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appearance [2021-02-19 20:20] (current)
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| | ====== screen's Appearance ====== |
| | |
| | ===== Basics ===== |
| | |
| | The commands in this section include things that allow ''screen'' to |
| | communicate information to the user (like the ''[[commands:info]]'' |
| | command) and things that change how ''screen'' looks (like the |
| | ''[[commands:caption]]'' command). |
| | |
| | The information-providing commands are pretty simple: |
| | ''[[commands:info|C-a i]]'' gives some information about the current |
| | window; ''[[commands:time|C-a t]]'' displays some information about the |
| | system on which ''screen'' is running (including the current time); |
| | ''[[commands:lastmsg|C-a m]]'' redisplays the last message that ''screen'' |
| | displayed (in case you missed it); ''[[commands:version|C-a v]]'' displays |
| | information about the version of ''screen'' that's running; and |
| | ''[[commands:license|C-a ,]]'' displays the license information screen |
| | that is shown at ''screen'' startup by default. |
| | |
| | ===== Extras ===== |
| | |
| | ==== Hardstatus Lines ==== |
| | |
| | Some terminals, mostly hardware serial terminals, have a separate area of |
| | their display that is reserved as a status line. Many modern graphical |
| | terminals use the titlebar of the window for such status information. |
| | ''screen'' calls this a |
| | "hardstatus line". When ''screen'' starts, it checks to see if the |
| | ''hs'' termcap capability is set; if so, it assumes that there's a |
| | hardstatus line present. If there's a hardstatus line and the |
| | ''[[commands:hardstatus]]'' option is set to "on" (which is the default |
| | setting), ''screen'' will use the hardstatus line to display status |
| | messages. |
| | |
| | ''screen'' also advertises the hardstatus capability to programs running |
| | in its windows. When a program uses the hardstatus escape sequence |
| | (''ESC_//string//ESC\'') or the ''xterm'' title escape sequence |
| | (''ESC]0;//string//^G''), ''screen'' stores that //string// on a |
| | per-window basis. The per-window hardstatus string can also be changed |
| | with the ''[[commands:hstatus]]'' command (and the default hstatus for new |
| | windows can be set with ''[[commands:defhstatus]]''). |
| | |
| | The ''[[commands:hardstatus]]'' command can also be used to set a string |
| | that will be displayed in the hardstatus line when ''screen'' isn't using |
| | it to display messages. The string can contain any of ''screen'''s |
| | [[man:string escapes]]. The default value is ''%h'', which just displays |
| | the current window's hstatus string. |
| | |
| | ==== Status Bar ==== |
| | |
| | One of the most common things that ''screen'' users want to do is to have |
| | some sort of status bar at the bottom (or top) of the display. ''screen'' |
| | provides several ways to do this. |
| | |
| | If your terminal has a hardstatus line (as discussed above), you can use |
| | the ''[[commands:hardstatus]]'' string as a status bar. If you don't have |
| | a hardstatus line, you have two choices. The first is to use the command |
| | ''[[commands:hardstatus]] lastline'', which tells ''screen'' to reserve |
| | the last line of the display for use as a hardstatus line. With a |
| | ''[[commands:hardstatus]] string //param//'' command, you will get a |
| | status bar at the bottom of your display. |
| | |
| | The second option is to use the ''[[commands:caption]]'' command. When |
| | the display is split into multiple regions (see [[Region Management]] for |
| | more details), ''screen'' puts a caption at the bottom of each region. |
| | You can use the ''[[commands:caption]] always'' command to always display |
| | the caption, even if the display is not split. Just as with |
| | ''[[commands:hardstatus]]'', there's a ''[[commands:caption]] string |
| | //param//'' command that can be used to make a status bar. It uses all |
| | the same [[man:string escapes]] that the ''[[commands:hardstatus]]'' |
| | command does. |
| | |
| | There are tradeoffs for each of the two approaches. One big one is that |
| | it's common to (ab)use the hardstatus capability to |
| | [[faq#how_can_screen_use_xterm_s_title_bar|put things into ''xterm'''s |
| | title bar]]. If you plan to do that, you'll need to use the caption for |
| | your status bar. Another tradeoff is that you might want different |
| | information available in the captions for split displays than in your main |
| | status bar. In that case, you'd want to use the hardstatus line for the |
| | status bar. |
| | |
| | ==== Bells ==== |
| | |
| | ''screen'' can either use an audible bell or a visual bell, as controlled |
| | by the ''[[commands:vbell]]'' command. If ''[[commands:vbell]]'' is off, |
| | when ''screen'' receives an ASCII BEL character in the current window, it |
| | sends a bell character (usually an ASCII BEL, but it depends on what the |
| | terminal's termcap says) to the display (which will, presumably, beep). |
| | If ''[[commands:vbell]]'' is on, when ''screen'' receives a BEL character, |
| | it either triggers the display terminal's visual bell, if the terminal's |
| | termcap has a ''vb'' capability, or it flashes the screen and displays the |
| | ''[[commands:vbell_msg]]''. ''[[commands:vbell|C-a C-g]]'' will toggle |
| | ''[[commands:vbell]]'' on and off. |
| | |
| | If ''screen'' receives a bell in a window other than the current one, it |
| | displays the ''[[commands:bell_msg]]'' onscreen. |
| | |
| | ==== Window Size ==== |
| | |
| | A ''screen'' window does not have to be the same size as the display |
| | that's connected to it, although ''screen'' will resize windows to the |
| | display when you switch to them. This only applies to the first display |
| | showing the window; if another connected display, either from the ''-x'' |
| | [[man:Command-Line Options|command-line option]] or from a [[:multiuser]] |
| | session, switches to an already-displayed window, the window keeps the |
| | size set by the first display. |
| | |
| | The ''[[commands:height]]'' command can change either the height or the |
| | height and width of a window. (If you want to just change the width, use |
| | the ''[[commands:width]]'' command, which is exactly like |
| | ''[[commands:height]]'' with the arguments reversed.) If the display's |
| | termcap supports it, screen will change both the display terminal's and |
| | the current window's dimensions. You can specify changing just the |
| | display or just the window with the ''-d'' and ''-w'' options, |
| | respectively. |
| | |
| | If a window's dimensions have gotten out of sync with a display's, you can |
| | use the ''[[commands:fit|C-a F]]'' command to resize the window to the |
| | display. |
| | |
| | |
| | ===== Command Line ===== |
| | |
| | * ''-A'' - Disables one aspect of screen's default behavior: Normally, if the terminal can be resized, then screen will resize the terminal to fit the dimensions of the windows it's displaying. When ''-A'' is given, resizable terminals work just like nonresizable terminals--the windows are resized to fit the dimensions of the display. (See below for Windows PuTTY) |
| | |
| | ===== Keybindings ===== |
| | |
| | * ''C-a C'' - (''[[commands:clear]]'') Clears the current window. |
| | * ''C-a F'' - (''[[commands:fit]]'') Fits the current window to the display's dimensions. |
| | * ''C-a C-g'' - (''[[commands:vbell]]'') Toggles visual bell mode. |
| | * ''C-a i'' - (''[[commands:info]]'') Displays information about the current window. |
| | * ''C-a m'' - (''[[commands:lastmsg]]'') Redisplays the last message for this display. |
| | * ''C-a t'' - (''[[commands:time]]'') Displays system information. |
| | * ''C-a v'' - (''[[commands:version]]'') Displays screen's version information. |
| | * ''C-a W'' - (''[[commands:width]]'') Toggles the display between 80 and 132 columns. |
| | * ''C-a ,'' - (''[[commands:license]]'') Displays screen's license information. |
| | |
| | ===== Commands ===== |
| | |
| | * ''[[commands:attrcolor]]'' - Remaps the effect of text attributes. |
| | * ''[[commands:autonuke]]'' - Determines whether a given window will attempt to display buffered text after a clear command is received. |
| | * ''[[commands:bell_msg]]'' - Changes the message printed when a bell character is received in another window. |
| | * ''[[commands:caption]]'' - Controls the display of the caption line at the bottom of screen windows. |
| | * ''[[commands:clear]]'' - Clears the current window, but puts its text into the scrollback buffer. |
| | * ''[[commands:defautonuke]]'' - Changes the default ''[[commands:autonuke]]'' setting for new windows. |
| | * ''[[commands:defhstatus]]'' - Sets the default hardstatus line for new windows. |
| | * ''[[commands:echo]]'' - Displays a message on the current display as if it were a screen message. |
| | * ''[[commands:fit]]'' - Resizes the window to fit the current display region. |
| | * ''[[commands:height]]'' - Changes the dimensions of the window or the display. |
| | * ''[[commands:info]]'' - Display information about screen and the current window in the message area. |
| | * ''[[commands:license]]'' - Displays screen's license, as happens when screen starts up. |
| | * ''[[commands:nethack]]'' - Controls the use of nethack-themed messages from ''screen''. |
| | * ''[[commands:hardstatus]]'' - Controls use of the terminal's hardstatus line (if any) for displaying screen messages. |
| | * ''[[commands:hstatus]]'' - Synonym for ''[[commands:hardstatus]] string //status//''. |
| | * ''[[commands:lastmsg]]'' - Redisplays the last message that screen showed on the current display. |
| | * ''[[commands:msgminwait]]'' - Sets the minimum length of time that a screen message will be visible even if the user interacts with screen. |
| | * ''[[commands:msgwait]]'' - Sets the length of time that a message will remain visible if the user does not interact with screen during the lifetime of the message. |
| | * ''[[commands:sorendition]]'' - Defines the visual appearance of screen's messages. |
| | * ''[[commands:startup_message]]'' - Enables or disables the display of screen's license information when screen starts up. |
| | * ''[[commands:time]]'' - Displays (or controls the display of) system information. |
| | * ''[[commands:vbell]]'' - Sets or toggles the visual bell. |
| | * ''[[commands:vbell_msg]]'' - Sets or displays the message displayed for visual bells. |
| | * ''[[commands:vbellwait]]'' - Defines a hysteresis for visual bells. |
| | * ''[[commands:version]]'' - Uses the message area to display screen's version and compile date. |
| | * ''[[commands:wall]]'' - Like ''[[commands:echo]]'', but sends the message to all displays, with the name of the current user prepended. |
| | * ''[[commands:width]]'' - Like ''[[commands:height]]'', but with the order of arguments reversed. |
| | |
| | ===== Examples ===== |
| | |
| | ==== Status Bar Examples ==== |
| | |
| | === Simple window list === |
| | |
| | You can force the status line to always stay at the bottom of the screen |
| | and set up a statusline string that displays the window information by |
| | adding either of these to your .screenrc: |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | hardstatus alwayslastline "%w" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | caption always "%w" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | === Highlighted current window === |
| | |
| | This puts the current window in bold and surrounded by brackets: |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | caption always "%{-b ..}%-w%{+b ..}[[%n%f*%t]]%{-}%+w" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | === Window list centered on current window === |
| | |
| | See the examples in [[truncation/padding escapes]], particularly the last |
| | example. |
| | |
| | === Centered window list === |
| | |
| | This small snippet for your .screenrc uses both the caption and hardstatus |
| | line to give a two-line statusbar at the bottom of the display. The upper |
| | line (the caption line) consists of the number and name of all open |
| | windows, black on white background, with the active window centered and |
| | highlighted. The lower line (the hardstatus line) shows the window |
| | number, window name and the window's hardstatus in white on black. |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | hardstatus alwayslastline "%= %3n %t%? [%h]%? %=" |
| | caption always "%= %-w%L>%{= BW}%n*%t%{-}%52<%+w %L=" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | === Status bar and xterm title === |
| | |
| | In this section, we'll build up a configuration that uses the ''xterm'' |
| | title bar as a hardstatus line and displays a status bar at the bottom of |
| | the screen. |
| | |
| | To start with, we'll tell screen that ''xterm''s (and some other terminals |
| | that use the same escape sequences) do have a hardstatus line, and we'll |
| | use the escape sequences for setting the title bar as the hardstatus |
| | escape sequences: |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | termcapinfo xterm*|Eterm|mlterm "hs:ts=\E]0;:fs=\007:ds=\E]0;screen\007" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | Title bars aren't good places for actual status messages, so we'll tell |
| | screen not to use the hardstatus line for status messages (they'll be |
| | displayed at the bottom of the screen, just as if there was no hardstatus |
| | line): |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | hardstatus off |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | We'll set the hardstatus string to show us the number and title of the |
| | current window, as well as the window's hstatus string. Because of the |
| | ''%?'' escapes, the brackets are only shown if the window has an hstatus |
| | string: |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | hardstatus string "screen %n (%t)%? [%h]%?" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | Finally, we have the caption that makes for our status bar at the bottom |
| | of the screen. It makes use of the ''%F'' escape to change the colors |
| | depending on whether it's attached to the window with the focus. This |
| | causes the currently-focused window to stand out. |
| | |
| | If the caption is on a non-focused window, the entire bar is blue text on |
| | a blue background (so it just looks blue), with the exception of the |
| | window's information, which is blue on yellow. The focused (or only) |
| | window's caption has a blue-on-cyan information section with the date and |
| | computer name, followed by the window list in white on blue. The current |
| | window is centered in the window list and is displayed in blue on yellow: |
| | |
| | <code> |
| | caption always "%?%F%{-b bc}%:%{-b bb}%?%C|%D|%M %d|%H%?%F%{+u wb}%? %L=%-Lw%45>%{+b by}%n%f*%t%{-}%+Lw%-0<" |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | ===== Screen resizing despite -A when using PuTTY on Windows, iTerm2 on Mac OS X ===== |
| | |
| | With GNU ''screen'' 2009-05-15 ([[git://git.savannah.gnu.org/screen.git]] :: 9cdf8e20), the resize disable command line option ''-A'' does not work with PuTTY on Windows (0.60). One way to work around this is to disable the terminal feature for remote-controlled terminal resizing in PuTTY. This setting is found in "Terminal" > "Features" > "Disable remote-controlled terminal resizing". After this you do not need to specify ''-A'' since ''screen'' will now force a resizing. |
| | |
| | The same problem occurs with iTerm 2 on Mac OS X, and the solution is approximately the same: in your profile, select the ''terminal'' tab, then mark the checkbox ''Disable session-initiated window resizing''. |
| |
