Opera's Kiosk Mode

Opera can be run in kiosk mode, which is a mode mainly suited for information stands. Such stands are typically found in libraries, airports, bank offices or shopping malls. The information stand will run a browser that lets the user browse for the necessary information, but denies access to the computer and browser settings. After a period of inactivity, the browser should reset and return to a specified home page.

The following document applies to desktop versions for Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD, and Solaris. It was last updated for Opera version 8.5.

Introduction

Kiosk mode automatically configures Opera for use with information stands. Certain functionality has been hidden from the user, and special functions are enabled to make kiosk maintenance easier. Opera's kiosk mode supports all of the basic functions mentioned above, and a lot more, keeping all standard browsing functionality intact.

The following is a technical document that is primarily aimed at system administrators. The document explains recommended preferences settings, command-line options, URL filters, and relevant changes to the file opera6.ini ("Opera 8 Preferences" on Mac OS X) when using Opera in kiosk mode.

Contents

Related documents

Setting up a Simple Stand

Follow these steps to set up a simple information stand:

  1. Download and install the latest version of Opera.
  2. Start Opera
  3. Make Opera the default browser on your computer - for information on how to do this on Macintosh, please read our knowledge base article.
  4. Set a home page in Preferences > General
  5. You will most likely want to disable the Wand, Opera's password manager. Go to Tools > Preferences > Wand to do this.

Now you can exit Opera and restart it in kiosk mode by adding the kioskmode switch to the command line. A typical modified command line, or shortcut target, will look like this:

  • Windows: C:\Program Files\Opera\opera.exe /KioskMode
  • UNIX: opera -kioskmode
  • Mac: Applications/Opera.app/Contents/MacOS/Opera -kioskmode

Note: For security reasons, the kiosk should preferably be running on a guest user account with limited permissions.

Automatic configuration

These settings are made automatically when Opera enters kiosk mode:

  • Start-up dialogs are not shown
  • Full-screen mode is enabled by default
  • All toolbars are disabled
  • The application bar is disabled
  • Panels remain accessible
  • Opening links in new pages and in the background is disabled
  • Users cannot exit full-screen mode by pressing Esc
  • Direct access to the system and other programs is denied through blocking of application keys and system keys on Windows and Linux:
    • Ctrl+Esc is disabled
    • Alt+Tab is disabled
    • Alt+Escape is disabled
  • For Mac OS X, direct access to the system and other programs is denied through the use of Apple's kiosk APIs (called SystemUIMode).
  • "Submit" buttons are disabled to prevent file upload
  • The help function is disabled
  • If a user closes the last open page, the home page will be loaded and maximized automatically

Note: Windows 2000 and XP do not allow Opera to block access to the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del). To block access to the Task Manager (recommended), you will need to replace the GINA used by Windows. Please see the MSDN article on Customizing GINA, Part 1 and Part 2 for further details.

Setting up an Advanced Stand

You may want to further customize your information stand, and the kiosk mode defaults can be changed as well as successfully combined with other settings and switches. For example, it may be necessary to hide more functionality from users, or take certain precautions for added security and privacy.

Other recommended settings:

  • Disable mouse gestures by going to Preferences > Advanced > Shortcuts and unchecking "Enable mouse gestures".
  • Enable the main bar using the "kioskbuttons" switch.
  • Customize the main bar to remove unused buttons.
  • Set all pop-ups to maximized by going to Preferences > Advanced > Browsing and setting "New pages" to "Always maximize, including pop-ups".

If you keep the address bar hidden, note that pop-ups may still show the address bar. You can choose to disable this by setting the address bar to hidden, using View > Toolbars > Address bar.

Remember that if you want to change settings from within the Opera user interface, you have to run it in regular mode to access these settings. After you have finished those changes, remember to close Opera before editing any .ini files you want to change. Configuration files should never be edited directly while Opera is running.

Command-line Options

Running Opera with command-line options, or switches, forces certain behaviors. Switches can be combined.

Switches automatically enabled

Kiosk mode enables the following switches automatically:

  • nochangebuttons
  • nochangefullscreen
  • nosysmenu

Opera's switches

The following table lists and describes all switches that can be used with Opera. The letters used in the "Notes" column signify:

  • EXclusive to kiosk mode
  • Automatically enabled in kiosk mode
  • Highly recommended in kiosk mode
Switch Description Notes
kioskmode or k Starts Opera in kiosk mode -- see above for details
kioskbuttons Will enable the main toolbar and address bar in full-screen and kiosk mode X
kioskresetstation Will reset the kiosk after a certain period of inactivity in seconds, specified in "Go Home Time Out" setting in the [special] section of opera6.ini/"Opera 8 Preferences" X
kioskwindows Enables Multiple Document Interface (MDI) and the page bar, opening links in new page X
nochangebuttons Disables button preferences A, H
nochangefullscreen Disables switching between full-screen and normal view A
nocontextmenu Removes all context menus H
nodownload Disables download dialog and aborts all downloads silently H
noexit Removes "Exit Opera" from the menu Use with care
nohotlist Disables the panels and all references to them Using for example the bookmarks and links panels can be a useful feature
nokeys Disables all keyboard shortcuts H
nomaillinks Disables "mailto:" links so that no e-mail client is launched H
nomenu Disables Opera's menu
nominmaxbuttons Disables the minimize, maximize, and close buttons on application bar A
noprint Disables the print button
nosave Disables saving of files, pages, images, and links H
nosplash or e Disables the start-up dialog A
nosysmenu Removes the system menu from the main window A
nowin Skips reading of session files on start-up so that Opera cannot start with a saved session
resetonexit Will clear private data (history, cache, and cookies) and files that store JavaScript and URL password warnings X, H
  • ReserveSpaceTop
  • ReserveSpaceLeft
  • ReserveSpaceBottom
  • ReserveSpaceRight
 Reserving space, for example for an on-screen keyboard X

See the document Opera's Command-Line Options for a complete overview.

URL Filtering

Filtering is used to limit browsing to certain sites, or to exclude certain file types.

Setting up a filter

To enable URL filtering in Opera, a filter file must be defined in the [Adv User Prefs] section of opera6.ini/"Opera 8 preferences".

The filter file is in a standard ini format. It should have an [include] and an [exclude] section that define both URLs to allow and URLs to filter out. The filter supports "*" and "?" as wildcards. Note that Opera will exclude all URLs that are not specifically included.

Follow these steps to enable filtering:

  1. Exit Opera
  2. Define a filter file in opera6.ini/"Opera 8 Preferences"
  3. Create a filter file
  4. Make an [exclude] section listing the URLs to block
  5. Make an [include] section listing the URLs to allow
  6. Restart Opera

By default, the [exclude] list has precedence over the [include] list, but a priority flag can be set to change it:

  1. Exit Opera
  2. Open the filter file (not opera6.ini/"Opera 8 Preferences") and add a [prefs] section
  3. Give precedence to the [include] list by adding "prioritize excludelist=0"

Examples

These examples demonstrate the use of URL filtering in kiosk mode.

Enabling filtering

Add this to the opera6.ini file to define the location of your filter file on Windows or UNIX: 

[Adv User Prefs]    
URL Filter File=filterfilename.ini

Add this to the "Opera 8 Preferences" file to define the location of your filter file on Mac OS X: 

[Adv User Prefs]    
URL Filter file=System Partition:Users:username:Library:Preferences:Opera Preferences:URL filter file.ini

Blocking local files, news, and images over ftp

The example below will exclude local files and news (because they are not included), and block loading of bmp, jpg and jpeg, gif, and png pictures over the file transfer protocol:

[include]    
http://*    
ftp://*    
    
[exclude]    
ftp://*.bmp    
ftp://*.gif    
ftp://*.jpg    
ftp://*.jpeg    
ftp://*.png

Allowing one site only

This example demonstrates how to give precedence to the [include] list, and set the kiosk up to allow surfing on one site only:

[prefs]    
prioritize excludelist=0    
    
[include]    
http://???.opera.com/*    
    
[exclude]    
*