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 xset(X)                  X Version 11 (Release 4)                    xset(X)



 Name

    xset - user preference utility for X

 Syntax

    xset [-display display] [-b] [b on/off] [b [volume [pitch [duration]]]
    [[-]bc] [-c] [c on/off] [c [volume]] [[-+]fp[-+=] path[,path[,...]]] [fp
    default] [fp rehash] [[-]led [integer]] [led on/off] [m[ouse] [accelera-
    tion [threshold]]] [m[ouse] default] [p pixel color] [[-]r] [r on/off] [s
    [length [period]]] [s blank/noblank] [s expose/noexpose] [s on/off] [s
    default] [q]

 Description

    xset sets user preference options of the X server.

 Options


    -display display
            specifies the server to use; see X(X).

    b       controls bell volume, pitch and duration.  This option accepts up
            to three numerical parameters, a preceding dash(-), or an on/off
            flag.  If no parameters are given, or the on flag is used, the
            system defaults are used.  If the dash or off are given, the bell
            is turned off.  If only one numerical parameter is given, the
            bell volume is set to that value, as a percentage of its maximum.
            Likewise, the second numerical parameter specifies the bell
            pitch, in hertz, and the third numerical parameter specifies the
            duration in milliseconds.  Note that not all hardware can vary
            the bell characteristics.  The X server sets the characteristics
            of the bell as closely as it can to the user's specifications.

    bc      controls bug compatibility mode in the server, if possible; a
            preceding dash(-) disables the mode, otherwise the mode is
            enabled.  Various pre-R4 clients pass illegal values in some pro-
            tocol requests, and pre-R4 servers did not correctly generate
            errors in these cases.  Such clients, when run against an R4
            server, terminates abnormally or fails to operate correctly.  Bug
            compatibility mode explicitly reintroduces certain bugs into the
            X server, so that many such clients can still be run. Use this
            mode with care; new application development should be done with
            this mode disabled.  The server must support the MIT-SUNDRY-
            NONSTANDARD protocol extension in order for this option to work.

    c       controls key click.  This option can take an optional value, a
            preceding dash(-), or an on/off flag.  If no parameter or the on
            flag is given, the system defaults are used. If the dash or off
            flag is used, keyclick is disabled.  If a value from 0 to 100 is
            given, it is used to indicate volume, as a percentage of the max-
            imum.  The X server sets the volume to the nearest value that the
            hardware can support.

    fp= path,...
            sets the font path to the directories given in the path argument.
            The directories are interpreted by the server, not by the client,
            and are server-dependent.  Directories that do not contain font
            databases created by mkfontdir are ignored by the server.

    fp default
            causes the font path to be reset to the server's default

    fp rehash
            causes the server to reread the font databases in the current
            font path.  This is generally only used when adding new fonts to
            a font directory (after running mkfontdir to recreate the font
            database).

    -fp  or fp-
            remove elements from the current font path.  They must be fol-
            lowed by a comma-separated list of directories.

    +fp  or fp+
            prepend and append elements to the current font path, respec-
            tively.  They must be followed by a comma-separated list of
            directories and you must specify valid font directories.

    led     controls the keyboard LEDs.  This controls the turning on or off
            of one or all of the LEDs.  It accepts an optional integer, a
            preceding dash(-) or an on/off flag.  If no parameter or the on
            flag is given, all LEDs are turned on.  If a preceding dash or
            the flag ``off'' is given, all LEDs are turned off.  If a value
            between 1 and 32 is given, that LED is turned on or off depending
            on the existence of a preceding dash.  A common LED which can be
            controlled is the ``Caps Lock'' LED.  xset led 3 would turn led
            #3 on.  xset -led 3 would turn it off.  The particular LED values
            may refer to different LEDs on different hardware.

    m       controls the mouse parameters.  The parameters for the mouse are
            ``acceleration'' and ``threshold''.  The mouse, or whatever
            pointer the machine is connected to, goes ``acceleration'' times
            as fast when it travels more than``threshold'' pixels in a short
            time.  This way, the mouse can be used for precise alignment when
            it is moved slowly, yet it can be set to travel across the screen
            in a flick of the wrist when desired.  One or both parameters for
            the m option can be omitted, but if only one is given, it is
            interpreted as the acceleration.  If no parameters or the flag
            ``default'' is used, the system defaults are set.

    p       controls pixel color values.  The parameters are the color map
            entry number in decimal, and a color specification.  The root
            background colors may be changed on some servers by altering the
            entries for BlackPixel and WhitePixel.  Although these are often
            0 and 1, they need not be.  Also, a server may choose to allocate
            those colors privately, in which case an error is generated.  The
            map entry must not be a read-only color, or an error results.

    r       controls the autorepeat.  If a preceding dash or the off flag is
            used, autorepeat is disabled.  If no parameters or the on flag is
            used, autorepeat is enabled.

    s       lets you set the screen saver parameters.  This option accepts up
            to two numerical parameters, a ``blank/noblank'' flag, an
            ``expose/noexpose'' flag, an ``on/off'' flag, or the ``default''
            flag.  If no parameters or the 'default' flag is used, the system
            is set to its default screen saver characteristics.  The
            ``on/off'' flags simply turn the screen saver functions on or
            off.  The ``blank'' flag sets the preference to blank the video
            (if the hardware can do so) rather than display a background pat-
            tern, while 'noblank' sets the preference to display a pattern
            rather than blank the video.  The ``expose'' flag sets the
            preference to allow window exposures (the server can freely dis-
            card window contents), while ``noexpose'' sets the preference to
            disable screen saver unless the server can regenerate the screens
            without causing exposure events.  The length and period parame-
            ters for the screen saver function determines how long the server
            must be inactive for screen saving to activate, and the period to
            change the background pattern to avoid burn in.  The arguments
            are specified in seconds.  If only one numerical parameter is
            given, it is used for the length.

    q       gives you information on the current settings.

    These settings are reset to default values when you log out.

    Note that not all X implementations are guaranteed to honor all of these
    options.

 See also

    X(X),
    Xsco(X),
    xmodmap(X),
    xrdb(X),
    xsetroot(X)

 Copyright

    Copyright 1988, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
    See X(X) for a full statement of rights and permissions.






















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