TERMINFO(4) SysV TERMINFO(4)
NAME
terminfo - terminal capability database
SYNOPSIS
/usr/lib/terminfo/?/*
DESCRIPTION
terminfo is a compiled database (see tic(1M)) describing the capabilities
of terminals. Terminals are described in terminfo source descriptions by
giving a set of capabilities which they have, by describing how
operations are performed, by describing padding requirements, and by
specifying initialization sequences. This database is used by
applications programs, such as vi(1) and curses(3X), so they can work
with a variety of terminals without changes to the programs. To obtain
the source description for a terminal, use the -I option of infocmp(1M).
Entries in terminfo source files consist of a number of comma-separated
fields. White space after each comma is ignored. The first line of each
terminal description in the terminfo database gives the name by which
terminfo knows the terminal, separated by bar ( | ) characters. The
first name given is the most common abbreviation for the terminal (this
is the one to use to set the environment variable TERM in $HOME/.profile;
see profile(4)), the last name given should be a long name fully
identifying the terminal, and all others are understood as synonyms for
the terminal name. All names but the last should contain no blanks and
must be unique in the first 14 characters; the last name may contain
blanks for readability.
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should be chosen
using the following conventions. The particular piece of hardware making
up the terminal should have a root name chosen, for example, for the AT&T
4425 terminal, att4425. Modes that the hardware can be in, or user
preferences, should be indicated by appending a hyphen and an indicator
of the mode. See term(5) for examples and more information on choosing
names and synonyms.
CAPABILITIES
In the table below, the Variable is the name by which the C programmer
(at the terminfo level) accesses the capability. The Capname is the
short name for this variable used in the text of the database. It is
used by a person updating the database and by the tput(1) command when
asking what the value of the capability is for a particular terminal.
The Termcap Code is a two-letter code that corresponds to the old termcap
capability name.
Capability names have no hard length limit, but an informal limit of 5
characters has been adopted to keep them short. Whenever possible, names
are chosen to be the same as or similar to the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard.
Semantics are also intended to match those of the specification.
All string capabilities listed below may have padding specified, with the
exception of those used for input. Input capabilities, listed under the
Strings section in the table below, have names beginning with key_. The
following indicators may appear at the end of the Description for a
variable.
(G) indicates that the string is passed through tparm() with parameters
(parms) as given (# ).
i
(*) indicates that padding may be based on the number of lines affected.
(# ) indicates the ith parameter.
i
Variable Cap- Termcap Description
name Code
Booleans:
auto_left_margin bw bw cub1 wraps from column
0 to last column
auto_right_margin am am Terminal has automatic
margins
no_esc_ctlc xsb xb Beehive (f1=escape, f2=ctrl
C)
ceol_standout_glitch xhp xs Standout not erased
by overwriting (hp)
eat_newline_glitch xenl xn Newline ignored after
80 cols (Concept)
erase_overstrike eo eo Can erase overstrikes with
a blank
generic_type gn gn Generic line type (for example dialup,
switch).
hard_copy hc hc Hardcopy terminal
hard_cursor chts HC Cursor is hard to see.
has_meta_key km km Has a meta key (shift, sets
parity bit)
has_status_line hs hs Has extra "status line"
insert_null_glitch in in Insert mode distinguishes
nulls
memory_above da da Display may be retained above
the screen
memory_below db db Display may be retained below
the screen
move_insert_mode mir mi Safe to move while in insert
mode
move_standout_mode msgr ms Safe to move in standout
modes
needs_xon_xoff nxon nx Padding won't work, xon/xoff
required
non_rev_rmcup nrrmc NR smcup does not reverse
rmcup
no_pad_char npc NP Pad character doesn't exist
over_strike os os Terminal overstrikes on hard-copy
terminal
prtr_silent mc5i 5i Printer won't echo on screen.
status_line_esc_ok eslok es Escape can be used
on the status line
dest_tabs_magic_smso xt xt Destructive tabs, magic
smso char (t1061)
tilde_glitch hz hz Hazeltine; can't print tildes(~)
transparent_underline ul ul Underline character
overstrikes
xon_xoff xon xo Terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking
Numbers:
columns cols co Number of columns in a line
init_tabs it it Tabs initially every # spaces.
label_height lh lh Number of rows in each label
label_width lw lw Number of cols in each label
lines lines li Number of lines on screen or page
lines_of_memory lm lm Lines of memory if > lines;
0 means varies
magic_cookie_glitch xmc sg Number blank chars left
by smso or rmso
num_labels nlab Nl Number of labels on screen (start
at 1)
padding_baud_rate pb pb Lowest baud rate where
padding needed
virtual_terminal vt vt Virtual terminal number
(UNIX system)
width_status_line wsl ws Number of columns in status
line
Strings:
acs_chars acsc ac Graphic charset pairs aAbBcC
- def=vt100+
back_tab cbt bt Back tab
bell bel bl Audible signal (bell)
carriage_return cr cr Carriage return (*)
change_scroll_region csr cs Change to lines #1
thru #2 (vt100) (G)
char_padding rmp rP Like ip but when in replace
mode
clear_all_tabs tbc ct Clear all tab stops
clear_margins mgc MC Clear left and right soft
margins
clear_screen clear cl Clear screen and home cursor
(*)
clr_bol el1 cb Clear to beginning of line, inclusive
clr_eol el ce Clear to end of line
clr_eos ed cd Clear to end of display (*)
column_address hpa ch Horizontal position absolute
(G)
command_character cmdch CC Term. settable cmd char
in prototype
cursor_address cup cm Cursor motion to row #1 col
#2 (G)
cursor_down cud1 do Down one line
cursor_home home ho Home cursor (if no cup)
cursor_invisible civis vi Make cursor invisible
cursor_left cub1 le Move cursor left one space.
cursor_mem_address mrcup CM Memory relative cursor
addressing (G)
cursor_normal cnorm ve Make cursor appear normal
(undo vs/vi)
cursor_right cuf1 nd Non-destructive space (cursor
right)
cursor_to_ll ll ll Last line, first column (if
no cup)
cursor_up cuu1 up Upline (cursor up)
cursor_visible cvvis vs Make cursor very visible
delete_character dch1 dc Delete character (*)
delete_line dl1 dl Delete line (*)
dis_status_line dsl ds Disable status line
down_half_line hd hd Half-line down (forward 1/2
linefeed)
ena_acs enacs eA Enable alternate char set
enter_alt_charset_mode smacs as Start alternate
character set
enter_am_mode smam SA Turn on automatic margins
enter_blink_mode blink mb Turn on blinking
enter_bold_mode bold md Turn on bold (extra bright)
mode
enter_ca_mode smcup ti String to begin programs
that use cup
enter_delete_mode smdc dm Delete mode (enter)
enter_dim_mode dim mh Turn on half-bright mode
enter_insert_mode smir im Insert mode (enter);
enter_protected_mode prot mp Turn on protected
mode
enter_reverse_mode rev mr Turn on reverse video
mode
enter_secure_mode invis mk Turn on blank mode (chars
invisible)
enter_standout_mode smso so Begin standout mode
enter_underline_mode smul us Start underscore mode
enter_xon_mode smxon SX Turn on xon/xoff handshaking
erase_chars ech ec Erase #1 characters (G)
exit_alt_charset_mode rmacs ae End alternate character
set
exit_am_mode rmam RA Turn off automatic margins
exit_attribute_mode sgr0 me Turn off all attributes
exit_ca_mode rmcup te String to end programs that
use cup
exit_delete_mode rmdc ed End delete mode
exit_insert_mode rmir ei End insert mode;
exit_standout_mode rmso se End standout mode
exit_underline_mode rmul ue End underscore mode
exit_xon_mode rmxon RX Turn off xon/xoff handshaking
flash_screen flash vb Visible bell (may not move
cursor)
form_feed ff ff Hardcopy terminal page eject (*)
from_status_line fsl fs Return from status line
init_1string is1 i1 Terminal initialization string
init_2string is2 is Terminal initialization string
init_3string is3 i3 Terminal initialization string
init_file if if Name of initialization file containing
is
init_prog iprog iP Path name of program for init.
insert_character ich1 ic Insert character
insert_line il1 al Add new blank line (*)
insert_padding ip ip Insert pad after character
inserted (*)
key_a1 ka1 K1 KEY_A1, 0534, Upper left of keypad
key_a3 ka3 K3 KEY_A3, 0535, Upper right of keypad
key_b2 kb2 K2 KEY_B2, 0536, Center of keypad
key_backspace kbs kb KEY_BACKSPACE, 0407, Sent
by backspace key
key_beg kbeg @1 KEY_BEG, 0542, Sent by beg(inning)
key
key_btab kcbt kB KEY_BTAB, 0541, Sent by back-tab
key
key_c1 kc1 K4 KEY_C1, 0537, Lower left of keypad
key_c3 kc3 K5 KEY_C3, 0540, Lower right of keypad
key_cancel kcan @2 KEY_CANCEL, 0543, Sent by cancel
key
key_catab ktbc ka KEY_CATAB, 0526, Sent by clear-all-tabs
key
key_clear kclr kC KEY_CLEAR, 0515, Sent by clear-screen
or erase key
key_close kclo @3 KEY_CLOSE, 0544, Sent by close
key
key_command kcmd @4 KEY_COMMAND, 0545, Sent by
cmd (command) key
key_copy kcpy @5 KEY_COPY, 0546, Sent by copy key
key_create kcrt @6 KEY_CREATE, 0547, Sent by create
key
key_ctab kctab kt KEY_CTAB, 0525, Sent by clear-tab
key
key_dc kdch1 kD KEY_DC, 0512, Sent by delete-character
key
key_dl kdl1 kL KEY_DL, 0510, Sent by delete-line
key
key_down kcud1 kd KEY_DOWN, 0402, Sent by terminal
down-arrow key
key_eic krmir kM KEY_EIC, 0514, Sent by rmir
or smir in insert mode
key_end kend @7 KEY_END, 0550, Sent by end key
key_enter kent @8 KEY_ENTER, 0527, Sent by enter/send
key
key_eol kel kE KEY_EOL, 0517, Sent by clear-to-end-of-line
key
key_eos ked kS KEY_EOS, 0516, Sent by clear-to-end-of-screen
key
key_exit kext @9 KEY_EXIT, 0551, Sent by exit key
key_f0 kf0 k0 KEY_F(0), 0410, Sent by function
key f0
key_f1 kf1 k1 KEY_F(1), 0411, Sent by function
key f1
key_f2 kf2 k2 KEY_F(2), 0412, Sent by function
key f2
key_f3 kf3 k3 KEY_F(3), 0413, Sent by function
key f3
key_f4 kf4 k4 KEY_F(4), 0414, Sent by function
key f4
key_f5 kf5 k5 KEY_F(5), 0415, Sent by function
key f5
key_f6 kf6 k6 KEY_F(6), 0416, Sent by function
key f6
key_f7 kf7 k7 KEY_F(7), 0417, Sent by function
key f7
key_f8 kf8 k8 KEY_F(8), 0420, Sent by function
key f8
key_f9 kf9 k9 KEY_F(9), 0421, Sent by function
key f9
key_f10 kf10 k; KEY_F(10), 0422, Sent by function
key f10
key_f11 kf11 F1 KEY_F(11), 0423, Sent by function
key f11
key_f12 kf12 F2 KEY_F(12), 0424, Sent by function
key f12
key_f13 kf13 F3 KEY_F(13), 0425, Sent by function
key f13
key_f14 kf14 F4 KEY_F(14), 0426, Sent by function
key f14
key_f15 kf15 F5 KEY_F(15), 0427, Sent by function
key f15
key_f16 kf16 F6 KEY_F(16), 0430, Sent by function
key f16
key_f17 kf17 F7 KEY_F(17), 0431, Sent by function
key f17
key_f18 kf18 F8 KEY_F(18), 0432, Sent by function
key f18
key_f19 kf19 F9 KEY_F(19), 0433, Sent by function
key f19
key_f20 kf20 FA KEY_F(20), 0434, Sent by function
key f20
key_f21 kf21 FB KEY_F(21), 0435, Sent by function
key f21
key_f22 kf22 FC KEY_F(22), 0436, Sent by function
key f22
key_f23 kf23 FD KEY_F(23), 0437, Sent by function
key f23
key_f24 kf24 FE KEY_F(24), 0440, Sent by function
key f24
key_f25 kf25 FF KEY_F(25), 0441, Sent by function
key f25
key_f26 kf26 FG KEY_F(26), 0442, Sent by function
key f26
key_f27 kf27 FH KEY_F(27), 0443, Sent by function
key f27
key_f28 kf28 FI KEY_F(28), 0444, Sent by function
key f28
key_f29 kf29 FJ KEY_F(29), 0445, Sent by function
key f29
key_f30 kf30 FK KEY_F(30), 0446, Sent by function
key f30
key_f31 kf31 FL KEY_F(31), 0447, Sent by function
key f31
key_f32 kf32 FM KEY_F(32), 0450, Sent by function
key f32
key_f33 kf33 FN KEY_F(13), 0451, Sent by function
key f13
key_f34 kf34 FO KEY_F(34), 0452, Sent by function
key f34
key_f35 kf35 FP KEY_F(35), 0453, Sent by function
key f35
key_f36 kf36 FQ KEY_F(36), 0454, Sent by function
key f36
key_f37 kf37 FR KEY_F(37), 0455, Sent by function
key f37
key_f38 kf38 FS KEY_F(38), 0456, Sent by function
key f38
key_f39 kf39 FT KEY_F(39), 0457, Sent by function
key f39
key_f40 kf40 FU KEY_F(40), 0460, Sent by function
key f40
key_f41 kf41 FV KEY_F(41), 0461, Sent by function
key f41
key_f42 kf42 FW KEY_F(42), 0462, Sent by function
key f42
key_f43 kf43 FX KEY_F(43), 0463, Sent by function
key f43
key_f44 kf44 FY KEY_F(44), 0464, Sent by function
key f44
key_f45 kf45 FZ KEY_F(45), 0465, Sent by function
key f45
key_f46 kf46 Fa KEY_F(46), 0466, Sent by function
key f46
key_f47 kf47 Fb KEY_F(47), 0467, Sent by function
key f47
key_f48 kf48 Fc KEY_F(48), 0470, Sent by function
key f48
key_f49 kf49 Fd KEY_F(49), 0471, Sent by function
key f49
key_f50 kf50 Fe KEY_F(50), 0472, Sent by function
key f50
key_f51 kf51 Ff KEY_F(51), 0473, Sent by function
key f51
key_f52 kf52 Fg KEY_F(52), 0474, Sent by function
key f52
key_f53 kf53 Fh KEY_F(53), 0475, Sent by function
key f53
key_f54 kf54 Fi KEY_F(54), 0476, Sent by function
key f54
key_f55 kf55 Fj KEY_F(55), 0477, Sent by function
key f55
key_f56 kf56 Fk KEY_F(56), 0500, Sent by function
key f56
key_f57 kf57 Fl KEY_F(57), 0501, Sent by function
key f57
key_f58 kf58 Fm KEY_F(58), 0502, Sent by function
key f58
key_f59 kf59 Fn KEY_F(59), 0503, Sent by function
key f59
key_f60 kf60 Fo KEY_F(60), 0504, Sent by function
key f60
key_f61 kf61 Fp KEY_F(61), 0505, Sent by function
key f61
key_f62 kf62 Fq KEY_F(62), 0506, Sent by function
key f62
key_f63 kf63 Fr KEY_F(63), 0507, Sent by function
key f63
key_find kfnd @0 KEY_FIND, 0552, Sent by find key
key_help khlp %1 KEY_HELP, 0553, Sent by help key
key_home khome kh KEY_HOME, 0406, Sent by home
key
key_ic kich1 kI KEY_IC, 0513, Sent by ins-char/enter
ins-mode key
key_il kil1 kA KEY_IL, 0511, Sent by insert-line
key
key_left kcub1 kl KEY_LEFT, 0404, Sent by terminal
left-arrow key
key_ll kll kH KEY_LL, 0533, Sent by home-down key
key_mark kmrk %2 KEY_MARK, 0554, Sent by mark key
key_message kmsg %3 KEY_MESSAGE, 0555, Sent by
message key
key_move kmov %4 KEY_MOVE, 0556, Sent by move key
key_next knxt %5 KEY_NEXT, 0557, Sent by next-object
key
key_npage knp kN KEY_NPAGE, 0522, Sent by next-page
key
key_open kopn %6 KEY_OPEN, 0560, Sent by open key
key_options kopt %7 KEY_OPTIONS, 0561, Sent by
options key
key_ppage kpp kP KEY_PPAGE, 0523, Sent by previous-page
key
key_previous kprv %8 KEY_PREVIOUS, 0562, Sent by
previous-object key
key_print kprt %9 KEY_PRINT, 0532, Sent by print
or copy key
key_redo krdo %0 KEY_REDO, 0563, Sent by redo key
key_reference kref &1 KEY_REFERENCE, 0564, Sent
by ref(erence) key
key_refresh krfr &2 KEY_REFRESH, 0565, Sent by
refresh key
key_replace krpl &3 KEY_REPLACE, 0566, Sent by
replace key
key_restart krst &4 KEY_RESTART, 0567, Sent by
restart key
key_resume kres &5 KEY_RESUME, 0570, Sent by resume
key
key_right kcuf1 kr KEY_RIGHT, 0405, Sent by terminal
right-arrow key
key_save ksav &6 KEY_SAVE, 0571, Sent by save key
key_sbeg kBEG &9 KEY_SBEG, 0572, Sent by shifted
beginning key
key_scancel kCAN &0 KEY_SCANCEL, 0573, Sent by
shifted cancel key
key_scommand kCMD *1 KEY_SCOMMAND, 0574, Sent
by shifted command key
key_scopy kCPY *2 KEY_SCOPY, 0575, Sent by shifted
copy key
key_screate kCRT *3 KEY_SCREATE, 0576, Sent
by shifted create key
key_sdc kDC *4 KEY_SDC, 0577, Sent by shifted
delete-char key
key_sdl kDL *5 KEY_SDL, 0600, Sent by shifted
delete-line key
key_select kslt *6 KEY_SELECT, 0601, Sent by
select key
key_send kEND *7 KEY_SEND, 0602, Sent by shifted
end key
key_seol kEOL *8 KEY_SEOL, 0603, Sent by shifted
clear-line key
key_sexit kEXT *9 KEY_SEXIT, 0604, Sent by shifted
exit key
key_sf kind kF KEY_SF, 0520, Sent by scroll-forward/down
key
key_sfind kFND *0 KEY_SFIND, 0605, Sent by shifted
find key
key_shelp kHLP #1 KEY_SHELP, 0606, Sent by shifted
help key
key_shome kHOM #2 KEY_SHOME, 0607, Sent by shifted
home key
key_sic kIC #3 KEY_SIC, 0610, Sent by shifted input
key
key_sleft kLFT #4 KEY_SLEFT, 0611, Sent by shifted
left-arrow key
key_smessage kMSG %a KEY_SMESSAGE, 0612, Sent by
shifted message key
key_smove kMOV %b KEY_SMOVE, 0613, Sent by shifted
move key
key_snext kNXT %c KEY_SNEXT, 0614, Sent by shifted
next key
key_soptions kOPT %d KEY_SOPTIONS, 0615, Sent by
shifted options key
key_sprevious kPRV %e KEY_SPREVIOUS, 0616, Sent
by shifted prev key
key_sprint kPRT %f KEY_SPRINT, 0617, Sent by shifted
print key
key_sr kri kR KEY_SR, 0521, Sent by scroll-backward/up
key
key_sredo kRDO %g KEY_SREDO, 0620, Sent by shifted
redo key
key_sreplace kRPL %h KEY_SREPLACE, 0621, Sent by
shifted replace key
key_sright kRIT %i KEY_SRIGHT, 0622, Sent by shifted
right-arrow key
key_srsume kRES %j KEY_SRSUME, 0623, Sent by shifted
resume key
key_ssave kSAV !1 KEY_SSAVE, 0624, Sent by shifted
save key
key_ssuspend kSPD !2 KEY_SSUSPEND, 0625, Sent by
shifted suspend key
key_stab khts kT KEY_STAB, 0524, Sent by set-tab
key
key_sundo kUND !3 KEY_SUNDO, 0626, Sent by shifted
undo key
key_suspend kspd &7 KEY_SUSPEND, 0627, Sent by
suspend key
key_undo kund &8 KEY_UNDO, 0630, Sent by undo key
key_up kcuu1 ku KEY_UP, 0403, Sent by terminal
up-arrow key
keypad_local rmkx ke Out of "keypad-transmit"
mode
keypad_xmit smkx ks Put terminal in "keypad-transmit"
mode
lab_f0 lf0 l0 Labels on function key f0 if not
f0
lab_f1 lf1 l1 Labels on function key f1 if not
f1
lab_f2 lf2 l2 Labels on function key f2 if not
f2
lab_f3 lf3 l3 Labels on function key f3 if not
f3
lab_f4 lf4 l4 Labels on function key f4 if not
f4
lab_f5 lf5 l5 Labels on function key f5 if not
f5
lab_f6 lf6 l6 Labels on function key f6 if not
f6
lab_f7 lf7 l7 Labels on function key f7 if not
f7
lab_f8 lf8 l8 Labels on function key f8 if not
f8
lab_f9 lf9 l9 Labels on function key f9 if not
f9
lab_f10 lf10 la Labels on function key f10 if not
f10
label_off rmln LF Turn off soft labels
label_on smln LO Turn on soft labels
meta_off rmm mo Turn off "meta mode"
meta_on smm mm Turn on "meta mode" (8th bit)
newline nel nw Newline (behaves like cr followed
by lf)
pad_char pad pc Pad character (rather than null)
parm_dch dch DC Delete #1 chars (G*)
parm_delete_line dl DL Delete #1 lines (G*)
parm_down_cursor cud DO Move cursor down #1 lines.
(G*)
parm_ich ich IC Insert #1 blank chars (G*)
parm_index indn SF Scroll forward #1 lines. (G)
parm_insert_line il AL Add #1 new blank lines (G*)
parm_left_cursor cub LE Move cursor left #1 spaces
(G)
parm_right_cursor cuf RI Move cursor right #1 spaces.
(G*)
parm_rindex rin SR Scroll backward #1 lines. (G)
parm_up_cursor cuu UP Move cursor up #1 lines.
(G*)
pkey_key pfkey pk Prog funct key #1 to type string
#2
pkey_local pfloc pl Prog funct key #1 to execute
string #2
pkey_xmit pfx px Prog funct key #1 to xmit string
#2
plab_norm pln pn Prog label #1 to show string #2
print_screen mc0 ps Print contents of the screen
prtr_non mc5p pO Turn on the printer for #1 bytes
prtr_off mc4 pf Turn off the printer
prtr_on mc5 po Turn on the printer
repeat_char rep rp Repeat char #1 #2 times (G*)
req_for_input rfi RF Send next input char (for
ptys)
reset_1string rs1 r1 Reset terminal completely
to sane modes
reset_2string rs2 r2 Reset terminal completely
to sane modes
reset_3string rs3 r3 Reset terminal completely
to sane modes
reset_file rf rf Name of file containing reset
string
restore_cursor rc rc Restore cursor to position
of last sc
row_address vpa cv Vertical position absolute (G)
save_cursor sc sc Save cursor position.
scroll_forward ind sf Scroll text up
scroll_reverse ri sr Scroll text down
set_attributes sgr sa Define the video attributes
#1-#9 (G)
set_left_margin smgl ML Set soft left margin
set_right_margin smgr MR Set soft right margin
set_tab hts st Set a tab in all rows, current column.
set_window wind wi Current window is lines #1-#2
cols #3-#4 (G)
tab ht ta Tab to next 8 space hardware tab stop.
to_status_line tsl ts Go to status line, col #1
(G)
underline_char uc uc Underscore one char and move
past it
up_half_line hu hu Half-line up (reverse 1/2 linefeed)
xoff_character xoffc XF X-off character
xon_character xonc XN X-on character
SAMPLE ENTRY
The following entry, which describes the Concept-100 terminal, is among
the more complex entries in the terminfo file as of this writing.
concept100|c100|concept|c104|c100-4p|concept 100,
am, db, eo, in, mir, ul, xenl,
cols#80, lines#24, pb#9600, vt#8,
bel=^G, blank=\EH, blink=\EC, clear=^L$<2*>,
cnorm=\Ew, cr=^M$<9>, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
cuf1=\E=, cup=\Ea%p1%' '%+%c%p2%' '%+%c,
cuu1=\E;, cvvis=\EW, dch1=\E^A$<16*>, dim=\EE,
dl1=\E^B$<3*>, ed=\E^C$<16*>, el=\E^U$<16>,
flash=\Ek$<20>\EK, ht=\t$<8>, il1=\E^R$<3*>,
ind=^J, .ind=^J$<9>, ip=$<16*>,
is2=\EU\Ef\E7\E5\E8\El\ENH\EK\E\0\Eo&\0\Eo\47\E,
kbs=^h, kcub1=\E>, kcud1=\E<, kcuf1=\E=, kcuu1=\E;,
kf1=\E5, kf2=\E6, kf3=\E7, khome=\E?,
prot=\EI, rep=\Er%p1%c%p2%' '%+%c$<.2*>,
rev=\ED, rmcup=\Ev\s\s\s\s$<6>\Ep\r\n,
rmir=\E\0, rmkx=\Ex, rmso=\Ed\Ee, rmul=\Eg,
rmul=\Eg, sgr0=\EN\0, smcup=\EU\Ev\s\s8p\Ep\r,
smir=\E^P, smkx=\EX, smso=\EE\ED, smul=\EG,
Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white space at the
beginning of each line except the first. Lines beginning with "#" are
taken as comment lines. Capabilities in terminfo are of three types:
Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal has some particular
feature, numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal or
particular features, and string capabilities, which give a sequence which
can be used to perform particular terminal operations.
Types of Capabilities
All capabilities have names. For instance, the fact that the Concept has
automatic margins (that is, an automatic return and linefeed when the end
of a line is reached) is indicated by the capability am. Hence the
description of the Concept includes am. Numeric capabilities are
followed by the character `#' and then the value. Thus cols, which
indicates the number of columns the terminal has, gives the value 80 for
the Concept. The value may be specified in decimal, octal or hexadecimal
using normal C conventions.
Finally, string-valued capabilities, such as el (clear to end of line
sequence) are given by the two- to five-character capname, an `=', and
then a string ending at the next following comma. A delay in
milliseconds may appear anywhere in such a capability, enclosed in $<..>
brackets, as in el=\EK$<3>, and padding characters are supplied by
tputs() (see curses(3X)) to provide this delay. The delay can be either
a number, for example, 20, or a number followed by an `*' (that is, 3*),
a `/' (that is, 5/), or both (that is, 10*/). A `*' indicates that the
padding required is proportional to the number of lines affected by the
operation, and the amount given is the per-affected-unit padding
required. (In the case of insert character, the factor is still the
number of lines affected. This is always one unless the terminal has in
and the software uses it.) When a `*' is specified, it is sometimes
useful to give a delay of the form 3.5 to specify a delay per unit to
tenths of milliseconds. (Only one decimal place is allowed.) A `/'
indicates that the padding is mandatory. Otherwise, if the terminal has
xon defined, the padding information is advisory and will only be used
for cost estimates or when the terminal is in raw mode. Mandatory
padding will be transmitted regardless of the setting of xon.
A number of escape sequences are provided in the string valued
capabilities for easy encoding of characters there. Both \E and \e map
to an ESCAPE character, ^x maps to a control-x for any appropriate x, and
the sequences \n, \l, \r, \t, \b, \f, and \s give a newline, linefeed,
return, tab, backspace, formfeed, and space, respectively. Other escapes
include: \^ for caret (^); \\ for backslash (\); \, for comma (,); \: for
colon (:); and \0 for null. (\0 will actually produce \200, which does
not terminate a string but behaves as a null character on most
terminals.) Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after
a backslash (for example, \123).
Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out. To do this, put
a period before the capability name. For example, see the second ind in
the example above. Note that capabilities are defined in a left-to-right
order and, therefore, a prior definition will override a later
definition.
Preparing Descriptions
The most effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating
the description of a similar terminal in terminfo and to build up a
description gradually, using partial descriptions with vi(1) to check
that they are correct. Be aware that a very unusual terminal may expose
deficiencies in the ability of the terminfo file to describe it or the
inability of vi(1) to work with that terminal. To test a new terminal
description, set the environment variable TERMINFO to a pathname of a
directory containing the compiled description you are working on and
programs will look there rather than in /usr/lib/terminfo. To get the
padding for insert-line correct (if the terminal manufacturer did not
document it) a severe test is to comment out xon, edit a large file at
9600 baud with vi(1), delete 16 or so lines from the middle of the
screen, then hit the u key several times quickly. If the display is
corrupted, more padding is usually needed. A similar test can be used
for insert-character.
Basic Capabilities
The number of columns on each line for the terminal is given by the cols
numeric capability. If the terminal has a screen, then the number of
lines on the screen is given by the lines capability. If the terminal
wraps around to the beginning of the next line when it reaches the right
margin, then it should have the am capability. If the terminal can clear
its screen, leaving the cursor in the home position, then this is given
by the clear string capability. If the terminal overstrikes (rather than
clearing a position when a character is struck over) then it should have
the os capability. If the terminal is a printing terminal, with no soft
copy unit, give it both hc and os. (os applies to storage scope
terminals, such as Tektronix 4010 series, as well as hard-copy and APL
terminals.) If there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of
the current row, give this as cr. (Normally this will be carriage
return, control M.) If there is a code to produce an audible signal
(bell, beep, etc) give this as bel. If the terminal uses the xon-xoff
flow-control protocol, like most terminals, specify xon.
If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the left (such as
backspace) that capability should be given as cub1. Similarly, codes to
move to the right, up, and down should be given as cuf1, cuu1, and cud1.
These local cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over; for
example, you would not normally use "cuf1=\s" because the space would
erase the character moved over.
A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded in
terminfo are undefined at the left and top edges of a screen terminal.
Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge, unless
bw is given, and should never attempt to go up locally off the top. In
order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom left corner of
the screen and send the ind (index) string.
To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner of the screen
and sends the ri (reverse index) string. The strings ind and ri are
undefined when not on their respective corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are indn and rin which
have the same semantics as ind and ri except that they take one
parameter, and scroll that many lines. They are also undefined except at
the appropriate edge of the screen.
The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right edge of
the screen when text is output, but this does not necessarily apply to a
cuf1 from the last column. The only local motion which is defined from
the left edge is if bw is given, then a cub1 from the left edge will move
to the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not given, the effect is
undefined. This is useful for drawing a box around the edge of the
screen, for example. If the terminal has switch selectable automatic
margins, the terminfo file usually assumes that this is on; that is, am.
If the terminal has a command which moves to the first column of the next
line, that command can be given as nel (newline). It does not matter if
the command clears the remainder of the current line, so if the terminal
has no cr and lf it may still be possible to craft a working nel out of
one or both of them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hardcopy and screen terminals.
Thus the model 33 teletype is described as
33|tty33|tty|model 33 teletype, bel=^G, cols#72, cr=^M, cud1=^J, hc,
ind=^J, os,
while the Lear Siegler ADM-3 is described as
adm3|lsi adm3, am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H,
cud1=^J, ind=^J, lines#24,
Parameterized Strings
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters in the terminal
are described by a parameterized string capability, with printf(3S)-like
escapes (%x) in it. For example, to address the cursor, the cup
capability is given, using two parameters: the row and column to address
to. (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the physical
screen visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.) If the terminal
has memory relative cursor addressing, that can be indicated by mrcup.
The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special % codes to manipulate it
in the manner of a Reverse Polish Notation (postfix) calculator.
Typically a sequence will push one of the parameters onto the stack and
then print it in some format. Often more complex operations are
necessary. Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in
the usual order. That is, to get x-5 one would use %gx%{5}%-.
The % encodings have the following meanings:
%% outputs `%'
%[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
as in printf, flags are [-+#] and space
%c print pop() gives %c
%p[1-9] push ith parm
%P[a-z] set variable [a-z] to pop()
%g[a-z] get variable [a-z] and push it
%'c' push char constant c
%{nn} push decimal constant nn
%l push strlen(pop())
%+ %- %* %/ %m
arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop() op pop())
%& %| %^ bit operations: push(pop() op pop())
%= %> %< logical operations: push(pop() op pop())
%A %O logical operations: and, or
%! %~ unary operations: push(op pop())
%i (for ANSI terminals)
add 1 to first parm, if one parm present,
or first two parms, if more than one parm present
%? expr %t thenpart %e elsepart %;
if-then-else, %e elsepart is optional;
else-if's are possible ala Algol 68:
%? c %t b %e c %t b %e c %t b %e c %t b %e b %;
c a1
re con1
dition2
s, b 2
are bo3
dies. 3 4 4 5
i i
If the "-" flag is used with "%[doxXs]", then a colon (:) must be placed
between the "%" and the "-" to differentiate the flag from the binary
"%-" operator, .e.g "%:-16.16s".
Consider the Hewlett-Packard 2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12,
needs to be sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds. Note that the
order of the rows and columns is inverted here, and that the row and
column are zero-padded as two digits. Thus its cup capability is
"cup=\E&a%p2%2.2dc%p1%2.2dY$<6>".
The Micro-Term ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent preceded by a
^T, with the row and column simply encoded in binary, "cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c".
Terminals which use "%c" need to be able to backspace the cursor (cub1),
and to move the cursor up one line on the screen (cuu1). This is
necessary because it is not always safe to transmit \n, ^D, and \r, as
the system may change or discard them. (The library routines dealing
with terminfo set tty modes so that tabs are never expanded, so \t is
safe to send. This turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and column offset by a
blank character, thus "cup=\E=%p1%'\s'%+%c%p2%'\s'%+%c". After sending
"\E=", this pushes the first parameter, pushes the ASCII value for a
space (32), adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in place of the two
previous values), and outputs that value as a character. Then the same
is done for the second parameter. More complex arithmetic is possible
using the stack.
Cursor Motions
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very upper left
corner of screen) then this can be given as home; similarly a fast way of
getting to the lower left-hand corner can be given as ll; this may
involve going up with cuu1 from the home position, but a program should
never do this itself (unless ll does) because it can make no assumption
about the effect of moving up from the home position. Note that the home
position is the same as addressing to (0,0): to the top left corner of
the screen, not of memory. (Thus, the \EH sequence on Hewlett-Packard
terminals cannot be used for home without losing some of the other
features on the terminal.)
If the terminal has row or column absolute-cursor addressing, these can
be given as single parameter capabilities hpa (horizontal position
absolute) and vpa (vertical position absolute). Sometimes these are
shorter than the more general two-parameter sequence (as with the
Hewlett-Packard 2645) and can be used in preference to cup. If there are
parameterized local motions (for example, move n spaces to the right)
these can be given as cud, cub, cuf, and cuu with a single parameter
indicating how many spaces to move. These are primarily useful if the
terminal does not have cup, such as the Tektronix 4025.
Area Clears
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as el. If the
terminal can clear from the beginning of the line to the current position
inclusive, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as el1.
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
display, then this should be given as ed. ed is only defined from the
first column of a line. (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to
delete a large number of lines, if a true ed is not available.)
Insert/delete line
If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the
cursor is, this should be given as il1; this is done only from the first
position of a line. The cursor must then appear on the newly blank line.
If the terminal can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
should be given as dl1; this is done only from the first position on the
line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and dl1 which take a single
parameter and insert or delete that many lines can be given as il and dl.
If the terminal has a settable destructive scrolling region (like the
VT100) the command to set this can be described with the csr capability,
which takes two parameters: the top and bottom lines of the scrolling
region. The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using this
command. It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using
this command -- the sc and rc (save and restore cursor) commands are also
useful. Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be
done using ri or ind on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
To determine whether a terminal has destructive scrolling regions or
non-destructive scrolling regions, create a scrolling region in the
middle of the screen, place data on the bottom line of the scrolling
region, move the cursor to the top line of the scrolling region, and do a
reverse index (ri) followed by a delete line (dl1) or index (ind). If
the data that was originally on the bottom line of the scrolling region
was restored into the scrolling region by the dl1 or ind, then the
terminal has non-destructive scrolling regions. Otherwise, it has
destructive scrolling regions. Do not specify csr if the terminal has
non-destructive scrolling regions, unless ind, ri, indn, rin, dl, and dl1
all simulate destructive scrolling.
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of memory,
which all commands affect, it should be given as the parameterized string
wind. The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in memory
and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the da capability
should be given; if display memory can be retained below, then db should
be given. These indicate that deleting a line or scrolling a full screen
may bring non-blank lines up from below or that scrolling back with ri
may bring down non-blank lines.
Insert/Delete Character
There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
insert/delete character operations which can be described using terminfo.
The most common insert/delete character operations affect only the
characters on the current line and shift characters off the end of the
line rigidly. Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin
Elmer Owl, make a distinction between typed and untyped blanks on the
screen, shifting upon an insert or delete only to an untyped blank on the
screen which is either eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks.
You can determine the kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen
and then typing text separated by cursor motions. Type "abc def"
using local cursor motions (not spaces) between the abc and the def.
Then position the cursor before the abc and put the terminal in insert
mode. If typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift rigidly
and characters to fall off the end, then your terminal does not
distinguish between blanks and untyped positions. If the abc shifts over
to the def which then move together around the end of the current line
and onto the next as you insert, you have the second type of terminal,
and should give the capability in, which stands for "insert null". While
these are two logically separate attributes (one line versus multiline
insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no
terminals whose insert mode cannot be described with the single
attribute.
terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert mode and
terminals which send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the
current line. Give as smir the sequence to get into insert mode. Give
as rmir the sequence to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 any sequence
needed to be sent just before sending the character to be inserted. Most
terminals with a true insert mode will not give ich1; terminals which
send a sequence to open a screen position should give it here. (If your
terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to ich1. Do not
give both unless the terminal actually requires both to be used in
combination.) If post-insert padding is needed, give this as a number of
milliseconds padding in ip (a string option). Any other sequence which
may need to be sent after an insert of a single character may also be
given in ip. If your terminal needs both to be placed into an `insert
mode' and a special code to precede each inserted character, then both
smir/rmir and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The ich
capability, with one parameter, n, will repeat the effects of ich1 n
times.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not in insert
mode, give this as a number of milliseconds padding in rmp.
It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode to
delete characters on the same line (for example, if there is a tab after
the insertion position). If your terminal allows motion while in insert
mode you can give the capability mir to speed up inserting in this case.
Omitting mir will affect only speed. Some terminals (notably
Datamedia's) must not have mir because of the way their insert mode
works.
Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single character, dch with one
parameter, n, to delete n characters, and delete mode by giving smdc and
rmdc to enter and exit delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be
placed in for dch1 to work).
A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting n blanks
without moving the cursor) can be given as ech with one parameter.
Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells
If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes, these can
be represented in a number of different ways. You should choose one
display form as standout mode (see curses(3X)), representing a good, high
contrast, easy-on-the-eyes, format for highlighting error messages and
other attention getters. (If you have a choice, reverse-video plus
half-bright is good, or reverse-video alone; however, different users
have different preferences on different terminals.) The sequences to
enter and exit standout mode are given as smso and rmso, respectively.
If the code to change into or out of standout mode leaves one or even two
blank spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do, then xmc
should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as smul and
rmul respectively. If the terminal has a code to underline the current
character and move the cursor one space to the right, such as the Micro-
Term MIME, this can be given as uc.
Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include blink
(blinking), bold (bold or extra-bright), dim (dim or half-bright), invis
(blanking or invisible text), prot (protected), rev (reverse-video), sgr0
(turn off all attribute modes), smacs (enter alternate-character-set
mode), and rmacs (exit alternate-character-set mode). Turning on any of
these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes. If a command is
necessary before alternate character set mode is entered, give the
sequence in enacs (enable alternate-character-set mode).
If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes, this
should be given as sgr (set attributes), taking nine parameters. Each
parameter is either 0 or nonzero, as the corresponding attribute is on or
off. The nine parameters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse,
blink, dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set. Not all modes
need be supported by sgr, only those for which corresponding separate
attribute commands exist. (See the example at the end of this section.)
Terminals with the "magic cookie" glitch (xmc) deposit special "cookies"
when they receive mode-setting sequences, which affect the display
algorithm rather than having extra bits for each character. Some
terminals, such as the Hewlett-Packard 2621, automatically leave standout
mode when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed. Programs
using standout mode should exit standout mode before moving the cursor or
sending a newline, unless the msgr capability, asserting that it is safe
to move in standout mode, is present.
If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error
quietly (a bell replacement), then this can be given as flash; it must
not move the cursor. A good flash can be done by changing the screen
into reverse video, pad for 200 ms, then return the screen to normal
video.
If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is not on
the bottom line (to make, for example, a non-blinking underline into an
easier to find block or blinking underline) give this sequence as cvvis.
The Boolean chts should also be given. If there is a way to make the
cursor completely invisible, give that as civis. The capability cnorm
should be given which undoes the effects of either of these modes.
If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running a program that
uses these capabilities, the codes to enter and exit this mode can be
given as smcup and rmcup. This arises, for example, from terminals like
the Concept with more than one page of memory. If the terminal has only
memory relative cursor addressing and not screen relative cursor
addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed into the terminal for
cursor addressing to work properly. This is also used for the Tektronix
4025, where smcup sets the command character to be the one used by
terminfo. If the smcup sequence will not restore the screen after an
rmcup sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting rmcup),
specify nrrmc.
If your terminal generates underlined characters by using the underline
character (with no special codes needed) even though it does not
otherwise overstrike characters, then you should give the capability ul.
For terminals where a character overstriking another leaves both
characters on the screen, give the capability os. If overstrikes are
erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated by giving eo.
Example of highlighting: assume that the terminal under question needs
the following escape sequences to turn on various modes.
tparm attribute escape sequence
parameter
none \E[0m
p1 standout \E[0;4;7m
p2 underline \E[0;3m
p3 reverse \E[0;4m
p4 blink \E[0;5m
p5 dim \E[0;7m
p6 bold \E[0;3;4m
p7 invis \E[0;8m
p8 protect not available
p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N(on)
Note that each escape sequence requires a 0 to turn off other modes
before turning on its own mode. Also note that, as suggested above,
standout is set up to be the combination of reverse and dim. Also, since
this terminal has no bold mode, bold is set up as the combination of
reverse and underline. In addition, to allow combinations, such as
underline+blink, the sequence to use would be \E[0;3;5m. The terminal
doesn't have protect mode, either, but that cannot be simulated in any
way, so p8 is ignored. The altcharset mode is different in that it is
either ^O or ^N depending on whether it is off or on. If all modes were
to be turned on, the sequence would be \E[0;3;4;5;7;8m^N.
Now look at when different sequences are output. For example, ;3 is
output when either p2 or p6 is true, that is, if either underline or bold
modes are turned on. Writing out the above sequences, along with their
dependencies, gives the following:
sequence when to output terminfo translation
\E[0 always \E[0
;3 if p2 or p6 %?%p2%p6%|%t;3%;
;4 if p1 or p3 or p6 %?%p1%p3%|%p6%|%t;4%;
;5 if p4 %?%p4%t;5%;
;7 if p1 or p5 %?%p1%p5%|%t;7%;
;8 if p7 %?%p7%t;8%;
m always m
^N or ^O if p9 ^N, else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%;
Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
sgr=\E[0%?%p2%p6%|%t;3%;%?%p1%p3%|%p6%|%t;4%;%?%p5%t;5%;%?%p1%p5%
|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t^N%e^O%;,
Keypad
If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are
pressed, this information can be given. Note that it is not possible to
handle terminals where the keypad only works in local (this applies, for
example, to the unshifted Hewlett-Packard 2621 keys). If the keypad can
be set to transmit or not transmit, give these codes as smkx and rmkx.
Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down arrow, and
home keys can be given as kcub1, kcuf1, kcuu1, kcud1, and khome
respectively. If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f63, the
codes they send can be given as kf0, kf1, ..., kf63. If the first 11
keys have labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels can be
given as lf0, lf1, ..., lf10. The codes transmitted by certain other
special keys can be given: kll (home down), kbs (backspace), ktbc (clear
all tabs), kctab (clear the tab stop in this column), kclr (clear screen
or erase key), kdch1 (delete character), kdl1 (delete line), krmir (exit
insert mode), kel (clear to end of line), ked (clear to end of screen),
kich1 (insert character or enter insert mode), kil1 (insert line), knp
(next page), kpp (previous page), kind (scroll forward/down), kri (scroll
backward/up), khts (set a tab stop in this column). In addition, if the
keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the four arrow keys, the
other five keys can be given as ka1, ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3. These keys
are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
Further keys are defined above in the capabilities list.
Strings to program function keys can be given as pfkey, pfloc, and pfx.
A string to program their soft-screen labels can be given as pln. Each
of these strings takes two parameters: the function key number to program
(from 0 to 10) and the string to program it with. Function key numbers
out of this range may program undefined keys in a terminal-dependent
manner. The difference between the capabilities is that pfkey causes
pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the given
string; pfloc causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local
mode; and pfx causes the string to be transmitted to the computer. The
capabilities nlab, lw and lh define how many soft labels there are and
their width and height. If there are commands to turn the labels on and
off, give them in smln and rmln. smln is normally output after one or
more pln sequences to make sure that the change becomes visible.
Tabs and Initialization
If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the next tab
stop can be given as ht (usually control I). A "backtab" command which
moves leftward to the next tab stop can be given as cbt. By convention,
if the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being expanded by the
computer rather than being sent to the terminal, programs should not use
ht or cbt even if they are present, since the user may not have the tab
stops properly set. If the terminal has hardware tabs which are
initially set every n spaces when the terminal is powered up, the numeric
parameter it is given, showing the number of spaces the tabs are set to.
This is normally used by tput init (see tput(1)) to determine whether to
set the mode for hardware tab expansion and whether to set the tab stops.
If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in nonvolatile memory,
the terminfo description can assume that they are properly set. If there
are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as tbc (clear
all tab stops) and hts (set a tab stop in the current column of every
row).
Other capabilities include: is1, is2, and is3, initialization strings
for the terminal; iprog, the pathname of a program to be run to
initialize the terminal; and if, the name of a file containing long
initialization strings. These strings are expected to set the terminal
into modes consistent with the rest of the terminfo description. They
must be sent to the terminal each time the user logs in and be output in
the following order: run the program iprog; output is1; output is2; set
the margins using mgc, smgl and smgr; set the tabs using tbc and hts;
print the file if; and finally output is3. This is usually done using
the init option of tput(1); see profile(4).
Most initialization is done with is2. Special terminal modes can be set
up without duplicating strings by putting the common sequences in is2 and
special cases in is1 and is3. Sequences that do a harder reset from a
totally unknown state can be given as rs1, rs2, rf, and rs3, analogous to
is1, is2, is3, and if. (The method using files, if and rf, is used for a
few terminals, from /usr/lib/tabset/*; however, the recommended method is
to use the initialization and reset strings.) These strings are output
by tput reset, which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged state.
Commands are normally placed in rs1, rs2, rs3, and rf only if they
produce annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary when logging
in. For example, the command to set a terminal into 80-column mode would
normally be part of is2, but on some terminals it causes an annoying
glitch on the screen and is not normally needed since the terminal is
usually already in 80-column mode.
If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
described by using tbc and hts, the sequence can be placed in is2 or if.
If there are commands to set and clear margins, they can be given as mgc
(clear all margins), smgl (set left margin), and smgr (set right margin).
Delays
Certain capabilities control padding in the tty(7) driver. These are
primarily needed by hard-copy terminals, and are used by tput init to set
tty modes appropriately. Delays embedded in the capabilities cr, ind,
cub1, ff, and tab can be used to set the appropriate delay bits to be set
in the tty driver. If pb (padding baud rate) is given, these values can
be ignored at baud rates below the value of pb.
Status Lines
If the terminal has an extra "status line" that is not normally used by
software, this fact can be indicated. If the status line is viewed as an
extra line below the bottom line, into which one can cursor address
normally (such as the Heathkit h19's 25th line, or the 24th line of a
VT100 which is set to a 23-line scrolling region), the capability hs
should be given. Special strings that go to a given column of the status
line and return from the status line can be given as tsl and fsl. (fsl
must leave the cursor position in the same place it was before tsl. If
necessary, the sc and rc strings can be included in tsl and fsl to get
this effect.) The capability tsl takes one parameter, which is the
column number of the status line the cursor is to be moved to.
If escape sequences and other special commands, such as tab, work while
in the status line, the flag eslok can be given. A string which turns
off the status line (or otherwise erases its contents) should be given as
dsl. If the terminal has commands to save and restore the position of
the cursor, give them as sc and rc. The status line is normally assumed
to be the same width as the rest of the screen, for example, cols. If
the status line is a different width (possibly because the terminal does
not allow an entire line to be loaded) the width, in columns, can be
indicated with the numeric parameter wsl.
Line Graphics
If the terminal has a line drawing alternate character set, the mapping
of glyph to character would be given in acsc. The definition of this
string is based on the alternate character set used in the DEC VT100
terminal, extended slightly with some characters from the AT&T 4410v1
terminal.
glyph name vt100+
character
arrow pointing right +
arrow pointing left ,
arrow pointing down .
solid square block 0
lantern symbol I
arrow pointing up -
diamond `
checker board (stipple) a
degree symbol f
plus/minus g
board of squares h
lower right corner j
upper right corner k
upper left corner l
lower left corner m
plus n
scan line 1 o
horizontal line q
scan line 9 s
left tee (†) t
right tee (-|) u
bottom tee (|) v
top tee (|) w
vertical line x
bullet ~
The best way to describe a new terminal's line graphics set is to add a
third column to the above table with the characters for the new terminal
that produce the appropriate glyph when the terminal is in the alternate
character set mode. For example,
glyph name vt100+ new tty
char char
upper left corner l R
lower left corner m F
upper right corner k T
lower right corner j G
horizontal line q ,
vertical line x .
Now write down the characters left to right, as in "acsc=lRmFkTjGq\,x.".
Miscellaneous
If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
then this can be given as pad. Only the first character of the pad
string is used. If the terminal does not have a pad character, specify
npc.
If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be indicated
with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line down). This is primarily useful
for superscripts and subscripts on hardcopy terminals. If a hardcopy
terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as ff (usually
control L).
If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of times
(to save time transmitting a large number of identical characters) this
can be indicated with the parameterized string rep. The first parameter
is the character to be repeated and the second is the number of times to
repeat it. Thus, tparm(repeat_char, 'x', 10) is the same as xxxxxxxxxx.
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as the Tektronix
4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A prototype command character is
chosen which is used in all capabilities. This character is given in the
cmdch capability to identify it. The following convention is supported
on some UNIX systems: If the environment variable CC exists, all
occurrences of the prototype character are replaced with the character in
CC.
Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
terminal, such as switch, dialup, patch, and network, should include the
gn (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do not
know how to talk to the terminal. (This capability does not apply to
virtual terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are known.)
If the terminal is one of those supported by the UNIX system virtual
terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given as vt. A line-turn-
around sequence to be transmitted before doing reads should be specified
in rfi.
If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control, give xon.
Padding information should still be included so that routines can make
better decisions about costs, but actual pad characters will not be
transmitted. Sequences to turn on and off xon/xoff handshaking may be
given in smxon and rmxon. If the characters used for handshaking are not
^S and ^Q, they may be specified with xonc and xoffc.
If the terminal has a "meta key" which acts as a shift key, setting the
8th bit of any character transmitted, this fact can be indicated with km.
Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it will
usually be cleared. If strings exist to turn this "meta mode" on and
off, they can be given as smm and rmm.
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen at
once, the number of lines of memory can be indicated with lm. A value of
lm#0 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed, but that there is
still more memory than fits on the screen.
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the
terminal can be given as mc0: print the contents of the screen, mc4:
turn off the printer, and mc5: turn on the printer. When the printer is
on, all text sent to the terminal will be sent to the printer. A
variation, mc5p, takes one parameter, and leaves the printer on for as
many characters as the value of the parameter, then turns the printer
off. The parameter should not exceed 255. If the text is not displayed
on the terminal screen when the printer is on, specify mc5i (silent
printer). All text, including mc4, is transparently passed to the
printer while an mc5p is in effect.
Special Cases
The working model used by terminfo fits most terminals reasonably well.
However, some terminals do not completely match that model, requiring
special support by terminfo. These are not meant to be construed as
deficiencies in the terminals; they are just differences between the
working model and the actual hardware. They may be unusual devices or,
for some reason, do not have all the features of the terminfo model
implemented.
Terminals which can not display tilde (~) characters, such as certain
Hazeltine terminals, should indicate hz.
Terminals which ignore a linefeed immediately after an am wrap, such as
the Concept 100, should indicate xenl. Those terminals whose cursor
remains on the right-most column until another character has been
received, rather than wrapping immediately upon receiving the right-most
character, such as the VT100, should also indicate xenl.
If el is required to get rid of standout (instead of writing normal text
on top of it), xhp should be given.
Those Teleray terminals whose tabs turn all characters moved over to
blanks, should indicate xt (destructive tabs). This capability is also
taken to mean that it is not possible to position the cursor on top of a
"magic cookie" therefore, to erase standout mode, it is instead necessary
to use delete and insert line.
Those Beehive Superbee terminals which do not transmit the escape or
control-C characters, should specify xsb, indicating that the f1 key is
to be used for escape and the f2 key for control-C.
Similar Terminals
If there are two very similar terminals, one can be defined as being just
like the other with certain exceptions. The string capability use can be
given with the name of the similar terminal. The capabilities given
before use override those in the terminal type invoked by use. A
capability can be canceled by placing xx@ to the left of the capability
definition, where xx is the capability. For example, the entry
att4424-2|Teletype 4424 in display function group ii,
rev@, sgr@, smul@, use=att4424,
defines an AT&T 4424 terminal that does not have the rev, sgr, and smul
capabilities, and hence cannot do highlighting. This is useful for
different modes for a terminal, or for different user preferences. More
than one use capability may be given.
FILES
/usr/lib/terminfo/?/* compiled terminal description database
/usr/lib/tabset/* tab settings for some terminals, in a format
appropriate to be output to the terminal (escape
sequences that set margins and tabs)
SEE ALSO
curses(3X), printf(3S), term(5).
captoinfo(1M), infocmp(1M), tic(1M), tty(7).
tput(1).
Domain/OS Programming Environment Reference.
WARNING
As described in the "Tabs and Initialization" section above, a terminal's
initialization strings, is1, is2, and is3, if defined, must be output
before a curses(3X) program is run. An available mechanism for
outputting such strings is tput init (see tput(1) and profile(4)).
Tampering with entries in /usr/lib/terminfo/?/* (for example, changing or
removing an entry) can affect programs such as vi(1) that expect the
entry to be present and correct. In particular, removing the description
for the "dumb" terminal will cause unexpected problems.