Configuration HOWTO

Configuration HOWTO
By Guido Gonzato, [email protected]
v1.2.2, 10 April 1998

This HOWTO aims at making the fine--tuning of your newly installed
Linux box quicker and easier. Here you will find a set of configura�
tions for the most common applications, so you can start to work with
a well-usable system.
______________________________________________________________________

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Why This HOWTO
1.2 What We Will Be Configuring

2. General System Setup

2.1 Keyboard
2.2 Kernel Matters
2.3 (TT
2.4 Hard Disk Performance
2.5 Parallel Port Zip Drive
2.6 Device Drivers
2.7 Bootup Messages
2.8 Hostname
2.9 Mouse
2.10 Mount Points
2.11 (TT
2.11.1 Security Tip
2.12 Printer Configuration

3. Software Configuration

3.1 (TT
3.2 (TT
3.3 (TT
3.4 (TT
3.5 (TT
3.6 (TT
3.7 (TT
3.8 TeX and Friends
3.9 PPP
3.10 POP Client
3.11 X Window System
3.12 Fortran
3.13 Users' Configurations
3.14 Upgrading

4. The End

4.1 Copyright
4.2 Feedback
4.3 Disclaimer

______________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction

1.1. Why This HOWTO

I have installed Linux on many PCs and noted that current
distributions are terrific but, annoyingly, lack some basic
configuration. Most applications will work out of the box, but some
won't. Moreover, I have noted that the same questions crop up on
c.o.l.setup over and over again.

To try and remedy this situation, and to have a memorandum for fresh
installations, I wrote a do--this--and--that list that I later
expanded to become this HOWTO. Here you will find a handful of
configuration examples for the most common applications, programs, and
services, which should save you a fair amount of time and work.

A few of the examples outlined in this HOWTO are somewhat distribution
dependent. I only have access to Red Hat and Caldera OpenLinux
machines, so don't take any of my tips as gospel if you have
Slackware, Debian or other distributions. In any case, reading
documentation and the HOWTOs always pays off, so you're advised to do
so anyway.

1.2. What We Will Be Configuring

There can be endless hardware configurations for a PC, but in my
experience one is quite common: a PC fitted with a large HD split into
three partitions (one for DOS/Windows, one for Linux, one for the
swap), sound card, modem, CD--ROM drive, printer, mouse. A parallel
port Zip Drive is also becoming commonplace.

This is the hardware I'll assume you want to configure, but it's easy
to adapt the following tips to different configurations. It's
implicitly assumed that you'll be root when editing/fixing/hacking.

And now, lads, sleeves up.

2. General System Setup

2.1. Keyboard

First of all, how to configure the keyboard. If you missed this step
during installation or have changed your keyboard, you'll have to:

� choose a suitable key table from /usr/lib/kbd/keytables/; for
example, it.map selects the Italian keyboard;

� edit the file /etc/sysconfig/keyboard so as it reads:
KEYTABLE="/usr/lib/kbd/keytables/it.map";

� to set up the keyboard repeat rate and delay time, add this line to
/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit or, if you have Caldera, /etc/rc.d/rc.boot:

/sbin/kbdrate -s -r 16 -d 500 # or whatever you like

Upon the next reboot, the keyboard will work fine. To avoid rebooting
and load the key table only, cd to /etc/rc.d/init.d and issue the
command ./keytable start.

2.2. Kernel Matters

IMHO, the first thing to do next is build a kernel that best suits
your system. It's very simple to do but, in any case, refer to the
README file in /usr/src/linux/ or the Kernel HOWTO. Hints:

� consider carefully your needs. Choosing a kernel configuration,
applying the patches, and compiling it once and for all is more
productive than reconfiguring and recompiling each month; this is
especially true if your Linux box is a server. Don't forget to
include support for all the hardware you might likely add in the
future (e.g. SCSI, Zip, net cards, etc);

� if your PC is based on a Cyrix CPU, apply appropriate patches to
improve performance. Information on
<http://www.linuxhq.com/patch/20-p0591.html> ;

� notebook users will want to improve their LCD screen legibility by
applying the Noblink patch. The latest version is called noblink-
X.X.tar.gz and is available on
<ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/kernel/patches/console> . Install
the package, then add to your /etc/profile the line

/usr/local/bin/cursor bgreen # or other colour

� again for notebook users, if you plan to use a PCMCIA modem/fax
don't compile serial support as a module; compile it in the kernel,
otherwise your PCMCIA modem won't work;

� remember, Linux won't see your sound card unless you configure it
properly. It's easy in most cases, but remember to enable all
options (don't forget /dev/dsp and /dev/sound);

� if you get those pesky messages from modprobe indicating that some
modules can't be located, that means that your /etc/conf.modules
needs mending. If you don't use the ipx and appletalk modules, add
these lines:

alias net-pf-4 off
alias net-pf-5 off

� to save time the next time you reconfigure and recompile the
kernel, it's a good idea to save your configuration on a file and
keep it in a safe place.

2.3. sendmail Lock

On some systems, sendmail locks the machine at boot time. Quick fix:
make sure your /etc/hosts contains a line that reads

127.0.0.1 localhost

See also Section ``Hostname''.

2.4. Hard Disk Performance

Your hard disk's performance can be greatly enhanced by carefully
using hdparm(8). If your Linux distribution doesn't include it, you'll
find on <ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/hardware> ; look for
a file called hdparm-X.Y.tar.gz.

I can't give you a general recipe, as many details depend on your hard
disk and HD controller. Since you risk to toast your filesystem,
please read the man page carefully before using some options. At its
simplest, you could add the following line to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:

/sbin/hdparm -c1 /dev/hda # first IDE drive assumed

which enables (E)IDE 32-bit I/O support. As for the `-m' option, this
is what hdparm author Mark Lord emailed me:

(...) if your system uses components from the past couple of
years, it will be fine. Older than that, there *may* be a
problem (unlikely). The really buggy chips were the CMD0646
and RZ1000 chips, used *extensively* on 486 and (early) 586
motherboards about 2-3 years ago.

2.5. Parallel Port Zip Drive

To use the parallel port version of the Zip drive you can use the
default driver that comes with recent (2.x.x) kernels. During kernel
configuration, make sure that SCSI support and SCSI disk support are
enabled (either in the kernel or as a module). Remember, there can be
conflicts between the printer and the Zip drive on the same parallel
port.

Zip disks are sold preformatted on partition /dev/sda4. To enable the
Zip, all you have to do is issue

#~ chmod 666 /dev/sda4 # everyone can access the Zip Drive
#~ insmod ppa

and the Zip can now be mounted as usual (better write the last line in
/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit). You also access the Zip drive via mtools adding
this line to your /etc/mtools.conf:

drive z: file="/dev/sda4" exclusive

There's a better ppa driver than the standard one, though: have a look
at <http://www.torque.net/~campbell> .

2.6. Device Drivers

Devices in /dev (or better, links to the actual device drivers) may be
missing. Check what devices your mouse, modem, and CD--ROM drive
correspond to, then do what follows:

~# cd /dev
/dev# ln -s /dev/cua0 mouse
/dev# ln -s /dev/cua1 modem
/dev# ln -s /dev/hdb cdrom

and, if you want, do chmod 666 to these devices (not the links, the
actual devices!) to make them fully accessible by every user. Tip: in
some laptops the mouse device is /dev/psaux: take this into account
when configuring X11.

In addition, you'll want to make the floppy accessible by non-root
users with chmod 666 /dev/fd*. This is bound to cause security
problems, but I don't know the details. Comments are welcome.

2.7. Bootup Messages

If you want to customise the bootup messages, check whether your
/etc/rc.d/rc.local overwrites /etc/issue and /etc/motd. If so, fire up
your editor and go ahead.

2.8. Hostname

Issuing the command hostname new_host_name may not be enough. To avoid
the dreaded sendmail lock, follow these steps:

� edit /etc/sysconfig/network and change the hostname therein (e.g.
new_host_name.localdomain);

� edit /etc/HOSTNAME appropriately;

� append the new hostname in the line in /etc/hosts:

127.0.0.1 localhost new_host_name.locadomain

2.9. Mouse

gpm mouse services are useful to perform cut and paste in tty mode,
and to use the mouse in some applications. Check that you have a file
called /etc/sysconfig/mouse and that it reads:

MOUSETYPE="Microsoft"
XEMU3=yes

Moreover, you must have a file /etc/rc.d/init.d/gpm. Of course, make
sure this configuration is right for your mouse type. Tip: in some
laptops, MOUSETYPE is ``PS/2''.

For Caldera, all you have to do is append this line to
/etc/rc.d/rc.boot:

/usr/bin/gpm

2.10. Mount Points

It's handy to have mount points for the floppy and other devices. For
example, you can do the following:

~# cd /mnt
/# mkdir a: ; mkdir floppy ; mkdir cdrom ; mkdir win ; mkdir zip

This creates mount points for an MS-DOS floppy, an ext2 floppy, the
CD-ROM, the DOS partition, and the parallel port Zip drive.

Now edit the file /etc/fstab and add the following entries:

/dev/fd0 /mnt/a: msdos user,noauto 0 1
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy ext2 user,noauto 0 1
/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom iso9660 ro,user,noauto 0 1
/dev/sda4 /mnt/zip vfat user,noauto 0 1
/dev/hda1 /mnt/win vfat user,noauto 0 1

Obviously, you must use the correct device in the first field. To
access fat32 partitions, there's a kernel patch and information on
<http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/people/chaffee/fat32.html> .

2.11. lilo (8) and LOADLIN

Many users run both Linux and DOS/Windows on their PC, and want to
choose at boot time which os to use. Let's suppose that /dev/hda1
contains DOS/Windows and that /dev/hda2 contains Linux.

Do what follows:

~# fdisk
Using /dev/hda as default device!

Command (m for help):a
Partition number (1-4): 2

Command (m for help):w
~#

This makes the Linux partition bootable; this step ought to be carried
out by activate when running LILO's QuickInst, but it won't work with
my Red Hat.

Write this basic /etc/lilo.conf file:

boot = /dev/hda2
compact
delay = 50
# message = /boot/bootmesg.txt # write your own
root = current
image = /boot/vmlinuz # boot linux by default as this entry comes first
label = linux
other = /dev/hda1
table = /dev/hda
label = dos

Now issue /sbin/lilo and you're set. Being lilo a crucial part of your
installation, you're strongly advised to read its documentation
anyway.

To boot Linux from DOS/Windows without resetting, put LOADLIN.EXE in a
directory (in the DOS partition!) included in the DOS path; then copy
your kernel to, say, C:\DOS\VMLINUZ. The following .BAT file will boot
Linux:

rem linux.bat
smartdrv /C
loadlin c:\dos\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 r

If you use Windows 95, set the properties of this .BAT so as it starts
in MS-DOS mode.

2.11.1. Security Tip

Making a backup copy of your MBR before installing Linux could save
your bacon. Use restorrb (included in the FIPS package) before
installation, or you can use a Linux rescue floppy and issue this
command:

rescue:~# dd if=/dev/hda of=MBR bs=512 count=1

then make at least two copies of the file MBR on floppies. Should
disaster strike, you'll be able to restore your old MBR by issuing:

rescue:~# dd if=/mnt/MBR of=/dev/hda bs=446 count=1

assuming that a floppy containing MBR is mounted under /mnt.
Alternatively, use a DOS rescue floppy to issue FDISK /MBR.

2.12. Printer Configuration

Red Hat and Caldera have a fine configuration tool, printtool; if you
don't use these distributions, manual configuration follows.

Let's suppose you have a non-PostScript printer you want to use to
print raw text (e.g., C source files) and PostScript files via
Ghostscript, which is assumed to be already installed.

Setting up the printer involves a few steps:

� find out which one the parallel print device is: try

~# echo "hello, world" > /dev/lp0
~# echo "hello, world" > /dev/lp1

and take note which one works.

� make two spool directories:

~# cd /var/spool/lpd
/var/spool/lpd/# mkdir raw ; mkdir postscript

� if your printer exibits the ``staircase effect'' (most inkjets do),
you'll need a filter. Try to print two lines with

~# echo "first line" > /dev/lp1 ; echo "second line" > /dev/lp1

if the output is like this:

first line
second line

then save this script as /var/spool/lpd/raw/filter:

#!/bin/sh
# This filter does away with the "staircase effect"
awk '{print $0, "\r"}'

and make it executable with chmod 755 /var/spool/lpd/raw/filter.

� make a filter for PostScript emulation. Write the following filter
as /var/spool/lpd/postscript/filter:

#!/bin/sh

DEVICE=djet500
RESOLUTION=300x300
PAPERSIZE=a4
SENDEOF=

nenscript -TUS -ZB -p- |
if [ "$DEVICE" = "PostScript" ]; then
cat -
else
gs -q -sDEVICE=$DEVICE \
-r$RESOLUTION \
-sPAPERSIZE=$PAPERSIZE \
-dNOPAUSE \
-dSAFER \
-sOutputFile=- -
fi

if [ "$SENDEOF" != "" ]; then
printf "\004"
fi

(in this example an HP DeskJet printer is assumed. Fix it to suit your
printer).

� finally, add the following entries in /etc/printcap:

# /etc/printcap
lp|ps|PS|PostScript|djps:\
:sd=/var/spool/lpd/postscript:\
:mx#0:\
:lp=/dev/lp1:\
:if=/var/spool/lpd/postscript/filter:\
:sh:
raw:\
:sd=/var/spool/lpd/raw:\
:mx#0:\
:lp=/dev/lp1:\
:if=/var/spool/lpd/raw/filter:\
:sh:

For more complex or exotic printing configurations, the Printing-HOWTO
awaits you.

If you use printtool, be aware that the GSDEVICE chosen by Printtool
will work, but not necessarily at its best for your printer. You may
consider fiddling a bit with the file postscript.cfg; for instance, I
changed GSDEVICE from cdj500 to djet500 and now my prints come out
much quicker.

3. Software Configuration

These are the the configuration files we are going to custimise:
/etc/profile /etc/bashrc .bashrc .bash_profile .inputrc .less .lessrc
.xinitrc .fvwmrc .fvwm2rc95 .Xmodmap .Xdefaults .jedrc. .abbrevs.sl
.joerc .emacs . Don't add users until you have completed your system
configuration; you'll put the dot files in /etc/skel.

3.1. bash (1)

To tailor bash's behaviour, these are the main files to edit:

� /etc/bashrc contains system wide aliases and functions;

� /etc/profile contains system wide environment stuff and startup
programs;

� $HOME/.bashrc contains user aliases and functions;

� $HOME/.bash_profile contains user environment stuff and startup
programs;

� $HOME/.inputrc contains key bindings and other bits.

Examples of these files are shown below. First, the most important:
/etc/profile. It's used to configure a lot of features in your Linux
box, as you will see in the following sections.

______________________________________________________________________
# /etc/profile

# System wide environment and startup programs
# Functions and aliases go in /etc/bashrc

# This file sets up the following features:
#
# o path
# o prompts
# o a few environment variables
# o colour ls
# o less
#
# Users can override these settings and/or add others in their
# $HOME/.bash_profile

# set a decent path

echo $PATH | grep X11R6 > /dev/null
if [ $? = 1 ] ; then # add entries to the path
PATH="$PATH:/usr/X11R6/bin:$HOME/bin:."
fi

# notify the user: login or non-login shell. If login, the prompt is
# coloured in blue; otherwise in magenta. Root's prompt is red.

USER=`whoami`
if [ $LOGNAME = $USER ] ; then
COLOUR=44
else
COLOUR=45
fi

if [ $USER = 'root' ] ; then
COLOUR=41
fi

# put a real escape character instead of ^[. To do this:
# emacs: ^Q ESC vi: ^V ESC joe: ` 0 2 7 jed: ` ESC
# Remove `;1' if you don't like the `bold' attribute.
ESC=^[
PS1='$ESC[$COLOUR;37;1m$USER:$ESC[37;40;1m\w\$ '
PS2="Continue> "

# no core dumps, please

ulimit -c 0

# set umask

if [ `id -gn` = `id -un` -a `id -u` -gt 14 ]; then
umask 002
else
umask 022
fi

# a few variables

USER=`id -un`
LOGNAME=$USER
MAIL="/var/spool/mail/$USER"
EDITOR=jed
HOSTNAME=`/bin/hostname`
HISTSIZE=1000
HISTFILESIZE=1000
export PATH PS1 PS2 USER LOGNAME MAIL EDITOR HOSTNAME HISTSIZE HISTFILESIZE

# enable colour ls

eval `dircolors /etc/DIR_COLORS -b`
export LS_OPTIONS='-F -s -T 0 --color=tty'

# customise less

LESS='-M-Q'
LESSEDIT="%E ?lt+%lt. %f"
LESSOPEN="| lesspipe.sh %s"
VISUAL=jed
LESSCHARSET=latin1
export LESS LESSEDIT LESSOPEN VISUAL LESSCHARSET

for i in /etc/profile.d/*.sh ; do
if [ -x $i ]; then
. $i
fi
done
______________________________________________________________________

This is a sample /etc/bashrc:

______________________________________________________________________
# /etc/bashrc

# System wide functions and aliases
# Environment stuff goes in /etc/profile

alias which="type -path"
alias d="ls"
alias dir="d"
______________________________________________________________________

This is a sample .bashrc:

______________________________________________________________________
# $HOME/.bashrc
# Source global definitions

if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
. /etc/bashrc
fi

# this is needed to notify the user that they are in non-login shell

if [ "$GET_PS1" = "" ] ; then
COLOUR=45
# put a real escape character instead of ^[
ESC=^[
PS1='$ESC[$COLOUR;37m`whoami`:$ESC[37;40m\w\$ '
export PS1
fi

# aliases

alias cp='cp -i'
alias l=less
alias lyx='lyx -width 900 -height 700'
alias mv='mv -i'
alias rm='rm -i'
alias x=startx

# A few useful functions

inst() # Install a .tar.gz archive in the current directory.
{ gzip -dc $1 | tar xvf - }

cz() # List the contents of a .zip archive.
{ unzip -l $* }

ctgz() # List the contents of a .tar.gz archive.
{
for file in $* ; do
gzip -dc ${file} | tar tf -
done
}

tgz() # Create a .tgz archive a la zip.
{
name=$1 ; tar -cvf $1 ; shift
tar -rf ${name} $*
gzip -S .tgz ${name}
}
______________________________________________________________________

This is a sample .bash_profile:

______________________________________________________________________
# $HOME/.bash_profile

# User specific environment and startup programs
# This file contains user-defined settings that override
# those in /etc/profile

# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
GET_PS1="NO" # don't change the prompt colour
. ~/.bashrc
fi

# set a few `default' directories
export CDPATH="$CDPATH:$HOME:$HOME/text:$HOME/text/geology"

# fix rxvt 2.45 backspace
if [ "$COLORTERM" != "" ] ; then
stty erase ^?
ESC=^[ # put a real escape character instead of ^[
echo -n "$ESC[36l"
fi
______________________________________________________________________

This is a sample .inputrc:

______________________________________________________________________
# $HOME/.inputrc

# key bindings

"\e[1~": beginning-of-line
"\e[3~": delete-char
"\e[4~": end-of-line
# (F1 .. F5) are "\e[[A" ... "\e[[E"
"\e[[A": "info \C-m"

set bell-style visible # please don't beep
set meta-flag On # allow 8-bit input (i.e, accented letters)
set convert-meta Off # don't strip 8-bit characters
set output-meta On # display 8-bit characters correctly
set horizontal-scroll-mode On # scroll long command lines
set show-all-if-ambiguous On # after TAB is pressed
______________________________________________________________________

To make the backspace and delete keys work correctly in in xterm and
other X11 applications, the following is also needed:

� put this in your .xinitrc:

usermodmap=$HOME/.Xmodmap
xmodmap $usermodmap

� put this in your .Xmodmap:

keycode 22 = BackSpace
keycode 107 = Delete

this fixes the console. To fix xterm:

� put this in your .Xdefaults:

xterm*VT100.Translations: #override <Key>BackSpace: string(0x7F)\n\
<Key>Delete: string(0x1b) string("[3~")\n\
<Key>Home: string(0x1b) string("[1~")\n\
<Key>End: string(0x1b) string("[4~")\n\
Ctrl<Key>Prior: string(0x1b) string("[40~")\n\
Ctrl<Key>Next: string(0x1b) string("[41~")

nxterm*VT100.Translations: #override <Key>BackSpace: string(0x7F)\n\
<Key>Delete: string(0x1b) string("[3~")\n\
<Key>Home: string(0x1b) string("[1~")\n\
<Key>End: string(0x1b) string("[4~")\n\
Ctrl<Key>Prior: string(0x1b) string("[40~")\n\
Ctrl<Key>Next: string(0x1b) string("[41~")

rxvt is a wee bit more complicated, as some compile--time options
influence its behaviour. See the above .bash_profile.

More info in bash(1) and readline(3) man pages.

Don't expect every application to work correctly! If you run joe in
xterm, for instance, some keys won't work; the same holds for versions
of rxvt older than 2.21.

3.2. ls (1)

ls can display directory listings using colours to highlight different
file types. To enable this feature, add these lines to /etc/profile:

eval `dircolors /etc/DIR_COLORS -b`
export LS_OPTIONS='-F -T 0 --color=tty'

(If you don't have the file /etc/DIR_COLORS, remove the reference to
it in the first line.) This sets the environment variable LS_COLORS
that contains the colour list set up in /etc/DIR_COLORS. Note: don't
ask me why, but this won't work with rxvt older than v. 2.21; use some
flavour of xterm instead. It looks like rxvt has a bug that prevents
it from inheriting the environment correctly in some circumstances.

Caldera's ls doesn't have colours, but there's an equivalent color-ls.
Add this in /etc/bashrc:

alias ls="color-ls $LS_OPTIONS"

3.3. less (1)

With this excellent pager you can browse not only plain text files,
but also gzip compressed, tar and zip archives, man pages, and what
have you. Its configuration involves a few steps:

� to use it with the movement keys, have this plain ASCII file
.lesskey in your home directory:

^[[A back-line
^[[B forw-line
^[[C right-scroll
^[[D left-scroll
^[OA back-line
^[OB forw-line
^[OC right-scroll
^[OD left-scroll
^[[6~ forw-scroll
^[[5~ back-scroll
^[[1~ goto-line
^[[4~ goto-end
^[[7~ goto-line
^[[8~ goto-end

then run the command lesskey. This creates a binary file .less con�
taining the key bindings.

� write the following file as /usr/bin/lesspipe.sh:

___________________________________________________________________
#!/bin/sh
# This is a preprocessor for 'less'. It is used when this environment
# variable is set: LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh %s"

lesspipe() {
case "$1" in
*.tar) tar tf $1 2>/dev/null ;; # View contents of .tar and .tgz files
*.tgz|*.tar.gz|*.tar.Z|*.tar.z) tar ztf $1 2>/dev/null ;;
*.Z|*.z|*.gz) gzip -dc $1 2>/dev/null ;; # View compressed files correctly
*.zip) unzip -l $1 2>/dev/null ;; # View archives
*.arj) unarj -l $1 2>/dev/null ;;
*.rpm) rpm -q -p -i -l $1 2>/dev/null ;;
*.cpio) cpio --list -F $1 2>/dev/null ;;
*.1|*.2|*.3|*.4|*.5|*.6|*.7|*.8|*.9|*.n|*.man) FILE=`file -L $1`
FILE=`echo $FILE | cut -d ' ' -f 2`
if [ "$FILE" = "troff" ]; then
groff -s -p -t -e -Tascii -mandoc $1
fi ;;
*) file $1 | grep text > /dev/null ;
if [ $? = 1 ] ; then # it's not some kind of text
strings $1
fi ;;
esac
}

lesspipe $1
___________________________________________________________________

and remember to make it executable with chmod 755 lesspipe.sh.

� put these lines in /etc/profile:

LESS="-M-Q" # long prompt, silent
LESSEDIT="%E ?lt+%lt. %f" # edit top line
LESSOPEN="| lesspipe.sh %s" # filter
VISUAL=jed # default editor---insert your favourite
LESSCHARSET=latin1 # display accented letters if needed
export LESS LESSEDIT LESSOPEN VISUAL LESSCHARSET

The variable LESSCHARSET depends on the fact that I live in Italy and
want to use the ISO 8859/1 character set. You fellow Americans,
Japanese, Russians and so on had better not set it.

3.4. emacs (1)

I don't use emacs, so I have only one piece of advice to give you.
Some emacs distributions don't come preconfigured for colours and
syntax highlighting. Write this in your .emacs:

(global-font-lock-mode t)
(setq font-lock-maximum-decoration t)

This only works in X11. I'll leave it to you to peruse all of emacs'
documentation to find out how to tailor it to your
needs---potentially, it can take months of hacking...

3.5. joe (1)

Some people report that joe works with colours under X11, but not in
tty. In addition, some special keys don't work. To my knowledge, no
one has found a solution to the former small nag; someone suggested
hacking on /etc/termcap.

If you experience that problem, a quick and dirty (and inelegant)
solution is this:

~$ export TERM=vt100
~$ joe myfile
(edit your file)
~$ export TERM=linux

3.6. jed (1)

This is my favourite editor: it does what I need, it's lighter and
easier to configure than emacs, and IMHO emulates other editors quite
better. Many users at my university want jed to emulate EDT, VMS'
system editor.

jed's configuration files are .jedrc and /usr/lib/jed/lib/*; the
former can be adapted from jed.rc in the latter directory.

� to make jed use the special keys correctly, write the file
/usr/lib/jed/lib/defaults.sl whose only line reads:

() = evalfile("linux");

� edit /usr/lib/jed/lib/linux.sl; remove the comment from the line
that reads Info_Directory = "/usr/info"; and add /bin/mail after
UCB_Mailer =;

� making jed emulate EDT (or other editors) is straightforward: you
just have to edit a couple of lines in .jedrc. If you want to use
the numeric keypad `+' to delete words instead of a single
character, add this in .jedrc:

unsetkey("\eOl");
unsetkey("\eOP\eOl");
setkey("edt_wdel", "\eOl");
setkey("edt_uwdel", "\eOP\eOl");

after the line that reads () = evalfile("edt");.

� to make xjed use the numeric keypad for EDT emulation, insert the
following in .Xmodmap:

keycode 77 = KP_F1
keycode 112 = KP_F2
keycode 63 = KP_F3
keycode 82 = KP_F4
keycode 86 = KP_Separator

Moreover, make sure that your /etc/X11/XF86Config contains the follow�
ing lines:

# ServerNumLock # must be commented out
XkbDisable

This applies to XFree 3.2. Unless you use a standard American keyboard
though, note that ``XkbDisable'' brings some little problems. You'll
find out by yourself.

� colour customization for xjed is done adding lines like these in
.Xdefaults:

xjed*Geometry: 80x32+150+50
xjed*font: 10x20
xjed*background: midnight blue

� the ``abbreviation'' feature is an invaluable timesaver. Write a
file like the following as $HOME/.abbrevs.sl:

create_abbrev_table ("Global", "");
define_abbrev ("Global", "GG", "Guido Gonzato");
create_abbrev_table ("TeX", "\\A-Za-z0-9");
define_abbrev ("TeX", "\\beq", "\\begin{equation}");
define_abbrev ("TeX", "\\eeq", "\\end{equation}");
% and so on...

and type ESC x abbrev_mode to enable it. To have the abbreviation on
by default, add entries like these in your .jedrc:

define text_mode_hook ()
{
set_abbrev_mode (1);
}
%
define fortran_hook ()
{
set_abbrev_mode (1);
use_abbrev_table ("Fortran");
}
% and so on...

3.7. efax (1)

This package is probably the most convenient for simple
sending/receiving of faxes. You'll have to tailor the script
/usr/bin/fax; easy job, but a couple of quirks caused me quite an
headache:

� DIALPREFIX: chances are that simply putting `T' or `P' won't work
in many countries. Put `ATDT' or `ATDP' instead;

� INIT and RESET: these strings contain the initialisers `-i' and
`-k', needed by efax. If you want to add an AT command, add it to
the appropriate string leaving out `AT' and preceding the rest with
either `-i' or `-k'. For example: to add the `ATX3' command to
INIT, you'll append `-iX3'.

3.8. TeX and Friends

I'll assume you have the teTeX distribution. Just a couple of things
here:

� to configure the hyphenation pattern for your language, edit the
file /usr/lib/texmf/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat, then do:

~# texconfig init ; texconfig hyphen

� if you add a LaTeX package, after adding the files under
/usr/lib/texmf/texmf/tex/latex/ run the command texhash so that
teTeX recognises the new package;

� to tailor dvips, the file to edit is
/usr/lib/texmf/texmf/dvips/config/config.ps. Be aware that the
fields regarding the default resolution also affect xdvi's
behaviour; if you experience annoying attempts to create fonts each
time you run it, put the line

XDvi*mfmode:

in .Xdefault. This should help.

3.9. PPP

I'll take it for granted that your kernel has PPP + TCP/IP support
compiled in, that loopback is enabled, and that you already have the
pppd package correctly installed and suid root. Obviously, your ISP
must support PPP.

There are now two ways to get PPP to work: a) manual configuration,
and b) a configuration program that automagically sees to it.
Whichever option you choose, have the following information on hand:

� your ISP's telephone number;

� your ISP's name server;

� your ISP's mail and news server;

� your ISP's domain;

� your username and password.

Manual configuration is a drudgery. It's about editing files and
writing scripts; not too much work, but it's easy to make mistakes and
newcomers are often intimidated. The PPP HOWTO is there for you.
Alternatively, there are tools that ask for the information above and
do all the work.

You'll be surely better off if you reach out for a friend who's
already connected and download one of the following nice tools:

� an X11--based tool is EzPPP, whose home page is
<http://www.serv.net/~cameron/ezppp/index.html> . Very easy to
use, almost self--explanatory;

� for tty--based connections, try the tools available on
<ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/network/serial/ppp>. One
of the finest is pppsetup-X.XX.tar.gz.

� the simplest configuration tool to date is surely wvdial. You feed
it your ISP's phone number, your username, your password, and
you're in business. From the README file: ``There is a (currently
cheesy) web page for wvdial at:
<http://www.worldvisions.ca/wvdial>''. Very fine tool.

3.10. POP Client

To retrieve your mail from a POP server, you use a POP client like
fetchpop or fetchmail. The latter is more advanced, and is probably
the only option if your ISP's PPP server can't deal with the command
LAST. They're available on
<ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/mail/pop>.

To configure these clients:

� fetchpop: the first time you run it, you'll be prompted for some
information. Answer the questions and you're set.

� fetchmail: adapt this sample .fetchmailrc:

# $HOME/.fetchmailrc
poll mbox.myisp.com with protocol pop3;
user john there with password _Loo%ny is john here

You must set the permissions to this file with the command chmod 600
.fetchmailrc, otherwise fetchmail will rightly refuse to start. This
example is very basic and assumes that you have a running sendmail;
there are endless possibilities of configuration. Check out on .

3.11. X Window System

Once you've managed to make X work (right video card etc.), there are
endless possibilities of configuration; it depends on the window
manager you use. In any case, it's all down to editing one or more
ASCII files in your home directory. As for the window manager:

� fvwm: copy /etc/X11/fvwm/system.fvwmrc to your home directory as
.fvwmrc, browse it and start experimenting. This contributed
system.fvwmrc is IMHO a wee bit too simple and doesn't do justice
to fvwm.

� fvwm95-2: copy /etc/X11/fvwm95-2/fvwm2rc95 to your home as
.fvwm2rc95, then edit it. The contributed example is quite good.

� TheNextLevel: this is rather harder to configure. Copy
/etc/X11/TheNextLevel/.* to your home dir, browse them carefully,
then try and tailor them. The first one to look at is
.fvwm2rc.defines.

In addition, make sure you have a proper .xinitrc. An example:

#!/bin/sh

# $HOME/.xinitrc

# set a few keys correctly

usermodmap=$HOME/.Xmodmap
xmodmap $usermodmap

xset s noblank # turn off the screen saver
xset s 300 2 # screen saver start after 5 min
xsetroot -solid "medium blue" &

# rxvt saves a lot of memory, but versions older than 2.21 have bugs
# affecting the keys and the way the environment is inherited. Upgrade
# or use xterm instead.

xterm -ls -bg black -fg white -sb -sl 500 -j -ls -fn 10x20 -fb 10x20bold \
-title "Color xterm" -geometry 80x25+150+0 &

fvwm95-2

3.12. Fortran

In my experience, if you need Fortran a good alternative to g77 is the
Fortran-to-C translator f2c and the front end yaf77.

Get yaf77-X.Y.tgz from
<ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/devel/lang/fortran> .

3.13. Users' Configurations

It's a good idea to let new users have a few configuration files ready
when they first log in. Put the following files in /etc/skel:
.bashrc .bash_profile .bash_logout .inputrc .less .xinitrc
.fvwmrc .fvwm2rc95 .Xmodmap .Xdefaults .jedrc .abbrevs.sl. joerc
.emacs

Note that .pinerc can't be fully tailored; make sure that at least the
fields user-domain, smtp-server, and nntp-server are properly set up.

3.14. Upgrading

If you upgrade your machine, remember to save a few additional files
beforehand. Some of them are: /etc/X11/XF86Config, /usr/bin/fax, ...

4. The End

4.1. Copyright

Unless otherwise stated, Linux HOWTO documents are copyrighted by
their respective authors. Linux HOWTO documents may be reproduced and
distributed in whole or in part, in any medium physical or electronic,
as long as this copyright notice is retained on all copies. Commercial
redistribution is allowed and encouraged; however, the author would
like to be notified of any such distributions.

All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works incorporating
any Linux HOWTO documents must be covered under this copyright notice.
That is, you may not produce a derivative work from a HOWTO and impose
additional restrictions on its distribution. Exceptions to these rules
may be granted under certain conditions; please contact the Linux
HOWTO coordinator at the address given below.

In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through
as many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright
on the HOWTO documents, and would like to be notified of any plans to
redistribute the HOWTOs.

If you have questions, please contact Tim Bynum, the Linux HOWTO
coordinator, at [email protected] via email.

4.2. Feedback

Perhaps even more than other HOWTOs, this one needs and welcomes your
suggestions, criticisms, and contributions. Not only is feedback
welcome: it's necessary. If you think something is missing or wrong,
please email me. If you have a distribution other than Red Hat or
Caldera and your config files are different or placed in other
directories, please tell me and I'll include your tips. My aim is
making life with Linux as easy as possible.

Linux has a huge number of packages, so it's impossible to include
directions for all of them. Please keep your requests/suggestions
pertinent to the ``most reasonable'' programs---I'll leave it to your
common sense.

4.3. Disclaimer

``Configuration HOWTO'' was written by Guido Gonzato,
[email protected]. Many thanks to all other HOWTO authors and
man pages writers/maintainers, whose work I've shamelessly pilfered.

This document is provided ``as is''. I put great effort into writing
it as accurately as I could, but you use the information contained in
it at your own risk. In no event shall I be liable for any damages
resulting from the use of this work.

I hope you'll find this work useful. Whenever I install a new Linux
box, I actually do...

Enjoy,

Guido =8-)