\C{config} Configuring PuTTY

This chapter describes all the configuration options in PuTTY.

PuTTY is configured using the control panel that comes up before you
start a session. Some options can also be changed in the middle of a
session, by selecting \e{Change Settings} from the window menu.

\H{config-session} The Session panel

The Session configuration panel contains the basic options you need
to specify in order to open a session at all, and also allows you to
save your settings to be reloaded later.

\S{config-hostname} The host name section

The top box on the Session panel, labelled \q{Specify your
connection by host name}, contains the details that need to be
filled in before PuTTY can open a session at all.

\b The \e{Host Name} box is where you type the name, or the IP
address, of the server you want to connect to.

\b The \e{Protocol} radio buttons let you choose what type of
connection you want to make: a raw connection, a Telnet connection,
or an SSH connection. \#{ FIXME: link to sections on these? }

\b The \e{Port} box lets you specify which port number on the server
to connect to. If you select Telnet or SSH, this box will be filled
in automatically to the usual value, and you will only need to
change it if you have an unusual server. If you select Raw mode, you
will almost certainly need to fill in the \e{Port} box.

\S{config-saving} Loading and storing saved sessions

The next part of the Session configuration panel allows you to save
your preferred PuTTY options so they will appear automatically the
next time you start PuTTY. It also allows you to create \e{saved
sessions}, which contain a full set of configuration options plus a
host name and protocol. A saved session contains all the information
PuTTY needs to start exactly the session you want.

\b To save your default settings: first set up the settings the way
you want them saved. Then come back to the Session panel. Select the
\q{Default Settings} entry in the saved sessions list, with a single
click. Then press the \e{Save} button.

\b To save a session: first go through the rest of the configuration
box setting up all the options you want. Then come back to the
Session panel. Enter a name for the saved session in the \e{Saved
Sessions} input box. (The server name is often a good choice for a
saved session name.) Then press the \e{Save} button. Your saved
session name should now appear in the list box.

\b To reload a saved session: single-click to select the session
name in the list box, and then press the \e{Load} button. Your saved
settings should all appear in the configuration panel.

\b To modify a saved session: first load it as described above. Then
make the changes you want. Come back to the Session panel,
single-click to select the session name in the list box, and press
the \e{Save} button. The new settings will be saved over the top of
the old ones.

\b To start a saved session immediately: double-click on the session
name in the list box.

\b To delete a saved session: single-click to select the session
name in the list box, and then press the \e{Delete} button.

Each saved session is independent of the Default Settings
configuration. If you change your preferences and update Default
Settings, you must also update every saved session separately.

\S{config-closeonexit} \q{Close Window on Exit}

Finally in the Session panel, there is a check box labelled \q{Close
Window on Exit}. If this is turned on, the PuTTY session window will
disappear as soon as the session inside it terminates. Otherwise,
the window will remain on the desktop until you close it yourself,
so you can still read and copy text out of it.

\H{config-terminal} The Terminal panel

The Terminal configuration panel allows you to control the behaviour
of PuTTY's terminal emulation.

\S{config-autowrap} \q{Auto wrap mode initially on}

Auto wrap mode controls what happens when text printed in a PuTTY
window reaches the right-hand edge of the window.

With auto wrap mode on, if a long line of text reaches the
right-hand edge, it will wrap over on to the next line so you can
still see all the text. With auto wrap mode off, the cursor will
stay at the right-hand edge of the screen, and all the characters in
the line will be printed on top of each other.

If you are running a full-screen application and you occasionally
find the screen scrolling up when it looks as if it shouldn't, you
could try turning this option off.

Auto wrap mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by
the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default}
state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \e{Change
Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before
the change takes effect.

\S{config-decom} \q{DEC Origin Mode initially on}

DEC Origin Mode is a minor option which controls how PuTTY
interprets cursor-position control sequences sent by the server.

The server can send a control sequence that restricts the scrolling
region of the display. For example, in an editor, the server might
reserve a line at the top of the screen and a line at the bottom,
and might send a control sequence that causes scrolling operations
to affect only the remaining lines.

With DEC Origin Mode on, cursor coordinates are counted from the top
of the scrolling region. With it turned off, cursor coordinates are
counted from the top of the whole screen regardless of the scrolling
region.

It is unlikely you would need to change this option, but if you find
a full-screen application is displaying pieces of text in what looks
like the wrong part of the screen, you could try turning DEC Origin
Mode on to see whether that helps.

DEC Origin Mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by
the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default}
state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \e{Change
Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before
the change takes effect.

\S{config-crlf} \q{Implicit CR in every LF}

Most servers send two control characters, CR and LF, to start a new
line of the screen. The CR character makes the cursor return to the
left-hand side of the screen. The LF character makes the cursor move
one line down (and might make the screen scroll).

Some servers only send LF, and expect the terminal to move the
cursor over to the left automatically. If you come across a server
that does this, you will see a stepped effect on the screen, like
this:

\c First line of text
\c                   Second line
\c                              Third line

If this happens to you, try enabling the \q{Implicit CR in every LF}
option, and things might go back to normal:

\c First line of text
\c Second line
\c Third line

\S{config-beep} \q{Beep enabled}

This option lets you turn off beeps in PuTTY. If your server is
beeping too much or attracting unwelcome attention, you can turn the
beeps off.

\S{config-erase} \q{Use background colour to erase screen}

Not all terminals agree on what colour to turn the screen when the
server sends a \q{clear screen} sequence. Some terminals believe the
screen should always be cleared to the \e{default} background
colour. Others believe the screen should be cleared to whatever the
server has selected as a background colour.

There exist applications that expect both kinds of behaviour.
Therefore, PuTTY can be configured to do either.

With this option disabled, screen clearing is always done in the
default background colour. With this option enabled, it is done in
the \e{current} background colour.

\S{config-blink} \q{Enable blinking text}

The server can ask PuTTY to display text that blinks on and off.
This is very distracting, so PuTTY allows you to turn blinking text
off completely.

\S{config-localterm} \q{Use local terminal line discipline}

Normally, every character you type into the PuTTY window is sent
straight to the server.

If you enable local terminal line discipline, this changes. PuTTY
will let you edit a whole line at a time locally, and the line will
only be sent to the server when you press Return. If you make a
mistake, you can use the Backspace key to correct it before you
press Return, and the server will never see the mistake.

Since it would be hard to edit a line locally without being able to
see it, local terminal line discipline also makes PuTTY echo what
you type. This makes it ideal for use in raw mode \#{ FIXME } or
when connecting to MUDs or talkers.

\S{config-logging} Controlling session logging

PuTTY has the ability to log the output from your session into a
file. You might want this if you were saving a particular piece of
output to mail to somebody, for example in a bug report.

You can choose between:

\b not logging anything (the default)

\b logging only the printable characters in a session (ignoring
control sequences to change colours or clear the screen)

\b logging everything sent to the terminal by the server.

You can turn logging on and off in mid-session using \e{Change
Settings}.

\H{config-keyboard} The Keyboard panel

\S{config-backspace} Changing the action of the Backspace key

\S{config-homeend} Changing the action of the Home and End keys

\S{config-funkeys} Changing the action of the function keys and keypad

\S{config-appcursor} Controlling Application Cursor Keys mode

\S{config-appkeypad} Controlling Application Keypad mode

\S{config-nethack} Using NetHack keypad mode

\S{config-compose} Enabling a DEC-like Compose key

\H{config-window} The Window panel

\S{config-winsize} Setting the size of the PuTTY window

\S{config-scrollback} Controlling scrollback

\S{config-warnonclose} \q{Warn before closing window}

\S{config-altf4} \q{Window closes on ALT-F4}

\S{config-altspace} \q{System menu appears on ALT-Space}

\S{config-altonly} \q{System menu appears on Alt alone}

\S{config-alwaysontop} \q{Ensure window is always on top}

\H{config-appearance} The Appearance panel

\S{config-cursor} Controlling the appearance of the cursor

\# this will look considerably less silly when we bring in
\# underline-versus-block-versus-vertical-line cursor configuration
\# and also allow the cursor to vanish on keypress a la Word. Until
\# then, this box does look silly with only one thing in it. Deal.

\S{config-font} Controlling the font used in the terminal window

\S{config-title} Controlling the window title

\H{config-translation} The Translation panel

\S{config-linedraw} Line drawing characters

\S{config-outputtrans} Character set translation of output data

\S{config-inputtrans} Character set translation of input data

\H{config-selection} The Selection panel

\S{config-mouse} Changing the actions of the mouse buttons

\S{config-charclasses} Configuring word-by-word selection

\H{config-colours} The Colours panel

\S{config-boldcolour} \q{Bolded text is a different colour}

\S{config-logpalette} \q{Attempt to use logical palettes}

\S{config-colourcfg} Adjusting the colours in the terminal window

\H{config-connection} The Connection panel

\S{config-termtype} \q{Terminal-type string}

\S{config-username} \q{Auto-login username}

\S{config-keepalive} Using keepalives to prevent disconnection

\H{config-telnet} The Telnet panel

\S{config-termspeed} \q{Terminal-speed string}

\S{config-environ} Setting environment variables on the server

\S{config-oldenviron} \q{Handling of OLD_ENVIRON ambiguity}

\H{config-ssh} The SSH panel

\S{config-command} Executing a specific command on the server

\S{config-auth} SSH authentication options

\S{config-protocol} SSH protocol options