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-.TH XScreenSaver 1 "15-Jun-98 (2.21)" "X Version 11"
+.TH XScreenSaver 1 "27-Apr-99 (3.10)" "X Version 11"
.SH NAME
xscreensaver-command - control a running xscreensaver process
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B xscreensaver-command
[\-help] \
[\-demo] \
+[\-prefs] \
[\-activate] \
[\-deactivate] \
[\-cycle] \
[\-next] \
[\-prev] \
+[\-select \fIn\fP] \
[\-exit] \
[\-restart] \
[\-lock] \
.BR xscreensaver (1)
has a client-server model: the xscreensaver process is a
-daemon that runs in the background; it is controlled by the
-foreground \fIxscreensaver-command\fP program.
+daemon that runs in the background; it is controlled by other
+foreground programs such as \fIxscreensaver-command\fP and
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1).
+
+This program, \fIxscreensaver-command\fP, is a command-line-oriented tool; the
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1).
+program is a graphical tool.
.SH OPTIONS
.I xscreensaver-command
accepts the following command-line options:
Prints a brief summary of command-line options.
.TP 8
.B \-demo
-Cause the screensaver to enter its interactive demo mode, in which one
-can experiment with the various graphics hacks available. See
+This just launches the
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
+program, in which one can experiment with the various graphics hacks
+available, and edit parameters.
+.TP 8
+.B \-demo \fP\fInumber\fP
+When the \fI\-demo\fP option is followed by an integer, it instructs
+the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon to run that hack, and wait for the user
+to click the mouse before deactivating (i.e., mouse motion does not
+deactivate.) This is the mechanism by which
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
+communicates with the
.BR xscreensaver (1)
-for details.
+daemon. (The first hack in the list is numbered 1, not 0.)
+.TP 8
+.B \-prefs
+Like the no-argument form of \fI\-demo\fP, but brings up that program's
+Preferences panel by default.
.TP 8
.B \-activate
Tell xscreensaver to turn on immediately (that is, blank the screen, as if
.EX
sleep 5 ; xscreensaver-command -activate
.EE
-to be sure that you have time to remove your hand from the mouse before
+to be sure that you have time to take your hand off the mouse before
the screensaver comes on. (Because if you jiggle the mouse, xscreensaver
will notice, and deactivate.)
.TP 8
.B \-prev
This is like \fI\-next\fP, but cycles in the other direction.
.TP 8
+.B \-select \fInumber\fP
+Like \fI\-activate\fP, but runs the \fIN\fPth element in the list of hacks.
+By knowing what is in the \fIprograms\fP list, and in what order, you can use
+this to activate the screensaver with a particular graphics demo. (The first
+element in the list is numbered 1, not 0.)
+.TP 8
.B \-exit
Causes the xscreensaver process to exit gracefully. This is roughly the same
as killing the process with
things in an inconsistent state, and you may need to restart your window
manager to repair the damage.
.TP 8
-.B \-restart
-Causes the screensaver process to exit and then restart with the same command
-line arguments as last time. Do this after you've changed the resource
-database, to cause xscreensaver to notice the changes.
-
-If the screensaver is run from \fIxdm(1)\fP (that is, it is already running
-before you log in) then you may want to issue the \fI\-restart\fP command from
-one of your startup scripts, so that the screensaver gets your resource
-settings instead of the default ones.
-.TP 8
.B \-lock
Tells the running xscreensaver process to lock the screen immediately.
This is like \fI\-activate\fP, but forces locking as well, even if locking
is not the default (that is, even if xscreensaver's \fIlock\fP resource is
false, and even if the \fIlockTimeout\fP resource is non-zero.)
+
+Note that locking doesn't work unless the \fIxscreensaver\fP process is
+running as you. See
+.BR xscreensaver (1)
+for details.
.TP 8
.B \-version
Prints the version of xscreensaver that is currently running on the display:
deactivated (roughly, how long the user has been idle or non-idle: but
not quite, since it only tells you when the screen became blanked or
un-blanked.)
+.TP 8
+.B \-restart
+Causes the screensaver process to exit and then restart with the same command
+line arguments as last time. Do this after you've changed the resource
+database, to cause xscreensaver to notice the changes.
+
+.B Warning:
+if you have a \fI.xscreensaver\fP file, this might not do what you
+expect. You're probably better off killing the existing
+xscreensaver (with \fIxscreensaver\-command -exit\fP) and then
+launching it again.
+
+The important point is, you need to make sure that the xscreensaver
+process is running as you. If it's not, it won't be reading the
+right \fI.xscreensaver\fP file.
+.SH DIAGNOSTICS
+If an error occurs while communicating with the \fIxscreensaver\fP daemon, or
+if the daemon reports an error, a diagnostic message will be printed to
+stderr, and \fIxscreensaver-command\fP will exit with a non-zero value. If
+the command is accepted, an indication of this will be printed to stdout, and
+the exit value will be zero.
.SH ENVIRONMENT
.PP
.TP 8
.SH UPGRADES
The latest version of
.BR xscreensaver (1)
-and \fIxscreensaver\-command\fP can always be found at
-http://people.netscape.com/jwz/xscreensaver/
+and related tools can always be found at http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR X (1),
.BR xscreensaver (1)
-.SH BUGS
-Some diagnostics are reported on the stderr of the \fIxscreensaver\fP
-process, not this process, so the caller of \fIxscreensaver-command\fP
-may not see the error messages.
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
.SH COPYRIGHT
-Copyright \(co 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998
+Copyright \(co 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999
by Jamie Zawinski. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell
this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without
fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied
warranty.
.SH AUTHOR
-Jamie Zawinski <jwz@netscape.com>, 13-aug-92.
+Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 13-aug-92.
Please let me know if you find any bugs or make any improvements.
projects / xscreensaver / blobdiff