XTERM(1) USER COMMANDS XTERM(1)
NAME
xterm - terminal emulator for X
SYNOPSIS
xterm [-toolkitoption ...] [-option ...]
DESCRIPTION
The xterm program is a terminal emulator for the X Window
System. It provides DEC VT102 and Tektronix 4014 compatible
terminals for programs that can't use the window system
directly. If the underlying operating system supports ter-
minal resizing capabilities (for example, the SIGWINCH sig-
nal in systems derived from 4.3bsd), xterm will use the
facilities to notify programs running in the window whenever
it is resized.
The VT102 and Tektronix 4014 terminals each have their own
window so that you can edit text in one and look at graphics
in the other at the same time. To maintain the correct
aspect ratio (height/width), Tektronix graphics will be res-
tricted to the largest box with a 4014's aspect ratio that
will fit in the window. This box is located in the upper
left area of the window.
Although both windows may be displayed at the same time, one
of them is considered the ``active'' window for receiving
keyboard input and terminal output. This is the window that
contains the text cursor and whose border highlights when-
ever the pointer is in either window. The active window can
be chosen through escape sequences, the ``Modes'' menu in
the VT102 window, and the ``Tektronix'' menu in the 4014
window.
OPTIONS
The xterm terminal emulator accepts all of the standard X
Toolkit command line options as well as the following (if
the option begins with a `+' instead of a `-', the option is
restored to its default value):
-help This causes xterm to print out a verbose message
describing its options.
-132 Normally, the VT102 DECCOLM escape sequence that
switches between 80 and 132 column mode is ignored.
This option causes the DECCOLM escape sequence to be
recognized, and the xterm window will resize
appropriately.
-ah This option indicates that xterm should always
highlight the text cursor and borders. By default,
xterm will display a hollow text cursor whenever the
focus is lost or the pointer leaves the window.
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+ah This option indicates that xterm should do text cur-
sor highlighting.
-b number
This option specifies the size of the inner border
(the distance between the outer edge of the charac-
ters and the window border) in pixels. The default
is 2.
-cc characterclassrange:value[,...]
This sets classes indicated by the given ranges for
using in selecting by words. See the section speci-
fying character classes.
-cn This option indicates that newlines should not be
cut in line-mode selections.
+cn This option indicates that newlines should be cut in
line-mode selections.
-cr color
This option specifies the color to use for text cur-
sor. The default is to use the same foreground
color that is used for text.
-cu This option indicates that xterm should work around
a bug in the curses(3x) cursor motion package that
causes the more(1) program to display lines that are
exactly the width of the window and are followed by
a line beginning with a tab to be displayed
incorrectly (the leading tabs are not displayed).
+cu This option indicates that that xterm should not
work around the curses(3x) bug mentioned above.
-e program [arguments ...]
This option specifies the program (and its command
line arguments) to be run in the xterm window. It
also sets the window title and icon name to be the
basename of the program being executed if neither -T
nor -n are given on the command line. This must be
the last option on the command line.
-fb font
This option specifies a font to be used when
displaying bold text. This font must be the same
height and width as the normal font. If only one of
the normal or bold fonts is specified, it will be
used as the normal font and the bold font will be
produced by overstriking this font. The default is
to do overstriking of the normal font.
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-j This option indicates that xterm should do jump
scrolling. Normally, text is scrolled one line at a
time; this option allows xterm to move multiple
lines at a time so that it doesn't fall as far
behind. Its use is strongly recommended since it
make xterm much faster when scanning through large
amounts of text. The VT100 escape sequences for
enabling and disabling smooth scroll as well as the
``Modes'' menu can be used to turn this feature on
or off.
+j This option indicates that xterm should not do jump
scrolling.
-l This option indicates that xterm should send all
terminal output to a log file as well as to the
screen. This option can be enabled or disabled
using the ``xterm X11'' menu.
+l This option indicates that xterm should not do log-
ging.
-lf filename
This option specifies the name of the file to which
the output log described above is written. If file
begins with a pipe symbol (|), the rest of the
string is assumed to be a command to be used as the
endpoint of a pipe. The default filename is
``XtermLog.XXXXX'' (where XXXXX is the process id of
xterm) and is created in the directory from which
xterm was started (or the user's home directory in
the case of a login window).
-ls This option indicates that the shell that is started
in the xterm window be a login shell (i.e. the first
character of argv[0] will be a dash, indicating to
the shell that it should read the user's .login or
.profile).
+ls This option indicates that the shell that is started
should not be a login shell (i.e. it will be a nor-
mal ``subshell'').
-mb This option indicates that xterm should ring a mar-
gin bell when the user types near the right end of a
line. This option can be turned on and off from the
``Modes'' menu.
+mb This option indicates that margin bell should not be
rung.
-mc milliseconds
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This option specifies the maximum time between
multi-click selections.
-ms color
This option specifies the color to be used for the
pointer cursor. The default is to use the fore-
ground color.
-nb number
This option specifies the number of characters from
the right end of a line at which the margin bell, if
enabled, will ring. The default is 10.
-rw This option indicates that reverse-wraparound should
be allowed. This allows the cursor to back up from
the leftmost column of one line to the rightmost
column of the previous line. This is very useful
for editing long shell command lines and is
encouraged. This option can be turned on and off
from the ``Modes'' menu.
+rw This option indicates that reverse-wraparound should
not be allowed.
-s This option indicates that xterm may scroll asyn-
chronously, meaning that the screen does not have to
be kept completely up to date while scrolling. This
allows xterm to run faster when network latencies
are very high and is typically useful when running
across a very large internet or many gateways.
+s This option indicates that xterm should scroll syn-
chronously.
-sb This option indicates that some number of lines that
are scrolled off the top of the window should be
saved and that a scrollbar should be displayed so
that those lines can be viewed. This option may be
turned on and off from the ``Modes'' menu.
+sb This option indicates that a scrollbar should not be
displayed.
-sf This option indicates that Sun Function Key escape
codes should be generated for function keys.
+sf This option indicates that the standard escape codes
should be generated for function keys.
-si This option indicates that output to a window should
not automatically reposition the screen to the bot-
tom of the scrolling region. This option can be
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turned on and off from the ``Modes'' menu.
+si This option indicates that output to a window should
cause it to scroll to the bottom.
-sk This option indicates that pressing a key while
using the scrollbar to review previous lines of text
should cause the window to be repositioned automati-
cally in the normal position at the bottom of the
scroll region.
+sk This option indicates that pressing a key while
using the scrollbar should not cause the window to
be repositioned.
-sl number
This option specifies the number of lines to save
that have been scrolled off the top of the screen.
The default is 64.
-t This option indicates that xterm should start in
Tektronix mode, rather than in VT102 mode. Switch-
ing between the two windows is done using the
``Modes'' menus.
+t This option indicates that xterm should start in
VT102 mode.
-tm string
This option specifies a series of terminal setting
keywords followed by the characters that should be
bound to those functions, similar to the stty pro-
gram. Allowable keywords include: intr, quit,
erase, kill, eof, eol, swtch, start, stop, brk,
susp, dsusp, rprnt, flush, weras, and lnext. Con-
trol characters may be specified as ^char (e.g. ^c
or ^u) and ^? may be used to indicate delete.
-tn name
This option specifies the name of the terminal type
to be set in the TERM environment variable. This
terminal type must exist in the termcap(5) database
and should have li# and co# entries.
-ut This option indicates that xterm shouldn't write a
record into the the system log file /etc/utmp.
+ut This option indicates that xterm should write a
record into the system log file /etc/utmp.
-vb This option indicates that a visual bell is pre-
ferred over an audible one. Instead of ringing the
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terminal bell whenever a Control-G is received, the
window will be flashed.
+vb This option indicates that a visual bell should not
be used.
-wf This option indicates that xterm should wait for the
window to be mapped the first time before starting
the subprocess so that the initial terminal size
settings and environment variables are correct. It
the application's responsibility to catch subsequent
terminal size changes.
+wf This option indicates that xterm show not wait
before starting the subprocess.
-C This option indicates that this window should
receive console output. This is not supported on
all systems.
-Sccn This option specifies the last two letters of the
name of a pseudoterminal to use in slave mode, plus
the number of the inherited file descriptor. The
option is parsed "%c%c%d". This allows xterm to be
used as an input and output channel for an existing
program and is sometimes used in specialized appli-
cations.
The following command line arguments are provided for compa-
tibility with older versions. They may not be supported in
the next release as the X Toolkit provides standard options
that accomplish the same task.
%geom This option specifies the preferred size and posi-
tion of the Tektronix window. It is shorthand for
specifying the "*tekGeometry" resource.
#geom This option specifies the preferred position of the
icon window. It is shorthand for specifying the
"*iconGeometry" resource.
-T string
This option specifies the title for xterm's windows.
It is equivalent to -title.
-n string
This option specifies the icon name for xterm's win-
dows. It is shorthand for specifying the "*icon-
Name" resource. Note that this is not the same as
the toolkit option -name (see below). The default
icon name is the application name.
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-r This option indicates that reverse video should be
simulated by swapping the foreground and background
colors. It is equivalent to -reversevideo or -rv.
-w number
This option specifies the width in pixels of the
border surrounding the window. It is equivalent to
-borderwidth or -bw.
The following standard X Toolkit command line arguments are
commonly used with xterm:
-bg color
This option specifies the color to use for the back-
ground of the window. The default is ``white.''
-bd color
This option specifies the color to use for the
border of the window. The default is ``black.''
-bw number
This option specifies the width in pixels of the
border surrounding the window.
-fg color
This option specifies the color to use for display-
ing text. The default is ``black''.
-fn font
This option specifies the font to be used for
displaying normal text. The default is fixed.
-name name
This option specifies the application name under
which resources are to be obtained, rather than the
default executable file name. Name should not con-
tain ``.'' or ``*'' characters.
-title string
This option specifies the window title string, which
may be displayed by window managers if the user so
chooses. The default title is the command line
specified after the -e option, if any, otherwise the
application name.
-rv This option indicates that reverse video should be
simulated by swapping the foreground and background
colors.
-geometry geometry
This option specifies the preferred size and posi-
tion of the VT102 window; see X(1).
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-display display
This option specifies the X server to contact; see
X(1).
-xrm resourcestring
This option specifies a resource string to be used.
This is especially useful for setting resources that
do not have separate command line options.
-iconic This option indicates that xterm should ask the win-
dow manager to start it as an icon rather than as
the normal window.
RESOURCES
The program understands all of the core X Toolkit resource
names and classes as well as:
iconGeometry (class IconGeometry)
Specifies the preferred size and position of the
application when iconified. It is not necessarily
obeyed by all window managers.
termName (class TermName)
Specifies the terminal type name to be set in the
TERM environment variable.
title (class Title)
Specifies a string that may be used by the window
manager when displaying this application.
ttyModes (class TtyModes)
Specifies a string containing terminal setting key-
words and the characters to which they may be bound.
Allowable keywords include: intr, quit, erase, kill,
eof, eol, swtch, start, stop, brk, susp, dsusp,
rprnt, flush, weras, and lnext. Control characters
may be specified as ^char (e.g. ^c or ^u) and ^? may
be used to indicate delete. This is very useful for
overriding the default terminal settings without
having to do an stty every time an xterm is started.
utmpInhibit (class UtmpInhibit)
Specifies whether or not xterm should try to record
the user's terminal in /etc/utmp.
sunFunctionKeys (class SunFunctionKeys)
Specifies whether or not Sun Function Key escape
codes should be generated for function keys instead
of standard escape sequences.
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The following resources are specified as part of the vt100
widget (class VT100):
allowSendEvents (class AllowSendEvents)
Specifies whether or not synthetic key and button
events (generated using the X protocol SendEvent
request) should be interpreted or discarded. The
default is ``false'' meaning they are discarded.
Note that allowing such events creates a very large
security hole.
alwaysHighlight (class AlwaysHighlight)
Specifies whether or not xterm should always display
a highlighted text cursor. By default, a hollow
text cursor is displayed whenever the pointer moves
out of the window or the window loses the input
focus.
boldFont (class Font)
Specifies the name of the bold font to use instead
of overstriking.
c132 (class C132)
Specifies whether or not the VT102 DECCOLM escape
sequence should be honored. The default is
``false.''
charClass (class CharClass)
Specifies comma-separated lists of character class
bindings of the form [low-]high:value. These are
used in determining which sets of characters should
be treated the same when doing cut and paste. See
the section on specifying character classes.
curses (class Curses)
Specifies whether or not the last column bug in
curses(3x) should be worked around. The default is
``false.''
background (class Background)
Specifies the color to use for the background of the
window. The default is ``white.''
foreground (class Foreground)
Specifies the color to use for displaying text in
the window. Setting the class name instead of the
instance name is an easy way to have everything that
would normally appear in the "text" color change
color. The default is ``black.''
cursorColor (class Foreground)
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Specifies the color to use for the text cursor. The
default is ``black.''
eightBitInput (class EightBitInput)
Specifies whether or not eight-bit characters should
be accepted. The default is ``true.''
font (class Font)
Specifies the name of the normal font. The default
is ``vtsingle.''
font1 (class Font1)
Specifies the name of the first alternate font.
font2 (class Font2)
Specifies the name of the second alternate font.
font3 (class Font3)
Specifies the name of the third alternate font.
font4 (class Font4)
Specifies the name of the fourth alternate font.
geometry (class Geometry)
Specifies the preferred size and position of the
VT102 window.
internalBorder (class BorderWidth)
Specifies the number of pixels between the charac-
ters and the window border. The default is 2.
jumpScroll (class JumpScroll)
Specifies whether or not jump scroll should be used.
The default is ``true''.
logFile (class Logfile)
Specifies the name of the file to which a terminal
session is logged. The default is
``XtermLog.XXXXX'' (where XXXXX is the process id of
xterm).
logging (class Logging)
Specifies whether or not a terminal session should
be logged. The default is ``false.''
logInhibit (class LogInhibit)
Specifies whether or not terminal session logging
should be inhibited. The default is ``false.''
loginShell (class LoginShell)
Specifies whether or not the shell to be run in the
window should be started as a login shell. The
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default is ``false.''
marginBell (class MarginBell)
Specifies whether or not the bell should be run when
the user types near the right margin. The default
is ``false.''
multiScroll (class MultiScroll)
Specifies whether or not asynchronous scrolling is
allowed. The default is ``false.''
multiClickTime (class MultiClickTime)
Specifies the maximum time in milliseconds between
multi-clock select events. The default is 250 mil-
liseconds.
multiScroll (class MultiScroll)
Specifies whether or not scrolling should be done
asynchronously. The default is ``false.''
nMarginBell (class Column)
Specifies the number of characters from the right
margin at which the margin bell should be run, when
enabled.
pointerColor (class Foreground)
Specifies the foreground color of the pointer. The
default is ``XtDefaultForeground.''
pointerColorBackground (class Background)
Specifies the background color of the pointer. The
default is ``XtDefaultBackground.''
pointerShape (class Cursor)
Specifies the name of the shape of the pointer. The
default is ``xterm.''
reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
Specifies whether or not reverse video should be
simulated. The default is ``false.''
reverseWrap (class ReverseWrap)
Specifies whether or not reverse-wraparound should
be enabled. The default is ``false.''
saveLines (class SaveLines)
Specifies the number of lines to save beyond the top
of the screen when a scrollbar is turned on. The
default is 64.
scrollBar (class ScrollBar)
Specifies whether or not the scrollbar should be
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displayed. The default is ``false.''
scrollInput (class ScrollCond)
Specifies whether or not output to the terminal
should automatically cause the scrollbar to go to
the bottom of the scrolling region. The default is
``true.''
scrollKey (class ScrollCond)
Specifies whether or not pressing a key should
automatically cause the scrollbar to go to the bot-
tom of the scrolling region. The default is
``false.''
scrollLines (class ScrollLines)
Specifies the number of lines that the scroll-back
and scroll-forw actions should use as a default.
The default value is 1.
signalInhibit (class SignalInhibit)
Specifies whether or not the entries in the ``xterm
X11'' menu for sending signals to xterm should be
disallowed. The default is ``false.''
tekGeometry (class Geometry)
Specifies the preferred size and position of the
Tektronix window.
tekInhibit (class TekInhibit)
Specifies whether or not Tektronix mode should be
disallowed. The default is ``false.''
tekSmall (class TekSmall)
Specifies whether or not the Tektronix mode window
should start in its smallest size if no explicit
geometry is given. This is useful when running
xterm on displays with small screens. The default
is ``false.''
tekStartup (class TekStartup)
Specifies whether or not xterm should start up in
Tektronix mode. The default is ``false.''
titeInhibit (class TiteInhibit)
Specifies whether or not xterm should remove remove
ti or te termcap entries (used to switch between
alternate screens on startup of many screen-oriented
programs) from the TERMCAP string.
translations (class Translations)
Specifies the key and button bindings for menus,
selections, ``programmed strings'', etc. See
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ACTIONS below.
visualBell (class VisualBell)
Specifies whether or not a visible bell (i.e. flash-
ing) should be used instead of an audible bell when
Control-G is received. The default is ``false.''
waitForMap (class WaitForMap)
Specifies whether or not xterm should wait for the
initial window map before starting the subprocess.
The default is ``false.''
The following resources are specified as part of the tek4014
widget (class Tek4014):
width (class Width)
Specifies the width of the Tektronix window in pix-
els.
height (class Height)
Specifies the height of the Tektronix window in pix-
els.
fontLarge (class Font)
Specifies the large font to use in the Tektronix
window.
font2 (class Font)
Specifies font number 2 to use in the Tektronix win-
dow.
font3 (class Font)
Specifies font number 2 font to use in the Tektronix
window.
fontSmall (class Font)
Specifies the small font to use in the Tektronix
window.
The resources that may be specified for the various menus
are described in the documentation for the Athena SimpleMenu
widget. The name and classes of the entries in each of the
menus are listed below.
The mainMenu has the following entries:
securekbd (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the secure() action.
allowsends (class SmeBSB)
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This entry invokes the allow-send-events(toggle)
action.
logging (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-logging(toggle) action.
redraw (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the redraw() action.
line1 (class SmeLine)
This is a separator.
suspend (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(suspend) action
on systems that support job control.
continue (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(cont) action on
systems that support job control.
interrupt (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(int) action.
hangup (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(hup) action.
terminate (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(term) action.
kill (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the send-signal(kill) action.
line2 (class SmeLine)
This is a separator.
quit (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the quit() action.
The vtMenu has the following entries:
scrollbar (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-scrollbar(toggle) action.
jumpscroll (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-jumpscroll(toggle)
action.
reversevideo (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-reverse-video(toggle)
action.
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autowrap (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-autowrap(toggle) action.
reversewrap (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-reversewrap(toggle)
action.
autolinefeed (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-autolinefeed(toggle)
action.
appcursor (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-appcursor(toggle) action.
appkeypad (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-appkeypad(toggle) action.
scrollkey (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-scroll-on-key(toggle)
action.
scrollttyoutput (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-scroll-on-tty-
output(toggle) action.
allow132 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-allow132(toggle) action.
cursesemul (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-cursesemul(toggle)
action.
visualbell (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visualbell(toggle)
action.
marginbell (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-marginbell(toggle)
action.
altscreen (class SmeBSB)
This entry is currently disabled.
line1 (class SmeLine)
This is a separator.
softreset (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the soft-reset() action.
hardreset (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the hard-reset() action.
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line2 (class SmeLine)
This is a separator.
tekshow (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(tek,toggle)
action.
tekmode (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-terminal-type(tek)
action.
vthide (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(vt,off)
action.
The fontMenu has the following entries:
fontdefault (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(d) action.
font1 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(1) action.
font2 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(2) action.
font3 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(3) action.
font4 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(4) action.
fontescape (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(e) action.
fontsel (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-vt-font(s) action.
The tekMenu has the following entries:
tektextlarge (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(l) action.
tektext2 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(2) action.
tektext3 (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-tek-text(3) action.
tektextsmall (class SmeBSB)
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This entry invokes the set-tek-text(s) action.
line1 (class SmeLine)
This is a separator.
tekpage (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the tek-page() action.
tekreset (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the tek-reset() action.
tekcopy (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the tek-copy() action.
line2 (class SmeLine)
This is a separator.
vtshow (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(vt,toggle)
action.
vtmode (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-terminal-type(vt) action.
tekhide (class SmeBSB)
This entry invokes the set-visibility(tek,toggle)
action.
The following resources are useful when specified for the
Athena Scrollbar widget:
thickness (class Thickness)
Specifies the width in pixels of the scrollbar.
background (class Background)
Specifies the color to use for the background of the
scrollbar.
foreground (class Foreground)
Specifies the color to use for the foreground of the
scrollbar. The ``thumb'' of the scrollbar is a sim-
ple checkerboard pattern alternating pixels for
foreground and background color.
EMULATIONS
The VT102 emulation is fairly complete, but does not support
the blinking character attribute nor the double-wide and
double-size character sets. Termcap(5) entries that work
with xterm include ``xterm'', ``vt102'', ``vt100'' and
``ansi'', and xterm automatically searches the termcap file
in this order for these entries and then sets the ``TERM''
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and the ``TERMCAP'' environment variables.
Many of the special xterm features (like logging) may be
modified under program control through a set of escape
sequences different from the standard VT102 escape
sequences. (See the ``Xterm Control Sequences'' document.)
The Tektronix 4014 emulation is also fairly good. Four dif-
ferent font sizes and five different lines types are sup-
ported. The Tektronix text and graphics commands are
recorded internally by xterm and may be written to a file by
sending the COPY escape sequence (or through the Tektronix
menu; see below). The name of the file will be
``COPYyy-MM-dd.hh:mm:ss'', where yy, MM, dd, hh, mm and ss
are the year, month, day, hour, minute and second when the
COPY was performed (the file is created in the directory
xterm is started in, or the home directory for a login
xterm).
POINTER USAGE
Once the VT102 window is created, xterm allows you to select
text and copy it within the same or other windows.
The selection functions are invoked when the pointer buttons
are used with no modifiers, and when they are used with the
``shift'' key. The assignment of the functions described
below to keys and buttons may be changed through the
resource database; see ACTIONS below.
Pointer button one (usually left) is used to save text into
the cut buffer. Move the cursor to beginning of the text,
and then hold the button down while moving the cursor to the
end of the region and releasing the button. The selected
text is highlighted and is saved in the global cut buffer
and made the PRIMARY selection when the button is released.
Double-clicking selects by words. Triple-clicking selects
by lines. Quadruple-clicking goes back to characters, etc.
Multiple-click is determined by the time from button up to
button down, so you can change the selection unit in the
middle of a selection. If the key/button bindings specify
that an X selection is to be made, xterm will leave the
selected text highlighted for as long as it is the selection
owner.
Pointer button two (usually middle) `types' (pastes) the
text from the PRIMARY selection, if any, otherwise from the
cut buffer, inserting it as keyboard input.
Pointer button three (usually right) extends the current
selection. (Without loss of generality, that is you can
swap ``right'' and ``left'' everywhere in the rest of this
paragraph...) If pressed while closer to the right edge of
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the selection than the left, it extends/contracts the right
edge of the selection. If you contract the selection past
the left edge of the selection, xterm assumes you really
meant the left edge, restores the original selection, then
extends/contracts the left edge of the selection. Extension
starts in the selection unit mode that the last selection or
extension was performed in; you can multiple-click to cycle
through them.
By cutting and pasting pieces of text without trailing new
lines, you can take text from several places in different
windows and form a command to the shell, for example, or
take output from a program and insert it into your favorite
editor. Since the cut buffer is globally shared among dif-
ferent applications, you should regard it as a `file' whose
contents you know. The terminal emulator and other text
programs should be treating it as if it were a text file,
i.e. the text is delimited by new lines.
The scroll region displays the position and amount of text
currently showing in the window (highlighted) relative to
the amount of text actually saved. As more text is saved
(up to the maximum), the size of the highlighted area
decreases.
Clicking button one with the pointer in the scroll region
moves the adjacent line to the top of the display window.
Clicking button three moves the top line of the display win-
dow down to the pointer position.
Clicking button two moves the display to a position in the
saved text that corresponds to the pointer's position in the
scrollbar.
Unlike the VT102 window, the Tektronix window dows not allow
the copying of text. It does allow Tektronix GIN mode, and
in this mode the cursor will change from an arrow to a
cross. Pressing any key will send that key and the current
coordinate of the cross cursor. Pressing button one, two,
or three will return the letters `l', `m', and `r', respec-
tively. If the `shift' key is pressed when a pointer button
is pressed, the corresponding upper case letter is sent. To
distinguish a pointer button from a key, the high bit of the
character is set (but this is bit is normally stripped
unless the terminal mode is RAW; see tty(4) for details).
MENUS
Xterm has four menus, named mainMenu, vtMenu, fontMenu, and
tekMenu. Each menu pops up under the correct combinations
of key and button presses. Most menus are divided into two
section, separated by a horizontal line. The top portion
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contains various modes that can be altered. A check mark
appears next to a mode that is currently active. Selecting
one of these modes toggles its state. The bottom portion of
the menu are command entries; selecting one of these per-
forms the indicated function.
The xterm menu pops up when the ``control'' key and pointer
button one are pressed in a window. The mainMenu contains
items that apply to both the VT102 and Tektronix windows.
The Secure Keyboard mode is be used when typing in passwords
or other sensitive data in an unsecure environment; see
SECURITY below. Notable entries in the command section of
the menu are the Continue, Suspend, Interrupt, Hangup, Ter-
minate and Kill which sends the SIGCONT, SIGTSTP, SIGINT,
SIGHUP, SIGTERM and SIGKILL signals, respectively, to the
process group of the process running under xterm (usually
the shell). The Continue function is especially useful if
the user has accidentally typed CTRL-Z, suspending the pro-
cess.
The vtMenu sets various modes in the VT102 emulation, and is
popped up when the ``control'' key and pointer button two
are pressed in the VT102 window. In the command section of
this menu, the soft reset entry will reset scroll regions.
This can be convenient when some program has left the scroll
regions set incorrectly (often a problem when using VMS or
TOPS-20). The full reset entry will clear the screen, reset
tabs to every eight columns, and reset the terminal modes
(such as wrap and smooth scroll) to their initial states
just after xterm has finished processing the command line
options.
The fontMenu sets the font used in the VT102 window.
The tekMenu sets various modes in the Tektronix emulation,
and is popped up when the ``control'' key and pointer button
two are pressed in the Tektronix window. The current font
size is checked in the modes section of the menu. The PAGE
entry in the command section clears the Tektronix window.
SECURITY
X environments differ in their security consciousness. MIT
servers, run under xdm, are capable of using a ``magic
cookie'' authorization scheme that can provide a reasonable
level of security for many people. If your server is only
using a host-based mechanism to control access to the server
(see xhost(1)), then if you enable access for a host and
other users are also permitted to run clients on that same
host, there is every possibility that someone can run an
application that will use the basic services of the X proto-
col to snoop on your activities, potentially capturing a
transcript of everything you type at the keyboard. This is
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XTERM(1) USER COMMANDS XTERM(1)
of particular concern when you want to type in a password or
other sensitive data. The best solution to this problem is
to use a better authorization mechanism that host-based con-
trol, but a simple mechanism exists for protecting keyboard
input in xterm.
The xterm menu (see MENUS above) contains a Secure Keyboard
entry which, when enabled, ensures that all keyboard input
is directed only to xterm (using the GrabKeyboard protocol
request). When an application prompts you for a password
(or other sensitive data), you can enable Secure Keyboard
using the menu, type in the data, and then disable Secure
Keyboard using the menu again. Only one X client at a time
can secure the keyboard, so when you attempt to enable
Secure Keyboard it may fail. In this case, the bell will
sound. If the Secure Keyboard succeeds, the foreground and
background colors will be exchanged (as if you selected the
Reverse Video entry in the Modes menu); they will be
exchanged again when you exit secure mode. If the colors do
not switch, then you should be very suspicious that you are
being spoofed. If the application you are running displays
a prompt before asking for the password, it is safest to
enter secure mode before the prompt gets displayed, and to
make sure that the prompt gets displayed correctly (in the
new colors), to minimize the probability of spoofing. You
can also bring up the menu again and make sure that a check
mark appears next to the entry.
Secure Keyboard mode will be disabled automatically if your
xterm window becomes iconified (or otherwise unmapped), or
if you start up a reparenting window manager (that places a
title bar or other decoration around the window) while in
Secure Keyboard mode. (This is a feature of the X protocol
not easily overcome.) When this happens, the foreground and
background colors will be switched back and the bell will
sound in warning.
CHARACTER CLASSES
Clicking the middle mouse button twice in rapid succession
will cause all characters of the same class (e.g. letters,
white space, punctuation) to be selected. Since different
people have different preferences for what should be
selected (for example, should filenames be selected as a
whole or only the separate subnames), the default mapping
can be overridden through the use of the charClass (class
CharClass) resource.
This resource is simply a list of range:value pairs where
the range is either a single number or low-high in the range
of 0 to 127, corresponding to the ASCII code for the charac-
ter or characters to be set. The value is arbitrary,
although the default table uses the character number of the
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first character occurring in the set.
The default table is:
static int charClass[128] = {
/* NUL SOH STX ETX EOT ENQ ACK BEL */
32, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* BS HT NL VT NP CR SO SI */
1, 32, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* DLE DC1 DC2 DC3 DC4 NAK SYN ETB */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* CAN EM SUB ESC FS GS RS US */
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
/* SP ! " # $ % & ' */
32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
/* ( ) * + , - . / */
40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47,
/* 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* 8 9 : ; < = > ? */
48, 48, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63,
/* @ A B C D E F G */
64, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* H I J K L M N O */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* P Q R S T U V W */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ */
48, 48, 48, 91, 92, 93, 94, 48,
/* ` a b c d e f g */
96, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* h i j k l m n o */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* p q r s t u v w */
48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48,
/* x y z { | } ~ DEL */
48, 48, 48, 123, 124, 125, 126, 1};
For example, the string ``33:48,37:48,45-47:48,64:48'' indi-
cates that the exclamation mark, percent sign, dash, period,
slash, and ampersand characters should be treated the same
way as characters and numbers. This is very useful for cut-
ting and pasting electronic mailing addresses and filenames.
ACTIONS
It is possible to rebind keys (or sequences of keys) to
arbitrary strings for input, by changing the translations
for the vt100 or tek4014 widgets. Changing the translations
for events other than key and button events is not expected,
and will cause unpredictable behavior. The following
actions are provided for using within the vt100 or tek4014
translations resources:
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bell([percent])
This action rings the keyboard bell at the specified
percentage above or below the base volume.
ignore()
This action ignores the event but checks for special
pointer position escape sequences.
insert()
This action is a synonym for insert-seven-bit()
insert-seven-bit()
This action inserts the 7-bit USASCII character or
string associated with the keysym that was pressed.
insert-eight-bit()
This action inserts the 8-bit ISO Latin-1 character
or string associated with the keysym that was
pressed.
insert-selection(sourcename [, ...])
This action inserts the string found in the selec-
tion or cutbuffer indicated by sourcename. Sources
are checked in the order given (case is significant)
until one is found. Commonly-used selections
include: PRIMARY, SECONDARY, and CLIPBOARD. Cut
buffers are typically named CUT_BUFFER0 through
CUT_BUFFER7.
keymap(name)
This action dynamically defines a new translation
table whose resource name is name with the suffix
Keymap (case is significant). The name None
restores the original translation table.
popup-menu(menuname)
This action displays the specified popup menu.
Valid names (case is significant) include: main-
Menu, vtMenu, fontMenu, and tekMenu.
secure()
This action toggles the Secure Keyboard mode
described in the section named SECURITY, and is
invoked from the securekbd entry in mainMenu.
select-start()
This action begins text selection at the current
pointer location. See the section on POINTER USAGE
for information on making selections.
select-extend()
This action tracks the pointer and extends the
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selection. It should only be bound to Motion
events.
select-end(destname [, ...])
This action puts the currently selected text into
all of the selections or cutbuffers specified by
destname.
select-cursor-start()
This action is similar to select-start except that
it begins the selection at the current text cursor
position.
select-cursor-end(destname [, ...])
This action is similar to select-end except that it
should be used with select-cursor-start.
set-vt-font(d/1/2/3/4/e/s [,normalfont [, boldfont]])
This action sets the font or fonts currently being
used in the VT102 window. The first argument is a
single character that specifies the font to be used:
d or D indicate the default font (the font initially
used when xterm was started), 1 through 4 indicate
the fonts specified by the font1 through font4
resources, e or E indicate the normal and bold fonts
that may be set through escape codes (or specified
as the second and third action arguments, respec-
tively), and i or I indicate the font selection (as
made by programs such as xfontsel(1)) indicated by
the second action argument.
start-extend()
This action is similar to select-start except that
the selection is extended to the current pointer
location.
start-cursor-extend()
This action is similar to select-extend except that
the selection is extended to the current text cursor
position.
string(string)
This action inserts the specified text string as if
it had been typed. Quotation is necessary if the
string contains whitespace or non-alphanumeric char-
acters. If the string argument begins with the
characters ``0x'', it is interpreted as a hex char-
acter constant.
scroll-back(count [,units])
This action scrolls the text window backward so that
text that had previously scrolled off the top of the
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XTERM(1) USER COMMANDS XTERM(1)
screen is now visible. The count argument indicates
the number of units (which may be page, halfpage,
pixel, or line) by which to scroll.
scroll-forw(count [,units])
This action scrolls is similar to scroll-back except
that it scrolls the other direction.
allow-send-events(on/off/toggle)
This action set or toggles the allowSendEvents
resource and is also invoked by the allowsends entry
in mainMenu.
set-logging(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the logging resource and is also
invoked by the logging entry in mainMenu.
redraw()
This action redraws the window and is also invoked
by the redraw entry in mainMenu.
send-signal(signame)
This action sends the signal named by signame (which
may also be a number) to the xterm subprocess (the
shell or program specified with the -e command line
option) and is also invoked by the suspend, con-
tinue, interrupt, hangup, terminate, and kill
entries in mainMenu. Allowable signal names are
(case is not significant): suspend, tstp (if sup-
ported by the operating system), cont (if supported
by the operating system), int, hup, term, and kill.
quit() This action sends a SIGHUP to the subprogram and
exits. It is also invoked by the quit entry in
mainMenu.
set-scrollbar(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scrollbar resource and is
also invoked by the scrollbar entry in vtMenu.
set-jumpscroll(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the jumpscroll resource and is
also invoked by the jumpscroll entry in vtMenu.
set-reverse-video(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the reverseVideo resource and is
also invoked by the reversevideo entry in vtMenu.
set-autowrap(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles automatic wrapping of long lines
and is also invoked by the autowrap entry in vtMenu.
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set-reversewrap(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the reverseWrap resource and is
also invoked by the reversewrap entry in vtMenu.
set-autolinefeed(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles automatic insertion of linefeeds
and is also invoked by the autolinefeed entry in
vtMenu.
set-appcursor(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the handling Application Cursor
Key mode and is also invoked by the Bappcursor entry
in vtMenu.
set-appkeypad(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the handling of Application
Keypad mode and is also invoked by the appkeypad
entry in vtMenu.
set-scroll-on-key(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scrollKey resource and is
also invoked from the scrollkey entry in vtMenu.
set-scroll-on-tty-output(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the scrollTtyOutput resource and
is also invoked from the scrollttyoutput entry in
vtMenu.
set-allow132(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the c132 resource and is also
invoked from the allow132 entry in vtMenu.
set-cursesemul(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the curses resource and is also
invoked from the cursesemul entry in vtMenu.
set-visual-bell(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the visualBell resource and is
also invoked by the visualbell entry in vtMenu.
set-marginbell(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles the marginBell resource and is
also invoked from the marginbell entry in vtMenu.
set-altscreen(on/off/toggle)
This action toggles between the alternative and
current screens.
soft-reset()
This action resets the scrolling region and is also
invoked from the softreset entry in vtMenu.
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hard-reset()
This action resets the scrolling region, tabs, win-
dow size, and cursor keys and clears the screen. It
is also invoked from the hardreset entry in vtMenu.
set-terminal-type(type)
This action directs output to either the vt or tek
windows, according to the type string. It is also
invoked by the tekmode entry in vtMenu and the
vtmode entry in tekMenu.
set-visibility(vt/tek,on/off/toggle)
This action controls whether or not the vt or tek
windows are visible. It is also invoked from the
tekshow and vthide entries in vtMenu and the vtshow
and tekhide entries in tekMenu.
set-tek-text(large/2/3/small)
This action sets font used in the Tektronix window
to the value of the resources tektextlarge, tek-
text2, tektext3, and tektextsmall according to the
argument. It is also by the entries of the same
names as the resources in tekMenu.
tek-page()
This action clears the Tektronix window and is also
invoked by the tekpage entry in tekMenu.
tek-reset()
This action resets the Tektronix window and is also
invoked by the tekreset entry in tekMenu.
tek-copy()
This action copies the escape codes used to generate
the current window contents to a file in the current
directory beginning with the name COPY. It is also
invoked from the tekcopy entry in tekMenu.
The Tektronix window also has the following action:
gin-press(l/L/m/M/r/R)
This action send the indicated graphics input code.
The default bindings in the VT102 window are:
Shift <KeyPress> Prior: scroll-back(1,halfpage) \n\
Shift <KeyPress> Next: scroll-forw(1,halfpage) \n\
Shift <KeyPress> Select: select-cursor-start() \
select-cursor-end(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
Shift <KeyPress> Insert: insert-selection(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
~Meta<KeyPress>: insert-seven-bit() \n\
Meta<KeyPress>: insert-eight-bit() \n\
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XTERM(1) USER COMMANDS XTERM(1)
Ctrl ~Meta<Btn1Down>: popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
~Meta <Btn1Down>: select-start() \n\
~Meta <Btn1Motion>: select-extend() \n\
Ctrl ~Meta <Btn2Down>: popup-menu(vtMenu) \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <Btn2Down>: ignore() \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <Btn2Up>: insert-selection(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
Ctrl ~Meta <Btn3Down>: popup-menu(fontMenu) \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <Btn3Down>: start-extend() \n\
~Meta <Btn3Motion>: select-extend() \n\
~Ctrl ~Meta <BtnUp>: select-end(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0) \n\
<BtnDown>: bell(0)
The default bindings in the Tektronix window are:
~Meta<KeyPress>: insert-seven-bit() \n\
Meta<KeyPress>: insert-eight-bit()\n\
Ctrl ~Meta<Btn1Down>: popup-menu(mainMenu) \n\
Ctrl ~Meta <Btn2Down>: popup-menu(tekMenu) \n\
Shift ~Meta<Btn1Down>: gin-press(L) \n\
~Meta<Btn1Down>: gin-press(l) \n\
Shift ~Meta<Btn2Down>: gin-press(M) \n\
~Meta<Btn2Down>: gin-press(m) \n\
Shift ~Meta<Btn3Down>: gin-press(R) \n\
~Meta<Btn3Down>: gin-press(r)
Below is a sample how of the keymap() action is used to add
special keys for entering commonly-typed works:
*VT100.Translations: #override <Key>F13: keymap(dbx)
*VT100.dbxKeymap.translations: \
<Key>F14: keymap(None) \n\
<Key>F17: string("next") string(0x0d) \n\
<Key>F18: string("step") string(0x0d) \n\
<Key>F19: string("continue") string(0x0d) \n\
<Key>F20: string("print ") insert-selection(PRIMARY, CUT_BUFFER0)
OTHER FEATURES
Xterm automatically highlights the window border and text
cursor when the pointer enters the window (selected) and
unhighlights them when the pointer leaves the window
(unselected). If the window is the focus window, then the
window is highlighted no matter where the pointer is.
In VT102 mode, there are escape sequences to activate and
deactivate an alternate screen buffer, which is the same
size as the display area of the window. When activated, the
current screen is saved and replace with the alternate
screen. Saving of lines scrolled off the top of the window
is disabled until the normal screen is restored. The
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XTERM(1) USER COMMANDS XTERM(1)
termcap(5) entry for xterm allows the visual editor vi(1) to
switch to the alternate screen for editing, and restore the
screen on exit.
In either VT102 or Tektronix mode, there are escape
sequences to change the name of the windows and to specify a
new log file name.
ENVIRONMENT
Xterm sets the environment variables ``TERM'' and
``TERMCAP'' properly for the size window you have created.
It also uses and sets the environment variable ``DISPLAY''
to specify which bit map display terminal to use. The
environment variable ``WINDOWID'' is set to the X window id
number of the xterm window.
SEE ALSO
resize(1), X(1), pty(4), tty(4)
Xterm Control Sequences
BUGS
The Xterm Control Sequences document has yet to be converted
from X10. The old version, along with a first stab at an
update, are available in the sources.
The class name is XTerm instead of Xterm.
Xterm will hang forever if you try to paste too much text at
one time. It is both producer and consumer for the pty and
can deadlock.
Variable-width fonts are not handled.
This program still needs to be rewritten. It should be
split into very modular sections, with the various emulators
being completely separate widgets that don't know about each
other. Ideally, you'd like to be able to pick and choose
emulator widgets and stick them into a single control
widget.
The focus is considered lost if some other client (e.g., the
window manager) grabs the pointer; it is difficult to do
better without an addition to the protocol.
There needs to be a dialog box to allow entry of log file
name and the COPY file name.
Many of the options are not resettable after xterm starts.
The Tek widget does not support key/button re-binding.
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COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1989, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
See X(1) for a full statement of rights and permissions.
AUTHORS
Far too many people, including:
Loretta Guarino Reid (DEC-UEG-WSL), Joel McCormack (DEC-
UEG-WSL), Terry Weissman (DEC-UEG-WSL), Edward Moy (Berke-
ley), Ralph R. Swick (MIT-Athena), Mark Vandevoorde (MIT-
Athena), Bob McNamara (DEC-MAD), Jim Gettys (MIT-Athena),
Bob Scheifler (MIT X Consortium), Doug Mink (SAO), Steve
Pitschke (Stellar), Ron Newman (MIT-Athena), Jim Fulton (MIT
X Consortium), Dave Serisky (HP)
X Version 11 Last change: Release 4 30