a5a6cb30 |
1 | \versionid $Id: config.but,v 1.15 2001/11/25 19:22:47 simon Exp $ |
8f1529bc |
2 | |
e5b0d077 |
3 | \C{config} Configuring PuTTY |
4 | |
55ba634a |
5 | This chapter describes all the configuration options in PuTTY. |
6 | |
7 | PuTTY is configured using the control panel that comes up before you |
8 | start a session. Some options can also be changed in the middle of a |
d60c975d |
9 | session, by selecting \q{Change Settings} from the window menu. |
55ba634a |
10 | |
11 | \H{config-session} The Session panel |
12 | |
13 | The Session configuration panel contains the basic options you need |
14 | to specify in order to open a session at all, and also allows you to |
15 | save your settings to be reloaded later. |
16 | |
17 | \S{config-hostname} The host name section |
18 | |
19 | The top box on the Session panel, labelled \q{Specify your |
20 | connection by host name}, contains the details that need to be |
21 | filled in before PuTTY can open a session at all. |
22 | |
d60c975d |
23 | \b The \q{Host Name} box is where you type the name, or the IP |
55ba634a |
24 | address, of the server you want to connect to. |
25 | |
d60c975d |
26 | \b The \q{Protocol} radio buttons let you choose what type of |
350ee898 |
27 | connection you want to make: a raw connection, a Telnet connection, an |
add788fc |
28 | rlogin connection or an SSH connection. (See \k{which-one} for a |
29 | summary of the differences between SSH, Telnet and rlogin.) |
55ba634a |
30 | |
d60c975d |
31 | \b The \q{Port} box lets you specify which port number on the server |
350ee898 |
32 | to connect to. If you select Telnet, Rlogin, or SSH, this box will be |
33 | filled in automatically to the usual value, and you will only need to |
55ba634a |
34 | change it if you have an unusual server. If you select Raw mode, you |
d60c975d |
35 | will almost certainly need to fill in the \q{Port} box. |
55ba634a |
36 | |
37 | \S{config-saving} Loading and storing saved sessions |
38 | |
39 | The next part of the Session configuration panel allows you to save |
40 | your preferred PuTTY options so they will appear automatically the |
41 | next time you start PuTTY. It also allows you to create \e{saved |
42 | sessions}, which contain a full set of configuration options plus a |
43 | host name and protocol. A saved session contains all the information |
44 | PuTTY needs to start exactly the session you want. |
45 | |
46 | \b To save your default settings: first set up the settings the way |
47 | you want them saved. Then come back to the Session panel. Select the |
48 | \q{Default Settings} entry in the saved sessions list, with a single |
d60c975d |
49 | click. Then press the \q{Save} button. |
55ba634a |
50 | |
e0cff44d |
51 | Note that PuTTY does not allow you to save a host name into the |
52 | Default Settings entry. This ensures that when PuTTY is started up, |
53 | the host name box is always empty, so a user can always just type in |
54 | a host name and connect. |
55 | |
56 | If there is a specific host you want to store the details of how to |
57 | connect to, you should create a saved session, which will be |
58 | separate from the Default Settings. |
59 | |
55ba634a |
60 | \b To save a session: first go through the rest of the configuration |
61 | box setting up all the options you want. Then come back to the |
d60c975d |
62 | Session panel. Enter a name for the saved session in the \q{Saved |
55ba634a |
63 | Sessions} input box. (The server name is often a good choice for a |
d60c975d |
64 | saved session name.) Then press the \q{Save} button. Your saved |
55ba634a |
65 | session name should now appear in the list box. |
66 | |
67 | \b To reload a saved session: single-click to select the session |
d60c975d |
68 | name in the list box, and then press the \q{Load} button. Your saved |
55ba634a |
69 | settings should all appear in the configuration panel. |
70 | |
71 | \b To modify a saved session: first load it as described above. Then |
72 | make the changes you want. Come back to the Session panel, |
73 | single-click to select the session name in the list box, and press |
d60c975d |
74 | the \q{Save} button. The new settings will be saved over the top of |
55ba634a |
75 | the old ones. |
76 | |
77 | \b To start a saved session immediately: double-click on the session |
78 | name in the list box. |
79 | |
80 | \b To delete a saved session: single-click to select the session |
d60c975d |
81 | name in the list box, and then press the \q{Delete} button. |
55ba634a |
82 | |
83 | Each saved session is independent of the Default Settings |
84 | configuration. If you change your preferences and update Default |
85 | Settings, you must also update every saved session separately. |
86 | |
87 | \S{config-closeonexit} \q{Close Window on Exit} |
88 | |
add788fc |
89 | Finally in the Session panel, there is an option labelled \q{Close |
90 | Window on Exit}. This controls whether the PuTTY session window |
91 | disappears as soon as the session inside it terminates. If you are |
92 | likely to want to copy and paste text out of the session after it |
93 | has terminated, you should arrange this option to be off. |
94 | |
95 | \q{Close Window On Exit} has three settings. \q{Always} means always |
96 | close the window on exit; \q{Never} means never close on exit |
97 | (always leave the window open). The third setting, and the default |
98 | one, is \q{Only on clean exit}. In this mode, a session which |
99 | terminates normally will cause its window to close, but one which is |
100 | aborted unexpectedly by network trouble or a confusing message from |
101 | the server will leave the window up. |
102 | |
103 | \H{config-logging} The Logging panel |
104 | |
105 | The Logging configuration panel allows you to save log files of your |
106 | PuTTY sessions, for debugging, analysis or future reference. |
107 | |
108 | The main option is a radio-button set that specifies whether PuTTY |
109 | will log anything at all. The options are |
110 | |
111 | \b \q{Logging turned off completely}. This is the default option; in |
112 | this mode PuTTY will not create a log file at all. |
113 | |
114 | \b \q{Log printable output only}. In this mode, a log file will be |
115 | created and written to, but only printable text will be saved into |
116 | it. The various terminal control codes that are typically sent down |
117 | an interactive session alongside the printable text will be omitted. |
118 | This might be a useful mode if you want to read a log file in a text |
119 | editor and hope to be able to make sense of it. |
120 | |
121 | \b \q{Log all session output}. In this mode, \e{everything} sent by |
122 | the server into your terminal session is logged. If you view the log |
123 | file in a text editor, therefore, you may well find it full of |
124 | strange control characters. This is a particularly useful mode if |
125 | you are experiencing problems with PuTTY's terminal handling: you |
126 | can record everything that went to the terminal, so that someone |
127 | else can replay the session later in slow motion and watch to see |
128 | what went wrong. |
129 | |
130 | \S{config-logfilename} \q{Log file name} |
131 | |
132 | In this edit box you enter the name of the file you want to log the |
133 | session to. The \q{Browse} button will let you look around your file |
134 | system to find the right place to put the file; or if you already |
135 | know exactly where you want it to go, you can just type a pathname |
136 | into the edit box. |
137 | |
138 | There are a few special features in this box. If you use the \c{&} |
139 | character in the file name box, PuTTY will insert details of the |
140 | current session in the name of the file it actually opens. The |
141 | precise replacements it will do are: |
142 | |
143 | \b \c{&Y} will be replaced by the current year, as four digits. |
144 | |
145 | \b \c{&M} will be replaced by the current month, as two digits. |
146 | |
147 | \b \c{&D} will be replaced by the current day of the month, as two |
148 | digits. |
149 | |
150 | \b \c{&T} will be replaced by the current time, as six digits |
151 | (HHMMSS) with no punctuation. |
152 | |
153 | \b \c{&H} will be replaced by the host name you are connecting to. |
154 | |
155 | For example, if you enter the host name |
156 | \c{c:\\puttylogs\\log-&h-&y&m&d-&t.dat}, you will end up with files looking |
157 | like |
158 | |
159 | \c log-server1.example.com-20010528-110859.dat |
160 | \c log-unixbox.somewhere.org-20010611-221001.dat |
161 | |
162 | \S{config-logfileexists} \q{What to do if the log file already exists} |
163 | |
164 | This control allows you to specify what PuTTY should do if it tries |
165 | to start writing to a log file and it finds the file already exists. |
166 | You might want to automatically destroy the existing log file and |
167 | start a new one with the same name. Alternatively, you might want to |
168 | open the existing log file and add data to the \e{end} of it. |
169 | Finally (the default option), you might not want to have any |
170 | automatic behaviour, but to ask the user every time the problem |
171 | comes up. |
55ba634a |
172 | |
173 | \H{config-terminal} The Terminal panel |
174 | |
175 | The Terminal configuration panel allows you to control the behaviour |
176 | of PuTTY's terminal emulation. |
177 | |
178 | \S{config-autowrap} \q{Auto wrap mode initially on} |
179 | |
180 | Auto wrap mode controls what happens when text printed in a PuTTY |
181 | window reaches the right-hand edge of the window. |
182 | |
183 | With auto wrap mode on, if a long line of text reaches the |
184 | right-hand edge, it will wrap over on to the next line so you can |
185 | still see all the text. With auto wrap mode off, the cursor will |
186 | stay at the right-hand edge of the screen, and all the characters in |
187 | the line will be printed on top of each other. |
188 | |
189 | If you are running a full-screen application and you occasionally |
190 | find the screen scrolling up when it looks as if it shouldn't, you |
191 | could try turning this option off. |
192 | |
193 | Auto wrap mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by |
194 | the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default} |
d60c975d |
195 | state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \q{Change |
55ba634a |
196 | Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before |
197 | the change takes effect. |
198 | |
199 | \S{config-decom} \q{DEC Origin Mode initially on} |
200 | |
201 | DEC Origin Mode is a minor option which controls how PuTTY |
202 | interprets cursor-position control sequences sent by the server. |
203 | |
204 | The server can send a control sequence that restricts the scrolling |
205 | region of the display. For example, in an editor, the server might |
206 | reserve a line at the top of the screen and a line at the bottom, |
207 | and might send a control sequence that causes scrolling operations |
208 | to affect only the remaining lines. |
209 | |
210 | With DEC Origin Mode on, cursor coordinates are counted from the top |
211 | of the scrolling region. With it turned off, cursor coordinates are |
212 | counted from the top of the whole screen regardless of the scrolling |
213 | region. |
214 | |
215 | It is unlikely you would need to change this option, but if you find |
216 | a full-screen application is displaying pieces of text in what looks |
217 | like the wrong part of the screen, you could try turning DEC Origin |
218 | Mode on to see whether that helps. |
219 | |
220 | DEC Origin Mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by |
221 | the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default} |
d60c975d |
222 | state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \q{Change |
55ba634a |
223 | Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before |
224 | the change takes effect. |
225 | |
226 | \S{config-crlf} \q{Implicit CR in every LF} |
227 | |
228 | Most servers send two control characters, CR and LF, to start a new |
229 | line of the screen. The CR character makes the cursor return to the |
230 | left-hand side of the screen. The LF character makes the cursor move |
231 | one line down (and might make the screen scroll). |
232 | |
233 | Some servers only send LF, and expect the terminal to move the |
234 | cursor over to the left automatically. If you come across a server |
235 | that does this, you will see a stepped effect on the screen, like |
236 | this: |
237 | |
238 | \c First line of text |
239 | \c Second line |
240 | \c Third line |
241 | |
242 | If this happens to you, try enabling the \q{Implicit CR in every LF} |
243 | option, and things might go back to normal: |
244 | |
245 | \c First line of text |
246 | \c Second line |
247 | \c Third line |
248 | |
55ba634a |
249 | \S{config-erase} \q{Use background colour to erase screen} |
250 | |
251 | Not all terminals agree on what colour to turn the screen when the |
252 | server sends a \q{clear screen} sequence. Some terminals believe the |
253 | screen should always be cleared to the \e{default} background |
254 | colour. Others believe the screen should be cleared to whatever the |
255 | server has selected as a background colour. |
256 | |
257 | There exist applications that expect both kinds of behaviour. |
258 | Therefore, PuTTY can be configured to do either. |
259 | |
260 | With this option disabled, screen clearing is always done in the |
261 | default background colour. With this option enabled, it is done in |
262 | the \e{current} background colour. |
263 | |
264 | \S{config-blink} \q{Enable blinking text} |
265 | |
266 | The server can ask PuTTY to display text that blinks on and off. |
267 | This is very distracting, so PuTTY allows you to turn blinking text |
268 | off completely. |
269 | |
a5a6cb30 |
270 | \S{config-answerback} \q{Answerback to ^E} |
271 | |
272 | This option controls what PuTTY will send back to the server if the |
273 | server sends it the ^E enquiry character. Normally it just sends |
274 | the string \q{PuTTY}. |
275 | |
add788fc |
276 | \S{config-localecho} \q{Local echo} |
55ba634a |
277 | |
add788fc |
278 | With local echo disabled, characters you type into the PuTTY window |
279 | are not echoed in the window \e{by PuTTY}. They are simply sent to |
280 | the server. (The \e{server} might choose to echo them back to you; |
281 | this can't be controlled from the PuTTY control panel.) |
55ba634a |
282 | |
add788fc |
283 | Some types of session need local echo, and many do not. In its |
284 | default mode, PuTTY will automatically attempt to deduce whether or |
285 | not local echo is appropriate for the session you are working in. If |
286 | you find it has made the wrong decision, you can use this |
287 | configuration option to override its choice: you can force local |
288 | echo to be turned on, or force it to be turned off, instead of |
289 | relying on the automatic detection. |
55ba634a |
290 | |
add788fc |
291 | \S{config-localedit} \q{Local line editing} |
55ba634a |
292 | |
add788fc |
293 | Normally, every character you type into the PuTTY window is sent |
294 | immediately to the server the moment you type it. |
295 | |
296 | If you enable local line editing, this changes. PuTTY will let you |
297 | edit a whole line at a time locally, and the line will only be sent |
298 | to the server when you press Return. If you make a mistake, you can |
299 | use the Backspace key to correct it before you press Return, and the |
300 | server will never see the mistake. |
301 | |
302 | Since it is hard to edit a line locally without being able to see |
303 | it, local line editing is mostly used in conjunction with local echo |
304 | (\k{config-localecho}). This makes it ideal for use in raw mode |
305 | \#{FIXME} or when connecting to MUDs or talkers. (Although some more |
306 | advanced MUDs do occasionally turn local line editing on and turn |
307 | local echo off, in order to accept a password from the user.) |
308 | |
309 | Some types of session need local line editing, and many do not. In |
310 | its default mode, PuTTY will automatically attempt to deduce whether |
311 | or not local line editing is appropriate for the session you are |
312 | working in. If you find it has made the wrong decision, you can use |
313 | this configuration option to override its choice: you can force |
314 | local line editing to be turned on, or force it to be turned off, |
315 | instead of relying on the automatic detection. |
55ba634a |
316 | |
55ba634a |
317 | \H{config-keyboard} The Keyboard panel |
318 | |
1630bb61 |
319 | The Keyboard configuration panel allows you to control the behaviour |
320 | of the keyboard in PuTTY. |
321 | |
55ba634a |
322 | \S{config-backspace} Changing the action of the Backspace key |
323 | |
1630bb61 |
324 | Some terminals believe that the Backspace key should send the same |
325 | thing to the server as Control-H (ASCII code 8). Other terminals |
326 | believe that the Backspace key should send ASCII code 127 (usually |
327 | known as Control-?) so that it can be distinguished from Control-H. |
328 | This option allows you to choose which code PuTTY generates when you |
329 | press Backspace. |
330 | |
331 | If you are connecting to a Unix system, you will probably find that |
332 | the Unix \c{stty} command lets you configure which the server |
333 | expects to see, so you might not need to change which one PuTTY |
334 | generates. On other systems, the server's expectation might be fixed |
335 | and you might have no choice but to configure PuTTY. |
336 | |
337 | If you do have the choice, we recommend configuring PuTTY to |
338 | generate Control-? and configuring the server to expect it, because |
339 | that allows applications such as \c{emacs} to use Control-H for |
340 | help. |
341 | |
55ba634a |
342 | \S{config-homeend} Changing the action of the Home and End keys |
343 | |
1630bb61 |
344 | The Unix terminal emulator \c{rxvt} disagrees with the rest of the |
345 | world about what character sequences should be sent to the server by |
346 | the Home and End keys. |
347 | |
348 | \c{xterm}, and other terminals, send \c{ESC [1~} for the Home key, |
349 | and \c{ESC [4~} for the End key. \c{rxvt} sends \c{ESC [H} for the |
350 | Home key and \c{ESC [Ow} for the End key. |
351 | |
352 | If you find an application on which the Home and End keys aren't |
353 | working, you could try switching this option to see if it helps. |
354 | |
55ba634a |
355 | \S{config-funkeys} Changing the action of the function keys and keypad |
356 | |
1630bb61 |
357 | This option affects the function keys (F1 to F12) and the top row of |
358 | the numeric keypad. |
359 | |
360 | \b In the default mode, labelled \c{ESC [n~}, the function keys |
361 | generate sequences like \c{ESC [11~}, \c{ESC [12~} and so on. This |
362 | matches the general behaviour of Digital's terminals. |
363 | |
364 | \b In Linux mode, F6 to F12 behave just like the default mode, but |
365 | F1 to F5 generate \c{ESC [[A} through to \c{ESC [[E}. This mimics the |
366 | Linux virtual console. |
367 | |
368 | \b In Xterm R6 mode, F5 to F12 behave like the default mode, but F1 |
369 | to F4 generate \c{ESC OP} through to \c{ESC OS}, which are the |
370 | sequences produced by the top row of the \e{keypad} on Digital's |
371 | terminals. |
372 | |
373 | \b In VT400 mode, all the function keys behave like the default |
374 | mode, but the actual top row of the numeric keypad generates \c{ESC |
375 | OP} through to \c{ESC OS}. |
376 | |
350ee898 |
377 | \b In VT100+ mode, the function keys generate \c{ESC OP} through to |
378 | \c{ESC O[} |
379 | |
380 | \b In SCO mode, the function keys F1 to F12 generate \c{ESC [M} |
381 | through to \c{ESC [X}. Together with shift, they generate \c{ESC [Y} |
382 | through to \c{ESC [j}. With control they generate \c{ESC [k} through |
383 | to \c{ESC [v}, and with shift and control together they generate |
384 | \c{ESC [w} through to \c{ESC [\{}. |
385 | |
1630bb61 |
386 | If you don't know what any of this means, you probably don't need to |
387 | fiddle with it. |
388 | |
55ba634a |
389 | \S{config-appcursor} Controlling Application Cursor Keys mode |
390 | |
1630bb61 |
391 | Application Cursor Keys mode is a way for the server to change the |
392 | control sequences sent by the arrow keys. In normal mode, the arrow |
393 | keys send \c{ESC [A} through to \c{ESC [D}. In application mode, |
394 | they send \c{ESC OA} through to \c{ESC OD}. |
395 | |
396 | Application Cursor Keys mode can be turned on and off by the server, |
397 | depending on the application. PuTTY allows you to configure the |
398 | initial state, and also allows you to disable application mode |
399 | completely. |
400 | |
55ba634a |
401 | \S{config-appkeypad} Controlling Application Keypad mode |
402 | |
1630bb61 |
403 | Application Keypad mode is a way for the server to change the |
404 | behaviour of the numeric keypad. |
405 | |
406 | In normal mode, the keypad behaves like a normal Windows keypad: |
407 | with NumLock on, the number keys generate numbers, and with NumLock |
408 | off they act like the arrow keys and Home, End etc. |
409 | |
410 | In application mode, all the keypad keys send special control |
411 | sequences, \e{including} Num Lock. Num Lock stops behaving like Num |
412 | Lock and becomes another function key. |
413 | |
414 | Depending on which version of Windows you run, you may find the Num |
415 | Lock light still flashes on and off every time you press Num Lock, |
416 | even when application mode is active and Num Lock is acting like a |
417 | function key. This is unavoidable. |
418 | |
419 | Application keypad mode can be turned on and off by the server, |
420 | depending on the application. PuTTY allows you to configure the |
421 | initial state, and also allows you to disable application mode |
422 | completely. |
423 | |
55ba634a |
424 | \S{config-nethack} Using NetHack keypad mode |
425 | |
1630bb61 |
426 | PuTTY has a special mode for playing NetHack. You can enable it by |
427 | selecting \q{NetHack} in the \q{Initial state of numeric keypad} |
428 | control. |
429 | |
430 | In this mode, the numeric keypad keys 1-9 generate the NetHack |
431 | movement commands (\cw{hjklyubn}). The 5 key generates the \c{.} |
432 | command (do nothing). |
433 | |
434 | Better still, pressing Shift with the keypad keys generates the |
435 | capital forms of the commands (\cw{HJKLYUBN}), which tells NetHack |
436 | to keep moving you in the same direction until you encounter |
437 | something interesting. |
438 | |
439 | For some reason, this feature only works properly when Num Lock is |
440 | on. We don't know why. |
441 | |
55ba634a |
442 | \S{config-compose} Enabling a DEC-like Compose key |
443 | |
1630bb61 |
444 | DEC terminals have a Compose key, which provides an easy-to-remember |
445 | way of typing accented characters. You press Compose and then type |
446 | two more characters. The two characters are \q{combined} to produce |
447 | an accented character. The choices of character are designed to be |
448 | easy to remember; for example, composing \q{e} and \q{`} produces |
449 | the \q{\u00e8{e-grave}} character. |
450 | |
451 | If you enable the \q{Application and AltGr act as Compose key} |
452 | option, the Windows Application key and the AltGr key will both have |
453 | this behaviour. |
454 | |
add788fc |
455 | \S{config-ctrlalt} \q{Control-Alt is different from AltGr} |
b5752f1b |
456 | |
add788fc |
457 | Some old keyboards do not have an AltGr key, which can make it |
458 | difficult to type some characters. PuTTY can be configured to treat |
459 | the key combination Ctrl + Left Alt the same way as the AltGr key. |
b5752f1b |
460 | |
add788fc |
461 | By default, this checkbox is checked, and the key combination Ctrl + |
462 | Left Alt does something completely different. PuTTY's usual handling |
463 | of the left Alt key is to prefix the Escape (Control-\cw{[}) |
464 | character to whatever character sequence the rest of the keypress |
465 | would generate. For example, Alt-A generates Escape followed by |
466 | \c{a}. So Alt-Ctrl-A would generate Escape, followed by Control-A. |
b5752f1b |
467 | |
add788fc |
468 | If you uncheck this box, Ctrl-Alt will become a synonym for AltGr, |
469 | so you can use it to type extra graphic characters if your keyboard |
470 | has any. |
b5752f1b |
471 | |
a5a6cb30 |
472 | \H{config-bell} The Bell panel |
473 | |
474 | The Bell panel controls the terminal bell feature: the server's |
475 | ability to cause PuTTY to beep at you. |
476 | |
477 | In the default configuration, when the server sends the character |
478 | with ASCII code 7 (Control-G), PuTTY will play the Windows Default |
479 | Beep sound. This is not always what you want the terminal bell |
480 | feature to do; the Bell panel allows you to configure alternative |
481 | actions. |
482 | |
483 | \S{config-bellstyle} \q{Set the style of bell} |
484 | |
485 | This control allows you to select various different actions to occur |
486 | on a terminal bell: |
487 | |
488 | \b Selecting \q{None} disables the bell completely. In this mode, |
489 | the server can send as many Control-G characters as it likes and |
490 | nothing at all will happen. |
491 | |
492 | \b \q{Play Windows Default Sound} is the default setting. It causes |
493 | the Windows \q{Default Beep} sound to be played. To change what this |
494 | sound is, or to test it if nothing seems to be happening, use the |
495 | Sound configurer in the Windows Control Panel. |
496 | |
497 | \b \q{Play a custom sound file} allows you to specify a particular |
498 | sound file to be used by PuTTY alone, or even by a particular |
499 | individual PuTTY session. This allows you to distinguish your PuTTY |
500 | beeps from any other beeps on the system. If you select this option, |
501 | you will also need to enter the name of your sound file in the edit |
502 | control \q{Custom sound file to play as a bell}. |
503 | |
504 | \b \q{Visual bell} is a silent alternative to a beeping computer. In |
505 | this mode, when the server sends a Control-G, the whole PuTTY window |
506 | will flash white for a fraction of a second. |
507 | |
508 | \S{config-belltaskbar} \q{Taskbar/caption indication on bell} |
509 | |
510 | This feature controls what happens to the PuTTY window's entry in |
511 | the Windows Taskbar if a bell occurs while the window does not have |
512 | the input focus. |
513 | |
514 | In the default state (\q{Disabled}) nothing unusual happens. |
515 | |
516 | If you select \q{Steady}, then when a bell occurs and the window is |
517 | not in focus, the window's Taskbar entry and its title bar will |
518 | change colour to let you know that PuTTY session is asking for your |
519 | attention. The change of colour will persist until you select the |
520 | window, so you can leave several PuTTY windows minimised in your |
521 | terminal, go away from your keyboard, and be sure not to have missed |
522 | any important beeps when you get back. |
523 | |
524 | \q{Flashing} is even more eye-catching: the Taskbar entry will |
525 | continuously flash on and off until you select the window. |
526 | |
527 | \S{config-bellovl} \q{Control the bell overload behaviour} |
528 | |
529 | A common user error in a terminal session is to accidentally run the |
530 | Unix command \c{cat} (or equivalent) on an inappropriate file type, |
531 | such as an executable, image file, or ZIP file. This produces a huge |
532 | stream of non-text characters sent to the terminal, which typically |
533 | includes a lot of bell characters. As a result of this the terminal |
534 | often doesn't stop beeping for ten minutes, and everybody else in |
535 | the office gets annoyed. |
536 | |
537 | To try to avoid this behaviour, or any other cause of excessive |
538 | beeping, PuTTY includes a bell overload management feature. In the |
539 | default configuration, receiving more than five bell characters in a |
540 | two-second period will cause the overload feature to activate. Once |
541 | the overload feature is active, further bells will have no effect at |
542 | all, so the rest of your binary file will be sent to the screen in |
543 | silence. After a period of five seconds during which no further |
544 | bells are received, the overload feature will turn itself off again |
545 | and bells will be re-enabled. |
546 | |
547 | If you want this feature completely disabled, you can turn it off |
548 | using the checkbox \q{Bell is temporarily disabled when over-used}. |
549 | |
550 | Alternatively, if you like the bell overload feature but don't agree |
551 | with the settings, you can configure the details: how many bells |
552 | constitute an overload, how short a time period they have to arrive |
553 | in to do so, and how much silent time is required before the |
554 | overload feature will deactivate itself. |
555 | |
55ba634a |
556 | \H{config-window} The Window panel |
557 | |
1630bb61 |
558 | The Window configuration panel allows you to control aspects of the |
a5a6cb30 |
559 | PuTTY window. |
1630bb61 |
560 | |
55ba634a |
561 | \S{config-winsize} Setting the size of the PuTTY window |
562 | |
d60c975d |
563 | The \q{Rows} and \q{Columns} boxes let you set the PuTTY window to a |
1630bb61 |
564 | precise size. Of course you can also drag the window to a new size |
565 | while a session is running. |
566 | |
a5a6cb30 |
567 | \S{config-winsizelock} What to do when the window is resized |
add788fc |
568 | |
569 | These options allow you to control what happens when the user tries |
570 | to resize the PuTTY window. |
571 | |
a5a6cb30 |
572 | When you resize the PuTTY window, one of four things can happen: |
add788fc |
573 | |
574 | \b Nothing (if you have completely disabled resizes). |
575 | |
576 | \b The font size can stay the same and the number of rows and |
577 | columns in the terminal can change. |
578 | |
579 | \b The number of rows and columns in the terminal can stay the same, |
580 | and the font size can change. |
581 | |
a5a6cb30 |
582 | \b You can allow PuTTY to change \e{either} the terminal size or the |
583 | font size. In this mode it will change the terminal size most of the |
584 | time, but enlarge the font when you maximise the window. |
585 | |
add788fc |
586 | You can control which of these happens using the \q{Lock terminal |
587 | size against resizing} and \q{Lock font size against resizing} |
588 | options. If you lock both, the window will refuse to be resized at |
589 | all. If you lock just the terminal size, the font size will change |
590 | when you resize the window. If you lock just the font size, the |
591 | terminal size will change when you resize the window. |
1630bb61 |
592 | |
55ba634a |
593 | \S{config-scrollback} Controlling scrollback |
594 | |
fc5a8711 |
595 | These options let you configure the way PuTTY keeps text after it |
596 | scrolls off the top of the screen (see \k{using-scrollback}). |
1630bb61 |
597 | |
598 | The \q{Lines of scrollback} box lets you configure how many lines of |
a5a6cb30 |
599 | text PuTTY keeps. The \q{Display scrollbar} options allow you to |
1630bb61 |
600 | hide the scrollbar (although you can still view the scrollback using |
a5a6cb30 |
601 | Shift-PgUp and Shift-PgDn). You can separately configure whether the |
602 | scrollbar is shown in full-screen mode and in normal modes. |
1630bb61 |
603 | |
604 | If you are viewing part of the scrollback when the server sends more |
605 | text to PuTTY, the screen will revert to showing the current |
606 | terminal contents. You can disable this behaviour by turning off |
607 | \q{Reset scrollback on display activity}. You can also make the |
608 | screen revert when you press a key, by turning on \q{Reset |
609 | scrollback on keypress}. |
610 | |
55ba634a |
611 | \H{config-appearance} The Appearance panel |
612 | |
1630bb61 |
613 | The Appearance configuration panel allows you to control aspects of |
a5a6cb30 |
614 | the appearance of PuTTY's window. |
1630bb61 |
615 | |
55ba634a |
616 | \S{config-cursor} Controlling the appearance of the cursor |
617 | |
26c8f51a |
618 | The \q{Cursor appearance} option lets you configure the cursor to be |
619 | a block, an underline, or a vertical line. A block cursor becomes an |
620 | empty box when the window loses focus; an underline or a vertical |
621 | line becomes dotted. |
622 | |
623 | The \q{Cursor blinks} option makes the cursor blink on and off. This |
624 | works in any of the cursor modes. |
55ba634a |
625 | |
626 | \S{config-font} Controlling the font used in the terminal window |
627 | |
add788fc |
628 | This option allows you to choose what font, in what size, the PuTTY |
629 | terminal window uses to display the text in the session. You will be |
630 | offered a choice from all the fixed-width fonts installed on the |
631 | system. (VT100-style terminal handling can only deal with fixed- |
632 | width fonts.) |
26c8f51a |
633 | |
55ba634a |
634 | \S{config-title} Controlling the window title |
635 | |
add788fc |
636 | The \q{Window title} edit box allows you to set the title of the |
637 | PuTTY window. By default the window title will contain the host name |
638 | followed by \q{PuTTY}, for example \c{server1.example.com - PuTTY}. |
639 | If you want a different window title, this is where to set it. |
640 | |
641 | PuTTY allows the server to send \c{xterm} control sequences which |
642 | modify the title of the window in mid-session. There is also an |
643 | \c{xterm} sequence to modify the title of the window's \e{icon}. |
644 | This makes sense in a windowing system where the window becomes an |
645 | icon when minimised, such as Windows 3.1 or most X Window System |
646 | setups; but in the Windows 95-like user interface it isn't as |
647 | applicable. By default PuTTY's window title and Taskbar caption will |
648 | change into the server-supplied icon title if you minimise the PuTTY |
649 | window, and change back to the server-supplied window title if you |
650 | restore it. (If the server has not bothered to supply a window or |
651 | icon title, none of this will happen.) By checking the box marked |
652 | \q{Avoid ever using icon title}, you can arrange that PuTTY will |
653 | always display the window title, and completely ignore any icon |
654 | titles the server sends it. |
655 | |
656 | \S{config-mouseptr} \q{Hide mouse pointer when typing in window} |
657 | |
658 | If you enable this option, the mouse pointer will disappear if the |
659 | PuTTY window is selected and you press a key. This way, it will not |
660 | obscure any of the text in the window while you work in your |
661 | session. As soon as you move the mouse, the pointer will reappear. |
662 | |
663 | This option is disabled by default, so the mouse pointer remains |
664 | visible at all times. |
665 | |
666 | \S{config-winborder} Controlling the window border |
667 | |
668 | PuTTY allows you to configure the appearance of the window border to |
669 | some extent. |
670 | |
671 | The checkbox marked \q{Sunken-edge border} changes the appearance of |
672 | the window border to something more like a DOS box: the inside edge |
673 | of the border is highlighted as if it sank down to meet the surface |
674 | inside the window. This makes the border a little bit thicker as |
675 | well. It's hard to describe well. Try it and see if you like it. |
676 | |
677 | You can also configure a completely blank gap between the text in |
678 | the window and the border, using the \q{Gap between text and window |
679 | edge} control. By default this is set at one pixel. You can reduce |
680 | it to zero, or increase it further. |
681 | |
a5a6cb30 |
682 | \H{config-behaviour} The Behaviour panel |
683 | |
684 | The Behaviour configuration panel allows you to control aspects of |
685 | the behaviour of PuTTY's window. |
686 | |
687 | \S{config-warnonclose} \q{Warn before closing window} |
688 | |
689 | If you press the Close button in a PuTTY window that contains a |
690 | running session, PuTTY will put up a warning window asking if you |
691 | really meant to close the window. A window whose session has already |
692 | terminated can always be closed without a warning. |
693 | |
694 | If you want to be able to close a window quickly, you can disable |
695 | the \q{Warn before closing window} option. |
696 | |
697 | \S{config-altf4} \q{Window closes on ALT-F4} |
698 | |
699 | By default, pressing ALT-F4 causes the window to close (or a warning |
700 | box to appear; see \k{config-warnonclose}). If you disable the |
701 | \q{Window closes on ALT-F4} option, then pressing ALT-F4 will simply |
702 | send a key sequence to the server. |
703 | |
704 | \S{config-altspace} \q{System menu appears on ALT-Space} |
705 | |
706 | If this option is enabled, then pressing ALT-Space will bring up the |
707 | PuTTY window's menu, like clicking on the top left corner. If it is |
708 | disabled, then pressing ALT-Space will just send \c{ESC SPACE} to |
709 | the server. |
710 | |
711 | Some accessibility programs for Windows may need this option |
712 | enabling to be able to control PuTTY's window successfully. For |
713 | instance, Dragon NaturallySpeaking requires it both to open the |
714 | system menu via voice, and to close, minimise, maximise and restore |
715 | the window. |
716 | |
717 | \S{config-altonly} \q{System menu appears on Alt alone} |
718 | |
719 | If this option is enabled, then pressing and releasing ALT will |
720 | bring up the PuTTY window's menu, like clicking on the top left |
721 | corner. If it is disabled, then pressing and releasing ALT will have |
722 | no effect. |
723 | |
724 | \S{config-alwaysontop} \q{Ensure window is always on top} |
725 | |
726 | If this option is enabled, the PuTTY window will stay on top of all |
727 | other windows. |
728 | |
729 | \S{config-fullscreen} \q{Full screen on Alt-Enter} |
730 | |
731 | If this option is enabled, then pressing Alt-Enter will cause the |
732 | PuTTY window to become full-screen. (See \k{using-fullscreen}). |
733 | Pressing Alt-Enter again will restore the previous window size. |
734 | |
55ba634a |
735 | \H{config-translation} The Translation panel |
736 | |
1630bb61 |
737 | The Translation configuration panel allows you to control the |
738 | translation between the character set understood by the server and |
739 | the character set understood by PuTTY. |
740 | |
add788fc |
741 | \S{config-charset} Controlling character set translation |
742 | |
743 | During an interactive session, PuTTY receives a stream of 8-bit |
744 | bytes from the server, and in order to display them on the screen it |
745 | needs to know what character set to interpret them in. |
746 | |
747 | There are a lot of character sets to choose from. The \q{Received |
748 | data assumed to be in which character set} option lets you select |
749 | one. By default PuTTY will attempt to choose a character set that is |
750 | right for your locale as reported by Windows; if it gets it wrong, |
751 | you can select a different one using this control. |
752 | |
753 | A few notable character sets are: |
754 | |
755 | \b The ISO-8859 series are all standard character sets that include |
756 | various accented characters appropriate for different sets of |
757 | languages. |
55ba634a |
758 | |
add788fc |
759 | \b The Win125x series are defined by Microsoft, for similar |
760 | purposes. In particular Win1252 is almost equivalent to ISO-8859-1, |
761 | but contains a few extra characters such as matched quotes and the |
762 | Euro symbol. |
55ba634a |
763 | |
add788fc |
764 | \b If you want the old IBM PC character set with block graphics and |
765 | line-drawing characters, you can select \q{CP437}. |
766 | |
767 | \b PuTTY also supports Unicode mode, in which the data coming from |
768 | the server is interpreted as being in the UTF-8 encoding of Unicode. |
769 | If you select \q{UTF-8} as a character set you can use this mode. |
770 | Not all server-side applications will support it. |
771 | |
772 | \S{config-cyr} \q{Caps Lock acts as Cyrillic switch} |
773 | |
774 | This feature allows you to switch between a US/UK keyboard layout |
775 | and a Cyrillic keyboard layout by using the Caps Lock key, if you |
776 | need to type (for example) Russian and English side by side in the |
777 | same document. |
778 | |
779 | Currently this feature is not expected to work properly if your |
780 | native keyboard layout is not US or UK. |
781 | |
782 | \S{config-linedraw} Controlling display of line drawing characters |
783 | |
784 | VT100-series terminals allow the server to send control sequences |
785 | that shift temporarily into a separate character set for drawing |
786 | lines and boxes. PuTTY has a variety of ways to support this |
787 | capability. In general you should probably try lots of options until |
788 | you find one that your particular font supports. |
789 | |
790 | \b \q{Font has XWindows encoding} is for use with fonts that have a |
791 | special encoding, where the lowest 32 character positions (below the |
792 | ASCII printable range) contain the line-drawing characters. This is |
793 | unlikely to be the case with any standard Windows font; it will |
794 | probably only apply to custom-built fonts or fonts that have been |
795 | automatically converted from the X Window System. |
796 | |
797 | \b \q{Use font in both ANSI and OEM modes} tries to use the same |
798 | font in two different character sets, to obtain a wider range of |
799 | characters. This doesn't always work; some fonts claim to be a |
800 | different size depending on which character set you try to use. |
801 | |
802 | \b \q{Use font in OEM mode only} is more reliable than that, but can |
803 | miss out other characters from the main character set. |
804 | |
805 | \b \q{Poor man's line drawing} assumes that the font \e{cannot} |
806 | generate the line and box characters at all, so it will use the |
807 | \c{+}, \c{-} and \c{|} characters to draw approximations to boxes. |
808 | You should use this option if none of the other options works. |
809 | |
810 | \b \q{Unicode mode} tries to use the box characters that are present |
811 | in Unicode. For good Unicode-supporting fonts this is probably the |
812 | most reliable and functional option. |
55ba634a |
813 | |
814 | \H{config-selection} The Selection panel |
815 | |
1630bb61 |
816 | The Selection panel allows you to control the way copy and paste |
817 | work in the PuTTY window. |
818 | |
add788fc |
819 | \S{config-linedrawpaste} Controlling the pasting of line drawing |
820 | characters |
821 | |
822 | By default, when you copy and paste a piece of the PuTTY screen that |
823 | contains VT100 line and box drawing characters, PuTTY will translate |
824 | them into the \q{poor man's} line-drawing characters \c{+}, \c{-} |
825 | and \c{|}. The checkbox \q{Don't translate line drawing chars} |
826 | disables this feature, so line-drawing characters will be pasted as |
827 | if they were in the normal character set. This will typically mean |
828 | they come out mostly as \c{q} and \c{x}, with a scattering of |
829 | \c{jklmntuvw} at the corners. This might be useful if you were |
830 | trying to recreate the same box layout in another program, for |
831 | example. |
832 | |
a5a6cb30 |
833 | \S{config-rtfpaste} Pasting in Rich Text Format |
834 | |
835 | If you enable \q{Paste to clipboard in RTF as well as plain text}, |
836 | PuTTY will write formatting information to the clipboard as well as |
837 | the actual text you copy. Currently the only effect of this will be |
838 | that if you paste into (say) a word processor, the text will appear |
839 | in the word processor in the same font PuTTY was using to display |
840 | it. In future it is likely that other formatting information (bold, |
841 | underline, colours) will be copied as well. |
842 | |
843 | This option can easily be inconvenient, so by default it is |
844 | disabled. |
845 | |
55ba634a |
846 | \S{config-mouse} Changing the actions of the mouse buttons |
847 | |
add788fc |
848 | PuTTY's copy and paste mechanism is modelled on the Unix \c{xterm} |
849 | application. The X Window System uses a three-button mouse, and the |
850 | convention is that the left button selects, the right button extends |
851 | an existing selection, and the middle button pastes. |
852 | |
853 | Windows typically only has two mouse buttons, so in PuTTY's default |
854 | configuration, the \e{right} button pastes, and the \e{middle} |
855 | button (if you have one) extends a selection. |
856 | |
857 | If you have a three-button mouse and you are already used to the |
858 | \c{xterm} arrangement, you can select it using the \q{Action of |
859 | mouse buttons} control. |
860 | |
861 | \S{config-mouseshift} \q{Shift overrides application's use of mouse} |
862 | |
863 | PuTTY allows the server to send control codes that let it take over |
864 | the mouse and use it for purposes other than copy and paste. |
865 | Applications which use this feature include the text-mode web |
866 | browser \c{links}, the Usenet newsreader \c{trn} version 4, and the |
867 | file manager \c{mc} (Midnight Commander). |
868 | |
869 | When running one of these applications, pressing the mouse buttons |
870 | no longer performs copy and paste. If you do need to copy and paste, |
871 | you can still do so if you hold down Shift while you do your mouse |
872 | clicks. |
873 | |
874 | However, it is possible in theory for applications to even detect |
875 | and make use of Shift + mouse clicks. We don't know of any |
876 | applications that do this, but in case someone ever writes one, |
877 | unchecking the \q{Shift overrides application's use of mouse} |
878 | checkbox will cause Shift + mouse clicks to go to the server as well |
879 | (so that mouse-driven copy and paste will be completely disabled). |
880 | |
a5a6cb30 |
881 | \S{config-rectselect} Default selection mode |
882 | |
883 | As described in \k{using-selection}, PuTTY has two modes of |
884 | selecting text to be copied to the clipboard. In the default mode |
885 | (\q{Normal}), dragging the mouse from point A to point B selects to |
886 | the end of the line containing A, all the lines in between, and from |
887 | the very beginning of the line containing B. In the other mode |
888 | (\q{Rectangular block}), dragging the mouse between two points |
889 | defines a rectangle, and everything within that rectangle is copied. |
890 | |
891 | Normally, you have to hold down Alt while dragging the mouse to |
892 | select a rectangular block. Using the \q{Default selection mode} |
893 | control, you can set rectangular selection as the default, and then |
894 | you have to hold down Alt to get the \e{normal} behaviour. |
895 | |
55ba634a |
896 | \S{config-charclasses} Configuring word-by-word selection |
897 | |
add788fc |
898 | PuTTY will select a word at a time in the terminal window if you |
899 | double-click to begin the drag. This panel allows you to control |
900 | precisely what is considered to be a word. |
901 | |
902 | Each character is given a \e{class}, which is a small number |
903 | (typically 0, 1 or 2). PuTTY considers a single word to be any |
904 | number of adjacent characters in the same class. So by modifying the |
905 | assignment of characters to classes, you can modify the word-by-word |
906 | selection behaviour. |
907 | |
908 | In the default configuration, the character classes are: |
909 | |
910 | \b Class 0 contains white space and control characters. |
911 | |
912 | \b Class 1 contains most punctuation. |
913 | |
914 | \b Class 2 contains letters, numbers and a few pieces of punctuation |
915 | (the double quote, minus sign, period, forward slash and |
916 | underscore). |
917 | |
918 | So, for example, if you assign the \c{@} symbol into character class |
919 | 2, you will be able to select an e-mail address with just a double |
920 | click. |
921 | |
922 | In order to adjust these assignments, you start by selecting a group |
923 | of characters in the list box. Then enter a class number in the edit |
924 | box below, and press the \q{Set} button. |
925 | |
926 | This mechanism currently only covers ASCII characters, because it |
927 | isn't feasible to expand the list to cover the whole of Unicode. |
928 | |
55ba634a |
929 | \H{config-colours} The Colours panel |
930 | |
1630bb61 |
931 | The Colours panel allows you to control PuTTY's use of colour. |
932 | |
55ba634a |
933 | \S{config-boldcolour} \q{Bolded text is a different colour} |
934 | |
add788fc |
935 | When the server sends a control sequence indicating that some text |
936 | should be displayed in bold, PuTTY can handle this two ways. It can |
937 | either change the font for a bold version, or use the same font in a |
938 | brighter colour. This control lets you choose which. |
939 | |
940 | By default the box is checked, so non-bold text is displayed in |
941 | light grey and bold text is displayed in bright white (and similarly |
942 | in other colours). If you uncheck the box, bold and non-bold text |
943 | will be displayed in the same colour, and instead the font will |
944 | change to indicate the difference. |
945 | |
55ba634a |
946 | \S{config-logpalette} \q{Attempt to use logical palettes} |
947 | |
add788fc |
948 | Logical palettes are a mechanism by which a Windows application |
949 | running on an 8-bit colour display can select precisely the colours |
950 | it wants instead of going with the Windows standard defaults. |
951 | |
952 | If you are not getting the colours you ask for on an 8-bit display, |
953 | you can try enabling this option. However, be warned that it's never |
954 | worked very well. |
955 | |
55ba634a |
956 | \S{config-colourcfg} Adjusting the colours in the terminal window |
957 | |
add788fc |
958 | The main colour control allows you to specify exactly what colours |
959 | things should be displayed in. To modify one of the PuTTY colours, |
960 | use the list box to select which colour you want to modify. The RGB |
961 | values for that colour will appear on the right-hand side of the |
962 | list box. Now, if you press the \q{Modify} button, you will be |
963 | presented with a colour selector, in which you can choose a new |
964 | colour to go in place of the old one. |
965 | |
966 | PuTTY allows you to set the cursor colour, the default foreground |
967 | and background, and the precise shades of all the ANSI configurable |
968 | colours (black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white). |
969 | In addition, if you have selected \q{Bolded text is a different |
970 | colour}, you can also modify the precise shades used for the bold |
971 | versions of these colours. |
972 | |
55ba634a |
973 | \H{config-connection} The Connection panel |
974 | |
1630bb61 |
975 | The Connection panel allows you to configure options that apply to |
976 | more than one type of connection. |
977 | |
55ba634a |
978 | \S{config-termtype} \q{Terminal-type string} |
979 | |
add788fc |
980 | Most servers you might connect to with PuTTY are designed to be |
981 | connected to from lots of different types of terminal. In order to |
982 | send the right control sequences to each one, the server will need |
983 | to know what type of terminal it is dealing with. Therefore, each of |
984 | the SSH, Telnet and Rlogin protocols allow a text string to be sent |
985 | down the connection describing the terminal. |
986 | |
987 | PuTTY attempts to emulate the Unix \c{xterm} program, and by default |
988 | it reflects this by sending \c{xterm} as a terminal-type string. If |
989 | you find this is not doing what you want - perhaps the remote |
990 | terminal reports \q{Unknown terminal type} - you could try setting |
991 | this to something different, such as \c{vt220}. |
992 | |
993 | If you're not sure whether a problem is due to the terminal type |
994 | setting or not, you probably need to consult the manual for your |
995 | application or your server. |
996 | |
55ba634a |
997 | \S{config-username} \q{Auto-login username} |
998 | |
add788fc |
999 | All three of the SSH, Telnet and Rlogin protocols allow you to |
1000 | specify what user name you want to log in as, without having to type |
1001 | it explicitly every time. (Some Telnet servers don't support this.) |
1002 | |
1003 | In this box you can type that user name. |
1004 | |
55ba634a |
1005 | \S{config-keepalive} Using keepalives to prevent disconnection |
1006 | |
c33f3243 |
1007 | If you find your sessions are closing unexpectedly (\q{Connection |
1008 | reset by peer}) after they have been idle for a while, you might |
1009 | want to try using this option. |
1010 | |
add788fc |
1011 | Some network routers and firewalls need to keep track of all |
c33f3243 |
1012 | connections through them. Usually, these firewalls will assume a |
1013 | connection is dead if no data is transferred in either direction |
1014 | after a certain time interval. This can cause PuTTY sessions to be |
1015 | unexpectedly closed by the firewall if no traffic is seen in the |
1016 | session for some time. |
1017 | |
1018 | The keepalive option (\q{Seconds between keepalives}) allows you to |
1019 | configure PuTTY to send data through the session at regular |
1020 | intervals, in a way that does not disrupt the actual terminal |
1021 | session. If you find your firewall is cutting idle connections off, |
1022 | you can try entering a non-zero value in this field. The value is |
1023 | measured in seconds; so, for example, if your firewall cuts |
1024 | connections off after ten minutes then you might want to enter 300 |
1025 | seconds (5 minutes) in the box. |
1026 | |
1027 | Note that keepalives are not always helpful. They help if you have a |
1028 | firewall which drops your connection after an idle period; but if |
1029 | the network between you and the server suffers from breaks in |
1030 | connectivity then keepalives can actually make things worse. If a |
1031 | session is idle, and connectivity is temporarily lost between the |
1032 | endpoints, but the connectivity is restored before either side tries |
1033 | to send anything, then there will be no problem - neither endpoint |
1034 | will notice that anything was wrong. However, if one side does send |
1035 | something during the break, it will repeatedly try to re-send, and |
1036 | eventually give up and abandon the connection. Then when |
1037 | connectivity is restored, the other side will find that the first |
1038 | side doesn't believe there is an open connection any more. |
1039 | Keepalives can make this sort of problem worse, because they |
1040 | increase the probability that PuTTY will attempt to send data during |
1041 | a break in connectivity. Therefore, you might find they help |
1042 | connection loss, or you might find they make it worse, depending on |
1043 | what \e{kind} of network problems you have between you and the |
1044 | server. |
1045 | |
1046 | Keepalives are only supported in Telnet and SSH; the Rlogin and Raw |
1047 | protocols offer no way of implementing them. |
1048 | |
55ba634a |
1049 | \H{config-telnet} The Telnet panel |
1050 | |
1630bb61 |
1051 | The Telnet panel allows you to configure options that only apply to |
1052 | Telnet sessions. |
1053 | |
55ba634a |
1054 | \S{config-termspeed} \q{Terminal-speed string} |
1055 | |
add788fc |
1056 | Telnet allows the client to send a text string that describes the |
1057 | terminal speed. PuTTY lets you configure this, in case you find the |
1058 | server is reacting badly to the default value. (I'm not aware of any |
1059 | servers that do have a problem with it.) |
1060 | |
55ba634a |
1061 | \S{config-environ} Setting environment variables on the server |
1062 | |
add788fc |
1063 | The Telnet protocol also provides a means for the client to pass |
1064 | environment variables to the server. Many Telnet servers have |
1065 | stopped supporting this feature due to security flaws, but PuTTY |
1066 | still supports it for the benefit of any servers which have found |
1067 | other ways around the security problems than just disabling the |
1068 | whole mechanism. |
1069 | |
1070 | To add an environment variable to the list transmitted down the |
1071 | connection, you enter the variable name in the \q{Variable} box, |
1072 | enter its value in the \q{Value} box, and press the \q{Add} button. |
1073 | To remove one from the list, select it in the list box and press |
1074 | \q{Remove}. |
1075 | |
55ba634a |
1076 | \S{config-oldenviron} \q{Handling of OLD_ENVIRON ambiguity} |
1077 | |
add788fc |
1078 | The original Telnet mechanism for passing environment variables was |
1079 | badly specified. At the time the standard (RFC 1408) was written, |
1080 | BSD telnet implementations were already supporting the feature, and |
1081 | the intention of the standard was to describe the behaviour the BSD |
1082 | implementations were already using. |
1083 | |
1084 | Sadly there was a typing error in the standard when it was issued, |
1085 | and two vital function codes were specified the wrong way round. BSD |
1086 | implementations did not change, and the standard was not corrected. |
1087 | Therefore, it's possible you might find either BSD or RFC-compliant |
1088 | implementations out there. This switch allows you to choose which |
1089 | one PuTTY claims to be. |
1090 | |
1091 | The problem was solved by issuing a second standard, defining a new |
1092 | Telnet mechanism called \cw{NEW_ENVIRON}, which behaved exactly like |
1093 | the original \cw{OLD_ENVIRON} but was not encumbered by existing |
1094 | implementations. Most Telnet servers now support this, and it's |
1095 | unambiguous. This feature should only be needed if you have trouble |
1096 | passing environment variables to quite an old server. |
1097 | |
1098 | \S{config-ptelnet} Passive and active Telnet negotiation modes |
1099 | |
1100 | In a Telnet connection, there are two types of data passed between |
1101 | the client and the server: actual text, and \e{negotiations} about |
1102 | which Telnet extra features to use. |
1103 | |
1104 | PuTTY can use two different strategies for negotiation: |
1105 | |
1106 | \b In \e{active} mode, PuTTY starts to send negotiations as soon as |
1107 | the connection is opened. |
1108 | |
1109 | \b In \e{passive} mode, PuTTY will wait to negotiate until it sees a |
1110 | negotiation from the server. |
1111 | |
1112 | The obvious disadvantage of passive mode is that if the server is |
1113 | also operating in a passive mode, then negotiation will never begin |
1114 | at all. For this reason PuTTY defaults to active mode. |
1115 | |
1116 | However, sometimes passive mode is required in order to successfully |
1117 | get through certain types of firewall and Telnet proxy server. If |
1118 | you have confusing trouble with a firewall, you could try enabling |
1119 | passive mode to see if it helps. |
1120 | |
1121 | \S{config-telnetkey} \q{Keyboard sends telnet Backspace and Interrupt} |
1122 | |
1123 | If this box is checked, the Backspace key on the keyboard will send |
1124 | the Telnet special backspace code, and Control-C will send the |
1125 | Telnet special interrupt code. You probably shouldn't enable this |
1126 | unless you know what you're doing. |
1127 | |
1128 | \H{config-rlogin} The Rlogin panel |
1129 | |
1130 | The Rlogin panel allows you to configure options that only apply to |
1131 | Rlogin sessions. |
1132 | |
1133 | \S{config-rlogin-termspeed} \q{Terminal-speed string} |
1134 | |
1135 | Like Telnet, Rlogin allows the client to send a text string that |
1136 | describes the terminal speed. PuTTY lets you configure this, in case |
1137 | you find the server is reacting badly to the default value. (I'm not |
1138 | aware of any servers that do have a problem with it.) |
1139 | |
1140 | \S{config-rlogin-localuser} \q{Local username} |
1141 | |
1142 | Rlogin allows an automated (password-free) form of login by means of |
1143 | a file called \c{.rhosts} on the server. You put a line in your |
1144 | \c{.rhosts} file saying something like \c{jbloggs@pc1.example.com}, |
1145 | and then when you make an Rlogin connection the client transmits the |
1146 | username of the user running the Rlogin client. The server checks |
1147 | the username and hostname against \c{.rhosts}, and if they match it |
1148 | does not ask for a password. |
1149 | |
1150 | This only works because Unix systems contain a safeguard to stop a |
1151 | user from pretending to be another user in an Rlogin connection. |
1152 | Rlogin connections have to come from port numbers below 1024, and |
1153 | Unix systems prohibit this to unprivileged processes; so when the |
1154 | server sees a connection from a low-numbered port, it assumes the |
1155 | client end of the connection is held by a privileged (and therefore |
1156 | trusted) process, so it believes the claim of who the user is. |
1157 | |
1158 | Windows does not have this restriction: \e{any} user can initiate an |
1159 | outgoing connection from a low-numbered port. Hence, the Rlogin |
1160 | \c{.rhosts} mechanism is completely useless for securely |
1161 | distinguishing several different users on a Windows machine. If you |
1162 | have a \c{.rhosts} entry pointing at a Windows PC, you should assume |
1163 | that \e{anyone} using that PC can spoof your username in an Rlogin |
1164 | connection and access your account on the server. |
1165 | |
1166 | The \q{Local username} control allows you to specify what user name |
1167 | PuTTY should claim you have, in case it doesn't match your Windows |
1168 | user name (or in case you didn't bother to set up a Windows user |
1169 | name). |
1170 | |
55ba634a |
1171 | \H{config-ssh} The SSH panel |
1172 | |
1630bb61 |
1173 | The SSH panel allows you to configure options that only apply to |
1174 | SSH sessions. |
1175 | |
55ba634a |
1176 | \S{config-command} Executing a specific command on the server |
1177 | |
add788fc |
1178 | In SSH, you don't have to run a general shell session on the server. |
1179 | Instead, you can choose to run a single specific command (such as a |
1180 | mail user agent, for example). If you want to do this, enter the |
1181 | command in the \q{Remote command} box. |
1182 | |
1183 | \S{config-ssh-pty} \q{Don't allocate a pseudo-terminal} |
1184 | |
1185 | When connecting to a Unix system, most interactive shell sessions |
1186 | are run in a \e{pseudo-terminal}, which allows the Unix system to |
1187 | pretend it's talking to a real physical terminal device but allows |
1188 | the SSH server to catch all the data coming from that fake device |
1189 | and send it back to the client. |
1190 | |
1191 | Occasionally you might find you have a need to run a session \e{not} |
1192 | in a pseudo-terminal. In PuTTY, this is generally only useful for |
1193 | very specialist purposes; although in Plink (see \k{plink}) it is |
1194 | the usual way of working. |
1195 | |
1196 | \S{config-ssh-comp} \q{Enable compression} |
1197 | |
1198 | This enables data compression in the SSH connection: data sent by |
1199 | the server is compressed before sending, and decompressed at the |
1200 | client end. Likewise, data sent by PuTTY to the server is compressed |
1201 | first and the server decompresses it at the other end. This can help |
1202 | make the most of a low-bandwidth connection. |
1203 | |
1204 | \S{config-ssh-prot} \q{Preferred SSH protocol version} |
1205 | |
1206 | This allows you to select whether you would like to use SSH protocol |
1207 | version 1 or version 2. \#{FIXME: say something about this elsewhere?} |
1208 | |
1209 | PuTTY will attempt to use protocol 1 if the server you connect to |
1210 | does not offer protocol 2, and vice versa. |
1211 | |
1212 | \S{config-ssh-macbug} \q{Imitate SSH 2 MAC bug} |
1213 | |
1214 | This option \e{should} now be unnecessary. It existed in order to |
1215 | work around a bug in early versions (2.3.0 and below) of the SSH |
1216 | server software from \cw{ssh.com}. The symptom of this problem would |
1217 | be that PuTTY would die unexpectedly at the beginning of the |
1218 | session, saying \q{Incorrect MAC received on packet}. |
1219 | |
1220 | Current versions of PuTTY attempt to detect these faulty servers and |
1221 | enable the bug compatibility automatically, so you should never need |
1222 | to use this option any more. |
1223 | |
1224 | \S{config-ssh-encryption} Encryption algorithm selection |
1225 | |
1226 | PuTTY supports a variety of different encryption algorithms, and |
1227 | allows you to choose which one you prefer to use. You can do this by |
a5a6cb30 |
1228 | dragging the algorithms up and down in the list box (or moving them |
1229 | using the Up and Down buttons) to specify a preference order. When |
1230 | you make an SSH connection, PuTTY will search down the list from the |
1231 | top until it finds an algorithm supported by the server, and then |
1232 | use that. |
add788fc |
1233 | |
1234 | If the algorithm PuTTY finds is below the \q{warn below here} line, |
1235 | you will see a warning box when you make the connection: |
1236 | |
1237 | \c The first cipher supported by the server |
1238 | \c is single-DES, which is below the configured |
1239 | \c warning threshold. |
1240 | \c Do you want to continue with this connection? |
1241 | |
1242 | This warns you that the first available encryption is not a very |
1243 | secure one. Typically you would put the \q{warn below here} line |
1244 | between the encryptions you consider secure and the ones you |
a5a6cb30 |
1245 | consider substandard. By default, PuTTY supplies a preference order |
1246 | intended to reflect a reasonable preference in terms of security and |
1247 | speed. |
add788fc |
1248 | |
1249 | \H{config-ssh-auth} The Auth panel |
1250 | |
1251 | The Auth panel allows you to configure authentication options for |
1252 | SSH sessions. |
1253 | |
1254 | \S{config-ssh-tis} \q{Attempt TIS or CryptoCard authentication} |
1255 | |
1256 | TIS and CryptoCard authentication are simple challenge/response |
1257 | forms of authentication available in SSH protocol version 1 only. |
1258 | You might use them if you were using S/Key one-time passwords, for |
1259 | example, or if you had a physical security token that generated |
1260 | responses to authentication challenges. |
1261 | |
1262 | With this switch enabled, PuTTY will attempt these forms of |
1263 | authentication if the server is willing to try them. You will be |
1264 | presented with a challenge string (which will be different every |
1265 | time) and must supply the correct response in order to log in. If |
1266 | your server supports this, you should talk to your system |
1267 | administrator about precisely what form these challenges and |
1268 | responses take. |
1269 | |
1270 | \S{config-ssh-agentfwd} \q{Allow agent forwarding} |
1271 | |
1272 | This option allows the SSH server to open forwarded connections back |
1273 | to your local copy of Pageant. If you are not running Pageant, this |
1274 | option will do nothing. |
1275 | |
1276 | See \k{pageant} for general information on Pageant, and |
1277 | \k{pageant-forward} for information on agent forwarding. Note that |
1278 | there is a security risk involved with enabling this option; see |
1279 | \k{pageant-security} for details. |
1280 | |
1281 | \S{config-ssh-privkey} \q{Private key file for authentication} |
1282 | |
1283 | This box is where you enter the name of your private key file if you |
1284 | are using public key authentication. See \k{pubkey} for information |
1285 | about public key authentication in SSH. |
1286 | |
1287 | \H{config-ssh-tunnels} The Tunnels panel |
1288 | |
1289 | The Tunnels panel allows you to configure tunnelling of other |
1290 | connection types through an SSH connection. |
1291 | |
1292 | \S{config-ssh-x11} X11 forwarding |
1293 | |
1294 | If your server lets you run X Window System applications, X11 |
1295 | forwarding allows you to securely give those applications access to |
1296 | a local X display on your PC. |
1297 | |
1298 | This feature will only be useful if you have an X server on your PC, |
1299 | such as Exceed or XWin32. |
1300 | |
1301 | To enable X11 forwarding, check the \q{Enable X11 forwarding} box. |
1302 | If your X display is not the primary display on your local machine |
1303 | (which it almost certainly will be unless you have deliberately |
1304 | arranged otherwise), you need to enter its location in the \q{X |
1305 | display location} box. |
1306 | |
1307 | \# FIXME: perhaps link to some more general X forwarding info? |
1308 | |
1309 | \S{config-ssh-portfwd} Port forwarding |
1310 | |
1311 | Port forwarding allows you to tunnel other types of network |
1312 | connection down an SSH connection. |
1313 | |
1314 | To set up a local port forwarding, make sure the \q{Local} radio |
1315 | button is set. Then enter a local port number (on your PC) in the |
1316 | \q{Source port} box, and a hostname and port number (separated by a |
1317 | colon) in the \q{Destination} box, and finally press the \q{Add} |
1318 | button. For example, you might select a source port of 10079, and a |
1319 | destination of \c{server2.example.com:79}. |
1320 | |
1321 | If you do this, and then start the session, you should find that |
1322 | connecting to your local PC on port 10079 gives you a connection to |
1323 | port 79 (the finger server) on \c{server2.example.com}. The |
1324 | connection is actually going to PuTTY itself, which encrypts the |
1325 | connection data and sends it down the secure channel to the SSH |
1326 | server. The connection then proceeds in clear from there to the |
1327 | eventual destination. So you might use this (for example) to forward |
1328 | a connection between two non-hostile network zones that are only |
1329 | connected by a hostile zone such as the open Internet. |
1330 | |
1331 | You can forward ports on the SSH server machine in the other |
1332 | direction, too (so the connection will start at the server end and |
1333 | be sent down the secure connection to PuTTY, which will make the |
1334 | real connection to the destination). To work this way round, just |
1335 | click the \q{Remote} radio button instead of \q{Local}. |
55ba634a |
1336 | |
add788fc |
1337 | \# FIXME: perhaps move this to a general port-forwarding section and |
1338 | \# just link to it here? |
37c6fce1 |
1339 | |
1340 | \H{config-file} Storing configuration in a file |
1341 | |
1342 | PuTTY does not currently support storing its configuration in a file |
1343 | instead of the Registry. However, you can work around this with a |
1344 | couple of batch files. |
1345 | |
1346 | You will need a file called (say) \c{PUTTY.BAT} which imports the |
1347 | contents of a file into the Registry, then runs PuTTY, exports the |
1348 | contents of the Registry back into the file, and deletes the |
1349 | Registry entries. This can all be done using the Regedit command |
1350 | line options, so it's all automatic. Here is what you need in |
1351 | \c{PUTTY.BAT}: |
1352 | |
1353 | \c @ECHO OFF |
1354 | \c regedit /s putty.reg |
1355 | \c regedit /s puttyrnd.reg |
1356 | \c start /w putty.exe |
1357 | \c regedit /e puttynew.reg HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY |
1358 | \c copy puttynew.reg putty.reg |
1359 | \c del puttynew.reg |
1360 | \c regedit /s puttydel.reg |
1361 | |
1362 | This batch file needs two auxiliary files: \c{PUTTYRND.REG} which |
1363 | sets up an initial safe location for the \c{PUTTY.RND} random seed |
1364 | file, and \c{PUTTYDEL.REG} which destroys everything in the Registry |
1365 | once it's been successfully saved back to the file. |
1366 | |
1367 | Here is \c{PUTTYDEL.REG}: |
1368 | |
1369 | \c REGEDIT4 |
1370 | \c |
1371 | \c [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY] |
1372 | |
1373 | Here is an example \c{PUTTYRND.REG} file: |
1374 | |
1375 | \c REGEDIT4 |
1376 | \c |
1377 | \c [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY] |
1378 | \c "RandSeedFile"="a:\putty.rnd" |
1379 | |
1380 | You should replace \c{a:\\putty.rnd} with the location where you |
1381 | want to store your random number data. If the aim is to carry around |
1382 | PuTTY and its settings on one floppy, you probably want to store it |
1383 | on the floppy. |