The X Window User HOWTO Christopher Yeleighton <[email protected]> Hal Burgiss <[email protected]> v4.0 Jan. 12th, 2010 Revision History Revision v4.0 2010-01-12 Revised by: cy Converted to XML docbook and to the new domain. Revision v3.1 2002-10-10 Revised by: hb Some minor additions and updates. Revision v3.0 2002-03-06 Revised by: hb Rewrite of the original document. Convert to DocBook. Many, many changes. This document provides basic information on understanding and configuring the X Window System for Linux users. This is meant to be an introductory level document. A basic knowledge of software configuration is assumed, as is the presence of an installed and working X Window System. The X Window User HOWTO Table of Contents 1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 1.1. New Versions and ChangeLog.........................................................................................................1 1.2. To Do................................................................................................................................................2 1.3. Feedback...........................................................................................................................................2 1.4. Help!.................................................................................................................................................2 1.5. Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................2 1.6. Copyright..........................................................................................................................................2 1.7. Standard Disclaimer..........................................................................................................................3 2. XFree86............................................................................................................................................................4 2.1. Hardware...........................................................................................................................................5 2.2. XF86Config......................................................................................................................................6 2.3. xvidtune and Monitor Tuning...........................................................................................................9 3. Running X......................................................................................................................................................11 3.1. startx................................................................................................................................................11 3.1.1. xserverrc................................................................................................................................12 3.1.2. xinitrc.....................................................................................................................................12 3.1.3. Xclients..................................................................................................................................13 3.2. Display Managers...........................................................................................................................15 3.2.1. xdm........................................................................................................................................16 3.2.2. gdm........................................................................................................................................18 3.2.3. kdm........................................................................................................................................18 4. More X Configuration..................................................................................................................................19 4.1. X Resources....................................................................................................................................19 4.1.1. App Defaults..........................................................................................................................20 4.1.2. Xdefaults...............................................................................................................................21 4.2. xmodmap, the Keyboard and Mice.................................................................................................23 4.2.1. Special Key Mappings...........................................................................................................25 4.2.2. Mice and Pointers..................................................................................................................25 4.3. xset..................................................................................................................................................26 5. Fonts and Colors...........................................................................................................................................27 5.1. Fonts Demystified...........................................................................................................................27 5.1.1. Type 1 and TrueType Fonts..................................................................................................29 5.2. Colors..............................................................................................................................................30 6. Window Managers and Desktops................................................................................................................32 6.1. Window Managers..........................................................................................................................32 6.2. Desktop Environments....................................................................................................................33 7. X and the Command Line............................................................................................................................35 7.1. xterm and friends............................................................................................................................36 8. X Networking and Security..........................................................................................................................38 i The X Window User HOWTO Table of Contents 9. Performance Considerations........................................................................................................................39 9.1. Hardware.........................................................................................................................................39 9.2. Memory...........................................................................................................................................39 9.3. X over the Network.........................................................................................................................40 9.4. Other Tips.......................................................................................................................................41 10. Appendix......................................................................................................................................................42 10.1. Terminology and Usage................................................................................................................42 10.2. Links and other References...........................................................................................................44 Notes................................................................................................................................................45 ii 1. Introduction The X Window System is an advanced, graphical computing and network environment that was designed from the ground up as a multi-user system. X was first released in 1984. If you are not familiar with the basic concepts surrounding X and it's related components, you should first read the X Window System Architecture Overview HOWTO, http://linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XWindow-Overview-HOWTO/index.html, to get an idea of how the various pieces fit together. There is also an attempt to define to various X related terminology in the Appendix, if concepts such as "displays" and "X clients" in this context are confusing to you. This document will address basic X Window configuration and usage on Linux. We will also look at how X is commonly started in Linux, and how the start up can be configured, and related issues. We will not examine Window Manager (e.g. fvwm), or Desktop Environment (KDE and GNOME) configuration. There are just too many variables there, and the pace of change moves too quickly. Of course, to a large extent the user interacts more directly with these components than the X server itself, so additional reading would be worthwhile. Check your locally installed documentation, and the respective home pages for more information. Some other important points to remember here: • X is a client-server, multi-user system in every respect, and not just a GUI. • X is not integrated into the operating system, and rides on top of it, like other servers. • X is an open standard, and runs on many platforms. • What you actually see on the screen is the result of various components, all