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XTERM(1) XTERM(1)
NAME
xterm - terminal emulator for X
SYNOPSIS
xterm [-toolkitoption ...] [-option ...] [shell]
DESCRIPTION
The xterm program is a terminal emulator for the X Window System. It provides DEC VT102/VT220
(VTxxx) and Tektronix 4014 compatible terminals for programs that cannot use the window system
directly. If the underlying operating system supports terminal resizing capabilities (for example,
the SIGWINCH signal in systems derived from 4.3bsd), xterm will use the facilities to notify programs
running in the window whenever it is resized.
The VTxxx and Tektronix 4014 terminals each have their own window so that you can edit text in one
and look at graphics in the other at the same time. To maintain the correct aspect ratio
(height/width), Tektronix graphics will be restricted to the largest box with a 4014's aspect ratio
that will fit in the window. This box is located in the upper left area of the window.
Although both windows may be displayed at the same time, one of them is considered the "active" win-dow window
dow for receiving keyboard input and terminal output. This is the window that contains the text cur-sor. cursor.
sor. The active window can be chosen through escape sequences, the "VT Options" menu in the VTxxx
window, and the "Tek Options" menu in the 4014 window.
EMULATIONS
The VT102 emulation is fairly complete, but does not support autorepeat. Double-size characters are
displayed properly if your font server supports scalable fonts. The VT220 emulation does not support
soft fonts, it is otherwise complete. Termcap(5) entries that work with xterm include an optional
platform-specific entry, "xterm," "vt102," "vt100," "ansi" and "dumb." xterm automatically searches
the termcap file in this order for these entries and then sets the "TERM" and the "TERMCAP" environ-ment environment
ment variables. You may also use "vt220," but must set the terminal emulation level with the
decTerminalID resource. (The "TERMCAP" environment variable is not set if xterm is linked against a
terminfo library, since the requisite information is not provided by the termcap emulation of ter-minfo terminfo
minfo libraries).
Many of the special xterm features may be modified under program control through a set of escape
sequences different from the standard VT102 escape sequences. (See the Xterm Control Sequences docu-ment.) document.)
ment.)
The Tektronix 4014 emulation is also fairly good. It supports 12-bit graphics addressing, scaled to
the window size. Four different font sizes and five different lines types are supported. There is
no write-through or defocused mode support. The Tektronix text and graphics commands are recorded
internally by xterm and may be written to a file by sending the COPY escape sequence (or through the
Tektronix menu; see below). The name of the file will be "COPYyyyy-MM-dd.hh:mm:ss", where yyyy, MM,
dd, hh, mm and ss are the year, month, day, hour, minute and second when the COPY was performed (the
file is created in the directory xterm is started in, or the home directory for a login xterm).
Not all of the features described in this manual are necessarily available in this version of xterm.
Some (e.g., the non-VT220 extensions) are available only if they were compiled in, though the most
commonly-used are in the default configuration.
OTHER FEATURES
Xterm automatically highlights the text cursor when the pointer enters the window (selected) and
unhighlights it when the pointer leaves the window (unselected). If the window is the focus window,
then the text cursor is highlighted no matter where the pointer is.
In VT102 mode, there are escape sequences to activate and deactivate an alternate screen buffer,
which is the same size as the display area of the window. When activated, the current screen is
saved and replaced with the alternate screen. Saving of lines scrolled off the top of the window is
disabled until the normal screen is restored. The termcap(5) entry for xterm allows the visual edi-tor editor
tor vi(1) to switch to the alternate screen for editing and to restore the screen on exit. A popup
menu entry makes it simple to switch between the normal and alternate screens for cut and paste.
In either VT102 or Tektronix mode, there are escape sequences to change the name of the windows.
Additionally, in VT102 mode, xterm implements the window-manipulation control sequences from dtterm,
such as resizing the window, setting its location on the screen.
Xterm allows character-based applications to receive mouse events (currently button-press and release
events, and button-motion events) as keyboard control sequences. See Xterm Control Sequences for
details.
OPTIONS
The xterm terminal emulator accepts the standard X Toolkit command line options as well as many
application-specific options. If the option begins with a `+' instead of a `-', the option is
restored to its default value. The -version and -help options are interpreted even if xterm cannot
open the display, and are useful for testing and configuration scripts:
-version
This causes xterm to print a version number to the standard output.
-help This causes xterm to print out a verbose message describing its options, one per line. The
message is written to the standard output. Xterm generates this message, sorting it and not-ing noting
ing whether a "-option" or a "+option" turns the feature on or off, since some features his-torically historically
torically have been one or the other. Xterm generates a concise help message (multiple
options per line) when an unknown option is used, e.g.,
xterm -z
If the logic for a particular option such as logging is not compiled into xterm, the help
text for that option also is not displayed by the -help option.
One parameter (after all options) may be given. That overrides xterm's built-in choice of shell pro-gram. program.
gram. Normally xterm checks the SHELL variable. If that is not set, xterm tries to use the shell
program specified in the password file. If that is not set, xterm uses /bin/sh. If the parameter
names an executable file, xterm uses that instead. The parameter must be an absolute path, or name a
file found on the user's PATH (and thereby construct an absolute path). The -e option cannot be used
with this parameter since it uses all parameters following the option.
The other options are used to control the appearance and behavior. Not all options are necessarily
configured into your copy of xterm:
-132 Normally, the VT102 DECCOLM escape sequence that switches between 80 and 132 column mode is
ignored. This option causes the DECCOLM escape sequence to be recognized, and the xterm win-dow window
dow will resize appropriately.
-ah This option indicates that xterm should always highlight the text cursor. By default, xterm
will display a hollow text cursor whenever the focus is lost or the pointer leaves the win-dow. window.
dow.
+ah This option indicates that xterm should do text cursor highlighting based on focus.
-ai This option disables active icon support if that feature was compiled into xterm. This is
equivalent to setting the vt1__ resource activeIcon to "false".
+ai This option enables active icon support if that feature was compiled into xterm. This is
equivalent to setting the vt1__ resource activeIcon to "true".
-aw This option indicates that auto-wraparound should be allowed. This allows the cursor to
automatically wrap to the beginning of the next line when it is at the rightmost position of
a line and text is output.
+aw This option indicates that auto-wraparound should not be allowed.
-b number
This option specifies the size of the inner border (the distance between the outer edge of
the characters and the window border) in pixels. That is the vt1__ internalBorder resource.
The default is 2.
+bc turn off text cursor blinking. This overrides the cursorBlink resource.
-bc turn on text cursor blinking. This overrides the cursorBlink resource.
-bcf milliseconds
set the amount of time text cursor is off when blinking via the cursorOffTime resource.
-bcn milliseconds
set the amount of time text cursor is on when blinking via the cursorOffTime resource.
-bdc Set the vt1__ resource colorBDMode to "false", disabling the display of characters with bold
attribute as color
+bdc Set the vt1__ resource colorBDMode to "true", enabling the display of characters with bold
attribute as color rather than bold
-cb Set the vt1__ resource cutToBeginningOfLine to "false".
+cb Set the vt1__ resource cutToBeginningOfLine to "true".
-cc characterclassrange:value[,...]
This sets classes indicated by the given ranges for using in selecting by words. See the
section specifying character classes. and discussion of the charClass resource.
-cjk_width
Set the cjkWidth resource to "true". When turned on, characters with East Asian Ambiguous
(A) category in UTR 11 have a column width of 2. Otherwise, they have a column width of 1.
This may be useful for some legacy CJK text terminal-based programs assuming box drawings and
others to have a column width of 2. It also should be turned on when you specify a TrueType
CJK double-width (bi-width/monospace) font either with -fa at the command line or faceName
resource. The default is "false"
+cjk_width
Reset the cjkWidth resource.
-class string
This option allows you to override xterm's resource class. Normally it is "XTerm", but can
be set to another class such as "UXTerm" to override selected resources.
-cm This option disables recognition of ANSI color-change escape sequences. It sets the color-Mode colorMode
Mode resource to "false".
+cm This option enables recognition of ANSI color-change escape sequences. This is the same as
the vt1__ resource colorMode.
-cn This option indicates that newlines should not be cut in line-mode selections. It sets the
cutNewline resource to "false".
+cn This option indicates that newlines should be cut in line-mode selections. It sets the cut-Newline cutNewline
Newline resource to "true".
-cr color
This option specifies the color to use for text cursor. The default is to use the same fore-ground foreground
ground color that is used for text. It sets the cursorColor resource according to the param-eter. parameter.
eter.
-cu This option indicates that xterm should work around a bug in the more(1) program that causes
it to incorrectly display lines that are exactly the width of the window and are followed by
a line beginning with a tab (the leading tabs are not displayed). This option is so named
because it was originally thought to be a bug in the curses(3x) cursor motion package.
+cu This option indicates that xterm should not work around the more(1) bug mentioned above.
-dc This option disables the escape sequence to change dynamic colors: the vt100 foreground and
background colors, its text cursor color, the pointer cursor foreground and background col-ors, colors,
ors, the Tektronix emulator foreground and background colors, its text cursor color and high-light highlight
light color. The option sets the dynamicColors option to "false".
+dc This option enables the escape sequence to change dynamic colors. The option sets the dynam-icColors dynamicColors
icColors option to "true".
-e program [ arguments ... ]
This option specifies the program (and its command line arguments) to be run in the xterm
window. It also sets the window title and icon name to be the basename of the program being
executed if neither -T nor -n are given on the command line. This must be the last option on
the command line.
-en encoding
This option determines the encoding on which xterm runs. It sets the locale resource.
Encodings other than UTF-8 are supported by using luit. The -lc option should be used
instead of -en for systems with locale support.
-fb font
This option specifies a font to be used when displaying bold text. This font must be the
same height and width as the normal font. If only one of the normal or bold fonts is speci-fied, specified,
fied, it will be used as the normal font and the bold font will be produced by overstriking
this font. The default is to do overstriking of the normal font. See also the discussion of
boldFont, boldMode and alwaysBoldMode resources.
-fa pattern
This option sets the pattern for fonts selected from the FreeType library if support for that
library was compiled into xterm. This corresponds to the faceName resource. When a CJK dou-ble-width double-width
ble-width font is specified, you also need to turn on the cjkWidth resource. See also the
renderFont resource, which combines with this to determine whether FreeType fonts are ini-tially initially
tially active.
-fbb This option indicates that xterm should compare normal and bold fonts bounding boxes to
ensure they are compatible. It sets the freeBoldBox resource to "false".
+fbb This option indicates that xterm should not compare normal and bold fonts bounding boxes to
ensure they are compatible. It sets the freeBoldBox resource to "true".
-fbx This option indicates that xterm should not assume that the normal and bold fonts have VT100
line-drawing characters. If any are missing, xterm will draw the characters directly. It
sets the forceBoxChars resource to "false".
+fbx This option indicates that xterm should assume that the normal and bold fonts have VT100
line-drawing characters. It sets the forceBoxChars resource to "true".
-fd pattern
This option sets the pattern for double-width fonts selected from the FreeType library if
support for that library was compiled into xterm. This corresponds to the faceNameDoublesize
resource.
-fi font
This option sets the font for active icons if that feature was compiled into xterm. See also
the discussion of the iconFont resource.
-fs size
This option sets the pointsize for fonts selected from the FreeType library if support for
that library was compiled into xterm. This corresponds to the faceSize resource.
-fw font
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying wide text. By default, it will
attempt to use a font twice as wide as the font that will be used to draw normal text. If no
double-width font is found, it will improvise, by stretching the normal font. This corre-sponds corresponds
sponds to the wideFont resource.
-fwb font
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying bold wide text. By default, it will
attempt to use a font twice as wide as the font that will be used to draw bold text. If no
double-width font is found, it will improvise, by stretching the bold font. This corresponds
to the wideBoldFont resource.
-fx font
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying the preedit string in the "OverTheS-pot" "OverTheSpot"
pot" input method. See also the discussion of the ximFont resource.
-hc color
(see -selbg).
-hf This option indicates that HP Function Key escape codes should be generated for function
keys. It sets the hpFunctionKeys resource to "true".
+hf This option indicates that HP Function Key escape codes should not be generated for function
keys. It sets the hpFunctionKeys resource to "false".
-hm Tells xterm to use highlightTextColor and highlightColor to override the reversed fore-ground/background foreground/background
ground/background colors in a selection. It sets the highlightColorMode resource to "true".
+hm Tells xterm not to use highlightTextColor and highlightColor to override the reversed fore-ground/background foreground/background
ground/background colors in a selection. It sets the highlightColorMode resource to "false".
-hold Turn on the hold resource, i.e., xterm will not immediately destroy its window when the shell
command completes. It will wait until you use the window manager to destroy/kill the window,
or if you use the menu entries that send a signal, e.g., HUP or KILL.
+hold Turn off the hold resource, i.e., xterm will immediately destroy its window when the shell
command completes.
-ie Turn on the ptyInitialErase resource, i.e., use the pseudo-terminal's sense of the stty erase
value.
+ie Turn off the ptyInitialErase resource, i.e., set the stty erase value using the kb string
from the termcap entry as a reference, if available.
-im Turn on the useInsertMode resource, which forces use of insert mode by adding appropriate
entries to the TERMCAP environment variable.
+im Turn off the useInsertMode resource.
-into windowId
Given an X window identifier (a decimal integer), xterm will reparent its top-level shell
widget to that window. This is used to embed xterm within other applications.
-j This option indicates that xterm should do jump scrolling. It corresponds to the jumpScroll
resource. Normally, text is scrolled one line at a time; this option allows xterm to move
multiple lines at a time so that it does not fall as far behind. Its use is strongly recom-mended recommended
mended since it makes xterm much faster when scanning through large amounts of text. The
VT100 escape sequences for enabling and disabling smooth scroll as well as the "VT Options"
menu can be used to turn this feature on or off.
+j This option indicates that xterm should not do jump scrolling.
-k8 This option sets the allowC1Printable resource. When allowC1Printable is set, xterm over-rides overrides
rides the mapping of C1 control characters (code 128-159) to treat them as printable.
+k8 This option resets the allowC1Printable resource.
-kt keyboardtype
This option sets the keyboardType resource. Possible values include: "unknown", "default",
"hp", "sco", "sun", "tcap" and "vt220".
The value "unknown", causes the corresponding resource to be ignored.
The value "default", suppresses the associated resources hpFunctionKeys, scoFunctionKeys,
sunFunctionKeys, tcapFunctionKeys and sunKeyboard, using the Sun/PC keyboard layout.
-l Turn logging on. Normally logging is not supported, due to security concerns. Some versions
of xterm may have logging enabled. The logfile is written to the directory from which xterm
is invoked. The filename is generated, of the form
XtermLog.XXXXXX
or
Xterm.log.hostname.yyyy.mm.dd.hh.mm.ss.XXXXXX
depending on how xterm was built.
+l Turn logging off.
-lc Turn on support of various encodings according to the users' locale setting, i.e., LC_ALL,
LC_CTYPE, or LANG environment variables. This is achieved by turning on UTF-8 mode and by
invoking luit for conversion between locale encodings and UTF-8. (luit is not invoked in
UTF-8 locales.) This corresponds to the locale resource.
The actual list of encodings which are supported is determined by luit. Consult the luit
manual page for further details. See also the discussion of the -u8 option which supports
UTF-8 locales.
+lc Turn off support of automatic selection of locale encodings. Conventional 8bit mode or, in
UTF-8 locales or with -u8 option, UTF-8 mode will be used.
-lcc path
File name for the encoding converter from/to locale encodings and UTF-8 which is used with
-lc option or locale resource. This corresponds to the localeFilter resource.
-leftbar
Force scrollbar to the left side of VT100 screen. This is the default, unless you have set
the rightScrollBar resource.
-lf filename
Specify the log-filename. See the -l option.
-ls This option indicates that the shell that is started in the xterm window will be a login
shell (i.e., the first character of argv[0] will be a dash, indicating to the shell that it
should read the user's .login or .profile).
The -ls flag and the loginShell resource are ignored if -e is also given, because xterm does
not know how to make the shell start the given command after whatever it does when it is a
login shell - the user's shell of choice need not be a Bourne shell after all. Also,
xterm -e is supposed to provide a consistent functionality for other applications that need
to start text-mode programs in a window, and if loginShell were not ignored, the result of
~/.profile might interfere with that.
If you do want the effect of -ls and -e simultaneously, you may get away with something like
xterm -e /bin/bash -l -c "my command here"
Finally, -ls is not completely ignored, because xterm -ls -e does write a /etc/wtmp entry (if
configured to do so), whereas xterm -e does not.
-maximized
This option indicates that xterm should ask the window manager to maximize its layout on
startup. This corresponds to the maximized resource.
Maximizing is not the reverse of iconifying; it is possible to do both with certain window
managers.
+maximized
This option indicates that xterm should ask the window manager to maximize its layout on
startup.
+ls This option indicates that the shell that is started should not be a login shell (i.e., it
will be a normal "subshell").
-mb This option indicates that xterm should ring a margin bell when the user types near the right
end of a line. This option can be turned on and off from the "VT Options" menu.
+mb This option indicates that margin bell should not be rung.
-mc milliseconds
This option specifies the maximum time between multi-click selections.
-mesg Turn off the messages resource, i.e., disallow write access to the terminal.
+mesg Turn on the messages resource, i.e., allow write access to the terminal.
-mk_width
Set the mkWidth resource to "true". This makes xterm use a built-in version of the wide-character widecharacter
character width calculation. The default is "false"
+mk_width
Reset the mkWidth resource.
-ms color
This option specifies the color to be used for the pointer cursor. The default is to use the
foreground color. This sets the pointerColor resource.
-nb number
This option specifies the number of characters from the right end of a line at which the mar-gin margin
gin bell, if enabled, will ring. The default is 10.
-nul This option disables the display of underlining.
+nul This option enables the display of underlining.
-pc This option enables the PC-style use of bold colors (see boldColors resource).
+pc This option disables the PC-style use of bold colors.
-pob This option indicates that the window should be raised whenever a Control-G is received.
+pob This option indicates that the window should not be raised whenever a Control-G is received.
-rightbar
Force scrollbar to the right side of VT100 screen.
-rvc This option disables the display of characters with reverse attribute as color.
+rvc This option enables the display of characters with reverse attribute as color.
-rw This option indicates that reverse-wraparound should be allowed. This allows the cursor to
back up from the leftmost column of one line to the rightmost column of the previous line.
This is very useful for editing long shell command lines and is encouraged. This option can
be turned on and off from the "VT Options" menu.
+rw This option indicates that reverse-wraparound should not be allowed.
-s This option indicates that xterm may scroll asynchronously, meaning that the screen does not
have to be kept completely up to date while scrolling. This allows xterm to run faster when
network latencies are very high and is typically useful when running across a very large
internet or many gateways.
+s This option indicates that xterm should scroll synchronously.
-samename
Does not send title and icon name change requests when the request would have no effect: the
name is not changed. This has the advantage of preventing flicker and the disadvantage of
requiring an extra round trip to the server to find out the previous value. In practice this
should never be a problem.
+samename
Always send title and icon name change requests.
-sb This option indicates that some number of lines that are scrolled off the top of the window
should be saved and that a scrollbar should be displayed so that those lines can be viewed.
This option may be turned on and off from the "VT Options" menu.
+sb This option indicates that a scrollbar should not be displayed.
-selbg color
This option specifies the color to use for the background of selected text. If not speci-fied, specified,
fied, reverse video is used. See the discussion of the highlightColor resource.
-selfg color
This option specifies the color to use for selected text. If not specified, reverse video is
used. See the discussion of the highlightTextColor resource.
-sf This option indicates that Sun Function Key escape codes should be generated for function
keys.
+sf This option indicates that the standard escape codes should be generated for function keys.
-si This option indicates that output to a window should not automatically reposition the screen
to the bottom of the scrolling region. This option can be turned on and off from the "VT
Options" menu.
+si This option indicates that output to a window should cause it to scroll to the bottom.
-sk This option indicates that pressing a key while using the scrollbar to review previous lines
of text should cause the window to be repositioned automatically in the normal position at
the bottom of the scroll region.
+sk This option indicates that pressing a key while using the scrollbar should not cause the win-dow window
dow to be repositioned.
-sl number
This option specifies the number of lines to save that have been scrolled off the top of the
screen. This corresponds to the saveLines resource. The default is 64.
-sm This option, corresponding to the sessionMgt resource, indicates that xterm should set up
session manager callbacks.
+sm This option indicates that xterm should not set up session manager callbacks.
-sp This option indicates that Sun/PC keyboard should be assumed, providing mapping for keypad
"+' to ",', and CTRL-F1 to F13, CTRL-F2 to F14, etc.
+sp This option indicates that the standard escape codes should be generated for keypad and func-tion function
tion keys.
-t This option indicates that xterm should start in Tektronix mode, rather than in VT102 mode.
Switching between the two windows is done using the "Options" menus. Termcap(5) entries that
work with xterm "tek4014," "tek4015," "tek4012," "tek4013," "tek4010," and "dumb." xterm
automatically searches the termcap file in this order for these entries and then sets the
"TERM" and the "TERMCAP" environment variables.
+t This option indicates that xterm should start in VT102 mode.
-tb This option, corresponding to the toolBar resource, indicates that xterm should display a
toolbar (or menubar) at the top of its window. The buttons in the toolbar correspond to the
popup menus, e.g., control/left/mouse for "Main Options".
+tb This option indicates that xterm should not set up a toolbar.
-ti term_id
Specify the name used by xterm to select the correct response to terminal ID queries. It
also specifies the emulation level, used to determine the type of response to a DA control
sequence. Valid values include vt52, vt100, vt101, vt102, and vt220 (the "vt" is optional).
The default is vt100. The term_id argument specifies the terminal ID to use. (This is the
same as the decTerminalID resource).
-tm string
This option specifies a series of terminal setting keywords followed by the characters that
should be bound to those functions, similar to the stty program. The keywords and their val-ues values
ues are described in detail in the ttyModes resource.
-tn name
This option specifies the name of the terminal type to be set in the TERM environment vari-able. variable.
able. It corresponds to the termName resource. This terminal type must exist in the termi-nal terminal
nal database (termcap or terminfo, depending on how xterm is built) and should have li# and
co# entries. If the terminal type is not found, xterm uses the built-in list "xterm",
"vt102", etc.
-u8 This option sets the utf8 resource. When utf8 is set, xterm interprets incoming data as
UTF-8. This sets the wideChars resource as a side-effect, but the UTF-8 mode set by this
option prevents it from being turned off. If you must turn it on and off, use the wideChars
resource.
This option and the utf8 resource are overridden by the -lc and -en options and locale
resource. That is, if xterm has been compiled to support luit, and the locale resource is
not "false" this option is ignored. We recommend using the -lc option or the "locale: true"
resource in UTF-8 locales when your operating system supports locale, or -en UTF-8 option or
the "locale: UTF-8" resource when your operating system does not support locale.
+u8 This option resets the utf8 resource.
-uc This option makes the cursor underlined instead of a box.
+uc This option makes the cursor a box instead of underlined.
-ulc This option disables the display of characters with underline attribute as color rather than
with underlining.
+ulc This option enables the display of characters with underline attribute as color rather than
with underlining.
-ulit This option, corresponding to the italicULMode resource, disables the display of characters
with underline attribute as italics rather than with underlining.
+ulit This option, corresponding to the italicULMode resource, enables the display of characters
with underline attribute as italics rather than with underlining.
-ut This option indicates that xterm should not write a record into the the system utmp log file.
+ut This option indicates that xterm should write a record into the system utmp log file.
-vb This option indicates that a visual bell is preferred over an audible one. Instead of ring-ing ringing
ing the terminal bell whenever a Control-G is received, the window will be flashed.
+vb This option indicates that a visual bell should not be used.
-wc This option sets the wideChars resource. When wideChars is set, xterm maintains internal
structures for 16-bit characters. If you do not set this resource to "true", xterm will
ignore the escape sequence which turns UTF-8 mode on and off. The default is "false".
+wc This option resets the wideChars resource.
-wf This option indicates that xterm should wait for the window to be mapped the first time
before starting the subprocess so that the initial terminal size settings and environment
variables are correct. It is the application's responsibility to catch subsequent terminal
size changes.
+wf This option indicates that xterm should not wait before starting the subprocess.
-ziconbeep percent
Same as zIconBeep resource. If percent is non-zero, xterms that produce output while iconi-fied iconified
fied will cause an XBell sound at the given volume and have "***" prepended to their icon
titles. Most window managers will detect this change immediately, showing you which window
has the output. (A similar feature was in x10 xterm.)
-C This option indicates that this window should receive console output. This is not supported
on all systems. To obtain console output, you must be the owner of the console device, and
you must have read and write permission for it. If you are running X under xdm on the con-sole console
sole screen you may need to have the session startup and reset programs explicitly change the
ownership of the console device in order to get this option to work.
-Sccn This option allows xterm to be used as an input and output channel for an existing program
and is sometimes used in specialized applications. The option value specifies the last few
letters of the name of a pseudo-terminal to use in slave mode, plus the number of the inher-ited inherited
ited file descriptor. If the option contains a "/" character, that delimits the characters
used for the pseudo-terminal name from the file descriptor. Otherwise, exactly two charac-ters characters
ters are used from the option for the pseudo-terminal name, the remainder is the file
descriptor. Examples:
-S123/45
-Sab34
Note that xterm does not close any file descriptor which it did not open for its own use. It
is possible (though probably not portable) to have an application which passes an open file
descriptor down to xterm past the initialization or the -S option to a process running in the
xterm.
The following command line arguments are provided for compatibility with older versions. They may
not be supported in the next release as the X Toolkit provides standard options that accomplish the
same task.
%geom This option specifies the preferred size and position of the Tektronix window. It is short-hand shorthand
hand for specifying the "*tekGeometry" resource.
#geom This option specifies the preferred position of the icon window. It is shorthand for speci-fying specifying
fying the "*iconGeometry" resource.
-T string
This option specifies the title for xterm's windows. It is equivalent to -title.
-n string
This option specifies the icon name for xterm's windows. It is shorthand for specifying the
"*iconName" resource. Note that this is not the same as the toolkit option -name (see
below). The default icon name is the application name.
-r This option indicates that reverse video should be simulated by swapping the foreground and
background colors. It is equivalent to -rv.
-w number
This option specifies the width in pixels of the border surrounding the window. It is equiv-alent equivalent
alent to -borderwidth or -bw.
The following standard X Toolkit command line arguments are commonly used with xterm:
-bd color
This option specifies the color to use for the border of the window. xterm uses the X Tool-kit Toolkit
kit default, which is "XtDefaultForeground".
-bg color
This option specifies the color to use for the background of the window. The default is
"XtDefaultBackground."
-bw number
This option specifies the width in pixels of the border surrounding the window.
This appears to be a legacy of older X releases. It sets the borderWidth resource of the
shell widget, and may provide advice to your window manager to set the thickness of the win-dow window
dow frame. Most window managers do not use this information. See the -b option, which con-trols controls
trols the inner border of the xterm window.
-display display
This option specifies the X server to contact; see X().
-fg color
This option specifies the color to use for displaying text. The default is "XtDefaultFore-ground." "XtDefaultForeground."
ground."
-fn font
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying normal text. The default is fixed.
-font font
This is the same as -fn.
-geometry geometry
This option specifies the preferred size and position of the VT102 window; see X().
-iconic This option indicates that xterm should ask the window manager to start it as an icon rather
than as the normal window.
-name name
This option specifies the application name under which resources are to be obtained, rather
than the default executable file name. Name should not contain "." or "*" characters.
-rv This option indicates that reverse video should be simulated by swapping the foreground and
background colors.
+rv Disable the simulation of reverse video by swapping foreground and background colors.
-title string
This option specifies the window title string, which may be displayed by window managers if
the user so chooses. The default title is the command line specified after the -e option, if
any, otherwise the application name.
-xrm resourcestring
This option specifies a resource string to be used. This is especially useful for setting
resources that do not have separate command line options.
RESOURCES
The program understands all of the core X Toolkit resource names and classes. Application specific
resources (e.g., "XTerm.NAME") follow:
backarrowKeyIsErase (class BackarrowKeyIsErase)
Tie the VTxxx backarrowKey and ptyInitialErase resources together by setting the DECBKM state
according to whether the initial value of stty erase is a backspace (8) or delete (127) char-acter. character.
acter. The default is "false", which disables this feature.
hold (class Hold)
If true, xterm will not immediately destroy its window when the shell command completes. It
will wait until you use the window manager to destroy/kill the window, or if you use the menu
entries that send a signal, e.g., HUP or KILL. You may scroll back, select text, etc., to
perform most graphical operations. Resizing the display will lose data, however, since this
involves interaction with the shell which is no longer running.
hpFunctionKeys (class HpFunctionKeys)
Specifies whether or not HP Function Key escape codes should be generated for function keys
instead of standard escape sequences. See also the keyboardType resource.
iconGeometry (class IconGeometry)
Specifies the preferred size and position of the application when iconified. It is not nec-essarily necessarily
essarily obeyed by all window managers.
iconName (class IconName)
Specifies the icon name. The default is the application name.
keyboardType (class KeyboardType)
Enables one (or none) of the various keyboard-type resources: hpFunctionKeys, scoFunction-Keys, scoFunctionKeys,
Keys, sunFunctionKeys, tcapFunctionKeys and sunKeyboard. The resource's value should be one
of the corresponding strings "hp", "sco", "sun", "tcap" or "vt220". The individual resources
are provided for legacy support; this resource is simpler to use.
maxBufSize (class MaxBufSize)
Specify the maximum size of the input buffer. The default is 32768. You cannot set this to
a value less than the minBufSize resource. It will be increased as needed to make that value
evenly divide this one.
On some systems you may want to increase one or both of the maxBufSize and minBufSize
resource values to achieve better performance if the operating system prefers larger buffer
sizes.
maximized (class Maximized)
Specifies whether or not xterm should ask the window manager to maximize its layout on
startup. The default is "false."
messages (class Messages)
Specifies whether write access to the terminal is allowed initially. See mesg(1). The
default is "true".
menuLocale (class MenuLocale)
Specify the locale used for character-set computations when loading the popup menus. Use
this to improve initialization performance of the Athena popup menus, which may load unnec-essary unnecessary
essary (and very large) fonts, e.g., in a locale having UTF-8 encoding. The default is an
empty string, which uses the current locale setting.
Set it to "C" to achieve the best performance using the default menu resource settings. If
you happen to be using localized menu resources, set the resource accordingly.
minBufSize (class MinBufSize)
Specify the minimum size of the input buffer, i.e., the amount of data that xterm requests on
each read. The default is 4096. You cannot set this to a value less than 64.
ptyHandshake (class PtyHandshake)
If "true", xterm will perform handshaking during initialization to ensure that the parent and
child processes update the utmp and stty state. See also waitForMap which waits for the
pseudo-terminal's notion of the screen size, and ptySttySize which resets the screen size
after other terminal initialization is complete. The default is "true".
ptyInitialErase (class PtyInitialErase)
If "true", xterm will use the pseudo-terminal's sense of the stty erase value. If "false",
xterm will set the stty erase value to match its own configuration, using the kb string from
the termcap entry as a reference, if available. In either case, the result is applied to the
TERMCAP variable which xterm sets. See also the ttyModes resource, which may modify this.
The default is "false".
ptySttySize (class PtySttySize)
If "true", xterm will reset the screen size after terminal initialization is complete. This
is needed for some systems whose pseudo-terminals cannot propagate terminal characteristics.
Where it is not needed, it can interfere with other methods for setting the intial screen
size, e.g., via window manager interaction. See also waitForMap which waits for a handshake-message handshakemessage
message giving the pseudo-terminal's notion of the screen size. The default is "false" on
Linux and OS X systems, "true" otherwise.
sameName (class SameName)
If the value of this resource is "true", xterm does not send title and icon name change
requests when the request would have no effect: the name is not changed. This has the advan-tage advantage
tage of preventing flicker and the disadvantage of requiring an extra round trip to the
server to find out the previous value. In practice this should never be a problem. The
default is "true".
scoFunctionKeys (class ScoFunctionKeys)
Specifies whether or not SCP Function Key escape codes should be generated for function keys
instead of standard escape sequences. See also the keyboardType resource.
sessionMgt (class SessionMgt)
If the value of this resource is "true", xterm sets up session manager callbacks for
XtNdieCallback and XtNsaveCallback. The default is "true".
sunFunctionKeys (class SunFunctionKeys)
Specifies whether or not Sun Function Key escape codes should be generated for function keys
instead of standard escape sequences. See also the keyboardType resource.
sunKeyboard (class SunKeyboard)
Specifies whether or not Sun/PC keyboard layout should be assumed rather than DEC VT220.
This causes the keypad "+' to be mapped to ",'. and CTRL F1-F12 to F11-F20, depending on the
setting of the ctrlFKeys resource. so xterm emulates a DEC VT220 more accurately. Otherwise
(the default, with sunKeyboard set to "false"), xterm uses PC-style bindings for the function
keys and keypad.
PC-style bindings use the Shift, Alt, Control and Meta keys as modifiers for function-keys
and keypad (see the document Xterm Control Sequences for details). The PC-style bindings are
analogous to PCTerm, but not the same thing. Normally these bindings do not conflict with
the use of the Meta key as described for the eightBitInput resource. If they do, note that
the PC-style bindings are evaluated first. See also the keyboardType resource.
tcapFunctionKeys (class TcapFunctionKeys)
Specifies whether or not function key escape codes read from the termcap/terminfo entry
should be generated for function keys instead of standard escape sequences. See also the
keyboardType resource.
termName (class TermName)
Specifies the terminal type name to be set in the TERM environment variable.
title (class Title)
Specifies a string that may be used by the window manager when displaying this application.
toolBar (class ToolBar)
Specifies whether or not the toolbar should be displayed. The default is "true."
ttyModes (class TtyModes)
Specifies a string containing terminal setting keywords and the characters to which they may
be bound. Allowable keywords include: brk, dsusp, eof, eol, eol2, erase, erase2, flush,
intr, kill, lnext, quit, rprnt, start, status, stop, susp, swtch and weras. Control charac-ters characters
ters may be specified as ^char (e.g., ^c or ^u) and ^? may be used to indicate delete (127).
Use ^- to denote undef. Use \034 to represent ^\, since a literal backslash in an X resource
escapes the next character.
This is very useful for overriding the default terminal settings without having to do an stty
every time an xterm is started. Note, however, that the stty program on a given host may use
different keywords; xterm's table is built-in.
If the ttyModes resource specifies a value for erase, that overrides the ptyInitialErase
resource setting, i.e., xterm initializes the terminal to match that value.
useInsertMode (class UseInsertMode)
Force use of insert mode by adding appropriate entries to the TERMCAP environment variable.
This is useful if the system termcap is broken. The default is "false."
utmpDisplayId (class UtmpDisplayId)
Specifies whether or not xterm should try to record the display identifier (display number
and screen number) as well as the hostname in the system utmp log file. The default is
"true."
utmpInhibit (class UtmpInhibit)
Specifies whether or not xterm should try to record the user's terminal in the system utmp
log file. If true, xterm will not try. The default is "false."
waitForMap (class WaitForMap)
Specifies whether or not xterm should wait for the initial window map before starting the
subprocess. This is part of the ptyHandshake logic. When xterm is directed to wait in this
fashion, it passes the terminal size from the display end of the pseudo-terminal to the ter-minal terminal
minal I/O connection, e.g., according to the window manager. Otherwise, it uses the size as
given in resource values or command-line option -geom. The default is "false."
zIconBeep (class ZIconBeep)
Same as -ziconbeep command line argument. If the value of this resource is non-zero, xterms
that produce output while iconified will cause an XBell sound at the given volume and have
"***" prepended to their icon titles. Most window managers will detect this change immedi-ately, immediately,
ately, showing you which window has the output. (A similar feature was in x10 xterm.) The
default is "false."
VT100 Widget Resources
The following resources are specified as part of the vt1__ widget (class VT1__). They are specified
by patterns such as "XTerm.vt100.NAME".
If your xterm is configured to support the "toolbar", then those patterns need an extra level for the
form-widget which holds the toolbar and vt100 widget. A wildcard between the top-level "XTerm" and
the "vt100" widget makes the resource settings work for either, e.g., "XTerm*vt100.NAME".
activeIcon (class ActiveIcon)
Specifies whether or not active icon windows are to be used when the xterm window is iconi-fied, iconified,
fied, if this feature is compiled into xterm. The active icon is a miniature representation
of the content of the window and will update as the content changes. Not all window managers
necessarily support application icon windows. Some window managers will allow you to enter
keystrokes into the active icon window. The default is "false."
allowC1Printable (class AllowC1Printable)
If true, overrides the mapping of C1 controls (codes 128-159) to make them be treated as if
they were printable characters. Although this corresponds to no particular standard, some
users insist it is a VT100. The default is "false."
allowFontOps (class AllowFontOps)
Specifies whether control sequences that set/query the font should be allowed. The default
is "true."
allowSendEvents (class AllowSendEvents)
Specifies whether or not synthetic key and button events (generated using the X protocol
SendEvent request) should be interpreted or discarded. The default is "false" meaning they
are discarded. Note that allowing such events creates a very large security hole, and force-fully forcefully
fully disables the allowXXXOps resources. The default is "false."
allowTcapOps (class AllowTcapOps)
Specifies whether control sequences that query the terminal's notion of its function-key
strings, as termcap or terminfo capabilities should be allowed. The default is "false."
A few programs, e.g,. vim, use this feature to get an accurate description of the terminal's
capabilities, independent of the termcap/terminfo setting:
- xterm can tell the querying program how many colors it supports. This is a constant,
depending on how it is compiled, typically 16. It does not change if you alter resource
settings, e.g., the boldColors resource.
- xterm can tell the querying program what strings are sent by modified (shift-, control-,
alt-) function- and keypad-keys. Reporting control- and alt-modifiers is a feature that
relies on the ncurses extended naming.
allowTitleOps (class AllowTitleOps)
Specifies whether control sequences that modify the window title or icon name should be
allowed. The default is "true."
allowWindowOps (class AllowWindowOps)
Specifies whether extended window control sequences (as used in dtterm) should be allowed.
These include several control sequences which manipulate the window size or position, as well
as reporting these values and the title or icon name. Each of these can be abused in a
script; curiously enough most terminal emulators that implement these restrict only a small
part of the repertoire. For fine-tuning, see disallowedWindowOps. The default is "false."
altIsNotMeta (class AltIsNotMeta)
If "true", treat the Alt-key as if it were the Meta-key. Your keyboard may happen to be con-figured configured
figured so they are the same. But if they are not, this allows you to use the same prefix-and prefixand
and shifting operations with the Alt-key as with the Meta-key. See altSendsEscape and
metaSendsEscape. The default is "false."
altSendsEscape (class AltSendsEscape)
This is an additional keyboard operation that may be processed after the logic for metaSend-sEscape. metaSendsEscape.
sEscape. It is only available if the altIsNotMeta resource is set.
If "true", Alt characters (a character combined with the modifier associated with left/right
Alt-keys) are converted into a two-character sequence with the character itself preceded by
ESC. This applies as well to function key control sequences, unless xterm sees that Alt is
used in your key translations. If "false", Alt characters input from the keyboard cause a
shift to 8-bit characters (just like metaSendsEscape). By combining the Alt- and Meta-modi-fiers, Meta-modifiers,
fiers, you can create corresponding combinations of ESC-prefix and 8-bit characters. The
default is "false."
alwaysBoldMode (class AlwaysBoldMode)
Specifies whether xterm should check if the normal and bold fonts are distinct before decid-ing deciding
ing whether to use overstriking to simulate bold fonts. If this resource is true, xterm does
not make the check for distinct fonts when deciding how to handle the boldMode resource. The
default is "false."
boldMode alwaysBoldMode Comparison Action
----------------------------------------------------false ---------------------------------------------------false
false false ignored use font
false true ignored use font
true false same overstrike
true false different use font
true true ignored overstrike
alwaysHighlight (class AlwaysHighlight)
Specifies whether or not xterm should always display a highlighted text cursor. By default
(if this resource is false), a hollow text cursor is displayed whenever the pointer moves out
of the window or the window loses the input focus. The default is "false."
alwaysUseMods (class AlwaysUseMods)
Override the numLock resource, telling xterm to use the Alt and Meta modifiers to construct
parameters for function key sequences even if those modifiers appear in the translations
resource. The default is "false."
answerbackString (class AnswerbackString)
Specifies the string that xterm sends in response to an ENQ (control/E) character from the
host. The default is a blank string, i.e., "". A hardware VT100 implements this feature as
a setup option.
appcursorDefault (class AppcursorDefault)
If "true," the cursor keys are initially in application mode. This is the same as the VT102
private DECCKM mode, The default is "false."
appkeypadDefault (class AppkeypadDefault)
If "true," the keypad keys are initially in application mode. The default is "false."
autoWrap (class AutoWrap)
Specifies whether or not auto-wraparound should be enabled. This is the same as the VT102
DECAWM. The default is "true."
awaitInput (class AwaitInput)
Specifies whether or not the xterm uses a 50 millisecond timeout to await input (i.e., to
support the Xaw3d arrow scrollbar). The default is "false."
backarrowKey (class BackarrowKey)
Specifies whether the backarrow key transmits a backspace (8) or delete (127) character.
This corresponds to the DECBKM control sequence. The default (backspace) is "true." Press-ing Pressing
ing the control key toggles this behavior.
background (class Background)
Specifies the color to use for the background of the window. The default is "XtDefaultBack-ground." "XtDefaultBackground."
ground."
bellIsUrgent (class BellIsUrgent)
Specifies whether to set the Urgency hint for the window manager when making a bell sound.
The default is "false."
bellOnReset (class BellOnReset)
Specifies whether to sound a bell when doing a hard reset. The default is "true."
bellSuppressTime (class BellSuppressTime)
Number of milliseconds after a bell command is sent during which additional bells will be
suppressed. Default is 200. If set non-zero, additional bells will also be suppressed until
the server reports that processing of the first bell has been completed; this feature is most
useful with the visible bell.
boldColors (class ColorMode)
Specifies whether to combine bold attribute with colors like the IBM PC, i.e., map colors 0
through 7 to colors 8 through 15. These normally are the brighter versions of the first 8
colors, hence bold. The default is "true."
boldFont (class BoldFont)
Specifies the name of the bold font to use instead of overstriking. There is no default for
this resource.
boldMode (class BoldMode)
This specifies whether or not text with the bold attribute should be overstruck to simulate
bold fonts if the resolved bold font is the same as the normal font. It may be desirable to
disable bold fonts when color is being used for the bold attribute.
Note that xterm has one bold font which you may set explicitly. Xterm attempts to derive a
bold font for the other font selections (font1 through font6). If it cannot find a bold
font, it will use the normal font. In each case (whether the explicit resource or the
derived font), if the normal and bold fonts are distinct, this resource has no effect. The
default is "true."
See the alwaysBoldMode resource which can modify the behavior of this resource.
Although xterm attempts to derive a bold font for other font selections, the font server may
not cooperate. Since X11R6, bitmap fonts have been scaled. The font server claims to pro-vide provide
vide the bold font that xterm requests, but the result is not always readable. XFree86 pro-vides provides
vides a feature which can be used to suppress the scaling. In the X server's configuration
file (e.g., "/etc/X11/XFree86"), you can add ":unscaled" to the end of the directory specifi-cation specification
cation for the "misc" fonts, which comprise the fixed-pitch fonts that are used by xterm.
For example
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
would become
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/:unscaled"
Depending on your configuration, the font server may have its own configuration file. The
same ":unscaled" can be added to its configuration file at the end of the directory specifi-cation specification
cation for "misc".
The bitmap scaling feature is also used by xterm to implement VT102 double-width and double-height doubleheight
height characters.
brokenLinuxOSC (class BrokenLinuxOSC)
If true, xterm applies a workaround to ignore malformed control sequences that a Linux script
might send. Compare the palette control sequences documented in console_codes with ECMA-48.
The default is "true."
brokenSelections (class BrokenSelections)
If true, xterm in 8-bit mode will interpret STRING selections as carrying text in the current
locale's encoding. Normally STRING selections carry ISO-8859-1 encoded text. Setting this
resource to "true" violates the ICCCM; it may, however, be useful for interacting with some
broken X clients. The default is "false."
brokenStringTerm (class BrokenStringTerm)
provides a work-around for some ISDN routers which start an application control string with-out without
out completing it. Set this to "true" if xterm appears to freeze when connecting. The
default is "false."
c132 (class C132)
Specifies whether or not the VT102 DECCOLM escape sequence, used to switch between 80 and 132
columns, should be honored. The default is "false."
cacheDoublesize (class CacheDoublesize)
Tells whether to cache double-sized fonts by xterm. Set this to zero to disable double-sized
fonts altogether.
charClass (class CharClass)
Specifies comma-separated lists of character class bindings of the form [low-]high:value.
These are used in determining which sets of characters should be treated the same when doing
cut and paste. See the CHARACTER CLASSES section.
cjkWidth (class CjkWidth)
Specifies whether xterm should follow the traditional East Asian width convention. When
turned on, characters with East Asian Ambiguous (A) category in UTR 11 have a column width of
2. You may have to set this option to "true" if you have some old East Asian terminal based
programs that assume that line-drawing characters have a column width of 2. If this resource
is false, the mkWidth resource controls the choice between the system's wcwidth and xterm's
built-in tables. The default is "false."
color0 (class Color0)
color1 (class Color1)
color2 (class Color2)
color3 (class Color3)
color4 (class Color4)
color5 (class Color5)
color6 (class Color6)
color7 (class Color7)
These specify the colors for the ISO-6429 extension. The defaults are, respectively, black,
red3, green3, yellow3, a customizable dark blue, magenta3, cyan3, and gray90. The default
shades of color are chosen to allow the colors 8-15 to be used as brighter versions.
color8 (class Color8)
color9 (class Color9)
color10 (class Color10)
color11 (class Color11)
color12 (class Color12)
color13 (class Color13)
color14 (class Color14)
color15 (class Color15)
These specify the colors for the ISO-6429 extension if the bold attribute is also enabled.
The default resource values are respectively, gray30, red, green, yellow, a customizable
light blue, magenta, cyan, and white.
color16 (class Color16)
through
color255 (class Color255)
These specify the colors for the 256-color extension. The default resource values are for
colors 16 through 231 to make a 6x6x6 color cube, and colors 232 through 255 to make a
grayscale ramp.
Resources past color15 are available as a compile-time option. Due to a hardcoded limit in
the X libraries on the total number of resources (to 400), the resources for 256-colors are
omitted when wide-character support and luit are enabled. Besides inconsistent behavior if
only part of the resources were allowed, determining the exact cutoff is difficult, and the X
libraries tend to crash if the number of resources exceeds the limit. The color palette is
still initialized to the same default values, and can be modified via control sequences.
On the other hand, the resource limit does permit including the entire range for 88-colors.
colorAttrMode (class ColorAttrMode)
Specifies whether colorBD, colorBL, colorRV, and colorUL should override ANSI colors. If
not, these are displayed only when no ANSI colors have been set for the corresponding posi-tion. position.
tion. The default is "false."
colorBD (class ColorBD)
This specifies the color to use to display bold characters if the "colorBDMode" resource is
enabled. The default is "XtDefaultForeground."
colorBDMode (class ColorAttrMode)
Specifies whether characters with the bold attribute should be displayed in color or as bold
characters. Note that setting colorMode off disables all colors, including bold. The
default is "false."
colorBL (class ColorBL)
This specifies the color to use to display blink characters if the "colorBLMode" resource is
enabled. The default is "XtDefaultForeground."
colorBLMode (class ColorAttrMode)
Specifies whether characters with the blink attribute should be displayed in color. Note
that setting colorMode off disables all colors, including this. The default is "false."
colorMode (class ColorMode)
Specifies whether or not recognition of ANSI (ISO-6429) color change escape sequences should
be enabled. The default is "true."
colorRV (class ColorRV)
This specifies the color to use to display reverse characters if the "colorRVMode" resource
is enabled. The default is "XtDefaultForeground."
colorRVMode (class ColorAttrMode)
Specifies whether characters with the reverse attribute should be displayed in color. Note
that setting colorMode off disables all colors, including this. The default is "false."
colorUL (class ColorUL)
This specifies the color to use to display underlined characters if the "colorULMode"
resource is enabled. The default is "XtDefaultForeground."
colorULMode (class ColorAttrMode)
Specifies whether characters with the underline attribute should be displayed in color or as
underlined characters. Note that setting colorMode off disables all colors, including under-lining. underlining.
lining. The default is "false."
combiningChars (class CombiningChars)
Specifies the number of wide-characters which can be stored in a cell to overstrike (combine)
with the base character of the cell. This can be set to values in the range 0 to 4. The
default is "2".
ctrlFKeys (class CtrlFKeys)
In VT220 keyboard mode (see sunKeyboard resource), specifies the amount by which to shift
F1-F12 given a control modifier (CTRL). This allows you to generate key symbols for F10-F20
on a Sun/PC keyboard. The default is "10", which means that CTRL F1 generates the key symbol
for F11.
curses (class Curses)
Specifies whether or not the last column bug in more(1) should be worked around. See the -cu
option for details. The default is "false."
cursorBlink (class CursorBlink)
Specifies whether to make the cursor blink. The default is "false."
cursorColor (class CursorColor)
Specifies the color to use for the text cursor. The default is "XtDefaultForeground." By
default, xterm attempts to keep this color from being the same as the background color, since
it draws the cursor by filling the background of a text cell. The same restriction applies
to control sequences which may change this color.
Setting this resource overrides most of xterm's adjustments to cursor color. It will still
use reverse-video to disallow some cases, such as a black cursor on a black background.
cursorOffTime (class CursorOffTime)
Specifies the duration of the "off" part of the cursor blink cycle-time in milliseconds. The
same timer is used for text blinking. The default is 300.
cursorOnTime (class CursorOnTime)
Specifies the duration of the "on" part of the cursor blink cycle-time, in milliseconds. The
same timer is used for text blinking. The default is 600.
cutNewline (class CutNewline)
If "false", triple clicking to select a line does not include the Newline at the end of the
line. If "true", the Newline is selected. The default is "true."
cursorUnderLine (class CursorUnderLine)
Specifies whether to make the cursor underlined or a box. The default is "false."
cutToBeginningOfLine (class CutToBeginningOfLine)
If "false", triple clicking to select a line selects only from the current word forward. If
"true", the entire line is selected. The default is "true."
decTerminalID (class DecTerminalID)
Specifies the emulation level (100=VT100, 220=VT220, etc.), used to determine the type of
response to a DA control sequence. Leading non-digit characters are ignored, e.g., "vt100"
and "100" are the same. The default is 100.
defaultString (class DefaultString)
Specify the character (or string) which xterm will substitute when pasted text includes a
character which cannot be represented in the current encoding. For instance, pasting UTF-8
text into a display of ISO-8859-1 characters will only be able to display codes 0-255, while
UTF-8 text can include Unicode values above 255. The default is "#" (a single pound sign).
If the undisplayable text would be double-width, xterm will add a space after the "#" charac-ter, character,
ter, to give roughly the same layout on the screen as the original text.
deleteIsDEL (class DeleteIsDEL)
Specifies whether the Delete key on the editing keypad should send DEL (127) or the
VT220-style Remove escape sequence. The default is "false," for the latter.
disallowedWindowOps (class DisallowedWindowOps)
Specify which features will be disabled if allowWindowOps is false. This is a comma-sepa-rated comma-separated
rated list of names, or (for the controls adapted from dtterm the operation number). The
default value is
20,21,SetXprop,SetSelection
The names are listed below. xterm ignores capitalization, but they are shown in mixed-case
for clarity. Where a number can be used as an alternative, it is given in parentheses after
the name.
GetIconTitle (20)
Report xterm window's icon label as a string.
GetScreenSizeChars (19)
Report the size of the screen in characters as numbers.
GetSelection
Report selection data as a base64 string.
GetWinPosition (13)
Report xterm window position as numbers.
GetWinSizeChars (18)
Report the size of the text area in characters as numbers.
GetWinSizePixels (14)
Report xterm window in pixels as numbers.
GetWinState (11)
Report xterm window state as a number.
GetWinTitle (21)
Report xterm window's title as a string.
LowerWin (6)
Lower the xterm window to the bottom of the stacking order.
MaximizeWin (9)
Maximize window (i.e., resize to screen size).
MinimizeWin (2)
Iconify window.
RaiseWin (5)
Raise the xterm window to the front of the stacking order.
RefreshWin (7)
Refresh the xterm window.
RestoreWin (1)
De-iconify window.
SetSelection
Set selection data.
SetWinLines
Resize to a given number of lines, at least 24.
SetWinPosition (3)
Move window to given coordinates.
SetWinSizeChars (8)
Resize the text area to given size in characters.
SetWinSizePixels (4)
Resize the xterm window to given size in pixels.
SetXprop
Set X property on top-level window.
dynamicColors (class DynamicColors)
Specifies whether or not escape sequences to change colors assigned to different attributes
are recognized.
eightBitControl (class EightBitControl)
Specifies whether or not control sequences sent by the terminal should be eight-bit charac-ters characters
ters or escape sequences. The default is "false."
eightBitInput (class EightBitInput)
If "true", Meta characters (a single-byte character combined with the Meta modifier key)
input from the keyboard are presented as a single character with the eighth bit turned on.
The terminal is put into 8-bit mode. If "false", Meta characters are converted into a two-character twocharacter
character sequence with the character itself preceded by ESC. On startup, xterm tries to put
the terminal into 7-bit mode. The metaSendsEscape and altSendsEscape resources may override
this. The default is "true."
Generally keyboards do not have a key labeled "Meta", but "Alt" keys are common, and they are
conventionally used for "Meta". If they were synonymous, it would have been reasonable to
name this resource "altSendsEscape", reversing its sense. For more background on this, see
the meta function in curses.
Note that the Alt key is not necessarily the same as the Meta modifier. xmodmap lists your
key modifiers. X defines modifiers for shift, (caps) lock and control, as well as 5 addi-tional additional
tional modifiers which are generally used to configure key modifiers. xterm inspects the
same information to find the modifier associated with either Meta key (left or right), and
uses that key as the Meta modifier. It also looks for the NumLock key, to recognize the mod-ifier modifier
ifier which is associated with that.
If your xmodmap configuration uses the same keycodes for Alt- and Meta-keys, xterm will only
see the Alt-key definitions, since those are tested before Meta-keys. NumLock is tested
first. It is important to keep these keys distinct; otherwise some of xterm's functionality
is not available.
eightBitOutput (class EightBitOutput)
Specifies whether or not eight-bit characters sent from the host should be accepted as is or
stripped when printed. The default is "true," which means that they are accepted as is.
eightBitSelectTypes (class EightBitSelectTypes)
Override xterm's default selection target list (see SELECT/PASTE) for selections in normal
(ISO-8859-1) mode. The default is an empty string, which does not override anything.
faceName (class FaceName)
Specify the pattern for fonts selected from the FreeType library if support for that library
was compiled into xterm. There is no default. If not specified, or if there is no match for
both normal and bold fonts, xterm uses the font and related resources.
faceNameDoublesize (class FaceNameDoublesize)
Specify an double-width font for cases where an application requires this, e.g., in CJK
applications. There is no default. If the application uses double-wide characters and this
resource is not given, xterm will use a scaled version of the font given by faceName.
faceSize (class FaceSize)
Specify the pointsize for fonts selected from the FreeType library if support for that
library was compiled into xterm. The default is "14." On the VT Fonts menu, this corre-sponds corresponds
sponds to the Default entry.
You can specify the pointsize for TrueType fonts selected with the other size-related menu
entries such as Medium, Huge, etc., by using one of the following resource values. If you do
not specify a value, they default to "0.0", which causes xterm to use the ratio of font sizes
from the corresponding bitmap font resources to obtain a TrueType pointsize.
If all of the faceSize resources are set, then xterm will use this information to determine
the next smaller/larger TrueType font for the larger-vt-font() and smaller-vt-font() actions.
If any are not set, xterm will use only the areas of the bitmap fonts.
faceSize1 (class FaceSize1)
Specifies the pointsize of the first alternative font.
faceSize2 (class FaceSize2)
Specifies the pointsize of the second alternative font.
faceSize3 (class FaceSize3)
Specifies the pointsize of the third alternative font.
faceSize4 (class FaceSize4)
Specifies the pointsize of the fourth alternative font.
faceSize5 (class FaceSize5)
Specifies the pointsize of the fifth alternative font.
faceSize6 (class FaceSize6)
Specifies the pointsize of the sixth alternative font.
font (class Font)
Specifies the name of the normal font. The default is "fixed."
See the discussion of the locale resource, which describes how this font may be overridden.
NOTE: some resource files use patterns such as
*font: fixed
which are overly broad, affecting both
xterm.vt100.font
and
xterm.vt100.utf8fonts.font
which is probably not what you intended.
fastScroll (class FastScroll)
Modifies the effect of jump scroll (jumpScroll) by suppressing screen refreshes for the spe-cial special
cial case when output to the screen has completely shifted the contents off-screen. For
instance, cat'ing a large file to the screen does this.
font1 (class Font1)
Specifies the name of the first alternative font.
font2 (class Font2)
Specifies the name of the second alternative font.
font3 (class Font3)
Specifies the name of the third alternative font.
font4 (class Font4)
Specifies the name of the fourth alternative font.
font5 (class Font5)
Specifies the name of the fifth alternative font.
font6 (class Font6)
Specifies the name of the sixth alternative font.
fontDoublesize (class FontDoublesize)
Specifies whether xterm should attempt to use font scaling to draw double-sized characters.
Some older font servers cannot do this properly, will return misleading font metrics. The
default is "true". If disabled, xterm will simulate double-sized characters by drawing nor-mal normal
mal characters with spaces between them.
fontWarnings (class FontWarnings)
Specify whether xterm should report an error if it fails to load a font:
0 Never report an error (though the X libraries may).
1 Report an error if the font name was given as a resource setting.
2 Always report an error on failure to load a font.
forceBoxChars (class ForceBoxChars)
Specifies whether xterm should assume the normal and bold fonts have VT100 line-drawing char-acters: characters:
acters:
- The fixed-pitch ISO-8859-*-encoded fonts used by xterm normally have the VT100 line-drawing linedrawing
drawing glyphs in cells 1-31. Other fixed-pitch fonts may be more attractive, but lack
these glyphs.
- When using an ISO-10646-1 font and the wideChars resource is true, xterm uses the Uni-code Unicode
code glyphs which match the VT100 line-drawing glyphs.
If "false", xterm checks for missing glyphs in the font and makes line-drawing characters
directly as needed. If "true", xterm assumes the font does not contain the line-drawing
characters, and draws them directly. The default is "false."
forcePackedFont (class ForcePackedFont)
Specifies whether xterm should use the maximum or minimum glyph width when displaying using a
bitmap font. Use the maximum width to help with proportional fonts. The default is "true,"
denoting the minimum width.
foreground (class Foreground)
Specifies the color to use for displaying text in the window. Setting the class name instead
of the instance name is an easy way to have everything that would normally appear in the text
color change color. The default is "XtDefaultForeground."
formatOtherKeys (class FormatOtherKeys)
Overrides the format of the escape sequence used to report modified keys with the modi-fyOtherKeys modifyOtherKeys
fyOtherKeys resource.
0 send modified keys as parameters for function-key 27 (default).
1 send modified keys as parameters for CSI u.
freeBoldBox (class FreeBoldBox)
Specifies whether xterm should assume the bounding boxes for normal and bold fonts are com-patible. compatible.
patible. If "false", xterm compares them and will reject choices of bold fonts that do not
match the size of the normal font. The default is "false", which means that the comparison
is performed.
geometry (class Geometry)
Specifies the preferred size and position of the VT102 window. There is no default for this
resource.
highlightColor (class HighlightColor)
Specifies the color to use for the background of selected (highlighted) text. If not speci-fied specified
fied (i.e., matching the default foreground), reverse video is used. The default is "XtDe-faultForeground." "XtDefaultForeground."
faultForeground."
highlightColorMode (class HighlightColorMode)
Specifies whether xterm should use highlightTextColor and highlightColor to override the
reversed foreground/background colors in a selection. The default is unspecified: at
startup, xterm checks if those resources are set to something other than the default fore-ground foreground
ground and background colors. Setting this resource disables the check.
The following table shows the interaction of the highlighting resources, abbreviated as shown
to fit in this page:
HCM
highlightColorMode
HR highlightReverse
HBG
highlightColor
HFG
highlightTextColor
HCM HR HBG HFG Highlight
------------------------------------------------------false -----------------------------------------------------false
false false default default bg/fg
false false default set bg/fg
false false set default fg/HBG
false false set set fg/HBG
------------------------------------------------------false -----------------------------------------------------false
false true default default bg/fg
false true default set bg/fg
false true set default fg/HBG
false true set set fg/HBG
------------------------------------------------------true -----------------------------------------------------true
true false default default bg/fg
true false default set HFG/fg
true false set default bg/HBG
true false set set HFG/HBG
------------------------------------------------------true -----------------------------------------------------true
true true default default fg/fg (useless)
true true default set HFG/fg
true true set default fg/HBG
true true set set HFG/HBG
------------------------------------------------------default -----------------------------------------------------default
default false default default bg/fg
default false default set bg/fg
default false set default fg/HBG
default false set set HFG/HBG
------------------------------------------------------default -----------------------------------------------------default
default true default default bg/fg
default true default set bg/fg
default true set default fg/HBG
default true set set HFG/HBG
------------------------------------------------------highlightReverse -----------------------------------------------------highlightReverse
highlightReverse (class HighlightReverse)
Specifies whether xterm should reverse the selection foreground and background colors when
selecting text with reverse-video attribute. This applies only to the highlightColor and
highlightTextColor resources, e.g., to match the color scheme of xwsh. If "true", xterm
reverses the colors, If "false", xterm does not reverse colors, The default is "true."
highlightSelection (class HighlightSelection)
If "false", selecting with the mouse highlights all positions on the screen between the
beginning of the selection and the current position. If "true", xterm highlights only the
positions that contain text that can be selected. The default is "false."
Depending on the way your applications write to the screen, there may be trailing blanks on a
line. Xterm stores data as it is shown on the screen. Erasing the display changes the
internal state of each cell so it is not considered a blank for the purpose of selection.
Blanks written since the last erase are selectable. If you do not wish to have trailing
blanks in a selection, use the trimSelection resource.
highlightTextColor (class HighlightTextColor)
Specifies the color to use for the foreground of selected (highlighted) text. If not speci-fied specified
fied (i.e., matching the default background), reverse video is used. The default is "XtDe-faultBackground." "XtDefaultBackground."
faultBackground."
hpLowerleftBugCompat (class HpLowerleftBugCompat)
Specifies whether to work around a bug in HP's xdb, which ignores termcap and always sends
ESC F to move to the lower left corner. "true" causes xterm to interpret ESC F as a request
to move to the lower left corner of the screen. The default is "false."
i18nSelections (class I18nSelections)
If false, xterm will not request the targets COMPOUND_TEXT or TEXT. The default is "true."
It may be set to false in order to work around ICCCM violations by other X clients.
iconBorderColor (class BorderColor)
Specifies the border color for the active icon window if this feature is compiled into xterm.
Not all window managers will make the icon border visible.
iconBorderWidth (class BorderWidth)
Specifies the border width for the active icon window if this feature is compiled into xterm.
The default is 2. Not all window managers will make the border visible.
iconFont (class IconFont)
Specifies the font for the miniature active icon window, if this feature is compiled into
xterm. The default is "nil2".
initialFont (class InitialFont)
Specifies which of the VT100 fonts to use initially. Values are the same as for the set-vt-font set-vtfont
font action. The default is "d", i.e., "default".
inputMethod (class XtCInputMethod)
Tells xterm which type of input method to use. There is no default method.
internalBorder (class BorderWidth)
Specifies the number of pixels between the characters and the window border. The default is
2.
italicULMode (class ColorAttrMode)
Specifies whether characters with the underline attribute should be displayed in an italic
font or as underlined characters. It is implemented only for TrueType fonts.
jumpScroll (class JumpScroll)
Specifies whether or not jump scroll should be used. This corresponds to the VT102 DECSCLM
private mode. The default is "true." See fastScroll for a variation.
keepSelection (class KeepSelection)
Specifies whether xterm will keep the selection even after the selected area was touched by
some output to the terminal. The default is "true".
keyboardDialect (class KeyboardDialect)
Specifies the initial keyboard dialect, as well as the default value when the terminal is
reset. The value given is the same as the final character in the control sequences which
change character sets. The default is "B", which corresponds to US ASCII.
nameKeymap (class NameKeymap)
See the discussion of the keymap() action.
limitResize (class LimitResize)
Limits resizing of the screen via control sequence to a given multiple of the display dimen-sions. dimensions.
sions. The default is "1".
locale (class Locale)
Specifies how to use luit, an encoding converter between UTF-8 and locale encodings. The
resource value (ignoring case) may be:
true
xterm will use the encoding specified by the users' LC_CTYPE locale (i.e., LC_ALL,
LC_CTYPE, or LANG variables) as far as possible. This is realized by always enabling
UTF-8 mode and invoking luit in non-UTF-8 locales.
medium
xterm will follow users' LC_CTYPE locale only for UTF-8, east Asian, and Thai locales,
where the encodings were not supported by conventional 8bit mode with changing fonts.
For other locales, xterm will use conventional 8bit mode.
checkfont
If mini-luit is compiled-in, xterm will check if a Unicode font has been specified. If
so, it checks if the character encoding for the current locale is POSIX, Latin-1 or
Latin-9, uses the appropriate mapping to support those with the Unicode font. For other
encodings, xterm assumes that UTF-8 encoding is required.
false
xterm will use conventional 8bit mode or UTF-8 mode according to utf8 resource or -u8
option.
Any other value, e.g., "UTF-8" or "ISO8859-2", is assumed to be an encoding name; luit will
be invoked to support the encoding. The actual list of supported encodings depends on luit.
The default is "medium".
Regardless of your locale and encoding, you need an ISO-10646-1 font to display the result.
Your configuration may not include this font, or locale-support by xterm may not be needed.
At startup, xterm uses a mechanism equivalent to the load-vt-fonts(utf8Fonts, Utf8Fonts)
action to load font name subresources of the VT100 widget. That is, resource patterns such
as "*vt100.utf8Fonts.font" will be loaded, and (if this resource is enabled), override the
normal fonts. If no subresources are found, the normal fonts such as "*vt100.font", etc.,
are used. The resource files distributed with xterm use ISO-10646-1 fonts, but do not rely
on them unless you are using the locale mechanism.
localeFilter (class LocaleFilter)
Specifies the file name for the encoding converter from/to locale encodings and UTF-8 which
is used with the -lc option or locale resource. The help message shown by "xterm -help"
lists the default value, which depends on your system configuration.
If the encoding converter requires command-line parameters, you should put those within a
shell script to execute the converter, and set this resource to point to the shell script.
loginShell (class LoginShell)
Specifies whether or not the shell to be run in the window should be started as a login
shell. The default is "false."
marginBell (class MarginBell)
Specifies whether or not the bell should be rung when the user types near the right margin.
The default is "false."
metaSendsEscape (class MetaSendsEscape)
If "true", Meta characters (a character combined with the Meta modifier key) are converted
into a two-character sequence with the character itself preceded by ESC. This applies as
well to function key control sequences, unless xterm sees that Meta is used in your key
translations. If "false", Meta characters input from the keyboard are handled according to
the eightBitInput resource. The default is "false."
mkSamplePass (class MkSamplePass)
If mkSampleSize is nonzero, and mkWidth (and cjkWidth) are false, on startup xterm compares
its built-in tables to the system's wide character width data to decide if it will use the
system's data. It tests the first mkSampleSize character values, and allows up to mkSam-plePass mkSamplePass
plePass mismatches before the test fails. The default (for the allowed number of mismatches)
is 256.
mkSampleSize (class MkSampleSize)
With mkSamplePass, this specifies a startup test used for initializing wide character width
calculations. The default (number of characters to check) is 1024.
mkWidth (class MkWidth)
Specifies whether xterm should use a built-in version of the wide character width calcula-tion. calculation.
tion. See also the cjkWidth resource which can override this. The default is "false."
Here is a summary of the resources which control the choice of wide character width calcula-tion: calculation:
tion:
cjkWidth mkWidth Action
---------------------------------------------------------------false --------------------------------------------------------------false
false false use system tables subject to mkSamplePass
false true use built-in tables
true false use built-in CJK tables
true true use built-in CJK tables
modifyCursorKeys (class ModifyCursorKeys)
Tells how to handle the special case where Control-, Shift-, Alt- or Meta-modifiers are used
to add a parameter to the escape sequence returned by a cursor-key. The default is "2":
Set it to -1 to disable it.
Set it to 0 to use the old/obsolete behavior.
Set it to 1 to prefix modified sequences with CSI.
Set it to 2 to force the modifier to be the second parameter if it would otherwise be the
first.
Set it to 3 to mark the sequence with a ">" to hint that it is private.
modifyFunctionKeys (class ModifyFunctionKeys)
Tells how to handle the special case where Control-, Shift-, Alt- or Meta-modifiers are used
to add a parameter to the escape sequence returned by a (numbered) function-key. The default
is "2". The resource values are similar to modifyCursorKeys:
Set it to -1 to permit the user to use shift- and control-modifiers to construct function-key
strings using the normal encoding scheme.
Set it to 0 to use the old/obsolete behavior.
Set it to 1 to prefix modified sequences with CSI.
Set it to 2 to force the modifier to be the second parameter if it would otherwise be the
first.
Set it to 3 to mark the sequence with a ">" to hint that it is private.
If modifyFunctionKeys is zero, xterm uses Control- and Shift-modifiers to allow the user to
construct numbered function-keys beyond the set provided by the keyboard:
Control
adds the value given by the ctrlFKeys resource.
Shift
adds twice the value given by the ctrlFKeys resource.
Control/Shift
adds three times the value given by the ctrlFKeys resource.
As a special case, legacy (when oldFunctionKeys is true) or vt220 (when sunKeyboard is true)
keyboards interpret only the Control-modifier when constructing numbered function-keys. This
is done to provide compatible keyboards for DEC VT220 and related terminals that implement
user-defined keys (UDK).
modifyOtherKeys (class ModifyOtherKeys)
Like modifyCursorKeys, tells xterm to construct an escape sequence for other keys (such as
"2") when modified by Control-, Alt- or Meta-modifiers. This feature does not apply to func-tion function
tion keys and well-defined keys such as ESC or the control keys. The default is "0":
0 disables this feature.
1 enables this feature for keys except for those with well-known behavior, e.g., Tab,
Backarrow and some special control character cases, e.g., Control-Space to make a NUL.
2 enables this feature for keys including the exceptions listed.
multiClickTime (class MultiClickTime)
Specifies the maximum time in milliseconds between multi-click select events. The default is
250 milliseconds.
multiScroll (class MultiScroll)
Specifies whether or not scrolling should be done asynchronously. The default is "false."
nMarginBell (class Column)
Specifies the number of characters from the right margin at which the margin bell should be
rung, when enabled by the marginBell resource. The default is 10.
numLock (class NumLock)
If "true", xterm checks if NumLock is used as a modifier (see xmodmap(1)). If so, this modi-fier modifier
fier is used to simplify the logic when implementing special NumLock for the sunKeyboard
resource. Also (when sunKeyboard is false), similar logic is used to find the modifier asso-ciated associated
ciated with the left and right Alt keys. The default is "true."
oldXtermFKeys (class OldXtermFKeys)
If "true", xterm will use old-style control sequences for function keys F1 to F4, for compat-ibility compatibility
ibility with X Consortium xterm. Otherwise, it uses the VT100-style codes for PF1 to PF4.
The default is "false."
on2Clicks (class On2Clicks)
on3Clicks (class On3Clicks)
on4Clicks (class On4Clicks)
on5Clicks (class On5Clicks)
Specify selection behavior in response to multiple mouse clicks. A single mouse click is
always interpreted as described in the SELECTION section (see POINTER USAGE). Multiple mouse
clicks (using the button which activates the select-start action) are interpreted according
to the resource values of on2Clicks, etc. The resource value can be one of these:
word
Select a "word" as determined by the charClass resource. See the CHARACTER CLASSES sec-tion. section.
tion.
line
Select a line (counting wrapping).
group
Select a group of adjacent lines (counting wrapping). The selection stops on a blank
line, and does not extend outside the current page.
page
Select all visible lines, i.e., the page.
all
Select all lines, i.e., including the saved lines.
regex
Select a "word" as determined by the regular expression which follows in the resource
value.
none
No selection action is associated with this resource. xterm interprets it as the end of
the list. For example, you may use it to disable triple (and higher) clicking by setting
on3Clicks to "none".
The default values for on2Clicks and on3Clicks are "word" and "line", respectively. There is
no default value for on4Clicks or on5Clicks, making those inactive. On startup, xterm deter-mines determines
mines the maximum number of clicks by the onXClicks resource values which are set.
openIm (class XtCOpenIm)
Tells xterm whether to open the input method at startup. The default is "true".
pointerColor (class PointerColor)
Specifies the foreground color of the pointer. The default is "XtDefaultForeground."
pointerColorBackground (class PointerColorBackground)
Specifies the background color of the pointer. The default is "XtDefaultBackground."
pointerMode (class PointerMode)
Specifies when the pointer may be hidden as the user types. It will be redisplayed if the
user moves the mouse, or clicks one of its buttons.
0 never
1 the application running in xterm has not activated mouse mode. This is the default.
2 always.
pointerShape (class Cursor)
Specifies the name of the shape of the pointer. The default is "xterm."
popOnBell (class PopOnBell)
Specifies whether the window would be raised when Control-G is received. The default is
"false."
preeditType (class XtCPreeditType)
Tells xterm which types of preedit (preconversion) string to display. The default is "Over-TheSpot,Root". "OverTheSpot,Root".
TheSpot,Root".
printAttributes (class PrintAttributes)
Specifies whether to print graphic attributes along with the text. A real DEC VTxxx terminal
will print the underline, highlighting codes but your printer may not handle these. A "0"
disables the attributes. A "1" prints the normal set of attributes (bold, underline, inverse
and blink) as VT100-style control sequences. A "2" prints ANSI color attributes as well.
The default is "1."
printerAutoClose (class PrinterAutoClose)
If "true", xterm will close the printer (a pipe) when the application switches the printer
offline with a Media Copy command. The default is "false."
printerCommand (class PrinterCommand)
Specifies a shell command to which xterm will open a pipe when the first MC (Media Copy) com-mand command
mand is initiated. The default is a blank string. If the resource value is given as a blank
string, the printer is disabled.
printerControlMode (class PrinterControlMode)
Specifies the printer control mode. A "1" selects autoprint mode, which causes xterm to
print a line from the screen when you move the cursor off that line with a line feed, form
feed or vertical tab character, or an autowrap occurs. Autoprint mode is overridden by
printer controller mode (a "2"), which causes all of the output to be directed to the
printer. The default is "0."
printerExtent (class PrinterExtent)
Controls whether a print page function will print the entire page (true), or only the the
portion within the scrolling margins (false). The default is "false."
printerFormFeed (class PrinterFormFeed)
Controls whether a form feed is sent to the printer at the end of a print page function. The
default is "false."
quietGrab (class QuietGrab)
Controls whether the cursor is repainted when NotifyGrab and NotifyUngrab event types are
received during change of focus. The default is "false."
renderFont (class RenderFont)
If xterm is built with the Xft library, this controls whether the faceName resource is used.
The default is "true."
resizeGravity (class ResizeGravity)
Affects the behavior when the window is resized to be taller or shorter. NorthWest specifies
that the top line of text on the screen stay fixed. If the window is made shorter, lines are
dropped from the bottom; if the window is made taller, blank lines are added at the bottom.
This is compatible with the behavior in R4. SouthWest (the default) specifies that the bot-tom bottom
tom line of text on the screen stay fixed. If the window is made taller, additional saved
lines will be scrolled down onto the screen; if the window is made shorter, lines will be
scrolled off the top of the screen, and the top saved lines will be dropped.
retryInputMethod (class XtCRetryInputMethod)
Tells xterm how many times to retry, in case the input-method server is not responding. This
is a different issue than unsupported preedit type, etc. You may encounter retries if your X
configuration (and its libraries) are missing pieces. Setting this resource to zero ``0''
will cancel the retrying. The default is ``3''.
reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
Specifies whether or not reverse video should be simulated. The default is "false."
reverseWrap (class ReverseWrap)
Specifies whether or not reverse-wraparound should be enabled. This corresponds to xterm's
private mode 45. The default is "false."
rightScrollBar (class RightScrollBar)
Specifies whether or not the scrollbar should be displayed on the right rather than the left.
The default is "false."
saveLines (class SaveLines)
Specifies the number of lines to save beyond the top of the screen when a scrollbar is turned
on. The default is 64.
scrollBar (class ScrollBar)
Specifies whether or not the scrollbar should be displayed. The default is "false."
scrollBarBorder (class ScrollBarBorder)
Specifies the width of the scrollbar border. Note that this is drawn to overlap the border
of the xterm window. Modifying the scrollbar's border affects only the line between the
VT100 widget and the scrollbar. The default value is 1.
scrollKey (class ScrollCond)
Specifies whether or not pressing a key should automatically cause the scrollbar to go to the
bottom of the scrolling region. This corresponds to xterm's private mode 1011. The default
is "false."
scrollLines (class ScrollLines)
Specifies the number of lines that the scroll-back and scroll-forw actions should use as a
default. The default value is 1.
scrollTtyOutput (class ScrollCond)
Specifies whether or not output to the terminal should automatically cause the scrollbar to
go to the bottom of the scrolling region. The default is "true."
selectToClipboard (class SelectToClipboard)
Tells xterm whether to use the PRIMARY or CLIPBOARD for SELECT tokens in the selection mecha-nism. mechanism.
nism. The set-select action can change this at runtime, allowing the user to work with pro-grams programs
grams that handle only one of these mechanisms. The default is "false", which tells it to
use PRIMARY.
shiftFonts (class ShiftFonts)
Specifies whether to enable the actions larger-vt-font() and smaller-vt-font(), which are
normally bound to the shifted KP_Add and KP_Subtract. The default is "true."
showBlinkAsBold (class ShowBlinkAsBold)
Tells xterm whether to display text with blink-attribute the same as bold. If xterm has not
been configured to support blinking text, the default is "true.", which corresponds to older
versions of xterm, otherwise the default is "false."
showMissingGlyphs (class ShowMissingGlyphs)
Tells xterm whether to display a box outlining places where a character has been used that
the font does not represent. The default is "false."
signalInhibit (class SignalInhibit)
Specifies whether or not the entries in the "Main Options" menu for sending signals to xterm
should be disallowed. The default is "false."
tekGeometry (class Geometry)
Specifies the preferred size and position of the Tektronix window. There is no default for
this resource.
tekInhibit (class TekInhibit)
Specifies whether or not the escape sequence to enter Tektronix mode should be ignored. The
default is "false."
tekSmall (class TekSmall)
Specifies whether or not the Tektronix mode window should start in its smallest size if no
explicit geometry is given. This is useful when running xterm on displays with small
screens. The default is "false."
tekStartup (class TekStartup)
Specifies whether or not xterm should start up in Tektronix mode. The default is "false."
tiXtraScroll (class TiXtraScroll)
Specifies whether xterm should scroll to a new page when processing the ti termcap entry,
i.e., the private modes 47, 1047 or 1049. This is only in effect if titeInhibit is "true",
because the intent of this option is to provide a picture of the full-screen application's
display on the scrollback without wiping out the text that would be shown before the applica-tion application
tion was initialized. The default for this resource is "false."
titeInhibit (class TiteInhibit)
Specifies whether or not xterm should remove ti and te termcap entries (used to switch
between alternate screens on startup of many screen-oriented programs) from the TERMCAP
string. If set, xterm also ignores the escape sequence to switch to the alternate screen.
Xterm supports terminfo in a different way, supporting composite control sequences (also
known as private modes) 1047, 1048 and 1049 which have the same effect as the original 47
control sequence. The default for this resource is "false."
translations (class Translations)
Specifies the key and button bindings for menus, selections, "programmed strings," etc. The
translations resource, which provides much of xterm's configurability, is a feature of the X
Toolkit Intrinsics library (Xt). See the ACTIONS section.
trimSelection (class TrimSelection)
If you set highlightSelection, you can see the text which is selected, including any trailing
spaces. Clearing the screen (or a line) resets it to a state containing no spaces. Some
lines may contain trailing spaces when an application writes them to the screen. However,
you may not wish to paste lines with trailing spaces. If this resource is true, xterm will
trim trailing spaces from text which is selected. It does not affect spaces which result in
a wrapped line, nor will it trim the trailing newline from your selection. The default is
"false."
underLine (class UnderLine)
This specifies whether or not text with the underline attribute should be underlined. It may
be desirable to disable underlining when color is being used for the underline attribute.
The default is "true."
useClipping (class UseClipping)
Tell xterm whether to use clipping to keep from producing dots outside the text drawing area.
Originally used to work around for overstriking effects, this is also needed to work with
some incorrectly-sized fonts. The default is "true."
utf8 (class Utf8)
This specifies whether xterm will run in UTF-8 mode. If you set this resource, xterm also
sets the wideChars resource as a side-effect. The resource is an integer, expected to range
from 0 to 3:
0 UTF-8 mode is initially off. The command-line option +u8 sets the resource to this value.
Escape sequences for turning UTF-8 mode on/off are allowed.
1 UTF-8 mode is initially on. Escape sequences for turning UTF-8 mode on/off are allowed.
2 The command-line option -u8 sets the resource to this value. Escape sequences for turning
UTF-8 mode on/off are ignored.
3 This is the default value of the resource. It is changed during initialization depending
on whether the locale resource was set, to 0 or 2. See the locale resource for additional
discussion of non-UTF-8 locales.
If you want to set the value of utf8, it should be in this range. Other nonzero values are
treated the same as "1", i.e., UTF-8 mode is initially on, and escape sequences for turning
UTF-8 mode on/off are allowed.
utf8Fonts (class Utf8Fonts)
See the discussion of the locale resource.
utf8Latin1 (class Utf8Latin1)
If true, allow an ISO-8859-1 normal font to be combined with an ISO-10646 font if the latter
is given via the -fw option or its corresponding resource value. The default is "false."
utf8SelectTypes (class Utf8SelectTypes)
Override xterm's default selection target list (see SELECT/PASTE) for selections in wide-character widecharacter
character (UTF-8) mode. The default is an empty string, which does not override anything.
utf8Title (class Utf8Title)
Applications can set xterm's title by writing a control sequence. Normally this control
sequence follows the VT220 convention, which encodes the string in ISO-8859-1 and allows for
an 8-bit string terminator. If xterm is started in a UTF-8 locale, it translates the
ISO-8859-1 string to UTF-8 to work with the X libraries which assume the string is UTF-8.
However, some users may wish to write a title string encoded in UTF-8. Set this resource to
"true" to allow UTF-8 encoded title strings. That cancels the translation to UTF-8, allowing
UTF-8 strings to be displayed as is.
The default is "false."
veryBoldColors (class VeryBoldColors)
Specifies whether to combine video attributes with colors specified by colorBD, colorBL, col-orRV colorRV
orRV and colorUL. The resource value is the sum of values for each attribute:
1 for reverse,
2 for underline,
4 for bold and
8 for blink.
The default is "0."
visualBell (class VisualBell)
Specifies whether or not a visible bell (i.e., flashing) should be used instead of an audible
bell when Control-G is received. The default is "false."
visualBellDelay (class VisualBellDelay)
Number of milliseconds to delay when displaying a visual bell. Default is 100. If set to
zero, no visual bell is displayed. This is useful for very slow displays, e.g., an LCD dis-play display
play on a laptop.
vt100Graphics (class VT100Graphics)
This specifies whether xterm will interpret VT100 graphic character escape sequences while in
UTF-8 mode. The default is "true", to provide support for various legacy applications.
wideBoldFont (class WideBoldFont)
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying bold wide text. By default, it will
attempt to use a font twice as wide as the font that will be used to draw bold text. If no
double-width font is found, it will improvise, by stretching the bold font.
wideChars (class WideChars)
Specifies if xterm should respond to control sequences that process 16-bit characters. The
default is "false."
wideFont (class WideFont)
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying wide text. By default, it will
attempt to use a font twice as wide as the font that will be used to draw normal text. If no
double-width font is found, it will improvise, by stretching the normal font.
ximFont (class XimFont)
This option specifies the font to be used for displaying the preedit string in the "OverTheS-pot" "OverTheSpot"
pot" input method.
In "OverTheSpot" preedit type, the preedit (preconversion) string is displayed at the posi-tion position
tion of the cursor. It is the XIM server's responsibility to display the preedit string.
The XIM client must inform the XIM server of the cursor position. For best results, the
preedit string must be displayed with a proper font. Therefore, xterm informs the XIM server
of the proper font. The font is be supplied by a "fontset", whose default value is "*".
This matches every font, the X library automatically chooses fonts with proper charsets. The
ximFont resource is provided to override this default font setting.
Tek4014 Widget Resources
The following resources are specified as part of the tek4_14 widget (class Tek4_14). These are spec-ified specified
ified by patterns such as "XTerm.tek4014.NAME":
font2 (class Font)
Specifies font number 2 to use in the Tektronix window.
font3 (class Font)
Specifies font number 3 to use in the Tektronix window.
fontLarge (class Font)
Specifies the large font to use in the Tektronix window.
fontSmall (class Font)
Specifies the small font to use in the Tektronix window.
ginTerminator (class GinTerminator)
Specifies what character(s) should follow a GIN report or status report. The possibilities
are "none," which sends no terminating characters, "CRonly," which sends CR, and "CR&EOT,"
which sends both CR and EOT. The default is "none."
height (class Height)
Specifies the height of the Tektronix window in pixels.
initialFont (class InitialFont)
Specifies which of the four Tektronix fonts to use initially. Values are the same as for the
set-tek-text action. The default is "large."
width (class Width)
Specifies the width of the Tektronix window in pixels.
Menu Resources
The resources that may be specified for the various menus are described in the documentation for the
Athena SimpleMenu widget. The name and classes of the entries in each of the menus are listed below.
Resources named "lineN" where N is a number are separators with class SmeLine.
The mainMenu has the following entries:
toolbar (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-toolbar(toggle) action.
securekbd (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the secure() action.
allowsends (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the allow-send-events(toggle) action.
redraw (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the redraw() action.
logging (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the logging(toggle) action.
print (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the print() action.
print-redir (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the print-redir() action.
8-bit-control (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-8-bit-control(toggle) action.
backarrow key (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-backarrow(toggle) action.
num-lock (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-num-lock(toggle) action.
alt-esc (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the alt-sends-escape(toggle) action.
meta-esc (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the meta-sends-escape(toggle) action.
delete-is-del (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the delete-is-del(toggle) action.
oldFunctionKeys (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the old-function-keys(toggle) action.
hpFunctionKeys (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the hp-function-keys(toggle) action.
scoFunctionKeys (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the sco-function-keys(toggle) action.
sunFunctionKeys (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the sun-function-keys(toggle) action.
sunKeyboard (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the sunKeyboard(toggle) action.
suspend (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(tstp) action on systems that support job control.
continue (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(cont) action on systems that support job control.
interrupt (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(int) action.
hangup (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(hup) action.
terminate (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(term) action.
kill (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(kill) action.
quit (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the quit() action.
The vtMenu has the following entries:
scrollbar (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-scrollbar(toggle) action.
jumpscroll (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-jumpscroll(toggle) action.
reversevideo (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-reverse-video(toggle) action.
autowrap (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-autowrap(toggle) action.
reversewrap (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-reversewrap(toggle) action.
autolinefeed (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-autolinefeed(toggle) action.
appcursor (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-appcursor(toggle) action.
appkeypad (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-appkeypad(toggle) action.
scrollkey (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-scroll-on-key(toggle) action.
scrollttyoutput (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-scroll-on-tty-output(toggle) action.
allow132 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-allow132(toggle) action.
cursesemul (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-cursesemul(toggle) action.
visualbell (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visualbell(toggle) action.
bellIsUrgent (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-bellIsUrgent(toggle) action.
poponbell (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-poponbell(toggle) action.
cursorblink (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-cursorblink(toggle) action.
titeInhibit (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-titeInhibit(toggle) action.
activeicon (class SmeBSB)
This entry toggles active icons on and off if this feature was compiled into xterm. It is
enabled only if xterm was started with the command line option +ai or the activeIcon resource
is set to "true."
softreset (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the soft-reset() action.
hardreset (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the hard-reset() action.
clearsavedlines (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the clear-saved-lines() action.
tekshow (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(tek,toggle) action.
tekmode (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-terminal-type(tek) action.
vthide (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(vt,off) action.
altscreen (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-altscreen(toggle) action.
The fontMenu has the following entries:
fontdefault (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(d) action.
font1 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(1) action.
font2 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(2) action.
font3 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(3) action.
font4 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(4) action.
font5 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(5) action.
font6 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(6) action.
fontescape (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(e) action.
fontsel (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(s) action.
font-linedrawing (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-font-linedrawing(s) action.
font-packed (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-font-packed(s) action.
font-doublesize (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-font-doublesize(s) action.
render-font (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-render-font(s) action.
utf8-mode (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-utf8-mode(s) action.
utf8-title (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-utf8-title(s) action.
The tekMenu has the following entries:
tektextlarge (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(large) action.
tektext2 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(2) action.
tektext3 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(3) action.
tektextsmall (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(small) action.
tekpage (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the tek-page() action.
tekreset (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the tek-reset() action.
tekcopy (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the tek-copy() action.
vtshow (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(vt,toggle) action.
vtmode (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-terminal-type(vt) action.
tekhide (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(tek,toggle) action.
Scrollbar Resources
The following resources are useful when specified for the Athena Scrollbar widget:
thickness (class Thickness)
Specifies the width in pixels of the scrollbar.
background (class Background)
Specifies the color to use for the background of the scrollbar.
foreground (class Foreground)
Specifies the color to use for the foreground of the scrollbar. The "thumb" of the scrollbar
is a simple checkerboard pattern alternating pixels for foreground and background color.
POINTER USAGE
Once the VT102 window is created, xterm allows you to select text and copy it within the same or
other windows.
SELECTION
The selection functions are invoked when the pointer buttons are used with no modifiers, and when
they are used with the "shift" key. The assignment of the functions described below to keys and but-tons buttons
tons may be changed through the resource database; see ACTIONS below.
Pointer button one (usually left) is used to save text into the cut buffer. Move the cursor to
beginning of the text, and then hold the button down while moving the cursor to the end of the region
and releasing the button. The selected text is highlighted and is saved in the global cut buffer and
made the PRIMARY selection when the button is released. Normally (but see the discussion of
on2Clicks, etc):
- Double-clicking selects by words.
- Triple-clicking selects by lines.
- Quadruple-clicking goes back to characters, etc.
Multiple-click is determined by the time from button up to button down, so you can change the selec-tion selection
tion unit in the middle of a selection. Logical words and lines selected by double- or triple-click-ing triple-clicking
ing may wrap across more than one screen line if lines were wrapped by xterm itself rather than by
the application running in the window. If the key/button bindings specify that an X selection is to
be made, xterm will leave the selected text highlighted for as long as it is the selection owner.
Pointer button two (usually middle) "types" (pastes) the text from the PRIMARY selection, if any,
otherwise from the cut buffer, inserting it as keyboard input.
Pointer button three (usually right) extends the current selection. (Without loss of generality, you
can swap "right" and "left" everywhere in the rest of this paragraph.) If pressed while closer to
the right edge of the selection than the left, it extends/contracts the right edge of the selection.
If you contract the selection past the left edge of the selection, xterm assumes you really meant the
left edge, restores the original selection, then extends/contracts the left edge of the selection.
Extension starts in the selection unit mode that the last selection or extension was performed in;
you can multiple-click to cycle through them.
By cutting and pasting pieces of text without trailing new lines, you can take text from several
places in different windows and form a command to the shell, for example, or take output from a pro-gram program
gram and insert it into your favorite editor. Since cut buffers are globally shared among different
applications, you may regard each as a "file" whose contents you know. The terminal emulator and
other text programs should be treating it as if it were a text file, i.e., the text is delimited by
new lines.
SCROLLING
The scroll region displays the position and amount of text currently showing in the window (high-lighted) (highlighted)
lighted) relative to the amount of text actually saved. As more text is saved (up to the maximum),
the size of the highlighted area decreases.
Clicking button one with the pointer in the scroll region moves the adjacent line to the top of the
display window.
Clicking button three moves the top line of the display window down to the pointer position.
Clicking button two moves the display to a position in the saved text that corresponds to the
pointer's position in the scrollbar.
TEKTRONIX POINTER
Unlike the VT102 window, the Tektronix window does not allow the copying of text. It does allow Tek-tronix Tektronix
tronix GIN mode, and in this mode the cursor will change from an arrow to a cross. Pressing any key
will send that key and the current coordinate of the cross cursor. Pressing button one, two, or
three will return the letters "l", "m", and "r", respectively. If the "shift" key is pressed when a
pointer button is pressed, the corresponding upper case letter is sent. To distinguish a pointer
button from a key, the high bit of the character is set (but this is bit is normally stripped unless
the terminal mode is RAW; see tty(4) for details).
SELECT/PASTE
X clients provide select and paste support by responding to requests conveyed by the server.
PRIMARY
When configured to use the primary selection, (the default) xterm can provide the selection data in
ways which help to retain character encoding information as it is pasted.
A user "selects" text on xterm, which highlights the selected text. A subsequent "paste" to another
client forwards a request to the client owning the selection. If xterm owns the primary selection,
it makes the data available in the form of one or more "selection targets". If it does not own the
primary selection, e.g., if it has released it or another client has asserted ownership, it relies on
cut-buffers to pass the data. But cut-buffers handle only ISO-8859-1 data (officially - some clients
ignore the rules).
CLIPBOARD
When configured to use the clipboard (see resource selectToClipboard), the problem with persistence
of ownership is bypassed. Otherwise, there is no difference regarding the data which can be passed
via selection.
SELECTION TARGETS
The different types of data which are passed depend on what the receiving client asks for. These are
termed selection targets.
When asking for the selection data, xterm tries the following types in this order:
UTF8_STRING
This is an XFree86 extension, which denotes that the data is encoded in UTF-8. When
xterm is built with wide-character support, it both accepts and provides this type.
TEXT the text is in the encoding which corresponds to your current locale.
COMPOUND_TEXT
this is a format for multiple character set data, such as multi-lingual text. It can
store UTF-8 data as a special case.
STRING
This is Latin 1 (ISO-8859-1) data.
The middle two (TEXT and COMPOUND_TEXT) are added if xterm is configured with the i18nSelections
resource set to "true".
UTF8_STRING is preferred (therefore first in the list) since xterm stores text as Unicode data when
running in wide-character mode, and no translation is needed. On the other hand, TEXT and COM-POUND_TEXT COMPOUND_TEXT
POUND_TEXT may require translation. If the translation is incomplete, they will insert X's "default-String" "defaultString"
String" whose value cannot be set, and may simply be empty. Xterm's defaultString resource specifies
the string to use for incomplete translations of the UTF8_STRING.
You can alter the types which xterm tries using the eightBitSelectTypes or utf8SelectTypes resources.
For instance, you might have some specific locale setting which does not use UTF-8 encoding. The
resource value is a comma-separated list of the selection targets, which consist of the names shown.
You can use the special name I18N to denote the optional inclusion of TEXT and COMPOUND_TEXT. The
names are matched ignoring case, and can be abbreviated. The default list can be expressed in sev-eral several
eral ways, e.g.,
UTF8_STRING,I18N,STRING
utf8,i18n,string
u,i,s
MENUS
Xterm has four menus, named mainMenu, vtMenu, fontMenu, and tekMenu. Each menu pops up under the
correct combinations of key and button presses. Each menu is divided into sections, separated by a
horizontal line. Some menu entries correspond to modes that can be altered. A check mark appears
next to a mode that is currently active. Selecting one of these modes toggles its state. Other menu
entries are commands; selecting one of these performs the indicated function.
All of the menu entries correspond to X actions. In the list below, the menu label is shown followed
by the action's name in parenthesis.
Main Options
The xterm mainMenu pops up when the "control" key and pointer button one are pressed in a window.
This menu contains items that apply to both the VT102 and Tektronix windows. There are several sec-tions: sections:
tions:
Commands for managing X events:
Toolbar
Clicking on the "Toolbar" menu entry hides the toolbar if it is visible, and shows it
if it is not.
Secure Keyboard (securekbd)
The Secure Keyboard mode is helpful when typing in passwords or other sensitive data in
an unsecure environment; see SECURITY below (but read the limitations carefully).
Allow SendEvents (allowsends)
Specifies whether or not synthetic key and button events generated using the X protocol
SendEvent request should be interpreted or discarded. This corresponds to the
allowSendEvents resource.
Redraw Window (redraw)
Forces the X display to repaint; useful in some environments.
Commands for capturing output:
Log to File (logging)
Captures text sent to the screen in a logfile, as in the -l logging option.
Print Window (print)
Sends the text of the current window to the program given in the printerCommand
resource.
Redirect to Printer (print-redir)
This sets the printerControlMode to 0 or 2. You can use this to turn the printer on as
if an application had sent the appropriate control sequence. It is also useful for
switching the printer off if an application turns it on without resetting the print
control mode.
Modes for setting keyboard style:
8-Bit Controls (8-bit-control)
Enabled for VT220 emulation, this controls whether xterm will send 8-bit control
sequences rather than using 7-bit (ASCII) controls, e.g., sending a byte in the range
128-159 rather than the escape character followed by a second byte. Xterm always
interprets both 8-bit and 7-bit control sequences (see the document Xterm Control
Sequences). This corresponds to the eightBitControl resource.
Backarrow Key (BS/DEL) (backarrow key)
Modifies the behavior of the backarrow key, making it transmit either a backspace (8)
or delete (127) character. This corresponds to the backarrowKey resource.
Alt/NumLock Modifiers (num-lock)
Controls the treatment of Alt- and NumLock-key modifiers. This corresponds to the num-Lock numLock
Lock resource.
Meta Sends Escape (meta-esc)
Controls whether Meta keys are converted into a two-character sequence with the charac-ter character
ter itself preceded by ESC. This corresponds to the metaSendsEscape resource.
Delete is DEL (delete-is-del)
Controls whether the Delete key on the editing keypad should send DEL (127) or the
VT220-style Remove escape sequence. This corresponds to the deleteIsDEL resource.
Old Function-Keys (oldFunctionKeys)
HP Function-Keys (hpFunctionKeys)
SCO Function-Keys (scoFunctionKeys)
Sun Function-Keys (sunFunctionKeys)
VT220 Keyboard (sunKeyboard)
These act as a radio-button, selecting one style for the keyboard layout. It corre-sponds corresponds
sponds to more than one resource setting: sunKeyboard, sunFunctionKeys, scoFunctionKeys
and hpFunctionKeys ."
Commands for process signalling:
Send STOP Signal (suspend)
Send CONT Signal (continue)
Send INT Signal (interrupt)
Send HUP Signal (hangup)
Send TERM Signal (terminate)
Send KILL Signal (kill)
These send the SIGTSTP, SIGCONT, SIGINT, SIGHUP, SIGTERM and SIGKILL signals respec-tively, respectively,
tively, to the process group of the process running under xterm (usually the shell).
The SIGCONT function is especially useful if the user has accidentally typed CTRL-Z,
suspending the process.
Quit (quit)
Stop processing X events except to support the -hold option, and then send a SIGHUP
signal to the the process group of the process running under xterm (usually the shell).
VT Options
The vtMenu sets various modes in the VT102 emulation, and is popped up when the "control" key and
pointer button two are pressed in the VT102 window.
VT102/VT220 Modes:
Enable Scrollbar (scrollbar)
Enable (or disable) the scrollbar. This corresponds to the -sb option and the scroll-Bar scrollBar
Bar resource.
Enable Jump Scroll (jumpscroll)
Enable (or disable) jump scrolling. This corresponds to the -j option and the jump-Scroll jumpScroll
Scroll resource.
Enable Reverse Video (reversevideo)
Enable (or disable) reverse-video. This corresponds to the -rv option and the reverse-Video reverseVideo
Video resource.
Enable Auto Wraparound (autowrap)
Enable (or disable) auto-wraparound. This corresponds to the -aw option and the
autoWrap resource.
Enable Reverse Wraparound (reversewrap)
Enable (or disable) reverse wraparound. This corresponds to the -rw option and the
reverseWrap resource.
Enable Auto Linefeed (autolinefeed)
Enable (or disable) auto-linefeed. This is the VT102 NEL function, which causes the
emulator to emit a linefeed after each carriage return. There is no corresponding com-mand-line command-line
mand-line option or resource setting.
Enable Application Cursor Keys (appcursor)
Enable (or disable) application cursor keys. This corresponds to the appcursorDefault
resource. There is no corresponding command-line option.
Enable Application Keypad (appkeypad)
Enable (or disable) application keypad keys. This corresponds to the appkeypadDefault
resource. There is no corresponding command-line option.
Scroll to Bottom on Key Press (scrollkey)
Enable (or disable) scrolling to the bottom of the scrolling region on a keypress.
This corresponds to the -sk option and the scrollKey resource.
Scroll to Bottom on Tty Output (scrollttyoutput)
Enable (or disable) scrolling to the bottom of the scrolling region on output to the
terminal. This corresponds to the -si option and the scrollTtyOutput resource.
Allow 80/132 Column Switching (allow132)
Enable (or disable) switching between 80 and 132 columns. This corresponds to the -132
option and the c132 resource.
Keep Selection (keepSelection)
Tell xterm whether to disown the selection when it stops highlighting it, e.g., when an
application modifies the display so that it no longer matches the text which has been
highlighted. As long as xterm continues to own the selection, it can provide the cor-responding corresponding
responding text to other clients via cut/paste. This corresponds to the keepSelection
resource. There is no corresponding command-line option.
Select to Clipboard (selectToClipboard)
Tell xterm whether to use the PRIMARY or CLIPBOARD for SELECT tokens in the transla-tions translations
tions resource which maps keyboard and mouse actions to select/paste actions. This
corresponds to the selectToClipboard resource. There is no corresponding command-line
option.
Enable Visual Bell (visualbell)
Enable (or disable) visible bell (i.e., flashing) instead of an audible bell. This
corresponds to the -vb option and the visualBell resource.
Enable Bell Urgency (bellIsUrgent)
Enable (or disable) Urgency window manager hint when Control-G is received. This cor-responds corresponds
responds to the bellIsUrgent resource.
Enable Pop on Bell (poponbell)
Enable (or disable) raising of the window when Control-G is received. This corresponds
to the -pop option and the popOnBell resource.
Enable Blinking Cursor (cursorblink)
Enable (or disable) the blinking-cursor feature. This corresponds to the -bc option
and the cursorBlink resource. There is also an escape sequence (see the document Xterm
Control Sequences). The menu entry and the escape sequence states are XOR'd: if both
are enabled, the cursor will not blink, if only one is enabled, the cursor will blink.
Enable Alternate Screen Switching (titeInhibit)
Enable (or disable) switching between the normal and alternate screens. This corre-sponds corresponds
sponds to the titeInhibit resource. There is no corresponding command-line option.
Enable Active Icon (activeicon)
Enable (or disable) the active-icon feature. This corresponds to the -ai option and
the activeIcon resource.
VT102/VT220 Commands:
Do Soft Reset (softreset)
Reset scroll regions. This can be convenient when some program has left the scroll
regions set incorrectly (often a problem when using VMS or TOPS-20). This corresponds
to the VT220 DECSTR control sequence.
Do Full Reset (hardreset)
The full reset entry will clear the screen, reset tabs to every eight columns, and
reset the terminal modes (such as wrap and smooth scroll) to their initial states just
after xterm has finished processing the command line options. This corresponds to the
VT102 RIS control sequence, with a few obvious differences. For example, your session
is not disconnected as a real VT102 would do.
Reset and Clear Saved Lines (clearsavedlines)
Perform a full reset, and also clear the saved lines.
Commands for setting the current screen:
Show Tek Window (tekshow)
When enabled, pops the Tektronix 4014 window up (makes it visible). When disabled,
hides the Tektronix 4014 window.
Switch to Tek Mode (tekmode)
When enabled, pops the Tektronix 4014 window up if it is not already visible, and
switches the input stream to that window. When disabled, hides the Tektronix 4014 win-dow window
dow and switches input back to the VTxxx window.
Hide VT Window (vthide)
When enabled, hides the VTxxx window, shows the Tektronix 4014 window if it was not
already visible and switches the input stream to that window. When disabled, shows the
VTxxx window, and switches the input stream to that window.
Show Alternate Screen (altscreen)
When enabled, shows the alternate screen. When disabled, shows the normal screen.
Note that the normal screen may have saved lines; the alternate screen does not.
VT Fonts
The fontMenu pops up when when the "control" key and pointer button three are pressed in a window.
It sets the font used in the VT102 window, or modifies the way the font is specified or displayed.
There are several sections.
The first section allows you to select the font from a set of alternatives:
Default (fontdefault)
Set the font to the default, i.e., that given by the *VT100.font resource.
Unreadable (font1)
Set the font to that given by the *VT100.font1 resource.
Tiny (font2)
Set the font to that given by the *VT100.font2 resource.
Small (font3)
Set the font to that given by the *VT100.font3 resource.
Medium (font4)
Set the font to that given by the *VT100.font4 resource.
Large (font5)
Set the font to that given by the *VT100.font5 resource.
Huge (font6)
Set the font to that given by the *VT100.font6 resource.
Escape Sequence
This allows you to set the font last specified by the Set Font escape sequence (see the
document Xterm Control Sequences).
Selection (fontsel)
This allows you to set the font specified the current selection as a font name (if the
PRIMARY selection is owned).
The second section allows you to modify the way it is displayed:
Line-Drawing Characters (font-linedrawing)
When set, tells xterm to draw its own line-drawing characters. Otherwise it relies on
the font containing these. Compare to the forceBoxChars resource.
Packed Font (font-packed)
When set, tells xterm to use the minimum glyph-width from a font when displaying char-acters. characters.
acters. Use the maximum width (unchecked) to help display proportional fonts. Compare
to the forcePackedFont resource.
Doublesized Characters (font-doublesize)
When set, xterm may ask the font server to produce scaled versions of the normal font,
for VT102 double-size characters.
The third section allows you to modify the way it is specified:
TrueType Fonts (render-font)
If the renderFont and corresponding resources were set, this is a further control
whether xterm will actually use the Xft library calls to obtain a font.
UTF-8 (utf8-mode)
This controls whether xterm uses UTF-8 encoding of input/output. It is useful for tem-porarily temporarily
porarily switching xterm to display text from an application which does not follow the
locale settings.
The fourth section allows you to enable or disable special operations which can be controlled by
writing escape sequences to the terminal. These are disabled if the SendEvents feature is enabled:
Allow Font Ops (allow-font-ops)
This corresponds to the allowFontOps resource. Enable or disable control sequences
that set/query the font.
Allow Tcap Ops (allow-tcap-ops)
Enable or disable control sequences that query the terminal's notion of its function-key functionkey
key strings, as termcap or terminfo capabilities. This corresponds to the allowTcapOps
resource.
Allow Title Ops (allow-title-ops)
Enable or disable control sequences that modify the window title or icon name. This
corresponds to the allowTitleOps resource.
Allow Window Ops (allow-window-ops)
Enable or disable extended window control sequences (as used in dtterm). This corre-sponds corresponds
sponds to the allowWindowOps resource.
TEK Options
The tekMenu sets various modes in the Tektronix emulation, and is popped up when the "control" key
and pointer button two are pressed in the Tektronix window. The current font size is checked in the
modes section of the menu.
Large Characters (tektextlarge)
#2 Size Characters (tektext2)
#3 Size Characters (tektext3)
Small Characters (tektextsmall)
Commands:
PAGE (tekpage)
Clear the Tektronix window.
RESET (tekreset)
COPY (tekcopy)
Windows:
Show VT Window (vtshow)
Switch to VT Mode (vtmode)
Hide Tek Window (tekhide)
SECURITY
X environments differ in their security consciousness. Most servers, run under xdm, are capable of
using a "magic cookie" authorization scheme that can provide a reasonable level of security for many
people. If your server is only using a host-based mechanism to control access to the server (see
xhost(1)), then if you enable access for a host and other users are also permitted to run clients on
that same host, it is possible that someone can run an application which uses the basic services of
the X protocol to snoop on your activities, potentially capturing a transcript of everything you type
at the keyboard. Any process which has access to your X display can manipulate it in ways that you
might not anticipate, even redirecting your keyboard to itself and sending events to your applica-tion's application's
tion's windows. This is true even with the "magic cookie" authorization scheme. While the
allowSendEvents provides some protection against rogue applications tampering with your programs,
guarding against a snooper is harder.
The possibility of an application spying on your keystrokes is of particular concern when you want to
type in a password or other sensitive data. The best solution to this problem is to use a better
authorization mechanism than is provided by X. Given all of these caveats, a simple mechanism exists
for protecting keyboard input in xterm.
The xterm menu (see MENUS above) contains a Secure Keyboard entry which, when enabled, attempts to
ensure that all keyboard input is directed only to xterm (using the GrabKeyboard protocol request).
When an application prompts you for a password (or other sensitive data), you can enable Secure Key-board Keyboard
board using the menu, type in the data, and then disable Secure Keyboard using the menu again. This
ensures that you know which window is accepting your keystrokes. It cannot ensure that there are no
processes which have access to your X display that might be observing the keystrokes as well.
Only one X client at a time can grab the keyboard, so when you attempt to enable Secure Keyboard it
may fail. In this case, the bell will sound. If the Secure Keyboard succeeds, the foreground and
background colors will be exchanged (as if you selected the Reverse Video entry in the Modes menu);
they will be exchanged again when you exit secure mode. If the colors do not switch, then you should
be very suspicious that you are being spoofed. If the application you are running displays a prompt
before asking for the password, it is safest to enter secure mode before the prompt gets displayed,
and to make sure that the prompt gets displayed correctly (in the new colors), to minimize the proba-bility probability
bility of spoofing. You can also bring up the menu again and make sure that a check mark appears
next to the entry.
Secure Keyboard mode will be disabled automatically if your xterm window becomes iconified (or other-wise otherwise
wise unmapped), or if you start up a reparenting window manager (that places a title bar or other
decoration around the window) while in Secure Keyboard mode. (This is a feature of the X protocol
not easily overcome.) When this happens, the foreground and background colors will be switched back
and the bell will sound in warning.
CHARACTER CLASSES
Clicking the left pointer button twice in rapid succession (double-clicking) causes all characters of
the same class (e.g., letters, white space, punctuation) to be selected as a "word". Since different
people have different preferences for what should be selected (for example, should filenames be
selected as a whole or only the separate subnames), the default mapping can be overridden through the
use of the charClass (class CharClass) resource.
This resource is a series of comma-separated of range:value pairs. The range is either a single num-ber number
ber or low-high in the range of 0 to 65535, corresponding to the code for the character or characters
to be set. The value is arbitrary, although the default table uses the character number of the first
character occurring in the set. When not in UTF-8 mode, only the first 256 bytes of this table will
be used.
The default table starts as follows -static followsstatic
static int charClass[256] = {
/* NUL SOH STX ETX EOT ENQ ACK BEL */
32, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* BS HT NL VT NP CR SO SI */
1, 32, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* DLE DC1 DC2 DC3 DC4 NAK SYN ETB */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* CAN EM SUB ESC FS GS RS US */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* SP ! " # $ % & ' */
32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
/* ( ) * + , - . / */
40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47,
/* 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* 8 9 : ; < = > ? */
48, 48, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63,
/* @ A B C D E F G */
64, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* H I J K L M N O */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* P Q R S T U V W */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ */
48, 48, 48, 91, 92, 93, 94, 48,
/* ` a b c d e f g */
96, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* h i j k l m n o */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* p q r s t u v w */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* x y z { | } ~ DEL */
48, 48, 48, 123, 124, 125, 126, 1,
/* x80 x81 x82 x83 IND NEL SSA ESA */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* HTS HTJ VTS PLD PLU RI SS2 SS3 */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* DCS PU1 PU2 STS CCH MW SPA EPA */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* x98 x99 x9A CSI ST OSC PM APC */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* - i c/ L ox Y- | So */
160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167,
/* .. c0 ip << _ R0 - */
168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175,
/* o +- 2 3 ' u q| . */
176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183,
/* , 1 2 >> 1/4 1/2 3/4 ? */
184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191,
/* A` A' A^ A~ A: Ao AE C, */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* E` E' E^ E: I` I' I^ I: */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* D- N~ O` O' O^ O~ O: X */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 215,
/* O/ U` U' U^ U: Y' P B */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* a` a' a^ a~ a: ao ae c, */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* e` e' e^ e: i` i' i^ i: */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* d n~ o` o' o^ o~ o: -: */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 247,
/* o/ u` u' u^ u: y' P y: */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48};
For example, the string "33:48,37:48,45-47:48,38:48" indicates that the exclamation mark, percent
sign, dash, period, slash, and ampersand characters should be treated the same way as characters and
numbers. This is useful for cutting and pasting electronic mailing addresses and filenames.
ACTIONS
It is possible to rebind keys (or sequences of keys) to arbitrary strings for input, by changing the
translations resources for the vt100 or tek4014 widgets. Changing the translations resource for
events other than key and button events is not expected, and will cause unpredictable behavior. The
following actions are provided for use within the vt1__ or tek4_14 translations resources:
allow-font-ops(on/off/toggle)
This action set or toggles the allowFontOps resource and is also invoked by the allow-font-ops allow-fontops
ops entry in fontMenu.
allow-send-events(on/off/toggle)
This action set or toggles the allowSendEvents resource and is also invoked by the allowsends
entry in mainMenu.
allow-tcap-ops(on/off/toggle)
This action set or toggles the allowTcapOps resource and is also invoked by the allow-tcap-ops allow-tcapops
ops entry in fontMenu.
allow-title-ops(on/off/toggle)
This action set or toggles the allowTitleOps resource and is also invoked by the allow-title-ops allow-titleops
ops entry in fontMenu.
allow-window-ops(on/off/toggle)
This action set or toggles the allowWindowOps resource and is also invoked by the allow-win-dow-ops allow-window-ops
dow-ops entry in fontMenu.
alt-sends-escape()
This action toggles the state of the eightBitInput resource.
bell([percent])
This action rings the keyboard bell at the specified percentage above or below the base vol-ume. volume.
ume.
clear-saved-lines()
This action does hard-reset() (see below) and also clears the history of lines saved off the
top of the screen. It is also invoked from the clearsavedlines entry in vtMenu. The effect
is identical to a hardware reset (RIS) control sequence.
create-menu(m/v/f/t)
This action creates one of the menus used by xterm, if it has not been previously created.
The parameter values are the menu names: mainMenu, vtMenu, fontMenu, tekMenu, respectively.
dabbrev-expand()
Expands the word before cursor by searching in the preceding text on the screen and in the
scrollback buffer for words starting with that abbreviation. Repeating dabbrev-expand() sev-eral several
eral times in sequence searches for an alternative expansion by looking farther back. Lack
of more matches is signaled by a beep(). Attempts to expand an empty word (i.e., when cursor
is preceded by a space) yield successively all previous words. Consecutive identical expan-sions expansions
sions are ignored. The word here is defined as a sequence of non-whitespace characters.
This feature partially emulates the behavior of "dynamic abbreviation" expansion in Emacs
(bound there to M-/). Here is a resource setting for xterm which will do the same thing:
*VT100*translations: #override \n\
Meta <KeyPress> /:dabbrev-expand()
deiconify()
Changes the window state back to normal, if it was iconified.
delete-is-del()
This action toggles the state of the deleteIsDEL resource.
dired-button()
Handles a button event (other than press and release) by echoing the event's position (i.e.,
character line and column) in the following format:
^X ESC G <line+" "> <col+" ">
iconify()
Iconifies the window.
hard-reset()
This action resets the scrolling region, tabs, window size, and cursor keys and clears the
screen. It is also invoked from the hardreset entry in vtMenu.
ignore()
This action ignores the event but checks for special pointer position escape sequences.
insert()
This action inserts the character or string associated with the key that was pressed.
insert-eight-bit()
This action inserts an eight-bit (Meta) version of the character or string associated with
the key that was pressed. This only applies to single-byte values. The exact action depends
on the value of the metaSendsEscape and the eightBitInput resources. The metaSendsEscape
resource is tested first.
The term "eight-bit" is misleading: xterm checks if the key's value is less than 128. If so,
xterm adds 128 to the value, setting its eighth bit. Otherwise xterm sends an ESC byte
before the key. In other applications' documentation, that is referred to as a "meta key".
insert-selection(sourcename [, ...])
This action inserts the string found in the selection or cutbuffer indicated by sourcename.
Sources are checked in the order given (case is significant) until one is found. Commonly-used Commonlyused
used selections include: PRIMARY, SECONDARY, and CLIPBOARD. Cut buffers are typically named
CUT_BUFFER_ through CUT_BUFFER7.
insert-seven-bit()
This action is a synonym for insert() The term "seven-bit" is misleading: it only implies
that xterm does not try to add 128 to the key's value as in insert-eight-bit().
interpret(control-sequence)
Interpret the given control sequence locally, i.e., without passing it to the host. This
works by inserting the control sequence at the front of the input buffer. Use "\" to escape
octal digits in the string. Xt does not allow you to put a null character (i.e., "\000") in
the string.
keymap(name)
This action dynamically defines a new translation table whose resource name is name with the
suffix Keymap (case is significant). The name None restores the original translation table.
larger-vt-font()
Set the font to the next larger one, based on the font dimensions. See also set-vt-font().
load-vt-fonts(name[,class])
Load fontnames from the given subresource name and class. That is, load the
"*VT100.name.font", resource as "*VT100.font" etc. If no name is given, the original set of
fontnames is restored.
Unlike set-vt-font(), this does not affect the escape- and select-fonts, since those are not
based on resource values. It does affect the fonts loosely organized under the "Default"
menu entry: font, boldFont, wideFont and wideBoldFont.
maximize()
Resizes the window to fill the screen.
meta-sends-escape()
This action toggles the state of the metaSendsEscape resource.
popup-menu(menuname)
This action displays the specified popup menu. Valid names (case is significant) include:
mainMenu, vtMenu, fontMenu, and tekMenu.
print() This action prints the window and is also invoked by the print entry in mainMenu.
print-everything()
This action sends the entire text history, in addition to the text currently visible, to the
program given in the printerCommand resource. With a suitable printer command, the action
can be used to load the text history in an editor.
print-redir()
This action toggles the printerControlMode between 0 and 2. The corresponding popup menu
entry is useful for switching the printer off if you happen to change your mind after decid-ing deciding
ing to print random binary files on the terminal.
quit() This action sends a SIGHUP to the subprogram and exits. It is also invoked by the quit entry
in mainMenu.
redraw()
This action redraws the window and is also invoked by the redraw entry in mainMenu.
restore()
Restores the window to the size before it was last maximized.
scroll-back(count [,units [,mouse] ])
This action scrolls the text window backward so that text that had previously scrolled off
the top of the screen is now visible.
The count argument indicates the number of units (which may be page, halfpage, pixel, or
line) by which to scroll.
An adjustment can be specified for these values by appending a "+" or "-" sign followed by a
number, e.g., page-2 to specify 2 lines less than a page.
If the third parameter mouse is given, the action is ignored when mouse reporting is enabled.
scroll-forw(count [,units [,mouse] ])
This action is similar to scroll-back except that it scrolls in the other direction.
secure()
This action toggles the Secure Keyboard mode described in the section named SECURITY, and is
invoked from the securekbd entry in mainMenu.
select-cursor-end(destname [, ...])
This action is similar to select-end except that it should be used with select-cursor-start.
select-cursor-extend()
This action is similar to select-extend except that it should be used with select-cursor-start. select-cursorstart.
start.
select-cursor-start()
This action is similar to select-start except that it begins the selection at the current
text cursor position.
select-end(destname [, ...])
This action puts the currently selected text into all of the selections or cutbuffers speci-fied specified
fied by destname.
select-extend()
This action tracks the pointer and extends the selection. It should only be bound to Motion
events.
select-set()
This action stores text that corresponds to the current selection, without affecting the
selection mode.
select-start()
This action begins text selection at the current pointer location. See the section on
POINTER USAGE for information on making selections.
send-signal(signame)
This action sends the signal named by signame to the xterm subprocess (the shell or program
specified with the -e command line option) and is also invoked by the suspend, continue,
interrupt, hangup, terminate, and kill entries in mainMenu. Allowable signal names are (case
is not significant): tstp (if supported by the operating system), suspend (same as tstp),
cont (if supported by the operating system), int, hup, term, quit, alrm, alarm (same as alrm)
and kill.
set-allow132(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the c132 resource and is also invoked from the allow132 entry in vtMenu.
set-altscreen(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles between the alternate and current screens.
set-appcursor(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the handling Application Cursor Key mode and is also invoked by the
appcursor entry in vtMenu.
set-appkeypad(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the handling of Application Keypad mode and is also invoked by the app-keypad appkeypad
keypad entry in vtMenu.
set-autolinefeed(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles automatic insertion of linefeeds and is also invoked by the autolinefeed
entry in vtMenu.
set-autowrap(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles automatic wrapping of long lines and is also invoked by the autowrap
entry in vtMenu.
set-backarrow(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the backarrowKey resource and is also invoked from the backarrow key
entry in vtMenu.
set-bellIsUrgent(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the bellIsUrgent resource and is also invoked by the bellIsUrgent entry
in vtMenu.
set-cursorblink(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the cursorBlink resource and is also invoked from the cursorblink entry
in vtMenu.
set-cursesemul(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the curses resource and is also invoked from the cursesemul entry in
vtMenu.
set-font-doublesize(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the fontDoublesize resource and is also invoked by the font-doublesize
entry in fontMenu.
set-hp-function-keys(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the hpFunctionKeys resource and is also invoked by the hpFunctionKeys
entry in mainMenu.
set-jumpscroll(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the jumpscroll resource and is also invoked by the jumpscroll entry in
vtMenu.
set-font-linedrawing(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the xterm's state regarding whether the current font has line-drawing
characters and whether it should draw them directly. It is also invoked by the font-line-drawing font-linedrawing
drawing entry in fontMenu.
set-font-packed(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the forcePackedFont's resource which controls to use the font's minimum
or maximum glyph width. It is also invoked by the font-packed entry in fontMenu.
set-keep-selection(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the keepSelection resource and is also invoked by the keepSelection entry
in vtMenu.
set-logging()
This action toggles the state of the logging option.
set-old-function-keys(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the state of legacy function keys and is also invoked by the oldFunction-Keys oldFunctionKeys
Keys entry in mainMenu.
set-marginbell(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the marginBell resource.
set-num-lock()
This action toggles the state of the numLock resource.
set-pop-on-bell(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the popOnBell resource and is also invoked by the poponbell entry in
vtMenu.
set-render-font(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the renderFont resource and is also invoked by the render-font entry in
fontMenu.
set-reverse-video(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the reverseVideo resource and is also invoked by the reversevideo entry
in vtMenu.
set-reversewrap(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the reverseWrap resource and is also invoked by the reversewrap entry in
vtMenu.
set-scroll-on-key(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scrollKey resource and is also invoked from the scrollkey entry in
vtMenu.
set-scroll-on-tty-output(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scrollTtyOutput resource and is also invoked from the scrollttyoutput
entry in vtMenu.
set-scrollbar(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scrollbar resource and is also invoked by the scrollbar entry in
vtMenu.
set-select(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the selectToClipboard resource and is also invoked by the selectToClip-board selectToClipboard
board entry in vtMenu.
set-sco-function-keys(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scoFunctionKeys resource and is also invoked by the scoFunctionKeys
entry in mainMenu.
set-sun-function-keys(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the sunFunctionKeys resource and is also invoked by the sunFunctionKeys
entry in mainMenu.
set-sun-keyboard(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the sunKeyboard resource and is also invoked by the sunKeyboard entry in
mainMenu.
set-tek-text(large/2/3/small)
This action sets font used in the Tektronix window to the value of the resources tektext-large, tektextlarge,
large, tektext2, tektext3, and tektextsmall according to the argument. It is also invoked by
the entries of the same names as the resources in tekMenu.
set-terminal-type(type)
This action directs output to either the vt or tek windows, according to the type string. It
is also invoked by the tekmode entry in vtMenu and the vtmode entry in tekMenu.
set-titeInhibit(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the titeInhibit resource, which controls switching between the alternate
and current screens.
set-toolbar(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the toolbar feature and is also invoked by the toolbar entry in mainMenu.
set-utf8-mode(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the utf8 resource and is also invoked by the utf8-mode entry in fontMenu.
set-utf8-title(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the utf8Title resource and is also invoked by the utf8-title entry in
fontMenu.
set-visibility(vt/tek,on/off/toggle)
This action controls whether or not the vt or tek windows are visible. It is also invoked
from the tekshow and vthide entries in vtMenu and the vtshow and tekhide entries in tekMenu.
set-visual-bell(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the visualBell resource and is also invoked by the visualbell entry in
vtMenu.
set-vt-font(d/1/2/3/4/5/6/e/s [,normalfont [, boldfont]])
This action sets the font or fonts currently being used in the VT102 window. The first argu-ment argument
ment is a single character that specifies the font to be used:
d or D indicate the default font (the font initially used when xterm was started),
1 through 6 indicate the fonts specified by the font1 through font6 resources,
e or E indicate the normal and bold fonts that have been set through escape codes (or speci-fied specified
fied as the second and third action arguments, respectively), and
s or S indicate the font selection (as made by programs such as xfontsel(1)) indicated by the
second action argument.
If xterm is configured to support wide characters, an additional two optional parameters are
recognized for the e argument: wide font and wide bold font.
smaller-vt-font()
Set the font to the next smaller one, based on the font dimensions. See also set-vt-font().
soft-reset()
This action resets the scrolling region and is also invoked from the softreset entry in
vtMenu. The effect is identical to a soft reset (DECSTR) control sequence.
spawn-new-terminal(params)
Spawn a new xterm process. This is available on systems which have a modern version of the
process filesystem, e.g., "/proc", which xterm can read.
Use the "cwd" process entry, e.g., /proc/12345/cwd to obtain the working directory of the
process which is running in the current xterm.
On systems which have the "exe" process entry, e.g., /proc/12345/exe, use this to obtain the
actual executable. Otherwise, use the $PATH variable to find xterm.
If parameters are given in the action, pass them to the new xterm process.
start-extend()
This action is similar to select-start except that the selection is extended to the current
pointer location.
start-cursor-extend()
This action is similar to select-extend except that the selection is extended to the current
text cursor position.
string(string)
This action inserts the specified text string as if it had been typed. Quotation is neces-sary necessary
sary if the string contains whitespace or non-alphanumeric characters. If the string argu-ment argument
ment begins with the characters "0x", it is interpreted as a hex character constant.
tek-copy()
This action copies the escape codes used to generate the current window contents to a file in
the current directory beginning with the name COPY. It is also invoked from the tekcopy
entry in tekMenu.
tek-page()
This action clears the Tektronix window and is also invoked by the tekpage entry in tekMenu.
tek-reset()
This action resets the Tektronix window and is also invoked by the tekreset entry in tekMenu.
vi-button()
Handles a button event (other than press and release) by echoing a control sequence computed
from the event's line number in the screen relative to the current line:
ESC ^P
or
ESC ^N
according to whether the event is before, or after the current line, respectively. The ^N
(or ^P) is repeated once for each line that the event differs from the current line. The
control sequence is omitted altogether if the button event is on the current line.
visual-bell()
This action flashes the window quickly.
The Tektronix window also has the following action:
gin-press(l/L/m/M/r/R)
This action sends the indicated graphics input code.
The default bindings in the VT102 window use the SELECT token, which is set by the selectToClipboard
resource:
Shift <KeyPress> Prior:scroll-back(1,halfpage) \n\
Shift <KeyPress> Next:scroll-forw(1,halfpage) \n\
Shift <KeyPress> Select:select-cursor-start() \
select-cursor-end(SELECT, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
Shift <KeyPress> Insert:insert-selection(SELECT, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
<KeyPress> XF86Paste:insert-selection(SELECT, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
<KeyPress> SunPaste:insert-selection(SELECT, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
Shift~Ctrl <KeyPress> KP_Add:larger-vt-font() \n\
Shift Ctrl <KeyPress> KP_Add:smaller-vt-font() \n\
Shift <KeyPress> KP_Subtract:smaller-vt-font() \n\
~Meta <KeyPress>:insert-seven-bit() \n\
Meta <KeyPress>:insert-eight-bit() \n\
!Ctrl <Btn1Down>:popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl <Btn1Down>:popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn1Down>:popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
! @Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn1Down>:popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
~Meta <Btn1Down>:select-start() \n\
~Meta <Btn1Motion>:select-extend() \n\
!Ctrl <Btn2Down>:popup-menu(vtMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl <Btn2Down>:popup-menu(vtMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn2Down>:popup-menu(vtMenu) \n\
! @Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn2Down>:popup-menu(vtMenu) \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <Btn2Down>:ignore() \n\
Meta <Btn2Down>:clear-saved-lines() \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <Btn2Up>:insert-selection(SELECT, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
!Ctrl <Btn3Down>:popup-menu(fontMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl <Btn3Down>:popup-menu(fontMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn3Down>:popup-menu(fontMenu) \n\
! @Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn3Down>:popup-menu(fontMenu) \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <Btn3Down>:start-extend() \n\
~Meta <Btn3Motion>:select-extend() \n\
Ctrl <Btn4Down>:scroll-back(1,halfpage,m) \n\
Lock Ctrl <Btn4Down>:scroll-back(1,halfpage,m) \n\
Lock @Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn4Down>:scroll-back(1,halfpage,m) \n\
@Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn4Down>:scroll-back(1,halfpage,m) \n\
<Btn4Down>:scroll-back(5,line,m) \n\
Ctrl <Btn5Down>:scroll-forw(1,halfpage,m) \n\
Lock Ctrl <Btn5Down>:scroll-forw(1,halfpage,m) \n\
Lock @Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn5Down>:scroll-forw(1,halfpage,m) \n\
@Num_Lock Ctrl <Btn5Down>:scroll-forw(1,halfpage,m) \n\
<Btn5Down>:scroll-forw(5,line,m) \n\
<BtnUp>:select-end(SELECT, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
<BtnDown>:ignore()
The default bindings for the scrollbar widget are separate from the VT100 widget:
<Btn5Down>: StartScroll(Forward) \n\
<Btn1Down>: StartScroll(Forward) \n\
<Btn2Down>: StartScroll(Continuous) MoveThumb() NotifyThumb() \n\
<Btn3Down>: StartScroll(Backward) \n\
<Btn4Down>: StartScroll(Backward) \n\
<Btn2Motion>: MoveThumb() NotifyThumb() \n\
<BtnUp>: NotifyScroll(Proportional) EndScroll()
The default bindings in the Tektronix window are:
~Meta<KeyPress>: insert-seven-bit() \n\
Meta<KeyPress>: insert-eight-bit() \n\
!Ctrl <Btn1Down>: popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl <Btn1Down>: popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn1Down>: popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
!Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn1Down>: popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
!Ctrl <Btn2Down>: popup-menu(tekMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl <Btn2Down>: popup-menu(tekMenu) \n\
!Lock Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn2Down>: popup-menu(tekMenu) \n\
!Ctrl @Num_Lock <Btn2Down>: popup-menu(tekMenu) \n\
Shift ~Meta<Btn1Down>: gin-press(L) \n\
~Meta<Btn1Down>: gin-press(l) \n\
Shift ~Meta<Btn2Down>: gin-press(M) \n\
~Meta<Btn2Down>: gin-press(m) \n\
Shift ~Meta<Btn3Down>: gin-press(R) \n\
~Meta<Btn3Down>: gin-press(r)
Here is an example which uses shifted select/paste to copy to the clipboard, and unshifted
select/paste for the primary selection. In each case, a (different) cut buffer is also a target or
source of the select/paste operation. It is important to remember however, that cut buffers store
data in ISO-8859-1 encoding, while selections can store data in a variety of formats and encodings.
While xterm owns the selection, it highlights it. When it loses the selection, it removes the corre-sponding corresponding
sponding highlight. But you can still paste from the corresponding cut buffer.
*VT100*translations: #override \n\
~Shift~Ctrl<Btn2Up>: insert-selection(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
Shift~Ctrl<Btn2Up>: insert-selection(CLIPBOARD, CUT_BUFFER1) \n\
~Shift<BtnUp>: select-end(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
Shift<BtnUp>: select-end(CLIPBOARD, CUT_BUFFER1)
Below is a sample how of the keymap() action is used to add special keys for entering commonly-typed
works:
*VT100.Translations: #override <Key>F13: keymap(dbx)
*VT100.dbxKeymap.translations: \
<Key>F14: keymap(None) \n\
<Key>F17: string("next") string(0x0d) \n\
<Key>F18: string("step") string(0x0d) \n\
<Key>F19: string("continue") string(0x0d) \n\
<Key>F20: string("print ") insert-selection(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0)
Some people prefer using the left pointer button for dragging the scrollbar thumb. That can be setup
by altering the translations resource, e.g.,
*VT100.scrollbar.translations:#override \n\
<Btn5Down>:StartScroll(Forward) \n\
<Btn1Down>:StartScroll(Continuous) MoveThumb() NotifyThumb() \n\
<Btn4Down>:StartScroll(Backward) \n\
<Btn1Motion>:MoveThumb() NotifyThumb() \n\
<BtnUp>: NotifyScroll(Proportional) EndScroll()
CONTROL SEQUENCES AND KEYBOARD
The Xterm Control Sequences document lists the control sequences which an application can send xterm
to make it perform various operations. Most of these operations are standardized, from either the
DEC or Tektronix terminals, or from more widely used standards such as ISO-6429.
ENVIRONMENT
Xterm sets several environment variables:
DISPLAY
is the display name, pointing to the X server (see DISPLAY NAMES in X()).
TERM is set according to the termcap (or terminfo) entry which it is using as a reference.
WINDOWID
is set to the X window id number of the xterm window.
XTERM_LOCALE
shows the locale which was used by xterm on startup. Some shell initialization scripts may set
a different locale.
XTERM_SHELL
is set to the pathname of the program which is invoked. Usually that is a shell program, e.g.,
/bin/sh. Since it is not necessarily a shell program however, it is distinct from "SHELL".
XTERM_VERSION
is set to the string displayed by the -version option. That is normally an identifier for the X
Window libraries used to build xterm, followed by xterm's patch number in parenthesis. The
patch number is also part of the response to a Secondary Device Attributes (DA) control sequence
(see Xterm Control Sequences).
Depending on your system configuration, xterm may also set the following:
COLUMNS
the width of the xterm in characters (cf: "stty columns").
HOME when xterm is configured to update utmp.
LINES
the height of the xterm in characters (cf: "stty rows").
LOGNAME
when xterm is configured to update utmp.
SHELL
when xterm is configured to update utmp. It is also set if you provide the shell name as the
optional parameter.
TERMCAP
the contents of the termcap entry corresponding to $TERM, with lines and columns values substi-tuted substituted
tuted for the actual size window you have created.
TERMINFO
may be defined to a nonstandard location in the configure script.
FILES
The actual pathnames given may differ on your system.
/etc/utmp
the system logfile, which records user logins.
/etc/wtmp
the system logfile, which records user logins and logouts.
/usr/X11/lib/X11/app-defaults/XTerm
the xterm default application resources.
/usr/X11/lib/X11/app-defaults/XTerm-color
the xterm color application resources. If your display supports color, use this
*customization: -color
in your .Xdefaults file to automatically use this resource file rather than
/usr/X11/lib/X11/app-defaults/XTerm. If you do not do this, xterm uses its compiled-in default
resource settings for colors.
ERROR MESSAGES
Most of the fatal error messages from xterm use the following format:
xterm: Error XXX, errno YYY: ZZZ
The XXX codes (which are used by xterm as its exit-code) are listed below, with a brief explanation.
1 is used for miscellaneous errors, usually accompanied by a specific message,
11 ERROR_FIONBIO
main: ioctl() failed on FIONBIO
12 ERROR_F_GETFL
main: ioctl() failed on F_GETFL
13 ERROR_F_SETFL
main: ioctl() failed on F_SETFL
14 ERROR_OPDEVTTY
spawn: open() failed on /dev/tty
15 ERROR_TIOCGETP
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCGETP
17 ERROR_PTSNAME
spawn: ptsname() failed
18 ERROR_OPPTSNAME
spawn: open() failed on ptsname
19 ERROR_PTEM
spawn: ioctl() failed on I_PUSH/"ptem"
20 ERROR_CONSEM
spawn: ioctl() failed on I_PUSH/"consem"
21 ERROR_LDTERM
spawn: ioctl() failed on I_PUSH/"ldterm"
22 ERROR_TTCOMPAT
spawn: ioctl() failed on I_PUSH/"ttcompat"
23 ERROR_TIOCSETP
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCSETP
24 ERROR_TIOCSETC
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCSETC
25 ERROR_TIOCSETD
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCSETD
26 ERROR_TIOCSLTC
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCSLTC
27 ERROR_TIOCLSET
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCLSET
28 ERROR_INIGROUPS
spawn: initgroups() failed
29 ERROR_FORK
spawn: fork() failed
30 ERROR_EXEC
spawn: exec() failed
32 ERROR_PTYS
get_pty: not enough ptys
34 ERROR_PTY_EXEC
waiting for initial map
35 ERROR_SETUID
spawn: setuid() failed
36 ERROR_INIT
spawn: can't initialize window
46 ERROR_TIOCKSET
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCKSET
47 ERROR_TIOCKSETC
spawn: ioctl() failed on TIOCKSETC
48 ERROR_SPREALLOC
spawn: realloc of ttydev failed
49 ERROR_LUMALLOC
luit: command-line malloc failed
50 ERROR_SELECT
in_put: select() failed
54 ERROR_VINIT
VTInit: can't initialize window
57 ERROR_KMMALLOC1
HandleKeymapChange: malloc failed
60 ERROR_TSELECT
Tinput: select() failed
64 ERROR_TINIT
TekInit: can't initialize window
71 ERROR_BMALLOC2
SaltTextAway: malloc() failed
80 ERROR_LOGEXEC
StartLog: exec() failed
83 ERROR_XERROR
xerror: XError event
84 ERROR_XIOERROR
xioerror: X I/O error
90 ERROR_SCALLOC
Alloc: calloc() failed on base
91 ERROR_SCALLOC2
Alloc: calloc() failed on rows
102 ERROR_SAVE_PTR
ScrnPointers: malloc/realloc() failed
121 ERROR_MMALLOC
my_memmove: malloc/realloc failed
BUGS
Large pastes do not work on some systems. This is not a bug in xterm; it is a bug in the pseudo ter-minal terminal
minal driver of those systems. xterm feeds large pastes to the pty only as fast as the pty will
accept data, but some pty drivers do not return enough information to know if the write has suc-ceeded. succeeded.
ceeded.
Many of the options are not resettable after xterm starts.
This program still needs to be rewritten. It should be split into very modular sections, with the
various emulators being completely separate widgets that do not know about each other. Ideally,
you'd like to be able to pick and choose emulator widgets and stick them into a single control wid-get. widget.
get.
There needs to be a dialog box to allow entry of the Tek COPY file name.
SEE ALSO
resize(1), luit(1), X(), pty(4), tty(4)
Xterm Control Sequences (this is the file ctlseqs.ms).
http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html
http://invisible-island.net/xterm/ctlseqs/ctlseqs.html
AUTHORS
Far too many people, including:
Loretta Guarino Reid (DEC-UEG-WSL), Joel McCormack (DEC-UEG-WSL), Terry Weissman (DEC-UEG-WSL),
Edward Moy (Berkeley), Ralph R. Swick (MIT-Athena), Mark Vandevoorde (MIT-Athena), Bob McNamara (DEC-MAD), (DECMAD),
MAD), Jim Gettys (MIT-Athena), Bob Scheifler (MIT X Consortium), Doug Mink (SAO), Steve Pitschke
(Stellar), Ron Newman (MIT-Athena), Jim Fulton (MIT X Consortium), Dave Serisky (HP), Jonathan Kamens
(MIT-Athena), Jason Bacon, Stephen P. Wall, David Wexelblat, and Thomas Dickey (invisible-island.net). (invisibleisland.net).
island.net).
X Window System XTERM(1)
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