System Administrator's Handbook
Opera has been lauded as "a system administrator's dream" because of its unique capabilities, options for configuration, and customization. The usages of Opera can be very different, and very powerful; in a network setting, as a kiosk browser, in a multiple user, or single user environment. Here is some information to help maximize your control of Opera in varied environments.
Super setup file and preferences | Micro-configuration | File Locations | Menu Prefs Settings | Command line options | Alternative and multiple user configuration
Super setup file and preferences
The current implementation uses three different preference settings files. One is a user file, and the other two are system files. The format of the three files is the same. There are no special lines that need to be entered. Anything that you can have in your local opera.ini, you can have in the two others. The settings files work as follows:
User file
This is the opera.ini as we all know it. This is where all the changes that are made via the Opera user interface (GUI) are stored. It is either specified on the command line or Opera searches for it (in Windows) in the EXE directory or the Windows directory, or on Linux in ~/.opera/opera.ini. More information on "opera.ini" can be found in the document Opera.ini settings explained.
System fixed
The "system fixed" is where the system administrator can put non-overridable settings, such as proxy settings and such. This file, under Windows, should be placed in the system directory and (also) named "opera.ini". On Linux this should be /etc/operarc.fixed (on Windows is called %SYSDIR%\OPERA.INI, and on Linux /etc/operarc.fixed). Since "system directory" varies from system to system, this means that normally the placement would be \WINNT\SYSTEM32 on Windows NT and \WINDOWS\SYSTEM on Windows 9x.
The "system fixed" file overrides anything that is specified in the "opera.ini" user file.
This means, for example, that if you set:
[User Prefs] Home URL=http://www.opera.com/
...in the system fixed, then you cannot change to another global homepage in Opera. These settings can not be overridden by the user, although they will be visibly available in the preference dialogues. (See [Menu Prefs Settings] for info on hiding preference dialogs from the GUI.)
System defaults
The "system defaults" is a fall-back file, where the system administrator can store default values that the users are able to override. The system defaults file is given the lowest priority, and will only be used if neither the "system fixed" nor the local opera.ini defines the setting. If the same setting is in the user file, then the user file always has precedence. The "system defaults" file on the Windows platform should be called "operadef.ini", and on Linux it should be /etc/operarc -- This file should be placed in the system directory. (On Windows is called %SYSDIR%\OPERADEF.INI, and on Linux /etc/operarc)
Notes
- Not all systems implement the three-level scheme. For systems that are inherently single-user, such as a palm top running Symbian OS, there wouldn't be much use for it.
- The user settings file can have any name with an .ini extension, and this will be used at startup if specified in the command line. See the sections Alternative and multiple user configuration and Command line options for more info.
Micro-configuration
The settings file "opera.ini" is a mind-boggling, extensive array of options for micro-configuration and is highly recommended reading for those who want the utmost control of the Opera browsing experience.
See "Opera.ini settings explained" for the exact entries to be used in the settings files. Take careful note of the huge [USER PREFS] section.
Other settings that can be of particular use in a network enviroment, and are additionally documented in the Opera program Help are:
[Proxy] found in the Help index under "Proxy Servers, Preferences"
[Performance] found in the Help index under "Performance; Connections, Preferences"
File locations
By default, Opera installs all its files and folders (except opera.ini) into the Opera directory.
You can set the locations of all, or only selected files, on any local drive, network drive, or even on removeable media. For example, the Help files could be left in the Opera program directory, while personalized files such as the global history and the Hotlist could be stored elsewhere.
Customizable files and directories are specified below.
Specifying locations in:
Entry: | Description: | configure from UI: |
---|---|---|
Opera Directory= | Main Opera directory. Is string with default "c:\\opera" Example: Opera Directory=E:\Custom\Opera NOTE: Mail is defaulting to %OPERADIR%\Mail |
Preferences > Paths |
Windows Storage File= | Window save file Example: F:\Opera\Opera.win |
Window menu > Save all |
Hotlist File Ver2= | Full path to Opera bookmarks file, uses .adr extension. Is string with default opera3.adr Example: F:\Opera\projects.adr | Dock or float Hotlist, "bookmark action menu" |
BUTTON SET= | Current button description file. This is documented in another file. Is string with default "buttons.ini" Example: d:\Custom\mybuttons.ini | no |
Button Directory= | Current button image directory Example: F:\Buttons\DefSmall | Preferences > Toolbars, Image set |
Help Directory= | Full path to Opera help directory Example: F:\Opera\Help | no |
Local CSS File= | User CSS file. Example: E:\Style\lowvision.css | Preferences > Documents |
Plugin Path = | Plug-in path, multiple paths can be delimited by semicolon; Example: F:\Opera\Program\Plugins; F:\OPERA\plugins; | no |
Direct History File= | Opera historyfile with direct history lies in this file. Full path. Example: ??? | no |
Global History File= | Opera global history is stored in this file. Example: D:\custom\global.dat | no |
Cache Directory4= | Path to cache directory. Must be named "cache4" Example: D:\custom\Cache4 | no |
Home URL= | URL to Opera Global Home Page, a user defined homepage. Can be a web URL or a local file. Example: http://www.opera.com or D:\custom\home.html | Toolbar button, Navigation menu |
Source Viewer= | Document source viewer. Is string with default "write.exe" Example: C:\Programs\HTMLeditor | Preferences > Paths |
Splash image= | Filename of image used in splashscreen. Example: F:\Opera\splash.gif | no |
Language File= | Current Language file used. Example: D:\custom\Uzbek.lng | Preferences > Languages |
Button History File= | This is a Opera history-file with paths to recent button files. Example: D:\Custom\button.dat | no |
Additional sections that contain specific path identifiers that may be useful:
[JAVA]
[SOUNDS]
[Saved Settings]
and:
Entry: | Description: | configure from UI: |
---|---|---|
System Hotlist File= | This section allows you to designate a system-wide
Hotlist (shared bookmark file). Example: machine/path/systemHotlist.adr |
no |
Entry: | Description: | configure from UI: |
---|---|---|
AddressFile= | Path to Contact list file. Named CONTACT.ADR by default. Example: D:\Custom\oldContacts.adr | no |
Entry: | Description: | configure from UI: |
---|---|---|
Telnet App= | Path to Telnet client. Example: C:\Windows\telnet.exe | Preferences > Paths |
Entry: | Description: | configure from UI: |
---|---|---|
MAINDIR= | Directory into which new Opera installations should take place. Example: F:\Opera | at install |
Menu Prefs Settings
In Opera 5.x, there is an option to disable some or all of the GUI preference sub-dialogs. Simply edit OPERA.INI (either: user, system fixed, or system default) by adding this entry: [Menu Prefs Settings]. Following it, add your choices for display of the individual preference dialog sections.
For example, the following list would make the "Languages", "Paths", and "Personal information" dialogs disappear from Opera's Preferences menu:
[Menu Prefs Settings] Language=0 Paths=0 Personal=0
Use 1 to allow the user to view and change those particular preferences (unless prohibited by the system fixed file). Use 0 to make those preferences inaccessible to the user.
The following is a complete list of Opera's program preference dialogs as defined by "opera.ini".
Entry: | Description: |
---|---|
Access= | These are the preferences sub-dialogs that
appear under File > Preferences:
Use =0 to disable Use =1 to enable If all are disabled, the File > Preferences menu itself will be disabled. |
Connections= | |
Default= | |
Font | |
Mail= | |
Viewer | |
Cache= | |
Hotlist | |
Language= | |
Multimedia= | |
News= | |
Paths= | |
Personal= | |
Plugins= | |
Privacy= | |
Security= | |
Sound= | |
Start= | |
Button= | |
Windows= |
Alternative and multiple user configuration
It is possible to use alternative settings file(s) for multiple version installations, alternative setups, and/or for supporting multiple users on the same system. More detailed information will be posted in the near future. (Relevant document is in draft stages.)
Command line options: Document(s)
One or more documents can be loaded at startup via the command line. Simply type the path to the Opera executable, plus the full path of the document(s), each separated by a space. This should be typed at the command line prompt, at "Run" in Windows, or (more permanently) in the Target line of any Opera icon/shortcut properties.
For example:
D:\Opera\Opera.exe http://www.opera.com http://www.myopera.com
Or
D:\opera\opera.exe F:/Net/documents
Note, Opera will recognize characters in either upper or lower case, and will recognize either back or forward slashes in URLs at the command line. But note that other command line switches must be preceeded only by a forward slash.
You can run Opera from the command line using any combination of URLs and switches.
Command line options: Switches
One or more switches can be applied at startup via the command line. Simply type the path to the Opera executable, then the commanding switch(es), each separated by a space.
For example:
D:\Opera\Opera.exe /nowin
Or
D:\opera\opera.exe /k /nowin
Or
C:\Opera\opera.exe /k http://www.opera.com
Or
F:\Opera\Opera.exe http://www.opera.com /k /nosplashscreen
Switch: | Description: |
---|---|
/e | Nulls any switches or documents on the command line after the /e. Useful for testing and tinkering. |
/noWin | No open document windows at startup. |
/noSplashScreen | No splash screen at startup. |
/k or /kioskMode | (explained in the next section) |
/NoChangeFullScreen | Opera runs in fullscreen mode only. |
/NoChangeMenu | Prevents changes to the menu. |
/NoSysMenu | No program system menu (top left "O"). Can still close browser using keyboard. |
/NoChangeButtons | Prevents changes to buttonbar or buttonset. |
/NoKeyboardShortcuts | Prevents use of Opera keyboard shortcuts. |
/NoMinMaxButtons | Cannot resize the browser window. (Can resize document windows, and drag the browser window around by the titlebar.) |
/noExit | (explained in the next section) |
Opera will recognize characters in either upper or lower case. Note that command line switches must be preceeded only by a forward slash.
Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that the instructions in these documents will work on every computer and every platform. Please inform us if you have problems with Opera for this usage.