From ae5d181b854d3ccb373b6bc01b4869e44ff4d87a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Daniel Baumann Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2024 18:37:15 +0200 Subject: Adding upstream version 2.9.0dev.12. Signed-off-by: Daniel Baumann --- lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html | 5729 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 5729 insertions(+) create mode 100644 lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html (limited to 'lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html') diff --git a/lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html b/lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a5b270f --- /dev/null +++ b/lynx_help/Lynx_users_guide.html @@ -0,0 +1,5729 @@ + + + + + + Lynx Users Guide v2.8.9 + + + + + +

Lynx Users Guide v2.8.9

+ +

Lynx is a fully-featured World Wide Web + (WWW) client for users running cursor-addressable, + character-cell display devices (e.g., vt100 terminals, vt100 + emulators running on PCs or Macs, or any other character-cell + display). It will display Hypertext Markup Language + (HTML) documents containing links to files on the local + system, as well as files on remote systems running http, + gopher, ftp, wais, nntp, + finger, or cso/ph/qi servers, + and services accessible via logins to telnet, + tn3270 or rlogin accounts (see URL Schemes Supported by Lynx). + Current versions of Lynx run on Unix, VMS, + Windows3.x/9x/NT and later, 386DOS and OS/2 EMX.

+ +

Lynx can be used to access information on the WWW, or + to build information systems intended primarily for local access. + For example, Lynx has been used to build several Campus Wide + Information Systems (CWIS). In addition, Lynx can + be used to build systems isolated within a single LAN.

+ +

Table of + Contents

+ + + +

Lynx online help

+ +

Online help is available while viewing any document. Press the + “?” or “H” key + (or the “h” key if vi-like key movement + is not on) to see a list of help topics. See the section titled + Navigating hypertext documents with + Lynx for information on navigating through the help + files.

+ +

In addition, a summary description of all the Lynx keystroke + commands and their key bindings is available by pressing the + “K” key (or the + “k” key if vi-like key movement is not + on).

+ +

If you want to recall recent status-line messages, you can do + so by entering the “g” command, followed by + “LYNXMESSAGES:”.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Viewing local files + with Lynx

+ +

Lynx can be started by entering the Lynx command along with + the name of a file to display. For example these commands could + all be used to display an arbitrary ASCII text or HTML file:

+ +
+
UNIX
+ +
lynx filename +
+ +
lynx /home/my-dir/filename +
+ +
lynx ~/filename +
+ +
VMS
+ +
lynx filename +
+ +
lynx dua5:[my-directory]filename +
+ +
lynx /dua5/my-directory/filename +
+ +
lynx ~/filename +
+ +
lynx sys$login:filename +
+ +
lynx /sys$login/filename +
+ +
Win32/DOS
+ +
lynx file:///filename +
+ +
lynx filename +
+ +
lynx c:/dir/filename +
+ +
lynx //n/dir/filename +
+
+ +

When executed, Lynx will clear the screen and display as much + of the specified file as will fit on the screen. Pressing a + down-arrow will bring up the next screen, and pressing + an up-arrow will bring up the previous screen. If no + file is specified at startup, a default file will be displayed, + depending on settings e.g., in lynx.cfg.

+ +

Lynx will display local files written in the HyperText + Markup Language (HTML), if the file's name ends + with the characters .html, .htm, + .shtml, .htmlx, .html3, or + .ht3. HTML is a file format that allows users to create + a file that contains (among other things) hypertext links to + other files. Several files linked together may be described as a + hypertext document. If the filename does not have one of + the suffixes mapped by Lynx to HTML, the -force_html + command line option can be included to force treatment of the + file as hypertext.

+ +

When Lynx displays an HTML file, it shows links as "bold face" + text, except for one link, which is shown as "highlighted" text. + Whether "boldface" or "highlighted" text shows up as reverse + video, boldface type, or a color change, etc. depends on the + display device being used (and the way in which that device has + been configured). Lynx has no control over the exact presentation + of links.

+ +

The one link displayed as "highlighted" text is the currently + "selected" link. Lynx will display the file associated with the + selected link when a right-arrow or a Return + key is pressed. To select a particular link, press the + up-arrow or down-arrow keys until the desired + link becomes "highlighted," and then press the + right-arrow or Return key to view the linked + information. Information included in the HTML file tells Lynx + where to find the linked file and what kind of server will + provide it (i.e., HTTP, Gopher, etc.).

+ +

Lynx renders HTML files and saves the rendition (and the + source, if so configured in the lynx.cfg + file) for initial display and should you select the link again. + If you do select a link again and have reason to desire a new + fetch and rendering of the file, use the NOCACHE command, + normally mapped to “x” and + “X”, instead of the right-arrow + or Return key when positioned on the link. You also can + force a new fetch and rendering of the currently displayed + document via the RELOAD command, normally mapped to + Control-R.

+ +

When a binary file is encountered Lynx will ask the user if + he/she wishes to download the file or cancel. If the user selects + “D” for download, Lynx will transfer the + file into a temporary location and present the user with a list + of options. The only default option is Save to disk, + which is disabled if Lynx is running in anonymous mode. + Additional download methods may be defined in the lynx.cfg file. Programs like kermit, zmodem and + FTP are some possible options.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Leaving + Lynx

+ +

To exit Lynx use the “q” command. You + will be asked whether you really want to quit. Answering + “y” will exit and + “n” will return you to the current + document. Use “Q” or Control-D + to quit without verification.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Starting Lynx + with a Remote File

+ +

If you wish to view a remote file (that is, a file residing on + some computer system other than the one upon which you are + running Lynx) without first viewing a local file, you must + identify that file by using a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). + URLs take the general form:

+ +
+

PROTOCOL :// HOST / PATH +

+
+ +

where

+ +
+
PROTOCOL +
+ +
+

identifies the communications protocol (scheme) + used by the server that will provide the file. As mentioned + earlier, Lynx (and any WWW client) can interact with a + variety of servers, each with its own protocol.

+
+ +
HOST +
+ +
+

is the Internet address of the computer system on which + the server is running, and

+
+ +
PATH +
+ +
+

is a scheme-specific field which for some schemes may + correspond to a directory path and/or filename.

+
+
+ +

Here are some sample URLs.

+ +
+
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
+ +
https://invisible-island.net/lynx/ +
+ +
Gopher
+ +
gopher://gopher.micro.umn.edu/11/ +
+ +
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
+ +
ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/lynx/README +
+ +
WAIS (Wide Area Information Service protocol)
+ +
wais://cnidr.org/directory-of-servers +
+ +
A URL may be specified to Lynx on the command line, as + in:
+ +
lynx + http://kufacts.cc.ukans.edu/cwis/kufacts_start.html +
+
+ +

Lynx also will attempt to create a complete URL if you include + adequate portions of it in the startfile argument. For + example:

+ + 
+                 wfbr          will be expanded to:
+      http://www.wfbr.edu/     and:
+             ftp.more.net/pub  will be expanded to:
+       ftp://ftp.more.net/pub
+
+

See URL Schemes Supported by + Lynx for more detailed information.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Starting Lynx with + the WWW_HOME environment variable.

+ +

You may also specify a starting file for Lynx using the + WWW_HOME environment variable,

+ +
+
UNIX
+ +
+
+
ksh
+ +
export WWW_HOME=http://www.w3.org/ +
+ +
csh
+ +
setenv WWW_HOME http://www.w3.org/ +
+
+
+ +
VMS
+ +
define "WWW_HOME" "http://www.w3.org/" +
+ +
win32
+ +
WWW_HOME=http://www.w3.org/ [or in registry] +
+
+ +

Note that on VMS the double-quoting must be included + to preserve casing.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Navigating hypertext documents with Lynx

+ +

The process of moving within a hypertext web, selecting and + displaying links is known as "navigation." With Lynx almost all + navigation can be accomplished with the arrow keys and the + numeric keypad.

+ + 
+                                       +-------+-------+-------+
+                                       | TOP   |  /|\  | Page  |
+              arrow keys               | of    |   |   | UP    |
+                                       | text 7|   |  8|      9|
+              +---------+              +-------+-------+-------+
+              | SELECT  |              |       |       |       |
+              | prev /|\|              | <---  |       |  ---> |
+              | link  | |              |      4|      5|      6|
+    +---------+---------+---------+    +-------+-------+-------+
+    |    BACK | SELECT  | DISPLAY |    | END   |   |   | Page  |
+    |<-- prev | next  | | sel. -->|    | of    |   |   | DOWN  |
+    |    doc. | link \|/| link    |    | text 1|  \|/ 2|      3|
+    +---------+---------+---------+    +-------+-------+-------+
+
+

There are also a few other keyboard commands to aid in + navigation. The Control and Function keys used for navigation + within the current document are described in Scrolling and Other useful commands.

+ +

Some additional commands depend on the fact that Lynx keeps a + list of each link you visited to reach the current document, + called the History + Page, and a list of all links visited during the current Lynx + session, called the Visited Links Page.

+ + + +

The “i” key presents an index of + documents. The default index offered contains many useful links, + but can be changed in lynx.cfg or on the command line + using the -index=URL switch.

+ +

If you choose a link to a server with active access + authorization, Lynx will automatically prompt for a username and + a password. If you give the correct information, you will then be + served the requested information. Lynx will automatically send + your username and password to the same server if it is needed + again.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Printing, Mailing, and Saving rendered files to + disk.

+ +

Rendered HTML documents, and plain text files, may be printed + using the “p” command while viewing the + document. After pressing the “p” key a + menu of Print Options will be displayed. The menu will + vary according to several factors. First, some sites set up + special accounts to let users run Lynx to access local + information systems. Typically these accounts require no + passwords and do not require users to identify themselves. As a + result such accounts are called "anonymous" accounts, and their + users are considered "anonymous" users. In most configurations, + all Lynx users (including anonymous users) are able to mail files + to themselves and print the entire file to the screen.

+ +

Additional print options are available for users who are using + Lynx from their own accounts (that is, so-called "non-anonymous + users"). In particular, the Save to a local file option + allows you to save the document into a file on your disk space. + Additional print options may also be available as configured in + the lynx.cfg file.

+ +

Some options, such as Save to a local file, involve + prompting for an output filename. All output filename entries are + saved in a circular buffer, and any previous entries can be + retrieved for re-use by pressing the up-arrow or + down-arrow keys at the prompt.

+ +

Note that if you want exact copies of text files without any + expansions of TAB characters to spaces you should use the + Download options.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Viewing the HTML document source and editing + documents

+ +

When viewing HTML documents it is possible to retrieve and + display the unrendered (i.e., the original HTML) source of the + document by pressing the “\” (backslash) + key. Lynx usually caches only the rendering of the document and + does not keep the source (unless it is configured to do so in the + lynx.cfg file), so to display the source + unrendered, Lynx must reload it from the server or disk. When + viewing unrendered documents you may print them as any normal + document.

+ +

Selecting the Print to a local file option from the + Print Menu, makes it possible to save the source of the document + to disk so that you may have a local copy of the document source, + but it is better to Download the + source.

+ +

NOTE: When saving an HTML document it is important to name the + document with a .html or .htm extension, if you + want to read it with Lynx again later.

+ +

Lynx can allow users to edit documents that + reside on the local system. To enable editing, documents must be + referenced using a "file:" URL or by specifying a plain filename + on the command line as in the following two examples:

+ +
+
Command
+ +
lynx file://localhost/FULL/PATH/FILENAME +
+ +
lynx path/filename.html +
+
+ +

In addition, the user must also specify an editor in the + Options Menu so that Lynx knows which editor to use. If + the file is specified correctly and an editor is defined, then + you may edit documents by using the “e” + command. When the “e” command is entered + your specified editor is spawned to edit the file. After changes + are completed, exit your editor and you will return to Lynx. Lynx + will reload and render the file so that changes can be + immediately examined.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Downloading and Saving source files.

+ +

If the DOWNLOAD keystroke command + (“d” or “D”) is + used when positioned on a link for an HTML, plain text, or binary + file, Lynx will transfer the file, without rendering, into a + temporary location and present the user with a list of options, + just as it does when a link for a binary file of a type for which + no viewer has been mapped is activated.

+ +

There is a default Download option of Save to + disk. This is disabled if Lynx is running in anonymous mode. + Any number of download methods such as kermit and zmodem may be + defined in addition to this default in the lynx.cfg + file. Using the Save to disk option under the PRINT + command after viewing the source of an HTML with the VIEW SOURCE + (\) command will result in a file which differs from + the original source in various ways such as tab characters + expanded to spaces. Lynx formats the source presentation in this + mode. On the other hand, if the DOWNLOAD command is used, the + only change will be that Lynx optionally puts

+ +
+

<!--X-URL: http://www.site.foo/path/to/file.html + -->
+ <BASE href="http://www.site.foo/path/to/file.html">

+
+ +

at the start of the file so that relative URLs in the document + will still work. Even this modification can be prevented by + setting PREPEND_BASE_TO_SOURCE:FALSE in lynx.cfg.

+ +

Some options, such as Save to disk, involve prompting + for an output filename. All output filename entries are saved in + a circular buffer, and any previous entries can be retrieved for + re-use by pressing the up-arrow or down-arrow + keys at the prompt.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Reloading files and + refreshing the display

+ +

The RELOAD (Control-R) command will reload and + re-render the file that you are currently viewing. The REFRESH + (Control-L or Control-W) command will refresh + or wipe the screen to remove or correct any errors that may be + caused by operating system or other messages.

+ +

The NOCACHE (“x” or + “X”) command can be used in lieu of + ACTIVATE (Return or right-arrow) to request an + uncached copy and new rendition for the current link, or + resubmission of a FORM, if a cache from a previous request or + submission exits. The request or submission will include + Pragma: no-cache and Cache-Control: no-cache in + its headers. Note that FORMs with POST content will be + resubmitted regardless of whether the NOCACHE or ACTIVATE command + is used (see Lynx and HTML + Forms).

+ +

[ToC]

+ + + +

Two commands activate searching in Lynx: + “/” and + “s”.

+ +

While viewing a normal document use the + “/” command to find a word or phrase + within the current document. The search type will depend on the + search option setting in the Options Menu. The search options are + case sensitive and case insensitive. These searches are entirely + local to Lynx.

+ +

Some documents are designated index documents by + virtue of an ISINDEX element in their HEAD section. These + documents can be used to retrieve additional information based on + searches using words or phrases submitted to an index server. The + Lynx statusline will indicate that you are viewing such a + document, and if so, the “s” key will + invoke a statusline prompt to enter a query string. The prompt + can be specified via a PROMPT attribute in the ISINDEX element. + Otherwise, Lynx will use an internally configured prompt. The + address for submitting the search can be specified via an HREF or + ACTION attribute. Otherwise, Lynx will use the current document's + URL and append your query string as a ?searchpart (see + Supported URLs).

+ +

All search words or strings which you have entered during a + Lynx session are saved in a circular buffer, and can be retrieved + for re-use by pressing the up-arrow or + down-arrow keys at the prompt for a search word or + string. Also, you can use the “n”ext + command to repeat a search with the last-entered search word or + phrase, starting from the current position in the document. The + word or phrase matches will be highlighted throughout the + document, but such highlighting will not persist for new + documents, or if the current document is reloaded. The search + cycles to the top of the document if the word or phrase is not + located below your current position.

+ +

Although HTML Forms have largely replaced + index documents for searches via http servers, they are still + useful for performing searches directly via WAIS or Gopher + servers in conjunction with the internal gateways for such + servers. For example, an HTML index document can act as a + cover page describing a WAIS database and how to + formulate query strings for searching it, and include an element + such as:

+ + 
+      <ISINDEX PROMPT="Enter WAIS query:"
+               HREF="wais://net.bio.net/biologists-addresses">
+
+

for submitting a search of the Biologist's Addresses database + directly to the net.bio.net WAIS server.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx Options Menu

+ +

The Lynx Options Menu may be accessed by pressing the + “o” key. It allows you to change options + at runtime, if you need to. Most changes are read from & + saved to your .lynxrc file; those which are not are marked (!) in + the form-based menu (as below). Many other options are stored in + the lynx.cfg file.

+ +

Lynx supports two styles of Options Menu:

+ + + +

The form-based menu shown + below is an HTML file generated at runtime, in which the user + fills in choices as in any ordinary HTML form.

+ + 
+
+                    Options Menu (Lynx Version 2.9.0dev.7)
+
+    Accept Changes - Reset Changes - Left Arrow cancels changes - HELP!
+
+                         Save options to disk: [ ]
+                (options marked with (!) will not be saved)
+
+  General Preferences
+  User mode                        : [Advanced____]
+  Editor                           : vile______________________________________
+  Type of Search                   : [Case insensitive]
+
+  Security and Privacy
+  Cookies                          : [ask user__]
+  Invalid-Cookie Prompting (!)     : [prompt normally___]
+  SSL Prompting (!)                : [prompt normally___]
+
+  Keyboard Input
+  Keypad mode                      : [Numbers act as arrows_____________]
+  Emacs keys                       : [OFF]
+  VI keys                          : [OFF]
+  Line edit style                  : [Bash-like Bindings]
+
+  Display and Character Set
+  Use locale-based character set   : [ON_]
+  Use HTML5 charset replacements(!): [OFF]
+  Display character set            : [UNICODE (UTF-8)________________]
+  Assumed document character set(!): [iso-8859-1______]
+  Internationalized domain names(!): [IDNA TR46______]
+  Raw 8-bit                        : [OFF]
+  X Display                        : localhost:0.0_____________________________
+
+  Document Appearance
+  Show color                       : [ON____]
+  Color style (!)                  : [lynx.lss___________]
+  Default colors (!)               : [ON_]
+  Show cursor                      : [OFF]
+  Underline links (!)              : [OFF]
+  Show scrollbar                   : [ON_]
+  Popups for select fields         : [ON_]
+  HTML error recovery              : [strict (SortaSGML mode)]
+  Bad HTML messages (!)            : [Warn, point to trace-file]
+  Show images                      : [ignore___]
+  Verbose images                   : [OFF__________]
+  Collapse BR tags (!)             : [OFF_____]
+  Trim blank lines (!)             : [trim-lines]
+
+  Headers Transferred to Remote Servers
+  Personal mail address            : __________________________________________
+  Personal name for mail           : __________________________________________
+  Password for anonymous ftp       : __________________________________________
+  Preferred media type (!)         : [Accept lynx's internal types]
+  Preferred encoding (!)           : [All_____]
+  Preferred document character set : _________________________________
+  Preferred document language      : en_______________________________
+  HTTP protocol (!)                : [HTTP 1.0]
+  Send User-Agent header (!)       : [X]
+  User-Agent header (!)            : Lynx/2.8.9rel.1 libwww-FM/2.14 SSL-MM/1.4.
+
+  Listing and Accessing Files
+  Use Passive FTP (!)              : [ON_]
+  FTP sort criteria                : [By Date]
+  Local directory sort criteria    : [Directories first]
+  Local directory sort order       : [By Date_]
+  Show dot files                   : [OFF]
+  Pause when showing message (!)   : [ON_]
+  Show transfer rate               : [Show KiB/sec (2-digits), ETA__]
+
+  Special Files and Screens
+  Multi-bookmarks                  : [ADVANCED]
+  Review/edit Bookmarks files      : Goto multi-bookmark menu
+  Auto Session (!)                 : [OFF]
+  Session file (!)                 : __________________________________________
+  Visited Pages                    : [By Last Visit Reversed_]
+
+  View the file lynx.cfg.
+
+        Accept Changes - Reset Changes - Left Arrow cancels changes
+
+

The key-based menu depends on + key-strokes to identify options which the user wants to change. + It is compiled into Lynx and is accessed by setting FORMS_OPTIONS + to TRUE in lynx.cfg.

+ + 
+
+             Options Menu (Lynx Version 2.9.0dev.7)
+
+     (E)ditor                     : emacs
+     (D)ISPLAY variable           : aixtest.cc.ukans.edu:0.0
+     mu(L)ti-bookmarks: OFF       B)ookmark file: lynx_bookmarks.html
+     (F)TP sort criteria          : By Filename
+     (P)ersonal mail address      : montulli@netscape.com
+     (S)earching type             : CASE INSENSITIVE
+     preferred document lan(G)uage: en
+     preferred document c(H)arset : NONE
+     display (C)haracter set      : Western (ISO-8859-1)
+     raw 8-bit or CJK m(O)de      : ON      show color (&)  : OFF
+     (V)I keys: OFF   e(M)acs keys: OFF     sho(W) dot files: OFF
+     popups for selec(T) fields   : ON      show cursor (@) : OFF
+     (K)eypad mode                : Numbers act as arrows
+     li(N)e edit style            : Default Binding
+     l(I)st directory style       : Mixed style
+     (U)ser mode                  : Advanced      verbose images (!) : ON
+     user (A)gent                 : [User-Agent header]
+     local e(X)ecution links      : FOR LOCAL FILES ONLY
+
+

An option can be changed by entering the capital letter or + character in parentheses for the option you wish to change (e.g., + “E” for Editor or + “@” for show cursor). For fields where + text must be entered, simply enter the text by typing on the + keyboard. The Line Editor + can be used to correct mistakes, and Control-U can be + used to erase the line. When you are done entering a change press + the Return key to get back to the Command? + prompt.

+ +

For fields where you must choose one of two choices, press any + key to toggle the choices and press the Return key to + finish the change.

+ +

For fields where you potentially have more than two choices, + popup windows may be evoked which function homologously to those + for select fields in HTML Forms. The popup + windows will be invoked only if you have popups for select fields + set to ON (see below). Otherwise, your cursor will be positioned + at the current choice, and you can press any key to cycle through + the choices, then press the Return key to finish the + change.

+ +

When you are done changing options use the + “r” command to return to Lynx or the + “>” command to save the options to a + .lynxrc file and return to Lynx.

+ +

The following table describes the options available on the + Options Menu:

+ +
+
Assumed document character + set +
+ +
+

This option changes the handling of documents which do not + explicitly specify a charset. Normally Lynx assumes that + 8-bit characters in those documents are encoded according to + iso-8859-1 (the official default for the HTTP protocol). + Unfortunately, many non-English web pages "forget" to include + proper charset info; this option helps you to browse those + broken pages if you know by some means what the charset + is.

+ +

When the value given here or by an -assume_charset command + line flag is in effect, Lynx will treat documents as if they + were encoded accordingly. This option active when “Raw + 8-bit or CJK Mode” is OFF.

+
+ +
Auto Session +
+ +
+

Lynx can save and restore useful information about your + browsing history. Use this setting to enable or disable the + feature.

+
+ +
Bad HTML messages +
+ +
+

Suppress or redirect Lynx's messages about "Bad HTML":

+ +
+
Ignore
+ +
+

do not warn; no details are written to the + trace-file.

+
+ +
Add to trace-file
+ +
+

add the detailed warning message to the + trace-file.

+
+ +
Add to LYNXMESSAGES
+ +
+

add the detailed warning message to the message page + at "LYNXMESSAGES:".

+
+ +
Warn, point to trace-file
+ +
+

show a warning message on the status line; the + complete message is written to the trace-file.

+
+
+
+ +
Bookmark file +
+ +
+

When multi-bookmarks is OFF, this is the filename and + location of your default personal bookmark file. Enter + “B” to modify the filename and/or + location via the Line + Editor. Bookmark files allow frequently traveled links to + be stored in personal easy to access files.

+ +

Using the “a”dd bookmark link + command (see Lynx bookmarks) you may + save any link that does not have associated POST content into + a bookmark file. All bookmark files must be in or under your + account's home directory. If the location specified does not + begin with a dot-slash (./), its presence will still be + assumed, and referenced to the home directory.

+ +

When multi-bookmarks is STANDARD or ADVANCED, entering + “B” will invoke a menu of up to 26 + bookmark files (associated with the letters of the English + alphabet), for editing their filenames and locations + (filepath), and descriptions.

+ +

Lynx will create bookmark files, if they do not already + exist, when you first “a”dd a + bookmark link to them. However, if you've specified a + subdirectory (e.g., ./BM/lynx_bookmarks.html), that + subdirectory must already exist. Note that on VMS you should + use the URL syntax for the filepath (e.g., not + [.BM]lynx_bookmarks.html).

+
+ +
Collapse BR tags +
+ +
+

If Collapse BR tags is turned off, Lynx will not + collapse serial BR tags. If turned on, i.e., + “collapse”, two or more concurrent + BRs will be collapsed into a single line break. + Note that the valid way to insert extra blank lines in HTML + is via a PRE block with only newlines in the + block.

+
+ +
Cookies +
+ +
+

This option allows you to tell how to handle cookies: + ignore, prompt (ask user) or accept + all.

+
+ +
Display Character set +
+ +
+

This option allows you to set up the default character set + for your specific terminal. The display character set + provides a mapping from the character encodings of viewed + documents and from HTML entities into viewable characters. It + should be set according to your terminal's character set so + that characters other than 7-bit ASCII can be displayed + correctly, using approximations if necessary. You must have + the selected character set installed on your terminal. (Since + Lynx supports a wide range of platforms it may be useful to + note that cpXXX codepages used within IBM PC computers, and + windows-xxxx within native MS-Windows apps.)

+
+ +
Editor +
+ +
+

The editor to be invoked when editing browsable files, + when sending mail or comments, when preparing a news article + for posting, and for external TEXTAREA editing. The full + pathname of the editor command should be specified when + possible.

+ +

If a full pathname is given, this helps Lynx provide for + detecting if options were also provided in this field. In + this case, it will also quote the pathname, allowing for + embedded blanks and other special characters that might + confuse the shell which starts the editor program.

+
+ +
Emacs + keys +
+ +
+

If set to ON then the CTRL-P, CTRL-N, CTRL-F, and CTRL-B + keys will be mapped to up-arrow, down-arrow, right-arrow, and + left-arrow, respectively. Otherwise, they remain mapped to + their configured bindings (normally UP_TWO lines, DOWN_TWO + lines, NEXT_PAGE, and PREV_PAGE, respectively).

+ +

Note: this has no direct effect on the line-editor's key + bindings.

+
+ +
Execution links +
+ +
+

This deals with execution of local scripts or links. Local + execution is activated when Lynx is first set up. If it has + not been activated you will not see this option in the + Options Menu.

+ +

When a local execution script is encountered Lynx checks + the users options to see whether the script can be executed. + Users have the following options:

+ +
+
Always off
+ +
+

Local execution scripts will never be executed

+
+ +
For Local files only
+ +
+

Local execution scripts will only be executed if the + script to be executed resides on the local machine, and + is referenced by a URL that begins with + file://localhost

+
+ +
Always on
+ +
+

All local execution scripts will be executed

+
+
+
+ +
+

If the users options permit the script to be executed Lynx + will spawn a shell and run the script. If the script cannot + be executed Lynx will show the script within the Lynx window + and inform the user that the script is not allowed to be + executed and will ask the user to check his/her options.

+
+ +
FTP sort criteria +
+ +
+

This option allows you to specify how files will be sorted + within FTP listings. The current options include "By + Filename", "By Size", "By + Type", and "By Date".

+
+ +
HTML error recovery +
+ +
+

Select the recovery mode used + by Lynx.

+
+ +
HTTP protocol +
+ +
+

Normally Lynx negotiates HTTP/1.0, because it does not + support chunked transfer (a requirement for all HTTP/1.1 + clients), although it supports several other features of + HTTP/1.1. You may encounter a server which does not support + HTTP/1.0 which can be used by switching to the later + protocol.

+
+ +
Internationalized domain names +
+ +
+ Convert internationalized domain names to and from ASCII. +
+
IDNA 2003
+ +
Convert using the older “transitional” + scheme.
+ +
IDNA 2008
+ +
Convert using the newer “non-transitional” + scheme.
+ +
IDNA TR46
+ +
Use IDNA 2008 with the amendments from Unicode Technical Report + 46.
+ +
IDNA Compatible
+ +
First try converting using IDNA 2008, and if + unsuccessful, try IDNA 2003.
+
+
+ +
Invalid-Cookie Prompting +
+ +
+

This allows you to tell how to handle invalid cookies: + prompt normally to prompt for each cookie, force + yes-response to reply "yes" to each prompt, force + no-response to reply "no" to each prompt.

+
+ +
Keypad mode +
+ +
+

This option gives the choice among navigating with the + arrow keys, or having every link numbered so that the links + may be selected or made current by numbers as well as using + the arrow keys, or having every link as well as every form + field numbered so that they can be selected or sought by + numbers. See the
+   Follow link + (or page) number: and
+   Select option (or + page) number:
+ help for more information.

+
+ +
Line edit style +
+ +
+

This option allows you to set alternative key bindings for + the built-in line editor, if alternative line-edit bindings + have been compiled in. Otherwise, Lynx uses the Default Binding.

+
+ +
Local directory sort + criteria +
+ +
+

This applies to directory editing. Files and directories + can be presented in the following ways:

+ +
+
Mixed style
+ +
+

Files and directories are listed together in + alphabetical order.

+
+ +
Directories first
+ +
+

Files and directories are separated into two + alphabetical lists. Directories are listed first.

+
+ +
Files first
+ +
+

Files and directories are separated into two + alphabetical lists. Files are listed first.

+
+
+
+ +
Local directory sort + order +
+ +
+

The Options Form also allows you to sort by the file + attributes.

+ +
+
By name
+ +
+

by filename (the default)

+
+ +
By size
+ +
+

by file size, in descending order

+
+ +
By date
+ +
+

by file modification time, in descending order

+
+ +
By mode
+ +
+

by file protection

+
+ +
By type
+ +
+

by filename suffix, e.g., the text beginning with + “.”

+
+ +
By user
+ +
+

by file owner's user-id

+
+ +
By group
+ +
+

by file owner's group-id

+
+
+
+ +
Multi-bookmarks +
+ +
+

Lynx supports a default bookmark file, and up to 26 total + bookmark files (see below). When multi-bookmarks is OFF, the + default bookmark file is used for the + “v”iew bookmarks and + “a”dd bookmark link commands. If + multi-bookmark support is available in your account, the + setting can be changed to STANDARD or ADVANCED. In STANDARD + mode, a menu of available bookmarks always is invoked when + you seek to view a bookmark file or add a link, and you + select the bookmark file by its letter token (see + Bookmark file, below) in that menu. In ADVANCED + mode, you instead are prompted for the letter of the desired + bookmark file, but can enter “=” to + invoke the STANDARD selection menu, or RETURN for + the default bookmark file.

+
+ +
Password for anonymous ftp +
+ +
+

If this is blank, Lynx will use your personal mail address + as the anonymous ftp password. Though that is the convention, + some users prefer to use some other string which provides + less information. If the given value lacks a "@", Lynx also + will use your computer's hostname as part of the password. If + both this field and the personal mail address are blank, Lynx + will use your $USER environment variable, or "WWWuser" if + even the environment variable is unset.

+
+ +
Pause when showing + message +
+ +
+

If set to "off", this overrides the INFOSECS setting in + lynx.cfg, to eliminate pauses when displaying informational + messages, like the "-nopause" command line option.

+
+ +
Personal mail address +
+ +
+

This mail address will be used to help you send files to + yourself and will be included as the From: address in any + mail or comments that you send. It will also be sent as the + From: field in HTTP or HTTPS requests if inclusion of that + header has been enabled via the NO_FROM_HEADER definition in + lynx.cfg (the compilation default is + not to send the header), or via the -from command + line toggle.

+
+ +
Personal mail name +
+ +
+

This mail name will be included as the "X-Personal_Name" + field in any mail or comments that you send if that header + has not been disabled via the NO_ANONYMOUS_EMAIL definition + in lynx.cfg.

+
+ +
Popups for select fields +
+ +
+

Lynx normally uses a popup window for the OPTIONs in form + SELECT fields when the field does not have the MULTIPLE + attribute specified, and thus only one OPTION can be + selected. The use of popup windows can be disabled by + changing this setting to OFF, in which case the OPTIONs will + be rendered as a list of radio buttons. Note that if the + SELECT field does have the MULTIPLE attribute specified, the + OPTIONs always are rendered as a list of checkboxes.

+
+ +
Preferred document + language +
+ +
+

The language you prefer if multi-language files are + available from servers. Use RFC 1766 abbreviations, e.g., en + for English, fr for French, etc. Can be a comma-separated + list, which may be interpreted by servers as descending order + of preferences. You can also make your order of preference + explicit by using q factors as defined by the HTTP protocol, + for servers which understand it, for example: + da, en-gb;q=0.8, en;q=0.7

+
+ +
Preferred document charset +
+ +
+

The character set you prefer if sets in addition to + ISO-8859-1 and US-ASCII are available from servers. Use MIME + notation (e.g., ISO-8859-2) and do not include ISO-8859-1 or + US-ASCII, since those values are always assumed by default. + Can be a comma-separated list, which may be interpreted by + servers as descending order of preferences. You can also make + your order of preference explicit by using q factors as + defined by the HTTP protocol, for servers which understand + it, for example: iso-8859-5, utf-8;q=0.8

+
+ +
Preferred encoding +
+ +
+

When doing a GET, lynx tells what types of compressed data + it can decompress (the "Accept-Encoding:" string). This is + determined by compiled-in support for decompression or + external decompression programs. Use this option to select + none, one or all of the supported decompression types.

+
+ +
Preferred media type +
+ +
+

When doing a GET, lynx lists the MIME types which it knows + how to present (the "Accept:" string). Depending on your + system configuration, the mime.types or other data given by + the GLOBAL_EXTENSION_MAP may include many entries that lynx + really does not handle. Use this option to select one of the + built-in subsets of the MIME types that lynx could list in + the Accept.

+ +
+
Accept lynx's internal types
+ +
+

list only the types that are compiled into lynx.

+
+ +
Also accept lynx.cfg's types
+ +
+

lists types defined in lynx.cfg, e.g., the VIEWER and + Cern RULE or RULESFILE settings.

+
+ +
Also accept user's types
+ +
+

lists types from the PERSONAL_EXTENSION_MAP setting in + lynx.cfg

+
+ +
Also accept system's types
+ +
+

lists types from the GLOBAL_EXTENSION_MAP setting in + lynx.cfg

+
+ +
Accept all types
+ +
+

adds the types that are in lynx's built-in tables for + external programs that may be used to present a + document.

+
+
+
+ +
Raw + 8-bit or CJK Mode +
+ +
+

Tells Lynx whether 8-bit characters are assumed to + correspond with the display character set and therefore are + processed without translation via the chartrans conversion + tables:

+ +
    +
  • Should be ON by default when the display character set + is one of the Asian (CJK) sets and the 8-bit characters are + Kanji multibytes.
    • + +
  • Should be OFF for the other display character sets, but + can be turned ON when the document's charset is unknown + (e.g., is not ISO-8859-1 and no charset parameter was + specified in a reply header from an HTTP server to indicate + what it is) but you know by some means that you have the + matching display character set selected.
    • + +
  • Should be OFF when an Asian (CJK) set is selected but + the document is ISO-8859-1 or another “assumed + document character set”.
    • +
+ +

The setting also can be toggled via the RAW_TOGGLE + command, normally mapped to “@”, and + at startup via the -raw switch.

+
+ +
Send User-Agent header +
+ +
+

Controls whether the user-agent string will be sent.

+
+ +
Session file +
+ +
+

Define the file name where lynx will store user sessions. + This setting is used only when Auto Session is + enabled.

+
+ +
Show + color +
+ +
+

This option will be present if color support is available. + If set to ON or ALWAYS, color mode will be forced on if + possible. If (n)curses color support is available but cannot + be used for the current terminal type, selecting ON is + rejected with a message. If set to OFF or NEVER, color mode + will be turned off.

+ +

ALWAYS and NEVER are not offered in anonymous accounts. If + saved to a .lynxrc file in non-anonymous accounts, + ALWAYS will cause Lynx to set color mode on at startup if + supported. If Lynx is built with the slang library, this is + equivalent to having included the -color command + line switch or having the COLORTERM environment + variable set. If color support is provided by curses or + ncurses, this is equivalent to the default behavior of using + color when the terminal type supports it. If (n)curses color + support is available but cannot be used for the current + terminal type, the preference can still be saved but will + have no effect.

+ +

A saved value of NEVER will cause Lynx to assume a + monochrome terminal at startup. It is similar to the + -nocolor switch, but (when the slang library is + used) can be overridden with the -color switch.

+ +

If the setting is OFF or ON when the current options are + saved to a .lynxrc file, the default startup + behavior is retained, such that color mode will be turned on + at startup only if the terminal info indicates that you have + a color-capable terminal, or (when the slang library is used) + if forced on via the -color switch or + COLORTERM variable. This default behavior always is + used in anonymous accounts, or if the option_save + restriction is set explicitly. If for any reason the startup + color mode is incorrect for your terminal, set it + appropriately on or off via this option.

+
+ +
Show + cursor +
+ +
+

Lynx normally hides the cursor by positioning it to the + right and if possible the very bottom of the screen, so that + the current link or OPTION is indicated solely by its + highlighting or color. If show cursor is set to ON, the + cursor will be positioned at the left of the current link or + OPTION. This is helpful when Lynx is being used with a speech + or braille interface. It also is useful for sighted users + when the terminal cannot distinguish the character attributes + used to distinguish the current link or OPTION from the + others in the screen display.

+
+ +
Show dot files +
+ +
+

If display/creation of hidden (dot) files/directories is + enabled, you can turn the feature on or off via this + setting.

+
+ +
Show + images +
+ +
+

This allows you to select the way in which Lynx shows + image links. These are the available selections:

+ +
    +
  • ignore to suppress the links altogether,
    • + +
  • as labels to show the descriptive text for the + link
    • + +
  • as links, which allows you to use an external + viewer
    • +
+
+
+ +
Show scrollbar +
+ +
+

This allows you to enable (show) or disable (hide) the + scrollbar on the right-margin of the display. This feature is + available with ncurses or slang libraries.

+
+ +
Show transfer rate +
+ +
+

This allows you to select the way in which Lynx shows its + progress in downloading large pages. It displays its progress + in the status line. These are the available selections:

+ +
    +
  • Do not show rate
    • + +
  • Local directory sort order
    • + +
  • Show dot files
    • + +
  • Execution links
    • + +
  • Pause when showing message
    • + +
  • Show transfer rate
    • +
+
+
+ +
SSL Prompting +
+ +
+

This allows you to tell how to handle errors detected in + SSL connections prompt normally to prompt for each + cookie, force yes-response to reply "yes" to each + prompt, force no-response to reply "no" to each + prompt.

+
+ +
Trim blank lines +
+ +
+

If Trim blank lines is turned off, Lynx will not + trim trailing blank lines from the document. Also, Lynx will + not collapse BR-tags onto the previous line when + it happens to be empty as part of the Collapse BR + tags feature.

+
+ +
Type of Search +
+ +
+

Searching type has two possible values: CASE INSENSITIVE + (default) and CASE SENSITIVE. The searching type effects + inter-document searches only, and determines whether searches + for words within documents will be done in a case-sensitive + or case-insensitive manner.

+
+ +
Use HTML5 charset replacements +
+ +
+

This option allows lynx to treat pages with ISO-8859-1 + (Latin1) or ASCII encoding as if they were Windows 1252. That + allows a few punctuation characters to be shown.

+
+ +
Use locale-based character + set +
+ +
+

This option allows you to request lynx to obtain a MIME + name from the operating system which corresponds to your + locale setting. If successful, it overrides the normal + setting of the display character set.

+
+ +
Underline links +
+ +
+

Use underline-attribute rather than bold for links.

+
+ +
Use Passive FTP +
+ +
+

This allows you to change whether Lynx uses passive ftp + connections.

+
+ +
User-Agent header +
+ +
+

The header string which Lynx sends to HTTP servers to + indicate the User-Agent is displayed here. Changes may be + disallowed via the -restrictions switch. Otherwise, + the header can be changed temporarily to a string such as + L_y_n_x/2.8.9 for access to sites which discriminate + against Lynx based on checks for the presence of "Lynx" in + the header. If the User-Agent header has been changed, it can + be restored to the built-in default value by deleting the + modified string in the Options Menu. Whenever the User-Agent + header is changed, the current document is reloaded, with the + no-cache flags set, on exit from the Options Menu. Changes of + the header are not saved in the RC file.

+
+ +
+

NOTE: Some sites may regard + misrepresenting the browser as fraudulent deception, or as + gaining unauthorized access, if it is used to circumvent + blocking that was intentionally put in place. Some browser + manufacturers may find the transmission of their product's + name objectionable. If you change the User-Agent string, it + is your responsibility. The Options Menu issues a reminder + whenever the header is changed to one which does not include + "Lynx" or "L_y_n_x".

+
+ +
User + Mode +
+ +
+

There are four possible choices: Novice, Intermediate, + Advanced, and Minimal.

+ +
+
Novice
+ +
+

In Novice mode two lines of help are displayed at the + bottom of the screen.

+
+ +
Intermediate
+ +
+

Intermediate mode turns off the help lines.

+
+ +
Advanced
+ +
+

Advanced mode displays the URL of the currently + selected link at the bottom of the screen.

+
+ +
Minimal
+ +
+

Minimal mode eliminates the URL on the bottom line, + the forward/backward indicator in the upper left, and + most status-line messages.

+
+
+
+ +
Verbose Images +
+ +
+

Controls whether or not Lynx replaces the [LINK], [INLINE] + and [IMAGE] comments (for images without ALT) with filenames + of these images. This is extremely useful because now we can + determine immediately what images are just decorations + (button.gif, line.gif) and what images are important. This + setting can also be toggled on startup via the + -verbose switch.

+
+ +
VI keys +
+ +
+

If set to ON then the lowercase h, j, k, and l keys will + be mapped to left, down, up, and right arrow, respectively. + The uppercase H, J, K, and L keys remain mapped to their + configured bindings (normally HELP, JUMP, KEYMAP, and LIST, + respectively).

+ +

Note: this has no effect on the line-editor's key + bindings.

+
+ +
Visited Pages +
+ +
+

Enable several different views of the visited links:

+ +
+
By First Visit
+ +
By First Visit Reversed
+ +
As Visit Tree
+ +
By Last Visit
+ +
By Last Visit Reversed
+
+
+
+ +
X + Display +
+ +
+

This option is only relevant to X Window users. The + DISPLAY (Unix) or DECW$DISPLAY (VMS) variable is picked up + automatically from the environment if it has been previously + set.

+
+
+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Comments and mailto: + links

+ +

At any time while viewing documents within Lynx, you may use + the “c” command to send a mail message + to the owner of the current document if the author of the + document has specified ownership. (Note to authors: if you want + to assign the ownership to your document, you need to add into + HEAD section a LINK element with appropriate value for REV + attribute. Two values are recognized: owner and + made (these are case insensitive). For example,

+ + 
+<HEAD>
+    …
+    <LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:user@somedomain.com">
+    …
+</HEAD>
+
+

You may also add a TITLE attribute with, for example, the name + of your page) If no ownership is specified then comments are + disabled. Certain links called mailto: links will also + allow you to send mail to other people. Using the mail features + within Lynx is straightforward.

+ +

Once you have decided to send a comment or have selected a + mailto: link a new screen will appear showing you to + whom you are sending the message. Lynx will ask for your name, + your e-mail address, and the subject of the message. If you have + filled in the "personal mail address" field in the Options + Menu, your e-mail address will be filled in automatically. + After entering the above information, if you have an editor + defined in the Options Menu and you are not an anonymous + user then your specified editor will be spawned for you so that + you can enter your message. If you do not have an editor defined + or you are an anonymous user, a simple line mode input scheme + will allow you to enter your message.

+ +

To finish sending the message, exit your spawned editor or, if + you are using the simple line mode input scheme, type a + “.” (period) on a line by itself. You + will be asked a final time whether to send the message. If you + press “y”, you will be prompted whether + to append your signature file if one was defined in lynx.cfg and is accessible, and then the message + will be sent, whereas if you press “n” + the message will be deleted. Entering Control-G in response to + any prompts also will cancel the mailing.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

USENET News posting

+ +

While reading news + articles with Lynx you should see a link that says Reply to: + user@host and, if the nntp server from which you received + the article supports posting from your site, a link that says + Followup to: newsgroup(s)

+ +
+
Reply to user@host
+ +
+

user@host will correspond to the mail address of the + person who posted the news article. Selecting the link will + allow you to send a message to the person who wrote the + message you are currently viewing. You will be given the + option of including the original message in your reply.

+
+ +
Followup to newsgroup(s)
+ +
+

Selecting this link will allow you to post back to the + newsgroup that you are currently reading and any newsgroups + to which the message was cross-posted. You will be given the + option of including the original message in your reply. Once + you have typed in your message, you will be asked for + confirmation of whether to proceed with the posting, and + whether to append your signature file if one was defined in + lynx.cfg and is accessible. See + Supported URLs for more + information about the URL schemes for posting or sending + followups (replies) to nntp servers with Lynx. [ToC]

+
+
+ +

See also RFC 977.

+ +

Lynx + bookmarks

+ +

Bookmarks are entries in your bookmark file, which + record the URL of a document you may want to return to easily, + with a name of your choice to identify the document. To use + bookmarks you must first have specified a name for your bookmark + file in lynx.cfg or via the Options + Menu.

+ +

To save a bookmark to the document you wish to place in the + bookmark file press the “a” key and you + will be asked:

+ +
+

Save D)ocument or L)ink to bookmark file or C)ancel? + (d,l,c):

+
+ +

Answer “d” to save a link to the + document you are currently viewing or + “l” to save the link that is currently + selected on the page. Selecting “c” will + cancel without saving anything to your bookmark file.

+ +

A bookmark file will be created in conjunction with acting on + the “a”dd command if it does not already + exist. Otherwise, the link will be added to the bottom of the + pre-existing bookmark file. You must have created a bookmark file + via the “a”dd command before you can + view it.

+ +

Use the “v” command to view the list + of bookmarks you have saved. While viewing the bookmark list you + may select a bookmark as you would any other link.

+ +

You can remove a link from the bookmark list by pressing the + “r” key when positioned on that link. + You also can use a standard text editor (e.g., via the + “e”dit command while viewing a bookmark + file, if an external editor has been defined via the Options + menu) to delete or re-order links in the bookmark file, or + to modify a link name by editing the content of the + Anchor element for the link, but you should not change + the format within the line for the link, consisting of an + LI element followed by the Anchor element, nor + cause the line to become wrapped to a second line. You similarly + can change the link destination by editing the double-quoted + value for the HREF attribute in the Anchor + start tag, but you should not otherwise change the spacing within + the start tag, nor add other attributes. You can add a new link + while editing by copying an existing line for a link, to ensure + the proper format, and then modifying its HREF value and + Anchor content, but you should not add any other HTML + markup to the bookmark file. If the format and spacing (other + than the Anchor content or HREF value) within + lines is changed or other HTML markup is added, the + “a”dd and + “r”emove commands may not work + properly.

+ +

When multi-bookmarks (see Options Menu) is OFF, you will always + view or add links to the default bookmark file. When it is + STANDARD, a menu of up to 26 bookmark files will be invoked, and + you select the bookmark file by entering its letter token. When + it is ADVANCED, you will be prompted for the letter token, but + can enter “=” to invoke the STANDARD + selection menu, or RETURN for the default bookmark file. + [ToC]

+ +

Jump Command

+ +

Similar to the bookmarks file is the jumps file: for an + example, look in the samples subdirectory in the + distribution package. To use the jumps command, create a + jumps file with the same format as the sample file, but + containing your own URLs & short-cut names. Once you have + done that, typing “j” prompts you to + enter a short-cut name, which will take you straight to the URL + associated with the short-cut in the jumps file, much like using + “g”. If you want to check which + short-cuts are available, type “?” at + the jump prompt for the full list.

+ +

You can set up a jumps file which makes Lynx prompt for + parameters, e.g., as part of a search. Do this by putting a "%s" + marker in the URL at each point where you want Lynx to fill in + text. When you activate the corresponding jump, Lynx will prompt + you for the parameters, one by one.

+ +

All jump short-cuts you have entered are saved in a circular + buffer in the same way as with “g” and + “/>” (search):

+ +

previous entries can be retrieved with up-arrow or + down-arrow.

+ +

The jumps feature is especially useful for system + administrators who have unsophisticated users to care for, but + ordinary Lynx users who have a number of URLs they regularly + visit while browsing may find using the jumps command speeds + their movements.

+ +

For more advice how to set up the jumps command on your system + and how to define short-cut names, read lynx.cfg .

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Directory + Editing

+ +

Lynx offers extended DIRED support on Unix (on VMS the more + powerful CSwing program is recommended for character cell + terminals, and can be offered via Lynx as a jump shortcut or + execution link). When a local directory is accessed using a URL + of the form file://localhost/path/, a new set of + commands is available. With DIRED support you can create, edit, + delete, copy, and move files on your local system. The commands + available in DIRED mode are

+ +
+
C)reate +
+ +
+

Type “c” to create a new file. + New file will be empty.

+
+ +
D)ownload +
+ +
+

Type “d” to download using one of + the pre-defined options.

+
+ +
E)dit +
+ +
+

Type “e” to spawn the editor + defined in Options Menu and load a selected file for + editing.

+
+ +
F)ull Menu +
+ +
+

Type “f” to show full menu of + options available for selection. Menu may vary according to + type of file selected and compression facilities available. +

+
+ +
M)odify +
+ +
+

Type “m” to modify the name or + location of file. Then type “n” to + rename the file or “l” to move the + file to a different location.

+
+ +
R)emove +
+ +
+

Type “r” to remove the selected + file or directory.

+
+ +
T)ag +
+ +
+

Type “t” to tag highlighted file. + Further operations will be performed on tagged files instead + of highlighted ones.

+
+ +
U)pload +
+ +
+

Type “u” to upload a file to the + present directory. An uploading method must have been + pre-defined in lynx.cfg .

+
+
+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Using + Color & the Mouse

+ +

A limited range of colors & mouse commands are available, + if the user chooses: see lynx.cfg for details. [ToC]

+ +

Scrolling + and Other useful commands

+ +

A summary of all the keystroke commands and their key bindings + can be invoked via the KEYMAP command, normally mapped to + “k” and “K”. + The following describes some of the most commonly used + commands.

+ +
+
^A +
+ +
+

Control-A jumps you to the beginning of the + current document. It is a synonym for the Keypad + Home key, and can be used also when Links are + numbered mode is on. The Find Function key also + is a synonym, and ideally the latter has been mapped to the + Function key labeled Home if you are using an IBM + Enhanced Keyboard.

+
+ +
^E +
+ +
+

Control-E jumps you to the end of the current + document. It is a synonym for the Keypad End key, + and can be used also when Links are numbered mode is + on. The Select Function key also is a synonym, and + ideally the latter has been mapped to the Function key + labeled End if you are using an IBM Enhanced + Keyboard.

+
+ +
^B +
+ +
+

Control-B normally jumps you to the previous page + of the current document, and thus is a synonym for the Keypad + and Function Page-Up keys. However, + Control-B acts as right-arrow when + emacs-like key movement is enabled (see Lynx Options Menu).

+
+ +
^F +
+ +
+

Control-F normally jumps you to the next page of + the current document, and thus is a synonym for the Keypad + and Function Page-Down keys. However, + Control-F becomes right-arrow when + emacs-like key movement is enabled.

+
+ +
^N +
+ +
+

Control-N normally jumps you forward two lines in + the current document. The VT220 Remove Function key + (labeled Delete on IBM Enhanced keyboards, and + distinct from their Backspace key) is a synonym. + Control-N becomes down-arrow when + emacs-like key movement is enabled.

+
+ +
^P +
+ +
+

Control-P normally jumps you back two lines in + the current document. The Insert Function key is a + synonym. Control-P becomes up-arrow when + emacs-like key movement is enabled.

+
+ +
^K +
+ +
+

Control-K invokes the Cookie Jar Page if it + contains cookies.

+
+ +
^T +
+ +
+

Control-T toggles Lynx trace mode on and off. + This is useful for diagnosing bad html. If you get a Bad + HTML statusline message when loading a document, enter + Control-T and then Control-R to reload the + document in trace mode. You may then examine the Lynx + Trace Log file with the ; command if + enabled (see below), watch out especially for lines marked + with a number of asterisks “*****”. + You also can submit the document for validation via links in + the online help menu. If you are able to diagnose the + problem, send a message about it to the document's + author.

+
+ +
^X +
+ +
+

Control-X invokes the Cache Jar + Page if it contains cached documents.

+
+ +
E +
+ +
+

The “E” command allows you to + edit the URL (or ACTION) of the current link and then use + that as a goto URL. Pressing the “E” + command will bring up a prompt asking you to edit the current + link's URL. If you do not modify it, or completely delete it, + or enter Control-G, the command will be cancelled. Otherwise, + the request for the “E”dited URL will be sent + with method GET, and will be entered into the circular buffer + for goto URLs so that it can be accessed for further + modification via the “g” command. + Note that lower case “e” invokes the external + editor for the current document.

+
+ +
g +
+ +
+

The “g” command allows any URL to + be viewed. Pressing the “g” command + will bring up a prompt asking for a URL. Type in the URL that + you wish to view. All previously entered goto URLs are saved + in a circular buffer, and can be accessed at the prompt by + pressing the up-arrow or down-arrow + keys.

+
+ +
G +
+ +
+

The “G” command allows you to + edit the URL of the current document and then use that as a + goto URL. Pressing the “G” command + will bring up a prompt asking you to edit the current + document's URL. If you do not modify it, or completely delete + it, or enter Control-G, the command will be cancelled. If the + current document has POST content associated with it, an + Alert will be issued. If you do edit that URL, and it does + not simply involve a fragment change (for seeking a position + in the current document), the modified URL will be submitted + with method GET and no POST content. If a modification of the + current document's URL results in a submission, that modified + URL will be entered into the circular buffer for goto URLs, + and can be accessed for further modification via the + “g” command.

+
+ +
z +
+ +
+

Lynx supports completely interruptible I/O processes. + Press the “z” key at any time during + a connect or transfer process and the process will be halted. + If any data was transferred before the interrupt, it will be + displayed.

+
+ +
) +
+ +
+

The ) command jumps you forward half a page + in the current document.

+
+ +
( +
+ +
+

The ( command jumps you back half a page in + the current document.

+
+ +
# +
+ +
+

The “#” command jumps you to the + pseudo Toolbar or Banner if present in the current document. + Use left-arrow to return from there to your previous + position in the document.

+
+ +
! +
+ +
+

When “!” is pressed your default + shell will be spawned. When you quit or exit the shell you + will return to Lynx (usually exit under Unix and + logout under VMS). This command is usually disabled + for anonymous users. On VMS, “$” + normally is a synonym.

+
+ +
= +
+ +
+

The “=” command shows information + about the current document and the currently selected link if + there is one. The number of lines in the file, URL, title, + owner, and type are shown.

+ +

Normally the information is shown formatted (with margins) + for readability. You can make Lynx show the URL wrapped + without margins, e.g., making it convenient for select/paste, + by doing this:

+ +
    +
  • toggle line-wrapping off using + “|”
    • + +
  • when line-wrapping is off, use the + “=” command
    • +
+
+ +
; +
+ +
+

The ; command shows the Lynx Trace + Log (Lynx.trace in the home directory) if one + has been started for the current session. If a log has not + been started, any trace messages will be sent to the screen + (and will disturb the normal display) unless the system + supports piping and that was used to redirect stderr messages + to a file. The log is started when Lynx trace mode is turned + on via the -trace command line switch, or via the + Control-T toggle, if Lynx has been compiled to log + the trace and other stderr messages by default. If not, + ability to create a log can be toggled on with the + -tlog switch. Note that this ability is probably + disabled in anonymous or validation accounts.

+
+ +
* +
+ +
+

The “*” command toggles + image_links mode on and off. When on, links will be created + for all images, including inline images. If you have an image + viewer mapped to the image's MIME type, you can activate such + links to view an inline image. You should normally have this + mode toggled off.

+
+ +
@ +
+ +
+

The “@” command toggles raw 8-bit + or CJK mode on and off. When on, the charset is assumed to + match the selected character set and 8-bit characters are not + reverse translated with respect to the ISO-8859-1 conversion + tables.

+
+ +
[ +
+ +
+

The “[” command toggles + pseudo_inlines mode on and off. When on, inline images which + have no ALT string specified will have an [INLINE] + pseudo-ALT string inserted in the Lynx display. When off, + they will be treated as having ALT="" (i.e., they will be + ignored). If image_links mode is toggled on, the pseudo-ALT + strings will be restored, to serve as links to the inline + images' sources.

+
+ +
] +
+ +
+

The “]” command is used to send + HEAD requests for the current document or link. It applies + only to documents or links (or form submit buttons) of http + servers. A statusline message will notify you if the context + for this command was inappropriate. The HEAD requests always + are sent to the http server, i.e., Lynx does not retrieve any + previous server replies from its cache. Note that for form + submissions, http servers vary in whether they'll treat HEAD + requests as valid and return the CGI script's headers, or + treat it as invalid and return an error message.

+
+ +
{ +
+ +
+

If the line-wrapping margin is wider than the terminal's + display, scroll left by half of the display's width.

+ +

This feature is not available when Lynx is built using the + slang library.

+
+ +
| +
+ +
+

“|” toggles Lynx line-wrapping + on/off. Normally Lynx fits text onto the screen, wrapping + lines. With this feature, Lynx provides the ability to + eliminate line-wrapping (up to an internal line-limit of 1000 + characters). Lynx uses the curses “pad” feature + to support left/right scrolling. You can scroll left and + right in the screen to view the wide lines.

+ +

The popup menu for the command shows the other choices + which extend the wrapping margin:

+ +
+ 
+/----------------------------------\
+| Try to fit screen width          |
+| No line wrap in columns          |
+| Wrap columns at screen width     |
+| Wrap columns at 3/4 screen width |
+| Wrap columns at 2/3 screen width |
+| Wrap columns at 1/2 screen width |
+| Wrap columns at 1/3 screen width |
+| Wrap columns at 1/4 screen width |
+\----------------------------------/
+
+
+ +

This feature is not available when Lynx is built using the + slang library.

+
+ +
} +
+ +
+

If the line-wrapping margin is wider than the terminal's + display, scroll right by half of the display's width.

+ +

This feature is not available when Lynx is built using the + slang library.

+
+ +
numbers +
+ +
+

Lynx offers other, advanced navigation features when + numbers are used to invoke the Follow Link (or goto link or + page) number: or Select Pop-up + Option Number: prompts.

+
+
+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Forms

+ +

This section describes the Lynx Forms Interface. HTML gives + document providers the ability to create on-line forms which may + be filled out when the document is viewed. When a form is + submitted the information on the form can be used to search a + database or complete a survey.

+ +

An HTML Form provides for the use of buttons to perform an + action (such as submit), checkboxes, radio buttons or + popups to select options from a list, and fields for entering + text.

+ +
+
Buttons:
+ +
+

Buttons are displayed in the same way that Lynx displays + links in a document. To "push" the button press the + right-arrow or Return key. If it is a form + submission button, you also can use the NOCACHE + (“x”) or DOWNLOAD + (“d”) keystroke commands to "push" + the button (see below).

+
+ +
Checkboxes and Radio buttons
+ +
+

Checkboxes are displayed as square brackets: + [ ] and radio buttons are displayed as + parenthesis: ( ). When a box is checked or a + button selected, an x appears in the brackets: + [x] or an asterisk appears within the parenthesis: + (*). To check a box or select a radio button press + the right-arrow or Return key.

+
+ +
Selection Fields
+ +
+

Selection fields are displayed as brackets with the + default option displayed between them: [default__]. + To select an option press the right-arrow or + Return key. A box with a border of asterisks (or + line-drawing characters) will pop up with the list of + possible options listed within the box. Use the + up-arrow, down-arrow, page-up, + page-down, and other navigation keys to move the + cursor among options, and the right-arrow or + Return key to select an option. You also can use the + “/” and + “n”ext searching commands for navigating to options + which contain particular strings. NOTE that the + popup menu feature can be disabled via compilation and/or + configuration options, or via the Options Menu, in which case the + selection field options will be converted to a list of radio + buttons. The default setting for use of popups or radio + button lists can be toggled via the -popup command + line switch.

+
+ +
Text Entry Fields
+ +
+

Text entry (INPUT) fields are displayed as a row of + underscores the length of the entry field: _______. + You may enter text directly by typing at the keyboard. Use + the Line Editor keys + to correct errors. If you try to input more text than the + field can hold, the line editor will not accept the + additional characters. If you fill a text field the cursor + will not move off the field but remain at the last field + position. Use the up-arrow, and down-arrow, + TAB or Return keys to move up, or down from + the text entry field. NOTE, however, that Return + also will submit the form if the text + entry field is the only non-hidden field in the form. If + "Textfields Need Activation" mode + is turned on (with the -tna command-line option or + in lynx.cfg), then text entry fields + do not become active immediately upon being selected, as + normally. Keystrokes have their normal command meaning unless + the Line Editor gets activated with Return or + Right Arrow. This mode can be used to avoid "getting + stuck" in input fields, especially by users who rarely fill + out forms.

+ +

NOTE: If you have a + text input field selected you will not have access to most of + the Lynx keystroke commands, because they are interpreted by + the Line Editor as + either text entries or editing commands. Select a button or + box when you want to use Lynx keystrokes; or prefix your + keystroke with ^V to temporarily escape from line + editing.

+ +

Some flavors of UNIX, shells & terminal settings + require that you enter ^V^Ve in order to start the + external editor, as they also use ^V as default + command-line quote key (called “lnext” in stty + man pages and “stty -a” output); to avoid this, + you can put “stty lnext undef” in your .cshrc + file (or .profile or .bashrc, depending on what shell you + use), or invoke Lynx with a wrapper script, e.g.

+ +

  #!/bin/sh
+   stty lnext undef
+   $HOME/bin/lynx "$@"
+   stty lnext ^V
+   exit +

+ +

NB when NOT in the Line Editor, ^V is by default + bound to the command to switch between SortaSGML and TagSoup + HTML parsing (i.e., SWITCH_DTD). To avoid confusion, either + of these separate functions could be changed (mapped away) + with a KEYMAP directive in lynx.cfg. For + example,

+ +

  KEYMAP:^V:DO_NOTHING
+   KEYMAP:#:SWITCH_DTD

+ +

would map SWITCH_DTD away from ^V to + #, while leaving its default Line Editor + function as a command escape in place. On the other hand,

+ +

  KEYMAP:^V::NOP:1
+   KEYMAP:^_::LKCMD:1

+ +

would move ^V's Line Editor binding as command + escape to ^_ for the first Line Edit style, letting + ^V still act as SWITCH_DTD outside of text input + fields.

+
+ +
TEXTAREA Fields
+ +
+

TEXTAREA fields are for most purposes handled as if they + were a series of text entry (INPUT) fields for which + successive lines imply a newline at the end of the preceding + line. You enter text on each line to construct the overall + message. Any blank lines at the bottom of the TEXTAREA field + will be eliminated from the submission. The + up-arrow, and down-arrow or Return + keys move you to the preceding, or next line of the overall + message, as for INPUT fields. The TAB key will move + you down beyond the bottom of the TEXTAREA field, and + Back Tab (if available, e.g., as Shift-Tab, and + correctly mapped in the terminal description) will move + backward to a link or field before the TEXTAREA.

+
+ +
Editing TEXTAREA Fields and Special TEXTAREA Functions
+ +
+

TEXTAREA fields can be edited using an external editor. + The statusline should tell you when this is possible and what + key to use, it might for example say

+ + 
+          (Textarea) Enter text. [ ..... ] (^Xe for editor).
+
+

An external editor has to be defined, for example in the + Options Menu, before you + can start using this function.

+ +

A key to invoke external TEXTAREA editing is normally + provided by the Line-Editor Key Bindings. A + KEYMAP directive in lynx.cfg can also be used to + make a different key invoke external editing; it will then + normally be necessary to prefix that key with ^V to + "escape" from line-editing. Two variants exist,
+   KEYMAP:e:EDITTEXTAREA
+ or
+   KEYMAP:e:DWIMEDIT
+ (the first is only functional for TEXTAREA editing, while the + second allows to use the same key for normal file editing as long as both functions do + not conflict).

+ +

Please see the note above for + details about ^V behavior.

+ You can also use two other special TEXTAREA functions. Again, + these are already bound to key sequences in the Line-Editor + Bindings, by default ^Xg and ^Xi. You + can use different keys by adding KEYMAP bindings to your + lynx.cfg file, e.g. +

  KEYMAP:$:GROWTEXTAREA
+   KEYMAP:#:INSERTFILE

+ +

With these bindings, (in a TEXTAREA only) ^V$ + would add 5 lines to the TEXTAREA and ^V# would + prompt for the name of an existing file to be inserted into + the TEXTAREA (above the cursorline). An automatic variation + of GROWTEXTAREA is normally compiled in, so that hitting + Enter with the cursor on the last line adds a new + line to the TEXTAREA, with the cursor on it.

+ +

If you have some single keys (or control keys) to spare + that you do not need for their normal purposes, you can + dedicate those keys to invoke the special functions (without + requiring a prefix key). For example, to use the ^E + key for the DWIMEDIT action, and the Insert key for + the INSERTFILE action, use
+   KEYMAP:^E:DWIMEDIT:PASS
+   KEYMAP:0x10C:INSERTFILE:PASS
+ (see lynx.cfg for other keystroke codes to use).

+ +

Note that the default bindings that use ^X as a + prefix key may also work by substituting the + Escape key for ^X. If your keyboard has a modifier + (Meta) key that gets transmitted as an ESC prefix, for + example Alt, you can then even use Alt-e + instead of ^Xe, Alt-g instead of + ^Xg, and so on. But this does not work reliably + everywhere (it depends on the way Lynx is compiled, including + which libraries are used, and behavior of the connection and + terminal type).

+
+
+ +

In general, you can move around the form using the standard + Lynx navigation keys. The up-arrow and + down-arrow keys, respectively, select the previous or + next field, box, or button. The TAB key selects the next + field, box, or button.

+ +

To submit the form + press right-arrow or Return when positioned on + the form's submit button. If you've submitted the form previously + during the Lynx session, have not changed any of the form + content, and the METHOD was GET, Lynx will retrieve from + its cache what was returned from the previous submission. If you + wish to resubmit that form to the server with the same content as + previously, use the NOCACHE command + (“x”) when positioned on the submit + button. The right-arrow and Return keys also + will invoke a no-cache resubmission if the reply from a form + submission included a META element with a no-cache Pragma or + Cache-Control directive:

+ + 
+      <META HTTP-EQUIV="Pragma" CONTENT="no-cache">
+      <META HTTP-EQUIV="Cache-Control" CONTENT="no-cache">
+
+

or the server sent a "Pragma" or "Cache-Control" MIME header + with a no-cache directive.

+ +

You also can use the DOWNLOAD (“d”) + keystroke command when positioned on a form submit button if you + wish to download the server's reply to the submission instead of + having Lynx render and display it.

+ +

Forms which have POST as the METHOD, or a mailto: URL as the ACTION, + are always resubmitted, even if the content has not changed, when + you activate the submit button. Lynx normally will not + resubmit a form which has POST as the METHOD if the + document returned by the form has links which you activated, and + then you go back via the PREV_DOC (left-arrow) command + or via the History + Page. Lynx can be compiled so that it resubmits the form in + those cases as well, and the default can be changed via lynx.cfg, and toggled via the + -resubmit_posts command line switch.

+ +

If the form has one text entry field and no other + fields except, possibly, hidden INPUT fields not included in the + display, then that field also serves as a submit button, + and pressing right-arrow or Return on that + field will invoke submission of the form. Be sure to use + up-arrow, down-arrow or TAB to move + off the text entry field, in such cases, if it is not your + intention to submit the form (or to retrieve what was returned + from an earlier submission if the content was not changed and the + METHOD was GET).

+ +

Forms can have multiple submit buttons, if they have + been assigned NAMEs in the markup. In such cases, information + about which one of the buttons was used to submit the form is + included in the form content.

+ +

Inlined images can be used as submit buttons in forms: If such + buttons are assigned NAMEs in the markup, for graphic clients + they can also serve as image maps, and the + x,y coordinates of the graphic client's cursor position in the + image when it was clicked are included in the form + content. Since Lynx cannot inline the image, and the user could + not have moved a cursor from the origin for the image, if no + alternatives are made available in the markup Lynx sends a 0,0 + coordinate pair in the form content.

+ +

Document authors who use images as submit buttons, but have at + least some concern for text clients and sight-challenged + Webizens, should include VALUEs for the buttons in such markup. + Lynx will then display the string assigned to the VALUE, as it + would for a normal submit button.

+ + + +

Early versions of Lynx would send a name=value pair instead of + a 0,0 coordinate pair if a TYPE="image" submit button was + NAME-ed, had a VALUE attribute in the INPUT tag, and was used to + submit the form. The script which analyzes the form content thus + could be made aware whether the submission was by a user with a + graphic client and had image loading turned on, or by a user who + did not see the image nor make a conscious choice within it. + However, requests that this be included in HTML specifications + consistently have fallen on deaf ears, and thus Lynx now "fakes" + a 0,0 coordinate pair whether or not a VALUE or ALT attribute is + present in the INPUT tag. Ideally, the script which analyzes the + submitted content will treat the 0,0 coordinate pair as an + indicator that the user did not see the image and make a + conscious choice within it.

+ +

Forms can have hidden INPUT fields, which are not + displayed, but have NAMEs and VALUEs included in the content. + These often are used to keep track of information across a series + of related form submissions, but have the potential for including + information about the user that might be considered to represent + an invasion of privacy. NOTE, in this regard, that Lynx has + implemented the HTML + 3.0 DISABLED attribute for all of its form + fields. These can be used to keep track of information across + submissions, and to cast it unmodifiable in the current form, but + keep the user aware that it will be included in the + submission.

+ +

Forms most commonly are submitted to http servers with the + content encoded as + ENCTYPE="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" for analysis + by a script, and Lynx treats that as the default if no ENCTYPE is + specified in the FORM start tag. However, you can specify a + mailto URL as the + form's ACTION to have the form content sent, instead, to an email + address. In such cases, you may wish to specify + ENCTYPE="text/plain" in the form markup, so that the + content will not be encoded, but remain readable as plain + text.

+ +

Lynx also supports + ENCTYPE="application/sgml-form-urlencoded" for which all + reserved characters in the content will be hex escaped, as with + application/x-www-form-urlencoded, but semicolons + (“;”) instead of ampersands + (“&”) will be used as the separator + for name=value pairs in the form content. The use of semicolons + is preferred for forms with the GET METHOD, because the + GET METHOD causes the encoded form content to be + appended as a ?searchpart for the form's ACTION, and if + such URLs are used in text/html documents or bookmark + files without conversion of the ampersands to SGML character + references (&amp; or &#38;), their + being followed by form field NAMEs which might correspond to SGML + entities could lead to corruption of the intended URL.

+ +

NOTE, in this regard, that Lynx converts ampersands to + &amp; when creating bookmarks, and thus the bookmark + links will not be vulnerable to such corruptions. Also NOTE that + Lynx allows you to save links in your bookmark file for documents + returned by forms with the GET METHOD, and which thus + have the content appended as a ?searchpart, but not if + the METHOD was POST, because the content would be lost + and the link thus would be invalid.

+ +

Lynx supports ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data" for + sending form content with name=value pairs encoded as multipart + sections with individual MIME headers and boundaries. However, + Lynx does not yet support INPUTs with TYPE="file" or + TYPE="range" and will set the DISABLED + attribute for all of the form's fields if any INPUTs with either + of those two TYPEs are present, so that the form cannot be + submitted. Otherwise, Lynx will submit the form with the + multipart ENCTYPE.

+ +

A + Content-Disposition: file; filename=name.suffix + header can be used by CGI scripts to set the suggested filename + offered by Lynx for “d”ownload and + “p”rint menu options to save or mail the + body returned by the script following submission of a FORM. + Otherwise, Lynx uses the last symbolic element in the path for + the FORM's ACTION, which is normally the script, itself, or a + PATH_INFO field, and thus might be misleading. This also can be + done via a META element in any document:

+ + 
+      <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Disposition"
+            CONTENT="file; filename=name.suffix">
+
+

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Images

+ +

As a text browser, Lynx does not display images as such -- you + need to define a viewer in lynx.cfg: see there -- , but + users can choose a number of ways of showing their presence.

+ +

There are 3 choices in lynx.cfg, with 2 corresponding + keys:

+ + 
+     MAKE_LINKS_FOR_ALL_IMAGES        *  IMAGE_TOGGLE
+     MAKE_PSEUDO_ALTS_FOR_INLINES     [  INLINE_TOGGLE
+     VERBOSE_IMAGES                   no corresponding key
+
+

You can also use the Options Menu, as outlined + below:

+ + 
+     key  lynx.cfg       FM KM .lynxrc    variable in source
+
+       *  MAKE_LINKS_     Y  N       N    clickable_images
+       [  MAKE_PSEUDO_    Y  N       N    pseudo_inline_alts
+          VERBOSE_        Y  Y       Y    verbose_img
+
+FM = Form-based Menu ; KM = Key-based Menu ;
+in  .lynxrc ,  VERBOSE_IMAGES  is called “verbose_images”:
+the other two cannot be saved between sessions.
+
+

In the Form-based Menu, the 3-way “Show images” + selection combines the effects of the “*” & + “[” keys, as follows:

+ + 
+     Ignore      clickable_images = FALSE, pseudo_inline_alts = FALSE
+     As labels   clickable_images = FALSE, pseudo_inline_alts = TRUE
+     As links    clickable_images = TRUE,  pseudo_inline_alts = unchanged
+
+

Lynx and HTML + Tables

+ +

HTML includes markup for creating tables structured + as arrays of cells aligned by columns and rows on the displayed + page.

+ +

Lynx recognizes the TABLE element and all of its associated + elements as described in RFC 1942 and will + process any ID attributes in the start tags for handling as + NAME-ed anchors, but does not create actual tables. + Instead, it treats the TR start tag as a collapsible BR (line + break), and inserts a collapsible space before the content of + each TH and TD start tag. This generally makes all of the content + of the table readable, preserves most of the intra-cell + organization, and makes all of the links in the table + accessible, but any information critically dependent on the + column and row alignments intended for the table will be + missed.

+ +

If inherently tabular data must be presented with Lynx, one + can use PRE formatted content, or, if the table includes + markup not allowed for PRE content, construct the table + using HTML Tabs. An example table + using TAB elements is included in the test subdirectory + of the Lynx distribution.

+ +
+

Starting with version 2.8.3, Lynx renders some tables in + tabular form. This tabular representation for simple + tables (TRST) does not attempt to implement full + support for any table model. Limitations are:

+ +
    +
  • All data constituting a table row generally has to fit + within the display width without inserting line breaks.
    • + +
  • Cell contents have to be simple. In general, only inline + markup is acceptable, no <P>, + <BR> etc. (although + <BR> may be ignored at the beginning of + the first cell or at the end of the last cell of a row).
    • + +
  • When tables are nested, only the innermost level is a + candidate for tabular representation.
    • + +
  • Most attributes are ignored, including borders, + WIDTH, vertical alignment.
    • +
+ +

Horizontal alignments (LEFT, + CENTER, RIGHT), COLSPAN, + and ROWSPAN are interpreted according to HTML + 4.01. (ROWSPAN can only reserve empty space in + subsequent rows, because of the limitations above.) When TRST + fails because a table is not "simple" enough, the + representation falls back to the minimal handling described + earlier. Many (but, unfortunately, by no means all) tables that + represent inherently tabular material will thus be shown with + correct tabular formatting. Where table markup is used only for + layout purposes (containing whole blocks of text and list + within table cells) and not essential for understanding the + textual contents, it remains basically ignored. Some more + information on details is available in the file + README.TRST of the source distribution.

+
+ +

For tabular display of more complex tables, Lynx users can + make use of external scripts or programs. The normal Lynx + distribution currently does not provide such scripts, but they + can be written locally or downloaded from several sources. It is + suggested to use one of Lynx's facilities for invoking external + programs (see DOWNLOADER, PRINTER, + EXTERNAL, TRUSTED_LYNXCGI in lynx.cfg and lynxcgi: in + Supported URLs for information on various ways for + setting this up).

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML Tabs

+ +

Lynx implements the HTML 3.0 TAB + element only when LEFT alignment is in effect. If the alignment + is CENTER or RIGHT (JUSTIFY is not yet implemented in Lynx, and + is treated as a synonym for LEFT), or if the TAB element + indicates a position to the left of the current position on the + screen, it is treated as a collapsible space. For purposes of + implementing TAB, Lynx treats en units as half a + character cell width when specified by the INDENT attribute, and + rounds up for odd values (e.g., a value of either 5 or 6 will be + treated as three spaces, each the width of a character cell). See + the example table using TAB elements in the test + subdirectory of the Lynx distribution as a model for using this + functionality.

+ +

Note that this Users Guide and the Supported URLs page include TAB + markup in a manner which degrades gracefully for WWW + browsers which do not support it. Toggle to display of source and search for + <tab to examine the use of TAB markup in these + documents.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Frames

+ +

Some implementations of HTML include markup, primarily + designed for graphic clients, that is intended to create an array + of simultaneously displayed, independently scrolling windows. + Such windows have been termed frames.

+ +

Lynx recognizes the Netscape and Microsoft Explorer FRAME, + FRAMESET, and NOFRAMES elements, but is not capable of windowing + to create the intended positioning of frames. Instead, + Lynx creates labeled links to the frame sources, + typically positioned in the upper left corner of the display, and + renders the NOFRAMES section. If the document provider has + disregard for text clients and sight-challenged Webizens, and + thus does not include substantive content in the NOFRAMES section + or a link in it to a document suitable for text clients, you can + usually guess from the labeling of the frame links which + one has the substantive material (if there is any), or you can + try each of those links to see if anything worthwhile is + returned.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Some sites -- in ignorance of Lynx capabilities -- may tell + you (for example) "to view this page you need Netscape + Navigator". You can simply ignore such warnings and access the + frames via the Lynx-generated links as above.

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Banners

+ +

Some implementations of HTML markup include provisions for + creating a non-scrolling window to be positioned at the top of + each page, containing links with brief, descriptive link names, + analogous to a Windows toolbar. Such windows have been termed + banners.

+ +

Lynx recognizes and processes all of the HTML 3.0 REL + attribute tokens in LINK elements for creating a banner, + and a number of others which have subsequently been proposed. + These banner tokens are Home, ToC, + Contents, Index, Glossary, + Copyright, Up, Next, + Previous, Prev, Help, Search, + Top, Origin, Navigator, + Child, Disclaimer, Sibling, + Parent, Author, Editor, + Publisher, Trademark, Meta, + URC, Hotlist, Begin, First, + End, Last, Pointer, + Translation, Definition, Chapter, + Section, Subsection, Alternate, + Documentation, Biblioentry, + Bibliography, Start, Appendix, + Bookmark and Banner. Any LINK elements with + those tokens as the REL attribute value, and an HREF attribute + value in the LINK, will invoke creation of a banner at + the top of the first page, with the element's HREF as the link, + and the token as the default link name. If a TITLE attribute is + included in the LINK, its value will be used as the link name + instead of the default. Bookmark and Banner are + intended to be accompanied by a TITLE attribute, which in effect + makes the namespace for REL banner tokens infinite.

+ +

If the special token Help is used as the REL value + and no HREF is included in the LINK, Lynx will use it own + HELPFILE URL for that link. For the special token + Home without an HREF, Lynx will use the default + STARTFILE (i.e., derived from the configuration files or + the WWW_HOME environment variable, not the command line + startfile if one was used). However, if a + -homepage=URL was specified on the command line, its URL + will be used as the HREF. For the special token Index + without an HREF, Lynx will use the DEFAULT_INDEX_FILE + derived from the configuration files, or if an + -index=URL was specified on the command line, its URL + will be used as the HREF.

+ +

Lynx does not waste screen real estate maintaining the + banner at the top of every page, but the Lynx TOOLBAR + keystroke command (“#”) will, any time + it is pressed, position you on the banner so that any of + its links can be activated, and pressing the left-arrow + when in the banner will return you to where you were in + the current document. The toolbar is indicated by a + “#” preceding its first link when + present on the screen, that is, when the first page of the + document is being displayed. The availability of a toolbar is + indicated by a “#” at the top, left-hand + corner of the screen when the second or subsequent pages of the + document are being displayed.

+ +

Lynx also recognizes the HTML 3.0 + BANNER container element, and will create a banner based + on its content if one has not already been created based on LINK + elements. Lynx treats the Microsoft MARQUEE element as a synonym + for BANNER (i.e., presenting its markup as a static + banner, without any horizontal scrolling of its + content). Lynx does not prefix the BANNER or MARQUEE content with + a “#” because the content need not be + only a series of links with brief, descriptive links names, but + does add a “#” at the top, left-hand + corner of the screen when the content is not being displayed, to + indicate its accessibility via the TOOLBAR keystroke command.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and + HTML Footnotes

+ +

Lynx implements the HTML 3.0 FN + element similarly to a named Anchor within the current + document, and assumes that the footnotes will be positioned at + the bottom of the document. However, in contrast to named + Anchors, the FN container element is treated as a block + (i.e., as if a new paragraph were indicated whether or not that + is indicated in its content) with greater than normal left and + right margins, and the block will begin with a FOOTNOTE: + label. For example, if the document contains:

+ + 
+        See the <A HREF="#fn1">footnote</A>.
+
+

activating that link will take you to the labeled rendering + of:

+ + 
+        <FN ID="fn1"><p>Lynx does not use popups for FN blocks.</p></FN>
+
+

i.e., position it at the top of the page. Then, upon reading + the footnote, you can return to your previous position in the + document by pressing the left-arrow key. The content of + an FN element can be any HTML markup that is valid in the BODY of + the document.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Notes

+ +

Lynx implements the HTML 3.0 NOTE + element (Admonishment) as a labeled block, i.e., as if a + new paragraph were indicated whether or not paragraphing markup + is included in its content, with greater than normal left and + right margins, and with the type of note indicated by an + emphasized label based on the value of its CLASS or ROLE + attribute. If no CLASS or ROLE attribute is included, the default + label NOTE: will be used. Lynx recognizes the values + caution and warning, for which, respectively, + the labels CAUTION: or WARNING: will be used. + The NOTE element can have an ID attribute, which will be treated + as a named Anchor, as for HTML + Footnotes, but the NOTE block need not be placed at the + bottom of the document. The content of a NOTE block can be any + HTML markup that is valid in the BODY of the document. This is an + example:

+ + 
+      <NOTE CLASS="warning" ID="too-bad">
+        <p>The W3C vendors did not retain NOTE in the HTML 3.2 draft.</p>
+      </NOTE>
+
+

It will degrade gracefully for WWW browsers which do + not support NOTE, except for recognition of the ID attribute as a + named Anchor.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Lists

+ +

Lynx implements the HTML 3.0 list + elements UL (Unordered List), OL (Ordered + List), and DL (Definition List), and their + associated attributes, and elements (LH, LI, DT, and DD) for the + most part as described in that specification. The lists can be + nested, yielding progressively greater indentation, up to six + levels. The HTML + 2.0 MENU and DIR elements both are treated as + synonyms for UL with the PLAIN attribute (no bullets, + see below). Note, thus, that neither DIR nor MENU yields a series + of columns with 24-character spacing. A single nesting index is + maintained, so that different types of List elements can be used + for different levels within the nest. Also, the HTML 3.0 FIG, + CAPTION and CREDIT elements are treated as valid within list + blocks. They will be rendered with indentation appropriate for + the current nesting depth, and the CAPTION or CREDIT elements + will have a CAPTION: or CREDIT: label beginning + the first line of their content. The content of any APPLET or + OBJECT elements in the lists also will be indented appropriately + for the current nesting depth, but those will not invoke line + breaks unless indicated by their content, and it should not + include markup which is inappropriate within the list.

+ +

Lynx also supports the TYPE attribute for OL elements, which + can have values of 1 for Arabic numbers, I or + i for uppercase or lowercase Roman numerals, or + A or a for uppercase or lowercase letters, that + increment for successive LI elements in the list block. The + CONTINUE attribute can be used to continue the ordering from the + preceding list block when the nesting depth is changed.

+ +

Lynx treats the OL attributes START and SEQNUM as synonyms for + specifying the ordering value for the first LI element in the + block. The values should be specified as Arabic numbers, but will + be displayed as Arabic, Roman, or alphabetical depending on the + TYPE for the block. The values can range from -29997 to + the system's maximum positive integer for Arabic numbers. For + Roman numerals, they can range from 1 (I or + i) to 3000 (MMM or mmm.). For + alphabetical orders, the values can range from 1 + (A or a) to 18278 (ZZZ or + zzz). If the CONTINUE attribute is used, you do not need + to specify a START or SEQNUM attribute to extend the ordering + from a previous block, and you can include a TYPE attribute to + change among Arabic, Roman, or alphabetical ordering styles, or + their casing, without disrupting the sequence. If you do not + include a START, SEQNUM or CONTINUE attribute, the first LI + element of each OL block will default to 1, and if you + do not include a TYPE attribute, Lynx defaults to Arabic + numbers.

+ +

For UL blocks without the PLAIN attribute, Lynx uses + *, +, o, #, @ and + - as bullets to indicate, progressively, the + depth within the six nesting levels.

+ +

Lynx treats UL, OL, DIR, and MENU blocks as having the COMPACT + attribute by default, i.e., single spaces between LH and LI + elements within those blocks. For DL blocks, double spacing will + be used to separate the DT and DD elements unless the COMPACT + attribute has been specified.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and HTML + Quotes

+ +

The HTML 3.0 and + later specifications provide for two classes of quotation in HTML + documents. Block quotes, designated by the BLOCKQUOTE element (or + its abbreviated synonym BQ in HTML 3.0), have implied paragraph + breaks preceding and following the start and end tags for the + block. Character level quotes, designated by the Q element, in + contrast are simply directives in the markup to insert an + appropriate quotation mark.

+ +

Lynx renders block quotes with a greater than normal left and + right indentation. Lynx does not support italics, and normally + substitutes underlining, but does not underline block quotes so + as not to obscure any explicit emphasis elements within the + quotation. The BLOCKQUOTE or BQ block can include a CREDIT + container element, whose content will be rendered as an implied + new paragraph with a CREDIT: label at the beginning of + its first line.

+ +

Lynx respects nested Q start and end tags, and will use ASCII + double-quotes (") versus grave accent + (`) and apostrophe ('), respectively, + for even versus odd depths in the nest.

+ +

Any ID attributes in BLOCKQUOTE, BQ or Q elements can be the + target of a hyperlink in the form URL#id. It is treated just like + the NAME in Anchors.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and + HTML Internationalization: 8bit, UNICODE, etc.

+ +

Lynx has superior support for HTML 4.0/I18N + internationalization issues. However, to see the characters other + than 7bit properly you should set your display character set from + Option Menu and save its value, this is a Frequently Asked + Question. Fine-turning is also available from lynx.cfg

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and + Client-Side-Image-Maps

+ +

HTML includes markup, designed primarily for graphic clients, + that treats inlined images as maps, such that areas of the image + within which a mouse cursor was positioned when the mouse was + clicked can correspond to URLs which should be + retrieved. The original implementations were based on the client + sending an http server the x,y coordinates associated with the + click, for handling by a script invoked by the server, + and have been termed server-side-image-maps. Lynx has no + rational way of coping with such a procedure, and thus simply + sends a 0,0 coordinate pair, which some server scripts treat as + an instruction to return a document suitable for a text + client.

+ +

Newer HTML markup provides bases for the client to determine + the URLs associated with areas in the image map, and/or for a + text client to process alternative markup and allow the user to + make choices based on textual information. These have been termed + client-side-image-maps.

+ +

Lynx recognizes and processes the MAP container element and + its AREA elements, and will create a menu of links for the HREF + of each AREA when the link created for the IMG element with a + USEMAP attribute is activated. The menu uses the ALT attributes + of the AREA elements as the link names, or, if the document's + author has disregard for text clients and sight-challenged + Webizens, and thus did not include ALT attributes, Lynx uses the + resolved URLs pointed to by the HREF attributes as the link + names. Lynx uses the TITLE attribute of the IMG element, or the + TITLE attribute of the MAP, if either was present in the markup, + as the title and main header of the menu. Otherwise, it uses the + ALT attribute of the IMG element. If neither TITLE nor ALT + attributes were present in the markup, Lynx creates and uses a + [USEMAP] pseudo-ALT. The MAPs need not be in the same + document as the IMG elements. If not in the same document, Lynx + will fetch the document which contains the referenced MAP, and + locate it based on its NAME or ID attribute. All MAPs encountered + in documents during a Lynx session are cached, so that they need + not be retrieved repeatedly when referenced in different + documents.

+ +

If the IMG element also indicates a + server-side-image-map via an ISMAP attribute, Lynx + normally will create a link for that as well, using an + [ISMAP] pseudo-ALT (followed by a hyphen to indicate its + association with the client-side-image-map) rather than + ignoring it, and will submit a 0,0 coordinate pair if that link + is activated. Although, the client-side-image-map may be + more useful for a client such as Lynx, because all of the URLs + associated with the image map can be accessed, and their nature + indicated via ALT attributes, Lynx-friendly sites can map 0,0 + such that the server returns a for-text-client document + homologous to the content of FIG elements (see below). Inclusion + of such a link for submissions to the server can be disabled by + default via the configuration file (lynx.cfg), and the default can be toggled via the + -ismap command line switch.

+ +

Lynx also recognizes the HTML 3.0 FIG + and OVERLAY elements, and will handle them as intended for text + clients. These are the ideal way to handle + client-side-image-maps, because the FIG content provides + complete alternative markup, rather than relying on the client to + construct a relatively meager list of links with link names based + on ALT strings.

+ +

The presently experimental OBJECT element encompasses much of + the functionality of the FIG element for + client-side-image-maps. Lynx will render and display the + content of OBJECT elements which have the SHAPES attribute + equivalently to its handling of FIG. Lynx also handles OBJECT + elements with the USEMAP and/or ISMAP attributes equivalently to + its handling of IMG elements with client-side-image-maps + and/or server-side-image-maps.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx and + Client-Side-Pull

+ +

HTML includes provision for passing instructions to clients + via directives in META elements, and one such instruction, via + the token Refresh, should invoke reloading of the + document, fetched from a server with the same URL or a new URL, + at a specified number of seconds following receipt of the current + document. This procedure has been termed + client-side-pull. An example of such an element is:

+ + 
+      <META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="3; URL=http://host/path">
+
+

which instructs a client to fetch the indicated URL in 3 + seconds after receiving the current document. If the + URL= field is omitted, the URL defaults to that of the + current document. A no-cache directive is implied when + the Refresh if for the same URL.

+ +

Lynx recognizes and processes Refresh directives in + META elements, but puts up a labeled link, typically in the upper + left corner of the display, indicating the number of seconds + intended before a refresh, and the URL for the refresh, instead + of making the request automatically after the indicated number of + seconds. This allows people using a braille interface any amount + of time to examine the current document before activating the + link for the next URL. In general, if the number of seconds + indicated is short, the timing is not critical and you can + activate the link whenever you like. If it is long (e.g., 60 + seconds), a server process may be generating new documents or + images at that interval, and you would be wasting bandwidth by + activating the link at a shorter interval.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Lynx State + Management (Me want cookie!)

+ +

HTTP provides a means to carry state information across + successive connections between a browser and an http server. + Normally, http servers respond to each browser request without + relating that request to previous or subsequent requests. Though + the inclusion of INPUT fields with TYPE="hidden" can be used as a + sort of state management by HTML Forms, a + more general approach involves exchanges of MIME headers between + the server and browser. When replying to a request, the server + can send a Set-Cookie MIME header which contains + information (cookies) relevant to the browser's request, + and in subsequent requests the browser can send a Cookie + MIME header with information derived from previously received + cookies.

+ +

State Management via cookie exchanges originally was + implemented by Netscape, and such cookies are now designated as + Version 0. A more elaborate format for cookies, + designated as Version 1, was standardized by the IETF + (Internet Engineering Task Force) as RFC 2109. Lynx + supports both Version 0 and Version 1 cookie + exchanges. This support can be disabled by default via the + SET_COOKIES symbol in the compilation (userdefs.h) + and/or run time (lynx.cfg) configuration + files, and that default setting can be toggled via the + -cookies command line switch. The SET_COOKIES symbol can + be further modified by the ACCEPT_ALL_COOKIES mode. If + ACCEPT_ALL_COOKIES is set TRUE, and SET_COOKIES is TRUE, Lynx + will accept all cookies. Additionally, the cookies that are + automatically accepted or rejected by Lynx can be further + modified with the COOKIE_ACCEPT_DOMAINS and COOKIE_REJECT_DOMAINS + options in your .lynxrc file, each of which is a comma-separated + list of domains to perform the desired action. The domain listed + in these options must be identical to the domain the cookie comes + from, there is no wildcard matching. If a domain is specific in + both COOKIE_ACCEPT_DOMAINS and COOKIE_REJECT_DOMAINS, rejection + will take precedence.

+ +

When cookie support is enabled, Set-Cookie MIME + headers received from an http server invoke confirmation prompts + with possible replies of “Y”es or + “N”o for acceptance of the cookie, + “A”lways to accept the cookie and to + allow all subsequent cookies from that domain (server's + Fully Qualified Domain Name, or site-identifying portion of the + FQDN) without further confirmation prompts, or + ne“V”er to never allow cookies from + that domain to be accepted (silently ignore its + Set-Cookie MIME headers). All unexpired cookies are held + in a hypothetical Cookie Jar which can be examined via + the COOKIE_JAR keystroke command, normally mapped to + Ctrl-K, for invoking the Cookie Jar Page. If Lynx has + been compiled with the --enable-persistent-cookies flag, then + unexpired cookies will be stored between sessions in the filename + set with the COOKIE_FILE option in your .lynxrc.

+ +

A common use of cookies by http servers is simply to track the + documents visited by individual users. Though this can be useful + to the site's WebMaster for evaluating and improving the + organization of links in the various documents of the site, if + the user has configured Lynx to include a From MIME + header with the user's email address in http requests, or has + passed personal information to the server via a form submission, + the tracking might be used to draw inferences, possibly + incorrect, about that user, and may be considered by some as an + invasion of privacy.

+ +

An example of worthwhile State Management via cookies is the + setting of personal preferences, typically via a form submission + to the site, which will then apply to all documents visited at + that site.

+ +

If you accept cookies when accessing a site, but are given no + indication about how they will be used in subsequent requests to + that site, nor can infer how they will be used, you can + Gobble (delete) the cookies and/or change the + “allow” setting for its domain via the + Cookie Jar Page.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Cached Documents

+ +

A list of documents which are in lynx's internal cache is + accessible through hypothetical Cache Jar which can be + examined via the CACHE_JAR keystroke command, normally mapped to + Ctrl-X.

+ +

Entries in the Cache Jar are ordered from oldest (at + the top) to newest. The user can easily access any document which + is in the cache, especially those which may be soon removed due + to configurable limits on the maximum number of cached documents, + as well as the maximum amount of memory used by the cache.

+ +

The structure of Cache Jar is simple:

+ + + +

This feature can be enabled by default using the USE_CACHEJAR + symbol in the compilation (userdefs.h), as well as + enabled in lynx.cfg

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

Sessions

+ +

Lynx's current state (all information about the user's current + activity with lynx) is called a session. Sessions are useful in + particular if you are in the middle of exploring something on the + web and you were forced to stop abruptly, losing any trace of + your current work.

+ +

A session can be automatically restored as lynx starts after a + clean exit. The session data is saved if lynx is invoked with the + -session=FILENAME switch. The FILENAME is the + name of the file where the session will be stored.

+ +

There are also switches for only restoring: + -sessionin=FILENAME and for only saving: + -sessionout=FILENAME sessions:

+ +

If you do not want to specify these options at each lynx + startup, there is an option in lynx.cfg to enable + automatic saving/restoring of session. To keep lynx startup/exit + reasonable fast there is also an option in lynx.cfg + specifying how much information about the current lynx session + will be stored in file.

+ +

The syntax of the session file is simple. You can use a text + editor to modify, add new entries, or remove URLs you no longer + want.

+ +

[ToC]

+ +

The Lynx + command line

+ +

A summary of the Lynx command line options (switches) is + returned to stdout if Lynx is invoked with the -help + switch. A description of the options also should be available via + the system man (Unix) pages or help (VMS) libraries. On Win32, + typing lynx -help in a DOS window should display similarly. The + basic syntax of the Lynx command line can be represented as one + of the following:

+ +
+
Command +
+ +
lynx [options] +
+ +
lynx [options] startfile +
+
+ +

where

+ +
+
startfile +
+ +
+

is the file or URL that Lynx will load at start-up.

+ +
    +
  • If startfile is not specified, Lynx will use a default + starting file and base directory determined during + installation.
    • + +
  • If a specified file is local (i.e., not a URL) Lynx + displays that file and uses the directory in which that + file resides as the base directory.
    • + +
  • If a URL is specified, the file will be retrieved, and + only the server base directory will be relevant to further + accesses.
    • + +
  • If more than one local file or remote URL is listed on + the command line, Lynx will open only the last + interactively. All of the names (local files and remote + URLs) are added to the G)oto history.
    • +
+
+ +
options +
+ +
+

Lynx uses only long option names. Option names can begin + with double dash as well, underscores and dashes can be + intermixed in option names (in the reference below options + are with one dash before them and with underscores).

+ +

Lynx provides many command-line options. Some options + require a value (string, number or keyword). These are noted + in the reference below. The other options set boolean values + in the program. There are three types of boolean options: + set, unset and toggle. If no option value is given, these + have the obvious meaning: set (to true), unset (to false), or + toggle (between true/false). For any of these, an explicit + value can be given in different forms to allow for operating + system constraints, e.g.,

+ +
+ 
+-center:off
+-center=off
+-center-
+
+
+ +

Lynx recognizes "1", "+", "on" and "true" for true values, + and "0", "-", "off" and "false" for false values. Other + option-values are ignored.

+ +

The default boolean, number and string option values that + are compiled into lynx are displayed in the help-message + provided by lynx -help. Some of those may differ according to + how lynx was built; see the help message itself for these + values. The -help option is processed before any option, + including those that control reading from the lynx.cfg file. + Therefore runtime configuration values are not reflected in + the help-message.

+ +

Capitalized items in the option summary indicate that a + substitution must be made. These are the options:

+ +
+
- +
+ +
+

If the argument is only + “-” (dash), + then Lynx expects to receive the arguments from stdin. + This is to allow for the potentially very long command + line that can be associated with the -get_data + or -post_data arguments (see below). It can also + be used to avoid having sensitive information in the + invoking command line (which would be visible to other + processes on most systems), especially when the + -auth or -pauth options are used. On + VMS, the dash must be encased in double-quotes ("-") and + the keyboard input terminated with Control-Z or + the command file input terminated by a line that begins + with “$”. On Unix, the keyboard + input terminator is Control-D. On Win32, + [???].

+
+ +
-accept_all_cookies +
+ +
+

accept all cookies.

+
+ +
-anonymous +
+ +
+

apply restrictions appropriate for an anonymous + account, see -restrictions below for some + details.

+
+ +
+ -assume_charset=MIMENAME +
+ +
+

charset for documents that do not specify it.

+
+ +
+ -assume_local_charset=MIMENAME +
+ +
+

charset assumed for local files, i.e., files which + lynx creates such as internal pages for the options + menu.

+
+ +
+ -assume_unrec_charset=MIMENAME +
+ +
+

use this instead of unrecognized charsets.

+
+ +
-auth=ID:PW +
+ +
+

set authorization identifier and + password for protected documents at startup. Be + sure to protect any script files which use this + switch.

+
+ +
-base +
+ +
+

prepend a request URL comment and BASE tag to + text/html outputs for -source dumps.

+
+ +
-bibp=URL +
+ +
+

specify a local bibp server (default + http://bibhost/).

+
+ +
-blink +
+ +
+

forces high intensity background colors for color + mode, if available and supported by the terminal. This + applies to the slang library (for a few terminal + emulators), or to OS/2 EMX with ncurses.

+
+ +
-book +
+ +
+

use the bookmark page as the startfile. The default or + command line startfile is still set for the Main screen + command, and will be used if the bookmark page is + unavailable or blank.

+
+ +
-buried_news +
+ +
+

toggles scanning of news articles for buried + references, and converts them to news links. Not + recommended because email addresses enclosed in angle + brackets will be converted to false news links, and + uuencoded messages can be trashed.

+
+ +
-cache=NUMBER +
+ +
+

set the NUMBER of documents cached in memory. + The default is 10.

+
+ +
-center +
+ +
+

Toggle center alignment in HTML TABLE.

+
+ +
-case +
+ +
+

enable case-sensitive string searching.

+
+ +
-cfg=FILENAME +
+ +
+

specifies a Lynx configuration file other than the + default lynx.cfg.

+
+ +
-child +
+ +
+

exit on left-arrow in startfile, and disable save to + disk.

+
+ +
-child_relaxed +
+ +
+

exit on left-arrow in startfile, but allow save to + disk and associated print/mail options.

+
+ +
+ -cmd_log=FILENAME +
+ +
+

write keystroke commands and related information to + the specified file.

+
+ +
+ -cmd_script=FILENAME +
+ +
+

read keystroke commands from the specified file. You + can use the data written using the -cmd_log + option. Lynx will ignore other information which the + command-logging may have written to the log- file. Each + line of the command script contains either a comment + beginning with "#", or a keyword:

+ +
+
exit +
+ +
+

causes the script to stop, and forces lynx to exit + immediately.

+
+ +
key +
+ +
+

the character value, in printable form. Cursor and + other special keys are given as names, e.g., + Down Arrow. Printable + 7-bit ASCII codes are given as-is, and hexadecimal + values represent other 8-bit codes.

+
+ +
set +
+ +
+

followed by a "name=value" allows one to override + values set in the lynx.cfg file.

+
+
+
+ +
-color +
+ +
+

forces color mode on. This feature is only available + if Lynx is built using the slang library. The slang + library will send ANSI color sequences without regard to + the type of terminal which is being used.

+ +

If color support is instead provided by a + color-capable curses library such as ncurses, Lynx relies + completely on the terminal description to determine + whether color mode is possible, and this flag is not + needed and thus unavailable.

+ +

A saved show_color=always setting found + in a .lynxrc file at startup has the same effect, but the + setting read from .lynxrc on startup is overridden by + this flag.

+
+ +
+ -connect_timeout=N +
+ +
+

Sets the connection timeout, where N is given + in seconds.

+
+ +
+ -cookie_file=FILENAME +
+ +
+

specifies a file to use to read cookies. If none is + specified, the default value is ~/.lynx_cookies for most + systems, but ~/cookies for MS-DOS.

+
+ +
+ -cookie_save_file=FILENAME +
+ +
+

specifies a file to use to store cookies. If none is + specified, the value given by + -cookie_file is used.

+
+ +
-cookies +
+ +
+

toggles handling of Set-Cookie headers.

+
+ +
-core +
+ +
+

toggles forced core dumps on fatal errors. (Unix + only)

+
+ +
-crawl +
+ +
+

with -traversal, output each page to a + file.

+ +

with -dump, format output as with + -traversal, but to stdout.

+
+ +
-curses_pads +
+ +
+

toggles the use of curses "pad" feature which supports + left/right scrolling of the display.

+
+ +
-debug_partial +
+ +
+

separate incremental display stages with MessageSecs + delay

+
+ +
-display=DISPLAY +
+ +
+

set the display variable for X rexe-ced programs.

+
+ +
+ -display_charset=MIMEname +
+ +
+

set the charset for the terminal output.

+
+ +
-dont_wrap_pre +
+ +
+

inhibit wrapping of text in <pre> when -dump'ing + and -crawl'ing, mark wrapped lines in interactive + session.

+
+ +
-dump +
+ +
+

dumps the formatted output of the default document or + one specified on the command line to standard out. This + can be used in the following way:

+ +
+

lynx -dump http://www.w3.org/ +

+
+
+ +
-editor=EDITOR +
+ +
+

enable external editing using the specified + EDITOR. (vi, ed, emacs, etc.)

+
+ +
-emacskeys +
+ +
+

enable emacs-like key movement.

+
+ +
-enable_scrollback +
+ +
+

toggles behavior compatible with the scrollback keys + in some communications software (may be incompatible with + some curses packages).

+
+ +
+ -error_file=FILENAME +
+ +
+

the status code from the HTTP request is placed in + this file.

+
+ +
-exec +
+ +
+

enable local program execution (normally not + configured).

+
+ +
-fileversions +
+ +
+

include all versions of files in local VMS directory + listings.

+
+ +
-find_leaks +
+ +
+

toggles the memory leak checking off. Normally this is + not compiled-into your executable, but when it is, it can + be disabled for a session.

+
+ +
-force_empty_hrefless_a +
+ +
+

force HREF-less “A” elements to be empty + (close them as soon as they are seen).

+
+ +
-force_html +
+ +
+

forces the first document to be interpreted as + HTML.

+
+ +
-force_secure +
+ +
+

toggles forcing of the secure flag for SSL + cookies.

+
+ +
-forms_options +
+ +
+

toggles whether the Options Menu is key-based or + form-based.

+
+ +
-from +
+ +
+

toggles transmissions of From headers to HTTP or HTTPS + servers.

+
+ +
-ftp +
+ +
+

disable ftp access.

+
+ +
-get_data +
+ +
+

properly formatted data for a get form are read in + from stdin and passed to the form. Input is terminated by + a line that starts with “---”.

+
+ +
-head +
+ +
+

send a HEAD request for the mime headers.

+
+ +
-help +
+ +
+

print this Lynx command syntax usage message.

+
+ +
+ -hiddenlinks=option +
+ +
+

control the display of hidden links. Option values + are:

+ +
+
merge +
+ +
+

hidden links show up as bracketed numbers and are + numbered together with other links in the sequence of + their occurrence in the document.

+
+ +
listonly +
+ +
+

hidden links are shown only on List + screens and listings generated by + -dump or from the + Print menu, but appear separately at the end + of those lists. This is the default behavior.

+
+ +
ignore +
+ +
+

hidden links do not appear even in listings.

+
+
+
+ +
-historical +
+ +
+

toggles use of “>” or + “-->” as a terminator for comments.

+
+ +
-homepage=URL +
+ +
+

set homepage separate from start page. Will be used if + a fetch of the start page fails or if it is a script + which does not return a document, and as the + URL for the + “m”ain menu command.

+
+ +
-image_links +
+ +
+

toggles inclusion of links for all images.

+
+ +
-ismap +
+ +
+

toggles inclusion of ISMAP links when client-side MAPs + are present.

+
+ +
-index=URL +
+ +
+

set the default index file to the specified + URL

+
+ +
-justify +
+ +
+

do justification of text.

+
+ +
-link=NUMBER +
+ +
+

starting count for lnk#.dat files produced by + -crawl.

+
+ +
-localhost +
+ +
+

disable URLs that point to remote hosts.

+
+ +
-locexec +
+ +
+

enable local program execution from local files only + (if lynx was compiled with local execution enabled).

+
+ +
-lss=FILENAME +
+ +
+

specify filename containing color-style information. + The default is lynx.lss.

+
+ +
-mime_header +
+ +
+

include mime headers and force source dump.

+
+ +
-minimal +
+ +
+

toggles minimal versus valid comment parsing. When + minimal, any “-->” serves as a terminator + for a comment element. When valid, pairs of + “--” are treated as delimiters for series of + comments within the overall comment element. If + historical is set, that overrides minimal or valid + comment parsing.

+
+ +
-nested_tables +
+ +
+

toggles nested-tables logic (for debugging).

+
+ +
+ -newschunksize=NUMBER +
+ +
+

number of articles in chunked news listings.

+
+ +
+ -newsmaxchunk=NUMBER +
+ +
+

maximum news articles in listings before chunking.

+
+ +
-nobold +
+ +
+

disable bold video-attribute.

+
+ +
-nobrowse +
+ +
+

disable directory browsing.

+
+ +
-nocc +
+ +
+

disable Cc: prompts for self copies of mailings. Note + that this does not disable any CCs which are incorporated + within a mailto URL or form ACTION.

+
+ +
-nocolor +
+ +
+

force color mode off, overriding terminal capabilities + and any -color flags, COLORTERM + variable, and saved .lynxrc settings.

+
+ +
-noexec +
+ +
+

disable local program execution. (DEFAULT)

+
+ +
-nofilereferer +
+ +
+

disable transmissions of Referer headers for file + URLs.

+
+ +
-nolist +
+ +
+

disable the link list feature in dumps.

+
+ +
-nolog +
+ +
+

disable mailing of error messages to document + owners.

+
+ +
-nomargins +
+ +
+

disable left/right margins in the default style + sheet.

+
+ +
-nomore +
+ +
+

disable -more- string in statusline messages.

+
+ +
-nonrestarting_sigwinch +
+ +
+

make window size change handler non-restarting. This + flag is not available on all systems, Lynx needs to be + compiled with HAVE_SIGACTION defined. If available, this + flag may cause Lynx to react more immediately to + window changes when run within an xterm.

+
+ +
-nopause +
+ +
+

disable forced pauses for statusline messages.

+
+ +
-noprint +
+ +
+

disable most print functions.

+
+ +
-noredir +
+ +
+

do not follow URL redirections

+
+ +
-noreferer +
+ +
+

disable transmissions of Referer headers.

+
+ +
-noreverse +
+ +
+

disable reverse video-attribute.

+
+ +
-nosocks +
+ +
+

disable SOCKS proxy usage by a SOCKSified Lynx.

+
+ +
-nostatus +
+ +
+

disable the retrieval status messages.

+
+ +
-notitle +
+ +
+

disable title and blank line from top of page.

+
+ +
-nounderline +
+ +
+

disable underline video-attribute.

+
+ +
-number_fields +
+ +
+

force numbering of links as well as form input + fields.

+
+ +
-number_links +
+ +
+

force numbering of links.

+
+ +
-partial +
+ +
+

toggles displaying of partial pages while loading.

+
+ +
+ -partial_thres=NUMBER +
+ +
+

number of lines to render before repainting display + with partial-display logic.

+
+ +
-pauth=ID:PW +
+ +
+

set authorization identifier and + password for a protected proxy server at + startup. Be sure to protect any script files which use + this switch.

+
+ +
-popup +
+ +
+

toggles handling of single-choice SELECT options via + popup windows or as lists of radio buttons. The default + configuration can be changed in userdefs.h or lynx.cfg. It also can be set and saved + via the “o”ptions menu. The command line + switch toggles the default.

+
+ +
-post_data +
+ +
+

properly formatted data for a post form are read in + from stdin and passed to the form. Input is terminated by + a line that starts with “---”.

+
+ +
-preparsed +
+ +
+

show source preparsed and reformatted when used with + -source or in source view (“\”). + May be useful for debugging of broken HTML markup to + visualize the difference between SortaSGML and TagSoup + recovery + modes, switched by “^V”.

+
+ +
-prettysrc +
+ +
+

do syntax highlighting and hyperlink handling in + source view.

+
+ +
-print +
+ +
+

enable print functions. (default)

+
+ +
-pseudo_inlines +
+ +
+

toggles pseudo-ALTs for inline images with no ALT + string.

+
+ +
-raw +
+ +
+

toggles default setting of 8-bit character + translations or CJK mode for the startup character + set.

+
+ +
-realm +
+ +
+

restricts access to URLs in the starting realm.

+
+ +
-reload +
+ +
+

flushes the cache on a proxy server (only the first + document affected).

+
+ +
-restrictions +
+ +
+

allows a list of services to be disabled selectively + and takes the following form:

+
+ +
+

lynx + -restrictions=[option][,option][,option]... +

+
+ +
+

The list of recognized options is printed if none are + specified.

+ +
+
? +
+ +
+

if used alone, lists restrictions in effect.

+
+ +
all +
+ +
+

restricts all options listed below.

+
+ +
bookmark +
+ +
+

disallow changing the location of the bookmark + file.

+
+ +
bookmark_exec +
+ +
+

disallow execution links via the bookmark + file.

+
+ +
change_exec_perms +
+ +
+

disallow changing the eXecute permission on files + (but still allow it for directories) when local file + management is enabled.

+
+ +
chdir +
+ +
+

disallow command which changes Lynx's working + directory.

+
+ +
default +
+ +
+

same as command line option -anonymous. + Set default restrictions for anonymous users. All + specific services listed are always restricted, + except for: inside_telnet, outside_telnet, + inside_ftp, outside_ftp, inside_rlogin, + outside_rlogin, inside_news, outside_news, + telnet_port, jump, mail, print, exec, and goto. The + settings for these, as well as additional goto + restrictions for specific URL schemes that are also + applied, are derived from definitions within + userdefs.h.

+ +

Note that this is the only option value that may + have the effect of removing some + restrictions, if they have been set by other options, + namely for those services that are allowed + by default according to userdefs.h. However, if the + separate command line option form + (-anonymous) is used, Lynx takes care to set + the default restrictions before handling additional + -restrictions= options (even if they precede + the anonymous option), so that this cannot + happen.

+
+ +
dired_support +
+ +
+

disallow local file management.

+
+ +
disk_save +
+ +
+

disallow saving to disk in the download and print + menus.

+
+ +
dotfiles +
+ +
+

disallow access to, or creation of, hidden (dot) + files.

+
+ +
download +
+ +
+

disallow some downloaders in the download menu. + This does not imply the disk_save + restriction. It also does not disable the DOWNLOAD + command, and does not prevent "Download or Cancel" + offers when a MIME type cannot otherwise be handled. + Those are only disabled if additionally the disk_save + restriction is in effect and no download + methods are defined in a Lynx + configuration file that are marked as "always + ENABLED" (or, alternatively, if the -validate switch + is used).

+
+ +
editor +
+ +
+

disallow external editing.

+
+ +
exec +
+ +
+

disable execution scripts.

+
+ +
exec_frozen +
+ +
+

disallow the user from changing the local + execution option.

+
+ +
externals +
+ +
+

disallow some "EXTERNAL" configuration lines, if + support for passing URLs to external applications + (with the EXTERN_LINK or EXTERN_PAGE command) is + compiled in.

+
+ +
file_url +
+ +
+

disallow using G)oto, served links or bookmarks + for file: URLs.

+
+ +
goto +
+ +
+

disable the “g” (goto) + command.

+
+ +
inside_ftp +
+ +
+

disallow ftps for people coming from inside your + domain.

+
+ +
inside_news +
+ +
+

disallow USENET news reading and posting for + people coming from inside you domain. This applies to + "news", "nntp", "newspost", and "newsreply" URLs, but + not to "snews", "snewspost", or "snewsreply" in case + they are supported.

+
+ +
inside_rlogin +
+ +
+

disallow rlogins for people coming from inside + your domain.

+
+ +
inside_telnet +
+ +
+

disallow telnets for people coming from inside + your domain.

+
+ +
jump +
+ +
+

disable the “j” (jump) + command.

+
+ +
lynxcgi +
+ +
+

disallow execution of Lynx CGI URLs.

+
+ +
mail +
+ +
+

disallow mailing feature.

+
+ +
multibook +
+ +
+

disallow multiple bookmarks.

+
+ +
news_post +
+ +
+

disallow USENET News posting,

+
+ +
options_save +
+ +
+

disallow saving options in .lynxrc.

+
+ +
outside_ftp +
+ +
+

disallow ftps for people coming from outside your + domain.

+
+ +
outside_news +
+ +
+

disallow USENET news reading and posting for + people coming from outside you domain. This applies + to "news", "nntp", "newspost", and "newsreply" URLs, + but not to "snews", "snewspost", or "snewsreply" in + case they are supported.

+
+ +
outside_rlogin +
+ +
+

disallow rlogins for people coming from outside + your domain.

+
+ +
outside_telnet +
+ +
+

disallow telnets for people coming from outside + your domain.

+
+ +
print +
+ +
+

disallow most print options.

+
+ +
shell +
+ +
+

disallow shell escapes.

+
+ +
suspend +
+ +
+

disallow Control-Z suspends with escape + to shell on Unix.

+
+ +
telnet_port +
+ +
+

disallow specifying a port in telnet G)oto's.

+
+ +
useragent +
+ +
+

disallow modifications of the User-Agent + header.

+
+
+
+ +
-resubmit_posts +
+ +
+

toggles forced resubmissions (no-cache) of forms with + method POST when the documents they returned are sought + with the PREV_DOC (left-arrow) command or from + the History Page.

+
+ +
-rlogin +
+ +
+

disable recognition of rlogin commands.

+
+ +
-scrollbar +
+ +
+

toggles showing scrollbar.

+
+ +
-scrollbar_arrow +
+ +
+

toggles showing arrows at ends of the scrollbar.

+
+ +
-selective +
+ +
+

require .www_browsable files to browse + directories.

+
+ +
+ -session=FILENAME +
+ +
+

resumes from specified file on startup and saves + session to that file on exit.

+
+ +
+ -sessionin=FILENAME +
+ +
+

resumes session from specified file.

+
+ +
+ -sessionout=FILENAME +
+ +
+

saves session to specified file.

+
+ +
-short_url +
+ +
+

show very long URLs in the status line with "..." to + represent the portion which cannot be displayed. The + beginning and end of the URL are displayed, rather than + suppressing the end.

+
+ +
-show_cursor +
+ +
+

If enabled the cursor will not be hidden in the right + hand corner but will instead be positioned at the start + of the currently selected link. Show cursor is the + default for systems without FANCY_CURSES capabilities. + The default configuration can be changed in userdefs.h or + lynx.cfg. It also can be set and + saved via the “o”ptions menu. The command + line switch toggles the default.

+
+ +
-show_rate +
+ +
+

If enabled the transfer rate is shown in bytes/second. + If disabled, no transfer rate is shown. Use lynx.cfg or + the options menu to select KiB/second and/or ETA.

+
+ +
-soft_dquotes +
+ +
+

toggles emulation of the old Netscape and Mosaic bug + which treated “>” as a + co-terminator for double-quotes and tags.

+
+ +
-source +
+ +
+

works the same as dump but outputs HTML source instead + of formatted text. For example

+ +
+ 
+lynx -source . >foo.html
+
+
+ +

generates HTML source listing the files in the current + directory. Each file is marked by an HREF relative to the + parent directory. Add a trailing slash to make the HREF's + relative to the current directory:

+ +
+ 
+lynx -source ./ >foo.html
+
+
+
+ +
-stack_dump +
+ +
+

disable SIGINT cleanup handler.

+
+ +
-startfile_ok +
+ +
+

allow non-http startfile and homepage with + -validate.

+
+ +
-stderr +
+ +
+

When dumping a document using + -dump or + -source, Lynx normally does + not display alert (error) messages that you see on the + screen in the status line. Use the + -stderr option to tell Lynx + to write these messages to the standard error.

+
+ +
-stdin +
+ +
+

read the startfile from standard input (UNIX + only).

+
+ +
-syslog=text +
+ +
+

information for syslog call.

+
+ +
-syslog-urls +
+ +
+

log requested URLs with syslog.

+
+ +
-tagsoup +
+ +
+

initialize DTD with "TagSoup" tables, more + details.

+
+ +
-telnet +
+ +
+

disable recognition of telnet commands.

+
+ +
-term=TERM +
+ +
+

tell Lynx what terminal type to assume it is talking + to. (This may be useful for remote execution, when, for + example, Lynx connects to a remote TCP/IP port that + starts a script that, in turn, starts another Lynx + process.)

+
+ +
-timeout=N +
+ +
+

For win32, sets the network read-timeout, where + N is given in seconds.

+
+ +
-tlog +
+ +
+

toggles use of a Lynx Trace Log for the + session. The log is named Lynx.trace and is + created in the home directory when Lynx trace mode is + turned on via the -trace command line switch + (see below), or via the TRACE_TOGGLE (Control-T) + keystroke command. Once a log is started for the session, + all trace and other stderr messages are written to the + log. The contents of the log can be examined during the + session via the TRACE_LOG (normally, + “;”) keystroke command. If use + of a Lynx Trace Log is turned off, any trace output will + go to the standard error stream.

+
+ +
-tna +
+ +
+

turns on "Textfields Need + Activation" mode.

+
+ +
-trace +
+ +
+

turns on Lynx trace mode. If a Lynx Trace Log + (Lynx.trace in the home directory) has been + started for the current session, all trace messages are + written to that log, and can be examined during the + session via the TRACE_LOG (normally, + “;”) command. If no Trace Log + file is in use, trace messages go to stderr.

+
+ +
+ -trace_mask=value +
+ +
+

turn on optional traces, which may result in very + large trace files. Logically OR the values to combine + options:

+ +
+
1
+ +
+

SGML character parsing states

+
+ +
2
+ +
+

color-style

+
+ +
4
+ +
+

TRST (table layout)

+
+ +
8
+ +
+

config (lynx.cfg and .lynxrc contents)

+
+ +
16
+ +
+

binary string copy/append, used in form data + construction.

+
+
+
+ +
-traversal +
+ +
+

traverse all http links derived from startfile. When + used with -crawl, each link that begins with the + same string as startfile is output to a file, intended + for indexing. See CRAWL.announce for more + information.

+
+ +
-trim_input_fields +
+ +
+

trim input text/textarea fields in forms.

+
+ +
-underscore +
+ +
+

toggles use of _underline_ format in dumps.

+
+ +
-update_term_title +
+ +
+

enables updating the title in terminal emulators. Use + only if your terminal emulator supports that escape code. + Has no effect when used with -notitle.

+
+ +
-use_mouse +
+ +
+

turn on mouse support, if available.

+
+ +
+ -useragent=STRING +
+ +
+

set different Lynx User-Agent header. Lynx produces a + warning on startup if the STRING does not + contain "Lynx" or "L_y_n_x", see the note in the Options Menu section for + rationale.

+
+ +
-validate +
+ +
+

accept only http URLs (meant for validation).

+
+ +
+

This flag implies security restrictions generally more + severe than -anonymous: restriction options as + for -restrictions=all, with the notable + exception that goto remains enabled for http and https + URLs; in addition, the PRINT and DOWNLOAD commands are + completely disabled, and use of a Trace Log file is + forced off.

+
+ +
+

Any relaxing of restriction that might be implied by + an also present (or implied) -anonymous flag is + overridden, the only way to possibly relax some + of the restrictions to the level applicable for + "anonymous" accounts is with an explicit + -restrictions=default.

+
+ +
-verbose +
+ +
+

toggles [LINK], [IMAGE] and [INLINE] comments with + filenames of these images.

+
+ +
-version +
+ +
+

print version information.

+
+ +
-vikeys +
+ +
+

enable vi-like key movement.

+
+ +
-wdebug +
+ +
+

enable Waterloo tcp/ip packet debug (print to watt + debugfile). This applies only to DOS versions compiled + with WATTCP or WATT-32.

+
+ +
-width=NUMBER +
+ +
+

number of columns for formatting of dumps, default is + 80.

+
+ +
-with_backspaces +
+ +
+

emit backspaces in output if -dumping or -crawling + (like man does).

+
+
+
+
+ +

No options are required, nor is a startfile argument required. + White space can be used in place of equal sign separators + (“=”) appearing in the option list + above. It can not be used in place of the equal signs in forms + like "-option=on" and "-option=off" for simple switches and + toggles, for which "-option" alone (without a value) is + valid.

+ +

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+ +

Environment variables used by Lynx

+ +

Lynx uses certain environment variables and sets a few of + them. Please visit a separate page for this rather + technical information.

+ +

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+ +

Main + configuration file lynx.cfg

+ +

Lynx has several levels of customization: from the Options + Menu (accessible on-line, and possibly stored in your local + .lynxrc file), via command-line switches on startup (mainly for + batch processing). The most important and numerous default + settings are stored in the Lynx configuration file + lynx.cfg.

+ +

If you are on a UNIX system you should have appropriate + permissions to make changes there or ask your system + administrator to modify lynx.cfg for your needs. This file + provides default settings for all accounts on your system. It may + be copied to your shell account and included with -cfg command + line switch or via an environment variable LYNX_CFG (if you have + shell access). Starting with version 2.8.1 Lynx has an include + facility so you can load the system-wide configuration file and + easily add one or more settings from your local add-on + configuration file. It is really cool to read lynx.cfg with its + comments for hundreds of options, most of them commented out + because they are built-in defaults. You may visit an index of + options: + by category or + by alphabet.

+ +

To view your current configuration derived from lynx.cfg and + any included configuration files, press “g” + and type in “lynxcfg:”. If you are using + the forms-based Options Menu, you may press + “o” for the Options Menu and follow the + Check your lynx.cfg's link near the bottom.

+ +

However, for those who have a restricted account many Lynx + features may be disabled by the system administrator, you + probably will not see your lynx.cfg.

+ +

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+ +

Lynx development + history

+ +

Lynx grew out of efforts to build a campus-wide information + system at The University of Kansas. The earliest versions of Lynx + provided a user-friendly, distributed hypertext interface for + users connected to multiuser (Unix and VMS) systems via + curses-oriented display devices. A custom hypertext format was + developed to support hypertext links to local files and files on + remote Gopher servers. Using Gopher servers for distributed file + service allowed information providers to publish information from + a wide variety of platforms (including Unix, VMS, VM/CMS and + Macintosh). In addition, Lynx became the most user-friendly + Gopher client, although that was only an ancillary + capability.

+ +

This distributed approach let providers retain complete + control over their information, but it made communication between + users and providers somewhat more difficult. Following the lead + of Neal Erdwien, of Kansas State University, the Lynx hypertext + format was extended to include links for including ownership + information with each file. This information made it possible for + users running Lynx clients to send comments and suggestions via + e-mail to the providers.

+ +

This early version of Lynx was also augmented to support + hypertext links to programs running on remote systems. It + included the ability to open a Telnet connection, as well as the + ability to start programs via rexec, inetd, or by direct socket + connects. These capabilities were included to allow users to + access databases or custom program interfaces.

+ +

A subsequent version of Lynx incorporated the World Wide Web + libraries to allow access to the full list of WWW servers, along + with the option to build hypertext documents in HTML, rather than + the native Lynx format. HTML has become far more widely used, and + the native format has been phased out. With the addition of the + WWW libraries, Lynx became a fully-featured WWW client, limited + only by the display capabilities offered in the curses + environment.

+ +

Lynx was designed by Lou Montulli, Charles Rezac and Michael + Grobe of Academic Computing Services at The University of Kansas. + Lynx was implemented by Lou Montulli and maintained by Garrett + Arch Blythe and Craig Lavender.

+ +

Foteos Macrides and members of the lynx-dev list have developed and supported + Lynx since release of v2.3 in May 1994.
+ The Lynx2-3FM code set was released as v2.4 in June 1995.
+ The Lynx2-4FM code set was released as v2.5 in May 1996.
+ The Lynx2-5FM code set was released as v2.6 in September + 1996.
+ The Lynx2-6FM code set was released as v2.7 in February 1997.
+ The v2-7FM code set was released as v2.7.1 in April 1997.
+ The v2-7-1FM code set was released as v2.7.2 in January 1998.
+ The 2.7.1 development set was released as v2.8 in March 1998.
+ The 2.8 development set was released as v2.8.1 in October + 1998.
+ The 2.8.1 development set was released as v2.8.2 in June + 1999.
+ The 2.8.2 development set was released as v2.8.3 in April + 2000.
+ The 2.8.3 development set was released as v2.8.4 in July + 2001.
+ The 2.8.4 development set was released as v2.8.5 in February + 2004.
+ The 2.8.5 development set was released as v2.8.6 in October + 2006.
+ The 2.8.6 development set was released as v2.8.7 in July + 2009.
+ The 2.8.7 development set was released as v2.8.8 in February + 2014.
+ The 2.8.8 development set was released as v2.8.9 in July + 2018.

+ +

Since early 1997, the Lynx code has expanded into + autoconfigure and PC versions. The branching of the Lynx source + base from a single source into two sources (FM/Foteos Macrides + and ac/autoconfigure) should be considered a healthy synergism + among groups of computer professionals acting in their spare time + out of a common goal.

+ +

Lynx has incorporated code from a variety of sources along the + way. The earliest versions of Lynx included code from Earl Fogel + of Computing Services at the University of Saskatchewan, who + implemented HYPERREZ in the Unix environment. Those versions also + incorporated libraries from the Unix Gopher clients developed at + the University of Minnesota, and the later versions of Lynx rely + on the WWW client library code developed by Tim Berners-Lee (and + others) and the WWW community.

+ +

Contributors have generally been acknowledged in the CHANGES + file. Earlier CHANGES file can be found in the docs/ subdirectory + of this distribution.

+ +

Information on obtaining the most current version of Lynx is + available at the + current distribution page.

+ +

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+ + -- cgit v1.2.3