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Some of the questions and answers below pertain only to the Windows® or the MacTMOS platform. This is indicated by (Windows) or (MacOS) being placed after the "Q:" If there is no such indication, assume that the question is pertinent to any platform.
This document is available in text-only format as well: ftp://ftp.microimages.com:4021/pub/mix/mix-faq.txt
A: Yes. No strings attached. MicroImages does retain a copyright on it, however.
A: MicroImages gains name recognition and good will. MicroImages maintains MI/X as the X Server for its professional TNT image processing, geospatial data management, and desktop cartography products. In order to make the TNT products work exactly the same on all Windows, Macintosh and UNIX computers, MicroImages needed a robust and stable X Server whose future was not in the hands of some other company. (MicroImages also enjoys the irony that some ARC/INFO users will run our competitor's product on our free X Server.)
A: Using MI/X, you can run a UNIX program remotely on the UNIX machine itself, sending the display output to MI/X on your local PC or Mac.
A: You can download it from MicroImages' FTP site, or from mirror sites.
The URL to download MI/X from MicroImages' FTP site in Lincoln, NE U.S.A. is:
http://www.microimages.com in the "Free Stuff" section.
In Europe (University of Göttingen, Germany)
Windows: MacOS: In Germany, (TU Bergakademie Freiberg)
Windows:ftp://ftp.geo.tu-freiberg.de/pub/microimages/mix/file0001.bin
In North America, (University of Michigan, USA)
ftp://ftp.geo.tu-freiberg.de/pub/microimages/mix/getme1st.exe
MacOS & Windows:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~scottven/microimages
In Australia, (University of New South Wales, Australia)
MacOS:ftp://ftp.unsw.edu.au/pub/mac/comm/microimages-x-server-ppc.bin ftp://ftp.unsw.edu.au/pub/mac/comm/microimages-x-server-68k.bin
A: Yes. We do ask that you agree to the following few conditions:
- The files you distribute must be unaltered copies of the package as distributed by MicroImages, Inc.: this is to include the binary executables as well as any configuration files and text files contained with it.
- Please register your mirror site with MicroImages, so that we know about the mirror and can point others to it, and can keep you informed on changes in the software. You can register online at this URL: http://www.microimages.com/freestuf/mix/register.cgi
- You may not reverse engineer, or convert into any human conceivable form, the binary executable files that make up MI/X.
- You may not charge money for MI/X itself, excepting the costs of redistribution media or shipping.
- Keep up with the latest version. Please check back with us as we update our products quarterly, there are likely to be some improvements made in MI/X that you will want to make available as well.
A: The links aren't bad. Some browsers will return an error message indicating that the link is bad or that the file wasn't found, when in fact, the browser times out because the site is so busy.
A: No. If you are having trouble downloading, try again at a different time, or try a mirror site. MI/X is popular and traffic is heavy, which can cause download problems during peak periods. Attempting to email it would only consume our valuable staff time and would not evade such problems as network traffic or slow connections. If you don't have a good enough network connection, then we encourage you to order TNTlite on CD-ROM from MicroImages, which includes MI/X, and which you can obtain for costs of shipping and handling. Ordering the TNTlite on CD gives you access to our award-winning geospatial data analysis software, and many Getting Started tutorial booklets with sample data: as well as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Adobe Acrobat Reader for various platforms. It is well worth the investment!
A: The FAQ is the only documentation available for MI/X.
A: The Windows version is X11R5, the Mac version is X11R6.
A: Yes. We encourage you to send all such reports and requests using the Software Support mail link at the bottom of this page. Please keep in mind that MI/X was designed to provide a cross platform interface for our professional GIS software, TNTmips. We have provided it free to those who may also find it useful. Development of MI/X will be driven by the needs of TNTmips and our clients who use TNTmips. Any errors or features that don't affect or aren't required by TNTmips or our clients will be given a very low priority.
A: Make sure that all the files are in the same directory, (don't put any capital letters in the name and don't make its name longer than 8 characters) then type GETME1ST.EXE to start unpacking the files. This will make a bunch of new files, one of which is called "SETUP.EXE." To continue the installation, type SETUP.EXE and follow the instructions on the screen. On older versions, the setup program for TNTlite and MI/X is the same, during install it will bring up a list of files that are missing. By each file is a letter that indicates what it is a component of. As long as no X's (to mark Xserver files) appear, you have all the pieces you need and can proceed with the install.
A: You will need a decompression utility. One of the most popular utilities is called StuffIt Expander. Drag the file you've downloaded on to the StuffIt Expander icon, and that is all you need to do.
A:file0001.binisn't in the same directory assetup.exe, or it was renamed to something other thanfile0001.bin, or you didn't download the file. Note that sometimes some browsers have been known to change the name of the file when you save it to your disk. If the name offile0001.binis changed to anything different,setup.exewill not find it, and your setup will obviously fail.
file0001.bin, it was renamed to
file0001.exe. I renamed it to file0001.bin, but setup still
can't find it. What should I do?
A: What is probably happening is that you have Windows Explorer set to not show the extensions of known file types. If that is the case and you attempt to rename the file using explorer, what you will end up with isfile0001.bin.exe. The quickest way to solve this problem is to go to a DOS prompt and rename the file there, e.g.:C:\>rename file0001.exe file0001.bin
A: Please take the following steps to correct the problem;
- Under Windows '95, right click on the Start button and select the Explore option.
- Double click on the Programs group.
- Right click on the MS-DOS shortcut and select Properties from the drop down menu that appears.
- In the MS-DOS Prompt dialog window that opens, select the Program tab and then click on the Advanced button at the bottom of the dialog window.
- In the Advanced Program Settings dialog that opens, make sure that one of the two choices other than MS-DOS Mode is selected.
- Click OK and OK to exit the Advanced and MS-DOS Prompt dialog, close the explorer and try the install process again.
A: Delete the directory that MI/X is installed to.
A: Install MI/X into a directory that doesn't have a space in the path name, (i.e. don't install to a directory under c:\program files) and make sure the pkunzip.exe created by getme1st has the correct filename: pkunzip.exe, and not pkunzip.bin or something else.
A: Install MI/X into a directory that doesn't have a space in the path name, (i.e. don't install to a directory under c:\program files).
A: You can start MI/X from the "Start" Menu (Start / Programs / Free TNTlite products / MIXServer ) which runs a program called TNTstart to launch MI/X, or you can change to the directory where MI/X is located and type 'tntstart startmix' . (Note there is a space between tntstart and startmix). In some rare cases using the TNTstart program to launch MI/X does not work. In those cases issue the following commands from a DOS prompt (youcdto the directory where you installed MI/X):XS TWMThis will start the server and its window manager manually. Running the commands from the command line can also be a good way to trouble shoot since you may get error messages reported to the console that may help you discern what is going wrong. You would not see these if you were running the program using tntstart.
A: Connect to the machine that you want to run MI/X against before you start MI/X.
A: If you are running your computer/monitor in a color mode with less than 256 colors, MI/X will not work. If you want to run MI/X, you will have to change the color mode to 256 or more colors.
A: You have to establish your remote connection outside of MI/X. Windows comes with a telnet utility and they are also available for the Mac.
A: Try changing your preferences. For Windows, edittntserv.iniand make sure thatCloseOnMenuExitis set toNo, e.g.CloseOnMenuExit=NoFor the Mac, open File / Preferences, select the "Preferences" icon on the left, and make sure that the "Auto exit when last client dies" checkbox is not checked.
A: Make sure that under the "Sharing Setup" control panel the Macintosh has been given a name.
A: This happens when you launch MI/X without launching twm. Use tntstart startmix to launch
MI/X. (note the sapce between tntstart and startmix) If you are using a shortcut, set the target to
C:\MIX_95\TNTSTART.EXE startmix
substituting the actual path if you did not install MI/X to the default directory.
A: This happens when you launch MI/X without launching twm. Check your preferences and ensure that Use Local Window Manager (twm) is checked.
A: Yes, however twm is the window manager we support. We can't tell you how to configure other window managers, or even guarantee that they'll work.
A: If you put a file named "system.twmrc" in the same folder as the twm program on your computer, the twm program will read configuration settings from it. Consult the documentation, man page, etc. for twm to learn what to put in system.twmrc to configure twm. Note that the current version of MI/X for MacOS does not support the launching of X clients from a twm menu. This may be forthcoming in later versions.
A: The MI/X distribution comes with a file named TNTSERV.TWM. This is twm's configuration file. To learn the format of TNTSERV.TWM, consult the documentation, man page, etc. for twm. If you wish to create a custom format for twm, you can make a configuration file with any name, and direct twm to use it instead of its default configurations. This is done by using the-foption, i.e.twm -f myconfigfile.twm
A: If you hold the <COMMAND> key while double-clicking the MI/X application icon, MI/X will open the Preferences dialog for you without launching the X server. You can then undo any unfortunate configurations.
A: Start MI/X. Telnet to the remote host. Set the DISPLAY environment variable on the remote host to the machine you are running MI/X on. For example on Solaris (running csh):setenv DISPLAY mymachine:0.0or failing that:setenv DISPLAY my.machine's.ip.number:0.0(running BASH):export DISPLAY=mymachine:0.0 or failing that:export DISPLAY=my.machine's.ip.number:0.0replacing "my.machines's.ip.number" with the actual IP number of the local machine running MI/X.
After this, you can launch whatever X applications you wish on your remote host and they will display on the machine running MI/X. To invoke a command shell try:xterm &When the xterm comes up you can close the telnet session. The commands may differ on various flavors of UNIX.
A: If you are following the procedure outlined in this FAQ and you are still getting this error, contact the sysadmin of the remote host, the sysadmin of the system you are using or tech support for your ISP and ask if the systems that you are going through allow x-traffic to pass through. Some of them don't.
A: BDF and PCF fonts.
A: Yes, you can get rid of some of the extra fonts. Of course, you will still need to keep some of them. Here are some examples of fonts to keep:7x13b.bdf -misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--13-120-75-75-c-70-iso8859-1 ascii.bdf -mi-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-160-72-72-c-160-ascii-1 olcursor.bdf -sun-open look cursor-----12-120-75-75-p-160-sunolcursor-1 olgl10.bdf -sun-open look glyph-----10-100-75-75-p-101-sunolglyph-1 cursor.bdf cursor deccurs.bdf decw$cursor decsess.bdf decw$sessionThe last part of the font is the language encoding. Chances are that if it isn't "iso8859-1", then you don't need it. Exceptions are the other files above. "cursor.bdf" is especially important as it contains the cursors used by the X Window System.
A: Check with your sysadmin, or take a look on the web. Here is a site that I found:
A: Yes, you can use the PCF format. Find the BDF/MISC directory (it should be in the directory into which you install MI/X), there should be a file called "fonts.dir" which contains examples of how to add BDF and PCF fonts. The "fonts.dir" file for MI/X corresponds to the file with the same name on a UNIX X server.
A: First, open the font in a text editor. The first few lines will look like this:STARTFONT 2.1 FONT -Misc-Fixed-Medium-R-Normal--10-100-75-75-C-60-ISO8859-1 SIZE 10 75 75Copy the line that appears afterFONT. Next, open the font.dir file with a text editor. It will look like this:87 gb16.pcf -cclib-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-150-78-78-c-160-gb2312.1980-0 ascii.bdf -mi-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-160-72-72-c-160-ascii-1 7x13b.bdf -misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--13-120-75-75-c-70-iso8859-1Note that there is a number at the top of the file. This has to match the number of fonts in the file. (I've only included the first three in this example. The actual file would have 84 more entries.) Once the fonts.dir is open, go to the bottom of the file and add the name of the font you are adding and paste in the information you copied from the font. Then change the number at the top of the file to reflect the new number of fonts in the file. In my example, I would change 87 to 88.
A: Follow the steps mentioned above for opening the fonts.dir file, delete the entry for the font you are deleting, change the number at the top of the font.dir file to reflect the correct number of fonts listed in the file. Save the font.dir file and delete the *.bdf or *.pcf file.
A: No. Fonts have to copied to the machine running MI/X.
A: MI/X doesn't support the ALT-GR key sequences. Some clients have reported success using the ALT-GR key sequences after using the xmodmap utility to remap their keyboard once the remote connection has been made. The following was submitted by a client, and was reported to work rather well.Activation with 'xmodmap .xmodmaprc'. ! Key Mapping for MicroImages X-Server (MI/X) ! !22.07.1998 ! ! Oliver Breuninger ! ob@seicom.NET ! !Jim Fulton's xev (X Event Tester) was very helpful. keycode 65=at at at at at at keycode 92=bracketleft bracketleft bracketleft bracketleft bracketleft bracketleft keycode 93=backslash backslash backslash backslash backslash backslash keycode 94=bracketright bracketright bracketright bracketright bracketright bracketright keycode 124=braceleft braceleft braceleft braceleft braceleft braceleft keycode 125=bar bar bar bar bar bar keycode 126=braceright braceright braceright braceright braceright braceright keycode 127=asciitilde asciitilde asciitilde asciitilde asciitilde asciitilde keycode 179=twosuperior twosuperior twosuperior twosuperior twosuperior twosuperior keycode 180=threesuperior threesuperior threesuperior threesuperior threesuperior threesuperior keycode 182= mu mu mu mu mu mu clear mod5 add mod5=Super_L
Warning: STARTFONT 2.1 Comment $XConsortium: 6x13bdf, v1.13 92/04/02 14:24:50 gildea .... Warning: Warning: file bdfread.c;line 529# bad startfont Error:fatal: Could not open default font 'fixed'
A: It could be a couple different things:
- Don't move the fonts to your system folder. Leave the fonts in the location that the install process puts them.
- Some versions of Expanders for StuffIt archives by default will convert the linefeeds in text files to Mac format. This will cause MI/X to report an error when reading the
fonts.dirorfonts.aliasfile. To get around this, you will have to temporarily change the Expander program preferences to not convert text files to Mac format.
A: Since the 19 February 1997 version of MI/X, only GETME1ST.EXE and FILE0001.BIN are required to install MI/X. Previous versions required FILE0002.BIN in addition to the other two files. If the setup program says that you can't install because you're missing FILE0002.BIN, you need to download the latest version. You will have to download both GETME1ST.EXE and FILE0001.BIN to get the 19 February 1997 version, since the organization of both files has changed since the previous version.
A: Currently, if you want to have three buttons for your X clients, you need to have a three button mouse on your PC. There is no key sequence or shortcut to emulate a third button on Windows like there is on the Mac.
If you want to use the paste/insert text function in X which is by default mapped to the middle button which is unavailable on the PC, then there may be a workaround: You can use thexmodmapprogram to modify how the mouse events from the server (MI/X) are interpreted by the X client (i.e.xterm). For instance you can swap the middle and right mouse button with this command:xmodmap -display mix.machine.name:0.0 -e "pointer = 1 3 2"That will make the right mouse button act like the "middle" button of a three-button mouse, thereby allowing selecting and copying text with the left button, and pasting/inserting with the right button. Note that on a two-button mouse you will still be missing a button (the button that was the right button, or button 3): you just switched around what button does what using thexmodmapprogram. So if you need true three-button functionality, the best solution is still to get a three button mouse.
If you have a three-button mouse and can't get the buttons to work properly, make sure that you have drivers properly installed and configured for the three-button mouse so that Windows can handle three buttons instead of the default two. Specifically, you will need to tell the driver that the middle button of the mouse is to be mapped to a "Middle Button" function, and not to some other nifty (and tempting) Windows shortcut. Note that if you do this, the "Middle Button" function will not used under Windows itself, but will be accessible to MI/X and clients running in it. Logitech provides three-button mice and drivers that work and have been tested with MI/X. Also, the Intellipoint mouse sold by Microsoft offers a rolling wheel that acts as a scroller controller on the mouse when turned while in Windows applications, and when clicked, it can be set to function as a "middle" mouse button which works in MI/X.
A: This error occurs when the UNIX box that MI/X is running against attempts to pass an image that is at a greater bit depth than the display of the local machine is set to. For example, if you are running MI/X on a Windows machine set to display 256 colors (8-bit) and the program you are running tries to pass a 16 bit image, you'll get this error. To correct this, set the parameters of the program you are running to match the resolution of the local machine, or change the resolution of the local machine to match the bit depth of the images that the UNIX box is trying to pass.
A: This is a known error, but there is no fix for it.
A: No.
A: Yes. Make sure that your DISPLAY environment variable points
to the machine running MI/X, i.e. set DISPLAY=hostname:0.0
You can then run xclock, oclock, etc. on a PC running NT or 95
instead of using a remote UNIX host.
A: Yes. Edit tntserv.ini and add the following entries under the
[XSERVER] section
NumColumns=n
NumRows=n
with n being the number of rows and columns you want MI/X to occupy.
A: No.
A: No. You can access your desktop when MI/X is running by going to your application menu and selecting Hide TNTx or bring Finder to the front and Hide Others.
A: MI/X will support cut and paste of text to other X applications, but not graphics.
A: No.
A: No. Using MI/X, you can run a UNIX program remotely on the UNIX machine itself, sending the display output to MI/X on your local PC or Mac. You cannot however download a program compiled for UNIX and attempt to run it on your Mac or PC using MI/X (or anything else for that matter). If you have X programs compiled for your Mac or your PC, then yes, you can use MI/X as the graphical X environment for these programs. That is why we created MI/X in the first place!
A: No.
A: No. The MI/X distribution does not include an rsh or rexec client. You can obtain rsh or rexec clients from other sources.
A: Yes, as of the 21 Aug 1997 version. Previous versions do not.
A: No. Although there may be options and preferences to set regarding xdm, they have not yet been implemented.
A: Yes and No. Actually there is a version of MI/X for Windows 3.1: it is shipped with our software for Windows 3.1. However, you cannot use this version of MI/X as an X server for clients run on a remote host. This is possible on Windows95/NT and MacOS because MI/X uses sockets technology available in those operating systems, which is unfortunately, not available in Windows 3.1.
Now, if you have a bunch of local X clients (such as TNTlite which you can also download for free at http://www.microimages.com/freestuf/), MI/X for Windows 3.1 will be useful to you. But if you're hoping to use your Windows 3.1 box as an X terminal using MI/X like you would on Windows 95, then sorry, you're out of luck.
So, if you mean, "Can I use MI/X as an X server for clients on remote machines accessed via a network?", then, no, MI/X for Windows 3.1 does not support this feature. Therefore, we do not package MI/X separately for distribution for Windows 3.1 as we do for the Windows 95, Windows NT, Mac 68k or Mac PowerPC version of MI/X. This is just one of many reasons that MicroImages recommends that users of Windows 3.1 upgrade to Windows 95.
A: No.
A: No.
A: Yes, if you are using the null modem cable to establish a TCP/IP network between the machines. However it will be limited to the speed of the communications. This is really no different than using serial to talk to a modem to talk to another machine to establish TCP/IP.
A: Yes. For Windows 95, after connecting, run winipcfg.exe (it's a Windows utility that is in the directory that you have Windows installed to) It will tell you what IP address has been assigned to your computer. For Windows NT, open up a separate command shell and run the ipconfig.exe program. It must be run in a separate shell because if you use the "START/RUN" menu the output will flash briefly and then go away. Use the IP number to set your DISPLAY, for example: setenv DISPLAY 198.247.245.38:0.0.
A: Try setting your local display to 256 colors (8 bit).
A: Yes, if your local display is set to 256 colors (8 bit).
A: No.
A: Yes. Start the x-term as follows:
xterm -fg white -bg black
A: No. There is a work around, if you have Microsoft's Power Toys installed. You can use quickres to set your display to one bit depth, launch MI/X, minimize MI/X and then use quickres to change the bit depth of your display to something else. This isn't something we recommend, but some users have tried it with success.
A: No.
A: This is a known error. There is currently no work around.
A: No.
A: The problem occurs because the Motif AWT libraries use the Font "plain Dialog 12 point" as a fall-back default font. Unfortunately, when using a remote X server sometimes this font isn't available.
The problem is common enough to be included in the Java Programmers's FAQ (http://www.best.com/~pvdl/javafaq.txt):4.2 Why do I get this when using JDK 1.1 under X Windows?java.lang.NullPointerException
A. There's a missing font on your system. Move font.properties from the "lib" subdirectory aside to font.properties.bak Then it won't look for the font and fail to find it.at sun.awt.motif.MFramePeer.<init>(MFramePeer.java:59)
at sun.awt.motif.MToolkit.createFrame(MToolkit.java:153)
at java.awt.Frame.addNotify(Frame.java)
at java.awt.Window.pack(Window.java)
Once this fix is in place, MI/X works well with Java clients running on Sun and SGI.
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