14 .TH XScreenSaver 1 "09-Dec-99 (3.22)" "X Version 11"
16 xscreensaver-demo - interactively control the background xscreensaver daemon
19 [\-display \fIhost:display.screen\fP] [\-prefs] [\-xrm \fIresources\fP]
21 The \fIxscreensaver\-demo\fP program is a graphical front-end for
22 setting the parameters used by the background
25 It is essentially two things: a tool for editing the \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP
26 file; and a tool for demoing the various graphics hacks that
27 the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon will launch.
29 The main window consists of a menu bar and two tabbed pages. The first page
30 is for editing the list of demos, and the second is for editing various other
31 parameters of the screensaver.
33 All of these commands are on either the \fBFile\fP or \fBHelp\fP menus:
36 Activates the background \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon, which will then run
37 a demo at random. This is the same as running
38 .BR xscreensaver-command (1)
39 with the \fI\-activate\fP option.
42 Just like \fBBlank Screen Now\fP, except the screen will be locked as
43 well (even if it is not configured to lock all the time.) This is the
45 .BR xscreensaver-command (1)
46 with the \fI\-lock\fP option.
49 If the xscreensaver daemon is running on this screen, kill it.
50 This is the same as running
51 .BR xscreensaver-command (1)
52 with the \fI\-exit\fP option.
55 If the xscreensaver daemon is running on this screen, kill it.
56 Then launch it again. This is the same as doing
57 ``\fIxscreensaver-command -exit\fP'' followed by ``\fIxscreensaver\fP''.
59 Note that it is \fInot\fP the same as doing
60 ``\fIxscreensaver-command -restart\fP''.
63 Exits the \fIxscreensaver-demo\fP program (this program) without
64 affecting the background \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon, if any.
67 Displays the version number of this program, \fIxscreensaver-demo\fP.
70 Opens up a web browser looking at the XScreenSaver web page, where you
71 can find online copies of the
73 .BR xscreensaver\-demo (1),
75 .BR xscreensaver\-command (1)
77 .SH GRAPHICS DEMOS TAB
78 On the left is a list of the names of the various display modes, and
79 on the right are some fields that let you edit their behavior.
82 Double-clicking in the list on the left will let you try out the indicated
83 demo. The screen will go black, and the program will run in full-screen
84 mode, just as it would if the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon had launched it.
85 Clicking the mouse again will stop the demo and un-blank the screen, making
86 the dialog box visible again.
88 Single-clicking in the list will populate the fields on the right side of
92 Beneath the list are a pair of up and down arrows. Clicking on the down
93 arrow will select the next item in the list, and then run it in full-screen
94 mode, just as if you had double-clicked on it. The up arrow goes the other
95 way. This is just a shortcut for trying out all of the display modes in turn.
97 .B Program Description
98 At the top will be a brief description of the program. Below that is a
99 text field where you can edit the arguments to the program as xscreensaver
100 will invoke it. (Note that most of these programs have their own man pages
101 that describe the command-line options they take.)
104 The \fIEnabled\fI checkbox controls whether xscreensaver will use this
105 display mode at all. This way, all the modes can remain available, but
106 you can choose which ones will be automatically run.
109 The \fIVisual\fI field is where you can select the X visual type that this
110 demo will require. If you specify one (other than \fIAny\fP) then the
111 program will only be run on that kind of visual. For example, you can
112 specify that a particular program should only be run if color is available,
113 and another should only be run in monochrome. See the discussion of the
114 \fIprograms\fP parameter in the \fIConfiguration\fP section of the
118 This is a combo-box, so you can either select an item from the popup menu,
119 or type in a specific visual's hexadecimal ID.
122 This button runs the demo in full-screen mode so that you can try it out.
123 Click the mouse to dismiss it.
126 Since each of the display modes is actually a separate program, they each
127 may have their own manual. This opens a window viewing the man page of
128 this program, if it has one.
129 .SH SCREENSAVER OPTIONS TAB
130 This tab lets you change various settings used by the xscreensaver daemon
131 itself, rather than its sub-programs.
134 After the user has been idle this long, the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon
135 will blank the screen.
138 After the screensaver has been running for this long, the currently
139 running graphics demo will be killed, and a new one started.
140 If this is 0, then the graphics demo will never be changed:
141 only one demo will run until the screensaver is deactivated by user
145 Whether to print lots of debugging information.
148 Whether to install a private colormap while the screensaver is active, so
149 that the graphics hacks can get as many colors as possible. (This only
150 applies when the screen's default visual is being used, since non-default
151 visuals get their own colormaps automatically.) This can also be overridden
155 If selected, then when the screensaver activates, the current contents
156 of the screen will fade to black instead of simply winking out. This only
157 works on displays with writable colormaps, that is, if the screen's default
158 visual is a PseudoColor visual. A fade will also be done when
159 switching graphics hacks (when the \fICycle Timeout\fP expires.)
162 The complement to \fIFade Colormap\fP: if selected, then when the screensaver
163 deactivates, the original contents of the screen will fade in from black
164 instead of appearing immediately. This only works on displays with writable
165 colormaps, and when \fIFade Colormap\fP is also selected.
168 When fading or unfading are selected, this controls how long the fade will
172 This controls how many times a second the colormap will be changed to
173 effect a fade. Higher numbers yield smoother fades, but may make the
174 fades take longer than the specified number of seconds, if your server
175 isn't fast enough to keep up.
178 Whether the screen saver should lock the screen when it activates.
181 If \fIRequire Password\fP is selected, this controls the length of
182 the ``grace period'' between when the screensaver activates, and when the
183 screen becomes locked. For example, if this is 0:05:00,
184 and \fISaver Timeout\fP is 0:10:00, then after 10 minutes, the screen
185 would blank. If there was user activity at 12 minutes, no password
186 would be required to un-blank the screen. But, if there was user activity
187 at 15 minutes or later (that is, \fILock Timeout\fP minutes after
188 activation) then a password would be required. The default is 0, meaning
189 that if locking is enabled, then a password will be required as soon as the
193 When the screensaver is prompting for a password, the prompt dialog box will
194 stay on the screen for this long before giving up, and reverting to
197 There are more settings than these available, but these are the most
198 commonly used ones; see the manual for
200 for other parameters that can be set by editing the \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP
201 file, or the X resource database.
202 .SH COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS
203 .I xscreensaver\-demo
204 accepts the following command line options.
206 .B \-display \fIhost:display.screen\fP
207 The X display to use. The \fIxscreensaver\-demo\fP program will open its
208 window on that display, and also control the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon that
209 is managing that same display.
212 Start up with the \fBScreensaver Options\fP tab selected by default
213 instead of the \fBGraphics Demos\fP tab.
215 It is important that the \fIxscreensaver\fP and \fIxscreensaver\-demo\fP
216 processes be running on the same machine, or at least, on two machines
217 that share a file system. When \fIxscreensaver\-demo\fP writes a new version
218 of the \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP file, it's important that the \fIxscreensaver\fP
219 see that same file. If the two processes are seeing
220 different \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP files, things will malfunction.
225 to get the default host and display number.
228 to find the sub-programs to run. However, note that the sub-programs
229 are actually launched by the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon, not
230 by \fIxscreensaver-demo\fP itself. So, what matters is what \fB$PATH\fP
231 the \fIxscreensaver\fP program sees.
234 for the directory in which to read and write the \fI.xscreensaver\fP file.
237 to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources
238 stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property.
240 The latest version can always be found at
241 http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/
244 .BR xscreensaver (1),
245 .BR xscreensaver\-command (1)
247 Copyright \(co 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999
248 by Jamie Zawinski. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell
249 this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without
250 fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
251 both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
252 documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this
253 software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied
256 Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 13-aug-92.
258 Please let me know if you find any bugs or make any improvements.
projects / xscreensaver / blob