These defaults could be reset by the xrdb command; see the xrdb(1) reference page for details. Usually, login scripts read a user-customized resource file, often named .Xdefaults or .Xresources, using the xrdb -merge command. This is the usual way for users to configure their environment.
Finally, some applications employ special configuration files, which might also reset additional resources. The Motif window manager mwm is a good example of this complex area, as it looks in not fewer than eight different resource files; see mwm(1) for more information.
Resource files contain lines specifying values for widget or widget class resources. The syntax is shown below:
Here, resourcePath is a dot-separated path naming a particular resource in the hierarchy, while value is a string representation for the resource setting.resourcePath : value
Resource paths start with an optional application name. Without this, the settings apply to all X applications. After that, names in the path may refer to a widget class (when starting with a capital), to widget names (as defined by moat creation command), or to application-specific scoping. The star character (*) may be used to match any portion of the resource path. Table 4-6 shows some examples of resource paths.