<sect1 id="proxies">

<sect1info>

<authorgroup>
<author>
<firstname>Krishna</firstname>
<surname>Tateneni</surname>
<affiliation><address><email>tateneni@pluto.njcc.com</email></address></affiliation>
</author>
</authorgroup>

<date>2002-02-11</date>
<releaseinfo>3.00.00</releaseinfo>

<keywordset>
<keyword>KDE</keyword>
<keyword>KControl</keyword>
<keyword>proxy</keyword>
<keyword>proxies</keyword>
</keywordset>

</sect1info>

<title>Proxies</title>

<sect2 id="proxies-intro">

<title>Introduction</title>

<para>Proxies are programs running on a computer that acts a server on
the network you are connected to (whether by modem or other
means). These programs receive &HTTP; and &FTP; requests, retrieve the
relevant files from the internet, and pass them on to the client
computer that made the requests.</para>

<para>When you have configured a proxy, &HTTP; and/or &FTP; requests
are re-routed through the computer that is acting as a proxy server.
However, you can also select specific hosts which should be contacted
directly, rather than through the proxy server. If you are on a local
network, for example, access to local hosts probably doesn't need to
go through a proxy server.</para>

<para>You should only need to configure a proxy server if your network
administrator requires it (if you are a dial-up user, that would be
your internet service provider or <acronym>ISP</acronym>). Otherwise,
especially if you are feeling a bit confused about this proxy
business, but everything seems to be fine with your internet
connection, you don't need to change anything.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="proxies-use">

<title>Use</title>

<para>The first option on the page is a checkbox labeled <guilabel>Use
Proxy</guilabel>.</para>

<para>Check this box to enable the use of proxy servers for your
internet connection.</para>

<para>Please note that using proxy servers is optional, but has the
benefit or advantage of giving you faster access to data on the
internet.</para>

<para>If you are uncertain whether or not you need to use a proxy
server to connect to the internet, please consult with your internet
service provider's setup guide or your system administrator.</para>

<para>If you have selected to use a proxy, you have several methods to
configure the settings for it.</para>

<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Automatically detected script file</guilabel></term>
<listitem>

<para>Select this option if you want the proxy setup configuration
script file to be automatically detected and downloaded.</para>
<para>This option only differs from the next choice in that it
<emphasis>does not</emphasis> require you to supply the location of
the configuration script file. Instead, it will be automatically
downloaded using <quote>Web Access Protocol Discovery</quote>
(<acronym>WAPD</acronym>).</para>

<note><para>If you have a problem using this setup, please consult the
<acronym>FAQ</acronym> section at <ulink
url="http://www.konqueror.org">http://www.konqueror.org</ulink> for
more information.</para></note>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Specified script file</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>Select this option if your proxy support is provided through a
script file located at a specific address.  You can then enter the
address in the location text box, or use the <guiicon>folder</guiicon>
icon to browse to it.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Preset environment variables</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>Some systems are setup with $<envar>HTTP_PROXY</envar> to allow
graphical as well as non-graphical applications to share the same
proxy configuration information.</para>
<para>If you know this applies to you, select this option and click on
the <guibutton>Setup...</guibutton> button to provide the environment
variable names used to set the address of the proxy server(s).</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Manually specified settings</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>Select this option, and click on the
<guibutton>Setup...</guibutton> to manually setup the location of the
proxy servers to be used.</para>

<para>If you choose this option, another dialog will pop up.</para>

<para>The complete addressing information for the proxy includes both
the internet address and a port number. You should enter these into
the relevant text boxes. The <guiicon>arrow</guiicon> button copies
the information from the <guilabel>HTTP</guilabel> line to the
<guilabel>FTP</guilabel> line, in order to help save some
typing.</para>

<para>If there are hosts which you can connect to without going
through the proxy server, you can press <guibutton>Add</guibutton> to
add the names of these hosts, separated by in the text box labeled
<guilabel>No Proxy For:</guilabel>. For example, hosts that are on
your local network can probably be contacted directly.</para>

<para>You can also choose <guilabel>Only use proxy for entries in this
list</guilabel>.</para>

<para>Check this box to reverse the use of the exception list, &ie;
the proxy servers will only be used when the requested &URL; matches
one of the addresses listed here.</para>

<para>This features is useful if all you need is a proxy to access a
few specific sites, for example, an internal intranet.  If you have
more complex requirements you might want to use a configuration
script.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="authorization">
<title><guilabel>Authorization</guilabel></title>

<para>Here you can choose between two types of authentication, if your
proxy requires it.  You can have <guilabel>Prompt as
needed</guilabel>, the default, in which case &konqueror; will only
ask for a username or password if it needs to.</para>

<para>The other option is <guilabel>Automatic login</guilabel>.
Select this option if you have already set up a login entry for your
proxy server in the
<filename>$<envar>KDEDIR</envar>/share/config/kionetrc</filename>
file.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="proxies-author">

<title>Section Author</title>

<para>This section written by: </para>
<para>Krishna Tateneni
<email>tateneni@pluto.njcc.com</email>.</para>
<para>Minor update by Mike McBride <email>mpmcbride7@yahoo.com</email></para>
<para>Another update by Lauri Watts <email>lauri@kde.org</email></para>

<!-- TRANS:CREDIT_FOR_TRANSLATORS -->

</sect2>

</sect1>

