The Mozilla-based browsers (Firefox, Gecko, etc.) have a bug that prevents them from using semicolons as part of a local filename, even though a semicolon is a legal character in both filenames and URLs. The bug means that when using Firefox or other Mozilla browsers to view local website copies made by Teleport, links that lead to filenames containing semicolons will fail. We have decided not to change Teleport's behavior to accommodate this bug, because the Firefox bug may be fixed some day, and any change in Teleport would break existing projects. Therefore, our recommended workaround is to browse the copied site using a different browser, if the filenames contain semicolons.
Many common anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware programs are known to cause problems for Teleport. In particular, these applications can cause Teleport to work very slowly (usually, it will get the first file or two quickly, and then suddenly slow to a halt) -- or to be unable to connect to the Internet at all. The following applications are known to cause problems:
Questions and Answers
Q: Will Teleport work on my Windows operating system?
Q: Can Teleport download ASP, PHP, or other dynamically generated sites?
A: Yes, Teleport can handle ASP, PHP, CGI, Cold Fusion, and all other types of dynamically generated web pages. The server sends these pages to Teleport as HTML, just like any other page, and Teleport receives and handles them just like HTML. Teleport won't get the server-side code from these pages -- that information is not available through the webserver. But it handles these types of pages just fine, as it does any other web page.
Q: Can Teleport handle Javascript or events such as the "onclick" event?
A: Yes, as of version 1.29.1847, Teleport can handle simple script commands, such as window.open(...) and location.href=..., so long as the URL parameter is only a quoted string. Teleport will even handle such commands when they appear in events such as the onclick event. However, the program cannot handle more complex scripts, such as those that call functions defined by script, or those that open URLs that are created by calculating or concatenating strings. To enable script parsing, the option to process script and event code must be ON in the Project Properties, Exploration page. (This option is on by default.)
Q: Can Teleport handle "cookies"?
A: Yes, as of version 1.29.1847, Teleport can handle cookies. Teleport will accept and return cookies so long as that option is enabled on the Project Properties, Exploration page. (This option is on by default.)
Q: Can Teleport handle Shockwave or Flash applets?
A: As of version 1.29.1718, Teleport will load Flash or Shockwave movies that are unambiguously identified as an object parameter. Teleport will not, however, read the Flash or Shockwave applet (the .swf file) in order to find other files to which the applet may link.
Q: Can Teleport handle NTLM authentication?
A: Not directly. NTLM authentication is a Microsoft-specific form of authentication that Teleport does not support. If
you have control of the webserver you're trying to copy, you can change it to allow Basic authentication, which is the
normal form of authentication used on the Internet. The server can be set to allow both Basic and NTLM, if you wish.
Sometimes the webserver does accept Basic authentication but is misunderstanding your username. You can try
specifying your username using one of these forms, one of which may work: username/domain, username\domain,
domain/username, domain\username. Finally, another workaround is to use the Python NTLM Authentication Proxy Server application, which can be found at ntlmaps.sourceforge.net. Install Python (downloaded free from www.python.org), extract the NTLMAPS zip file, configure the server.cfg file with the proxy server details (ip, port, username, domain, password). Then configure Teleport to use 127.0.0.1 as the proxy and the LISTEN port number from the cfg file.
Q: How do I move a Teleport project to another location or another hard drive?
A: To move a project, move (or copy) BOTH the project file (the .tpp file) and the project folder (it has the same name as the project and is in the same location). As long as both the project file and its folder are in the same place, Teleport will know how to find everything it needs.
Q: How can I make Teleport archive a copy of my website every day?
A: You have to use a batch file to do this, since Teleport automatically overwrites old files with new ones when you re-run a project. But because you can run Teleport from a command-line or a batch file, you can do fancy things like make daily archives. Here's a sample batch file that will run the same project (base.tpp) every day, putting the copied files in a folder named after the current date:
@echo off set d=%date:~10,4%-%date:~4,2%-%date:~7,2% copy base.tpp %d%.tpp "c:\program files\teleport pro\pro.exe" /r /e %d%.tpp |
You can then use the Windows Task Scheduler (or the Teleport Scheduler, or any other scheduler program) to run that batch file once each day.
Q: A site I want to copy requires me to enter a user id and password on a form. Can Teleport handle this?
A: If the site requires you to enter data through a "post" form, Teleport cannot handle it. Teleport can only answer forms that use the GET protocol, and which do not require any user input. Forms that require you to select things from a list, or to check boxes, or to enter data -- or forms that use the POST protocol -- cannot be accessed. This is a limitation of Teleport that currently has no workaround.
Q: Can Teleport copy Real Audio or other multimedia files so that they will play offline?
A: It depends. If the file is a streaming file (often .ra and .rm files are streaming files), then they're not really files at all, but instead are pointers to a media server. In this case, Teleport will copy the pointer file, and the multimedia file will play -- but only if you have a live connection to the Internet. In other cases, such files are actually files that can be copied (.ram files are usually the actual media files, for example), and in this case yes, Teleport will copy the file and it will play correctly even when you are offline.
Q: Can Teleport crawl secure (HTTPS) sites?
A: Teleport Pro will not explore secure (HTTPS) sites. There is an version of Teleport Ultra which is HTTPS-enabled, and our larger webspiders (Teleport Exec and Teleport VLX) are all capable of spidering HTTPS servers.
Q: Is the Teleport GUI interface accessibility-enabled? Will it work with screen readers?
A: Yes, Teleport is fully compliant with software accessibility systems such as screen readers and keyboard shortcuts. Full documentation of its accessibility can be found in the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for Teleport Webspiders at http://www.tenmax.com/teleport/vpat.htm.
Q: How can I use the Microsoft Proxy Server with Teleport?
A: The Microsoft Proxy Server requires you to list both your domain and your account, when you set up access to the proxy server. Choose the Proxy Server command from Teleport's File menu; put your proxy server address and port number into the appropriate boxes; put your proxy password (if required) into the password box; and then list your domain and account, using the format domain/account, in the account box.
Q: I notice that the HTML pages Teleport creates will have "tppabs" tags in them. What are these and can I remove them?
A: The tppabs tags are created and used by Teleport as part of its Link Localization system. You can prevent the tags from being inserted by turning OFF Link Localization on the Project Properties, Browsing/Mirroring page; but then the links between files may not work correctly in the offline copy.
Q: Sometimes large graphics files that Teleport retrieves are incomplete or have lines through them. What can I do to prevent this?
A: Because Teleport can make several data requests simultaneously, it can at times request more data than your modem connection can handle. When that happens, the remote server and intermediate Internet routers must wait their turn to send Teleport data, and if they have to wait too long they may disconnect, damaging the file in progress. Teleport's Server Overload Protection algorithm usually prevents it from initiating too many requests. Generally, it is a good idea to keep this enabled -- it is on the Project Properties sheet, Exploration page. Also, because Teleport does not track other applications' open Internet connections, be sure to close those other applications (such as browsers) while running Teleport for big file-gathering projects. For some servers, however, Server Overload Protection is not enough. If you find that files are still being corrupted, try limiting Teleport's maximum retrieval threads to five or less. In most cases, this will solve the problem. You can also set Teleport's Retry On Incomplete (Project Properties, Exploration Page) option to 1 or more. This option forces Teleport to re-retrieve files that appear corrupted or are smaller than anticipated. Forcing incomplete files to be re-retrieved will slow your project down some, but virtually guarantees that your files will be accurately loaded.
Q: Does Teleport have a limit to how many files it can retrieve?
A: Teleport Pro has a database limitation of 65,500 URLs. This means that it can handle sites that have up to 65,500 URLs per project, and then it must stop. You can work around this limit by breaking the project into two or more smaller projects. Use careful starting addresses, and exclusions, to minimize the amount that the projects will overlap. Often, if the site you want is organized by subdirectory, you can use a smaller project to get each subdirectory. If you've already started a project and don't want to clear it and re-run it, just make more smaller projects to get the parts of the site that you haven't already downloaded. Unfortunately, however, Teleport won't link the projects together. Each project will stand on its own, and links within the project will work, but links between the subprojects won't. Note that Teleport Ultra and Teleport Exec have a database limitation of 260,000 URLs. Teleport VLX and Exec/VLX can handle up to 40 million URLs per project.
Q: Why doesn't Teleport use all ten threads at the same time?
A: Teleport tries to use just enough threads at once to get the best retrieval speed for you, without creating too much of a burden on the server. You can increase the number of threads it uses simultaneously by turning OFF "Server Overload Protection" on the Project Properties, Netiquette page; and also by changing the same-server query delay to zero (also on the Netiquette page). However, we strongly urge you not to do this unless absolutely necessary: this will probably NOT increase your throughput, and it will almost certainly impose a greater burden on the server. Many servers will deny you access if you attempt to overload them. In general, it is best to let Teleport decide how many threads to use. It will do the best possible job for you.
Q: Can I make CD copies of sites with Teleport?
A: Although Teleport isn't designed for making CDs, you can sometimes copy the project folder to a CD and it will work. Be sure to turn ON the Link Localization option on the Project Properties, Browsing/Mirroring page. Also, you will usually want to turn OFF the option for preserving directory structures -- most CD file systems cannot handle complicated directory structures. Finally, after the project is run so that a copy is on your hard drive, you must copy the project folder EXACTLY to the CD, so that all of the filenames and directories are unchanged. Teleport always writes relative links to files it retrieves, so copying the project folder to the CD will usually work. There are, however, many situations in which Teleport cannot copy a site for use on a CD. One problem is that Teleport may write files with names that are longer than the CD's file system can handle. We do have a new spider in development that is designed for creating CDs, which should be released later this year. Also, we provide the WebDisc service, in which we can copy websites to CD for a fee.
Q: When Teleport updates a project it downloads every file every time, instead of only downloading new or changed files; what am I doing wrong?
A: Each time you run a project, Teleport first gets any new files that were pending from a previous session. Next, it checks to see that all of the old files are up-to-date (during this phase, the status bar will say 'Updating').
When Teleport updates files, it queries the server, and asks whether that file has changed since the last time Teleport retrieved it. If it hasn't, Teleport doesn't do anything. If it has, Teleport immediately downloads the new file and saves it (overwriting the old file) in the project folder.
The update check is very efficient -- if the file hasn't changed, Teleport doesn't do anything. However, a file may still sometimes get completely reloaded on update, even if it hasn't changed, for one of two reasons--
(1) The remote server isn't reporting the modification date for the file. In this case, Teleport cannot know what to do, and re-loads the file.
(2) The document is generated dynamically by the server, and even though its content may remain identical, its date code is changed. In this case, Teleport still believes the server, and still downloads the file.
What you can do to prevent multiple updates is either (1) disable the files that are always being updated (right click on them and select Disable); or (2) change the Updating properties (on the Project Properties, Exploration page) so that those files are not updated.
Q: Can Teleport copy Java applets?
A: Teleport will download and attempt to relink Java applets. However, it cannot always locate all of the files an applet will need. Also, many Java applets will not run offline, because the Java security system does not let them access data from any place other than the originating server.
Q: Can Teleport get files from FTP servers?
A: Yes, it can -- but only from servers that provide anonymous (unauthenticated) access.
Q: I sent Teleport to a site that I know is working, but it doesn't get any files. What's wrong?
A: There are three common reasons for this: (1) You could be trying to access a very slow site, or it could be offline. If you can't get there with a browser, then Teleport can't get there either. (2) You use a proxy server, and your browser is configured to use the proxy, but Teleport isn't. Remember to set up your proxy server with Teleport using the Proxy Server command under the File menu. (3) You are running anti-virus or firewall software and Teleport isn't being allowed to connect to the Internet. You must configure the firewall software correctly, or disable it, to allow Teleport to run.
Q: Is there a version of Teleport for the Macintosh, or for Linux?
A: Not yet, but Teleport can run on those platforms using emulators. Teleport Pro has been tested and known to run perfectly on Parallels and CrossOver on the Mac, and on Linux using the Cedega emulator. But if you think we should make a native version, send us an email to let us know!
Old Notices
The Microsoft Office FastFind program, which the Office 97 setup will automatically install in your Windows Startup folder, can cause Teleport to operate more slowly, and can drain system resources severely enough to cause a system crash. The FastFind program attempts automatically to index all new documents on your hard drive; since Teleport will be adding many hundreds, or even thousands, of HTML files to your hard drive in a very short time, FastFind will become overburdened and will drain system resources very quickly. If you are running Teleport on a large site with many HTML files, Tennyson Maxwell strongly recommends that you remove Microsoft FastFind from your Startup folder and restart your system so that it will not be running in the background while Teleport operates.Early (pre-OSR2) versions of Windows 95 have confirmed bugs which can prevent dial-up networking from running and which can cause your system to crash while using the Internet. If you are running this operating system, check Microsoft's site for patches that can solve these problems. Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server has a potential bug which may present problems when using Teleport. A successful workaround is to use an HTTP redirector filter to redirect Teleport's GET commands to the desired server. You can see how to configure redirector filters in Microsoft's Knowledge Base article Q310129.
The Microsoft Office FastFind program, which the Office 97 setup will automatically install in your Windows Startup folder, can cause Teleport to operate more slowly, and can drain system resources severely enough to cause a system crash. The FastFind program attempts automatically to index all new documents on your hard drive; since Teleport will be adding many hundreds, or even thousands, of HTML files to your hard drive in a very short time, FastFind will become overburdened and will drain system resources very quickly. If you are running Teleport on a large site with many HTML files, Tennyson Maxwell strongly recommends that you remove Microsoft FastFind from your Startup folder and restart your system so that it will not be running in the background while Teleport operates.