8 Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS

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XFree86/OS2 requires a number of settings in the CONFIG.SYS file to work correctly. Please add the following settings:

TERM

Set the preferred terminal type for the xterm or editor to be used. Some programs need this setting. I have my type set to

SET TERM=ansi
\XFree86\lib\X11\etc\termcap.x11 contains a suitable termcap which can be used in place of termcap files that come with EMX, EMACS, or other ported software.

TERMCAP

This variable must be set to the location where the termcap file used for the above TERM variable is searched. My setting, for instance, is:

SET TERMCAP=D:/EMX/ETC/TERMCAP.X11
Note that forward ``/'' is used as a directory separator.

ETC

Set to an ETC directory. Normally, this is already set to the ETC directory of the TCP/IP code, such as

SET ETC=C:\TCPIP\ETC

TMP

Set to an TMP directory. Normally, this is already set to the TMP directory of the TCP/IP code, such as

SET TMP=C:\TCPIP\TMP

HOSTNAME

Set to the internet hostname. Normally, this is already set by the TCP/IP installation program, such as

SET HOSTNAME=myhost
With IAK, you would normally run a loopback configuration Network configuration and would then set this to
SET HOSTNAME=localhost

USER
LOGNAME

Set both to a username. Currently, they are there just to make some programs happy; in the future, this variable might be set by a login shell of a multiuser configuration. My variable, for instance, is set to

        SET USER=holger
        SET LOGNAME=holger

HOME

Set this to an existing directory that is supposed to be a home directory of a user. Some utilities place temporary and init files here. This is also future investment for a multiuser configuration, but must still be there. For instance, this variable might be set to

SET HOME=H:\user\holger

X11ROOT

This is one of the most important settings, it determines the root of the XFree86 directory tree. Normally, you will set this to the drive letter of the partition where the \XFree86 tree resides, such as in

SET X11ROOT=Y:
You may try to move the tree to another subdirectory, e.g. to K:\OS2\X11\XFree86... and would then have to change this to
SET X11ROOT=K:/OS2/X11
, but this is discouraged, since some utilities might not accept this. Note the forward ``/'' as a directory separator here.

DISPLAY

This variable may be set to the display to be used for displaying clients. Normally you will set this variable to the same value as the HOSTNAME variable and simply add a :0.0 after it, such as

SET DISPLAY=myhost:0.0
Read the X11 man page on the exact meaning of these postfixes and other options.

XSERVER

Set this to the executable name of the X server to be used. This must be a complete path. My setting is as follows:

SET XSERVER=D:/XFree86/bin/XF86_Mach64.exe

PATH

Add the binary directory for the X11 utilities to your search PATH. This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)

Y:\XFree86\bin
It is possible to move the binaries to another directory in the search path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is not recommended, though.

LIBPATH

Add the DLL directory for the X11 utilities to the LIBPATH. This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)

Y:\XFree86\lib
It is possible to move the DLLs to another directory in the library path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is not recommended, though. Note that Y:\XFree86\lib has several other subdirectories; these may not be moved elsewhere, rather they must stay there, because most utilities form a path to these directories by using %X11ROOT%\XFree86\lib as a base.

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