NAME

xrefresh − refresh all or part of an X screen. 

SYNTAX

xrefresh [options]

DESCRIPTION

xrefresh is a simple X program that causes all or part of your screen to be repainted.  This is useful when system messages have displayed on your screen.  xrefresh maps a window on top of the desired area of the screen and then immediately unmaps it, causing refresh events to be sent to all applications.  By default, a window with no background is used, causing all applications to repaint "smoothly."  However, the various options can be used to indicate that a solid background (of any color) or the root window background should be used instead. 

See Chapter 8, Other Clients, for more information about xrefresh.  In certain cases, you can run the xconsole client to prevent system messages from obscuring the screen.  See the xconsole reference page and Appendix A, Managing Your Environment, for more information. 

OPTIONS

xrefresh accepts the following options:

-black
Use a black background (in effect, turning off all of the electron guns to the tube).  This can be somewhat disorienting as everything goes black for a moment.

-display [host]:server[.screen]
Allows you to specify the display, server and screen to refresh. host is the hostname of the physical display, server specifies the display server number, and screen specifies the screen number.  % xrefresh -display your_node:0.1 specifies screen 1 of server 0 on the display named by your_node.  Either or both of the host and screen elements to the display specification can be omitted.  If host is omitted, the local display is assumed.  If screen is omitted, screen 0 is assumed (and the period is unnecessary).  The colon and (display) server are necessary in all cases. 

-geometry geometry
Specifies the portion of the screen to be repainted.  (This is generally pointless.) The -geometry option can be (and often is) abbreviated to -g, unless there is a conflicting option that begins with "g".  The argument to the geometry option (geometry) is referred to as a "standard geometry string," and has the form widthxheight±xoff±yoff. 

-noneThis is the default.  All of the windows simply repaint. 

-rootUse the root window background. 

-solid color
Use a solid background of the specified color.  Try green.

-white
Use a white background.  The screen just appears to flash quickly, and then repaints.

RESOURCES

The xrefresh program uses the routine XGetDefault(3X) to read defaults, so its resource names are all capitalized. 

Black, White, Solid, None, Root
Determines what sort of window background to use.

Geometry
Determines the area to refresh.  Not very useful.

SEE ALSO

X, xconsole; Chapter 8, Other Clients; Appendix A, Managing Your Environment. 

BUGS

It should have just one default type for the background. 

AUTHOR

Jim Gettys, Digital Equipment Corp., MIT Project Athena.