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Revision 1.5 by root, Sat Aug 14 03:00:32 2004 UTC vs.
Revision 1.34 by root, Wed Dec 1 02:29:14 2004 UTC

11B<rxvt-unicode>, version B<@@RXVT_VERSION@@>, is a colour vt102 terminal 11B<rxvt-unicode>, version B<@@RXVT_VERSION@@>, is a colour vt102 terminal
12emulator intended as an I<xterm>(1) replacement for users who do not 12emulator intended as an I<xterm>(1) replacement for users who do not
13require features such as Tektronix 4014 emulation and toolkit-style 13require features such as Tektronix 4014 emulation and toolkit-style
14configurability. As a result, B<rxvt-unicode> uses much less swap space -- 14configurability. As a result, B<rxvt-unicode> uses much less swap space --
15a significant advantage on a machine serving many X sessions. 15a significant advantage on a machine serving many X sessions.
16
17=head1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
18
19See @@RXVT_NAME@@(7) (try C<man 7 @@RXVT_NAME@@>) for a list of frequently
20asked questions and answer to them and some common problems.
16 21
17=head1 RXVT-UNICODE VS. RXVT 22=head1 RXVT-UNICODE VS. RXVT
18 23
19Unlike the original rxvt, B<rxvt-unicode> stores all text in Unicode 24Unlike the original rxvt, B<rxvt-unicode> stores all text in Unicode
20internally. That means it can store and display most scripts in the 25internally. That means it can store and display most scripts in the
24like tibetan or devenagari. Don't expect pretty output when using these 29like tibetan or devenagari. Don't expect pretty output when using these
25scripts. Most other scripts, latin, cyrillic, kanji, thai etc. should work 30scripts. Most other scripts, latin, cyrillic, kanji, thai etc. should work
26fine, though. A somewhat difficult case are left-to-right scripts, such 31fine, though. A somewhat difficult case are left-to-right scripts, such
27as hebrew: B<rxvt-unicode> adopts the view that bidirectional algorithms 32as hebrew: B<rxvt-unicode> adopts the view that bidirectional algorithms
28belong into the application, not the terminal emulator (too many things -- 33belong into the application, not the terminal emulator (too many things --
29such as cursor-movement -- break othwerwise). 34such as cursor-movement while editing -- break otherwise), but that might
35change.
30 36
37If you are looking for a terminal that supports more exotic scripts, let
38me recommend C<mlterm>, which is a very userfriendly, lean and clean
39terminal emulator. In fact, the reason rxvt-unicode was born was solely
40because the author couldn't get C<mlterm> to use one font for latin1 and
41another for japanese.
42
31Another design rationale was the use of multiple fonts to display 43Therefore another design rationale was the use of multiple fonts to
32characters: The idea of a single unicode font which many other programs 44display characters: The idea of a single unicode font which many other
33force onto it's users never made sense to me: You should be able to choose 45programs force onto it's users never made sense to me: You should be able
34any font for any script. 46to choose any font for any script freely.
35 47
36Apart from that, rxvt-unicode is also much better internationalised than 48Apart from that, rxvt-unicode is also much better internationalised than
37it's predecessor, supports things such as XFT and ISO 14755 that are handy 49it's predecessor, supports things such as XFT and ISO 14755 that are handy
38in i18n-environments, is faster, and has a lot less bugs than the original 50in i18n-environments, is faster, and has a lot less bugs than the original
39rxvt. This all in addition to dozens of other small improvements. 51rxvt. This all in addition to dozens of other small improvements.
46drastically reduces memory usage. See @@RXVT_NAME@@d(1) (daemon) and 58drastically reduces memory usage. See @@RXVT_NAME@@d(1) (daemon) and
47@@RXVT_NAME@@c(1) (client). 59@@RXVT_NAME@@c(1) (client).
48 60
49It also makes technical information about escape sequences (which have 61It also makes technical information about escape sequences (which have
50been extended) easier accessible: see @@RXVT_NAME@@(7) for technical 62been extended) easier accessible: see @@RXVT_NAME@@(7) for technical
51reference documentation (escape sequences etc.) and the FAQ section at the 63reference documentation (escape sequences etc.).
52end of this document.
53 64
54=head1 OPTIONS 65=head1 OPTIONS
55 66
56The B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> options (mostly a subset of I<xterm>'s) are listed 67The B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> options (mostly a subset of I<xterm>'s) are listed
57below. In keeping with the smaller-is-better philosophy, options may be 68below. In keeping with the smaller-is-better philosophy, options may be
143 154
144The mouse pointer background colour; resource B<pointerColor2>. 155The mouse pointer background colour; resource B<pointerColor2>.
145 156
146=item B<-bd> I<colour> 157=item B<-bd> I<colour>
147 158
148The colour of the border between the xterm scrollbar and the text; 159The colour of the border around the text area and between the scrollbar and the text;
149resource B<borderColor>. 160resource B<borderColor>.
150 161
151=item B<-fn> I<fontname> 162=item B<-fn> I<fontlist>
152 163
153Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma seperated list of font 164Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma separated list of font names
154names that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters. 165that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters. The
155The first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might 166first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might be
156be smaller, but not larger. A reasonable default font list is always 167smaller, but not (in general) larger. A (hopefully) reasonable default
157appended to it. resource B<font>. 168font list is always appended to it. See resource B<font> for more details.
169
170In short, to specify an X11 core font, just specify it's name or prefix it
171with C<x:>. To specify an XFT-font, you need to prefix it with C<xft:>,
172e.g.:
173
174 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn "xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:pixelsize=15"
175 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn "9x15bold,xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono"
158 176
159See also the question "How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?" in the FAQ 177See also the question "How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?" in the FAQ
160section. 178section of @@RXVT_NAME@@(7).
161 179
162=item B<-rb>|B<+rb> 180=item B<-fb> I<fontlist>
163 181
164Enable "real bold" support. When this option is on, bold text will be 182Compile font-styles: The bold font list to use when bold characters are to
165displayed using the first available bold font in the font list. Bold 183be printed. See resource B<boldFont> for details.
166fonts should thus be specified in the font list after their 184
167corresponding regular fonts. If no bold font can be found, a regular 185=item B<-fi> I<fontlist>
168font will be used. resource B<realBold>. 186
187Compile font-styles: The italic font list to use when bold characters are to
188be printed. See resource B<italicFont> for details.
189
190=item B<-fbi> I<fontlist>
191
192Compile font-styles: The bold italic font list to use when bold characters are to
193be printed. See resource B<boldItalicFont> for details.
169 194
170=item B<-name> I<name> 195=item B<-name> I<name>
171 196
172Specify the application name under which resources are to be obtained, 197Specify the application name under which resources are to be obtained,
173rather than the default executable file name. Name should not contain 198rather than the default executable file name. Name should not contain
213 238
214=item B<-st>|B<+st> 239=item B<-st>|B<+st>
215 240
216Display normal (non XTerm/NeXT) scrollbar without/with a trough; 241Display normal (non XTerm/NeXT) scrollbar without/with a trough;
217resource B<scrollBar_floating>. 242resource B<scrollBar_floating>.
243
244=item B<-ptab>|B<+ptab>
245
246If enabled (default), "Horizontal Tab" characters are being stored as
247actual wide characters in the screen buffer, which makes it possible to
248select and paste them. Since a horizontal tab is a cursor movement and
249not an actual glyph, this can sometimes be visually annoying as the cursor
250on a tab character is displayed as a wide cursor; resource B<pastableTabs>.
218 251
219=item B<-bc>|B<+bc> 252=item B<-bc>|B<+bc>
220 253
221Blink the cursor; resource B<cursorBlink>. 254Blink the cursor; resource B<cursorBlink>.
222 255
382high-intensity (bold = bright foreground, blink = bright background) 415high-intensity (bold = bright foreground, blink = bright background)
383colours. The canonical names are as follows: 0=black, 1=red, 2=green, 416colours. The canonical names are as follows: 0=black, 1=red, 2=green,
3843=yellow, 4=blue, 5=magenta, 6=cyan, 7=white, but the actual colour 4173=yellow, 4=blue, 5=magenta, 6=cyan, 7=white, but the actual colour
385names used are listed in the B<COLORS AND GRAPHICS> section. 418names used are listed in the B<COLORS AND GRAPHICS> section.
386 419
420Colours higher than 15 cannot be set using resources (yet), but can be
421changed using an escape command (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(7)).
422
423Colours 16-79 form a standard 4x4x4 colour cube (the same as xterm with
42488 colour support). Colours 80-87 are evenly spaces grey steps.
425
387=item B<colorBD:> I<colour> 426=item B<colorBD:> I<colour>
388 427
428=item B<colorIT:> I<colour>
429
389Use the specified colour to display bold characters when the foreground 430Use the specified colour to display bold or italic characters when the
390colour is the default. This option will be ignored if B<realBold> is 431foreground colour is the default. If font styles are not available
391enabled. 432(Compile styles) and this option is unset, reverse video is used instead.
392 433
393=item B<colorUL:> I<colour> 434=item B<colorUL:> I<colour>
394 435
395Use the specified colour to display underlined characters when the 436Use the specified colour to display underlined characters when the
396foreground colour is the default. 437foreground colour is the default.
440=item B<shading:> I<number> 481=item B<shading:> I<number>
441 482
442Darken (0 .. 100) or lighten (-1 .. -100) the transparent background 483Darken (0 .. 100) or lighten (-1 .. -100) the transparent background
443image in addition to tinting it. 484image in addition to tinting it.
444 485
445=item B<fading:> I<number>
446
447Scale the tint colour by the given percentage.
448
449=item B<scrollColor:> I<colour> 486=item B<scrollColor:> I<colour>
450 487
451Use the specified colour for the scrollbar [default #B2B2B2]. 488Use the specified colour for the scrollbar [default #B2B2B2].
452 489
453=item B<troughColor:> I<colour> 490=item B<troughColor:> I<colour>
454 491
455Use the specified colour for the scrollbar's trough area [default 492Use the specified colour for the scrollbar's trough area [default
456#969696]. Only relevant for normal (non XTerm/NeXT) scrollbar. 493#969696]. Only relevant for normal (non XTerm/NeXT) scrollbar.
494
495=item B<borderColor:> I<colour>
496
497The colour of the border around the text area and between the scrollbar
498and the text.
457 499
458=item B<backgroundPixmap:> I<file[;geom]> 500=item B<backgroundPixmap:> I<file[;geom]>
459 501
460Use the specified XPM file (note the `.xpm' extension is optional) for 502Use the specified XPM file (note the `.xpm' extension is optional) for
461the background and also optionally specify its scaling with a geometry 503the background and also optionally specify its scaling with a geometry
477 519
478Specify the colon-delimited search path for finding files (XPM and 520Specify the colon-delimited search path for finding files (XPM and
479menus), in addition to the paths specified by the B<RXVTPATH> and 521menus), in addition to the paths specified by the B<RXVTPATH> and
480B<PATH> environment variables. 522B<PATH> environment variables.
481 523
482=item B<font:> I<fontname> 524=item B<font:> I<fontlist>
483 525
484Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma seperated list of font 526Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma separated list of font
485names that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters. 527names that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters.
486The first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might 528The first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might
487be smaller, but not larger. A reasonable default font list is always 529be smaller, but not larger. A reasonable default font list is always
488appended to it. option B<-fn>. 530appended to it. option B<-fn>.
489 531
490=item B<realBold:> I<boolean> 532Each font can either be a standard X11 core font (XLFD) name, with
533optional prefix C<x:> or a Xft font (Compile xft), prefixed with C<xft:>.
491 534
492B<True>: Enable "real bold" support. When this option is on, bold text 535In addition, each font can be prefixed with additional hints and
493will be displayed using the first available bold font in the font list. 536specifications enclosed in square brackets (C<[]>). The only available
494Bold fonts should thus be specified in the font list after their 537hint currently is C<codeset=codeset-name>, and this is only used for Xft
495corresponding regular fonts. If no bold font can be found, a regular 538fonts.
496font will be used. option B<-rb>. B<False>: Display bold text in a 539
497regular font, using the color specified with B<colorBD>; option B<+rb>. 540For example, this font resource
541
542 URxvt*font: 9x15bold,\
543 -misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1,\
544 -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1, \
545 [codeset=JISX0208]xft:Kochi Gothic:antialias=false, \
546 xft:Code2000:antialias=false
547
548specifies five fonts to be used. The first one is C<9x15bold> (actually
549the iso8859-1 version of the second font), which is the base font (because
550it is named first) and thus defines the character cell grid to be 9 pixels
551wide and 15 pixels high.
552
553The second font is just used to add additional unicode characters not in
554the base font, likewise the third, which is unfortunately non-bold, but
555the bold version of the font does contain less characters, so this is a
556useful supplement.
557
558The third font is an Xft font with aliasing turned off, and the characters
559are limited to the B<JIS 0208> codeset (i.e. japanese kanji). The font
560contains other characters, but we are not interested in them.
561
562The last font is a useful catch-all font that supplies most of the
563remaining unicode characters.
564
565=item B<boldFont:> I<fontlist>
566
567=item B<italicFont:> I<fontlist>
568
569=item B<boldItalicFont:> I<fontlist>
570
571The font list to use for displaying B<bold>, I<italic> or B<< I<bold
572italic> >> characters, respectively.
573
574If specified and non-empty, then the syntax is the same as for the
575B<font>-resource, and the given font list will be used as is, which makes
576it possible to substitute completely different font styles for bold and
577italic.
578
579If unset (the default), a suitable font list will be synthesized by
580"morphing" the normal text font list into the desired shape. If that is
581not possible, replacement fonts of the desired shape will be tried.
582
583If set, but empty, then this specific style is disabled and the normal
584text font will being used for the given style.
498 585
499=item B<selectstyle:> I<mode> 586=item B<selectstyle:> I<mode>
500 587
501Set mouse selection style to B<old> which is 2.20, B<oldword> which is 588Set mouse selection style to B<old> which is 2.20, B<oldword> which is
502xterm style with 2.20 old word selection, or anything else which gives 589xterm style with 2.20 old word selection, or anything else which gives
573B<False>: do not scroll to bottom when tty receives output; option 660B<False>: do not scroll to bottom when tty receives output; option
574B<+si>. 661B<+si>.
575 662
576=item B<scrollWithBuffer:> I<boolean> 663=item B<scrollWithBuffer:> I<boolean>
577 664
578B<True>: scroll with scrollback buffer when tty recieves new lines (and 665B<True>: scroll with scrollback buffer when tty receives new lines (and
579B<scrollTtyOutput> is False); option B<+sw>. B<False>: do not scroll 666B<scrollTtyOutput> is False); option B<+sw>. B<False>: do not scroll
580with scrollback buffer when tty recieves new lines; option B<-sw>. 667with scrollback buffer when tty recieves new lines; option B<-sw>.
581 668
582=item B<scrollTtyKeypress:> I<boolean> 669=item B<scrollTtyKeypress:> I<boolean>
583 670
584B<True>: scroll to bottom when a non-special key is pressed. Special keys 671B<True>: scroll to bottom when a non-special key is pressed. Special keys
585are those which are intercepted by rxvt-unicode for special handling and 672are those which are intercepted by rxvt-unicode for special handling and
586are not passed onto the shell; option B<-sk>. B<False>: do not scroll to 673are not passed onto the shell; option B<-sk>. B<False>: do not scroll to
587bottom when a non-special key is pressed; option B<+sk>. 674bottom when a non-special key is pressed; option B<+sk>.
588 675
589=item B<smallfont_key:> I<keysym>
590
591If enabled, use B<@@HOTKEY@@->I<keysym> to toggle to a smaller font
592[default B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@SMALLFONT@@>]
593
594=item B<bigfont_key:> I<keysym>
595
596If enabled, use B<@@HOTKEY@@->I<keysym> to toggle to a bigger font
597[default B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@BIGFONT@@>]
598
599=item B<saveLines:> I<number> 676=item B<saveLines:> I<number>
600 677
601Save I<number> lines in the scrollback buffer [default 64]. This 678Save I<number> lines in the scrollback buffer [default 64]. This
602resource is limited on most machines to 65535; option B<-sl>. 679resource is limited on most machines to 65535; option B<-sl>.
603 680
633 710
634=item B<mouseWheelScrollPage:> I<boolean> 711=item B<mouseWheelScrollPage:> I<boolean>
635 712
636B<True>: the mouse wheel scrolls a page full. B<False>: the mouse wheel 713B<True>: the mouse wheel scrolls a page full. B<False>: the mouse wheel
637scrolls five lines [default]. 714scrolls five lines [default].
715
716=item B<pastableTabs:> I<boolean>
717
718B<True>: store tabs as wide characters. B<False>: interpret tabs as cursor
719movement only; option C<-ptab>.
638 720
639=item B<cursorBlink:> I<boolean> 721=item B<cursorBlink:> I<boolean>
640 722
641B<True>: blink the cursor. B<False>: do not blink the cursor [default]; 723B<True>: blink the cursor. B<False>: do not blink the cursor [default];
642option B<-bc>. 724option B<-bc>.
692The locale to use for opening the IM. You can use an LC_CTYPE of e.g. 774The locale to use for opening the IM. You can use an LC_CTYPE of e.g.
693de_DE.UTF-8 for normal text processing but ja_JP.EUC-JP for the input 775de_DE.UTF-8 for normal text processing but ja_JP.EUC-JP for the input
694extension to be able to input japanese characters while staying in 776extension to be able to input japanese characters while staying in
695another locale. option B<-imlocale>. 777another locale. option B<-imlocale>.
696 778
697=item B<insecure> 779=item B<insecure:> I<boolean>
698 780
699Enables "insecure" mode. Rxvt-unicode offers some escape sequences that 781Enables "insecure" mode. Rxvt-unicode offers some escape sequences that
700echo arbitrary strings like the icon name or the locale. This could be 782echo arbitrary strings like the icon name or the locale. This could be
701abused if somebody gets 8-bit-clean access to your display, wether 783abused if somebody gets 8-bit-clean access to your display, whether
702throuh a mail client displaying mail bodies unfiltered or though 784throuh a mail client displaying mail bodies unfiltered or though
703write(1). Therefore, these sequences are disabled by default. (Note 785write(1). Therefore, these sequences are disabled by default. (Note
704that other terminals, including xterm, have these sequences 786that other terminals, including xterm, have these sequences
705enabled by default). You can enable them by setting this boolean 787enabled by default). You can enable them by setting this boolean
706resource or specifying B<-insecure> as an option. At the moment, this 788resource or specifying B<-insecure> as an option. At the moment, this
780Left click at the beginning of the region, drag to the end of the 862Left click at the beginning of the region, drag to the end of the
781region and release; Right click to extend the marked region; Left 863region and release; Right click to extend the marked region; Left
782double-click to select a word; Left triple-click to select the entire 864double-click to select a word; Left triple-click to select the entire
783line. 865line.
784 866
867Starting a selection while pressing the B<Meta> key (or B<Meta+Ctrl> keys)
868(Compile: frills) will create a rectangular selection instead of a normal
869one.
870
785=item B<Insertion>: 871=item B<Insertion>:
786 872
787Pressing and releasing the Middle mouse button (or B<Shift-Insert>) in 873Pressing and releasing the Middle mouse button (or B<Shift-Insert>) in
788an B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> window causes the current text selection to be 874an B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> window causes the current text selection to be
789inserted as if it had been typed on the keyboard. 875inserted as if it had been typed on the keyboard.
790 876
791=back 877=back
792 878
793=head1 CHANGING FONTS 879=head1 CHANGING FONTS
794 880
795You can change fonts on-the-fly, which is to say cycle through the 881Changing fonts (or font sizes, respectively) via the keypad is not yet
796default font and others of various sizes, by using B<Shift-KP_Add> and 882supported in rxvt-unicode. Bug me if you need this.
797B<Shift-KP_Subtract>. Or, alternatively (if enabled) with 883
798B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@BIGFONT@@> and B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@SMALLFONT@@>, where the 884You can, however, switch fonts at runtime using escape sequences (and
799actual key can be selected using resources 885therefore using the menubar), e.g.:
800B<smallfont_key>/B<bigfont_key>. 886
887 printf '\e]701;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
888
889rxvt-unicode will automatically re-apply these fonts to the output so far.
801 890
802=head1 ISO 14755 SUPPORT 891=head1 ISO 14755 SUPPORT
803 892
804Partial ISO 14755-support is implemented. that means that pressing 893ISO 14755 is a standard for entering and viewing unicode characters
894and character codes using the keyboard. It consists of 4 parts. The
895first part is available rxvt-unicode has been compiled with
896C<--enable-frills>, the rest is available when rxvt-unicode was compiled
897with C<--enable-iso14755>.
805 898
806Section 5.1: Control and Shift together enters unicode input 899=over 4
807mode. Entering hex digits composes a Unicode character, pressing space or
808releasing the modifiers commits the keycode and every other key cancels
809the current input character.
810 900
811Section 5.2: Pressing and immediately releasing Control and Shift together 901=item 5.1: Basic method
812enters keycap entry mode for the next key: pressing a function key (tab, 902
813return etc..) will enter the unicode character corresponding to the given 903This allows you to enter unicode characters using their hexcode.
814key. 904
905Start by pressing and holding both C<Control> and C<Shift>, then enter
906hex-digits (between one and six). Releasing C<Control> and C<Shift> will
907commit the character as if it were typed directly. While holding down
908C<Control> and C<Shift> you can also enter multiple characters by pressing
909C<Space>, which will commit the current character and lets you start a new
910one.
911
912As an example of use, imagine a business card with a japanese e-mail
913address, which you cannot type. Fortunately, the card has the e-mail
914address printed as hexcodes, e.g. C<671d 65e5>. You can enter this easily
915by pressing C<Control> and C<Shift>, followed by C<6-7-1-D-SPACE-6-5-E-5>,
916followed by releasing the modifier keys.
917
918=item 5.2: Keyboard symbols entry method
919
920This mode lets you input characters representing the keycap symbols of
921your keyboard, if representable in the current locale encoding.
922
923Start by pressing C<Control> and C<Shift> together, then releasing
924them. The next special key (cursor keys, home etc.) you enter will not
925invoke it's usual function but instead will insert the corresponding
926keycap symbol. The symbol will only be entered when the key has been
927released, otherwise pressing e.g. C<Shift> would enter the symbol for
928C<ISO Level 2 Switch>, although your intention might have been to enter a
929reverse tab (Shift-Tab).
930
931=item 5.3: Screen-selection entry method
932
933While this is implemented already (it's basically the selection
934mechanism), it could be extended by displaying a unicode character map.
935
936=item 5.4: Feedback method for identifying displayed characters for later input
937
938This method lets you display the unicode character code associated with
939characters already displayed.
940
941You enter this mode by holding down C<Control> and C<Shift> together, then
942pressing and holding the left mouse button and moving around. The unicode
943hex code(s) (it might be a combining character) of the character under the
944pointer is displayed until you release C<Control> and C<Shift>.
945
946In addition to the hex codes it will display the font used to draw this
947character - due to implementation reasons, characters combined with
948combining characters, line drawing characters and unknown characters will
949always be drawn using the built-in support font.
950
951=back
952
953With respect to conformance, rxvt-unicode is supposed to be compliant to
954both scenario A and B of ISO 14755, including part 5.2.
815 955
816=head1 LOGIN STAMP 956=head1 LOGIN STAMP
817 957
818B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> tries to write an entry into the I<utmp>(5) file so 958B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> tries to write an entry into the I<utmp>(5) file so
819that it can be seen via the I<who(1)> command, and can accept messages. 959that it can be seen via the I<who(1)> command, and can accept messages.
867would yield White on Black, while on I<xterm>(1) it would yield Black 1007would yield White on Black, while on I<xterm>(1) it would yield Black
868on White. 1008on White.
869 1009
870=back 1010=back
871 1011
872=head1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
873
874=over 4
875
876=item How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?
877
878The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). For rxvt-unicode
879version 2.14 and later, the escape sequence C<ESC[8n> sets the window
880title to the version number.
881
882=item Why do the characters look ugly?
883
884=item How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?
885
886Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is
887fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
888your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
889to display.
890
891B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement
892font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks
893bad. In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font
894list, e.g.:
895
896 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3...
897
898When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
899font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
900next font, and so on.
901
902The only limitation is that all the fonts must not be larger than the base
903font, as the base font defines the principial cell size, which must be the
904same due to the way terminals work.
905
906=item Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
907
908This is because there is a difference between script and language --
909rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output
910is, as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode
911first sees a japanese character, it might choose a japanese font for
912it. Subseqzuent japanese characters will take that font. Now, many chinese
913characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
914non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
915-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
916japanese characters that are also chinese.
917
918The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
919list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
920a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
921first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
922
923In the future it might be possible to switch preferences at runtime (the
924internal data structure has no problem with using different fonts for
925the same character at the same time, but no interface for this has been
926designed yet).
927
928=item Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
929
930Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
931some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
932heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
933quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
934depressed. See @@RXVT_NAME@@(7)
935
936=item What's with this bold/blink stuff?
937
938If no bold colour is set via C<colorBD:>, bold will invert text using the
939standard foreground colour.
940
941For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
942text blink when compiled with C<--enable-blinking>. with standard
943colours. Without C<--enable-blinking>, the blink attribute will be
944ignored.
945
946On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
947foreground/background colors.
948
949color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.
950
951color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
952
953=item I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?
954
955You can change the screen colors at run-time using F<~/.Xdefaults>
956resources (or as long-options).
957
958Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen,
959including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
960
961 Rxvt*color0: #000000
962 Rxvt*color1: #A80000
963 Rxvt*color2: #00A800
964 Rxvt*color3: #A8A800
965 Rxvt*color4: #0000A8
966 Rxvt*color5: #A800A8
967 Rxvt*color6: #00A8A8
968 Rxvt*color7: #A8A8A8
969
970 Rxvt*color8: #000054
971 Rxvt*color9: #FF0054
972 Rxvt*color10: #00FF54
973 Rxvt*color11: #FFFF54
974 Rxvt*color12: #0000FF
975 Rxvt*color13: #FF00FF
976 Rxvt*color14: #00FFFF
977 Rxvt*color15: #FFFFFF
978
979=item What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
980
981Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
982BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
983question) there are two standard values that can be used for
984Backspace: C<^H> and C<^?>.
985
986Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
987policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
988choice :).
989
990Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
991of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
992started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
993system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
994be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
995
996For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
997
998 # use Backspace = ^H
999 $ stty erase ^H
1000 $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
1001
1002 # use Backspace = ^?
1003 $ stty erase ^?
1004 $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
1005
1006Toggle with "ESC[36h" / "ESC[36l" as documented in @@RXVT_NAME@@(7).
1007
1008For an existing rxvt-unicode:
1009
1010 # use Backspace = ^H
1011 $ stty erase ^H
1012 $ echo -n "^[[36h"
1013
1014 # use Backspace = ^?
1015 $ stty erase ^?
1016 $ echo -n "^[[36l"
1017
1018This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
1019if you use Backspace = C<^H>, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
1020properly reflects that.
1021
1022The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
1023To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
1024key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
1025(ESC[3~) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
1026
1027Some other Backspace problems:
1028
1029some editors use termcap/terminfo,
1030some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
1031GNU Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
1032
1033Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
1034
1035=item I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?
1036
1037There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
1038you have run "configure" with the C<--disable-resources> option you can
1039use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysym
10400xFF00 - 0xFFFF (function, cursor keys, etc).
1041
1042Here's an example for a tn3270 session started using `@@RXVT_NAME@@ -name tn3270'
1043
1044 !# ----- special uses ------:
1045 ! tn3270 login, remap function and arrow keys.
1046 tn3270*font: *clean-bold-*-*--15-*
1047
1048 ! keysym - used by rxvt only
1049 ! Delete - ^D
1050 tn3270*keysym.0xFFFF: \004
1051
1052 ! Home - ^A
1053 tn3270*keysym.0xFF50: \001
1054 ! Left - ^B
1055 tn3270*keysym.0xFF51: \002
1056 ! Up - ^P
1057 tn3270*keysym.0xFF52: \020
1058 ! Right - ^F
1059 tn3270*keysym.0xFF53: \006
1060 ! Down - ^N
1061 tn3270*keysym.0xFF54: \016
1062 ! End - ^E
1063 tn3270*keysym.0xFF57: \005
1064
1065 ! F1 - F12
1066 tn3270*keysym.0xFFBE: \e1
1067 tn3270*keysym.0xFFBF: \e2
1068 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC0: \e3
1069 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC1: \e4
1070 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC2: \e5
1071 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC3: \e6
1072 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC4: \e7
1073 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC5: \e8
1074 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC6: \e9
1075 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC7: \e0
1076 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC8: \e-
1077 tn3270*keysym.0xFFC9: \e=
1078
1079 ! map Prior/Next to F7/F8
1080 tn3270*keysym.0xFF55: \e7
1081 tn3270*keysym.0xFF56: \e8
1082
1083=item I'm using keyboard model XXX that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys.
1084How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4
1085has the following mappings that rxvt-unicode doesn't recognize.
1086
1087 KP_Insert == Insert
1088 F22 == Print
1089 F27 == Home
1090 F29 == Prior
1091 F33 == End
1092 F35 == Next
1093
1094Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accomodate all the various possible keyboard
1095mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as required for
1096your particular machine.
1097
1098=item How do I distinguish if I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm?
1099I need this to decide about setting colors etc.
1100
1101rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM", so you can
1102check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED, slrn,
1103Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide whether or
1104not to use color.
1105
1106=item How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
1107
1108If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and ahve enabled
1109insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
1110snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
1111wasn't also compiled with ESCZ_ANSWER (as assumed in these snippets) then
1112the COLORTERM variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
1113regular xterm.
1114
1115Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
1116snippets:
1117
1118 # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
1119 [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
1120 if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
1121 stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
1122 echo -n '^[Z'
1123 read term_id
1124 stty icanon echo
1125 if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
1126 echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
1127 read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
1128 fi
1129 fi
1130
1131=item How do I compile the manual pages for myself?
1132
1133You need to have a recent version of perl installed as F</usr/bin/perl>,
1134one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to
1135the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
1136
1137=back
1138
1139=head1 ENVIRONMENT 1012=head1 ENVIRONMENT
1140 1013
1141B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> sets the environment variables B<TERM>, B<COLORTERM> 1014B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> sets the environment variables B<TERM>, B<COLORTERM>
1142and B<COLORFGBG>. The environment variable B<WINDOWID> is set to the X 1015and B<COLORFGBG>. The environment variable B<WINDOWID> is set to the X
1143window id number of the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> window and it also uses and 1016window id number of the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> window and it also uses and
1175 1048
1176=over 4 1049=over 4
1177 1050
1178=item Project Coordinator 1051=item Project Coordinator
1179 1052
1180@@RXVTMAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_MAINTEMAIL@@> 1053@@RXVT_MAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_MAINTEMAIL@@>
1181 1054
1182=item Web page maintainter 1055=item Web page maintainter
1183 1056
1184@@RXVTWEBMAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_WEBMAINTEMAIL@@> 1057@@RXVT_WEBMAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_WEBMAINTEMAIL@@>
1185 1058
1186L<@@RXVT_WEBPAGE@@> 1059L<@@RXVT_WEBPAGE@@>
1187 1060
1188=back 1061=back
1189 1062

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