Proxy Server Preferences  
 

Proxy servers are a special type of web server; they're often used in conjunction with security firewalls, providing computers behind the firewall with protected access to the Internet outside. You should only change your proxy preferences if you're advised to do so by your network administrator; entering an invalid configuration will prevent OmniWeb from being able to access the Internet.

If no proxy configuration exists, click the + button below the Proxy Server URL table to create one. This will create three entries in the table: "(non-proxied destinations)", "(non-proxied protocols)", and "http://your-proxy-server.domain".

Double-click on "http://your-proxy-server.domain" to edit it, and change it to the URL for your proxy server. (For example, if your proxy server is squid.foobar.org and should be connected to on port 8080, type "http://squid.foobar.org:8080". You only need to specify port numbers other than 80.)

The "(non-proxied protocols)" entry allows you to specify protocols (in the Protocols table) for which no proxy server will be used. By default, https is entered here, as most proxy servers don't handle it. If your proxy server doesn't support FTP, for example, you can add it by clicking the + button below the table.

Likewise, the "(non-proxied destinations)" entry allows you to specify web sites and servers (in the Destinations table) for which you don't need to use the proxy server. By default, your home domain is entered here; you can add other domain names or host names by clicking the + button below the table.

In all three tables, clicking the - button will delete the selected row.

Advanced configuration

OmniWeb allows you to have very complex proxy configurations if needed; you can have an unrestricted number of proxy servers, with rules specifying which servers are used for which protocols or destinations.

You can add additional proxy servers by clicking the + button below the Proxy Server URL table. For each server, the Protocols and Destinations tables lists the protocols and destinations for which the server will be used. If a proxy server has no entries in its Protocols table, that server will be used for all protocols -- likewise for the Destinations table.

Note that OmniWeb scans the Proxy Server URL list from top to bottom until it finds a proxy server than can handle the protocol and destination of the URL it's trying to fetch. Thus, proxy servers that handle all protocols or destinations should be listed after servers that handle specific protocols or destinations.

Related Topics
Using the Preferences window

Table of Contents: Advanced Topics for System Administrators
Table of Contents: Customizing OmniWeb
Main Table of Contents