path: root/doc/screen.info-3

This is Info file screen.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.55 from the input
file ./screen.texinfo.

   This file documents the `Screen' virtual terminal manager.

   Copyright (c) 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Foundation.


File: screen.info,  Node: Key Binding,  Next: Flow Control,  Prev: Subprocess Execution,  Up: Top

Key Binding
***********

   You may disagree with some of the default bindings (I know I do).
The `bind' command allows you to redefine them to suit your preferences.

* Menu:

* Bind::                        `bind' syntax.
* Bind Examples::               Using `bind'.
* Command Character::           The character used to start keyboard commands.
* Help::                        Show current key bindings.
* Bindkey::			`bindkey' syntax.
* Bindkey Examples::		Some easy examples.
* Bindkey Control::		How to control the bindkey mechanism.


File: screen.info,  Node: Bind,  Next: Bind Examples,  Up: Key Binding

The `bind' command
==================

 - Command: bind KEY [COMMAND [ARGS]]
     (none)
     Bind a command to a key.  The KEY argument is either a single
     character, a two-character sequence of the form `^x' (meaning
     `C-x'), a backslash followed by an octal number (specifying the
     ASCII code of the character), or a backslash followed by a second
     character, such as `\^' or `\\'.  The argument can also be quoted,
     if you like.  If no further argument is given, any previously
     established binding for this key is removed.  The COMMAND argument
     can be any command (*note Command Index::.).

     By default, most suitable commands are bound to one or more keys
     (*note Default Key Bindings::.; for instance, the command to
     create a new window is bound to `C-c' and `c'.  The `bind' command
     can be used to redefine the key bindings and to define new
     bindings.


File: screen.info,  Node: Bind Examples,  Next: Command Character,  Prev: Bind,  Up: Key Binding

Examples of the `bind' command
==============================

Some examples:

     bind ' ' windows
     bind ^f screen telnet foobar
     bind \033 screen -ln -t root -h 1000 9 su

would bind the space key to the command that displays a list of windows
(so that the command usually invoked by `C-a C-w' would also be
available as `C-a space'), bind `C-f' to the command "create a window
with a TELNET connection to foobar", and bind ESC to the command that
creates an non-login window with title `root' in slot #9, with a
super-user shell and a scrollbackbuffer of 1000 lines.


File: screen.info,  Node: Command Character,  Next: Help,  Prev: Bind Examples,  Up: Key Binding

Command Character
=================

 - Command: escape XY
     (none)
     Set the command character to X and the character generating a
     literal command character to Y (just like with the `-e' option).
     Each argument is either a single character, a two-character
     sequence of the form `^x' (meaning `C-x'), a backslash followed by
     an octal number (specifying the ASCII code of the character), or a
     backslash followed by a second character, such as `\^' or `\\'.
     The default is `^Aa', but ```' is recommended by one of the
     authors.

 - Command: defescape XY
     (none)
     Set the default command characters. This is equivalent to the
     command `escape' except that it is useful for multiuser sessions
     only.  In a multiuser session `escape' changes the command
     character of the calling user, where `defescape' changes the
     default command characters for users that will be added later.

 - Command: meta
     (`C-a a')
     Send the command character (`C-a') to the process in the current
     window.  The keystroke for this command is the second parameter to
     the `-e' command line switch (*note Invoking Screen::.), or the
     `escape' .screenrc directive.

 - Command: command
     (none)
     This command has the same effect as typing the screen escape
     character (`C-a'). It is probably only useful for key bindings.
     *Note Bindkey::.


File: screen.info,  Node: Help,  Next: Bindkey,  Prev: Command Character,  Up: Key Binding

Help
====

 - Command: help
     (`C-a ?')
     Displays a help screen showing you all the key bindings.  The first
     pages list all the internal commands followed by their bindings.
     Subsequent pages will display the custom commands, one command per
     key.  Press space when you're done reading each page, or return to
     exit early.  All other characters are ignored.  *Note Default Key
     Bindings::.


File: screen.info,  Node: Bindkey,  Next: Bindkey Examples,  Prev: Help,  Up: Key Binding

Bindkey
=======

 - Command: bindkey [OPTS] [STRING [CMD ARGS]]
     (none)
     This command manages screen's input translation tables. Every
     entry in one of the tables tells screen how to react if a certain
     sequence of characters is encountered. There are three tables: one
     that should contain actions programmed by the user, one for the
     default actions used for terminal emulation and one for screen's
     copy mode to do cursor movement. *Note Input Translation:: for a
     list of default key bindings.

     If the `-d' option is given, bindkey modifies the default table,
     `-m' changes the copy mode table and with neither option the user
     table is selected. The argument `string' is the sequence of
     characters to which an action is bound. This can either be a fixed
     tring or a termcap keyboard capability name (selectable with the
     `-k' option).

     Some keys on a VT100 terminal can send a different string if
     application mode is turned on (e.g. the cursor keys).  Such keys
     have two entries in the translation table. You can select the
     application mode entry by specifying the `-a' option.

     The `-t' option tells screen not to do intercharacter timing. One
     cannot turn off the timing if a termcap capabilty is used.

     `cmd' can be any of screen's commands with an arbitrary number of
     `args'. If `cmd' is omitted the keybinding is removed from the
     table.


File: screen.info,  Node: Bindkey Examples,  Next: Bindkey Control,  Prev: Bindkey,  Up: Key Binding

Bindkey Examples
================

Here are some examples of keyboard bindings:

     bindkey -d

Show all of the default key bindings. The application mode entries are
marked with [A].

     bindkey -k k1 select 1

Make the "F1" key switch to window one.

     bindkey -t foo stuff barfoo

Make `foo' an abrevation of the word `barfoo'. Timeout is disabled so
that users can type slowly.

     bindkey "\024" mapdefault

This keybinding makes `C-t' an escape character for keybindings. If you
did the above `stuff barfoo' binding, you can enter the word `foo' by
typing `C-t foo'. If you want to insert a `C-t' you have to press the
key twice (i.e. escape the escape binding).

     bindkey -k F1 command

Make the F11 (not F1!) key an alternative screen escape (besides `C-a').


File: screen.info,  Node: Bindkey Control,  Prev: Bindkey Examples,  Up: Key Binding

Bindkey Control
===============

 - Command: mapdefault
     (none)
     Tell screen that the next input character should only be looked up
     in the default bindkey table.

 - Command: mapnotnext
     (none)
     Like mapdefault, but don't even look in the default bindkey table.

 - Command: maptimeout TIMO
     (none)
     Set the intercharacter timer for input sequence detection to a
     timeout of TIMO ms. The default timeout is 300ms. Maptimeout with
     no arguments shows the current setting.


File: screen.info,  Node: Flow Control,  Next: Termcap,  Prev: Key Binding,  Up: Top

Flow Control
************

   `screen' can trap flow control characters or pass them to the
program, as you see fit.  This is useful when your terminal wants to use
XON/XOFF flow control and you are running a program which wants to use
^S/^Q for other purposes (i.e. `emacs').

* Menu:

* Flow Control Summary::        The effect of `screen' flow control
* Flow::                        Setting the flow control behavior
* XON/XOFF::                    Sending XON or XOFF to the window


File: screen.info,  Node: Flow Control Summary,  Next: Flow,  Up: Flow Control

About `screen' flow control settings
====================================

   Each window has a flow-control setting that determines how screen
deals with the XON and XOFF characters (and perhaps the interrupt
character).  When flow-control is turned off, screen ignores the XON
and XOFF characters, which allows the user to send them to the current
program by simply typing them (useful for the `emacs' editor, for
instance).  The trade-off is that it will take longer for output from a
"normal" program to pause in response to an XOFF.  With flow-control
turned on, XON and XOFF characters are used to immediately pause the
output of the current window.  You can still send these characters to
the current program, but you must use the appropriate two-character
screen commands (typically `C-a q' (xon) and `C-a s' (xoff)).  The
xon/xoff commands are also useful for typing C-s and C-q past a
terminal that intercepts these characters.

   Each window has an initial flow-control value set with either the
`-f' option or the `defflow' command.  By default the windows are set
to automatic flow-switching.  It can then be toggled between the three
states 'fixed on', 'fixed off' and 'automatic' interactively with the
`flow' command bound to `C-a f'.

   The automatic flow-switching mode deals with flow control using the
TIOCPKT mode (like `rlogin' does). If the tty driver does not support
TIOCPKT, screen tries to determine the right mode based on the current
setting of the application keypad -- when it is enabled, flow-control
is turned off and visa versa.  Of course, you can still manipulate
flow-control manually when needed.

   If you're running with flow-control enabled and find that pressing
the interrupt key (usually C-c) does not interrupt the display until
another 6-8 lines have scrolled by, try running screen with the
`interrupt' option (add the `interrupt' flag to the `flow' command in
your .screenrc, or use the `-i' command-line option).  This causes the
output that `screen' has accumulated from the interrupted program to be
flushed.  One disadvantage is that the virtual terminal's memory
contains the non-flushed version of the output, which in rare cases can
cause minor inaccuracies in the output.  For example, if you switch
screens and return, or update the screen with `C-a l' you would see the
version of the output you would have gotten without `interrupt' being
on.  Also, you might need to turn off flow-control (or use auto-flow
mode to turn it off automatically) when running a program that expects
you to type the interrupt character as input, as the `interrupt'
parameter only takes effect when flow-control is enabled.  If your
program's output is interrupted by mistake, a simple refresh of the
screen with `C-a l' will restore it.  Give each mode a try, and use
whichever mode you find more comfortable.


File: screen.info,  Node: Flow,  Next: XON/XOFF,  Prev: Flow Control Summary,  Up: Flow Control

Flow
====

 - Command: defflow FSTATE [INTERRUPT]
     (none)
     Same as the `flow' command except that the default setting for new
     windows is changed. Initial setting is `auto'.  Specifying `flow
     auto interrupt' has the same effect as the command-line options
     `-fa' and `-i'.  Note that if `interrupt' is enabled, all existing
     displays are changed immediately to forward interrupt signals.

 - Command: flow [FSTATE]
     (`C-a f', `C-a C-f')
     Sets the flow-control mode for this window to FSTATE, which can be
     `on', `off' or `auto'.  Without parameters it cycles the current
     window's flow-control setting.  Default is set by `defflow'.


File: screen.info,  Node: XON/XOFF,  Prev: Flow,  Up: Flow Control

XON and XOFF
============

 - Command: xon
     (`C-a q', `C-a C-q')
     Send a ^Q (ASCII XON) to the program in the current window.
     Redundant if flow control is set to `off' or `auto'.

 - Command: xoff
     (`C-a s', `C-a C-s')
     Send a ^S (ASCII XOFF) to the program in the current window.


File: screen.info,  Node: Termcap,  Next: Message Line,  Prev: Flow Control,  Up: Top

Termcap
*******

   `screen' demands the most out of your terminal so that it can
perform its VT100 emulation most efficiently.  These functions provide
means for tweaking the termcap entries for both your physical terminal
and the one simulated by `screen'.

* Menu:

* Window Termcap::              Choosing a termcap entry for the window.
* Dump Termcap::                Write out a termcap entry for the window.
* Termcap Syntax::              The `termcap' and `terminfo' commands.
* Termcap Examples::            Uses for `termcap'.
* Special Capabilities::        Non-standard capabilities used by `screen'.
* Autonuke::			Flush unseen output
* Obuflimit::			Allow pending output when reading more
* Character Translation::       Emulating fonts and charsets.


File: screen.info,  Node: Window Termcap,  Next: Dump Termcap,  Up: Termcap

Choosing the termcap entry for a window
=======================================

   Usually `screen' tries to emulate as much of the VT100/ANSI standard
as possible. But if your terminal lacks certain capabilities the
emulation may not be complete. In these cases `screen' has to tell the
applications that some of the features are missing. This is no problem
on machines using termcap, because `screen' can use the `$TERMCAP'
variable to customize the standard screen termcap.

   But if you do a rlogin on another machine or your machine supports
only terminfo this method fails. Because of this `screen' offers a way
to deal with these cases. Here is how it works:

   When `screen' tries to figure out a terminal name for itself, it
first looks for an entry named `screen.TERM', where TERM is the
contents of your `$TERM' variable.  If no such entry exists, `screen'
tries `screen' (or `screen-w', if the terminal is wide (132 cols or
more)).  If even this entry cannot be found, `vt100' is used as a
substitute.

   The idea is that if you have a terminal which doesn't support an
important feature (e.g. delete char or clear to EOS) you can build a new
termcap/terminfo entry for `screen' (named `screen.DUMBTERM') in which
this capability has been disabled.  If this entry is installed on your
machines you are able to do a rlogin and still keep the correct
termcap/terminfo entry.  The terminal name is put in the `$TERM'
variable of all new windows.  `screen' also sets the `$TERMCAP'
variable reflecting the capabilities of the virtual terminal emulated.
Furthermore, the variable `$WINDOW' is set to the window number of each
window.

   The actual set of capabilities supported by the virtual terminal
depends on the capabilities supported by the physical terminal.  If, for
instance, the physical terminal does not support underscore mode,
`screen' does not put the `us' and `ue' capabilities into the window's
`$TERMCAP' variable, accordingly.  However, a minimum number of
capabilities must be supported by a terminal in order to run `screen';
namely scrolling, clear screen, and direct cursor addressing (in
addition, `screen' does not run on hardcopy terminals or on terminals
that over-strike).

   Also, you can customize the `$TERMCAP' value used by `screen' by
using the `termcap' command, or by defining the variable `$SCREENCAP'
prior to startup.  When the latter defined, its value will be copied
verbatim into each window's `$TERMCAP' variable.  This can either be
the full terminal definition, or a filename where the terminal `screen'
(and/or `screen-w') is defined.

   Note that `screen' honors the `terminfo' command if the system uses
the terminfo database rather than termcap.  On such machines the
`$TERMCAP' variable has no effect and you must use the `dumptermcap'
command (*note Dump Termcap::.) and the `tic' program to generate
terminfo entries for `screen' windows.

   When the boolean `G0' capability is present in the termcap entry for
the terminal on which `screen' has been called, the terminal emulation
of `screen' supports multiple character sets.  This allows an
application to make use of, for instance, the VT100 graphics character
set or national character sets.  The following control functions from
ISO 2022 are supported: `lock shift G0' (`SI'), `lock shift G1' (`SO'),
`lock shift G2', `lock shift G3', `single shift G2', and `single shift
G3'.  When a virtual terminal is created or reset, the ASCII character
set is designated as `G0' through `G3'.  When the `G0' capability is
present, screen evaluates the capabilities `S0', `E0', and `C0' if
present. `S0' is the sequence the terminal uses to enable and start the
graphics character set rather than `SI'.  `E0' is the corresponding
replacement for `SO'. `C0' gives a character by character translation
string that is used during semi-graphics mode.  This string is built
like the `acsc' terminfo capability.

   When the `po' and `pf' capabilities are present in the terminal's
termcap entry, applications running in a `screen' window can send
output to the printer port of the terminal.  This allows a user to have
an application in one window sending output to a printer connected to
the terminal, while all other windows are still active (the printer
port is enabled and disabled again for each chunk of output).  As a
side-effect, programs running in different windows can send output to
the printer simultaneously.  Data sent to the printer is not displayed
in the window.

   Some capabilities are only put into the `$TERMCAP' variable of the
virtual terminal if they can be efficiently implemented by the physical
terminal.  For instance, `dl' (delete line) is only put into the
`$TERMCAP' variable if the terminal supports either delete line itself
or scrolling regions. Note that this may provoke confusion, when the
session is reattached on a different terminal, as the value of
`$TERMCAP' cannot be modified by parent processes.  You can force
`screen' to include all capabilities in `$TERMCAP' with the `-a'
command-line option (*note Invoking Screen::.).


File: screen.info,  Node: Dump Termcap,  Next: Termcap Syntax,  Prev: Window Termcap,  Up: Termcap

Write out the window's termcap entry
====================================

 - Command: dumptermcap
     (`C-a .')
     Write the termcap entry for the virtual terminal optimized for the
     currently active window to the file `.termcap' in the user's
     `$HOME/.screen' directory (or wherever `screen' stores its
     sockets. *note Files::.).  This termcap entry is identical to the
     value of the environment variable `$TERMCAP' that is set up by
     `screen' for each window. For terminfo based systems you will need
     to run a converter like `captoinfo' and then compile the entry with
     `tic'.


File: screen.info,  Node: Termcap Syntax,  Next: Termcap Examples,  Prev: Dump Termcap,  Up: Termcap

The `termcap' command
=====================

 - Command: termcap TERM TERMINAL-TWEAKS [WINDOW-TWEAKS]
 - Command: terminfo TERM TERMINAL-TWEAKS [WINDOW-TWEAKS]
 - Command: termcapinfo TERM TERMINAL-TWEAKS [WINDOW-TWEAKS]
     (none)
     Use this command to modify your terminal's termcap entry without
     going through all the hassles involved in creating a custom
     termcap entry.  Plus, you can optionally customize the termcap
     generated for the windows.  You have to place these commands in
     one of the screenrc starup files, as they are meaningless once the
     terminal emulator is booted.

     If your system uses the terminfo database rather than termcap,
     `screen' will understand the `terminfo' command which has the same
     effects as the `termcap' command.  Two separate commands are
     provided, as there are subtle syntactic differences, e.g. when
     parameter interpolation (using `%') is required. Note that the
     termcap names of the capabilities have to be used with the
     `terminfo' command.

     In many cases, where the arguments are valid in both terminfo and
     termcap syntax, you can use the command `termcapinfo', which is
     just a shorthand for a pair of `termcap' and `terminfo' commands
     with identical arguments.

   The first argument specifies which terminal(s) should be affected by
this definition.  You can specify multiple terminal names by separating
them with `|'s.  Use `*' to match all terminals and `vt*' to match all
terminals that begin with `vt'.

   Each TWEAK argument contains one or more termcap defines (separated
by `:'s) to be inserted at the start of the appropriate termcap entry,
enhancing it or overriding existing values.  The first tweak modifies
your terminal's termcap, and contains definitions that your terminal
uses to perform certain functions.  Specify a null string to leave this
unchanged (e.g. "").  The second (optional) tweak modifies all the
window termcaps, and should contain definitions that screen understands
(*note Virtual Terminal::.).


File: screen.info,  Node: Termcap Examples,  Next: Special Capabilities,  Prev: Termcap Syntax,  Up: Termcap

Termcap Examples
================

   Some examples:

     termcap xterm*  xn:hs@

Informs `screen' that all terminals that begin with `xterm' have firm
auto-margins that allow the last position on the screen to be updated
(xn), but they don't really have a status line (no 'hs' - append `@' to
turn entries off).  Note that we assume `xn' for all terminal names
that start with `vt', but only if you don't specify a termcap command
for that terminal.

     termcap vt*  xn
     termcap vt102|vt220  Z0=\E[?3h:Z1=\E[?3l

Specifies the firm-margined `xn' capability for all terminals that
begin with `vt', and the second line will also add the escape-sequences
to switch into (Z0) and back out of (Z1) 132-character-per-line mode if
this is a VT102 or VT220.  (You must specify Z0 and Z1 in your termcap
to use the width-changing commands.)

     termcap vt100  ""  l0=PF1:l1=PF2:l2=PF3:l3=PF4

This leaves your vt100 termcap alone and adds the function key labels to
each window's termcap entry.

     termcap h19|z19  am@:im=\E@:ei=\EO  dc=\E[P

Takes a h19 or z19 termcap and turns off auto-margins (am@) and enables
the insert mode (im) and end-insert (ei) capabilities (the `@' in the
`im' string is after the `=', so it is part of the string).  Having the
`im' and `ei' definitions put into your terminal's termcap will cause
screen to automatically advertise the character-insert capability in
each window's termcap.  Each window will also get the delete-character
capability (dc) added to its termcap, which screen will translate into
a line-update for the terminal (we're pretending it doesn't support
character deletion).

   If you would like to fully specify each window's termcap entry, you
should instead set the `$SCREENCAP' variable prior to running `screen'.
*Note Virtual Terminal::, for the details of the `screen' terminal
emulation.  *Note Termcap: (termcap)Top, for more information on
termcap definitions.


File: screen.info,  Node: Special Capabilities,  Next: Autonuke,  Prev: Termcap Examples,  Up: Termcap

Special Terminal Capabilities
=============================

   The following table describes all terminal capabilities that are
recognized by `screen' and are not in the termcap manual (*note
Termcap: (termcap)Top.).  You can place these capabilities in your
termcap entries (in `/etc/termcap') or use them with the commands
`termcap', `terminfo' and `termcapinfo' in your `screenrc' files. It is
often not possible to place these capabilities in the terminfo database.
`LP'
     (bool)
     Terminal has VT100 style margins (`magic margins'). Note that this
     capability is obsolete -- `screen' now uses the standard `xn'
     instead.

`Z0'
     (str)
     Change width to 132 columns.

`Z1'
     (str)
     Change width to 80 columns.

`WS'
     (str)
     Resize display. This capability has the desired width and height as
     arguments.  SunView(tm) example: `\E[8;%d;%dt'.

`NF'
     (bool)
     Terminal doesn't need flow control. Send ^S and ^Q direct to the
     application. Same as `flow off'. The opposite of this capability
     is `nx'.

`G0'
     (bool)
     Terminal can deal with ISO 2022 font selection sequences.

`S0'
     (str)
     Switch charset `G0' to the specified charset. Default is `\E(%.'.

`E0'
     (str)
     Switch charset `G0' back to standard charset. Default is `\E(B'.

`C0'
     (str)
     Use the string as a conversion table for font 0. See the `ac'
     capability for more details.

`CS'
     (str)
     Switch cursor keys to application mode.

`CE'
     (str)
     Switch cursor keys to cursor mode.

`AN'
     (bool)
     Enable autonuke for displays of this terminal type.  (*note
     Autonuke::.).

`OL'
     (num)
     Set the output buffer limit. See the `obuflimit' command (*note
     Obuflimit::.) for more details.

`KJ'
     (str)
     Set the kanji type of the terminal. Valid strings are `jis', `euc'
     and `sjis'.

`AF'
     (str)
     Change character forground color in an ANSI conform way. This
     capability will almost always be set to `\E[3%dm' (`\E[3%p1%dm' on
     terminfo machines).

`AB'
     (str)
     Same as `AF', but change background color.

`AX'
     (bool)
     Does understand ANSI set default fg/bg color (`\E[39m / \E[49m').

`XC'
     (str)
     Describe a translation of characters to strings depending on the
     current font.  (*note Character Translation::.).


File: screen.info,  Node: Autonuke,  Next: Obuflimit,  Prev: Special Capabilities,  Up: Termcap

Autonuke
========

 - Command: autonuke STATE
     (none)
     Sets whether a clear screen sequence should nuke all the output
     that has not been written to the terminal. *Note Obuflimit::.
     This property is set per display, not per window.

 - Command: defautonuke STATE
     (none)
     Same as the `autonuke' command except that the default setting for
     new displays is also changed. Initial setting is `off'.  Note that
     you can use the special `AN' terminal capability if you want to
     have a terminal type dependent setting.


File: screen.info,  Node: Obuflimit,  Next: Character Translation,  Prev: Autonuke,  Up: Termcap

Obuflimit
=========

 - Command: obuflimit [LIMIT]
     (none)
     If the output buffer contains more bytes than the specified limit,
     no more data will be read from the windows. The default value is
     256. If you have a fast display (like `xterm'), you can set it to
     some higher value. If no argument is specified, the current
     setting is displayed.  This property is set per display, not per
     window.

 - Command: defobuflimit LIMIT
     (none)
     Same as the `obuflimit' command except that the default setting
     for new displays is also changed. Initial setting is 256 bytes.
     Note that you can use the special `OL' terminal capability if you
     want to have a terminal type dependent limit.


File: screen.info,  Node: Character Translation,  Prev: Obuflimit,  Up: Termcap

Character Translation
=====================

   `Screen' has a powerful mechanism to translate characters to
arbitrary strings depending on the current font and terminal type.  Use
this feature if you want to work with a common standard character set
(say ISO8851-latin1) even on terminals that scatter the more unusual
characters over several national language font pages.

   Syntax:

         XC=<CHARSET-MAPPING>{,,<CHARSET-MAPPING>}
         <CHARSET-MAPPING> := <DESIGNATOR><TEMPLATE>{,<MAPPING>}
         <MAPPING> := <CHAR-TO-BE-MAPPED><TEMPLATE-ARG>

   The things in braces may be repeated any number of times.

   A <CHARSET-MAPPING> tells screen how to map characters in font
<DESIGNATOR> (`B': Ascii, `A': UK, `K': german, etc.) to strings. Every
<MAPPING> describes to what string a single character will be
translated. A template mechanism is used, as most of the time the codes
have a lot in common (for example strings to switch to and from another
charset). Each occurence of `%' in <TEMPLATE> gets substituted with the
TEMPLATE-ARG specified together with the character. If your strings are
not similar at all, then use `%' as a template and place the full
string in <TEMPLATE-ARG>. A quoting mechanism was added to make it
possible to use a real `%'. The `\' character quotes the special
characters `\', `%', and `,'.

   Here is an example:

         termcap hp700 'XC=B\E(K%\E(B,\304[,\326\\\\,\334]'

   This tells `screen', how to translate ISOlatin1 (charset `B') upper
case umlaut characters on a `hp700' terminal that has a german charset.
`\304' gets translated to `\E(K[\E(B' and so on.  Note that this line
gets parsed *three* times before the internal lookup table is built,
therefore a lot of quoting is needed to create a single `\'.

   Another extension was added to allow more emulation: If a mapping
translates the unquoted `%' char, it will be sent to the terminal
whenever screen switches to the corresponding <DESIGNATOR>.  In this
special case the template is assumed to be just `%' because the charset
switch sequence and the character mappings normaly haven't much in
common.

   This example shows one use of the extension:
         termcap xterm 'XC=K%,%\E(B,[\304,\\\\\326,]\334'

   Here, a part of the german (`K') charset is emulated on an xterm.
If screen has to change to the `K' charset, `\E(B' will be sent to the
terminal, i.e. the ASCII charset is used instead. The template is just
`%', so the mapping is straightforward: `[' to `\304', `\' to `\326',
and `]' to `\334'.


File: screen.info,  Node: Message Line,  Next: Logging,  Prev: Termcap,  Up: Top

The Message Line
****************

   `screen' displays informational messages and other diagnostics in a
"message line" at the bottom of the screen.  If your terminal has a
status line defined in its termcap, screen will use this for displaying
its messages, otherwise the last line of the screen will be temporarily
overwritten and output will be momentarily interrupted.  The message
line is automatically removed after a few seconds delay, but it can also
be removed early (on terminals without a status line) by beginning to
type.

* Menu:

* Privacy Message::             Using the message line from your program.
* Hardware Status Line::        Use the terminal's hardware status line.
* Last Message::                Redisplay the last message.
* Message Wait::                Control how long messages are displayed.


File: screen.info,  Node: Privacy Message,  Next: Hardware Status Line,  Up: Message Line

Using the message line from your program
========================================

   The message line facility can be used by an application running in
the current window by means of the ANSI "Privacy message" control
sequence.  For instance, from within the shell, try something like:

     echo "^Hello world from window $WINDOW\"

   where `' is ASCII ESC and `^' is a literal caret or up-arrow.


File: screen.info,  Node: Hardware Status Line,  Next: Last Message,  Prev: Privacy Message,  Up: Message Line

Hardware Status Line
====================

 - Command: hardstatus [STATE]
     (none)
     Toggles the use of the terminal's hardware status line. If `on',
     `screen' will use this facility to display one line messages.
     Otherwise these messages are overlayed in reverse video mode at the
     display line. Note that the hardstatus feature can only be used if
     the termcap/terminfo capabilities "hs", "ts", "fs" and "ds" are set
     properly.  Default is `on' whenever the "hs" capability is present.


File: screen.info,  Node: Last Message,  Next: Message Wait,  Prev: Hardware Status Line,  Up: Message Line

Display Last Message
====================

 - Command: lastmsg
     (`C-a m', `C-a C-m')
     Repeat the last message displayed in the message line.  Useful if
     you're typing when a message appears, because (unless your
     terminal has a hardware status line) the message goes away when
     you press a key.


File: screen.info,  Node: Message Wait,  Prev: Last Message,  Up: Message Line

Message Wait
============

 - Command: msgminwait SEC
     (none)
     Defines the time `screen' delays a new message when another is
     currently displayed.  Defaults to 1 second.

 - Command: msgwait SEC
     (none)
     Defines the time a message is displayed, if `screen' is not
     disturbed by other activity.  Defaults to 5 seconds.


File: screen.info,  Node: Logging,  Next: Startup,  Prev: Message Line,  Up: Top

Logging
*******

   This section describes the commands for keeping a record of your
session.

* Menu:

* Hardcopy::                    Dump the current screen to a file
* Log::                         Log the output of a window to a file


File: screen.info,  Node: Hardcopy,  Next: Log,  Up: Logging

hardcopy
========

 - Command: hardcopy
     (`C-a h', `C-a C-h')
     Writes out the current display contents to the file `hardcopy.N'
     in the window's default directory, where N is the number of the
     current window.  This either appends or overwrites the file if it
     exists, as determined by the `hardcopy_append' command.

 - Command: hardcopy_append STATE
     (none)
     If set to `on', `screen' will append to the `hardcopy.N' files
     created by the command `hardcopy'; otherwise, these files are
     overwritten each time.

 - Command: hardcopydir DIRECTORY
     (none)
     Defines a directory where hardcopy files will be placed.  If unset
     hardcopys are dumped in screen's current working directory.


File: screen.info,  Node: Log,  Prev: Hardcopy,  Up: Logging

log
===

 - Command: log [STATE]
     (`C-a H')
     Begins/ends logging of the current window to the file
     `screenlog.N' in the window's default directory, where N is the
     number of the current window.  This filename can be changed with
     the `logfile' command.  If no parameter is given, the logging
     state is toggled.  The session log is appended to the previous
     contents of the file if it already exists.  The current contents
     and the contents of the scrollback history are not included in the
     session log.  Default is `off'.

 - Command: logfile FILENAME
     (none)
     Defines the name the logfiles will get. The default is
     `screenlog.%n'.


File: screen.info,  Node: Startup,  Next: Miscellaneous,  Prev: Logging,  Up: Top

Startup
*******

   This section describes commands which are only useful in the
`.screenrc' file, for use at startup.

* Menu:

* echo::                        Display a message.
* sleep::                       Pause execution of the `.screenrc'.
* Startup Message::             Control display of the copyright notice.


File: screen.info,  Node: echo,  Next: sleep,  Up: Startup

echo
====

 - Command: echo [-n] MESSAGE
     (none)
     The echo command may be used to annoy `screen' users with a
     'message of the day'. Typically installed in a global screenrc.
     The option `-n' may be used to suppress the line feed.  See also
     `sleep'.  Echo is also useful for online checking of environment
     variables.


File: screen.info,  Node: sleep,  Next: Startup Message,  Prev: echo,  Up: Startup

sleep
=====

 - Command: sleep NUM
     (none)
     This command will pause the execution of a .screenrc file for NUM
     seconds.  Keyboard activity will end the sleep.  It may be used to
     give users a chance to read the messages output by `echo'.


File: screen.info,  Node: Startup Message,  Prev: sleep,  Up: Startup

Startup Message
===============

 - Command: startup_message STATE
     (none)
     Select whether you want to see the copyright notice during startup.
     Default is `on', as you probably noticed.


File: screen.info,  Node: Miscellaneous,  Next: Environment,  Prev: Startup,  Up: Top

Miscellaneous commands
**********************

   The commands described here do not fit well under any of the other
categories.

* Menu:

* At::                          Execute a command at other displays or windows.
* Break::                       Send a break signal to the window.
* Debug::                       Suppress/allow debugging output.
* License::                     Display the disclaimer page.
* Nethack::                     Use `nethack'-like error messages.
* Number::                      Change the current window's number.
* Silence::			Notify on inactivity.
* Time::                        Display the time and load average.
* Version::                     Display the version of `screen'.
* Zombie::                      Keep dead windows.
* Printcmd::                    Set command for VT100 printer port emulation.
* Sorendition::			Change the text highlighting method.


File: screen.info,  Node: At,  Next: Break,  Up: Miscellaneous

At
==

 - Command: at [IDENTIFIER][#|*|%] COMMAND [ARGS]
     (none)
     Execute a command at other displays or windows as if it had been
     entered there.  `At' changes the context (the `current window' or
     `current display' setting) of the command. If the first parameter
     describes a non-unique context, the command will be executed
     multiple times. If the first parameter is of the form
     `IDENTIFIER*' then identifier is matched against user names.  The
     command is executed once for each display of the selected user(s).
     If the first parameter is of the form `IDENTIFIER%' identifier is
     matched against displays. Displays are named after the ttys they
     attach. The prefix `/dev/' or `/dev/tty' may be omitted from the
     identifier.  If IDENTIFIER has a `#' or nothing appended it is
     matched against window numbers and titles. Omitting an identifier
     in front of the `#', `*' or `%' character selects all users,
     displays or windows because a prefix-match is performed. Note that
     on the affected display(s) a short message will describe what
     happened. Caution: Permission is checked for the owners or the
     affected display(s), not for the initiator of the `at' command.


File: screen.info,  Node: Break,  Next: Debug,  Prev: At,  Up: Miscellaneous

Break
=====

 - Command: break [DURATION]
     (none)
     Send a break signal for DURATION*0.25 seconds to this window.
     Most useful if a character device is attached to the window rather
     than a shell process.

 - Command: pow_break
     (none)
     Reopen the window's terminal line and send a break condition.


File: screen.info,  Node: Debug,  Next: License,  Prev: Break,  Up: Miscellaneous

Debug
=====

 - Command: debug [ON|OFF]
     (none)
     Turns runtime debugging on or off. If `screen' has been compiled
     with option `-DDEBUG' debugging is available and is turned on per
     default.  Note that this command only affects debugging output
     from the main `SCREEN' process.


File: screen.info,  Node: License,  Next: Nethack,  Prev: Debug,  Up: Miscellaneous

License
=======

 - Command: license
     (none)
     Display the disclaimer page. This is done whenever `screen' is
     started without options, which should be often enough.


File: screen.info,  Node: Nethack,  Next: Number,  Prev: License,  Up: Miscellaneous

Nethack
=======

 - Command: nethack STATE
     (none)
     Changes the kind of error messages used by `screen'.  When you are
     familiar with the game `nethack', you may enjoy the nethack-style
     messages which will often blur the facts a little, but are much
     funnier to read. Anyway, standard messages often tend to be
     unclear as well.

     This option is only available if `screen' was compiled with the
     NETHACK flag defined (*note Installation::.). The default setting
     is then determined by the presence of the environment variable
     `$NETHACKOPTIONS'.


File: screen.info,  Node: Number,  Next: Silence,  Prev: Nethack,  Up: Miscellaneous

Number
======

 - Command: number [N]
     (`C-a N')
     Change the current window's number. If the given number N is
     already used by another window, both windows exchange their
     numbers. If no argument is specified, the current window number
     (and title) is shown.


File: screen.info,  Node: Silence,  Next: Time,  Prev: Number,  Up: Miscellaneous

Silence
=======

 - Command: silence [STATE|SEC]
     (none)
     Toggles silence monitoring of windows. When silence is turned on
     and an affected window is switched into the background, you will
     receive the silence notification message in the status line after
     a specified period of inactivity (silence). The default timeout
     can be changed with the `silencewait' command or by specifying a
     number of seconds instead of `on' or `off'. Silence is initially
     off for all windows.

 - Command: silencewait SECONDS
     (none)
     Define the time that all windows monitored for silence should wait
     before displaying a message. Default is 30 seconds.


File: screen.info,  Node: Time,  Next: Version,  Prev: Silence,  Up: Miscellaneous

Time
====

 - Command: time
     (`C-a t', `C-a C-t')
     Uses the message line to display the time of day, the host name,
     and the load averages over 1, 5, and 15 minutes (if this is
     available on your system).  For window-specific information use
     `info' (*note Info::.).


File: screen.info,  Node: Version,  Next: Zombie,  Prev: Time,  Up: Miscellaneous

Version
=======

 - Command: version
     (`C-a v')
     Display the version and modification date in the message line.


File: screen.info,  Node: Zombie,  Next: Printcmd,  Prev: Version,  Up: Miscellaneous

Zombie
======

 - Command: zombie [KEYX]
 - Command: defzombie [KEYX]
     (none)
     Per default windows are removed from the window list as soon as the
     windows process (e.g. shell) exits. When a string of two keys is
     specified to the zombie command, `dead' windows will remain in the
     list.  The `kill' kommand may be used to remove the window.
     Pressing the first key in the dead window has the same effect.
     Pressing the second key, however, screen will attempt to resurrect
     the window. The process that was initially running in the window
     will be launched again. Calling `zombie' without parameters will
     clear the zombie setting, thus making windows disappear when the
     process terminates.

     As the zombie setting is affected globally for all windows, this
     command should only be called `defzombie'. Until we need this as a
     per window setting, the commands `zombie' and `defzombie' are
     synonymous.


File: screen.info,  Node: Printcmd,  Next: Sorendition,  Prev: Zombie,  Up: Miscellaneous

Printcmd
========

 - Command: printcmd [CMD]
     (none)
     If CMD is not an empty string, screen will not use the terminal
     capabilities `po/pf' for printing if it detects an ansi print
     sequence `ESC [ 5 i', but pipe the output into CMD.  This should
     normally be a command like `lpr' or `cat > /tmp/scrprint'.
     `Printcmd' without an argument displays the current setting.  The
     ansi sequence `ESC \' ends printing and closes the pipe.

     Warning: Be careful with this command! If other user have write
     access to your terminal, they will be able to fire off print
     commands.


File: screen.info,  Node: Sorendition,  Prev: Printcmd,  Up: Miscellaneous

Sorendition
===========

 - Command: sorendition [ATTR [COLOR]]
     (none)
     Change the way screen does highlighting for text marking and
     printing messages.  ATTR is a hexadecimal number and describes the
     attributes (inverse, underline, ...) the text will get.  COLOR is
     a 2 digit number and changes the forground/background of the
     highlighted text.  Some knowledge of screen's internal character
     representation is needed to make the characters appear in the
     desired way. The default is currently `10 99' (standout, default
     colors).


File: screen.info,  Node: Environment,  Next: Files,  Prev: Miscellaneous,  Up: Top

Environment Variables
*********************

`COLUMNS'
     Number of columns on the terminal (overrides termcap entry).

`HOME'
     Directory in which to look for .screenrc.

`ISCREENRC'
     Alternate user screenrc file.

`LINES'
     Number of lines on the terminal (overrides termcap entry).

`LOCKPRG'
     Screen lock program.

`NETHACKOPTIONS'
     Turns on `nethack' option.

`PATH'
     Used for locating programs to run.

`SCREENCAP'
     For customizing a terminal's `TERMCAP' value.

`SCREENDIR'
     Alternate socket directory.

`SCREENRC'
     Alternate user screenrc file.

`SHELL'
     Default shell program for opening windows (default `/bin/sh').

`STY'
     Alternate socket name. If `screen' is invoked, and the environment
     variable `STY' is set, then it creates only a window in the
     running `screen' session rather than starting a new session.

`SYSSCREENRC'
     Alternate system screenrc file.

`TERM'
     Terminal name.

`TERMCAP'
     Terminal description.


File: screen.info,  Node: Files,  Next: Credits,  Prev: Environment,  Up: Top

Files Referenced
****************

`.../screen-3.?.??/etc/screenrc'
`.../screen-3.?.??/etc/etcscreenrc'
     Examples in the `screen' distribution package for private and
     global initialization files.

``$SYSSCREENRC''
`/local/etc/screenrc'
     `screen' initialization commands

``$ISCREENRC''
``$SCREENRC''
``$HOME'/.iscreenrc'
``$HOME'/.screenrc'
     Read in after /local/etc/screenrc

``$ISCREENDIR'/S-LOGIN'
``$SCREENDIR'/S-LOGIN'
`/local/screens/S-LOGIN'
     Socket directories (default)

`/usr/tmp/screens/S-LOGIN'
     Alternate socket directories.

`SOCKET DIRECTORY/.termcap'
     Written by the `dumptermcap' command

`/usr/tmp/screens/screen-exchange or'
`/tmp/screen-exchange'
     `screen' interprocess communication buffer

`hardcopy.[0-9]'
     Screen images created by the hardcopy command

`screenlog.[0-9]'
     Output log files created by the log command

`/usr/lib/terminfo/?/* or'
`/etc/termcap'
     Terminal capability databases

`/etc/utmp'
     Login records

``$LOCKPRG''
     Program for locking the terminal.


File: screen.info,  Node: Credits,  Next: Bugs,  Prev: Files,  Up: Top

Credits
*******

Authors
=======

   Originally created by Oliver Laumann, this latest version was
produced by Wayne Davison, Juergen Weigert and Michael Schroeder.

Contributors
============

          Ken Beal (kbeal@amber.ssd.csd.harris.com),
          Rudolf Koenig (rfkoenig@informatik.uni-erlangen.de),
          Toerless Eckert (eckert@informatik.uni-erlangen.de),
          Wayne Davison (davison@borland.com),
          Patrick Wolfe (pat@kai.com, kailand!pat),
          Bart Schaefer (schaefer@cse.ogi.edu),
          Nathan Glasser (nathan@brokaw.lcs.mit.edu),
          Larry W. Virden (lvirden@cas.org),
          Howard Chu (hyc@hanauma.jpl.nasa.gov),
          Tim MacKenzie (tym@dibbler.cs.monash.edu.au),
          Markku Jarvinen (mta@{cc,cs,ee}.tut.fi),
          Marc Boucher (marc@CAM.ORG),
          Doug Siebert (dsiebert@isca.uiowa.edu),
          Ken Stillson (stillson@tsfsrv.mitre.org),
          Ian Frechett (frechett@spot.Colorado.EDU),
          Brian Koehmstedt (bpk@gnu.ai.mit.edu),
          Don Smith (djs6015@ultb.isc.rit.edu),
          Frank van der Linden (vdlinden@fwi.uva.nl),
          Martin Schweikert (schweik@cpp.ob.open.de),
          David Vrona (dave@sashimi.lcu.com),
          E. Tye McQueen (tye%spillman.UUCP@uunet.uu.net),
          Matthew Green (mrgreen@mame.mu.oz.au),
          Christopher Williams (cgw@unt.edu),
          Matt Mosley (mattm@access.digex.net),
          Gregory Neil Shapiro (gshapiro@wpi.WPI.EDU),
          Jason Merrill (jason@jarthur.Claremont.EDU).

Version
=======

   This manual describes version 3.7.0 of the `screen' program. Its
roots are a merge of a custom version 2.3PR7 by Wayne Davison and
several enhancements to Oliver Laumann's version 2.0.  Note that all
versions numbered 2.x are copyright by Oliver Laumann.

   See also *Note Availability::.


File: screen.info,  Node: Bugs,  Next: Installation,  Prev: Credits,  Up: Top

Bugs
****

   Just like any other significant piece of software, `screen' has a
few bugs and missing features.  Please send in a bug report if you have
found a bug not mentioned here.

* Menu:

* Known Bugs::                  Problems we know about.
* Reporting Bugs::              How to contact the maintainers.
* Availability::                Where to find the lastest screen version.


File: screen.info,  Node: Known Bugs,  Next: Reporting Bugs,  Up: Bugs

Known Bugs
==========

   * `dm' (delete mode) and `xs' are not handled correctly (they are
     ignored).  `xn' is treated as a magic-margin indicator.

   * `screen' has no clue about double-high or double-wide characters.
     But this is the only area where `vttest' is allowed to fail.

   * It is not possible to change the environment variable `$TERMCAP'
     when reattaching under a different terminal type.

   * The support of terminfo based systems is very limited. Adding extra
     capabilities to `$TERMCAP' may not have any effects.

   * `screen' does not make use of hardware tabs.

   * `screen' must be installed setuid root in order to be able to
     correctly change the owner of the tty device file for each window.
     Special permission may also be required to write the file
     `/etc/utmp'.

   * Entries in `/etc/utmp' are not removed when `screen' is killed
     with SIGKILL.  This will cause some programs (like "w" or "rwho")
     to advertise that a user is logged on who really isn't.

   * `screen' may give a strange warning when your tty has no utmp
     entry.

   * When the modem line was hung up, `screen' may not automatically
     detach (or quit) unless the device driver sends a HANGUP signal.
     To detach such a `screen' session use the -D or -d command line
     option.

   * A weird imagination is most useful to gain full advantage of all
     the features.