NAME
rxvt - VT102 emulator for the X window system
SYNOPSIS
rxvt [options] [-e command [args]]
DESCRIPTION
rxvt - version 2.20 - is a color vt102 terminal emulator
intended as an xterm(1) replacement for users who do not
require features such as Tektronix 4014 emulation and
toolkit-style configurability. As a result, rxvt uses much
less swap space - a significant advantage on a machine
serving many X sessions.
OPTIONS
The rxvt options (mostly a subset of xterm's) are listed
below. In keeping with the smaller-is-better philosophy,
options may be eliminated or default values chosen at
compile-time, so options and defaults listed may not
accurately reflect the version installed on your system.
Note that rxvt permits the resource name to be used as a
long-option (--/++ option) so the potential command-line
options are far greater than those listed.
For example: `rxvt --loginShell --color1 Orange'.
-help,--help
Print out a message describing available options.
-display displayname
Attempt to open a window on the named X display (-d
still respected). In the absence of this option, the
display specified by the DISPLAY environment variable
is used.
-geometry geom
Window geometry (-g still respected); resource
geometry.
-rv|+rv
Turn on/off simulated reverse video; resource
reverseVideo.
-bg color
Window background color; resource background.
-fg color
Window foreground color; resource foreground.
-cr color
The cursor color; resource cursorColor.
-fn fontname
Main normal text font; resource font.
-fb fontname
Main bold text font; resource boldFont.
-fk fontname
Main Kanji font; resource kfont.
-km mode
Kanji encoding mode; eucj: EUC Japanese encoding.
sjis: Shift JIS encoding; resource kanji_encoding.
-grk mode
Greek keyboard translation; iso: ISO-8859 mapping.
ibm: IBM-437 mapping; resource greek_keyboard.
-name name
Specify the application name under which resources are
to be obtained, rather than the default executable file
name. Name should not contain `.' or `*' characters.
Also sets the icon and title name.
-ls|+ls
Start as a login-shell/sub-shell; resource loginShell.
-ut|+ut
Inhibit/enable writing a utmp entry; resource
utmpInhibit.
-vb|+vb
Turn on/off visual bell on receipt of a bell character;
resource visualBell.
-sb|+sb
Turn on/off scrollbar; resource scrollBar.
-iconic
Start iconified, if the window manager supports that
option.
-sl number
Save number lines in the scrollback buffer; resource
saveLines.
-e command [arguments]
Run the command with its command-line arguments in the
rxvt window. If this option is used, it must be the
last on the command-line. If there is no -e option
then the default is to run the program specified by the
SHELL environment variable or, failing that, sh(1).
-title text
Window title (-T still respected); resource title.
-n text
Icon name; resource iconName.
-C Capture system console messages.
RESOURCES (available also as long-options)
rxvt accepts application defaults set in XAPPLOADDIR/Rxvt
(compile-time defined: usually /usr/lib/X11/app-
defaults/Rxvt) and resources set in ~/.Xdefaults or
~/.Xresources. Note that when reading X resources, rxvt
recognizes two class names: XTerm and Rxvt. The class name
XTerm allows resources common to both rxvt and xterm to be
easily configured, while the class name Rxvt allows
resources unique to rxvt, notably colors and key-handling,
to be shared between different rxvt configurations. If no
resources are specified, suitable defaults will be used.
Command-line arguments can be used to override resource
settings. The following resources are allowed:
geometry: geom
Create the window with the specified X window geometry
[default 80x24]; option -geometry.
background: color
Use the specified color as the window's background
color [default White]; option -bg.
foreground: color
Use the specified color as the window's foreground
color [default Black]; option -fg.
colorn: color
Use the specified color for the color value n, where
0-7 corresponds to low-intensity (normal) colors and
8-15 corresponds to high-intensity (bold = bright
foreground, blink = bright background) colors. The
canonical names are as follows: 0=black, 1=red,
2=green, 3=yellow, 4=blue, 5=magenta, 6=cyan, 7=white,
but the actual color names used are listed in the
COLORS AND GRAPHICS section.
colorBD: color
Use the specified color to display bold characters when
the foreground color is the default.
colorUL: color
Use the specified color to display underlined
characters when the foreground color is the default.
cursorColor: color
Use the specified color for the cursor. The default is
to use the foreground color; option -cr.
cursorColor2: color
Use the specified color for the color of the cursor
text. For this to take effect, cursorColor must also
be specified. The default is to use the background
color.
reverseVideo: boolean
True: simulate reverse video by foreground and
background colors; option -rv, False: regular screen
colors [default]; option +rv. See note in COLORS AND
GRAPHICS section.
scrollColor: color
Use the specified color for the scrollbar [default
#B2B2B2].
backgroundPixmap: file[;geom]
Use the specified XPM file (note the `.xpm' extension
is optional) for the background and also optionally
specify its scaling with a geometry string
WxH+X+Y, in which W/H specify the horizontal/vertical
scale (percent) and X/Y locate the image centre
(percent). A scale of 0 displays the image with
tiling. A scale of 1 displays the image without any
scaling. A scale of 2 to 9 specifies the number of
images in that direction. No image will be magnified
beyond 10 times its original size. The maximum
permitted scale is 1000. [default 100x100+50+50]
path: path
Specify the colon-delimited search path for finding XPM
files, in addition to the paths specified by the
RXVTPATH and PATH environment variables.
font: fontname
Select the main text font used [default 7x14]; option
-fn.
fontn: fontname
Specify the alternative font n. The default font
values:
font: 7x14
font1: 6x10
font2: 6x13
font3: 8x13
font4: 9x15
boldFont: fontname
Specify the name of the bold font to use if colorBD has
not been specified and it is not possible to map the
default foreground color to color 8-15 [default NONE].
This font must be the same height and width as the
normal font; option -fb.
kfont: fontname
Select the main Kanji text font used [default k14];
option -fk.
kfontn: fontname
Specify the alternative Kanji font n. If compiled for
Kanji, the Roman and Kanji font sizes should match.
The default font values:
font: 7x14
font1: 8x16
font2: 9x18
font3: 12x24
font4: 13x26
kfont: k14
kfont1: jiskan16
kfont2: jiskan18
kfont3: jiskan24
kfont4: jiskan26
kanji_encoding: mode
Set the Kanji encoding mode to be used; eucj: EUC
Japanese encoding [default]. sjis: Shift JIS
encoding; option -km.
greek_keyboard: mode
Set the Greek keyboard translation mode to be used;
iso: ISO-8859 mapping (elot-928) [default]. ibm:
IBM-437 mapping (DOS codepage 737); option -grk. Use
Mode_switch to toggle keyboard input. For more
details, see the distributed file README.greek.
title: text
Set window title string, the default title is the
command-line specified after the -e option, if any,
otherwise the application name; option -title.
iconName: text
Set the name used to label the window's icon or
displayed in an icon manager window, it also sets the
window's title unless it is explicitly set; option -n.
mapAlert: boolean
True: de-iconify (map) on receipt of a bell character.
False: no de-iconify (map) on receipt of a bell
character [default].
visualBell: boolean
True: use visual bell on receipt of a bell character;
option -vb. False: no visual bell [default]; option
+vb.
loginShell: boolean
True: start as a login shell by prepending a `-' to
argv[0] of the shell; option -ls. False: start as a
normal sub-shell [default]; option +ls.
utmpInhibit: boolean
True: inhibit writing record into the system log file
utmp; option -ut. False: write record into the system
log file utmp [default]; option +ut.
print-pipe: string
Specify a command pipe for vt100 printer [default
lpr(1)]. Use Print to initiate a screen dump to the
printer and Ctrl-Print or Shift-Print to include the
scrollback as well.
scrollBar: boolean
True: enable the scrollbar [default]; option -sb.
False: disable the scrollbar; option +sb. Note that
the scrollbar position (left/right) and its type
(with/without arrows) is compile-time selected.
smallfont_key: keysym
If enabled, use Alt-keysym to toggle to a smaller font
[default Alt-<].
bigfont_key: keysym
If enabled, use Alt-keysym to toggle to a bigger font
[default Alt->].
saveLines: number
Save number lines in the scrollback buffer [default
64]; option -sl.
meta8: boolean
True: handle Meta (Alt) + keypress to set the 8th bit.
False: handle Meta (Alt) + keypress as an escape
prefix [default].
cutchars: string
The characters used as delimiters for double-click word
selection. The built-in default:
TAB SPACE BACKSLASH `"'&()*,;<=>?@[]{|}
keysym.sym: string
Associate string with keysym sym (0xFF00 - 0xFFFF). It
may contain escape values (\a: bell, \b: backspace, \e,
\E: escape, \n: newline, \r: return, \t: tab, \000:
octal number) or control characters (^?: delete, ^@:
null, ^A ...) and may enclosed with double quotes so
that it can start or end with whitespace. The
intervening resource name keysym. cannot be omitted.
This resource is only available when compiled with
FAKE_RESOURCES.
THE SCROLLBAR
Lines of text that scroll off the top of the rxvt window
(resource: saveLines) and can be scrolled back using the
scrollbar or by keystrokes. The normal rxvt scrollbar has
arrows and its behaviour is fairly intuitive. The xterm-
scrollbar is without arrows and its behaviour mimics that of
xterm.
Scroll down with Button1 (xterm-scrollbar) or Shift-Next.
Scroll up with Button3 (xterm-scrollbar) or Shift-Prior.
Continuous scroll with Button2.
MOUSE REPORTING
To temporarily override mouse reporting, for either the
scrollbar or the normal text selection/insertion, hold
either the Shift or the Meta (Alt) key while performing the
desired mouse action.
If mouse reporting mode is active, the normal scrollbar
actions are disabled - on the assumption that we are using a
fullscreen application. Instead, pressing Button1 and
Button3 sends ESC[6~ (Next) and ESC[5~ (Prior),
respectively. Similarly, clicking on the up and down arrows
sends ESC[A (Up) and ESC[B (Down), respectively.
TEXT SELECTION AND INSERTION
The behaviour of text selection and insertion mechanism is
similar to xterm.
Selection:
Left click at the beginning of the region, drag to the
end of the region and release; Right click to extend
the marked region; Left double-click to select a word;
Left triple-click to select the entire line.
Insertion:
Pressing and releasing the Middle mouse button (or
Shift-Insert) in an rxvt window causes the current text
selection to be inserted as if it had been typed on the
keyboard.
CHANGING FONTS
You can change fonts on-the-fly, which is to say cycle
through the default font and others of various sizes, by
using Shift-KP_Add and Shift-KP_Subtract. Or, alternatively
(if enabled) with Alt-> and Alt-<, where the actual key can
be selected using resources smallfont_key/bigfont_key.
LOGIN STAMP
rxvt tries to write an entry into the utmp file (usually
/etc/utmp), so that it can be seen via the who(1) command,
and can accept messages. To allow this feature, rxvt must
be installed setuid root.
COLORS AND GRAPHICS
If graphics support was enabled at compile-time, rxvt can be
queried with ANSI escape sequences and can address
individual pixels instead of text characters. Note the
graphics support is still considered beta code.
In addition to the default foreground and background colors,
rxvt can display up to 16 colors (8 ANSI colors plus high-
intensity bold/blink versions of the same). Here is a list
of the colors with their rgb.txt names.
color0 (black) = Black
color1 (red) = Red3
color2 (green) = Green3
color3 (yellow) = Yellow3
color4 (blue) = Blue3
color5 (magenta) = Magenta3
color6 (cyan) = Cyan3
color7 (white) = AntiqueWhite
color8 (bright black) = Grey25
color9 (bright red) = Red
color10 (bright green) = Green
color11 (bright yellow) = Yellow
color12 (bright blue) = Blue
color13 (bright magenta) = Magenta
color14 (bright cyan) = Cyan
color15 (bright white) = White
foreground = Black
background = White
It is also possible to specify the color values of
foreground, background, cursorColor, cursorColor2, colorBD,
colorUL as a number 0-15, as a convenient shorthand to
reference the color name of color0-color15.
Note that -rv (reverseVideo: True) simulates reverse video
by always swapping the foreground/background colors. This
is in contrast to xterm where the colors are only swapped if
they have not otherwise been specified. For example,
rxvt -fg Black -bg White -rv
would yield White on Black, while on xterm it would
yield Black on White.
ENVIRONMENT
rxvt sets the environment variables TERM, COLORTERM and
COLORFGBG. The environment variable WINDOWID is set to the
X window id number of the rxvt window and it also uses and
sets the environment variable DISPLAY to specify which
display terminal to use. rxvt uses the environment
variables RXVTPATH and PATH to find XPM files.
FILES
/etc/utmp System file for login records.
/usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt
SEE ALSO
xterm(1), sh(1), resize(1), X(1), pty(4), tty(4), utmp(5)
BUGS
Selecting/pasting very large chunks of text is a problem.
But as is the case for xterm, it is a bug of the pseudo
terminal driver of those systems.
rxvt-2.14 has the utmp support cleaned-up and supports utmpx
(i.e. Solaris 2.x) but there are still some problems.
Please inform the maintainer of the correct solutions to
utmp problems since he doesn't have root access of his own
to test utmp.
Cursor change support is not yet implemented.
Click-and-drag doesn't work with X11 mouse report
overriding.
Graphics support is fairly crude.
For some fonts there are problems with pixel-droppings being
left behind when simulated bold (overstrike) precedes a
space character. Fixing rxvt to handle these cases requires
a lot of energy. So the easiest course by far is to specify
a boldFont, specify colorBD or, if it was compiled without
NO_BRIGHTCOLOR, to select a foreground color that matches
the pixel values of color 0-7 so that overstrike bold won't
be used.
Like xterm, rxvt handles mono-space fonts only.
AUTHOR
John Bovey, University of Kent, 1992.
Very very very heavily modified by Rob Nation
nation@rocket.sanders.lockheed.com
Greek keyboard input: Angelo Haritsis ah@doc.ic.ac.uk
Utmpx addition (Solaris 2.x) and extensive reworking of
pseudo-tty handling and addition of BSD sgtty terminal
handling support by Raul Garcia Garcia rgg@tid.es
16/10/95.
mj olesen olesen@me.QueensU.CA (changes.txt 2.11 to 2.20)
CURRENT MAINTAINER
olesen@me.QueensU.CA, but thesis first!/will
someone else volunteer?
FTP LOCATION
ftp.nuclecu.unam.mx
tsx-11.mit.edu
mj olesen
Thu Jan 23 13:43:44 1997