to the author,
but if you know what the character set should be,
enter `o', then choose Assumed Charset from the pop-up list.
</UL>
Getting character sets right is quite complex,
as there are so many variations of server/client/document,
so you may need to look in the Users' Guide -- `h' --
or if you have access to it look in <EM>lynx.cfg</EM>,
which has a long account of all the alternatives.<P>
If you want to see the accents on French, German or Spanish words
e.g. in news stories, it's not too difficult with
<A HREF="http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/";>Kermit</A>,
which is free (tho' you are encouraged to buy the manual)
& boasts very powerful translation abilities;
you must have appropriate versions at both ends of the wire.
With Lynx character-set ISO-Latin-1 & `transparent' in C-Kermit
& the ordinary N American codepage 437 in MS-DOS,
add 2 lines to <EM>mskermit.ini</EM>:
<PRE>
set display 8-bit
set transf char latin1
</PRE>
The former gives the correct accents within Lynx
& the latter allows downloading them from UNIX to your PC
after printing them to a file from Lynx.
<H1><A NAME="GS">Grabbing stuff without being interactive:</A></H1>
<UL><LI>You can use Lynx on the command line (with shell access):
eg `lynx http://lynx.browser.org/ >file.d1' (without quotes),
which will download that URL into that file;
<LI>there are a lot of switches you can use:
enter `lynx -help >file.d1' to copy the list into a file;
<LI>there's also a very useful utility called
<A HREF="ftp://gnjilux.cc.fer.hr/pub/unix/util/wget/";>wget</A>,
tho' it is not distributed or supported by Lynx volunteers;
<LI>another useful tool for automating tasks is
<A HREF="http://expect.nist.gov/";>expect</A>,
also independent of Lynx & its developers.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="HT">Creating a WWW page with Lynx:</A></H1>
Lynx makes it easy to build & edit your own WWW documents:<P>
<UL><LI>first, create a skeleton HTML document with an editor;
<LI>call up Lynx with the command `lynx yourfile.html',
where `yourfile.html' is the skeleton document,
or enter `g', then `file://localhost/path/to/yourfile.html';
<LI>enter `e' & Lynx will present the source file for editing;
<LI>exit the editor & Lynx will show you the rendered page again.
</UL>
You <EM>must</EM> have the editor specified in <EM>lynx.cfg</EM>
& you <EM>must</EM> call up the document as a <EM>local file</EM>.<P>
For more advice on designing WWW pages for Lynx, see <A HREF=
"http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ejeffwong/lynxstuff/webdesign/index.html";>
Lynxstuff</A>.
<H1><A NAME="BC">There's a bug or a crash!</A></H1>
<UL><LI>Lynx is very well tested by real-life users, so bugs are rare.
<LI>If Lynx refuses to start, the problem may be that it can't find
the start-page for some reason: you can try using a local file
with the command `lynx file://localhost/FULL/PATH/TO/YOUR/FILE'
or simply `lynx .' (yes, that's a dot).
<LI>One common problem encountered by beginners is that the version
they are using is out-of-date: the Internet & other browsers are
continually developing & Lynx tries to keep up, so it is important
to use the latest Lynx, if you can: see <A HREF="#IC">Who's in charge?</A>
<LI>To find your version number, enter `=' .
</UL>
<UL>
<LI>Another common problem is that many sites have bad HTML
-- are badly written -- , sometimes <EM>very</EM> bad!
Lynx tries to do its best to interpret messy HTML
& you can try the `tagsoup' parser, which can be set with `^v'
or in the Options page under `HTML error recovery',
but beginners should probably just accept that some site owners
are less clever than they think & move on to another site.
<LI>One frequent type of bad HTML is badly formatted <EM>comments</EM>,
which can sometimes cause a whole screen or document to be blank:
you can change the way Lynx parses comments with " ` " or " ' ";
you can find <A HREF="http://www.crl.com/%7Esubir/lynx/why.html#comments";>
further help</A>.
<LI>Another is badly constructed <EM>URLs</EM>:
<A HREF="http://www.crl.com/%7Esubir/lynx/why.html#dotdot";>more details</A>.
<LI>You can have a look at the source code for the document using `\',
a good way of finding what may be wrong if you understand HTML.
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="SL">Which systems does Lynx run on?</A></H1>
<UL><LI>Lynx can be used on UNIX, VMS, Win32, NT, DOS 386,
OS/2, Mac, Amiga, OS390, BS2000 & Nextstep: however,
not all systems are equally supported by the volunteer developers;
<LI>for very small computers there is also
<A HREF="http://www.fdisk.com/doslynx/bobcat.htm";>Bobcat</A>
& <A HREF="http://www.fdisk.com/doslynx/doslynx.htm";>DosLynx</A>,
which are not as well supported;
<LI>for more information, see under <A HREF="#IC">Who's in charge?</A>
</UL>
<H1><A NAME="VI">Lynx for the blind and visually impaired:</A></H1>
There is a <A HREF="http://leb.net/blinux/blynx/";>speech-friendly page</A>
in the Lynx on-line help.<P>
Some other sources of information around Lynx and the Internet
for the blind and visually impaired:<P>
<UL><LI><A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>Lloyd Rasmussen</A>;
<LI><A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>Gregory Rosmaita</A>
and his <A HREF="http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/";>site</A>;
<LI><A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>Laura Eaves</A>;
<LI><A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>Kelly Ford</A>.
</UL>
All these people are volunteers, who may be too busy
to answer your inquiries quickly or at all.<P>
<A HREF="http://www.loc.gov/nls/";>
US National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped</A>
has some information about Internet resources.<P>
<A HREF="http://www.empowermentzone.com/lynxtips.txt";>
Visually Impaired Computer Users Group</A>
offers a lot of advice for using Lynx & related software.<P>
There is a list-server
<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>blind-l</A>,
to which you can subscribe
by sending the single line `subscribe blind-l' (omit the quotes).<P>
Feel free to ask questions from <A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>lynx-dev</A>
whenever you wish.
<H1><A NAME="IC">Who's in charge of Lynx?</A></H1>
<UL><LI>The short answer is "Nobody!" -- Lynx is distributed
under a GNU licence originally held by the University of Kansas,
but subject to that licence anyone can try developing the code.
<LI>In practice today -- May 1999 -- there is an international group
of volunteer programmers who collaborate on developing Lynx.
<LI>For all information about Lynx & how to get the latest version,
goto <A HREF="http://lynx.browser.org/";>lynx.browser.org</A>
& follow the various links from there.
</UL>
<UL><LI>The developers communicate
via the <A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>lynx-dev</A> listserver:
use that link if you want to get in touch with them,
making sure you give as much detail as you can
about your problem or suggestion;
<LI>you can <EM>subscribe</EM> to lynx-dev by sending the single-line message
`subscribe lynx-dev' to <A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>majordomo</A>,
<EM>but be warned:</EM> it can be a very busy list!
<LI>you can also visit the
<A HREF="http://www.flora.org/lynx-dev/";>lynx-dev Archive</A>.
</UL>
<hr width="50%">
<hr><P>
<PRE></PRE>
<P>
Maintained by <A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>Philip Webb</A>
Last updated : 990514
</BODY></HTML>
- Re: lynx-dev User Agent, (continued)
RE: lynx-dev User Agent, Waddell, Cynthia, 1999/08/30