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Diffstat (limited to 'FAQ')
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@@ -1,250 +0,0 @@ -## Why does st not handle utmp entries? - -Use the excellent tool of [utmp](https://git.suckless.org/utmp/) for this task. - - -## Some _random program_ complains that st is unknown/not recognised/unsupported/whatever! - -It means that st doesn’t have any terminfo entry on your system. Chances are -you did not `make install`. If you just want to test it without installing it, -you can manually run `tic -sx st.info`. - - -## Nothing works, and nothing is said about an unknown terminal! - -* Some programs just assume they’re running in xterm i.e. they don’t rely on - terminfo. What you see is the current state of the “xterm compliance”. -* Some programs don’t complain about the lacking st description and default to - another terminal. In that case see the question about terminfo. - - -## How do I scroll back up? - -* Using a terminal multiplexer. - * `st -e tmux` using C-b [ - * `st -e screen` using C-a ESC -* Using the excellent tool of [scroll](https://git.suckless.org/scroll/). -* Using the scrollback [patch](https://st.suckless.org/patches/scrollback/). - - -## I would like to have utmp and/or scroll functionality by default - -You can add the absolute patch of both programs in your config.h -file. You only have to modify the value of utmp and scroll variables. - - -## Why doesn't the Del key work in some programs? - -Taken from the terminfo manpage: - - If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys - are pressed, this information can be given. Note that it is not - possible to handle terminals where the keypad only works in - local (this applies, for example, to the unshifted HP 2621 keys). - If the keypad can be set to transmit or not transmit, give these - codes as smkx and rmkx. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to - always transmit. - -In the st case smkx=E[?1hE= and rmkx=E[?1lE>, so it is mandatory that -applications which want to test against keypad keys send these -sequences. - -But buggy applications (like bash and irssi, for example) don't do this. A fast -solution for them is to use the following command: - - $ printf '\033[?1h\033=' >/dev/tty - -or - $ tput smkx - -In the case of bash, readline is used. Readline has a different note in its -manpage about this issue: - - enable-keypad (Off) - When set to On, readline will try to enable the - application keypad when it is called. Some systems - need this to enable arrow keys. - -Adding this option to your .inputrc will fix the keypad problem for all -applications using readline. - -If you are using zsh, then read the zsh FAQ -<http://zsh.sourceforge.net/FAQ/zshfaq03.html#l25>: - - It should be noted that the O / [ confusion can occur with other keys - such as Home and End. Some systems let you query the key sequences - sent by these keys from the system's terminal database, terminfo. - Unfortunately, the key sequences given there typically apply to the - mode that is not the one zsh uses by default (it's the "application" - mode rather than the "raw" mode). Explaining the use of terminfo is - outside of the scope of this FAQ, but if you wish to use the key - sequences given there you can tell the line editor to turn on - "application" mode when it starts and turn it off when it stops: - - function zle-line-init () { echoti smkx } - function zle-line-finish () { echoti rmkx } - zle -N zle-line-init - zle -N zle-line-finish - -Putting these lines into your .zshrc will fix the problems. - - -## How can I use meta in 8bit mode? - -St supports meta in 8bit mode, but the default terminfo entry doesn't -use this capability. If you want it, you have to use the 'st-meta' value -in TERM. - - -## I cannot compile st in OpenBSD - -OpenBSD lacks librt, despite it being mandatory in POSIX -<http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/c99.html#tag_20_11_13>. -If you want to compile st for OpenBSD you have to remove -lrt from config.mk, and -st will compile without any loss of functionality, because all the functions are -included in libc on this platform. - - -## The Backspace Case - -St is emulating the Linux way of handling backspace being delete and delete being -backspace. - -This is an issue that was discussed in suckless mailing list -<https://lists.suckless.org/dev/1404/20697.html>. Here is why some old grumpy -terminal users wants its backspace to be how he feels it: - - Well, I am going to comment why I want to change the behaviour - of this key. When ASCII was defined in 1968, communication - with computers was done using punched cards, or hardcopy - terminals (basically a typewriter machine connected with the - computer using a serial port). ASCII defines DELETE as 7F, - because, in punched-card terms, it means all the holes of the - card punched; it is thus a kind of 'physical delete'. In the - same way, the BACKSPACE key was a non-destructive backspace, - as on a typewriter. So, if you wanted to delete a character, - you had to BACKSPACE and then DELETE. Another use of BACKSPACE - was to type accented characters, for example 'a BACKSPACE `'. - The VT100 had no BACKSPACE key; it was generated using the - CONTROL key as another control character (CONTROL key sets to - 0 b7 b6 b5, so it converts H (code 0x48) into BACKSPACE (code - 0x08)), but it had a DELETE key in a similar position where - the BACKSPACE key is located today on common PC keyboards. - All the terminal emulators emulated the difference between - these keys correctly: the backspace key generated a BACKSPACE - (^H) and delete key generated a DELETE (^?). - - But a problem arose when Linus Torvalds wrote Linux. Unlike - earlier terminals, the Linux virtual terminal (the terminal - emulator integrated in the kernel) returned a DELETE when - backspace was pressed, due to the VT100 having a DELETE key in - the same position. This created a lot of problems (see [1] - and [2]). Since Linux has become the king, a lot of terminal - emulators today generate a DELETE when the backspace key is - pressed in order to avoid problems with Linux. The result is - that the only way of generating a BACKSPACE on these systems - is by using CONTROL + H. (I also think that emacs had an - important point here because the CONTROL + H prefix is used - in emacs in some commands (help commands).) - - From point of view of the kernel, you can change the key - for deleting a previous character with stty erase. When you - connect a real terminal into a machine you describe the type - of terminal, so getty configures the correct value of stty - erase for this terminal. In the case of terminal emulators, - however, you don't have any getty that can set the correct - value of stty erase, so you always get the default value. - For this reason, it is necessary to add 'stty erase ^H' to your - profile if you have changed the value of the backspace key. - Of course, another solution is for st itself to modify the - value of stty erase. I usually have the inverse problem: - when I connect to non-Unix machines, I have to press CONTROL + - h to get a BACKSPACE. The inverse problem occurs when a user - connects to my Unix machines from a different system with a - correct backspace key. - - [1] http://www.ibb.net/~anne/keyboard.html - [2] http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Keyboard-and-Console-HOWTO-5.html - - -## But I really want the old grumpy behaviour of my terminal - -Apply [1]. - -[1] https://st.suckless.org/patches/delkey - - -## Why do images not work in st using the w3m image hack? - -w3mimg uses a hack that draws an image on top of the terminal emulator Drawable -window. The hack relies on the terminal to use a single buffer to draw its -contents directly. - -st uses double-buffered drawing so the image is quickly replaced and may show a -short flicker effect. - -Below is a patch example to change st double-buffering to a single Drawable -buffer. - -diff --git a/x.c b/x.c ---- a/x.c -+++ b/x.c -@@ -732,10 +732,6 @@ xresize(int col, int row) - win.tw = col * win.cw; - win.th = row * win.ch; - -- XFreePixmap(xw.dpy, xw.buf); -- xw.buf = XCreatePixmap(xw.dpy, xw.win, win.w, win.h, -- DefaultDepth(xw.dpy, xw.scr)); -- XftDrawChange(xw.draw, xw.buf); - xclear(0, 0, win.w, win.h); - - /* resize to new width */ -@@ -1148,8 +1144,7 @@ xinit(int cols, int rows) - gcvalues.graphics_exposures = False; - dc.gc = XCreateGC(xw.dpy, parent, GCGraphicsExposures, - &gcvalues); -- xw.buf = XCreatePixmap(xw.dpy, xw.win, win.w, win.h, -- DefaultDepth(xw.dpy, xw.scr)); -+ xw.buf = xw.win; - XSetForeground(xw.dpy, dc.gc, dc.col[defaultbg].pixel); - XFillRectangle(xw.dpy, xw.buf, dc.gc, 0, 0, win.w, win.h); - -@@ -1632,8 +1627,6 @@ xdrawline(Line line, int x1, int y1, int x2) - void - xfinishdraw(void) - { -- XCopyArea(xw.dpy, xw.buf, xw.win, dc.gc, 0, 0, win.w, -- win.h, 0, 0); - XSetForeground(xw.dpy, dc.gc, - dc.col[IS_SET(MODE_REVERSE)? - defaultfg : defaultbg].pixel); - - -## BadLength X error in Xft when trying to render emoji - -Xft makes st crash when rendering color emojis with the following error: - -"X Error of failed request: BadLength (poly request too large or internal Xlib length error)" - Major opcode of failed request: 139 (RENDER) - Minor opcode of failed request: 20 (RenderAddGlyphs) - Serial number of failed request: 1595 - Current serial number in output stream: 1818" - -This is a known bug in Xft (not st) which happens on some platforms and -combination of particular fonts and fontconfig settings. - -See also: -https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/lib/libxft/issues/6 -https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=107534 -https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1498269 - -The solution is to remove color emoji fonts or disable this in the fontconfig -XML configuration. As an ugly workaround (which may work only on newer -fontconfig versions (FC_COLOR)), the following code can be used to mask color -fonts: - - FcPatternAddBool(fcpattern, FC_COLOR, FcFalse); - -Please don't bother reporting this bug to st, but notify the upstream Xft -developers about fixing this bug. |