The Installation Program User Interface

3.1 The Installation Program User Interface

The Red Hat Linux installation program uses a screen-based interface that includes most of the on-screen ``widgets'' commonly found on graphical user interfaces. They may look a little different than their more graphical counterparts; Figures 3 and 4 are included here to make them easier to identify. Here's a list of the most important widgets:

Window -- Windows (also referred to as dialog boxes in this manual) will appear on your screen throughout the installation process. At times, one window may overlay another; in these cases, you may only interact with the window on top. When finished with that window, it will disappear, allowing you to continue with the window that was underneath.
Text Input -- Text input lines are regions where you can enter information required by the installation program. When the cursor rests on a text input line, you may enter and/or edit information on that line.
Check Box -- Check boxes allow you to select or deselect a particular feature offered to you by the installation program. When the cursor rests within a check box, pressing [Space] causes the check box to toggle between a selected and unselected state.
Text Widget -- Text widgets are regions of the screen that are devoted to the display of text. At times, text widgets may also contain other widgets, such as check boxes. It is possible that a text widget may contain more information than could be displayed at one time. In these cases, the text widget will have a scroll bar next to it; if you position the cursor within the text widget, you can then use the [\uparrow] and [\downarrow] keys to scroll through all the information available.
Scroll Bar -- Scroll bars provide a visual indication of your relative position in the information being displayed in a text widget. Your current position is shown by a # character, which will move up and down the scroll bar as you scroll back and forth.
Button Widget -- Button widgets are the primary method of interacting with the installation program. By ``pressing'' these buttons, you will progress through the series of windows that make up the installation process. Buttons may be pressed when they are highlighted by the cursor.
Cursor -- Although not a widget, the cursor is used to select (and interact) with a particular widget. As the cursor is moved from widget to widget, it may cause the widget to change color, or you may only see the cursor itself positioned in or next to the widget. In Figure 3, the cursor is positioned on the Ok button. Figure 4 shows the cursor on the first line of the text widget at the stop of the window.

Figure 3: Installation Program Widgets

Figure 4: More Installation Program Widgets

As you might have guessed by our description of these widgets, the installation program is character-based, and does not use a mouse. This is due to the fact that the installation program must run on a wide variety of computers, some of which may not even have a mouse. The following section describes the keystrokes necessary to interact with the installation program.

3.1.1 Using the Keyboard to Navigate

You can navigate around the installation dialogs using a simple set of keystrokes. You will need to move the cursor around by using various keys such as [<-], [->], [\uparrow], and [\downarrow]. You can also use [Tab], and [Alt]-[Tab] to cycle forward or backward through each widget on the screen. In most cases, there is a summary of available function keys presented at the bottom of each screen.

To ``press'' a button, position the cursor over the button (using [Tab], for instance) and press [Space] (or [Enter]). To select an item from a list of items, move the cursor to the item you wish to select and press [Enter]. To select an item with a check box, move the cursor to the check box and press [Space] to select an item. To deselect, press [Space] a second time.

Pressing [F12] accepts the current values and proceeds to the next dialog; it is usually equivalent to pressing the OK button.

Please Note: Unless a dialog box is waiting for your input, do not press any keys during the installation process -- it may result in unpredictable behavior.

3.1.2 A Note About Virtual Consoles

There is more to the Red Hat Linux installation program than the dialog boxes it presents as it guides you through the installation process. In fact, the installation program makes several different kinds of diagnostic messages available to you, in addition to giving you a way to enter commands from a shell prompt. It presents this information on five virtual consoles which you can switch between using a single keystroke. These virtual consoles can be very helpful if you encounter a problem while installing Red Hat Linux. Messages displayed on the install or system consoles can help pinpoint the problem. Please see Figure 5 for a listing of the virtual consoles, the keystrokes to switch to them, and their contents.

Console	Keystroke	Contents
1	`[Alt]`-`[F1]`	installation dialog
2	`[Alt]`-`[F2]`	shell prompt
3	`[Alt]`-`[F3]`	install log (messages from install program)
4	`[Alt]`-`[F4]`	system log (messages from kernel, etc.)
5	`[Alt]`-`[F5]`	other messages

Figure 5: Virtual Console Information

In general, there should be no reason to leave virtual console #1 unless you are attempting to diagnose installation problems. But if you are the curious type, feel free to look around.