XGOPHER(1)

NAME

xgopher - gopher client for the X window system

SYNTAX

xgopher [root server [server port]] [-toolkitoption ...]

DESCRIPTION

xgopher is an X window system client interface to the gopher information server. Xgopher provides access to tremendous amounts of information which may be accessed from a local system or a remote information server. The source of the information is generally transparent, with data supplied from world-wide locations as easily as from a local on-campus server. The Gopher information system software is from the University of Minnesota.

OPTIONS

The installer of Xgopher normally configures the root server and server port options. Loosely speaking, the root server is the network name of the computer system that will provide your initial gopher menu. The port is a number that specifies system connection information. These options may also be specified via the resources described later in this document. For convenience, these options may be specified on the command line.

The X toolkit options are standard options available to every application written using the X toolkit (Xt). Please refer to your Xt documentation for a list and description of these options.

MAIN DISPLAY PANEL

The initial display will show the top level directory of gopher information available. Selecting an item from this list will fetch the contents of a file, subdirectory, or other information. The directory display may be updated to show the new subdirectory. A gopher item is a menu entry in this directory list. There are many types of gopher items handled by Xgopher, and each is explained below. An item is selected and highlighted by pointing at an entry with the mouse and clicking the left button. To unselect all items, click the mouse in either the directory title area or bookmark title area. You may select an entry in either the upper directory list item or the lower bookmark list. The display button marked Fetch selection is used to act on the selection. An accelerator allows you to simply "click" a second time on a highlighted item to activate the fetch. By default, all interactions use only the left mouse button. A directory is a collection of other files and directories. The directory items are displayed in a list with an identifying symbol to the left of each item. The symbol identifies the type of the item. The symbols may be changed by the installer or by each user. The default symbols are:

blank Text file
>> directory
<cso> a CSO name server (phone book)
<idx> a full text index search
<tel> a telnet session
<tn3> a tn3270 session
<img> an image file
<bin> a binary file
<snd> a sound file (spoken, sound effect, or music)

The file types are discussed below. From all but the top level directory, the Previous Directory button will return you to the previous directory that was displayed just before this one. A keyboard accelerator allows you to press the "u" key while the X pointer is anywhere on the main panel to achieve the same action.

BOOKMARKS

If you are viewing a directory that you may wish to return to later, set a bookmark there with the Add directory as bookmark button. This directory will be displayed with your other bookmarks in the lower scrolling region below the current directory list. If you already have an item selected, the buttons label will now read Add selection as bookmark and the item will be added to the bookmark list. Later, no matter where you have browsed through the gopher directory space, you may return to any bookmark by selecting it just as you would a regular directory item. You are brought immediately to that marked directory, The directory that you were in when you selected the bookmark becomes the previous directory. Other buttons and menu items let you remove individual bookmarks or all of the bookmarks. The main gopher directory that you see when you first start Xgopher is normally marked for you so you can easily and quickly return to the top level. Bookmarks are normally saved between your Xgopher sessions. When your start Xgopher, the file $HOME/.gopherrc is read to load your previous bookmarks, if any. When you exit Xgopher, your current bookmark list is written back to this file. Using the Option panel described below, you can change the name of your bookmark file any number of times during an Xgopher session, and use the Load bookmarks now and Save bookmarks now commands to manipulate several files of bookmarks. The bookmark save file should be compatible with the Unix curses client, bookmark file. Other resources described below that may affect bookmark processing are: bookmarkFile, loadBookmarks, appendBookmarks, markRoot, and allowBookmarkSave.

INFORMATION ABOUT ITEMS

Each gopher item and directory may be maintained by a remote computer system anywhere in the world. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine where the information is coming from. You can at least display the raw information which includes the name of the computer (host) that serves each gopher item. If you are viewing a directory with no items currently selected click the button labeled Info about directory, and the information for this directory will be displayed. If you already have an item selected, the buttons label will now read Info about selection and information about the selected item will be shown. The item that you select may be from either the directory list or the bookmark list.