mk_fnt_clnt(1M)

NAME

mk_fnt_clnt - configure a font client

SYNOPSIS

mk_fnt_clnt [-k] host

DESCRIPTION

The command mk_fnt_clnt configures a system as a font client so the HP VUE product accesses X11 fonts from a network font server. Once a system is a font client, mk_fnt_clnt can be run again to switch from one font server to another.

The system specified by the host argument should already be configured as a font server, and must be accessible when mk_fnt_clnt is executed. host can be a hostname or an Internet address.

First time configuration of a font client results in the removal of some filesets containing X11 fonts. Only filesets that contain an SD control file with the name font_client_rm are removed. No filesets are removed on subsequent calls to switch font servers.

When appropriate, a font client can also be configured as part of first time system setup or by running the interactive command /sbin/set_parms with the argument font_c-s.

Options

mk_fnt_clnt supports the following option and parameter:

-k Keep the font filesets. By default, mk_fnt_clnt uses swremove (see swremove(1M)) to remove any font filesets that have a control file named font_client_rm. This option is only useful if access to a network font server is desired but removal of local fonts is not desired. Keeping local fonts means the font client has no RAM or disk space savings.

Note that font filesets are only removed during first time configuration. No fileset removals occur during subsequent calls to mk_fnt_clnt even if the -k option is not specified.

host The font server host specified by the host parameter can be a hostname or an Internet address. The host acting as the font server should always be configured before configuring any font clients.

To change a system so that it ceases being a font client, reload the font filesets and remove or comment out the line from /etc/vue/config/vuerc that begins with “FONT_PATH_TAIL=”. After that, exit any active VUE sessions and restart them.

NETWORKING FEATURES

This command should only be used on systems that are connected to a network. Networking must be configured and enabled before using this command.

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

If the DISPLAY environment variable is set and refers to the same host as the one on which mk_fnt_clnt executes, which is the normal case, the current font path of the X server for that display is updated. When changing font servers, the new font server is added to the path ahead of any other remote font servers. If present, the previous font server is removed from the font path.

If the host has multiple displays, only the X server referred to by the DISPLAY environment variable will be updated immediately. Other X server processes will get the new path when a new VUE session is started for that display.

If the DISPLAY environment variable is set and refers to a host different from the one on which mk_fnt_clnt executes, no changes are made to the font path of the X server referred to by the DISPLAY environment variable.

RETURN VALUE

Exit values are:

0 Successful configuration of the host as a font client.

1 One or more errors occurred.

DIAGNOSTICS

Error messages are self-explanatory.

WARNINGS

Being a network font client makes your VUE interface somewhat dependent on the network and the font server host. If your font server system becomes unreachable, your font client system has a very restricted set of fonts.

X11 applications that are currently executing usually continue to function, but encounter problems if they request a new font while the font server is unavailable. At that point they may exhibit errors, display a very small fixed size font, or hang.

Most new X11 applications you try to start after a server becomes unreachable probably hang until the server comes back.

Because of these conditions, you might want to use font clients only on systems that are connected by reliable networks to reliable font server systems.

The following are circumstances in which you should not configure a host as a font client:

• Diskless cluster servers should never be configured as font clients. Before configuring an existing font client to be a diskless cluster server, you should restore the X11 font filesets and cease being a font client, as described earlier.

• In general, any server system providing X11 or VUE resources to other clients, such as a system serving X terminals or an MPower server, should not be a font client. A system already acting as a font server can not become a font client without first ceasing to be a font server.

• If your system uses something other than VUE 3.0 for its X11 interface or does not have a local X11 interface, you should not make the system a font client.

AUTHOR

mk_fnt_clnt was developed by HP.

FILES

/etc/vue/config/vuerc configuration file for holding the font path.

/usr/lbin/font_c-s.utils functions used by the mk_fnt_clnt script

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