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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 do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc.
79
80The original rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM",
81so you can check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED,
82slrn, Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide
83whether or not to use color.
84
85=head3 How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
86
87If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled
88insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
89snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
90wasn't also compiled with ESCZ_ANSWER (as assumed in these snippets) then
91the COLORTERM variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
92regular xterm.
93
94Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
95snippets:
96
97 # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
98 [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
99 if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
100 stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
101 echo -n '^[Z'
102 read term_id
103 stty icanon echo
104 if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
105 echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
106 read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
107 fi
108 fi
109
110=head3 How do I compile the manual pages on my own?
111
112You need to have a recent version of perl installed as F</usr/bin/perl>,
113one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to
114the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
115
69=item Isn't rxvt supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat? 116=head3 Isn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?
70 117
71I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra 118I 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 119bloat. 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 120that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always being
74compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS) after startup. Even 121compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS) after startup. Even
106(21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra 153(21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra
10743180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of 15443180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of
108startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares 155startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares
109extremely well *g*. 156extremely well *g*.
110 157
111=item Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool? 158=head3 Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?
112 159
113Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: I had 160Is 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 161to 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 162of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). Put even
116shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++. 163shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++.
140 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000) 187 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
141 188
142No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically), 189No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically),
143except maybe libX11 :) 190except maybe libX11 :)
144 191
145=item Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?
146 192
147Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a 193=head2 Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues
148simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these should
149give you tabs:
150 194
151 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -pe tabbed 195=head3 I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?
152 196
197First of all, transparency isn't officially supported in rxvt-unicode, so
198you are mostly on your own. Do not bug the author about it (but you may
199bug everybody else). Also, if you can't get it working consider it a rite
200of passage: ... and you failed.
201
202Here are four ways to get transparency. B<Do> read the manpage and option
203descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt-unicode. Really, do it!
204
2051. Use inheritPixmap:
206
207 Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
208 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -ip -tint red -sh 40
209
210That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
211support, or you are unable to read.
212
2132. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo-transparency. This enables you
214to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
215your picture with gimp or any other tool:
216
217 convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm
218 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background
219
220That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack XPM and Perl support, or you
221are unable to read.
222
2233. Use an ARGB visual:
224
225 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
226
227This requires XFT support, and the support of your X-server. If that
228doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. ARGB visuals aren't
229there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the neccessary
230bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work, but that
231doesn't mean that your WM has the required kludges in place.
232
2334. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
234
235 xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \
236 -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000
237
238Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace C<0xc0000000>
239by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and
240your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.
241
242=head3 Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
243
244This is because there is a difference between script and language --
245rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is,
246as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first
247sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for
248display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many
249chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
250non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
251-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
252chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
253
254The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
255list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
256a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
257first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
258
259In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
260runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
261fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
262has been designed yet).
263
264Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see L<Can
265I switch the fonts at runtime?> later in this document).
266
267=head3 Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?
268
269Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character
270size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might
271contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid
272these characters. For characters that are just "a bit" too wide a special
273"careful" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters.
274
275All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes,
276however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding
277box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to
278ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these
279cases).
280
281It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype,
282or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using
283the C<-lsp> option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you
284might be forced to use a different font.
285
286All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding
287box data is correct.
288
289=head3 How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?
290
291First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
292(C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
293make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
294rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
295
296 URxvt.colorBD: white
297 URxvt.colorIT: green
298
299=head3 Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?
300
301For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
302colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
3038 colours (rxvt-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
304these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
305
306In the meantime, you can either edit your C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
307definition to only claim 8 colour support or use C<TERM=rxvt>, which will
308fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
309
310=head3 Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
311
312Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
313effect as using the C<-fn> switch, and takes effect immediately:
314
315 printf '\e]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
316
317This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
318japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
319japanese fonts would only be in your way.
320
321You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
322
323=head3 Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
324
325Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
326example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font C<xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
327Mono> completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to
328enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
329
330 URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
331 URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
332
333=head3 Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
334
335Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
336it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
337antialiasing (by appending C<:antialias=false>), which saves lots of
338memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
339
340=head3 Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
341
342Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
343fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
344fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
345antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
346look best that way.
347
348If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
349
350=head3 What's with this bold/blink stuff?
351
352If no bold colour is set via C<colorBD:>, bold will invert text using the
353standard foreground colour.
354
355For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
356text blink when compiled with C<--enable-blinking>. with standard
357colours. Without C<--enable-blinking>, the blink attribute will be
358ignored.
359
360On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
361foreground/background colors.
362
363color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.
364
365color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
366
367=head3 I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?
368
369You can change the screen colors at run-time using F<~/.Xdefaults>
370resources (or as long-options).
371
372Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen,
373including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
374
375 URxvt.color0: #000000
376 URxvt.color1: #A80000
377 URxvt.color2: #00A800
378 URxvt.color3: #A8A800
379 URxvt.color4: #0000A8
380 URxvt.color5: #A800A8
381 URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
382 URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
383
384 URxvt.color8: #000054
385 URxvt.color9: #FF0054
386 URxvt.color10: #00FF54
387 URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
388 URxvt.color12: #0000FF
389 URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
390 URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
391 URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
392
393And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors described (not by
394me) as "pretty girly".
395
396 URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
397 URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
398 URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
399 URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
400 URxvt.color0: #000000
401 URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
402 URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
403 URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
404 URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
405 URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
406 URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
407 URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
408 URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
409 URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
410 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
411 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
412 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
413 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
414
415=head3 Why do some characters look so much different than others?
416
417See next entry.
418
419=head3 How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?
420
421Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is
422fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
423your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
424to display.
425
426B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement
427font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks
428bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't
429resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial
430intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe
431the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
432
433In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,
434e.g.:
435
436 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3...
437
438When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
439font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
440next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
441search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
442
443The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base
444font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which
445must be the same due to the way terminals work.
446
447
448=head2 Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction
449
450=head3 The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?
451
452If you want to select e.g. alphanumeric words, you can use the following
453setting:
454
455 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([[:word:]]+)
456
457If you click more than twice, the selection will be extended
458more and more.
459
460To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this pattern:
461
462 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\\\\]^`{|})]+)
463
464Please also note that the I<LeftClick Shift-LeftClik> combination also
465selects words like the old code.
466
467=head3 I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?
468
469You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the
470B<perl-ext-common> resource to the empty string, which also keeps
471rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.
472
473If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to
474identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section
475B<PREPACKAGED EXTENSIONS> in the @@URXVT_NAME@@perl(3) manpage. For
476example, to disable the B<selection-popup> and B<option-popup>, specify
477this B<perl-ext-common> resource:
478
479 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup
480
481This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup
482extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example,
483scrollback search mode is triggered by B<M-s>. You can move it to any
484other combination either by setting the B<searchable-scrollback> resource:
485
486 URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s
487
488=head3 The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?
489
490See next entry.
491
492=head3 During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?
493
494These are caused by the C<readline> perl extension. Under normal
495circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the
496line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,
497but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in some
498cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.
499
500You can permamently switch this feature off by disabling the C<readline>
501extension:
502
153 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed 503 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
154 504
155It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window managers 505=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.
160 506
161=item How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? 507Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no
508specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
509by the wrong C<TERM> setting, although the details of wether and how
510this can happen are unknown, as C<TERM=rxvt> should offer a compatible
511keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
512helped.
162 513
163The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape 514=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.
167 515
168=item I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem... 516The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
517correctly, or you specified a B<preeditStyle> that is not supported by
518your input method. For example, if you specified B<OverTheSpot> and
519your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
520does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
521rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
169 522
170The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large 523In this case either do not specify a B<preeditStyle> or specify more than
171patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but 524one 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).
178 525
179For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and 526=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.
183 527
184=item I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any 528Either try C<Ctrl-2> alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
185recommendation? 529international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your
530advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for other
531codes, too, such as C<Ctrl-Shift-1-d> to type the default telnet escape
532character and so on.
186 533
187You should build one binary with the default options. F<configure> 534=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.
193 535
194You should not overwrite the C<perl-ext-common> snd C<perl-ext> resources 536Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
195system-wide (except maybe with C<defaults>). This will result in useful 537some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
196behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty 538heard 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 539quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
198perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it. 540depressed.
199 541
200If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal 542=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).
204 543
205=item I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe? 544Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
545BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
546question) there are two standard values that can be used for
547Backspace: C<^H> and C<^?>.
206 548
207It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly 549Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
208install urxvt with privileges necessary for your OS now. 550policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
551choice :).
209 552
210When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork 553Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
211into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some 554of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
212systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges 555started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
213immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep 556system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
214privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains 557be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
215things as perl interpreters, which might be "helpful" to attackers).
216 558
217This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very early 559For 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.
221 560
561 # use Backspace = ^H
562 $ stty erase ^H
563 $ @@URXVT_NAME@@
564
565 # use Backspace = ^?
566 $ stty erase ^?
567 $ @@URXVT_NAME@@
568
569Toggle with C<ESC [ 36 h> / C<ESC [ 36 l>.
570
571For an existing rxvt-unicode:
572
573 # use Backspace = ^H
574 $ stty erase ^H
575 $ echo -n "^[[36h"
576
577 # use Backspace = ^?
578 $ stty erase ^?
579 $ echo -n "^[[36l"
580
581This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
582if you use Backspace = C<^H>, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
583properly reflects that.
584
585The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
586To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
587key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
588(C<ESC [ 3 ~>) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
589
590Some other Backspace problems:
591
592some editors use termcap/terminfo,
593some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
594GNU Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
595
596Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
597
598=head3 I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?
599
600There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
601you have run "configure" with the C<--disable-resources> option you can
602use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
603
604Here's an example for a URxvt session started using C<@@URXVT_NAME@@ -name URxvt>
605
606 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~
607 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~
608 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>
609 URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \033<C-/>
610 URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \033<C-;>
611 URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \033<C-`>
612 URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \033<C-,>
613 URxvt.keysym.C-period: \033<C-.>
614 URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \033<C-`>
615 URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \033<C-Tab>
616 URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \033<C-Return>
617 URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \033<S-Return>
618 URxvt.keysym.S-space: \033<S-Space>
619 URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \033<M-Up>
620 URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \033<M-Down>
621 URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \033<M-Left>
622 URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \033<M-Right>
623 URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \033<M-C- 0123456789 >
624 URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
625 URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\033]701;zh_CN.GBK\007
626
627See some more examples in the documentation for the B<keysym> resource.
628
629=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
630
631 KP_Insert == Insert
632 F22 == Print
633 F27 == Home
634 F29 == Prior
635 F33 == End
636 F35 == Next
637
638Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
639keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
640required for your particular machine.
641
642
643
644=head2 Terminal Configuration
645
646=head3 Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?
647
648Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X
649applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your OS loads
650resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will
651ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read
652F<$HOME/.Xdefaults> when no resources are attached to the display.
653
654If you have or use an F<$HOME/.Xresources> file, chances are that
655resources are loaded into your X-server. In this case, you have to
656re-login after every change (or run F<xrdb -merge $HOME/.Xresources>).
657
658Also consider the form resources have to use:
659
660 URxvt.resource: value
661
662If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of
663specifying resources), make sure you understand wether and why it
664works. If unsure, use the form above.
665
222=item When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data? 666=head3 When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?
223 667
224The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available 668The 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). 669as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises).
226 670
227The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can 671The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can
243resource to set it: 687resource to set it:
244 688
245 URxvt.termName: rxvt 689 URxvt.termName: rxvt
246 690
247If you don't plan to use B<rxvt> (quite common...) you could also replace 691If you don't plan to use B<rxvt> (quite common...) you could also replace
248the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. 692the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one and use C<TERM=rxvt>.
249 693
250=item C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry. 694=head3 C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.
251 695
252Most likely it's the empty definition for C<enacs=>. Just replace it by 696Most likely it's the empty definition for C<enacs=>. Just replace it by
253C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again. 697C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again.
254 698
255=item C<bash>'s readline does not work correctly under @@RXVT_NAME@@. 699=head3 C<bash>'s readline does not work correctly under @@URXVT_NAME@@.
256 700
701See next entry.
702
257=item I need a termcap file entry. 703=head3 I need a termcap file entry.
258 704
259One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating 705One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating
260systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap 706systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap
261library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry 707library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry
262for C<rxvt-unicode>. 708for C<rxvt-unicode>.
288 :sc=\E7:se=\E[27m:sf=^J:so=\E[7m:sr=\EM:st=\EH:ta=^I:\ 734 :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:\ 735 :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:\ 736 :us=\E[4m:vb=\E[?5h\E[?5l:ve=\E[?25h:vi=\E[?25l:\
291 :vs=\E[?25h: 737 :vs=\E[?25h:
292 738
293=item Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output? 739=head3 Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output?
294 740
295The C<ls> in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to 741The C<ls> in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to
296decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration 742decide 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 743file. Needless to say, C<rxvt-unicode> is not in it's default file (among
298with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add: 744with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:
303 749
304 alias ls='ls --color=auto' 750 alias ls='ls --color=auto'
305 751
306to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>. 752to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>.
307 753
308=item Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode? 754=head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?
309 755
756See next entry.
757
310=item Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic? 758=head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?
311 759
760See next entry.
761
312=item Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly? 762=head3 Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?
313 763
314Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged 764Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged
315distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode 765distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode
316by setting C<TERM> to C<rxvt>, which doesn't have these extra 766by setting C<TERM> to C<rxvt>, which doesn't have these extra
317features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian 767features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian
318GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo 768GNU/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 769file, 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 770I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?> on
321how to do this). 771how to do this).
322 772
323=item My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
324 773
325Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no 774=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.
331 775
332=item Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding? 776=head3 Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?
333 777
778See next entry.
779
334=item Unicode does not seem to work? 780=head3 Unicode does not seem to work?
335 781
336If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but 782If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
337getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is 783getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is
338subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings. 784subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
339 785
359 805
360If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then 806If 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 807you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't
362support locales :( 808support locales :(
363 809
364=item Why do some characters look so much different than others? 810=head3 How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
365 811
366=item How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts? 812See next entry.
367 813
368Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is 814=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.
372 815
373B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement 816Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
374font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks 817specific "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 818UTF-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.
379 819
380In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list, 820The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
381e.g.: 821the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
382 822applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
383 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3... 823and code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>. Applications not using
384 824that 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 825characters 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). 826locales).
432 827
433It's not clear (to me at least), wether this is a bug in Xft, freetype, 828Rxvt-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 829programs 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 830interpretation of characters.
436might be forced to use a different font.
437 831
438All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding 832Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
439box data is correct. 833is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
440 834
835On most systems, the content of the C<LC_CTYPE> environment variable
836contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
837locale. Common names for locales are C<en_US.UTF-8>, C<de_DE.ISO-8859-15>,
838C<ja_JP.EUC-JP>, i.e. C<language_country.encoding>, but other forms
839(i.e. C<de> or C<german>) are also common.
840
841Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
842the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
843i.e. C<de_DE.UTF-8> and C<ja_JP.UTF-8> are the normally same to
844rxvt-unicode.
845
846If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
847rxvt-unicode with the correct C<LC_CTYPE> category.
848
849=head3 Can I switch locales at runtime?
850
851Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
852rxvt-unicode's idea of C<LC_CTYPE>.
853
854 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
855
856See also the previous answer.
857
858Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
859one locale (e.g. C<de_DE.UTF-8>) but some programs don't support it
860(e.g. UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start C<xjdic>, which
861first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
862
863 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
864 xjdic -js
865 printf '\e]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
866
867You can also use xterm's C<luit> program, which usually works fine, except
868for some locales where character width differs between program- and
869rxvt-unicode-locales.
870
871=head3 My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
872
873You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
874terminal, using the resource C<imlocale>:
875
876 URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
877
878Now you can start your terminal with C<LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8> and still
879use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able to
880input characters outside C<EUC-JP> in a normal way then, as your input
881method limits you.
882
883=head3 Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.
884
885Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by
886design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
887leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
888exit time. B<kinput2> (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
889while B<SCIM> (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
890crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
891
892So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
893
894
895=head2 Operating Systems / Package Maintaining
896
897=head3 I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem...
898
899The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large
900patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but
901unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to
902the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine
903version (L<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce
904the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific to
905Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian Bug
906Tracking System (use C<reportbug> to report the bug).
907
908For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and
909probably should use the Debian BTS, too, because, after all, it's also a
910bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that
911might encounter the same issue.
912
913=head3 I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?
914
915You should build one binary with the default options. F<configure>
916now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them
917runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling them,
918except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should
919be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in
920the future) depends on it.
921
922You should not overwrite the C<perl-ext-common> snd C<perl-ext> resources
923system-wide (except maybe with C<defaults>). This will result in useful
924behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty
925C<perl-ext-common> resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the
926perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.
927
928If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal
929one with C<--disable-everything> (very useful) and a maximal one with
930C<--enable-everything> (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of
931encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used).
932
933=head3 I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe?
934
935It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly
936install urxvt with privileges necessary for your OS now.
937
938When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork
939into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some
940systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges
941immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep
942privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains
943things as perl interpreters, which might be "helpful" to attackers).
944
945This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very early
946and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before main(), or
947things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should result in very
948little risk.
949
441=item On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide. 950=head3 On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide.
442 951
443Seems to be a known bug, read 952Seems to be a known bug, read
444L<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the 953L<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the
445following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working: 954following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working:
446 955
447 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x) 956 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x)
448 957
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. 958=head3 I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all.
491 959
492Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined 960Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined
493in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it, 961in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,
494wether it defines the symbol or not. C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> requires that 962wether it defines the symbol or not. C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> requires that
495B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode. 963B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode.
517 985
518The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the 986The 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 987system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry
520complete replacements for them :) 988complete replacements for them :)
521 989
522=item I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc. 990=head3 I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc.
523 991
524Try the diff in F<doc/solaris9.patch> as a base. It fixes the worst 992Try the diff in F<doc/solaris9.patch> as a base. It fixes the worst
525problems with C<wcwidth> and a compile problem. 993problems with C<wcwidth> and a compile problem.
526 994
527=item How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin? 995=head3 How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?
528 996
529rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using 997rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using
530the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no 998the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no
531longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a 999longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a
532single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or 1000single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or
535 1003
536At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any multi-byte 1004At 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 1005encodings (you might try C<LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8>), so you are likely limited
538to 8-bit encodings. 1006to 8-bit encodings.
539 1007
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 1008=head1 RXVT-UNICODE TECHNICAL REFERENCE
905 1009
906=head1 DESCRIPTION 1010=head1 DESCRIPTION
907 1011
908The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of 1012The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of
909B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences, 1013B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences,
1807=begin table 1911=begin table
1808 1912
1809 4 Shift 1913 4 Shift
1810 8 Meta 1914 8 Meta
1811 16 Control 1915 16 Control
1812 32 Double Click I<(Rxvt extension)> 1916 32 Double Click I<(rxvt extension)>
1813 1917
1814=end table 1918=end table
1815 1919
1816Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >> 1920Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >>
1817 1921
2090 2194
2091 MWM-hints 2195 MWM-hints
2092 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping) 2196 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping)
2093 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor) 2197 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor)
2094 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl) 2198 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl)
2095 visual selection (-depth) 2199 visual depth selection (-depth)
2096 settable extra linespacing /-lsp) 2200 settable extra linespacing /-lsp)
2097 iso-14755-2 and -3, and visual feedback 2201 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) 2202 tripleclickwords (-tcw)
2101 settable insecure mode (-insecure) 2203 settable insecure mode (-insecure)
2102 keysym remapping support 2204 keysym remapping support
2103 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc) 2205 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc)
2104 XEmbed support (-embed) 2206 XEmbed support (-embed)
2105 user-pty (-pty-fd) 2207 user-pty (-pty-fd)
2106 hold on exit (-hold) 2208 hold on exit (-hold)
2107 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg) 2209 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg)
2210
2211It also enabled some non-essential features otherwise disabled, such as:
2212
2213 some round-trip time optimisations
2214 nearest color allocation on pseudocolor screens
2215 UTF8_STRING supporr for selection
2108 sgr modes 90..97 and 100..107 2216 sgr modes 90..97 and 100..107
2217 backindex and forwardindex escape sequences
2218 view change/zero scorllback esacpe sequences
2219 locale switching escape sequence
2220 window op and some xterm/OSC escape sequences
2221 rectangular selections
2222 trailing space removal for selections
2223 verbose X error handling
2109 2224
2110=item --enable-iso14755 (default: on) 2225=item --enable-iso14755 (default: on)
2111 2226
2112Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or 2227Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or
2113F<doc/rxvt.1.txt>). Basic support (section 5.1) is enabled by 2228F<doc/rxvt.1.txt>). Basic support (section 5.1) is enabled by

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