[ViewVC] Diff of: cvs/rxvt-unicode/README.FAQ

Comparing rxvt-unicode/README.FAQ (file contents):
Revision 1.39 by root, Tue Jan 31 20:52:19 2006 UTC vs.
Revision 1.74 by root, Sat Jul 3 04:04:12 2021 UTC

…		…
1	FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS	1	RXVT-UNICODE/URXVT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
2	Meta, Features & Commandline Issues	2	Meta, Features & Commandline Issues
3	My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?	3	My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?
4	Before sending me mail, you could go to IRC: "irc.freenode.net", channel	4	Before sending me mail, you could go to IRC: "irc.libera.chat", channel
5	"#rxvt-unicode" has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be	5	"#rxvt-unicode" has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
6	interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).	6	interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
		7
		8	I use Gentoo, and I have a problem...
		9	There are two big problems with Gentoo Linux: first, most if not all
		10	Gentoo systems are completely broken (missing or mismatched header
		11	files, broken compiler etc. are just the tip of the iceberg); secondly,
		12	it should be called Gentoo GNU/Linux.
		13
		14	For these reasons, it is impossible to support rxvt-unicode on Gentoo.
		15	Problems appearing on Gentoo systems will usually simply be ignored
		16	unless they can be reproduced on non-Gentoo systems.
7		17
8	Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?	18	Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?
9	Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a	19	Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a
10	simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these	20	simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these
11	should give you tabs:	21	should give you tabs:
12		22
13	rxvt -pe tabbed	23	urxvt -pe tabbed
14		24
15	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed	25	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed
16		26
17	It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window	27	It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window
18	managers or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow	28	managers or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow
21	(murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application.	31	(murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application.
22		32
23	How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?	33	How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?
24	The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape	34	The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape
25	sequence "ESC [ 8 n" sets the window title to the version number. When	35	sequence "ESC [ 8 n" sets the window title to the version number. When
26	using the rxvtc client, the version displayed is that of the daemon.	36	using the urxvtc client, the version displayed is that of the daemon.
27		37
28	Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?	38	Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?
29	Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something	39	Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something
30	you don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings	40	you don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings
31	that you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by	41	that you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by
…		…
38	bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a	48	bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
39	kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if	49	kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if
40	full) use 10 Megabytes of memory. With "--enable-unicode3" it gets	50	full) use 10 Megabytes of memory. With "--enable-unicode3" it gets
41	worse, as rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.	51	worse, as rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
42		52
43	How can I start rxvtd in a race-free way?	53	How can I start urxvtd in a race-free way?
44	Try "rxvtd -f -o", which tells rxvtd to open the display, create the	54	Try "urxvtd -f -o", which tells urxvtd to open the display, create the
45	listening socket and then fork.	55	listening socket and then fork.
46		56
47	How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc.	57	How can I start urxvtd automatically when I run urxvtc?
48	rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM", so you can	58	If you want to start urxvtd automatically whenever you run urxvtc and
49	check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED, slrn,	59	the daemon isn't running yet, use this script:
50	Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide whether	60
51	or not to use color.	61	#!/bin/sh
		62	urxvtc "$@"
		63	if [ $? -eq 2 ]; then
		64	urxvtd -q -o -f
		65	urxvtc "$@"
		66	fi
		67
		68	This tries to create a new terminal, and if fails with exit status 2,
		69	meaning it couldn't connect to the daemon, it will start the daemon and
		70	re-run the command. Subsequent invocations of the script will re-use the
		71	existing daemon.
		72
		73	Another option is to use systemd socket-based activation (see
		74	systemd.socket(5)). Here is an example of a service unit file and of a
		75	socket unit file for the default socket path:
		76
		77	urxvtd.service
		78	[Unit]
		79	Description=urxvt terminal daemon
		80	Requires=urxvtd.socket
		81
		82	[Service]
		83	ExecStart=/usr/bin/urxvtd -o
		84
		85	urxvtd.socket
		86	[Unit]
		87	Description=urxvt terminal daemon socket
		88
		89	[Socket]
		90	ListenStream=%h/.urxvt/urxvtd-%H
		91
		92	[Install]
		93	WantedBy=sockets.target
		94
		95	How do I distinguish whether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular
		96	xterm? I need this to decide about setting colours etc.
		97	The original rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable
		98	"COLORTERM", so you can check and see if that is set. Note that several
		99	programs, JED, slrn, Midnight Commander automatically check this
		100	variable to decide whether or not to use colour.
52		101
53	How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?	102	How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
54	If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled	103	If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled
55	insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script	104	insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
56	snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode	105	snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
…		…
63		112
64	# Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:	113	# Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
65	[ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know	114	[ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
66	if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then	115	if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
67	stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not	116	stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
68	echo -n '^[Z'	117	printf "\eZ"
69	read term_id	118	read term_id
70	stty icanon echo	119	stty icanon echo
71	if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then	120	if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
72	echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string	121	printf '\e[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
73	read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell	122	read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
74	fi	123	fi
75	fi	124	fi
76		125
77	How do I compile the manual pages on my own?	126	How do I compile the manual pages on my own?
78	You need to have a recent version of perl installed as /usr/bin/perl,	127	You need to have a recent version of perl installed as /usr/bin/perl,
79	one that comes with pod2man, pod2text and pod2html. Then go to the doc	128	one that comes with pod2man, pod2text and pod2xhtml (from Pod::Xhtml).
80	subdirectory and enter "make alldoc".	129	Then go to the doc subdirectory and enter "make alldoc".
81		130
82	Isn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?	131	Isn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?
83	I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra	132	I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra
84	bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see	133	bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see
85	that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always	134	that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always
…		…
90		139
91	text data bss drs rss filename	140	text data bss drs rss filename
92	98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything	141	98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything
93	188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything	142	188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything
94		143
95	When you "--enable-everything" (which _is_ unfair, as this involves xft	144	When you "--enable-everything" (which is unfair, as this involves xft
96	and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my	145	and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my
97	libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so.	146	libc), the two diverge, but not unreasonably so.
98		147
99	text data bss drs rss filename	148	text data bss drs rss filename
100	163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything	149	163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything
101	1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything	150	1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything
102		151
…		…
130	the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability limits	179	the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability limits
131	are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale support and	180	are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale support and
132	unix domain sockets, which are all less portable than C++ itself.	181	unix domain sockets, which are all less portable than C++ itself.
133		182
134	Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write programs	183	Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write programs
135	in C that use gobs of memory, an certainly possible to write programs in	184	in C that use gobs of memory, and certainly possible to write programs
136	C++ that don't. C++ also often comes with large libraries, but this is	185	in C++ that don't. C++ also often comes with large libraries, but this
137	not necessarily the case with GCC. Here is what rxvt links against on my	186	is not necessarily the case with GCC. Here is what rxvt links against on
138	system with a minimal config:	187	my system with a minimal config:
139		188
140	libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)	189	libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
141	libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000)	190	libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000)
142	libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000)	191	libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000)
143	/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)	192	/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
144		193
145	And here is rxvt-unicode:	194	And here is rxvt-unicode:
146		195
147	libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)	196	libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
148	libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000)	197	libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000)
149	libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000)	198	libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000)
150	libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000)	199	libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000)
151	/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)	200	/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
152		201
153	No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically),	202	No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically),
154	except maybe libX11 :)	203	except maybe libX11 :)
155		204
156	Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues	205	Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues
…		…
161	rite of passage: ... and you failed.	210	rite of passage: ... and you failed.
162		211
163	Here are four ways to get transparency. Do read the manpage and option	212	Here are four ways to get transparency. Do read the manpage and option
164	descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt-unicode. Really, do it!	213	descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt-unicode. Really, do it!
165		214
166	1. Use inheritPixmap:	215	1. Use transparent mode:
167		216
168	Esetroot wallpaper.jpg	217	Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
169	rxvt -ip -tint red -sh 40	218	urxvt -tr -tint red -sh 40
170		219
171	That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting	220	That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
172	support, or you are unable to read.	221	support, or you are unable to read. This method requires that the
		222	background-setting program sets the _XROOTPMAP_ID or ESETROOT_PMAP_ID
		223	property. Compatible programs are Esetroot, hsetroot and feh.
173		224
174	2. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo-transparency. This enables you	225	2. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo-transparency. This enables you
175	to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever	226	to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
176	your picture with gimp or any other tool:	227	your picture with gimp or any other tool:
177		228
178	convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm	229	convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.jpg
179	rxvt -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background	230	urxvt -pixmap "background.jpg;:root"
180		231
181	That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack XPM and Perl support, or	232	That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack GDK-PixBuf support, or you
182	you are unable to read.	233	are unable to read.
183		234
184	3. Use an ARGB visual:	235	3. Use an ARGB visual:
185		236
186	rxvt -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc	237	urxvt -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
187		238
188	This requires XFT support, and the support of your X-server. If that	239	This requires XFT support, and the support of your X-server. If that
189	doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. ARGB visuals aren't	240	doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. ARGB visuals aren't
190	there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the	241	there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the
191	neccessary bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work,	242	necessary bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work, but
192	but that doesn't mean that your WM has the required kludges in place.	243	that doesn't mean that your WM has the required kludges in place.
193		244
194	4. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:	245	4. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
195		246
196	xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \	247	xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \
197	-set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000	248	-set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000
198		249
199	Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace 0xc0000000	250	Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace 0xc0000000
200	by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and	251	by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and
201	your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.	252	your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.
202
203	Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
204	This is because there is a difference between script and language --
205	rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is, as
206	it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first sees a
207	japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for display.
208	Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many chinese
209	characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
210	non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese
211	font -- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font
212	for chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
213
214	The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
215	list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as a
216	preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
217	first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
218
219	In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
220	runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
221	fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
222	has been designed yet).
223
224	Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see "Can
225	I switch the fonts at runtime?" later in this document).
226		253
227	Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?	254	Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?
228	Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that	255	Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that
229	character size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal	256	character size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal
230	use might contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode	257	use might contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode
…		…
236	however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed	263	however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed
237	bounding box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct	264	bounding box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct
238	way is to ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is	265	way is to ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is
239	wrong in these cases).	266	wrong in these cases).
240		267
241	It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype,	268	It's not clear (to me at least), whether this is a bug in Xft, freetype,
242	or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try	269	or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try
243	using the "-lsp" option to give the font more height. If that doesn't	270	using the "-lsp" option to give the font more height. If that doesn't
244	work, you might be forced to use a different font.	271	work, you might be forced to use a different font.
245		272
246	All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their	273	All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their
…		…
268		295
269	Can I switch the fonts at runtime?	296	Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
270	Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the	297	Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the
271	same effect as using the "-fn" switch, and takes effect immediately:	298	same effect as using the "-fn" switch, and takes effect immediately:
272		299
273	printf '\e]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"	300	printf '\33]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
274		301
275	This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a	302	This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
276	japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where	303	japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
277	japanese fonts would only be in your way.	304	japanese fonts would only be in your way.
278		305
279	You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.	306	You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
280		307
281	Why do italic characters look as if clipped?	308	Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
282	Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For	309	Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
283	example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font "xft:Bitstream Vera Sans	310	example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font "xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
284	Mono" completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to	311	Mono" completely fails in its italic face. A workaround might be to
285	enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:	312	enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
286		313
287	URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true	314	URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
288	URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true	315	URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
289		316
…		…
293	antialiasing (by appending ":antialias=false"), which saves lots of	320	antialiasing (by appending ":antialias=false"), which saves lots of
294	memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.	321	memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
295		322
296	Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?	323	Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
297	Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to	324	Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
298	fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core	325	fall back to its default font search list it will prefer X11 core fonts,
299	fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has	326	because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
300	antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they	327	antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
301	look best that way.	328	look best that way.
302		329
303	If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.	330	If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
304		331
305	What's with this bold/blink stuff?	332	What's with this bold/blink stuff?
306	If no bold colour is set via "colorBD:", bold will invert text using the	333	If no bold colour is set via "colorBD:", bold will invert text using the
307	standard foreground colour.	334	standard foreground colour.
308		335
309	For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the text	336	For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the text
310	blink when compiled with "--enable-blinking". with standard colours.	337	blink when compiled with "--enable-text-blink". Without
311	Without "--enable-blinking", the blink attribute will be ignored.	338	"--enable-text-blink", the blink attribute will be ignored.
312		339
313	On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity	340	On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
314	foreground/background colors.	341	foreground/background colours.
315		342
316	color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.	343	color0-7 are the low-intensity colours.
317		344
318	color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.	345	color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colours.
319		346
320	I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?	347	I don't like the screen colours. How do I change them?
321	You can change the screen colors at run-time using ~/.Xdefaults	348	You can change the screen colours at run-time using ~/.Xdefaults
322	resources (or as long-options).	349	resources (or as long-options).
323		350
324	Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen, including	351	Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen, including
325	the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:	352	the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
326		353
…		…
340	URxvt.color12: #0000FF	367	URxvt.color12: #0000FF
341	URxvt.color13: #FF00FF	368	URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
342	URxvt.color14: #00FFFF	369	URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
343	URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF	370	URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
344		371
345	And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors described (not by	372	And here is a more complete set of non-standard colours.
346	me) as "pretty girly".
347		373
348	URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1	374	URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
349	URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1	375	URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
350	URxvt.background: #0e0e0e	376	URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
351	URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1	377	URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
…		…
362	URxvt.color6: #73f7ff	388	URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
363	URxvt.color14: #73f7ff	389	URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
364	URxvt.color7: #e1dddd	390	URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
365	URxvt.color15: #e1dddd	391	URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
366		392
		393	They have been described (not by me) as "pretty girly".
		394
367	Why do some characters look so much different than others?	395	Why do some characters look so much different than others?
368	See next entry.	396	See next entry.
369		397
370	How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?	398	How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?
371	Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is fine.	399	Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is fine.
…		…
381	the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.	409	the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
382		410
383	In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,	411	In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,
384	e.g.:	412	e.g.:
385		413
386	rxvt -fn basefont,font2,font3...	414	urxvt -fn basefont,font2,font3...
387		415
388	When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base font.	416	When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base font.
389	If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the next	417	If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the next
390	font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this	418	font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
391	search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.	419	search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
392		420
393	The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the	421	The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the
394	base font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size,	422	base font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size,
395	which must be the same due to the way terminals work.	423	which must be the same due to the way terminals work.
396		424
		425	Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
		426	This is because there is a difference between script and language --
		427	rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is, as
		428	it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first sees a
		429	japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for display.
		430	Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many chinese
		431	characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
		432	non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese
		433	font -- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font
		434	for chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
		435
		436	The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
		437	list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as a
		438	preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
		439	first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
		440
		441	In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
		442	runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
		443	fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
		444	has been designed yet).
		445
		446	Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see "Can
		447	I switch the fonts at runtime?" later in this document).
		448
		449	How can I make mplayer display video correctly?
		450	We are working on it, in the meantime, as a workaround, use something
		451	like:
		452
		453	urxvt -b 600 -geometry 20x1 -e sh -c 'mplayer -wid $WINDOWID file...'
		454
		455	Why is the cursor now blinking in emacs/vi/...?
		456	This is likely caused by your editor/program's use of the "cvvis"
		457	terminfo capability. Emacs uses it by default, as well as some versions
		458	of vi and possibly other programs.
		459
		460	In emacs, you can switch that off by adding this to your ".emacs" file:
		461
		462	(setq visible-cursor nil)
		463
		464	For other programs, if they do not have an option, your have to remove
		465	the "cvvis" capability from the terminfo description.
		466
		467	When urxvt first added the blinking cursor option, it didn't add a
		468	"cvvis" capability, which served no purpose before. Version 9.21
		469	introduced "cvvis" (and the ability to control blinking independent of
		470	cursor shape) for compatibility with other terminals, which
		471	traditionally use a blinking cursor for "cvvis". This also reflects the
		472	intent of programs such as emacs, who expect "cvvis" to enable a
		473	blinking cursor.
		474
397	Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction	475	Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction
398	The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?	476	The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?
399	If you want to select e.g. alphanumeric words, you can use the following	477	If you want to select e.g. alphanumeric words, you can use the following
400	setting:	478	setting:
401		479
…		…
407	To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this	485	To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this
408	pattern:	486	pattern:
409		487
410	URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\\\\]^`{\|})]+)	488	URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\\\\]^`{\|})]+)
411		489
412	Please also note that the LeftClick Shift-LeftClik combination also	490	Please also note that the LeftClick Shift-LeftClick combination also
413	selects words like the old code.	491	selects words like the old code.
414		492
415	I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?	493	I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?
416	You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the	494	You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the
417	perl-ext-common resource to the empty string, which also keeps	495	perl-ext-common resource to the empty string, which also keeps
418	rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.	496	rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.
419		497
420	If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to	498	If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to
421	identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section	499	identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section
422	PREPACKAGED EXTENSIONS in the rxvtperl(3) manpage. For example, to	500	PREPACKAGED EXTENSIONS in the urxvtperl(3) manpage. For example, to
423	disable the selection-popup and option-popup, specify this	501	disable the selection-popup and option-popup, specify this
424	perl-ext-common resource:	502	perl-ext-common resource:
425		503
426	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup	504	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup
427		505
428	This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup	506	This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup
429	extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example,	507	extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example,
430	scrollback search mode is triggered by M-s. You can move it to any other	508	scrollback search mode is triggered by M-s. You can move it to any other
431	combination either by setting the searchable-scrollback resource:	509	combination by adding a keysym resource that binds the desired
		510	combination to the "start" action of "searchable-scrollback" and another
		511	one that binds M-s to the "builtin:" action:
432		512
433	URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s	513	URxvt.keysym.CM-s: searchable-scrollback:start
		514	URxvt.keysym.M-s: builtin:
434		515
435	The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?	516	The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?
436	See next entry.	517	See next entry.
437		518
438	During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?	519	During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?
…		…
440	circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the	521	circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the
441	line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,	522	line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,
442	but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in	523	but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in
443	some cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.	524	some cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.
444		525
445	You can permamently switch this feature off by disabling the "readline"	526	You can permanently switch this feature off by disabling the "readline"
446	extension:	527	extension:
447		528
448	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline	529	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
449		530
450	My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?	531	My numeric keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
451	Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no	532	Some Debian GNU/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no
452	specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is	533	specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is
453	caused by the wrong "TERM" setting, although the details of wether and	534	caused by the wrong "TERM" setting, although the details of whether and
454	how this can happen are unknown, as "TERM=rxvt" should offer a	535	how this can happen are unknown, as "TERM=rxvt" should offer a
455	compatible keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please	536	compatible keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please
456	report if that helped.	537	report if that helped.
457		538
458	My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.	539	My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
459	The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set	540	The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
460	correctly, or you specified a preeditStyle that is not supported by your	541	correctly, or you specified a preeditType that is not supported by your
461	input method. For example, if you specified OverTheSpot and your input	542	input method. For example, if you specified OverTheSpot and your input
462	method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys) does not	543	method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys) does not
463	support this (for instance because it is not visual), then rxvt-unicode	544	support this (for instance because it is not visual), then rxvt-unicode
464	will continue without an input method.	545	will continue without an input method.
465		546
466	In this case either do not specify a preeditStyle or specify more than	547	In this case either do not specify a preeditType or specify more than
467	one pre-edit style, such as OverTheSpot,Root,None.	548	one pre-edit style, such as OverTheSpot,Root,None.
		549
		550	If it still doesn't work, then maybe your input method doesn't support
		551	compose sequences - to fall back to the built-in one, make sure you
		552	don't specify an input method via "-im" or "XMODIFIERS".
468		553
469	I cannot type "Ctrl-Shift-2" to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755	554	I cannot type "Ctrl-Shift-2" to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755
470	Either try "Ctrl-2" alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on	555	Either try "Ctrl-2" alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
471	international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your	556	international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your
472	advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for	557	advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for
473	other codes, too, such as "Ctrl-Shift-1-d" to type the default telnet	558	other codes, too, such as "Ctrl-Shift-1-d" to type the default telnet
474	escape character and so on.	559	escape character and so on.
475		560
476	Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.	561	Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
477	Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing some	562	Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing some
478	editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've heard	563	editors prematurely may leave it active. I've heard that tcsh may use
479	that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A quick	564	mouse reporting unless it is otherwise specified. A quick check is to
480	check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are	565	see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are pressed.
481	depressed.
482		566
483	What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?	567	What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
484	Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the BackSpace	568	Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the Backspace
485	keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following question) there are	569	keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following question) there are
486	two standard values that can be used for Backspace: "^H" and "^?".	570	two standard values that can be used for Backspace: "^H" and "^?".
487		571
488	Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the	572	Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the
489	debian policy of using "^?" when unsure, because it's the one only only	573	debian policy of using "^?" when unsure, because it's the one and only
490	correct choice :).	574	correct choice :).
491		575
492	Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the	576	It is possible to toggle between "^H" and "^?" with the DECBKM private
493	value of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode	577	mode:
494	wasn't started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell),
495	then the system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in
496	<termios.h>, will be used (which may not be the same as your stty
497	setting).
498
499	For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
500		578
501	# use Backspace = ^H	579	# use Backspace = ^H
502	$ stty erase ^H	580	$ stty erase ^H
503	$ rxvt	581	$ printf "\e[?67h"
504		582
505	# use Backspace = ^?	583	# use Backspace = ^?
506	$ stty erase ^?	584	$ stty erase ^?
507	$ rxvt	585	$ printf "\e[?67l"
508
509	Toggle with "ESC [ 36 h" / "ESC [ 36 l".
510
511	For an existing rxvt-unicode:
512
513	# use Backspace = ^H
514	$ stty erase ^H
515	$ echo -n "^[[36h"
516
517	# use Backspace = ^?
518	$ stty erase ^?
519	$ echo -n "^[[36l"
520		586
521	This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but	587	This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
522	if you use Backspace = "^H", make sure that the termcap/terminfo value	588	if you use Backspace = "^H", make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
523	properly reflects that.	589	properly reflects that.
524		590
…		…
538	There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless	604	There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
539	you have run "configure" with the "--disable-resources" option you can	605	you have run "configure" with the "--disable-resources" option you can
540	use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with	606	use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with
541	keysyms.	607	keysyms.
542		608
543	Here's an example for a URxvt session started using "rxvt -name URxvt"	609	Here's an example for a URxvt session started using "urxvt -name URxvt"
544		610
		611	URxvt.keysym.Prior: \033[5~
		612	URxvt.keysym.Next: \033[6~
545	URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~	613	URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[7~
546	URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~	614	URxvt.keysym.End: \033[8~
547	URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>
548	URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \033<C-/>
549	URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \033<C-;>
550	URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \033<C-`>
551	URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \033<C-,>
552	URxvt.keysym.C-period: \033<C-.>
553	URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \033<C-`>
554	URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \033<C-Tab>
555	URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \033<C-Return>
556	URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \033<S-Return>
557	URxvt.keysym.S-space: \033<S-Space>
558	URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \033<M-Up>	615	URxvt.keysym.Up: \033[A
559	URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \033<M-Down>	616	URxvt.keysym.Down: \033[B
		617	URxvt.keysym.Right: \033[C
560	URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \033<M-Left>	618	URxvt.keysym.Left: \033[D
561	URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \033<M-Right>
562	URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \033<M-C- 0123456789 >
563	URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
564	URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\033]701;zh_CN.GBK\007
565		619
566	See some more examples in the documentation for the keysym resource.	620	See some more examples in the documentation for the keysym resource.
567		621
568	I'm using keyboard model XXX that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys. How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4 has the following map	622	I'm using keyboard model XXX that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys. How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4 has the following map
569	KP_Insert == Insert	623	KP_Insert == Insert
…		…
576	Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various	630	Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various
577	possible keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the	631	possible keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the
578	keys as required for your particular machine.	632	keys as required for your particular machine.
579		633
580	Terminal Configuration	634	Terminal Configuration
		635	Can I see a typical configuration?
		636	The default configuration tries to be xterm-like, which I don't like
		637	that much, but it's least surprise to regular users.
		638
		639	As a rxvt or rxvt-unicode user, you are practically supposed to invest
		640	time into customising your terminal. To get you started, here is the
		641	author's .Xdefaults entries, with comments on what they do. It's
		642	certainly not typical, but what's typical...
		643
		644	URxvt.cutchars: "()*,<>[]{}\|'
		645	URxvt.print-pipe: cat >/some/path
		646
		647	These are just for testing stuff.
		648
		649	URxvt.imLocale: ja_JP.UTF-8
		650	URxvt.preeditType: OnTheSpot,None
		651
		652	This tells rxvt-unicode to use a special locale when communicating with
		653	the X Input Method, and also tells it to only use the OnTheSpot pre-edit
		654	type, which requires the "xim-onthespot" perl extension but rewards me
		655	with correct-looking fonts.
		656
		657	URxvt.perl-lib: /root/lib/urxvt
		658	URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,selection-autotransform,selection-pastebin,xim-onthespot,remote-clipboard
		659	URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ( at .*? line \\d+)
		660	URxvt.selection.pattern-1: ^(/[^:]+):\
		661	URxvt.selection-autotransform.0: s/^([^:[:space:]]+):(\\d+):?$/:e \\Q$1\\E\\x0d:$2\\x0d/
		662	URxvt.selection-autotransform.1: s/^ at (.*?) line (\\d+)$/:e \\Q$1\\E\\x0d:$2\\x0d/
		663
		664	This is my perl configuration. The first two set the perl library
		665	directory and also tells urxvt to use a large number of extensions. I
		666	develop for myself mostly, so I actually use most of the extensions I
		667	write.
		668
		669	The selection stuff mainly makes the selection perl-error-message aware
		670	and tells it to convert perl error messages into vi-commands to load the
		671	relevant file and go to the error line number.
		672
		673	URxvt.scrollstyle: plain
		674	URxvt.secondaryScroll: true
		675
		676	As the documentation says: plain is the preferred scrollbar for the
		677	author. The "secondaryScroll" configures urxvt to scroll in full-screen
		678	apps, like screen, so lines scrolled out of screen end up in urxvt's
		679	scrollback buffer.
		680
		681	URxvt.background: #000000
		682	URxvt.foreground: gray90
		683	URxvt.color7: gray90
		684	URxvt.colorBD: #ffffff
		685	URxvt.cursorColor: #e0e080
		686	URxvt.throughColor: #8080f0
		687	URxvt.highlightColor: #f0f0f0
		688
		689	Some colours. Not sure which ones are being used or even non-defaults,
		690	but these are in my .Xdefaults. Most notably, they set
		691	foreground/background to light gray/black, and also make sure that the
		692	colour 7 matches the default foreground colour.
		693
		694	URxvt.underlineColor: yellow
		695
		696	Another colour, makes underline lines look different. Sometimes hurts,
		697	but is mostly a nice effect.
		698
		699	URxvt.geometry: 154x36
		700	URxvt.loginShell: false
		701	URxvt.meta: ignore
		702	URxvt.utmpInhibit: true
		703
		704	Uh, well, should be mostly self-explanatory. By specifying some defaults
		705	manually, I can quickly switch them for testing.
		706
		707	URxvt.saveLines: 8192
		708
		709	A large scrollback buffer is essential. Really.
		710
		711	URxvt.mapAlert: true
		712
		713	The only case I use it is for my IRC window, which I like to keep
		714	iconified till people msg me (which beeps).
		715
		716	URxvt.visualBell: true
		717
		718	The audible bell is often annoying, especially when in a crowd.
		719
		720	URxvt.insecure: true
		721
		722	Please don't hack my mutt! Ooops...
		723
		724	URxvt.pastableTabs: false
		725
		726	I once thought this is a great idea.
		727
		728	urxvt.font: 9x15bold,\
		729	-misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1,\
		730	-misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1, \
		731	[codeset=JISX0208]xft:Kochi Gothic, \
		732	xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:autohint=true, \
		733	xft:Code2000:antialias=false
		734	urxvt.boldFont: -xos4-terminus-bold-r-normal--14-140-72-72-c-80-iso8859-15
		735	urxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
		736	urxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
		737
		738	I wrote rxvt-unicode to be able to specify fonts exactly. So don't be
		739	overwhelmed. A special note: the "9x15bold" mentioned above is actually
		740	the version from XFree-3.3, as XFree-4 replaced it by a totally
		741	different font (different glyphs for ";" and many other harmless
		742	characters), while the second font is actually the "9x15bold" from
		743	XFree4/XOrg. The bold version has less chars than the medium version, so
		744	I use it for rare characters, too. When editing sources with vim, I use
		745	italic for comments and other stuff, which looks quite good with
		746	Bitstream Vera anti-aliased.
		747
		748	Terminus is a quite bad font (many very wrong glyphs), but for most of
		749	my purposes, it works, and gives a different look, as my normal
		750	(Non-bold) font is already bold, and I want to see a difference between
		751	bold and normal fonts.
		752
		753	Please note that I used the "urxvt" instance name and not the "URxvt"
		754	class name. That is because I use different configs for different
		755	purposes, for example, my IRC window is started with "-name IRC", and
		756	uses these defaults:
		757
		758	IRC*title: IRC
		759	IRC*geometry: 87x12+535+542
		760	IRC*saveLines: 0
		761	IRC*mapAlert: true
		762	IRC*font: suxuseuro
		763	IRC*boldFont: suxuseuro
		764	IRC*colorBD: white
		765	IRC*keysym.M-C-1: command:\033]710;suxuseuro\007\033]711;suxuseuro\007
		766	IRC*keysym.M-C-2: command:\033]710;9x15bold\007\033]711;9x15bold\007
		767
		768	"Alt-Ctrl-1" and "Alt-Ctrl-2" switch between two different font sizes.
		769	"suxuseuro" allows me to keep an eye (and actually read) stuff while
		770	keeping a very small window. If somebody pastes something complicated
		771	(e.g. japanese), I temporarily switch to a larger font.
		772
		773	The above is all in my ".Xdefaults" (I don't use ".Xresources" nor
		774	"xrdb"). I also have some resources in a separate ".Xdefaults-hostname"
		775	file for different hosts, for example, on my main desktop, I use:
		776
		777	URxvt.keysym.C-M-q: command:\033[3;5;5t
		778	URxvt.keysym.C-M-y: command:\033[3;5;606t
		779	URxvt.keysym.C-M-e: command:\033[3;1605;5t
		780	URxvt.keysym.C-M-c: command:\033[3;1605;606t
		781	URxvt.keysym.C-M-p: perl:test
		782
		783	The first for keysym definitions allow me to quickly bring some windows
		784	in the layout I like most. Ion users might start laughing but will stop
		785	immediately when I tell them that I use my own Fvwm2 module for much the
		786	same effect as Ion provides, and I only very rarely use the above key
		787	combinations :->
		788
581	Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?	789	Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?
582	Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X	790	Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X
583	applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your OS loads	791	applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your OS loads
584	resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will	792	resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will
585	ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read	793	ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read
…		…
592	Also consider the form resources have to use:	800	Also consider the form resources have to use:
593		801
594	URxvt.resource: value	802	URxvt.resource: value
595		803
596	If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of	804	If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of
597	specifying resources), make sure you understand wether and why it works.	805	specifying resources), make sure you understand whether and why it
598	If unsure, use the form above.	806	works. If unsure, use the form above.
599		807
600	When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?	808	When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?
601	The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available	809	The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available
602	as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often	810	as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often
603	arises).	811	arises).
604		812
605	The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this	813	The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this
606	can be done like this (with ncurses' infocmp):	814	can be done by simply installing rxvt-unicode on the remote system as
		815	well (in case you have a nice package manager ready), or you can install
		816	the terminfo database manually like this (with ncurses infocmp. works as
		817	user and root):
607		818
608	REMOTE=remotesystem.domain	819	REMOTE=remotesystem.domain
609	infocmp rxvt-unicode \| ssh $REMOTE "cat >/tmp/ti && tic /tmp/ti"	820	infocmp rxvt-unicode \| ssh $REMOTE "mkdir -p .terminfo && cat >/tmp/ti && tic /tmp/ti"
610		821
611	... or by installing rxvt-unicode normally on the remote system,	822	One some systems you might need to set $TERMINFO to the full path of
		823	$HOME/.terminfo for this to work.
612		824
613	If you cannot or do not want to do this, then you can simply set	825	If you cannot or do not want to do this, then you can simply set
614	"TERM=rxvt" or even "TERM=xterm", and live with the small number of	826	"TERM=rxvt" or even "TERM=xterm", and live with the small number of
615	problems arising, which includes wrong keymapping, less and different	827	problems arising, which includes wrong keymapping, less and different
616	colours and some refresh errors in fullscreen applications. It's a nice	828	colours and some refresh errors in fullscreen applications. It's a nice
…		…
621	resource to set it:	833	resource to set it:
622		834
623	URxvt.termName: rxvt	835	URxvt.termName: rxvt
624		836
625	If you don't plan to use rxvt (quite common...) you could also replace	837	If you don't plan to use rxvt (quite common...) you could also replace
626	the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one.	838	the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one and use "TERM=rxvt".
		839
		840	nano fails with "Error opening terminal: rxvt-unicode"
		841	This exceptionally confusing and useless error message is printed by
		842	nano when it can't find the terminfo database. Nothing is wrong with
		843	your terminal, read the previous answer for a solution.
627		844
628	"tic" outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.	845	"tic" outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.
629	Most likely it's the empty definition for "enacs=". Just replace it by	846	Most likely it's the empty definition for "enacs=". Just replace it by
630	"enacs=\E[0@" and try again.	847	"enacs=\E[0@" and try again.
631		848
632	"bash"'s readline does not work correctly under rxvt.	849	"bash"'s readline does not work correctly under urxvt.
633	See next entry.	850	See next entry.
634		851
635	I need a termcap file entry.	852	I need a termcap file entry.
636	One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating	853	One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating
637	systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap	854	systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap
638	library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry	855	library (Fedora's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry for
639	for "rxvt-unicode".	856	"rxvt-unicode".
640		857
641	You could use rxvt's termcap entry with resonable results in many cases.	858	You could use rxvt's termcap entry with reasonable results in many
642	You can also create a termcap entry by using terminfo's infocmp program	859	cases. You can also create a termcap entry by using terminfo's infocmp
643	like this:	860	program like this:
644		861
645	infocmp -C rxvt-unicode	862	infocmp -C rxvt-unicode
646		863
647	Or you could use this termcap entry, generated by the command above:	864	Or you could use the termcap entry in doc/etc/rxvt-unicode.termcap,
648		865	generated by the command above.
649	rxvt-unicode\|rxvt-unicode terminal (X Window System):\
650	:am:bw:eo:km:mi:ms:xn:xo:\
651	:co#80:it#8:li#24:lm#0:\
652	:AL=\E[%dL:DC=\E[%dP:DL=\E[%dM:DO=\E[%dB:IC=\E[%d@:\
653	:K1=\EOw:K2=\EOu:K3=\EOy:K4=\EOq:K5=\EOs:LE=\E[%dD:\
654	:RI=\E[%dC:SF=\E[%dS:SR=\E[%dT:UP=\E[%dA:ae=\E(B:al=\E[L:\
655	:as=\E(0:bl=^G:cd=\E[J:ce=\E[K:cl=\E[H\E[2J:\
656	:cm=\E[%i%d;%dH:cr=^M:cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:ct=\E[3g:dc=\E[P:\
657	:dl=\E[M:do=^J:ec=\E[%dX:ei=\E[4l:ho=\E[H:\
658	:i1=\E[?47l\E=\E[?1l:ic=\E[@:im=\E[4h:\
659	:is=\E[r\E[m\E[2J\E[H\E[?7h\E[?1;3;4;6l\E[4l:\
660	:k1=\E[11~:k2=\E[12~:k3=\E[13~:k4=\E[14~:k5=\E[15~:\
661	:k6=\E[17~:k7=\E[18~:k8=\E[19~:k9=\E[20~:kD=\E[3~:\
662	:kI=\E[2~:kN=\E[6~:kP=\E[5~:kb=\177:kd=\EOB:ke=\E[?1l\E>:\
663	:kh=\E[7~:kl=\EOD:kr=\EOC:ks=\E[?1h\E=:ku=\EOA:le=^H:\
664	:mb=\E[5m:md=\E[1m:me=\E[m\017:mr=\E[7m:nd=\E[C:rc=\E8:\
665	:sc=\E7:se=\E[27m:sf=^J:so=\E[7m:sr=\EM:st=\EH:ta=^I:\
666	:te=\E[r\E[?1049l:ti=\E[?1049h:ue=\E[24m:up=\E[A:\
667	:us=\E[4m:vb=\E[?5h\E[?5l:ve=\E[?25h:vi=\E[?25l:\
668	:vs=\E[?25h:
669		866
670	Why does "ls" no longer have coloured output?	867	Why does "ls" no longer have coloured output?
671	The "ls" in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to	868	The "ls" in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to
672	decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration	869	decide whether a terminal has colour, but uses its own configuration
673	file. Needless to say, "rxvt-unicode" is not in it's default file (among	870	file. Needless to say, "rxvt-unicode" is not in its default file (among
674	with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:	871	with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:
675		872
676	TERM rxvt-unicode	873	TERM rxvt-unicode
677		874
678	to "/etc/DIR_COLORS" or simply add:	875	to "/etc/DIR_COLORS" or simply add:
…		…
687	Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?	884	Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?
688	See next entry.	885	See next entry.
689		886
690	Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?	887	Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?
691	Make sure you are using "TERM=rxvt-unicode". Some pre-packaged	888	Make sure you are using "TERM=rxvt-unicode". Some pre-packaged
692	distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode by	889	distributions break rxvt-unicode by setting "TERM" to "rxvt", which
693	setting "TERM" to "rxvt", which doesn't have these extra features.	890	doesn't have these extra features. Unfortunately, some of these
694	Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian GNU/Linux)
695	furthermore fail to even install the "rxvt-unicode" terminfo file, so	891	furthermore fail to even install the "rxvt-unicode" terminfo file, so
696	you will need to install it on your own (See the question When I log-in	892	you will need to install it on your own (See the question When I log-in
697	to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data? on how to do	893	to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data? on how to do
698	this).	894	this).
699		895
…		…
705	If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but	901	If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
706	getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output	902	getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output
707	is subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.	903	is subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
708		904
709	Rxvt-unicode must be started with the same "LC_CTYPE" setting as the	905	Rxvt-unicode must be started with the same "LC_CTYPE" setting as the
710	programs. Often rxvt-unicode is started in the "C" locale, while the	906	programs running in it. Often rxvt-unicode is started in the "C" locale,
711	login script running within the rxvt-unicode window changes the locale	907	while the login script running within the rxvt-unicode window changes
712	to something else, e.g. "en_GB.UTF-8". Needless to say, this is not	908	the locale to something else, e.g. "en_GB.UTF-8". Needless to say, this
713	going to work.	909	is not going to work, and is the most common cause for problems.
714		910
715	The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely	911	The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely
716	run into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your	912	run into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your
717	.profile.	913	.profile.
718		914
719	printf '\e]701;%s\007' "$LC_CTYPE"	915	printf '\33]701;%s\007' "$LC_CTYPE" # $LANG or $LC_ALL are worth a try, too
720		916
721	If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a "LC_CTYPE" specification not	917	If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a "LC_CTYPE" specification not
722	supported on your systems. Some systems have a "locale" command which	918	supported on your systems. Some systems have a "locale" command which
723	displays this (also, "perl -e0" can be used to check locale settings, as	919	displays this (also, "perl -e0" can be used to check locale settings, as
724	it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays	920	it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays
…		…
743	The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for	939	The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for
744	selecting the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating	940	selecting the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating
745	this to all applications so everybody agrees on character properties	941	this to all applications so everybody agrees on character properties
746	such as width and code number. This mechanism is the locale.	942	such as width and code number. This mechanism is the locale.
747	Applications not using that info will have problems (for example,	943	Applications not using that info will have problems (for example,
748	"xterm" gets the width of characters wrong as it uses it's own,	944	"xterm" gets the width of characters wrong as it uses its own,
749	locale-independent table under all locales).	945	locale-independent table under all locales).
750		946
751	Rxvt-unicode uses the "LC_CTYPE" locale category to select encoding. All	947	Rxvt-unicode uses the "LC_CTYPE" locale category to select encoding. All
752	programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the	948	programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
753	interpretation of characters.	949	interpretation of characters.
…		…
770		966
771	Can I switch locales at runtime?	967	Can I switch locales at runtime?
772	Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets	968	Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
773	rxvt-unicode's idea of "LC_CTYPE".	969	rxvt-unicode's idea of "LC_CTYPE".
774		970
775	printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS	971	printf '\33]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
776		972
777	See also the previous answer.	973	See also the previous answer.
778		974
779	Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in one	975	Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in one
780	locale (e.g. "de_DE.UTF-8") but some programs don't support it (e.g.	976	locale (e.g. "de_DE.UTF-8") but some programs don't support it (e.g.
781	UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start "xjdic", which first	977	UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start "xjdic", which first
782	switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:	978	switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
783		979
784	printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS	980	printf '\33]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
785	xjdic -js	981	xjdic -js
786	printf '\e]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8	982	printf '\33]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
787		983
788	You can also use xterm's "luit" program, which usually works fine,	984	You can also use xterm's "luit" program, which usually works fine,
789	except for some locales where character width differs between program-	985	except for some locales where character width differs between program-
790	and rxvt-unicode-locales.	986	and rxvt-unicode-locales.
791		987
		988	I have problems getting my input method working.
		989	Try a search engine, as this is slightly different for every input
		990	method server.
		991
		992	Here is a checklist:
		993
		994	- Make sure your locale and the imLocale are supported on your OS.
		995	Try "locale -a" or check the documentation for your OS.
		996
		997	- Make sure your locale or imLocale matches a locale supported by your
		998	XIM.
		999	For example, kinput2 does not support UTF-8 locales, you should use
		1000	"ja_JP.EUC-JP" or equivalent.
		1001
		1002	- Make sure your XIM server is actually running.
		1003	- Make sure the "XMODIFIERS" environment variable is set correctly when
		1004	starting rxvt-unicode.
		1005	When you want to use e.g. kinput2, it must be set to "@im=kinput2".
		1006	For scim, use "@im=SCIM". You can see what input method servers are
		1007	running with this command:
		1008
		1009	xprop -root XIM_SERVERS
		1010
792	My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?	1011	My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
793	You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of	1012	You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of
794	the terminal, using the resource "imlocale":	1013	the terminal, using the resource "imlocale":
795		1014
796	URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP	1015	URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
797		1016
798	Now you can start your terminal with "LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8" and still	1017	Now you can start your terminal with "LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8" and still
799	use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able	1018	use your input method. Please note, however, that, depending on your
800	to input characters outside "EUC-JP" in a normal way then, as your input	1019	Xlib version, you may not be able to input characters outside "EUC-JP"
801	method limits you.	1020	in a normal way then, as your input method limits you.
802		1021
803	Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.	1022	Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.
804	Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by	1023	Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by
805	design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory	1024	design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
806	leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at	1025	leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
…		…
809	cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.	1028	cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
810		1029
811	So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.	1030	So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
812		1031
813	Operating Systems / Package Maintaining	1032	Operating Systems / Package Maintaining
814	I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem...
815	The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large
816	patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but
817	unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to
818	the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine
819	version (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce
820	the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific
821	to Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian
822	Bug Tracking System (use "reportbug" to report the bug).
823
824	For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and
825	probably should use the Debian BTS, too, because, after all, it's also a
826	bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users
827	that might encounter the same issue.
828
829	I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?	1033	I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?
830	You should build one binary with the default options. configure now	1034	You should build one binary with the default options. configure now
831	enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them	1035	enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them
832	runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling	1036	runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enabling
833	them, except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter	1037	them, except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter
834	should be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely	1038	should be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely
835	more in the future) depends on it.	1039	more in the future) depends on it.
836		1040
837	You should not overwrite the "perl-ext-common" snd "perl-ext" resources	1041	You should not overwrite the "perl-ext-common" and "perl-ext" resources
838	system-wide (except maybe with "defaults"). This will result in useful	1042	system-wide (except maybe with "defaults"). This will result in useful
839	behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty	1043	behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty
840	"perl-ext-common" resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the	1044	"perl-ext-common" resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the
841	perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.	1045	perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.
842		1046
…		…
859	This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very	1063	This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very
860	early and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before	1064	early and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before
861	main(), or things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should	1065	main(), or things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should
862	result in very little risk.	1066	result in very little risk.
863		1067
864	On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide.
865	Seems to be a known bug, read
866	<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the
867	following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working:
868
869	#define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x)
870
871	I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all.	1068	I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all.
872	Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol "__STDC_ISO_10646__" to be defined in	1069	Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol "__STDC_ISO_10646__" to be defined in
873	your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,	1070	your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,
874	wether it defines the symbol or not. "__STDC_ISO_10646__" requires that	1071	whether it defines the symbol or not. "__STDC_ISO_10646__" requires that
875	wchar_t is represented as unicode.	1072	wchar_t is represented as unicode.
876		1073
877	As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl nor	1074	As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symbol nor
878	does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal representation of	1075	does it support it. Instead, it uses its own internal representation of
879	wchar_t. This is, of course, completely fine with respect to standards.	1076	wchar_t. This is, of course, completely fine with respect to standards.
880		1077
881	However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in "POSIX", "ISO-8859-1" and	1078	However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in "POSIX", "ISO-8859-1" and
882	"UTF-8" locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as wchar_t.	1079	"UTF-8" locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as wchar_t).
883		1080
884	"__STDC_ISO_10646__" is the only sane way to support multi-language apps	1081	"__STDC_ISO_10646__" is the only sane way to support multi-language apps
885	in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and non-standardized)	1082	in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and non-standardized)
886	representation of wchar_t makes it impossible to convert between wchar_t	1083	representation of wchar_t makes it impossible to convert between wchar_t
887	(as used by X11 and your applications) and any other encoding without	1084	(as used by X11 and your applications) and any other encoding without
…		…
897		1094
898	The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the	1095	The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the
899	system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry	1096	system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry
900	complete replacements for them :)	1097	complete replacements for them :)
901		1098
902	I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc.
903	Try the diff in doc/solaris9.patch as a base. It fixes the worst
904	problems with "wcwidth" and a compile problem.
905
906	How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?	1099	How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?
907	rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using the	1100	rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using the
908	X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no longer	1101	X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no longer
909	supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a single	1102	supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a single
910	font). I recommend starting the X-server in "-multiwindow" or	1103	font). I recommend starting the X-server in "-multiwindow" or
…		…
913		1106
914	At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any	1107	At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any
915	multi-byte encodings (you might try "LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8"), so you are	1108	multi-byte encodings (you might try "LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8"), so you are
916	likely limited to 8-bit encodings.	1109	likely limited to 8-bit encodings.
917		1110
		1111	Character widths are not correct.
		1112	urxvt uses the system wcwidth function to know the information about the
		1113	width of characters, so on systems with incorrect locale data you will
		1114	likely get bad results. Two notorious examples are Solaris 9, where
		1115	single-width characters like U+2514 are reported as double-width, and
		1116	Darwin 8, where combining chars are reported having width 1.
		1117
		1118	The solution is to upgrade your system or switch to a better one. A
		1119	possibly working workaround is to use a wcwidth implementation like
		1120
		1121	http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/wcwidth.c
		1122

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Comparing rxvt-unicode/README.FAQ (file contents): Revision 1.39 by root, Tue Jan 31 20:52:19 2006 UTC vs. Revision 1.74 by root, Sat Jul 3 04:04:12 2021 UTC

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Comparing rxvt-unicode/README.FAQ (file contents):
Revision 1.39 by root, Tue Jan 31 20:52:19 2006 UTC vs.
Revision 1.74 by root, Sat Jul 3 04:04:12 2021 UTC