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16=head1 DESCRIPTION 16=head1 DESCRIPTION
17 17
18This document contains the FAQ, the RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE documenting 18This document contains the FAQ, the RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE documenting
19all escape sequences, and other background information. 19all escape sequences, and other background information.
20 20
21The newest version of this document is 21The newest version of this document is also available on the World Wide Web at
22also available on the World Wide Web at
23L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/browse/*checkout*/rxvt-unicode/doc/rxvt.7.html>. 22L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/browse/*checkout*/rxvt-unicode/doc/rxvt.7.html>.
24 23
25=head1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 24=head1 RXVT-UNICODE/URXVT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
26 25
27=over 4
28 26
29=item The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select 27=head2 Meta, Features & Commandline Issues
30single words?
31 28
32Yes. For example, if you want to select alphanumeric words, you can use 29=head3 My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?
33the following resource:
34 30
35 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([[:word:]]+) 31Before sending me mail, you could go to IRC: C<irc.freenode.net>,
32channel C<#rxvt-unicode> has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
33interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
36 34
37If you click more than twice, the selection will be extended 35=head3 Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?
38more and more.
39 36
40To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this pattern: 37Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a
38simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these should
39give you tabs:
41 40
42 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\\\\]^`{|})]+) 41 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pe tabbed
43 42
44Please also note that the I<LeftClick Shift-LeftClik> combination also 43 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed
45selects words like the old code.
46 44
47=item I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I 45It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window managers
48change/disable it? 46or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be
47embedded into other programs, as witnessed by F<doc/rxvt-tabbed> or
48the upcoming C<Gtk2::URxvt> perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt
49(murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application.
49 50
50You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the 51=head3 How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?
51B<perl-ext-common> resource to the empty string, which also keeps
52rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.
53 52
54If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to 53The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape
55identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section 54sequence C<ESC [ 8 n> sets the window title to the version number. When
56B<PREPACKAGED EXTENSIONS> in the @@RXVT_NAME@@perl(3) manpage. For 55using the @@URXVT_NAME@@c client, the version displayed is that of the
57example, to disable the B<selection-popup> and B<option-popup>, specify 56daemon.
58this B<perl-ext-common> resource:
59 57
60 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup 58=head3 Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?
61 59
62This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup 60Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something you
63extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example, 61don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
64scrollback search mode is triggered by B<M-s>. You can move it to any 62you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
65other combination either by setting the B<searchable-scrollback> resource: 63when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
64accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
66 65
67 URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s 66Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
67scrollback buffers: Without C<--enable-unicode3>, rxvt-unicode will use
686 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
69kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
70use 10 Megabytes of memory. With C<--enable-unicode3> it gets worse, as
71rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
68 72
73=head3 How can I start @@URXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?
74
75Try C<@@URXVT_NAME@@d -f -o>, which tells @@URXVT_NAME@@d to open the
76display, create the listening socket and then fork.
77
78=head3 How can I start @@URXVT_NAME@@d automatically when I run URXVT_NAME@@c?
79
80If you want to start @@URXVT_NAME@@d automatically whenever you run
81@@URXVT_NAME@@c and the daemon isn't running yet, use this script:
82
83 #!/bin/sh
84 @@URXVT_NAME@@c "$@"
85 if [ $? -eq 2 ]; then
86 @@URXVT_NAME@@d -q -o -f
87 @@URXVT_NAME@@c "$@"
88 fi
89
90This tries to create a new terminal, and if fails with exit status 2,
91meaning it couldn't connect to the daemon, it will start the daemon and
92re-run the command. Subsequent invocations of the script will re-use the
93existing daemon.
94
95=head3 How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc.
96
97The original rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM",
98so you can check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED,
99slrn, Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide
100whether or not to use color.
101
102=head3 How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
103
104If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled
105insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
106snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
107wasn't also compiled with ESCZ_ANSWER (as assumed in these snippets) then
108the COLORTERM variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
109regular xterm.
110
111Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
112snippets:
113
114 # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
115 [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
116 if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
117 stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
118 echo -n '^[Z'
119 read term_id
120 stty icanon echo
121 if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
122 echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
123 read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
124 fi
125 fi
126
127=head3 How do I compile the manual pages on my own?
128
129You need to have a recent version of perl installed as F</usr/bin/perl>,
130one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to
131the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
132
69=item Isn't rxvt supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat? 133=head3 Isn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?
70 134
71I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra 135I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra
72bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see 136bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see
73that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always being 137that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always being
74compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS) after startup. Even 138compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS) after startup. Even
78 142
79 text data bss drs rss filename 143 text data bss drs rss filename
80 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything 144 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything
81 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything 145 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything
82 146
83When you C<--enable-everything> (which _is_ unfair, as this involves xft 147When you C<--enable-everything> (which I<is> unfair, as this involves xft
84and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my 148and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my
85libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so. 149libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so.
86 150
87 text data bss drs rss filename 151 text data bss drs rss filename
88 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything 152 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything
106(21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra 170(21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra
10743180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of 17143180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of
108startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares 172startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares
109extremely well *g*. 173extremely well *g*.
110 174
111=item Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool? 175=head3 Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?
112 176
113Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: I had 177Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: I had
114to write it, and C++ allowed me to write and maintain it in a fraction 178to write it, and C++ allowed me to write and maintain it in a fraction
115of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). Put even 179of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). Put even
116shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++. 180shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++.
140 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000) 204 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
141 205
142No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically), 206No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically),
143except maybe libX11 :) 207except maybe libX11 :)
144 208
145=item Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?
146 209
147Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a 210=head2 Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues
148simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these should
149give you tabs:
150 211
151 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -pe tabbed 212=head3 I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?
152 213
214First of all, transparency isn't officially supported in rxvt-unicode, so
215you are mostly on your own. Do not bug the author about it (but you may
216bug everybody else). Also, if you can't get it working consider it a rite
217of passage: ... and you failed.
218
219Here are four ways to get transparency. B<Do> read the manpage and option
220descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt-unicode. Really, do it!
221
2221. Use inheritPixmap:
223
224 Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
225 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -ip -tint red -sh 40
226
227That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
228support, or you are unable to read.
229
2302. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo-transparency. This enables you
231to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
232your picture with gimp or any other tool:
233
234 convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm
235 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background
236
237That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack XPM and Perl support, or you
238are unable to read.
239
2403. Use an ARGB visual:
241
242 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
243
244This requires XFT support, and the support of your X-server. If that
245doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. ARGB visuals aren't
246there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the neccessary
247bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work, but that
248doesn't mean that your WM has the required kludges in place.
249
2504. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
251
252 xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \
253 -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000
254
255Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace C<0xc0000000>
256by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and
257your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.
258
259=head3 Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?
260
261Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character
262size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might
263contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid
264these characters. For characters that are just "a bit" too wide a special
265"careful" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters.
266
267All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes,
268however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding
269box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to
270ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these
271cases).
272
273It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype,
274or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using
275the C<-lsp> option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you
276might be forced to use a different font.
277
278All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding
279box data is correct.
280
281=head3 How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?
282
283First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
284(C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
285make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
286rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
287
288 URxvt.colorBD: white
289 URxvt.colorIT: green
290
291=head3 Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?
292
293For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
294colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
2958 colours (rxvt-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
296these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
297
298In the meantime, you can either edit your C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
299definition to only claim 8 colour support or use C<TERM=rxvt>, which will
300fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
301
302=head3 Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
303
304Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
305effect as using the C<-fn> switch, and takes effect immediately:
306
307 printf '\e]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
308
309This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
310japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
311japanese fonts would only be in your way.
312
313You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
314
315=head3 Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
316
317Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
318example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font C<xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
319Mono> completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to
320enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
321
322 URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
323 URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
324
325=head3 Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
326
327Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
328it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
329antialiasing (by appending C<:antialias=false>), which saves lots of
330memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
331
332=head3 Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
333
334Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
335fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
336fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
337antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
338look best that way.
339
340If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
341
342=head3 What's with this bold/blink stuff?
343
344If no bold colour is set via C<colorBD:>, bold will invert text using the
345standard foreground colour.
346
347For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
348text blink when compiled with C<--enable-blinking>. with standard
349colours. Without C<--enable-blinking>, the blink attribute will be
350ignored.
351
352On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
353foreground/background colors.
354
355color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.
356
357color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
358
359=head3 I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?
360
361You can change the screen colors at run-time using F<~/.Xdefaults>
362resources (or as long-options).
363
364Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen,
365including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
366
367 URxvt.color0: #000000
368 URxvt.color1: #A80000
369 URxvt.color2: #00A800
370 URxvt.color3: #A8A800
371 URxvt.color4: #0000A8
372 URxvt.color5: #A800A8
373 URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
374 URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
375
376 URxvt.color8: #000054
377 URxvt.color9: #FF0054
378 URxvt.color10: #00FF54
379 URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
380 URxvt.color12: #0000FF
381 URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
382 URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
383 URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
384
385And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors.
386
387 URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
388 URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
389 URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
390 URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
391 URxvt.color0: #000000
392 URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
393 URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
394 URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
395 URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
396 URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
397 URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
398 URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
399 URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
400 URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
401 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
402 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
403 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
404 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
405
406They have been described (not by me) as "pretty girly".
407
408=head3 Why do some characters look so much different than others?
409
410See next entry.
411
412=head3 How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?
413
414Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is
415fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
416your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
417to display.
418
419B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement
420font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks
421bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't
422resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial
423intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe
424the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
425
426In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,
427e.g.:
428
429 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3...
430
431When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
432font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
433next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
434search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
435
436The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base
437font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which
438must be the same due to the way terminals work.
439
440=head3 Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
441
442This is because there is a difference between script and language --
443rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is,
444as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first
445sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for
446display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many
447chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
448non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
449-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
450chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
451
452The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
453list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
454a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
455first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
456
457In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
458runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
459fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
460has been designed yet).
461
462Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see L<Can
463I switch the fonts at runtime?> later in this document).
464
465=head2 Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction
466
467=head3 The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?
468
469If you want to select e.g. alphanumeric words, you can use the following
470setting:
471
472 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([[:word:]]+)
473
474If you click more than twice, the selection will be extended
475more and more.
476
477To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this pattern:
478
479 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\\\\]^`{|})]+)
480
481Please also note that the I<LeftClick Shift-LeftClik> combination also
482selects words like the old code.
483
484=head3 I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?
485
486You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the
487B<perl-ext-common> resource to the empty string, which also keeps
488rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.
489
490If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to
491identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section
492B<PREPACKAGED EXTENSIONS> in the @@URXVT_NAME@@perl(3) manpage. For
493example, to disable the B<selection-popup> and B<option-popup>, specify
494this B<perl-ext-common> resource:
495
496 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup
497
498This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup
499extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example,
500scrollback search mode is triggered by B<M-s>. You can move it to any
501other combination either by setting the B<searchable-scrollback> resource:
502
503 URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s
504
505=head3 The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?
506
507See next entry.
508
509=head3 During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?
510
511These are caused by the C<readline> perl extension. Under normal
512circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the
513line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,
514but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in some
515cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.
516
517You can permamently switch this feature off by disabling the C<readline>
518extension:
519
153 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed 520 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
154 521
155It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window managers 522=head3 My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
156or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be
157embedded into other programs, as witnessed by F<doc/rxvt-tabbed> or
158the upcoming C<Gtk2::URxvt> perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt
159(murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application.
160 523
161=item How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? 524Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no
525specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
526by the wrong C<TERM> setting, although the details of wether and how
527this can happen are unknown, as C<TERM=rxvt> should offer a compatible
528keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
529helped.
162 530
163The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape 531=head3 My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
164sequence C<ESC [ 8 n> sets the window title to the version number. When
165using the @@RXVT_NAME@@c client, the version displayed is that of the
166daemon.
167 532
168=item I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem... 533The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
534correctly, or you specified a B<preeditStyle> that is not supported by
535your input method. For example, if you specified B<OverTheSpot> and
536your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
537does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
538rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
169 539
170The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large 540In this case either do not specify a B<preeditStyle> or specify more than
171patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but 541one pre-edit style, such as B<OverTheSpot,Root,None>.
172unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to
173the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine
174version (L<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce
175the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific to
176Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian Bug
177Tracking System (use C<reportbug> to report the bug).
178 542
179For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and 543=head3 I cannot type C<Ctrl-Shift-2> to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755
180probably should use the Debian BTS, too, because, after all, it's also a
181bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that
182might encounter the same issue.
183 544
184=item I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any 545Either try C<Ctrl-2> alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
185recommendation? 546international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your
547advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for other
548codes, too, such as C<Ctrl-Shift-1-d> to type the default telnet escape
549character and so on.
186 550
187You should build one binary with the default options. F<configure> 551=head3 Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
188now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them
189runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling them,
190except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should
191be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in
192the future) depends on it.
193 552
194You should not overwrite the C<perl-ext-common> snd C<perl-ext> resources 553Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
195system-wide (except maybe with C<defaults>). This will result in useful 554some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
196behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty 555heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
197C<perl-ext-common> resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the 556quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
198perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it. 557depressed.
199 558
200If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal 559=head3 What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
201one with C<--disable-everything> (very useful) and a maximal one with
202C<--enable-everything> (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of
203encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used).
204 560
205=item I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe? 561Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
562BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
563question) there are two standard values that can be used for
564Backspace: C<^H> and C<^?>.
206 565
207It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly 566Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
208install urxvt with privileges necessary for your OS now. 567policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
568choice :).
209 569
210When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork 570Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
211into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some 571of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
212systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges 572started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
213immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep 573system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
214privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains 574be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
215things as perl interpreters, which might be "helpful" to attackers).
216 575
217This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very early 576For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
218and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before main(), or
219things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should result in very
220little risk.
221 577
578 # use Backspace = ^H
579 $ stty erase ^H
580 $ @@URXVT_NAME@@
581
582 # use Backspace = ^?
583 $ stty erase ^?
584 $ @@URXVT_NAME@@
585
586Toggle with C<ESC [ 36 h> / C<ESC [ 36 l>.
587
588For an existing rxvt-unicode:
589
590 # use Backspace = ^H
591 $ stty erase ^H
592 $ echo -n "^[[36h"
593
594 # use Backspace = ^?
595 $ stty erase ^?
596 $ echo -n "^[[36l"
597
598This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
599if you use Backspace = C<^H>, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
600properly reflects that.
601
602The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
603To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
604key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
605(C<ESC [ 3 ~>) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
606
607Some other Backspace problems:
608
609some editors use termcap/terminfo,
610some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
611GNU Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
612
613Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
614
615=head3 I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?
616
617There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
618you have run "configure" with the C<--disable-resources> option you can
619use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
620
621Here's an example for a URxvt session started using C<@@URXVT_NAME@@ -name URxvt>
622
623 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~
624 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~
625 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>
626 URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \033<C-/>
627 URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \033<C-;>
628 URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \033<C-`>
629 URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \033<C-,>
630 URxvt.keysym.C-period: \033<C-.>
631 URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \033<C-`>
632 URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \033<C-Tab>
633 URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \033<C-Return>
634 URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \033<S-Return>
635 URxvt.keysym.S-space: \033<S-Space>
636 URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \033<M-Up>
637 URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \033<M-Down>
638 URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \033<M-Left>
639 URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \033<M-Right>
640 URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \033<M-C- 0123456789 >
641 URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
642 URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\033]701;zh_CN.GBK\007
643
644See some more examples in the documentation for the B<keysym> resource.
645
646=head3 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
647
648 KP_Insert == Insert
649 F22 == Print
650 F27 == Home
651 F29 == Prior
652 F33 == End
653 F35 == Next
654
655Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
656keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
657required for your particular machine.
658
659
660
661=head2 Terminal Configuration
662
663=head3 Can I see a typical configuration?
664
665The default configuration tries to be xterm-like, which I don't like that
666much, but it's least surprise to regular users.
667
668As a rxvt or rxvt-unicode user, you are practically supposed to invest
669time into customising your terminal. To get you started, here is the
670author's .Xdefaults entries, with comments on what they do. It's certainly
671not I<typical>, but what's typical...
672
673 URxvt.cutchars: "()*,<>[]{}|'
674 URxvt.print-pipe: cat >/tmp/xxx
675
676These are just for testing stuff.
677
678 URxvt.imLocale: ja_JP.UTF-8
679 URxvt.preeditType: OnTheSpot,None
680
681This tells rxvt-unicode to use a special locale when communicating with
682the X Input Method, and also tells it to only use the OnTheSpot pre-edit
683type, which requires the C<xim-onthespot> perl extension but rewards me
684with correct-looking fonts.
685
686 URxvt.perl-lib: /root/lib/urxvt
687 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,selection-autotransform,selection-pastebin,xim-onthespot,remote-clipboard
688 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ( at .*? line \\d+)
689 URxvt.selection.pattern-1: ^(/[^:]+):\
690 URxvt.selection-autotransform.0: s/^([^:[:space:]]+):(\\d+):?$/:e \\Q$1\\E\\x0d:$2\\x0d/
691 URxvt.selection-autotransform.1: s/^ at (.*?) line (\\d+)$/:e \\Q$1\\E\\x0d:$2\\x0d/
692
693This is my perl configuration. The first two set the perl library
694directory and also tells urxvt to use a large number of extensions. I
695develop for myself mostly, so I actually use most of the extensions I
696write.
697
698The selection stuff mainly makes the selection perl-error-message aware
699and tells it to convert pelr error mssages into vi-commands to load the
700relevant file and go tot he error line number.
701
702 URxvt.scrollstyle: plain
703 URxvt.secondaryScroll: true
704
705As the documentation says: plain is the preferred scrollbar for the
706author. The C<secondaryScroll> confgiures urxvt to scroll in full-screen
707apps, like screen, so lines scorlled out of screen end up in urxvt's
708scrollback buffer.
709
710 URxvt.background: #000000
711 URxvt.foreground: gray90
712 URxvt.color7: gray90
713 URxvt.colorBD: #ffffff
714 URxvt.cursorColor: #e0e080
715 URxvt.throughColor: #8080f0
716 URxvt.highlightColor: #f0f0f0
717
718Some colours. Not sure which ones are being used or even non-defaults, but
719these are in my .Xdefaults. Most notably, they set foreground/background
720to light gray/black, and also make sure that the colour 7 matches the
721default foreground colour.
722
723 URxvt.underlineColor: yellow
724
725Another colour, makes underline lines look different. Sometimes hurts, but
726is mostly a nice effect.
727
728 URxvt.geometry: 154x36
729 URxvt.loginShell: false
730 URxvt.meta: ignore
731 URxvt.utmpInhibit: true
732
733Uh, well, should be mostly self-explanatory. By specifying some defaults
734manually, I can quickly switch them for testing.
735
736 URxvt.saveLines: 8192
737
738A large scrollback buffer is essential. Really.
739
740 URxvt.mapAlert: true
741
742The only case I use it is for my IRC window, which I like to keep
743iconified till people msg me (which beeps).
744
745 URxvt.visualBell: true
746
747The audible bell is often annoying, especially when in a crowd.
748
749 URxvt.insecure: true
750
751Please don't hack my mutt! Ooops...
752
753 URxvt.pastableTabs: false
754
755I once thought this is a great idea.
756
757 urxvt.font: 9x15bold,\
758 -misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1,\
759 -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1, \
760 [codeset=JISX0208]xft:Kochi Gothic, \
761 xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:autohint=true, \
762 xft:Code2000:antialias=false
763 urxvt.boldFont: -xos4-terminus-bold-r-normal--14-140-72-72-c-80-iso8859-15
764 urxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
765 urxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
766
767I wrote rxvt-unicode to be able to specify fonts exactly. So don't be
768overwhelmed. A special note: the C<9x15bold> mentioend above is actually
769the version from XFree-3.3, as XFree-4 replaced it by a totally different
770font (different glyphs for C<;> and many other harmless characters),
771while the second font is actually the C<9x15bold> from XFree4/XOrg. The
772bold version has less chars than the medium version, so I use it for rare
773characters, too. Whene ditign sources with vim, I use italic for comments
774and other stuff, which looks quite good with Bitstream Vera anti-aliased.
775
776Terminus is a quite bad font (many very wrong glyphs), but for most of my
777purposes, it works, and gives a different look, as my normal (Non-bold)
778font is already bold, and I want to see a difference between bold and
779normal fonts.
780
781Please note that I used the C<urxvt> instance name and not the C<URxvt>
782class name. Thats because I use different configs for different purposes,
783for example, my IRC window is started with C<-name IRC>, and uses these
784defaults:
785
786 IRC*title: IRC
787 IRC*geometry: 87x12+535+542
788 IRC*saveLines: 0
789 IRC*mapAlert: true
790 IRC*font: suxuseuro
791 IRC*boldFont: suxuseuro
792 IRC*colorBD: white
793 IRC*keysym.M-C-1: command:\033]710;suxuseuro\007\033]711;suxuseuro\007
794 IRC*keysym.M-C-2: command:\033]710;9x15bold\007\033]711;9x15bold\007
795
796C<Alt-Shift-1> and C<Alt-Shift-2> switch between two different font
797sizes. C<suxuseuro> allows me to keep an eye (and actually read)
798stuff while keeping a very small window. If somebody pastes something
799complicated (e.g. japanese), I temporarily switch to a larger font.
800
801The above is all in my C<.Xdefaults> (I don't use C<.Xresources> nor
802C<xrdb>). I also have some resources in a separate C<.Xdefaults-hostname>
803file for different hosts, for example, on ym main desktop, I use:
804
805 URxvt.keysym.C-M-q: command:\033[3;5;5t
806 URxvt.keysym.C-M-y: command:\033[3;5;606t
807 URxvt.keysym.C-M-e: command:\033[3;1605;5t
808 URxvt.keysym.C-M-c: command:\033[3;1605;606t
809 URxvt.keysym.C-M-p: perl:test
810
811The first for keysym definitions allow me to quickly bring some windows
812in the layout I like most. Ion users might start laughing but will stop
813immediately when I tell them that I use my own Fvwm2 module for much the
814same effect as Ion provides, and I only very rarely use the above key
815combinations :->
816
817=head3 Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?
818
819Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X
820applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your OS loads
821resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will
822ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read
823F<$HOME/.Xdefaults> when no resources are attached to the display.
824
825If you have or use an F<$HOME/.Xresources> file, chances are that
826resources are loaded into your X-server. In this case, you have to
827re-login after every change (or run F<xrdb -merge $HOME/.Xresources>).
828
829Also consider the form resources have to use:
830
831 URxvt.resource: value
832
833If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of
834specifying resources), make sure you understand wether and why it
835works. If unsure, use the form above.
836
222=item When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data? 837=head3 When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?
223 838
224The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available 839The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available
225as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises). 840as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises).
226 841
227The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can 842The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can
243resource to set it: 858resource to set it:
244 859
245 URxvt.termName: rxvt 860 URxvt.termName: rxvt
246 861
247If you don't plan to use B<rxvt> (quite common...) you could also replace 862If you don't plan to use B<rxvt> (quite common...) you could also replace
248the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. 863the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one and use C<TERM=rxvt>.
249 864
250=item C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry. 865=head3 C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.
251 866
252Most likely it's the empty definition for C<enacs=>. Just replace it by 867Most likely it's the empty definition for C<enacs=>. Just replace it by
253C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again. 868C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again.
254 869
255=item C<bash>'s readline does not work correctly under @@RXVT_NAME@@. 870=head3 C<bash>'s readline does not work correctly under @@URXVT_NAME@@.
256 871
872See next entry.
873
257=item I need a termcap file entry. 874=head3 I need a termcap file entry.
258 875
259One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating 876One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating
260systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap 877systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap
261library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry 878library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry
262for C<rxvt-unicode>. 879for C<rxvt-unicode>.
288 :sc=\E7:se=\E[27m:sf=^J:so=\E[7m:sr=\EM:st=\EH:ta=^I:\ 905 :sc=\E7:se=\E[27m:sf=^J:so=\E[7m:sr=\EM:st=\EH:ta=^I:\
289 :te=\E[r\E[?1049l:ti=\E[?1049h:ue=\E[24m:up=\E[A:\ 906 :te=\E[r\E[?1049l:ti=\E[?1049h:ue=\E[24m:up=\E[A:\
290 :us=\E[4m:vb=\E[?5h\E[?5l:ve=\E[?25h:vi=\E[?25l:\ 907 :us=\E[4m:vb=\E[?5h\E[?5l:ve=\E[?25h:vi=\E[?25l:\
291 :vs=\E[?25h: 908 :vs=\E[?25h:
292 909
293=item Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output? 910=head3 Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output?
294 911
295The C<ls> in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to 912The C<ls> in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to
296decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration 913decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration
297file. Needless to say, C<rxvt-unicode> is not in it's default file (among 914file. Needless to say, C<rxvt-unicode> is not in it's default file (among
298with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add: 915with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:
303 920
304 alias ls='ls --color=auto' 921 alias ls='ls --color=auto'
305 922
306to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>. 923to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>.
307 924
308=item Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode? 925=head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?
309 926
927See next entry.
928
310=item Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic? 929=head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?
311 930
931See next entry.
932
312=item Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly? 933=head3 Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?
313 934
314Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged 935Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged
315distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode 936distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode
316by setting C<TERM> to C<rxvt>, which doesn't have these extra 937by setting C<TERM> to C<rxvt>, which doesn't have these extra
317features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian 938features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian
318GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo 939GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
319file, so you will need to install it on your own (See the question B<When 940file, so you will need to install it on your own (See the question B<When
320I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?> on 941I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?> on
321how to do this). 942how to do this).
322 943
323=item My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
324 944
325Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no 945=head2 Encoding / Locale / Input Method Issues
326specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
327by the wrong C<TERM> setting, although the details of wether and how
328this can happen are unknown, as C<TERM=rxvt> should offer a compatible
329keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
330helped.
331 946
332=item Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding? 947=head3 Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?
333 948
949See next entry.
950
334=item Unicode does not seem to work? 951=head3 Unicode does not seem to work?
335 952
336If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but 953If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
337getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is 954getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is
338subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings. 955subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
339 956
359 976
360If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then 977If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then
361you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't 978you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't
362support locales :( 979support locales :(
363 980
364=item Why do some characters look so much different than others? 981=head3 How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
365 982
366=item How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts? 983See next entry.
367 984
368Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is 985=head3 Is there an option to switch encodings?
369fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
370your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
371to display.
372 986
373B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement 987Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
374font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks 988specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
375bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't 989UTF-8 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
376resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial
377intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe
378the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
379 990
380In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list, 991The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
381e.g.: 992the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
382 993applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
383 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3... 994and code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>. Applications not using
384 995that info will have problems (for example, C<xterm> gets the width of
385When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base 996characters wrong as it uses it's own, locale-independent table under all
386font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
387next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
388search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
389
390The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base
391font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which
392must be the same due to the way terminals work.
393
394=item Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
395
396This is because there is a difference between script and language --
397rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is,
398as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first
399sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for
400display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many
401chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
402non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
403-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
404chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
405
406The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
407list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
408a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
409first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
410
411In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
412runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
413fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
414has been designed yet).
415
416Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see L<Can
417I switch the fonts at runtime?> later in this document).
418
419=item Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?
420
421Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character
422size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might
423contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid
424these characters. For characters that are just "a bit" too wide a special
425"careful" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters.
426
427All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes,
428however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding
429box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to
430ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these
431cases). 997locales).
432 998
433It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype, 999Rxvt-unicode uses the C<LC_CTYPE> locale category to select encoding. All
434or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using 1000programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
435the C<-lsp> option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you 1001interpretation of characters.
436might be forced to use a different font.
437 1002
438All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding 1003Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
439box data is correct. 1004is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
440 1005
1006On most systems, the content of the C<LC_CTYPE> environment variable
1007contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
1008locale. Common names for locales are C<en_US.UTF-8>, C<de_DE.ISO-8859-15>,
1009C<ja_JP.EUC-JP>, i.e. C<language_country.encoding>, but other forms
1010(i.e. C<de> or C<german>) are also common.
1011
1012Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
1013the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
1014i.e. C<de_DE.UTF-8> and C<ja_JP.UTF-8> are the normally same to
1015rxvt-unicode.
1016
1017If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
1018rxvt-unicode with the correct C<LC_CTYPE> category.
1019
1020=head3 Can I switch locales at runtime?
1021
1022Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
1023rxvt-unicode's idea of C<LC_CTYPE>.
1024
1025 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1026
1027See also the previous answer.
1028
1029Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
1030one locale (e.g. C<de_DE.UTF-8>) but some programs don't support it
1031(e.g. UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start C<xjdic>, which
1032first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
1033
1034 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1035 xjdic -js
1036 printf '\e]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
1037
1038You can also use xterm's C<luit> program, which usually works fine, except
1039for some locales where character width differs between program- and
1040rxvt-unicode-locales.
1041
1042=head3 I have problems getting my input method working.
1043
1044Try a search engine, as this is slightly different for every input method server.
1045
1046Here is a checklist:
1047
1048=over 4
1049
1050=item - Make sure your locale I<and> the imLocale are supported on your OS.
1051
1052Try C<locale -a> or check the documentation for your OS.
1053
1054=item - Make sure your locale or imLocale matches a locale supported by your XIM.
1055
1056For example, B<kinput2> does not support UTF-8 locales, you should use
1057C<ja_JP.EUC-JP> or equivalent.
1058
1059=item - Make sure your XIM server is actually running.
1060
1061=item - Make sure the C<XMODIFIERS> environment variable is set correctly when I<starting> rxvt-unicode.
1062
1063When you want to use e.g. B<kinput2>, it must be set to
1064C<@im=kinput2>. For B<scim>, use C<@im=SCIM>. Youc an see what input
1065method servers are running with this command:
1066
1067 xprop -root XIM_SERVERS
1068
1069=item
1070
1071=back
1072
1073=head3 My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
1074
1075You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
1076terminal, using the resource C<imlocale>:
1077
1078 URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
1079
1080Now you can start your terminal with C<LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8> and still
1081use your input method. Please note, however, that, depending on your Xlib
1082version, you may not be able to input characters outside C<EUC-JP> in a
1083normal way then, as your input method limits you.
1084
1085=head3 Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.
1086
1087Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by
1088design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
1089leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
1090exit time. B<kinput2> (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
1091while B<SCIM> (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
1092crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
1093
1094So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
1095
1096
1097=head2 Operating Systems / Package Maintaining
1098
1099=head3 I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem...
1100
1101The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large
1102patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but
1103unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to
1104the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine
1105version (L<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce
1106the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific to
1107Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian Bug
1108Tracking System (use C<reportbug> to report the bug).
1109
1110For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and
1111probably should use the Debian BTS, too, because, after all, it's also a
1112bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that
1113might encounter the same issue.
1114
1115=head3 I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?
1116
1117You should build one binary with the default options. F<configure>
1118now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them
1119runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling them,
1120except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should
1121be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in
1122the future) depends on it.
1123
1124You should not overwrite the C<perl-ext-common> snd C<perl-ext> resources
1125system-wide (except maybe with C<defaults>). This will result in useful
1126behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty
1127C<perl-ext-common> resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the
1128perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.
1129
1130If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal
1131one with C<--disable-everything> (very useful) and a maximal one with
1132C<--enable-everything> (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of
1133encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used).
1134
1135=head3 I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe?
1136
1137It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly
1138install urxvt with privileges necessary for your OS now.
1139
1140When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork
1141into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some
1142systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges
1143immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep
1144privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains
1145things as perl interpreters, which might be "helpful" to attackers).
1146
1147This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very early
1148and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before main(), or
1149things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should result in very
1150little risk.
1151
441=item On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide. 1152=head3 On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide.
442 1153
443Seems to be a known bug, read 1154Seems to be a known bug, read
444L<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the 1155L<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the
445following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working: 1156following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working:
446 1157
447 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x) 1158 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x)
448 1159
449=item My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
450
451The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
452correctly, or you specified a B<preeditStyle> that is not supported by
453your input method. For example, if you specified B<OverTheSpot> and
454your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
455does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
456rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
457
458In this case either do not specify a B<preeditStyle> or specify more than
459one pre-edit style, such as B<OverTheSpot,Root,None>.
460
461=item I cannot type C<Ctrl-Shift-2> to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755
462
463Either try C<Ctrl-2> alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
464international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your
465advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for other
466codes, too, such as C<Ctrl-Shift-1-d> to type the default telnet escape
467character and so on.
468
469=item How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?
470
471First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
472(C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
473make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
474rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
475
476 URxvt.colorBD: white
477 URxvt.colorIT: green
478
479=item Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?
480
481For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
482colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
4838 colours (rxvt-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
484these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
485
486In the meantime, you can either edit your C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
487definition to only claim 8 colour support or use C<TERM=rxvt>, which will
488fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
489
490=item I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all. 1160=head3 I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all.
491 1161
492Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined 1162Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined
493in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it, 1163in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,
494wether it defines the symbol or not. C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> requires that 1164wether it defines the symbol or not. C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> requires that
495B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode. 1165B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode.
517 1187
518The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the 1188The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the
519system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry 1189system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry
520complete replacements for them :) 1190complete replacements for them :)
521 1191
522=item I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc. 1192=head3 I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc.
523 1193
524Try the diff in F<doc/solaris9.patch> as a base. It fixes the worst 1194Try the diff in F<doc/solaris9.patch> as a base. It fixes the worst
525problems with C<wcwidth> and a compile problem. 1195problems with C<wcwidth> and a compile problem.
526 1196
527=item How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin? 1197=head3 How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?
528 1198
529rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using 1199rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using
530the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no 1200the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no
531longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a 1201longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a
532single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or 1202single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or
535 1205
536At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any multi-byte 1206At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any multi-byte
537encodings (you might try C<LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8>), so you are likely limited 1207encodings (you might try C<LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8>), so you are likely limited
538to 8-bit encodings. 1208to 8-bit encodings.
539 1209
540=item How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
541
542=item Is there an option to switch encodings?
543
544Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
545specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
546UTF-8 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
547
548The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
549the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
550applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
551and code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>. Applications not using
552that info will have problems (for example, C<xterm> gets the width of
553characters wrong as it uses it's own, locale-independent table under all
554locales).
555
556Rxvt-unicode uses the C<LC_CTYPE> locale category to select encoding. All
557programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
558interpretation of characters.
559
560Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
561is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
562
563On most systems, the content of the C<LC_CTYPE> environment variable
564contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
565locale. Common names for locales are C<en_US.UTF-8>, C<de_DE.ISO-8859-15>,
566C<ja_JP.EUC-JP>, i.e. C<language_country.encoding>, but other forms
567(i.e. C<de> or C<german>) are also common.
568
569Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
570the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
571i.e. C<de_DE.UTF-8> and C<ja_JP.UTF-8> are the normally same to
572rxvt-unicode.
573
574If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
575rxvt-unicode with the correct C<LC_CTYPE> category.
576
577=item Can I switch locales at runtime?
578
579Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
580rxvt-unicode's idea of C<LC_CTYPE>.
581
582 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
583
584See also the previous answer.
585
586Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
587one locale (e.g. C<de_DE.UTF-8>) but some programs don't support it
588(e.g. UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start C<xjdic>, which
589first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
590
591 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
592 xjdic -js
593 printf '\e]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
594
595You can also use xterm's C<luit> program, which usually works fine, except
596for some locales where character width differs between program- and
597rxvt-unicode-locales.
598
599=item Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
600
601Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
602effect as using the C<-fn> switch, and takes effect immediately:
603
604 printf '\e]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
605
606This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
607japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
608japanese fonts would only be in your way.
609
610You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
611
612=item Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
613
614Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
615example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font C<xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
616Mono> completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to
617enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
618
619 URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
620 URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
621
622=item My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
623
624You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
625terminal, using the resource C<imlocale>:
626
627 URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
628
629Now you can start your terminal with C<LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8> and still
630use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able to
631input characters outside C<EUC-JP> in a normal way then, as your input
632method limits you.
633
634=item Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.
635
636Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by
637design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
638leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
639exit time. B<kinput2> (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
640while B<SCIM> (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
641crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
642
643So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
644
645=item Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?
646
647Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something you
648don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
649you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
650when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
651accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
652
653Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
654scrollback buffers: Without C<--enable-unicode3>, rxvt-unicode will use
6556 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
656kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
657use 10 Megabytes of memory. With C<--enable-unicode3> it gets worse, as
658rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
659
660=item Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
661
662Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
663it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
664antialiasing (by appending C<:antialias=false>), which saves lots of
665memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
666
667=item Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
668
669Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
670fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
671fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
672antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
673look best that way.
674
675If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
676
677=item Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
678
679Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
680some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
681heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
682quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
683depressed.
684
685=item What's with this bold/blink stuff?
686
687If no bold colour is set via C<colorBD:>, bold will invert text using the
688standard foreground colour.
689
690For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
691text blink when compiled with C<--enable-blinking>. with standard
692colours. Without C<--enable-blinking>, the blink attribute will be
693ignored.
694
695On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
696foreground/background colors.
697
698color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.
699
700color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
701
702=item I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?
703
704You can change the screen colors at run-time using F<~/.Xdefaults>
705resources (or as long-options).
706
707Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen,
708including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
709
710 URxvt.color0: #000000
711 URxvt.color1: #A80000
712 URxvt.color2: #00A800
713 URxvt.color3: #A8A800
714 URxvt.color4: #0000A8
715 URxvt.color5: #A800A8
716 URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
717 URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
718
719 URxvt.color8: #000054
720 URxvt.color9: #FF0054
721 URxvt.color10: #00FF54
722 URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
723 URxvt.color12: #0000FF
724 URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
725 URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
726 URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
727
728And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors described (not by
729me) as "pretty girly".
730
731 URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
732 URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
733 URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
734 URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
735 URxvt.color0: #000000
736 URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
737 URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
738 URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
739 URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
740 URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
741 URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
742 URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
743 URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
744 URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
745 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
746 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
747 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
748 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
749
750=item How can I start @@RXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?
751
752Try C<@@RXVT_NAME@@d -f -o>, which tells @@RXVT_NAME@@d to open the
753display, create the listening socket and then fork.
754
755=item What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
756
757Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
758BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
759question) there are two standard values that can be used for
760Backspace: C<^H> and C<^?>.
761
762Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
763policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
764choice :).
765
766Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
767of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
768started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
769system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
770be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
771
772For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
773
774 # use Backspace = ^H
775 $ stty erase ^H
776 $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
777
778 # use Backspace = ^?
779 $ stty erase ^?
780 $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
781
782Toggle with C<ESC [ 36 h> / C<ESC [ 36 l>.
783
784For an existing rxvt-unicode:
785
786 # use Backspace = ^H
787 $ stty erase ^H
788 $ echo -n "^[[36h"
789
790 # use Backspace = ^?
791 $ stty erase ^?
792 $ echo -n "^[[36l"
793
794This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
795if you use Backspace = C<^H>, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
796properly reflects that.
797
798The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
799To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
800key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
801(C<ESC [ 3 ~>) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
802
803Some other Backspace problems:
804
805some editors use termcap/terminfo,
806some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
807GNU Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
808
809Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
810
811=item I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?
812
813There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
814you have run "configure" with the C<--disable-resources> option you can
815use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
816
817Here's an example for a URxvt session started using C<@@RXVT_NAME@@ -name URxvt>
818
819 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~
820 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~
821 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>
822 URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \033<C-/>
823 URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \033<C-;>
824 URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \033<C-`>
825 URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \033<C-,>
826 URxvt.keysym.C-period: \033<C-.>
827 URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \033<C-`>
828 URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \033<C-Tab>
829 URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \033<C-Return>
830 URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \033<S-Return>
831 URxvt.keysym.S-space: \033<S-Space>
832 URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \033<M-Up>
833 URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \033<M-Down>
834 URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \033<M-Left>
835 URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \033<M-Right>
836 URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \033<M-C- 0123456789 >
837 URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
838 URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\033]701;zh_CN.GBK\007
839
840See some more examples in the documentation for the B<keysym> resource.
841
842=item I'm using keyboard model XXX that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys.
843How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4
844has the following mappings that rxvt-unicode doesn't recognize.
845
846 KP_Insert == Insert
847 F22 == Print
848 F27 == Home
849 F29 == Prior
850 F33 == End
851 F35 == Next
852
853Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
854keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
855required for your particular machine.
856
857=item How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm?
858I need this to decide about setting colors etc.
859
860rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM", so you can
861check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED, slrn,
862Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide whether or
863not to use color.
864
865=item How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
866
867If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled
868insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
869snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
870wasn't also compiled with ESCZ_ANSWER (as assumed in these snippets) then
871the COLORTERM variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
872regular xterm.
873
874Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
875snippets:
876
877 # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
878 [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
879 if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
880 stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
881 echo -n '^[Z'
882 read term_id
883 stty icanon echo
884 if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
885 echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
886 read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
887 fi
888 fi
889
890=item How do I compile the manual pages for myself?
891
892You need to have a recent version of perl installed as F</usr/bin/perl>,
893one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to
894the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
895
896=item My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?
897
898Before sending me mail, you could go to IRC: C<irc.freenode.net>,
899channel C<#rxvt-unicode> has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
900interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
901
902=back
903
904=head1 RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE 1210=head1 RXVT-UNICODE TECHNICAL REFERENCE
905
906=head1 DESCRIPTION
907 1211
908The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of 1212The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of
909B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences, 1213B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences,
910followed by pixmap support and last by a description of all features 1214followed by pixmap support and last by a description of all features
911selectable at C<configure> time. 1215selectable at C<configure> time.
912 1216
913=head1 Definitions 1217=head2 Definitions
914 1218
915=over 4 1219=over 4
916 1220
917=item B<< C<c> >> 1221=item B<< C<c> >>
918 1222
936 1240
937A text parameter composed of printable characters. 1241A text parameter composed of printable characters.
938 1242
939=back 1243=back
940 1244
941=head1 Values 1245=head2 Values
942 1246
943=over 4 1247=over 4
944 1248
945=item B<< C<ENQ> >> 1249=item B<< C<ENQ> >>
946 1250
989 1293
990Space Character 1294Space Character
991 1295
992=back 1296=back
993 1297
994=head1 Escape Sequences 1298=head2 Escape Sequences
995 1299
996=over 4 1300=over 4
997 1301
998=item B<< C<ESC # 8> >> 1302=item B<< C<ESC # 8> >>
999 1303
1097 1401
1098=back 1402=back
1099 1403
1100X<CSI> 1404X<CSI>
1101 1405
1102=head1 CSI (Command Sequence Introducer) Sequences 1406=head2 CSI (Command Sequence Introducer) Sequences
1103 1407
1104=over 4 1408=over 4
1105 1409
1106=item B<< C<ESC [ Ps @> >> 1410=item B<< C<ESC [ Ps @> >>
1107 1411
1377 1681
1378=back 1682=back
1379 1683
1380X<PrivateModes> 1684X<PrivateModes>
1381 1685
1382=head1 DEC Private Modes 1686=head2 DEC Private Modes
1383 1687
1384=over 4 1688=over 4
1385 1689
1386=item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm h> >> 1690=item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm h> >>
1387 1691
1651 1955
1652=back 1956=back
1653 1957
1654X<XTerm> 1958X<XTerm>
1655 1959
1656=head1 XTerm Operating System Commands 1960=head2 XTerm Operating System Commands
1657 1961
1658=over 4 1962=over 4
1659 1963
1660=item B<< C<ESC ] Ps;Pt ST> >> 1964=item B<< C<ESC ] Ps;Pt ST> >>
1661 1965
1699 2003
1700=end table 2004=end table
1701 2005
1702=back 2006=back
1703 2007
1704X<XPM>
1705
1706=head1 XPM 2008=head1 XPM
1707 2009
1708For the XPM XTerm escape sequence B<< C<ESC ] 20 ; Pt ST> >> then value 2010For the XPM XTerm escape sequence B<< C<ESC ] 20 ; Pt ST> >> then value
1709of B<< C<Pt> >> can be the name of the background pixmap followed by a 2011of B<< C<Pt> >> can be the name of the background pixmap followed by a
1710sequence of scaling/positioning commands separated by semi-colons. The 2012sequence of scaling/positioning commands separated by semi-colons. The
1807=begin table 2109=begin table
1808 2110
1809 4 Shift 2111 4 Shift
1810 8 Meta 2112 8 Meta
1811 16 Control 2113 16 Control
1812 32 Double Click I<(Rxvt extension)> 2114 32 Double Click I<(rxvt extension)>
1813 2115
1814=end table 2116=end table
1815 2117
1816Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >> 2118Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >>
1817 2119
2090 2392
2091 MWM-hints 2393 MWM-hints
2092 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping) 2394 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping)
2093 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor) 2395 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor)
2094 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl) 2396 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl)
2095 visual selection (-depth) 2397 visual depth selection (-depth)
2096 settable extra linespacing /-lsp) 2398 settable extra linespacing /-lsp)
2097 iso-14755-2 and -3, and visual feedback 2399 iso-14755-2 and -3, and visual feedback
2098 backindex and forwardindex escape sequence
2099 window op and some xterm/OSC escape sequences
2100 tripleclickwords (-tcw) 2400 tripleclickwords (-tcw)
2101 settable insecure mode (-insecure) 2401 settable insecure mode (-insecure)
2102 keysym remapping support 2402 keysym remapping support
2103 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc) 2403 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc)
2104 XEmbed support (-embed) 2404 XEmbed support (-embed)
2105 user-pty (-pty-fd) 2405 user-pty (-pty-fd)
2106 hold on exit (-hold) 2406 hold on exit (-hold)
2107 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg) 2407 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg)
2108 sgr modes 90..97 and 100..107
2109 2408
2110It also enabled some non-essential features otherwise disabled, such as: 2409It also enabled some non-essential features otherwise disabled, such as:
2111 2410
2112 some round-trip time optimisations 2411 some round-trip time optimisations
2113 nearest color allocation on pseudocolor screens 2412 nearest color allocation on pseudocolor screens
2413 UTF8_STRING supporr for selection
2414 sgr modes 90..97 and 100..107
2415 backindex and forwardindex escape sequences
2416 view change/zero scorllback esacpe sequences
2417 locale switching escape sequence
2418 window op and some xterm/OSC escape sequences
2419 rectangular selections
2420 trailing space removal for selections
2421 verbose X error handling
2114 2422
2115=item --enable-iso14755 (default: on) 2423=item --enable-iso14755 (default: on)
2116 2424
2117Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or 2425Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or
2118F<doc/rxvt.1.txt>). Basic support (section 5.1) is enabled by 2426F<doc/rxvt.1.txt>). Basic support (section 5.1) is enabled by
2139Remove support for mouse selection style like that of xterm. 2447Remove support for mouse selection style like that of xterm.
2140 2448
2141=item --enable-dmalloc (default: off) 2449=item --enable-dmalloc (default: off)
2142 2450
2143Use Gray Watson's malloc - which is good for debugging See 2451Use Gray Watson's malloc - which is good for debugging See
2144http://www.letters.com/dmalloc/ for details If you use either this or the 2452L<http://www.letters.com/dmalloc/> for details If you use either this or the
2145next option, you may need to edit src/Makefile after compiling to point 2453next option, you may need to edit src/Makefile after compiling to point
2146DINCLUDE and DLIB to the right places. 2454DINCLUDE and DLIB to the right places.
2147 2455
2148You can only use either this option and the following (should 2456You can only use either this option and the following (should
2149you use either) . 2457you use either) .

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