path: root/gnu/usr.bin/lynx/lynx.hlp

1 LYNX
 NAME
 lynx - a general purpose distributed information browser for the World
 Wide Web

2 SYNOPSIS
     Lynx [options] [path or URL]

     use "lynx -help" to display a complete list of current options.

2 DESCRIPTION
 Lynx is a fully-featured World Wide Web (WWW) client for users running
 cursor-addressable, character-cell display devices (e.g., vt100 terminals,
 vt100 emulators running on PCs or Macs, or any other "curses-oriented"
 display). It will display hypertext markup language (HTML) documents con-
 taining links to files residing on the local system, as well as files
 residing on remote systems running Gopher, HTTP, FTP, WAIS, and NNTP
 servers.  Current versions of Lynx run on Unix, VMS, Windows95/NT,
 386DOS and OS/2 EMX.

 Lynx can be used to access information on the World Wide Web, or to build
 information systems intended primarily for local access.  For example, Lynx
 has been used to build several Campus Wide Information Systems (CWIS).  In
 addition, Lynx can be used to build systems isolated within a single LAN.

2 OPTIONS
 At start up, Lynx will load any local file or remote URL specified at
 the command line.  For help with URLs, press "?" or "h" while running
 Lynx.  Then follow the link titled, "Help on URLs."

  -
       If the argument is only '-', then Lynx expects to receive
       arguments from stdin.  This is to allow for the potentially
       very long command line that can be associated with the
       -get_data or -post_data arguments (see below).  Encase it
       in double-quotes ("-").

  -accept_all_cookies
       accept all cookies.

  -anonymous
       used to specify the anonymous account.

  -assume_charset=MIMEname
       charset for documents that don't specify it.

  -assume_local_charset=MIMEname
       charset assumed for local files.

  -assume_unrec_charset=MIMEname
       use this instead of unrecognized charsets.

  -auth=ID:PASSWD
       set authorization ID and password for protected documents
       at startup.  Be sure to protect any script files which use
       this switch.

  -base
       prepend a request URL comment and BASE tag to text/html
       outputs for -source dumps.

  -blink
       forces high intensity bg colors for color mode, if available
       and supported by the terminal.
       Lynx needs to be compiled with the slang library for this flag.

  -book
       use the bookmark page as the startfile.  The default or command
       line startfile is still set for the Main screen command, and will
       be used if the bookmark page is unavailable or blank.

  -buried_news
       toggles scanning of news articles for buried references, and
       converts them to news links.  Not recommended because email
       addresses enclosed in angle brackets will be converted to
       false news links, and uuencoded messages can be trashed.

  -cache=NUMBER
       set the NUMBER of documents cached in memory.  The default is 10.

  -case
       enable case-sensitive string searching.

  -cfg=FILENAME
       specifies a Lynx configuration file other than the default lynx.cfg.

  -child
       exit on left-arrow in startfile, and disable save to disk.

  -color
       forces color mode on, if available.  Default color control sequences
       which work for many terminal types are assumed if the terminal
       capability description does not specify how to handle color.
       Lynx needs to be compiled with the slang library for this flag.
       A saved show_color=always setting found in a .lynxrc file at
       startup has the same effect.  A saved show_color=always found
       in .lynxrc on startup is overridden by this flag.

  -cookies
       toggles handling of Set-Cookie headers.

  -cookie_file=FILENAME
       specifies a file to use to store cookies.

  -crawl
       with -traversal, output each page to a file.
       with -dump, format output as with -traversal, but to stdout.

  -debug_partial
      incremental display stages with MessageSecs delay

  -display=DISPLAY
       set the display variable for X rexec-ed programs.

  -dump
       dumps the formatted output of the default document or one specified
       on the command line to standard out.  This can be used in the
       following way:
           lynx -dump http://www.crl.com/~subir/lynx.html

  -editor=EDITOR
       enable edit mode using the specified EDITOR. (vi, ed, emacs, etc.)

  -emacskeys
       enable emacs-like key movement.

  -enable_scrollback
       toggles compatibility with comm programs' scrollback keys
       (may be incompatible with some curses packages).

  -error_file=FILE
       define a file where Lynx will report HTTP access codes.

  -exec
       enable local program execution (normally not configured).

  -fileversions
       include all versions of files in local VMS directory listings.

  -force_html
       forces the first document to be interpreted as HTML.

  -force_secure
       toggles forcing of the secure flag for SSL cookies.

  -forms_options
       toggles the style of options (menu or forms).

  -from
       toggles transmissions of From headers.

  -ftp
       disable ftp access.

  -get_data
       send form data from stdin using GET method and dump results.

  -head
       send a HEAD request for the mime headers.

  -help
       print the Lynx command syntax usage message.

  -hiddenlinks=[option]
       control the display of hidden links.

       + merge
         hidden links show up as bracketed numbers and are numbered together
         with other links in the sequence of their occurrence in the document.

       + listonly
         hidden links are shown only on L)ist screens and listings generated by
         -dump or from the P)rint menu, but appear separately at the end of
         those lists.  This is the default behavior.

       + ignore
         hidden links do not appear even in listings.

  -historical
       toggles use of '>' or '-->' as a terminator for comments.

  -homepage=URL
       set homepage separate from start page.

  -image_links
       toggles inclusion of links for all images.

  -index=URL
       set the default index file to the specified URL.

  -ismap
       toggles inclusion of ISMAP links when client-side
       MAPs are present.

  -link=NUMBER
       starting count for lnk#.dat files produced by -crawl.

  -localhost
       disable URLs that point to remote hosts.

  -locexec
       enable local program execution from local files only (if
       Lynx was compiled with local execution enabled).

  -mime_header
       prints the MIME header of a fetched document along with its
       source.

  -minimal
       toggles minimal versus valid comment parsing.

  -newschunksize=NUMBER
       number of articles in chunked news listings.

  -newsmaxchunk=NUMBER
       maximum news articles in listings before chunking.

  -nobrowse
       disable directory browsing.

  -nocc
       disable Cc: prompts for self copies of mailings.  Note
       that this does not disable any CCs which are incorporated
       within a mailto URL or form ACTION.

  -nocolor
       force color mode off, overriding terminal capabilities and any
       -color flags, COLORTERM variable, and saved .lynxrc settings.

  -noexec
       disable local program execution. (DEFAULT)

  -nofilereferer
       disable transmissions of Referer headers for file URLs.

  -nolist
       disable the link list feature in dumps.

  -nolog
       disable mailing of error messages to document owners.

  -nopause
       disable forced pauses for statusline messages.

  -noprint
       disable print functions.

  -noredir
       prevents automatic redirection and prints a message with a
       link to the new URL.

  -noreferer
       disable transmissions of Referer headers.

  -nosocks
       disable SOCKS proxy usage by a SOCKSified Lynx.

  -nostatus
       disable the retrieval status messages.

  -number_links
       force numbering of links.

  -partial
       display partial pages while downloading.

  -partial_thres=NUMBER
       number of lines to render before repainting display
       with partial-display logic

  -pauth=ID:PASSWD
       set authorization ID and password for a protected proxy
       server at startup.  Be sure to protect any script files
       which use this switch.

  -popup
       toggles handling of single-choice SELECT options via
       popup windows or as lists of radio buttons.

  -post_data
       send form data from stdin using POST method and dump results.

  -preparsed
       show HTML source preparsed and reformatted when used with -source
       or in source view.

  -print
       enable print functions. (default)

  -pseudo_inlines
       toggles pseudo-ALTs for inlines with no ALT string.

  -raw
       toggles default setting of 8-bit character translations
       or CJK mode for the startup character set.

  -realm
       restricts access to URLs in the starting realm.

  -reload
       flushes the cache on a proxy server
       (only the first document affected).

  -restrictions=[option][,,option]...
       allows a list of services to be disabled selectively.  The following
       list is printed if no options are specified.

       all - restricts all options.

       bookmark - disallow changing the location of the bookmark file.

       bookmark_exec - disallow execution links via the bookmark file.

       change_exec_perms - disallow changing the eXecute permission on
           files (but still allow it for directories) when local file
           management is enabled.

       default - same as command line option -anonymous.  Disables default
           services for anonymous users.  Currently set to all restricted
           except for:  inside_telnet, outside_telnet, inside_news,
           inside_ftp, outside_ftp, inside_rlogin, outside_rlogin, jump,
           mail and goto.  Defaults are setable within userdefs.h.

       dired_support - disallow local file management.

       disk_save - disallow saving to disk in the download and print
           menus.

       download - disallow downloaders in the download menu.

       editor - disallow editing.

       exec - disable execution scripts.

       exec_frozen - disallow the user from changing the local execution
           option.

       file_url - disallow using G)oto, served links or bookmarks for
           file: URLs.

       goto - disable the 'g' (goto) command.

       inside_ftp - disallow ftps for people coming from inside your domain
           (utmp required for selectivity).

       inside_news - disallow USENET news posting for people coming from
           inside our domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       inside_rlogin - disallow rlogins for people coming from inside your
           domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       inside_telnet - disallow telnets for people coming from inside your
           domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       jump - disable the 'j' (jump) command.

       multibook - disallow multiple bookmark files.

       mail - disallow mail.

       news_post - disallow USENET News posting.

       options_save - disallow saving options in .lynxrc.

       outside_ftp - disallow ftps for people coming from outside your
           domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       outside_news - disallow USENET news posting for people coming from
           outside your domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       outside_rlogin - disallow rlogins for people coming from outside your
           domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       outside_telnet - disallow telnets for people coming from outside your
           domain (utmp required for selectivity).

       print - disallow most print options.

       shell - disallow shell escapes and lynxexec or lynxprog G)oto's.

       suspend - disallow Unix Control-Z suspends with escape to shell.

       telnet_port - disallow specifying a port in telnet G)oto's.

       useragent - disallow modifications of the User-Agent header.

  -resubmit_posts
       toggles forced resubmissions (no-cache) of forms with
       method POST when the documents they returned are sought
       with the PREV_DOC command or from the History List.

  -rlogin
       disable recognition of rlogin commands.

  -selective
       require .www_browsable files to browse directories.

  -show_cursor
       If enabled the cursor will not be hidden in the right hand corner
       but will instead be positioned at the start of the currently
       selected link.  Show cursor is the default for systems without
       FANCY_CURSES capabilities.  The default configuration can be
       changed in userdefs.h or lynx.cfg.  The command line switch
       toggles the default.

  -soft_dquotes
       toggles emulation of the old Netscape and Mosaic bug which
       treated '>' as a co-terminator for double-quotes and tags.

  -source
       works the same as dump but outputs HTML source instead of formatted
       text.

  -stack_dump
       disable SIGINT cleanup handler

  -startfile_ok
       allow non-http startfile and homepage with -validate.

  -tagsoup
       initialize parser, using Tag Soup DTD rather than SortaSGML.

  -telnet
       disable recognition of telnet commands.

  -term=TERM
       tell Lynx what terminal type to assume its talking to.  (This may be
       useful for remote execution, when, for example, Lynx connects to a
       remote TCP/IP port that starts a script that, in turn, starts another
       Lynx process.)

  -tlog
       toggles use of a Lynx Trace Log for the current session.

  -trace
       turns on WWW trace mode.

  -traversal
       traverse all http links derived from startfile.  When used with
       -crawl, each link that begins with the same string as startfile
       is output to a file, intended for indexing.  See CRAWL.announce
       for more information.

  -underscore
       toggles use of _underline_ format in dumps.

  -use_mouse
       turn on xterm mouse support.
       Clicking the left mouse button on a link traverses it.
       Clicking the right mouse button pops back.
       Click in the first line of a page to scroll up.
       Click in the last line of a page to scroll down.
       Lynx must be compiled with ncurses or slang to support this feature.

  -useragent=Name
       set alternate Lynx User-Agent header.

  -validate
       accept only http URLs (for validation).  Complete security
       restrictions also are implemented.

  -verbose
       taggles [LINK], [IMAGE] and [INLINE] comments
       with filenames of these images.

  -version
       print version information.

  -vikeys
       enable vi-like key movement.

  -width=NUMBER
       number of columns for formatting of dumps, default is 80.

2 COMMANDS
 o Use Up arrow and Down arrow to scroll through hypertext links.
 o Right arrow or Return will follow a highlighted hypertext link.
 o Left Arrow will retreat from a link.
 o Type "H" or "?" for online help and descriptions of key-stroke commands.
 o Type "K" for a complete list of the current key-stroke command mappings.

2 ENVIRONMENT
       In addition to various  "standard"  environment  variables
       such  as HOME, PATH, USER, DISPLAY, TMPDIR, etc, Lynx uti-
       lizes several Lynx-specific environment variables, if they
       exist.

       Others  may be created or modified by Lynx to pass data to
       an external program, or  for  other  reasons.   These  are
       listed separately below.

       See  also the sections on SIMULATED CGI SUPPORT and NATIVE
       LANGUAGE SUPPORT, below.

       Note:  Not all environment variables apply to all types of
       platforms  supported by Lynx, though most do.  Feedback on
       platform dependencies is solicited.

       Environment Variables Used By Lynx:

       COLORTERM           If set, color capability for the  ter-
                           minal  is  forced  on at startup time.
                           The actual value assigned to the vari-
                           able  is  ignored.   This  variable is
                           only  meaningful  if  Lynx  was  built
                           using    the   slang   screen-handling
                           library.

       LYNX_CFG            This variable, if set,  will  override
                           the  default  location and name of the
                           global configuration  file  (normally,
                           lynx.cfg)  that  was  defined  by  the
                           LYNX_CFG_FILE    constant    in    the
                           userdefs.h  file, during installation.
                           See  the  userdefs.h  file  for   more
                           information.

       LYNX_LSS            This  variable,  if set, specifies the
                           location of the default Lynx character
                           style  sheet  file.   [Currently  only
                           meaningful if  Lynx  was  built  using
                           experimental color style support.]

       LYNX_SAVE_SPACE     This  variable,  if set, will override
                           the  default  path  prefix  for  files
                           saved  to  disk that is defined in the
                           lynx.cfg SAVE_SPACE:  statement.   See
                           the  lynx.cfg  file  for more informa-
                           tion.

       LYNX_TEMP_SPACE     This variable, if set,  will  override
                           the  default path prefix for temporary
                           files that was defined during  instal-
                           lation,  as well as any value that may
                           be assigned to the TMPDIR variable.

       MAIL                This variable  specifies  the  default
                           inbox Lynx will check for new mail, if
                           such  checking  is  enabled   in   the
                           lynx.cfg file.

       NEWS_ORGANIZATION   This  variable,  if  set, provides the
                           string  used  in   the   Organization:
                           header  of  USENET  news postings.  It
                           will override the setting of the ORGA-
                           NIZATION  environment  variable, if it
                           is also set (and, on  UNIX,  the  con-
                           tents of an /etc/organization file, if
                           present).

       NNTPSERVER          If set, this  variable  specifies  the
                           default  NNTP server that will be used
                           for USENET news  reading  and  posting
                           with Lynx, via news: URL's.

       ORGANIZATION        This  variable,  if  set, provides the
                           string  used  in   the   Organization:
                           header  of  USENET  news postings.  On
                           UNIX, it will override the contents of
                           an /etc/organization file, if present.

       PROTOCOL_proxy      Lynx supports the use of proxy servers
                           that  can act as firewall gateways and
                           caching servers.  They are  preferable
                           to  the  older  gateway  servers  (see
                           WWW_access_GATEWAY, below).  Each pro-
                           tocol   used   by  Lynx,  (http,  ftp,
                           gopher, etc), can be mapped separately
                           by  setting  environment  variables of
                           the  form  PROTOCOL_proxy  (literally:
                           http_proxy,  ftp_proxy,  gopher_proxy,
                           etc),                               to
                             "http://some.server.dom:port/".
                           See Lynx Users Guide for additional
                           details and examples.

       WWW_access_GATEWAY  Lynx still  supports  use  of  gateway
                           servers,  with  the  servers specified
                           via   "WWW_access_GATEWAY"   variables
                           (where  "access" is lower case and can
                           be "http", "ftp", "gopher" or "wais"),
                           however most gateway servers have been
                           discontinued.  Note that  you  do  not
                           include  a  terminal '/' for gateways,
                           but do for proxies specified by PROTO-
                           COL_proxy  environment variables.  See
                           Lynx Users Guide for details.

       WWW_HOME            This  variable,  if set, will override
                           the default startup URL  specified  in
                           any of the Lynx configuration files.

       Environment Variables Set or Modified By Lynx:

       LYNX_PRINT_DATE     This  variable  is  set  by  the  Lynx
                           p(rint) function, to the Date:  string
                           seen  in  the  document's "Information
                           about" page (= cmd), if  any.   It  is
                           created  for  use  by an external pro-
                           gram,  as  defined   in   a   lynx.cfg
                           PRINTER: definition statement.  If the
                           field does not exist for the document,
                           the  variable  is set to a null string
                           under UNIX, or "No Date" under VMS.

       LYNX_PRINT_LASTMOD  This  variable  is  set  by  the  Lynx
                           p(rint)  function,  to  the  Last Mod:
                           string seen in the document's  "Infor-
                           mation  about"  page  (= cmd), if any.
                           It is created for use by  an  external
                           program,  as  defined  in  a  lynx.cfg
                           PRINTER: definition statement.  If the
                           field does not exist for the document,
                           the variable is set to a  null  string
                           under UNIX, or "No LastMod" under VMS.

       LYNX_PRINT_TITLE    This  variable  is  set  by  the  Lynx
                           p(rint)  function,  to  the  Linkname:
                           string seen in the document's  "Infor-
                           mation  about"  page  (= cmd), if any.
                           It is created for use by  an  external
                           program,  as  defined  in  a  lynx.cfg
                           PRINTER: definition statement.  If the
                           field does not exist for the document,
                           the variable is set to a  null  string
                           under UNIX, or "No Title" under VMS.

       LYNX_PRINT_URL      This  variable  is  set  by  the  Lynx
                           p(rint) function, to the  URL:  string
                           seen  in  the  document's "Information
                           about" page (= cmd), if  any.   It  is
                           created  for  use  by an external pro-
                           gram,  as  defined   in   a   lynx.cfg
                           PRINTER: definition statement.  If the
                           field does not exist for the document,
                           the  variable  is set to a null string
                           under UNIX, or "No URL" under VMS.

       LYNX_VERSION        This variable is always set  by  Lynx,
                           and may be used by an external program
                           to determine  if  it  was  invoked  by
                           Lynx.   See  also  the comments in the
                           distribution's  sample  mailcap  file,
                           for notes on usage in such a file.

       TERM                Normally,  this  variable  is  used by
                           Lynx to determine  the  terminal  type
                           being  used  to invoke Lynx.  If, how-
                           ever, it is unset at startup time  (or
                           has  the  value  "unknown"), or if the
                           -term command-line option is used (see
                           OPTIONS  section above), Lynx will set
                           or modify its value to the user speci-
                           fied  terminal type (for the Lynx exe-
                           cution   environment).     Note:    If
                           set/modified  by  Lynx,  the values of
                           the LINES and/or  COLUMNS  environment
                           variables may also be changed.

2 SIMULATED CGI SUPPORT
       If built with the cgi-links option  enabled,  Lynx  allows
       access  to  a  cgi script directly without the need for an
       http daemon.

       When executing such "lynxcgi scripts"  (if  enabled),  the
       following  variables may be set for simulating a CGI envi-
       ronment:

       CONTENT_LENGTH

       CONTENT_TYPE

       DOCUMENT_ROOT

       HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET

       HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE

       HTTP_USER_AGENT

       PATH_INFO

       PATH_TRANSLATED

       QUERY_STRING

       REMOTE_ADDR

       REMOTE_HOST

       REQUEST_METHOD

       SERVER_SOFTWARE

       Other environment  variables  are  not  inherited  by  the
       script, unless they are provided via a LYNXCGI_ENVIRONMENT
       statement in the configuration  file.   See  the  lynx.cfg
       file,    and    the    (draft)   CGI   1.1   Specification
       <http://Web.Golux.Com/coar/cgi/draft-coar-cgi-v11-00.txt>
       for the definition and usage of these variables.

       The CGI Specification, and other associated documentation,
       should be consulted for general information on CGI  script
       programming.

2 NATIVE LANGUAGE SUPPORT
       If  configured and installed with Native Language Support,
       Lynx will display status and other messages in your  local
       language.   See the file ABOUT_NLS in the source distribu-
       tion, or at your local  GNU  site,  for  more  information
       about internationalization.

       The  following  environment variables may be used to alter
       default settings:

       LANG                This variable, if set,  will  override
                           the  default  message language.  It is
                           an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying
                           the  language.  Language codes are NOT
                           the same as the country codes given in
                           ISO 3166.

       LANGUAGE            This  variable,  if set, will override
                           the default message language.  This is
                           a GNU extension that has higher prior-
                           ity for setting  the  message  catalog
                           than LANG or LC_ALL.

       LC_ALL              and

       LC_MESSAGES         These  variables,  if set, specify the
                           notion of native  language  formatting
                           style.  They are POSIXly correct.

       LINGUAS             This variable, if set prior to config-
                           uration,  limits  the  installed  lan-
                           guages  to  specific  values.  It is a
                           space-separated  list  of   two-letter
                           codes.  Currently, it is hard-coded to
                           a wish list.

       NLSPATH             This variable, if set, is used as  the
                           path prefix for message catalogs.

2 NOTES
 This is the Lynx v2.8.2 Release

 If you wish to contribute to the further development of Lynx, subscribe
 to our mailing list.  Send email to <majordomo@sig.net> with
 "subscribe lynx-dev" as the only line in the body of your
 message.

 Send bug reports, comments, suggestions to <lynx-dev@sig.net>
 after subscribing.

 Unsubscribe by sending email to <majordomo@sig.net> with
 "unsubscribe lynx-dev" as the only line in the body of your message.
 Do not send the unsubscribe message to the lynx-dev list, itself.

2 SEE ALSO
       catgets(3),   curses(3),  environ(7),  execve(2),  ftp(1),
       gettext(GNU),  localeconv(3),  ncurses(3),   setlocale(3),
       slang(?), termcap(5), terminfo(5), wget(GNU)

       Note  that  man page availability and section numbering is
       somewhat platform dependent, and may vary from  the  above
       references.

       A  section  shown as (GNU), is intended to denote that the
       topic may be available via an info page, instead of a  man
       page  (ie, try "info subject", rather than "man subject").

       A section shown as (?) denotes that documentation  on  the
       topic exists, but is not part of an established documenta-
       tion retrieval system (see the distribution files  associ-
       ated  with the topic, or contact your System Administrator
       for further information).

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 Lynx has incorporated code from a variety of sources along the way.
 The earliest versions of Lynx included code from Earl Fogel of Computing
 Services at the University of Saskatchewan, who implemented HYPERREZ
 in the Unix environment.  HYPERREZ was developed by Niel Larson of
 Think.com and served as the model for the early versions of Lynx.
 Those versions also incorporated libraries from the Unix Gopher clients
 developed at the University of Minnesota, and the later versions of
 Lynx rely on the WWW client library code developed by Tim Berners-Lee
 and the WWW community.  Also a special thanks to Foteos Macrides who
 ported much of Lynx to VMS and did or organized most of its development
 since the departures of Lou Montulli and Garrett Blythe from the
 University of Kansas in the summer of 1994 through the release
 of v2.7.2, and to everyone on the net who has contributed to Lynx's
 development either directly (through patches, comments or bug reports)
 or indirectly (through inspiration and development of other systems).

2 AUTHORS
 Lou Montulli, Garrett Blythe, Craig Lavender, Michael Grobe, Charles Rezac
 Academic Computing Services
 University of Kansas
 Lawrence, Kansas 66047

 Foteos Macrides
 Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research
 Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 01545