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ROOTTAIL

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 AT goof DOT com>, who couldn’t reach the original author. Please direct bug-reports etc. to pcg AT goof DOT com.

http://root-tail.plan9.de/

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