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153This document contains the \s-1FAQ\s0, the \s-1RXVT\s0 \s-1TECHNICAL\s0 \s-1REFERENCE\s0 documenting 153This document contains the \s-1FAQ\s0, the \s-1RXVT\s0 \s-1TECHNICAL\s0 \s-1REFERENCE\s0 documenting
154all escape sequences, and other background information. 154all escape sequences, and other background information.
155.PP 155.PP
156The newest version of this document is also available on the World Wide Web at 156The newest version of this document is also available on the World Wide Web at
157<http://cvs.schmorp.de/browse/*checkout*/rxvt\-unicode/doc/rxvt.7.html>. 157<http://cvs.schmorp.de/browse/*checkout*/rxvt\-unicode/doc/rxvt.7.html>.
158.SH "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS" 158.SH "RXVT\-UNICODE/URXVT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
159.IX Header "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS" 159.IX Header "RXVT-UNICODE/URXVT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
160.Sh "The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?" 160.Sh "Meta, Features & Commandline Issues"
161.IX Subsection "The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?" 161.IX Subsection "Meta, Features & Commandline Issues"
162Yes. For example, if you want to select alphanumeric words, you can use 162\fIMy question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?\fR
163the following resource: 163.IX Subsection "My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?"
164.PP
165Before sending me mail, you could go to \s-1IRC:\s0 \f(CW\*(C`irc.freenode.net\*(C'\fR,
166channel \f(CW\*(C`#rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
167interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
168.PP
169\fIDoes it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt\-unicode?\fR
170.IX Subsection "Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?"
171.PP
172Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a
173simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these should
174give you tabs:
164.PP 175.PP
165.Vb 1 176.Vb 1
166\& URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([[:word:]]+) 177\& @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pe tabbed
167.Ve 178.Ve
168.PP
169If you click more than twice, the selection will be extended
170more and more.
171.PP
172To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this pattern:
173.PP 179.PP
174.Vb 1 180.Vb 1
175\& URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\e\e\e\e]^`{|})]+) 181\& URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed
176.Ve 182.Ve
177.PP 183.PP
178Please also note that the \fILeftClick Shift-LeftClik\fR combination also 184It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window managers
179selects words like the old code. 185or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be
180.IP "I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?" 4 186embedded into other programs, as witnessed by \fIdoc/rxvt\-tabbed\fR or
181.IX Item "I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?" 187the upcoming \f(CW\*(C`Gtk2::URxvt\*(C'\fR perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt
182You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the 188(murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application.
183\&\fBperl-ext-common\fR resource to the empty string, which also keeps 189.PP
184rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory. 190\fIHow do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?\fR
185.Sp 191.IX Subsection "How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?"
186If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to 192.PP
187identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section 193The version number is displayed with the usage (\-h). Also the escape
188\&\fB\s-1PREPACKAGED\s0 \s-1EXTENSIONS\s0\fR in the @@RXVT_NAME@@\fIperl\fR\|(3) manpage. For 194sequence \f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 8 n\*(C'\fR sets the window title to the version number. When
189example, to disable the \fBselection-popup\fR and \fBoption-popup\fR, specify 195using the @@URXVT_NAME@@c client, the version displayed is that of the
190this \fBperl-ext-common\fR resource: 196daemon.
191.Sp 197.PP
198\fIRxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?\fR
199.IX Subsection "Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?"
200.PP
201Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something you
202don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
203you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
204when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
205accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
206.PP
207Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
208scrollback buffers: Without \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-unicode3\*(C'\fR, rxvt-unicode will use
2096 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
210kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
211use 10 Megabytes of memory. With \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-unicode3\*(C'\fR it gets worse, as
212rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
213.PP
214\fIHow can I start @@URXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?\fR
215.IX Subsection "How can I start @@URXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?"
216.PP
217Try \f(CW\*(C`@@URXVT_NAME@@d \-f \-o\*(C'\fR, which tells @@URXVT_NAME@@d to open the
218display, create the listening socket and then fork.
219.PP
220\fIHow do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc.\fR
221.IX Subsection "How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc."
222.PP
223The original rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable \*(L"\s-1COLORTERM\s0\*(R",
224so you can check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, \s-1JED\s0,
225slrn, Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide
226whether or not to use color.
227.PP
228\fIHow do I set the correct, full \s-1IP\s0 address for the \s-1DISPLAY\s0 variable?\fR
229.IX Subsection "How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?"
230.PP
231If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with \s-1DISPLAY_IS_IP\s0 and have enabled
232insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
233snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
234wasn't also compiled with \s-1ESCZ_ANSWER\s0 (as assumed in these snippets) then
235the \s-1COLORTERM\s0 variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
236regular xterm.
237.PP
238Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
239snippets:
240.PP
192.Vb 1 241.Vb 12
193\& URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup 242\& # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
243\& [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
244\& if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
245\& stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
246\& echo -n '^[Z'
247\& read term_id
248\& stty icanon echo
249\& if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
250\& echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
251\& read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
252\& fi
253\& fi
194.Ve 254.Ve
195.Sp 255.PP
196This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup 256\fIHow do I compile the manual pages on my own?\fR
197extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example, 257.IX Subsection "How do I compile the manual pages on my own?"
198scrollback search mode is triggered by \fBM\-s\fR. You can move it to any 258.PP
199other combination either by setting the \fBsearchable-scrollback\fR resource: 259You need to have a recent version of perl installed as \fI/usr/bin/perl\fR,
200.Sp 260one that comes with \fIpod2man\fR, \fIpod2text\fR and \fIpod2html\fR. Then go to
201.Vb 1 261the doc subdirectory and enter \f(CW\*(C`make alldoc\*(C'\fR.
202\& URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s 262.PP
203.Ve
204.IP "The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?" 4
205.IX Item "The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?"
206.PD 0
207.IP "During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?" 4
208.IX Item "During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?"
209.PD
210These are caused by the \f(CW\*(C`readline\*(C'\fR perl extension. Under normal
211circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the
212line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,
213but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in some
214cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.
215.Sp
216You can permamently switch this feature off by disabling the \f(CW\*(C`readline\*(C'\fR
217extension:
218.Sp
219.Vb 1
220\& URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
221.Ve
222.IP "Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?" 4
223.IX Item "Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?"
224Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X
225applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your \s-1OS\s0 loads
226resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will
227ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read
228\&\fI$HOME/.Xdefaults\fR when no resources are attached to the display.
229.Sp
230If you have or use an \fI$HOME/.Xresources\fR file, chances are that
231resources are loaded into your X\-server. In this case, you have to
232re-login after every change (or run \fIxrdb \-merge \f(CI$HOME\fI/.Xresources\fR).
233.Sp
234Also consider the form resources have to use:
235.Sp
236.Vb 1
237\& URxvt.resource: value
238.Ve
239.Sp
240If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of
241specifying resources), make sure you understand wether and why it
242works. If unsure, use the form above.
243.IP "I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?" 4
244.IX Item "I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?"
245First of all, transparency isn't officially supported in rxvt\-unicode, so
246you are mostly on your own. Do not bug the author about it (but you may
247bug everybody else). Also, if you can't get it working consider it a rite
248of passage: ... and you failed.
249.Sp
250Here are four ways to get transparency. \fBDo\fR read the manpage and option
251descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt\-unicode. Really, do it!
252.Sp
2531. Use inheritPixmap:
254.Sp
255.Vb 2
256\& Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
257\& @@RXVT_NAME@@ -ip -tint red -sh 40
258.Ve
259.Sp
260That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
261support, or you are unable to read.
262.Sp
2632. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo\-transparency. This enables you
264to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
265your picture with gimp:
266.Sp
267.Vb 2
268\& convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm
269\& @@RXVT_NAME@@ -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background
270.Ve
271.Sp
272That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack \s-1XPM\s0 and Perl support, or you
273are unable to read.
274.Sp
2753. Use an \s-1ARGB\s0 visual:
276.Sp
277.Vb 1
278\& @@RXVT_NAME@@ -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
279.Ve
280.Sp
281This requires \s-1XFT\s0 support, and the support of your X\-server. If that
282doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. \s-1ARGB\s0 visuals aren't
283there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the neccessary
284bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work, but that
285doesn't mean that your \s-1WM\s0 has the required kludges in place.
286.Sp
2874. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
288.Sp
289.Vb 2
290\& xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \e
291\& -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000
292.Ve
293.Sp
294Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace \f(CW0xc0000000\fR
295by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and
296your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.
297.IP "Isn't rxvt supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?" 4 263\fIIsn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?\fR
298.IX Item "Isn't rxvt supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?" 264.IX Subsection "Isn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?"
265.PP
299I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra 266I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra
300bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see 267bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see
301that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always being 268that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always being
302compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (\s-1RSS\s0) after startup. Even 269compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (\s-1RSS\s0) after startup. Even
303with \f(CW\*(C`\-\-disable\-everything\*(C'\fR, this comparison is a bit unfair, as many 270with \f(CW\*(C`\-\-disable\-everything\*(C'\fR, this comparison is a bit unfair, as many
304features unique to urxvt (locale, encoding conversion, iso14755 etc.) are 271features unique to urxvt (locale, encoding conversion, iso14755 etc.) are
305already in use in this mode. 272already in use in this mode.
306.Sp 273.PP
307.Vb 3 274.Vb 3
308\& text data bss drs rss filename 275\& text data bss drs rss filename
309\& 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything 276\& 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything
310\& 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything 277\& 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything
311.Ve 278.Ve
312.Sp 279.PP
313When you \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-everything\*(C'\fR (which _is_ unfair, as this involves xft 280When you \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-everything\*(C'\fR (which \fIis\fR unfair, as this involves xft
314and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my 281and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my
315libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so. 282libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so.
316.Sp 283.PP
317.Vb 3 284.Vb 3
318\& text data bss drs rss filename 285\& text data bss drs rss filename
319\& 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything 286\& 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything
320\& 1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything 287\& 1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything
321.Ve 288.Ve
322.Sp 289.PP
323The very large size of the text section is explained by the east-asian 290The very large size of the text section is explained by the east-asian
324encoding tables, which, if unused, take up disk space but nothing else 291encoding tables, which, if unused, take up disk space but nothing else
325and can be compiled out unless you rely on X11 core fonts that use those 292and can be compiled out unless you rely on X11 core fonts that use those
326encodings. The \s-1BSS\s0 size comes from the 64k emergency buffer that my c++ 293encodings. The \s-1BSS\s0 size comes from the 64k emergency buffer that my c++
327compiler allocates (but of course doesn't use unless you are out of 294compiler allocates (but of course doesn't use unless you are out of
328memory). Also, using an xft font instead of a core font immediately adds a 295memory). Also, using an xft font instead of a core font immediately adds a
329few megabytes of \s-1RSS\s0. Xft indeed is responsible for a lot of \s-1RSS\s0 even when 296few megabytes of \s-1RSS\s0. Xft indeed is responsible for a lot of \s-1RSS\s0 even when
330not used. 297not used.
331.Sp 298.PP
332Of course, due to every character using two or four bytes instead of one, 299Of course, due to every character using two or four bytes instead of one,
333a large scrollback buffer will ultimately make rxvt-unicode use more 300a large scrollback buffer will ultimately make rxvt-unicode use more
334memory. 301memory.
335.Sp 302.PP
336Compared to e.g. Eterm (5112k), aterm (3132k) and xterm (4680k), this 303Compared to e.g. Eterm (5112k), aterm (3132k) and xterm (4680k), this
337still fares rather well. And compared to some monsters like gnome-terminal 304still fares rather well. And compared to some monsters like gnome-terminal
338(21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra 305(21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra
33943180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of 30643180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of
340startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares 307startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares
341extremely well *g*. 308extremely well *g*.
309.PP
342.IP "Why \*(C+, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?" 4 310\fIWhy \*(C+, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?\fR
343.IX Item "Why , isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?" 311.IX Subsection "Why , isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?"
312.PP
344Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: I had 313Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: I had
345to write it, and \*(C+ allowed me to write and maintain it in a fraction 314to write it, and \*(C+ allowed me to write and maintain it in a fraction
346of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). Put even 315of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). Put even
347shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without \*(C+. 316shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without \*(C+.
348.Sp 317.PP
349My personal stance on this is that \*(C+ is less portable than C, but in 318My personal stance on this is that \*(C+ is less portable than C, but in
350the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability limits 319the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability limits
351are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale support and unix 320are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale support and unix
352domain sockets, which are all less portable than \*(C+ itself. 321domain sockets, which are all less portable than \*(C+ itself.
353.Sp 322.PP
354Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write programs 323Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write programs
355in C that use gobs of memory, an certainly possible to write programs in 324in C that use gobs of memory, an certainly possible to write programs in
356\&\*(C+ that don't. \*(C+ also often comes with large libraries, but this is 325\&\*(C+ that don't. \*(C+ also often comes with large libraries, but this is
357not necessarily the case with \s-1GCC\s0. Here is what rxvt links against on my 326not necessarily the case with \s-1GCC\s0. Here is what rxvt links against on my
358system with a minimal config: 327system with a minimal config:
359.Sp 328.PP
360.Vb 4 329.Vb 4
361\& libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000) 330\& libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
362\& libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000) 331\& libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000)
363\& libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000) 332\& libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000)
364\& /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000) 333\& /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
365.Ve 334.Ve
366.Sp 335.PP
367And here is rxvt\-unicode: 336And here is rxvt\-unicode:
368.Sp 337.PP
369.Vb 5 338.Vb 5
370\& libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000) 339\& libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
371\& libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000) 340\& libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000)
372\& libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000) 341\& libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000)
373\& libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000) 342\& libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000)
374\& /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000) 343\& /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
375.Ve 344.Ve
376.Sp 345.PP
377No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically), 346No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically),
378except maybe libX11 :) 347except maybe libX11 :)
379.IP "Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt\-unicode?" 4 348.Sh "Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues"
380.IX Item "Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?" 349.IX Subsection "Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues"
381Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a 350\fII can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?\fR
382simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these should 351.IX Subsection "I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?"
383give you tabs: 352.PP
384.Sp 353First of all, transparency isn't officially supported in rxvt\-unicode, so
354you are mostly on your own. Do not bug the author about it (but you may
355bug everybody else). Also, if you can't get it working consider it a rite
356of passage: ... and you failed.
357.PP
358Here are four ways to get transparency. \fBDo\fR read the manpage and option
359descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt\-unicode. Really, do it!
360.PP
3611. Use inheritPixmap:
362.PP
363.Vb 2
364\& Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
365\& @@URXVT_NAME@@ -ip -tint red -sh 40
366.Ve
367.PP
368That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
369support, or you are unable to read.
370.PP
3712. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo\-transparency. This enables you
372to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
373your picture with gimp or any other tool:
374.PP
375.Vb 2
376\& convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm
377\& @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background
378.Ve
379.PP
380That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack \s-1XPM\s0 and Perl support, or you
381are unable to read.
382.PP
3833. Use an \s-1ARGB\s0 visual:
384.PP
385.Vb 1 385.Vb 1
386\& @@RXVT_NAME@@ -pe tabbed 386\& @@URXVT_NAME@@ -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
387.Ve 387.Ve
388.Sp 388.PP
389This requires \s-1XFT\s0 support, and the support of your X\-server. If that
390doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. \s-1ARGB\s0 visuals aren't
391there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the neccessary
392bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work, but that
393doesn't mean that your \s-1WM\s0 has the required kludges in place.
394.PP
3954. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
396.PP
397.Vb 2
398\& xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \e
399\& -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000
400.Ve
401.PP
402Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace \f(CW0xc0000000\fR
403by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and
404your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.
405.PP
406\fIWhy do some chinese characters look so different than others?\fR
407.IX Subsection "Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?"
408.PP
409This is because there is a difference between script and language \*(--
410rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is,
411as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first
412sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for
413display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many
414chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
415non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
416\&\*(-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
417chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
418.PP
419The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
420list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
421a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
422first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
423.PP
424In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
425runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
426fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
427has been designed yet).
428.PP
429Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see \*(L"Can I switch the fonts at runtime?\*(R" later in this document).
430.PP
431\fIWhy does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?\fR
432.IX Subsection "Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?"
433.PP
434Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character
435size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might
436contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid
437these characters. For characters that are just \*(L"a bit\*(R" too wide a special
438\&\*(L"careful\*(R" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters.
439.PP
440All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes,
441however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding
442box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to
443ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these
444cases).
445.PP
446It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype,
447or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using
448the \f(CW\*(C`\-lsp\*(C'\fR option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you
449might be forced to use a different font.
450.PP
451All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding
452box data is correct.
453.PP
454\fIHow can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?\fR
455.IX Subsection "How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?"
456.PP
457First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
458(\f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
459make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
460rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
461.PP
462.Vb 2
463\& URxvt.colorBD: white
464\& URxvt.colorIT: green
465.Ve
466.PP
467\fISome programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?\fR
468.IX Subsection "Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?"
469.PP
470For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
471colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
4728 colours (rxvt\-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
473these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
474.PP
475In the meantime, you can either edit your \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR terminfo
476definition to only claim 8 colour support or use \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR, which will
477fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
478.PP
479\fICan I switch the fonts at runtime?\fR
480.IX Subsection "Can I switch the fonts at runtime?"
481.PP
482Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
483effect as using the \f(CW\*(C`\-fn\*(C'\fR switch, and takes effect immediately:
484.PP
389.Vb 1 485.Vb 1
486\& printf '\ee]50;%s\e007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
487.Ve
488.PP
489This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
490japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
491japanese fonts would only be in your way.
492.PP
493You can think of this as a kind of manual \s-1ISO\-2022\s0 switching.
494.PP
495\fIWhy do italic characters look as if clipped?\fR
496.IX Subsection "Why do italic characters look as if clipped?"
497.PP
498Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
499example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font \f(CW\*(C`xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
500Mono\*(C'\fR completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to
501enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
502.PP
503.Vb 2
504\& URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
505\& URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
506.Ve
507.PP
508\fICan I speed up Xft rendering somehow?\fR
509.IX Subsection "Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?"
510.PP
511Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
512it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
513antialiasing (by appending \f(CW\*(C`:antialias=false\*(C'\fR), which saves lots of
514memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
515.PP
516\fIRxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?\fR
517.IX Subsection "Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?"
518.PP
519Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
520fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
521fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
522antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
523look best that way.
524.PP
525If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
526.PP
527\fIWhat's with this bold/blink stuff?\fR
528.IX Subsection "What's with this bold/blink stuff?"
529.PP
530If no bold colour is set via \f(CW\*(C`colorBD:\*(C'\fR, bold will invert text using the
531standard foreground colour.
532.PP
533For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
534text blink when compiled with \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-blinking\*(C'\fR. with standard
535colours. Without \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-blinking\*(C'\fR, the blink attribute will be
536ignored.
537.PP
538On \s-1ANSI\s0 colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
539foreground/background colors.
540.PP
541color0\-7 are the low-intensity colors.
542.PP
543color8\-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
544.PP
545\fII don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?\fR
546.IX Subsection "I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?"
547.PP
548You can change the screen colors at run-time using \fI~/.Xdefaults\fR
549resources (or as long\-options).
550.PP
551Here are values that are supposed to resemble a \s-1VGA\s0 screen,
552including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
553.PP
554.Vb 8
555\& URxvt.color0: #000000
556\& URxvt.color1: #A80000
557\& URxvt.color2: #00A800
558\& URxvt.color3: #A8A800
559\& URxvt.color4: #0000A8
560\& URxvt.color5: #A800A8
561\& URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
562\& URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
563.Ve
564.PP
565.Vb 8
566\& URxvt.color8: #000054
567\& URxvt.color9: #FF0054
568\& URxvt.color10: #00FF54
569\& URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
570\& URxvt.color12: #0000FF
571\& URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
572\& URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
573\& URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
574.Ve
575.PP
576And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors.
577.PP
578.Vb 18
579\& URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
580\& URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
581\& URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
582\& URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
583\& URxvt.color0: #000000
584\& URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
585\& URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
586\& URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
587\& URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
588\& URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
589\& URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
590\& URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
591\& URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
592\& URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
593\& URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
594\& URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
595\& URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
596\& URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
597.Ve
598.PP
599(They were described (not by me) as \*(L"pretty girly\*(R").
600.PP
601\fIHow does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?\fR
602.IX Subsection "How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?"
603.PP
604Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is
605fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
606your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
607to display.
608.PP
609\&\fBrxvt-unicode\fR makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement
610font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks
611bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't
612resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial
613intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe
614the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
615.PP
616In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,
617e.g.:
618.PP
619.Vb 1
620\& @@URXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3...
621.Ve
622.PP
623When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
624font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
625next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
626search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X\-server.
627.PP
628The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base
629font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which
630must be the same due to the way terminals work.
631.Sh "Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction"
632.IX Subsection "Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction"
633\fIThe new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?\fR
634.IX Subsection "The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?"
635.PP
636If you want to select e.g. alphanumeric words, you can use the following
637setting:
638.PP
639.Vb 1
640\& URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([[:word:]]+)
641.Ve
642.PP
643If you click more than twice, the selection will be extended
644more and more.
645.PP
646To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this pattern:
647.PP
648.Vb 1
649\& URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\e\e\e\e]^`{|})]+)
650.Ve
651.PP
652Please also note that the \fILeftClick Shift-LeftClik\fR combination also
653selects words like the old code.
654.PP
655\fII don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?\fR
656.IX Subsection "I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?"
657.PP
658You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the
659\&\fBperl-ext-common\fR resource to the empty string, which also keeps
660rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.
661.PP
662If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to
663identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section
664\&\fB\s-1PREPACKAGED\s0 \s-1EXTENSIONS\s0\fR in the @@URXVT_NAME@@\fIperl\fR\|(3) manpage. For
665example, to disable the \fBselection-popup\fR and \fBoption-popup\fR, specify
666this \fBperl-ext-common\fR resource:
667.PP
668.Vb 1
669\& URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup
670.Ve
671.PP
672This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup
673extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example,
674scrollback search mode is triggered by \fBM\-s\fR. You can move it to any
675other combination either by setting the \fBsearchable-scrollback\fR resource:
676.PP
677.Vb 1
678\& URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s
679.Ve
680.PP
681\fIThe cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?\fR
682.IX Subsection "The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?"
683.PP
684See next entry.
685.PP
686\fIDuring rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?\fR
687.IX Subsection "During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?"
688.PP
689These are caused by the \f(CW\*(C`readline\*(C'\fR perl extension. Under normal
690circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the
691line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,
692but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in some
693cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.
694.PP
695You can permamently switch this feature off by disabling the \f(CW\*(C`readline\*(C'\fR
696extension:
697.PP
698.Vb 1
390\& URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed 699\& URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
391.Ve 700.Ve
392.Sp 701.PP
393It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window managers 702\fIMy numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?\fR
394or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be 703.IX Subsection "My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?"
395embedded into other programs, as witnessed by \fIdoc/rxvt\-tabbed\fR or 704.PP
396the upcoming \f(CW\*(C`Gtk2::URxvt\*(C'\fR perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt 705Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no
397(murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application. 706specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
398.IP "How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?" 4 707by the wrong \f(CW\*(C`TERM\*(C'\fR setting, although the details of wether and how
399.IX Item "How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?" 708this can happen are unknown, as \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR should offer a compatible
400The version number is displayed with the usage (\-h). Also the escape 709keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
401sequence \f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 8 n\*(C'\fR sets the window title to the version number. When 710helped.
402using the @@RXVT_NAME@@c client, the version displayed is that of the 711.PP
403daemon. 712\fIMy Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.\fR
404.IP "I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem..." 4 713.IX Subsection "My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working."
405.IX Item "I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem..." 714.PP
406The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large 715The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
407patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but 716correctly, or you specified a \fBpreeditStyle\fR that is not supported by
408unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to 717your input method. For example, if you specified \fBOverTheSpot\fR and
409the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine 718your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
410version (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt\-unicode>) and try to reproduce 719does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
411the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific to 720rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
412Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian Bug 721.PP
413Tracking System (use \f(CW\*(C`reportbug\*(C'\fR to report the bug). 722In this case either do not specify a \fBpreeditStyle\fR or specify more than
414.Sp 723one pre-edit style, such as \fBOverTheSpot,Root,None\fR.
415For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and 724.PP
416probably should use the Debian \s-1BTS\s0, too, because, after all, it's also a 725\fII cannot type \f(CI\*(C`Ctrl\-Shift\-2\*(C'\fI to get an \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0 character due to \s-1ISO\s0 14755\fR
417bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that 726.IX Subsection "I cannot type Ctrl-Shift-2 to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755"
418might encounter the same issue. 727.PP
419.IP "I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS \s-1XXX\s0, any recommendation?" 4 728Either try \f(CW\*(C`Ctrl\-2\*(C'\fR alone (it often is mapped to \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0 even on
420.IX Item "I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?" 729international keyboards) or simply use \s-1ISO\s0 14755 support to your
421You should build one binary with the default options. \fIconfigure\fR 730advantage, typing <Ctrl\-Shift\-0> to get a \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0. This works for other
422now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them 731codes, too, such as \f(CW\*(C`Ctrl\-Shift\-1\-d\*(C'\fR to type the default telnet escape
423runtime\-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling them, 732character and so on.
424except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should 733.PP
425be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in 734\fIMouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.\fR
426the future) depends on it. 735.IX Subsection "Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works."
427.Sp 736.PP
428You should not overwrite the \f(CW\*(C`perl\-ext\-common\*(C'\fR snd \f(CW\*(C`perl\-ext\*(C'\fR resources 737Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
429system-wide (except maybe with \f(CW\*(C`defaults\*(C'\fR). This will result in useful 738some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
430behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty 739heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
431\&\f(CW\*(C`perl\-ext\-common\*(C'\fR resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the 740quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
432perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it. 741depressed.
433.Sp 742.PP
434If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal 743\fIWhat's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?\fR
435one with \f(CW\*(C`\-\-disable\-everything\*(C'\fR (very useful) and a maximal one with 744.IX Subsection "What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?"
436\&\f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-everything\*(C'\fR (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of 745.PP
437encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used). 746Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
438.IP "I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my \s-1OS\s0, is this safe?" 4 747BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
439.IX Item "I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe?" 748question) there are two standard values that can be used for
440It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly 749Backspace: \f(CW\*(C`^H\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`^?\*(C'\fR.
441install urxvt with privileges necessary for your \s-1OS\s0 now. 750.PP
442.Sp 751Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
443When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork 752policy of using \f(CW\*(C`^?\*(C'\fR when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
444into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some 753choice :).
445systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges 754.PP
446immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep 755Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
447privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains 756of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
448things as perl interpreters, which might be \*(L"helpful\*(R" to attackers). 757started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
449.Sp 758system value of `erase', which corresponds to \s-1CERASE\s0 in <termios.h>, will
450This forking is done as the very first within \fImain()\fR, which is very early 759be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
451and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before \fImain()\fR, or 760.PP
452things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should result in very 761For starting a new rxvt\-unicode:
453little risk. 762.PP
763.Vb 3
764\& # use Backspace = ^H
765\& $ stty erase ^H
766\& $ @@URXVT_NAME@@
767.Ve
768.PP
769.Vb 3
770\& # use Backspace = ^?
771\& $ stty erase ^?
772\& $ @@URXVT_NAME@@
773.Ve
774.PP
775Toggle with \f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 36 h\*(C'\fR / \f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 36 l\*(C'\fR.
776.PP
777For an existing rxvt\-unicode:
778.PP
779.Vb 3
780\& # use Backspace = ^H
781\& $ stty erase ^H
782\& $ echo -n "^[[36h"
783.Ve
784.PP
785.Vb 3
786\& # use Backspace = ^?
787\& $ stty erase ^?
788\& $ echo -n "^[[36l"
789.Ve
790.PP
791This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
792if you use Backspace = \f(CW\*(C`^H\*(C'\fR, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
793properly reflects that.
794.PP
795The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
796To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
797key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
798(\f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 3 ~\*(C'\fR) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
799.PP
800Some other Backspace problems:
801.PP
802some editors use termcap/terminfo,
803some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
804\&\s-1GNU\s0 Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
805.PP
806Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
807.PP
808\fII don't like the key\-bindings. How do I change them?\fR
809.IX Subsection "I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?"
810.PP
811There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
812you have run \*(L"configure\*(R" with the \f(CW\*(C`\-\-disable\-resources\*(C'\fR option you can
813use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
814.PP
815Here's an example for a URxvt session started using \f(CW\*(C`@@URXVT_NAME@@ \-name URxvt\*(C'\fR
816.PP
817.Vb 20
818\& URxvt.keysym.Home: \e033[1~
819\& URxvt.keysym.End: \e033[4~
820\& URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \e033<C-'>
821\& URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \e033<C-/>
822\& URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \e033<C-;>
823\& URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \e033<C-`>
824\& URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \e033<C-,>
825\& URxvt.keysym.C-period: \e033<C-.>
826\& URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \e033<C-`>
827\& URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \e033<C-Tab>
828\& URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \e033<C-Return>
829\& URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \e033<S-Return>
830\& URxvt.keysym.S-space: \e033<S-Space>
831\& URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \e033<M-Up>
832\& URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \e033<M-Down>
833\& URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \e033<M-Left>
834\& URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \e033<M-Right>
835\& URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \e033<M-C- 0123456789 >
836\& URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \e033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
837\& URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\e033]701;zh_CN.GBK\e007
838.Ve
839.PP
840See some more examples in the documentation for the \fBkeysym\fR resource.
841.PP
842\fII'm using keyboard model \s-1XXX\s0 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\fR
843.IX Subsection "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"
844.PP
845.Vb 6
846\& KP_Insert == Insert
847\& F22 == Print
848\& F27 == Home
849\& F29 == Prior
850\& F33 == End
851\& F35 == Next
852.Ve
853.PP
854Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
855keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
856required for your particular machine.
857.Sh "Terminal Configuration"
858.IX Subsection "Terminal Configuration"
859\fIWhy doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?\fR
860.IX Subsection "Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?"
861.PP
862Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X
863applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your \s-1OS\s0 loads
864resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will
865ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read
866\&\fI$HOME/.Xdefaults\fR when no resources are attached to the display.
867.PP
868If you have or use an \fI$HOME/.Xresources\fR file, chances are that
869resources are loaded into your X\-server. In this case, you have to
870re-login after every change (or run \fIxrdb \-merge \f(CI$HOME\fI/.Xresources\fR).
871.PP
872Also consider the form resources have to use:
873.PP
874.Vb 1
875\& URxvt.resource: value
876.Ve
877.PP
878If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of
879specifying resources), make sure you understand wether and why it
880works. If unsure, use the form above.
881.PP
454.IP "When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?" 4 882\fIWhen I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?\fR
455.IX Item "When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?" 883.IX Subsection "When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?"
884.PP
456The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available 885The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available
457as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises). 886as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises).
458.Sp 887.PP
459The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can 888The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can
460be done like this (with ncurses' infocmp): 889be done like this (with ncurses' infocmp):
461.Sp 890.PP
462.Vb 2 891.Vb 2
463\& REMOTE=remotesystem.domain 892\& REMOTE=remotesystem.domain
464\& infocmp rxvt-unicode | ssh $REMOTE "cat >/tmp/ti && tic /tmp/ti" 893\& infocmp rxvt-unicode | ssh $REMOTE "cat >/tmp/ti && tic /tmp/ti"
465.Ve 894.Ve
466.Sp 895.PP
467\&... or by installing rxvt-unicode normally on the remote system, 896\&... or by installing rxvt-unicode normally on the remote system,
468.Sp 897.PP
469If you cannot or do not want to do this, then you can simply set 898If you cannot or do not want to do this, then you can simply set
470\&\f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR or even \f(CW\*(C`TERM=xterm\*(C'\fR, and live with the small number of 899\&\f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR or even \f(CW\*(C`TERM=xterm\*(C'\fR, and live with the small number of
471problems arising, which includes wrong keymapping, less and different 900problems arising, which includes wrong keymapping, less and different
472colours and some refresh errors in fullscreen applications. It's a nice 901colours and some refresh errors in fullscreen applications. It's a nice
473quick-and-dirty workaround for rare cases, though. 902quick-and-dirty workaround for rare cases, though.
474.Sp 903.PP
475If you always want to do this (and are fine with the consequences) you 904If you always want to do this (and are fine with the consequences) you
476can either recompile rxvt-unicode with the desired \s-1TERM\s0 value or use a 905can either recompile rxvt-unicode with the desired \s-1TERM\s0 value or use a
477resource to set it: 906resource to set it:
478.Sp 907.PP
479.Vb 1 908.Vb 1
480\& URxvt.termName: rxvt 909\& URxvt.termName: rxvt
481.Ve 910.Ve
482.Sp 911.PP
483If you don't plan to use \fBrxvt\fR (quite common...) you could also replace 912If you don't plan to use \fBrxvt\fR (quite common...) you could also replace
484the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. 913the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one and use \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR.
485.ie n .IP """tic"" outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry." 4 914.PP
486.el .IP "\f(CWtic\fR outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry." 4 915\fI\f(CI\*(C`tic\*(C'\fI outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.\fR
487.IX Item "tic outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry." 916.IX Subsection "tic outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry."
917.PP
488Most likely it's the empty definition for \f(CW\*(C`enacs=\*(C'\fR. Just replace it by 918Most likely it's the empty definition for \f(CW\*(C`enacs=\*(C'\fR. Just replace it by
489\&\f(CW\*(C`enacs=\eE[0@\*(C'\fR and try again. 919\&\f(CW\*(C`enacs=\eE[0@\*(C'\fR and try again.
490.ie n .IP """bash""'s readline does not work correctly under @@RXVT_NAME@@." 4 920.PP
491.el .IP "\f(CWbash\fR's readline does not work correctly under @@RXVT_NAME@@." 4 921\fI\f(CI\*(C`bash\*(C'\fI's readline does not work correctly under @@URXVT_NAME@@.\fR
492.IX Item "bash's readline does not work correctly under @@RXVT_NAME@@." 922.IX Subsection "bash's readline does not work correctly under @@URXVT_NAME@@."
493.PD 0 923.PP
924See next entry.
925.PP
494.IP "I need a termcap file entry." 4 926\fII need a termcap file entry.\fR
495.IX Item "I need a termcap file entry." 927.IX Subsection "I need a termcap file entry."
496.PD 928.PP
497One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating 929One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating
498systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap 930systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap
499library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry 931library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry
500for \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR. 932for \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR.
501.Sp 933.PP
502You could use rxvt's termcap entry with resonable results in many cases. 934You could use rxvt's termcap entry with resonable results in many cases.
503You can also create a termcap entry by using terminfo's infocmp program 935You can also create a termcap entry by using terminfo's infocmp program
504like this: 936like this:
505.Sp 937.PP
506.Vb 1 938.Vb 1
507\& infocmp -C rxvt-unicode 939\& infocmp -C rxvt-unicode
508.Ve 940.Ve
509.Sp 941.PP
510Or you could use this termcap entry, generated by the command above: 942Or you could use this termcap entry, generated by the command above:
511.Sp 943.PP
512.Vb 20 944.Vb 20
513\& rxvt-unicode|rxvt-unicode terminal (X Window System):\e 945\& rxvt-unicode|rxvt-unicode terminal (X Window System):\e
514\& :am:bw:eo:km:mi:ms:xn:xo:\e 946\& :am:bw:eo:km:mi:ms:xn:xo:\e
515\& :co#80:it#8:li#24:lm#0:\e 947\& :co#80:it#8:li#24:lm#0:\e
516\& :AL=\eE[%dL:DC=\eE[%dP:DL=\eE[%dM:DO=\eE[%dB:IC=\eE[%d@:\e 948\& :AL=\eE[%dL:DC=\eE[%dP:DL=\eE[%dM:DO=\eE[%dB:IC=\eE[%d@:\e
529\& :sc=\eE7:se=\eE[27m:sf=^J:so=\eE[7m:sr=\eEM:st=\eEH:ta=^I:\e 961\& :sc=\eE7:se=\eE[27m:sf=^J:so=\eE[7m:sr=\eEM:st=\eEH:ta=^I:\e
530\& :te=\eE[r\eE[?1049l:ti=\eE[?1049h:ue=\eE[24m:up=\eE[A:\e 962\& :te=\eE[r\eE[?1049l:ti=\eE[?1049h:ue=\eE[24m:up=\eE[A:\e
531\& :us=\eE[4m:vb=\eE[?5h\eE[?5l:ve=\eE[?25h:vi=\eE[?25l:\e 963\& :us=\eE[4m:vb=\eE[?5h\eE[?5l:ve=\eE[?25h:vi=\eE[?25l:\e
532\& :vs=\eE[?25h: 964\& :vs=\eE[?25h:
533.Ve 965.Ve
534.ie n .IP "Why does ""ls"" no longer have coloured output?" 4 966.PP
535.el .IP "Why does \f(CWls\fR no longer have coloured output?" 4 967\fIWhy does \f(CI\*(C`ls\*(C'\fI no longer have coloured output?\fR
536.IX Item "Why does ls no longer have coloured output?" 968.IX Subsection "Why does ls no longer have coloured output?"
969.PP
537The \f(CW\*(C`ls\*(C'\fR in the \s-1GNU\s0 coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to 970The \f(CW\*(C`ls\*(C'\fR in the \s-1GNU\s0 coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to
538decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration 971decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration
539file. Needless to say, \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR is not in it's default file (among 972file. Needless to say, \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR is not in it's default file (among
540with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add: 973with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:
541.Sp 974.PP
542.Vb 1 975.Vb 1
543\& TERM rxvt-unicode 976\& TERM rxvt-unicode
544.Ve 977.Ve
545.Sp 978.PP
546to \f(CW\*(C`/etc/DIR_COLORS\*(C'\fR or simply add: 979to \f(CW\*(C`/etc/DIR_COLORS\*(C'\fR or simply add:
547.Sp 980.PP
548.Vb 1 981.Vb 1
549\& alias ls='ls --color=auto' 982\& alias ls='ls --color=auto'
550.Ve 983.Ve
551.Sp 984.PP
552to your \f(CW\*(C`.profile\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`.bashrc\*(C'\fR. 985to your \f(CW\*(C`.profile\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`.bashrc\*(C'\fR.
986.PP
553.IP "Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?" 4 987\fIWhy doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?\fR
554.IX Item "Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?" 988.IX Subsection "Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?"
555.PD 0 989.PP
990See next entry.
991.PP
556.IP "Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?" 4 992\fIWhy doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?\fR
557.IX Item "Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?" 993.IX Subsection "Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?"
994.PP
995See next entry.
996.PP
558.IP "Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?" 4 997\fIWhy are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?\fR
559.IX Item "Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?" 998.IX Subsection "Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?"
560.PD 999.PP
561Make sure you are using \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR. Some pre-packaged 1000Make sure you are using \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR. Some pre-packaged
562distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode 1001distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode
563by setting \f(CW\*(C`TERM\*(C'\fR to \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\*(C'\fR, which doesn't have these extra 1002by setting \f(CW\*(C`TERM\*(C'\fR to \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\*(C'\fR, which doesn't have these extra
564features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian 1003features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian
565GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR terminfo 1004GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR terminfo
566file, so you will need to install it on your own (See the question \fBWhen 1005file, so you will need to install it on your own (See the question \fBWhen
567I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?\fR on 1006I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?\fR on
568how to do this). 1007how to do this).
569.IP "My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?" 4 1008.Sh "Encoding / Locale / Input Method Issues"
570.IX Item "My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?" 1009.IX Subsection "Encoding / Locale / Input Method Issues"
571Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no
572specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
573by the wrong \f(CW\*(C`TERM\*(C'\fR setting, although the details of wether and how
574this can happen are unknown, as \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR should offer a compatible
575keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
576helped.
577.IP "Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?" 4 1010\fIRxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?\fR
578.IX Item "Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?" 1011.IX Subsection "Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?"
579.PD 0 1012.PP
1013See next entry.
1014.PP
580.IP "Unicode does not seem to work?" 4 1015\fIUnicode does not seem to work?\fR
581.IX Item "Unicode does not seem to work?" 1016.IX Subsection "Unicode does not seem to work?"
582.PD 1017.PP
583If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but 1018If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
584getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is 1019getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is
585subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings. 1020subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
586.Sp 1021.PP
587Rxvt-unicode must be started with the same \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR setting as the 1022Rxvt-unicode must be started with the same \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR setting as the
588programs. Often rxvt-unicode is started in the \f(CW\*(C`C\*(C'\fR locale, while the 1023programs. Often rxvt-unicode is started in the \f(CW\*(C`C\*(C'\fR locale, while the
589login script running within the rxvt-unicode window changes the locale to 1024login script running within the rxvt-unicode window changes the locale to
590something else, e.g. \f(CW\*(C`en_GB.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR. Needless to say, this is not going to work. 1025something else, e.g. \f(CW\*(C`en_GB.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR. Needless to say, this is not going to work.
591.Sp 1026.PP
592The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely run 1027The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely run
593into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your .profile. 1028into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your .profile.
594.Sp 1029.PP
595.Vb 1 1030.Vb 1
596\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' "$LC_CTYPE" 1031\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' "$LC_CTYPE"
597.Ve 1032.Ve
598.Sp 1033.PP
599If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR specification not 1034If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR specification not
600supported on your systems. Some systems have a \f(CW\*(C`locale\*(C'\fR command which 1035supported on your systems. Some systems have a \f(CW\*(C`locale\*(C'\fR command which
601displays this (also, \f(CW\*(C`perl \-e0\*(C'\fR can be used to check locale settings, as 1036displays this (also, \f(CW\*(C`perl \-e0\*(C'\fR can be used to check locale settings, as
602it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays something 1037it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays something
603like: 1038like:
604.Sp 1039.PP
605.Vb 1 1040.Vb 1
606\& locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: ... 1041\& locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: ...
607.Ve 1042.Ve
608.Sp 1043.PP
609Then the locale you specified is not supported on your system. 1044Then the locale you specified is not supported on your system.
610.Sp 1045.PP
611If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then 1046If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then
612you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't 1047you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't
613support locales :( 1048support locales :(
614.IP "Why do some characters look so much different than others?" 4 1049.PP
615.IX Item "Why do some characters look so much different than others?" 1050\fIHow does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?\fR
616.PD 0 1051.IX Subsection "How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?"
617.IP "How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?" 4 1052.PP
618.IX Item "How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?" 1053See next entry.
619.PD 1054.PP
620Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is 1055\fIIs there an option to switch encodings?\fR
621fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of 1056.IX Subsection "Is there an option to switch encodings?"
622your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want 1057.PP
623to display. 1058Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
624.Sp 1059specific \*(L"utf\-8\*(R" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
625\&\fBrxvt-unicode\fR makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement 1060\&\s-1UTF\-8\s0 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
626font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks 1061.PP
627bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't 1062The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
628resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial 1063the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
629intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe 1064applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
630the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct. 1065and code number. This mechanism is the \fIlocale\fR. Applications not using
631.Sp 1066that info will have problems (for example, \f(CW\*(C`xterm\*(C'\fR gets the width of
632In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list, 1067characters wrong as it uses it's own, locale-independent table under all
633e.g.: 1068locales).
634.Sp 1069.PP
1070Rxvt-unicode uses the \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR locale category to select encoding. All
1071programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
1072interpretation of characters.
1073.PP
1074Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
1075is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
1076.PP
1077On most systems, the content of the \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR environment variable
1078contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
1079locale. Common names for locales are \f(CW\*(C`en_US.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`de_DE.ISO\-8859\-15\*(C'\fR,
1080\&\f(CW\*(C`ja_JP.EUC\-JP\*(C'\fR, i.e. \f(CW\*(C`language_country.encoding\*(C'\fR, but other forms
1081(i.e. \f(CW\*(C`de\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`german\*(C'\fR) are also common.
1082.PP
1083Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
1084the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
1085i.e. \f(CW\*(C`de_DE.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ja_JP.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR are the normally same to
1086rxvt\-unicode.
1087.PP
1088If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
1089rxvt-unicode with the correct \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR category.
1090.PP
1091\fICan I switch locales at runtime?\fR
1092.IX Subsection "Can I switch locales at runtime?"
1093.PP
1094Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
1095rxvt\-unicode's idea of \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR.
1096.PP
635.Vb 1 1097.Vb 1
636\& @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3... 1098\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' ja_JP.SJIS
637.Ve 1099.Ve
638.Sp 1100.PP
639When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base 1101See also the previous answer.
640font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the 1102.PP
641next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this 1103Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
642search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X\-server. 1104one locale (e.g. \f(CW\*(C`de_DE.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR) but some programs don't support it
643.Sp 1105(e.g. \s-1UTF\-8\s0). For example, I use this script to start \f(CW\*(C`xjdic\*(C'\fR, which
644The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base 1106first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
645font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which 1107.PP
646must be the same due to the way terminals work. 1108.Vb 3
647.IP "Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?" 4 1109\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' ja_JP.SJIS
648.IX Item "Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?" 1110\& xjdic -js
649This is because there is a difference between script and language \*(-- 1111\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' de_DE.UTF-8
650rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is, 1112.Ve
651as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first 1113.PP
652sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for 1114You can also use xterm's \f(CW\*(C`luit\*(C'\fR program, which usually works fine, except
653display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many 1115for some locales where character width differs between program\- and
654chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first 1116rxvt\-unicode\-locales.
655non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font 1117.PP
656\&\*(-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for 1118\fIMy input method wants <some encoding> but I want \s-1UTF\-8\s0, what can I do?\fR
657chinese characters that are also in the japanese font. 1119.IX Subsection "My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?"
658.Sp 1120.PP
659The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font 1121You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
660list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as 1122terminal, using the resource \f(CW\*(C`imlocale\*(C'\fR:
661a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font 1123.PP
662first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first. 1124.Vb 1
663.Sp 1125\& URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
664In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at 1126.Ve
665runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different 1127.PP
666fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this 1128Now you can start your terminal with \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR and still
667has been designed yet). 1129use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able to
668.Sp 1130input characters outside \f(CW\*(C`EUC\-JP\*(C'\fR in a normal way then, as your input
669Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see \*(L"Can I switch the fonts at runtime?\*(R" later in this document). 1131method limits you.
670.IP "Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?" 4 1132.PP
671.IX Item "Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?" 1133\fIRxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.\fR
672Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character 1134.IX Subsection "Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits."
673size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might 1135.PP
674contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid 1136Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the \s-1XIM\s0 protocol is racy by
675these characters. For characters that are just \*(L"a bit\*(R" too wide a special 1137design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
676\&\*(L"careful\*(R" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters. 1138leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
677.Sp 1139exit time. \fBkinput2\fR (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
678All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes, 1140while \fB\s-1SCIM\s0\fR (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
679however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding 1141crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
680box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to 1142.PP
681ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these 1143So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
682cases). 1144.Sh "Operating Systems / Package Maintaining"
683.Sp 1145.IX Subsection "Operating Systems / Package Maintaining"
684It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype, 1146\fII am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem...\fR
685or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using 1147.IX Subsection "I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem..."
686the \f(CW\*(C`\-lsp\*(C'\fR option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you 1148.PP
687might be forced to use a different font. 1149The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large
688.Sp 1150patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but
689All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding 1151unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to
690box data is correct. 1152the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine
1153version (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt\-unicode>) and try to reproduce
1154the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific to
1155Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian Bug
1156Tracking System (use \f(CW\*(C`reportbug\*(C'\fR to report the bug).
1157.PP
1158For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and
1159probably should use the Debian \s-1BTS\s0, too, because, after all, it's also a
1160bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that
1161might encounter the same issue.
1162.PP
1163\fII am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS \s-1XXX\s0, any recommendation?\fR
1164.IX Subsection "I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?"
1165.PP
1166You should build one binary with the default options. \fIconfigure\fR
1167now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them
1168runtime\-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling them,
1169except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should
1170be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in
1171the future) depends on it.
1172.PP
1173You should not overwrite the \f(CW\*(C`perl\-ext\-common\*(C'\fR snd \f(CW\*(C`perl\-ext\*(C'\fR resources
1174system-wide (except maybe with \f(CW\*(C`defaults\*(C'\fR). This will result in useful
1175behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty
1176\&\f(CW\*(C`perl\-ext\-common\*(C'\fR resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the
1177perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.
1178.PP
1179If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal
1180one with \f(CW\*(C`\-\-disable\-everything\*(C'\fR (very useful) and a maximal one with
1181\&\f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-everything\*(C'\fR (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of
1182encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used).
1183.PP
1184\fII need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my \s-1OS\s0, is this safe?\fR
1185.IX Subsection "I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe?"
1186.PP
1187It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly
1188install urxvt with privileges necessary for your \s-1OS\s0 now.
1189.PP
1190When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork
1191into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some
1192systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges
1193immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep
1194privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains
1195things as perl interpreters, which might be \*(L"helpful\*(R" to attackers).
1196.PP
1197This forking is done as the very first within \fImain()\fR, which is very early
1198and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before \fImain()\fR, or
1199things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should result in very
1200little risk.
1201.PP
691.IP "On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide." 4 1202\fIOn Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide.\fR
692.IX Item "On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide." 1203.IX Subsection "On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide."
1204.PP
693Seems to be a known bug, read 1205Seems to be a known bug, read
694<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the 1206<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the
695following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working: 1207following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working:
696.Sp 1208.PP
697.Vb 1 1209.Vb 1
698\& #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x) 1210\& #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x)
699.Ve 1211.Ve
700.IP "My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working." 4 1212.PP
701.IX Item "My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working."
702The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
703correctly, or you specified a \fBpreeditStyle\fR that is not supported by
704your input method. For example, if you specified \fBOverTheSpot\fR and
705your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
706does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
707rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
708.Sp
709In this case either do not specify a \fBpreeditStyle\fR or specify more than
710one pre-edit style, such as \fBOverTheSpot,Root,None\fR.
711.ie n .IP "I cannot type ""Ctrl\-Shift\-2"" to get an \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0 character due to \s-1ISO\s0 14755" 4
712.el .IP "I cannot type \f(CWCtrl\-Shift\-2\fR to get an \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0 character due to \s-1ISO\s0 14755" 4
713.IX Item "I cannot type Ctrl-Shift-2 to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755"
714Either try \f(CW\*(C`Ctrl\-2\*(C'\fR alone (it often is mapped to \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0 even on
715international keyboards) or simply use \s-1ISO\s0 14755 support to your
716advantage, typing <Ctrl\-Shift\-0> to get a \s-1ASCII\s0 \s-1NUL\s0. This works for other
717codes, too, such as \f(CW\*(C`Ctrl\-Shift\-1\-d\*(C'\fR to type the default telnet escape
718character and so on.
719.IP "How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?" 4
720.IX Item "How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?"
721First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
722(\f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
723make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
724rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
725.Sp
726.Vb 2
727\& URxvt.colorBD: white
728\& URxvt.colorIT: green
729.Ve
730.IP "Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?" 4
731.IX Item "Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?"
732For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
733colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
7348 colours (rxvt\-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
735these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
736.Sp
737In the meantime, you can either edit your \f(CW\*(C`rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR terminfo
738definition to only claim 8 colour support or use \f(CW\*(C`TERM=rxvt\*(C'\fR, which will
739fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
740.IP "I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all." 4 1213\fII am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all.\fR
741.IX Item "I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all." 1214.IX Subsection "I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all."
1215.PP
742Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol \f(CW\*(C`_\|_STDC_ISO_10646_\|_\*(C'\fR to be defined 1216Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol \f(CW\*(C`_\|_STDC_ISO_10646_\|_\*(C'\fR to be defined
743in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it, 1217in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,
744wether it defines the symbol or not. \f(CW\*(C`_\|_STDC_ISO_10646_\|_\*(C'\fR requires that 1218wether it defines the symbol or not. \f(CW\*(C`_\|_STDC_ISO_10646_\|_\*(C'\fR requires that
745\&\fBwchar_t\fR is represented as unicode. 1219\&\fBwchar_t\fR is represented as unicode.
746.Sp 1220.PP
747As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl nor 1221As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl nor
748does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal representation of 1222does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal representation of
749\&\fBwchar_t\fR. This is, of course, completely fine with respect to standards. 1223\&\fBwchar_t\fR. This is, of course, completely fine with respect to standards.
750.Sp 1224.PP
751However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in \f(CW\*(C`POSIX\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`ISO\-8859\-1\*(C'\fR and 1225However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in \f(CW\*(C`POSIX\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`ISO\-8859\-1\*(C'\fR and
752\&\f(CW\*(C`UTF\-8\*(C'\fR locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as \fBwchar_t\fR. 1226\&\f(CW\*(C`UTF\-8\*(C'\fR locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as \fBwchar_t\fR.
753.Sp 1227.PP
754\&\f(CW\*(C`_\|_STDC_ISO_10646_\|_\*(C'\fR is the only sane way to support multi-language 1228\&\f(CW\*(C`_\|_STDC_ISO_10646_\|_\*(C'\fR is the only sane way to support multi-language
755apps in an \s-1OS\s0, as using a locale-dependent (and non\-standardized) 1229apps in an \s-1OS\s0, as using a locale-dependent (and non\-standardized)
756representation of \fBwchar_t\fR makes it impossible to convert between 1230representation of \fBwchar_t\fR makes it impossible to convert between
757\&\fBwchar_t\fR (as used by X11 and your applications) and any other encoding 1231\&\fBwchar_t\fR (as used by X11 and your applications) and any other encoding
758without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for each and every locale. There 1232without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for each and every locale. There
759simply are no APIs to convert \fBwchar_t\fR into anything except the current 1233simply are no APIs to convert \fBwchar_t\fR into anything except the current
760locale encoding. 1234locale encoding.
761.Sp 1235.PP
762Some applications (such as the formidable \fBmlterm\fR) work around this 1236Some applications (such as the formidable \fBmlterm\fR) work around this
763by carrying their own replacement functions for character set handling 1237by carrying their own replacement functions for character set handling
764with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or doing multiple 1238with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or doing multiple
765conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the \s-1OS\s0 implements 1239conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the \s-1OS\s0 implements
766encodings slightly different than the terminal emulator). 1240encodings slightly different than the terminal emulator).
767.Sp 1241.PP
768The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the 1242The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the
769system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry 1243system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry
770complete replacements for them :) 1244complete replacements for them :)
1245.PP
771.IP "I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc." 4 1246\fII use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc.\fR
772.IX Item "I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc." 1247.IX Subsection "I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc."
1248.PP
773Try the diff in \fIdoc/solaris9.patch\fR as a base. It fixes the worst 1249Try the diff in \fIdoc/solaris9.patch\fR as a base. It fixes the worst
774problems with \f(CW\*(C`wcwidth\*(C'\fR and a compile problem. 1250problems with \f(CW\*(C`wcwidth\*(C'\fR and a compile problem.
1251.PP
775.IP "How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?" 4 1252\fIHow can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?\fR
776.IX Item "How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?" 1253.IX Subsection "How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?"
1254.PP
777rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using 1255rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using
778the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no 1256the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no
779longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a 1257longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a
780single font). I recommend starting the X\-server in \f(CW\*(C`\-multiwindow\*(C'\fR or 1258single font). I recommend starting the X\-server in \f(CW\*(C`\-multiwindow\*(C'\fR or
781\&\f(CW\*(C`\-rootless\*(C'\fR mode instead, which will result in similar look&feel as the 1259\&\f(CW\*(C`\-rootless\*(C'\fR mode instead, which will result in similar look&feel as the
782old libW11 emulation. 1260old libW11 emulation.
783.Sp 1261.PP
784At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any multi-byte 1262At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any multi-byte
785encodings (you might try \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE=C\-UTF\-8\*(C'\fR), so you are likely limited 1263encodings (you might try \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE=C\-UTF\-8\*(C'\fR), so you are likely limited
786to 8\-bit encodings. 1264to 8\-bit encodings.
787.IP "How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?" 4
788.IX Item "How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?"
789.PD 0
790.IP "Is there an option to switch encodings?" 4
791.IX Item "Is there an option to switch encodings?"
792.PD
793Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
794specific \*(L"utf\-8\*(R" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
795\&\s-1UTF\-8\s0 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
796.Sp
797The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
798the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
799applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
800and code number. This mechanism is the \fIlocale\fR. Applications not using
801that info will have problems (for example, \f(CW\*(C`xterm\*(C'\fR gets the width of
802characters wrong as it uses it's own, locale-independent table under all
803locales).
804.Sp
805Rxvt-unicode uses the \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR locale category to select encoding. All
806programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
807interpretation of characters.
808.Sp
809Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
810is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
811.Sp
812On most systems, the content of the \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR environment variable
813contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
814locale. Common names for locales are \f(CW\*(C`en_US.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`de_DE.ISO\-8859\-15\*(C'\fR,
815\&\f(CW\*(C`ja_JP.EUC\-JP\*(C'\fR, i.e. \f(CW\*(C`language_country.encoding\*(C'\fR, but other forms
816(i.e. \f(CW\*(C`de\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`german\*(C'\fR) are also common.
817.Sp
818Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
819the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
820i.e. \f(CW\*(C`de_DE.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ja_JP.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR are the normally same to
821rxvt\-unicode.
822.Sp
823If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
824rxvt-unicode with the correct \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR category.
825.IP "Can I switch locales at runtime?" 4
826.IX Item "Can I switch locales at runtime?"
827Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
828rxvt\-unicode's idea of \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE\*(C'\fR.
829.Sp
830.Vb 1
831\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' ja_JP.SJIS
832.Ve
833.Sp
834See also the previous answer.
835.Sp
836Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
837one locale (e.g. \f(CW\*(C`de_DE.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR) but some programs don't support it
838(e.g. \s-1UTF\-8\s0). For example, I use this script to start \f(CW\*(C`xjdic\*(C'\fR, which
839first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
840.Sp
841.Vb 3
842\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' ja_JP.SJIS
843\& xjdic -js
844\& printf '\ee]701;%s\e007' de_DE.UTF-8
845.Ve
846.Sp
847You can also use xterm's \f(CW\*(C`luit\*(C'\fR program, which usually works fine, except
848for some locales where character width differs between program\- and
849rxvt\-unicode\-locales.
850.IP "Can I switch the fonts at runtime?" 4
851.IX Item "Can I switch the fonts at runtime?"
852Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
853effect as using the \f(CW\*(C`\-fn\*(C'\fR switch, and takes effect immediately:
854.Sp
855.Vb 1
856\& printf '\ee]50;%s\e007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
857.Ve
858.Sp
859This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
860japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
861japanese fonts would only be in your way.
862.Sp
863You can think of this as a kind of manual \s-1ISO\-2022\s0 switching.
864.IP "Why do italic characters look as if clipped?" 4
865.IX Item "Why do italic characters look as if clipped?"
866Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
867example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font \f(CW\*(C`xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
868Mono\*(C'\fR completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to
869enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
870.Sp
871.Vb 2
872\& URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
873\& URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
874.Ve
875.IP "My input method wants <some encoding> but I want \s-1UTF\-8\s0, what can I do?" 4
876.IX Item "My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?"
877You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
878terminal, using the resource \f(CW\*(C`imlocale\*(C'\fR:
879.Sp
880.Vb 1
881\& URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
882.Ve
883.Sp
884Now you can start your terminal with \f(CW\*(C`LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF\-8\*(C'\fR and still
885use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able to
886input characters outside \f(CW\*(C`EUC\-JP\*(C'\fR in a normal way then, as your input
887method limits you.
888.IP "Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits." 4
889.IX Item "Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits."
890Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the \s-1XIM\s0 protocol is racy by
891design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
892leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
893exit time. \fBkinput2\fR (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
894while \fB\s-1SCIM\s0\fR (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
895crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
896.Sp
897So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
898.IP "Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?" 4
899.IX Item "Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?"
900Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something you
901don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
902you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
903when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
904accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
905.Sp
906Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
907scrollback buffers: Without \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-unicode3\*(C'\fR, rxvt-unicode will use
9086 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
909kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
910use 10 Megabytes of memory. With \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-unicode3\*(C'\fR it gets worse, as
911rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
912.IP "Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?" 4
913.IX Item "Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?"
914Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
915it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
916antialiasing (by appending \f(CW\*(C`:antialias=false\*(C'\fR), which saves lots of
917memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
918.IP "Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?" 4
919.IX Item "Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?"
920Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
921fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
922fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
923antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
924look best that way.
925.Sp
926If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
927.IP "Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works." 4
928.IX Item "Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works."
929Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
930some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
931heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
932quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
933depressed.
934.IP "What's with this bold/blink stuff?" 4
935.IX Item "What's with this bold/blink stuff?"
936If no bold colour is set via \f(CW\*(C`colorBD:\*(C'\fR, bold will invert text using the
937standard foreground colour.
938.Sp
939For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
940text blink when compiled with \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-blinking\*(C'\fR. with standard
941colours. Without \f(CW\*(C`\-\-enable\-blinking\*(C'\fR, the blink attribute will be
942ignored.
943.Sp
944On \s-1ANSI\s0 colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
945foreground/background colors.
946.Sp
947color0\-7 are the low-intensity colors.
948.Sp
949color8\-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
950.IP "I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?" 4
951.IX Item "I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?"
952You can change the screen colors at run-time using \fI~/.Xdefaults\fR
953resources (or as long\-options).
954.Sp
955Here are values that are supposed to resemble a \s-1VGA\s0 screen,
956including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
957.Sp
958.Vb 8
959\& URxvt.color0: #000000
960\& URxvt.color1: #A80000
961\& URxvt.color2: #00A800
962\& URxvt.color3: #A8A800
963\& URxvt.color4: #0000A8
964\& URxvt.color5: #A800A8
965\& URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
966\& URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
967.Ve
968.Sp
969.Vb 8
970\& URxvt.color8: #000054
971\& URxvt.color9: #FF0054
972\& URxvt.color10: #00FF54
973\& URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
974\& URxvt.color12: #0000FF
975\& URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
976\& URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
977\& URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
978.Ve
979.Sp
980And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors described (not by
981me) as \*(L"pretty girly\*(R".
982.Sp
983.Vb 18
984\& URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
985\& URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
986\& URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
987\& URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
988\& URxvt.color0: #000000
989\& URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
990\& URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
991\& URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
992\& URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
993\& URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
994\& URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
995\& URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
996\& URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
997\& URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
998\& URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
999\& URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
1000\& URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
1001\& URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
1002.Ve
1003.IP "How can I start @@RXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?" 4
1004.IX Item "How can I start @@RXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?"
1005Try \f(CW\*(C`@@RXVT_NAME@@d \-f \-o\*(C'\fR, which tells @@RXVT_NAME@@d to open the
1006display, create the listening socket and then fork.
1007.IP "What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?" 4
1008.IX Item "What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?"
1009Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
1010BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
1011question) there are two standard values that can be used for
1012Backspace: \f(CW\*(C`^H\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`^?\*(C'\fR.
1013.Sp
1014Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
1015policy of using \f(CW\*(C`^?\*(C'\fR when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
1016choice :).
1017.Sp
1018Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
1019of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
1020started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
1021system value of `erase', which corresponds to \s-1CERASE\s0 in <termios.h>, will
1022be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
1023.Sp
1024For starting a new rxvt\-unicode:
1025.Sp
1026.Vb 3
1027\& # use Backspace = ^H
1028\& $ stty erase ^H
1029\& $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
1030.Ve
1031.Sp
1032.Vb 3
1033\& # use Backspace = ^?
1034\& $ stty erase ^?
1035\& $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
1036.Ve
1037.Sp
1038Toggle with \f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 36 h\*(C'\fR / \f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 36 l\*(C'\fR.
1039.Sp
1040For an existing rxvt\-unicode:
1041.Sp
1042.Vb 3
1043\& # use Backspace = ^H
1044\& $ stty erase ^H
1045\& $ echo -n "^[[36h"
1046.Ve
1047.Sp
1048.Vb 3
1049\& # use Backspace = ^?
1050\& $ stty erase ^?
1051\& $ echo -n "^[[36l"
1052.Ve
1053.Sp
1054This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
1055if you use Backspace = \f(CW\*(C`^H\*(C'\fR, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
1056properly reflects that.
1057.Sp
1058The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
1059To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
1060key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
1061(\f(CW\*(C`ESC [ 3 ~\*(C'\fR) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
1062.Sp
1063Some other Backspace problems:
1064.Sp
1065some editors use termcap/terminfo,
1066some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
1067\&\s-1GNU\s0 Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
1068.Sp
1069Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
1070.IP "I don't like the key\-bindings. How do I change them?" 4
1071.IX Item "I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?"
1072There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
1073you have run \*(L"configure\*(R" with the \f(CW\*(C`\-\-disable\-resources\*(C'\fR option you can
1074use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
1075.Sp
1076Here's an example for a URxvt session started using \f(CW\*(C`@@RXVT_NAME@@ \-name URxvt\*(C'\fR
1077.Sp
1078.Vb 20
1079\& URxvt.keysym.Home: \e033[1~
1080\& URxvt.keysym.End: \e033[4~
1081\& URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \e033<C-'>
1082\& URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \e033<C-/>
1083\& URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \e033<C-;>
1084\& URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \e033<C-`>
1085\& URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \e033<C-,>
1086\& URxvt.keysym.C-period: \e033<C-.>
1087\& URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \e033<C-`>
1088\& URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \e033<C-Tab>
1089\& URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \e033<C-Return>
1090\& URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \e033<S-Return>
1091\& URxvt.keysym.S-space: \e033<S-Space>
1092\& URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \e033<M-Up>
1093\& URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \e033<M-Down>
1094\& URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \e033<M-Left>
1095\& URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \e033<M-Right>
1096\& URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \e033<M-C- 0123456789 >
1097\& URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \e033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
1098\& URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\e033]701;zh_CN.GBK\e007
1099.Ve
1100.Sp
1101See some more examples in the documentation for the \fBkeysym\fR resource.
1102.IP "I'm using keyboard model \s-1XXX\s0 that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys. How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4 has the following mappings that rxvt-unicode doesn't recognize." 4
1103.IX Item "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 mappings that rxvt-unicode doesn't recognize."
1104.Vb 6
1105\& KP_Insert == Insert
1106\& F22 == Print
1107\& F27 == Home
1108\& F29 == Prior
1109\& F33 == End
1110\& F35 == Next
1111.Ve
1112.Sp
1113Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
1114keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
1115required for your particular machine.
1116.IP "How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc." 4
1117.IX Item "How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc."
1118rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable \*(L"\s-1COLORTERM\s0\*(R", so you can
1119check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, \s-1JED\s0, slrn,
1120Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide whether or
1121not to use color.
1122.IP "How do I set the correct, full \s-1IP\s0 address for the \s-1DISPLAY\s0 variable?" 4
1123.IX Item "How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?"
1124If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with \s-1DISPLAY_IS_IP\s0 and have enabled
1125insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
1126snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
1127wasn't also compiled with \s-1ESCZ_ANSWER\s0 (as assumed in these snippets) then
1128the \s-1COLORTERM\s0 variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
1129regular xterm.
1130.Sp
1131Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
1132snippets:
1133.Sp
1134.Vb 12
1135\& # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
1136\& [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
1137\& if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
1138\& stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
1139\& echo -n '^[Z'
1140\& read term_id
1141\& stty icanon echo
1142\& if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
1143\& echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
1144\& read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
1145\& fi
1146\& fi
1147.Ve
1148.IP "How do I compile the manual pages for myself?" 4
1149.IX Item "How do I compile the manual pages for myself?"
1150You need to have a recent version of perl installed as \fI/usr/bin/perl\fR,
1151one that comes with \fIpod2man\fR, \fIpod2text\fR and \fIpod2html\fR. Then go to
1152the doc subdirectory and enter \f(CW\*(C`make alldoc\*(C'\fR.
1153.IP "My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?" 4
1154.IX Item "My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?"
1155Before sending me mail, you could go to \s-1IRC:\s0 \f(CW\*(C`irc.freenode.net\*(C'\fR,
1156channel \f(CW\*(C`#rxvt\-unicode\*(C'\fR has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
1157interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
1158.SH "RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE" 1265.SH "RXVT-UNICODE TECHNICAL REFERENCE"
1159.IX Header "RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE" 1266.IX Header "RXVT-UNICODE TECHNICAL REFERENCE"
1160.SH "DESCRIPTION" 1267.SH "DESCRIPTION"
1161.IX Header "DESCRIPTION" 1268.IX Header "DESCRIPTION"
1162The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of 1269The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of
1163\&\fBrxvt-unicode\fR. First the description of supported command sequences, 1270\&\fBrxvt-unicode\fR. First the description of supported command sequences,
1164followed by pixmap support and last by a description of all features 1271followed by pixmap support and last by a description of all features
2015.TS 2122.TS
2016l l . 2123l l .
20174 Shift 21244 Shift
20188 Meta 21258 Meta
201916 Control 212616 Control
202032 Double Click (Rxvt extension) 212732 Double Click (rxvt extension)
2021.TE 2128.TE
2022 2129
2023Col = \fB\f(CB\*(C`<x> \- SPACE\*(C'\fB\fR 2130Col = \fB\f(CB\*(C`<x> \- SPACE\*(C'\fB\fR
2024.Sp 2131.Sp
2025Row = \fB\f(CB\*(C`<y> \- SPACE\*(C'\fB\fR 2132Row = \fB\f(CB\*(C`<y> \- SPACE\*(C'\fB\fR

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