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updated by
Christopher Spry
28/06/2020

Guide for setting up Netscape 'Communicator' v 4.61 for IRIX 6.5.*

The current version of Communicator is v 4.61 (20 October 1999). This is probably the ideal version for most users. I downloaded and installed it in the UK from ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/netscape/pub/communicator/4.6/english/unix/supported/irix62/ However, if you want to use the version that had been customized for SGI, follow the installation guide below:

Netscape Communicator v 4.6

Netscape Communicator 4.61 is a free, SGI-customized version of Communicator for IRIX. 

Default settings for Communicator

I had set up an earlier version of 'Communicator' as /usr/local/communicator/netscape. At one time, by default, IRIX installed ‘netscape’ v 2.0S which uses 'resources' which are defined in a configuration file. If you have this version, you may receive the following error message when you start ‘/usr/local/communicator/netscape’ :

program is version *, but resources are version 2.0S

This is due to the presence of this earlier and now inappropriate 'Netscape v 2.0S' configuration file in the ’/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults’ directory. Simply rename or delete this v 2.0S configuration file called ‘Netscape’, so that it is not used when Communicator v 4 starts.

Environment variables:

To ensure that the environment variables are set correctly for version 4, type in a shell ‘setenv’. This will show the 'current' environment variables, including those that may affect ‘netscape’.

The environment variables can be ‘set’ in several files that are read when a ‘C shell’ is opened. These are

/etc/cshrc for all users
/.cshrc and /.login for root
~/.cshrc and ~/.login for other users

I have set the following variables in each 'user' account's '~user/.login' and in root's '/.login'

MOZILLA_HOME=/usr/local/communicator
WEBBROWSER=/usr/local/communicator/netscape

Other environment variables that may affect the running of ‘netscape’ are:

$XAPPLRESDIR
$XFILESEARCHPATH
$XUSERFILESEARCHPATH

If you have set these variables, check them, to ensure that they point to the directory where ‘netscape’ v 4 is installed.

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