14 .TH XScreenSaver 1 "22-mar-93" "X Version 11"
16 xscreensaver-command - control a running xscreensaver process
18 .B xscreensaver-command
19 [\-activate] [\-deactivate] [\-cycle] [\-next] [\-prev] [\-exit] [\-restart] [\-demo] [\-lock]
21 The \fIxscreensaver\-command\fP program controls a running \fIxscreensaver\fP
22 process by sending it client-messages.
24 .I xscreensaver-command
25 accepts the following options:
28 Tell the screensaver to turn on immediately (that is, pretend that the
29 user been idle for long enough.) It will turn off as soon as there is
30 any user activity, as usual.
32 It is useful to run this from a menu; you may wish to run it as
34 sleep 5 ; xscreensaver-command -activate
36 to be sure that you have time to remove your hand from the mouse before
37 the screensaver comes on.
40 Tell the screensaver to turn off, as if there had been user activity.
41 If locking is enabled, then the screensaver will prompt for a password
45 Tell the screensaver to change which graphics hack it is running, just
46 as if the ``cycle'' timer had expired.
49 This is like either \fI\-activate\fP or \fI\-cycle\fP, depending on which is
50 more appropriate, except that the screenhack that will be run is the next
51 one in the list of programs, instead of a randomly-chosen one. This option
52 is good for looking at a demo of each of the screensavers currently available.
53 You might want to put this on a menu.
56 This is like \fI\-next\fP, but cycles in the other direction.
59 Cause the screensaver to enter its interactive demo mode, if it has been
60 compiled with support for it.
63 Like \fI\-activate\fP, but a password will be required before the screensaver
64 turns off, even if the screensaver's \fIlock\fP resource is false. The
65 display will be locked immediately even if the screensaver's \fIlockTimeout\fP
69 Causes the screensaver process to exit gracefully. This is a slightly
70 safer way to kill the screensaver than by using \fIkill\fP.
72 Never use \fIkill -9\fP with \fIxscreensaver\fP while the screensaver is
73 active. If you are using a virtual root window manager, that can leave
74 things in an inconsistent state, and you may need to restart your window
75 manager to repair the damage.
78 Causes the screensaver process to exit and then restart with the same command
79 line arguments. This is a good way of causing the screensaver to re-read the
82 If the screensaver is run from \fIxdm(1)\fP (that is, it is already running
83 before you log in) then you may want to issue the ``restart'' command from
84 one of your startup scripts, so that the screensaver gets your resource
85 settings instead of the default ones.
90 to get the default host and display number.
93 to find the executable to restart.
98 Diagnostics are reported on the \fBstderr\fP of the \fIxscreensaver\fP
99 process, not this process, so the caller of \fIxscreensaver-command\fP
100 may not see the error messages.
102 Copyright \(co 1992, 1993 by Jamie Zawinski. Permission to use, copy, modify,
103 distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is
104 hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear
105 in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice
106 appear in supporting documentation. No representations are made about the
107 suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without
108 express or implied warranty.
110 Jamie Zawinski <jwz@mcom.com>, 13-aug-92.