-\versionid $Id: faq.but,v 1.50 2003/11/19 19:03:24 jacob Exp $
+\versionid $Id: faq.but,v 1.55 2004/02/10 18:22:00 simon Exp $
\A{faq} PuTTY FAQ
This FAQ is published on the PuTTY web site, and also provided as an
appendix in the manual.
+\H{faq-intro} Introduction
+
+\S{faq-what} What is PuTTY?
+
+PuTTY is a client program for the SSH, Telnet and Rlogin network
+protocols.
+
+These protocols are all used to run a remote session on a computer,
+over a network. PuTTY implements the client end of that session: the
+end at which the session is displayed, rather than the end at which
+it runs.
+
+In really simple terms: you run PuTTY on a Windows machine, and tell
+it to connect to (for example) a Unix machine. PuTTY opens a window.
+Then, anything you type into that window is sent straight to the
+Unix machine, and everything the Unix machine sends back is
+displayed in the window. So you can work on the Unix machine as if
+you were sitting at its console, while actually sitting somewhere
+else.
+
\H{faq-support} Features supported in PuTTY
In general, if you want to know if PuTTY supports a particular
ones will not. Adding an option to turn host key checking off
completely is the wrong solution and we will not do it.
+If you have host keys available in the common \c{known_hosts} format,
+we have a script called
+\W{http://cvs.tartarus.org/putty/contrib/kh2reg.py}\c{kh2reg.py}
+to convert them to a Windows .REG file, which can be installed ahead of
+time by double-clicking or using \c{REGEDIT}.
+
\S{faq-server}{Question} Will you write an SSH server for the PuTTY
suite, to go with the client?
layer, drawing a clear line between platform-dependent and
platform-independent code. The general intention was for this
porting layer to evolve naturally as part of the process of doing
-the first port; a Unix port is now under way and the plan seems to
-be working so far.
+the first port; a Unix port has now been released and the plan
+seems to be working so far.
\S{faq-ports-general}{Question} What ports of PuTTY exist?
-Currently, release versions of PuTTY only run on full Win32 systems.
-This includes Windows 95, 98, and ME, and it includes Windows NT,
-Windows 2000 and Windows XP. In the development code, partial ports
-to Unix (see \k{faq-unix}) and the Mac OS (see \k{faq-mac-port}).
-are under way.
+Currently, release versions of PuTTY tools only run on full Win32
+systems and Unix. \q{Win32} includes Windows 95, 98, and ME, and it
+includes Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
+
+In the development code, a partial port to the Mac OS (see
+\k{faq-mac-port}) is under way.
Currently PuTTY does \e{not} run on Windows CE (see \k{faq-wince}),
and it does not quite run on the Win32s environment under Windows
3.1 (see \k{faq-win31}).
We do not have release-quality ports for any other systems at the
-present time. If anyone told you we had a Mac port, or an iPaq port,
+present time. If anyone told you we had an EPOC port, or an iPaq port,
or any other port of PuTTY, they were mistaken. We don't.
-\S{faq-unix}{Question} Will there be a port to Unix?
+\S{faq-unix}{Question} Is there a port to Unix?
+
+As of 0.54, there are Unix ports of most of the traditional PuTTY
+tools, and also one entirely new application.
+
+If you look at the source release, you should find a \c{unix}
+subdirectory containing \c{Makefile.gtk}, which should build you Unix
+ports of Plink, PuTTY itself, PuTTYgen, PSCP, PSFTP, and also
+\c{pterm} - an \cw{xterm}-type program which supports the same
+terminal emulation as PuTTY. We do not yet have a Unix port of
+Pageant.
-It's currently being worked on. If you look at the nightly source
-snapshots, you should find a \c{unix} subdirectory, which should
-build you Unix ports of Plink, PuTTY itself, PSCP, PSFTP, and
-also \c{pterm} - an \cw{xterm}-type program which supports the
-same terminal emulation as PuTTY. We do not yet have Unix ports of
-Pageant or PuTTYgen.
+If you don't have Gtk, you should still be able to build the
+command-line tools.
+
+Note that Unix PuTTY has mostly only been tested on Linux so far;
+portability problems such as BSD-style ptys or different header file
+requirements are expected.
\S{faq-wince}{Question} Will there be a port to Windows CE or PocketPC?
\S{faq-incorrect-mac}{Question} Why do I see \q{Incorrect MAC
received on packet}?
-This can be caused by a bug in old SSH 2 servers distributed by
-\cw{ssh.com}. Version 2.3.0 and below of their SSH 2 server
+One possible cause of this that used to be common is a bug in old
+SSH 2 servers distributed by \cw{ssh.com}. (This is not the only
+possible cause; see \k{errors-crc} in the documentation.)
+Version 2.3.0 and below of their SSH 2 server
constructs Message Authentication Codes in the wrong way, and
expects the client to construct them in the same wrong way. PuTTY
constructs the MACs correctly by default, and hence these old
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 won't take effect until you reset the
+this in mid-session, it may not take effect until you reset the
terminal (see \k{faq-resetterm}).
\S{faq-resetterm}{Question} When I change some terminal settings,
the terminal is reset (by server action, or by you choosing \q{Reset
Terminal} from the System menu) the defaults are restored.
-If you want to change one of these options in the middle of a
-session, you will find that the change does not immediately take
-effect. It will only take effect once you reset the terminal.
+In versions 0.53b and prior, if you change one of these options in
+the middle of a session, you will find that the change does not
+immediately take effect. It will only take effect once you reset
+the terminal.
+
+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.
~mdw / sgt / putty / blobdiff