Provided by: nvidia-settings_331.20-0ubuntu8_amd64 bug

NAME

       nvidia-settings - configure the NVIDIA graphics driver

SYNOPSIS

       nvidia-settings [options]
       nvidia-settings [options] --no-config
       nvidia-settings [options] --load-config-only
       nvidia-settings [options] {--query=attr | --assign=attr=value} ...
       nvidia-settings [options] --glxinfo

       Options: [-vh] [--config=configfile] [-c ctrl-display]
                [--verbose={none | errors | deprecations | warnings | all}]
                [--describe={all | list | attribute_name}]

       attr has the form:
            DISPLAY/attribute_name[display_devices]

DESCRIPTION

       The  nvidia-settings  utility  is  a  tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver.  It
       operates by communicating with the  NVIDIA  X  driver,  querying  and  updating  state  as
       appropriate.   This  communication  is  done  via the NV-CONTROL, GLX, XVideo, and RandR X
       extensions.

       Values such as brightness and gamma, XVideo attributes, temperature, and  OpenGL  settings
       can be queried and configured via nvidia-settings.

       When nvidia-settings starts, it reads the current settings from its configuration file and
       sends those settings to the X server.  Then, it displays a graphical user interface  (GUI)
       for  configuring the current settings.  When nvidia-settings exits, it queries the current
       settings from the X server and saves them to the configuration file.

OPTIONS

       -v, --version
              Print the nvidia-settings version and exit.

       -h, --help
              Print usage information and exit.

       --config=CONFIG
              Use the configuration file CONFIG rather than the default ~/.nvidia-settings-rc

       -c CTRL-DISPLAY, --ctrl-display=CTRL-DISPLAY
              Control the specified X display.  If this option is not given, then nvidia-settings
              will  control the display specified by '--display' ; if that is not given, then the
              $DISPLAY environment variable is used.

       -l, --load-config-only
              Load the configuration file, send the values specified therein to the X server, and
              exit.  This mode of operation is useful to place in your xinitrc file, for example.

       -n, --no-config
              Do  not  load  the  configuration  file.   This  mode  of  operation  is  useful if
              nvidia-settings has difficulties starting due to problems with applying settings in
              the configuration file.

       -r, --rewrite-config-file
              Write  the  X  server  configuration  to  the configuration file, and exit, without
              starting the graphical user interface.  See EXAMPLES section.

       -V VERBOSE, --verbose=VERBOSE
              Controls how much information is printed.  Valid values are 'none'  (do  not  print
              status  messages), 'errors' (print error messages), 'deprecations' (print error and
              deprecation messages), 'warnings' (print error, deprecation, and warning messages),
              and 'all' (print error, deprecation, warning and other informational messages).  By
              default, 'deprecations' is set.

       -a ASSIGN, --assign=ASSIGN
              The ASSIGN argument to the '--assign' command line option is of the form:

                {DISPLAY}/{attribute name}[{display devices}]={value}

              This assigns the attribute {attribute name} to the value {value} on the  X  Display
              {DISPLAY}.   {DISPLAY}  follows  the  usual {host}:{display}.{screen} syntax of the
              DISPLAY environment variable and is optional; when it is not specified, then it  is
              implied  following  the same rule as the --ctrl-display option.  If the X screen is
              not specified, then the assignment is made to all X screens.  Note that the '/'  is
              only required when {DISPLAY} is present.

              {DISPLAY}  can  additionally include a target specification to direct an assignment
              to something other than an X screen.  A target specification  is  contained  within
              brackets  and  consists  of  a  target  type name, a colon, and the target id.  The
              target type name can be one of screen , gpu , framelock , vcs , gvi , or fan ;  the
              target id is the index into the list of targets (for that target type).  The target
              specification can be used in {DISPLAY} wherever an X screen can be used,  following
              the syntax {host}:{display}[{target_type}:{target_id}].  See the output of

                nvidia-settings -q all

              for  information  on which target types can be used with which attributes.  See the
              output of

                 nvidia-settings -q screens -q gpus -q framelocks -q vcs -q gvis -q fans

              for lists of targets for each target type.

              The [{display devices}] portion is also optional; if it is not specified, then  the
              attribute is assigned to all display devices.

              Some examples:

                -a FSAA=5
                -a localhost:0.0/DigitalVibrance[CRT-0]=0
                --assign="SyncToVBlank=1"
                -a [gpu:0]/DigitalVibrance[DFP-1]=63

       -q QUERY, --query=QUERY
              The QUERY argument to the '--query' command line option is of the form:

                {DISPLAY}/{attribute name}[{display devices}]

              This  queries  the current value of the attribute {attribute name} on the X Display
              {DISPLAY}.  The syntax is the same as that for the '--assign'  option,  without  '=
              {value}'  ;  specify '-q screens', '-q gpus', '-q framelocks', '-q vcs', '-q gvis',
              or '-q fans' to query a list  of  X  screens,  GPUs,  Frame  Lock  devices,  Visual
              Computing  Systems,  SDI  Input Devices, or Fans, respectively, that are present on
              the X Display {DISPLAY}.  Specify '-q all' to query all attributes.

       -t, --terse
              When querying attribute values with the '--query' command line option,  only  print
              the  current  value, rather than the more verbose description of the attribute, its
              valid values, and its current value.

       -d, --display-device-string
              When printing attribute  values  in  response  to  the  '--query'  option,  if  the
              attribute  value  is  a  display  device mask, print the value as a list of display
              devices  (e.g.,  "CRT-0,  DFP-0"),  rather  than  a  hexadecimal  bit  mask  (e.g.,
              0x00010001).

       -g, --glxinfo
              Print GLX Information for the X display and exit.

       -e DESCRIBE, --describe=DESCRIBE
              Prints  information  about  a  particular  attribute.   Specify  'all'  to list the
              descriptions of all attributes.  Specify 'list' to list the attribute names without
              a descriptions.

       -p PAGE, --page=PAGE
              The  PAGE  argument to the '--page' commandline option selects a particular page in
              the nvidia-settings user interface to display upon starting nvidia-settings.  Valid
              values  are the page names in the tree view on the left side of the nvidia-settings
              user interface; e.g.,

                --page="X Screen 0"

              Because some page names are not unique (e.g., a "PowerMizer" page is present  under
              each  GPU), the page name can optionally be prepended with the name of the parent X
              Screen or GPU page, followed by a comma.  E.g.,

                --page="GPU 0 - (Quadro 6000), PowerMizer"

              The first page with a name matching the PAGE argument will be  used.   By  default,
              the "X Server Information" page is displayed.

       -L, --list-targets-only
              When  performing  an attribute query (from the '--query' command line option) or an
              attribute assignment (from the '--assign' command line option or  when  loading  an
              ~/.nvidia-settings-rc  file),  nvidia-settings  identifies  one  or more targets on
              which to query/assign the attribute.

USER GUIDE

   Contents
       1.   Layout of the nvidia-settings GUI
       2.   How OpenGL Interacts with nvidia-settings
       3.   Loading Settings Automatically
       4.   Command Line Interface
       5.   X Display Names in the Config File
       6.   Connecting to Remote X Servers
       7.   Licensing
       8.   TODO

   1. Layout of the nvidia-settings GUI
       The nvidia-settings GUI is organized with a list of different categories on the left side.
       Only  one  entry  in  the list can be selected at once, and the selected category controls
       which "page" is displayed on the right side of the nvidia-settings GUI.

       The  category  list  is  organized  in  a  tree:  each  X  screen  contains  the  relevant
       subcategories  beneath  it.  Similarly, the Display Devices category for a screen contains
       all the enabled display devices beneath it.  Besides each X screen, the  other  top  level
       category   is   "nvidia-settings   Configuration",   which   configures  behavior  of  the
       nvidia-settings application itself.

       Along the bottom of the nvidia-settings GUI, from left to right, is:

       1)     a status bar which indicates the most recently altered option;

       2)     a Help button that toggles the display of a help window which provides  a  detailed
              explanation of the available options in the current page; and

       3)     a Quit button to exit nvidia-settings.

       Most  options  throughout nvidia-settings are applied immediately.  Notable exceptions are
       OpenGL options which are only read by OpenGL when an OpenGL application starts.

       Details about the options on each page  of  nvidia-settings  are  available  in  the  help
       window.

   2. How OpenGL Interacts with nvidia-settings
       When  an OpenGL application starts, it downloads the current values from the X driver, and
       then reads the environment (see APPENDIX E: OPENGL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE  SETTINGS  in  the
       README).   Settings  from the X server override OpenGL's default values, and settings from
       the environment override values from the X server.

       For example, by default  OpenGL  uses  the  FSAA  setting  requested  by  the  application
       (normally,  applications  do  not  request  any  FSAA).   An  FSAA  setting  specified  in
       nvidia-settings  would  override  the  OpenGL  application's  request.    Similarly,   the
       __GL_FSAA_MODE  environment variable will override the application's FSAA setting, as well
       as any FSAA setting specified in nvidia-settings.

       Note that an OpenGL application only retrieves settings from the X server when it  starts,
       so  if  you  make  a  change  to an OpenGL value in nvidia-settings, it will only apply to
       OpenGL applications which are started after that point in time.

   3. Loading Settings Automatically
       The NVIDIA X driver does not preserve values set with nvidia-settings between runs of  the
       X  server  (or  even  between logging in and logging out of X, with xdm(1), gdm, or kdm ).
       This is intentional, because different users may have different  preferences,  thus  these
       settings  are stored on a per-user basis in a configuration file stored in the user's home
       directory.

       The configuration file is  named  ~/.nvidia-settings-rc.   You  can  specify  a  different
       configuration file name with the --config command line option.

       After  you  have run nvidia-settings once and have generated a configuration file, you can
       then run:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only

       at any time in the future to upload these settings to the X server  again.   For  example,
       you  might  place  the  above  command  in  your ~/.xinitrc file so that your settings are
       applied automatically when you log in to X.

       Your .xinitrc file, which controls what X applications should be started when you log into
       X (or startx), might look something like this:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only &
            xterm &
            evilwm

       or:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only &
            gnome-session

       If  you  do not already have an ~/.xinitrc file, then chances are that xinit(1) is using a
       system-wide xinitrc file.  This system wide file is typically here:

            /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

       To use it, but also have  nvidia-settings  upload  your  settings,  you  could  create  an
       ~/.xinitrc with the contents:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only &
            . /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

       System administrators may choose to place the nvidia-settings load command directly in the
       system xinitrc script.

       Please see the xinit(1) man page for further details of configuring your ~/.xinitrc file.

   4. Command Line Interface
       nvidia-settings has a rich command line interface: all attributes that can be  manipulated
       with  the  GUI can also be queried and set from the command line.  The command line syntax
       for  querying  and  assigning  attributes  matches   that   of   the   .nvidia-settings-rc
       configuration file.

       The  --query  option can be used to query the current value of attributes.  This will also
       report the valid values for the attribute.  You can run nvidia-settings --query all for  a
       complete  list  of  available attributes, what the current value is, what values are valid
       for the attribute, and through which target types (e.g., X screens, GPUs)  the  attributes
       can be addressed.  Additionally, individual attributes may be specified like this:

               nvidia-settings --query Overlay

       An  attribute name may be prepended with an X Display name and a forward slash to indicate
       a different X Display; e.g.:

               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0.0/Overlay

       An attribute name may also just be prepended with the screen number and a forward slash:

               nvidia-settings --query 0/Overlay

       in which case the default X Display will be used, but you can indicate to which  X  screen
       to  direct  the  query  (if  your  X  server  has  multiple X screens).  If no X screen is
       specified, then the attribute value will be queried for all valid targets of the attribute
       (eg GPUs, Displays X screens, etc).

       Attributes  can  be  addressed through "target types".  A target type indicates the object
       that is queried when you query an attribute.  The default target type is an X screen,  but
       other  possible  target  types are GPUs, Frame Lock devices, Visual Computing Systems, SDI
       Input Devices, and fans.

       Target  types  give  you  different  granularities  with  which  to  perform  queries  and
       assignments.   Since  X  screens can span multiple GPUs (in the case of Xinerama, or SLI),
       and multiple X screens can exist on the same  GPU,  it  is  sometimes  useful  to  address
       attributes by GPU rather than X screen.

       A target specification is contained within brackets and may consist of a target type name,
       a colon, and the target id.  The target type name can be one of  screen,  gpu,  framelock,
       vcs,  gvi,  fan,  thermalsensor,  svp, or dpy; the target id is the index into the list of
       targets (for that target type).  Target specifications can be used wherever an X screen is
       used  in  query  and  assignment  commands; the target specification can be used either by
       itself on the left side of the forward slash, or as part of an X Display name.

       For example, the following queries address X screen 0 on the localhost:

               nvidia-settings --query 0/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0.0/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query [screen:0]/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0[screen:0]/VideoRam

       To address GPU 0 instead, you can use either of:

               nvidia-settings --query [gpu:0]/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0[gpu:0]/VideoRam

       Note that if a target specification is present, it will override any X screen specified in
       the display name as the target to process.  For example, the following query would address
       GPU 0, and not X screen 1:

            nvidia-settings --query localhost:0.1[gpu:0]/VideoRam

       A target name may be used instead of a target id, in which case all targets with  matching
       names are processed.

       For example, querying the DigitalVibrance of display device DVI-I-1 may be done like so:

            nvidia-settings --query [dpy:DVI-I-1]/DigitalVibrance

       When  a  target name is specified, the target type name may be omitted, though this should
       be used with caution since the name will be matched across all target  types.   The  above
       example could be written as:

            nvidia-settings --query [DVI-I-1]/DigitalVibrance

       The  target  name may also simply be a target type name, in which case all targets of that
       type will be queried.

       For exmple, querying the BusRate of all GPUs may be done like so:

            nvidia-settings --query [gpu]/BusRate

       The target specification may also include a target qualifier.  This  is  useful  to  limit
       processing  to a subset of targets, based on an existing relationship(s) to other targets.
       The target qualifier is specified by prepending a target type name, a  colon,  the  target
       id, and a period to the existing specification.  Only one qualitfer may be specified.

       For example, querying the RefreshRate of all DFP devices on GPU 1 may be done like so:

            nvidia-settings --query [GPU:1.DPY:DFP]/RefreshRate

       Likewise,  a  simple  target name (or target type name) may be used as the qualifier.  For
       example, to query the BusType of all GPUs that have DFPs can be done like so:

            nvidia-settings --query [DFP.GPU]/BusType

       See the output of

               nvidia-settings --query all

       for what targets types can be used with each attribute.  See the output of

               nvidia-settings --query screens --query gpus --query framelocks --query vcs --query gvis --query fans

       for lists of targets for each target type.

       The --assign option can be used to assign a new value to an attribute.  The  valid  values
       for  an  attribute are reported when the attribute is queried.  The syntax for --assign is
       the same as --query, with the additional requirement that assignments also have  an  equal
       sign and the new value.  For example:

               nvidia-settings --assign FSAA=2
               nvidia-settings --assign [CRT-1]/DigitalVibrance=9
               nvidia-settings --assign [gpu:0]/DigitalVibrance=0

       Multiple  queries  and  assignments  may  be  specified  on  the command line for a single
       invocation of nvidia-settings.  Assignments are processed in the order they are entered on
       the  command  line.  If multiple assignments are made to the same attribute or to multiple
       attributes with dependencies, then the later assignments will have priority.

       If either the --query or --assign options are passed to nvidia-settings, the GUI will  not
       be  presented,  and  nvidia-settings  will  exit  after  processing the assignments and/or
       queries.  In this case, settings contained within the ~/.nvidia-settings-rc  configuration
       file   will   not   be   automatically   uploaded   to   the   X   server,  nor  will  the
       ~/.nvidia-settings-rc configuration file be automatically  updated  to  reflect  attribute
       assignments made via the --assign option.

   5. X Display Names in the Config File
       In  the  Command  Line  Interface  section  above,  it  was  noted that you can specify an
       attribute without any X Display qualifiers, with only an X screen  qualifier,  or  with  a
       full X Display name.  For example:

               nvidia-settings --query FSAA
               nvidia-settings --query 0/FSAA
               nvidia-settings --query stravinsky.nvidia.com:0/FSAA

       In the first two cases, the default X Display will be used, in the second case, the screen
       from the default X Display can be overridden, and in the third case, the entire default  X
       Display can be overridden.

       The same possibilities are available in the ~/.nvidia-settings-rc configuration file.

       For  example,  in  a  computer  lab  environment,  you  might  log  into  any  of multiple
       workstations, and your home directory is NFS mounted  to  each  workstation.   In  such  a
       situation,  you  might  want  your  ~/.nvidia-settings-rc file to be applicable to all the
       workstations.  Therefore, you would not want your config file to  qualify  each  attribute
       with  an  X  Display  Name.  Leave the "Include X Display Names in the Config File" option
       unchecked on the nvidia-settings Configuration page (this is the default).

       There may be cases when you do want attributes in the config file to be qualified with the
       X  Display  name.   If  you  know what you are doing and want config file attributes to be
       qualified with an X Display, check the "Include X Display Names in the Config File" option
       on the nvidia-settings Configuration page.

       In  the  typical  home user environment where your home directory is local to one computer
       and you are only configuring one X Display, then it does not matter whether each attribute
       setting is qualified with an X Display Name.

   6. Connecting to Remote X Servers
       nvidia-settings  is  an  X client, but uses two separate X connections: one to display the
       GUI, and another to communicate the NV-CONTROL requests.  These two X connections  do  not
       need  to  be  to  the  same  X  server.  For example, you might run nvidia-settings on the
       computer stravinsky.nvidia.com, export the display to the computer bartok.nvidia.com,  but
       be configuring the X server on the computer schoenberg.nvidia.com:

               nvidia-settings --display=bartok.nvidia.com:0 \
                   --ctrl-display=schoenberg.nvidia.com:0

       If  --ctrl-display  is  not  specified,  then  the  X Display to control is what --display
       indicates.  If --display is also not specified, then the $DISPLAY environment variable  is
       used.

       Note,  however,  that  you  will  need  to have X permissions configured such that you can
       establish an X connection from the computer  on  which  you  are  running  nvidia-settings
       (stravinsky.nvidia.com)   to   the   computer   where   you   are   displaying   the   GUI
       (bartok.nvidia.com)   and   the   computer   whose   X   Display   you   are   configuring
       (schoenberg.nvidia.com).

       The  simplest,  most  common,  and  least secure mechanism to do this is to use 'xhost' to
       allow access from the computer on which you are running nvidia-settings.

               (issued from bartok.nvidia.com)
               xhost +stravinsky.nvidia.com

               (issued from schoenberg.nvidia.com)
               xhost +stravinsky.nvidia.com

       This will allow all X clients run on  stravinsky.nvidia.com  to  connect  and  display  on
       bartok.nvidia.com's X server and configure schoenberg.nvidia.com's X server.

       Please  see  the xauth(1) and xhost(1) man pages, or refer to your system documentation on
       remote X applications and security.  You might also Google for terms  such  as  "remote  X
       security" or "remote X Windows", and see documents such as the Remote X Apps mini-HOWTO:

            ⟨http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-X-Apps.html⟩

       Please  also  note  that  the  remote X server to be controlled must be using the NVIDIA X
       driver.

   7. Licensing
       The source code to nvidia-settings is released as GPL.  The most recent  official  version
       of the source code is available here:

            ⟨ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/nvidia-settings/⟩

       Note  that  nvidia-settings  is  simply  an  NV-CONTROL  client.  It uses the NV-CONTROL X
       extension to communicate with the NVIDIA X server  to  query  current  settings  and  make
       changes to settings.

       You  can  make additions directly to nvidia-settings, or write your own NV-CONTROL client,
       using nvidia-settings as an example.

       Documentation on the NV-CONTROL extension and additional sample clients are  available  in
       the nvidia-settings source tarball.  Patches can be submitted to linux-bugs@nvidia.com.

   8. TODO
       There are many things still to be added to nvidia-settings, some of which include:

       -      different  toolkits?   The  GUI  for nvidia-settings is cleanly abstracted from the
              back-end of nvidia-settings that parses the configuration file  and  command  line,
              communicates  with  the  X  server,  etc.  If someone were so inclined, a different
              front-end GUI could be implemented.

       -      write a design document explaining how nvidia-settings is designed; presumably this
              would make it easier for people to become familiar with the code base.

       If  there  are  other things you would like to see added (or better yet, would like to add
       yourself), please contact linux-bugs@nvidia.com.

FILES

       ~/.nvidia-settings-rc

EXAMPLES

       nvidia-settings
              Starts the nvidia-settings graphical interface.

       nvidia-settings --load-config-only
              Loads the settings stored in ~/.nvidia-settings-rc and exits.

       nvidia-settings --rewrite-config-file
              Writes the current X server configuration to ~/.nvidia-settings-rc file and exits.

       nvidia-settings --query FSAA
              Query the value of the full-screen antialiasing setting.

       nvidia-settings --assign RedGamma=2.0 --assign BlueGamma=2.0 --assign GreenGamma=2.0
              Set the gamma of the screen to 2.0.

AUTHOR

       Aaron Plattner
       NVIDIA Corporation

SEE ALSO

       nvidia-xconfig(1), nvidia-installer(1)

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 2010 NVIDIA Corporation.