Telnet - Known Problems and Solutions -The Library-University of California, Berkeley

Telnet - Known Problems and Solutions

Some recent software products do not work with telnet systems such as GLADIS, the command-line version of the UC Berkeley library catalog, which is commonly used to renew books and check course reserve lists.

If this link does not open a GLADIS window, your software may be the cause. Below are the known problems, with possible solutions.

Telnet links do not work in Windows Vista
Internet Explorer 7 does not open telnet links
Firefox does not open telnet links

Problem: Telnet links do not work in Windows Vista

The Windows Vista operating system is distributed with its telnet function uninstalled. Users report that they are unable to follow links from our website to GLADIS, even if they have implemented the Internet Explorer fix described below.

Solution: Microsoft's Telnet: Frequently Asked Questions page describes how to install telnet in your Windows Vista system.

Once this is done and you click on a link to GLADIS (or another telnet system), a telnet window should open. Enter this command: open gladis.berkeley.edu

Problem: Internet Explorer 7 does not open telnet links

According to the InsideMicrosoft Blog News Channel, support for telnet has been removed in IE7. This version of the web browser does not let you follow links from the library website to GLADIS.

We have identified two solutions to this problem:

Solution 1
You can make a simple, one-time modification to enable telnet usage in IE7. This process normally takes less than a minute. Follow the instructions below to download a file that edits your computer's registry information.

Click on this link to IE7_telnet.reg.
You will see this window (exact wording and appearance may vary):

Click on Run.
You will see this window:

Click on Yes.
You will see this window:

Click on OK.

Close your IE7 browser.

Open a new IE7 browser.

You should now be able to connect to GLADIS via a link on a UC Berkeley Library Web page.

Solution 2
To bypass your web browser entirely, create a desktop shortcut to the Run command, and fill it in with: telnet gladis.berkeley.edu. Rename the shortcut "GLADIS" (or whatever you choose), and save it on your desktop.

The details of how to do these things will vary depending on which version of Windows you have. Note that if you have Windows Vista, you will first have to install the telnet software.

Problem: Firefox does not open telnet links

Some users have reported that when they click on a link to GLADIS or another telnet system, Firefox responds with a prompt to "launch an external application." This may happen on both Windows and Macintosh computers.

Solution 1

This applies if you see a pop-up window looking like this (exact text may vary):

Firefox telnet pop-up window

Check the box for "Remember my choice for all links of this type."

Click on "Launch Application."

Your telnet session should begin, and you should not receive the warning prompt again.

Solution 2

This applies if you do not see the pop-up window shown above.

In the Firefox address bar, type about:config [no spaces]
You will see a list of configuration settings.

In the "Filter:" box at the top of this list, type: telnet
You should see:
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.telnet user set boolean true

Double-click on the word "true" and it should change to "false".

You should now be able to follow links to telnet systems without interruption.

Solution 3

This applies if you do not see either the pop-up window shown in Solution 1, or the configuration setting identified in Solution 2.

In the Firefox address bar, type about:config [no spaces]
You will see a list of configuration settings.

In the "Filter:" box at the top of this list, type: telnet
No configuration settings appear.

Windows: Right-click anywhere in the main part of the browser window.
Mac: Control-click anywhere in the main part of the browser window.

In the pop-up menu list hover the cursor over New.

In the fly-out menu list click on Boolean.

The New Boolean value window will prompt you to "Enter the preference name."

Type or paste network.protocol-handler.warn-external.telnet into the New Boolean value window. Click on OK.

A second pop-up window will appear and prompt you to enter a Boolean value from a list that consists of "true" or "false." Click on false.

Repeat step #2 (in the "Filter:" box type telnet).

You should see:
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.telnet user set boolean false

You should now be able to follow links to telnet systems without interruption.

Comments welcome
If these solutions do not work for you, please use our comment form to report the problem. Tell us which operating system and web browser you're using, which solution(s) you tried, and what you experienced.