Configuration
Gnome-RPM offers a wide selection of choices for installing and uninstalling packages, documentation and other features. You can customize Gnome-RPM using the Preferences dialog, which you can access from Operations => Preferences on the menu. To make selections in the Preferences dialog, select the boxes next to the options.
Under the Behaviour tab, you'll find a number of options for configuring the way Gnome-RPM installs, uninstalls and upgrades packages. The Behaviour tab is divided into five sections: Install Options, Upgrade Options, Other Options, Database Options and Architecture Options. Note that by default these boxes are not selected (see Figure 26-4).
Under Install Options, you have the following choices:
No dependency checks — When selected, this will install or upgrade a package without checking for other files that the program may depend on in order to work. Unless you know what you're doing, we strongly suggest that you not use this option as some packages may depend on other packages in order to function correctly.
No reordering — This option is useful if RPM is unable to change the installation order of some packages to satisfy dependencies.
Don't run scripts — Pre- and post-install scripts are sequences of commands that are sometimes included in packages to assist with installation. Selecting this option is similar to the --noscripts option when installing packages from the shell prompt.
Under Upgrade Options, you can select the following:
Allow replacement of packages — Replaces a package with a new copy of the same package. Similar to the --replacepkgs option from the shell prompt. This option can be useful if an installed package has become damaged or requires repair to function correctly.
Allow replacement of files — Allows the replacement of files which are owned by another package. The shell prompt equivalent for this RPM option is --replacefiles. This option can be useful when two packages include files that are named the same but contain different contents.
Allow upgrade to old version — Like the shell prompt RPM command equivalent --oldpackage, this option allows you to "upgrade" to an earlier package. It can be useful if the latest version of a package doesn't function correctly on your system.
Keep packages made obsolete — Prevents packages listed in an Obsoletes header from being removed.
In Other Options, you can select:
Don't install documentation — Like --excludedocs, this option can save on disk space by excluding documentation such as man pages or other information related to the package.
Install all files — Installs all files in the package.
The choices available in Database Options and Architecture Options allow you to decide, among other things, whether you want to perform a "test" installation (which will check for file conflicts without actually performing an install), or whether you want to exclude packages for other operating systems or system architectures.
In the Package Listing tab, you'll find a choice of displays for your packages: either View as icons, which will be graphically-based, or View as list, which is not graphical but can provide more information about the packages.
In Install Window,, you can specify the path where Gnome-RPM can find new RPMs on your system. Refer to Figure 26-5 for an example of this dialog. If you're using your Red Hat Linux CD-ROM, this path will probably be
/mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS |
If you download new RPMs from the Internet or want to install RPMs via a NFS-mounted CD-ROM this path will be different for you.
To change this path, type the full path to the RPMs you'd like to work with. Choosing the Apply or OK buttons will save this path, making it the default path for future sessions. You can also determine the default path by selecting the Browse… button, and visually navigating through the RPMPath window.
After changing the install path and closing the dialog box, you can use the Install button to view the packages available in the new location.
(If the path for your RPMs doesn't match the default path in your preferences, you'll be presented with a window for browsing through your filesystem, which will allow you to select the correct path for your new RPMs.)
Under Package Colours, you'll find color coding for packages. The default setting for older packages is gray; for current packages, the color is green; for newer packages than those installed, the color is blue. These color values can be customized to suit your needs.
The RPM Directories field contains a list of default locations where Gnome-RPM will search for packages when the Install window is first opened. For example, /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS is listed by default. If you have the Red Hat Linux CD mounted in this location, Gnome-RPM will search it for RPM packages when you open the Install window.
In the Network tab, you have the ability to specify proxies for use with HTTP and FTP transfers, as well as user and password names (see Figure 26-6). Note, however, that the password will not be stored securely.
In the Cache expire field, you can set the length of time before data from the rpmfind database is considered to be out of date.
In Rpmfind and Distributions, you'll find settings and options which correspond to the Web find feature.
The Rpmfind system allows the user to search the Internet for packages by name, summary, architecture and more (see Figure 26-7). The user is then given the option of downloading and installing the most appropriate packages for their system. To learn more about Rpmfind, go to http://rpmfind.net/.
 | Caution |
|---|---|
Packages not produced by Red Hat are not supported by Red Hat because Red Hat can not verify the integrity of these packages and how they interact with official Red Hat packages. Use caution when installing packages downloaded using Rpmfind. |
The Metadata server sets the server to be used for searches. The Download dir: entry allows you to specify where you want the files to be placed.
You can also specify the vendor, distribution name and whether to find sources and/or the latest files.
In Distribution Settings, you can set the options for choosing the most appropriate package out of the selections Rpmfind returns, as well as which mirror you would like to use. The higher the rating you indicate for your selection (as shown in Figure 26-8), the higher the priority it will receive; a lower rating (such as "-1") will specify that packages not be recommended.