D	Configuration Resources



NCSA Mosaic for the X Window System can be configured 
using standard X Window System resources. X resources con-
trol the behavior of many NCSA Mosaic functions as well as 
colors and fonts. Command line flags perform a few of the 
same functions as X Window resources. Multimedia configura-
tion, which require external programs, can be modified as well. 
Documents you specify can be placed on a Document menu.

If you are using NCSA Mosaic as a shared resource, you may 
not be able to make modifications of this type. Check with 
your system administrator for assistance and additional infor-
mation.

X Resources 

Functional resources control the look and feel of NCSA Mosaic 
and provide it with some system-specific information. Visual 
resources mostly control the appearance of anchors (hyper-
links). Font resources define the default fonts NCSA Mosaic 
uses. 

For information on X resources, link to the URL listed below:

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/
resources.html

Command Line Flags 

Command line flags are used to change various aspects of how 
NCSA Mosaic operates on your system. For example, you can 
use command line flags to tell NCSA Mosaic to use a color or 
monochrome user interface, change your home page (one of 
several ways to do this), set your image cache size, or change 
the location of your global history file. 

For information on command line flags, link to the URL listed 
below:

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/command-
line-flags.html

Multimedia Configuration 

NCSA Mosaic attempts to use external programs to display 
files that it cannot display itself, such as audio or image files. If 
an appropriate external program cannot be located to handle 
the file, the Save Binary File To Local Disk window opens that 
requests you insert a filename under which to save the file for 
use outside of the NCSA Mosaic program.

NCSA Mosaic uses a two-step process to determine which 
external viewer to use: 

a.	The type of the incoming document is determined, 
either according to its file extension (.gif or .html, for 
example) or as specified by the document's server. If 
NCSA Mosaic must rely on the file extension, a default 
list or a user-configurable file is used to determine 
type. 

b.	NCSA Mosaic matches the incoming file's type to an 
external viewer, according to either the default list or 
the user-configurable file. 

External Viewers

For information on external viewers, link to the URL listed 
below:

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/mailcap.html

Mapping File Extensions to MIME Types

An extension map is a configuration file that maps file exten-
sions to MIME types. (MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet 
Mail Extension and is a standard for specifying and describing 
the format of Internet message bodies.) For example, the file 
extension .gif maps to MIME type image/gif and the xv viewer. 

For more information on file extension mapping, link to the 
URL listed below:

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/extension-
map.html

Executing Local Programs via Hyperlinks 

Many NCSA Mosaic users want hyperlinks to execute a local 
program such as a shell script. There are security implications 
to local program execution that should be carefully considered 
before implementation. For information on this function, link 
to the URL listed below.

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/executing-
shell-scripts.html

Creating a Configurable Documents Menu

NCSA Mosaic lets you create a Document menu, with the docu-
ments you specify displayed on the pull-down menu. For addi-
tional information on this option, link to the URL listed below:

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/faq-docu-
ments-menu.html