netscape(X1)

netscape -- start Netscape Navigator or Netscape Navigator Gold

Command syntax

netscape [-help] [-version] [-display <dpy>] [-geometry =WxH+X+Y] [-visual <id-or-number>] [-install] [-no-install] [-ncols <n>] [-mono] [-xrm <resource-spec>] [-remote <remote-command>] [-id <window-id>] [-raise] [-noraise] [-iconic] [URL or file]

Desktop access

Start Netscape by clicking on the Netscape Navigator or Netscape Navigator Gold icon.

Description

This command brings up the graphical Netscape browser (Netscape Navigator or Netscape Navigator Gold, depending on which you have installed on your system). It can be run without any options or with options listed in the Command options section. If a URL or file location is supplied as an option, the browser window will start up at that location rather than at the default home.

The netscape command is set up to automatically start a child browser window from an already-running Netscape browser if such exists. This can save system resources, but can also be confusing - for example, if you use this feature and already have a 3.0.1 browser running, another 3.0.1 window appears, rather than the 3.0.3 browser that you might expect. It does, however, improve performance for some systems if multiple browser versions are not installed. To disable this feature, set a value for the environment variable NETSCAPE_NOAUTOREMOTE.

Command options

The following options are available when starting netscape from the command line:

-help: prints a list of options for the command to stdout
-version: shows the version number and build date
-display <dpy>: specifies the X server to use
-geometry =WxH+X+Y: positions and sizes the window
-visual <id-or-number>: uses a specific server visual
-install: installs a private colormap
-no-install: uses the default colormap
-ncols n: sets the maximum number of colors to allocate for images when not using -install
-mono: forces 1-bit-deep image display
-xrm <resource-spec>: sets a specific X resource
-remote <remote-command>: executes a command in an already-running netscape process (for more information, see http://home.netscape.com/newsref/std/x-remote.html)
-id <window-id>: specifies the ID of an X window to send -remote commands; if unspecified, uses the first window found
-raise: specifies whether following -remote commands cause the window to raise itself to the top (default behavior)
-noraise: specifies that the following -remote commands do not auto-raise the window
-iconic: directs netscape to start with the window iconified
URL or file: opens the specified URL or file instead of the default home document, at startup

Online documentation

To view the online Netscape documentation, start scohelp by clicking on the icon or typing scohelp in an xterm window. Click on Internet and Intranet in the left frame, and then click on Netscape (also in the left frame).

Files

/usr/ns-home/*: configuration files for the Netscape browsers
$HOME/.netscape/*: individual user configuration files for the Netscape browsers
$HOME/.mailcap
$HOME/.mime.types: configuration files for the MIME protocol

References

Netscape documentation