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+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.