lynx FAQ

Note: Because UNIX is a case sensitive language, when commands are given in these FAQs, please type them as is. For example, the word 'pine' would be typed all lower case.

Also, to show that something is a command, it will be surrounded by quotes, i.e. 'pine' but when you type the command, do not type the quotes, only what is inside of them.

Special thanks to Patrick Boylan for his editing skills and menus!

What is lynx?

Lynx is a very easy Web Browser for the UNIX shell account. The main differences between Lynx and other Web Browsers is that you cannot see pictures and you have to enter all the commands on the keyboard rather than using the mouse.

How do I get started?

To start lynx, from your main UNIX prompt, type the word 'lynx' (remember, without the quotes and UNIX is case sensitive) and hit the return key.

You will see an opening screen which will vary from ISP (Internet Site Provider) to ISP. Most will present you with different starting places from which you can choose.

All opening screens, however, will have hypertext links which will be shown as a different type of text i.e. underlined or shadowed. Those links will take you to other places when you move to them and hit enter. Is all this confusing? Take heart, read on....

Moving around

There are a few things you will need to know. First, how do you move around?

The down arrow - will highlight the next link
The up arrow - will highlight the previous link
The right arrow - will follow a link
The left arrow - will return you to the previous link
The space key - will show you the next page within the same link
The enter key - will follow a link

If Lynx is set to use NUMBERS_AS_ARROWS (which it does by default), you can also use the keypad:

[Clear]:Reload   [=]:Page-Info   [/]:WhereIs('find')   [*]:Toggle Links-For-Inlines 

  [Clear]:Reload  [=]:Page-Info  [/]:WhereIs('find')
    |             /              /     [*]:Toggle Links-For-Inlines
    |        ,---' ,------------'      /
    |       /     /     ,-------------'
   .-----.-----.-----.-----.
   |Clear|  =  |  /  |  *  |
   :-----:-----:-----:-----:
   |  7  |  8  |  9  |  -  | [7]:Top of the Page  [8]:Highlight Prev Link
   :-----:-----:-----:-----:         [9] & [-]:Up 1 Page
   |  4  |  5  |  6  |  +  | [4]:Back             [5]:nothing
   :-----:-----:-----:-----:         [6]:Follow Highlighted Link
   |  1  |  2  |  3  |     | [1]:Bottom of Page   [2]:Highlight Next Link
   :-----:-----:-----|     |         [3] & [+]:Down 1 Page
   |  0        |  .  |Enter| ----,
   '-----------'-----'-----'      \
                               [Enter]:Same as Return
  
[7]:Top of the Page   [8]:Highlight Prev Link   [9] & [-]:Up 1 Page
[4]:Back   [5]:nothing   [6]:Follow Highlighted Link
[1]:Bottom of Page   [2]:Highlight Next Link   [3] & [+]:Down 1 Page
[Enter]:Same as Return

Commands

g (go to) - will allow you to enter a url to go to
o (options) - to change options such as your email address and define
your bookmark file
a (add) - will add the current url to your bookmark file
v (view) - to view your bookmark file
h (help) - the help pages q (quit) - to leave lynx

A practice run

Since this is all in theory, let's show you a practical example:

At your UNIX prompt, type 'lynx' (remember, without the quotes and UNIX is case sensitive) and hit enter.

hit 'g' and type in 'http://www.savyon.com/ellen' and hit enter.

You will now see my homepage. Where I have an image, you will see the word [image]. You will also see normal text (i.e. Welcome to Ellen's Homepage!) as well as links (i.e. Pictures!).

Hit the down arrow 3 times and you will see that you are on the link called What I Do For Fun. Hit enter or the right arrow.

You have now followed a link.

Hit the space bar and see the next page and play with the up and down arrows.

Follow one of the links and see what's there.

Hit the left arrow to go back to my fun page.

Hit the left arrow again to go back to the main page of my webpage.

Bookmarks

You can bookmark this page. What that means is if you find a page you want to visit again, rather than trying to find the url address again or writing it down on a piece of paper, you can create a bookmark file in which you store all these urls.

You first need to know if you have a bookmark file set up.

Hit 'o' and you will see a list of options you can set. You may as well set up all sorts of things while you're in there. For example, if it says:

NONE for your bookmark file, hit 'b' and type 'bookmarks' and hit enter
NONE for your editor, hit 'e' and type 'pico' and hit enter
NONE for your personal email address, hit 'p' and type in your email address and hit enter
To exit the options menu, hit 'r'

Now we can save the url in your bookmark file! To do this, hit 'a' and you will be asked if you wish to save this in your bookmark file or not. Hit 'y' to save it.

Do you wish to view your bookmark file? Hit 'v' to view it.

Now you have to admit that my webpage is an interesting place, but there are many wonderful places on the World Wide Web. A good place to get started is in yahoo.

Hit 'g' then hit your backspace to clear what's typed there, type in 'http://www.yahoo.com' and hit enter.

Enjoy!!

Back to Ellen's FAQs page.
Back to Ellen's main page.

Ellen Savyon Vig ellen_vig@yahoo.com


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