3 RXVT REFERENCE - FAQ, command sequences and other background information
8 printf '\33]50;%s\007' 9x15,xft:Kochi" Mincho"
10 # change the locale and tell rxvt-unicode about it
11 export LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.EUC-JP; printf "\33]701;$LC_CTYPE\007"
14 printf '\33]2;%s\007' "new window title"
18 This document contains the FAQ, the RXVT TECHNICAL REFERENCE documenting
19 all escape sequences, and other background information.
21 The newest version of this document is also available on the World Wide Web at
22 L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/browse/rxvt-unicode/doc/rxvt.7.html>.
24 =head1 RXVT-UNICODE/URXVT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
27 =head2 Meta, Features & Commandline Issues
29 =head3 My question isn't answered here, can I ask a human?
31 Before sending me mail, you could go to IRC: C<irc.freenode.net>,
32 channel C<#rxvt-unicode> has some rxvt-unicode enthusiasts that might be
33 interested in learning about new and exciting problems (but not FAQs :).
35 =head3 Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode?
37 Beginning with version 7.3, there is a perl extension that implements a
38 simple tabbed terminal. It is installed by default, so any of these should
41 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pe tabbed
43 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,tabbed
45 It will also work fine with tabbing functionality of many window managers
46 or similar tabbing programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be
47 embedded into other programs, as witnessed by F<doc/rxvt-tabbed> or
48 the upcoming C<Gtk2::URxvt> perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt
49 (murxvt) terminal as an example embedding application.
51 =head3 How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using?
53 The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape
54 sequence C<ESC [ 8 n> sets the window title to the version number. When
55 using the @@URXVT_NAME@@c client, the version displayed is that of the
58 =head3 Rxvt-unicode uses gobs of memory, how can I reduce that?
60 Rxvt-unicode tries to obey the rule of not charging you for something you
61 don't use. One thing you should try is to configure out all settings that
62 you don't need, for example, Xft support is a resource hog by design,
63 when used. Compiling it out ensures that no Xft font will be loaded
64 accidentally when rxvt-unicode tries to find a font for your characters.
66 Also, many people (me included) like large windows and even larger
67 scrollback buffers: Without C<--enable-unicode3>, rxvt-unicode will use
68 6 bytes per screen cell. For a 160x?? window this amounts to almost a
69 kilobyte per line. A scrollback buffer of 10000 lines will then (if full)
70 use 10 Megabytes of memory. With C<--enable-unicode3> it gets worse, as
71 rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell.
73 =head3 How can I start @@URXVT_NAME@@d in a race-free way?
75 Try C<@@URXVT_NAME@@d -f -o>, which tells @@URXVT_NAME@@d to open the
76 display, create the listening socket and then fork.
78 =head3 How can I start @@URXVT_NAME@@d automatically when I run @@URXVT_NAME@@c?
80 If you want to start @@URXVT_NAME@@d automatically whenever you run
81 @@URXVT_NAME@@c and the daemon isn't running yet, use this script:
86 @@URXVT_NAME@@d -q -o -f
90 This tries to create a new terminal, and if fails with exit status 2,
91 meaning it couldn't connect to the daemon, it will start the daemon and
92 re-run the command. Subsequent invocations of the script will re-use the
95 =head3 How do I distinguish whether I'm running rxvt-unicode or a regular xterm? I need this to decide about setting colors etc.
97 The original rxvt and rxvt-unicode always export the variable "COLORTERM",
98 so you can check and see if that is set. Note that several programs, JED,
99 slrn, Midnight Commander automatically check this variable to decide
100 whether or not to use color.
102 =head3 How do I set the correct, full IP address for the DISPLAY variable?
104 If you've compiled rxvt-unicode with DISPLAY_IS_IP and have enabled
105 insecure mode then it is possible to use the following shell script
106 snippets to correctly set the display. If your version of rxvt-unicode
107 wasn't also compiled with ESCZ_ANSWER (as assumed in these snippets) then
108 the COLORTERM variable can be used to distinguish rxvt-unicode from a
111 Courtesy of Chuck Blake <cblake@BBN.COM> with the following shell script
114 # Bourne/Korn/POSIX family of shells:
115 [ ${TERM:-foo} = foo ] && TERM=xterm # assume an xterm if we don't know
116 if [ ${TERM:-foo} = xterm ]; then
117 stty -icanon -echo min 0 time 15 # see if enhanced rxvt or not
121 if [ ""${term_id} = '^[[?1;2C' -a ${DISPLAY:-foo} = foo ]; then
122 echo -n '^[[7n' # query the rxvt we are in for the DISPLAY string
123 read DISPLAY # set it in our local shell
127 =head3 How do I compile the manual pages on my own?
129 You need to have a recent version of perl installed as F</usr/bin/perl>,
130 one that comes with F<pod2man>, F<pod2text> and F<pod2xhtml> (from
131 F<Pod::Xhtml>). Then go to the doc subdirectory and enter C<make alldoc>.
133 =head3 Isn't rxvt-unicode supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat?
135 I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause extra
136 bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you can see
137 that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables always being
138 compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS) after startup. Even
139 with C<--disable-everything>, this comparison is a bit unfair, as many
140 features unique to urxvt (locale, encoding conversion, iso14755 etc.) are
141 already in use in this mode.
143 text data bss drs rss filename
144 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything
145 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything
147 When you C<--enable-everything> (which I<is> unfair, as this involves xft
148 and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 and my
149 libc), the two diverge, but not unreasonably so.
151 text data bss drs rss filename
152 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything
153 1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything
155 The very large size of the text section is explained by the east-asian
156 encoding tables, which, if unused, take up disk space but nothing else
157 and can be compiled out unless you rely on X11 core fonts that use those
158 encodings. The BSS size comes from the 64k emergency buffer that my c++
159 compiler allocates (but of course doesn't use unless you are out of
160 memory). Also, using an xft font instead of a core font immediately adds a
161 few megabytes of RSS. Xft indeed is responsible for a lot of RSS even when
164 Of course, due to every character using two or four bytes instead of one,
165 a large scrollback buffer will ultimately make rxvt-unicode use more
168 Compared to e.g. Eterm (5112k), aterm (3132k) and xterm (4680k), this
169 still fares rather well. And compared to some monsters like gnome-terminal
170 (21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or konsole (22200k + extra
171 43180k in daemons that stay around after exit, plus half a minute of
172 startup time, including the hundreds of warnings it spits out), it fares
175 =head3 Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool?
177 Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: I had
178 to write it, and C++ allowed me to write and maintain it in a fraction
179 of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). Put even
180 shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++.
182 My personal stance on this is that C++ is less portable than C, but in
183 the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability limits
184 are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale support and unix
185 domain sockets, which are all less portable than C++ itself.
187 Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write programs
188 in C that use gobs of memory, an certainly possible to write programs in
189 C++ that don't. C++ also often comes with large libraries, but this is
190 not necessarily the case with GCC. Here is what rxvt links against on my
191 system with a minimal config:
193 libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
194 libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000)
195 libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000)
196 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
198 And here is rxvt-unicode:
200 libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000)
201 libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000)
202 libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000)
203 libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000)
204 /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000)
206 No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in statically),
207 except maybe libX11 :)
210 =head2 Rendering, Font & Look and Feel Issues
212 =head3 I can't get transparency working, what am I doing wrong?
214 First of all, transparency isn't officially supported in rxvt-unicode, so
215 you are mostly on your own. Do not bug the author about it (but you may
216 bug everybody else). Also, if you can't get it working consider it a rite
217 of passage: ... and you failed.
219 Here are four ways to get transparency. B<Do> read the manpage and option
220 descriptions for the programs mentioned and rxvt-unicode. Really, do it!
222 1. Use inheritPixmap:
224 Esetroot wallpaper.jpg
225 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -ip -tint red -sh 40
227 That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack transparency and tinting
228 support, or you are unable to read.
230 2. Use a simple pixmap and emulate pseudo-transparency. This enables you
231 to use effects other than tinting and shading: Just shade/tint/whatever
232 your picture with gimp or any other tool:
234 convert wallpaper.jpg -blur 20x20 -modulate 30 background.xpm
235 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -pixmap background.xpm -pe automove-background
237 That works. If you think it doesn't, you lack XPM and Perl support, or you
240 3. Use an ARGB visual:
242 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -depth 32 -fg grey90 -bg rgba:0000/0000/4444/cccc
244 This requires XFT support, and the support of your X-server. If that
245 doesn't work for you, blame Xorg and Keith Packard. ARGB visuals aren't
246 there yet, no matter what they claim. Rxvt-Unicode contains the necessary
247 bugfixes and workarounds for Xft and Xlib to make it work, but that
248 doesn't mean that your WM has the required kludges in place.
250 4. Use xcompmgr and let it do the job:
252 xprop -frame -f _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c \
253 -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0xc0000000
255 Then click on a window you want to make transparent. Replace C<0xc0000000>
256 by other values to change the degree of opacity. If it doesn't work and
257 your server crashes, you got to keep the pieces.
259 =head3 Why does rxvt-unicode sometimes leave pixel droppings?
261 Most fonts were not designed for terminal use, which means that character
262 size varies a lot. A font that is otherwise fine for terminal use might
263 contain some characters that are simply too wide. Rxvt-unicode will avoid
264 these characters. For characters that are just "a bit" too wide a special
265 "careful" rendering mode is used that redraws adjacent characters.
267 All of this requires that fonts do not lie about character sizes,
268 however: Xft fonts often draw glyphs larger than their acclaimed bounding
269 box, and rxvt-unicode has no way of detecting this (the correct way is to
270 ask for the character bounding box, which unfortunately is wrong in these
273 It's not clear (to me at least), whether this is a bug in Xft, freetype,
274 or the respective font. If you encounter this problem you might try using
275 the C<-lsp> option to give the font more height. If that doesn't work, you
276 might be forced to use a different font.
278 All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their bounding
281 =head3 How can I keep rxvt-unicode from using reverse video so much?
283 First of all, make sure you are running with the right terminal settings
284 (C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>), which will get rid of most of these effects. Then
285 make sure you have specified colours for italic and bold, as otherwise
286 rxvt-unicode might use reverse video to simulate the effect:
291 =head3 Some programs assume totally weird colours (red instead of blue), how can I fix that?
293 For some unexplainable reason, some rare programs assume a very weird
294 colour palette when confronted with a terminal with more than the standard
295 8 colours (rxvt-unicode supports 88). The right fix is, of course, to fix
296 these programs not to assume non-ISO colours without very good reasons.
298 In the meantime, you can either edit your C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
299 definition to only claim 8 colour support or use C<TERM=rxvt>, which will
300 fix colours but keep you from using other rxvt-unicode features.
302 =head3 Can I switch the fonts at runtime?
304 Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which has the same
305 effect as using the C<-fn> switch, and takes effect immediately:
307 printf '\33]50;%s\007' "9x15bold,xft:Kochi Gothic"
309 This is useful if you e.g. work primarily with japanese (and prefer a
310 japanese font), but you have to switch to chinese temporarily, where
311 japanese fonts would only be in your way.
313 You can think of this as a kind of manual ISO-2022 switching.
315 =head3 Why do italic characters look as if clipped?
317 Many fonts have difficulties with italic characters and hinting. For
318 example, the otherwise very nicely hinted font C<xft:Bitstream Vera Sans
319 Mono> completely fails in its italic face. A workaround might be to
320 enable freetype autohinting, i.e. like this:
322 URxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
323 URxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
325 =head3 Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow?
327 Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, as
328 it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to disable
329 antialiasing (by appending C<:antialias=false>), which saves lots of
330 memory and also speeds up rendering considerably.
332 =head3 Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong?
334 Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to
335 fall back to its default font search list it will prefer X11 core
336 fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It has
337 antialiasing disabled for most of them, because the author thinks they
340 If you want antialiasing, you have to specify the fonts manually.
342 =head3 What's with this bold/blink stuff?
344 If no bold colour is set via C<colorBD:>, bold will invert text using the
345 standard foreground colour.
347 For the standard background colour, blinking will actually make the
348 text blink when compiled with C<--enable-blinking>. with standard
349 colours. Without C<--enable-blinking>, the blink attribute will be
352 On ANSI colours, bold/blink attributes are used to set high-intensity
353 foreground/background colors.
355 color0-7 are the low-intensity colors.
357 color8-15 are the corresponding high-intensity colors.
359 =head3 I don't like the screen colors. How do I change them?
361 You can change the screen colors at run-time using F<~/.Xdefaults>
362 resources (or as long-options).
364 Here are values that are supposed to resemble a VGA screen,
365 including the murky brown that passes for low-intensity yellow:
367 URxvt.color0: #000000
368 URxvt.color1: #A80000
369 URxvt.color2: #00A800
370 URxvt.color3: #A8A800
371 URxvt.color4: #0000A8
372 URxvt.color5: #A800A8
373 URxvt.color6: #00A8A8
374 URxvt.color7: #A8A8A8
376 URxvt.color8: #000054
377 URxvt.color9: #FF0054
378 URxvt.color10: #00FF54
379 URxvt.color11: #FFFF54
380 URxvt.color12: #0000FF
381 URxvt.color13: #FF00FF
382 URxvt.color14: #00FFFF
383 URxvt.color15: #FFFFFF
385 And here is a more complete set of non-standard colors.
387 URxvt.cursorColor: #dc74d1
388 URxvt.pointerColor: #dc74d1
389 URxvt.background: #0e0e0e
390 URxvt.foreground: #4ad5e1
391 URxvt.color0: #000000
392 URxvt.color8: #8b8f93
393 URxvt.color1: #dc74d1
394 URxvt.color9: #dc74d1
395 URxvt.color2: #0eb8c7
396 URxvt.color10: #0eb8c7
397 URxvt.color3: #dfe37e
398 URxvt.color11: #dfe37e
399 URxvt.color5: #9e88f0
400 URxvt.color13: #9e88f0
401 URxvt.color6: #73f7ff
402 URxvt.color14: #73f7ff
403 URxvt.color7: #e1dddd
404 URxvt.color15: #e1dddd
406 They have been described (not by me) as "pretty girly".
408 =head3 Why do some characters look so much different than others?
412 =head3 How does rxvt-unicode choose fonts?
414 Most fonts do not contain the full range of Unicode, which is
415 fine. Chances are that the font you (or the admin/package maintainer of
416 your system/os) have specified does not cover all the characters you want
419 B<rxvt-unicode> makes a best-effort try at finding a replacement
420 font. Often the result is fine, but sometimes the chosen font looks
421 bad/ugly/wrong. Some fonts have totally strange characters that don't
422 resemble the correct glyph at all, and rxvt-unicode lacks the artificial
423 intelligence to detect that a specific glyph is wrong: it has to believe
424 the font that the characters it claims to contain indeed look correct.
426 In that case, select a font of your taste and add it to the font list,
429 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -fn basefont,font2,font3...
431 When rxvt-unicode sees a character, it will first look at the base
432 font. If the base font does not contain the character, it will go to the
433 next font, and so on. Specifying your own fonts will also speed up this
434 search and use less resources within rxvt-unicode and the X-server.
436 The only limitation is that none of the fonts may be larger than the base
437 font, as the base font defines the terminal character cell size, which
438 must be the same due to the way terminals work.
440 =head3 Why do some chinese characters look so different than others?
442 This is because there is a difference between script and language --
443 rxvt-unicode does not know which language the text that is output is,
444 as it only knows the unicode character codes. If rxvt-unicode first
445 sees a japanese/chinese character, it might choose a japanese font for
446 display. Subsequent japanese characters will use that font. Now, many
447 chinese characters aren't represented in japanese fonts, so when the first
448 non-japanese character comes up, rxvt-unicode will look for a chinese font
449 -- unfortunately at this point, it will still use the japanese font for
450 chinese characters that are also in the japanese font.
452 The workaround is easy: just tag a chinese font at the end of your font
453 list (see the previous question). The key is to view the font list as
454 a preference list: If you expect more japanese, list a japanese font
455 first. If you expect more chinese, put a chinese font first.
457 In the future it might be possible to switch language preferences at
458 runtime (the internal data structure has no problem with using different
459 fonts for the same character at the same time, but no interface for this
460 has been designed yet).
462 Until then, you might get away with switching fonts at runtime (see L<Can
463 I switch the fonts at runtime?> later in this document).
465 =head3 How can I make mplayer display video correctly?
467 We are working on it, in the meantime, as a workaround, use something like:
469 @@URXVT_NAME@@ -b 600 -geometry 20x1 -e sh -c 'mplayer -wid $WINDOWID file...'
472 =head2 Keyboard, Mouse & User Interaction
474 =head3 The new selection selects pieces that are too big, how can I select single words?
476 If you want to select e.g. alphanumeric words, you can use the following
479 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([[:word:]]+)
481 If you click more than twice, the selection will be extended
484 To get a selection that is very similar to the old code, try this pattern:
486 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ([^"&'()*,;<=>?@[\\\\]^`{|})]+)
488 Please also note that the I<LeftClick Shift-LeftClik> combination also
489 selects words like the old code.
491 =head3 I don't like the new selection/popups/hotkeys/perl, how do I change/disable it?
493 You can disable the perl extension completely by setting the
494 B<perl-ext-common> resource to the empty string, which also keeps
495 rxvt-unicode from initialising perl, saving memory.
497 If you only want to disable specific features, you first have to
498 identify which perl extension is responsible. For this, read the section
499 B<PREPACKAGED EXTENSIONS> in the @@URXVT_NAME@@perl(3) manpage. For
500 example, to disable the B<selection-popup> and B<option-popup>, specify
501 this B<perl-ext-common> resource:
503 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-selection-popup,-option-popup
505 This will keep the default extensions, but disable the two popup
506 extensions. Some extensions can also be configured, for example,
507 scrollback search mode is triggered by B<M-s>. You can move it to any
508 other combination either by setting the B<searchable-scrollback> resource:
510 URxvt.searchable-scrollback: CM-s
512 =head3 The cursor moves when selecting text in the current input line, how do I switch this off?
516 =head3 During rlogin/ssh/telnet/etc. sessions, clicking near the cursor outputs strange escape sequences, how do I fix this?
518 These are caused by the C<readline> perl extension. Under normal
519 circumstances, it will move your cursor around when you click into the
520 line that contains it. It tries hard not to do this at the wrong moment,
521 but when running a program that doesn't parse cursor movements or in some
522 cases during rlogin sessions, it fails to detect this properly.
524 You can permanently switch this feature off by disabling the C<readline>
527 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,-readline
529 =head3 My numerical keypad acts weird and generates differing output?
531 Some Debian GNUL/Linux users seem to have this problem, although no
532 specific details were reported so far. It is possible that this is caused
533 by the wrong C<TERM> setting, although the details of whether and how
534 this can happen are unknown, as C<TERM=rxvt> should offer a compatible
535 keymap. See the answer to the previous question, and please report if that
538 =head3 My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working.
540 The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not set
541 correctly, or you specified a B<preeditStyle> that is not supported by
542 your input method. For example, if you specified B<OverTheSpot> and
543 your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose keys)
544 does not support this (for instance because it is not visual), then
545 rxvt-unicode will continue without an input method.
547 In this case either do not specify a B<preeditStyle> or specify more than
548 one pre-edit style, such as B<OverTheSpot,Root,None>.
550 =head3 I cannot type C<Ctrl-Shift-2> to get an ASCII NUL character due to ISO 14755
552 Either try C<Ctrl-2> alone (it often is mapped to ASCII NUL even on
553 international keyboards) or simply use ISO 14755 support to your
554 advantage, typing <Ctrl-Shift-0> to get a ASCII NUL. This works for other
555 codes, too, such as C<Ctrl-Shift-1-d> to type the default telnet escape
558 =head3 Mouse cut/paste suddenly no longer works.
560 Make sure that mouse reporting is actually turned off since killing
561 some editors prematurely may leave the mouse in mouse report mode. I've
562 heard that tcsh may use mouse reporting unless it otherwise specified. A
563 quick check is to see if cut/paste works when the Alt or Shift keys are
566 =head3 What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour?
568 Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the
569 Backspace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following
570 question) there are two standard values that can be used for
571 Backspace: C<^H> and C<^?>.
573 Historically, either value is correct, but rxvt-unicode adopts the debian
574 policy of using C<^?> when unsure, because it's the one and only correct
577 Rxvt-unicode tries to inherit the current stty settings and uses the value
578 of `erase' to guess the value for backspace. If rxvt-unicode wasn't
579 started from a terminal (say, from a menu or by remote shell), then the
580 system value of `erase', which corresponds to CERASE in <termios.h>, will
581 be used (which may not be the same as your stty setting).
583 For starting a new rxvt-unicode:
593 Toggle with C<ESC [ 36 h> / C<ESC [ 36 l>.
595 For an existing rxvt-unicode:
605 This helps satisfy some of the Backspace discrepancies that occur, but
606 if you use Backspace = C<^H>, make sure that the termcap/terminfo value
607 properly reflects that.
609 The Delete key is a another casualty of the ill-defined Backspace problem.
610 To avoid confusion between the Backspace and Delete keys, the Delete
611 key has been assigned an escape sequence to match the vt100 for Execute
612 (C<ESC [ 3 ~>) and is in the supplied termcap/terminfo.
614 Some other Backspace problems:
616 some editors use termcap/terminfo,
617 some editors (vim I'm told) expect Backspace = ^H,
618 GNU Emacs (and Emacs-like editors) use ^H for help.
620 Perhaps someday this will all be resolved in a consistent manner.
622 =head3 I don't like the key-bindings. How do I change them?
624 There are some compile-time selections available via configure. Unless
625 you have run "configure" with the C<--disable-resources> option you can
626 use the `keysym' resource to alter the keystrings associated with keysyms.
628 Here's an example for a URxvt session started using C<@@URXVT_NAME@@ -name URxvt>
630 URxvt.keysym.Home: \033[1~
631 URxvt.keysym.End: \033[4~
632 URxvt.keysym.C-apostrophe: \033<C-'>
633 URxvt.keysym.C-slash: \033<C-/>
634 URxvt.keysym.C-semicolon: \033<C-;>
635 URxvt.keysym.C-grave: \033<C-`>
636 URxvt.keysym.C-comma: \033<C-,>
637 URxvt.keysym.C-period: \033<C-.>
638 URxvt.keysym.C-0x60: \033<C-`>
639 URxvt.keysym.C-Tab: \033<C-Tab>
640 URxvt.keysym.C-Return: \033<C-Return>
641 URxvt.keysym.S-Return: \033<S-Return>
642 URxvt.keysym.S-space: \033<S-Space>
643 URxvt.keysym.M-Up: \033<M-Up>
644 URxvt.keysym.M-Down: \033<M-Down>
645 URxvt.keysym.M-Left: \033<M-Left>
646 URxvt.keysym.M-Right: \033<M-Right>
647 URxvt.keysym.M-C-0: list \033<M-C- 0123456789 >
648 URxvt.keysym.M-C-a: list \033<M-C- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz >
649 URxvt.keysym.F12: command:\033]701;zh_CN.GBK\007
651 See some more examples in the documentation for the B<keysym> resource.
653 =head3 I'm using keyboard model XXX that has extra Prior/Next/Insert keys. How do I make use of them? For example, the Sun Keyboard type 4 has the following map
662 Rather than have rxvt-unicode try to accommodate all the various possible
663 keyboard mappings, it is better to use `xmodmap' to remap the keys as
664 required for your particular machine.
667 =head2 Terminal Configuration
669 =head3 Can I see a typical configuration?
671 The default configuration tries to be xterm-like, which I don't like that
672 much, but it's least surprise to regular users.
674 As a rxvt or rxvt-unicode user, you are practically supposed to invest
675 time into customising your terminal. To get you started, here is the
676 author's .Xdefaults entries, with comments on what they do. It's certainly
677 not I<typical>, but what's typical...
679 URxvt.cutchars: "()*,<>[]{}|'
680 URxvt.print-pipe: cat >/tmp/xxx
682 These are just for testing stuff.
684 URxvt.imLocale: ja_JP.UTF-8
685 URxvt.preeditType: OnTheSpot,None
687 This tells rxvt-unicode to use a special locale when communicating with
688 the X Input Method, and also tells it to only use the OnTheSpot pre-edit
689 type, which requires the C<xim-onthespot> perl extension but rewards me
690 with correct-looking fonts.
692 URxvt.perl-lib: /root/lib/urxvt
693 URxvt.perl-ext-common: default,selection-autotransform,selection-pastebin,xim-onthespot,remote-clipboard
694 URxvt.selection.pattern-0: ( at .*? line \\d+)
695 URxvt.selection.pattern-1: ^(/[^:]+):\
696 URxvt.selection-autotransform.0: s/^([^:[:space:]]+):(\\d+):?$/:e \\Q$1\\E\\x0d:$2\\x0d/
697 URxvt.selection-autotransform.1: s/^ at (.*?) line (\\d+)$/:e \\Q$1\\E\\x0d:$2\\x0d/
699 This is my perl configuration. The first two set the perl library
700 directory and also tells urxvt to use a large number of extensions. I
701 develop for myself mostly, so I actually use most of the extensions I
704 The selection stuff mainly makes the selection perl-error-message aware
705 and tells it to convert perl error messages into vi-commands to load the
706 relevant file and go tot he error line number.
708 URxvt.scrollstyle: plain
709 URxvt.secondaryScroll: true
711 As the documentation says: plain is the preferred scrollbar for the
712 author. The C<secondaryScroll> configures urxvt to scroll in full-screen
713 apps, like screen, so lines scrolled out of screen end up in urxvt's
716 URxvt.background: #000000
717 URxvt.foreground: gray90
719 URxvt.colorBD: #ffffff
720 URxvt.cursorColor: #e0e080
721 URxvt.throughColor: #8080f0
722 URxvt.highlightColor: #f0f0f0
724 Some colours. Not sure which ones are being used or even non-defaults, but
725 these are in my .Xdefaults. Most notably, they set foreground/background
726 to light gray/black, and also make sure that the colour 7 matches the
727 default foreground colour.
729 URxvt.underlineColor: yellow
731 Another colour, makes underline lines look different. Sometimes hurts, but
732 is mostly a nice effect.
734 URxvt.geometry: 154x36
735 URxvt.loginShell: false
737 URxvt.utmpInhibit: true
739 Uh, well, should be mostly self-explanatory. By specifying some defaults
740 manually, I can quickly switch them for testing.
742 URxvt.saveLines: 8192
744 A large scrollback buffer is essential. Really.
748 The only case I use it is for my IRC window, which I like to keep
749 iconified till people msg me (which beeps).
751 URxvt.visualBell: true
753 The audible bell is often annoying, especially when in a crowd.
757 Please don't hack my mutt! Ooops...
759 URxvt.pastableTabs: false
761 I once thought this is a great idea.
763 urxvt.font: 9x15bold,\
764 -misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1,\
765 -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--15-140-75-75-c-90-iso10646-1, \
766 [codeset=JISX0208]xft:Kochi Gothic, \
767 xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:autohint=true, \
768 xft:Code2000:antialias=false
769 urxvt.boldFont: -xos4-terminus-bold-r-normal--14-140-72-72-c-80-iso8859-15
770 urxvt.italicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:italic:autohint=true
771 urxvt.boldItalicFont: xft:Bitstream Vera Sans Mono:bold:italic:autohint=true
773 I wrote rxvt-unicode to be able to specify fonts exactly. So don't be
774 overwhelmed. A special note: the C<9x15bold> mentioned above is actually
775 the version from XFree-3.3, as XFree-4 replaced it by a totally different
776 font (different glyphs for C<;> and many other harmless characters),
777 while the second font is actually the C<9x15bold> from XFree4/XOrg. The
778 bold version has less chars than the medium version, so I use it for rare
779 characters, too. When editing sources with vim, I use italic for comments
780 and other stuff, which looks quite good with Bitstream Vera anti-aliased.
782 Terminus is a quite bad font (many very wrong glyphs), but for most of my
783 purposes, it works, and gives a different look, as my normal (Non-bold)
784 font is already bold, and I want to see a difference between bold and
787 Please note that I used the C<urxvt> instance name and not the C<URxvt>
788 class name. Thats because I use different configs for different purposes,
789 for example, my IRC window is started with C<-name IRC>, and uses these
793 IRC*geometry: 87x12+535+542
797 IRC*boldFont: suxuseuro
799 IRC*keysym.M-C-1: command:\033]710;suxuseuro\007\033]711;suxuseuro\007
800 IRC*keysym.M-C-2: command:\033]710;9x15bold\007\033]711;9x15bold\007
802 C<Alt-Shift-1> and C<Alt-Shift-2> switch between two different font
803 sizes. C<suxuseuro> allows me to keep an eye (and actually read)
804 stuff while keeping a very small window. If somebody pastes something
805 complicated (e.g. japanese), I temporarily switch to a larger font.
807 The above is all in my C<.Xdefaults> (I don't use C<.Xresources> nor
808 C<xrdb>). I also have some resources in a separate C<.Xdefaults-hostname>
809 file for different hosts, for example, on ym main desktop, I use:
811 URxvt.keysym.C-M-q: command:\033[3;5;5t
812 URxvt.keysym.C-M-y: command:\033[3;5;606t
813 URxvt.keysym.C-M-e: command:\033[3;1605;5t
814 URxvt.keysym.C-M-c: command:\033[3;1605;606t
815 URxvt.keysym.C-M-p: perl:test
817 The first for keysym definitions allow me to quickly bring some windows
818 in the layout I like most. Ion users might start laughing but will stop
819 immediately when I tell them that I use my own Fvwm2 module for much the
820 same effect as Ion provides, and I only very rarely use the above key
823 =head3 Why doesn't rxvt-unicode read my resources?
825 Well, why, indeed? It does, in a way very similar to other X
826 applications. Most importantly, this means that if you or your OS loads
827 resources into the X display (the right way to do it), rxvt-unicode will
828 ignore any resource files in your home directory. It will only read
829 F<$HOME/.Xdefaults> when no resources are attached to the display.
831 If you have or use an F<$HOME/.Xresources> file, chances are that
832 resources are loaded into your X-server. In this case, you have to
833 re-login after every change (or run F<xrdb -merge $HOME/.Xresources>).
835 Also consider the form resources have to use:
837 URxvt.resource: value
839 If you want to use another form (there are lots of different ways of
840 specifying resources), make sure you understand whether and why it
841 works. If unsure, use the form above.
843 =head3 When I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?
845 The terminal description used by rxvt-unicode is not as widely available
846 as that for xterm, or even rxvt (for which the same problem often arises).
848 The correct solution for this problem is to install the terminfo, this can
849 be done like this (with ncurses' infocmp and works as user and admin):
851 REMOTE=remotesystem.domain
852 infocmp rxvt-unicode | ssh $REMOTE "mkdir -p .terminfo && cat >/tmp/ti && tic /tmp/ti"
854 ... or by installing rxvt-unicode normally on the remote system,
856 One some systems you might need to set C<$TERMINFO> to the full path of
857 F<$HOME/.terminfo> for this to work.
859 If you cannot or do not want to do this, then you can simply set
860 C<TERM=rxvt> or even C<TERM=xterm>, and live with the small number of
861 problems arising, which includes wrong keymapping, less and different
862 colours and some refresh errors in fullscreen applications. It's a nice
863 quick-and-dirty workaround for rare cases, though.
865 If you always want to do this (and are fine with the consequences) you
866 can either recompile rxvt-unicode with the desired TERM value or use a
871 If you don't plan to use B<rxvt> (quite common...) you could also replace
872 the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one and use C<TERM=rxvt>.
874 =head3 C<tic> outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry.
876 Most likely it's the empty definition for C<enacs=>. Just replace it by
877 C<enacs=\E[0@> and try again.
879 =head3 C<bash>'s readline does not work correctly under @@URXVT_NAME@@.
883 =head3 I need a termcap file entry.
885 One reason you might want this is that some distributions or operating
886 systems still compile some programs using the long-obsoleted termcap
887 library (Fedora Core's bash is one example) and rely on a termcap entry
890 You could use rxvt's termcap entry with reasonable results in many cases.
891 You can also create a termcap entry by using terminfo's infocmp program
894 infocmp -C rxvt-unicode
896 Or you could use this termcap entry, generated by the command above:
898 rxvt-unicode|rxvt-unicode terminal (X Window System):\
899 :am:bw:eo:km:mi:ms:xn:xo:\
900 :co#80:it#8:li#24:lm#0:\
901 :AL=\E[%dL:DC=\E[%dP:DL=\E[%dM:DO=\E[%dB:IC=\E[%d@:\
902 :K1=\EOw:K2=\EOu:K3=\EOy:K4=\EOq:K5=\EOs:LE=\E[%dD:\
903 :RI=\E[%dC:SF=\E[%dS:SR=\E[%dT:UP=\E[%dA:ae=\E(B:al=\E[L:\
904 :as=\E(0:bl=^G:cd=\E[J:ce=\E[K:cl=\E[H\E[2J:\
905 :cm=\E[%i%d;%dH:cr=^M:cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:ct=\E[3g:dc=\E[P:\
906 :dl=\E[M:do=^J:ec=\E[%dX:ei=\E[4l:ho=\E[H:\
907 :i1=\E[?47l\E=\E[?1l:ic=\E[@:im=\E[4h:\
908 :is=\E[r\E[m\E[2J\E[H\E[?7h\E[?1;3;4;6l\E[4l:\
909 :k1=\E[11~:k2=\E[12~:k3=\E[13~:k4=\E[14~:k5=\E[15~:\
910 :k6=\E[17~:k7=\E[18~:k8=\E[19~:k9=\E[20~:kD=\E[3~:\
911 :kI=\E[2~:kN=\E[6~:kP=\E[5~:kb=\177:kd=\EOB:ke=\E[?1l\E>:\
912 :kh=\E[7~:kl=\EOD:kr=\EOC:ks=\E[?1h\E=:ku=\EOA:le=^H:\
913 :mb=\E[5m:md=\E[1m:me=\E[m\017:mr=\E[7m:nd=\E[C:rc=\E8:\
914 :sc=\E7:se=\E[27m:sf=^J:so=\E[7m:sr=\EM:st=\EH:ta=^I:\
915 :te=\E[r\E[?1049l:ti=\E[?1049h:ue=\E[24m:up=\E[A:\
916 :us=\E[4m:vb=\E[?5h\E[?5l:ve=\E[?25h:vi=\E[?25l:\
919 =head3 Why does C<ls> no longer have coloured output?
921 The C<ls> in the GNU coreutils unfortunately doesn't use terminfo to
922 decide whether a terminal has colour, but uses its own configuration
923 file. Needless to say, C<rxvt-unicode> is not in its default file (among
924 with most other terminals supporting colour). Either add:
928 to C</etc/DIR_COLORS> or simply add:
930 alias ls='ls --color=auto'
932 to your C<.profile> or C<.bashrc>.
934 =head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. use the 88 colour mode?
938 =head3 Why doesn't vim/emacs etc. make use of italic?
942 =head3 Why are the secondary screen-related options not working properly?
944 Make sure you are using C<TERM=rxvt-unicode>. Some pre-packaged
945 distributions (most notably Debian GNU/Linux) break rxvt-unicode
946 by setting C<TERM> to C<rxvt>, which doesn't have these extra
947 features. Unfortunately, some of these (most notably, again, Debian
948 GNU/Linux) furthermore fail to even install the C<rxvt-unicode> terminfo
949 file, so you will need to install it on your own (See the question B<When
950 I log-in to another system it tells me about missing terminfo data?> on
954 =head2 Encoding / Locale / Input Method Issues
956 =head3 Rxvt-unicode does not seem to understand the selected encoding?
960 =head3 Unicode does not seem to work?
962 If you encounter strange problems like typing an accented character but
963 getting two unrelated other characters or similar, or if program output is
964 subtly garbled, then you should check your locale settings.
966 Rxvt-unicode must be started with the same C<LC_CTYPE> setting as the
967 programs running in it. Often rxvt-unicode is started in the C<C> locale,
968 while the login script running within the rxvt-unicode window changes the
969 locale to something else, e.g. C<en_GB.UTF-8>. Needless to say, this is
970 not going to work, and is the most common cause for problems.
972 The best thing is to fix your startup environment, as you will likely run
973 into other problems. If nothing works you can try this in your .profile.
975 printf '\33]701;%s\007' "$LC_CTYPE" # $LANG or $LC_ALL are worth a try, too
977 If this doesn't work, then maybe you use a C<LC_CTYPE> specification not
978 supported on your systems. Some systems have a C<locale> command which
979 displays this (also, C<perl -e0> can be used to check locale settings, as
980 it will complain loudly if it cannot set the locale). If it displays something
983 locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: ...
985 Then the locale you specified is not supported on your system.
987 If nothing works and you are sure that everything is set correctly then
988 you will need to remember a little known fact: Some programs just don't
991 =head3 How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use?
995 =head3 Is there an option to switch encodings?
997 Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, and no
998 specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't even know about
999 UTF-8 or any other encodings with respect to terminal I/O.
1001 The reasons is that there exists a perfectly fine mechanism for selecting
1002 the encoding, doing I/O and (most important) communicating this to all
1003 applications so everybody agrees on character properties such as width
1004 and code number. This mechanism is the I<locale>. Applications not using
1005 that info will have problems (for example, C<xterm> gets the width of
1006 characters wrong as it uses its own, locale-independent table under all
1009 Rxvt-unicode uses the C<LC_CTYPE> locale category to select encoding. All
1010 programs doing the same (that is, most) will automatically agree in the
1011 interpretation of characters.
1013 Unfortunately, there is no system-independent way to select locales, nor
1014 is there a standard on how locale specifiers will look like.
1016 On most systems, the content of the C<LC_CTYPE> environment variable
1017 contains an arbitrary string which corresponds to an already-installed
1018 locale. Common names for locales are C<en_US.UTF-8>, C<de_DE.ISO-8859-15>,
1019 C<ja_JP.EUC-JP>, i.e. C<language_country.encoding>, but other forms
1020 (i.e. C<de> or C<german>) are also common.
1022 Rxvt-unicode ignores all other locale categories, and except for
1023 the encoding, ignores country or language-specific settings,
1024 i.e. C<de_DE.UTF-8> and C<ja_JP.UTF-8> are the normally same to
1027 If you want to use a specific encoding you have to make sure you start
1028 rxvt-unicode with the correct C<LC_CTYPE> category.
1030 =head3 Can I switch locales at runtime?
1032 Yes, using an escape sequence. Try something like this, which sets
1033 rxvt-unicode's idea of C<LC_CTYPE>.
1035 printf '\33]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1037 See also the previous answer.
1039 Sometimes this capability is rather handy when you want to work in
1040 one locale (e.g. C<de_DE.UTF-8>) but some programs don't support it
1041 (e.g. UTF-8). For example, I use this script to start C<xjdic>, which
1042 first switches to a locale supported by xjdic and back later:
1044 printf '\33]701;%s\007' ja_JP.SJIS
1046 printf '\33]701;%s\007' de_DE.UTF-8
1048 You can also use xterm's C<luit> program, which usually works fine, except
1049 for some locales where character width differs between program- and
1050 rxvt-unicode-locales.
1052 =head3 I have problems getting my input method working.
1054 Try a search engine, as this is slightly different for every input method server.
1056 Here is a checklist:
1060 =item - Make sure your locale I<and> the imLocale are supported on your OS.
1062 Try C<locale -a> or check the documentation for your OS.
1064 =item - Make sure your locale or imLocale matches a locale supported by your XIM.
1066 For example, B<kinput2> does not support UTF-8 locales, you should use
1067 C<ja_JP.EUC-JP> or equivalent.
1069 =item - Make sure your XIM server is actually running.
1071 =item - Make sure the C<XMODIFIERS> environment variable is set correctly when I<starting> rxvt-unicode.
1073 When you want to use e.g. B<kinput2>, it must be set to
1074 C<@im=kinput2>. For B<scim>, use C<@im=SCIM>. You can see what input
1075 method servers are running with this command:
1077 xprop -root XIM_SERVERS
1083 =head3 My input method wants <some encoding> but I want UTF-8, what can I do?
1085 You can specify separate locales for the input method and the rest of the
1086 terminal, using the resource C<imlocale>:
1088 URxvt.imlocale: ja_JP.EUC-JP
1090 Now you can start your terminal with C<LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8> and still
1091 use your input method. Please note, however, that, depending on your Xlib
1092 version, you may not be able to input characters outside C<EUC-JP> in a
1093 normal way then, as your input method limits you.
1095 =head3 Rxvt-unicode crashes when the X Input Method changes or exits.
1097 Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, as the XIM protocol is racy by
1098 design. Applications can avoid some crashes at the expense of memory
1099 leaks, and Input Methods can avoid some crashes by careful ordering at
1100 exit time. B<kinput2> (and derived input methods) generally succeeds,
1101 while B<SCIM> (or similar input methods) fails. In the end, however,
1102 crashes cannot be completely avoided even if both sides cooperate.
1104 So the only workaround is not to kill your Input Method Servers.
1107 =head2 Operating Systems / Package Maintaining
1109 =head3 I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem...
1111 The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large
1112 patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode (but
1113 unfortunately this notice has been removed). Before reporting a bug to
1114 the original rxvt-unicode author please download and install the genuine
1115 version (L<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce
1116 the problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific to
1117 Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the Debian Bug
1118 Tracking System (use C<reportbug> to report the bug).
1120 For other problems that also affect the Debian package, you can and
1121 probably should use the Debian BTS, too, because, after all, it's also a
1122 bug in the Debian version and it serves as a reminder for other users that
1123 might encounter the same issue.
1125 =head3 I am maintaining rxvt-unicode for distribution/OS XXX, any recommendation?
1127 You should build one binary with the default options. F<configure>
1128 now enables most useful options, and the trend goes to making them
1129 runtime-switchable, too, so there is usually no drawback to enabling them,
1130 except higher disk and possibly memory usage. The perl interpreter should
1131 be enabled, as important functionality (menus, selection, likely more in
1132 the future) depends on it.
1134 You should not overwrite the C<perl-ext-common> snd C<perl-ext> resources
1135 system-wide (except maybe with C<defaults>). This will result in useful
1136 behaviour. If your distribution aims at low memory, add an empty
1137 C<perl-ext-common> resource to the app-defaults file. This will keep the
1138 perl interpreter disabled until the user enables it.
1140 If you can/want build more binaries, I recommend building a minimal
1141 one with C<--disable-everything> (very useful) and a maximal one with
1142 C<--enable-everything> (less useful, it will be very big due to a lot of
1143 encodings built-in that increase download times and are rarely used).
1145 =head3 I need to make it setuid/setgid to support utmp/ptys on my OS, is this safe?
1147 It should be, starting with release 7.1. You are encouraged to properly
1148 install urxvt with privileges necessary for your OS now.
1150 When rxvt-unicode detects that it runs setuid or setgid, it will fork
1151 into a helper process for privileged operations (pty handling on some
1152 systems, utmp/wtmp/lastlog handling on others) and drop privileges
1153 immediately. This is much safer than most other terminals that keep
1154 privileges while running (but is more relevant to urxvt, as it contains
1155 things as perl interpreters, which might be "helpful" to attackers).
1157 This forking is done as the very first within main(), which is very early
1158 and reduces possible bugs to initialisation code run before main(), or
1159 things like the dynamic loader of your system, which should result in very
1162 =head3 I am on FreeBSD and rxvt-unicode does not seem to work at all.
1164 Rxvt-unicode requires the symbol C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> to be defined
1165 in your compile environment, or an implementation that implements it,
1166 whether it defines the symbol or not. C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> requires that
1167 B<wchar_t> is represented as unicode.
1169 As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symbol nor
1170 does it support it. Instead, it uses its own internal representation of
1171 B<wchar_t>. This is, of course, completely fine with respect to standards.
1173 However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in C<POSIX>, C<ISO-8859-1> and
1174 C<UTF-8> locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as B<wchar_t>.
1176 C<__STDC_ISO_10646__> is the only sane way to support multi-language
1177 apps in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and non-standardized)
1178 representation of B<wchar_t> makes it impossible to convert between
1179 B<wchar_t> (as used by X11 and your applications) and any other encoding
1180 without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for each and every locale. There
1181 simply are no APIs to convert B<wchar_t> into anything except the current
1184 Some applications (such as the formidable B<mlterm>) work around this
1185 by carrying their own replacement functions for character set handling
1186 with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or doing multiple
1187 conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the OS implements
1188 encodings slightly different than the terminal emulator).
1190 The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in the
1191 system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app to carry
1192 complete replacements for them :)
1194 =head3 How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin?
1196 rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using
1197 the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no
1198 longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a
1199 single font). I recommend starting the X-server in C<-multiwindow> or
1200 C<-rootless> mode instead, which will result in similar look&feel as the
1201 old libW11 emulation.
1203 At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any multi-byte
1204 encodings (you might try C<LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8>), so you are likely limited
1207 =head3 Character widths are not correct.
1209 urxvt uses the system wcwidth function to know the information about
1210 the width of characters, so on systems with incorrect locale data you
1211 will likely get bad results. Two notorious examples are Solaris 9,
1212 where single-width characters like U+2514 are reported as double-width,
1213 and Darwin 8, where combining chars are reported having width 1.
1215 The solution is to upgrade your system or switch to a better one. A
1216 possibly working workaround is to use a wcwidth implementation like
1218 http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/wcwidth.c
1220 =head1 RXVT-UNICODE TECHNICAL REFERENCE
1222 The rest of this document describes various technical aspects of
1223 B<rxvt-unicode>. First the description of supported command sequences,
1224 followed by pixmap support and last by a description of all features
1225 selectable at C<configure> time.
1233 The literal character c.
1237 A single (required) character.
1241 A single (usually optional) numeric parameter, composed of one or more
1246 A multiple numeric parameter composed of any number of single numeric
1247 parameters, separated by C<;> character(s).
1251 A text parameter composed of printable characters.
1261 Enquiry (Ctrl-E) = Send Device Attributes (DA)
1262 request attributes from terminal. See B<< C<ESC [ Ps c> >>.
1274 Horizontal Tab (HT) (Ctrl-I)
1278 Line Feed or New Line (NL) (Ctrl-J)
1282 Vertical Tab (Ctrl-K) same as B<< C<LF> >>
1286 Form Feed or New Page (NP) (Ctrl-L) same as B<< C<LF> >>
1290 Carriage Return (Ctrl-M)
1294 Shift Out (Ctrl-N), invokes the G1 character set.
1295 Switch to Alternate Character Set
1299 Shift In (Ctrl-O), invokes the G0 character set (the default).
1300 Switch to Standard Character Set
1308 =head2 Escape Sequences
1312 =item B<< C<ESC # 8> >>
1314 DEC Screen Alignment Test (DECALN)
1316 =item B<< C<ESC 7> >>
1320 =item B<< C<ESC 8> >>
1324 =item B<< C<ESC => >>
1326 Application Keypad (SMKX). See also next sequence.
1328 =item B<<< C<< ESC >> >>>
1330 Normal Keypad (RMKX)
1332 B<Note:> If the numeric keypad is activated, eg, B<Num_Lock> has been
1333 pressed, numbers or control functions are generated by the numeric keypad
1336 =item B<< C<ESC D> >>
1340 =item B<< C<ESC E> >>
1344 =item B<< C<ESC H> >>
1348 =item B<< C<ESC M> >>
1352 =item B<< C<ESC N> >>
1354 Single Shift Select of G2 Character Set (SS2): affects next character
1355 only I<unimplemented>
1357 =item B<< C<ESC O> >>
1359 Single Shift Select of G3 Character Set (SS3): affects next character
1360 only I<unimplemented>
1362 =item B<< C<ESC Z> >>
1364 Obsolete form of returns: B<< C<ESC [ ? 1 ; 2 C> >> I<rxvt-unicode compile-time option>
1366 =item B<< C<ESC c> >>
1370 =item B<< C<ESC n> >>
1372 Invoke the G2 Character Set (LS2)
1374 =item B<< C<ESC o> >>
1376 Invoke the G3 Character Set (LS3)
1378 =item B<< C<ESC ( C> >>
1380 Designate G0 Character Set (ISO 2022), see below for values of C<C>.
1382 =item B<< C<ESC ) C> >>
1384 Designate G1 Character Set (ISO 2022), see below for values of C<C>.
1386 =item B<< C<ESC * C> >>
1388 Designate G2 Character Set (ISO 2022), see below for values of C<C>.
1390 =item B<< C<ESC + C> >>
1392 Designate G3 Character Set (ISO 2022), see below for values of C<C>.
1394 =item B<< C<ESC $ C> >>
1396 Designate Kanji Character Set
1398 Where B<< C<C> >> is one of:
1402 C = C<0> DEC Special Character and Line Drawing Set
1403 C = C<A> United Kingdom (UK)
1404 C = C<B> United States (USASCII)
1405 C = C<< < >> Multinational character set I<unimplemented>
1406 C = C<5> Finnish character set I<unimplemented>
1407 C = C<C> Finnish character set I<unimplemented>
1408 C = C<K> German character set I<unimplemented>
1416 =head2 CSI (Command Sequence Introducer) Sequences
1420 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps @> >>
1422 Insert B<< C<Ps> >> (Blank) Character(s) [default: 1] (ICH)X<ESCOBPsA>
1424 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps A> >>
1426 Cursor Up B<< C<Ps> >> Times [default: 1] (CUU)
1428 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps B> >>
1430 Cursor Down B<< C<Ps> >> Times [default: 1] (CUD)X<ESCOBPsC>
1432 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps C> >>
1434 Cursor Forward B<< C<Ps> >> Times [default: 1] (CUF)
1436 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps D> >>
1438 Cursor Backward B<< C<Ps> >> Times [default: 1] (CUB)
1440 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps E> >>
1442 Cursor Down B<< C<Ps> >> Times [default: 1] and to first column
1444 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps F> >>
1446 Cursor Up B<< C<Ps> >> Times [default: 1] and to first columnX<ESCOBPsG>
1448 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps G> >>
1450 Cursor to Column B<< C<Ps> >> (HPA)
1452 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps;Ps H> >>
1454 Cursor Position [row;column] [default: 1;1] (CUP)
1456 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps I> >>
1458 Move forward B<< C<Ps> >> tab stops [default: 1]
1460 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps J> >>
1462 Erase in Display (ED)
1466 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> Clear Below (default)
1467 B<< C<Ps = 1> >> Clear Above
1468 B<< C<Ps = 2> >> Clear All
1472 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps K> >>
1478 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> Clear to Right (default)
1479 B<< C<Ps = 1> >> Clear to Left
1480 B<< C<Ps = 2> >> Clear All
1484 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps L> >>
1486 Insert B<< C<Ps> >> Line(s) [default: 1] (IL)
1488 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps M> >>
1490 Delete B<< C<Ps> >> Line(s) [default: 1] (DL)
1492 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps P> >>
1494 Delete B<< C<Ps> >> Character(s) [default: 1] (DCH)
1496 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps;Ps;Ps;Ps;Ps T> >>
1498 Initiate . I<unimplemented> Parameters are
1499 [func;startx;starty;firstrow;lastrow].
1501 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps W> >>
1507 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> Tab Set (HTS)
1508 B<< C<Ps = 2> >> Tab Clear (TBC), Clear Current Column (default)
1509 B<< C<Ps = 5> >> Tab Clear (TBC), Clear All
1513 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps X> >>
1515 Erase B<< C<Ps> >> Character(s) [default: 1] (ECH)
1517 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps Z> >>
1519 Move backward B<< C<Ps> >> [default: 1] tab stops
1521 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps '> >>
1523 See B<< C<ESC [ Ps G> >>
1525 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps a> >>
1527 See B<< C<ESC [ Ps C> >>
1529 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps c> >>
1531 Send Device Attributes (DA)
1532 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> (or omitted): request attributes from terminal
1533 returns: B<< C<ESC [ ? 1 ; 2 c> >> (``I am a VT100 with Advanced Video
1536 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps d> >>
1538 Cursor to Line B<< C<Ps> >> (VPA)
1540 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps e> >>
1542 See B<< C<ESC [ Ps A> >>
1544 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps;Ps f> >>
1546 Horizontal and Vertical Position [row;column] (HVP) [default: 1;1]
1548 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps g> >>
1554 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> Clear Current Column (default)
1555 B<< C<Ps = 3> >> Clear All (TBC)
1559 =item B<< C<ESC [ Pm h> >>
1561 Set Mode (SM). See B<< C<ESC [ Pm l> >> sequence for description of C<Pm>.
1563 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps i> >>
1565 Printing. See also the C<print-pipe> resource.
1569 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> print screen (MC0)
1570 B<< C<Ps = 4> >> disable transparent print mode (MC4)
1571 B<< C<Ps = 5> >> enable transparent print mode (MC5)
1575 =item B<< C<ESC [ Pm l> >>
1581 =item B<< C<Ps = 4> >>
1585 B<< C<h> >> Insert Mode (SMIR)
1586 B<< C<l> >> Replace Mode (RMIR)
1590 =item B<< C<Ps = 20> >> (partially implemented)
1594 B<< C<h> >> Automatic Newline (LNM)
1595 B<< C<l> >> Normal Linefeed (LNM)
1601 =item B<< C<ESC [ Pm m> >>
1603 Character Attributes (SGR)
1607 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> Normal (default)
1608 B<< C<Ps = 1 / 21> >> On / Off Bold (bright fg)
1609 B<< C<Ps = 3 / 23> >> On / Off Italic
1610 B<< C<Ps = 4 / 24> >> On / Off Underline
1611 B<< C<Ps = 5 / 25> >> On / Off Slow Blink (bright bg)
1612 B<< C<Ps = 6 / 26> >> On / Off Rapid Blink (bright bg)
1613 B<< C<Ps = 7 / 27> >> On / Off Inverse
1614 B<< C<Ps = 8 / 27> >> On / Off Invisible (NYI)
1615 B<< C<Ps = 30 / 40> >> fg/bg Black
1616 B<< C<Ps = 31 / 41> >> fg/bg Red
1617 B<< C<Ps = 32 / 42> >> fg/bg Green
1618 B<< C<Ps = 33 / 43> >> fg/bg Yellow
1619 B<< C<Ps = 34 / 44> >> fg/bg Blue
1620 B<< C<Ps = 35 / 45> >> fg/bg Magenta
1621 B<< C<Ps = 36 / 46> >> fg/bg Cyan
1622 B<< C<Ps = 38;5 / 48;5> >> set fg/bg to color #m (ISO 8613-6)
1623 B<< C<Ps = 37 / 47> >> fg/bg White
1624 B<< C<Ps = 39 / 49> >> fg/bg Default
1625 B<< C<Ps = 90 / 100> >> fg/bg Bright Black
1626 B<< C<Ps = 91 / 101> >> fg/bg Bright Red
1627 B<< C<Ps = 92 / 102> >> fg/bg Bright Green
1628 B<< C<Ps = 93 / 103> >> fg/bg Bright Yellow
1629 B<< C<Ps = 94 / 104> >> fg/bg Bright Blue
1630 B<< C<Ps = 95 / 105> >> fg/bg Bright Magenta
1631 B<< C<Ps = 96 / 106> >> fg/bg Bright Cyan
1632 B<< C<Ps = 97 / 107> >> fg/bg Bright White
1633 B<< C<Ps = 99 / 109> >> fg/bg Bright Default
1637 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps n> >>
1639 Device Status Report (DSR)
1643 B<< C<Ps = 5> >> Status Report B<< C<ESC [ 0 n> >> (``OK'')
1644 B<< C<Ps = 6> >> Report Cursor Position (CPR) [row;column] as B<< C<ESC [ r ; c R> >>
1645 B<< C<Ps = 7> >> Request Display Name
1646 B<< C<Ps = 8> >> Request Version Number (place in window title)
1650 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps;Ps r> >>
1652 Set Scrolling Region [top;bottom]
1653 [default: full size of window] (CSR)
1655 =item B<< C<ESC [ s> >>
1659 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps;Pt t> >>
1665 B<< C<Ps = 1> >> Deiconify (map) window
1666 B<< C<Ps = 2> >> Iconify window
1667 B<< C<Ps = 3> >> B<< C<ESC [ 3 ; X ; Y t> >> Move window to (X|Y)
1668 B<< C<Ps = 4> >> B<< C<ESC [ 4 ; H ; W t> >> Resize to WxH pixels
1669 B<< C<Ps = 5> >> Raise window
1670 B<< C<Ps = 6> >> Lower window
1671 B<< C<Ps = 7> >> Refresh screen once
1672 B<< C<Ps = 8> >> B<< C<ESC [ 8 ; R ; C t> >> Resize to R rows and C columns
1673 B<< C<Ps = 11> >> Report window state (responds with C<Ps = 1> or C<Ps = 2>)
1674 B<< C<Ps = 13> >> Report window position (responds with C<Ps = 3>)
1675 B<< C<Ps = 14> >> Report window pixel size (responds with C<Ps = 4>)
1676 B<< C<Ps = 18> >> Report window text size (responds with C<Ps = 7>)
1677 B<< C<Ps = 19> >> Currently the same as C<Ps = 18>, but responds with C<Ps = 9>
1678 B<< C<Ps = 20> >> Reports icon label (B<< C<ESC ] L NAME \234> >>)
1679 B<< C<Ps = 21> >> Reports window title (B<< C<ESC ] l NAME \234> >>)
1680 B<< C<Ps = 24..> >> Set window height to C<Ps> rows
1684 =item B<< C<ESC [ u> >>
1688 =item B<< C<ESC [ Ps x> >>
1690 Request Terminal Parameters (DECREQTPARM)
1696 =head2 DEC Private Modes
1700 =item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm h> >>
1702 DEC Private Mode Set (DECSET)
1704 =item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm l> >>
1706 DEC Private Mode Reset (DECRST)
1708 =item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm r> >>
1710 Restore previously saved DEC Private Mode Values.
1712 =item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm s> >>
1714 Save DEC Private Mode Values.
1716 =item B<< C<ESC [ ? Pm t> >>
1718 Toggle DEC Private Mode Values (rxvt extension). I<where>
1722 =item B<< C<Pm = 1> >> (DECCKM)
1726 B<< C<h> >> Application Cursor Keys
1727 B<< C<l> >> Normal Cursor Keys
1731 =item B<< C<Pm = 2> >> (ANSI/VT52 mode)
1735 B<< C<h> >> Enter VT52 mode
1736 B<< C<l> >> Enter VT52 mode
1740 =item B<< C<Pm = 3> >>
1744 B<< C<h> >> 132 Column Mode (DECCOLM)
1745 B<< C<l> >> 80 Column Mode (DECCOLM)
1749 =item B<< C<Pm = 4> >>
1753 B<< C<h> >> Smooth (Slow) Scroll (DECSCLM)
1754 B<< C<l> >> Jump (Fast) Scroll (DECSCLM)
1758 =item B<< C<Pm = 5> >>
1762 B<< C<h> >> Reverse Video (DECSCNM)
1763 B<< C<l> >> Normal Video (DECSCNM)
1767 =item B<< C<Pm = 6> >>
1771 B<< C<h> >> Origin Mode (DECOM)
1772 B<< C<l> >> Normal Cursor Mode (DECOM)
1776 =item B<< C<Pm = 7> >>
1780 B<< C<h> >> Wraparound Mode (DECAWM)
1781 B<< C<l> >> No Wraparound Mode (DECAWM)
1785 =item B<< C<Pm = 8> >> I<unimplemented>
1789 B<< C<h> >> Auto-repeat Keys (DECARM)
1790 B<< C<l> >> No Auto-repeat Keys (DECARM)
1794 =item B<< C<Pm = 9> >> X10 XTerm
1798 B<< C<h> >> Send Mouse X & Y on button press.
1799 B<< C<l> >> No mouse reporting.
1803 =item B<< C<Pm = 25> >>
1807 B<< C<h> >> Visible cursor {cnorm/cvvis}
1808 B<< C<l> >> Invisible cursor {civis}
1812 =item B<< C<Pm = 30> >>
1816 B<< C<h> >> scrollBar visisble
1817 B<< C<l> >> scrollBar invisisble
1821 =item B<< C<Pm = 35> >> (B<rxvt>)
1825 B<< C<h> >> Allow XTerm Shift+key sequences
1826 B<< C<l> >> Disallow XTerm Shift+key sequences
1830 =item B<< C<Pm = 38> >> I<unimplemented>
1832 Enter Tektronix Mode (DECTEK)
1834 =item B<< C<Pm = 40> >>
1838 B<< C<h> >> Allow 80/132 Mode
1839 B<< C<l> >> Disallow 80/132 Mode
1843 =item B<< C<Pm = 44> >> I<unimplemented>
1847 B<< C<h> >> Turn On Margin Bell
1848 B<< C<l> >> Turn Off Margin Bell
1852 =item B<< C<Pm = 45> >> I<unimplemented>
1856 B<< C<h> >> Reverse-wraparound Mode
1857 B<< C<l> >> No Reverse-wraparound Mode
1861 =item B<< C<Pm = 46> >> I<unimplemented>
1863 =item B<< C<Pm = 47> >>
1867 B<< C<h> >> Use Alternate Screen Buffer
1868 B<< C<l> >> Use Normal Screen Buffer
1874 =item B<< C<Pm = 66> >>
1878 B<< C<h> >> Application Keypad (DECPAM) == C<ESC =>
1879 B<< C<l> >> Normal Keypad (DECPNM) == C<< ESC > >>
1883 =item B<< C<Pm = 67> >>
1887 B<< C<h> >> Backspace key sends B<< C<BS> (DECBKM) >>
1888 B<< C<l> >> Backspace key sends B<< C<DEL> >>
1892 =item B<< C<Pm = 1000> >> (X11 XTerm)
1896 B<< C<h> >> Send Mouse X & Y on button press and release.
1897 B<< C<l> >> No mouse reporting.
1901 =item B<< C<Pm = 1001> >> (X11 XTerm) I<unimplemented>
1905 B<< C<h> >> Use Hilite Mouse Tracking.
1906 B<< C<l> >> No mouse reporting.
1910 =item B<< C<Pm = 1010> >> (B<rxvt>)
1914 B<< C<h> >> Don't scroll to bottom on TTY output
1915 B<< C<l> >> Scroll to bottom on TTY output
1919 =item B<< C<Pm = 1011> >> (B<rxvt>)
1923 B<< C<h> >> Scroll to bottom when a key is pressed
1924 B<< C<l> >> Don't scroll to bottom when a key is pressed
1928 =item B<< C<Pm = 1021> >> (B<rxvt>)
1932 B<< C<h> >> Bold/italic implies high intensity (see option B<-is>)
1933 B<< C<l> >> Font styles have no effect on intensity (Compile styles)
1937 =item B<< C<Pm = 1047> >>
1941 B<< C<h> >> Use Alternate Screen Buffer
1942 B<< C<l> >> Use Normal Screen Buffer - clear Alternate Screen Buffer if returning from it
1946 =item B<< C<Pm = 1048> >>
1950 B<< C<h> >> Save cursor position
1951 B<< C<l> >> Restore cursor position
1955 =item B<< C<Pm = 1049> >>
1959 B<< C<h> >> Use Alternate Screen Buffer - clear Alternate Screen Buffer if switching to it
1960 B<< C<l> >> Use Normal Screen Buffer
1970 =head2 XTerm Operating System Commands
1974 =item B<< C<ESC ] Ps;Pt ST> >>
1976 Set XTerm Parameters. 8-bit ST: 0x9c, 7-bit ST sequence: ESC \ (0x1b,
1977 0x5c), backwards compatible terminator BEL (0x07) is also accepted. any
1978 B<octet> can be escaped by prefixing it with SYN (0x16, ^V).
1982 B<< C<Ps = 0> >> Change Icon Name and Window Title to B<< C<Pt> >>
1983 B<< C<Ps = 1> >> Change Icon Name to B<< C<Pt> >>
1984 B<< C<Ps = 2> >> Change Window Title to B<< C<Pt> >>
1985 B<< C<Ps = 3> >> If B<< C<Pt> >> starts with a B<< C<?> >>, query the (STRING) property of the window and return it. If B<< C<Pt> >> contains a B<< C<=> >>, set the named property to the given value, else delete the specified property.
1986 B<< C<Ps = 4> >> B<< C<Pt> >> is a semi-colon separated sequence of one or more semi-colon separated B<number>/B<name> pairs, where B<number> is an index to a colour and B<name> is the name of a colour. Each pair causes the B<number>ed colour to be changed to B<name>. Numbers 0-7 corresponds to low-intensity (normal) colours and 8-15 corresponds to high-intensity colours. 0=black, 1=red, 2=green, 3=yellow, 4=blue, 5=magenta, 6=cyan, 7=white
1987 B<< C<Ps = 10> >> Change colour of text foreground to B<< C<Pt> >> B<(NB: may change in future)>
1988 B<< C<Ps = 11> >> Change colour of text background to B<< C<Pt> >> B<(NB: may change in future)>
1989 B<< C<Ps = 12> >> Change colour of text cursor foreground to B<< C<Pt> >>
1990 B<< C<Ps = 13> >> Change colour of mouse foreground to B<< C<Pt> >>
1991 B<< C<Ps = 17> >> Change colour of highlight characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
1992 B<< C<Ps = 18> >> Change colour of bold characters to B<< C<Pt> >> [deprecated, see 706]
1993 B<< C<Ps = 19> >> Change colour of underlined characters to B<< C<Pt> >> [deprecated, see 707]
1994 B<< C<Ps = 20> >> Change background pixmap parameters (see section XPM) (Compile XPM).
1995 B<< C<Ps = 39> >> Change default foreground colour to B<< C<Pt> >>.
1996 B<< C<Ps = 46> >> Change Log File to B<< C<Pt> >> I<unimplemented>
1997 B<< C<Ps = 49> >> Change default background colour to B<< C<Pt> >>.
1998 B<< C<Ps = 50> >> Set fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>, with the following special values of B<< C<Pt> >> (B<rxvt>) B<< C<#+n> >> change up B<< C<n> >> B<< C<#-n> >> change down B<< C<n> >> if B<< C<n> >> is missing of 0, a value of 1 is used I<empty> change to font0 B<< C<n> >> change to font B<< C<n> >>
1999 B<< C<Ps = 55> >> Log all scrollback buffer and all of screen to B<< C<Pt> >>
2000 B<< C<Ps = 701> >> Change current locale to B<< C<Pt> >>, or, if B<< C<Pt> >> is B<< C<?> >>, return the current locale (Compile frills).
2001 B<< C<Ps = 702> >> Request version if B<< C<Pt> >> is B<< C<?> >>, returning C<rxvt-unicode>, the resource name, the major and minor version numbers, e.g. C<ESC ] 702 ; rxvt-unicode ; urxvt ; 7 ; 4 ST>.
2002 B<< C<Ps = 704> >> Change colour of italic characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
2003 B<< C<Ps = 705> >> Change background pixmap tint colour to B<< C<Pt> >> (Compile transparency).
2004 B<< C<Ps = 706> >> Change colour of bold characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
2005 B<< C<Ps = 707> >> Change colour of underlined characters to B<< C<Pt> >>
2006 B<< C<Ps = 710> >> Set normal fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>. Same as C<Ps = 50>.
2007 B<< C<Ps = 711> >> Set bold fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>. Similar to C<Ps = 50> (Compile styles).
2008 B<< C<Ps = 712> >> Set italic fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>. Similar to C<Ps = 50> (Compile styles).
2009 B<< C<Ps = 713> >> Set bold-italic fontset to B<< C<Pt> >>. Similar to C<Ps = 50> (Compile styles).
2010 B<< C<Ps = 720> >> Move viewing window up by B<< C<Pt> >> lines, or clear scrollback buffer if C<Pt = 0> (Compile frills).
2011 B<< C<Ps = 721> >> Move viewing window down by B<< C<Pt> >> lines, or clear scrollback buffer if C<Pt = 0> (Compile frills).
2012 B<< C<Ps = 777> >> Call the perl extension with the given string, which should be of the form C<extension:parameters> (Compile perl).
2020 For the XPM XTerm escape sequence B<< C<ESC ] 20 ; Pt ST> >> then value
2021 of B<< C<Pt> >> can be the name of the background pixmap followed by a
2022 sequence of scaling/positioning commands separated by semi-colons. The
2023 scaling/positioning commands are as follows:
2027 =item query scale/position
2031 =item change scale and position
2035 B<WxH+X> (== B<WxH+X+X>)
2037 B<WxH> (same as B<WxH+50+50>)
2039 B<W+X+Y> (same as B<WxW+X+Y>)
2041 B<W+X> (same as B<WxW+X+X>)
2043 B<W> (same as B<WxW+50+50>)
2045 =item change position (absolute)
2049 B<=+X> (same as B<=+X+Y>)
2051 =item change position (relative)
2055 B<+X> (same as B<+X+Y>)
2057 =item rescale (relative)
2059 B<Wx0> -> B<W *= (W/100)>
2061 B<0xH> -> B<H *= (H/100)>
2069 =item B<\E]20;funky\a>
2071 load B<funky.xpm> as a tiled image
2073 =item B<\E]20;mona;100\a>
2075 load B<mona.xpm> with a scaling of 100%
2077 =item B<\E]20;;200;?\a>
2079 rescale the current pixmap to 200% and display the image geometry in
2085 =head1 Mouse Reporting
2089 =item B<< C<< ESC [ M <b> <x> <y> >> >>
2091 report mouse position
2095 The lower 2 bits of B<< C<< <b> >> >> indicate the button:
2099 =item Button = B<< C<< (<b> - SPACE) & 3 >> >>
2106 3 button released (X11 mouse report)
2112 The upper bits of B<< C<< <b> >> >> indicate the modifiers when the
2113 button was pressed and are added together (X11 mouse report only):
2117 =item State = B<< C<< (<b> - SPACE) & 60 >> >>
2124 32 Double Click I<(rxvt extension)>
2128 Col = B<< C<< <x> - SPACE >> >>
2130 Row = B<< C<< <y> - SPACE >> >>
2137 Note: B<Shift> + B<F1>-B<F10> generates B<F11>-B<F20>
2139 For the keypad, use B<Shift> to temporarily override Application-Keypad
2140 setting use B<Num_Lock> to toggle Application-Keypad setting if
2141 B<Num_Lock> is off, toggle Application-Keypad setting. Also note that
2142 values of B<Home>, B<End>, B<Delete> may have been compiled differently on
2147 B<Normal> B<Shift> B<Control> B<Ctrl+Shift>
2148 Tab ^I ESC [ Z ^I ESC [ Z
2149 BackSpace ^H ^? ^? ^?
2150 Find ESC [ 1 ~ ESC [ 1 $ ESC [ 1 ^ ESC [ 1 @
2151 Insert ESC [ 2 ~ I<paste> ESC [ 2 ^ ESC [ 2 @
2152 Execute ESC [ 3 ~ ESC [ 3 $ ESC [ 3 ^ ESC [ 3 @
2153 Select ESC [ 4 ~ ESC [ 4 $ ESC [ 4 ^ ESC [ 4 @
2154 Prior ESC [ 5 ~ I<scroll-up> ESC [ 5 ^ ESC [ 5 @
2155 Next ESC [ 6 ~ I<scroll-down> ESC [ 6 ^ ESC [ 6 @
2156 Home ESC [ 7 ~ ESC [ 7 $ ESC [ 7 ^ ESC [ 7 @
2157 End ESC [ 8 ~ ESC [ 8 $ ESC [ 8 ^ ESC [ 8 @
2158 Delete ESC [ 3 ~ ESC [ 3 $ ESC [ 3 ^ ESC [ 3 @
2159 F1 ESC [ 11 ~ ESC [ 23 ~ ESC [ 11 ^ ESC [ 23 ^
2160 F2 ESC [ 12 ~ ESC [ 24 ~ ESC [ 12 ^ ESC [ 24 ^
2161 F3 ESC [ 13 ~ ESC [ 25 ~ ESC [ 13 ^ ESC [ 25 ^
2162 F4 ESC [ 14 ~ ESC [ 26 ~ ESC [ 14 ^ ESC [ 26 ^
2163 F5 ESC [ 15 ~ ESC [ 28 ~ ESC [ 15 ^ ESC [ 28 ^
2164 F6 ESC [ 17 ~ ESC [ 29 ~ ESC [ 17 ^ ESC [ 29 ^
2165 F7 ESC [ 18 ~ ESC [ 31 ~ ESC [ 18 ^ ESC [ 31 ^
2166 F8 ESC [ 19 ~ ESC [ 32 ~ ESC [ 19 ^ ESC [ 32 ^
2167 F9 ESC [ 20 ~ ESC [ 33 ~ ESC [ 20 ^ ESC [ 33 ^
2168 F10 ESC [ 21 ~ ESC [ 34 ~ ESC [ 21 ^ ESC [ 34 ^
2169 F11 ESC [ 23 ~ ESC [ 23 $ ESC [ 23 ^ ESC [ 23 @
2170 F12 ESC [ 24 ~ ESC [ 24 $ ESC [ 24 ^ ESC [ 24 @
2171 F13 ESC [ 25 ~ ESC [ 25 $ ESC [ 25 ^ ESC [ 25 @
2172 F14 ESC [ 26 ~ ESC [ 26 $ ESC [ 26 ^ ESC [ 26 @
2173 F15 (Help) ESC [ 28 ~ ESC [ 28 $ ESC [ 28 ^ ESC [ 28 @
2174 F16 (Menu) ESC [ 29 ~ ESC [ 29 $ ESC [ 29 ^ ESC [ 29 @
2175 F17 ESC [ 31 ~ ESC [ 31 $ ESC [ 31 ^ ESC [ 31 @
2176 F18 ESC [ 32 ~ ESC [ 32 $ ESC [ 32 ^ ESC [ 32 @
2177 F19 ESC [ 33 ~ ESC [ 33 $ ESC [ 33 ^ ESC [ 33 @
2178 F20 ESC [ 34 ~ ESC [ 34 $ ESC [ 34 ^ ESC [ 34 @
2180 Up ESC [ A ESC [ a ESC O a ESC O A
2181 Down ESC [ B ESC [ b ESC O b ESC O B
2182 Right ESC [ C ESC [ c ESC O c ESC O C
2183 Left ESC [ D ESC [ d ESC O d ESC O D
2185 KP_F1 ESC O P ESC O P
2186 KP_F2 ESC O Q ESC O Q
2187 KP_F3 ESC O R ESC O R
2188 KP_F4 ESC O S ESC O S
2189 XK_KP_Multiply * ESC O j
2191 XK_KP_Separator , ESC O l
2192 XK_KP_Subtract - ESC O m
2193 XK_KP_Decimal . ESC O n
2194 XK_KP_Divide / ESC O o
2208 =head1 CONFIGURE OPTIONS
2210 General hint: if you get compile errors, then likely your configuration
2211 hasn't been tested well. Either try with C<--enable-everything> or use
2212 the default configuration (i.e. C<--enable-xxx> or C<--disable-xxx>). Of
2213 course, you should always report when a combination doesn't work, so it
2214 can be fixed. Marc Lehmann <rxvt@schmorp.de>.
2220 =item --enable-everything
2222 Add (or remove) support for all non-multichoice options listed in "./configure
2225 You can specify this and then disable options you do not like by
2226 I<following> this with the appropriate C<--disable-...> arguments,
2227 or you can start with a minimal configuration by specifying
2228 C<--disable-everything> and than adding just the C<--enable-...> arguments
2231 =item --enable-xft (default: enabled)
2233 Add support for Xft (anti-aliases, among others) fonts. Xft fonts are
2234 slower and require lots of memory, but as long as you don't use them, you
2237 =item --enable-font-styles (default: on)
2239 Add support for B<bold>, I<italic> and B<< I<bold italic> >> font
2240 styles. The fonts can be set manually or automatically.
2242 =item --with-codesets=NAME,... (default: all)
2244 Compile in support for additional codeset (encoding) groups (C<eu>, C<vn>
2245 are always compiled in, which includes most 8-bit character sets). These
2246 codeset tables are used for driving X11 core fonts, they are not required
2247 for Xft fonts, although having them compiled in lets rxvt-unicode choose
2248 replacement fonts more intelligently. Compiling them in will make your
2249 binary bigger (all of together cost about 700kB), but it doesn't increase
2250 memory usage unless you use a font requiring one of these encodings.
2254 all all available codeset groups
2255 zh common chinese encodings
2256 zh_ext rarely used but very big chinese encodings
2257 jp common japanese encodings
2258 jp_ext rarely used but big japanese encodings
2263 =item --enable-xim (default: on)
2265 Add support for XIM (X Input Method) protocol. This allows using
2266 alternative input methods (e.g. kinput2) and will also correctly
2267 set up the input for people using dead keys or compose keys.
2269 =item --enable-unicode3 (default: off)
2271 Recommended to stay off unless you really need non-BMP characters.
2273 Enable direct support for displaying unicode codepoints above
2274 65535 (the basic multilingual page). This increases storage
2275 requirements per character from 2 to 4 bytes. X11 fonts do not yet
2276 support these extra characters, but Xft does.
2278 Please note that rxvt-unicode can store unicode code points >65535
2279 even without this flag, but the number of such characters is
2280 limited to a few thousand (shared with combining characters,
2281 see next switch), and right now rxvt-unicode cannot display them
2282 (input/output and cut&paste still work, though).
2284 =item --enable-combining (default: on)
2286 Enable automatic composition of combining characters into
2287 composite characters. This is required for proper viewing of text
2288 where accents are encoded as seperate unicode characters. This is
2289 done by using precomposited characters when available or creating
2290 new pseudo-characters when no precomposed form exists.
2292 Without --enable-unicode3, the number of additional precomposed
2293 characters is somewhat limited (the 6400 private use characters will be
2294 (ab-)used). With --enable-unicode3, no practical limit exists.
2296 This option will also enable storage (but not display) of characters
2297 beyond plane 0 (>65535) when --enable-unicode3 was not specified.
2299 The combining table also contains entries for arabic presentation forms,
2300 but these are not currently used. Bug me if you want these to be used (and
2301 tell me how these are to be used...).
2303 =item --enable-fallback(=CLASS) (default: Rxvt)
2305 When reading resource settings, also read settings for class CLASS. To
2306 disable resource fallback use --disable-fallback.
2308 =item --with-res-name=NAME (default: urxvt)
2310 Use the given name as default application name when
2311 reading resources. Specify --with-res-name=rxvt to replace rxvt.
2313 =item --with-res-class=CLASS /default: URxvt)
2315 Use the given class as default application class
2316 when reading resources. Specify --with-res-class=Rxvt to replace
2319 =item --enable-utmp (default: on)
2321 Write user and tty to utmp file (used by programs like F<w>) at
2322 start of rxvt execution and delete information when rxvt exits.
2324 =item --enable-wtmp (default: on)
2326 Write user and tty to wtmp file (used by programs like F<last>) at
2327 start of rxvt execution and write logout when rxvt exits. This
2328 option requires --enable-utmp to also be specified.
2330 =item --enable-lastlog (default: on)
2332 Write user and tty to lastlog file (used by programs like
2333 F<lastlogin>) at start of rxvt execution. This option requires
2334 --enable-utmp to also be specified.
2336 =item --enable-afterimage (default: on)
2338 Add support for libAfterImage to be used for transparency and background
2339 images. It adds support for many file formats including JPG, PNG,
2340 SVG, TIFF, GIF, XPM, BMP, ICO, XCF, TGA and AfterStep image XML
2341 (L<http://www.afterstep.org/visualdoc.php?show=asimagexml>).
2343 This option also adds such eye candy as blending an image over the root
2344 background, as well as dynamic scaling and bluring of background images.
2346 Note that with this option enabled, @@RXVT_NAME@@'s memory footprint might
2347 increase by a few megabytes even if no extra features are used (mostly due
2348 to third-party libraries used by libAI). Memory footprint may somewhat be
2349 lowered if libAfterImage is configured without support for SVG.
2351 =item --enable-transparency (default: on)
2353 Add support for inheriting parent backgrounds thus giving a fake
2354 transparency to the term.
2356 =item --enable-fading (default: on)
2358 Add support for fading the text when focus is lost.
2360 =item --enable-rxvt-scroll (default: on)
2362 Add support for the original rxvt scrollbar.
2364 =item --enable-next-scroll (default: on)
2366 Add support for a NeXT-like scrollbar.
2368 =item --enable-xterm-scroll (default: on)
2370 Add support for an Xterm-like scrollbar.
2372 =item --enable-plain-scroll (default: on)
2374 Add support for a very unobtrusive, plain-looking scrollbar that
2375 is the favourite of the rxvt-unicode author, having used it for
2378 =item --enable-ttygid (default: off)
2380 Change tty device setting to group "tty" - only use this if
2381 your system uses this type of security.
2383 =item --disable-backspace-key
2385 Removes any handling of the backspace key by us - let the X server do it.
2387 =item --disable-delete-key
2389 Removes any handling of the delete key by us - let the X server
2392 =item --disable-resources
2394 Removes any support for resource checking.
2396 =item --disable-swapscreen
2398 Remove support for secondary/swap screen.
2400 =item --enable-frills (default: on)
2402 Add support for many small features that are not essential but nice to
2403 have. Normally you want this, but for very small binaries you may want to
2406 A non-exhaustive list of features enabled by C<--enable-frills> (possibly
2407 in combination with other switches) is:
2410 EWMH-hints (pid, utf8 names) and protocols (ping)
2412 seperate underline colour (-underlineColor)
2413 settable border widths and borderless switch (-w, -b, -bl)
2414 visual depth selection (-depth)
2415 settable extra linespacing /-lsp)
2416 iso-14755 5.1 (basic) support
2417 tripleclickwords (-tcw)
2418 settable insecure mode (-insecure)
2419 keysym remapping support
2420 cursor blinking and underline cursor (-cb, -uc)
2421 XEmbed support (-embed)
2423 hold on exit (-hold)
2424 skip builtin block graphics (-sbg)
2425 separate highlightcolor support (-hc)
2427 It also enables some non-essential features otherwise disabled, such as:
2429 some round-trip time optimisations
2430 nearest color allocation on pseudocolor screens
2431 UTF8_STRING support for selection
2432 sgr modes 90..97 and 100..107
2433 backindex and forwardindex escape sequences
2434 view change/zero scrollback escape sequences
2435 locale switching escape sequence
2436 window op and some xterm/OSC escape sequences
2437 rectangular selections
2438 trailing space removal for selections
2439 verbose X error handling
2441 =item --enable-iso14755 (default: on)
2443 Enable extended ISO 14755 support (see @@RXVT_NAME@@(1), or
2444 F<doc/rxvt.1.txt>). Basic support (section 5.1) is enabled by
2445 C<--enable-frills>, while support for 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 is enabled with
2448 =item --enable-keepscrolling (default: on)
2450 Add support for continual scrolling of the display when you hold
2451 the mouse button down on a scrollbar arrow.
2453 =item --enable-selectionscrolling (default: on)
2455 Add support for scrolling when the selection moves to the top or
2456 bottom of the screen.
2458 =item --enable-mousewheel (default: on)
2460 Add support for scrolling via mouse wheel or buttons 4 & 5.
2462 =item --enable-slipwheeling (default: on)
2464 Add support for continual scrolling (using the mouse wheel as an
2465 accelerator) while the control key is held down. This option
2466 requires --enable-mousewheel to also be specified.
2468 =item --enable-smart-resize (default: off)
2470 Add smart growth/shrink behaviour when resizing.
2471 This should keep the window corner which is closest to a corner of
2472 the screen in a fixed position.
2474 =item --enable-pointer-blank (default: on)
2476 Add support to have the pointer disappear when typing or inactive.
2478 =item --enable-perl (default: on)
2480 Enable an embedded perl interpreter. See the B<@@RXVT_NAME@@perl(3)>
2481 manpage (F<doc/rxvtperl.txt>) for more info on this feature, or the
2482 files in F<src/perl-ext/> for the extensions that are installed by
2483 default. The perl interpreter that is used can be specified via the
2484 C<PERL> environment variable when running configure. Even when compiled
2485 in, perl will I<not> be initialised when all extensions have been disabled
2486 C<-pe "" --perl-ext-common "">, so it should be safe to enable from a
2487 resource standpoint.
2489 =item --with-afterimage-config=DIR
2491 Look for the libAfterImage config script in DIR.
2493 =item --with-name=NAME (default: urxvt)
2495 Set the basename for the installed binaries, resulting
2496 in C<urxvt>, C<urxvtd> etc.). Specify C<--with-name=rxvt> to replace with
2499 =item --with-term=NAME (default: rxvt-unicode)
2501 Change the environmental variable for the terminal to NAME.
2503 =item --with-terminfo=PATH
2505 Change the environmental variable for the path to the terminfo tree to
2510 Use the X Window System (pretty much default, eh?).
2516 Marc Lehmann <rxvt@schmorp.de> converted this document to pod and
2517 reworked it from the original Rxvt documentation, which was done by Geoff
2518 Wing <gcw@pobox.com>, who in turn used the XTerm documentation and other