Please read this carefully! If you have problems with freezes and errors, it's probably because of the TCP-connections.
The story behind
HTML LinkChecker was originally made to just search links on the local computer and not on the net. In the release of version 2.0, this feature was added by the use of Apple's MacTCP Toolkit for HyperCard written as early as 1989 (!). This because it's still one of the best solutions for TCP-connections in HyperCard and SuperCard (which is used for HTML LinkChecker ), and more important, it's free for me to use. The Toolkit is no longer supported by Apple, and it has some disadvantages.
Some disadvatages
The first thing I realized when I was trying to learn how to send TCP-commands was how easy it is to make it wrong. I made hundereds of restarts until I found the right way to handle the connections, and I suddenly understood why programs like Netscape crasch sometimes. However, the program is now pretty stable and you don't have to be afraid of using it.
The program sometimes seems to have problems if there is no connection to the Internet, when it think there is. This is when you click “Search” with the “Search External Links” option is on and FreePPP, MacPPP, OT PPP (or whatever you may use) have not opened a connection to the net. Usually there are no problems, but to be safe and double-safe, make sure that you've opened a connection before you start checking. Pretty easy, actually. Also make sure to set the preferences before you use the program for the first time. If you're behind a firewall and uses a proxy-server, it's even more important. If you're not using a proxy-server, the proxy-option should of course also be off in the Preferences-dialog.
DNS Timeout
In the “Preferences”-dialog you can find an option named “DNS Timeout (seconds)”. If HTML LinkChecker suddenly quit with a type 1 or type 11 error, you may need to increase the DNS Timeout. As described in the “Preferences”-chapter, this setting defines the number of seconds to wait for a domain translation (host to IP-number). If too low, the MacTCP Toolkit sometimes quit the program, without a confirm. Finder then says that “Program ... quit because of a type 1 error”, or something. The easiest way to get around this is to just increase the DNS Timeout. At home (with a 28.8 modem, system 7.5.5 and about 350 pages to search), I've set DNS Timeout to 15 seconds, so far without problems.
Note that a proxy-server handles the DNS translation internally, so the DNS Timout is only used once per session (to translate the proxy-server itself). In other words, this is not a problem when using a proxy-server. When I set DNS Timeout to one or two seconds, I get a type 1 error almost every time. Some people says that some versions of MacOS complains about type 11 errors even of it actually is type 1 of 2 errors, so maybe you can even get a type 11 error.
Now when you're really worried...
There is actually no big problem. Don't be afraid to use the program for external checking. If you by some reason does something wrong, I just want you to know what it is and what to do about it. I work hard to improve problems like this, and any information about a possible bug will be kindly received!
But by now, don't worry. HTML LinkChecker works just fine in 99,99 % of the situations!
