Information on Codes that Control the "xterm" application of X Windows <>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<> Newsgroups: comp.terminals Path: cs.utk.edu!stc06.CTD.ORNL.GOV!fnnews.fnal.gov!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu !howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!wizard.pn.com !satisfied.elf.com!news.mathworks.com!uhog.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu !senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!athena.mit.edu!igorlord Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Message-ID: <3hh0bo$p4q@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU> References: <1995Feb6.083403@btmp7u.be> Date: 11 Feb 1995 00:28:40 GMT From: igorlord@athena.mit.edu (Igor Lyubashevskiy) Subject: Re: (Wanted) VT102 info In article <1995Feb6.083403@btmp7u.be>, sdas@sh.bel.alcatel.be (Sanjay Dasgupta SH33 9639) writes: |> |> Years after throwing away my vt10x documentation, I am |> working on an appliction that requires that knowledge again. |> |> Does anyone still have a quick summary of the escape |> sequences for a VT102 (actually it is a 'xterm' terminal |> emulator on a X-terminal connected to a Sun SPARC) |> |> I am specially interested in the stuff that allows |> the host to query the terminal (cursor position, screen |> size, ...). |> |> Being able to read back the entire screen (VT 30 HS style) |> is what is really needed, but a VT102 does not do that, |> so I'll have to find a work around. |> |> Thanks in advance for any help. |> |> Preferably please mail responses to : sdas@sh.bel.alcatel.be From: crdgw1!montnaro@uunet.uu.net (Skip Montanaro) Organization: GE Corporate Research & Development, Schenectady, NY Subject: XTerm Escape Sequences (X11 Version) To: xpert@expo.lcs.mit.edu I rummaged around through the xterm code and came up with the following stuff. No guarantees. I'm headed out of town for a couple days and thought it better to get it out than let it get stale. Comments, bugs, and other notes are welcome. Somebody else can convert it to troff. I prefer LaTeX. :-) I will try and get to the Tek mode stuff when I return, although I doubt it's changed much from X10 XTerm. I gleaned the basic stuff out of the charproc.c code, by hacking VTparse() so it spit out leaves of the parse tree. I was mildly surprised to see things like "ESC # BEL" turn up. For most folks, the most interesting stuff will probably be "ESC ] Ps ND string NP" down near the bottom. That's what you use to change the icon and window labels, and the log file name. Most other things appear the same as the X10 documentation, although a few DEC-ish mode parameters (42, 43, 48, & 49) seem to have disappeared. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BEL Bell (Ctrl-G) BS Backspace (Ctrl-H) HT Horizontal Tab (Ctrl-I) NL Line Feed or New Line (Ctrl-J) VT Vertical Tab (Ctrl-K) NP Form Feed or New Page (Ctrl-L) CR Carriage Return (Ctrl-M) SO Shift Out (Ctrl-N) -> Switch to Alternate Character Set SI Shift In (Ctrl-O) -> Switch to Standard Character Set ESC BEL (Same as non-escaped BEL) ESC BS (Same as non-escaped BS) ESC HT (Same as non-escaped HT) ESC NL (Same as non-escaped NL) ESC VT (Same as non-escaped VT) ESC NP (Same as non-escaped NP) ESC CR (Same as non-escaped CR) ESC SO (Same as non-escaped SO) ESC SI (Same as non-escaped SI) ESC # BEL (Same as non-escaped BEL) ESC # BS (Same as non-escaped BS) ESC # HT (Same as non-escaped HT) ESC # NL (Same as non-escaped NL) ESC # VT (Same as non-escaped VT) ESC # NP (Same as non-escaped NP) ESC # CR (Same as non-escaped CR) ESC # SO (Same as non-escaped SO) ESC # SI (Same as non-escaped SI) ESC # 8 DEC Screen Alignment Test (DECALN) ESC ( BEL (Same as non-escaped BEL) ESC ( BS (Same as non-escaped BS) ESC ( HT (Same as non-escaped HT) ESC ( NL (Same as non-escaped NL) ESC ( VT (Same as non-escaped VT) ESC ( NP (Same as non-escaped NP) ESC ( CR (Same as non-escaped CR) ESC ( SO (Same as non-escaped SO) ESC ( SI (Same as non-escaped SI) ESC ( C Select G0 Character Set (SCS) C = 0 -> Special Character and Line Drawing Set C = 1 -> Alternate Character ROM Standard Set C = 2 -> Alternate Character ROM Special Set C = A -> United Kingdom (UK) C = B -> United States (USASCII) ESC ) C Select G1 Character Set (SCS) C takes same values as above ESC * C Select G2 Character Set (SCS) C takes same values as above ESC + C Select G3 Character Set (SCS) C takes same values as above ESC 7 Save Cursor (DECSC) ESC 8 Restore Cursor (DECRC) ESC = Application Keypad (DECPAM) ESC > Normal Keypad (DECNM) ESC D Index (IND) ESC E Next Line (NEL) ESC H Tab Set (HTS) ESC M Reverse Index (RI) ESC N Single Shift Select of G2 Character Set (SS2) ESC O Single Shift Select of G3 Character Set (SS3) ESC [ BEL (Same as non-escaped BEL) ESC [ BS (Same as non-escaped BS) ESC [ HT (Same as non-escaped HT) ESC [ NL (Same as non-escaped NL) ESC [ VT (Same as non-escaped VT) ESC [ NP (Same as non-escaped NP) ESC [ CR (Same as non-escaped CR) ESC [ SO (Same as non-escaped SO) ESC [ SI (Same as non-escaped SI) ESC [ ? BEL (Same as non-escaped BEL) ESC [ ? BS (Same as non-escaped BS) ESC [ ? HT (Same as non-escaped HT) ESC [ ? NL (Same as non-escaped NL) ESC [ ? VT (Same as non-escaped VT) ESC [ ? NP (Same as non-escaped NP) ESC [ ? CR (Same as non-escaped CR) ESC [ ? SO (Same as non-escaped SO) ESC [ ? SI (Same as non-escaped SI) ESC [ ? Ps h DEC Private Mode Set (DECSET) Ps = 1 -> Application Cursor Keys (DECCKM) Ps = 2 -> Set VT52 Mode Ps = 3 -> 132 Column Mode (DECCOLM) Ps = 4 -> Smooth (Slow) Scroll (DECSCLM) Ps = 5 -> Reverse Video (DECSCNM) Ps = 6 -> Origin Mode (DECOM) Ps = 7 -> Wraparound Mode (DECAWM) Ps = 8 -> Auto-Repeat Keys (DECARM) Ps = 9 -> Send MIT Mouse Row & Column on Button Press Ps = 38 -> Enter Tektronix Mode (DECTEK) Ps = 40 -> Allow 80 <-> 132 Mode Ps = 41 -> curses(5) fix Ps = 44 -> Turn on Margin Bell Ps = 45 -> Reverse-wraparound Mode Ps = 46 -> Start Logging Ps = 47 -> Use Alternate Screen Buffer Ps = 1000 -> xtem bogus sequence (???) Ps = 1001 -> xtem sequence w/hilite tracking (???) ESC [ ? Ps l DEC Private Mode Reset (DECRST) Ps = 1 -> Normal Cursor Keys (DECCKM) Ps = 3 -> 80 Column Mode (DECCOLM) Ps = 4 -> Jump (Fast) Scroll (DECSCLM) Ps = 5 -> Normal Video (DECSCNM) Ps = 6 -> Normal Cursor Mode (DECOM) Ps = 7 -> No Wraparound Mode (DECAWM) Ps = 8 -> No Auto-Repeat Keys (DECARM) Ps = 9 -> Don't Send MIT Mouse Row & Column on Button Press Ps = 40 -> Don't Allow 80 <-> 132 Mode Ps = 41 -> No curses(5) fix Ps = 44 -> Turn Off Margin Bell Ps = 45 -> No Reverse-wraparound Mode Ps = 46 -> Stop Logging Ps = 47 -> Use Normal Screen Buffer Ps = 1000 -> xtem bogus sequence (???) Ps = 1001 -> xtem sequence w/hilite tracking (???) ESC [ ? Ps r Restore DEC Private Mode Ps = 1 -> Normal/Application Cursor Keys (DECCKM) Ps = 3 -> 80/132 Column Mode (DECCOLM) Ps = 4 -> Jump (Fast)/Smooth (Slow) Scroll (DECSCLM) Ps = 5 -> Normal/Reverse Video (DECSCNM) Ps = 6 -> Normal/Origin Cursor Mode (DECOM) Ps = 7 -> No Wraparound/Wraparound Mode (DECAWM) Ps = 8 -> Auto-repeat/No Auto-repeat Keys (DECARM) Ps = 9 -> Don't Send/Send MIT Mouse Row & Column on Button Press Ps = 40 -> Disallow/Allow 80 <-> 132 Mode Ps = 41 -> Off/On curses(5) fix Ps = 44 -> Turn Off/On Margin Bell Ps = 45 -> No Reverse-wraparound/Reverse-wraparound Mode Ps = 46 -> Stop/Start Logging Ps = 47 -> Use Normal/Alternate Screen Buffer Ps = 1000 -> mouse bogus sequence (???) Ps = 1001 -> mouse bogus sequence (???) ESC [ ? Ps s Save DEC Private Mode Same P's as Restore DEC Private Mode ESC [ Ps @ Insert Ps (Blank) Character(s) (default = 1) (ICH) ESC [ Ps A Cursor Up Ps Times (default = 1) (CUU) ESC [ Ps B Cursor Down Ps Times (default = 1) (CUD) ESC [ Ps C Cursor Forward Ps Times (default = 1) (CUF) ESC [ Ps D Cursor Backward Ps Times (default = 1) (CUB) ESC [ Ps ; Ps H Cursor Position [row;column] (default = [1,1]) (CUP) ESC [ Ps J Erase in Display Ps = 0 -> Clear Below (default) Ps = 1 -> Clear Above Ps = 2 -> Clear All ESC [ Ps K Erase in Line Ps = 0 -> Clear to Right (default) Ps = 1 -> Clear to Left Ps = 2 -> Clear All ESC [ Ps L Insert Ps lines (default = 1) (IL) ESC [ Ps M Delete Ps lines (default = 1) (DL) ESC [ Ps P Delete Ps Characters (default = 1) (DCH) ESC [ T Track Mouse (???) ESC [ Ps c Device Attributes (DA1) ESC [ Ps ; Ps f Cursor Position [row;column] (default = [1,1]) (HVP) ESC [ Ps g Tab Clear Ps = 0 -> Clear Current Column (default) Ps = 3 -> Clear All ESC [ Ps h Mode Set (SET) Ps = 4 -> Insert Mode (IRM) Ps = 20 -> Automatic Linefeed (LNM) ESC [ Ps l Mode Reset (RST) Ps = 4 -> Insert Mode (IRM) Ps = 20 -> Automatic Linefeed (LNM) ESC [ Pm m Character Attributes (SGR) Ps = 0 -> Normal (default) Ps = 1 -> Blink (appears as Bold) Ps = 4 -> Underscore Ps = 5 -> Bold Ps = 7 -> Inverse ESC [ Ps n Device Status Report (DSR) Ps = 5 -> Status Report ESC [ 0 n -> OK Ps = 6 -> Report Cursor Position (CPR) [row;column] as ESC [ r ; c R ESC [ Ps ; Ps r Set Scrolling Region [top;bottom] (default = full size of window) (DECSTBM) ESC [ Ps x Request Terminal Parameters (DECREQTPARM) ESC ] Ps ND string NP OSC Mode ND can be any non-digit Character (it's discarded) NP can be any non-printing Character (it's discarded) string can be any ASCII printable string (max 511 characters) Ps = 0 -> use string as a new icon name and title Ps = 1 -> use string is a new icon name only Ps = 2 -> use string is a new title only Ps = 46 -> use string as a new log file name ESC c Full Reset ESC n Switch to Alternate Character Set LS2 ESC o Switch to Alternate Character Set LS3 ESC | Switch to Alternate Graphics(?) Set LS3R ESC } Switch to Alternate Graphics(?) Set LS2R ESC ~ Switch to Alternate Graphics(?) Set LS1R -- Igor <>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<> Article 3601 of comp.terminals: Path: cs.utk.edu!stc06.CTD.ORNL.GOV!fnnews.fnal.gov!uwm.edu!news.alpha.net!news.mathworks.com!transfer.stratus.com!xylogics.com!Xylogics.COM!carlson From: carlson@Xylogics.COM (James Carlson) Newsgroups: comp.terminals Subject: Re: X11 window title redraw for xterm? Date: 16 Feb 1995 12:22:12 GMT Organization: Xylogics Incorporated Lines: 22 Distribution: world Message-ID: <3hvg1k$gpt@newhub.xylogics.com> References: Reply-To: carlson@xylogics.com NNTP-Posting-Host: newhub.xylogics.com In article , curtisb@gr.hp.com (Curtis Ballard) writes: |> I have figured out how to change the title of an xterm window, but |> I can't figure out how to get the title in the X11 border to be redrawn |> with the new title. Specifically I am trying to print my current |> directory and host to the title string when in a shell. Has anybody |> had success doing this? I can get it to work in an hpterm but xterm |> won't take the same command. The magic incantation is: ESC ] 2 ; BEL Where ESC is 1B hex, BEL is 07 hex, and is the string you want to have displayed in the title bar. I have no idea what kind of madness led to this distinctly non-ANSI command sequence ... --- James Carlson Tel: +1 617 272 8140 Annex Software Support / Xylogics, Inc. +1 800 225 3317 53 Third Avenue / Burlington MA 01803-4491 Fax: +1 617 272 2618 <>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<> Newsgroups: comp.terminals Message-ID: <6v0rdt$8vh$1@callisto.clark.net> References: Date: 1 Oct 1998 21:15:41 GMT From: "T.E.Dickey" Subject: Re: finding number of lines on an xterm with vt100 emulation Sobhan K. Padamati wrote: > > Can anybody tell me the control sequence to get the number of lines on > an xterm with vt100 emulation? Not offhand--but the technique is simple: position the cursor (CUP) to a very-large position (such as 999,999) and use the cursor-position report (CPR) to ask where the cursor _really_ is. (the control sequences are listed in ctlseqs.ms - there's a copy in the xterm.tar.gz on my web page) -- Thomas E. Dickey dickey@clark.net http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey/ <>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<> Newsgroups: comp.terminals Message-ID: <93nj7j$add$1@news1.Radix.Net> References: <93n385$28f0$1@kiosk.rzg.mpg.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: saltmine.radix.net Date: 12 Jan 2001 18:42:59 GMT From: Thomas Dickey Subject: Re: xterm and escape sequences Georg.Drenkhahn@epost.de wrote: > Dear terminal experts, > I'm a bit confused about the escape sequences generated from xterm and > their terminfo entries: > really produced by xterm > cursor_left=^H key_left=\EOD \E[D > cursor_right=\E[C key_right=\EOC \E[C > cursor_up=\E[A key_up=\EOA \E[A > cursor_down=^J key_down=\EOB \E[B > cursor_home=\E[H key_home=\EOH \E[H > key_end=\EOF \E[F > > Xterm generates a `[' instead of an `O'. The cursor_xxx shouldn have > anything to do with the codes generated by key strokes, should they? Actually yes - on many terminals (vt100 especially) the cursor keys were designed so that the characters that they echo would produce the nominal effect that a program would use them for. (If you had a slow terminal connection, I suppose it could turn on local echo and cut down on a lot of required response from the host). > I found this behaviour not only on one platform. It appears under AIX, > Sun and Linux. Is the terminfo file wrong or the xterm program? the terminfo usually describes the application mode for the control sequences, while you are looking at what xterm sends in normal mode. (you can switch between them manually by the middle popup menu) -- Thomas E. Dickey http://dickey.his.com/ ftp://dickey.his.com/ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Newsgroups: comp.terminals Message-ID: <8843aaec.0401141408.653168cf@posting.google.com> Date: 14 Jan 2004 14:08:14 -0800 From: Adam Robison Subject: How Do I Lower A Xterm VT100 Window With Control Seq.? Hey, I am trying to lower my xterm to the bottom of the stacking order. I read somewhere that the control seq. is "CSI 6;6;6t" but when I send it (as written) it doesn't work and I don't really know what CSI is. Can someone tell me exactly what to type to do this right? I would be very grateful! -Adam .............................................................................. Newsgroups: comp.terminals References: <8843aaec.0401141408.653168cf@posting.google.com> Message-ID: Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 22:29:39 GMT From: Rob Brown Subject: Re: How Do I Lower A Xterm VT100 Window With Control Seq.? On 14 Jan 2004, Adam Robison wrote: > I am trying to lower my xterm to the bottom of the stacking order. > I read somewhere that the control seq. is "CSI 6;6;6t" but when I > send it (as written) it doesn't work and I don't really know what CSI > is. Can someone tell me exactly what to type to do this right? I > would be very grateful! In an 8-bit environment, is 0x9b. In a 7-bit environment, is [ (in other words 0x1b 0x5b). .............................................................................. Newsgroups: comp.terminals References: <8843aaec.0401141408.653168cf@posting.google.com> Message-ID: <100bj3k4nkq3nf2@corp.supernews.com> Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 23:10:44 -0000 From: Thomas Dickey Subject: Re: How Do I Lower A Xterm VT100 Window With Control Seq.? Adam Robison wrote: > > I am trying to lower my xterm to the bottom of the stacking order. > I read somewhere that the control seq. is "CSI 6;6;6t" but when I > send it (as written) it doesn't work and I don't really know what CSI > is. Can someone tell me exactly what to type to do this right? I > would be very grateful! actually CSI 6 t is sufficient. See ftp://invisible-island.net/xterm/ctlseqs.txt.gz in the proper context only the controls dealing with window size use 3 params. -- Thomas E. Dickey http://invisible-island.net/ ftp://invisible-island.net/ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris NNTP-Posting-Host: 47.234.0.53 NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2007 14:36:04 +0000 (UTC) Message-ID: <1174142162.454697.19470@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> Date: 17 Mar 2007 07:36:02 -0700 From: kimi Subject: Stopping xterm from highlighting all text in vi Hi, I am still somewhat new to Solaris and xterm in general and have been running in to an issue where if I use an xterm window with a specific colour (for example, alias sgreen='xterm -bg black -fg green -ut +vb - T "kimi" &') then I'll start editing files and then a few minutes in all the text will start to get highlighted in green, for instance. If I exit vi the highlighting in still there. By highlighting, I am referring to, in this case, that as I'm editing in vi, the background will stay black (as specified above) but that the prompt and then anything I type in will be highlighted in green. If I exit out of vi, then the highlighting continues. If I change shells and run a command, it stops. Is there a workaround for this? I've played in the -ah and +ah settings and checked out the man page for xterm and for vi, but can't find a work around. This only happens if I use xterm and start vi. If I use xterm but not vi then it's correct. Is there some type of workaround for this? Regards, Kim .............................................................................. Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris References: <1174142162.454697.19470@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> Message-ID: <12vof3shvrshdfe@corp.supernews.com> Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2007 19:07:40 -0000 From: Thomas Dickey Subject: Re: Stopping xterm from highlighting all text in vi kimi wrote: > > Hi, > I am still somewhat new to Solaris and xterm in general and have been ... > Is there a workaround for this? I've played in the -ah and +ah > settings and checked out the man page for xterm and for vi, but can't > find a work around. This only happens if I use xterm and start vi. > If I use xterm but not vi then it's correct. Which version of xterm is that, and what is $TERM set to (and infocmp shows)? Solaris has more than one version of xterm (the one I maintain will list a version number for "xterm -v"). The reference to -ah/+ah hints at that. -- Thomas E. Dickey http://invisible-island.net/ ftp://invisible-island.net/ .............................................................................. Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris NNTP-Posting-Host: 65.96.244.124 NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:29:00 +0000 (UTC) References: <1174142162.454697.19470@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> <12vof3shvrshdfe@corp.supernews.com> Message-ID: <1174177739.264328.286600@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> Organization: http://groups.google.com Date: 17 Mar 2007 17:28:59 -0700 From: kimi Subject: Re: Stopping xterm from highlighting all text in vi On Mar 17, 3:07 pm, Thomas Dickey wrote: > > Which version of xterm is that, and what is $TERM set to (and infocmp shows)? > > Solaris has more than one version of xterm (the one I maintain will > list a version number for "xterm -v"). The reference to -ah/+ah > hints at that. Thank you Thomas Answers: > Which version of xterm is that, and what is $TERM set to (and infocmp shows)? Not sure the version of xterm, a 'whatis' xterm doesn't work. echo $TERM vt100 infocmp: # Reconstructed via infocmp from file: /usr/global/share/terminfo/v/vt100 vt100|vt100-am|dec vt100 (w/advanced video), am, msgr, xenl, xon, cols#80, it#8, lines#24, vt#3, acsc=``aaffggjjkkllmmnnooppqqrrssttuuvvwwxxyyzz{{||}}~~, bel=^G, blink=\E[5m$<2>, bold=\E[1m$<2>, clear=\E[H\E[J$<50>, cr=^M, csr=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dr, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=^H, cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=^J, cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C$<2>, cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH$<5>, cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A$<2>, ed=\E[J$<50>, el=\E[K$<3>, el1=\E[1K$<3>, enacs=\E(B\E)0, home=\E[H, ht=^I, hts=\EH, ind=^J, ka1=\EOq, ka3=\EOs, kb2=\EOr, kbs=^H, kc1=\EOp, kc3=\EOn, kcub1=\EOD, kcud1=\EOB, kcuf1=\EOC, kcuu1=\EOA, kent=\EOM, kf0=\EOy, kf1=\EOP, kf10=\EOx, kf2=\EOQ, kf3=\EOR, kf4=\EOS, kf5=\EOt, kf6=\EOu, kf7=\EOv, kf8=\EOl, kf9=\EOw, rc=\E8, rev=\E[7m$<2>, ri=\EM$<5>, rmacs=^O, rmam=\E[?7l, rmkx=\E[?1l\E>, rmso=\E[m$<2>, rmul=\E[m$<2>, rs2=\E>\E[?3l\E[?4l\E[?5l\E[?7h\E[?8h, sc=\E7, sgr=\E[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p4%t;5%;m%?%p9%t\016%e\017%;, sgr0=\E[m\017$<2>, smacs=^N, smam=\E[?7h, smkx=\E[?1h\E=, smso=\E[7m$<2>, smul=\E[4m$<2>, tbc=\E[3g, ...and Solaris 5.8. .............................................................................. Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris References: <1174142162.454697.19470@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> <12vof3shvrshdfe@corp.supernews.com> <1174177739.264328.286600@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> Message-ID: <12vq6eb32tgegc5@corp.supernews.com> Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:51:55 -0000 From: Thomas Dickey Subject: Re: Stopping xterm from highlighting all text in vi >> Solaris has more than one version of xterm (the one I maintain will >> list a version number for "xterm -v"). The reference to -ah/+ah >> hints at that. >> Which version of xterm is that, and what is $TERM set to (and infocmp shows)? > > Not sure the version of xterm, a 'whatis' xterm doesn't work. I had in mind "xterm -v", which is an abbreviation for -version, e.g., -version This causes xterm to print a version number to the standard output. Sun's xterm doesn't have that option. > echo $TERM > vt100 > infocmp: > # Reconstructed via infocmp from file: /usr/global/share/terminfo/v/vt100 > vt100|vt100-am|dec vt100 (w/advanced video), ... The only odd thing there is the /usr/global/share (I'd expect just /usr/share). Perhaps it's been customized. I'm not sure whether "vi" in this case is /usr/bin/vi or something like /opt/sfw/bin/vim In either case, "vi" shouldn't be changing the video attributes. vim may do this--and, if you have it set internally to some terminal type which does not match the actual xterm type, it could decide to use SGR 22 to reset the reverse video. That won't work with Sun's xterm, and would produce the effect you are describing. > ...and Solaris 5.8. -- Thomas E. Dickey http://invisible-island.net/ ftp://invisible-island.net/ //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////