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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
147rxvt-unicode does not directly support tabs. It will work fine with 210=head2 Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues
148tabbing functionality of many window managers or similar tabbing programs,
149and its embedding-features allow it to be embedded into other programs,
150as witnessed by F<doc/rxvt-tabbed> or the upcoming C<Gtk2::URxvt> perl
151module, which features a tabbed urxvt (murxvt) terminal as an example
152embedding application.
153 211
154=item How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? 212=head3 I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?
155 213
156The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape 214First of all, transparency isn't officially supported in rxvt-unicode, so
157sequence C<ESC [ 8 n> sets the window title to the version number. When 215you are mostly on your own. Do not bug the author about it (but you may
158using the @@RXVT_NAME@@c client, the version displayed is that of the 216bug everybody else). Also, if you can't get it working consider it a rite
159daemon. 217of passage: ... and you failed.
160 218
161=item I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem... 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!
162 221
163The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large 2221. Use inheritPixmap:
164patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode. Before
165reporting a bug to the original rxvt-unicode author please download and
166install the genuine version (L<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>)
167and try to reproduce the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the
168problems are specific to Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be
169reported via the Debian Bug Tracking System (use C<reportbug> to report
170the bug).
171 223
172For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and 224 Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
173probably should use the Debian BTS, too, because, after all, it's also a 225 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -ip -tint red -sh 40
174bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that
175might encounter the same issue.
176 226
177=item I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation? 227That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
228support, or you are unable to read.
178 229
179You should build one binary with the default options. F<configure> 2302. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo-transparency. This enables you
180now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them 231to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
181runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enbaling them, 232your picture with gimp or any other tool:
182except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should
183be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in
184the future) depends on it.
185 233
186You should not overwrite the C<perl-ext-common> snd C<perl-ext> resources 234 convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm
187system-wide (except maybe with C<defaults>). This will result in useful 235 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background
188behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty
189C<perl-ext-common> resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the
190perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.
191 236
192If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal 237That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack XPM and Perl support, or you
193one with C<--disable-everything> (very useful) and a maximal one with 238are unable to read.
194C<--enable-everything> (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of
195encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used).
196 239
197=item I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe? 2403. Use an ARGB visual:
198 241
199Likely not. While I honestly try to make it secure, and am probably not 242 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
200bad at it, I think it is simply unreasonable to expect all of freetype
201+ fontconfig + xft + xlib + perl + ... + rxvt-unicode itself to all be
202secure. Also, rxvt-unicode disables some options when it detects that it
203runs setuid or setgid, which is not nice. Besides, with the embedded perl
204interpreter the possibility for security problems easily multiplies.
205 243
206Elevated privileges are only required for utmp and pty operations on some 244This requires XFT support, and the support of your X-server. If that
207systems (for example, GNU/Linux doesn't need any extra privileges for 245doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. ARGB visuals aren't
208ptys, but some need it for utmp support). It is planned to mvoe this into 246there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the neccessary
209a forked handler process, but this is not yet done. 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.
210 249
211So, while setuid/setgid operation is supported and not a problem on your 2504. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
212typical single-user-no-other-logins unix desktop, always remember that
213its an awful lot of code, most of which isn't checked for security issues
214regularly.
215 251
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 '\33]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
520 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
521
522=head3 My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
523
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.
530
531=head3 My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
532
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.
539
540In this case either do not specify a B<preeditStyle> or specify more than
541one pre-edit style, such as B<OverTheSpot,Root,None>.
542
543=head3 I cannot type C<Ctrl-Shift-2> to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755
544
545Either try C<Ctrl-2> alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
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.
550
551=head3 Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
552
553Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
554some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
555heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
556quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
557depressed.
558
559=head3 What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
560
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<^?>.
565
566Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
567policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
568choice :).
569
570Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
571of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
572started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
573system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
574be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
575
576For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
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
216=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?
217 838
218The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available 839The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available
219as 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).
220 841
221The 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
237resource to set it: 858resource to set it:
238 859
239 URxvt.termName: rxvt 860 URxvt.termName: rxvt
240 861
241If 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
242the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. 863the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one and use C<TERM=rxvt>.
243 864
244=item C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry. 865=head3 C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.
245 866
246Most 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
247C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again. 868C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again.
248 869
249=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@@.
250 871
872See next entry.
873
251=item I need a termcap file entry. 874=head3 I need a termcap file entry.
252 875
253One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating 876One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating
254systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap 877systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap
255library (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
256for C<rxvt-unicode>. 879for C<rxvt-unicode>.
282 :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:\
283 :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:\
284 :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:\
285 :vs=\E[?25h: 908 :vs=\E[?25h:
286 909
287=item Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output? 910=head3 Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output?
288 911
289The 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
290decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration 913decide wether a terminal has colour, but uses it's own configuration
291file. 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
292with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add: 915with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:
297 920
298 alias ls='ls --color=auto' 921 alias ls='ls --color=auto'
299 922
300to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>. 923to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>.
301 924
302=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?
303 926
927See next entry.
928
304=item Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic? 929=head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?
305 930
931See next entry.
932
306=item Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly? 933=head3 Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?
307 934
308Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged 935Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged
309distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode 936distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode
310by 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
311features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian 938features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian
312GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo 939GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
313file, 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
314I 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
315how to do this). 942how to do this).
316 943
317=item My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
318 944
319Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no 945=head2 Encoding / Locale / Input Method Issues
320specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
321by the wrong C<TERM> setting, although the details of wether and how
322this can happen are unknown, as C<TERM=rxvt> should offer a compatible
323keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
324helped.
325 946
326=item Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding? 947=head3 Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?
327 948
949See next entry.
950
328=item Unicode does not seem to work? 951=head3 Unicode does not seem to work?
329 952
330If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but 953If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
331getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is 954getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is
332subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings. 955subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
333 956
337something else, e.g. C<en_GB.UTF-8>. Needless to say, this is not going to work. 960something else, e.g. C<en_GB.UTF-8>. Needless to say, this is not going to work.
338 961
339The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely run 962The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely run
340into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your .profile. 963into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your .profile.
341 964
342 printf '\e]701;%s\007' "$LC_CTYPE" 965 printf '\33]701;%s\007' "$LC_CTYPE"
343 966
344If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a C<LC_CTYPE> specification not 967If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a C<LC_CTYPE> specification not
345supported on your systems. Some systems have a C<locale> command which 968supported on your systems. Some systems have a C<locale> command which
346displays this (also, C<perl -e0> can be used to check locale settings, as 969displays this (also, C<perl -e0> can be used to check locale settings, as
347it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays something 970it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays something
353 976
354If 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
355you 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
356support locales :( 979support locales :(
357 980
358=item Why do some characters look so much different than others? 981=head3 How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
359 982
360=item How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts? 983See next entry.
361 984
362Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is 985=head3 Is there an option to switch encodings?
363fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
364your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
365to display.
366 986
367B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement 987Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
368font. 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
369bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't 989UTF-8 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
370resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial
371intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe
372the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
373 990
374In 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
375e.g.: 992the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
376 993applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
377 @@RXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3... 994and code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>. Applications not using
378 995that info will have problems (for example, C<xterm> gets the width of
379When 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
380font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
381next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
382search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
383
384The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base
385font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which
386must be the same due to the way terminals work.
387
388=item Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
389
390This is because there is a difference between script and language --
391rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is,
392as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first
393sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for
394display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many
395chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
396non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
397-- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
398chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
399
400The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
401list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
402a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
403first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
404
405In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
406runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
407fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
408has been designed yet).
409
410Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see L<Can
411I switch the fonts at runtime?> later in this document).
412
413=item Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?
414
415Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character
416size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might
417contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid
418these characters. For characters that are just "a bit" too wide a special
419"careful" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters.
420
421All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes,
422however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding
423box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to
424ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these
425cases). 997locales).
426 998
427It'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
428or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using 1000programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
429the C<-lsp> option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you 1001interpretation of characters.
430might be forced to use a different font.
431 1002
432All 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
433box data is correct. 1004is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
434 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 '\33]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 '\33]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1035 xjdic -js
1036 printf '\33]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
435=item On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide. 1152=head3 On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide.
436 1153
437Seems to be a known bug, read 1154Seems to be a known bug, read
438L<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the 1155L<http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the
439following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working: 1156following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working:
440 1157
441 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x) 1158 #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x)
442 1159
443=item My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
444
445The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
446correctly, or you specified a B<preeditStyle> that is not supported by
447your input method. For example, if you specified B<OverTheSpot> and
448your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
449does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
450rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
451
452In this case either do not specify a B<preeditStyle> or specify more than
453one pre-edit style, such as B<OverTheSpot,Root,None>.
454
455=item I cannot type C<Ctrl-Shift-2> to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755
456
457Either try C<Ctrl-2> alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
458international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your
459advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for other
460codes, too, such as C<Ctrl-Shift-1-d> to type the default telnet escape
461character and so on.
462
463=item How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?
464
465First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
466(C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
467make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
468rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
469
470 URxvt.colorBD: white
471 URxvt.colorIT: green
472
473=item Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?
474
475For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
476colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
4778 colours (rxvt-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
478these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
479
480In the meantime, you can either edit your C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
481definition to only claim 8 colour support or use C<TERM=rxvt>, which will
482fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
483
484=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.
485 1161
486Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined 1162Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined
487in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it, 1163in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,
488wether 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
489B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode. 1165B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode.
511 1187
512The 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
513system 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
514complete replacements for them :) 1190complete replacements for them :)
515 1191
516=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.
517 1193
518Try 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
519problems with C<wcwidth> and a compile problem. 1195problems with C<wcwidth> and a compile problem.
520 1196
521=item How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin? 1197=head3 How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?
522 1198
523rxvt-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
524the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no 1200the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no
525longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a 1201longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a
526single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or 1202single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or
529 1205
530At 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
531encodings (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
532to 8-bit encodings. 1208to 8-bit encodings.
533 1209
534=item How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
535
536=item Is there an option to switch encodings?
537
538Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
539specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
540UTF-8 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
541
542The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
543the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
544applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
545and code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>. Applications not using
546that info will have problems (for example, C<xterm> gets the width of
547characters wrong as it uses it's own, locale-independent table under all
548locales).
549
550Rxvt-unicode uses the C<LC_CTYPE> locale category to select encoding. All
551programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
552interpretation of characters.
553
554Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
555is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
556
557On most systems, the content of the C<LC_CTYPE> environment variable
558contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
559locale. Common names for locales are C<en_US.UTF-8>, C<de_DE.ISO-8859-15>,
560C<ja_JP.EUC-JP>, i.e. C<language_country.encoding>, but other forms
561(i.e. C<de> or C<german>) are also common.
562
563Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
564the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
565i.e. C<de_DE.UTF-8> and C<ja_JP.UTF-8> are the normally same to
566rxvt-unicode.
567
568If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
569rxvt-unicode with the correct C<LC_CTYPE> category.
570
571=item Can I switch locales at runtime?
572
573Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
574rxvt-unicode's idea of C<LC_CTYPE>.
575
576 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
577
578See also the previous answer.
579
580Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
581one locale (e.g. C<de_DE.UTF-8>) but some programs don't support it
582(e.g. UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start C<xjdic>, which
583first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
584
585 printf '\e]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
586 xjdic -js
587 printf '\e]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
588
589You can also use xterm's C<luit> program, which usually works fine, except
590for some locales where character width differs between program- and
591rxvt-unicode-locales.
592
593=item Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
594
595Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
596effect as using the C<-fn> switch, and takes effect immediately:
597
598 printf '\e]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
599
600This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
601japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
602japanese fonts would only be in your way.
603
604You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
605
606=item Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
607
608Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
609example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font C<xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
610Mono> completely fails in it's italic face. A workaround might be to
611enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
612
613 URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
614 URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
615
616=item My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
617
618You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
619terminal, using the resource C<imlocale>:
620
621 URxvt*imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
622
623Now you can start your terminal with C<LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8> and still
624use your input method. Please note, however, that you will not be able to
625input characters outside C<EUC-JP> in a normal way then, as your input
626method limits you.
627
628=item Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.
629
630Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by
631design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
632leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
633exit time. B<kinput2> (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
634while B<SCIM> (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
635crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
636
637So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
638
639=item Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?
640
641Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something you
642don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
643you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
644when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
645accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
646
647Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
648scrollback buffers: Without C<--enable-unicode3>, rxvt-unicode will use
6496 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
650kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
651use 10 Megabytes of memory. With C<--enable-unicode3> it gets worse, as
652rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
653
654=item Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
655
656Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
657it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
658antialiasing (by appending C<:antialias=false>), which saves lots of
659memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
660
661=item Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
662
663Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
664fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core
665fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
666antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
667look best that way.
668
669If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
670
671=item Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
672
673Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
674some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
675heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
676quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
677depressed.
678
679=item What's with this bold/blink stuff?
680
681If no bold colour is set via C<colorBD:>, bold will invert text using the
682standard foreground colour.
683
684For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
685text blink when compiled with C<--enable-blinking>. with standard
686colours. Without C<--enable-blinking>, the blink attribute will be
687ignored.
688
689On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
690foreground/background colors.
691
692color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.
693
694color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
695
696=item I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?
697
698You can change the screen colors at run-time using F<~/.Xdefaults>
699resources (or as long-options).
700
701Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen,
702including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
703
704 URxvt.color0: #000000
705 URxvt.color1: #A80000
706 URxvt.color2: #00A800
707 URxvt.color3: #A8A800
708 URxvt.color4: #0000A8
709 URxvt.color5: #A800A8
710 URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
711 URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
712
713 URxvt.color8: #000054
714 URxvt.color9: #FF0054
715 URxvt.color10: #00FF54
716 URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
717 URxvt.color12: #0000FF
718 URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
719 URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
720 URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
721
722And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors described (not by
723me) as "pretty girly".
724
725 URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
726 URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
727 URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
728 URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
729 URxvt.color0: #000000
730 URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
731 URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
732 URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
733 URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
734 URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
735 URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
736 URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
737 URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
738 URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
739 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
740 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
741 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
742 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
743
744=item How can I start @@RXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?
745
746Try C<@@RXVT_NAME@@d -f -o>, which tells @@RXVT_NAME@@d to open the
747display, create the listening socket and then fork.
748
749=item What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
750
751Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
752BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
753question) there are two standard values that can be used for
754Backspace: C<^H> and C<^?>.
755
756Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
757policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one only only correct
758choice :).
759
760Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
761of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
762started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
763system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
764be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
765
766For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
767
768 # use Backspace = ^H
769 $ stty erase ^H
770 $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
771
772 # use Backspace = ^?
773 $ stty erase ^?
774 $ @@RXVT_NAME@@
775
776Toggle with C<ESC [ 36 h> / C<ESC [ 36 l>.
777
778For an existing rxvt-unicode:
779
780 # use Backspace = ^H
781 $ stty erase ^H
782 $ echo -n "^[[36h"
783
784 # use Backspace = ^?
785 $ stty erase ^?
786 $ echo -n "^[[36l"
787
788This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
789if you use Backspace = C<^H>, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
790properly reflects that.
791
792The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
793To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
794key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
795(C<ESC [ 3 ~>) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
796
797Some other Backspace problems:
798
799some editors use termcap/terminfo,
800some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
801GNU Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
802
803Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
804
805=item I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?
806
807There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
808you have run "configure" with the C<--disable-resources> option you can
809use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
810
811Here's an example for a URxvt session started using C<@@RXVT_NAME@@ -name URxvt>
812
813 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~
814 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~
815 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>
816 URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \033<C-/>
817 URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \033<C-;>
818 URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \033<C-`>
819 URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \033<C-,>
820 URxvt.keysym.C-period: \033<C-.>
821 URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \033<C-`>
822 URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \033<C-Tab>
823 URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \033<C-Return>
824 URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \033<S-Return>
825 URxvt.keysym.S-space: \033<S-Space>
826 URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \033<M-Up>
827 URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \033<M-Down>
828 URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \033<M-Left>
829 URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \033<M-Right>
830 URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \033<M-C- 0123456789 >
831 URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
832 URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\033]701;zh_CN.GBK\007
833
834See some more examples in the documentation for the B<keysym> resource.
835
836=item I'm using keyboard model XXX that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys.
837How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4
838has the following mappings that rxvt-unicode doesn't recognize.
839
840 KP_Insert == Insert
841 F22 == Print
842 F27 == Home
843 F29 == Prior
844 F33 == End
845 F35 == Next
846
847Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
848keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
849required for your particular machine.
850
851=item How do I distinguish wether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm?
852I need this to decide about setting colors etc.
853
854rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM", so you can
855check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED, slrn,
856Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide whether or
857not to use color.
858
859=item How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
860
861If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled
862insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
863snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
864wasn't also compiled with ESCZ_ANSWER (as assumed in these snippets) then
865the COLORTERM variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
866regular xterm.
867
868Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
869snippets:
870
871 # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
872 [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
873 if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
874 stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
875 echo -n '^[Z'
876 read term_id
877 stty icanon echo
878 if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
879 echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
880 read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
881 fi
882 fi
883
884=item How do I compile the manual pages for myself?
885
886You need to have a recent version of perl installed as F</usr/bin/perl>,
887one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2html>. Then go to
888the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
889
890=item My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?
891
892Before sending me mail, you could go to IRC: C<irc.freenode.net>,
893channel C<#rxvt-unicode> has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
894interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
895
896=back
897
898=head1 RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE 1210=head1 RXVT-UNICODE TECHNICAL REFERENCE
899
900=head1 DESCRIPTION
901 1211
902The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of 1212The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of
903B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences, 1213B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences,
904followed by menu and pixmap support and last by a description of all 1214followed by pixmap support and last by a description of all features
905features selectable at C<configure> time. 1215selectable at C<configure> time.
906 1216
907=head1 Definitions 1217=head2 Definitions
908 1218
909=over 4 1219=over 4
910 1220
911=item B<< C<c> >> 1221=item B<< C<c> >>
912 1222
930 1240
931A text parameter composed of printable characters. 1241A text parameter composed of printable characters.
932 1242
933=back 1243=back
934 1244
935=head1 Values 1245=head2 Values
936 1246
937=over 4 1247=over 4
938 1248
939=item B<< C<ENQ> >> 1249=item B<< C<ENQ> >>
940 1250
983 1293
984Space Character 1294Space Character
985 1295
986=back 1296=back
987 1297
988=head1 Escape Sequences 1298=head2 Escape Sequences
989 1299
990=over 4 1300=over 4
991 1301
992=item B<< C<ESC # 8> >> 1302=item B<< C<ESC # 8> >>
993 1303
1091 1401
1092=back 1402=back
1093 1403
1094X<CSI> 1404X<CSI>
1095 1405
1096=head1 CSI (Command Sequence Introducer) Sequences 1406=head2 CSI (Command Sequence Introducer) Sequences
1097 1407
1098=over 4 1408=over 4
1099 1409
1100=item B<< C<ESC [ Ps @> >> 1410=item B<< C<ESC [ Ps @> >>
1101 1411
1371 1681
1372=back 1682=back
1373 1683
1374X<PrivateModes> 1684X<PrivateModes>
1375 1685
1376=head1 DEC Private Modes 1686=head2 DEC Private Modes
1377 1687
1378=over 4 1688=over 4
1379 1689
1380=item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm h> >> 1690=item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm h> >>
1381 1691
1645 1955
1646=back 1956=back
1647 1957
1648X<XTerm> 1958X<XTerm>
1649 1959
1650=head1 XTerm Operating System Commands 1960=head2 XTerm Operating System Commands
1651 1961
1652=over 4 1962=over 4
1653 1963
1654=item B<< C<ESC ] Ps;Pt ST> >> 1964=item B<< C<ESC ] Ps;Pt ST> >>
1655 1965
1669 B<< C<Ps = 12> >> Change colour of text cursor foreground to B<< C<Pt> >> 1979 B<< C<Ps = 12> >> Change colour of text cursor foreground to B<< C<Pt> >>
1670 B<< C<Ps = 13> >> Change colour of mouse foreground to B<< C<Pt> >> 1980 B<< C<Ps = 13> >> Change colour of mouse foreground to B<< C<Pt> >>
1671 B<< C<Ps = 17> >> Change colour of highlight characters to B<< C<Pt> >> 1981 B<< C<Ps = 17> >> Change colour of highlight characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
1672 B<< C<Ps = 18> >> Change colour of bold characters to B<< C<Pt> >> [deprecated, see 706] 1982 B<< C<Ps = 18> >> Change colour of bold characters to B<< C<Pt> >> [deprecated, see 706]
1673 B<< C<Ps = 19> >> Change colour of underlined characters to B<< C<Pt> >> [deprecated, see 707] 1983 B<< C<Ps = 19> >> Change colour of underlined characters to B<< C<Pt> >> [deprecated, see 707]
1674 B<< C<Ps = 20> >> Change default background to B<< C<Pt> >> 1984 B<< C<Ps = 20> >> Change background pixmap parameters (see section XPM) (Compile XPM).
1675 B<< C<Ps = 39> >> Change default foreground colour to B<< C<Pt> >>. 1985 B<< C<Ps = 39> >> Change default foreground colour to B<< C<Pt> >>.
1676 B<< C<Ps = 46> >> Change Log File to B<< C<Pt> >> I<unimplemented> 1986 B<< C<Ps = 46> >> Change Log File to B<< C<Pt> >> I<unimplemented>
1677 B<< C<Ps = 49> >> Change default background colour to B<< C<Pt> >>. 1987 B<< C<Ps = 49> >> Change default background colour to B<< C<Pt> >>.
1678 B<< C<Ps = 50> >> Set fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>, with the following special values of B<< C<Pt> >> (B<rxvt>) B<< C<#+n> >> change up B<< C<n> >> B<< C<#-n> >> change down B<< C<n> >> if B<< C<n> >> is missing of 0, a value of 1 is used I<empty> change to font0 B<< C<n> >> change to font B<< C<n> >> 1988 B<< C<Ps = 50> >> Set fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>, with the following special values of B<< C<Pt> >> (B<rxvt>) B<< C<#+n> >> change up B<< C<n> >> B<< C<#-n> >> change down B<< C<n> >> if B<< C<n> >> is missing of 0, a value of 1 is used I<empty> change to font0 B<< C<n> >> change to font B<< C<n> >>
1679 B<< C<Ps = 55> >> Log all scrollback buffer and all of screen to B<< C<Pt> >> 1989 B<< C<Ps = 55> >> Log all scrollback buffer and all of screen to B<< C<Pt> >>
1680 B<< C<Ps = 701> >> Change current locale to B<< C<Pt> >>, or, if B<< C<Pt> >> is B<< C<?> >>, return the current locale (Compile frills). 1990 B<< C<Ps = 701> >> Change current locale to B<< C<Pt> >>, or, if B<< C<Pt> >> is B<< C<?> >>, return the current locale (Compile frills).
1991 B<< C<Ps = 702> >> Request version if B<< C<Pt> >> is B<< C<?> >>, returning C<rxvt-unicode>, the resource name, the major and minor version numbers, e.g. C<ESC ] 702 ; rxvt-unicode ; urxvt ; 7 ; 4 ST>.
1681 B<< C<Ps = 704> >> Change colour of italic characters to B<< C<Pt> >> 1992 B<< C<Ps = 704> >> Change colour of italic characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
1682 B<< C<Ps = 705> >> Change background pixmap tint colour to B<< C<Pt> >> (Compile transparency). 1993 B<< C<Ps = 705> >> Change background pixmap tint colour to B<< C<Pt> >> (Compile transparency).
1683 B<< C<Ps = 706> >> Change colour of bold characters to B<< C<Pt> >> 1994 B<< C<Ps = 706> >> Change colour of bold characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
1684 B<< C<Ps = 707> >> Change colour of underlined characters to B<< C<Pt> >> 1995 B<< C<Ps = 707> >> Change colour of underlined characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
1685 B<< C<Ps = 710> >> Set normal fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>. Same as C<Ps = 50>. 1996 B<< C<Ps = 710> >> Set normal fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>. Same as C<Ps = 50>.
1692 2003
1693=end table 2004=end table
1694 2005
1695=back 2006=back
1696 2007
1697X<XPM>
1698
1699=head1 XPM 2008=head1 XPM
1700 2009
1701For 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
1702of 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
1703sequence of scaling/positioning commands separated by semi-colons. The 2012sequence of scaling/positioning commands separated by semi-colons. The
1800=begin table 2109=begin table
1801 2110
1802 4 Shift 2111 4 Shift
1803 8 Meta 2112 8 Meta
1804 16 Control 2113 16 Control
1805 32 Double Click I<(Rxvt extension)> 2114 32 Double Click I<(rxvt extension)>
1806 2115
1807=end table 2116=end table
1808 2117
1809Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >> 2118Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >>
1810 2119
1948alternative input methods (e.g. kinput2) and will also correctly 2257alternative input methods (e.g. kinput2) and will also correctly
1949set up the input for people using dead keys or compose keys. 2258set up the input for people using dead keys or compose keys.
1950 2259
1951=item --enable-unicode3 (default: off) 2260=item --enable-unicode3 (default: off)
1952 2261
2262Recommended to stay off unless you really need non-BMP characters.
2263
1953Enable direct support for displaying unicode codepoints above 2264Enable direct support for displaying unicode codepoints above
195465535 (the basic multilingual page). This increases storage 226565535 (the basic multilingual page). This increases storage
1955requirements per character from 2 to 4 bytes. X11 fonts do not yet 2266requirements per character from 2 to 4 bytes. X11 fonts do not yet
1956support these extra characters, but Xft does. 2267support these extra characters, but Xft does.
1957 2268
1967composite characters. This is required for proper viewing of text 2278composite characters. This is required for proper viewing of text
1968where accents are encoded as seperate unicode characters. This is 2279where accents are encoded as seperate unicode characters. This is
1969done by using precomposited characters when available or creating 2280done by using precomposited characters when available or creating
1970new pseudo-characters when no precomposed form exists. 2281new pseudo-characters when no precomposed form exists.
1971 2282
1972Without --enable-unicode3, the number of additional precomposed characters 2283Without --enable-unicode3, the number of additional precomposed
1973is rather limited (2048, if this is full, rxvt-unicode will use the 2284characters is somewhat limited (the 6400 private use characters will be
1974private use area, extending the number of combinations to 8448). With
1975--enable-unicode3, no practical limit exists. 2285(ab-)used). With --enable-unicode3, no practical limit exists.
1976 2286
1977This option will also enable storage (but not display) of characters 2287This option will also enable storage (but not display) of characters
1978beyond plane 0 (>65535) when --enable-unicode3 was not specified. 2288beyond plane 0 (>65535) when --enable-unicode3 was not specified.
1979 2289
1980The combining table also contains entries for arabic presentation forms, 2290The combining table also contains entries for arabic presentation forms,
1981but these are not currently used. Bug me if you want these to be used (and 2291but these are not currently used. Bug me if you want these to be used (and
1982tell me how these are to be used...). 2292tell me how these are to be used...).
1983 2293
1984=item --enable-fallback(=CLASS) (default: Rxvt) 2294=item --enable-fallback(=CLASS) (default: Rxvt)
1985 2295
1986When reading resource settings, also read settings for class CLASS. To disable resource fallback use --disable-fallback. 2296When reading resource settings, also read settings for class CLASS. To
2297disable resource fallback use --disable-fallback.
1987 2298
1988=item --with-res-name=NAME (default: urxvt) 2299=item --with-res-name=NAME (default: urxvt)
1989 2300
1990Use the given name as default application name when 2301Use the given name as default application name when
1991reading resources. Specify --with-res-name=rxvt to replace rxvt. 2302reading resources. Specify --with-res-name=rxvt to replace rxvt.
2045=item --enable-plain-scroll (default: on) 2356=item --enable-plain-scroll (default: on)
2046 2357
2047Add support for a very unobtrusive, plain-looking scrollbar that 2358Add support for a very unobtrusive, plain-looking scrollbar that
2048is the favourite of the rxvt-unicode author, having used it for 2359is the favourite of the rxvt-unicode author, having used it for
2049many years. 2360many years.
2050
2051=item --enable-half-shadow (default: off)
2052
2053Make shadows on the scrollbar only half the normal width & height.
2054only applicable to rxvt scrollbars.
2055 2361
2056=item --enable-ttygid (default: off) 2362=item --enable-ttygid (default: off)
2057 2363
2058Change tty device setting to group "tty" - only use this if 2364Change tty device setting to group "tty" - only use this if
2059your system uses this type of security. 2365your system uses this type of security.
2086 2392
2087 MWM-hints 2393 MWM-hints
2088 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping) 2394 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping)
2089 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor) 2395 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor)
2090 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl) 2396 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl)
2397 visual depth selection (-depth)
2091 settable extra linespacing /-lsp) 2398 settable extra linespacing /-lsp)
2092 iso-14755-2 and -3, and visual feedback 2399 iso-14755-2 and -3, and visual feedback
2093 backindex and forwardindex escape sequence
2094 window op and some xterm/OSC escape sequences
2095 tripleclickwords (-tcw) 2400 tripleclickwords (-tcw)
2096 settable insecure mode (-insecure) 2401 settable insecure mode (-insecure)
2097 keysym remapping support 2402 keysym remapping support
2098 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc) 2403 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc)
2099 XEmbed support (-embed) 2404 XEmbed support (-embed)
2100 user-pty (-pty-fd) 2405 user-pty (-pty-fd)
2101 hold on exit (-hold) 2406 hold on exit (-hold)
2102 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg) 2407 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg)
2408
2409It also enabled some non-essential features otherwise disabled, such as:
2410
2411 some round-trip time optimisations
2412 nearest color allocation on pseudocolor screens
2413 UTF8_STRING supporr for selection
2103 sgr modes 90..97 and 100..107 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
2104 2422
2105=item --enable-iso14755 (default: on) 2423=item --enable-iso14755 (default: on)
2106 2424
2107Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or 2425Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or
2108F<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
2129Remove support for mouse selection style like that of xterm. 2447Remove support for mouse selection style like that of xterm.
2130 2448
2131=item --enable-dmalloc (default: off) 2449=item --enable-dmalloc (default: off)
2132 2450
2133Use Gray Watson's malloc - which is good for debugging See 2451Use Gray Watson's malloc - which is good for debugging See
2134http://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
2135next 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
2136DINCLUDE and DLIB to the right places. 2454DINCLUDE and DLIB to the right places.
2137 2455
2138You can only use either this option and the following (should 2456You can only use either this option and the following (should
2139you use either) . 2457you use either) .
2151 2469
2152=item --enable-pointer-blank (default: on) 2470=item --enable-pointer-blank (default: on)
2153 2471
2154Add support to have the pointer disappear when typing or inactive. 2472Add support to have the pointer disappear when typing or inactive.
2155 2473
2156=item --enable-perl (default: off) 2474=item --enable-perl (default: on)
2157 2475
2158Enable an embedded perl interpreter. See the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@perl(3)> 2476Enable an embedded perl interpreter. See the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@perl(3)>
2159manpage (F<doc/rxvtperl.txt>) for more info on this feature, or the files 2477manpage (F<doc/rxvtperl.txt>) for more info on this feature, or the files
2160in F<src/perl-ext/> for the extensions that are installed by default. The 2478in F<src/perl-ext/> for the extensions that are installed by default. The
2161perl interpreter that is used can be specified via the C<PERL> environment 2479perl interpreter that is used can be specified via the C<PERL> environment

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