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Revision 1.22 by root, Tue Aug 24 15:46:27 2004 UTC

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 16
17See also @@RXVT_NAME@@(7) for technical reference documentation (escape 17=head1 RXVT-UNICODE VS. RXVT
18sequences etc.) and the FAQ section at the end of this document. 18
19Unlike the original rxvt, B<rxvt-unicode> stores all text in Unicode
20internally. That means it can store and display most scripts in the
21world. Being a terminal emulator, however, some things are very difficult,
22especially cursive scripts such as arabic, vertically written scripts
23like mongolian or scripts requiring extremely complex combining rules,
24like tibetan or devenagari. Don't expect pretty output when using these
25scripts. Most other scripts, latin, cyrillic, kanji, thai etc. should work
26fine, though. A somewhat difficult case are left-to-right scripts, such
27as hebrew: B<rxvt-unicode> adopts the view that bidirectional algorithms
28belong into the application, not the terminal emulator (too many things --
29such as cursor-movement while editing -- break othwerwise), but that might
30change.
31
32If you are looking for a terminal that supports more exotic scripts, let
33me recommend C<mlterm>, which is a very userfriendly, lean and clean
34terminal emulator. In fact, the reason rxvt-unicode was born was solely
35because the author couldn't get C<mlterm> to use one font for latin1 and
36another for japanese.
37
38Therefore another design rationale was the use of multiple fonts to
39display characters: The idea of a single unicode font which many other
40programs force onto it's users never made sense to me: You should be able
41to choose any font for any script freely.
42
43Apart from that, rxvt-unicode is also much better internationalised than
44it's predecessor, supports things such as XFT and ISO 14755 that are handy
45in i18n-environments, is faster, and has a lot less bugs than the original
46rxvt. This all in addition to dozens of other small improvements.
47
48It is still faithfully following the original rxvt idea of being lean
49and nice on resources: for example, you can still configure rxvt-unicode
50without most of it's features to get a lean binary. It also comes with
51a client/daemon pair that lets you open any number of terminal windows
52from within a single process, which makes startup time very fast and
53drastically reduces memory usage. See @@RXVT_NAME@@d(1) (daemon) and
54@@RXVT_NAME@@c(1) (client).
55
56It also makes technical information about escape sequences (which have
57been extended) easier accessible: see @@RXVT_NAME@@(7) for technical
58reference documentation (escape sequences etc.) and the FAQ section at the
59end of this document.
19 60
20=head1 OPTIONS 61=head1 OPTIONS
21 62
22The B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> options (mostly a subset of I<xterm>'s) are listed 63The B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> options (mostly a subset of I<xterm>'s) are listed
23below. In keeping with the smaller-is-better philosophy, options may be 64below. In keeping with the smaller-is-better philosophy, options may be
109 150
110The mouse pointer background colour; resource B<pointerColor2>. 151The mouse pointer background colour; resource B<pointerColor2>.
111 152
112=item B<-bd> I<colour> 153=item B<-bd> I<colour>
113 154
114The colour of the border between the xterm scrollbar and the text; 155The colour of the border around the text area and between the scrollbar and the text;
115resource B<borderColor>. 156resource B<borderColor>.
116 157
117=item B<-fn> I<fontname> 158=item B<-fn> I<fontlist>
118 159
119Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma seperated list of font 160Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma separated list of font names
120names that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters. 161that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters. The
121The first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might 162first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might be
122be smaller, but not larger. A reasonable default font list is always 163smaller, but not (in general) larger. A reasonable default font list is
123appended to it. resource B<font>. 164always appended to it. See resource B<font> for details.
124 165
125=item B<-rb>|B<+rb> 166See also the question "How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?" in the FAQ
167section.
126 168
127Enable "real bold" support. When this option is on, bold text will be 169=item B<-fb> I<fontlist>
128displayed using the first available bold font in the font list. Bold 170
129fonts should thus be specified in the font list after their 171Compile font-styles: The bold font list to use when bold characters are to
130corresponding regular fonts. If no bold font can be found, a regular 172be printed. See resource B<boldFont> for details.
131font will be used. resource B<realBold>. 173
174=item B<-fi> I<fontlist>
175
176Compile font-styles: The italic font list to use when bold characters are to
177be printed. See resource B<italicFont> for details.
178
179=item B<-fbi> I<fontlist>
180
181Compile font-styles: The bold italic font list to use when bold characters are to
182be printed. See resource B<boldItalicFont> for details.
132 183
133=item B<-name> I<name> 184=item B<-name> I<name>
134 185
135Specify the application name under which resources are to be obtained, 186Specify the application name under which resources are to be obtained,
136rather than the default executable file name. Name should not contain 187rather than the default executable file name. Name should not contain
345high-intensity (bold = bright foreground, blink = bright background) 396high-intensity (bold = bright foreground, blink = bright background)
346colours. The canonical names are as follows: 0=black, 1=red, 2=green, 397colours. The canonical names are as follows: 0=black, 1=red, 2=green,
3473=yellow, 4=blue, 5=magenta, 6=cyan, 7=white, but the actual colour 3983=yellow, 4=blue, 5=magenta, 6=cyan, 7=white, but the actual colour
348names used are listed in the B<COLORS AND GRAPHICS> section. 399names used are listed in the B<COLORS AND GRAPHICS> section.
349 400
401Colours higher than 15 cannot be set using resources (yet), but can be
402changed using an escape command (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(7)).
403
404Colours 16-79 form a standard 4x4x4 colour cube (the same as xterm with
40588 colour support). Colours 80-87 are evenly spaces grey steps.
406
350=item B<colorBD:> I<colour> 407=item B<colorBD:> I<colour>
351 408
409=item B<colorIT:> I<colour>
410
352Use the specified colour to display bold characters when the foreground 411Use the specified colour to display bold or italic characters when the
353colour is the default. This option will be ignored if B<realBold> is 412foreground colour is the default. If font styles are not available
354enabled. 413(Compile styles) and this option is unset, reverse video is used instead.
355 414
356=item B<colorUL:> I<colour> 415=item B<colorUL:> I<colour>
357 416
358Use the specified colour to display underlined characters when the 417Use the specified colour to display underlined characters when the
359foreground colour is the default. 418foreground colour is the default.
415 474
416=item B<troughColor:> I<colour> 475=item B<troughColor:> I<colour>
417 476
418Use the specified colour for the scrollbar's trough area [default 477Use the specified colour for the scrollbar's trough area [default
419#969696]. Only relevant for normal (non XTerm/NeXT) scrollbar. 478#969696]. Only relevant for normal (non XTerm/NeXT) scrollbar.
479
480=item B<borderColor:> I<colour>
481
482The colour of the border around the text area and between the scrollbar
483and the text.
420 484
421=item B<backgroundPixmap:> I<file[;geom]> 485=item B<backgroundPixmap:> I<file[;geom]>
422 486
423Use the specified XPM file (note the `.xpm' extension is optional) for 487Use the specified XPM file (note the `.xpm' extension is optional) for
424the background and also optionally specify its scaling with a geometry 488the background and also optionally specify its scaling with a geometry
440 504
441Specify the colon-delimited search path for finding files (XPM and 505Specify the colon-delimited search path for finding files (XPM and
442menus), in addition to the paths specified by the B<RXVTPATH> and 506menus), in addition to the paths specified by the B<RXVTPATH> and
443B<PATH> environment variables. 507B<PATH> environment variables.
444 508
445=item B<font:> I<fontname> 509=item B<font:> I<fontlist>
446 510
447Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma seperated list of font 511Select the fonts to be used. This is a comma separated list of font
448names that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters. 512names that are used in turn when trying to display Unicode characters.
449The first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might 513The first font defines the cell size for characters; other fonts might
450be smaller, but not larger. A reasonable default font list is always 514be smaller, but not larger. A reasonable default font list is always
451appended to it. option B<-fn>. 515appended to it. option B<-fn>.
452 516
453=item B<realBold:> I<boolean> 517Each font can either be a standard X11 core font (XLFD) name, with
518optional prefix C<x:> or a Xft font (Compile xft), prefixed with C<xft:>.
454 519
455B<True>: Enable "real bold" support. When this option is on, bold text 520In addition, each font can be prefixed with additional hints and
456will be displayed using the first available bold font in the font list. 521specifications enclosed in square brackets (C<[]>). The only available
457Bold fonts should thus be specified in the font list after their 522hint currently is C<codeset=codeset-name>, and this is only used for Xft
458corresponding regular fonts. If no bold font can be found, a regular 523fonts.
459font will be used. option B<-rb>. B<False>: Display bold text in a 524
460regular font, using the color specified with B<colorBD>; option B<+rb>. 525For example, this font resource
526
527 URxvt*font: 9x15bold,\
528 -misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1,\
529 -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1, \
530 [codeset=JISX0208]xft:Kochi Gothic:antialias=false, \
531 xft:Code2000:antialias=false
532
533specifies five fonts to be used. The first one is C<9x15bold> (actually
534the iso8859-1 version of the second font), which is the base font (because
535it is named first) and thus defines the character cell grid to be 9 pixels
536wide and 15 pixels high.
537
538the second font is just used to add additional unicode characters not in
539the base font, likewise the third, which is unfortunately non-bold, but
540the bold version of the font does contain less characters, so this is a
541useful supplement.
542
543The third font is an Xft font with aliasing turned off, and the characters
544are limited to the B<JIS 0208> codeset (i.e. japanese kanji). The font
545contains other characters, but we are not interested in them.
546
547The last font is a useful catch-all font that supplies most of the
548remaining unicode characters.
549
550=item B<boldFont:> I<fontlist>
551
552=item B<italicFont:> I<fontlist>
553
554=item B<boldItalicFont:> I<fontlist>
555
556The font list to use for displaying B<bold>, I<italic> or B<< I<bold
557italic> >> characters, respectively.
558
559If specified and non-empty, then the syntax is the same as for the
560B<font>-resource, and the given font list will be used as is, which makes
561it possible to substitute completely different font styles for bold and
562italic.
563
564If unset (the default), a suitable font list will be synthesized by
565"morphing" the normal text font list into the desired shape. If that is
566not possible, replacement fonts of the desired shape will be tried.
567
568If set, but empty, then this specific style is disabled and the normal
569text font will being used for the given style.
461 570
462=item B<selectstyle:> I<mode> 571=item B<selectstyle:> I<mode>
463 572
464Set mouse selection style to B<old> which is 2.20, B<oldword> which is 573Set mouse selection style to B<old> which is 2.20, B<oldword> which is
465xterm style with 2.20 old word selection, or anything else which gives 574xterm style with 2.20 old word selection, or anything else which gives
547B<True>: scroll to bottom when a non-special key is pressed. Special keys 656B<True>: scroll to bottom when a non-special key is pressed. Special keys
548are those which are intercepted by rxvt-unicode for special handling and 657are those which are intercepted by rxvt-unicode for special handling and
549are not passed onto the shell; option B<-sk>. B<False>: do not scroll to 658are not passed onto the shell; option B<-sk>. B<False>: do not scroll to
550bottom when a non-special key is pressed; option B<+sk>. 659bottom when a non-special key is pressed; option B<+sk>.
551 660
552=item B<smallfont_key:> I<keysym>
553
554If enabled, use B<@@HOTKEY@@->I<keysym> to toggle to a smaller font
555[default B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@SMALLFONT@@>]
556
557=item B<bigfont_key:> I<keysym>
558
559If enabled, use B<@@HOTKEY@@->I<keysym> to toggle to a bigger font
560[default B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@BIGFONT@@>]
561
562=item B<saveLines:> I<number> 661=item B<saveLines:> I<number>
563 662
564Save I<number> lines in the scrollback buffer [default 64]. This 663Save I<number> lines in the scrollback buffer [default 64]. This
565resource is limited on most machines to 65535; option B<-sl>. 664resource is limited on most machines to 65535; option B<-sl>.
566 665
655The locale to use for opening the IM. You can use an LC_CTYPE of e.g. 754The locale to use for opening the IM. You can use an LC_CTYPE of e.g.
656de_DE.UTF-8 for normal text processing but ja_JP.EUC-JP for the input 755de_DE.UTF-8 for normal text processing but ja_JP.EUC-JP for the input
657extension to be able to input japanese characters while staying in 756extension to be able to input japanese characters while staying in
658another locale. option B<-imlocale>. 757another locale. option B<-imlocale>.
659 758
660=item B<insecure> 759=item B<insecure:> I<boolean>
661 760
662Enables "insecure" mode. Rxvt-unicode offers some escape sequences that 761Enables "insecure" mode. Rxvt-unicode offers some escape sequences that
663echo arbitrary strings like the icon name or the locale. This could be 762echo arbitrary strings like the icon name or the locale. This could be
664abused if somebody gets 8-bit-clean access to your display, wether 763abused if somebody gets 8-bit-clean access to your display, wether
665throuh a mail client displaying mail bodies unfiltered or though 764throuh a mail client displaying mail bodies unfiltered or though
753 852
754=back 853=back
755 854
756=head1 CHANGING FONTS 855=head1 CHANGING FONTS
757 856
758You can change fonts on-the-fly, which is to say cycle through the 857Changing fonts (or font sizes, respectively) via the keypad is not yet
759default font and others of various sizes, by using B<Shift-KP_Add> and 858supported in rxvt-unicode. Bug me if you need this.
760B<Shift-KP_Subtract>. Or, alternatively (if enabled) with 859
761B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@BIGFONT@@> and B<@@HOTKEY@@-@@SMALLFONT@@>, where the 860You can, however, switch fonts at runtime using escape sequences (and
762actual key can be selected using resources 861therefore using the menubar), e.g.:
763B<smallfont_key>/B<bigfont_key>. 862
863 printf '\e]701;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
864
865rxvt-unicode will automatically re-apply these fonts to the output so far.
764 866
765=head1 ISO 14755 SUPPORT 867=head1 ISO 14755 SUPPORT
766 868
767Partial ISO 14755-support is implemented. that means that pressing 869ISO 14755 is a standard for entering and viewing unicode characters
870and character codes using the keyboard. It consists of 4 parts. The
871first part is available rxvt-unicode has been compiled with
872C<--enable-frills>, the rest is available when rxvt-unicode was compiled
873with C<--enable-iso14755>.
768 874
769Section 5.1: Control and Shift together enters unicode input 875=over 4
770mode. Entering hex digits composes a Unicode character, pressing space or
771releasing the modifiers commits the keycode and every other key cancels
772the current input character.
773 876
774Section 5.2: Pressing and immediately releasing Control and Shift together 877=item 5.1: Basic method
775enters keycap entry mode for the next key: pressing a function key (tab, 878
776return etc..) will enter the unicode character corresponding to the given 879This allows you to enter unicode characters using their hexcode.
777key. 880
881Start by pressing and holding both C<Control> and C<Shift>, then enter
882hex-digits (between one and six). Releasing C<Control> and C<Shift> will
883commit the character as if it were typed directly. While holding down
884C<Control> and C<Shift> you can also enter multiple characters by pressing
885C<Space>, which will commit the current character and lets you start a new
886one.
887
888As an example of use, imagine a business card with a japanese e-mail
889address, which you cannot type. Fortunately, the card has the e-mail
890address printed as hexcodes, e.g. C<671d 65e5>. You can enter this easily
891by pressing C<Control> and C<Shift>, followed by C<6-7-1-D-SPACE-6-5-E-5>,
892followed by releasing the modifier keys.
893
894=item 5.2: Keyboard symbols entry method
895
896This mode lets you input characters representing the keycap symbols of
897your keyboard, if representable in the current locale encoding.
898
899Start by pressing C<Control> and C<Shift> together, then releasing
900them. The next special key (cursor keys, home etc.) you enter will not
901invoke it's usual function but instead will insert the corresponding
902keycap symbol. The symbol will only be entered when the key has been
903released, otherwise pressing e.g. C<Shift> would enter the symbol for
904C<ISO Level 2 Switch>, although your intention might have beenm to enter a
905reverse tab (Shift-Tab).
906
907=item 5.3: Screen-selection entry method
908
909While this is implemented already (it's basically the selection
910mechanism), it could be extended by displaying a unicode character map.
911
912=item 5.4: Feedback method for identifying displayed characters for later input
913
914This method lets you display the unicode character code associated with
915characters already displayed.
916
917You enter this mode by holding down C<Control> and C<Shift> together, then
918pressing and holding the left mouse button and moving around. The unicode
919hex code(s) (it might be a combining character) of the character under the
920pointer is displayed until you release C<Control> and C<Shift>.
921
922In addition to the hex codes it will display the font used to draw this
923character - due to implementation reasons, characters combined with
924combining characters, line drawing characters and unknown characters will
925always be drawn using the built-in support font.
926
927=back
928
929With respect to conformance, rxvt-unicode is supposed to be compliant to
930both scenario A and B of ISO 14755, including part 5.2.
778 931
779=head1 LOGIN STAMP 932=head1 LOGIN STAMP
780 933
781B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> tries to write an entry into the I<utmp>(5) file so 934B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> tries to write an entry into the I<utmp>(5) file so
782that it can be seen via the I<who(1)> command, and can accept messages. 935that it can be seen via the I<who(1)> command, and can accept messages.
830would yield White on Black, while on I<xterm>(1) it would yield Black 983would yield White on Black, while on I<xterm>(1) it would yield Black
831on White. 984on White.
832 985
833=back 986=back
834 987
835=head1 ENVIRONMENT 988=head1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
836
837B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> sets the environment variables B<TERM>, B<COLORTERM>
838and B<COLORFGBG>. The environment variable B<WINDOWID> is set to the X
839window id number of the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> window and it also uses and
840sets the environment variable B<DISPLAY> to specify which display
841terminal to use. B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> uses the environment variables
842B<RXVTPATH> and B<PATH> to find XPM files.
843
844=head1 FILES
845 989
846=over 4 990=over 4
847 991
848=item B</etc/utmp>
849
850System file for login records.
851
852=item B</usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt>
853
854Color names.
855
856=back
857
858=head1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
859
860=over 4
861
862=item How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? 992=item How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?
863 993
864The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). For rxvt-unicode 994The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape
865version 2.14 and later, the escape sequence C<ESC[8n> sets the window 995sequence C<ESC[8n> sets the window title to the version number.
866title to the version number. 996
997=item When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?
998
999The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available
1000as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises).
1001
1002The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can be done
1003like this:
1004
1005 infocmp rxvt-unicode >rxvt.unicode.tic
1006 scp rxvt-unicode.tic remotesystem:
1007 ssh remotesystem tic rxvt-unicode.tic
1008
1009... or by installing rxvt-unicode normally on the remote system,
1010
1011If you cannot or do not want to do this, then you can simply set
1012C<TERM=rxvt> or even C<TERM=xterm>, and live with the small number of
1013problems arising, which includes wrong keymapping, less and different
1014colours and some refresh errors in fullscreen applications. It's a nice
1015quick-and-dirty workaround for rare cases, though.
1016
1017If you always want to do this you can either recompile rxvt-unicode with
1018the desired TERM value or use a resource to set it:
1019
1020 URxvt.termName: rxvt
1021
1022=item How can I configure rxvt-unicode so that it looks similar to the original rxvt?
1023
1024Felix von Leitner says that these two lines, in your F<.Xdefaults>, will make rxvt-unicode
1025behave similar to the original rxvt:
1026
1027 URxvt.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1
1028 URxvt.boldFont: -misc-fixed-bold-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1
1029
1030=item Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?
1031
1032=item Unicode does not seem to work?
1033
1034If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
1035getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is
1036subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
1037
1038Rxvt-unicode must be started with the same C<LC_CTYPE> setting as the
1039programs. Often rxvt-unicode is started in the C<C> locale, while the
1040login script running within the rxvt-unicode window changes the locale to
1041sth. else, e.h. C<en_GB.UTF-8>. Needless to say, this is not going to work.
1042
1043The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely run
1044into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your .profile.
1045
1046 printf '\e]701;%s\007' "$LC_CTYPE"
1047
1048If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a C<LC_CTYPE> specification not
1049supported on your systems. Some systems have a C<locale> comamnd which
1050displays this. If it displays sth. like:
1051
1052 locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: ...
1053
1054Then the locale you specified is not supported on your system.
1055
1056If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then
1057you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't
1058support locales :(
1059
1060=item Why do the characters look ugly?
1061
1062=item How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?
1063
1064Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is
1065fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
1066your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
1067to display.
1068
1069B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement
1070font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks
1071bad. Many fonts have totally strange characters that don't resemble the
1072correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial intelligence
1073to detetc that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe the font that
1074the characters it contains indeed look correct.
1075
1076In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,
1077e.g.:
1078
1079 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3...
1080
1081When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
1082font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
1083next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
1084search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
1085
1086The only limitation is that all the fonts must not be larger than the base
1087font, as the base font defines the principial cell size, which must be the
1088same due to the way terminals work.
1089
1090=item Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
1091
1092This is because there is a difference between script and language --
1093rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output
1094is, as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode
1095first sees a japanese character, it might choose a japanese font for
1096it. Subseqzuent japanese characters will take that font. Now, many chinese
1097characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
1098non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
1099-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
1100japanese characters that are also chinese.
1101
1102The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
1103list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
1104a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
1105first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
1106
1107In the future it might be possible to switch preferences at runtime (the
1108internal data structure has no problem with using different fonts for
1109the same character at the same time, but no interface for this has been
1110designed yet).
1111
1112=item How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?
1113
1114First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminfo
1115(C<urxvt>), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then make sure
1116you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise rxvt-unicode
1117might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
1118
1119 URxvt*colorBD: white
1120 URxvt*colorIT: green
1121
1122=item Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?
1123
1124For some unexplainable reason, some programs (i.e. irssi) assume a very
1125weird colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the
1126standard 8 colours (rxvt-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of
1127course, to fix these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very
1128good reasons.
1129
1130In the meantime, you can either edit your C<urxvt> terminfo definition to
1131only claim 8 colour support or use C<TERM=rxvt>, which will fix colours
1132but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
1133
1134=item How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
1135
1136=item Is there an option to switch encodings?
1137
1138Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
1139specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
1140UTF-8 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
1141
1142The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
1143the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
1144applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width and
1145code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>.
1146
1147Rxvt-unicode uses the C<LC_CTYPE> locale category to select encoding. All
1148programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
1149interpretation of characters.
1150
1151Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
1152is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
1153
1154On most systems, the content of the C<LC_CTYPE> environment variable
1155contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
1156locale. Common names for locales are C<en_US.UTF-8>, C<de_DE.ISO-8859-15>,
1157C<ja_JP.EUC-JP>, i.e. C<language_country.encoding>, but other forms
1158(i.e. C<de> or C<german>) are also common.
1159
1160Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
1161the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
1162i.e. C<de_DE.UTF-8> and C<ja_JP.UTF-8> are the same for rxvt-unicode.
1163
1164If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
1165rxvt-unicode with the correct C<LC_CTYPE> category.
1166
1167=item Can I switch locales at runtime?
1168
1169Yes, using an escape sequence. Try sth. like this, which sets
1170rxvt-unicode's idea of C<LC_CTYPE>.
1171
1172 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1173
1174See also the previous question.
1175
1176Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in one
1177locale (e.g. C<de_DE.UTF-8>) but some programs don't support UTF-8. For
1178example, I use this script to start C<xjdic>, which first switches to a
1179locale supported by xjdic and back later:
1180
1181 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1182 xjdic -js
1183 printf '\e]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
1184
1185=item Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
1186
1187Yes, using an escape sequence. Try sth. like this, which has the same
1188effect as using the C<-fn> switch, and takes effect immediately:
1189
1190 printf '\e]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
1191
1192This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
1193japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
1194japanese fonts would only be in your way.
1195
1196You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
1197
1198=item Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
1199
1200Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
1201example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font C<xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
1202Mono> completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround is to enable
1203freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
1204
1205 URxvt*italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
1206 URxvt*boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
1207
1208=item My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
1209
1210You cna specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
1211terminal, using the resource C<imlocale>:
1212
1213 URxvt*imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
1214
1215Now you can start your terminal with C<LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8> and still
1216use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able to
1217input characters outside C<EUC-JP> in a normal way then, as your input
1218method limits you.
1219
1220=item Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?
1221
1222Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for sth. you
1223don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
1224you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
1225when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
1226accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
1227
1228Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
1229scrollback buffers: Without C<--enable-unicode3>, rxvt-unicode will use
12306 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
1231kilobyte per line. A scorllback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
1232use 10 Megabytes of memory. With C<--enable-unicode3> it gets worse, as
1233rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
1234
1235=item Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
1236
1237Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
1238it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
1239antialiasing (by appending C<:antialiasing=false>), which saves lots of
1240memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
1241
1242=item Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
1243
1244Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
1245fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
1246fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
1247antialiaisng disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
1248look best that way.
1249
1250If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
867 1251
868=item Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works. 1252=item Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
869 1253
870Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing 1254Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
871some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've 1255some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
1074one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to 1458one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to
1075the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>. 1459the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
1076 1460
1077=back 1461=back
1078 1462
1463=head1 ENVIRONMENT
1464
1465B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> sets the environment variables B<TERM>, B<COLORTERM>
1466and B<COLORFGBG>. The environment variable B<WINDOWID> is set to the X
1467window id number of the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> window and it also uses and
1468sets the environment variable B<DISPLAY> to specify which display
1469terminal to use. B<@@RXVT_NAME@@> uses the environment variables
1470B<RXVTPATH> and B<PATH> to find XPM files.
1471
1472=head1 FILES
1473
1474=over 4
1475
1476=item B</etc/utmp>
1477
1478System file for login records.
1479
1480=item B</usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt>
1481
1482Color names.
1483
1484=back
1485
1079=head1 SEE ALSO 1486=head1 SEE ALSO
1080 1487
1081@@RXVT_NAME@@(7), xterm(1), sh(1), resize(1), X(1), pty(4), tty(4), utmp(5) 1488@@RXVT_NAME@@(7), xterm(1), sh(1), resize(1), X(1), pty(4), tty(4), utmp(5)
1082 1489
1083=head1 BUGS 1490=head1 BUGS
1092 1499
1093=over 4 1500=over 4
1094 1501
1095=item Project Coordinator 1502=item Project Coordinator
1096 1503
1097@@RXVTMAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_MAINTEMAIL@@> 1504@@RXVT_MAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_MAINTEMAIL@@>
1098 1505
1099=item Web page maintainter 1506=item Web page maintainter
1100 1507
1101@@RXVTWEBMAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_WEBMAINTEMAIL@@> 1508@@RXVT_WEBMAINT@@ L<@@RXVT_WEBMAINTEMAIL@@>
1102 1509
1103L<@@RXVT_WEBPAGE@@> 1510L<@@RXVT_WEBPAGE@@>
1104 1511
1105=back 1512=back
1106 1513

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