K-Meleon

FAQ

KMeleonWiki > FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions


Table of Contents


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General


What is K-Meleon?

K-Meleon is an extremely fast, customizable, lightweight web browser based on the Gecko layout engine developed by Mozilla which is also used by Firefox. K-Meleon is free, open-source software released under the GNU General Public License.


What platforms does K-Meleon run on?

K-Meleon is designed specifically for Microsoft Windows (Win32) operating systems. There are no plans to port K-Meleon to other platforms. If you are looking for a Gecko-based browser for Linux, visit the Galeon project. Camino is a Gecko-based browser for Mac OS X.
It's now possible to run K-Meleon 1.1.x and 1.5.x under Linux, using Wine 1.0.1 minimal version.


What are the system requirements?

While a Pentium level processor is recommended, K-Meleon can run on 486 systems that meet the minimum RAM requirements. Please consult the release notes for particular versions of K-Meleon.

Users of Windows 2000 may experience problems due to the absence of msvcp60.dll. Install the Windows 2000 Support Tools from your setup CD or consult the Windows Update website.

Users of Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 may have to install Vcredist.exe to get the latest run-time components for Visual C++ applications.

Users of Windows 95 may also have to install shlwapi.dll (part of Internet Explorer).


What is new/improved/fixed in the latest version of K-Meleon?

Please consult the release notes for that particular version of K-Meleon.


How do I install/uninstall K-Meleon?

Please consult the release notes for the particular version of K-Meleon you want to install/uninstall.


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Features


Does K-Meleon support current web standards?

Yes. K-Meleon uses the Gecko rendering engine developed by Mozilla, which is also used by Firefox. Gecko provides excellent support for current (X)HTML, CSS and DOM standards. K-Meleon has built-in support to run JavaScript.


Does K-Meleon support secure (encrypted) transmissions?

Yes. K-Meleon 1.1 provides SSL (version 3) and TLS support.


Does K-Meleon support tabbed browsing?

Yes, through the Layered Windows Plugin. Which is why the 'tabs' in K-Meleon are called 'layers' (there's a technical difference between layers and tabs that has to do with to the window management).


Does K-Meleon support Java?

Yes. To run Java applets in K-Meleon, you have to install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Once installed, K-Meleon automatically detects your JRE installation and no other configuration is necessary. You can download the JRE from the Java website. To see if the JRE is properly installed, open Help > About Plugins. If you see the Java Plug-in listed, K-Meleon properly recognizes the JRE.
Note: Java may not work when you change K-Meleon's browser identification (UserAgent) string.


What is the K-Meleon Loader?

The K-Meleon Loader preloads portions of the K-Meleon browser and thus allows it to launch more quickly - especially on low-end hardware. Be aware that the K-Meleon browser keeps running as long as the K-Meleon Loader is running. Some changes to the configuration of K-Meleon will not take effect until you close and restart the browser. When using it, you also have to close and restart the Loader to make such changes take effect. Review the details here.


What privacy features does K-Meleon include?

Under Tools > Privacy you can quickly enable/disable privacy-related features such as cookies, Java, JavaScript and popup windows, frames and HTTP referers. The Privacy Bar provides even more direct access. Cookie acceptance, image loading and popup blocking can be configured in detail through Edit > Preferences. Some more privacy-related settings can be found in Edit > Advanced Preferences. K-Meleon's UserAgent string can be quickly changed through Tools > User Agent. The Privacy Plugin empowers you to delete privacy-related data such as cache, cookies, history and passwords automatically at startup or at shutdown, or manually at any time. See Configurable Security Policies for more details on advanced privacy features.


Why does K-Meleon not include feature "X" (e-mail client, etc.)?

K-Meleon is intended to be a fast, customizable, lightweight web browser. It is designed to be a browser only, not a suite. Thus, it does not include features such as an e-mail client or a web page editor, which could bloat and slow K-Meleon down. Users are encouraged to use their favorite applications for these and other particular purposes. The K-Meleon developers will consider enhancements that improve the performance and usefulness of the browser.


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Bookmarking Systems


How do I use my existing Netscape/Mozilla Bookmarks?

The first time K-Meleon is run with the Netscape Bookmark Plugin enabled, it automatically creates a new bookmarks file in your profile directory. You also have the possibility of using your existing Netscape, Mozilla or Firefox bookmarks file in K-Meleon. Open Edit > Preferences and go to the Plugins section. Select Netscape Bookmark Plugin and press Configure.... This will open the Netscape Bookmarks Settings dialog where you can set the location of your bookmarks file. Specify the location of your existing Netscape, Mozilla/SeaMonkey or Firefox bookmarks file here.

Mozilla/SeaMonkey, Netscape and Firefox store their bookmarks file in their profile directory. Its location depends on your operating system. The following example is for the Mozilla/SeaMonkey profile directory:

Windows 95
C:\Windows\Mozilla\<profile name>\<random>.slt
Windows 98/ME
C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\<profile name>\<random>.slt
Windows NT
C:\WinNT\Profiles\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<profile name>\<random>.slt
Windows 2000/XP
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<profile name>\<random>.slt

Netscape creates its own folder in the same folder that contains the Mozilla folder. Firefox creates its folder within the Mozilla folder.

Note: K-Meleon's bookmarks plugin does currently not support Firefox's live bookmarks and favicons.


How do I use my existing Internet Explorer Favorites?

K-Meleon's IE Favorites Plugin automatically locates and uses your Favorites. This plugin does not import your Favorites, it allows you to share your Favorites between K-Meleon and Internet Explorer!

K-Meleon's Netscape Bookmark Plugin allows you to import your Favorites into your bookmarks file. Choose Bookmarks > Edit... and then press Import Favorites.


How do I use my existing Opera Hotlist?

The first time K-Meleon is run with the Opera Hotlist Plugin enabled, it will automatically create a new empty hotlist file in your profile directory. You also have the possibility of using your existing Opera hotlist file in K-Meleon. Open Edit > Preferences and go to the Plugins section. Select Opera Hotlist Plugin and press Configure.... This will open the Opera Hotlist Settings dialog where you can set the location of your hotlist file. Specify the location of your existing Opera hotlist file here.


What are Hotlinks?

Hotlinks are provided through the Macro Extension Plugin and are in a way K-Meleon's own bookmarking system. Very simple, yet efficient. Through Tools > Hotlinks... you have the possibility to assign an URL to each of the key combinations Ctrl+0, Ctrl+1, ..., Ctrl+9. Note that javascript: URLs usually won't have the desired effect when set to open in a new window/layer.


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Plugins


What do each of the default K-Meleon plugins do?

Bitmapped Menus
Displays icons in menus.
External Control Plugin
Allows programmers to interface with K-Meleon from within their own programs.
Fullscreen Plugin
Adds support for full screen display.
History Plugin
Allows to view the global history and adds right-click menus to the back and forward buttons.
IE Favorites Plugin
Provides support for Internet Explorer Favorites.
KMeleon JS Bridge
Allows XUL applications to manipulate K-Meleon's menus. Currently only used by the Advanced Preferences panel.
Layered Windows Plugin
Simulates tab-like behavior by grouping windows together and keeping most of them invisible.
Macro Extension Plugin
Adds macro language support which enables many additional features in K-Meleon, see the macro library.
Mouse Gestures Plugin
Adds the ability to perform commands and macros with a combination of mouse movements and right clicks. Configurable through Tools > Mouse Gestures....
Netscape Bookmark Plugin
Provides support for Netscape/Mozilla-style bookmarks.
Opera Hotlist Plugin
Provides support for Opera-style bookmarks (Hotlist).
Privacy Plugin
Allows to clear privacy-related data (cache, cookies, history and passwords).
Rebar Menu Plugin
Makes the menu bar a rebar (toolbar). This will allow you to move the menu bar around just like a normal toolbar, but this may break compatibility with screen-readers.
Session Saver Plugin
Allows to save and restore sessions. Currently not compatible with layers.
Toolbar Control Plugin
Provides support for customizable toolbars. See also the KMeleonThemesWiki.


How do I enable/disable a K-Meleon plugin?

Open Edit > Preferences and go to the Plugins section. Select the plugin in question and press Enable/Disable. A green checkbox background indicates that a plugin is currently loaded. Checked plugins will be loaded next time K-Meleon starts.


How do I make K-Meleon use a third party Netscape/Mozilla plugin?

K-Meleon automatically detects the Adobe Acrobat Reader, the Sun Java Runtime Environment, Apple QuickTime and Windows Media Player. Flash and Shockwave setup programs automatically detect K-Meleon.

If it's not working automatically, any Mozilla plugin should work by being copied into K-Meleon's plugins directory (not kplugins directory), which is located in the K-Meleon installation directory. You can check the status of any plugin by opening Help > About Plugins. All your plugins currently used by K-Meleon will be listed there. For more information please review the page about third party plugins.


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Customization and Options


Does K-Meleon support skins/themes?

Yes. K-Meleon is very easy to skin. You can find quite a number of skins in the KMeleonThemesWiki. In order to install one, simply extract the provided ZIP archive into K-Meleon's skins directory (the files of the new skin must all end up in a new subdirectory of the skins directory). After a restart of K-Meleon, you can select the new skin in the Preferences dialog. You have to restart K-Meleon to changes made to the skin take effect.


Does K-Meleon support command line options?

Yes. Please review the page about command line options.


Does K-Meleon provide localization/multi-language support?

Yes. K-Meleon automatically attempts to recognize documents' character sets and display them properly. The browser's user interface is fully translatable since version 1.0 and supports multiple languages since version 1.1. Official localizations and language packages (to be installed additionally) can be found in the Download section. If you're interested in creating your own translation/localization, please refer to the Localization page.


Does K-Meleon allow to middle-click links to the background?

Yes. Mouse accelerators such as MiddleClick, Ctrl+LeftClick, Ctrl+RightClick to open links in new (background) layers, can be configured quickly throug Tools > Mouse Accelerators. Simply choose the configuration that best fits your needs:

  Default Firefox 2.0 SeaMonkey 1.1 Opera 9.2
Ctrl+LeftClick Open in foreground Open in background Open in background (nothing)
Shift+LeftClick Open in foreground Open in new window Save link target Open in foreground
Ctrl+Shift+LeftClick (nothing) Open in foreground Open in foreground Open in background
Alt+Shift+LeftClick (nothing) (nothing) (nothing) Open in foreground
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+LeftClick (nothing) (nothing) (nothing) Open in background
MiddleClick Open in foreground Open in background Open in background Open in background
Shift+MiddleClick (nothing) Open in foreground Open in foreground (nothing)
Ctrl+RightClick Open in background Open in foreground Open in foreground (nothing)
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