7
The Preferences Notebook
Using Quarterdeck Mosaic's Configuration Options
A myriad of configuration options are available in Quarterdeck Mosaic. By selecting Preferences under the Tools menu you can change the look and functionality of the program to suit your taste. When you select Preferences, a tabbed notebook appears with options grouped together by category. To change the options on a given page, click its tab. The following options are available in the notebook.
General Preferences
Figure 21: The General Preferences Tab
Load Home Page on Startup
This setting determines whether or not Quarterdeck Mosaic loads a Home Page at startup. If you prefer that a Home Page not load during startup, remove the check from this option's check box.
Home Page
This option tells Quarterdeck Mosaic which URL to load as your Home Page when you start the program or select Home from the Toolbar.
Use Current
Select this button to configure Quarterdeck Mosaic to use the current document as your Home Page.
URL Helper
Use the URL Helper button to find a local document that you want to designate as your Home Page.
Toolbar Icon Settings
This option lets you configure the Toolbar in one of five styles: 
t	Titles Only
t	Small Icons and Titles
t	Small Icons Only
t	Large Icons Only
t	Large Icons and Titles
Printer Margins
This option lets you specify where the Header and Footer will appear on printed pages, as well as specify the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins.
History Preferences
History preferences let you control how long documents viewed with Quarterdeck Mosaic remain on the Global History list.
Figure 22: The History Preferences Tab
Link Expiration Time (Links Expire, Links Never Expire)
These fields control the number of days that URLs remain in the Global History list before they are deleted. If you want links to expire, select Links Expire and set a number of days. If you prefer that URLs not be deleted from the Global History list, select Links Never Expire.
Keeping Numbers of Links (Keep, Keep All Links)
These fields control the number of items that remain on the Global History page of the Archives. If you establish a number of links to keep, when this number is reached the oldest item scrolls off each time a new item is added to the list, regardless of the Links Expire setting. To keep only a given number of links, select Keep and set a threshold. To keep all links, select Keep All Links.
Link Tree (Maximum Number of Links)
Using this field, you can specify the maximum number of items that should remain on the Link Tree page of the Archives pane at any time. After this number is reached, the oldest item scrolls off each time a new item is added to the list, regardless of the History Entries Expire After setting.
Link Tree (Save Links Between Sessions)
When selected, links on the Link Tree page are saved between Quarterdeck Mosaic sessions. The default is unchecked, which means that links are discarded when you exit from Quarterdeck Mosaic.
Browser Preferences
Figure 23: The Browser Preferences Tab
Show Browser Margins
If this option is enabled, a grey border appears around a document, giving it a threedimensional look. When margins are visible, a document resembles a sheet of paper sitting on a desk.
Show Page Turners
When Page Turners are enabled, you can click icons in the upper-left and -right corners of a document to move backward and forward through the documents that have been displayed in a browser window.
Show Annotations
This option determines whether annotations are visible within your documents.
Show URL Field
If this option is enabled, the URL address of each document is displayed at the top of its browser window.
Show URL Helper
If this feature is enabled, a Show URL Helper button appears at the top of each browser window.
Wipe Interval in Milliseconds
This feature determines how quickly a document is erased from a browser window when you navigate backward to the previous document. To disable the effect altogether, set this to 0.
Background Color
This option determines the background color of your browser windows.
Font Preferences
These options control the fonts that are used when displaying documents in Quarterdeck Mosaic. 
Figure 24: The Fonts Preferences Tab
A Style is a category of text as defined by the author of an HTML document. For instance, certain passages of text are "tagged" (or designated) by the author as being "Heading1" text. When your browser displays "Heading1" text, it uses the font that you have specified for this style. (Any text in an HTML document that is not designated by the author as a special style is displayed as "Normal" style.) 
A Scheme is a collection of styles that are used together. You can create a new scheme by selecting Add New Scheme and entering a name for the new scheme. To change the font for any style within a scheme, select the scheme from the drop-down list, highlight the style you want to change, and select Change Font Style. From the dialog box that appears, choose the characteristics you want to assign to that style. To remove a scheme from the list, select it from the droplist, then click Delete New Scheme.
Color
This section allows you to change the following color options:
Text
The default color for all text other than hypertext links is black. You can assign a different color to a particular style of text by highlighting the style, then selecting a color from the drop-down list of colors.
Link
This option allows you to specify a color to be used when displaying hypertext links within documents. The default color is blue.
Visited Link
This option allows you to specify a color to be used when displaying previously visited hypertext links. This option affects links that you have visited within the period of time set in the "History entries expire after" option on the Global History page of the Preferences notebook. The default color is purple.
HTML Viewer Preferences
Figure 25: The HTML Viewer Preferences Tab
Display Inline Images
This feature allows you to view documents with or without inline images. (Quarterdeck Mosaic supports inline display of .GIF, .JPG, and .XBM files.) Most users want to take full advantage of the Web's multimedia capabilities and will want to view graphics onscreen. If you have a particularly slow Internet connection, however, you may prefer to view documents without graphics in order to improve performance. To disable the display of inline images, click in the check box to remove the check.
Show Link URLs
By default, the URL of any link is displayed in the Status Bar when the cursor passes over the link. If you prefer not to have URLs shown in the Status Bar, click in the check box to remove the check.
Change Cursor Over Links
By default, the cursor changes from an arrow to a hand when it passes over a link. If you prefer that the cursor not change shape when it moves over a link, click in the check box to remove the check.
Wait for Images
If this feature is enabled, Quarterdeck Mosaic waits to be told the size of an image before continuing to display a document. If the feature is disabled, an icon is displayed in place of an inline graphic image, and the document is reformatted after information about the image is received. When disabled, you will at times be able to read a document slightly sooner; however, your reading may be interrupted by the reformatting of the text.
Paragraph Spacing
This field determines the amount of space (in pixels) between paragraphs.
Indent Width 
This field determines the amount of space (in pixels) at the beginning of indented lines.
Styles
These options determine the appearance of numbered and bulleted lists and hypertext links.
t	Numbered Listswhether to use numbers, letters, etc. for numbered lists
t	Hypertext Linkswhether to underline hypertext links 
GIF Viewer Preferences
Figure 26: The GIF Viewer Preferences Tab
Interlace Method
With this option you can instruct Quarterdeck Mosaic to use one of three different methodsPrecise, White Banded, or Smearedto display interlaced .GIF files as they are received by your system. Each option presents the partially downloaded image in a different style. We suggest that you experiment with each of the available Interlace methods and select the one you find the most pleasing.
Cache Preferences
Figure 27: The Cache Preferences Tab
Cache Enabled
By allowing Quarterdeck Mosaic to use a portion of your available hard drive space as a cache, or temporary storage area, performance is greatly improved. By clicking in the check box, you can enable or disable this feature.
Maximum Cache Size
You can set a maximum cache size (in K) based on the amount of free space on your hard drive. By default Quarterdeck Mosaic will use a maximum of two megabytes (2048K) of disk space for a cache. To specify a number other than the default, type it into this field.
Maximum Number of Concurrent Connections
Quarterdeck Mosaic is capable of multitasking, or retrieving multiple documents simultaneously, and this feature can be a real boon to productivity. There are situations, however, in which you may want to limit the number of concurrent connections you allow the program to make. For instance, if you attempt to download six large files simultaneously using a 14,400 modem to communicate over a standard telephone line, networking activity is split among the six documents, and each document is actually being downloaded at 2400 baud! Another reason to limit connections is "netiquette"commonly accepted rules of online behavior. Keep in mind that an Internet site is limited to a certain number of connections at any one time. If you use several connections at once, you may be preventing others from connecting at all! 
Data Engine Preferences
As you explore the Web, you will come across documents containing graphics images, sound clips, movies, etc. Quarterdeck Mosaic contains an internal viewer capable of displaying plain text files, HTML documents, .GIF, .JPG, and .XBM images. Quarterdeck Mosaic can also play .WAV, .AU, and .AIFF sound files. To view other types of files you must configure the program to launch external viewers. Using the Data Engine page of the Preferences notebook, you can associate the file extension with a specific type of file and with the action you want Quarterdeck Mosaic to take when it encounters a file of that type.
Figure 28: The Data Engine Preferences Tab
Type/Subtype
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) types are standard names used to describe data types. On this page, Type refers to the broad category to which this file type belongs, such as image, video, or text. Subtype is a more specific description. For example, HTML and plain are both file types containing text only. Files with the subtype plain, however, would not contain HTML codes. (Keep in mind that the images you see when viewing an HTML document are not actually part of the document. Rather, they exist as separate files.)
Comment
You can use this field to store personal notes regarding a specific file type.   Highlight an entry in the Type/Subtype list, then type your notes in the Comments field.
Filename Extensions
Filename Extensions refer to the file extension (or extensions) used by files of this type and subtype.
Action
After selecting a file type from the scroll box (or using the New button to add a type not listed) and typing in one or more extensions used by files of this type, select from the following list the action you want Quarterdeck Mosaic to take when it encounters a URL of that type.
t	Quarterdeck ViewerIf Quarterdeck Viewer is specified, the file is displayed using one of Quarterdeck Mosaic's internal viewers. This option is only available for plain text files, HTML documents, .GIF, .JPG, and .XBM images, and .WAV, .AU, and .AIFF sound files.
t	Save to diskIn cases where Save to disk is selected, Quarterdeck Mosaic displays the Save As dialog box asking you to specify a filename as well as the location where you want to save the file.
t	Unknown, Prompt UserWhen Unknown, Prompt User is specified, an Unknown Mime Type dialog box appears, asking you how to proceed. This action is the default for any file type not currently listed on the Data Engine page of the Preferences notebook.
t	External Viewer ApplicationThe External Viewer Application option instructs Quarterdeck Mosaic to spawn an external viewer when it encounters a URL of this file type. When you select this option for a file type, enter the program you want Quarterdeck Mosaic to run in the field which appears below, including the full path to the program. Use the Browse button, if necessary, to locate the program's executable file.
Security Preferences
Figure 29: The Security Preferences Tab
Allow the use of export ciphers
A cipher is a method of coding a transmission so that if it is intercepted, it cannot be understood. U.S. law prevents "stronger" ciphers from being exported; they can be used in the U.S. and Canada only. Ciphers that can be exported cannot be stronger than a certain level.
Differences between the domestic (U.S. and Canada) and export (those areas outside of the U.S. and Canada) versions of Quarterdeck Mosaic determine the setting of the Allow the use of export ciphers option:
t	For domestic users, Allow the use of export ciphers can be disabled (unchecked), which is the default. This allows domestic users to force use of the "stronger" domestic SSL ciphers.

Some domestic U.S. Web sites require export ciphers. If you receive the "QMosaic could not find a cipher acceptable to both client and server" error message, enable export ciphers and try to reconnect to the host.
t	For export users, Allow the use of export ciphers should be enabled (checked), which is the default. This allows export users to use the export SSL ciphers. Unchecking Allow the use of export ciphers in export versions of Quarterdeck Mosaic disables SSL security.
Security Warnings
These checkboxes let you control whether or not QMosaic displays a warning message in circumstances involving SSL security. The default is for warning messages to display in all circumstances involving SSL security. To disable a warning message, clear its checkbox.
