# Dialog Boxes

Opera opens this page when you click help buttons in dialog boxes.

## The start-up dialog

When Opera starts, the following options are offered in the start-up dialog:

1. Continue browsing with the windows and pages you had open when you last exited Opera
2. Start browsing with windows and pages from a saved session
3. Start with your home page
4. Start with no pages

Disable the start-up dialog if you always start Opera the same way.

Click to buy Opera.

Tip: If Opera repeatedly exits for no apparent reason, try starting with no pages.

## Save session

When you have a set of Web pages open, for example your Web e-mail and your favorite news sites, you can save them as an Opera "session". If you then close all open pages, and load the session, all pages will reopen.

Tip: If you open the same Web pages every morning, save them and tell Opera to always start with this session.

Go to Opera's File menu to find the "Sessions" dialog.

## Print

You can fine-tune printing of Web pages:

- In most cases, it is best not to print background images on Web pages
- Printing headers and footers adds useful information
  - Headers include page title and numbering
  - Footers include page address and date printed
- If you wish to save paper, you can scale printed pages to e.g. 50%
- You can set top, left, right, and bottom margins

Go to Opera's File menu to find the "Print options" dialog.

## Print preview

Use this feature to preview a printed version of any Web page.

If a page is built up of frames, you can choose whether to:

1. Print as normal
2. Print each frame separately
3. Print selected frame only

Go to Opera's File menu, or press `P`, to use the "Print preview" function.

## Customize toolbars

You can drag any button and drop it on any toolbar, but you may have to right-click a toolbar and uncheck the "Lock toolbars" option first.

Example: To conserve screen space, drag the buttons you use most often from the Main bar to the Address bar, and then turn the Main bar off.

Tip: After dropping a button on a toolbar, right-click the toolbar for more options.

Go to Opera's View menu to find the "Customize toolbars" dialog.

## Reload page automatically

You can set Opera to reload a page automatically, for example every 5 minutes. This can be used to monitor news sites and stock rates, or other Web pages that are updated frequently.

Some pages have an expiration time. You can choose to reload a page only if it has expired.

Go to Opera's Navigation menu to find the "Reload every" dialog.

## Set home page

This dialog lets you specify a Web page to open when you click the "Home" button on the Main bar.

Tip: You can set Opera to always start with your home page.

Go to Opera's Navigation menu to find the "Set home page" dialog.

## Go to page

This dialog lets you enter Web addresses when the address field is not available, for example in full-screen mode.

You can also choose between previously entered Web addresses from the drop-down menu.

Go to Opera's Navigation menu, or press `F2`, to find the "Go to page" dialog.

## Downloading files

Opera will ask you how you want to handle a downloaded file:

- Click to open the file with Opera
- Click store the file on your computer without executing (starting) it

You can choose not to be asked again for similar files, but use this option carefully.

Note: It is a good idea to always scan a downloaded file with updated virus-protection software before you open or start it.

Click for further options.

Tip: For more information about how Opera handles downloaded files, read about file types.

## Password-protected pages

Some Web pages require that you enter a user name and a password before you can access information. Contact the Web site in question if you cannot log in.

Tip: Use the Wand to remember log-in information.

## Certificates

Server certificates are used to verify the identity of a Web site you are visiting. On secure sites, for example bank sites, Opera accepts certificates to establish a secure connection.

Normally, you will simply see the icon to the left of Opera's Address bar change from an open to a locked padlock. This means that the certificate was correctly set up and verified (signed) by someone on your list of authorities (trusted third parties). In all other cases, Opera will display a warning.

Accepting a certificate after a warning will establish a connection, but the connection may not be secure if the certificate is not valid. Make your choice of whether or not to accept certificates based on whether or not you trust the site in question. Never accept (or install) certificates on sites you do not trust.

### Server certificate expired

Opera will warn you if one of the certificates presented by a server has expired. Accepting expired certificates is a potential security risk because this indicates that the site you are visiting is not being maintained properly.

Click to establish the connection only if you believe that the site you are visiting can still be trusted.

Click if you suspect that the site is no longer being actively maintained, or cannot be trusted anymore.

### Wrong certificate name

Opera will warn you if a server name in a certificate does not match the hostname. This means that you have encountered a certificate that may be valid, but only for use on a different site than the one you are currently visiting. This is a potential security risk because a certificate issued by an authority is approved for use by one organization or company only, and only on one site.

Click if you do not wish to establish a connection.

Click to establish the connection only if you believe that the site you are visiting and the site for which the certificate is actually issued belong to the same trustworthy organization.

### Certificate signer not found

Opera will warn you if a certificate signer (root certificate) is not found on your list of authorities. This is a potential security risk if you do not trust this unregistered certificate signer.

Click to establish a connection only if you trust the site you are visiting.

Click if you do not wish to establish a connection.

If available, click to include the certificate signer (root certificate) on your list of trusted authorities and then establish a connection. Do this only if you trust the certificate signer. Connections to other sites certified by the same signer, now an authority, will thus be allowed automatically in the future (unless you uncheck this option).

Technical note: Root certificates are not signed by another authority; they are self-signed. In other words, anybody can make them.

### More information

For more information about installed certificates, read about security.

## Cookies

A "cookie" is a small piece of information that a Web site stores on your computer so that it can remember something about you. Cookies are intended to make browsing easier, but can be used for exploitive purposes.

### Handling incoming cookies

If you are familiar with cookies and trust the site that attempts to set a cookie, click the button. Click if you are in doubt.

### Illegal cookies

A cookie is illegal if it is not set according to acknowledged Internet standards. Because this is a potential violation of your privacy, Opera will discard certain such cookies. Click to continue.

If a page tries to use cookies to, for example, trace your browsing within a national domain, the cookie will automatically be refused by Opera. A national domain is one that does not end in .com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, .mil, or .int.

Security note: If a site in a national domain tries to set a cookie, Opera will perform a DNS lookup to find the IP address of the target domain. This is done to verify the validity of the cookie, and if no IP address exists, Opera will refuse the cookie. Should you encounter this, you might want to ask the site's Web master to create an IP address for the domain specified in the cookie.

### More information

For more information, read about privacy and cookies.

## Uploading files

Some sites offer file uploading as part of their service. Normally, you click and select which file you want to upload from your computer.

Privacy note: A form can be preset to upload private files from your computer. To prevent forms from stealing your files, Opera will always warn you if a filename is preset in an upload form.

## Deleting private data

This dialog helps you to delete information about your browsing.

Warning: Be sure you know what you are doing before you use this dialog. Deleting private data may have unwanted side effects:

- If you delete cookies, you must enter all your Web passwords again, and preferences set on particular sites may be forgotten
- If you delete the cache, all pages must be fully reloaded even if you just visited them
- If you delete history data, your list of previously accessed pages is lost, and you must enter full Web addresses again, since history is used for auto-completion
- If you delete e-mail passwords, you must re-enter them the next time you check your e-mail

Note: Information deleted from hard drives may be restored using "undelete" software.

Go to Opera's File menu to find the "Delete private data" dialog.

## E-mail and news password

Before you can check your e-mail and read news messages, you must enter the password given to you by your service provider.

You can save the password so that you do not have to re-enter it, but this means that other people with access to your computer can check your e-mail. The password is encrypted before it is stored to disk.

Contact your service provider if you have persisting problems.

For more information, read about Opera's security password.

## Deleting messages

Messages you delete are temporarily stored in your Trash folder. If you regret deleting a message, open your Trash folder and click the Undelete button in the message view.

Note: If you go into your Trash folder and press `Delete`, selected messages are permanently deleted.

Tip: To permanently delete all messages in your Trash folder, right-click the Hotlist message tree and select "Empty trash".

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