Frequently asked questions
This list gathers answers for some commonly asked questions.
Note: Opera evolves constantly, so while we generally update
the documentation, some information listed on this page may not apply
to the current version.
Questions
- Q: Why does Opera opens a file instead of showing a download dialog?
- Q: Why is the content of jad file shown instead of a download dialog?
- Q: The page does not load or I get a parser error. Why?
- Q: All user interface components are missing. I do not see any buttons, input fields, and so on.What's the problem?
- Q: Will Opera automatically download new site-patching updates if I remove browser.js and override_downloaded.ini?
- Q: How do I force Opera to discover site-patching updates for debugging purposes?
- Q: I have removed my browser.js and now Opera has disabled site-patching. How do I recover from this state?
- Q: The key bindings do not work. Why?
- Q: Opera does not display Web pages "xyz" as I intended. Why?
- Q: Why do date.getYear() and date.getFullYear() return different values?
Answers
Q: Why does Opera open a file instead of showing a download dialog?
When a link is clicked, the behaviour is determined according to the resource's MIME (rfc2045 rfc2046) and Opera's configuration. The server needs to return a valid content type, for example, text/html or application/java-archive (list of registered types). The opera.ini file must contain entries for those types and actions to be taken, otherwise the autodetection mechanism will be used, which may result in opening a file as text/plain.
For more information about Opera's configuration, see Opera's Settings File Explained online.
Q: Why is the content of jad file shown instead of a download dialog?
The answer is similar to the previous question. The server needs to be configured to return correct MIME types for *.jad and *.jar files. If it is an Apache server, then add the following lines to conf/mime.types, otherwise consult the relevant server documentation.
In addition, Opera needs to be told what to do this type of content. The [File Types] section must include information about new MIME types, files and actions.
In this case both files — .jad and .jar — will cause a download event to trigger, allowing the user application to show a dialog box that asks for a decision. For more about file types, see Opera's Settings File Explained Opera's — file types online.
Q: The page does not load, or I get a parser error. Why?
Some Web sites use various techniques to provide customized content. The user's browser may be detected by checking the user agent (product token) in the HTTP request. You can spoof this setting for individual sites and their subdomains by setting the appropriate configuration in override.ini (stored in OPERA_HOME).
Override settings for Google servers
The following configuration will present Opera as Mozilla Firefox:
Note that the ID value is similar to the settings for Opera for Desktop. Possible values are:
Value | Meaning |
---|---|
1 | Identify as Opera (default) |
2 | Identify as Firefox (Opera string present) |
3 | Identify as Internet Explorer (Opera string present) |
4 | Identify fully as Mozilla Firefox |
5 | Identify fully as Internet Explorer |
Useful links | ||
---|---|---|
1 | HTTP 1.0 - rfc 1945 | http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1945.html |
2 | HTTP 1.1 - rfc 2616 | http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2616.html |
Q: All user interface components are missing. I do not see any buttons, input fields, and so on.What's the problem?
It looks like Opera has problems finding the standard skin file. Make sure the skin file specified in the opera.ini configuration does exist and is readable, or that the file standard_skin.zip exists in your $(OPERA_DIR) directory.
Q: Will Opera automatically download new site-patching updates if I remove browser.js and override_downloaded.ini?
No, you should never delete the browser.js file. If you are using site-patching (Browser JavaScript=2) and remove your browser.js file, Opera will disable site-patching completely. This is a feature in Opera that allows for easy disabling of site-patching if you do not want it (think of ordinary users using Opera for desktop).
Q: How do I force Opera to discover site-patching updates for debugging purposes?
Opera uses timestamps to identify if there are any new updates on the update server. Timestamps are saved in your opera.ini and are used when comparing against the timestamps on the server. If they differ, the integration is notified that there are updates available. The timestamps in your opera.ini looks like this:
Spoof Timestamp=1178789249 Browser JavaScript Timestamp=1178784145
To force Opera to discover new updates, you could change these numbers to something different. Note: If you have not yet downloaded any updates, you may notice that these settings might be missing from your opera.ini file, however an update will still be triggered, as Opera will treat the missing timestamps as "zero".
Q: I have removed my browser.js and now Opera has disabled site-patching. How do I recover from this state?
Since you do not have a browser.js, Opera will change your Browser JavaScript setting in opera.ini to zero as soon as it loads a page, thus disabling both site-patching and the automatic updates of it. To fix this, remove the two timestamps mentioned above from your opera.ini and change the Browser JavaScript setting to 1. When Browser JavaScript=1 Opera will not try to use site-patching until a new browser.js has been downloaded.
Q: The key bindings do not work. Why?
Check that input.ini is in right directory and is accessible. This is either OPERA_HOME or the directory specified in opera.ini, depending on your configuration.
Q: Opera does not display Web pages "xyz" as I intended. Why?
Some Web pages, especially if they were created by certain Web development tools, may contain code that is not part of the standard HTML and CSS specifications. That code may be displayed differently by other browsers. Useful tips and information about creating standards-compliant Web pages can be found at Opera's Web Developer Resources.
Q: Why do date.getYear() and date.getFullYear() return different values?
The standards specifications indicate that date.getYear() should return the number of years since 1900, and that date.getFullYear() should retrieve a full, 4-digit year. For example, for the year 2009 C.E., getYear() will return 109 (the number of years since 1900), while getFullYear() returns the 4-digit year, 2009. Other browsers might violate the standard and allow both functions to return the same value.