Provided by: root-tail_1.2-3ubuntu1_amd64 
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/