Using Web Browsers with Private Idaho (version 2.2 and later)
6/5/95 - Joel McNamara - joelm@eskimo.com

(NOTE: Private Idaho 2.2b is a beta release.  Web functionality
has been tested with Netscape, but not with other browsers.  Please
send e-mail feedback on compatibility with other browsers.)

One of the main purposes of Private Idaho is to provide an
easy environment that encourages people to use PGP and
remailers with their e-mail.  The more people that use these
tools, the less likely it is governments will be able to
take them away.

The Worldwide Web is becoming an increasingly important means
of distributing information around the world.  There are a
number of free, important electronic information sources and 
services that reside on the Web.

If you use a Web browser, Private Idaho can interact with
your browser to provide links to sources where you can access
tools and information to increase your electronic privacy.

Using the Web menu:
-------------------
The Web menu comes with a series of menu items I feel are
important if you use Private Idaho.  Each menu item corresponds to
a Web link (or technically a URL - universal resource locator).
When you select the menu item, Private Idaho will load (if necessary)
and activate your Web browser.  It will then pass commands on to
your browser to go to that particular URL.

Private Idaho's default settings assume you use Netscape as a
browser (located in c:/netscape/netscape.exe).  If you don't use
Netscape, or if you do and it is located in a different path, see
the "Configuring Private Idaho for your Web browser" section below. 

Obviously, you must be connected to the Internet for a browser to
display a Web page.

If your browser is not running, Private Idaho will inform you and
then load it.  Once the browser is running, select the menu item
again, so the information will be passed on the the browser.

Default menu items:
-------------------
Here are the default menu items that come with Private Idaho.  I
encourage you to spend some time exploring them, particularly the
sites for the EFF, EPIC, and CPSR organizations.  They contain a
wealth of information on cryptography, privacy, and government
issues.
 
Get the latest PGP (US residents) - accesses MIT's PGP distribution page.
You must be a US resident to download PGP from this source.

Get the latest PGP (rest of world) - accesses a page of links with sites
outside of the US where PGP can be downloaded.

Access the MIT key server - accesses a page where you can store your PGP
public key in a database as well as search for other people's.  This is
a free central database that get's global use.

Read the official PGP FAQ - accesses the official PGP Frequently Asked
Question list.  Most of your questions can be answered here.

Get the short PGP FAQ - accesses a shorter version of the PGP FAQ, with
information on the latest version, where to get PGP, and different types
of shells to use.

Learn about crypto and privacy - accesses the privacy and cryptography
section of the WWW Virtual Library.  Excellent information on PGP, crypto,
and electronic privacy issues.

Browse alt.security.pgp - accesses the USENET alt.security.pgp newsgroup.
This is the place for breaking information, answers to easy and hard
questions, and interesting political discussion.

Help Phil Zimmermann - Phil Zimmermann, the creator of PGP, is under
investigation by the US government because of PGP.  This page tells how you
can help Phil with his legal situation.

Get remailer information - accesses remailer information you can use to
update the RMINFO and CPMAILER files Private Idaho uses.  Also provides
links to other remailer information sources.

Go to EFF - accesses the Electronic Frontier Foundation's home page.  An
excellent source of information on electronic privacy issues.

Go to EPIC - accesses the Electronic Privacy Information Center's home page.
An excellent source of information on electronic privacy issues.
 
Go to CPSR - accesses the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
home page.  An excellent source of information on electronic privacy issues.

Get the latest Private Idaho - accesses the central page for Private Idaho
distribution.  You can check for any updates and download them.
 
Send feedback... - uses your browser to send mail to the author of Private
Idaho.

You can also add your own menu items and links. See the "Adding your own links
to the Web menu" section below.

Configuring Private Idaho for your Web browser:
-----------------------------------------------
As previously stated, Private Idaho's default Web browser configuration
is Netscape.  To configure to your own browser, choose the Options
command from the Web menu.

This dialog box may look complex, but really isn't.  First, a little
background on what happens when you select a menu item from the Web
menu.

Private Idaho interacts with a browser by sending a key sequence to it,
much in the same way it works when you transfer information to your
e-mail software.  While some browsers like Netscape support DDE, I
wanted to provide more flexibility for use with other browsers that
didn't.

When you select a menu item, it looks to see if the browser is running
by seeing if a window exists in the Windows task list.  (If the
browser isn't running, it will attempt to load it, and ask you to
select the menu item again after the browser has loaded.)

If a window is present, it sends a series of keys that tells the
browser to provide some form of input for specifying a URL.  For
example in Netscape, the CTRL+L key opens a dialog box for a URL to
be entered.  Next, Private Idaho sends the actual URL that corresponds
to the menu item to the browser, plus a key sequence that tells it
to go to the URL (in Netscape's case, the return/enter key).

With that in mind, here's information on the parameters in the Web
Options dialog box.

Web browser path - Enter the full path of the Web browser you use,
for example, c:/netscape/netscape.exe (which is the default).

Browser window search string - This is the name of the window that
Private Idaho will pass the key sequences to.  Depending on the browser,
you can just put its name here.  (HINT:  Run the browser then select
the Options command in Private Idaho's Transfer menu to get a list of
all of the current window names.  Use the name that corresponds to the
browser.)

Here's where things can get a little tricky. Some browsers (such as Netscape)
use a parent window and a child window.  If you specify the parent window
(named "Netscape") to pass the key sequences to, nothing will happen.  This
is because the child window (that's name contains the current URL) is active,
and receives any key messages.  The problem with browsers like this, is
the window name constantly changes, so you never know which window to send
the key sequence to.

The solution is to look for a command pattern that all child window names
have.  In Netscape's case, child windows names always start with
"Netscape - [", so if you specify this as the Browser window search string,
Private Idaho will always be able to activate the correct window.

You may need to do some experimenting with this, to find the correct
search string to use.  The window list in the Transfer Options dialog
can help.

Key sequence to prompt for URL - This is a series of keyboard commands
within the browser that allows the user to enter a URL.  For example,
typing CTRL+L in Netscape brings up a URL dialog box.  You will need
to enter the key sequence that is appropriate for your browser.

Certain keys must use special characters.

For the Ctrl key use a ^
For the Alt key use a %
For a tab use {TAB}
For a return/enter use ~
For the Shift key use a +
For keys to be held down at the same time, enclose then with ( )

For example:

In Netscape a CTRL+L opens the URL dialog box so you'd enter ^l
  
Key sequence to get URL - This is the key sequence that will tell the
browser to go to the URL.  In Netscape, pressing the return/enter key
after the URL has been entered closes the dialog box and goes to the
URL.  So, for this parameter you would use a ~

(The corresponding special keys shown above also apply to this
parameter.)

All parameters are written to the PIDAHO.INI file when you click the
OK button.

Adding your own links to the Web menu:
--------------------------------------
All items that appear in the Web menu are stored in the URLS.TXT file.
You can add to or modify the contents of the file with any text editor,
following these rules:

Each line represents a menu item.  (UNIX folks, this is a DOS CR/LF
terminated line.)

A line containing a "-" is an unselectable menu divider.

The menu item name is followed by a comma (,) and then the URL, for example:

     Get the latest Private Idaho,http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm

Don't use multiple commas in a menu item name, as Private Idaho parses the
URL after the first comma.
