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Revision 1.11 by root, Mon Feb 14 18:47:54 2005 UTC vs.
Revision 1.20 by root, Sat Dec 24 12:55:17 2005 UTC

1FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
2 Isn't rxvt supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?
3 I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause
4 extra bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you
5 can see that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables
6 always being compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS)
7 after startup. Even with "--disable-everything", this comparison is
8 a bit unfair, as many features unique to urxvt (locale, encoding
9 conversion, iso14755 etc.) are already in use in this mode.
10
11 text data bss drs rss filename
12 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything
13 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything
14
15 When you "--enable-everything" (which _is_ unfair, as this involves
16 xft and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11
17 and my libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so.
18
19 text data bss drs rss filename
20 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything
21 1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything
22
23 The very large size of the text section is explained by the
24 east-asian encoding tables, which, if unused, take up disk space but
25 nothing else and can be compiled out unless you rely on X11 core
26 fonts that use those encodings. The BSS size comes from the 64k
27 emergency buffer that my c++ compiler allocates (but of course
28 doesn't use unless you are out of memory). Also, using an xft font
29 instead of a core font immediately adds a few megabytes of RSS. Xft
30 indeed is responsible for a lot of RSS even when not used.
31
32 Of course, due to every character using two or four bytes instead of
33 one, a large scrollback buffer will ultimately make rxvt-unicode use
34 more memory.
35
36 Compared to e.g. Eterm (5112k), aterm (3132k) and xterm (4680k),
37 this still fares rather well. And compared to some monsters like
38 gnome-terminal (21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or
39 konsole (22200k + extra 43180k in daemons that stay around after
40 exit, plus half aminute of startup time, including the hundreds of
41 warnings it spits out), it fares extremely well *g*.
42
43 Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?
44 Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is:
45 I had to write it, and C++ allowed me to write and maintain it in a
46 fraction of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me).
47 Put even shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++.
48
49 My personal stance on this is that C++ is less portable than C, but
50 in the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability
51 limits are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale
52 support and unix domain sockets, which are all less portable than
53 C++ itself.
54
55 Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write
56 programs in C that use gobs of memory, an certainly possible to
57 write programs in C++ that don't. C++ also often comes with large
58 libraries, but this is not necessarily the case with GCC. Here is
59 what rxvt links against on my system with a minimal config:
60
61 libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
62 libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000)
63 libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000)
64 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
65
66 And here is rxvt-unicode:
67
68 libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
69 libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000)
70 libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000)
71 libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000)
72 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
73
74 No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in
75 statically), except maybe libX11 :)
76
77 Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?
78 rxvt-unicode does not directly support tabs. It will work fine with
79 tabbing functionality of many window managers or similar tabbing
80 programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be embedded into
81 other programs, as witnessed by doc/rxvt-tabbed or the upcoming
82 "Gtk2::URxvt" perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt (murxvt)
83 terminal as an example embedding application.
84
2 How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? 85 How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?
3 The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape 86 The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape
4 sequence "ESC [ 8 n" sets the window title to the version number. 87 sequence "ESC [ 8 n" sets the window title to the version number.
88 When using the urxvtc client, the version displayed is that of the
89 daemon.
5 90
6 I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem... 91 I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem...
7 The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode contains large patches 92 The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large
8 that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode. Before 93 patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode.
9 reporting a bug to the original rxvt-unicode author please download 94 Before reporting a bug to the original rxvt-unicode author please
10 and install the genuine version 95 download and install the genuine version
11 (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce the 96 (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce the
12 problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific 97 problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific
13 to Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the 98 to Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the
14 Debian Bug Tracking System (use "reportbug" to report the bug). 99 Debian Bug Tracking System (use "reportbug" to report the bug).
15 100
45 URxvt.termName: rxvt 130 URxvt.termName: rxvt
46 131
47 If you don't plan to use rxvt (quite common...) you could also 132 If you don't plan to use rxvt (quite common...) you could also
48 replace the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. 133 replace the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one.
49 134
135 "tic" outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.
136 Most likely it's the empty definition for "enacs=". Just replace it
137 by "enacs=\E[0@" and try again.
138
50 "bash"'s readline does not work correctly under rxvt. 139 "bash"'s readline does not work correctly under urxvt.
51 I need a termcap file entry. 140 I need a termcap file entry.
52 One reason you might want this is that some distributions or 141 One reason you might want this is that some distributions or
53 operating systems still compile some programs using the 142 operating systems still compile some programs using the
54 long-obsoleted termcap library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) 143 long-obsoleted termcap library (Fedora Core's bash is one example)
55 and rely on a termcap entry for "rxvt-unicode". 144 and rely on a termcap entry for "rxvt-unicode".
65 rxvt-unicode|rxvt-unicode terminal (X Window System):\ 154 rxvt-unicode|rxvt-unicode terminal (X Window System):\
66 :am:bw:eo:km:mi:ms:xn:xo:\ 155 :am:bw:eo:km:mi:ms:xn:xo:\
67 :co#80:it#8:li#24:lm#0:\ 156 :co#80:it#8:li#24:lm#0:\
68 :AL=\E[%dL:DC=\E[%dP:DL=\E[%dM:DO=\E[%dB:IC=\E[%d@:\ 157 :AL=\E[%dL:DC=\E[%dP:DL=\E[%dM:DO=\E[%dB:IC=\E[%d@:\
69 :K1=\EOw:K2=\EOu:K3=\EOy:K4=\EOq:K5=\EOs:LE=\E[%dD:\ 158 :K1=\EOw:K2=\EOu:K3=\EOy:K4=\EOq:K5=\EOs:LE=\E[%dD:\
70 :RI=\E[%dC:SF=\E[%dS:SR=\E[%dT:UP=\E[%dA:ae=^O:al=\E[L:\ 159 :RI=\E[%dC:SF=\E[%dS:SR=\E[%dT:UP=\E[%dA:ae=\E(B:al=\E[L:\
71 :as=^N:bl=^G:cd=\E[J:ce=\E[K:cl=\E[H\E[2J:cm=\E[%i%d;%dH:\ 160 :as=\E(0:bl=^G:cd=\E[J:ce=\E[K:cl=\E[H\E[2J:\
72 :cr=^M:cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:ct=\E[3g:dc=\E[P:dl=\E[M:do=^J:\ 161 :cm=\E[%i%d;%dH:cr=^M:cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:ct=\E[3g:dc=\E[P:\
73 :ec=\E[%dX:ei=\E[4l:ho=\E[H:i1=\E[?47l\E=\E[?1l:ic=\E[@:\ 162 :dl=\E[M:do=^J:ec=\E[%dX:ei=\E[4l:ho=\E[H:\
163 :i1=\E[?47l\E=\E[?1l:ic=\E[@:im=\E[4h:\
74 :im=\E[4h:is=\E[r\E[m\E[2J\E[H\E[?7h\E[?1;3;4;6l\E[4l:\ 164 :is=\E[r\E[m\E[2J\E[H\E[?7h\E[?1;3;4;6l\E[4l:\
75 :k1=\E[11~:k2=\E[12~:k3=\E[13~:k4=\E[14~:k5=\E[15~:\ 165 :k1=\E[11~:k2=\E[12~:k3=\E[13~:k4=\E[14~:k5=\E[15~:\
76 :k6=\E[17~:k7=\E[18~:k8=\E[19~:k9=\E[20~:kD=\E[3~:\ 166 :k6=\E[17~:k7=\E[18~:k8=\E[19~:k9=\E[20~:kD=\E[3~:\
77 :kI=\E[2~:kN=\E[6~:kP=\E[5~:kb=\177:kd=\EOB:ke=\E[?1l\E>:\ 167 :kI=\E[2~:kN=\E[6~:kP=\E[5~:kb=\177:kd=\EOB:ke=\E[?1l\E>:\
78 :kh=\E[7~:kl=\EOD:kr=\EOC:ks=\E[?1h\E=:ku=\EOA:le=^H:\ 168 :kh=\E[7~:kl=\EOD:kr=\EOC:ks=\E[?1h\E=:ku=\EOA:le=^H:\
79 :mb=\E[5m:md=\E[1m:me=\E[m\017:mr=\E[7m:nd=\E[C:rc=\E8:\ 169 :mb=\E[5m:md=\E[1m:me=\E[m\017:mr=\E[7m:nd=\E[C:rc=\E8:\
165 indeed look correct. 255 indeed look correct.
166 256
167 In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font 257 In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font
168 list, e.g.: 258 list, e.g.:
169 259
170 rxvt -fn basefont,font2,font3... 260 urxvt -fn basefont,font2,font3...
171 261
172 When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base 262 When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
173 font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to 263 font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to
174 the next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed 264 the next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed
175 up this search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the 265 up this search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the
225 that doesn't work, you might be forced to use a different font. 315 that doesn't work, you might be forced to use a different font.
226 316
227 All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their 317 All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their
228 bounding box data is correct. 318 bounding box data is correct.
229 319
320 On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide.
321 Seems to be a known bug, read
322 <http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the
323 following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working:
324
325 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x)
326
230 My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working. 327 My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
231 The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not 328 The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not
232 set correctly, or you specified a preeditStyle that is not supported 329 set correctly, or you specified a preeditStyle that is not supported
233 by your input method. For example, if you specified OverTheSpot and 330 by your input method. For example, if you specified OverTheSpot and
234 your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose 331 your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose
278 As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl 375 As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl
279 nor does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal 376 nor does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal
280 representation of wchar_t. This is, of course, completely fine with 377 representation of wchar_t. This is, of course, completely fine with
281 respect to standards. 378 respect to standards.
282 379
380 However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in "POSIX", "ISO-8859-1"
381 and "UTF-8" locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as wchar_t.
382
283 However, "__STDC_ISO_10646__" is the only sane way to support 383 "__STDC_ISO_10646__" is the only sane way to support multi-language
284 multi-language apps in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and 384 apps in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and non-standardized)
285 non-standardized) representation of wchar_t makes it impossible to 385 representation of wchar_t makes it impossible to convert between
286 convert between wchar_t (as used by X11 and your applications) and 386 wchar_t (as used by X11 and your applications) and any other
287 any other encoding without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for 387 encoding without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for each and
288 each and every locale. There simply are no APIs to convert wchar_t 388 every locale. There simply are no APIs to convert wchar_t into
289 into anything except the current locale encoding. 389 anything except the current locale encoding.
290 390
291 Some applications (such as the formidable mlterm) work around this 391 Some applications (such as the formidable mlterm) work around this
292 by carrying their own replacement functions for character set 392 by carrying their own replacement functions for character set
293 handling with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or 393 handling with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or
294 doing multiple conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the 394 doing multiple conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the
296 emulator). 396 emulator).
297 397
298 The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in 398 The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in
299 the system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app 399 the system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app
300 to carry complete replacements for them :) 400 to carry complete replacements for them :)
401
402 I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc.
403 Try the diff in doc/solaris9.patch as a base. It fixes the worst
404 problems with "wcwidth" and a compile problem.
405
406 How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?
407 rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using
408 the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no
409 longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a
410 single font). I recommend starting the X-server in "-multiwindow" or
411 "-rootless" mode instead, which will result in similar look&feel as
412 the old libW11 emulation.
413
414 At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any
415 multi-byte encodings (you might try "LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8"), so you are
416 likely limited to 8-bit encodings.
301 417
302 How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use? 418 How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
303 Is there an option to switch encodings? 419 Is there an option to switch encodings?
304 Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, 420 Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch,
305 and no specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't 421 and no specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't
417 it gets worse, as rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell. 533 it gets worse, as rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
418 534
419 Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow? 535 Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
420 Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, 536 Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely,
421 as it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to 537 as it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to
422 disable antialiasing (by appending ":antialiasing=false"), which 538 disable antialiasing (by appending ":antialias=false"), which saves
423 saves lots of memory and also speeds up rendering considerably. 539 lots of memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
424 540
425 Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong? 541 Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
426 Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to 542 Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
427 fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core 543 fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
428 fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It 544 fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It
434 Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works. 550 Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
435 Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing 551 Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
436 some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. 552 some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode.
437 I've heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise 553 I've heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise
438 specified. A quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt 554 specified. A quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt
439 or Shift keys are depressed. See rxvt(7) 555 or Shift keys are depressed. See urxvt(7)
440 556
441 What's with this bold/blink stuff? 557 What's with this bold/blink stuff?
442 If no bold colour is set via "colorBD:", bold will invert text using 558 If no bold colour is set via "colorBD:", bold will invert text using
443 the standard foreground colour. 559 the standard foreground colour.
444 560
499 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff 615 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
500 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff 616 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
501 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd 617 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
502 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd 618 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
503 619
504 How can I start rxvtd in a race-free way? 620 How can I start urxvtd in a race-free way?
505 Despite it's name, rxvtd is not a real daemon, but more like a 621 Try "urxvtd -f -o", which tells urxvtd to open the display, create
506 server that answers rxvtc's requests, so it doesn't background 622 the listening socket and then fork.
507 itself.
508
509 To ensure rxvtd is listening on it's socket, you can use the
510 following method to wait for the startup message before continuing:
511
512 { rxvtd & } | read
513 623
514 What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour? 624 What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
515 Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the 625 Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
516 BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following 626 BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
517 question) there are two standard values that can be used for 627 question) there are two standard values that can be used for
530 640
531 For starting a new rxvt-unicode: 641 For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
532 642
533 # use Backspace = ^H 643 # use Backspace = ^H
534 $ stty erase ^H 644 $ stty erase ^H
535 $ rxvt 645 $ urxvt
536 646
537 # use Backspace = ^? 647 # use Backspace = ^?
538 $ stty erase ^? 648 $ stty erase ^?
539 $ rxvt 649 $ urxvt
540 650
541 Toggle with "ESC [ 36 h" / "ESC [ 36 l" as documented in rxvt(7). 651 Toggle with "ESC [ 36 h" / "ESC [ 36 l" as documented in urxvt(7).
542 652
543 For an existing rxvt-unicode: 653 For an existing rxvt-unicode:
544 654
545 # use Backspace = ^H 655 # use Backspace = ^H
546 $ stty erase ^H 656 $ stty erase ^H
572 There are some compile-time selections available via configure. 682 There are some compile-time selections available via configure.
573 Unless you have run "configure" with the "--disable-resources" 683 Unless you have run "configure" with the "--disable-resources"
574 option you can use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings 684 option you can use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings
575 associated with keysyms. 685 associated with keysyms.
576 686
577 Here's an example for a URxvt session started using "rxvt -name 687 Here's an example for a URxvt session started using "urxvt -name
578 URxvt" 688 URxvt"
579 689
580 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~ 690 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~
581 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~ 691 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~
582 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'> 692 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>

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