mirrors/mc
1
0
Fork 0
mirror of https://github.com/MidnightCommander/mc synced 2025-04-13 02:22:51 +03:00
Code Issues Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity

Actualize. Remove obsolete questions. Fix formatting.

Browse Source
This commit is contained in:
Pavel Roskin 2003-08-15 15:26:48 +00:00
parent a0001c6d57
commit d1a01edcf0
1 changed files with 170 additions and 232 deletions
Show Stats Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

308
FAQ
View File

@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
+ 4.5 How can I get colors?
+ 4.6 My color_xterm goes completely (or partially) black!
+ 4.7 Where can I get xterm or rxvt?
+ 4.8 I got colors working with MC but the other programs don't
work at all anymore!
+ 4.8 I got colors working with MC but the other programs
don't work at all anymore!
+ 4.9 Why are there both terminfo and termcap? Wouldn't one
database be enough?
@ -72,16 +72,13 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
+ 7.7 What kind of proxy server works with Midnight Commander?
* 8 Internal editor
+ 8.1 How do I get the internal editor to work?
+ 8.2 When I try pasting to the internal editor, it indents
+ 8.1 When I try pasting to the internal editor, it indents
the amount of indenting increases with each line!
+ 8.3 Is it possible to use Colorer for syntax highlighting?
+ 8.2 Is it possible to use Colorer for syntax highlighting?
* 9 Other common problems
+ 9.1 Is there any way to 'bookmark' favorite ftp-fs links?
+ 9.2 Why I keep getting: "There is no disk in the drive.
Please insert a disk into drive D:"?
+ 9.3 When I start Midnight Commander, nothing happens!
+ 9.2 When I start Midnight Commander, nothing happens!
* 10 Development
+ 10.1 Who has written Midnight Commander?
@ -90,8 +87,8 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
+ 10.4 How can I join the development?
* 11 More information
+ 11.1 This document didn't answer my question. Where else can
I look for an answer?
+ 11.1 This document didn't answer my question. Where else
can I look for an answer?
+ 11.2 What mailing lists are there for Midnight Commander?
+ 11.3 Where should I look on the World Wide Web for MC stuff?
+ 11.4 Are the mailing lists archived anywhere?
@ -110,22 +107,18 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
and visual shell, useful to novice and guru alike. It provides a
clear, user-friendly, and somewhat protected interface to a Unix
system while making many frequent file operations more efficient and
preserving the full power of the command prompt. You will wonder how
you could ever live without it.
For more thorough description take a look at the announcement of
Midnight Commander 4.0.
preserving the full power of the command prompt. After some
practice, you will wonder how you could ever live without it.
1.2 Does it run on my machine?
GNU Midnight Commander runs on POSIX (Unix-like) operating systems,
such as GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Solaris, HP-UX and others. It
can also be compiled under Cygwin on Windows. There is an unfinished
Windows port.
can also be compiled under Cygwin on Windows.
GNU Midnight Commander uses GNU Autoconf which should automatically
configure it for every Unix clone. Following configurations have
been tested:
been tested in the past (this list is very old):
* i386-*-linux1.x, 2.x
* alpha-linux-linux2
@ -145,22 +138,19 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
* i386-*-sco3.2v4.2
* i386-*-sco3.2v5
Windows 95/NT port can be compiled with Microsoft Visual C++, Borland
C++, RSX and Mingw32.
1.3 Does it work with my terminal?
Yes, it does.
Because Midnight Commander is a full screen program it doesn't run on
dummy terminals but anything more advanced will do (like vt100). If
your terminal works with vi, emacs, elm or pine it will work with
Midnight Commander.
Because GNU Midnight Commander is a full screen program it doesn't
run on dummy terminals but anything more advanced will do (like
vt100). If your terminal works with vi, emacs, elm or pine it will
work with GNU Midnight Commander.
1.4 What else do I need to run MC?
You need a POSIX (Unix compatible) operating system. Native support
for Windows is incomplete - you should be prepared to fix things.
You need a POSIX (Unix compatible) operating system. If you are
running Windows, use Cygwin.
To compile any edition you need to have glib 1.2.x or newer
installed. It's available at ftp://ftp.gtk.org/pub/gtk/. If you
@ -168,8 +158,8 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
harder to compile, so your first choice should be glib 1.2.10.
If you want to use mouse on the Linux console you need the gpm daemon
from ftp://ftp.systemy.it/pub/develop/. You need nothing extra to use
mouse on xterm.
from ftp://ftp.systemy.it/pub/develop/. You need nothing extra to
use mouse on xterm.
If you do not want to use the S-Lang library you could try using
ncurses version 4.1 and above.
@ -178,10 +168,10 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
Midnight Commander is under GNU Public License which basically means
that you may freely copy, change and distribute it, but that you may
not impose any restrictions on further distribution, and that you must
make the source code available. This is not the same as Public Domain.
For details, the GNU license is included in GNU Midnight Commander
source distribution (the COPYING file).
not impose any restrictions on further distribution, and that you
must make the source code available. This is not the same as Public
Domain. For details, the GNU license is included in GNU Midnight
Commander source distribution (the COPYING file).
Midnight Commander is now officially a part of the GNU project.
All the authors of GNU Midnight Commander have given all their rights
@ -231,17 +221,18 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
2.2 Why don't function keys (or some other key) work?
Your terminfo or termcap database has missing or incorrect definitions
for function keys. Type "mc -V" to see what terminal database is being
used. If the result is "using the S-Lang library with terminfo
database" you should install one of the enhanced terminfo databases
Your terminfo or termcap database has missing or incorrect
definitions for function keys. Type "mc -V" to see what terminal
database is being used. If the result is "using the S-Lang library
with terminfo database" and you are using a very old terminfo
database, consider installing one of the enhanced terminfo files
included in GNU Midnight Commander source distribution. For example,
if you are using xterm type "tic xterm.ti".
If the result is "using the S-Lang library with termcap database" you
should fix your /etc/termcap database.
Better termcap and terminfo databases are available here:
Up-to-date termcap and terminfo databases are available here:
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/terminfo/
ftp://dickey.his.com/ncurses/
@ -251,8 +242,8 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
is to use terminfo.
If you don't have permissions to edit terminal databases you can use
Learn keys feature of Midnight Commander instead. Press Esc 9 o k and
follow instructions.
Learn keys feature of Midnight Commander instead. Press Esc 9 o k
and follow instructions.
If all else fails you can emulate function keys by first pressing the
ESC key and then one of the number keys. For example, if you want to
@ -261,29 +252,27 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
2.3 How do I use function keys F11 to F20?
These can mapped to function keys F1 to F10 with Shift held. e.g.
function key F13 can be activated by pressing Shift-F3. You can define
the keys this way in the Options menu. The convention for PC keyboards
is that F11-20 always means Shift with F1-10
Note! The native Windows port uses F11 and F12 keys to change the
current disk drive. In this case F11 and F12 mean the real F11 and
F12 keys, not shift-F1 and shift-F2.
These are normally mapped to function keys F1 to F10 with Shift held,
e.g. function key F13 can be activated by pressing Shift-F3. You can
define the keys this way in the Options->Learn Keys dialog. The
convention for PC keyboards is that F11-20 always means Shift with
F1-10.
2.4 Why does the ESC key behave funny?
Midnight Commander uses the ESC key as a prefix for simulating the
Meta and Alt keys (for terminals which don't have Meta or Alt, see the
three previous questions). For example, pressing ESC-a is the same as
pressing Meta-a. In addition most terminals use ESC for internal
representation of arrow keys, function keys and other enhanced keys.
If you want to use ESC to cancel things you have to press it twice i.
e. ESC-ESC. If you find this cumbersome you can generally use F10 to
cancel. Alternatively turn on the old_esc_mode setting in the
~/.mc.ini file. The old_esc_mode setting makes ESC work as a prefix
only if another key is pressed within 0.5 seconds. After 0.5 seconds
the ESC key cancels. There is no way to make ESC cancel immediately
(if we want to be able to use arrows keys and function keys).
Meta and Alt keys (for terminals which don't have Meta or Alt, see
the three previous questions). For example, pressing ESC-a is the
same as pressing Meta-a. In addition most terminals use ESC for
internal representation of arrow keys, function keys and other
enhanced keys. If you want to use ESC to cancel things you have to
press it twice i.e. ESC-ESC. If you find this cumbersome you can
generally use F10 to cancel. Alternatively turn on the old_esc_mode
setting in the ~/.mc/ini file. The old_esc_mode setting makes ESC
work as a prefix only if another key is pressed within 0.5 seconds.
After 0.5 seconds the ESC key cancels. There is no way to make ESC
cancel immediately (if we want to be able to use arrows keys and
function keys).
2.5 How can I add the plus sign (+) on the command line?
@ -323,7 +312,8 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
3.1 How do I enable mouse support?
Invoke mc like this (without quotes): "mc -x". If this doesn't work
upgrade to a terminal which compatible with the Xterm mouse sequences.
upgrade to a terminal which compatible with the Xterm mouse
sequences.
Alternatively, on Linux console you can use gpm.
@ -333,8 +323,8 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
3.3 How do I get the extension dependent pop-up menu to pop up?
It was developed for the GNOME edition. The text-mode edition doesn't
support this feature yet.
It was developed for the GNOME edition. The text-mode edition
doesn't support this feature yet.
4 Display
@ -362,9 +352,10 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
4.2 Why don't line drawing characters work?
Since version 4.0.13 there's the command line option -a to force use of
+, |, - for line drawing (only available when compiled with S-Lang).
Use this -a option if any of the suggestions below doesn't help.
Since version 4.0.13 there's the command line option -a to force use
of charaters +, |, - for line drawing (only available when compiled
with S-Lang). Use the -a option if any of the suggestions below
doesn't help.
In general, there are three cases:
* Lines are shown as ASCII characters like this
@ -389,19 +380,20 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
The reason for the problem is one of following:
1. Your terminal might not support line drawing characters. Vt100
compatible terminals, rxvt, xterm and color_xterm do support them.
1. Your terminal might not support line drawing characters. VT100
compatible terminals, rxvt and xterm and color_xterm do support
them.
2. Your terminfo or termcap database might have missing or incorrect
definitions for line drawing characters. Set the acsc variable in
the terminfo database like this:
acsc=a\376k\277l\332m\300j\331n\305w\302v\301u\264t\303q\304x\263h
\2600\333
definitions for line drawing characters. Set the acsc variable
in the terminfo database like this:
acsc=a\376k\277l\332m\300j\331n\305w\302v\301u\264t\303q\304x
\263h\2600\333
Don't forget issue 'tic' command. This supposes you are using PC
character set. The octal values might be different for other
character sets. If you are using termcap instead of terminfo, you
should modify above solution appropriately.
3. Your terminal font might not support line drawing characters. Try
changing the font.
character sets. If you are using termcap instead of terminfo,
you should modify above solution appropriately.
3. Your terminal font might not support line drawing characters.
Try changing the font.
Here is Miguel's answer to Torben on this subject.
@ -419,9 +411,9 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
characters or not.
If it has line drawing characters, then a new terminfo entry should
be written for this specific case. Let's call this linux-iso01. The
acsc variable should be modified to reflect which characters are
used to do the line drawing.
be written for this specific case. Let's call this linux-iso01.
The acsc variable should be modified to reflect which characters
are used to do the line drawing.
If it does not have line drawing characters, then we should get rid
of the switch to acsc sequences and make the acsc sequence be just
@ -482,9 +474,10 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
With S-Lang library you can force color support by setting the
environment variable COLORTERM to any value.
If you use ncurses library, check that your terminfo database supports
color. If not, you should install one of the enhanced terminfo
databases included in GNU Midnight Commander source distribution.
If you use ncurses library, check that your terminfo database
supports color. If not, you should install one of the enhanced
terminfo databases included in GNU Midnight Commander source
distribution.
You might want to set the TERM environment variable so that you are
using the correct terminfo database or termcap entry.
@ -498,11 +491,11 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
4.6 My color_xterm goes completely (or partially) black!
Some color_xterm terminals define all colors as black instead of the
standard ANSI colors. This makes them go completely black when you try
to use Midnight Commander with colors.
standard ANSI colors. This makes them go completely black when you
try to use Midnight Commander with colors.
You will have to override the defaults. Create a file "color.defaults"
which has the following contents:
You will have to override the defaults. Create a file
"color.defaults" which has the following contents:
color_xterm*color0: Black
color_xterm*color1: Red
@ -522,10 +515,10 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
xrdb -merge color.defaults
Alternatively you can add the suggested contents of the color.defaults
file to your .Xdefaults or .Xresources file (or what ever the name of
your X configuration file is). Or you can replace your non-ANSI
color_xterm with an ANSI color_xterm.
Alternatively you can add the suggested contents of the
color.defaults file to your .Xdefaults or .Xresources file (or what
ever the name of your X configuration file is). Or you can replace
your non-ANSI color_xterm with an ANSI color_xterm.
4.7 Where can I get xterm or rxvt?
@ -537,14 +530,14 @@ Frequently Asked Questions
rxvt has its own site http://www.rxvt.org/ - get the latest version
there.
4.8 I got colors working with MC but the other programs don't work at all
anymore!
4.8 I got colors working with MC but the other programs don't work at
all anymore!
Midnight Commander uses terminfo database (if available) but many
other programs use termcap database. If you set the TERM environment
variable to a value which has no corresponding entry in termcap
database those programs stop working. You should add the new value of
TERM to the termcap database.
database those programs stop working. You should add the new value
of TERM to the termcap database.
Example: If you have set TERM to xterm-color locate from /etc/termcap
the line which starts:
@ -599,22 +592,23 @@ enough?
You can put previous commands to the command line with Alt-p. Alt-n
moves you forward in history.
Since version 4.1.15 all the input widgets have permanent history. You
can summon the history listbox by pressing M-h.
Since version 4.1.15 all the input widgets have permanent history.
You can summon the history listbox by pressing M-h.
6.3 How can I complete commands, file names, variable names and so on?
Just press M-Tab. Press M-Tab again to get a listbox if there are
multiple possible completions.
6.4 I am using ksh. Can I use functions defined in the .kshrc within MC?
6.4 I am using ksh. Can I use functions defined in the .kshrc within
MC?
Sorry, MC only supports bash, tcsh and zsh functions. Ksh functions
are not supported because ksh lacks the necessary hooks needed for
subshell integration.
Switch to bash or zsh. They are both quite compatible with ksh. Your
ksh functions should work as such or after minimal changes.
Switch to bash or zsh. They are both quite compatible with ksh.
Your ksh functions should work as such or after minimal changes.
6.5 Is there any way to include additional options or hot keys to MC?
@ -626,31 +620,22 @@ enough?
See the mc(1) man page for more info.
And finally, you can code any feature you want yourself. MC source
code is free which means you can change it anyway you want. There are
some limitations to make sure MC stays free. See GNU General Public
License for details.
code is free which means you can change it anyway you want. There
are some limitations to make sure MC stays free. See GNU General
Public License for details.
7 Virtual file systems
Note! Virtual file systems are supported by Unix ports only. The
native Windows port doesn't support virtual file systems.
7.1 How can I see the contents of a tar archive?
If you use keyboard just move the selection bar on the tar file and
press enter.
If you use mouse just double-click on the tar file.
If these procedures don't work, your .mc.ext file is faulty. Replace
it with one from the MC source distribution.
You can also enter a tar archive by typing "cd tar:filename.tar.gz"
where filename.tar.gz is the name of the archive.
press enter. If you use mouse just double-click on the tar file.
The recognized suffixes for tar archives are .tar, .tar.gz and .tgz.
If your tar archive uses different suffix you have to rename it.
You can also enter a tar archive by typing "cd filename#utar" where
filename is the name of the archive. In this case, the suffix is not
important.
7.2 How do I get out of a tar archive?
@ -672,17 +657,19 @@ enough?
7.5 How do I close an ftp connection?
Just chdir to a non-ftp directory. Just typing "cd" with no parameters
is enough (it will take you to your home directory).
Just change to a non-ftp directory. Simply typing "cd" with no
parameters is enough (it will take you to your home directory).
Internally Midnight Commander closes ftp connection only after a
timeout. This isn't visible to the end user.
GNU Midnight Commander closes ftp connection automatically after a
timeout or on exit. It's possible to force disconnect by selecting
"Command" -> "Active VFS List" in the menu and using the "Free VFSs
Now" button.
7.6 Why aren't the contents of ftp panel updated?
Update is skipped because there would be a serious performance
penalty. Constantly updating directory panels through a ftp connection
would take too much time.
penalty. Constantly updating directory panels through a ftp
connection would take too much time.
You can use C-r to force an update.
@ -699,51 +686,14 @@ enough?
8 Other common problems
8.1 How do I get the internal editor to work?
The F4 key used to default to an external editor because that was what
most people were used to. The newer versions use internal editor by
default.
To use the internal editor with an old version, select Configuration
from the Options menu and check the 'use internal edit' option.
Alternatively add the line
use_internal_edit=1
under the [Midnight-Commander] section in your .mc.ini file (which is
in your home directory).
To make the editor work all the time, go to the default/* section in
the file lib/mc/mc.ext file and remove the line
Edit=%var{EDITOR:vi} %f
The internal editor will now be invoked for anything not specified
elsewhere in the mc.ext file.
Make sure that you edit the correct mc.ext file. The Midnight
Commander first checks the existence of $HOME/.mc.ext. If this file
is missing MC will use $prefix/lib/mc/mc.ext instead ($prefix can be
changed with configure before compilation and it defaults to
/usr/local).
When you run `F9/Command/Extension file edit' for the very first time
Midnight Commander copies the system-wide mc.ext from $prefix/lib/mc
into your home directory because you need write access in order to
change it.
And please don't forget that "make install" overwrites
$prefix/lib/mc/mc.ext.
8.2 When I try pasting to the internal editor, it indents the amount of
8.1 When I try pasting to the internal editor, it indents the amount of
indenting increases with each line!
Either turn of 'Return does autoindent' in the editor options or
update GNU Midnight Commander to version 4.6.0 or above - it doesn't
autoindent when you are holding Shift.
8.3 Is it possible to use Colorer for syntax highlighting?
8.2 Is it possible to use Colorer for syntax highlighting?
Yes if you submit the patch. There are no legal problems with it
because it's licensed under GPL now. The homepage of Colorer is
@ -759,19 +709,7 @@ indenting increases with each line!
control key with the key which is the backslash key in the English
keyboard layout.
9.3 Why I keep getting: "There is no disk in the drive. Please insert a disk
into drive D:"?
This is a known bug of the native Windows port. MC looks its
configuration files from the D:\MC directory and if the D: drive is a
removable drive (like a CD ROM drive) and there is no disk in drive
you get this message every time you try to do anything.
Since version 4.0.6 you can specify the actual location of the
Midnight Commander configuration files with the MCHOME environment
variable.
9.3 When I start Midnight Commander, nothing happens!
9.2 When I start Midnight Commander, nothing happens!
First, invoke MC without subshell support: "mc -u". If this helps
check the shell you are using. Subshell support works best with
@ -868,8 +806,8 @@ into drive D:"?
* If segmentation fault didn't produce a core file:
1. Load mc by typing "gdb mc" or "dbx mc".
2. Start mc by typing "run".
3. Try to reproduce the segmentation fault by doing whatever you
did last time when the segmentation fault occurred.
3. Try to reproduce the segmentation fault by doing whatever
you did last time when the segmentation fault occurred.
4. Type "where".
5. Cut and paste the results to your message.
6. For the future you might want to check out what is the
@ -879,10 +817,10 @@ into drive D:"?
10.4 How can I join the development?
To join the development just code the feature you want to add and send
your patch for inclusion. Email address is mc-devel@gnome.org.
Before you start coding check the latest development version. It might
be that your feature has already been implemented.
To join the development just code the feature you want to add and
send your patch for inclusion. Email address is mc-devel@gnome.org.
Before you start coding check the latest development version. It
might be that your feature has already been implemented.
Note that the authors of GNU Midnight Commander have given all their
rights on the program to the Free Software Foundation. You will have
@ -892,8 +830,8 @@ into drive D:"?
11 More information
11.1 This document didn't answer my question. Where else can I look for an
answer?
11.1 This document didn't answer my question. Where else can I look for
an answer?
Read messages from the Discussion (mailing list archive) or read the
Manual.
@ -926,8 +864,8 @@ answer?
11.4 Are the mailing lists archived anywhere?
The mc and mc-devel lists are archived on the World Wide Web. There are
links to the archives on the mailing list pages (see 10.2).
The mc and mc-devel lists are archived on the World Wide Web. There
are links to the archives on the mailing list pages (see 10.2).
12 Legal issues
@ -948,6 +886,6 @@ answer?
Note that this document is provided as is. The information in it is
not warranted to be correct; you use it at your own risk.
You can use Questions and Answers according to GNU Public License (see
the COPYING file in GNU Midnight Commander source distribution).
Questions and Answers is not public domain.
You can use Questions and Answers according to GNU General Public
License (see the COPYING file in GNU Midnight Commander source
distribution). Questions and Answers is not public domain.