The Installation Program User Interface

The Red Hat Linux text mode installation program uses a screen-based interface that includes most of the on-screen "widgets" commonly found on graphical user interfaces. Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2 illustrate the screens you will see.

Figure 3-1. Installation Program Widgets as seen in Configure TCP/IP

Figure 3-2. Installation Program Widgets as seen in Disk Druid

Here is a list of the most important widgets shown in Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2:

Using the Keyboard to Navigate

Navigation through the installation dialogs is performed through a simple set of keystrokes. To move the cursor, use [Left], [Right], [Up], and [Down] arrow keys. Use [Tab], and [Alt]-[Tab] to cycle forward or backward through each widget on the screen. Along the bottom, most screens display a summary of available cursor positioning keys.

To "press" a button, position the cursor over the button (using [Tab], for example) and press [Space] or [Enter]. To select an item from a list of items, move the cursor to the item you wish to select and press [Enter]. To select an item with a checkbox, move the cursor to the checkbox and press [Space] to select an item. To deselect, press [Space] a second time.

Pressing [F12] accepts the current values and proceeds to the next dialog; it is equivalent to pressing the OK button.

CautionCaution
 

Unless a dialog box is waiting for your input, do not press any keys during the installation process (doing so may result in unpredictable behavior).