PuTTY


PuTTY is a terminal emulator supporting Telnet and SSH protocols. It has flexible configuration options allowing compatibility with most legacy operating systems and environments.

Quote from the PuTTY web site:

"PuTTY is a free implementation of Telnet and SSH for Win32 and Unix platforms, along with an xterm terminal emulator."

Web Site

The home page for PuTTY is https://ww.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/. You may also find links from there for documentation and to download the current version of PuTTY.

Overview

PuTTY supports a variety of customizations allowing the display to be configured to the user's personal taste. This includes:

  • Screen size (number of rows and columns) including full-screen mode
  • Font size
  • Background and font color for standard and bolded text, along with programmed ANSI color support
  • Sound created for bell character

Other features supported include:

  • Output logging
  • Scroll-back buffer
  • Printer support
  • PSFTP utility - a PuTTY implementation of SFTP

Communication

PuTTY provides 5 basic communication protocols.

  • Raw - simple terminal communication without the telnet negotiation of features and detecting of terminal type
  • Telnet - standard Telnet protocol used for terminal communication with most systems. All data on the network is in plain-text which could be viewed by anyone with a network sniffer between the PC and the target server.
  • Rlogin - execution of single commands and displaying the results.
  • SSH - an encrypted implementation of communication similar to Telnet. All communication cannot be viewed while on the network. PuTTY includes support for:
    • Authentication methods
      • Keyboard-interactive - username and password verified by SYSUAF
      • Pageant - SSH key exchange
    • Tunneling including X11 forwarding
  • Serial - user specified COM port and communication parameters

If the Telnet connection is going through a firewall that drops idle connections, a communication parameter may be set to send keepalive messages regularly to prevent the connection from being dropped.

Keyboard Mapping

Due to the diferences between the DEC VT series keyboards and the standard, and some not-so-standard, PC keyboards, terminal emulators must choose how to map many of the function and editing keys. By default, the backspace key is mapped to the DEC delete key.

The 6 editing keys on the VT series keyboards are:

Find Insert Remove
Select Previous Next

These keys are mapped to standard PC keyboard for these keys is:

Insert Home Page Up
Delete End Page Down

There are two common mappings for these keys. For users who have memorized the placement of the DEC VT keyboard editing keys, mapping these keys based on key placement may be easiest to use. This maps the PC keys to the DEC VT keys as:

  • Insert -> Find
  • Home -> Insert
  • Page Up -> Remove
  • Delete -> Select
  • End -> Previous
  • Page Down -> Next

When the user is not so familiar with the placement of the DEC VT keys, or when using a laptop or other keyboard which may not have these keys with the standard placement, mapping these keys based on function usually works best. This maps the PC keys to the DEC VT keys as:

  • Insert -> Insert
  • Home -> Find
  • Page Up -> Previous
  • Delete -> Remove
  • End -> Select
  • Page Down -> Next

PuTTY provides six pre-configured keyboard mappings.

  • ESC[n~
    Provides good emulation of VT style keyboard on PCs with numeric keypad. The "Num Lock" key maps to PF1 (or Gold key) on the VT keyboard. The "/", "*", and "-" keys map to PF2, PF3 and PF4. The editing keys are mapped based on function.
  • Linux
    "Num Lock", "/", "*" and "-" on the keypad are mapped to the PF1-PF4 keys on the DEC VT keyboard. The editing keys are mapped based on function. In numeric mode, the keypad keys have different definitions depending on the state of the "Num Lock" key.
  • Xterm R6
    Provides good emulation of VT style keyboard on laptop computers without a numeric keypad. The F1-F4 keys are mapped to PF1-PF4. The editing keys are mapped based on function.
  • VT400
    Provides good emulation of VT style keyboard on PCs with numeric keypad. The "Num Lock" key maps to PF1 (or Gold key) on the VT keyboard. The "/", "*", and "-" keys map to PF2, PF3 and PF4. The editing keys are mapped based on placement.
  • VT100+
    F1-F4 keys are mapped to PF1-PF4. The remaining function keys are generally not used. The editing keys are mapped based on function.
  • SCO
    The "Num Lock", "/", "*" and "-" keys are not mapped. The F4-F7 keys are mapped to PF1-PF4. The editing keys are mapped based on function.

Function keys F1-F12 are mapped to the DEC VT function keys F1-F12. Shift F1 - shift F10 on the PC keyboard are mapped to the DEC VT function keys F11-F20.

Disclaimer


PARSEC Group works hard to maintain the accuracy and usefulness of its data. However, we cannot accept responsibility for the use or misuse of any information contained on this site. If you believe any information contained on this site is incorrect, please let us know through the use of our inquiry form.

Cookie Manager

We use cookies to enhance the features of our web site. We don't set optional cookies unless you enable them. Using this tool sets a cookie on your device to remember your preferences. For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies page.


Necessary Cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.


Preference Cookies

Preference cookies enable this site to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks.


Statistics Cookies

Statistic cookies help us to understand how visitors interact with the site by collecting and reporting information anonymously.


Marketing Cookies

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.


Cookies