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<h1>XBanner Users Manual</h1>
<p>Last revised: 25-April-1997 <!-- AS-TOC_BEGIN{ --> </p>
<h1 align="center">Table of Contents</h1>
<ol>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15110">Purpose Of XBanner</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15111">Legal Information</a> </li>
<li><a href="#Platforms">Tested Platforms</a> </li>
<li><a href="#limits">Features and Limitations</a></li>
<li><a href="#Compilation">Compiling XBanner</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15112">The Programs In This Package</a> </li>
<li><a href="#Installing">Installing XBanner into XDM's
scripts</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15113">Setting Up Default Configuration
Resources</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15114">Creating A New Configuration
Resource File</a> <ul>
<li><a href="#res_types">Resource Types</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#design_consider">Design Considerations</a> </li>
<li><a href="#fonts">Getting Scalable Fonts</a> </li>
<li><a href="#classnames">Using Class Names For Multiple
Configurations</a> </li>
<li><a href="#Configuring">Configuring XBanner</a> <ul>
<li><a href="#Cfg_Text">The Text</a> <ul>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_label">The label
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_font">The font
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_placement">The
placement Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_xy">The x and y
resources</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_effect">The effect
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_underlined">The
underlined Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_underlinecolor">The
underlineColor Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_underlinethickness">The
underlineThickness Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_glint">The glint
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_glintspeed">The
glintSpeed Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_glintminmax">The
glintMin / glintMax Resources</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_glinttimeminmax">The
glintTimeMin / glintTimeMax Resources</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#cfg_text_cornermask">The
cornerMask Resource</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#Cfg_BG">The Background</a> <ul>
<li><a href="#cfg_bg_style">The bgStyle
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_bg_fill">The Fill Options</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#cfg_bg_dofill">The bgFill
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_bg_autofill">The autoFillBg
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_pix">The doPixmap Resource</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#cfg_pix_fname">The pixFile
Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_pix_loc">The Pixmap
Location</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#Cfg_Cycle">The Color-Cycling Options</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#cfg_cyc_cyclecolors">The
cycleColors Resource</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_cyc_cyclespeed">Selecting
Cycle Speed</a> </li>
<li><a href="#cfg_cyc_dir">Changing Cycle
Direction</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#Cfg_Misc">Miscellaneous Options</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15115">XBanner On The Net</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15116">Tips And Tricks</a> <ul>
<li><a href="#as-h3-15117">Speed Issues</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h3-15118">Other Ideas</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-15119">Credits</a> </li>
<li><a href="#as-h2-151110">Contacting Me</a> </li>
</ol>
<!-- AS-TOC_END} -->
<h2><a name="as-h2-15110">Purpose Of XBanner</a></h2>
<p>The purpose of XBanner is to make the XDM login screen
beautiful, as opposed to the dull and gray login screen that the
vanilla XDM gives. The idea came from Digital's login screen
which displays the Digital logo nicely. I use Linux and wanted to
run XDM, but XDM's login screen was such a boring thing, so I
wrote XBanner! </p>
<p>XBanner is definitely <b>not</b> Linux-specific! It is not
even Unix specific. Please refer to the <a href="#Platforms">Platforms</a>
section about tested platforms. </p>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15111">Legal Information</a></h2>
<P>XBanner is considered <I>postcardware</I>. This mean that all I ask
is that if you like it, send me a postcard. This is the only tangible
thing I know that I can show people and say '<I>This</I> is what I get
out of it'. Otherwise XBanner is free.
<p>I am releasing this program to the public, in the hope that
many people use it, and enjoy it. To make sure it stays free, I
decided to distribute this program under the
<a href="COPYING-2.0">GNU Public License (GPL) version 2</a>. </p>
<p>All I ask is that you contact me and tell me you are using it.
My preferred way is a postcard of your home area. This is just an
encouragement thing. It will encourage me to continue and enhance
XBanner and maybe even add new effects, etc. My addresses:</P>
<P>
<address>
<u>Snail-Mail</u>:<br>
<br>
Amit Margalit<br>
27 Bar-Ilan st. Apt#10<br>
Ra'anana, 43700<br>
ISRAEL<br>
</address>
</P>
<P>
Email - <a href="mailto:amitm@netvision.net.il">amitm@netvision.net.il</a>.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
(Thanks!) </p>
<p>I would also like to specify that I wrote this for myself, and
that I disclaim all and any liability bla bla bla... etc. In
short: </p>
<p><code>#include <Legal/disclaim.h></code> </p>
<h2><a name="Platforms">Tested Platforms</a></h2>
<p>XBanner can compile under any X11 environment from release 4
(X11R4) and up. XBanner can also display its graphics on any
server that conforms to release 4 or up. </p>
<p>Before compiling under X11R4, see the <a href="#Compilation">Compilation</a>
section for details about compiling in R4 environments.<br>
If displaying over to a X11R4 server is desired, a large font (or
fonts) is needed, which are difficult to come by since X11R4 did
not support true scalable fonts. The same is true for OpenVMS
users. The OpenVMS X-Server is an X11R5 server, but does not
support scalable fonts. In general, I am able to help by taking a
freely-available scalable font, and generating a <code>.BDF</code>
file from it. Please <a href="maito:amitm@netvision.net.il">email
me</a> for help on this. </p>
<p>Here is a short list of platforms I have tested XBanner on,
and ones I have received success reports with: </p>
<ul>
<li>Linux (x86) running XFree86 3.2 / Metro-X 3.1 /
Accelerated-X (X11R6) </li>
<li>Linux/SPARC with XFree86 (X11R6) </li>
<li>Linux/AXP with XFree86 (X11R6) </li>
<li>Solaris 4.3 running OpenWindows (X11R5) </li>
<li>Ultrix 4.4 running DEC's Xwst3d (X11R4) </li>
<li>Digital Unix v3.2c (X11R5) / V4.0 (X11R6)<sup>1</sup> </li>
<li>AIX v3.2.5 (X11R5) </li>
<li>SGI IRIX v5.3 (X11R5)<sup>2</sup> </li>
<li>VAXstation 4000-60 running OpenVMS 6.1 (X11R4/5)<sup>3</sup>
</li>
<li>DEC-3000 AXP running OpenVMS 7.0 (X11R5)<sup>3</sup> </li>
</ul>
<p>Compilation under different environments is encouraged. Any
success report will be listed with the person's name attached.
Please <a href="maito:amitm@netvision.net.il">email</a> any
reports to me. (Thanks!). </p>
<p>Notes: </p>
<ol>
<li>In <a name="CDE">CDE</a> environments there is a problem
with the CDE login box thingy. You will have to move back
to the old XDM <font face="Times New Roman"><code>:-(</code></font>
</li>
<li>This report comes from <a
href="mailto:dejan@mit.fnal.gov">Dejan Vucinic
<dejan@mit.fnal.gov></a>, feel free to contact him.
</li>
<li>Compiling under OpenVMS requires DEC-C. Also, some of
XBanner's features are not supported in OpenVMS. See the
file <code>README</code> in the <code>VMS/</code>
directory for complete details. </li>
</ol>
<h2><a name="limits">Features and Limitations</a></h2>
<p>XBanner contains many features. This list includes any
features which have non explicit limitations.</p>
<ol type="1" start="1">
<li>Color Cycling of all sorts depend on Read/Write color
cells in the X colormaps. These are usually not available
at all in 15/16/24/32 bit displays. So if your display is
set to 15/16/24/32 bits of color (HiColor / TrueColor)
you will not be able to use Color Cycling, and attempting
to do so will make XBanner generate a warning message,
and of course, disable this feature.</li>
<li>The Expose events handling is tricky. You can use it to
have XBanner redraw areas that have been exposed. It is
especially useful when using XDM-3D and setting it to
move the login box every few seconds (like Windows NT
does). However, if you are invoking XBanner more than
once to display extra graphics, make sure that <strong>only
the last invocation is handling expose events</strong>.</li>
<li>At present, XBanner can only render one line of text. A
future version will allow multi-line text.</li>
<li>The included <font face="Times New Roman"><code>Imakefile</code></font>
is not complete. It should contain many things more.
<li>XBanner does not work well with CDE. </li>
</ol>
<h2><a name="Compilation">Compiling XBanner</a></h2>
<p>There are 3 ways to compile XBanner. The simplest way should
be to use the <tt>xmkmf</tt> utility which uses the supplied <tt>Imakefile</tt>.
However, the preferred method is the second method described
<A HREF="#second_meth">below</A>.
After <tt>xmkmf</tt> is finished, type <tt>make</tt> to compile, or
<tt>make install</tt> to install. You might want to edit the <tt>Imakefile</tt>
to ensure the install directory is correct.
However, the <tt>Imakefile</tt> is not yet complete, nor well checked.
This ought to work in any system, but is not
yet tested under any platform other than Linux. If you have X11
set up properly, this should work. If it works for you, please <a
href="mailto:amitm@netvision.net.il">email me</a>. </p>
<p><A NAME="second_meth">The second method</A> is through the supplied <tt>Makefile</tt>.
Typing <tt>make</tt> after checking the files that affect the
compilation, should be enough. </p>
<p>In general, there are 3 files which govern XBanner's
compile-time options. The file <code>xbanner.h</code> contains
all the defaults and does not affect compilation. XBanner's
default values can be changed from there. </p>
<p>The second file is <code>xb_config.h</code> which contains the
configuration options. This actually changes the output binary
according to compile-time conditionals. Here is a detailed
description of the options included in <code>xb_config.h</code>: </p>
<table border="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF" cols="2">
<tr>
<th>Definition</th>
<th>Meaning / Who should use </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>#define PRGCLASS
"XBanner"</code> </td>
<td valign="top">This selects the program class-name. All
resources can be looked for under this class-name. If
changed to '<code>X_Logo</code>' then one could specify
resources like '<code>X_Logo.Thickness: 1</code>' but
XBanner will not recognize '<code>XBanner.*</code>'
resources. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>R4_RESOURCES</code> </td>
<td valign="top">This definition will use X11R4
Resource-Manager functions. This should only be used when
<b>compiling</b> in a R4 environment. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>EXPLICIT_REGISTER_VARIABLES</code>
</td>
<td valign="top">This is good for systems that don't have
GCC. If using GCC, then the -O2 option will simply ignore
the <code>register</code> keyword, because GCC thinks it
probably knows better. I have experimented a little, and
found which routines could use explicit <code>register</code>-defined
variables, and set them. This speeds up a bit on systems
that don't have GCC. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>HAS_USLEEP</code> </td>
<td valign="top">If this line is commented out, XBanner
will compile its own version of <code>usleep()</code>,
because some systems don't have it (Ultrix for example).
Linux has <code>usleep()</code>. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>HAS_STRCMPI</code> </td>
<td valign="top">If your system has the <code>strcmpi()</code>
function or <code>strcasecmp()</code>, then make sure
this line is not commented. Linux users should leave this
line not commented. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>INT_PLASMA</code> </td>
<td valign="top">Commenting out this line causes XBanner
to use floating-point arithmetic to generate
PlasmaClouds. This is about 40% slower on Pentia, but
looks a bit better. For Pentium-166MHz, or a 166MHz
AlphaStation, this is probably not an issue. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><code>OTHER_FRAND()</code> </td>
<td valign="top">Under Linux, XBanner uses the Linux
C-Library <code>drand48()</code> function to generate
random numbers for the PlasmaCloud effects. On other
systems, it approximates this by using <code>rand()</code>,
casting the result to float, then dividing by <code>RAND_MAX</code>.
This is slower and not as accurate. If your system has
another function that generates random floating-point
numbers between 0.0 and 1.0, define it here.<br>
Example:<br>
<code>#define OTHER_FRAND() drand48()</code> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The last file one might want to edit is the <code>Makefile</code>.
There are 3 things to edit in the <code>Makefile</code>: </p>
<ol>
<li>The command definitions for the variables <code>CC</code>,
<code>RM</code>, <code>INSTALL</code>, <code>CP</code>, <code>TAR</code>,
and <code>GZIP</code>. Most importantly, if your system
doesn't have <code>gcc</code>, define CC differently!
Please make sure GZIP is defined as '<code>compress</code>'
if your system doesn't have the <code>gzip</code>
utility. </li>
<li>The directory definitions for <code>BINDIR</code> (where
the binary gets installed), and <code>XLIBDIR</code>
(where your <code>libX11.a</code> resides). </li>
<li>The XPM support defines (<code>XPM</code> and <code>XPMLIB</code>).
Simply comment them out if your system doesn't have the <code>XPM</code>
library. If your <code>libXpm.a</code> is not in <code>ld</code>'s
library path, it is possible to change the definition
from <pre>
XPMLIB =-lXpm
</pre>
<p>to be: </p>
<pre>
XPMLIB =/usr/home/amitm/LIBS/libXpm.a
</pre>
<p>or something similar. </p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>That's it. Type '<code>make</code>' and it should compile.
Then '<code>make install</code>' will strip and copy the binaries
to the binary directories. Note that the <code>random_effect</code>
binary is not installed by '<code>make install</code>'. </p>
<p>The last way is by hand. See the <tt>QuickStart</tt> file for
this. </p>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15112">The Programs In This Package</a></h2>
<dl>
<dt><code>xbanner</code> </dt>
<dd>This is the main executable. It performs all the
graphics, resource-parsing, coloring etc. as well as the
glints, and color-cycling, if requested. </dd>
<dt><code>freetemp</code> </dt>
<dd>Usually when an X application exits, all the resources it
had allocated on the X server (colormap entries, fonts,
cursors, etc.) are made available immediately to all
other applications. XBanner prevents this from happening
and asks the server to keep those resources temporarily
after it exits. The <code>freetemp</code> program will
free those resources. It is <b>mandatory</b> to use <code>freetemp</code>
if using any of the Glint / Linger / Color-cycling
features. </dd>
<dt><code>xb_check</code> </dt>
<dd>This is a small utility program that reads <code>stdin</code>
expecting a resource-file format. It looks for lines
resembling XBanner resources and tries to check that they
are valid. (I haven't tested this on OpenVMS yet). </dd>
<dt><code>random_effect</code> </dt>
<dd>This utility reads a file that lists different XBanner
resource-files, selects one by random, and runs <code>xbanner
-file <res-file></code> for it. </dd>
</dl>
<h2><a name="Installing">Installing XBanner into XDM's scripts</a></h2>
<p>These instructions are written for people of the lowest level
of experience, so if you feel you are above this level, simply
follow the numbered steps (lines in <b>bold</b>). It is assumed
that you already successfully compiled XBanner and it is already
in the path. </p>
<p>For Debian 1.1 users, a Debian package (<tt>xb_13.deb</tt>) is
available in the FTP directory and from the download page. If you
are using the Debian distribution, and have Debian 1.1 already
installed, please click <a href="README.Debian">here</a>. </p>
<p>If you have Digital Unix, you need to disable DEC's greeter
library. Click here to read the <a href="README.DEC_Unix"><tt>README.DEC_Unix</tt></a>
file on how this is done. After doing this, just follow the
normal XBanner instructions. (This was not tested under CDE!). </p>
<p>OpenVMS installation instructions are in the file <code>XBanner1.3/VMS/README</code>
in the source distribution. </p>
<p>If the following does not work on your system, or if you are
unsure, you can take a look at the file <code>samples/_other_ideas/My_Home_Setup.tar</code>
which contains the entire setup for my home system including the <code>Xsetup_0</code>
and <code>Xsession</code> scripts, so you can rummage through
them. </p>
<p>Installing XBanner to work with XDM the way it should is
fairly simple. The process involves modifying 2 script files,
that's it. </p>
<p><u>A bit about XDM</u>: </p>
<p>XDM is a short for <b>X</b><i>Windows</i> <b>D</b><i>isplay</i>
<b>M</b><i>anager</i>. As such it is a tool for managing
different displays. Managing means that XDM takes over the
display, does several initializations, puts on a login-box, and
let's the user log in to the machine it is running <b><i>from</i></b>.
After the user is successfully authenticated against the password
file, XDM runs a script which eventually loads the
window-manager. When the window-manager exits, the script ends,
XDM does a reset, and starts over (initializations, login-box,
etc.). </p>
<p>We need to put several lines into the script which XDM runs to
do the initializations. This is most usually placed in <code>/usr/lib/X11/xdm</code>
but some Linux distributions have it at <code>/etc/X11/xdm</code>.
The file is usually called <code>Xsetup_0</code>. But these are
just the usual, not necessarily the right ones for your system.
Here's a step-by-step guide to finding these files: </p>
<dl>
<dt><b>Step 1: Type '</b><code><b>more
/usr/lib/X11/xdm/xdm-config</b></code><b>'</b> </dt>
<dd>Look for two lines. The one begins with: <pre>DisplayManager._0.setup:</pre>
<p>The other begins with: </p>
<pre>DisplayManager*session:</pre>
<p>Note the names of the files they point to. These will
usually be <code>Xsetup_0</code> and <code>Xsession</code>.
I will hereafter refer to these by those names. </p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>These are the files we need to change. The one is the
initialization script, which on some machines runs a <code>xconsole</code>
so you'll have one with the login-box. </p>
<dl>
<dt><b>Step 2: Edit </b><code><b>Xsetup_0</b></code> </dt>
<dd>You should add 2 lines into this file. The first is a
line that runs <code>freetemp</code>. This is a
precautionary measure, but will save you if something
really bad happened when the previous session ended. The
second line is to run <code>xbanner</code> itself. Notice
that the directory where <code>xbanner</code> and <code>freetemp</code>
are installed in might not be in the path. In this case,
specify the complete path to the programs (i.e. <code>/usr/local/bin/X11/xbanner</code>).
<br>
Both lines ought to appear around the end of the file. </dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><b>Step 3: Edit </b><code><b>Xsession</b></code> </dt>
<dd>A line to run <code>freetemp</code> from here as well.
This should be done near the top of the file. Preferably
before anything else. </dd>
</dl>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15113">Setting Up Default Configuration
Resources</a></h2>
<p>The purpose of an <code>app-defaults</code> is to serve as a
default configuration. Some of the things that XBanner tries to
do require some resources to be set for them to work properly. </p>
<p>The supplied <code>samples/XBanner.ad</code> can be used as a
good default (assuming it works flawlessly for you), as well as a
good starting point for new setups. After typing <code>make</code>
try to test this setup by typing <code>./xbanner -file
samples/XBanner.ad</code>. If the font cannot be found, refer to
the <a href="#fonts">fonts</a> section. </p>
<p>After you have edited it to suit your taste, copy the file <code>XBanner.ad</code>
to <code>/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults</code>, and make sure you
rename it to <code>XBanner</code> and not leave it there with the
<code>.ad</code> suffix. </p>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15114">Creating A New Configuration Resource
File</a></h2>
<p>The simplest way to create a new resource file is to take <code>XBanner.ad</code>
and work your way by modifying it. This is good because <code>XBanner.ad</code>
contains a list of supported keywords near every resource that
takes keywords. </p>
<p>However, sometimes you want to create your own resource file.
First, please look at the different types of resources that
XBanner can accept. The same type-names are used in the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html">Resource Reference</a> and in fact
throughout the documentation. </p>
<h3><a name="res_types"><u>Resource Types</u></a></h3>
<dl>
<dt><b><i>Numeric</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This is an integer number. Some resources have
bounds-checking. Those that don't will most likely work
OK anyway. </dd>
<dt><b><i>Float</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This is a floating-point number. While XBanner uses the <code>atof()</code>
function to read this value, and allows the use of
scientific notation, the <code>xb_check</code> program
checks it itself, and allows only the simple XX.YY
notation. </dd>
<dt><b><i>Boolean</i></b> </dt>
<dd>A true/false resource. See the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#boolean">Resource Reference</a>
about this. </dd>
<dt><b><i>String</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This is simply a string of characters. Anything can be
used. I don't believe anyone will use a string of more
than the internal limit because even on a 1600x1200
screen using the smallest font imaginable, you'd still
get less than 1024 chars. </dd>
<dt><b><i>Keyword</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This is a character string comprising a special name
known to XBanner. The <a href="Resource_Reference.html">Resource
Reference</a> lists the possible keywords accepted by
each resource. </dd>
<dt><b><i>Keyword-list</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This is a comma-separated list of Keyword's. </dd>
<dt><b><i>ColorSpec</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This can be the name of a color known to the X-Server, or
a RGB specification. Specifying RGB values can be done
either as '<code>#RRGGBB</code>' or '<code>#RRRRGGGGBBBB</code>'.
The RGB components are given in Hexadecimal. </dd>
<dt><b><i>GradSpec</i></b> </dt>
<dd>This is a comma-separated list of ColorSpec's. </dd>
</dl>
<h2><a name="design_consider">Design Considerations</a></h2>
<p>There are quite a few things to consider when designing a
login screen. Here is a list of things it's good to keep in mind:
</p>
<ol>
<li>The type of display you are running on. If you have a
TrueColor display, then you cannot use any of the
color-cycling features, since TrueColor displays do not
support Read/Write color-cells. </li>
<li>If you have a PseudoColor display (almost <b><i>any</i></b>
256-color X-Server is a PseudoColor display), then you
have the color-cycling features, but you are limited in
the number of colors that you can use. </li>
<li>Some people use <code>xdm-photo</code>, a XDM variant
that shows people's faces, and you click your face, and
type the password. If you are using <code>xdm-photo</code>,
you are probably even more limited in the number of
colors you can use. Also, it was brought into my
attention that <code>xdm-photo</code> draws its login-box
<i>before</i> running the <code>Xsetup_0</code> script,
and this causes various problems with <i>image</i>-type
effects (see <a href="#Cfg_Text">below</a>). </li>
<li>Which fonts do you have? Do you have Adobe Type1 fonts?
Do you have Speedo fonts? If you don't have real scalable
fonts, then only very squarish fonts will look OK. See
the <a href="#fonts">fonts</a> section. </li>
<li>Machine speed is a crucial factor. Some effects are very
slow. Notably, Coin, and the PlasmaCloud effects are very
slow. </li>
<li>Don't over colorize. You must select your login screen
colors with taste. Filling the screen with a zillion
colors and gradients can be dazzling, but annoying to see
after a while. </li>
<li>I cannot over-emphasize this: <b>Do NOT make excessive
use of color-cycling</b>! This tends to be extremely
irritating. I suggest using slow-speed cycles and do it
on "shallow" color gradients (e.g. gradients
from blue to dark-blue, not from black to white). </li>
</ol>
<h2><a name="fonts">Getting Scalable Fonts</a></h2>
<p>XBanner is a neat program, and does a whole lot of things. But
it needs a good scalable font to do all the wonders that it can.
What is a scalable font? A scalable font is a font that has an
attribute that defines it as scalable. It might be a vector-font
which means it will look smooth at any size, or it might be a set
of bitmap fonts for various sizes, which the X-Server will pick
from and scale up or down to get the exact size you require. </p>
<p>So how do you know if you have scalable fonts at all? How do
you know which ones are scalable? All of these questions are
answered in a separate document I wrote. <a href="fonttips.html">Here</a>
it is. Please read it thoroughly and make sure that you have
scalable fonts, and you know their names before we can continue
with the rest of this guide. </p>
<h2><a name="classnames">Using Class Names For Multiple
Configurations</a></h2>
<p>X11 resources are the main system of passing options to an X11
application. In X11 each resource has a class-name. An
application has its instance-name (usually the name of the binary
executable file) and a class-name. An application can refer to a
resource name (signifying a configuration option), through its
class-name or its instance name. </p>
<p>Usually, class names have their first letters capitalized.
Application class-names are also capitalized, unless the
application name starts with X in which case, by convention, the
first 2 letters are capitalized. Hence XBanner's instance name is
usually '<code>xbanner</code>' and its class-name is usually '<code>XBanner</code>'.
</p>
<p>In general, instance names take precedence over class names.
XBanner is no exception to this rule. It is possible to exploit
this mechanism in various ways. For instance, it is possible to
create a single resource file, that will bind in it all the
necessary information to create a two-line login-screen. </p>
<p>Here is an example resource file that does exactly that. This
file assumes that you have a link from <code>xbanner</code> to <code>xb_line2</code>
and that the script runs <code>xbanner</code> before <code>xb_line2</code>:
</p>
<pre>
! XBanner 1.3 resource file
!
! Resources common to both lines
!
XBanner.DefOffset: 20
XBanner.ShadowOffset: 12
XBanner.ShowErrors: True
XBanner.Font: -*-charter-bold-i-normal--76-*-*-*-p-*-iso8859-1
XBanner.ShadowColor: DarkBlue
!
! Resources for first line
!
xbanner.label: This is my first line
xbanner.effect: FgPlasma
xbanner.fgPlasmaGrad: Red,Yellow
xbanner.bgStyle: TopDown
xbanner.bgGrad: Red,Yellow
xbanner.barSize: 12
!
! Resources for second line
!
xb_line2.label: This is the second line
xb_line2.effect: Shadowed-Outline
xb_line2.shadowColor: White
xb_line2.HiColor: Red
xb_line2.Surround: 4
</pre>
<p>Let's analyze what I am doing. The common options use the <code>XBanner</code>
application class name, and resource class names. This provides
for specific overrides by the instance names. The lines </p>
<pre>
XBanner.DefOffset: 20
XBanner.ShadowOffset: 12
XBanner.ShowErrors: True
XBanner.Font: -*-charter-bold-i-normal--76-*-*-*-p-*-iso8859-1
XBanner.ShadowColor: DarkBlue
</pre>
<p>will set the default minimum distance from the screen edges to
20 pixels, define the shadow right- and down- offsets from the
text to be 12 pixels, make both invocations of XBanner (one as <code>xbanner</code>
the other as <code>xb_line2</code>) show errors / warnings if any
exist, select a font, and a ShadowColor. </p>
<p>The next bit defines the label for the invocation as '<code>xbanner</code>'
as well as the effect, the color-gradient required by that
effect, and the background style and its required color gradient.
</p>
<p>I then define the options specific to the invocation as '<code>xb_line2</code>'.
This includes overriding the ShadowColor with its instance name,
and defining Surround which is a common class. </p>
<h2><a name="Configuring">Configuring XBanner</a></h2>
<p>There are four almost independent parts to XBanner. They are <a
href="#Cfg_Text">The Text</a>, <a href="#Cfg_BG">The Background</a>,
<a href="#Cfg_Cycle">Color Cycling</a>, and <a href="#Cfg_Misc">Miscellaneous</a>.
</p>
<p>Note: Resources are given in their instance-names, with the
"<code>XBanner.</code>" prefix stripped. You may click
each resource to find related resources, usage and keyword
information. </p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="Cfg_Text">The Text</a></h3>
<p>The Text part is subdivided into these categories: </p>
<ul>
<li><code>The </code><a href="#cfg_text_label"><code>Label</code></a>
</li>
<li><code>The </code><a href="#cfg_text_font"><code>Font</code></a>
</li>
<li><code>The </code><a href="#cfg_text_placement"><code>Placement</code></a><code>
On The Screen</code> </li>
<li><code>The </code><a href="#cfg_text_effect"><code>Effect</code></a><code>
Rendered</code> </li>
<li><code>The </code><a href="#cfg_text_underlined"><code>Underline</code></a><code>
Feature</code> </li>
<li><code>The </code><a href="#cfg_text_glint"><code>Glint</code></a><code>
Feature</code> </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_label"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.label"><code>label</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This resource selects the text that will appear on the screen.
You may use double-quotes to add leading spaces. </p>
<p>Using an empty string (e.g. <code>XBanner.Label: " "</code>)
is also allowed, in which case XBanner will choose the <code>fixed</code>
font which is guaranteed, and force the <a
href="#cfg_text_effect">effect</a> to be <a
href="#cfg_text_effect_none"><code>None</code></a>. </p>
<p>The label text can contain environment variables. Use <code>$VAR_NAME</code>
or <code>${VAR_NAME}</code> to insert the environment variable
value into the label text. To get a single <code>$</code> sign,
use <code>$$</code>. </p>
<p>The above is especially useful to display the operating system
name and version without changing the resource file every time
you change versions. The following script does that in the most
simplistic way, through command-line switches, but you can use
the <code>label</code> resource as well. </p>
<p>For <code>sh</code>-style shells (<code>sh</code>, <code>ksh</code>,
<code>bash</code>...): </p>
<pre>
#!/bin/sh
OSVERSION=`uname -s -r`
xbanner -label '$OSVERSION'
</pre>
<p>For <code>csh</code>-style shells (<code>csh</code>, <code>tcsh</code>...):
</p>
<pre>
#!/bin/csh
setenv OSVERSION `uname -s -r`
xbanner -label '$OSVERSION'
</pre>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_font"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.font"><code>font</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>Use this resource to choose the font for the <a
href="#cfg_text_label">text</a> that XBanner draws. For more
information about finding fonts click <a href="#fonts">here</a>. </p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_placement"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.placement"><code>placement</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This chooses where the text will be drawn. Most of the
placement types are pretty self-explanatory: </p>
<pre>
TopLeft TopCenter TopRight
Center
BottomLeft BottomCenter BottomRight
</pre>
<p>The other 2 types are: </p>
<p><code>XY</code><br>
This simply uses two other resources, <a href="#cfg_text_xy">x</a>
and <a href="#cfg_text_xy">y</a> to select the location of the
top-left corner of the text's bounding-box. </p>
<p><code>CenteredOnY</code><br>
This uses only the <a href="#cfg_text_xy">y</a> resource to
select the location of the top-line of the text's bounding-box,
and centers the line on that Y position. You might want to try
running XBanner from the command-line with <a
href="#cfg_text_showcalc"><code>-showcalc</code></a> command line
option, which displays information about the location of the
top-left corner of the text's bounding-box, and the size of the
bounding-box. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_xy"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.x"><code>x</code></a> and <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.x"><code>y</code></a> resources</h4>
<p>These resources choose the location of the text. The <code>x</code>
resource chooses where the left side of the text's bounding box
will be. The <code>y</code> resource chooses where the top line
of the text's bounding box will be. </p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_effect"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.effect"><code>effect</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This the resource that governs how the text will look. If it
will have a shadow or not, etc. There are currently 3 major types
of resources. The effects marked <i>simple</i> are effects that
use only X11 drawing functions, all on the server-side. The
effects marked <i>image</i> are effects which transfer an image
of part of the screen from the X-Server to the program,
manipulate the image using pixel-functions, and then copy the
processed image back. These are <i>usually</i> slower. </p>
<p>Each rendering style (effect) is affected by different
resources, depending on what parts of that effect can be
controlled. Here is a list of the effects, each with an
explanation of what it is and reference to the resources that
govern its behaviour. Notice that all effects can be underlined,
and therefore the underlining feature appears separately after
this section. </p>
<dl>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_3dshd"><code>3D-Shadow</code></a>
(<i>simple</i>) </dt>
<dd>This effect draws the text, outlined, with several copies
of it beneath it as shadows. The shadows' outlines are a
different color.<br>
The following resources apply: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
- front text outline color. </li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
- outline color of text beneath front text. </li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowXOffset"><code>shadowXOffset</code>
/ <code>shadowYOffset</code></a> </li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadows"><code>shadows</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.surroundMin"><code>surroundMin</code>
/ <code>surroundMax</code></a> </li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_backlight"><code>Backlight</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>This effect simply draws many outlines around the text.
Each outline is given a different color according to a
color gradient you select.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.backlightGrad"><code>backlightGrad</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_coin"><code>Coin</code></a> (<i>image</i>)
</dt>
<dd>This effect looks very much like the <a
href="#cfg_text_effect_standout"><code>StandOut</code></a>
effect, but here the text has a thin "rim" of
opposite colors. The rim is always 1/3 of the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
value.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_fade"><code>Fade</code></a> (<i>image</i>)
</dt>
<dd>This one is the same as <a
href="#cfg_text_effect_backlight"><code>Backlight</code></a>
only the gradient is drawn only to pixels which are
diagonally right and down from pixels of the text.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fadeGrad"><code>fadeGrad</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_fattext"><code>FatText</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>This effect draws outlines or rather inlines. It recolors
the outer lines of the text, going inwards.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fatTextGrad"><code>fatTextGrad</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowXOffset"><code>shadowXOffset</code>
/ <code>shadowYOffset</code></a> </li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_fggrad"><code>FgGrad</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>This effect simply recolors the text such that there is a
visible color gradient from the top line of the text to
the bottom.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgGradGrad"><code>fgGradGrad</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgGradBarSize"><code>fgGradBarSize</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowXOffset"><code>shadowXOffset</code>
/ <code>shadowYOffset</code></a> </li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_fgplasma"><code>FgPlasma</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>This effect is like having your text become a window into
an area filled with PlasmaClouds.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowXOffset"><code>shadowXOffset</code>
/ <code>shadowYOffset</code></a> </li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgPlasmaGrad"><code>fgPlasmaGrad</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgPlasmaGrain"><code>fgPlasmaGrain</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgPlasmaNCol"><code>fgPlasmaNCol</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_funnyoutline"><code>FunnyOutline</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>This effect is like the <a
href="#cfg_text_effect_outline"><code>Outline</code></a>
effect only that instead of coloring outside the text we
color inside the text.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_none"><code>None</code></a> (<i>simple</i>)
</dt>
<dd>This simply draws the text as-is. You use the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
resource to choose the color of the text. </dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_outline"><code>Outline</code></a>
(<i>simple</i>) </dt>
<dd>This draws an outline around the text. The color of the
outline is chosen by the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
resource. Use the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.surroundMin"><code>surroundMin/Max</code></a>
resources to select the form of the outline. </dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_popart"><code>PopArt</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>This draws 1-pixel outlines with colors alternating
between <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
and <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_shadow"><code>Shadow</code></a>
(<i>simple</i>) </dt>
<dd>Simple text with a simple shadow under it.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowXOffset"><code>shadowXOffset</code>
/ <code>shadowYOffset</code></a> </li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_shdoutl"><code>Shadowed-Outline</code></a>
(<i>simple</i>) </dt>
<dd>This is simply the <a href="#cfg_text_effect_outline"><code>Outline</code></a>
effect with a shadow like in the <a
href="#cfg_text_effect_shadow"><code>Shadow</code></a>
effect.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowXOffset"><code>shadowXOffset</code>
/ <code>shadowYOffset</code></a> </li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.surroundMin"><code>surroundMin/Max</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_shake"><code>Shake</code></a> (<i>image</i>)
</dt>
<dd>This effect makes the text seem very shaky, as if
vibrating. The idea came from the infamous "Nervous?
Tense? Tired?" sign. This effect is not very
controllable at the moment. Should such request come up,
I will add some options.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_standinout"><code>StandIn/Out/2</code></a>
(<i>image</i>) </dt>
<dd>The <code>StandOut</code> effect basically looks like
Motif buttons. It makes the text seem 3D. This is done by
drawing outlines then figuring which angles need to get a
light color and which get dark. The <code>StandIn</code>
effect is the same with the colors inverted. The effects <code>StandIn2</code>
and <code>StandOut2</code> are the same as their
counterparts with one difference: the coloring is done
into the thickness of the font not outside it.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><a name="cfg_text_effect_thick"><code>Thick</code></a> (<i>simple</i>)
</dt>
<dd>This is simple thick text. The letters appear thick.<br>
Resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.hiColor"><code>hiColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.shadowColor"><code>shadowColor</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.thickness"><code>thickness</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
</dl>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_underlined"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.underlined"><code>underlined</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This is a <a href="Resource_Reference.html#boolean">boolean</a>
resource that selects whether or not an underline will be drawn
under the text. You can choose its color, and its thickness: </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_underlinecolor"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.underlineColor"><code>underlineColor</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This sets the color of the underline. A special keyword '<code>FGC</code>'
is recognized and makes the underline use the same color as the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.foreground"><code>foreground</code></a>
color. This is good because some of the effects get rendered on
the underline in this case. For example, if you use a <code>.foreground:
green</code> and <code>.underlineColor: green</code> in the <code>StandOut</code>
effect, then you will see that the text looks nice and 3D, but
the underline is a simple line. If you use the '<code>FGC</code>'
keyword for the <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.underlineColor"><code>underlineColor</code></a>
then the underline will be 3D as well. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_underlinethickness"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.underlineThickness"><code>underlineThickness</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This positive value sets the line width of the underline. </p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_glint"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.glint"><code>glint</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This is a <a href="Resource_Reference.html#boolean">boolean</a>
resource that enables the glint feature, which makes the text
appear to glint. The stars of the glint are white, and they
appear every random number of milliseconds which greater or equal
to the <a href="#cfg_text_glinttimeminmax"><code>glintTimeMin</code></a>
resource and equal or less than the <a
href="#cfg_text_glinttimeminmax"><code>glintTimeMax</code></a>
resource. The speed of appearance for each glint star is
selectable through the <a href="#cfg_text_glintspeed"><code>glintSpeed</code></a>
resource. The size of each star is selected randomly in the range
<a href="#cfg_text_glintminmax"><code>glintMin</code></a> - <a
href="#cfg_text_glintminmax"><code>glintMax</code></a>. </p>
<p>One also has control over which corners are allowed to glint
through the use of the <a href="#cfg_text_cornermask"><code>cornerMask</code></a>
resource. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_glintspeed"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.glintSpeed"><code>glintSpeed</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This resource selects the speed of appearance (and
disappearance) of the glint stars. There are 3 different
possibilities:<br>
<i>Positive Value</i> - simply makes the star grow in larger
steps.<br>
<i>Negative Value</i> - runs an idle loop for delay, which is
different for each computer.<br>
<i>The Value Zero</i> - causes the star to blink - to appear at
max size and disappear.<br>
</p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_glintminmax"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.glintMin"><code>glintMin</code></a>
/ <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.glintMax"><code>glintMax</code></a>
Resources</h4>
<p>These select the maximum / minimum size for the glint stars. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_glinttimeminmax"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.glintTimeMin"><code>glintTimeMin</code></a>
/ <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.glintTimeMax"><code>glintTimeMax</code></a>
Resources</h4>
<p>These resources select the minimum and maximum amounts of time
between glints. This is selected in milliseconds. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_text_cornermask"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.cornerMask"><code>cornerMask</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This resource is a <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#keyword_list">keyword-list</a>
resource which defines which corners can have glint stars on
them. The <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.cornerMask">Resource
Reference</a> has the complete description of the keywords. You
can use any combination of keywords to produce the desired
results. </p>
<p>Since the default is all corners, to glint only on upper-right
corners you would have to use: </p>
<pre>
XBanner.cornerMask: NoDownLeft,NoDownRight,NoUpLeft
</pre>
<hr>
<h3><a name="Cfg_BG">The Background</a></h3>
<p>The Background and its related features is divided into the
following categories: </p>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="#cfg_bg_style">Style</a> Of Background </li>
<li>The <a href="#cfg_bg_fill">Fill</a> Options </li>
<li>The <a href="#cfg_pix">Pixmap-Paste</a> Feature </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_bg_style"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgStyle"><code>bgStyle</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>The <code>bgStyle</code> resource selects the type of
background that XBanner will render. Listed here are the allowed
keywords and their related resources. Notice that all of the
background styles require the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGrad"><code>bgGrad</code></a>
resource and it is therefore not mentioned. The only exceptions
are the <code>None</code>, <code>Fill</code>, and <code>BgPix</code>
background styles. </p>
<p>For a complete description of the background styles, see the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgStyle">Resource Reference</a>. </p>
<p>Here's the list of supported background style: </p>
<dl>
<dt><code>BgPix</code> </dt>
<dd>This takes a <code>.XPM</code> file and tiles the entire
background with it. Use the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgPixFile"><code>.bgPixFile</code></a>
resource to set the file name. <br>
<font size="2">(Does not use <code>.bgGrad</code>)</font>
</dd>
<dt><code>Fan</code> </dt>
<dd>This keyword makes XBanner draw a fan. You can control
the fan with the following resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>Fill</code> </dt>
<dd>This simply fills the background with a single color
selectable through the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgFillColor">.bgFillColor</a>
resource. <br>
<font size="2">(Does not use <code>.bgGrad</code>)</font>
</dd>
<dt><code>LeftDiagonal</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style is affected by the following
resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>LeftRight</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style is affected by the following
resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>LeftSplit</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style is affected by the following
resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>None</code> </dt>
<dd>This suppresses background rendering (but not the <code>bgFill</code>
feature). <br>
<font size="2">(Does not use <code>.bgGrad</code>)</font>
</dd>
<dt><code>Plasma</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style uses the following resources: <ul>
<li><a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.plasmaNumColors"><code>.plasmaNumColors</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.graininess"><code>.graininess</code></a>
- sets the graininess factor. </li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>RightDiagonal</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style is affected by the following
resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>RightSplit</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style is affected by the following
resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>Ripples</code> </dt>
<dd>The controling resources for the <code>Ripples</code>
background style are: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.ripples"><code>.ripples</code></a>
- the number of ripples. </li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.rippleColors"><code>.rippleColors</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
<dt><code>TopDown</code> </dt>
<dd>This background style is affected by the following
resources: <ul>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradRepeat"><code>.bgGradRepeat</code></a>
</li>
<li><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.barSize"><code>.barSize</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
</dl>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_bg_fill">The Fill Options</a></h4>
<p>The fill options are basically the ability to fill the screen
and set the root window's background color before rendering any
complicated background effect. This is useful so that when XDM
removes the login-box, the now exposed area is repainted in some
color, not the usual gray. </p>
<p>There are 2 different things you can use: <a
href="#cfg_bg_dofill"><code>bgFill</code></a> and <a
href="#cfg_bg_autofill"><code>autoFillBg</code></a>. </p>
<h4>The <a name="cfg_bg_dofill"><code></code></a><a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgFill"><code>bgFill</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This resource, when set to <b>True</b> simply tells XBanner to
fill the background before drawing any colorful patterns on it.
The color used for this filling is set by the <code>bgFillColor</code>
resource. </p>
<h4>The <a name="cfg_bg_autofill"><code></code></a><a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.autoFillBg"><code>autoFillBg</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This resource does an interesting job. Its work can be seen as
to set <code>doPixmap: True</code> and select the <code>bgFillColor</code>
automatically. The selection of the color is done by simply using
a color from the background's color gradient whose index is half
of the number of colors in the gradient. </p>
<p>The above mechanism is especially good for situations when the
login box is approximately at the center of the screen, the
gradient contains only 2 anchors (from one color to another, but
not more), and these colors' overall brightness is not too
different. </p>
<p>But why do that? The answer is simple. If the above conditions
are met, then when the login box disappears, the resulting empty
box seems to have a color gradient that is opposite that of the
rest of the screen. This is a "feature" of your eyes
and brain. </p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_pix"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.doPixmap"><code>doPixmap</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This <a href="Resource_Reference.html#boolean">boolean</a>
resource tells XBanner that you want to load a pixmap file (<code>.XPM</code>)
and paste it somewhere on the screen. This handles the XPM '<code>None</code>'
color specification properly. You need to specify the <a
href="#cfg_pix_fname">file name</a> and the <a
href="#cfg_pix_loc">location on screen</a>. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_pix_fname"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.pixFile"><code>pixFile</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>This is a string signifying the absolute path to the pixmap
you wish to load and display on the screen. This pixmap is
displayed after all else is drawn. </p>
<p><a name="listfile"></a>If this string begins with the '<code>@</code>'
character, this name is instead interpreted as the name of a file
containing a list of pixmaps to display. Each line contains a
full pathname, followed by a space, the <code>X</code> position
of the pixmap, another space, and the <code>Y</code> position.
Nesting is not allowed, error condition checks are minimal. </p>
<h4><a name="cfg_pix_loc">The Pixmap Location</a></h4>
<p>The location on screen of the pixmap can be set using the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.pixmapX"><code>pixmapX</code></a>
and <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.pixmapY"><code>pixmapY</code></a>
resources. </p>
<p>Note that these resources have no effect if you use a pixmap
list-file, since that file contains the <code>X</code> and <code>Y</code>
positions for each pixmap listed in it. See the <a
href="#listfile"><code>pixFile</code></a> resource. </p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="Cfg_Cycle">The Color-Cycling Options</a></h3>
<p>Color cycling is achieved by specifying the program <a
href="#cfg_cyc_cyclecolors">entities</a> to be cycled, and then
modifying the <a href="#cfg_cyc_cyclespeed">cycle speed</a>, and <a
href="#cfg_cyc_dir">direction</a> if necessary. </p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_cyc_cyclecolors"></a>The <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.cycleColors"><code>cycleColors</code></a>
Resource</h4>
<p>In general, the different things that you can cycle are all
the ones that use color gradients. Well, almost all of them. </p>
<p>Use a comma separated list of the following keywords: </p>
<dl>
<dd><code>Backlight</code> </dd>
<dt>This cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.backlightGrad"><code>.backlightGrad</code></a>.
</dt>
<dd><code>BG</code> </dd>
<dt>Cycle the background. This actually cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGrad"><code>.bgGrad</code></a>.
Notice that the <code>BgPix</code>, <code>Fill</code> and
<code>None</code> background styles cannot be cycled. </dt>
<dd><code>Fade</code> </dd>
<dt>This cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.fadeGrad"><code>.fadeGrad</code></a>.
</dt>
<dd><code>FatText</code> </dd>
<dt>This cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.fatTextGrad"><code>.fatTextGrad</code></a>.
</dt>
<dd><code>FG</code> </dd>
<dt>This cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgCycleGrad"><code>.fgCycleGrad</code></a>.
The effect of this is that the entire foreground color of
the text changes along a color gradient. </dt>
<dd><code>FgGrad</code> </dd>
<dt>This cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgGradGrad"><code>.fgGradGrad</code></a>.
</dt>
<dd><code>FgPlasma</code> </dd>
<dt>This cycles the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.fgPlasmaGrad"><code>.fgPlasmaGrad</code></a>.
</dt>
<dd><code>None</code> </dd>
<dt>This suppresses all color cycling. </dt>
</dl>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_cyc_cyclespeed">Selecting Cycle Speed</a></h4>
<p>The value of <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.cycleSpeed"><code>.cycleSpeed</code></a>
resource divides the time that XBanner waits between consecutive
cycles. Since each such wait is followed by a check to see if <code>freetemp</code>
has been called, the overhead is huge. This means that if <code>.cycleSpeed:
2</code> caused the cycling speed to double, it still does not
mean that <code>.cycleSpeed: 4</code> will be 4 times faster. </p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="cfg_cyc_dir">Changing Cycle Direction</a></h4>
<p>There are 2 different resources which set the direction of
color cycling. Usually only the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.reverseCycle"><code>.reverseCycle</code></a>
will be used. But for overriding reasons a <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.forwardCycle"><code>.forwardCycle</code></a>
also exists. </p>
<p>A new feature in XBanner 1.4 enables you to make the rendering
effect of the text or the background's color gradients change
their cycling direction every fixed number of steps. Use the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.effectSteps""><tt>.effectSteps</tt></a>
resource to select the number of steps for the foreground color
gradient, and the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.bgGradSteps""><tt>.bgGradSteps</tt></a>
resource to select the number of steps for the background. </p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="Cfg_Misc">Miscellaneous Options</a></h3>
<dl>
<dt><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.defXOffset"><code>.defXOffset</code></a>
/ <a href="Resource_Reference.html#.defYOffset"><code>.defYOffset</code></a>
</dt>
<dd>These two resources are the size of the margin on every
side where the text is not allowed to appear. This should
solve some bad cases where XBanner mistakenly tries to
draw outside the screen. </dd>
<dt><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.linger"><code>.linger</code></a>
</dt>
<dd>This asks XBanner to leave a process running with an open
display until <code>freetemp</code> gets run. This option
must be set to <b>True</b> if XBanner is generating a
background for a XDM Chooser. Using Linger or
Color-Cycling implies this resource is set to <b>True</b>.
</dd>
<dt><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.expose"><code>.expose</code></a>
</dt>
<dd>This asks XBanner to leave a process running which will
redraw areas of the screen which become exposed (the
login box for example disappears when you succeed in
logging in). You will have to run <code>freetemp</code>! </dd>
<dt><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.showErrors"><code>.showErrors</code></a>
</dt>
<dd>This enables a feature of XBanner that draws a single
line of text close to the top-left corner of the screen,
indicating any warnings / errors that have occured.
Enabling this means that if something goes wrong, the
user will start getting a white rectangle with text
inside it stating the problem. </dd>
<dt><a href="Resource_Reference.html#.dumpRes"><code>.dumpRes</code></a>
</dt>
<dd>You may have XBanner dump the entire set of resources
that it "sees" to a file. Set this to <b>True</b>,
and select the file name with the <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.dumpResFile"><code>.dumpResFile</code></a>
resource. </dd>
</dl>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15115">XBanner On The Net</a></h2>
<p>The XBanner Home Page is at: <a
href="http://physics.fullerton.edu/XBanner/">http://physics.fullerton.edu/XBanner/</a>
</p>
<p>Anonymous FTP is at: <a
href="ftp://physics.fullerton.edu/pub/Linux/XBanner/">ftp://physics.fullerton.edu/pub/Linux/XBanner/</a>
</p>
<p>Other FTP sites are <a
href="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/xutil">ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/xutil</a>
and all its mirror sites. </p>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15116">Tips And Tricks</a></h2>
<h3><a name="as-h3-15117">Speed Issues</a></h3>
<ol>
<li>All of the effects using the <code>.thickness</code>
resource are slow. Decreasing the size of the <code>thickness</code>
resource helps a lot. </li>
<li>The <code>Coin</code> effect is much slower than <code>StandOut</code>
(and its variants) althought it is very very similar. You
should use <code>StandOut</code> instead if things are
too slow. </li>
<li>A large scalable font takes time to scale up to a large
size. Try a smaller font for better speed. </li>
</ol>
<h3><a name="as-h3-15118">Other Ideas</a></h3>
<ol>
<li>Many of the effects get an interesting touch by removing
the shadow. This is done simply by setting <a
href="Resource_Reference.html#.ShadowOffset"><code>.ShadowOffset</code></a>
to zero. </li>
<li>Try experimenting with asymmetric outlines. Try a
foreground color equal to the background color, with a <code>.surroundMin:
0</code> and <code>.surroundMax: 4</code> and the outline
color in sharp contrast with the background color. </li>
</ol>
<h2><a name="as-h2-15119">Credits</a></h2>
<p>I will attempt to list here the many who have helped, donated
ideas, and time. </p>
<p>First, thanks to Ofer Gan and Eli Lopian without whom I would
not have started learning X11 programming in the first place. </p>
<p>Other special thanks go to a very special friend of mine: Oren
Tirosh <orenti@hiker.org.il>. Oren has been helping me with
XBanner since day one. His ideas have influenced the majority of
the code. Oren's contribution includes the <code>StandOut</code>
effect (and all derived work), the <code>Ripples</code>
background style, and many many more. </p>
<p>Others who have given ideas, reported important bugs, made
suggestions or contributed in other ways: </p>
<p>Frank Wuebbeling <wuebbel@escher.uni-muenster.de>, Marc
<mwelz@cs.uct.ac.za>, Christopher Everett
<ceverett@cyberramp.net>, Kyle Ferrio
<kylef@engin.umich.edu>, Thilo Wunderlich
<c15o@zfn.uni-bremen.de>, Rich McClellan
<richmc@seneca.fullerton.edu>, Zachary Sigma Vonler
<zvonler@jove.acs.unt.edu>, Chris Yeo
<yeo@duke.usask.ca>, Ben Spade
<bspade@asic.qntm.com>, Rubinstein Dmitry
<dimrub@nsof.co.il>, Prof. Dasharath Singh
<hsdsingh@hss.iitb.ernet.in>, Eric Darchis
<Eric.Darchis@ping.be>, Dejan Vucinic
<dejan@mit1.fnal.gov>, Landon Boyd
<landon@ccn.cs.dal.ca>, Uwe Khatchikian
<khatchik@buche.informatik.uni-dortmund.de> </p>
<p>And a few others. </p>
<h2><a name="as-h2-151110">Contacting Me</a></h2>
<p>Here are complete details for contacting me:<br>
<br>
Amit Margalit</p>
<table border="0" cols="2">
<tr>
<td>Email:</td>
<td><a href="mailto:amitm@netvision.net.il">amitm@netvision.net.il</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Snail-Mail:</p>
<address>
Amit Margalit<br>
34 Sheshet-Hayamim st.<br>
Kefar-Sava, 44269<br>
ISRAEL<br>
<br>
Phones:
</address>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td>Home:</td>
<td>+(972)-9-7417996 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Work:</td>
<td>+(972)-9-9593140 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">Fax:</td>
<td valign="top">+(972)-9-9546325<br>
Please <b>ATTN: Amit Margalit</b> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr>
<p><a href="index.html">Back to documentation index</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p><a href="../index.html">Back to top</a>. <br>
<br>
<a href="mailto:amitm@netvision.net.il"><img src="email.gif"
alt="[email]" align="baseline" width="89" height="26">Please
email me for any comments.</a> </p>
</body>
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