cvsroot/root-tail/root-tail.man

.TH ROOTTAIL 1 "2019-06-14" "Version 1.3"
.UC 5
.SH NAME
root-tail \- print text directly to X11 root window
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B root-tail
.RB [ \-g \|| \-\-geometry
.IR GEOMETRY ]
.RB [ \-fn \|| \-\-font
.IR FONTSPEC ]
.RB [ \-\-color
.IR color ]
.RB [ \-\-reload
.IR SEC
.IR COMMAND ]
.RB [ \-\-shade ]
.RB [ \-\-outline ]
.RB [ \-\-minspace ]
.RB [ \-\-noflicker ]
.RB [ \-f \|| \-\-fork ]
.RB [ \-\-reverse ]
.RB [ \-\-whole ]
.RB [ \-\-partial ]
.RB [ \-\-update ]
.RB [ \-\-cont
.IR STRING ]
.RB [ \-\-wordwrap ]
.RB [ \-\-justify ]
.RB [ \-\-noinitial ]
.RB [ \-\-frame ]
.RB [ \-\-windowed }
.RB [ \-id
.IR ID ]
.RB [ \-i \|| \-\-interval
.IR SECONDS ]
.RB [ \-V ]
file1[,color[,desc]]
[file2[,color[,desc]]]
.\" Die Beschreibung
.SH DESCRIPTION
Displays a given file anywhere on your X11 root window, i.e. it is kind of tail -f for multiple files
using your desktop background as output window.
.PP
All non-option arguments on the command line are files to be logged. A
null desc (example: "/var/log/messages,red,") will prevent the printing of
a description and the []'s.
.PP
.SS General Options
.TP
.BI \-\-color " COLOR"
Use COLOR as default.
.TP
.BI "\-\-font \|| -fn" " FONTSPEC"
Use font FONTSPEC. This can be either a fixed width font like \fB\-fn\fI
fixed\fR or any font using \fB\-fn \fR'\fI-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*\fR' with
the appropriate fields filled out (see xfontsel).  Specifying a
different FONTSPEC before each filename will cause each file to be
displayed in a different font.
.TP
.B -f \|| \-\-fork
Forks to the background.
.TP
.B \-\-reverse
Display the files in reverse order, with the newest lines at the top.
.TP
.B \-\-whole
Only display whole lines. If the last line of a file doesn't yet end
with a newline character then wait until it does before displaying
it. This is the default if more than one file is being displayed.
.TP
.B \-\-partial
This is the opposite of the \fB\-\-whole\fR option (see above). It displays
lines even if they don't yet have a newline at the end. This is the
default if only one file is being displayed.
.TP
.B \-\-update
Update partial lines 'in place' if they are still on the screen when
they are updated in their files. Using \fB\-\-update\fR automatically turns on
\fB\-\-partial\fR.
.TP
.BI \-\-cont " STRING"
When partial lines are broken into two lines in the display, prefix
the 2nd line with STRING. Defaults to "\fI|| \fR". Specify the "\fB\-\-whole\fR"
argument to ensure partial lines are never displayed, or specify "\fB\-\-update\fR"
to attempt to "repair" broken lines in-place.
.TP
.BI \-\-cont-color " COLOR"
Use COLOR when displaying the continuation string (as optionally
specified with the \fB\-\-cont\fR option above).
.TP
.B \-\-wordwrap
The default behaviour is to fit as much as possible onto each line of
output, even if this means splitting a word between one line and the
next. The \fB\-\-wordwrap\fR argument splits lines at spaces if
possible.
.TP
.B \-\-justify
After wrapping long lines, attempt to justify the text to produce a
smooth right-hand margin.  Implies \fB\-\-wordwrap\fR.
.TP
.BI \-\-reload " SEC COMMAND"
Re-display the file(s) and run COMMAND every SEC seconds. The
default is to never re-display the file(s).
.TP
.B \-\-shade
Add black shading to the font.
.TP
.B \-\-outline
Add a black outline to the font (making redraws quite a bit slower).
.TP
.B \-\-minspace
Use minimum linespace even when using shading or outlining. This might result in
leftover pixels (dependign on font and logfile content).
.TP
.B \-\-noflicker
Use slower but flicker-free update.
.TP
.B \-\-noinitial
Don't display the end of the file(s) initially.
.TP
.BI \-\-windowed
Create a new window instead of reusing the root window. The newly created window
covers the whole screen, puts itself behind all other windows and and does not accept
events. Use this option if you use a compositing manager suihc as xcompmgr or compton, as
the compositing extension has been very badly designed and cannot handle root windows
correctly.
.TP
.BI "\-id" " ID"
Use the given window ID for output instead of the root window.
.TP
.BI "\-i \|| \-\-interval" " SECONDS"
Use the specified sleeping interval between checks instead of the
default 2.4 seconds. Fractional values are OK.
.TP
.B \-V
Print version information.
.TP
.B \-\-frame
Draw a frame around the selected area.  This is useful when trying to
find the perfect geometry.
.IP
.SH EXAMPLE
.PP
root-tail --windowed -g 800x250+100+50 -font 10x20 /var/log/messages,green -font 12x24 /var/log/secure,red,'ALERT'
.SH BUGS
.PP
Some desktop environments open a virtual root window and make it difficult to share it. If
you cannot see anything after starting root-tail, try the \-\-windowed option, a setting "allow programs
on desktop" or similar, or manually specify a window id.
.PP
Should you happen to find any bugs please fix them and send me a diff.
.PP
NOTE: This program was modified by Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>, who
couldn't reach the original author. Please direct bug-reports etc. to
root-tail@schmorp.de.
.PP
http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/root-tail.html

Revision:	1.21
Committed:	Sun Jun 16 01:34:45 2019 UTC (7 years, 3 months ago) by root
Content type:	application/x-troff-man
Branch:	MAIN
CVS Tags:	rel-1_3, HEAD
Changes since 1.20:	+6 -5 lines
Log Message:	* empty log message *
#	User	Rev	Content
1	root	1.21	.TH ROOTTAIL 1 "2019-06-14" "Version 1.3"
2	pcg	1.1	.UC 5
3			.SH NAME
4			root-tail \- print text directly to X11 root window
5			.SH SYNOPSIS
6			.B root-tail
7	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-g \\|\| \-\-geometry
8	pcg	1.1	.IR GEOMETRY ]
9	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-fn \\|\| \-\-font
10	pcg	1.1	.IR FONTSPEC ]
11	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-\-color
12	pcg	1.1	.IR color ]
13	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-\-reload
14	pcg	1.1	.IR SEC
15			.IR COMMAND ]
16	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-\-shade ]
17			.RB [ \-\-outline ]
18			.RB [ \-\-minspace ]
19			.RB [ \-\-noflicker ]
20			.RB [ \-f \\|\| \-\-fork ]
21			.RB [ \-\-reverse ]
22			.RB [ \-\-whole ]
23			.RB [ \-\-partial ]
24			.RB [ \-\-update ]
25			.RB [ \-\-cont
26	chris_moore	1.3	.IR STRING ]
27	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-\-wordwrap ]
28			.RB [ \-\-justify ]
29			.RB [ \-\-noinitial ]
30			.RB [ \-\-frame ]
31	root	1.20	.RB [ \-\-windowed }
32	chris_moore	1.9	.RB [ \-id
33			.IR ID ]
34	pcg	1.19	.RB [ \-i \\|\| \-\-interval
35	pcg	1.1	.IR SECONDS ]
36			.RB [ \-V ]
37			file1[,color[,desc]]
38			[file2[,color[,desc]]]
39			.\" Die Beschreibung
40			.SH DESCRIPTION
41	chris_moore	1.18	Displays a given file anywhere on your X11 root window, i.e. it is kind of tail -f for multiple files
42	pcg	1.17	using your desktop background as output window.
43			.PP
44	root	1.20	All non-option arguments on the command line are files to be logged. A
45	pcg	1.17	null desc (example: "/var/log/messages,red,") will prevent the printing of
46			a description and the []'s.
47	pcg	1.1	.PP
48			.SS General Options
49			.TP
50	pcg	1.19	.BI \-\-color " COLOR"
51	chris_moore	1.13	Use COLOR as default.
52	pcg	1.1	.TP
53	pcg	1.19	.BI "\-\-font \\|\| -fn" " FONTSPEC"
54			Use font FONTSPEC. This can be either a fixed width font like \fB\-fn\fI
55			fixed\fR or any font using \fB\-fn \fR'\fI--------------\fR' with
56	chris_moore	1.14	the appropriate fields filled out (see xfontsel). Specifying a
57			different FONTSPEC before each filename will cause each file to be
58			displayed in a different font.
59	pcg	1.1	.TP
60	pcg	1.19	.B -f \\|\| \-\-fork
61	pcg	1.12	Forks to the background.
62	chris_moore	1.3	.TP
63	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-reverse
64	chris_moore	1.3	Display the files in reverse order, with the newest lines at the top.
65			.TP
66	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-whole
67	pcg	1.7	Only display whole lines. If the last line of a file doesn't yet end
68	chris_moore	1.3	with a newline character then wait until it does before displaying
69	pcg	1.7	it. This is the default if more than one file is being displayed.
70	chris_moore	1.3	.TP
71	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-partial
72			This is the opposite of the \fB\-\-whole\fR option (see above). It displays
73	pcg	1.7	lines even if they don't yet have a newline at the end. This is the
74	chris_moore	1.3	default if only one file is being displayed.
75			.TP
76	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-update
77	chris_moore	1.3	Update partial lines 'in place' if they are still on the screen when
78	pcg	1.19	they are updated in their files. Using \fB\-\-update\fR automatically turns on
79			\fB\-\-partial\fR.
80	chris_moore	1.3	.TP
81	pcg	1.19	.BI \-\-cont " STRING"
82	chris_moore	1.11	When partial lines are broken into two lines in the display, prefix
83	pcg	1.19	the 2nd line with STRING. Defaults to "\fI\|\| \fR". Specify the "\fB\-\-whole\fR"
84			argument to ensure partial lines are never displayed, or specify "\fB\-\-update\fR"
85	chris_moore	1.11	to attempt to "repair" broken lines in-place.
86	pcg	1.1	.TP
87	pcg	1.19	.BI \-\-cont-color " COLOR"
88	chris_moore	1.13	Use COLOR when displaying the continuation string (as optionally
89	pcg	1.19	specified with the \fB\-\-cont\fR option above).
90	chris_moore	1.13	.TP
91	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-wordwrap
92	chris_moore	1.9	The default behaviour is to fit as much as possible onto each line of
93			output, even if this means splitting a word between one line and the
94	pcg	1.19	next. The \fB\-\-wordwrap\fR argument splits lines at spaces if
95	chris_moore	1.9	possible.
96			.TP
97	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-justify
98	chris_moore	1.13	After wrapping long lines, attempt to justify the text to produce a
99	pcg	1.19	smooth right-hand margin. Implies \fB\-\-wordwrap\fR.
100	chris_moore	1.13	.TP
101	pcg	1.19	.BI \-\-reload " SEC COMMAND"
102	pcg	1.7	Re-display the file(s) and run COMMAND every SEC seconds. The
103	chris_moore	1.3	default is to never re-display the file(s).
104	pcg	1.1	.TP
105	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-shade
106	pcg	1.4	Add black shading to the font.
107			.TP
108	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-outline
109	chris_moore	1.11	Add a black outline to the font (making redraws quite a bit slower).
110	pcg	1.1	.TP
111	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-minspace
112			Use minimum linespace even when using shading or outlining. This might result in
113			leftover pixels (dependign on font and logfile content).
114			.TP
115			.B \-\-noflicker
116	pcg	1.6	Use slower but flicker-free update.
117			.TP
118	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-noinitial
119	pcg	1.1	Don't display the end of the file(s) initially.
120			.TP
121	root	1.20	.BI \-\-windowed
122			Create a new window instead of reusing the root window. The newly created window
123			covers the whole screen, puts itself behind all other windows and and does not accept
124			events. Use this option if you use a compositing manager suihc as xcompmgr or compton, as
125			the compositing extension has been very badly designed and cannot handle root windows
126			correctly.
127			.TP
128	pcg	1.2	.BI "\-id" " ID"
129	chris_moore	1.3	Use the given window ID for output instead of the root window.
130	pcg	1.2	.TP
131	pcg	1.19	.BI "\-i \\|\| \-\-interval" " SECONDS"
132	chris_moore	1.3	Use the specified sleeping interval between checks instead of the
133	pcg	1.4	default 2.4 seconds. Fractional values are OK.
134	pcg	1.1	.TP
135			.B \-V
136			Print version information.
137			.TP
138	pcg	1.19	.B \-\-frame
139	chris_moore	1.15	Draw a frame around the selected area. This is useful when trying to
140			find the perfect geometry.
141	pcg	1.1	.IP
142			.SH EXAMPLE
143			.PP
144	root	1.20	root-tail --windowed -g 800x250+100+50 -font 10x20 /var/log/messages,green -font 12x24 /var/log/secure,red,'ALERT'
145	pcg	1.1	.SH BUGS
146			.PP
147	pcg	1.16	Some desktop environments open a virtual root window and make it difficult to share it. If
148	root	1.21	you cannot see anything after starting root-tail, try the \-\-windowed option, a setting "allow programs
149	pcg	1.16	on desktop" or similar, or manually specify a window id.
150			.PP
151	pcg	1.1	Should you happen to find any bugs please fix them and send me a diff.
152			.PP
153	root	1.21	NOTE: This program was modified by Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>, who
154	chris_moore	1.3	couldn't reach the original author. Please direct bug-reports etc. to
155	root	1.21	root-tail@schmorp.de.
156	pcg	1.1	.PP
157	root	1.21	http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/root-tail.html
158