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1 | \C{config} Configuring PuTTY |
2 | |
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3 | This chapter describes all the configuration options in PuTTY. |
4 | |
5 | PuTTY is configured using the control panel that comes up before you |
6 | start a session. Some options can also be changed in the middle of a |
7 | session, by selecting \e{Change Settings} from the window menu. |
8 | |
9 | \H{config-session} The Session panel |
10 | |
11 | The Session configuration panel contains the basic options you need |
12 | to specify in order to open a session at all, and also allows you to |
13 | save your settings to be reloaded later. |
14 | |
15 | \S{config-hostname} The host name section |
16 | |
17 | The top box on the Session panel, labelled \q{Specify your |
18 | connection by host name}, contains the details that need to be |
19 | filled in before PuTTY can open a session at all. |
20 | |
21 | \b The \e{Host Name} box is where you type the name, or the IP |
22 | address, of the server you want to connect to. |
23 | |
24 | \b The \e{Protocol} radio buttons let you choose what type of |
25 | connection you want to make: a raw connection, a Telnet connection, |
26 | or an SSH connection. \#{ FIXME: link to sections on these? } |
27 | |
28 | \b The \e{Port} box lets you specify which port number on the server |
29 | to connect to. If you select Telnet or SSH, this box will be filled |
30 | in automatically to the usual value, and you will only need to |
31 | change it if you have an unusual server. If you select Raw mode, you |
32 | will almost certainly need to fill in the \e{Port} box. |
33 | |
34 | \S{config-saving} Loading and storing saved sessions |
35 | |
36 | The next part of the Session configuration panel allows you to save |
37 | your preferred PuTTY options so they will appear automatically the |
38 | next time you start PuTTY. It also allows you to create \e{saved |
39 | sessions}, which contain a full set of configuration options plus a |
40 | host name and protocol. A saved session contains all the information |
41 | PuTTY needs to start exactly the session you want. |
42 | |
43 | \b To save your default settings: first set up the settings the way |
44 | you want them saved. Then come back to the Session panel. Select the |
45 | \q{Default Settings} entry in the saved sessions list, with a single |
46 | click. Then press the \e{Save} button. |
47 | |
48 | \b To save a session: first go through the rest of the configuration |
49 | box setting up all the options you want. Then come back to the |
50 | Session panel. Enter a name for the saved session in the \e{Saved |
51 | Sessions} input box. (The server name is often a good choice for a |
52 | saved session name.) Then press the \e{Save} button. Your saved |
53 | session name should now appear in the list box. |
54 | |
55 | \b To reload a saved session: single-click to select the session |
56 | name in the list box, and then press the \e{Load} button. Your saved |
57 | settings should all appear in the configuration panel. |
58 | |
59 | \b To modify a saved session: first load it as described above. Then |
60 | make the changes you want. Come back to the Session panel, |
61 | single-click to select the session name in the list box, and press |
62 | the \e{Save} button. The new settings will be saved over the top of |
63 | the old ones. |
64 | |
65 | \b To start a saved session immediately: double-click on the session |
66 | name in the list box. |
67 | |
68 | \b To delete a saved session: single-click to select the session |
69 | name in the list box, and then press the \e{Delete} button. |
70 | |
71 | Each saved session is independent of the Default Settings |
72 | configuration. If you change your preferences and update Default |
73 | Settings, you must also update every saved session separately. |
74 | |
75 | \S{config-closeonexit} \q{Close Window on Exit} |
76 | |
77 | Finally in the Session panel, there is a check box labelled \q{Close |
78 | Window on Exit}. If this is turned on, the PuTTY session window will |
79 | disappear as soon as the session inside it terminates. Otherwise, |
80 | the window will remain on the desktop until you close it yourself, |
81 | so you can still read and copy text out of it. |
82 | |
83 | \H{config-terminal} The Terminal panel |
84 | |
85 | The Terminal configuration panel allows you to control the behaviour |
86 | of PuTTY's terminal emulation. |
87 | |
88 | \S{config-autowrap} \q{Auto wrap mode initially on} |
89 | |
90 | Auto wrap mode controls what happens when text printed in a PuTTY |
91 | window reaches the right-hand edge of the window. |
92 | |
93 | With auto wrap mode on, if a long line of text reaches the |
94 | right-hand edge, it will wrap over on to the next line so you can |
95 | still see all the text. With auto wrap mode off, the cursor will |
96 | stay at the right-hand edge of the screen, and all the characters in |
97 | the line will be printed on top of each other. |
98 | |
99 | If you are running a full-screen application and you occasionally |
100 | find the screen scrolling up when it looks as if it shouldn't, you |
101 | could try turning this option off. |
102 | |
103 | Auto wrap mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by |
104 | the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default} |
105 | state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \e{Change |
106 | Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before |
107 | the change takes effect. |
108 | |
109 | \S{config-decom} \q{DEC Origin Mode initially on} |
110 | |
111 | DEC Origin Mode is a minor option which controls how PuTTY |
112 | interprets cursor-position control sequences sent by the server. |
113 | |
114 | The server can send a control sequence that restricts the scrolling |
115 | region of the display. For example, in an editor, the server might |
116 | reserve a line at the top of the screen and a line at the bottom, |
117 | and might send a control sequence that causes scrolling operations |
118 | to affect only the remaining lines. |
119 | |
120 | With DEC Origin Mode on, cursor coordinates are counted from the top |
121 | of the scrolling region. With it turned off, cursor coordinates are |
122 | counted from the top of the whole screen regardless of the scrolling |
123 | region. |
124 | |
125 | It is unlikely you would need to change this option, but if you find |
126 | a full-screen application is displaying pieces of text in what looks |
127 | like the wrong part of the screen, you could try turning DEC Origin |
128 | Mode on to see whether that helps. |
129 | |
130 | DEC Origin Mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by |
131 | the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default} |
132 | state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \e{Change |
133 | Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before |
134 | the change takes effect. |
135 | |
136 | \S{config-crlf} \q{Implicit CR in every LF} |
137 | |
138 | Most servers send two control characters, CR and LF, to start a new |
139 | line of the screen. The CR character makes the cursor return to the |
140 | left-hand side of the screen. The LF character makes the cursor move |
141 | one line down (and might make the screen scroll). |
142 | |
143 | Some servers only send LF, and expect the terminal to move the |
144 | cursor over to the left automatically. If you come across a server |
145 | that does this, you will see a stepped effect on the screen, like |
146 | this: |
147 | |
148 | \c First line of text |
149 | \c Second line |
150 | \c Third line |
151 | |
152 | If this happens to you, try enabling the \q{Implicit CR in every LF} |
153 | option, and things might go back to normal: |
154 | |
155 | \c First line of text |
156 | \c Second line |
157 | \c Third line |
158 | |
159 | \S{config-beep} \q{Beep enabled} |
160 | |
161 | This option lets you turn off beeps in PuTTY. If your server is |
162 | beeping too much or attracting unwelcome attention, you can turn the |
163 | beeps off. |
164 | |
165 | \S{config-erase} \q{Use background colour to erase screen} |
166 | |
167 | Not all terminals agree on what colour to turn the screen when the |
168 | server sends a \q{clear screen} sequence. Some terminals believe the |
169 | screen should always be cleared to the \e{default} background |
170 | colour. Others believe the screen should be cleared to whatever the |
171 | server has selected as a background colour. |
172 | |
173 | There exist applications that expect both kinds of behaviour. |
174 | Therefore, PuTTY can be configured to do either. |
175 | |
176 | With this option disabled, screen clearing is always done in the |
177 | default background colour. With this option enabled, it is done in |
178 | the \e{current} background colour. |
179 | |
180 | \S{config-blink} \q{Enable blinking text} |
181 | |
182 | The server can ask PuTTY to display text that blinks on and off. |
183 | This is very distracting, so PuTTY allows you to turn blinking text |
184 | off completely. |
185 | |
186 | \S{config-localterm} \q{Use local terminal line discipline} |
187 | |
188 | Normally, every character you type into the PuTTY window is sent |
189 | straight to the server. |
190 | |
191 | If you enable local terminal line discipline, this changes. PuTTY |
192 | will let you edit a whole line at a time locally, and the line will |
193 | only be sent to the server when you press Return. If you make a |
194 | mistake, you can use the Backspace key to correct it before you |
195 | press Return, and the server will never see the mistake. |
196 | |
197 | Since it would be hard to edit a line locally without being able to |
198 | see it, local terminal line discipline also makes PuTTY echo what |
199 | you type. This makes it ideal for use in raw mode \#{ FIXME } or |
200 | when connecting to MUDs or talkers. |
201 | |
202 | \S{config-logging} Controlling session logging |
203 | |
204 | PuTTY has the ability to log the output from your session into a |
205 | file. You might want this if you were saving a particular piece of |
206 | output to mail to somebody, for example in a bug report. |
207 | |
208 | You can choose between: |
209 | |
210 | \b not logging anything (the default) |
211 | |
212 | \b logging only the printable characters in a session (ignoring |
213 | control sequences to change colours or clear the screen) |
214 | |
215 | \b logging everything sent to the terminal by the server. |
216 | |
217 | You can turn logging on and off in mid-session using \e{Change |
218 | Settings}. |
219 | |
220 | \H{config-keyboard} The Keyboard panel |
221 | |
222 | \S{config-backspace} Changing the action of the Backspace key |
223 | |
224 | \S{config-homeend} Changing the action of the Home and End keys |
225 | |
226 | \S{config-funkeys} Changing the action of the function keys and keypad |
227 | |
228 | \S{config-appcursor} Controlling Application Cursor Keys mode |
229 | |
230 | \S{config-appkeypad} Controlling Application Keypad mode |
231 | |
232 | \S{config-nethack} Using NetHack keypad mode |
233 | |
234 | \S{config-compose} Enabling a DEC-like Compose key |
235 | |
236 | \H{config-window} The Window panel |
237 | |
238 | \S{config-winsize} Setting the size of the PuTTY window |
239 | |
240 | \S{config-scrollback} Controlling scrollback |
241 | |
242 | \S{config-warnonclose} \q{Warn before closing window} |
243 | |
244 | \S{config-altf4} \q{Window closes on ALT-F4} |
245 | |
246 | \S{config-altspace} \q{System menu appears on ALT-Space} |
247 | |
248 | \S{config-altonly} \q{System menu appears on Alt alone} |
249 | |
250 | \S{config-alwaysontop} \q{Ensure window is always on top} |
251 | |
252 | \H{config-appearance} The Appearance panel |
253 | |
254 | \S{config-cursor} Controlling the appearance of the cursor |
255 | |
256 | \# this will look considerably less silly when we bring in |
257 | \# underline-versus-block-versus-vertical-line cursor configuration |
258 | \# and also allow the cursor to vanish on keypress a la Word. Until |
259 | \# then, this box does look silly with only one thing in it. Deal. |
260 | |
261 | \S{config-font} Controlling the font used in the terminal window |
262 | |
263 | \S{config-title} Controlling the window title |
264 | |
265 | \H{config-translation} The Translation panel |
266 | |
267 | \S{config-linedraw} Line drawing characters |
268 | |
269 | \S{config-outputtrans} Character set translation of output data |
270 | |
271 | \S{config-inputtrans} Character set translation of input data |
272 | |
273 | \H{config-selection} The Selection panel |
274 | |
275 | \S{config-mouse} Changing the actions of the mouse buttons |
276 | |
277 | \S{config-charclasses} Configuring word-by-word selection |
278 | |
279 | \H{config-colours} The Colours panel |
280 | |
281 | \S{config-boldcolour} \q{Bolded text is a different colour} |
282 | |
283 | \S{config-logpalette} \q{Attempt to use logical palettes} |
284 | |
285 | \S{config-colourcfg} Adjusting the colours in the terminal window |
286 | |
287 | \H{config-connection} The Connection panel |
288 | |
289 | \S{config-termtype} \q{Terminal-type string} |
290 | |
291 | \S{config-username} \q{Auto-login username} |
292 | |
293 | \S{config-keepalive} Using keepalives to prevent disconnection |
294 | |
295 | \H{config-telnet} The Telnet panel |
296 | |
297 | \S{config-termspeed} \q{Terminal-speed string} |
298 | |
299 | \S{config-environ} Setting environment variables on the server |
300 | |
301 | \S{config-oldenviron} \q{Handling of OLD_ENVIRON ambiguity} |
302 | |
303 | \H{config-ssh} The SSH panel |
304 | |
305 | \S{config-command} Executing a specific command on the server |
306 | |
307 | \S{config-auth} SSH authentication options |
308 | |
309 | \S{config-protocol} SSH protocol options |