NAME

       root-tail - print text directly to X11 root window

SYNOPSIS

       root-tail [-g|--geometry GEOMETRY] [-fn|--font FONTSPEC] [--color color] [--reload SEC COMMAND] [--shade]
       [--outline]  [--minspace]  [--noflicker] [-f|--fork] [--reverse] [--whole] [--partial] [--update] [--cont
       STRING]  [--wordwrap]  [--justify]  [--noinitial]  [--frame]  [-id  ID]  [-i|--interval   SECONDS]   [-V]
       file1[,color[,desc]] [file2[,color[,desc]]]

DESCRIPTION

       Displays  a  given  file  anywhere on your X11 root window, i.e. it is kind of tail -f for multiple files
       using your desktop background as output window.

       All  non-option  arguments  on  the  command  line  are  files  to  be  logged.  A  null  desc  (example:
       "/var/log/messages,red,") will prevent the printing of a description and the []'s.

   General Options
       --color COLOR
              Use COLOR as default.

       --font | -fn FONTSPEC
              Use  font  FONTSPEC.  This  can  be either a fixed width font like -fn fixed or any font using -fn
              '-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*' with the appropriate fields filled out (see xfontsel).   Specifying
              a  different  FONTSPEC  before  each  filename will cause each file to be displayed in a different
              font.

       -f | --fork
              Forks to the background.

       --reverse
              Display the files in reverse order, with the newest lines at the top.

       --whole
              Only display whole lines. If the last line of a file doesn't yet end with a newline character then
              wait until it does before displaying it. This is the default  if  more  than  one  file  is  being
              displayed.

       --partial
              This  is  the opposite of the --whole option (see above). It displays lines even if they don't yet
              have a newline at the end. This is the default if only one file is being displayed.

       --update
              Update partial lines 'in place' if they are still on the screen when they  are  updated  in  their
              files. Using --update automatically turns on --partial.

       --cont STRING
              When  partial  lines  are  broken  into two lines in the display, prefix the 2nd line with STRING.
              Defaults to "|| ". Specify the "--whole" argument to ensure partial lines are never displayed,  or
              specify "--update" to attempt to "repair" broken lines in-place.

       --cont-color COLOR
              Use  COLOR when displaying the continuation string (as optionally specified with the --cont option
              above).

       --wordwrap
              The default behaviour is to fit as much as possible onto each line of output, even if  this  means
              splitting  a word between one line and the next. The --wordwrap argument splits lines at spaces if
              possible.

       --justify
              After wrapping long lines, attempt to justify the text to  produce  a  smooth  right-hand  margin.
              Implies --wordwrap.

       --reload SEC COMMAND
              Re-display  the  file(s) and run COMMAND every SEC seconds. The default is to never re-display the
              file(s).

       --shade
              Add black shading to the font.

       --outline
              Add a black outline to the font (making redraws quite a bit slower).

       --minspace
              Use minimum linespace even when using shading or outlining. This might result in  leftover  pixels
              (dependign on font and logfile content).

       --noflicker
              Use slower but flicker-free update.

       --noinitial
              Don't display the end of the file(s) initially.

       -id ID Use the given window ID for output instead of the root window.

       -i | --interval SECONDS
              Use  the specified sleeping interval between checks instead of the default 2.4 seconds. Fractional
              values are OK.

       -V     Print version information.

       --frame
              Draw a frame around the selected area.  This is useful when trying to find the perfect geometry.

EXAMPLE

       root-tail -g 800x250+100+50 -font 10x20 /var/log/messages,green -font 12x24 /var/log/secure,red,'ALERT'

BUGS

       Some desktop environments open a virtual root window and make it difficult to share it. If you cannot see
       anything after starting root-tail, try to find a setting "allow  programs  on  desktop"  or  similar,  or
       manually specify a window id.

       Should you happen to find any bugs please fix them and send me a diff.

       NOTE:  This  program was modified by Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com>, who couldn't reach the original author.
       Please direct bug-reports etc. to pcg@goof.com.

       http://root-tail.plan9.de/

4.2 Berkeley Distribution                          2004-03-27                                        ROOTTAIL(1)