[ale] assorted X-window questions

[hirsch at zapmedia.com]

Ben Phillips writes:
 > I just typed 'xrdb -query' and got no output.  Is that bad?

Only if you had previously typed 'xrdb .Xdefaults' (which loads the
.Xdefaults settings into the db).  xrdb is not loaded by default.  It
isn't really needed, either, unless you are running clients on
different machines.

 > The reason I ask is because when I start rxvt with the -bg option followed
 > by a color listed in the color browser, it says it can't load that
 > color.  And it seems to say that no matter what color I specify.

That is strange.  Have you tried running one of the color pickers to
see what colors are available to you?
 
 > And speaking of the color browser, thumbing through it I notice that colors
 > with different names often look the same; hmmmmmmm...  How can I tell what
 > color depth X decided to start itself in?  And how can I change it?  I'm
 > familiar with the entries in XF86Config, but since X picks and chooses among
 > them, I'm not sure how to get the video set optimally.  I think I'd
 > sacrifice resolution for color depth if I knew how.

'xdpyinfo' is your friend.  That will tell you things like the depth
of your display and its size.  You can set the depth with

xinit -bpp 16  (for 16 bit color) or
startx -- -bpp 16

These will start the server in the requested color depth.  But once
you know what you want, it is probably better to use the line
    DefaultColorDepth 16
in the "Screen" section of your XF86Config.

-- 
------------------------
Michael D. Hirsch, Ph.D.
Software Developer
zapmedia.com

Phone: 678-420-2722                FAX: 678-420-2839
email: michael.hirsch at zapmedia.com Web: http://www.zapmedia.com
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