>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 labelled <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 dialogue 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 labelled <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
>Authorisation</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
>Use automatic login</guilabel
>. Select this option if you have already set up a login entry for your proxy server in the <filename