.if n .sp 1
.if t .sp .5
..
-.TH XScreenSaver 1 "16-Nov-98 (3.04)" "X Version 11"
+.TH XScreenSaver 1 "25-Oct-2001 (3.34)" "X Version 11"
.SH NAME
xscreensaver - graphics hack and screen locker, launched when the user is idle
.SH SYNOPSIS
[\-no\-sgi\-extension] \
[\-xidle\-extension] \
[\-no\-xidle\-extension] \
+[\-proc\-interrupts] \
+[\-no\-proc\-interrupts] \
[\-xrm \fIresources\fP]
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fIxscreensaver\fP program waits until the keyboard and mouse have been
.BR xscreensaver-command (1)
programs.
.SH CONFIGURATION
-Options to \fIxscreensaver\fP are specified in one of two places: in
+The easiest way to configure \fIxscreensaver\fP is to simply run the
+.BR xscreensaver-demo (1)
+program, and change the settings through the GUI. The rest of this
+manual page describes lower level ways of changing settings.
+
+Options to \fIxscreensaver\fP are stored in one of two places: in
a \fI.xscreensaver\fP file in your home directory; or in the X resource
database. If the \fI.xscreensaver\fP file exists, it overrides any settings
in the resource database.
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
.B color
Use the best of the color visuals, if there are any.
.TP 8
+.B GL
+Use the visual that is best for OpenGL programs. (OpenGL programs have
+somewhat different requirements than other X programs.)
+.TP 8
.I class
where \fIclass\fP is one of \fBStaticGray\fP, \fBStaticColor\fP,
\fBTrueColor\fP, \fBGrayScale\fP, \fBPseudoColor\fP, or \fBDirectColor\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: 50M.
+.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
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.
+
+To disable a program, it's better to mark it as disabled with a dash
+than to remove 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.)
if \fIxscreensaver\fP has been compiled with support for this extension.
(This extension is only available for X11R4 and X11R5 systems, unfortunately.)
.TP 8
+.B procInterrupts\fP (class \fBBoolean\fP)
+This resource controls whether the \fB/proc/interrupts\fP file should be
+consulted to decide whether the user is idle. This is the default
+if \fIxscreensaver\fP has been compiled on a system which supports this
+mechanism (i.e., Linux systems.)
+
+The benefit to doing this is that \fIxscreensaver\fP can note that the user
+is active even when the X console is not the active one: if the user is
+typing in another virtual console, xscreensaver will notice that and will
+fail to activate. For example, if you're playing Quake in VGA-mode,
+xscreensaver won't wake up in the middle of your game and start competing
+for CPU.
+
+The drawback to doing this is that perhaps you \fIreally do\fP want idleness
+on the X console to cause the X display to lock, even if there is activity
+on other virtual consoles. If you want that, then set this option to False.
+(Or just lock the X console manually.)
+
+The default value for this resource is True, on systems where it works.
+.TP 8
.B overlayStderr\fP (class \fBBoolean\fP)
If \fBcaptureStderr\fP is True, and your server supports ``overlay'' visuals,
then the text will be written into one of the higher layers instead of into
.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
time to run a different demo: the old one is killed and a new one is launched.
Before launching a subprocess, \fIxscreensaver\fP stores an appropriate value
-for \fB$DISPLAY\fP in the environment that the child will recieve. (This is
+for \fB$DISPLAY\fP in the environment that the child will receive. (This is
so that if you start \fIxscreensaver\fP with a \fI-display\fP argument, the
programs which \fIxscreensaver\fP launches will draw on the same display;
and so that the child will end up drawing on the appropriate screen of a
.SH POWER MANAGEMENT
Modern X servers contain support to power down the monitor after an idle
period. If the monitor has powered down, then \fIxscreensaver\fP will
-notice this, and will not waste CPU by drawing 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.
+notice this (after a few minutes), and will not waste CPU by drawing
+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 only adjust the power-saving delays by
+changing settings in the BIOS in some hardware-specific way.
.SH USING XDM(1)
You can run \fIxscreensaver\fP from your
.BR xdm (1)
To the file \fI/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsetup\fP, add the lines
.EX
+xhost +localhost
xscreensaver-command -exit
xscreensaver &
.EE
.BR xauth (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
+.BR gdm (1)
+as for
+.BR xdm (1).
.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
directly into the root menu.
.RE
-Other window managers are guaranteed to do things gratuitously differently.
+For Fvwm2, the process is similar: first create a \fI~/.fvwm2rc\fP file
+if you don't already have one, by making a copy of
+the \fI/etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc\fP file. Then, add a menu definition
+to it:
+.EX
+AddToMenu XScreenSaver "XScreenSaver" Title
++ "Blank Screen Now" Exec xscreensaver-command -activate
++ "Lock Screen Now" Exec xscreensaver-command -lock
++ "Screen Saver Demo" Exec xscreensaver-command -demo
++ "Screen Saver Preferences" Exec xscreensaver-command -prefs
++ "Reinitialize Screen Saver" Exec xscreensaver-command -restart
++ "Kill Screen Saver" Exec xscreensaver-command -exit
++ "Launch Screen Saver" Exec xscreensaver
++ "Run Next Demo" Exec xscreensaver-command -next
++ "Run Previous Demo" Exec xscreensaver-command -prev
+
+# To put the XScreenSaver sub-menu at the end of the root menu:
+AddToMenu RootMenu "XScreenSaver" Popup XScreenSaver
+.EE
+The Enlightenment window manager keeps each of its menus in a separate
+file. So, you need to create a file
+named \fI~/.enlightenment/xscreensaver.menu\fP with the contents:
+.EX
+"XScreenSaver Commands"
+ "Blank Screen Now" NULL exec "xscreensaver-command -activate"
+ "Lock Screen Now" NULL exec "xscreensaver-command -lock"
+ "Screen Saver Demo" NULL exec "xscreensaver-command -demo"
+ "Screen Saver Prefs" NULL exec "xscreensaver-command -prefs"
+ "Reinitialize Saver" NULL exec "xscreensaver-command -restart"
+ "Kill Screen Saver" NULL exec "xscreensaver-command -exit"
+ "Launch Screen Saver" NULL exec "xscreensaver"
+.EE
+then add
+.EX
+ "XScreenSaver" NULL menu "xscreensaver.menu"
+.EE
+to \fI~/.enlightenment/file.menu\fP to put the XScreenSaver submenu on
+your left-button root-window menu.
+
+As you see, every window manager does this stuff gratuitously differently,
+just to make your life difficult. You are in a maze of twisty menu
+configuration languages, all alike.
.SH BUGS
Bugs? There are no bugs. Ok, well, maybe. If you find one, please let
me know. http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/bugs.html explains how to
This is a design flaw in PAM (there is no way for a client to tell the
difference between PAM responding ``I have never heard of your module,''
-and responding, ``you typed the wrong password.'' As far as I can tell,
+and responding, ``you typed the wrong password.'') As far as I can tell,
there is no way for xscreensaver to automatically work around this, or
detect the problem in advance, so if you have PAM, make sure it is
configured correctly!
.BR mwm (1)
and
.BR olwm (1)
-window managers don't seem to have this problem. The race condition exists
-because X does not provide a way for an OverrideRedirect window to have its
-own colormap, short of grabbing the server (which is neither a good idea, nor
-really possible with the current design.) What happens is that, as soon as
-the screensaver installs its colormap, \fBtwm\fP responds to
-the \fBColormapNotify\fP event that is generated by re-instaling the default
-colormap. Apparently, \fBtwm\fP doesn't \fIalways\fP do this; it seems to do
-it regularly if the screensaver is activated from a menu item, but seems to
-not do it if the screensaver comes on of its own volition, or is activated
-from another console. Any thoughts on this problem are welcome...
+window managers don't have this problem. The race condition exists
+because X (really, ICCCM) does not provide a way for an OverrideRedirect
+window to have its own colormap, short of grabbing the server (which is
+neither a good idea, nor really possible with the current design.) What
+happens is that, as soon as xscreensaver installs its colormap, \fBtwm\fP
+responds to the resultant \fBColormapNotify\fP event by re-instaling the
+default colormap. Apparently, \fBtwm\fP doesn't \fIalways\fP do this; it
+seems to do it regularly if the screensaver is activated from a menu item,
+but seems to not do it if the screensaver comes on of its own volition, or
+is activated from another console.
+.RS 8
+.TP 4
+.B Attention, window manager authors!
+You should only call
+.BR XInstallColormap (3)
+in response to user events. That is, it is appropriate to install a colormap
+in response to \fBFocusIn\fP, \fBFocusOut\fP, \fBEnterNotify\fP,
+and \fBLeaveNotify\fP events; but it is not appropriate to call it in
+response to \fBColormapNotify\fP events. If you install colormaps in
+response to \fIapplication\fP actions as well as in response to \fIuser\fP
+actions, then you create the situation where it is impossible for
+override-redirect applications (such as xscreensaver) to display their
+windows in the proper colors.
+.RE
.TP 8
.B Colormap lossage: XV, XAnim, XEarth
Some programs don't operate properly on visuals other than the default one,
resource in the \fIConfiguration\fP section. When programs only work with
the default colormap, you need to use a syntax like this:
.EX
- default-n: xv -root image-1.gif -quit \\n\\
- default-n: xearth -nostars -wait 0 \\n\\
+ default-n: xv -root image-1.gif -quit \\n\\
+ default-n: xearth -nostars -wait 0 \\n\\
.EE
It would also work to turn off the \fBinstallColormap\fP option altogether,
but that would deny extra colors to those programs that \fIcan\fP take
or
.BR xload (1).
.TP 8
-.B Doom and Quake
-On some systems, Doom, Quake, and other games intercept the keyboard in
-ways that X programs can never detect. Therefore, when running these games,
-xscreensaver might think the console is idle, and activate. In the worst
-case, xscreensaver might blank the screen and mess up the game. Alternately,
-xscreensaver might activate on the X display while leaving the game visible,
-and merely cause the game to slow down.
-
-I don't know how to fix this, because I don't know how to detect the kind
-of keyboard activity that occurs during these games. Suggestions are welcome.
-.TP 8
.B Latency and Responsiveness
If the subprocess is drawing too quickly and the connection to the X
server is a slow one (such as an X terminal running over a phone line) then
in code intended for use as a screensaver. This prevents too much graphics
activity from being buffered up.
.TP 8
+.B XFree86's Magic Keystrokes
+The XFree86 X server traps certain magic keystrokes before client programs ever
+see them. Two that are of note are Ctrl+Alt+Backspace, which causes
+the X server to exit; and Ctrl+Alt+F\fIn\fP, which switches virtual consoles.
+The X server will respond to these keystrokes even if xscreensaver has the
+screen locked. Depending on your setup, you might consider this a problem.
+
+Unfortunately, there is no way for xscreensaver itself to override the
+interpretation of these keys. If you want to disable Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
+globally, you need to set the \fIDontZap\fP flag in
+your \fI/etc/X11/XF86Config\fP file. See the
+.BR XF86Config (5)
+manual for details.
+
+There is no way (as far as I can tell) to disable the VT-switching keystrokes.
+
+Some Linux systems come with a VT_LOCKSWITCH ioctl, that one could
+theoretically use to prevent VT-switching while the screen is locked;
+but unfortunately, this ioctl can only be used by root, which means
+that xscreensaver can't use it (since xscreensaver disavows its privileges
+shortly after startup, for security reasons.)
+
+Any suggestions for other solutions to this problem are welcome.
+.TP 8
.B XView Clients
Apparently there are some problems with XView programs getting confused
and thinking that the screensaver window is the real root window even when
If you're running Irix 6.3, you might find that your monitor is powering down
after an hour or two even if you've told it not to. This is fixed by SGI
patches 2447 and 2537.
-.TP 8
-.B OpenGL Programs and Visuals
-Some of the graphics demos included with xscreensaver make use of the
-OpenGL (or MesaGL) 3D library, if it is available. It is possible (even
-likely) that \fIxscreensaver\fP's notion of the ``\fIbest\fP'' visual is
-not quite right for these GL programs.
-
-The odd thing about GL programs is that, unlike normal X11 programs, they
-tend to work best on a visual \fIhalf\fP as deep as the depth of the screen,
-since that way, they can do double-buffering. Try it and see, but you will
-probably find that, for these particular programs, you should specify the
-deepest visual that is half as deep as the screen. (See the discussion
-of the \fBprograms\fP resource in the \fIConfiguration\fP section, above.)
-
-For example, on a screen that supports both 24-bit TrueColor and 12-bit
-PseudoColor visuals, the 12-bit visual will probably work best (this is true
-of base-model SGI Indys: the 0x29 visual is the one you want.)
-
-Oddly, on SGI O2s (machines that have serious hardware support for GL), the
-12-bit PseudoColor visual looks awful (you get a black and white, flickery
-image.) On these machines, the visual you want turns out to be 0x31.
-However, 0x31 is but \fIone\fP of the \fIeight\fP 15-bit TrueColor visuals
-(yes, 8, and yes, 15) that the O2 X server provides. This is the only visual
-that works properly: as far as
-.BR xdpyinfo (1)
-is concerned, all of the 15-bit TrueColor visuals are identical, but some
-flicker like mad, and some have deeply weird artifacts (such as hidden
-surfaces that show through, as if depth worked backwards!)
-
-I suppose these other visuals must be tied to some arcane hardware feature...
-If anyone would care to explain it to me, that would be great.
-Your mileage, therefore, may vary dramatically.
+If you're running Irix 6.5, this bug is back. I don't know a fix.
.TP 8
.B MesaGL and Voodoo Cards
If you have a 3Dfx/Voodoo card, the default settings for xscreensaver will
mode (you can't do it in a window, and you can't see the output of 3D and 2D
programs simultaniously), and that 3D will probably drive your monitor at a
lower resolution, as well. It's bizarre.
+
+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.
+.TP 8
+.B Keyboard LEDs
+If \fIprocInterrupts\fP is on (which is the default on Linux systems) and
+you're using some program that toggles the state of your keyboard LEDs,
+xscreensaver won't work right: turning those LEDs on or off causes a
+keyboard interrupt, which xscreensaver will interpret as user activity.
+So if you're using such a program, set the \fIprocInterrupts\fP resource
+to False.
.TP 8
.B Extensions
If you are not making use of one of the server extensions (\fBXIDLE\fP,
.BR X (1),
.BR xscreensaver\-demo (1),
.BR xscreensaver\-command (1),
+.BR xscreensaver\-gl\-helper (1),
.BR xdm (1),
.BR xset (1),
.BR Xsecurity (1),
.BR bouboule (1),
.BR braid (1),
.BR bsod (1),
+.BR bubble3d (1),
.BR bubbles (1),
.BR cage (1),
+.BR compass (1),
.BR coral (1),
+.BR critical (1),
+.BR crystal (1),
.BR cynosure (1),
.BR decayscreen (1),
.BR deco (1),
+.BR deluxe (1),
+.BR demon (1),
+.BR discrete (1),
+.BR distort (1),
.BR drift (1),
.BR epicycle (1),
.BR fadeplot (1),
.BR flag (1),
.BR flame (1),
+.BR flow (1),
.BR forest (1),
.BR galaxy (1),
.BR gears (1),
+.BR glplanet (1),
.BR goop (1),
.BR grav (1),
.BR greynetic (1),
.BR jigsaw (1),
.BR julia (1),
.BR kaleidescope (1),
+.BR kumppa (1),
+.BR lament (1),
.BR laser (1),
.BR lightning (1),
.BR lisa (1),
.BR lissie (1),
.BR lmorph (1),
+.BR loop (1),
.BR maze (1),
.BR moebius (1),
.BR moire (1),
.BR munch (1),
.BR noseguy (1),
.BR pedal (1),
+.BR penetrate (1),
.BR penrose (1),
+.BR petri (1),
+.BR phosphor (1),
.BR pipes (1),
+.BR pulsar (1),
.BR pyro (1),
.BR qix (1),
.BR rd-bomb (1),
.BR sierpinski (1),
.BR slidescreen (1),
.BR slip (1),
+.BR sonar (1),
.BR sphere (1),
.BR spiral (1),
+.BR spotlight (1),
.BR sproingies (1),
+.BR squiral (1),
.BR stairs (1),
.BR starfish (1),
.BR strange (1),
.BR superquadrics (1),
.BR swirl (1),
+.BR t3d (1),
.BR triangle (1),
.BR truchet (1),
.BR vines (1),
+.BR wander (1),
.BR worm (1),
+.BR xflame (1),
.BR xjack (1),
.BR xlyap (1),
-.BR xroger (1),
+.BR xmatrix (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
+Copyright \(co 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
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
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.
Thanks to Martin Kraemer for adding support for shadow passwords and
locking-disabled diagnostics.
-Thanks to the many people who have contributed graphics demos to the package.
-
Thanks to Patrick Moreau for the VMS port.
Thanks to Mark Bowyer for figuring out how to hook it up to CDE.
-And huge thanks to Jon A. Christopher for implementing the Athena dialog
-support, back in the days before Lesstif was a viable alternative to Motif.
+Thanks to Nat Lanza for the Kerberos support.
+
+Thanks to Bill Nottingham for the initial PAM support.
+
+And thanks to Jon A. Christopher for implementing the Athena dialog
+support, back in the days before Lesstif or Gtk were viable alternatives
+to Motif.
projects / xscreensaver / blobdiff