diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/FAQ')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/FAQ | 924 |
1 files changed, 924 insertions, 0 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,924 @@ +GNU Midnight Commander +Frequently Asked Questions + + The newest version of this document is available at + https://www.midnight-commander.org/browser/doc/FAQ + + * 1 Getting started + + 1.1 What is Midnight Commander? + + 1.2 Does it run on my machine? + + 1.3 Does it work with my terminal? + + 1.4 What else do I need to run MC? + + 1.5 Is GNU Midnight Commander Public Domain? Copyrighted? + + 1.6 Where can I get GNU Midnight Commander? + + 1.7 I cannot compile MC. What should I do? + + * 2 Keyboard + + 2.1 What does documentation mean with the C-?, M-? and F? + keys? + + 2.2 Why don't function keys (or some other key) work? + + 2.3 How do I use function keys F11 to F20? + + 2.4 Why does the ESC key behave funny? + + 2.5 How can I add the plus sign (+) on the command line? + + 2.6 C-o doesn't work! + + 2.7 What 'keys' are the "a1" and "c1" keys mentioned in the + manual? + + 2.8 How do I change the key bindings? + + * 3 Mouse + + 3.1 How do I enable mouse support? + + 3.2 How do I cut and paste text with mouse? + + 3.3 How do I get the extension dependent pop-up menu to + pop up? + + * 4 Display + + 4.1 Why do I keep getting "Terminal not powerful enough for + SLang" or "Terminal not powerful enough for SLsmg"? + + 4.2 Why don't line drawing characters work? + + 4.3 Can one use latin-1 characters without losing the lines? + + 4.4 I have problems with entering/viewing national + characters! + + 4.5 How can I get colors? + + 4.6 My color_xterm goes completely (or partially) black! + + 4.7 Where can I get xterm or rxvt? + + 4.8 I got colors working with MC but the other programs + don't work at all anymore! + + 4.9 Why are there both terminfo and termcap? Wouldn't one + database be enough? + + * 5 Graphical user interface + + 5.1 Xview, Tk and Gnome editions? + + 5.2 Why is MC linked with X libraries? + + * 6 Command line problems + + 6.1 How do I stay in the last directory when I exit Midnight + Commander? + + 6.2 How can I access command line history? + + 6.3 How can I complete commands, file names, variable names + and so on? + + 6.4 I am using ksh. Can I use functions defined in the + .kshrc within MC? + + 6.5 Is there any way to include additional options or hot + keys to MC? + + 6.6 When I use Ctrl-O I don't get a subshell. How do I fix + this? + + 6.7 Ctrl-O doesn't work at all. What happens? + + * 7 Virtual file systems + + 7.1 How can I see the contents of a tar archive? + + 7.2 How do I get out of a tar archive? + + 7.3 How do I do anonymous ftp with MC? + + 7.4 How do I do non-anonymous ftp with MC? + + 7.5 How do I close an ftp connection? + + 7.6 Why aren't the contents of ftp panel updated? + + 7.7 What kind of proxy server works with Midnight Commander? + + * 8 Internal editor + + 8.1 When I try pasting to the internal editor, it indents + the amount of indenting increases with each line! + + 8.2 Is it possible to use Colorer for syntax highlighting? + + * 9 Other common problems + + 9.1 Is there any way to 'bookmark' favorite ftp-fs links? + + 9.2 When I start Midnight Commander, nothing happens! + + * 10 Development + + 10.1 Who has written Midnight Commander? + + 10.2 Do I dare to use a development version? + + 10.3 How can I report a bug/request for a feature? + + 10.4 How can I join the development? + + * 11 More information + + 11.1 This document didn't answer my question. Where else + can I look for an answer? + + 11.2 What mailing lists are there for Midnight Commander? + + 11.3 Where should I look on the World Wide Web for MC stuff? + + 11.4 Are the mailing lists archived anywhere? + + * 12 Legal issues + + 12.1 Authorship + + 12.2 Feedback is invited + + 12.3 Disclaimer and copyright + + +1 Getting started + +1.1 What is Midnight Commander? + + GNU Midnight Commander is a user-friendly yet powerful file manager + and visual shell, useful to novice and guru alike. It provides a + clear, user-friendly, and somewhat protected interface to a Unix + system while making many frequent file operations more efficient and + preserving the full power of the command prompt. After some + practice, you will wonder how you could ever live without it. + +1.2 Does it run on my machine? + + GNU Midnight Commander runs on POSIX (Unix-like) operating systems, + such as GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Solaris, HP-UX and others. It + can also be compiled under Cygwin on Windows. + + GNU Midnight Commander uses GNU Autoconf which should automatically + configure it for every Unix clone. Following configurations have + been tested in the past (this list is very old): + + * i386-*-linux1.x, 2.x + * alpha-linux-linux2 + * sparc-linux-linux2.x + * sparc64-linux-linux2.1 + * mips-sgi-irix5.x, 6.x + * sparc-sun-sunos4.1 + * sparc-sun-solaris2.3, 2.4, 2.5 + * sparc-sun-netbsd1.0 + * hppa-hp-hpux9 + * hppa-hp-hpux7 + * m68k-apple-aux + * unixware + * mc88110-aviion-dgux5.4R2.01 + * i386-*-sco3.2v4.2 + * i386-*-sco3.2v5 + +1.3 Does it work with my terminal? + + Yes, it does. + + Because GNU Midnight Commander is a full screen program it doesn't + run on dummy terminals but anything more advanced will do (like + vt100). If your terminal works with vi, emacs, elm or pine it will + work with GNU Midnight Commander. + +1.4 What else do I need to run MC? + + You need a POSIX (Unix compatible) operating system. If you are + running Windows, use Cygwin. + + To compile any edition you need to have glib >= 2.30 installed. + It's available at https://download.gnome.org/sources/glib/. + + If you want to use mouse on the Linux console you need the gpm daemon + from https://www.nico.schottelius.org/software/gpm/. You need nothing + extra to use mouse on xterm. + + If you do not want to use the S-Lang library you could try using + ncurses version 4.1 and above. + +1.5 Is GNU Midnight Commander Public Domain? Copyrighted? + + Midnight Commander is under GNU Public License which basically means + that you may freely copy, change and distribute it, but that you may + not impose any restrictions on further distribution, and that you + must make the source code available. This is not the same as Public + Domain. For details, the GNU license is included in GNU Midnight + Commander source distribution (the COPYING file). + + Midnight Commander is now officially a part of the GNU project. + All the authors of GNU Midnight Commander have given all their rights + on the program to the Free Software Foundation. + +1.6 Where can I get GNU Midnight Commander? + + The main site is https://www.midnight-commander.org + +1.7 I cannot compile MC. What should I do? + + Make sure you have read the INSTALL file in the sources. Report the + error messages exactly as they appear, mention the versions of your + OS, your compiler and whatever else software you think is relevant. + If you have compile problems in the VFS code, try disabling it by + using "--disable-vfs" option. + +f2 Keyboard + +2.1 What does documentation mean with the C-?, M-? and F? keys? + + GNU Midnight Commander documentation uses emacs style names for + keyboard keys. + + C stands for the Ctrl key. For example, C-f means that you should + hold down the Ctrl key and press the f key. + + M stands for the Meta key. Your terminal might call it Alt or + Compose instead of Meta. For example, M-f means that you should hold + down the Meta/Alt/Compose key and press the f key. If your terminal + doesn't have Meta, Alt or Compose or they don't work you can use Esc. + For M-f press the Esc key and then press the f key. + + Sometimes Ctrl and Alt are used instead of C and M for simplicity. + Keep in mind that Alt can actually be Meta on some keyboards. + + F? stands for a function key. If your terminal doesn't have function + keys or they don't work you can use Esc. For example, for F3 press + the Esc key and then press the 3 key. + +2.2 Why don't function keys (or some other key) work? + + Your terminfo or termcap database has missing or incorrect + definitions for function keys. Type "mc -V" to see what terminal + database is being used. If the result is "using the S-Lang library + with terminfo database" and you are using a very old terminfo + database, consider installing one of the enhanced terminfo files + included in GNU Midnight Commander source distribution. For example, + if you are using xterm type "tic xterm.ti". + + If the result is "using the S-Lang library with termcap database" you + should fix your /etc/termcap database. + + Up-to-date termcap and terminfo databases are available here: + + http://www.catb.org/~esr/terminfo/ + ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ncurses/ + + If you don't have permissions to edit terminal databases you can use + Learn keys feature of Midnight Commander instead. Press Esc 9 o k + and follow instructions. + + If all else fails you can emulate function keys by first pressing the + ESC key and then one of the number keys. For example, if you want to + produce F9, press ESC, then 9. If you don't have a ESC key on your + keyboard you can try alt-9 or meta-9. + +2.3 How do I use function keys F11 to F20? + + These are normally mapped to function keys F1 to F10 with Shift held, + e.g. function key F13 can be activated by pressing Shift-F3. You can + define the keys this way in the Options->Learn Keys dialog. The + convention for PC keyboards is that F11-20 always means Shift with + F1-10. + + You may find that on the Linux console with some keyboard layouts + Shift-Fn is interpreted as F(n+12), not as F(n+10). This is a result + of non-uniformity of keyboard layouts. This is not an intended + behavior and it may be fixed some day. In the meantime, use "Learn + Keys" to remedy this inconvenience. + +2.4 Why does the ESC key behave funny? + + Midnight Commander uses the ESC key as a prefix for simulating the + Meta and Alt keys (for terminals which don't have Meta or Alt, see + the three previous questions). For example, pressing ESC-a is the + same as pressing Meta-a. In addition most terminals use ESC for + internal representation of arrow keys, function keys and other + enhanced keys. If you want to use ESC to cancel things you have to + press it twice i.e. ESC-ESC. If you find this cumbersome you can + generally use F10 to cancel. Alternatively turn on the old_esc_mode + setting in the ~/.config/mc/ini file. The + old_esc_mode setting makes ESC work as a prefix only if another key + is pressed within 0.5 seconds. After 0.5 seconds the ESC key cancels. + There is no way to make ESC cancel immediately (if we want to be able + to use arrows keys and function keys). + +2.5 How can I add the plus sign (+) on the command line? + + Press C-q first, then press the + sign. + + The plus key is the hotkey for the select files command. If you want + to add a literal plus on to the command line you must quote it by + pressing C-q first. + + Another common key which needs the C-q prefix is backslash "\". + +2.6 C-o doesn't work! + + Maybe C-o is a stty control character on your terminal. See man stty + for details on how to list and change stty control characters. + +2.7 What 'keys' are the "a1" and "c1" keys mentioned in the manual? + + The "a1" key is the key which has the "a1" caption on it. + + The "c1" key is the key which has the "c1" caption on it. + + If you have to ask what these two keys are your keyboard hasn't + probably got them. Actually, I have never seen a keyboard which has + got them. + +2.8 How do I change the key bindings? + + Key binding con be reconfigure via keymap files: /etc/mc/mc.keymap + and ~/.config/mc/mc.keymap. + + You can use the "Learn Keys" dialog to assign keys to some actions + listed in that dialog. + + +3 Mouse + +3.1 How do I enable mouse support? + + Invoke mc like this (without quotes): "mc -x". If this doesn't work + upgrade to a terminal which compatible with the Xterm mouse + sequences. + + Alternatively, on Linux console you can use gpm. + +3.2 How do I cut and paste text with mouse? + + Hold down shift key while using mouse to cut and paste. + + +4 Display + +4.1 Why do I keep getting "Terminal not powerful enough for SLang" or + "Terminal not powerful enough for SLsmg"? + + This means that your terminfo databases do not contain the correct + definitions for your terminal. + + You could try using a different terminal setting. If you use csh or + tcsh: + + setenv TERM vt100 + + or if you use sh, bash, ksh or zsh: + + export TERM=vt100 + +4.2 Why don't line drawing characters work? + + Since version 4.0.13 there's the command line option -a to force use + of charaters +, |, - for line drawing. Use the -a option if any + of the suggestions below doesn't help. + + In general, there are three cases: + * Lines are shown as ASCII characters like this + + +---------+ + | | + +---------+ + + This also happens when you use the -a option. Other than that + possible reason is 1 or 2 (see below). + + * Lines are shown as lower case characters like this + + lqqqqqqqqqk + x x + mqqqqqqqqqj + + Possible reason is 1 or 2 (see below). + + * Lines are shown as blanks or missing characters. Possible reason + is 2 or 3 (see below). + + The reason for the problem is one of following: + + 1. Your terminal might not support line drawing characters. VT100 + compatible terminals, rxvt and xterm and color_xterm do support + them. + 2. Your terminfo or termcap database might have missing or incorrect + definitions for line drawing characters. Set the acsc variable + in the terminfo database like this: + acsc=a\376k\277l\332m\300j\331n\305w\302v\301u\264t\303q\304x + \263h\2600\333 + Don't forget issue 'tic' command. This supposes you are using PC + character set. The octal values might be different for other + character sets. If you are using termcap instead of terminfo, + you should modify above solution appropriately. + 3. Your terminal font might not support line drawing characters. + Try changing the font. + + Here is Miguel's answer to Torben on this subject. + + Torben: + + When I load consolefonts/iso01.f16, I get perfectly right national + characters, but the line drawing characters in mc get wrong. Is it + a mc problem, or is it a problem with the font? (I guess it is). + + Is there a trick? + + Miguel: + + First of all, we should determine whether the font has line drawing + characters or not. + + If it has line drawing characters, then a new terminfo entry should + be written for this specific case. Let's call this linux-iso01. + The acsc variable should be modified to reflect which characters + are used to do the line drawing. + + If it does not have line drawing characters, then we should get rid + of the switch to acsc sequences and make the acsc sequence be just + a mapping to the ugly +, -, |, - characters. + + You can get your terminfo definition by running the infocmp + program, making the proper changes and running the tic program to + compile your new terminfo database. + +4.3 Can one use latin-1 characters without losing the lines? + + Yes, you need a correct font and a correct termcap/terminfo database. + + For font, if you use xterm try "xterm -fn fixed". + + For termcap/terminfo database, change the acsc capability in the + database. + +4.4 I have problems with entering/viewing national characters! + + From the Options - Display Bits dialog select Full 8 bits or ISO + 8859-1. In addition, select 8 bit input from the same dialog. + +4.5 How can I get colors? + + Invoke mc like this (without quotes): "mc -c". + + If you get colors, be happy. + + If your terminal stays black and white, your terminal doesn't support + color. You might want to upgrade to a terminal which compatible with + the ANSI color sequences. + + If your terminal goes completely black, see the next question. + + More detailed answer: + + Check that your terminal supports color. color_xterm, rxvt and Linux + console do support, most other terminals don't. You can test color + support with following simple C program: + + #include <stdio.h> + + int main (void){ + printf ("\033[32m Hello world! \033[m\n"); + return 0; + } + + Compile and run it. If you see "Hello world!" text in green your + terminal supports color, otherwise not (however, for color_xterm see + also the next question). + + Check whether you are using Ncurses or the S-Lang library (type + "mc -V" to find out). + + With S-Lang library you can force color support by setting the + environment variable COLORTERM to any value. + + If you use ncurses library, check that your terminfo database + supports color. If not, you should install one of the enhanced + terminfo databases included in GNU Midnight Commander source + distribution. + + You might want to set the TERM environment variable so that you are + using the correct terminfo database or termcap entry. + + If you use color_xterm (or rxvt) the correct value might be + xterm-color, xtermc or simply xterm. + + If you use Linux console the correct value for TERM is linux or + console. + +4.6 My color_xterm goes completely (or partially) black! + + Some color_xterm terminals define all colors as black instead of the + standard ANSI colors. This makes them go completely black when you + try to use Midnight Commander with colors. + + You will have to override the defaults. Create a file + "color.defaults" which has the following contents: + + color_xterm*color0: Black + color_xterm*color1: Red + color_xterm*color2: Green + color_xterm*color3: Yellow + color_xterm*color4: Blue + color_xterm*color5: Magenta + color_xterm*color6: Cyan + color_xterm*color7: White + color_xterm*background: White + color_xterm*foreground: Black + + (replace color_xterm with the name of your color_xterm, color_xterm + mentions its name in its title bar) + + Now type: + + xrdb -merge color.defaults + + Alternatively you can add the suggested contents of the + color.defaults file to your .Xdefaults or .Xresources file (or what + ever the name of your X configuration file is). Or you can replace + your non-ANSI color_xterm with an ANSI color_xterm. + +4.7 Where can I get xterm or rxvt? + + xterm is included with the X Window System, so you probably already + have it if you have X. This version is not actively maintained, but + Thomas Dickey maintains his more advanced version of xterm at + ftp://dickey.his.com/xterm/ + + rxvt has its own site http://www.rxvt.net/ - get the latest version + there. + +4.8 I got colors working with MC but the other programs don't work at +all anymore! + + Midnight Commander uses terminfo database (if available) but many + other programs use termcap database. If you set the TERM environment + variable to a value which has no corresponding entry in termcap + database those programs stop working. You should add the new value + of TERM to the termcap database. + + Example: If you have set TERM to xterm-color locate from /etc/termcap + the line which starts: + + xterm|vs100|xterm terminal emulator + + Change it to start: + + xterm|xterm-color|vs100|xterm terminal emulator + +5 Graphical user interface + +5.1 Xview, Tk and Gnome editions? + + Xview and Tk and GNOME editions have been removed from the sources. + +5.2 Why is MC linked with X libraries? + + GNU Midnight Commander is linked with X libraries to read key + modifiers from the X Server. It may be helpful to distinguish + between keys that the terminal emulator reports in the same way, e.g. + PgUp and Ctrl-PgUp. Versions of GNU Midnight Commander after 4.6.0 + will load X libraries dynamically on the systems that support it. + + +6 Command line problems + +6.1 How do I stay in the last directory when I exit Midnight Commander? + + See the description of the -P option in the Options section of the + manual. + +6.2 How can I access command line history? + + Meta-h shows the last commands you executed from the command line. + Duplicates are suppressed from the history. Commands executed from + the subshell prompt are not shown. + + You can put previous commands to the command line with Meta-p. Meta-n + moves you forward in history. + + Since version 4.1.15 all the input widgets have permanent history. + You can summon the history listbox by pressing M-h. + +6.3 How can I complete commands, file names, variable names and so on? + + Just press M-Tab. Press M-Tab again to get a listbox if there are + multiple possible completions. + +6.4 I am using ksh. Can I use functions defined in the .kshrc within +MC? + + Sorry, MC only supports bash, tcsh and zsh functions. Ksh functions + are not supported because ksh lacks the necessary hooks needed for + subshell integration. + + Switch to bash or zsh. They are both quite compatible with ksh. + Your ksh functions should work as such or after minimal changes. + +6.5 Is there any way to include additional options or hot keys to MC? + + Yes, F2 invokes an user menu, which is fully configurable. You can + add any shell commands to the user menu. See the mc(1) man page for + more info. + + Another way to add functionality is the external panelize feature. + See the mc(1) man page for more info. + + And finally, you can code any feature you want yourself. MC source + code is free which means you can change it anyway you want. There + are some limitations to make sure MC stays free. See GNU General + Public License for details. + +6.6 When I use Ctrl-O I don't get a subshell. How do I fix this? + + Only bash, tcsh and zsh can be used as subshell. Use one of those + shells as your default shell, and it will be used as subshell in GNU + Midnight Commander. + +6.7 Ctrl-O doesn't work at all. What happens? + + Ctrl-O works if either the subshell is used or the terminal can save + the output of the commands so it can be restored. If neither is + true, there is absolutely nothing interesting behind the panels! + + Only few terminals support screen saving. It's xterm, rxvt and other + xterm-like terminals and virtual terminals on Linux and FreeBSD. + +6.8 Why I see lot of strange 'cd "printf ' lines into my .history file? + + Add + + export HISTCONTROL="ignoreboth" + + into your ~/.profile file (.bash_profile) for avoid this. + +6.9 I have a problem with Screen which makes using Midnight Commander +problematic. I use Ctrl-O to disable panels. Output of previous commands, +just a clear, screen is blanked. + + Update GNU Screen to the last version. This bug was fixed in + + commit ad56f746c6243d45124485d198d577bdbb78071c + Author: Sadrul Habib Chowdhury <sadrul@users.sourceforge.net> + Date: Sun Nov 29 23:34:25 2009 -0500 + + Fix using alternate screen buffers in some cases. + + Screen would reset the 'main' screen buffer if an app tries to + switch to an alternate buffer while it is already using one (in + other words, sends multiple 'smcup' without an 'rmcup'). This should + fix debian #558724 + + (see http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=558724) + + or do not rewrite TERM (mustbe TERM=screen) andrun mc as follow: + + echo -e '\e[?1000h' && mc -x + +7 Virtual file systems + +7.1 How can I see the contents of a tar archive? + + If you use keyboard just move the selection bar on the tar file and + press enter. If you use mouse just double-click on the tar file. + + The recognized suffixes for tar archives are .tar, .tar.gz and .tgz. + You can also enter a tar archive by typing "cd filename/utar://" where + filename is the name of the archive. In this case, the suffix is not + important. + +7.2 How do I get out of a tar archive? + + Just press enter on the toplevel ".." file or change to a non-tar + directory. Just typing "cd" with no parameters is enough (it will + take you to your home directory). + +7.3 How do I do anonymous ftp with MC? + + Just type "cd ftp://hostname" where hostname is the name of the host + you want to connect. Alternatively, select FTP link from the Left or + Right menu and type the name of the host you want to connect. + +7.4 How do I do non-anonymous ftp with MC? + + Non-anonymous ftp works just like the anonymous ftp but you give the + login name with the host name. For example, type "cd + ftp://username@hostname". + +7.5 How do I close an ftp connection? + + Just change to a non-ftp directory. Simply typing "cd" with no + parameters is enough (it will take you to your home directory). + + GNU Midnight Commander closes ftp connection automatically after a + timeout or on exit. It's possible to force disconnect by selecting + "Command" -> "Active VFS List" in the menu and using the "Free VFSs + Now" button. + +7.6 Why aren't the contents of ftp panel updated? + + Update is skipped because there would be a serious performance + penalty. Constantly updating directory panels through a ftp + connection would take too much time. + + You can use C-r to force an update. + +7.7 What kind of proxy server works with Midnight Commander? + + There are two kinds of ftp proxies: proxies for ftp clients and + proxies for web browsers. + + Midnight Commander only supports ftp proxies which are meant for ftp + clients. Common WWW proxies (like Squid) are not supported. A rule + of thumb is that if a ftp proxy requires a web browser, it won't work + with Midnight Commander. + + +8 Other common problems + +8.1 When I try pasting to the internal editor, it indents the amount of +indenting increases with each line! + + Either turn off 'Return does autoindent' in the editor options or + update GNU Midnight Commander to version 4.6.0 or above - it doesn't + autoindent when you are holding Shift. + +8.2 Is it possible to use Colorer for syntax highlighting? + + Yes if you submit the patch. There are no legal problems with it + because it's licensed under GPL now. The homepage of Colorer is + http://colorer.sourceforge.net/ + + +9 Other common problems + +9.1 Is there any way to 'bookmark' favorite ftp-fs links? + + Use the directory hotlist. Just press control-backslash. If your + national keyboard layout doesn't have backslash key, just press the + control key with the key which is the backslash key in the English + keyboard layout. + +9.2 When I start Midnight Commander, nothing happens! + + First, invoke MC without subshell support: "mc -u". If this helps + check the shell you are using. Subshell support works best with + bash, although tcsh and zsh are also supported. You might want to + upgrade your shell to a newer version. If you use something else + than bash, tcsh or zsh, subshell support is disabled automatically. + + Another reason is problems with gpm. Try using "--nomouse" option to + see if it makes any difference. Restarting gpm can help. Sometimes + it's enough to move the mouse. + + Also, if you have the DISPLAY environment variable set, but the X + server is unreachable (e.g. it's firewalled), this can also cause a + delay at startup. Unset DISPLAY to see if that's the case. + + +10 Development + +10.1 Who has written Midnight Commander? + + Midnight Commander was started by Miguel de Icaza and he is the + maintainer of the package. Other authors have joined the project + later: + * Mauricio Plaza (early releases) + * Janne Kukonlehto (joined Sep 27 1994) + * Radek Doulik (joined Oct 30 1994) + * Fred Leeflang (joined Nov 2 1994) + * Dugan Porter (joined Dec 1 1994) + * Jakub Jelinek (joined Feb 8 1995) + * Ching Hui (joined Jun 27 1995) + * Andrej Borsenkow (joined Jul 1996) + * Paul Sheer (joined Nov 1 1996) + * Norbert Warmuth + * Alex I. Tkachenko + + + Alessandro Rubini has been specially helpful with debugging and + enhancing of the mouse support. John E. Davis has made his S-Lang + library available to us and answered many questions about it. + + Many people have contributed bug reports, feature suggestions and + small code bits (alphabetical order): + * Thomasz Cholewo + * Juan Jose Ciarlante + * Alexander Dong (OS/2 port, NT port updates) + * Erwin van Eijk + * Torben Fjerdingstad + * Massimo Fontanelli + * Juan Grigera (NT port) + * Gerd Knorr + * Sergey Ya. Korshunoff + * Jean-Daniel Luiset + * Wim Osterholt + * Antonio Palama (old DOS port) + * Thomas Pundt + * Marcelo Roccasalva + * Ilya Rybkin + * Vadim Sinolits + * Jon Stevens + * Adam Tla/lka + + Current list of active developers can be found here: + https://www.midnight-commander.org/wiki/McDevelopers + + This page lists everbody who has provided a patch or + has written code for the Midnight Commander in the past: + https://www.midnight-commander.org/wiki/McContributors + +10.2 Do I dare to use a development version? + + Yes, of course. Feel free to test: + https://www.midnight-commander.org/wiki#Download + As we do our development in git, please do a git checkout + of the master branch and build it + + But always remember: development versions may have nasty bugs + at some points of time. It's up to you to judge whether the new + features and fixes for the bugs you know outweigh the risk of unknown + bugs. + +10.3 How can I report a bug/request for a feature? + + You might first want to get the newest development version to see if + the bug is fixed or the feature is added already. + + If this is not the case, feel free to add a ticket in our ticket system, + which is located here: https://www.midnight-commander.org/newticket + + If you want to send an email instead write your report to + mc-devel@lists.midnight-commander.org or mc@lists.midnight-commander.org. + + These mailing lists are the most certain way to contact the + developers. Remember to mention if you are not on the mailing list + to make sure that you will receive a copy of replies. + + Give as much details as possible. A too long message is a lot better + than a too short message. + + For segmentation faults a stack backtrace is appreciated. You can + produce stack backtrace as follows: + * If segmentation fault produced a core file: + 1. Load the core file by typing "gdb mc core" or "dbx mc core". + 2. Type "where". + 3. Cut and paste the results to your message. + * If segmentation fault didn't produce a core file: + 1. Load mc by typing "gdb mc" or "dbx mc". + 2. Start mc by typing "run". + 3. Try to reproduce the segmentation fault by doing whatever + you did last time when the segmentation fault occurred. + 4. Type "where". + 5. Cut and paste the results to your message. + 6. For the future you might want to check out what is the + command in your shell to allow producing of the core files. + Usually it is "limit coredumpsize unlimited" or "ulimit + coredumpsize" or "ulimit -c unlimited". + +10.4 How can I join the development? + + To join the development just code the feature you want to add and + send your patch for inclusion. Email address is mc-devel@lists.midnight-commander.org. + Before you start coding check the latest development version. It + might be that your feature has already been implemented. + + Note that the authors of GNU Midnight Commander have given all their + rights on the program to the Free Software Foundation. You will have + to do the same if you contribute non-trivial patches. Otherwise we + have to reject your patches in order to avoid copyright problems. + + +11 More information + +11.1 This document didn't answer my question. Where else can I look for +an answer? + + Read messages from the Discussion (mailing list archive) or read the + Manual. + + Upgrade to a newer version of Midnight Commander. Many problems are + fixed in the new versions. + + If you still can't find an answer, post your question to the Midnight + Commander mailing list. Its address is mc@lists.midnight-commander.org. + +11.2 What mailing lists are there for Midnight Commander? + + Following mailing lists discuss about Midnight Commander: + + mc@lists.midnight-commander.org + General discussion of GNU Midnight Commander + To subscribe visit + https://lists.midnight-commander.org/mailman/listinfo/mc/ + + mc-devel@lists.midnight-commander.org + Technical development discussion + To subscribe visit + https://lists.midnight-commander.org/mailman/listinfo/mc-devel/ + + mc-commits@googlegroups.com + mailing list only for applyed commits into master/stable branches + To subscribe visit + http://groups.google.com/group/mc-commits/subscribe + + mc-bugs@googlegroups.com + Mailing list only for tickets and comments (use it as RSS :) ) + To subscribe visit + http://groups.google.com/group/mc-bugs/subscribe + +11.3 Where should I look on the World Wide Web for MC stuff? + + There is a WWW page for Midnight Commander. The URL is: + + https://www.midnight-commander.org/ + +11.4 Are the mailing lists archived anywhere? + + The mc and mc-devel lists are archived on the World Wide Web. There + are links to the archives on the mailing list pages (see 10.2). + + +12 Legal issues + +12.1 Authorship + + Questions and Answers was written by Janne Kukonlehto. Parts of it + originate from Ian Jackson, Miguel de Icaza, Dugan Porter, Norbert + Warmuth and Paul Sheer. + +12.2 Feedback is invited + + Send your comments about this document and GNU Midnight Commander to + mc@lists.midnight-commander.org + +12.3 Disclaimer and copyright + + Note that this document is provided as is. The information in it is + not warranted to be correct; you use it at your own risk. + + You can use Questions and Answers according to GNU General Public + License (see the COPYING file in GNU Midnight Commander source + distribution). Questions and Answers is not public domain. |