1 \C{config} Configuring PuTTY
3 This chapter describes all the configuration options in PuTTY.
5 PuTTY is configured using the control panel that comes up before you
6 start a session. Some options can also be changed in the middle of a
7 session, by selecting \e{Change Settings} from the window menu.
9 \H{config-session} The Session panel
11 The Session configuration panel contains the basic options you need
12 to specify in order to open a session at all, and also allows you to
13 save your settings to be reloaded later.
15 \S{config-hostname} The host name section
17 The top box on the Session panel, labelled \q{Specify your
18 connection by host name}, contains the details that need to be
19 filled in before PuTTY can open a session at all.
21 \b The \e{Host Name} box is where you type the name, or the IP
22 address, of the server you want to connect to.
24 \b The \e{Protocol} radio buttons let you choose what type of
25 connection you want to make: a raw connection, a Telnet connection, an
26 rlogin connection or an SSH connection. (See \k{which-one} for a
27 summary of the differences between SSH, Telnet and rlogin.)
29 \b The \e{Port} box lets you specify which port number on the server
30 to connect to. If you select Telnet, Rlogin, or SSH, this box will be
31 filled in automatically to the usual value, and you will only need to
32 change it if you have an unusual server. If you select Raw mode, you
33 will almost certainly need to fill in the \e{Port} box.
35 \S{config-saving} Loading and storing saved sessions
37 The next part of the Session configuration panel allows you to save
38 your preferred PuTTY options so they will appear automatically the
39 next time you start PuTTY. It also allows you to create \e{saved
40 sessions}, which contain a full set of configuration options plus a
41 host name and protocol. A saved session contains all the information
42 PuTTY needs to start exactly the session you want.
44 \b To save your default settings: first set up the settings the way
45 you want them saved. Then come back to the Session panel. Select the
46 \q{Default Settings} entry in the saved sessions list, with a single
47 click. Then press the \e{Save} button.
49 Note that PuTTY does not allow you to save a host name into the
50 Default Settings entry. This ensures that when PuTTY is started up,
51 the host name box is always empty, so a user can always just type in
52 a host name and connect.
54 If there is a specific host you want to store the details of how to
55 connect to, you should create a saved session, which will be
56 separate from the Default Settings.
58 \b To save a session: first go through the rest of the configuration
59 box setting up all the options you want. Then come back to the
60 Session panel. Enter a name for the saved session in the \e{Saved
61 Sessions} input box. (The server name is often a good choice for a
62 saved session name.) Then press the \e{Save} button. Your saved
63 session name should now appear in the list box.
65 \b To reload a saved session: single-click to select the session
66 name in the list box, and then press the \e{Load} button. Your saved
67 settings should all appear in the configuration panel.
69 \b To modify a saved session: first load it as described above. Then
70 make the changes you want. Come back to the Session panel,
71 single-click to select the session name in the list box, and press
72 the \e{Save} button. The new settings will be saved over the top of
75 \b To start a saved session immediately: double-click on the session
78 \b To delete a saved session: single-click to select the session
79 name in the list box, and then press the \e{Delete} button.
81 Each saved session is independent of the Default Settings
82 configuration. If you change your preferences and update Default
83 Settings, you must also update every saved session separately.
85 \S{config-closeonexit} \q{Close Window on Exit}
87 Finally in the Session panel, there is an option labelled \q{Close
88 Window on Exit}. This controls whether the PuTTY session window
89 disappears as soon as the session inside it terminates. If you are
90 likely to want to copy and paste text out of the session after it
91 has terminated, you should arrange this option to be off.
93 \q{Close Window On Exit} has three settings. \q{Always} means always
94 close the window on exit; \q{Never} means never close on exit
95 (always leave the window open). The third setting, and the default
96 one, is \q{Only on clean exit}. In this mode, a session which
97 terminates normally will cause its window to close, but one which is
98 aborted unexpectedly by network trouble or a confusing message from
99 the server will leave the window up.
101 \H{config-logging} The Logging panel
103 The Logging configuration panel allows you to save log files of your
104 PuTTY sessions, for debugging, analysis or future reference.
106 The main option is a radio-button set that specifies whether PuTTY
107 will log anything at all. The options are
109 \b \q{Logging turned off completely}. This is the default option; in
110 this mode PuTTY will not create a log file at all.
112 \b \q{Log printable output only}. In this mode, a log file will be
113 created and written to, but only printable text will be saved into
114 it. The various terminal control codes that are typically sent down
115 an interactive session alongside the printable text will be omitted.
116 This might be a useful mode if you want to read a log file in a text
117 editor and hope to be able to make sense of it.
119 \b \q{Log all session output}. In this mode, \e{everything} sent by
120 the server into your terminal session is logged. If you view the log
121 file in a text editor, therefore, you may well find it full of
122 strange control characters. This is a particularly useful mode if
123 you are experiencing problems with PuTTY's terminal handling: you
124 can record everything that went to the terminal, so that someone
125 else can replay the session later in slow motion and watch to see
128 \S{config-logfilename} \q{Log file name}
130 In this edit box you enter the name of the file you want to log the
131 session to. The \q{Browse} button will let you look around your file
132 system to find the right place to put the file; or if you already
133 know exactly where you want it to go, you can just type a pathname
136 There are a few special features in this box. If you use the \c{&}
137 character in the file name box, PuTTY will insert details of the
138 current session in the name of the file it actually opens. The
139 precise replacements it will do are:
141 \b \c{&Y} will be replaced by the current year, as four digits.
143 \b \c{&M} will be replaced by the current month, as two digits.
145 \b \c{&D} will be replaced by the current day of the month, as two
148 \b \c{&T} will be replaced by the current time, as six digits
149 (HHMMSS) with no punctuation.
151 \b \c{&H} will be replaced by the host name you are connecting to.
153 For example, if you enter the host name
154 \c{c:\\puttylogs\\log-&h-&y&m&d-&t.dat}, you will end up with files looking
157 \c log-server1.example.com-20010528-110859.dat
158 \c log-unixbox.somewhere.org-20010611-221001.dat
160 \S{config-logfileexists} \q{What to do if the log file already exists}
162 This control allows you to specify what PuTTY should do if it tries
163 to start writing to a log file and it finds the file already exists.
164 You might want to automatically destroy the existing log file and
165 start a new one with the same name. Alternatively, you might want to
166 open the existing log file and add data to the \e{end} of it.
167 Finally (the default option), you might not want to have any
168 automatic behaviour, but to ask the user every time the problem
171 \H{config-terminal} The Terminal panel
173 The Terminal configuration panel allows you to control the behaviour
174 of PuTTY's terminal emulation.
176 \S{config-autowrap} \q{Auto wrap mode initially on}
178 Auto wrap mode controls what happens when text printed in a PuTTY
179 window reaches the right-hand edge of the window.
181 With auto wrap mode on, if a long line of text reaches the
182 right-hand edge, it will wrap over on to the next line so you can
183 still see all the text. With auto wrap mode off, the cursor will
184 stay at the right-hand edge of the screen, and all the characters in
185 the line will be printed on top of each other.
187 If you are running a full-screen application and you occasionally
188 find the screen scrolling up when it looks as if it shouldn't, you
189 could try turning this option off.
191 Auto wrap mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by
192 the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default}
193 state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \e{Change
194 Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before
195 the change takes effect.
197 \S{config-decom} \q{DEC Origin Mode initially on}
199 DEC Origin Mode is a minor option which controls how PuTTY
200 interprets cursor-position control sequences sent by the server.
202 The server can send a control sequence that restricts the scrolling
203 region of the display. For example, in an editor, the server might
204 reserve a line at the top of the screen and a line at the bottom,
205 and might send a control sequence that causes scrolling operations
206 to affect only the remaining lines.
208 With DEC Origin Mode on, cursor coordinates are counted from the top
209 of the scrolling region. With it turned off, cursor coordinates are
210 counted from the top of the whole screen regardless of the scrolling
213 It is unlikely you would need to change this option, but if you find
214 a full-screen application is displaying pieces of text in what looks
215 like the wrong part of the screen, you could try turning DEC Origin
216 Mode on to see whether that helps.
218 DEC Origin Mode can be turned on and off by control sequences sent by
219 the server. This configuration option only controls the \e{default}
220 state. If you modify this option in mid-session using \e{Change
221 Settings}, you will need to reset the terminal \#{ FIXME } before
222 the change takes effect.
224 \S{config-crlf} \q{Implicit CR in every LF}
226 Most servers send two control characters, CR and LF, to start a new
227 line of the screen. The CR character makes the cursor return to the
228 left-hand side of the screen. The LF character makes the cursor move
229 one line down (and might make the screen scroll).
231 Some servers only send LF, and expect the terminal to move the
232 cursor over to the left automatically. If you come across a server
233 that does this, you will see a stepped effect on the screen, like
236 \c First line of text
240 If this happens to you, try enabling the \q{Implicit CR in every LF}
241 option, and things might go back to normal:
243 \c First line of text
247 \S{config-erase} \q{Use background colour to erase screen}
249 Not all terminals agree on what colour to turn the screen when the
250 server sends a \q{clear screen} sequence. Some terminals believe the
251 screen should always be cleared to the \e{default} background
252 colour. Others believe the screen should be cleared to whatever the
253 server has selected as a background colour.
255 There exist applications that expect both kinds of behaviour.
256 Therefore, PuTTY can be configured to do either.
258 With this option disabled, screen clearing is always done in the
259 default background colour. With this option enabled, it is done in
260 the \e{current} background colour.
262 \S{config-blink} \q{Enable blinking text}
264 The server can ask PuTTY to display text that blinks on and off.
265 This is very distracting, so PuTTY allows you to turn blinking text
268 \S{config-localecho} \q{Local echo}
270 With local echo disabled, characters you type into the PuTTY window
271 are not echoed in the window \e{by PuTTY}. They are simply sent to
272 the server. (The \e{server} might choose to echo them back to you;
273 this can't be controlled from the PuTTY control panel.)
275 Some types of session need local echo, and many do not. In its
276 default mode, PuTTY will automatically attempt to deduce whether or
277 not local echo is appropriate for the session you are working in. If
278 you find it has made the wrong decision, you can use this
279 configuration option to override its choice: you can force local
280 echo to be turned on, or force it to be turned off, instead of
281 relying on the automatic detection.
283 \S{config-localedit} \q{Local line editing}
285 Normally, every character you type into the PuTTY window is sent
286 immediately to the server the moment you type it.
288 If you enable local line editing, this changes. PuTTY will let you
289 edit a whole line at a time locally, and the line will only be sent
290 to the server when you press Return. If you make a mistake, you can
291 use the Backspace key to correct it before you press Return, and the
292 server will never see the mistake.
294 Since it is hard to edit a line locally without being able to see
295 it, local line editing is mostly used in conjunction with local echo
296 (\k{config-localecho}). This makes it ideal for use in raw mode
297 \#{FIXME} or when connecting to MUDs or talkers. (Although some more
298 advanced MUDs do occasionally turn local line editing on and turn
299 local echo off, in order to accept a password from the user.)
301 Some types of session need local line editing, and many do not. In
302 its default mode, PuTTY will automatically attempt to deduce whether
303 or not local line editing is appropriate for the session you are
304 working in. If you find it has made the wrong decision, you can use
305 this configuration option to override its choice: you can force
306 local line editing to be turned on, or force it to be turned off,
307 instead of relying on the automatic detection.
309 \H{config-bell} The Bell panel
311 The Bell panel controls the terminal bell feature: the server's
312 ability to cause PuTTY to beep at you.
314 In the default configuration, when the server sends the character
315 with ASCII code 7 (Control-G), PuTTY will play the Windows Default
316 Beep sound. This is not always what you want the terminal bell
317 feature to do; the Bell panel allows you to configure alternative
320 \S{config-bellstyle} \q{Set the style of bell}
322 This control allows you to select various different actions to occur
325 \b Selecting \q{None} disables the bell completely. In this mode,
326 the server can send as many Control-G characters as it likes and
327 nothing at all will happen.
329 \b \q{Play Windows Default Sound} is the default setting. It causes
330 the Windows \q{Default Beep} sound to be played. To change what this
331 sound is, or to test it if nothing seems to be happening, use the
332 Sound configurer in the Windows Control Panel.
334 \b \q{Play a custom sound file} allows you to specify a particular
335 sound file to be used by PuTTY alone, or even by a particular
336 individual PuTTY session. This allows you to distinguish your PuTTY
337 beeps from any other beeps on the system. If you select this option,
338 you will also need to enter the name of your sound file in the edit
339 control \q{Custom sound file to play as a bell}.
341 \b \q{Visual bell} is a silent alternative to a beeping computer. In
342 this mode, when the server sends a Control-G, the whole PuTTY window
343 will flash white for a fraction of a second.
345 \S{config-belltaskbar} \q{Taskbar/caption indication on bell}
347 This feature controls what happens to the PuTTY window's entry in
348 the Windows Taskbar if a bell occurs while the window does not have
351 In the default state (\q{Disabled}) nothing unusual happens.
353 If you select \q{Steady}, then when a bell occurs and the window is
354 not in focus, the window's Taskbar entry and its title bar will
355 change colour to let you know that PuTTY session is asking for your
356 attention. The change of colour will persist until you select the
357 window, so you can leave several PuTTY windows minimised in your
358 terminal, go away from your keyboard, and be sure not to have missed
359 any important beeps when you get back.
361 \q{Flashing} is even more eye-catching: the Taskbar entry will
362 continuously flash on and off until you select the window.
364 \S{config-bellovl} \q{Control the bell overload behaviour}
366 A common user error in a terminal session is to accidentally run the
367 Unix command \c{cat} (or equivalent) on an inappropriate file type,
368 such as an executable, image file, or ZIP file. This produces a huge
369 stream of non-text characters sent to the terminal, which typically
370 includes a lot of bell characters. As a result of this the terminal
371 often doesn't stop beeping for ten minutes, and everybody else in
372 the office gets annoyed.
374 To try to avoid this behaviour, or any other cause of excessive
375 beeping, PuTTY includes a bell overload management feature. In the
376 default configuration, receiving more than five bell characters in a
377 two-second period will cause the overload feature to activate. Once
378 the overload feature is active, further bells will have no effect at
379 all, so the rest of your binary file will be sent to the screen in
380 silence. After a period of five seconds during which no further
381 bells are received, the overload feature will turn itself off again
382 and bells will be re-enabled.
384 If you want this feature completely disabled, you can turn it off
385 using the checkbox \q{Bell is temporarily disabled when over-used}.
387 Alternatively, if you like the bell overload feature but don't agree
388 with the settings, you can configure the details: how many bells
389 constitute an overload, how short a time period they have to arrive
390 in to do so, and how much silent time is required before the
391 overload feature will deactivate itself.
393 \H{config-keyboard} The Keyboard panel
395 The Keyboard configuration panel allows you to control the behaviour
396 of the keyboard in PuTTY.
398 \S{config-backspace} Changing the action of the Backspace key
400 Some terminals believe that the Backspace key should send the same
401 thing to the server as Control-H (ASCII code 8). Other terminals
402 believe that the Backspace key should send ASCII code 127 (usually
403 known as Control-?) so that it can be distinguished from Control-H.
404 This option allows you to choose which code PuTTY generates when you
407 If you are connecting to a Unix system, you will probably find that
408 the Unix \c{stty} command lets you configure which the server
409 expects to see, so you might not need to change which one PuTTY
410 generates. On other systems, the server's expectation might be fixed
411 and you might have no choice but to configure PuTTY.
413 If you do have the choice, we recommend configuring PuTTY to
414 generate Control-? and configuring the server to expect it, because
415 that allows applications such as \c{emacs} to use Control-H for
418 \S{config-homeend} Changing the action of the Home and End keys
420 The Unix terminal emulator \c{rxvt} disagrees with the rest of the
421 world about what character sequences should be sent to the server by
422 the Home and End keys.
424 \c{xterm}, and other terminals, send \c{ESC [1~} for the Home key,
425 and \c{ESC [4~} for the End key. \c{rxvt} sends \c{ESC [H} for the
426 Home key and \c{ESC [Ow} for the End key.
428 If you find an application on which the Home and End keys aren't
429 working, you could try switching this option to see if it helps.
431 \S{config-funkeys} Changing the action of the function keys and keypad
433 This option affects the function keys (F1 to F12) and the top row of
436 \b In the default mode, labelled \c{ESC [n~}, the function keys
437 generate sequences like \c{ESC [11~}, \c{ESC [12~} and so on. This
438 matches the general behaviour of Digital's terminals.
440 \b In Linux mode, F6 to F12 behave just like the default mode, but
441 F1 to F5 generate \c{ESC [[A} through to \c{ESC [[E}. This mimics the
442 Linux virtual console.
444 \b In Xterm R6 mode, F5 to F12 behave like the default mode, but F1
445 to F4 generate \c{ESC OP} through to \c{ESC OS}, which are the
446 sequences produced by the top row of the \e{keypad} on Digital's
449 \b In VT400 mode, all the function keys behave like the default
450 mode, but the actual top row of the numeric keypad generates \c{ESC
451 OP} through to \c{ESC OS}.
453 \b In VT100+ mode, the function keys generate \c{ESC OP} through to
456 \b In SCO mode, the function keys F1 to F12 generate \c{ESC [M}
457 through to \c{ESC [X}. Together with shift, they generate \c{ESC [Y}
458 through to \c{ESC [j}. With control they generate \c{ESC [k} through
459 to \c{ESC [v}, and with shift and control together they generate
460 \c{ESC [w} through to \c{ESC [\{}.
462 If you don't know what any of this means, you probably don't need to
465 \S{config-appcursor} Controlling Application Cursor Keys mode
467 Application Cursor Keys mode is a way for the server to change the
468 control sequences sent by the arrow keys. In normal mode, the arrow
469 keys send \c{ESC [A} through to \c{ESC [D}. In application mode,
470 they send \c{ESC OA} through to \c{ESC OD}.
472 Application Cursor Keys mode can be turned on and off by the server,
473 depending on the application. PuTTY allows you to configure the
474 initial state, and also allows you to disable application mode
477 \S{config-appkeypad} Controlling Application Keypad mode
479 Application Keypad mode is a way for the server to change the
480 behaviour of the numeric keypad.
482 In normal mode, the keypad behaves like a normal Windows keypad:
483 with NumLock on, the number keys generate numbers, and with NumLock
484 off they act like the arrow keys and Home, End etc.
486 In application mode, all the keypad keys send special control
487 sequences, \e{including} Num Lock. Num Lock stops behaving like Num
488 Lock and becomes another function key.
490 Depending on which version of Windows you run, you may find the Num
491 Lock light still flashes on and off every time you press Num Lock,
492 even when application mode is active and Num Lock is acting like a
493 function key. This is unavoidable.
495 Application keypad mode can be turned on and off by the server,
496 depending on the application. PuTTY allows you to configure the
497 initial state, and also allows you to disable application mode
500 \S{config-nethack} Using NetHack keypad mode
502 PuTTY has a special mode for playing NetHack. You can enable it by
503 selecting \q{NetHack} in the \q{Initial state of numeric keypad}
506 In this mode, the numeric keypad keys 1-9 generate the NetHack
507 movement commands (\cw{hjklyubn}). The 5 key generates the \c{.}
508 command (do nothing).
510 Better still, pressing Shift with the keypad keys generates the
511 capital forms of the commands (\cw{HJKLYUBN}), which tells NetHack
512 to keep moving you in the same direction until you encounter
513 something interesting.
515 For some reason, this feature only works properly when Num Lock is
516 on. We don't know why.
518 \S{config-compose} Enabling a DEC-like Compose key
520 DEC terminals have a Compose key, which provides an easy-to-remember
521 way of typing accented characters. You press Compose and then type
522 two more characters. The two characters are \q{combined} to produce
523 an accented character. The choices of character are designed to be
524 easy to remember; for example, composing \q{e} and \q{`} produces
525 the \q{\u00e8{e-grave}} character.
527 If you enable the \q{Application and AltGr act as Compose key}
528 option, the Windows Application key and the AltGr key will both have
531 \S{config-ctrlalt} \q{Control-Alt is different from AltGr}
533 Some old keyboards do not have an AltGr key, which can make it
534 difficult to type some characters. PuTTY can be configured to treat
535 the key combination Ctrl + Left Alt the same way as the AltGr key.
537 By default, this checkbox is checked, and the key combination Ctrl +
538 Left Alt does something completely different. PuTTY's usual handling
539 of the left Alt key is to prefix the Escape (Control-\cw{[})
540 character to whatever character sequence the rest of the keypress
541 would generate. For example, Alt-A generates Escape followed by
542 \c{a}. So Alt-Ctrl-A would generate Escape, followed by Control-A.
544 If you uncheck this box, Ctrl-Alt will become a synonym for AltGr,
545 so you can use it to type extra graphic characters if your keyboard
548 \H{config-window} The Window panel
550 The Window configuration panel allows you to control aspects of the
551 PuTTY window and its behaviour.
553 \S{config-winsize} Setting the size of the PuTTY window
555 The \e{Rows} and \e{Columns} boxes let you set the PuTTY window to a
556 precise size. Of course you can also drag the window to a new size
557 while a session is running.
559 \S{config-winsizelock} Locking the size of the PuTTY window
561 These options allow you to control what happens when the user tries
562 to resize the PuTTY window.
564 When you resize the PuTTY window, one of three things can happen:
566 \b Nothing (if you have completely disabled resizes).
568 \b The font size can stay the same and the number of rows and
569 columns in the terminal can change.
571 \b The number of rows and columns in the terminal can stay the same,
572 and the font size can change.
574 You can control which of these happens using the \q{Lock terminal
575 size against resizing} and \q{Lock font size against resizing}
576 options. If you lock both, the window will refuse to be resized at
577 all. If you lock just the terminal size, the font size will change
578 when you resize the window. If you lock just the font size, the
579 terminal size will change when you resize the window.
581 \S{config-scrollback} Controlling scrollback
583 Text that scrolls off the top of the PuTTY terminal window is kept
584 for reference. The scrollbar on the right of the window lets you
585 view the scrolled-off text. You can also page through the scrollback
586 using the keyboard, by pressing Shift-PgUp and Shift-PgDn.
588 The \q{Lines of scrollback} box lets you configure how many lines of
589 text PuTTY keeps. The \q{Display scrollbar} option allows you to
590 hide the scrollbar (although you can still view the scrollback using
591 Shift-PgUp and Shift-PgDn).
593 If you are viewing part of the scrollback when the server sends more
594 text to PuTTY, the screen will revert to showing the current
595 terminal contents. You can disable this behaviour by turning off
596 \q{Reset scrollback on display activity}. You can also make the
597 screen revert when you press a key, by turning on \q{Reset
598 scrollback on keypress}.
600 \S{config-warnonclose} \q{Warn before closing window}
602 If you press the Close button in a PuTTY window that contains a
603 running session, PuTTY will put up a warning window asking if you
604 really meant to close the window. A window whose session has already
605 terminated can always be closed without a warning.
607 If you want to be able to close a window quickly, you can disable
608 the \q{Warn before closing window} option.
610 \S{config-altf4} \q{Window closes on ALT-F4}
612 By default, pressing ALT-F4 causes the window to close (or a warning
613 box to appear; see \k{config-warnonclose}). If you disable the
614 \q{Window closes on ALT-F4} option, then pressing ALT-F4 will simply
615 send a key sequence to the server.
617 \S{config-altspace} \q{System menu appears on ALT-Space}
619 If this option is enabled, then pressing ALT-Space will bring up the
620 PuTTY window's menu, like clicking on the top left corner. If it is
621 disabled, then pressing ALT-Space will just send \c{ESC SPACE} to
624 Some accessibility programs for Windows may need this option
625 enabling to be able to control PuTTY's window successfully. For
626 instance, Dragon NaturallySpeaking requires it both to open the
627 system menu via voice, and to close, minimise, maximise and restore
630 \S{config-altonly} \q{System menu appears on Alt alone}
632 If this option is enabled, then pressing and releasing ALT will
633 bring up the PuTTY window's menu, like clicking on the top left
634 corner. If it is disabled, then pressing and releasing ALT will have
637 \S{config-alwaysontop} \q{Ensure window is always on top}
639 If this option is enabled, the PuTTY window will stay on top of all
642 \S{config-fullscreen} \q{Full screen on Alt-Enter}
644 If this option is enabled, then pressing Alt-Enter will cause the
645 PuTTY window to become full-screen - that is, it will not only
646 maximise itself, it will expand so that the title bar goes off the
647 top of the screen, and place itself on top of the Windows taskbar,
648 so that \e{nothing} is visible on the screen except PuTTY. Pressing
649 Alt-Enter again will restore the previous window size.
651 \H{config-appearance} The Appearance panel
653 The Appearance configuration panel allows you to control aspects of
656 \S{config-cursor} Controlling the appearance of the cursor
658 The \q{Cursor appearance} option lets you configure the cursor to be
659 a block, an underline, or a vertical line. A block cursor becomes an
660 empty box when the window loses focus; an underline or a vertical
663 The \q{Cursor blinks} option makes the cursor blink on and off. This
664 works in any of the cursor modes.
666 \S{config-font} Controlling the font used in the terminal window
668 This option allows you to choose what font, in what size, the PuTTY
669 terminal window uses to display the text in the session. You will be
670 offered a choice from all the fixed-width fonts installed on the
671 system. (VT100-style terminal handling can only deal with fixed-
674 \S{config-title} Controlling the window title
676 The \q{Window title} edit box allows you to set the title of the
677 PuTTY window. By default the window title will contain the host name
678 followed by \q{PuTTY}, for example \c{server1.example.com - PuTTY}.
679 If you want a different window title, this is where to set it.
681 PuTTY allows the server to send \c{xterm} control sequences which
682 modify the title of the window in mid-session. There is also an
683 \c{xterm} sequence to modify the title of the window's \e{icon}.
684 This makes sense in a windowing system where the window becomes an
685 icon when minimised, such as Windows 3.1 or most X Window System
686 setups; but in the Windows 95-like user interface it isn't as
687 applicable. By default PuTTY's window title and Taskbar caption will
688 change into the server-supplied icon title if you minimise the PuTTY
689 window, and change back to the server-supplied window title if you
690 restore it. (If the server has not bothered to supply a window or
691 icon title, none of this will happen.) By checking the box marked
692 \q{Avoid ever using icon title}, you can arrange that PuTTY will
693 always display the window title, and completely ignore any icon
694 titles the server sends it.
696 \S{config-mouseptr} \q{Hide mouse pointer when typing in window}
698 If you enable this option, the mouse pointer will disappear if the
699 PuTTY window is selected and you press a key. This way, it will not
700 obscure any of the text in the window while you work in your
701 session. As soon as you move the mouse, the pointer will reappear.
703 This option is disabled by default, so the mouse pointer remains
704 visible at all times.
706 \S{config-winborder} Controlling the window border
708 PuTTY allows you to configure the appearance of the window border to
711 The checkbox marked \q{Sunken-edge border} changes the appearance of
712 the window border to something more like a DOS box: the inside edge
713 of the border is highlighted as if it sank down to meet the surface
714 inside the window. This makes the border a little bit thicker as
715 well. It's hard to describe well. Try it and see if you like it.
717 You can also configure a completely blank gap between the text in
718 the window and the border, using the \q{Gap between text and window
719 edge} control. By default this is set at one pixel. You can reduce
720 it to zero, or increase it further.
722 \H{config-translation} The Translation panel
724 The Translation configuration panel allows you to control the
725 translation between the character set understood by the server and
726 the character set understood by PuTTY.
728 \S{config-charset} Controlling character set translation
730 During an interactive session, PuTTY receives a stream of 8-bit
731 bytes from the server, and in order to display them on the screen it
732 needs to know what character set to interpret them in.
734 There are a lot of character sets to choose from. The \q{Received
735 data assumed to be in which character set} option lets you select
736 one. By default PuTTY will attempt to choose a character set that is
737 right for your locale as reported by Windows; if it gets it wrong,
738 you can select a different one using this control.
740 A few notable character sets are:
742 \b The ISO-8859 series are all standard character sets that include
743 various accented characters appropriate for different sets of
746 \b The Win125x series are defined by Microsoft, for similar
747 purposes. In particular Win1252 is almost equivalent to ISO-8859-1,
748 but contains a few extra characters such as matched quotes and the
751 \b If you want the old IBM PC character set with block graphics and
752 line-drawing characters, you can select \q{CP437}.
754 \b PuTTY also supports Unicode mode, in which the data coming from
755 the server is interpreted as being in the UTF-8 encoding of Unicode.
756 If you select \q{UTF-8} as a character set you can use this mode.
757 Not all server-side applications will support it.
759 \S{config-cyr} \q{Caps Lock acts as Cyrillic switch}
761 This feature allows you to switch between a US/UK keyboard layout
762 and a Cyrillic keyboard layout by using the Caps Lock key, if you
763 need to type (for example) Russian and English side by side in the
766 Currently this feature is not expected to work properly if your
767 native keyboard layout is not US or UK.
769 \S{config-linedraw} Controlling display of line drawing characters
771 VT100-series terminals allow the server to send control sequences
772 that shift temporarily into a separate character set for drawing
773 lines and boxes. PuTTY has a variety of ways to support this
774 capability. In general you should probably try lots of options until
775 you find one that your particular font supports.
777 \b \q{Font has XWindows encoding} is for use with fonts that have a
778 special encoding, where the lowest 32 character positions (below the
779 ASCII printable range) contain the line-drawing characters. This is
780 unlikely to be the case with any standard Windows font; it will
781 probably only apply to custom-built fonts or fonts that have been
782 automatically converted from the X Window System.
784 \b \q{Use font in both ANSI and OEM modes} tries to use the same
785 font in two different character sets, to obtain a wider range of
786 characters. This doesn't always work; some fonts claim to be a
787 different size depending on which character set you try to use.
789 \b \q{Use font in OEM mode only} is more reliable than that, but can
790 miss out other characters from the main character set.
792 \b \q{Poor man's line drawing} assumes that the font \e{cannot}
793 generate the line and box characters at all, so it will use the
794 \c{+}, \c{-} and \c{|} characters to draw approximations to boxes.
795 You should use this option if none of the other options works.
797 \b \q{Unicode mode} tries to use the box characters that are present
798 in Unicode. For good Unicode-supporting fonts this is probably the
799 most reliable and functional option.
801 \H{config-selection} The Selection panel
803 The Selection panel allows you to control the way copy and paste
804 work in the PuTTY window.
806 \S{config-linedrawpaste} Controlling the pasting of line drawing
809 By default, when you copy and paste a piece of the PuTTY screen that
810 contains VT100 line and box drawing characters, PuTTY will translate
811 them into the \q{poor man's} line-drawing characters \c{+}, \c{-}
812 and \c{|}. The checkbox \q{Don't translate line drawing chars}
813 disables this feature, so line-drawing characters will be pasted as
814 if they were in the normal character set. This will typically mean
815 they come out mostly as \c{q} and \c{x}, with a scattering of
816 \c{jklmntuvw} at the corners. This might be useful if you were
817 trying to recreate the same box layout in another program, for
820 \S{config-mouse} Changing the actions of the mouse buttons
822 PuTTY's copy and paste mechanism is modelled on the Unix \c{xterm}
823 application. The X Window System uses a three-button mouse, and the
824 convention is that the left button selects, the right button extends
825 an existing selection, and the middle button pastes.
827 Windows typically only has two mouse buttons, so in PuTTY's default
828 configuration, the \e{right} button pastes, and the \e{middle}
829 button (if you have one) extends a selection.
831 If you have a three-button mouse and you are already used to the
832 \c{xterm} arrangement, you can select it using the \q{Action of
833 mouse buttons} control.
835 \S{config-mouseshift} \q{Shift overrides application's use of mouse}
837 PuTTY allows the server to send control codes that let it take over
838 the mouse and use it for purposes other than copy and paste.
839 Applications which use this feature include the text-mode web
840 browser \c{links}, the Usenet newsreader \c{trn} version 4, and the
841 file manager \c{mc} (Midnight Commander).
843 When running one of these applications, pressing the mouse buttons
844 no longer performs copy and paste. If you do need to copy and paste,
845 you can still do so if you hold down Shift while you do your mouse
848 However, it is possible in theory for applications to even detect
849 and make use of Shift + mouse clicks. We don't know of any
850 applications that do this, but in case someone ever writes one,
851 unchecking the \q{Shift overrides application's use of mouse}
852 checkbox will cause Shift + mouse clicks to go to the server as well
853 (so that mouse-driven copy and paste will be completely disabled).
855 \S{config-charclasses} Configuring word-by-word selection
857 PuTTY will select a word at a time in the terminal window if you
858 double-click to begin the drag. This panel allows you to control
859 precisely what is considered to be a word.
861 Each character is given a \e{class}, which is a small number
862 (typically 0, 1 or 2). PuTTY considers a single word to be any
863 number of adjacent characters in the same class. So by modifying the
864 assignment of characters to classes, you can modify the word-by-word
867 In the default configuration, the character classes are:
869 \b Class 0 contains white space and control characters.
871 \b Class 1 contains most punctuation.
873 \b Class 2 contains letters, numbers and a few pieces of punctuation
874 (the double quote, minus sign, period, forward slash and
877 So, for example, if you assign the \c{@} symbol into character class
878 2, you will be able to select an e-mail address with just a double
881 In order to adjust these assignments, you start by selecting a group
882 of characters in the list box. Then enter a class number in the edit
883 box below, and press the \q{Set} button.
885 This mechanism currently only covers ASCII characters, because it
886 isn't feasible to expand the list to cover the whole of Unicode.
888 \H{config-colours} The Colours panel
890 The Colours panel allows you to control PuTTY's use of colour.
892 \S{config-boldcolour} \q{Bolded text is a different colour}
894 When the server sends a control sequence indicating that some text
895 should be displayed in bold, PuTTY can handle this two ways. It can
896 either change the font for a bold version, or use the same font in a
897 brighter colour. This control lets you choose which.
899 By default the box is checked, so non-bold text is displayed in
900 light grey and bold text is displayed in bright white (and similarly
901 in other colours). If you uncheck the box, bold and non-bold text
902 will be displayed in the same colour, and instead the font will
903 change to indicate the difference.
905 \S{config-logpalette} \q{Attempt to use logical palettes}
907 Logical palettes are a mechanism by which a Windows application
908 running on an 8-bit colour display can select precisely the colours
909 it wants instead of going with the Windows standard defaults.
911 If you are not getting the colours you ask for on an 8-bit display,
912 you can try enabling this option. However, be warned that it's never
915 \S{config-colourcfg} Adjusting the colours in the terminal window
917 The main colour control allows you to specify exactly what colours
918 things should be displayed in. To modify one of the PuTTY colours,
919 use the list box to select which colour you want to modify. The RGB
920 values for that colour will appear on the right-hand side of the
921 list box. Now, if you press the \q{Modify} button, you will be
922 presented with a colour selector, in which you can choose a new
923 colour to go in place of the old one.
925 PuTTY allows you to set the cursor colour, the default foreground
926 and background, and the precise shades of all the ANSI configurable
927 colours (black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white).
928 In addition, if you have selected \q{Bolded text is a different
929 colour}, you can also modify the precise shades used for the bold
930 versions of these colours.
932 \H{config-connection} The Connection panel
934 The Connection panel allows you to configure options that apply to
935 more than one type of connection.
937 \S{config-termtype} \q{Terminal-type string}
939 Most servers you might connect to with PuTTY are designed to be
940 connected to from lots of different types of terminal. In order to
941 send the right control sequences to each one, the server will need
942 to know what type of terminal it is dealing with. Therefore, each of
943 the SSH, Telnet and Rlogin protocols allow a text string to be sent
944 down the connection describing the terminal.
946 PuTTY attempts to emulate the Unix \c{xterm} program, and by default
947 it reflects this by sending \c{xterm} as a terminal-type string. If
948 you find this is not doing what you want - perhaps the remote
949 terminal reports \q{Unknown terminal type} - you could try setting
950 this to something different, such as \c{vt220}.
952 If you're not sure whether a problem is due to the terminal type
953 setting or not, you probably need to consult the manual for your
954 application or your server.
956 \S{config-username} \q{Auto-login username}
958 All three of the SSH, Telnet and Rlogin protocols allow you to
959 specify what user name you want to log in as, without having to type
960 it explicitly every time. (Some Telnet servers don't support this.)
962 In this box you can type that user name.
964 \S{config-keepalive} Using keepalives to prevent disconnection
966 If you find your sessions are closing unexpectedly (\q{Connection
967 reset by peer}) after they have been idle for a while, you might
968 want to try using this option.
970 Some network routers and firewalls need to keep track of all
971 connections through them. Usually, these firewalls will assume a
972 connection is dead if no data is transferred in either direction
973 after a certain time interval. This can cause PuTTY sessions to be
974 unexpectedly closed by the firewall if no traffic is seen in the
975 session for some time.
977 The keepalive option (\q{Seconds between keepalives}) allows you to
978 configure PuTTY to send data through the session at regular
979 intervals, in a way that does not disrupt the actual terminal
980 session. If you find your firewall is cutting idle connections off,
981 you can try entering a non-zero value in this field. The value is
982 measured in seconds; so, for example, if your firewall cuts
983 connections off after ten minutes then you might want to enter 300
984 seconds (5 minutes) in the box.
986 Note that keepalives are not always helpful. They help if you have a
987 firewall which drops your connection after an idle period; but if
988 the network between you and the server suffers from breaks in
989 connectivity then keepalives can actually make things worse. If a
990 session is idle, and connectivity is temporarily lost between the
991 endpoints, but the connectivity is restored before either side tries
992 to send anything, then there will be no problem - neither endpoint
993 will notice that anything was wrong. However, if one side does send
994 something during the break, it will repeatedly try to re-send, and
995 eventually give up and abandon the connection. Then when
996 connectivity is restored, the other side will find that the first
997 side doesn't believe there is an open connection any more.
998 Keepalives can make this sort of problem worse, because they
999 increase the probability that PuTTY will attempt to send data during
1000 a break in connectivity. Therefore, you might find they help
1001 connection loss, or you might find they make it worse, depending on
1002 what \e{kind} of network problems you have between you and the
1005 Keepalives are only supported in Telnet and SSH; the Rlogin and Raw
1006 protocols offer no way of implementing them.
1008 \H{config-telnet} The Telnet panel
1010 The Telnet panel allows you to configure options that only apply to
1013 \S{config-termspeed} \q{Terminal-speed string}
1015 Telnet allows the client to send a text string that describes the
1016 terminal speed. PuTTY lets you configure this, in case you find the
1017 server is reacting badly to the default value. (I'm not aware of any
1018 servers that do have a problem with it.)
1020 \S{config-environ} Setting environment variables on the server
1022 The Telnet protocol also provides a means for the client to pass
1023 environment variables to the server. Many Telnet servers have
1024 stopped supporting this feature due to security flaws, but PuTTY
1025 still supports it for the benefit of any servers which have found
1026 other ways around the security problems than just disabling the
1029 To add an environment variable to the list transmitted down the
1030 connection, you enter the variable name in the \q{Variable} box,
1031 enter its value in the \q{Value} box, and press the \q{Add} button.
1032 To remove one from the list, select it in the list box and press
1035 \S{config-oldenviron} \q{Handling of OLD_ENVIRON ambiguity}
1037 The original Telnet mechanism for passing environment variables was
1038 badly specified. At the time the standard (RFC 1408) was written,
1039 BSD telnet implementations were already supporting the feature, and
1040 the intention of the standard was to describe the behaviour the BSD
1041 implementations were already using.
1043 Sadly there was a typing error in the standard when it was issued,
1044 and two vital function codes were specified the wrong way round. BSD
1045 implementations did not change, and the standard was not corrected.
1046 Therefore, it's possible you might find either BSD or RFC-compliant
1047 implementations out there. This switch allows you to choose which
1048 one PuTTY claims to be.
1050 The problem was solved by issuing a second standard, defining a new
1051 Telnet mechanism called \cw{NEW_ENVIRON}, which behaved exactly like
1052 the original \cw{OLD_ENVIRON} but was not encumbered by existing
1053 implementations. Most Telnet servers now support this, and it's
1054 unambiguous. This feature should only be needed if you have trouble
1055 passing environment variables to quite an old server.
1057 \S{config-ptelnet} Passive and active Telnet negotiation modes
1059 In a Telnet connection, there are two types of data passed between
1060 the client and the server: actual text, and \e{negotiations} about
1061 which Telnet extra features to use.
1063 PuTTY can use two different strategies for negotiation:
1065 \b In \e{active} mode, PuTTY starts to send negotiations as soon as
1066 the connection is opened.
1068 \b In \e{passive} mode, PuTTY will wait to negotiate until it sees a
1069 negotiation from the server.
1071 The obvious disadvantage of passive mode is that if the server is
1072 also operating in a passive mode, then negotiation will never begin
1073 at all. For this reason PuTTY defaults to active mode.
1075 However, sometimes passive mode is required in order to successfully
1076 get through certain types of firewall and Telnet proxy server. If
1077 you have confusing trouble with a firewall, you could try enabling
1078 passive mode to see if it helps.
1080 \S{config-telnetkey} \q{Keyboard sends telnet Backspace and Interrupt}
1082 If this box is checked, the Backspace key on the keyboard will send
1083 the Telnet special backspace code, and Control-C will send the
1084 Telnet special interrupt code. You probably shouldn't enable this
1085 unless you know what you're doing.
1087 \H{config-rlogin} The Rlogin panel
1089 The Rlogin panel allows you to configure options that only apply to
1092 \S{config-rlogin-termspeed} \q{Terminal-speed string}
1094 Like Telnet, Rlogin allows the client to send a text string that
1095 describes the terminal speed. PuTTY lets you configure this, in case
1096 you find the server is reacting badly to the default value. (I'm not
1097 aware of any servers that do have a problem with it.)
1099 \S{config-rlogin-localuser} \q{Local username}
1101 Rlogin allows an automated (password-free) form of login by means of
1102 a file called \c{.rhosts} on the server. You put a line in your
1103 \c{.rhosts} file saying something like \c{jbloggs@pc1.example.com},
1104 and then when you make an Rlogin connection the client transmits the
1105 username of the user running the Rlogin client. The server checks
1106 the username and hostname against \c{.rhosts}, and if they match it
1107 does not ask for a password.
1109 This only works because Unix systems contain a safeguard to stop a
1110 user from pretending to be another user in an Rlogin connection.
1111 Rlogin connections have to come from port numbers below 1024, and
1112 Unix systems prohibit this to unprivileged processes; so when the
1113 server sees a connection from a low-numbered port, it assumes the
1114 client end of the connection is held by a privileged (and therefore
1115 trusted) process, so it believes the claim of who the user is.
1117 Windows does not have this restriction: \e{any} user can initiate an
1118 outgoing connection from a low-numbered port. Hence, the Rlogin
1119 \c{.rhosts} mechanism is completely useless for securely
1120 distinguishing several different users on a Windows machine. If you
1121 have a \c{.rhosts} entry pointing at a Windows PC, you should assume
1122 that \e{anyone} using that PC can spoof your username in an Rlogin
1123 connection and access your account on the server.
1125 The \q{Local username} control allows you to specify what user name
1126 PuTTY should claim you have, in case it doesn't match your Windows
1127 user name (or in case you didn't bother to set up a Windows user
1130 \H{config-ssh} The SSH panel
1132 The SSH panel allows you to configure options that only apply to
1135 \S{config-command} Executing a specific command on the server
1137 In SSH, you don't have to run a general shell session on the server.
1138 Instead, you can choose to run a single specific command (such as a
1139 mail user agent, for example). If you want to do this, enter the
1140 command in the \q{Remote command} box.
1142 \S{config-ssh-pty} \q{Don't allocate a pseudo-terminal}
1144 When connecting to a Unix system, most interactive shell sessions
1145 are run in a \e{pseudo-terminal}, which allows the Unix system to
1146 pretend it's talking to a real physical terminal device but allows
1147 the SSH server to catch all the data coming from that fake device
1148 and send it back to the client.
1150 Occasionally you might find you have a need to run a session \e{not}
1151 in a pseudo-terminal. In PuTTY, this is generally only useful for
1152 very specialist purposes; although in Plink (see \k{plink}) it is
1153 the usual way of working.
1155 \S{config-ssh-comp} \q{Enable compression}
1157 This enables data compression in the SSH connection: data sent by
1158 the server is compressed before sending, and decompressed at the
1159 client end. Likewise, data sent by PuTTY to the server is compressed
1160 first and the server decompresses it at the other end. This can help
1161 make the most of a low-bandwidth connection.
1163 \S{config-ssh-prot} \q{Preferred SSH protocol version}
1165 This allows you to select whether you would like to use SSH protocol
1166 version 1 or version 2. \#{FIXME: say something about this elsewhere?}
1168 PuTTY will attempt to use protocol 1 if the server you connect to
1169 does not offer protocol 2, and vice versa.
1171 \S{config-ssh-macbug} \q{Imitate SSH 2 MAC bug}
1173 This option \e{should} now be unnecessary. It existed in order to
1174 work around a bug in early versions (2.3.0 and below) of the SSH
1175 server software from \cw{ssh.com}. The symptom of this problem would
1176 be that PuTTY would die unexpectedly at the beginning of the
1177 session, saying \q{Incorrect MAC received on packet}.
1179 Current versions of PuTTY attempt to detect these faulty servers and
1180 enable the bug compatibility automatically, so you should never need
1181 to use this option any more.
1183 \S{config-ssh-encryption} Encryption algorithm selection
1185 PuTTY supports a variety of different encryption algorithms, and
1186 allows you to choose which one you prefer to use. You can do this by
1187 dragging the algorithms up and down in the list box to specify a
1188 preference order. When you make an SSH connection, PuTTY will search
1189 down the list from the top until it finds an algorithm supported by
1190 the server, and then use that.
1192 If the algorithm PuTTY finds is below the \q{warn below here} line,
1193 you will see a warning box when you make the connection:
1195 \c The first cipher supported by the server
1196 \c is single-DES, which is below the configured
1197 \c warning threshold.
1198 \c Do you want to continue with this connection?
1200 This warns you that the first available encryption is not a very
1201 secure one. Typically you would put the \q{warn below here} line
1202 between the encryptions you consider secure and the ones you
1203 consider substandard.
1205 By default, PuTTY supplies a preference order intended to reflect a
1206 reasonable preference in terms of security and speed.
1208 \H{config-ssh-auth} The Auth panel
1210 The Auth panel allows you to configure authentication options for
1213 \S{config-ssh-tis} \q{Attempt TIS or CryptoCard authentication}
1215 TIS and CryptoCard authentication are simple challenge/response
1216 forms of authentication available in SSH protocol version 1 only.
1217 You might use them if you were using S/Key one-time passwords, for
1218 example, or if you had a physical security token that generated
1219 responses to authentication challenges.
1221 With this switch enabled, PuTTY will attempt these forms of
1222 authentication if the server is willing to try them. You will be
1223 presented with a challenge string (which will be different every
1224 time) and must supply the correct response in order to log in. If
1225 your server supports this, you should talk to your system
1226 administrator about precisely what form these challenges and
1229 \S{config-ssh-agentfwd} \q{Allow agent forwarding}
1231 This option allows the SSH server to open forwarded connections back
1232 to your local copy of Pageant. If you are not running Pageant, this
1233 option will do nothing.
1235 See \k{pageant} for general information on Pageant, and
1236 \k{pageant-forward} for information on agent forwarding. Note that
1237 there is a security risk involved with enabling this option; see
1238 \k{pageant-security} for details.
1240 \S{config-ssh-privkey} \q{Private key file for authentication}
1242 This box is where you enter the name of your private key file if you
1243 are using public key authentication. See \k{pubkey} for information
1244 about public key authentication in SSH.
1246 \H{config-ssh-tunnels} The Tunnels panel
1248 The Tunnels panel allows you to configure tunnelling of other
1249 connection types through an SSH connection.
1251 \S{config-ssh-x11} X11 forwarding
1253 If your server lets you run X Window System applications, X11
1254 forwarding allows you to securely give those applications access to
1255 a local X display on your PC.
1257 This feature will only be useful if you have an X server on your PC,
1258 such as Exceed or XWin32.
1260 To enable X11 forwarding, check the \q{Enable X11 forwarding} box.
1261 If your X display is not the primary display on your local machine
1262 (which it almost certainly will be unless you have deliberately
1263 arranged otherwise), you need to enter its location in the \q{X
1264 display location} box.
1266 \# FIXME: perhaps link to some more general X forwarding info?
1268 \S{config-ssh-portfwd} Port forwarding
1270 Port forwarding allows you to tunnel other types of network
1271 connection down an SSH connection.
1273 To set up a local port forwarding, make sure the \q{Local} radio
1274 button is set. Then enter a local port number (on your PC) in the
1275 \q{Source port} box, and a hostname and port number (separated by a
1276 colon) in the \q{Destination} box, and finally press the \q{Add}
1277 button. For example, you might select a source port of 10079, and a
1278 destination of \c{server2.example.com:79}.
1280 If you do this, and then start the session, you should find that
1281 connecting to your local PC on port 10079 gives you a connection to
1282 port 79 (the finger server) on \c{server2.example.com}. The
1283 connection is actually going to PuTTY itself, which encrypts the
1284 connection data and sends it down the secure channel to the SSH
1285 server. The connection then proceeds in clear from there to the
1286 eventual destination. So you might use this (for example) to forward
1287 a connection between two non-hostile network zones that are only
1288 connected by a hostile zone such as the open Internet.
1290 You can forward ports on the SSH server machine in the other
1291 direction, too (so the connection will start at the server end and
1292 be sent down the secure connection to PuTTY, which will make the
1293 real connection to the destination). To work this way round, just
1294 click the \q{Remote} radio button instead of \q{Local}.
1296 \# FIXME: perhaps move this to a general port-forwarding section and
1297 \# just link to it here?
1299 \H{config-file} Storing configuration in a file
1301 PuTTY does not currently support storing its configuration in a file
1302 instead of the Registry. However, you can work around this with a
1303 couple of batch files.
1305 You will need a file called (say) \c{PUTTY.BAT} which imports the
1306 contents of a file into the Registry, then runs PuTTY, exports the
1307 contents of the Registry back into the file, and deletes the
1308 Registry entries. This can all be done using the Regedit command
1309 line options, so it's all automatic. Here is what you need in
1313 \c regedit /s putty.reg
1314 \c regedit /s puttyrnd.reg
1315 \c start /w putty.exe
1316 \c regedit /e puttynew.reg HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY
1317 \c copy puttynew.reg putty.reg
1319 \c regedit /s puttydel.reg
1321 This batch file needs two auxiliary files: \c{PUTTYRND.REG} which
1322 sets up an initial safe location for the \c{PUTTY.RND} random seed
1323 file, and \c{PUTTYDEL.REG} which destroys everything in the Registry
1324 once it's been successfully saved back to the file.
1326 Here is \c{PUTTYDEL.REG}:
1330 \c [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY]
1332 Here is an example \c{PUTTYRND.REG} file:
1336 \c [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY]
1337 \c "RandSeedFile"="a:\putty.rnd"
1339 You should replace \c{a:\\putty.rnd} with the location where you
1340 want to store your random number data. If the aim is to carry around
1341 PuTTY and its settings on one floppy, you probably want to store it