xset(1X) xset(1X)NAME xset - sets X user preferences SYNOPSIS xset [-display display] [[-]b[flag][volume][pitch][duration]] [[-]bc] [-]c[flag][volume] [[-+]fp[-+=]path[, path[,...]]] [fp [default] [rehash]] [[-]led[integer][flag]] [m[ouse] [acceleration[threshold]]] [m[ouse] default] [-p color] [[-]r[flag]] [s expose/noexpose] [s default] [s[length [period]] [flag]] [q] DESCRIPTION xset is used to set various user preferences for the display. Options The xset command accepts these options: [-]b[flag][volume][pitch][duration] Controls bell activation and duration. The flag parameter can be on or off. If no parameters are given or on is given, the system defaults are used. If the dash or off is given, the bell is turned off. If only one numerical parameter is given, xset in- terprets the parameter as volume and sets the bell volume using volume as a percentage of the maximum volume. Likewise, xset interprets a second numerical parameter as pitch and uses it to set the bell pitch in Hertz. The third numerical parameter is assumed to be duration and is used to set the duration of the bell in milliseconds. Note that not all hardware can vary the bell characteristics. The X server sets the characteristics of the bell as closely to the your specification as possible. [-]bc Controls compatibility mode in the server, if possi- ble. A preceding dash disables the mode; otherwise, the mode is enabled. Various pre-R4 clients pass illegal values in some protocol requests; pre-R4 servers did not correctly generate errors in these cases. Such clients, when run against an R4 server, terminate abnormally or otherwise fail to operate incorrectly. When bc is enabled, some clients that would otherwise be unable to run are able to run. This mode should be used with care. New application development should be done with this mode disabled. [-]c[flag][volume] Controls key click. The parameter flag can be on or November, 1990 1
xset(1X) xset(1X)off. If no parameter is given or if on is given, the system defaults are used. If the dash or if off is given, key click is disabled. If a value from 0 to 100 is given, it is assumed to be volume and is used to set the key click volume as a percentage of the maximum volume. The X server sets the volume to the nearest value that the hardware can support. -display display Specifies the server connect to. See X(1X) for de- tails. fp= path, ... Sets the font path to the directories specified in path. The directories are interpreted by the server, not the client, and are server-dependent. Direc- tories that do not contain font databases created by mkfontdir are ignored by the server. fp default Causes the font path to be reset to the server's de- fault. fp rehash Causes the server to reread the font databases in the current font path. This option is generally only used after you have used mkfontdir to add new fonts to the fonts directory. -fp path, ... or fp- path, ... Removes directories from the current font path. Both options must be followed by a comma-separated list of directories. +fp path, ... or fp+ path, ... Prepends and appends directories to the current font path, respectively. Both options must be followed by a comma-separated list of directories. [-]led[integer] [flag] Controls the keyboard LEDs by turning on or off one or all the LEDs. The flag parameter can be on or off. If no parameter is given or if on is given, all LEDs are turned on. If a preceding dash or off is given, all LEDs are turned off. If integer is between 1 and 32, the corresponding LED is turned on or off depending on the presence or absence of a preceding dash. For example, you can control the CAPS LOCK LED by using xset led 3 to turn it on and xset -led 3 to turn it off. The particular LED values may refer to dif- ferent LEDs on different hardware. 2 November, 1990
xset(1X) xset(1X)m[ouse] [acceleration [threshold]]m[ouse] defaultControl the mouse parameters for acceleration andthreshold. The mouse goes acceleration times asfast when it travels more than threshold pixels in ashort time. In this way, the mouse can be used forprecise alignment when it is moved slowly, yet itcan be set to travel across the screen in a flick ofthe wrist when desired. One or both parameters forthe m option can be omitted, but if only one isgiven, it is interpreted as the acceleration. If noparameters or the default flag is used, the systemdefaults are set.p color Controls pixel color values. The value of color isthe colormap entry number in decimal and a colorspecification. The root background colors may bechanged on some servers by altering the entries forBlackPixel and WhitePixel. Although these are often0 and 1, they need not be. Also, a server may chooseto allocate those colors privately, in which case,an error is generated. The map entry must not be aread-only color, or an error is generated.q Displays information about the current settings.[-]r [flag]Controls auto-repeat. If a preceding dash or theoff flag is given, auto-repeat is disabled. If noparameters or the on flag is given, auto-repeat isenabled.s[length [period]] [flag]Sets the screen-saver parameters. This option ac-cepts up to two numerical parameters, anexpose/noexpose flag, an on/off flag, or thedefault flag. If no parameters or the default flagis used, the system is set to its default screen-saver characteristics.The on/off flags simply turn the screen-saver func-tions on or off.The expose flag sets the preference to allow windowexposures (the server can freely discard window con-tents), while noexpose sets the preference to dis-able the screen saver unless the server can regen-erate the screens without causing exposure events.The length and period parameters for the screen-saver function specify how long the server must beinactive for screen saving to begin and how often toNovember, 1990 3
xset(1X) xset(1X)change the background pattern to avoid burning the screen, respectively. Both arguments are specified in seconds. If only one numerical parameter is given, xset assumes it to be the length. When you log out, all settings revert to their default values. NOTES Copyright 1988, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. See X(1X) for a full statement of rights and permissions. Authors: Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, and David Krikorian, MIT Project Athena (X11 version) SEE ALSO X(1X), XmacII(1X), xmodmap(1X), xrdb(1X), xsetroot(1X) 4 November, 1990