In the days before there were personal computers, people used a “terminal” connected to a mainframe computer. A terminal is simply a keyboard/monitor device used to process input to and output from the mainframe.
Today, if you wish to access a Unix computer on the network using a PC, your PC must run a “terminal emulation” program, to make it look and act like a terminal. A Unix server is not set up to process Windows/PC input and output.
The host computer (or server) is set up to communicate with a particular kind of terminal. If your PC is not “emulating” the model of terminal that the Unix server is expecting to communicate with, you may have difficulties, including erratic displays or inappropriate responses to keystrokes.
Step 1. Determine which terminal your PC is emulating
What software are you using on your PC to connect to the Unix server? Some programs have options that allow you to select the terminal you are emulating. If you cannot find any options, it is likely that you are emulating a vt100 terminal.
Step 2. Determine which terminal the Unix server expecting you to use
To see which terminal the Unix server is expecting, log onto your Unix account and at a prompt type:
echo $TERM
Step 3. Change settings so that they match
Option 1: Change the variable on
the Unix server
If you know which terminal your PC is emulating, you set the Unix environment variable (using the tcshell) by typing the following command at the prompt
setenv TERM
<your-PC-terminal-setting-here>
for example:
setenv TERM
vt100
(Note: if you don’t know what terminal to use here, try vt100 and see if it works)
Double check that you have successfully set the variable by typing:
echo $TERM
Option 2: Change the emulation
on your PC
You need to find the option dialog box for the software you are using on your PC and change the “terminal” setting to match the Unix server
If you do not have an option to change the terminal type, you may be able to change the behavior of particular keystrokes. You can try changing keyboard options and see if that helps.