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-.TH XScreenSaver 1 "19-Jan-2001 (3.27)" "X Version 11"
+.TH XScreenSaver 1 "24-Feb-2002 (4.01)" "X Version 11"
.SH NAME
-xscreensaver - graphics hack and screen locker, launched when the user is idle
+xscreensaver - extensible screen saver framework, plus locking
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B xscreensaver
[\-display \fIhost:display.screen\fP] \
-[\-timeout \fIint\fP] \
-[\-cycle \fIint\fP] \
-[\-lock\-mode] \
-[\-no\-lock\-mode] \
-[\-lock\-timeout \fIint\fP] \
-[\-visual \fIvisual\fP] \
-[\-install] \
-[\-no\-install] \
[\-verbose] \
-[\-silent] \
-[\-timestamp] \
-[\-capture\-stderr] \
[\-no\-capture\-stderr] \
-[\-splash] \
-[\-no\-splash] \
-[\-nice \fIint\fP] \
-[\-mit\-extension] \
-[\-no\-mit\-extension] \
-[\-sgi\-extension] \
-[\-no\-sgi\-extension] \
-[\-xidle\-extension] \
-[\-no\-xidle\-extension] \
-[\-proc\-interrupts] \
-[\-no\-proc\-interrupts] \
-[\-xrm \fIresources\fP]
+[\-no\-splash]
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fIxscreensaver\fP program waits until the keyboard and mouse have been
idle for a period, and then runs a graphics demo chosen at random. It
This program can lock your terminal in order to prevent others from using it,
though its default mode of operation is merely to display pretty pictures on
-your screen when it is not in use.
+your screen when it is not in use.
-The benefit that this program has over the combination of the
-.BR xlock (1)
-and
-.BR xautolock (1)
-programs is the ease with which new graphics hacks can be installed. You
-don't need to recompile (or even re-run) this program to add a new display
-mode.
+It also provides configuration and control of your monitor's power-saving
+features.
.SH GETTING STARTED
For the impatient, try this:
.EX
.EE
The
.BR xscreensaver-demo (1)
-program should pop up a dialog box that lets you experiment with the
-xscreensaver settings and graphics modes.
+program pops up a dialog box that lets you configure the screen saver,
+and experiment with the various display modes.
.B Note:
unlike
password dialog box is up (for security purposes) and leaving the server
grabbed for too long can cause problems.
.TP 8
+.B dpmsEnabled\fP (class \fBBoolean\fP)
+Whether power management is enabled.
+.TP 8
+.B dpmsStandby\fP (class \fBTime\fP)
+If power management is enabled, how long until the monitor goes solid black.
+.TP 8
+.B dpmsSuspend\fP (class \fBTime\fP)
+If power management is enabled, how long until the monitor goes into
+power-saving mode.
+.TP 8
+.B dpmsOff\fP (class \fBTime\fP)
+If power management is enabled, how long until the monitor powers down
+completely. Note that these settings will have no effect unless both
+the X server and the display hardware support power management; not
+all do. See the \fIPower Management\fP section, below, for more
+information.
+.TP 8
.B visualID\fP (class \fBVisualID\fP)
Specify which X visual to use by default. (Note carefully that this resource
is called \fBvisualID\fP, not merely \fBvisual\fP; if you set the \fBvisual\fP
.BR nice (1)
for details.)
.TP 8
+.B memoryLimit\fP (class \fBMemoryLimit\fP)
+The sub-processes created by \fIxscreensaver\fP will not be allowed to
+allocate more than this much memory (more accurately, this is the maximum
+size their address space may become.) If any sub-process tries to allocate
+more than this,
+.BR malloc (3)
+will fail, and the process will likely exit (or safely crash) rather than
+going forth and hogging memory.
+
+The assumption here is that if one of the screenhacks is trying to use
+a lot of memory, then something has gone wrong, and it's better to kill
+that program than to overload the machine.
+
+Default: 0, meaning "no limit." 30M is a good choice on most systems.
+(But beware that setting this to a small value can cause OpenGL programs
+to malfunction on certain systems.)
+.TP 8
.B fade\fP (class \fBBoolean\fP)
If this is true, then when the screensaver activates, the current contents
of the screen will fade to black instead of simply winking out. This only
-works on displays with writable colormaps, that is, if the screen's default
-visual is a PseudoColor visual. A fade will also be done when
-switching graphics hacks (when the \fIcycle\fP timer expires.)
-Default: true.
+works on certain systems. A fade will also be done when switching graphics
+hacks (when the \fIcycle\fP timer expires.) Default: true.
.TP 8
.B unfade\fP (class \fBBoolean\fP)
If this is true, then when the screensaver deactivates, the original contents
of the screen will fade in from black instead of appearing immediately. This
-only works on displays with writable colormaps, and if \fIfade\fP is true
-as well. Default false.
+only works on certain systems, and if \fIfade\fP is true as well.
+Default false.
.TP 8
.B fadeSeconds\fP (class \fBTime\fP)
If \fIfade\fP is true, this is how long the fade will be in
The font used for the stdout/stderr text, if \fBcaptureStderr\fP is true.
Default \fB*\-medium\-r\-*\-140\-*\-m\-*\fP (a 14 point fixed-width font.)
.TP 8
+.B mode\fP (class \fBMode\fP)
+Controls the behavior of xscreensaver. Legal values are:
+.RS 8
+.TP 8
+.B random
+When blanking the screen, select a random display mode from among those
+that are enabled and applicable. This is the default.
+.TP 8
+.B one
+When blanking the screen, only ever use one particular display mode (the
+one indicated by the \fIselected\fP setting.)
+.TP 8
+.B blank
+When blanking the screen, just go black: don't run any graphics hacks.
+.TP 8
+.B off
+Don't ever blank the screen, and don't ever allow the monitor to power down.
+
+.RE
+.TP 8
+.B selected\fP (class \fBInteger\fP)
+When \fImode\fP is set to \fIone\fP, this is the one, indicated by its
+index in the \fIprograms\fP list. You're crazy if you count them and
+set this number by hand: let
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
+do it for you!
+.TP 8
.B programs\fP (class \fBPrograms\fP)
The graphics hacks which \fIxscreensaver\fP runs when the user is idle.
The value of this resource is a string, one \fIsh\fP-syntax command per line.
run. After the \fIcycle\fP period expires, it is killed, and another
is selected and run.
-If the value of this resource is empty, then no programs will be run; the
-screen will simply be made black.
+If a line begins with a dash (-) then that particular program is
+disabled: it won't be selected at random (though you can still select
+it explicitly using the
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
+program.)
+
+If all programs are disabled, then the screen will just be made blank,
+as when \fImode\fP is set to \fIblank\fP.
+
+To disable a program, you must mark it as disabled with a dash instead
+of removing it from the list. This is because the system-wide (app-defaults)
+and per-user (.xscreensaver) settings are merged together, and if a user
+just \fIdeletes\fP an entry from their programs list, but that entry still
+exists in the system-wide list, then it will come back. However, if the
+user \fIdisables\fP it, then their setting takes precedence.
If the display has multiple screens, then a different program will be run
for each screen. (All screens are blanked and unblanked simultaniously.)
it must not be \fBcsh\fP.
.SH COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS
.I xscreensaver
-also accepts the following command line options. Except for
-the \fI\-display\fP option, these command-line options are all
-simply shorthand for the X resources described in
-the \fIConfiguration\fP section, above.
+also accepts a few command-line options, mostly for use when debugging:
+for normal operation, you should configure things via the \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP
+file.
.TP 8
.B \-display \fIhost:display.screen\fP
-The X display to use. For displays with multiple screens, XScreenSaver
-will manage all screens on the display simultaniously; the \fIscreen\fP
-argument (the ``default'' screen) says which screen should be used for
-dialog boxes (the password window, \fIDemo Mode\fP, etc.)
-.TP 8
-.B \-timeout \fIminutes\fP
-Same as the \fItimeout\fP resource.
-.TP 8
-.B \-cycle \fIminutes\fP
-Same as the \fIcycle\fP resource.
-.TP 8
-.B \-lock\-mode
-Same as setting the \fIlock\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-lock\-mode
-Same as setting the \fIlock\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-lock\-timeout \fIminutes\fP
-Same as the \fIlockTimeout\fP resource.
-.TP 8
-.B \-visual \fIvisual\fP
-Same as the \fIvisualID\fP resource.
-.TP 8
-.B \-install
-Same as setting the \fIinstallColormap\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-install
-Same as setting the \fIinstallColormap\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
+The X display to use. For displays with multiple screens, XScreenSaver
+will manage all screens on the display simultaniously.
.TP 8
.B \-verbose
-Same as setting the \fIverbose\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-silent
-Same as setting the \fIverbose\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-timestamp
-Same as setting the \fItimestamp\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-capture\-stderr
-Same as setting the \fIcaptureStderr\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-capture\-stderr
-Same as setting the \fIcaptureStderr\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-splash
-Same as setting the \fIsplash\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-splash
-Same as setting the \fIsplash\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-nice \fIinteger\fP
-Same as the \fInice\fP resource.
-.TP 8
-.B \-sgi\-extension
-Same as setting the \fIsgiSaverExtension\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-sgi\-extension
-Same as setting the \fIsgiSaverExtension\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-mit\-extension
-Same as setting the \fImitSaverExtension\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-mit\-extension
-Same as setting the \fImitSaverExtension\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-xidle\-extension
-Same as setting the \fIxidleExtension\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-xidle\-extension
-Same as setting the \fIxidleExtension\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-proc\-interrupts
-Same as setting the \fIprocInterrupts\fP resource to \fItrue\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-no\-proc\-interrupts
-Same as setting the \fIprocInterrupts\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP.
-.TP 8
-.B \-xrm \fIresource-specification\fP
-As with all other Xt programs, you can specify X resources on the command-line
-using the \fI\-xrm\fP argument. Most of the interesting resources have
-command-line equivalents, however.
+Same as setting the \fIverbose\fP resource to \fItrue\fP: print diagnostics
+on stderr and on the xscreensaver window.
+.TP 8
+.B \-no-capture-stderr
+Same as setting the \fIcaptureStderr\fP resource to \fIfalse\fP: do not
+redirect the stdout and stderr streams to the xscreensaver window itself.
+If xscreensaver is crashing, you might need to do this in order to see
+the error message.
.SH HOW IT WORKS
When it is time to activate the screensaver, a full-screen black window is
created on each screen of the display. Each window is created in such a way
graphics demos on a black screen. An attempt will also be made to
explicitly power the monitor back up as soon as user activity is detected.
-If your X server supports power management, then
+As of version 3.28, the \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP file controls the
+configuration of your display's power management settings: if you have
+used
.BR xset (1)
-will accept a \fBdpms\fP option. So, if you wanted \fIxscreensaver\fP
-to activate after 5 minutes, but you wanted your monitor to power down
-after one hour (3600 seconds) you would do this:
-.EX
-xset dpms 3600
-.EE
-See the man page for the
-.BR xset (1)
-program for details. (Note that power management requires both software
-support in the X server, and hardware support in the monitor itself.)
+to change your power management settings, then xscreensaver will
+override those changes with the values specified
+in \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP (or with its built-in defaults, if there
+is no \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP file yet.)
+
+To change your power management settings, run
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
+and change the various timeouts through the user interface.
+Alternately, you can edit the \fI~/.xscreensaver\fP file directly.
+
+If the power management section is grayed out in the
+.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1)
+window, then that means that your X server does not support
+the XDPMS extension, and so control over the monitor's power state
+is not available.
+
+If you're using a laptop, don't be surprised if changing the DPMS
+settings has no effect: many laptops have monitor power-saving behavior
+built in at a very low level that is invisible to Unix and X. On such
+systems, you can typically adjust the power-saving delays only by
+changing settings in the BIOS in some hardware-specific way.
+
+If DPMS seems not to be working with XFree86, make sure the "DPMS"
+option is set in your \fI/etc/X11/XF86Config\fP file. See the
+.BR XF86Config (5)
+manual for details.
.SH USING XDM(1)
You can run \fIxscreensaver\fP from your
.BR xdm (1)
and
.BR xhost (1).
.SH USING GDM(1)
-The instructions for using \fIxscreensaver\fP with
-.BR gdm (1)
-are almost the same as for using
-.BR xdm (1),
-above. There are only two differences, really: instead
-of editing \fI/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsetup\fP, edit the
-file \fI/etc/X11/gdm/Init/Default\fP; and instead of
-editing \fI/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession\fP, edit one or all of the
-files in the \fI/etc/X11/gdm/Sessions/\fP directory. (Note that
-the default session (\fI/etc/X11/gdm/Sessions/Default\fP) usually
-simply executes \fI/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession\fP, so be careful
-you aren't initializing xscreensaver twice.)
-
-All the same caveats apply for
+Using xscreensaver with
.BR gdm (1)
-as for
-.BR xdm (1).
+is easy, because gdm has a configuration tool. Just fire up
+.BR gdmconfig (1)
+and on the \fIBackground\fP page, type \fB"xscreensaver -nosplash"\fP into
+the \fIBackground Program\fP field. That will cause gdm to run xscreensaver
+while nobody is logged in, and kill it as soon as someone does log in.
+(The user will then be responsible for starting xscreensaver on their
+own, if they want.)
+
+In this situation, the \fIxscreensaver\fP process will probably be running
+as user \fIgdm\fP instead of \fIroot\fP. You can configure the settings
+for this nobody-logged-in state (timeouts, DPMS, etc.) by editing
+the \fI~gdm/.xscreensaver\fP file.
.SH USING CDE (COMMON DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT)
The easiest way to use \fIxscreensaver\fP on a system with CDE is to simply
switch off the built-in CDE screensaver, and use \fIxscreensaver\fP instead;
.EX
xscreensaver &
.EE
+And make sure the sessionetc file is executable.
This will cause \fIxscreensaver\fP to be launched when you log in.
(As always, make sure that xscreensaver and the graphics demos are on
your \fB$PATH\fP; the path needs to be set in \fI.cshrc\fP
lock command.
.RE
.PP
+.SH USING KDE (K DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT)
+I understand that KDE has invented their own wrapper around xscreensaver,
+that is inferior to
+.BR xscreensaver-demo (1)
+in any number of ways. I've never actually seen it. Presumably, there is
+some way to turn off KDE's screensaver framework, and make it so that the
+usual
+.BR xscreensaver-demo (1)
+and
+.BR xscreensaver-command (1)
+mechanisms are used, in a similar way to how one can reconfigure CDE and
+VUE environments, above.
+
+But I don't know how. If you do, please let me know, and I'll document
+it here.
.SH ADDING TO MENUS
The
.BR xscreensaver-command (1)
programs simultaniously), and that 3D will probably drive your monitor at a
lower resolution, as well. It's bizarre.
+This probably isn't ever necessary on more modern cards; I'm not sure.
+
If you find that GL programs only work properly when run as root, and not
as normal users, then the problem is that your \fI/dev/3dfx\fP file is not
configured properly. Check the Linux 3Dfx FAQ.
to find the sub-programs to run.
.TP 8
.B HOME
-for the directory in which to read and write the \fI.xscreensaver\fP file.
+for the directory in which to read the \fI.xscreensaver\fP file.
.TP 8
.B XENVIRONMENT
to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources
stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property.
.SH UPGRADES
-The latest version can always be found at
-http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/
+The latest version of xscreensaver, an online version of this manual,
+and a FAQ can always be found at http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR X (1),
.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1),
.BR xjack (1),
.BR xlyap (1),
.BR xmatrix (1),
-.BR xroger (1),
.BR bongo (1),
.BR ico (1),
.BR xaos (1),
.BR xswarm (1),
.BR xtacy (1),
.BR xv (1),
+.BR chbg (1),
.BR xwave (1).
.SH COPYRIGHT
-Copyright \(co 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
-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
-both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
-documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this
-software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied
+Copyright \(co 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,
+2000, 2001, 2002 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 both that copyright
+notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation.
+No representations are made about the suitability of this software for
+any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied
warranty.
.SH AUTHOR
-Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>. Written in late 1991; first posted
-to comp.sources.x on 13-Aug-1992.
+Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>. Written in late 1991; version 1.0 posted
+to comp.sources.x on 17-Aug-1992.
Please let me know if you find any bugs or make any improvements.
.SH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
+Thanks to Angela Goodman for the XScreenSaver logo.
+
Thanks to the many people who have contributed graphics demos to the package.
Thanks to David Wojtowicz for implementing \fIlockTimeout\fP.
projects / xscreensaver / blobdiff