Linuxconf has four user interfaces:
Text-based — Using the same user interface style as the Red Hat Linux text-mode installation program, the text-based interface makes it easy to navigate your way through Linuxconf if you aren't running X. If you are running X, you can switch to a virtual console, log in as root, and type linuxconf to bring up text-mode Linuxconf.
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Graphical user interface (GUI) — Linuxconf can take advantage of the X Window System. Red Hat Linux includes a GUI interface for Linuxconf called gnome-linuxconf.
This document will display Linuxconf screens using the gnome-linuxconf interface, but you shouldn't have any trouble using the other interfaces with the instructions provided here.
Web-based — A Web-based interface makes remote system administration easy; it can also be displayed with the Lynx text-mode browser.
To use the Linuxconf Web interface, use your browser to connect to port 98 on the machine running Linuxconf (i.e., http://your_machine:98).
Before you use the Web-based interface, you'll need to configure Linuxconf to allow connections from the machine running the browser. See the section called Enabling Web-Based Linuxconf Access for instructions on enabling Web access to Linuxconf.
Command line — Linuxconf's command-line mode is handy for manipulating your system's configuration in scripts.
Linuxconf will start in either character-cell or X mode, depending on your DISPLAY environment variable. The first time you run Linuxconf, an introductory message will be shown; although it is only displayed once, accessing help from the main screen will give you the same basic information.
Linuxconf includes some context-specific help. For information on any specific aspect of Linuxconf, select Help from the screen you'd like help with. Note that not all help screens are complete at this time; as help screens are updated, they will be included in subsequent versions of Linuxconf.