terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
NAME
terminfo - terminal capability data base
SYNOPSIS
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
DESCRIPTION
terminfo is a database produced by tic that describes the
capabilities of devices such as terminals and printers. Devices are
described in terminfo source files by specifying a set of
capabilities, by quantifying certain aspects of the device, and by
specifying character sequences that effect particular results. This
database is often used by screen oriented applications such as vi and
curses programs, as well as by some UNIX system commands such as ls
and more. This usage allows them to work with a variety of devices
without changes to the programs.
terminfo source files consist of one or more device descriptions.
Each description consists of a header (beginning in column 1) and one
or more lines that list the features for that particular device.
Every line in a terminfo source file must end in a comma (,). Every
line in a terminfo source file except the header must be indented
with one or more white spaces (either spaces or tabs).
Entries in terminfo source files consist of a number of comma-
separated fields. White space after each comma is ignored. Embedded
commas must be escaped by using a backslash. The following example
shows the format of a terminfo source file.
alias1 | alias2 | ... | aliasn | longname,
<white space> am, lines #24,
<white space> home=\Eeh,
The first line, commonly referred to as the header line, must begin
in column one and must contain at least two aliases separated by
vertical bars. The last field in the header line must be the long
name of the device and it may contain any string. Alias names must
be unique in the terminfo database and they must conform to UNIX
system file naming conventions [see tic(1M)]; they cannot, for
example, contain white space or slashes.
Every device must be assigned a name, such as "vt100". Device names
(except the long name) should be chosen using the following
conventions. The name should not contain hyphens because hyphens are
reserved for use when adding suffixes that indicate special modes.
These special modes may be modes that the hardware can be in, or user
preferences. To assign a special mode to a particular device, append
a suffix consisting of a hyphen and an indicator of the mode to the
device name. For example, the -w suffix means "wide mode"; when
specified, it allows for a width of 132 columns instead of the
standard 80 columns. Therefore, if you want to use a vt100 device
set to wide mode, name the device "vt100-w." Use the following
8/91 Page 1
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
suffixes where possible.
Suffix Meaning Example
-w Wide mode (more than 80 columns) 5410-w
-am With auto. margins (usually default) vt100-am
-nam Without automatic margins vt100-nam
-n Number of lines on the screen 2300-40
-na No arrow keys (leave them in local) c100-na
-np Number of pages of memory c100-4p
-rv Reverse video 4415-rv
The terminfo reference manual page is organized in two sections:
"DEVICE CAPABILITIES" and "PRINTER CAPABILITIES."
PART 1: DEVICE CAPABILITIES
Capabilities in terminfo are of three types: Boolean capabilities
(which show that a device has or does not have a particular feature),
numeric capabilities (which quantify particular features of a
device), and string capabilities (which provide sequences that can be
used to perform particular operations on devices).
In the following table, a Variable is the name by which a C
programmer accesses a capability (at the terminfo level). A Capname
is the short name for a capability specified in the terminfo source
file. It is used by a person updating the source file and by the
tput command. A Termcap Code is a two-letter sequence that
corresponds to the termcap capability name. (Note that termcap is no
longer supported.)
Capability names have no real length limit, but an informal limit of
five characters has been adopted to keep them short. Whenever
possible, capability names are chosen to be the same as or similar to
those specified by the ANSI X3.64-1979 standard. Semantics are also
intended to match those of the ANSI standard.
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 following tables, have names
beginning with key. The #i symbol in the description field of the
following tables refers to the ith parameter.
Booleans
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
autoleftmargin bw bw cub1 wraps from column 0
to last column
autorightmargin am am Terminal has automatic
margins
backcolorerase bce be Screen erased with back
ground color
canchange ccc cc Terminal can re-define
existing color
Page 2 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
ceolstandoutglitch xhp xs Standout not erased by
overwriting (hp)
coladdrglitch xhpa YA Only positive motion for hpa
/mhpa caps
cpichangesres cpix YF Changing character pitch
changes resolution
crcancelsmicromode crxm YB Using cr turns off
micro mode
eatnewlineglitch xenl xn Newline ignored after 80
columns (Concept)
eraseoverstrike eo eo Can erase overstrikes with
a blank
generictype gn gn Generic line type (e.g.,
dialup, switch)
hardcopy hc hc Hardcopy terminal
hardcursor chts HC Cursor is hard to see
hasmetakey km km Has a meta key (shift,
sets parity bit)
hasprintwheel daisy YC Printer needs operator to
change character set
hasstatusline hs hs Has extra "status line"
huelightnesssaturation hls hl Terminal uses only HLS
color notation (Tektronix)
insertnullglitch in in Insert mode distinguishes
nulls
lpichangesres lpix YG Changing line pitch
changes resolution
memoryabove da da Display may be retained
above the screen
memorybelow db db Display may be retained
below the screen
moveinsertmode mir mi Safe to move while in
insert mode
movestandoutmode msgr ms Safe to move in standout
modes
needsxonxoff nxon nx Padding won't work, xon/
xoff required
noescctlc xsb xb Beehive (f1=escape,
f2=ctrl C)
nonrevrmcup nrrmc NR smcup does not reverse rmcup
nopadchar npc NP Pad character doesn't
exist
overstrike os os Terminal overstrikes on
hard-copy terminal
prtrsilent mc5i 5i Printer won't echo on
screen
rowaddrglitch xvpa YD Only positive motion for
vpa/mvpa caps
semiautorightmargin sam YE Printing in last column
8/91 Page 3
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
causes cr
statuslineescok eslok es Escape can be used on the
status line
desttabsmagicsmso xt xt Destructive tabs, magic
smso char (t1061)
tildeglitch hz hz Hazeltine; can't print
tilde (~)
transparentunderline ul ul Underline character over-
strikes
xonxoff xon xo Terminal uses xon/xoff
handshaking
Numbers
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
buffercapacity bufsz Ya Number of bytes buffered
before printing
columns cols co Number of columns in a line
dotvertspacing spinv Yb Spacing of pins vertically in
pins per inch
dothorzspacing spinh Yc Spacing of dots horizontally
in dots per inch
inittabs it it Tabs initially every # spaces
labelheight lh lh Number of rows in each label
labelwidth lw lw Number of columns in each
label
lines lines li Number of lines on a screen
or a page
linesofmemory lm lm Lines of memory if > lines; 0
means varies
magiccookieglitch xmc sg Number of blank characters
left by smso or rmso
maxcolors colors Co Maximum number of colors on
the screen
maxmicroaddress maddr Yd Maximum value in micro...address
maxmicrojump mjump Ye Maximum value in parm...micro
maxpairs pairs pa Maximum number of color-pairs
on the screen
microcolsize mcs Yf Character step size when in
micro mode
microlinesize mls Yg Line step size when in micro
mode
nocolorvideo ncv NC Video attributes that can't
be used with colors
numberofpins npins Yh Number of pins in print-head
numlabels nlab Nl Number of labels on screen
(start at 1)
outputreschar orc Yi Horizontal resolution in
units per character
Page 4 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
outputresline orl Yj Vertical resolution in units
per line
outputreshorzinch orhi Yk Horizontal resolution in
units per inch
outputresvertinch orvi Yl Vertical resolution in units
per inch
paddingbaudrate pb pb Lowest baud rate where
padding needed
virtualterminal vt vt Virtual terminal number (UNIX
system)
widecharsize widcs Yn Character step size when in
double wide mode
widthstatusline wsl ws Number of columns in status
line
Strings
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
acschars acsc ac Graphic charset pairs
aAbBcC
altscancodeesc scesca S8 Alternate escape for scan
code emulation (default
is for vt100)
backtab cbt bt Back tab
bell bel bl Audible signal (bell)
bitimagerepeat birep Zy Repeat bit-image cell #1
#2 times (use tparm)
bitimagenewline binel Zz Move to next row of the
bit image (use tparm)
bitimagecarriagereturn bicr Yv Move to beginning of same
row (use tparm)
carriagereturn cr cr Carriage return
changecharpitch cpi ZA Change number of
characters per inch
changelinepitch lpi ZB Change number of lines
per inch
changereshorz chr ZC Change horizontal
resolution
changeresvert cvr ZD Change vertical
resolution
changescrollregion csr cs Change to lines #1
through #2 (vt100)
charpadding rmp rP Like ip but when in
replace mode
charsetnames csnm Zy List of character set
names
clearalltabs tbc ct Clear all tab stops
clearmargins mgc MC Clear all margins (top,
bottom, and sides)
8/91 Page 5
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
clearscreen clear cl Clear screen and home
cursor
clrbol el1 cb Clear to beginning of
line, inclusive
clreol el ce Clear to end of line
clreos ed cd Clear to end of display
codesetinit csin ci Init sequence for
multiple codesets
colornames colornm Yw Give name for color #1
columnaddress hpa ch Horizontal position
absolute
commandcharacter cmdch CC Terminal settable cmd
character in prototype
cursoraddress cup cm Move to row #1 col #2
cursordown cud1 do Down one line
cursorhome home ho Home cursor (if no cup)
cursorinvisible civis vi Make cursor invisible
cursorleft cub1 le Move left one space.
cursormemaddress mrcup CM Memory relative cursor
addressing
cursornormal cnorm ve Make cursor appear normal
(undo vs/vi)
cursorright cuf1 nd Non-destructive space
(cursor or carriage right)
cursortoll ll ll Last line, first column
(if no cup)
cursorup cuu1 up Upline (cursor up)
cursorvisible cvvis vs Make cursor very visible
definebitimageregion defbi Yx Define rectangular bit-
image region (use tparm)
definechar defc ZE Define a character in a
character set†
deletecharacter dch1 dc Delete character
deleteline dl1 dl Delete line
devicetype devt dv Indicate language/codeset
support
disstatusline dsl ds Disable status line
displaypcchar dispc S1 Display PC character
downhalfline hd hd Half-line down (forward
1/2 linefeed)
enaacs enacs eA Enable alternate
character set
endbitimageregion endbi Yy End a bit-image region
(use tparm)
enteraltcharsetmode smacs as Start alternate character
set
enterammode smam SA Turn on automatic margins
enterblinkmode blink mb Turn on blinking
enterboldmode bold md Turn on bold (extra
Page 6 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
bright) mode
entercamode smcup ti String to begin programs
that use cup
enterdeletemode smdc dm Delete mode (enter)
enterdimmode dim mh Turn on half-bright mode
enterdoublewidemode swidm ZF Enable double wide
printing
enterdraftquality sdrfq ZG Set draft quality print
enterinsertmode smir im Insert mode (enter)
enteritalicsmode sitm ZH Enable italics
enterleftwardmode slm ZI Enable leftward carriage
motion
entermicromode smicm ZJ Enable micro motion
capabilities
enternearletterquality snlq ZK Set near-letter quality
print
enternormalquality snrmq ZL Set normal quality print
enterpccharsetmode smpch S2 Enter PC character
display mode
enterprotectedmode prot mp Turn on protected mode
enterreversemode rev mr Turn on reverse video
mode
enterscancodemode smsc S4 Enter PC scancode mode
entersecuremode invis mk Turn on blank mode
(characters invisible)
entershadowmode sshm ZM Enable shadow printing
enterstandoutmode smso so Begin standout mode
entersubscriptmode ssubm ZN Enable subscript printing
entersuperscriptmode ssupm ZO Enable superscript
printing
enterunderlinemode smul us Start underscore mode
enterupwardmode sum ZP Enable upward carriage
motion
enterxonmode smxon SX Turn on xon/xoff
handshaking
erasechars ech ec Erase #1 characters
exitaltcharsetmode rmacs ae End alternate character
set
exitammode rmam RA Turn off automatic
margins
exitattributemode sgr0 me Turn off all attributes
exitcamode rmcup te String to end programs
that use cup
exitdeletemode rmdc ed End delete mode
exitdoublewidemode rwidm ZQ Disable double wide
printing
exitinsertmode rmir ei End insert mode
exititalicsmode ritm ZR Disable italics
exitleftwardmode rlm ZS Enable rightward (normal)
8/91 Page 7
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
carriage motion
exitmicromode rmicm ZT Disable micro motion
capabilities
exitpccharsetmode rmpch S3 Disable PC character
display mode
exitscancodemode rmsc S5 Disable PC scancode mode
exitshadowmode rshm ZU Disable shadow printing
exitstandoutmode rmso se End standout mode
exitsubscriptmode rsubm ZV Disable subscript
printing
exitsuperscriptmode rsupm ZW Disable superscript
printing
exitunderlinemode rmul ue End underscore mode
exitupwardmode rum ZX Enable downward (normal)
carriage motion
exitxonmode rmxon RX Turn off xon/xoff
handshaking
flashscreen flash vb Visible bell (may not
move cursor)
formfeed ff ff Hardcopy terminal page
eject
fromstatusline fsl fs Return from status line
init1string is1 i1 Terminal or printer
initialization string
init2string is2 is Terminal or printer
initialization string
init3string is3 i3 Terminal or printer
initialization string
initfile if if Name of initialization
file
initprog iprog iP Path name of program for
initialization
initializecolor initc Ic Initialize the definition
of color
initializepair initp Ip Initialize color-pair
insertcharacter ich1 ic Insert character
insertline il1 al Add new blank line
insertpadding ip ip Insert pad after
character inserted
The ``key'' strings are sent by specific keys. The ``key''
descriptions include the macro, defined in curses.h, for the code
returned by the curses routine getch when the key is pressed [see
curs_getch(3X)].
Page 8 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
keya1 ka1 K1 KEYA1, upper left of keypad
keya3 ka3 K3 KEYA3, upper right of keypad
keyb2 kb2 K2 KEYB2, center of keypad
keybackspace kbs kb KEYBACKSPACE, sent by backspace
key
keybeg kbeg @1 KEYBEG, sent by beg(inning) key
keybtab kcbt kB KEYBTAB, sent by back-tab key
keyc1 kc1 K4 KEYC1, lower left of keypad
keyc3 kc3 K5 KEYC3, lower right of keypad
keycancel kcan @2 KEYCANCEL, sent by cancel key
keycatab ktbc ka KEYCATAB, sent by clear-all-
tabs key
keyclear kclr kC KEYCLEAR, sent by clear-screen
or erase key
keyclose kclo @3 KEYCLOSE, sent by close key
keycommand kcmd @4 KEYCOMMAND, sent by cmd
(command) key
keycopy kcpy @5 KEYCOPY, sent by copy key
keycreate kcrt @6 KEYCREATE, sent by create key
keyctab kctab kt KEYCTAB, sent by clear-tab key
keydc kdch1 kD KEYDC, sent by delete-character
key
keydl kdl1 kL KEYDL, sent by delete-line key
keydown kcud1 kd KEYDOWN, sent by terminal
down-arrow key
keyeic krmir kM KEYEIC, sent by rmir or smir in
insert mode
keyend kend @7 KEYEND, sent by end key
keyenter kent @8 KEYENTER, sent by enter/send
key
keyeol kel kE KEYEOL, sent by clear-to-end-of
-line key
keyeos ked kS KEYEOS, sent by clear-to-end-of
-screen key
keyexit kext @9 KEYEXIT, sent by exit key
keyf0 kf0 k0 KEYF(0), sent by function key
f0
keyf1 kf1 k1 KEYF(1), sent by function key
f1
keyf2 kf2 k2 KEYF(2), sent by function key
f2
keyf3 kf3 k3 KEYF(3), sent by function key
f3
keyf4 kf4 k4 KEYF(4), sent by function key
f4
keyf5 kf5 k5 KEYF(5), sent by function key
f5
keyf6 kf6 k6 KEYF(6), sent by function key
f6
8/91 Page 9
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
keyf7 kf7 k7 KEYF(7), sent by function key
f7
keyf8 kf8 k8 KEYF(8), sent by function key
f8
keyf9 kf9 k9 KEYF(9), sent by function key
f9
keyf10 kf10 k; KEYF(10), sent by function key
f10
keyf11 kf11 F1 KEYF(11), sent by function key
f11
keyf12 kf12 F2 KEYF(12), sent by function key
f12
keyf13 kf13 F3 KEYF(13), sent by function key
f13
keyf14 kf14 F4 KEYF(14), sent by function key
f14
keyf15 kf15 F5 KEYF(15), sent by function key
f15
keyf16 kf16 F6 KEYF(16), sent by function key
f16
keyf17 kf17 F7 KEYF(17), sent by function key
f17
keyf18 kf18 F8 KEYF(18), sent by function key
f18
keyf19 kf19 F9 KEYF(19), sent by function key
f19
keyf20 kf20 FA KEYF(20), sent by function key
f20
keyf21 kf21 FB KEYF(21), sent by function key
f21
keyf22 kf22 FC KEYF(22), sent by function key
f22
keyf23 kf23 FD KEYF(23), sent by function key
f23
keyf24 kf24 FE KEYF(24), sent by function key
f24
keyf25 kf25 FF KEYF(25), sent by function key
f25
keyf26 kf26 FG KEYF(26), sent by function key
f26
keyf27 kf27 FH KEYF(27), sent by function key
f27
keyf28 kf28 FI KEYF(28), sent by function key
f28
keyf29 kf29 FJ KEYF(29), sent by function key
f29
keyf30 kf30 FK KEYF(30), sent by function key
f30
keyf31 kf31 FL KEYF(31), sent by function key
Page 10 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
f31
keyf32 kf32 FM KEYF(32), sent by function key
f32
keyf33 kf33 FN KEYF(13), sent by function key
f13
keyf34 kf34 FO KEYF(34), sent by function key
f34
keyf35 kf35 FP KEYF(35), sent by function key
f35
keyf36 kf36 FQ KEYF(36), sent by function key
f36
keyf37 kf37 FR KEYF(37), sent by function key
f37
keyf38 kf38 FS KEYF(38), sent by function key
f38
keyf39 kf39 FT KEYF(39), sent by function key
f39
keyf40 kf40 FU KEYF(40), sent by function key
f40
keyf41 kf41 FV KEYF(41), sent by function key
f41
keyf42 kf42 FW KEYF(42), sent by function key
f42
keyf43 kf43 FX KEYF(43), sent by function key
f43
keyf44 kf44 FY KEYF(44), sent by function key
f44
keyf45 kf45 FZ KEYF(45), sent by function key
f45
keyf46 kf46 Fa KEYF(46), sent by function key
f46
keyf47 kf47 Fb KEYF(47), sent by function key
f47
keyf48 kf48 Fc KEYF(48), sent by function key
f48
keyf49 kf49 Fd KEYF(49), sent by function key
f49
keyf50 kf50 Fe KEYF(50), sent by function key
f50
keyf51 kf51 Ff KEYF(51), sent by function key
f51
keyf52 kf52 Fg KEYF(52), sent by function key
f52
keyf53 kf53 Fh KEYF(53), sent by function key
f53
keyf54 kf54 Fi KEYF(54), sent by function key
f54
keyf55 kf55 Fj KEYF(55), sent by function key
f55
8/91 Page 11
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
keyf56 kf56 Fk KEYF(56), sent by function key
f56
keyf57 kf57 Fl KEYF(57), sent by function key
f57
keyf58 kf58 Fm KEYF(58), sent by function key
f58
keyf59 kf59 Fn KEYF(59), sent by function key
f59
keyf60 kf60 Fo KEYF(60), sent by function key
f60
keyf61 kf61 Fp KEYF(61), sent by function key
f61
keyf62 kf62 Fq KEYF(62), sent by function key
f62
keyf63 kf63 Fr KEYF(63), sent by function key
f63
keyfind kfnd @0 KEYFIND, sent by find key
keyhelp khlp %1 KEYHELP, sent by help key
keyhome khome kh KEYHOME, sent by home key
keyic kich1 kI KEYIC, sent by ins-char/enter
ins-mode key
keyil kil1 kA KEYIL, sent by insert-line key
keyleft kcub1 kl KEYLEFT, sent by terminal left
-arrow key
keyll kll kH KEYLL, sent by home-down key
keymark kmrk %2 KEYMARK, sent by mark key
keymessage kmsg %3 KEYMESSAGE, sent by message key
keymove kmov %4 KEYMOVE, sent by move key
keynext knxt %5 KEYNEXT, sent by next-object
key
keynpage knp kN KEYNPAGE, sent by next-page key
keyopen kopn %6 KEYOPEN, sent by open key
keyoptions kopt %7 KEYOPTIONS, sent by options key
keyppage kpp kP KEYPPAGE, sent by previous-page
key
keyprevious kprv %8 KEYPREVIOUS, sent by previous-
object key
keyprint kprt %9 KEYPRINT, sent by print or copy key
keyredo krdo %0 KEYREDO, sent by redo key
keyreference kref &1 KEYREFERENCE, sent by ref
(erence) key
keyrefresh krfr &2 KEYREFRESH, sent by refresh key
keyreplace krpl &3 KEYREPLACE, sent by replace key
keyrestart krst &4 KEYRESTART, sent by restart key
keyresume kres &5 KEYRESUME, sent by resume key
keyright kcuf1 kr KEYRIGHT, sent by terminal
right-arrow key
keysave ksav &6 KEYSAVE, sent by save key
keysbeg kBEG &9 KEYSBEG, sent by shifted
Page 12 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
beginning key
keyscancel kCAN &0 KEYSCANCEL, sent by shifted
cancel key
keyscommand kCMD *1 KEYSCOMMAND, sent by shifted
command key
keyscopy kCPY *2 KEYSCOPY, sent by shifted copy
key
keyscreate kCRT *3 KEYSCREATE, sent by shifted
create key
keysdc kDC *4 KEYSDC, sent by shifted delete-
char key
keysdl kDL *5 KEYSDL, sent by shifted delete-
line key
keyselect kslt *6 KEYSELECT, sent by select key
keysend kEND *7 KEYSEND, sent by shifted end
key
keyseol kEOL *8 KEYSEOL, sent by shifted clear-
line key
keysexit kEXT *9 KEYSEXIT, sent by shifted exit
key
keysf kind kF KEYSF, sent by scroll-forward/
down key
keysfind kFND *0 KEYSFIND, sent by shifted find
key
keyshelp kHLP #1 KEYSHELP, sent by shifted help
key
keyshome kHOM #2 KEYSHOME, sent by shifted home
key
keysic kIC #3 KEYSIC, sent by shifted input
key
keysleft kLFT #4 KEYSLEFT, sent by shifted left-
arrow key
keysmessage kMSG %a KEYSMESSAGE, sent by shifted
message key
keysmove kMOV %b KEYSMOVE, sent by shifted move
key
keysnext kNXT %c KEYSNEXT, sent by shifted next
key
keysoptions kOPT %d KEYSOPTIONS, sent by shifted
options key
keysprevious kPRV %e KEYSPREVIOUS, sent by shifted
prev key
keysprint kPRT %f KEYSPRINT, sent by shifted
print key
keysr kri kR KEYSR, sent by scroll-backward/
up key
keysredo kRDO %g KEYSREDO, sent by shifted redo
key
keysreplace kRPL %h KEYSREPLACE, sent by shifted
8/91 Page 13
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
replace key
keysright kRIT %i KEYSRIGHT, sent by shifted
right-arrow key
keysrsume kRES %j KEYSRSUME, sent by shifted
resume key
keyssave kSAV !1 KEYSSAVE, sent by shifted save
key
keyssuspend kSPD !2 KEYSSUSPEND, sent by shifted
suspend key
keystab khts kT KEYSTAB, sent by set-tab key
keysundo kUND !3 KEYSUNDO, sent by shifted undo
key
keysuspend kspd &7 KEYSUSPEND, sent by
suspend key
keyundo kund &8 KEYUNDO, sent by undo key
keyup kcuu1 ku KEYUP, sent by terminal up-
arrow key
keypadlocal rmkx ke Out of ``keypad-transmit'' mode
keypadxmit smkx ks Put terminal in ``keypad-
transmit'' mode
labf0 lf0 l0 Labels on function key f0 if not
f0
labf1 lf1 l1 Labels on function key f1 if not
f1
labf2 lf2 l2 Labels on function key f2 if not
f2
labf3 lf3 l3 Labels on function key f3 if not
f3
labf4 lf4 l4 Labels on function key f4 if not
f4
labf5 lf5 l5 Labels on function key f5 if not
f5
labf6 lf6 l6 Labels on function key f6 if not
f6
labf7 lf7 l7 Labels on function key f7 if not
f7
labf8 lf8 l8 Labels on function key f8 if not
f8
labf9 lf9 l9 Labels on function key f9 if not
f9
labf10 lf10 la Labels on function key f10 if
not f10
labeloff rmln LF Turn off soft labels
labelon smln LO Turn on soft labels
metaoff rmm mo Turn off "meta mode"
metaon smm mm Turn on "meta mode" (8th bit)
microcolumnaddresspa ZY Like columnaddress for micro
adjustment
microdown mcud1 ZZ Like cursordown for micro
Page 14 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
adjustment
microleft mcub1 Za Like cursorleft for micro
adjustment
microright mcuf1 Zb Like cursorright for micro
adjustment
microrowaddress mvpa Zc Like rowaddress for micro
adjustment
microup mcuu1 Zd Like cursorup for micro
adjustment
newline nel nw Newline (behaves like cr
followed by lf)
orderofpins porder Ze Matches software bits to print-
head pins
origcolors oc oc Set all color(-pair)s to the
original ones
origpair op op Set default color-pair to the
original one
padchar pad pc Pad character (rather than null)
parmdch dch DC Delete #1 chars
parmdeleteline dl DL Delete #1 lines
parmdowncursor cud DO Move down #1 lines.
parmdownmicro mcud Zf Like parmdowncursor for micro
adjust.
parmich ich IC Insert #1 blank chars
parmindex indn SF Scroll forward #1 lines.
parminsertline il AL Add #1 new blank lines
parmleftcursor cub LE Move cursor left #1 spaces
parmleftmicro mcub Zg Like parmleftcursor for micro
adjust.
parmrightcursor cuf RI Move right #1 spaces.
parmrightmicro mcuf Zh Like parmrightcursor for micro
adjust.
parmrindex rin SR Scroll backward #1 lines.
parmupcursor cuu UP Move cursor up #1 lines.
parmupmicro mcuu Zi Like parmupcursor for micro
adjust.
pctermoptions pctrm S6 PC terminal options
pkeykey pfkey pk Prog funct key #1 to type string
#2
pkeylocal pfloc pl Prog funct key #1 to execute
string #2
pkeyplab pfxl xl Prog key #1 to xmit string #2
and show string #3
pkeyxmit pfx px Prog funct key #1 to xmit string
#2
plabnorm pln pn Prog label #1 to show string #2
printscreen mc0 ps Print contents of the screen
prtrnon mc5p pO Turn on the printer for #1 bytes
prtroff mc4 pf Turn off the printer
8/91 Page 15
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
prtron mc5 po Turn on the printer
repeatchar rep rp Repeat char #1 #2 times
reqforinput rfi RF Send next input char (for ptys)
reset1string rs1 r1 Reset terminal completely to
sane modes
reset2string rs2 r2 Reset terminal completely to
sane modes
reset3string rs3 r3 Reset terminal completely to
sane modes
resetfile rf rf Name of file containing reset
string
restorecursor rc rc Restore cursor to position of
last sc
rowaddress vpa cv Vertical position absolute
savecursor sc sc Save cursor position
scancodeescape scesc S7 Escape for scancode emulation
scrollforward ind sf Scroll text up
scrollreverse ri sr Scroll text down
selectcharset scs Zj Select character set
set0desseq s0ds s0 Shift into codeset 0
(EUC set 0, ASCII)
set1desseq s1ds s1 Shift into codeset 1
set2desseq s2ds s2 Shift into codeset 2
set3desseq s3ds s3 Shift into codeset 3
setabackground setab AB Set background color using ANSI
escape
setaforeground setaf AF Set foreground color using ANSI
escape
setattributes sgr sa Define the video attributes
#1-#9
setbackground setb Sb Set current background color
setbottommargin smgb Zk Set bottom margin at current
line
setbottommarginparmp Zl Set bottom margin at line #1 or
#2 lines from bottom
setcolorband setcolorz Change to ribbon color #1
setcolorpair scp sp Set current color-pair
setforeground setf Sf Set current foreground color1
setleftmargin smgl ML Set left margin at current line
setleftmarginparmglp Zm Set left (right) margin at
column #1 (#2)
setlrmargin smglr ML Sets both left and right margins
setpagelength slines YZ Set page length to #1 lines (use
tparm)
setrightmargin smgr MR Set right margin at current
column
setrightmarginparmrp Zn Set right margin at column #1
settab hts st Set a tab in all rows, current
column
Page 16 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
settbmargin smgtb MT Sets both top and bottom margins
settopmargin smgt Zo Set top margin at current line
settopmarginparmmgtp Zp Set top (bottom) margin at line
#1 (#2)
setwindow wind wi Current window is lines #1-#2
cols #3-#4
startbitimage sbim Zq Start printing bit image
graphics
startcharsetdefscsd Zr Start definition of a character
set
stopbitimage rbim Zs End printing bit image graphics
stopcharsetdef rcsd Zt End definition of a character
set
subscriptcharactersbcs Zu List of ``subscript-able''
characters
superscriptcharacterss Zv List of ``superscript-able''
characters
tab ht ta Tab to next 8-space hardware tab
stop
thesecausecr docr Zw Printing any of these chars
causes cr
tostatusline tsl ts Go to status line, col #1
underlinechar uc uc Underscore one char and move
past it
uphalfline hu hu Half-line up (reverse 1/2
linefeed)
xoffcharacter xoffc XF X-off character
xoncharacter xonc XN X-on character
zeromotion zerom Zx No motion for the subsequent
character
Sample Entry
The following entry, which describes the AT&T 610 terminal, is among
the more complex entries in the terminfo file as of this writing.
610|610bct|ATT610|att610|AT&T610;80column;98key keyboard
am, eslok, hs, mir, msgr, xenl, xon,
cols#80, it#8, lh#2, lines#24, lw#8, nlab#8, wsl#80,
acsc=``aaffggjjkkllmmnnooppqqrrssttuuvvwwxxyyzz{{||}}~~,
bel=^G, blink=\E[5m, bold=\E[1m, cbt=\E[Z,
civis=\E[?25l, clear=\E[H\E[J, cnorm=\E[?25h\E[?12l,
cr=\r, csr=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dr, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\b,
cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\E[B, cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C,
cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH, cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A,
cvvis=\E[?12;25h, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\E[P, dim=\E[2m,
dl=\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\E[M, ed=\E[J, el=\E[K, el1=\E[1K,
flash=\E[?5h$<200>\E[?5l, fsl=\E8, home=\E[H, ht=\t,
ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, il1=\E[L, ind=\ED, .ind=\ED$<9>,
invis=\E[8m,
8/91 Page 17
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
is1=\E[8;0 | \E[?3;4;5;13;15l\E[13;20l\E[?7h\E[12h\E(B\E)0,
is2=\E[0m^O, is3=\E(B\E)0, kLFT=\E[\s@, kRIT=\E[\sA,
kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kclr=\E[2J, kcub1=\E[D, kcud1=\E[B,
kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, kf1=\EOc, kf10=\ENp,
kf11=\ENq, kf12=\ENr, kf13=\ENs, kf14=\ENt, kf2=\EOd,
kf3=\EOe, kf4=\EOf, kf5=\EOg, kf6=\EOh, kf7=\EOi,
kf8=\EOj, kf9=\ENo, khome=\E[H, kind=\E[S, kri=\E[T,
ll=\E[24H, mc4=\E[?4i, mc5=\E[?5i, nel=\EE,
pfxl=\E[%p1%d;%p2%l%02dq%?%p1%{9}%<%t\s\s\sF%p1%1d\s\s\s\s\s
\s\s\s\s\s\s%;%p2%s,
pln=\E[%p1%d;0;0;0q%p2%:-16.16s, rc=\E8, rev=\E[7m,
ri=\EM, rmacs=^O, rmir=\E[4l, rmln=\E[2p, rmso=\E[m,
rmul=\E[m, rs2=\Ec\E[?3l, sc=\E7,
sgr=\E[0%?%p6%t;1%;%?%p5%t;2%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
%?%p3%p1% | %t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t^N%e^O%;,
sgr0=\E[m^O, smacs=^N, smir=\E[4h, smln=\E[p,
smso=\E[7m, smul=\E[4m, tsl=\E7\E[25;%i%p1%dx,
Types of Capabilities in the Sample Entry
The sample entry shows the formats for the three types of terminfo
capabilities listed: Boolean, numeric, and string. All capabilities
specified in the terminfo source file must be followed by commas,
including the last capability in the source file. In terminfo source
files, capabilities are referenced by their capability names (as
shown in the previous tables).
Boolean capabilities are specified simply by their comma separated
cap names.
Numeric capabilities are followed by the character `#' and then a
positive integer value. Thus, in the sample, cols (which shows the
number of columns available on a device) is assigned the value 80 for
the AT&T 610. (Values for numeric capabilities may be specified in
decimal, octal, or hexadecimal, using normal C programming language
conventions.)
Finally, string-valued capabilities such as el (clear to end of line
sequence) are listed by a two- to five-character capname, an `=', and
a string ended by the next occurrence of a comma. A delay in
milliseconds may appear anywhere in such a capability, preceded by $
and enclosed in angle brackets, as in el=\EK$<3>. Padding characters
are supplied by tput. The delay can be any of the following: a
number, a number followed by an asterisk, such as 5*, a number
followed by a slash, such as 5/, or a number followed by both, such
as 5*/. A `*' shows 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
characters, the factor is still the number of lines affected. This
is always 1 unless the device 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.
Page 18 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
(Only one decimal place is allowed.)
A `/' indicates that the padding is mandatory. If a device has xon
defined, the padding information is advisory and will only be used
for cost estimates or when the device is in raw mode. Mandatory
padding will be transmitted regardless of the setting of xon. If
padding (whether advisory or mandatory) is specified for bel or
flash, however, it will always be used, regardless of whether xon is
specified.
terminfo offers notation for encoding special characters. 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 devices, providing CS7 is
specified. [See stty(1).] Finally, characters may be given as three
octal digits after a backslash (e.g., \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 device description is by
imitating the description of a similar device in terminfo and
building up a description gradually, using partial descriptions with
vi to check that they are correct. Be aware that a very unusual
device may expose deficiencies in the ability of the terminfo file to
describe it or the inability of vi to work with that device. To test
a new device description, set the environment variable TERMINFO to
the pathname of a directory containing the compiled description you
are working on and programs will look there rather than in
/usr/share/lib/terminfo. To get the padding for insert-line correct
(if the device manufacturer did not document it) a severe test is to
comment out xon, edit a large file at 9600 baud with vi, delete 16 or
so lines from the middle of the screen, and then press 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.
Section 1-1: Basic Capabilities
The number of columns on each line for the device is given by the
cols numeric capability. If the device has a screen, then the number
of lines on the screen is given by the lines capability. If the
device wraps around to the beginning of the next line when it reaches
the right margin, then it should have the am capability. If the
8/91 Page 19
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
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 device is a printing terminal, with no soft copy unit, specify
both hc and os. If there is a way to move the cursor to the left
edge of the current row, specify this as cr. (Normally this will be
carriage return, control M.) If there is a way to produce an audible
signal (such as a bell or a beep), specify it as bel. If, like most
devices, the device uses the xon-xoff flow-control protocol, specify
xon.
If there is a way to move the cursor one position to the left (such
as backspace), that capability should be given as cub1. Similarly,
sequences to move to the right, up, and down should be given as cuf1,
cuu1, and cud1, respectively. These local cursor motions must 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 specified, and should never attempt to go up
locally off the top. To scroll text up, a program goes to the bottom
left corner of the screen and sends 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.
These versions have the same semantics as ind and ri, except that
they take one parameter and scroll the number of lines specified by
that parameter. 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. Backward motion from the left
edge of the screen is possible only when bw is specified. In this
case, cub1 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 device has switch
selectable automatic margins, am should be specified in the terminfo
source file. In this case, initialization strings should turn on
this option, if possible. If the device has a command that 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 device has no cr and lf it may still be
possible to craft a working nel out of one or both of them.
Page 20 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
These capabilities suffice to describe hardcopy and screen terminals.
Thus the AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal is described as follows:
5320|att5320|AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal,
am, hc, os,
cols#132,
bel=^G, cr=\r, cub1=\b, cnd1=\n,
dch1=\E[P, dl1=\E[M,
ind=\n,
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,
Section 1-2: Parameterized Strings
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters are
described by a parameterized string capability, with printf-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 the stack in the manner of Reverse Polish Notation
(postfix). 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. Operations are in postfix form with the
operands in the usual order. That is, to subtract 5 from the first
parameter, one would use %p1%{5}%-.
The % encodings have the following meanings:
%% outputs `%'
%[[:]flags][width[.precision]][doxXs]
as in printf, flags are [-+#] and space
%c print pop gives %c
8/91 Page 21
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
%p[1-9]
push ith parm
%P[a-z]
set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop
%g[a-z]
get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it
%P[A-Z]
set static variable [a-z] to pop
%g[A-Z]
get static 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 integer2 op pop integer1)
%& %| %^
bit operations: push(pop integer2 op pop integer1)
%= %> %<
logical operations: push(pop integer2 op pop integer1)
%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: %? c1 %t b1 %e c2 %t b2 %e c3 %t b3 %e c4 %t b4
%e b5%;
ci are conditions, bi are bodies.
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''.
Page 22 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
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''. Devices that 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.
Section 1-3: 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 device 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 (e.g., 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 device does not have cup, such as the Tektronix 4025.
If the device needs to be in a special mode when running a program
that uses these capabilities, the codes to enter and exit this mode
8/91 Page 23
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
can be given as smcup and rmcup. This arises, for example, from
terminals, such as the Concept, with more than one page of memory.
If the device has only memory relative cursor addressing and not
screen relative cursor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be
fixed into the device 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.
Section 1-4: 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.)
Section 1-5: 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.
Page 24 8/91
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
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.
Section 1-6: 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 that 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 that send a sequence to open a screen position should give
it here. (If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually
8/91 Page 25
terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
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 insert n blanks.
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 (e.g., 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.
Section 1-7: Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells
Your device may have one or more kinds of display attributes that
allow you to highlight selected characters when they appear on the
screen. The following display modes (shown with the names by which
they are set) may be available: a blinking screen (blink), bold or
extra-bright characters (bold), dim or half-bright characters (dim),
blanking or invisible text (invis), protected text (prot), a
reverse-video screen (rev), and an alternate character set (smacs to
enter this mode and rmacs to exit it). (If a command is necessary
before you can enter alternate character set mode, give the sequence
in enacs or "enable alternate-character-set" mode.) Turning on any
of these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes.
sgr0 should be used to turn off all video enhancement capabilities.
It should always be specified because it represents the only way to
turn off some capabilities, such as dim or blink.
You should choose one display method as standout mode [see
curses(3X)] and use it to highlight error messages and other kinds of
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text to which you want to draw attention. Choose a form of display
that provides strong contrast but that is easy on the eyes. (We
recommend reverse-video plus half-bright or reverse-video alone.)
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.
Sequences to begin underlining and end underlining can be specified
as smul and rmul , respectively. If the device has a sequence to
underline the current character and to move the cursor one space to
the right (such as the Micro-Term MIME), this sequence can be
specified as uc.
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 your terminal generates underlined characters by using the
underline character (with no special sequences needed) even though it
does not otherwise overstrike characters, then you should specify the
capability ul. For devices on which a character overstriking another
leaves both characters on the screen, specify the capability os. If
overstrikes are erasable with a blank, then this should be indicated
by specifying eo.
If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes, this
should be given as sgr (set attributes), taking nine parameters.
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Each parameter is either 0 or non-zero, 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 to be supported by sgr;
only those for which corresponding separate attribute commands exist
should be supported. For example, let's assume that the terminal in
question needs the following escape sequences to turn on various
modes.
tparm
parameter attribute escape sequence
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,
because 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
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^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%;,
Remember that sgr and sgr0 must always be specified.
Section 1-8: Keypad
If the device has a keypad that transmits sequences when the keys are
pressed, this information can also be specified. Note that it is not
possible to handle devices 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, specify these
sequences as smkx and rmkx. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to
always transmit.
The sequences 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 sequences they send can be specified 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 specified as pfkey, pfloc,
and pfx. A string to program screen labels should be specified as
pln. Each of these strings takes two parameters: a function key
identifier and a string to program it with. 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 the number of programmable screen
labels 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.
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Section 1-9: Tabs and Initialization
If the device has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the next
tab stop can be given as ht (usually control I). A ``backtab''
command that moves leftward to the next tab stop can be given as cbt.
By convention, if tty modes show that tabs are being expanded by the
computer rather than being sent to the device, programs should not
use ht or cbt (even if they are present) because the user may not
have the tab stops properly set. If the device has hardware tabs
that are initially set every n spaces when the device 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 device 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 device; iprog, the path name of a program to be run
to initialize the device; and if, the name of a file containing long
initialization strings. These strings are expected to set the device
into modes consistent with the rest of the terminfo description.
They must be sent to the device 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.
Most initialization is done with is2. Special device 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 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/share/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 because 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.
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Any margin can be cleared with mgc. (For instructions on how to
specify commands to set and clear margins, see "Margins" below under
"PRINTER CAPABILITIES.")
Section 1-10: Delays
Certain capabilities control padding in the tty 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.
Section 1-11: 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, e.g., 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.
Section 1-12: Line Graphics
If the device 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.
vt100+
glyph name character
arrow pointing right +
arrow pointing left ,
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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
|) w top tee (
vertical line x
bullet ~
The best way to describe a new device's line graphics set is to add a
third column to the above table with the characters for the new
device that produce the appropriate glyph when the device is in the
alternate character set mode. For example,
vt100+ new tty
glyph name 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.''.
In addition, terminfo allows you to define multiple character sets.
See Section 2-5 for details.
Section 1-13: Color Manipulation
Let us define two methods of color manipulation: the Tektronix
method and the HP method. The Tektronix method uses a set of N
predefined colors (usually 8) from which a user can select "current"
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foreground and background colors. Thus a terminal can support up to
N colors mixed into N*N color-pairs to be displayed on the screen at
the same time. When using an HP method the user cannot define the
foreground independently of the background, or vice-versa. Instead,
the user must define an entire color-pair at once. Up to M color-
pairs, made from 2*M different colors, can be defined this way. Most
existing color terminals belong to one of these two classes of
terminals.
The numeric variables colors and pairs define the number of colors
and color-pairs that can be displayed on the screen at the same time.
If a terminal can change the definition of a color (for example, the
Tektronix 4100 and 4200 series terminals), this should be specified
with ccc (can change color). To change the definition of a color
(Tektronix 4200 method), use initc (initialize color). It requires
four arguments: color number (ranging from 0 to colors-1) and three
RGB (red, green, and blue) values or three HLS colors (Hue,
Lightness, Saturation). Ranges of RGB and HLS values are terminal
dependent.
Tektronix 4100 series terminals only use HLS color notation. For
such terminals (or dual-mode terminals to be operated in HLS mode)
one must define a boolean variable hls; that would instruct the
curses initcolor routine to convert its RGB arguments to HLS before
sending them to the terminal. The last three arguments to the initc
string would then be HLS values.
If a terminal can change the definitions of colors, but uses a color
notation different from RGB and HLS, a mapping to either RGB or HLS
must be developed.
To set current foreground or background to a given color, use setaf
(set ANSI foreground) and setab (set ANSI background). They require
one parameter: the number of the color. To initialize a color-pair
(HP method), use initp (initialize pair). It requires seven
parameters: the number of a color-pair (range=0 to pairs-1), and six
RGB values: three for the foreground followed by three for the
background. (Each of these groups of three should be in the order
RGB.) When initc or initp are used, RGB or HLS arguments should be
in the order "red, green, blue" or "hue, lightness, saturation"),
respectively. To make a color-pair current, use scp (set color-
pair). It takes one parameter, the number of a color-pair.
Some terminals (for example, most color terminal emulators for PCs)
erase areas of the screen with current background color. In such
cases, bce (background color erase) should be defined. The variable
op (original pair) contains a sequence for setting the foreground and
the background colors to what they were at the terminal start-up
time. Similarly, oc (original colors) contains a control sequence
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for setting all colors (for the Tektronix method) or color-pairs (for
the HP method) to the values they had at the terminal start-up time.
Some color terminals substitute color for video attributes. Such
video attributes should not be combined with colors. Information
about these video attributes should be packed into the ncv (no color
video) variable. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the
nine least significant bits of that variable and the video
attributes. The following table depicts this correspondence.
Bit Decimal
Attribute Position Value
_________________________________
ASTANDOUT 0 1
AUNDERLINE 1 2
AREVERSE 2 4
ABLINK 3 8
ADIM 4 16
ABOLD 5 32
AINVIS 6 64
APROTECT 7 128
AALTCHARSET 8 256
When a particular video attribute should not be used with colors, the
corresponding ncv bit should be set to 1; otherwise it should be set
to zero. To determine the information to pack into the ncv variable,
you must add together the decimal values corresponding to those
attributes that cannot coexist with colors. For example, if the
terminal uses colors to simulate reverse video (bit number 2 and
decimal value 4) and bold (bit number 5 and decimal value 32), the
resulting value for ncv will be 36 (4 + 32).
Section 1-14: 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(repeatchar, 'x', 10)
is the same as xxxxxxxxxx.
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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 device 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.
Section 1-15: Special Cases
The working model used by terminfo fits most terminals reasonably
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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 that cannot display tilde (~) characters, such as certain
Hazeltine terminals, should indicate hz.
Terminals that 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
necessary, instead, 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.
Section 1-16: 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.
PART 2: PRINTER CAPABILITIES
The terminfo database allows you to define capabilities of printers
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as well as terminals. To find out what capabilities are available
for printers as well as for terminals, see the two lists under
"DEVICE CAPABILITIES" that list capabilities by variable and by
capability name.
Section 2-1: Rounding Values
Because parameterized string capabilities work only with integer
values, we recommend that terminfo designers create strings that
expect numeric values that have been rounded. Application designers
should note this and should always round values to the nearest
integer before using them with a parameterized string capability.
Section 2-2: Printer Resolution
A printer's resolution is defined to be the smallest spacing of
characters it can achieve. In general printers have independent
resolution horizontally and vertically. Thus the vertical resolution
of a printer can be determined by measuring the smallest achievable
distance between consecutive printing baselines, while the horizontal
resolution can be determined by measuring the smallest achievable
distance between the left-most edges of consecutive printed,
identical, characters.
All printers are assumed to be capable of printing with a uniform
horizontal and vertical resolution. The view of printing that
terminfo currently presents is one of printing inside a uniform
matrix: All characters are printed at fixed positions relative to
each ``cell'' in the matrix; furthermore, each cell has the same size
given by the smallest horizontal and vertical step sizes dictated by
the resolution. (The cell size can be changed as will be seen
later.)
Many printers are capable of ``proportional printing,'' where the
horizontal spacing depends on the size of the character last printed.
terminfo does not make use of this capability, although it does
provide enough capability definitions to allow an application to
simulate proportional printing.
A printer must not only be able to print characters as close together
as the horizontal and vertical resolutions suggest, but also of
``moving'' to a position an integral multiple of the smallest
distance away from a previous position. Thus printed characters can
be spaced apart a distance that is an integral multiple of the
smallest distance, up to the length or width of a single page.
Some printers can have different resolutions depending on different
``modes.'' In ``normal mode,'' the existing terminfo capabilities
are assumed to work on columns and lines, just like a video terminal.
Thus the old lines capability would give the length of a page in
lines, and the cols capability would give the width of a page in
columns. In ``micro mode,'' many terminfo capabilities work on
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increments of lines and columns. With some printers the micro mode
may be concomitant with normal mode, so that all the capabilities
work at the same time.
Section 2-3: Specifying Printer Resolution
The printing resolution of a printer is given in several ways. Each
specifies the resolution as the number of smallest steps per
distance:
Specification of Printer Resolution
Characteristic Number of Smallest Steps
_______________________________________
orhi Steps per inch horizontally
orvi Steps per inch vertically
orc Steps per column
orl Steps per line
When printing in normal mode, each character printed causes movement
to the next column, except in special cases described later; the
distance moved is the same as the per-column resolution. Some
printers cause an automatic movement to the next line when a
character is printed in the rightmost position; the distance moved
vertically is the same as the per-line resolution. When printing in
micro mode, these distances can be different, and may be zero for
some printers.
Specification of Printer Resolution
Automatic Motion after Printing
___________________________________
Normal Mode:
orc Steps moved horizontally
orl Steps moved vertically
Micro Mode:
mcs Steps moved horizontally
mls Steps moved vertically
Some printers are capable of printing wide characters. The distance
moved when a wide character is printed in normal mode may be
different from when a regular width character is printed. The
distance moved when a wide character is printed in micro mode may
also be different from when a regular character is printed in micro
mode, but the differences are assumed to be related: If the distance
moved for a regular character is the same whether in normal mode or
micro mode (mcs=orc), then the distance moved for a wide character is
also the same whether in normal mode or micro mode. This doesn't
mean the normal character distance is necessarily the same as the
wide character distance, just that the distances don't change with a
change in normal to micro mode. However, if the distance moved for a
regular character is different in micro mode from the distance moved
in normal mode (mcs<orc), the micro mode distance is assumed to be
the same for a wide character printed in micro mode, as the table
below shows.
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Specification of Printer Resolution
Automatic Motion after Printing Wide Character
______________________________________________
Normal Mode or Micro Mode (mcs = orc):
widcs Steps moved horizontally
Micro Mode (mcs < orc):
mcs Steps moved horizontally
There may be control sequences to change the number of columns per
inch (the character pitch) and to change the number of lines per inch
(the line pitch). If these are used, the resolution of the printer
changes, but the type of change depends on the printer:
Specification of Printer Resolution
Changing the Character/Line Pitches
______________________________________________________
cpi Change character pitch
cpix If set, cpi changes orhi, otherwise changes orc
lpi Change line pitch
lpix If set, lpi changes orvi, otherwise changes orl
chr Change steps per column
cvr Change steps per line
The cpi and lpi string capabilities are each used with a single
argument, the pitch in columns (or characters) and lines per inch,
respectively. The chr and cvr string capabilities are each used with
a single argument, the number of steps per column and line,
respectively.
Using any of the control sequences in these strings will imply a
change in some of the values of orc, orhi, orl, and orvi. Also, the
distance moved when a wide character is printed, widcs, changes in
relation to orc. The distance moved when a character is printed in
micro mode, mcs, changes similarly, with one exception: if the
distance is 0 or 1, then no change is assumed (see items marked with
† in the following table).
Programs that use cpi, lpi, chr, or cvr should recalculate the
printer resolution (and should recalculate other values see "Effect
of Changing Printing Resolution" under "Dot-Mapped Graphics").
Specification of Printer Resolution
Effects of Changing the Character/Line Pitches
_______________________________________________
Before After
_______________________________________________
Using cpi with cpix clear:
orhi' orhiorhi
orc' orc=Vcpi
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Using cpi with cpix set:
orhi' orhi=orc.Vcpi
orc' orc
Using lpi with lpix clear:
orvi' orviorvi
U
or
si
l'
ng lpi with lpix set: orl=Vlpi
orvi' orvi=orl.Vlpi
orl' orl
Using chr:
orhi' orhi
orc' Vchr
Using cvr:
orvi' orvi
orl' Vcvr
Using cpi or chr: _orc_orc
m
wc
id
s'
cs' m
wc
id
s=
cm
s=
cs
w'
id
oc
rc
s'orc'
Vcpi, Vlpi, Vchr, and Vcvr are the arguments used with cpi, lpi, chr,
and cvr, respectively. The prime marks (') indicate the old values.
Section 2-4: Capabilities that Cause Movement
In the following descriptions, ``movement'' refers to the motion of
the ``current position.'' With video terminals this would be the
cursor; with some printers this is the carriage position. Other
printers have different equivalents. In general, the current
position is where a character would be displayed if printed.
terminfo has string capabilities for control sequences that cause
movement a number of full columns or lines. It also has equivalent
string capabilities for control sequences that cause movement a
number of smallest steps.
String Capabilities for Motion
__________________________________
mcub1 Move 1 step left
mcuf1 Move 1 step right
mcuu1 Move 1 step up
mcud1 Move 1 step down
mcub Move N steps left
mcuf Move N steps right
mcuu Move N steps up
mcud Move N steps down
mhpa Move N steps from the left
mvpa Move N steps from the top
The latter six strings are each used with a single argument, N.
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Sometimes the motion is limited to less than the width or length of a
page. Also, some printers don't accept absolute motion to the left
of the current position. terminfo has capabilities for specifying
these limits.
Limits to Motion
__________________________________________________
mjump Limit on use of mcub1, mcuf1, mcuu1, mcud1
maddr Limit on use of mhpa, mvpa
xhpa If set, hpa and mhpa can't move left
xvpa If set, vpa and mvpa can't move up
If a printer needs to be in a ``micro mode'' for the motion
capabilities described above to work, there are string capabilities
defined to contain the control sequence to enter and exit this mode.
A boolean is available for those printers where using a carriage
return causes an automatic return to normal mode.
Entering/Exiting Micro Mode
_________________________________
smicm Enter micro mode
rmicm Exit micro mode
crxm Using cr exits micro mode
The movement made when a character is printed in the rightmost
position varies among printers. Some make no movement, some move to
the beginning of the next line, others move to the beginning of the
same line. terminfo has boolean capabilities for describing all
three cases.
What Happens After Character
Printed in Rightmost Position
______________________________________________
sam Automatic move to beginning of same line
Some printers can be put in a mode where the normal direction of
motion is reversed. This mode can be especially useful when there
are no capabilities for leftward or upward motion, because those
capabilities can be built from the motion reversal capability and the
rightward or downward motion capabilities. It is best to leave it up
to an application to build the leftward or upward capabilities,
though, and not enter them in the terminfo database. This allows
several reverse motions to be strung together without intervening
wasted steps that leave and reenter reverse mode.
Entering/Exiting Reverse Modes
___________________________________________
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slm Reverse sense of horizontal motions
rlm Restore sense of horizontal motions
sum Reverse sense of vertical motions
rum Restore sense of vertical motions
While sense of horizontal motions reversed:
mcub1 Move 1 step right
mcuf1 Move 1 step left
mcub Move N steps right
mcuf Move N steps left
cub1 Move 1 column right
cuf1 Move 1 column left
cub Move N columns right
cuf Move N columns left
While sense of vertical motions reversed:
mcuu1 Move 1 step down
mcud1 Move 1 step up
mcuu Move N steps down
mcud Move N steps up
cuu1 Move 1 line down
cud1 Move 1 line up
cuu Move N lines down
cud Move N lines up
The reverse motion modes should not affect the mvpa and mhpa absolute
motion capabilities. The reverse vertical motion mode should,
however, also reverse the action of the line ``wrapping'' that occurs
when a character is printed in the right-most position. Thus
printers that have the standard terminfo capability am defined should
experience motion to the beginning of the previous line when a
character is printed in the right-most position under reverse
vertical motion mode.
The action when any other motion capabilities are used in reverse
motion modes is not defined; thus, programs must exit reverse motion
modes before using other motion capabilities.
Two miscellaneous capabilities complete the list of new motion
capabilities. One of these is needed for printers that move the
current position to the beginning of a line when certain control
characters, such as ``line-feed'' or ``form-feed,'' are used. The
other is used for the capability of suspending the motion that
normally occurs after printing a character.
Miscellaneous Motion Strings
________________________________________________________________
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docr List of control characters causing cr
zerom Prevent auto motion after printing next single character
Margins
terminfo provides two strings for setting margins on terminals: one
for the left and one for the right margin. Printers, however, have
two additional margins, for the top and bottom margins of each page.
Furthermore, some printers require not using motion strings to move
the current position to a margin and then fixing the margin there,
but require the specification of where a margin should be regardless
of the current position. Therefore terminfo offers six additional
strings for defining margins with printers.
Setting Margins
__________________________________________
smgl Set left margin at current column
smgr Set right margin at current column
smgb Set bottom margin at current line
smgt Set top margin at current line
smgbp Set bottom margin at line N
smglp Set left margin at column N
smgrp Set right margin at column N
smgtp Set top margin at line N
The last four strings are used with one or more arguments that give
the position of the margin or margins to set. If both of smglp and
smgrp are set, each is used with a single argument, N, that gives the
column number of the left and right margin, respectively. If both of
smgtp and smgbp are set, each is used to set the top and bottom
margin, respectively: smgtp is used with a single argument, N, the
line number of the top margin; however, smgbp is used with two
arguments, N and M, that give the line number of the bottom margin,
the first counting from the top of the page and the second counting
from the bottom. This accommodates the two styles of specifying the
bottom margin in different manufacturers' printers. When coding a
terminfo entry for a printer that has a settable bottom margin, only
the first or second parameter should be used, depending on the
printer. When writing an application that uses smgbp to set the
bottom margin, both arguments must be given.
If only one of smglp and smgrp is set, then it is used with two
arguments, the column number of the left and right margins, in that
order. Likewise, if only one of smgtp and smgbp is set, then it is
used with two arguments that give the top and bottom margins, in that
order, counting from the top of the page. Thus when coding a
terminfo entry for a printer that requires setting both left and
right or top and bottom margins simultaneously, only one of smglp and
smgrp or smgtp and smgbp should be defined; the other should be left
blank. When writing an application that uses these string
capabilities, the pairs should be first checked to see if each in the
pair is set or only one is set, and should then be used accordingly.
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In counting lines or columns, line zero is the top line and column
zero is the left-most column. A zero value for the second argument
with smgbp means the bottom line of the page.
All margins can be cleared with mgc.
Shadows, Italics, Wide Characters, Superscripts, Subscripts
Five new sets of strings are used to describe the capabilities
printers have of enhancing printed text.
Enhanced Printing
____________________________________________________
sshm Enter shadow-printing mode
rshm Exit shadow-printing mode
sitm Enter italicizing mode
ritm Exit italicizing mode
swidm Enter wide character mode
rwidm Exit wide character mode
ssupm Enter superscript mode
rsupm Exit superscript mode
supcs List of characters available as superscripts
ssubm Enter subscript mode
rsubm Exit subscript mode
subcs List of characters available as subscripts
If a printer requires the sshm control sequence before every
character to be shadow-printed, the rshm string is left blank. Thus
programs that find a control sequence in sshm but none in rshm should
use the sshm control sequence before every character to be shadow-
printed; otherwise, the sshm control sequence should be used once
before the set of characters to be shadow-printed, followed by rshm.
The same is also true of each of the sitm/ritm, swidm/rwidm,
ssupm/rsupm, and ssubm/ rsubm pairs.
Note that terminfo also has a capability for printing emboldened text
(bold). While shadow printing and emboldened printing are similar in
that they ``darken'' the text, many printers produce these two types
of print in slightly different ways. Generally, emboldened printing
is done by overstriking the same character one or more times. Shadow
printing likewise usually involves overstriking, but with a slight
movement up and/or to the side so that the character is ``fatter.''
It is assumed that enhanced printing modes are independent modes, so
that it would be possible, for instance, to shadow print italicized
subscripts.
As mentioned earlier, the amount of motion automatically made after
printing a wide character should be given in widcs.
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If only a subset of the printable ASCII characters can be printed as
superscripts or subscripts, they should be listed in supcs or subcs
strings, respectively. If the ssupm or ssubm strings contain control
sequences, but the corresponding supcs or subcs strings are empty, it
is assumed that all printable ASCII characters are available as
superscripts or subscripts.
Automatic motion made after printing a superscript or subscript is
assumed to be the same as for regular characters. Thus, for example,
printing any of the following three examples will result in
equivalent motion:
Bi Bi Bi
Note that the existing msgr boolean capability describes whether
motion control sequences can be used while in ``standout mode.''
This capability is extended to cover the enhanced printing modes
added here. msgr should be set for those printers that accept any
motion control sequences without affecting shadow, italicized,
widened, superscript, or subscript printing. Conversely, if msgr is
not set, a program should end these modes before attempting any
motion.
Section 2-5: Alternate Character Sets
In addition to allowing you to define line graphics (described in
Section 1-12), terminfo lets you define alternate character sets.
The following capabilities cover printers and terminals with multiple
selectable or definable character sets.
Alternate Character Sets
_________________________________________________________
scs Select character set N
scsd Start definition of character set N, M characters
defc Define character A, B dots wide, descender D
rcsd End definition of character set N
csnm List of character set names
daisy Printer has manually changed print-wheels
The scs, rcsd, and csnm strings are used with a single argument, N, a
number from 0 to 63 that identifies the character set. The scsd
string is also used with the argument N and another, M, that gives
the number of characters in the set. The defc string is used with
three arguments: A gives the ASCII code representation for the
character, B gives the width of the character in dots, and D is zero
or one depending on whether the character is a ``descender'' or not.
The defc string is also followed by a string of ``image-data'' bytes
that describe how the character looks (see below).
Character set 0 is the default character set present after the
printer has been initialized. Not every printer has 64 character
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sets, of course; using scs with an argument that doesn't select an
available character set should cause a null result from tparm.
If a character set has to be defined before it can be used, the scsd
control sequence is to be used before defining the character set, and
the rcsd is to be used after. They should also cause a null result
from tparm when used with an argument N that doesn't apply. If a
character set still has to be selected after being defined, the scs
control sequence should follow the rcsd control sequence. By
examining the results of using each of the scs, scsd, and rcsd
strings with a character set number in a call to tparm, a program can
determine which of the three are needed.
Between use of the scsd and rcsd strings, the defc string should be
used to define each character. To print any character on printers
covered by terminfo, the ASCII code is sent to the printer. This is
true for characters in an alternate set as well as ``normal''
characters. Thus the definition of a character includes the ASCII
code that represents it. In addition, the width of the character in
dots is given, along with an indication of whether the character
should descend below the print line (such as the lower case letter
``g'' in most character sets). The width of the character in dots
also indicates the number of image-data bytes that will follow the
defc string. These image-data bytes indicate where in a dot-matrix
pattern ink should be applied to ``draw'' the character; the number
of these bytes and their form are defined below under ``Dot-Mapped
Graphics.''
It's easiest for the creator of terminfo entries to refer to each
character set by number; however, these numbers will be meaningless
to the application developer. The csnm string alleviates this
problem by providing names for each number.
When used with a character set number in a call to tparm, the csnm
string will produce the equivalent name. These names should be used
as a reference only. No naming convention is implied, although
anyone who creates a terminfo entry for a printer should use names
consistent with the names found in user documents for the printer.
Application developers should allow a user to specify a character set
by number (leaving it up to the user to examine the csnm string to
determine the correct number), or by name, where the application
examines the csnm string to determine the corresponding character set
number.
These capabilities are likely to be used only with dot-matrix
printers. If they are not available, the strings should not be
defined. For printers that have manually changed print-wheels or
font cartridges, the boolean daisy is set.
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terminfo(4) (Terminal Information Utilities) terminfo(4)
Section 2-6: Dot-Matrix Graphics
Dot-matrix printers typically have the capability of reproducing
``raster-graphics'' images. Three new numeric capabilities and three
new string capabilities can help a program draw raster-graphics
images independent of the type of dot-matrix printer or the number of
pins or dots the printer can handle at one time.
Dot-Matrix Graphics
_______________________________________________________
npins Number of pins, N, in print-head
spinv Spacing of pins vertically in pins per inch
spinh Spacing of dots horizontally in dots per inch
porder Matches software bits to print-head pins
sbim Start printing bit image graphics, B bits wide
rbim End printing bit image graphics
The sbim sring is used with a single argument, B, the width of the
image in dots.
The model of dot-matrix or raster-graphics that terminfo presents is
similar to the technique used for most dot-matrix printers: each
pass of the printer's print-head is assumed to produce a dot-matrix
that is N dots high and B dots wide. This is typically a wide,
squat, rectangle of dots. The height of this rectangle in dots will
vary from one printer to the next; this is given in the npins numeric
capability. The size of the rectangle in fractions of an inch will
also vary; it can be deduced from the spinv and spinh numeric
capabilities. With these three values an application can divide a
complete raster-graphics image into several horizontal strips,
perhaps interpolating to account for different dot spacing vertically
and horizontally.
The sbim and rbim strings are used to start and end a dot-matrix
image, respectively. The sbim string is used with a single argument
that gives the width of the dot-matrix in dots. A sequence of
``image-data bytes'' are sent to the printer after the sbim string
and before the rbim string. The number of bytes is a integral
multiple of the width of the dot-matrix; the multiple and the form of
each byte is determined by the porder string as described below.
The porder string is a comma separated list of pin numbers optionally
followed by an numerical offset. The offset, if given, is separated
from the list with a semicolon. The position of each pin number in
the list corresponds to a bit in an 8-bit data byte. The pins are
numbered consecutively from 1 to npins, with 1 being the top pin.
Note that the term ``pin'' is used loosely here; ``ink-jet'' dot-
matrix printers don't have pins, but can be considered to have an
equivalent method of applying a single dot of ink to paper. The bit
positions in porder are in groups of 8, with the first position in
each group the most significant bit and the last position the least
significant bit. An application produces 8-bit bytes in the order of
the groups in porder.
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An application computes the ``image-data bytes'' from the internal
image, mapping vertical dot positions in each print-head pass into
8-bit bytes, using a 1 bit where ink should be applied and 0 where no
ink should be applied. This can be reversed (0 bit for ink, 1 bit
for no ink) by giving a negative pin number. If a position is
skipped in porder, a 0 bit is used. If a position has a lower case
`x' instead of a pin number, a 1 bit is used in the skipped position.
For consistency, a lower case `o' can be used to represent a 0
filled, skipped bit. There must be a multiple of 8 bit positions
used or skipped in porder; if not, 0 bits are used to fill the last
byte in the least significant bits. The offset, if given, is added
to each data byte; the offset can be negative.
Some examples may help clarify the use of the porder string. The
AT&T 470, AT&T 475 and C.Itoh 8510 printers provide eight pins for
graphics. The pins are identified top to bottom by the 8 bits in a
byte, from least significant to most. The porder strings for these
printers would be 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. The AT&T 478 and AT&T 479
printers also provide eight pins for graphics. However, the pins are
identified in the reverse order. The porder strings for these
printers would be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. The AT&T 5310, AT&T 5320, DEC
LA100, and DEC LN03 printers provide six pins for graphics. The pins
are identified top to bottom by the decimal values 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and
32. These correspond to the low six bits in an 8-bit byte, although
the decimal values are further offset by the value 63. The porder
string for these printers would be ,,6,5,4,3,2,1;63, or alternately
o,o,6,5,4,3,2,1;63.
Section 2-7: Effect of Changing Printing Resolution
If the control sequences to change the character pitch or the line
pitch are used, the pin or dot spacing may change:
Dot-Matrix Graphics
Changing the Character/Line Pitches
___________________________________
cpi Change character pitch
cpix If set, cpi changes spinh
lpi Change line pitch
lpix If set, lpi changes spinv
Programs that use cpi or lpi should recalculate the dot spacing:
Dot-Matrix Graphics
Effects of Changing the Character/Line Pitches
_________________________________________________
Before After
_________________________________________________
Using cpi with cpix clear:
spinh' spinh
Using cpi with cpix set:
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Dot-Matrix Graphics
Effects of Changing the Character/Line Pitches
_________________________________________________
Before After
____________________________________________orhi
U
sp
sing
h'lpi with lpix clear: spinh=spinh'.orhi'
spinv' spinv
Using lpi with lpix set: _orhi
U
sp
sing
v'chr: spinv=spinv'.orhi'
spinh' spinh
Using cvr:
spinv' spinv
orhi' and orhi are the values of the horizontal resolution in steps
per inch, before using cpi and after using cpi, respectively.
Likewise, orvi' and orvi are the values of the vertical resolution in
steps per inch, before using lpi and after using lpi, respectively.
Thus, the changes in the dots per inch for dot-matrix graphics follow
the changes in steps per inch for printer resolution.
Section 2-8: Print Quality
Many dot-matrix printers can alter the dot spacing of printed text to
produce near ``letter quality'' printing or ``draft quality''
printing. Usually it is important to be able to choose one or the
other because the rate of printing generally falls off as the quality
improves. There are three new strings used to describe these
capabilities.
Print Quality
_____________________________________
snlq Set near-letter quality print
snrmq Set normal quality print
sdrfq Set draft quality print
The capabilities are listed in decreasing levels of quality. If a
printer doesn't have all three levels, one or two of the strings
should be left blank as appropriate.
Section 2-9: Printing Rate and Buffer Size
Because there is no standard protocol that can be used to keep a
program synchronized with a printer, and because modern printers can
buffer data before printing it, a program generally cannot determine
at any time what has been printed. Two new numeric capabilities can
help a program estimate what has been printed.
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Print Rate/Buffer Size
___________________________________________________
cps Nominal print rate in characters per second
bufsz Buffer capacity in characters
cps is the nominal or average rate at which the printer prints
characters; if this value is not given, the rate should be estimated
at one-tenth the prevailing baud rate. bufsz is the maximum number
of subsequent characters buffered before the guaranteed printing of
an earlier character, assuming proper flow control has been used. If
this value is not given it is assumed that the printer does not
buffer characters, but prints them as they are received.
As an example, if a printer has a 1000-character buffer, then sending
the letter ``a'' followed by 1000 additional characters is guaranteed
to cause the letter ``a'' to print. If the same printer prints at
the rate of 100 characters per second, then it should take 10 seconds
to print all the characters in the buffer, less if the buffer is not
full. By keeping track of the characters sent to a printer, and
knowing the print rate and buffer size, a program can synchronize
itself with the printer.
Note that most printer manufacturers advertise the maximum print
rate, not the nominal print rate. A good way to get a value to put
in for cps is to generate a few pages of text, count the number of
printable characters, and then see how long it takes to print the
text.
Applications that use these values should recognize the variability
in the print rate. Straight text, in short lines, with no embedded
control sequences will probably print at close to the advertised
print rate and probably faster than the rate in cps. Graphics data
with a lot of control sequences, or very long lines of text, will
print at well below the advertised rate and below the rate in cps.
If the application is using cps to decide how long it should take a
printer to print a block of text, the application should pad the
estimate. If the application is using cps to decide how much text
has already been printed, it should shrink the estimate. The
application will thus err in favor of the user, who wants, above all,
to see all the output in its correct place.
FILES
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* compiled terminal description
database
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/usr/share/lib/.COREterm/?/* subset of compiled terminal
description database
/usr/share/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), ls(1), pg(1), printf(3S), stty(1), tic(1M), tput(1),
tty(1), vi(1).
NOTES
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 a
screen oriented editor, such as vi, to check that they are correct.
To easily test a new terminal description the environment variable
TERMINFO can be set to the pathname of a directory containing the
compiled description, and programs will look there rather than in
/usr/share/lib/terminfo.
8/91 Page 51