-\versionid $Id: faq.but,v 1.64 2004/03/29 11:37:44 simon Exp $
+\versionid $Id: faq.but,v 1.74 2004/08/10 16:50:30 jacob Exp $
\A{faq} PuTTY FAQ
\H{faq-intro} Introduction
-\S{faq-what} What is PuTTY?
+\S{faq-what}{Question} What is PuTTY?
PuTTY is a client program for the SSH, Telnet and Rlogin network
protocols.
the Terminal panel, in the section marked \q{Line discipline
options}.
+\S{faq-savedsettings}{Question} Does PuTTY support storing settings,
+so I don't have to change them every time?
+
+Yes, all of PuTTY's settings can be saved in named session profiles.
+See \k{config-saving} in the documentation for how to do this.
+
\S{faq-disksettings}{Question} Does PuTTY support storing its
settings in a disk file?
clearly be a useful thing, so in the long term I hope it can be
brought up to release quality.
-There's a also third-party port at
-\W{http://pocketputty.aleq.cz/}\c{http://pocketputty.aleq.cz/}.
+There's also a third-party port at
+\W{http://pocketputty.duxy.net/}\c{http://pocketputty.duxy.net/}.
\S{faq-win31}{Question} Is there a port to Windows 3.1?
There is a port to the Mac OS in progress. It's just about usable, but
has an awful lot of gaps and rough edges that will need cleaning up
-before release.
+before release (such as useful random numbers).
+
+A separate port to Mac OS X is also underway.
\S{faq-epoc}{Question} Will there be a port to EPOC?
However, some of the work has been done by other people, and a beta
port of PuTTY for the Nokia 9200 Communicator series is available
-from \W{http://www.s2.org/putty/}\cw{http://www.s2.org/putty/}
+from \W{http://s2putty.sourceforge.net/}\cw{http://s2putty.sourceforge.net/}
\H{faq-embedding} Embedding PuTTY in other programs
\S{faq-settings}{Question} Where does PuTTY store its data?
-PuTTY stores most of its data (saved sessions, SSH host keys) in the
-Registry. The precise location is
+On Windows, PuTTY stores most of its data (saved sessions, SSH host
+keys) in the Registry. The precise location is
\c HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY
\c HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\RandSeedFile
+On Unix, PuTTY stores all of this data in a directory \cw{~/.putty}.
+
\H{faq-howto} HOWTO questions
\S{faq-startmax}{Question} How can I make PuTTY start up maximised?
You can also paste by pressing Shift-Ins.
-\S{faq-tunnels}{Question} How do I use X forwarding and port
-forwarding? I can't find the Tunnels panel.
-
-This is a new feature in version 0.52. You should upgrade.
-
\S{faq-options}{Question} How do I use all PuTTY's features (public
keys, proxying, cipher selection, etc.) in PSCP, PSFTP and Plink?
the
\W{http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wuadmintools/s_wunetworkingtools/w95sockets2/}{WinSock 2 upgrade}:
-\c http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wuadmintools/
-\c s_wunetworkingtools/w95sockets2/
-
-\S{faq-rekey}{Question} My PuTTY sessions close after an hour and
-tell me \q{Server failed host key check}.
-
-This is a bug in all versions of PuTTY up to and including 0.51. SSH
-v2 servers from \cw{ssh.com} will require the key exchange to be
-repeated one hour after the start of the connection, and PuTTY will
-get this wrong.
-
-Upgrade to version 0.52 or better and the problem should go away.
+\c http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/
+\c wuadmintools/s_wunetworkingtools/w95sockets2/
\S{faq-outofmem}{Question} After trying to establish an SSH 2
connection, PuTTY says \q{Out of memory} and dies.
You almost certainly need to enable the \q{Use background colour to
erase screen} setting in the Terminal panel. Note that if you do
-this in mid-session, it may not take effect until you reset the
-terminal (see \k{faq-resetterm}).
+this in mid-session, in versions before 0.54, it may not take effect
+until you reset the terminal (see \k{faq-resetterm}).
\S{faq-resetterm}{Question} When I change some terminal settings,
nothing happens.
In version 0.54, the behaviour has changed - changes to these
settings take effect immediately.
-\S{faq-altgr}{Question} I can't type characters that require the
-AltGr key.
-
-In PuTTY version 0.51, the AltGr key was broken. Upgrade to version
-0.52 or better.
-
\S{faq-idleout}{Question} My PuTTY sessions unexpectedly close after
they are idle for a while.
can't be set on per application or per session basis. To increase
the TCP timeout globally, you need to tinker with the Registry.
-On Windows 95, 98 or ME, the registry key you need to change is
+On Windows 95, 98 or ME, the registry key you need to create or
+change is
\c HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\
\c MSTCP\MaxDataRetries
(it must be of type DWORD in Win95, or String in Win98/ME).
+(See MS Knowledge Base article
+\W{http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;158474}{158474}
+for more information.)
On Windows NT or 2000, the registry key is
\c Parameters\TcpMaxDataRetransmissions
and it must be of type DWORD.
+(See MS Knowledge Base article
+\W{http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;120642}{120642}
+for more information.)
Set the key's value to something like 10. This will cause Windows to
try harder to keep connections alive instead of abandoning them.
something worthwhile, ask us first. If you don't like these terms,
feel perfectly free not to donate. We don't mind.
+\S{faq-permission}{Question} Can I have permission to put PuTTY on a
+cover disk / distribute it with other software / etc?
+
+Yes. You need not bother asking us explicitly for permission. You
+already have permission. Redistribution of the unmodified PuTTY
+binary in this way is entirely permitted by our licence, and you are
+welcome to do it as much as you like.
+
+If you are distributing PuTTY within your own organisation, or for
+use with your own product, then we recommend (but do not insist)
+that you offer your own first-line technical support, to answer
+questions directly relating to the interaction of PuTTY with your
+particular environment. If your users mail us directly, we won't be
+able to give them very much help about things specific to your own
+setup.
+
\H{faq-misc} Miscellaneous questions
\S{faq-openssh}{Question} Is PuTTY a port of OpenSSH, or based on
projects / u / mdw / putty / blobdiff