NAME

     xrootconsole — display a file (or stdin) to a transparent window

SYNOPSIS

     xrootconsole [options] [file]

DESCRIPTION

     xrootconsole is a small utility which displays its input in a transparent text box on X's
     root window.  It will read from any file listed on the command line or, by default, from
     stdin.  It is most useful when it reads from a FIFO; this allows you to redirect multiple
     commands to the FIFO and monitor their output.

     The options are as follows:

     -fg color   This option specifies the color to use for displaying text.  The default is
                 “black.”

     -bg color   This option specifies the color to AND with the root window, for shaded
                 transparency.  The default is “clear.”

     -bw number  This option specifies the width of the border around xrootconsole in pixels.
                 The default is 0.

     -bd color   This option specifies the color to use for the border of the window.  The
                 default is “black.”

     -fn font    This option specifies the font to use for displaying text.  The default is
                 “fixed.”

     -c number   This option produces output that is number columns wide.  Text is written
                 vertically down each column in the order in which text is received from the
                 input file.  The default is 1.

     --topdown   Forces xrootconsole to display new lines from its input at the top of the
                 screen, scrolling previous lines down.  Default behavior is to insert new lines
                 at the bottom and scroll the previous lines up.

     --wrap      Rather than truncating long lines, this option specifies that xrootconsole
                 should wrap excess text to the following line or lines, as necessary.

     --ansi-color
                 Enable color support by parsing ANSI escape sequences.

     -geometry geometry
                 This option specifies the preferred size and position of the window; see X(1).
                 The default is “80x10+0+0.”

     -h, --help  Displays a detailed usage message and exits.

     -v, --version
                 Displays the program version and exits.

     file        Optionally specifies a file from which to read input; by default, xrootconsole
                 reads from the standard input.

DIAGNOSTICS

     Exit status is 0 on success, and 1 if the command fails for any reason.

AUTHORS

     Eric Youngblut is the original author of xrootconsole.  Bob Galloway ⟨bob@de-fac.to⟩ is the
     current maintainer.  Alexandre Duret-Lutz eliminated flicker by storing the background
     pixmap and drawing off-screen.  This manual page was written by Zak Johnson ⟨zakj@i.am⟩.