Welcome to the Information Network of Kansas's (INK) new interface. This new interface is known as Lynx. Lynx is simply a character based version World Wide Web (WWW) browser. You navigate throughout the various documents with the use of arrow keys and simple keyboard commands.
Document is simply a term for each screen you see. A document can be more than one screen in length, so the term document is used instead of calling them screens.
Links are like options within a document. They allow you to go from one document to another. Links are normally displayed as bold text. When a link is ready to be selected, it will appear highlighted. Press enter when a link is highlighted to select it. Use the up and down arrow keys to move from one link to another. In addition to moving by links from document to document, you can go back to a previous document with the left arrow, return to the document you just left with the right arrow, or you can jump to the main document with the m key at any time.
The arrow keys are the main method of moving around in Lynx. The right arrow key moves to the right, the left arrow key to the left, the up arrow moves up, and the down arrow moves down. However, if problems arise in using the arrow keys, there are two additional options available for moving throughout the document:
The keypad: Turn Num Lock on. The number 8 key takes you up, the number 2 key will move down, the number 4 key moves to the right, and the number 6 key moves to the left.
The keyboard: The letter k moves up, the letter j moves down, the letter h moves to the left, and the letter l moves to the right. These letters are case sensitive. In order to be used properly, they must be lowercase.
Each document may be several pages long. In the upper right hand corner of the screen is a line showing you the number of pages contained in the document. To move to a new page press the down arrow key or the space bar. To move back a page press the up arrow key or the letter b. Using Ctrl-t will take you to the top of the page and Ctrl-b takes you to the bottom of the document.
When using Lynx you may come across some documents that will require you to enter data. These documents are called forms. Navigating throughout these types of documents is fairly simple. Use the tab key to move from entry field to entry field. The active entry field will appear as a dashed line; remaining entry fields will be a solid line. To enter data into the data entry field, simply type in the data your wish to search for. If you entered in the wrong data, spelled a word wrong, etc. do one of the following:
Press the backspace key - erases one character at a time
Ctrl-U - erases the whole field
After entering in the specific data, you will see a link at the bottom of the document that says: Form Submit Button. Tab down to the Form Submit Button to highlight and press enter. This will execute the search or add the data.
Once the document appears on the screen, press P. The following options appear:
Save for download later
Save and download now
Screen capture
Mail the file to yourself
If you select Save for download later, the document will be saved in your xfers directory. Selecting Save and download now, allows you to save the document, places the saved document in your xfers directory and starts the download program to download now. The Screen capture option prints the whole document on the screen so you can screen capture it. If you select Mail the file to yourself, the current document will be e-mailed to you.
To search within a long document press the '/' key. This will prompt you to enter in a search string. You may enter either a word or a string of words. Enter in the word or string of words and press enter. The screen will move to the next occurrence of where the word or string of words is found in the document. To repeat the search for the same word or string of words, press the 'n' key.
Lynx will save documents as you view them. The use of the left and right arrow keys allows you to move back and forth between the documents, without having to reload them. However, if one of the documents is a form and the other is a resulting document, you will need to reload the result document when you change the data on a form. This is necessary, because otherwise Lynx will show the old document without it being recreated. To reload the result document, press Ctrl-r. To redraw the screen, press Ctrl-w.
Following are simple keyboard commands that are useful when using Lynx:
Down arrow - highlights next topic
Up arrow - highlights previous topic
Right arrow or enter - jumps to highlighted topic
Left arrow - returns to previous topic
Space bar or '+' key - scrolls down to next topic
The B key or '-' - scrolls up to previous topic
? (or H) - provides help for the screen you are currently on
a - add the current link to your bookmark file
c - send a comment to the document owner
d - download the current link
e - edits the current file
g - goto a user specified URL or file
I - shows an index of documents
m - return to main screen
o - set your options
p - prints to a file, e-mail address, etc.
q - quit (a Capital 'Q' results in a faster exit)
/ - allows you to search for a string within the current document
s - allows you to enter a search string for an external search
n - takes you to the next search string
v - view your bookmark file
z - cancel the transfer in progress
[backspace] - go to the history page
= - shows file and link information
\ - toggle document source/rendered view
! - spawn your default shell
CTRL-R - reload current file and refresh the screen
CTRL-W - refresh the screen
CTRL-U - erase input line
CTRL-G - cancel input or transfer
URL is the acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. The URL consists of three parts: the Internet service, the domain name, and the request. The following is an example URL address:
http://www.ink.org/services
The http:// is the Internet service; www.ink.org is the domain name; and services is the request.
Bookmark(s) is a fast and easy way in saving URL's to WWW sites that you have visited. There is no need for you to have to write down or remember a site that you frequently use or visit. To bookmark a site in Lynx, press the A key. The following message appears:
Save D)ocument or L)ink to bookmark file or C)ancel? (d,l,c):
To save the Document press the letter D. To add the Link as a bookmark press the letter L. To cancel press C.
Once you have chosen the appropriate letter, the computer will indicate that it has been added by saying Done!.
To view the list of bookmarks press the letter V. This will bring up a list of all bookmarks that you have. If there is a link that you wish to remove from the list, highlight the specific link and press R. You will then be prompted with the following message:
Do you really want to delete this link from your bookmark file? (y/n)
Press Y if this is the link that you want deleted. If it is not the correct link, press N, and highlight the appropriate link.
For more information on using Lynx visit these interesting sites: