FAQ
FAQ
Settings & controls
What do the icons and other information in the Progress bar mean?
The Progress bar is a dynamic information bar that displays live data about the document you are viewing as well as Opera's current status. A detailed break down of the Opera 5 Progress bar is now available in a separate document.
Can I assign Opera to an application icon instead of the Extras bars?
Although by default Opera appears on the Extras bars and there is no function in the OS to move it to one of the silk screen buttons you can use third party utilities to override this and make Opera start just by clicking an icon at the edge of the screen. Two suitable apps for doing this are:
Note that both apps must be left running in the background for this to work. Series 7 and netBook users will probably want to assign Opera to the Web icon however they also have the option of assigning Opera to one of the four User-Application icons to the left of the screen without using additional software such as keyDirect.
Can I load individual images on a page?
Unfortunately not. This is one of the sorely missed features from Symbian Web and is extemely useful on mobile devices with limited memory and a slow connection. By holding down Ctrl and clicking on a non-linked image you can display a context menu containing an option to save the image. This will only work if the image has already been loaded however as the saved file is copied directly from the browser cache. It would therefore be quite helpful to have another option on this menu to load the image.
Can I import certificates from other browsers?
No, this is not possible on Opera 5 for Symbian OS however it is something which is under consideration for future versions of the Opera browser (For all platforms).
Can I open a new window in the background?
It's possible for Javascript to do this, however there's no option for the user to open a new window manually behind the current document like there is in desktop versions of Opera 5.
What control is there over cookies?
Cookies can be completely disabled or you can choose to be warned every time a server or Javascript attempts to set a cookie. In the warning dialogue, you will be shown the cookie's name, value, and associated domain. From there you can choose to Accept or Ignore it. An extra option is to only accept cookies from the same server that sent the main document. Cookies set via ad banners, counters, tickers or other third party schemes can be ignored automatically or accepted manually after a warning.
If a server or Javascript attempts to set a cookie containing an invalid domain name or file path (sometimes done deliberately by dubious companies) then Opera can display a warning for these too. From the warning dialogue you can choose to discard or accept them.
Another useful option is to throw away all new cookies when you close Opera. This allows trusted cookies saved in previous browsing sessions to be used during the current session, and for any cookies you'd prefer not to have (but perhaps have been forced to accept in order to access a site) to be set but then destroyed when you finish browsing. Cookies which have already been saved in previous sessions will not be deleted until they expire.
How do I delete the history list?
The drop-down history list in the Progress Bar is wiped every time you close Opera however the Global history list is retained. To empty this, close Opera and navigate through the System screen to the following folder. Note you may have to enable the System folder via the Preferences option on the Tools menu first.
In this folder find the file global.dat and delete it. This is a safe method to delete Opera's history list as long as the browser is closed.
Additionally, vlink4.dat stores a separate list of visited URLs which isn't available to the user but is used by Opera to determine which links to render in the 'visited' colour. This file may also be deleted safely to restore all links to an 'unvisited' state.
How do I see where a link points to before following it?
With Opera 5 you can simply hover over a link to see the URL or link-title displayed in the top right-hand corner of the screen. The URL is shown for a few seconds and very long addresses/titles will run off the screen— without the ability to scroll them.
What are the non-hotkey keyboard controls?
Opera allows you to navigate documents, complete forms, and even alter some browser preferences simply by pressing individual keys (without holding Ctrl). The range of key presses isn't as diverse as with Opera 3.62 but the following are available:
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Esc | Stops all loading- Works whether loading a page or just the images on a pre-loaded file |
| 6 | Resets the display zoom size to 100% |
| Q | Moves up to the previous link in the page (Either text, images or any other link. Also moves to anchored elements such as "#menu") |
| A | Moves down to the next link in the page |
| W | Moves up to the previous heading element in the page (eg. Previous <H5> or <H1> whichever is nearest) |
| S | Moves down to the next heading element in the page (eg. Next <H2> or <H4> whichever is first.) |
| E | Move up to and highlight any previous element |
| D | Move down to and highlight any element |
| Z | Browser back button |
| X | Browser forward button |
| G | Cycles through image preferences (Load all, display loaded, display none.) |
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Up arrow | Scrolls page or selected frame up |
| Down arrow | Scrolls page or selected frame down |
| Ctrl+Left | Browser back button |
| Ctrl+Right | Browser forward button |
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Tab | Cycles through form elements. If no form elements are present will cycle through links instead. If no links present will cycle through images- Use with shift to reverse through cycle. |
| Left arrow | Deselects a highlighted form element (eg. This will untick a checkbox.)- If no element selected will scroll page/frame left. |
| Right arrow | Selects a highlighted form element (eg. This will select a radio button)- If no element selected will scroll page/frame right. |
| Enter | Activates highlighted form button |
Can I stop Opera displaying a warning everytime I submit a form?
Yes, you can override this default behaviour by going into the Security settings on the Preferences menu, and deselecting the Alert before insecure form
option.
This preference is enabled by default to make sure that users are aware when they're submitting sensitive data to servers which don't use encrypted connections. It also prevents any malicious Javascript from submitting form data covertly, however many users find this feature annoying as it also displays a warning on search engines and messageboards, etc.
Can I control which scroll bars are displayed?
You can only enable or suppress all scrollbars, though it was expected that Opera 5 would offer independent control over vertical and horizontal bars. When enabled and a frameset is displayed, scroll bars will appear in all frames that require them; If a page adapts to the display width then no horizontal scroll bar will be drawn.
Note that due to a bug in Opera 5, disabling scrollbars also prevents the cursor keys from working, in effect leaving you unable to scroll the page at all.
What zoom levels are available?
Opera is capable of zooming anywhere between 20% and 1000% in 10% increments, and will rescale text, inline images and form elements. The zoom icons next to the screen cycle through 60%, 80%, 100% and 120% levels, with the default being 100%. Alternatively, the Progress Bar contains a drop down list which allows you to resize the document at six preset levels between 40–120%, or even manually enter a figure for instant scaling.
Which browsers can Opera identify as?
Opera 5 is able to mimic the User-agent string and application name of other Web browsers in order to fool poorly designed sites and Javascripts which exclude Opera. With previous versions it became a common problem for Opera users to be mistakenly identified as using an old, incapable Web browser. Some sites would then refuse entry until the visitor upgraded
to MSIE or Netscape. In order to get around this, Opera 5 can identify as the following browsers:
- Opera 5 (Itself)
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0
- Mozilla (Rebranded as Netscape 6/7 by AOL/TW)
- Netscape 4 (Mozilla 4.73)
- Netscape 3 (Mozilla 3.0)
When set to identify as another browser, Opera will include the appropriate User-agent string with HTTP requests to remote servers (appended with the term Opera
for sensible browser sniffing to detect), and will also change the value of navigator.* properties in Javascripts.
Note that with the exception of adding support for a few Microsoft Jscript properties whilst set to ID as MSIE, Opera makes no attempt at emulating the actual rendering behaviour of the browsers it identifies as. Nor does it extend support to include any proprietary tags/properties, or other features of these browsers; The Identify as feature is designed purely to help users access those sites which block Opera out of ignorance or incompetence.
