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30 .\" $Id: terminfo.tail,v 1.137 2023/12/03 00:17:23 tom Exp $
32 .SS User-Defined Capabilities
34 The preceding section listed the \fIpredefined\fP capabilities.
35 They deal with some special features for terminals no longer
36 (or possibly never) produced.
37 Occasionally there are special features of newer terminals which
38 are awkward or impossible to represent by reusing the predefined
41 \fBncurses\fP addresses this limitation by allowing user-defined capabilities.
42 The \fB@TIC@\fP and \fB@INFOCMP@\fP programs provide
43 the \fB\-x\fP option for this purpose.
44 When \fB\-x\fP is set,
45 \fB@TIC@\fP treats unknown capabilities as user-defined.
46 That is, if \fB@TIC@\fP encounters a capability name
47 which it does not recognize,
48 it infers its type (boolean, number or string) from the syntax
49 and makes an extended table entry for that capability.
50 The \fBuse_extended_names\fP(3X) function makes this information
51 conditionally available to applications.
52 The ncurses library provides the data leaving most of the behavior
55 User-defined capability strings whose name begins
56 with \*(``k\*('' are treated as function keys.
58 The types (boolean, number, string) determined by \fB@TIC@\fP
59 can be inferred by successful calls on \fBtigetflag\fP, etc.
61 If the capability name happens to be two characters,
62 the capability is also available through the termcap interface.
64 While termcap is said to be extensible because it does not use a predefined set
66 in practice it has been limited to the capabilities defined by
67 terminfo implementations.
69 user-defined capabilities intended for use by termcap applications should
70 be limited to booleans and numbers to avoid running past the 1023 byte
71 limit assumed by termcap implementations and their applications.
72 In particular, providing extended sets of function keys (past the 60
73 numbered keys and the handful of special named keys) is best done using
74 the longer names available using terminfo.
76 The ncurses library uses a few of these user-defined capabilities,
77 as described in \fBuser_caps\fR(5).
78 Other user-defined capabilities (including function keys) are
79 described in the terminal database, in the section on
80 .I "NCURSES USER-DEFINABLE CAPABILITIES"
84 The following entry, describing an ANSI-standard terminal, is representative
85 of what a \fBterminfo\fP entry for a modern terminal typically looks like.
88 \s-2ansi|ansi/pc\-term compatible with color,
90 colors#8, cols#80, it#8, lines#24, ncv#3, pairs#64,
91 acsc=+\e020\e,\e021\-\e030.\*^Y0\e333\(ga\e004a\e261f\e370g\e361h\e260
92 j\e331k\e277l\e332m\e300n\e305o\*~p\e304q\e304r\e304s_t\e303
93 u\e264v\e301w\e302x\e263y\e363z\e362{\e343|\e330}\e234\*~\e376,
94 bel=\*^G, blink=\eE[5m, bold=\eE[1m, cbt=\eE[Z, clear=\eE[H\eE[J,
95 cr=\*^M, cub=\eE[%p1%dD, cub1=\eE[D, cud=\eE[%p1%dB, cud1=\eE[B,
96 cuf=\eE[%p1%dC, cuf1=\eE[C, cup=\eE[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH,
97 cuu=\eE[%p1%dA, cuu1=\eE[A, dch=\eE[%p1%dP, dch1=\eE[P,
98 dl=\eE[%p1%dM, dl1=\eE[M, ech=\eE[%p1%dX, ed=\eE[J, el=\eE[K,
99 el1=\eE[1K, home=\eE[H, hpa=\eE[%i%p1%dG, ht=\eE[I, hts=\eEH,
100 ich=\eE[%p1%d@, il=\eE[%p1%dL, il1=\eE[L, ind=\*^J,
101 indn=\eE[%p1%dS, invis=\eE[8m, kbs=\*^H, kcbt=\eE[Z, kcub1=\eE[D,
102 kcud1=\eE[B, kcuf1=\eE[C, kcuu1=\eE[A, khome=\eE[H, kich1=\eE[L,
103 mc4=\eE[4i, mc5=\eE[5i, nel=\er\eE[S, op=\eE[39;49m,
104 rep=%p1%c\eE[%p2%{1}%\-%db, rev=\eE[7m, rin=\eE[%p1%dT,
105 rmacs=\eE[10m, rmpch=\eE[10m, rmso=\eE[m, rmul=\eE[m,
106 s0ds=\eE(B, s1ds=\eE)B, s2ds=\eE*B, s3ds=\eE+B,
107 setab=\eE[4%p1%dm, setaf=\eE[3%p1%dm,
108 sgr=\eE[0;10%?%p1%t;7%;
115 sgr0=\eE[0;10m, smacs=\eE[11m, smpch=\eE[11m, smso=\eE[7m,
116 smul=\eE[4m, tbc=\eE[3g, u6=\eE[%i%d;%dR, u7=\eE[6n,
117 u8=\eE[?%[;0123456789]c, u9=\eE[c, vpa=\eE[%i%p1%dd,
120 Entries may continue onto multiple lines by placing white space at
121 the beginning of each line except the first.
122 Comments may be included on lines beginning with \*(``#\*(''.
127 Boolean capabilities which indicate that the terminal has
128 some particular feature,
130 numeric capabilities giving the size of the terminal
131 or the size of particular delays, and
134 capabilities, which give a sequence which can be used to perform particular
136 .SS Types of Capabilities
137 All capabilities have names.
138 For instance, the fact that
139 ANSI-standard terminals have
140 .I "automatic margins"
141 (i.e., an automatic return and line-feed
142 when the end of a line is reached) is indicated by the capability \fBam\fP.
143 Hence the description of ansi includes \fBam\fP.
144 Numeric capabilities are followed by the character \*(``#\*(''
145 and then a positive value.
146 Thus \fBcols\fP, which indicates the number of columns the terminal has,
147 gives the value \*(``80\*('' for ansi.
148 Values for numeric capabilities may be specified in
152 using the C programming language conventions
153 (e.g., 255, 0377 and 0xff or 0xFF).
155 Finally, string valued capabilities,
156 such as \fBel\fP (clear to end of line sequence)
157 are given by the two-character code,
158 an \*(``=\*('', and then
159 a string ending at the next following \*(``,\*(''.
161 A number of escape sequences are provided in the string valued capabilities
162 for easy encoding of characters there:
164 Both \fB\eE\fP and \fB\ee\fP
165 map to an \s-1ESCAPE\s0 character,
167 \fB\*^\f(BIx\fR maps to a control-\fIx\fP for any appropriate \fIx\fP,
173 \fB\en\fP, \fB\el\fP, \fB\er\fP, \fB\et\fP, \fB\eb\fP, \fB\ef\fP, and \fB\es\fP
179 \fInewline\fP, \fIline-feed\fP, \fIreturn\fP, \fItab\fP, \fIbackspace\fP, \fIform-feed\fP, and \fIspace\fP,
184 X/Open Curses does not say what \*(``appropriate \fIx\fP\*('' might be.
185 In practice, that is a printable ASCII graphic character.
186 The special case \*(``\*^?\*('' is interpreted as DEL (127).
187 In all other cases, the character value is AND'd with 0x1f,
188 mapping to ASCII control codes in the range 0 through 31.
190 Other escapes include
192 \fB\e\*^\fP for \fB\*^\fP,
194 \fB\e\e\fP for \fB\e\fP,
198 \fB\e:\fP for \fB:\fP,
200 and \fB\e0\fP for null.
202 \fB\e0\fP will produce \e200, which does not terminate a string but behaves
203 as a null character on most terminals, providing CS7 is specified.
206 The reason for this quirk is to maintain binary compatibility of the
207 compiled terminfo files with other implementations,
208 e.g., the SVr4 systems, which document this.
209 Compiled terminfo files use null-terminated strings, with no lengths.
210 Modifying this would require a new binary format,
211 which would not work with other implementations.
213 Finally, characters may be given as three octal digits after a \fB\e\fP.
215 A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in a string capability, enclosed in
216 $<..> brackets, as in \fBel\fP=\eEK$<5>,
217 and padding characters are supplied by \fBtputs\fP(3X)
218 to provide this delay.
220 The delay must be a number with at most one decimal
222 it may be followed by suffixes \*(``*\*('' or \*(``/\*('' or both.
225 indicates that the padding required is proportional to the number of lines
226 affected by the operation, and the amount given is the per-affected-unit
228 (In the case of insert character, the factor is still the
229 number of \fIlines\fP affected.)
231 Normally, padding is advisory if the device has the \fBxon\fP
232 capability; it is used for cost computation but does not trigger delays.
235 suffix indicates that the padding is mandatory and forces a delay of the given
236 number of milliseconds even on devices for which \fBxon\fP is present to
237 indicate flow control.
239 Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out.
240 To do this, put a period before the capability name.
241 For example, see the second
243 in the example above.
246 .SS Fetching Compiled Descriptions
247 Terminal descriptions in \fBncurses\fP are stored in terminal databases.
248 These databases, which are found by their pathname,
249 may be configured either as directory trees or hashed databases
252 The library uses a compiled-in list of pathnames,
253 which can be overridden by environment variables.
254 Before starting to search,
255 \fBncurses\fP checks the search list,
256 eliminating duplicates and pathnames where no terminal database is found.
257 The \fBncurses\fP library reads the first description
258 which passes its consistency checks.
260 The environment variable \fBTERMINFO\fR is checked first, for
261 a terminal database containing the terminal description.
264 \fBncurses\fP looks in \fI$HOME/.terminfo\fP
265 for a compiled description.
267 This is an optional feature which may be omitted entirely from
268 the library, or limited to prevent accidental use by privileged applications.
271 if the environment variable \fI\%TERMINFO_DIRS\fP is set,
272 \fBncurses\fP interprets the contents of that variable
273 as a list of colon-separated pathnames of terminal databases to be searched.
275 An empty pathname (i.e., if the variable begins or ends
276 with a colon, or contains adjacent colons)
277 is interpreted as the system location \fI\*d\fP.
279 Finally, \fBncurses\fP searches these compiled-in locations:
282 a list of directories (@TERMINFO_DIRS@), and
284 the system terminfo directory, \fI\*d\fP
287 The \fBTERMINFO\fP variable can contain a terminal description instead
288 of the pathname of a terminal database.
289 If this variable begins with \*(``hex:\*('' or \*(``b64:\*(''
290 then \fBncurses\fP reads a terminal description from
291 hexadecimal- or base64-encoded data,
292 and if that description matches the name sought, will use that.
293 This encoded data can be set using the \*(``\-Q\*('' option of
294 \fB@TIC@\fR or \fB@INFOCMP@\fR.
296 The preceding addresses the usual configuration of \fBncurses\fP,
297 which uses terminal descriptions prepared in \fIterminfo\fP format.
298 While \fItermcap\fP is less expressive,
299 \fBncurses\fP can also be configured to read \fItermcap\fP descriptions.
300 In that configuration,
301 it checks the \fI\%TERMCAP\fP and \fI\%TERMPATH\fP variables
302 (for content and search path,
304 after the system terminal database.
305 .SS Preparing Descriptions
306 We now outline how to prepare descriptions of terminals.
307 The most effective way to prepare a terminal description is by imitating
308 the description of a similar terminal in
310 and to build up a description gradually, using partial descriptions
313 or some other screen-oriented program to check that they are correct.
314 Be aware that a very unusual terminal may expose deficiencies in
318 or bugs in the screen-handling code of the test program.
320 To get the padding for insert line right (if the terminal manufacturer
321 did not document it) a severe test is to edit a large file at 9600 baud,
322 delete 16 or so lines from the middle of the screen, then hit the \*(``u\*(''
323 key several times quickly.
324 If the terminal messes up, more padding is usually needed.
325 A similar test can be used for insert character.
326 .SS Basic Capabilities
327 The number of columns on each line for the terminal is given by the
328 \fBcols\fP numeric capability.
329 If the terminal is a \s-1CRT\s0, then the
330 number of lines on the screen is given by the \fBlines\fP capability.
331 If the terminal wraps around to the beginning of the next line when
332 it reaches the right margin, then it should have the \fBam\fP capability.
333 If the terminal can clear its screen, leaving the cursor in the home
334 position, then this is given by the \fBclear\fP string capability.
335 If the terminal overstrikes
336 (rather than clearing a position when a character is struck over)
337 then it should have the \fBos\fP capability.
338 If the terminal is a printing terminal, with no soft copy unit,
344 applies to storage scope terminals, such as \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4010
345 series, as well as hard copy and APL terminals.)
346 If there is a code to move the cursor to the left edge of the current
349 (Normally this will be carriage return, control/M.)
350 If there is a code to produce an audible signal (bell, beep, etc)
354 If there is a code to move the cursor one position to the left
355 (such as backspace) that capability should be given as
357 Similarly, codes to move to the right, up, and down should be
363 These local cursor motions should not alter the text they pass over,
364 for example, you would not normally use \*(``\fBcuf1\fP=\ \*('' because the
365 space would erase the character moved over.
367 A very important point here is that the local cursor motions encoded
370 are undefined at the left and top edges of a \s-1CRT\s0 terminal.
371 Programs should never attempt to backspace around the left edge,
375 and never attempt to go up locally off the top.
376 In order to scroll text up, a program will go to the bottom left corner
377 of the screen and send the
381 To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner
382 of the screen and sends the
384 (reverse index) string.
389 are undefined when not on their respective corners of the screen.
391 Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are
395 which have the same semantics as
399 except that they take one parameter, and scroll that many lines.
400 They are also undefined except at the appropriate edge of the screen.
402 The \fBam\fP capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the right
403 edge of the screen when text is output, but this does not necessarily
406 from the last column.
407 The only local motion which is defined from the left edge is if
411 from the left edge will move to the right edge of the previous row.
414 is not given, the effect is undefined.
415 This is useful for drawing a box around the edge of the screen, for example.
416 If the terminal has switch selectable automatic margins,
419 file usually assumes that this is on; i.e., \fBam\fP.
420 If the terminal has a command which moves to the first column of the next
421 line, that command can be given as
424 It does not matter if the command clears the remainder of the current line,
425 so if the terminal has no
429 it may still be possible to craft a working
431 out of one or both of them.
433 These capabilities suffice to describe
434 hard-copy and \*(``glass-tty\*('' terminals.
435 Thus the model 33 teletype is described as
439 \s-133\||\|tty33\||\|tty\||\|model 33 teletype,
440 bel=\*^G, cols#72, cr=\*^M, cud1=\*^J, hc, ind=\*^J, os,\s+1
444 while the Lear Siegler \s-1ADM-3\s0 is described as
448 \s-1adm3\||\|3\||\|lsi adm3,
449 am, bel=\*^G, clear=\*^Z, cols#80, cr=\*^M, cub1=\*^H, cud1=\*^J,
450 ind=\*^J, lines#24,\s+1
453 .SS Parameterized Strings
454 Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters
455 in the terminal are described by a
456 parameterized string capability,
457 with \fIprintf\fP-like escapes such as \fI%x\fP in it.
458 For example, to address the cursor, the
460 capability is given, using two parameters:
461 the row and column to address to.
462 (Rows and columns are numbered from zero and refer to the
463 physical screen visible to the user, not to any unseen memory.)
464 If the terminal has memory relative cursor addressing,
465 that can be indicated by
468 The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special \fB%\fP codes
470 Typically a sequence will push one of the
471 parameters onto the stack and then print it in some format.
472 Print (e.g., \*(``%d\*('') is a special case.
473 Other operations, including \*(``%t\*('' pop their operand from the stack.
474 It is noted that more complex operations are often necessary,
475 e.g., in the \fBsgr\fP string.
477 The \fB%\fP encodings have the following meanings:
482 \fB%\fI[[\fR:\fI]flags][width[.precision]][\fBdoxXs\fI]\fR
483 as in \fBprintf\fP(3), flags are \fI[\-+#]\fP and \fIspace\fP.
484 Use a \*(``:\*('' to allow the next character to be a \*(``\-\*('' flag,
485 avoiding interpreting \*(``%\-\*('' as an operator.
488 print \fIpop()\fP like %c in \fBprintf\fP
491 print \fIpop()\fP like %s in \fBprintf\fP
494 push \fIi\fP'th parameter
497 set dynamic variable \fI[a\-z]\fP to \fIpop()\fP
500 get dynamic variable \fI[a\-z]\fP and push it
503 set static variable \fI[a\-z]\fP to \fIpop()\fP
506 get static variable \fI[a\-z]\fP and push it
508 The terms \*(``static\*('' and \*(``dynamic\*('' are misleading.
509 Historically, these are simply two different sets of variables,
510 whose values are not reset between calls to \fBtparm\fP(3X).
511 However, that fact is not documented in other implementations.
512 Relying on it will adversely impact portability to other implementations:
515 SVr2 curses supported \fIdynamic\fP variables.
516 Those are set only by a \fB%P\fP operator.
517 A \fB%g\fP for a given variable without first setting it with \fB%P\fP
518 will give unpredictable results, because dynamic variables are
519 an uninitialized local array on the stack in the \fBtparm\fP function.
521 SVr3.2 curses supported \fIstatic\fP variables.
522 Those are an array in the \fBTERMINAL\fP
523 structure (declared in \fBterm.h\fP),
524 and are zeroed automatically when the \fBsetupterm\fP function
527 SVr4 curses made no further improvements
528 to the \fIdynamic/static\fP variable feature.
530 Solaris XPG4 curses does not distinguish between \fIdynamic\fP and
531 \fIstatic\fP variables.
533 Like SVr4 curses, XPG4 curses does not initialize these explicitly.
535 Before version 6.3, ncurses stores both \fIdynamic\fP and \fIstatic\fP
536 variables in persistent storage, initialized to zeros.
538 Beginning with version 6.3, ncurses stores \fIstatic\fP and \fIdynamic\fP
539 variables in the same manner as SVr4.
542 Unlike other implementations, ncurses zeros dynamic variables
543 before the first \fB%g\fP or \fB%P\fP operator.
546 the scope of dynamic variables in ncurses
547 is within the current call to
549 Use static variables if persistent storage is needed.
554 char constant \fIc\fP
557 integer constant \fInn\fP
562 \fB%+\fP, \fB%\-\fP, \fB%*\fP, \fB%/\fP, \fB%m\fP
563 arithmetic (%m is \fImod\fP): \fIpush(pop() op pop())\fP
565 \fB%&\fP, \fB%|\fP, \fB%\*^\fP
566 bit operations (AND, OR and exclusive-OR): \fIpush(pop() op pop())\fP
568 \fB%=\fP, \fB%>\fP, \fB%<\fP
569 logical operations: \fIpush(pop() op pop())\fP
572 logical AND and OR operations (for conditionals)
575 unary operations (logical and bit complement): \fIpush(op pop())\fP
578 add 1 to first two parameters (for ANSI terminals)
580 \fB%?\fP \fIexpr\fP \fB%t\fP \fIthenpart\fP \fB%e\fP \fIelsepart\fP \fB%;\fP
581 This forms an if-then-else.
582 The \fB%e\fP \fIelsepart\fP is optional.
583 Usually the \fB%?\fP \fIexpr\fP part pushes a value onto the stack,
584 and \fB%t\fP pops it from the stack, testing if it is nonzero (true).
585 If it is zero (false), control passes to the \fB%e\fP (else) part.
587 It is possible to form else-if's a la Algol 68:
589 \fB%?\fP c\d1\u \fB%t\fP b\d1\u \fB%e\fP c\d2\u \fB%t\fP b\d2\u \fB%e\fP c\d3\u \fB%t\fP b\d3\u \fB%e\fP c\d4\u \fB%t\fP b\d4\u \fB%e\fP \fB%;\fP
592 where c\di\u are conditions, b\di\u are bodies.
594 Use the \fB\-f\fP option of \fB@TIC@\fP or \fB@INFOCMP@\fP to see
595 the structure of if-then-else's.
596 Some strings, e.g., \fBsgr\fP can be very complicated when written
598 The \fB\-f\fP option splits the string into lines with the parts indented.
600 Binary operations are in postfix form with the operands in the usual order.
601 That is, to get x\-5 one would use \*(``%gx%{5}%\-\*(''.
602 \fB%P\fP and \fB%g\fP variables are
603 persistent across escape-string evaluations.
605 Consider the HP2645, which, to get to row 3 and column 12, needs
606 to be sent \eE&a12c03Y padded for 6 milliseconds.
607 The order of the rows and columns is inverted here,
608 and the row and column are printed as two digits.
609 The corresponding terminal description is expressed thus:
611 cup=\eE&a%p2%dc%p1%dY$<6>,
614 The Microterm \s-1ACT-IV\s0 needs the current row and column sent
615 preceded by a \fB\*^T\fP, with the row and column simply encoded in binary,
620 Terminals which use \*(``%c\*('' need to be able to
621 backspace the cursor (\fBcub1\fP),
622 and to move the cursor up one line on the screen (\fBcuu1\fP).
623 This is necessary because it is not always safe to transmit \fB\en\fP
624 \fB\*^D\fP and \fB\er\fP, as the system may change or discard them.
625 (The library routines dealing with terminfo set tty modes so that
626 tabs are never expanded, so \et is safe to send.
627 This turns out to be essential for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
629 A final example is the \s-1LSI ADM\s0-3a, which uses row and column
630 offset by a blank character, thus
632 cup=\eE=%p1%\*' \*'%+%c%p2%\*' \*'%+%c
635 After sending \*(``\eE=\*('', this pushes the first parameter, pushes the
636 ASCII value for a space (32), adds them (pushing the sum on the stack
637 in place of the two previous values) and outputs that value as a character.
638 Then the same is done for the second parameter.
639 More complex arithmetic is possible using the stack.
641 If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor
642 (to very upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as
643 \fBhome\fP; similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-hand corner
644 can be given as \fBll\fP; this may involve going up with \fBcuu1\fP
645 from the home position,
646 but a program should never do this itself (unless \fBll\fP does) because it
647 can make no assumption about the effect of moving up from the home position.
648 Note that the home position is the same as addressing to (0,0):
649 to the top left corner of the screen, not of memory.
650 (Thus, the \eEH sequence on HP terminals cannot be used for
653 If the terminal has row or column absolute cursor addressing,
654 these can be given as single parameter capabilities
656 (horizontal position absolute)
659 (vertical position absolute).
660 Sometimes these are shorter than the more general two parameter
661 sequence (as with the hp2645) and can be used in preference to
663 If there are parameterized local motions (e.g., move
665 spaces to the right) these can be given as
671 with a single parameter indicating how many spaces to move.
672 These are primarily useful if the terminal does not have
674 such as the \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4025.
676 If the terminal needs to be in a special mode when running
677 a program that uses these capabilities,
678 the codes to enter and exit this mode can be given
679 as \fBsmcup\fP and \fBrmcup\fP.
680 This arises, for example, from terminals like the Concept with more than
682 If the terminal has only memory relative cursor addressing and not screen
683 relative cursor addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed into
684 the terminal for cursor addressing to work properly.
685 This is also used for the \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4025,
688 sets the command character to be the one used by terminfo.
689 If the \fBsmcup\fP sequence will not restore the screen after an
690 \fBrmcup\fP sequence is output (to the state prior to outputting
691 \fBrmcup\fP), specify \fBnrrmc\fP.
693 SVr4 (and X/Open Curses)
694 list several string capabilities for setting margins.
695 Two were intended for use with terminals,
696 and another six were intended for use with printers.
698 The two terminal capabilities assume that the terminal may have
699 the capability of setting the left and/or right margin at the current
700 cursor column position.
702 The printer capabilities assume that the printer may have
703 two types of capability:
706 the ability to set a top and/or bottom margin using the current
709 parameterized capabilities for setting the top, bottom, left, right margins
710 given the number of rows or columns.
713 In practice, the categorization into \*(``terminal\*('' and \*(``printer\*(''
716 The AT&T SVr4 terminal database uses \fBsmgl\fP four times,
719 Three of the four are printers.
720 They lack the ability to set left/right margins by specifying the column.
722 Other (non-AT&T) terminals may support margins
723 but using different assumptions from AT&T.
725 For instance, the DEC VT420 supports left/right margins,
726 but only using a column parameter.
727 As an added complication, the VT420 uses two settings to fully enable
728 left/right margins (left/right margin mode, and origin mode).
729 The former enables the margins, which causes printed text
730 to wrap within margins, but the latter is needed to prevent
731 cursor-addressing outside those margins.
733 Both DEC VT420 left/right margins are set with a single control sequence.
734 If either is omitted, the corresponding margin is set to the left or
735 right edge of the display (rather than leaving the margin unmodified).
737 These are the margin-related capabilities:
745 smgl Set left margin at current column
746 smgr Set right margin at current column
747 smgb Set bottom margin at current line
748 smgt Set top margin at current line
749 smgbp Set bottom margin at line \fIN\fP
750 smglp Set left margin at column \fIN\fP
751 smgrp Set right margin at column \fIN\fP
752 smgtp Set top margin at line \fIN\fP
753 smglr Set both left and right margins to \fIL\fP and \fIR\fP
754 smgtb Set both top and bottom margins to \fIT\fP and \fIB\fP
757 When writing an application that
758 uses these string capabilities,
759 the pairs should be first checked to see
760 if each capability in the pair is set or only one is set:
762 If both \fBsmglp\fP and \fBsmgrp\fP are set,
763 each is used with a single argument, \fIN\fP,
764 that gives the column number of the left and right margin, respectively.
766 If both \fBsmgtp\fP and \fBsmgbp\fP are set,
767 each is used to set the top and bottom margin,
771 \fBsmgtp\fP is used with a single argument, \fIN\fP,
772 the line number of the top margin.
774 \fBsmgbp\fP is used with two arguments, \fIN\fP and \fIM\fP,
775 that give the line number of the bottom margin,
776 the first counting from the top of the
777 page and the second counting from the bottom.
778 This accommodates the two styles of specifying
779 the bottom margin in different manufacturers' printers.
782 When designing a terminfo entry for a
783 printer that has a settable bottom margin,
784 only the first or second argument should be used, depending on the printer.
785 When developing an application that uses \fBsmgbp\fP to set the bottom margin,
786 both arguments must be given.
788 Conversely, when only one capability in the pair is set:
790 If only one of \fBsmglp\fP and \fBsmgrp\fP is set,
791 then it is used with two arguments,
792 the column number of the left and right margins, in that order.
794 Likewise, if only one of \fBsmgtp\fP and \fBsmgbp\fP is set, then it
795 is used with two arguments that give the top and bottom margins,
796 in that order, counting from the top of the page.
798 When designing a terminfo entry for a printer that requires setting both
799 left and right or top and bottom margins simultaneously,
800 only one capability in the pairs
801 \fBsmglp\fP and \fBsmgrp\fP or
802 \fBsmgtp\fP and \fBsmgbp\fP should be defined,
803 leaving the other unset.
805 Except for very old terminal descriptions, e.g., those developed for SVr4,
806 the scheme just described should be considered obsolete.
807 An improved set of capabilities was added late in the SVr4 releases
808 (\fBsmglr\fP and \fBsmgtb\fP),
809 which explicitly use two parameters for setting the left/right or top/bottom
812 When setting margins, the line- and column-values are zero-based.
814 The \fBmgc\fP string capability should be defined.
815 Applications such as \fBtabs\fP(1) rely upon this to reset all margins.
818 If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
819 line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should be given as \fBel\fP.
820 If the terminal can clear from the beginning of the line to the current
821 position inclusive, leaving
822 the cursor where it is, this should be given as \fBel1\fP.
823 If the terminal can clear from the current position to the end of the
824 display, then this should be given as \fBed\fP.
825 \fBEd\fP is only defined from the first column of a line.
826 (Thus, it can be simulated by a request to delete a large number of lines,
831 .SS Insert/delete line and vertical motions
832 If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line where the cursor
833 is, this should be given as \fBil1\fP; this is done only from the first
835 The cursor must then appear on the newly blank line.
836 If the terminal can delete the line which the cursor is on, then this
837 should be given as \fBdl1\fP; this is done only from the first position on
838 the line to be deleted.
843 which take a single parameter and insert or delete that many lines can
849 If the terminal has a settable scrolling region (like the vt100)
850 the command to set this can be described with the
852 capability, which takes two parameters:
853 the top and bottom lines of the scrolling region.
854 The cursor position is, alas, undefined after using this command.
856 It is possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using
858 on a properly chosen region; the
862 (save and restore cursor) commands may be useful for ensuring that
863 your synthesized insert/delete string does not move the cursor.
864 (Note that the \fBncurses\fP(3X) library does this synthesis
865 automatically, so you need not compose insert/delete strings for
866 an entry with \fBcsr\fP).
868 Yet another way to construct insert and delete might be to use a combination of
869 index with the memory-lock feature found on some terminals (like the HP-700/90
870 series, which however also has insert/delete).
872 Inserting lines at the top or bottom of the screen can also be
877 on many terminals without a true insert/delete line,
878 and is often faster even on terminals with those features.
880 The boolean \fBnon_dest_scroll_region\fP should be set if each scrolling
881 window is effectively a view port on a screen-sized canvas.
883 this capability, create a scrolling region in the middle of the screen,
884 write something to the bottom line, move the cursor to the top of the region,
885 and do \fBri\fP followed by \fBdl1\fP or \fBind\fP.
887 off the bottom of the region by the \fBri\fP re-appears, then scrolling
889 System V and XSI Curses expect that \fBind\fP, \fBri\fP,
890 \fBindn\fP, and \fBrin\fP will simulate destructive scrolling; their
891 documentation cautions you not to define \fBcsr\fP unless this is true.
892 This \fBcurses\fP implementation is more liberal and will do explicit erases
893 after scrolling if \fBndsrc\fP is defined.
895 If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part of
896 memory, which all commands affect,
897 it should be given as the parameterized string
899 The four parameters are the starting and ending lines in memory
900 and the starting and ending columns in memory, in that order.
902 If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the
903 \fBda\fP capability should be given; if display memory can be retained
904 below, then \fBdb\fP should be given.
906 that deleting a line or scrolling may bring non-blank lines up from below
907 or that scrolling back with \fBri\fP may bring down non-blank lines.
908 .SS Insert/Delete Character
909 There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with respect to
910 insert/delete character which can be described using
912 The most common insert/delete character operations affect only the characters
913 on the current line and shift characters off the end of the line rigidly.
914 Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the Perkin Elmer Owl, make
915 a distinction between typed and untyped blanks on the screen, shifting
916 upon an insert or delete only to an untyped blank on the screen which is
917 either eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks.
919 You can determine the
920 kind of terminal you have by clearing the screen and then typing
921 text separated by cursor motions.
922 Type \*(``abc\ \ \ \ def\*('' using local
923 cursor motions (not spaces) between the \*(``abc\*('' and the \*(``def\*(''.
924 Then position the cursor before the \*(``abc\*('' and put the terminal in insert
926 If typing characters causes the rest of the line to shift
927 rigidly and characters to fall off the end, then your terminal does
928 not distinguish between blanks and untyped positions.
930 shifts over to the \*(``def\*('' which then move together around the end of the
931 current line and onto the next as you insert, you have the second type of
932 terminal, and should give the capability \fBin\fP, which stands for
933 \*(``insert null\*(''.
935 While these are two logically separate attributes (one line versus multi-line
936 insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we have seen no
937 terminals whose insert mode cannot be described with the single attribute.
939 Terminfo can describe both terminals which have an insert mode, and terminals
940 which send a simple sequence to open a blank position on the current line.
941 Give as \fBsmir\fP the sequence to get into insert mode.
942 Give as \fBrmir\fP the sequence to leave insert mode.
943 Now give as \fBich1\fP any sequence needed to be sent just before sending
944 the character to be inserted.
945 Most terminals with a true insert mode
946 will not give \fBich1\fP; terminals which send a sequence to open a screen
947 position should give it here.
949 If your terminal has both, insert mode is usually preferable to \fBich1\fP.
950 Technically, you should not give both unless the terminal actually requires
951 both to be used in combination.
952 Accordingly, some non-curses applications get
953 confused if both are present; the symptom is doubled characters in an update
955 This requirement is now rare; most \fBich\fP sequences do not
956 require previous smir, and most smir insert modes do not require \fBich1\fP
957 before each character.
958 Therefore, the new \fBcurses\fP actually assumes this
959 is the case and uses either \fBrmir\fP/\fBsmir\fP or \fBich\fP/\fBich1\fP as
960 appropriate (but not both).
961 If you have to write an entry to be used under
962 new curses for a terminal old enough to need both, include the
963 \fBrmir\fP/\fBsmir\fP sequences in \fBich1\fP.
965 If post insert padding is needed, give this as a number of milliseconds
966 in \fBip\fP (a string option).
967 Any other sequence which may need to be
968 sent after an insert of a single character may also be given in \fBip\fP.
969 If your terminal needs both to be placed into an \*(``insert mode\*('' and
970 a special code to precede each inserted character, then both
974 can be given, and both will be used.
977 capability, with one parameter,
979 will repeat the effects of
984 If padding is necessary between characters typed while not
985 in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds padding in \fBrmp\fP.
987 It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert mode
988 to delete characters on the same line (e.g., if there is a tab after
989 the insertion position).
990 If your terminal allows motion while in
991 insert mode you can give the capability \fBmir\fP to speed up inserting
993 Omitting \fBmir\fP will affect only speed.
995 (notably Datamedia's) must not have \fBmir\fP because of the way their
998 Finally, you can specify
1000 to delete a single character,
1006 and delete mode by giving \fBsmdc\fP and \fBrmdc\fP
1007 to enter and exit delete mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed
1014 characters (equivalent to outputting
1016 blanks without moving the cursor)
1020 .SS "Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells"
1021 If your terminal has one or more kinds of display attributes,
1022 these can be represented in a number of different ways.
1023 You should choose one display form as
1024 \f2standout mode\fP,
1025 representing a good, high contrast, easy-on-the-eyes,
1026 format for highlighting error messages and other attention getters.
1027 (If you have a choice, reverse video plus half-bright is good,
1028 or reverse video alone.)
1029 The sequences to enter and exit standout mode
1030 are given as \fBsmso\fP and \fBrmso\fP, respectively.
1031 If the code to change into or out of standout
1032 mode leaves one or even two blank spaces on the screen,
1033 as the TVI 912 and Teleray 1061 do,
1034 then \fBxmc\fP should be given to tell how many spaces are left.
1036 Codes to begin underlining and end underlining can be given as \fBsmul\fP
1037 and \fBrmul\fP respectively.
1038 If the terminal has a code to underline the current character and move
1039 the cursor one space to the right,
1040 such as the Microterm Mime,
1041 this can be given as \fBuc\fP.
1043 Other capabilities to enter various highlighting modes include
1047 (bold or extra bright)
1049 (dim or half-bright)
1051 (blanking or invisible text)
1061 (enter alternate character set mode)
1064 (exit alternate character set mode).
1065 Turning on any of these modes singly may or may not turn off other modes.
1067 If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of modes,
1068 this should be given as
1071 taking 9 parameters.
1072 Each parameter is either zero (0) or nonzero,
1073 as the corresponding attribute is on or off.
1074 The 9 parameters are, in order:
1075 standout, underline, reverse, blink, dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate
1077 Not all modes need be supported by
1079 only those for which corresponding separate attribute commands exist.
1081 For example, the DEC vt220 supports most of the modes:
1087 tparm Parameter Attribute Escape Sequence
1090 p1 standout \eE[0;1;7m
1091 p2 underline \eE[0;4m
1094 p5 dim not available
1098 p9 altcharset \*^O (off) \*^N (on)
1101 We begin each escape sequence by turning off any existing modes, since
1102 there is no quick way to determine whether they are active.
1103 Standout is set up to be the combination of reverse and bold.
1104 The vt220 terminal has a protect mode,
1105 though it is not commonly used in sgr
1106 because it protects characters on the screen from the host's erasures.
1107 The altcharset mode also is different in that it is either \*^O or \*^N,
1108 depending on whether it is off or on.
1109 If all modes are turned on, the resulting sequence is \eE[0;1;4;5;7;8m\*^N.
1111 Some sequences are common to different modes.
1112 For example, ;7 is output when either p1 or p3 is true, that is, if
1113 either standout or reverse modes are turned on.
1115 Writing out the above sequences, along with their dependencies yields
1122 Sequence When to Output terminfo Translation
1125 ;1 if p1 or p6 %?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;
1126 ;4 if p2 %?%p2%|%t;4%;
1127 ;5 if p4 %?%p4%|%t;5%;
1128 ;7 if p1 or p3 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;
1129 ;8 if p7 %?%p7%|%t;8%;
1131 \*^N or \*^O if p9 \*^N, else \*^O %?%p9%t\*^N%e\*^O%;
1134 Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
1137 sgr=\eE[0%?%p1%p6%|%t;1%;%?%p2%t;4%;%?%p4%t;5%;
1138 %?%p1%p3%|%t;7%;%?%p7%t;8%;m%?%p9%t\e016%e\e017%;,
1141 Remember that if you specify sgr, you must also specify sgr0.
1142 Also, some implementations rely on sgr being given if sgr0 is,
1143 Not all terminfo entries necessarily have an sgr string, however.
1144 Many terminfo entries are derived from termcap entries
1145 which have no sgr string.
1146 The only drawback to adding an sgr string is that termcap also
1147 assumes that sgr0 does not exit alternate character set mode.
1149 Terminals with the \*(``magic cookie\*('' glitch
1151 deposit special \*(``cookies\*('' when they receive mode-setting sequences,
1152 which affect the display algorithm rather than having extra bits for
1154 Some terminals, such as the HP 2621, automatically leave standout
1155 mode when they move to a new line or the cursor is addressed.
1156 Programs using standout mode should exit standout mode before
1157 moving the cursor or sending a newline,
1160 capability, asserting that it is safe to move in standout mode, is present.
1163 a way of flashing the screen to indicate an error quietly (a bell replacement)
1164 then this can be given as \fBflash\fP; it must not move the cursor.
1166 If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when it is
1167 not on the bottom line (to make, for example, a non-blinking underline into an
1168 easier to find block or blinking underline)
1169 give this sequence as
1171 If there is a way to make the cursor completely invisible, give that as
1175 should be given which undoes the effects of both of these modes.
1177 If your terminal correctly generates underlined characters
1178 (with no special codes needed)
1179 even though it does not overstrike,
1180 then you should give the capability \fBul\fP.
1181 If a character overstriking another leaves both characters on the screen,
1182 specify the capability \fBos\fP.
1183 If overstrikes are erasable with a blank,
1184 then this should be indicated by giving \fBeo\fP.
1185 .SS Keypad and Function Keys
1186 If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys are pressed,
1187 this information can be given.
1188 Note that it is not possible to handle
1189 terminals where the keypad only works in local (this applies, for example,
1190 to the unshifted HP 2621 keys).
1191 If the keypad can be set to transmit or not transmit,
1192 give these codes as \fBsmkx\fP and \fBrmkx\fP.
1193 Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always transmit.
1195 The codes sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow, down arrow,
1196 and home keys can be given as
1197 \fBkcub1, kcuf1, kcuu1, kcud1, \fRand\fB khome\fP respectively.
1198 If there are function keys such as f0, f1, ..., f10, the codes they send
1199 can be given as \fBkf0, kf1, ..., kf10\fP.
1200 If these keys have labels other than the default f0 through f10, the labels
1201 can be given as \fBlf0, lf1, ..., lf10\fP.
1203 The codes transmitted by certain other special keys can be given:
1215 (clear the tab stop in this column),
1218 (clear screen or erase key),
1230 (clear to end of line),
1233 (clear to end of screen),
1236 (insert character or enter insert mode),
1248 (scroll forward/down),
1251 (scroll backward/up),
1254 (set a tab stop in this column).
1256 In addition, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the four
1257 arrow keys, the other five keys can be given as
1264 These keys are useful when the effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed.
1266 Strings to program function keys can be given as
1271 A string to program screen labels should be specified as \fBpln\fP.
1272 Each of these strings takes two parameters: the function key number to
1273 program (from 0 to 10) and the string to program it with.
1274 Function key numbers out of this range may program undefined keys in
1275 a terminal dependent manner.
1276 The difference between the capabilities is that
1278 causes pressing the given key to be the same as the user typing the
1281 causes the string to be executed by the terminal in local; and
1283 causes the string to be transmitted to the computer.
1285 The capabilities \fBnlab\fP, \fBlw\fP and \fBlh\fP
1286 define the number of programmable
1287 screen labels and their width and height.
1288 If there are commands to turn the labels on and off,
1289 give them in \fBsmln\fP and \fBrmln\fP.
1290 \fBsmln\fP is normally output after one or more pln
1291 sequences to make sure that the change becomes visible.
1292 .SS Tabs and Initialization
1293 A few capabilities are used only for tabs:
1295 If the terminal has hardware tabs, the command to advance to the next
1296 tab stop can be given as
1298 (usually control/I).
1300 A \*(``back-tab\*('' command which moves leftward to the preceding tab stop can
1304 By convention, if the teletype modes indicate that tabs are being
1305 expanded by the computer rather than being sent to the terminal,
1306 programs should not use
1310 even if they are present, since the user may not have the tab stops
1313 If the terminal has hardware tabs which are initially set every
1315 spaces when the terminal is powered up,
1316 the numeric parameter
1318 is given, showing the number of spaces the tabs are set to.
1320 The \fBit\fP capability is normally used by the \fB@TSET@\fP
1321 command to determine whether to set the mode for hardware tab expansion,
1322 and whether to set the tab stops.
1323 If the terminal has tab stops that can be saved in non-volatile memory,
1324 the terminfo description can assume that they are properly set.
1333 initialization strings for the terminal,
1336 the path name of a program to be run to initialize the terminal,
1338 and \fBif\fP, the name of a file containing long initialization strings.
1340 These strings are expected to set the terminal into modes consistent
1341 with the rest of the terminfo description.
1342 They are normally sent to the terminal, by the
1344 option of the \fB@TPUT@\fP program, each time the user logs in.
1345 They will be printed in the following order:
1357 set the margins using
1360 \fBsmglp\fP and \fBsmgrp\fP or
1362 \fBsmgl\fP and \fBsmgr\fP
1376 Most initialization is done with
1378 Special terminal modes can be set up without duplicating strings
1379 by putting the common sequences in
1381 and special cases in
1386 A set of sequences that does a harder reset from a totally unknown state
1400 These strings are output
1401 by \fIreset\fP option of \fB@TPUT@\fP,
1402 or by the \fB@RESET@\fP program
1403 (an alias of \fB@TSET@\fP),
1404 which is used when the terminal gets into a wedged state.
1405 Commands are normally placed in
1411 only if they produce annoying effects on the screen and are not
1412 necessary when logging in.
1413 For example, the command to set the vt100 into 80-column mode would
1416 but it causes an annoying glitch of the screen and is not normally
1417 needed since the terminal is usually already in 80-column mode.
1419 The \fB@RESET@\fP program writes strings including
1421 etc., in the same order as the
1434 reset capability strings are missing,
1435 the \fB@RESET@\fP program
1436 falls back upon the corresponding initialization capability string.
1438 If there are commands to set and clear tab stops, they can be given as
1440 (clear all tab stops)
1443 (set a tab stop in the current column of every row).
1444 If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than can be
1445 described by this, the sequence can be placed in
1450 The \fB@TPUT@ reset\fP command uses the same capability strings
1451 as the \fB@RESET@\fP command,
1452 although the two programs (\fB@TPUT@\fP and \fB@RESET@\fP)
1453 provide different command-line options.
1455 In practice, these terminfo capabilities are not often used in
1456 initialization of tabs
1457 (though they are required for the \fB@TABS@\fP program):
1459 Almost all hardware terminals (at least those which supported tabs)
1460 initialized those to every \fIeight\fP columns:
1462 The only exception was the AT&T 2300 series,
1463 which set tabs to every \fIfive\fP columns.
1465 In particular, developers of the hardware terminals which are commonly used
1466 as models for modern terminal emulators provided documentation demonstrating
1467 that \fIeight\fP columns were the standard.
1469 Because of this, the terminal initialization programs
1470 \fB@TPUT@\fP and \fB@TSET@\fP
1472 \fBtbc\fP (\fBclear_all_tabs\fP) and
1473 \fBhts\fP (\fBset_tab\fP) capabilities directly
1474 only when the \fBit\fP (\fBinit_tabs\fP) capability
1475 is set to a value other than \fIeight\fP.
1476 .SS Delays and Padding
1477 Many older and slower terminals do not support either XON/XOFF or DTR
1478 handshaking, including hard copy terminals and some very archaic CRTs
1479 (including, for example, DEC VT100s).
1480 These may require padding characters
1481 after certain cursor motions and screen changes.
1483 If the terminal uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control (that is,
1484 it automatically emits \*^S back to the host when its input buffers are
1487 This capability suppresses the emission of padding.
1489 for memory-mapped console devices effectively that do not have a speed limit.
1490 Padding information should still be included so that routines can
1491 make better decisions about relative costs, but actual pad characters will
1494 If \fBpb\fP (padding baud rate) is given, padding is suppressed at baud rates
1495 below the value of \fBpb\fP.
1496 If the entry has no padding baud rate, then
1497 whether padding is emitted or not is completely controlled by \fBxon\fP.
1499 If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad,
1500 then this can be given as \fBpad\fP.
1501 Only the first character of the
1505 Some terminals have an extra \*(``status line\*('' which is not normally used by
1506 software (and thus not counted in the terminal's \fBlines\fP capability).
1508 The simplest case is a status line which is cursor-addressable but not
1509 part of the main scrolling region on the screen; the Heathkit H19 has
1510 a status line of this kind, as would a 24-line VT100 with a 23-line
1511 scrolling region set up on initialization.
1512 This situation is indicated
1513 by the \fBhs\fP capability.
1515 Some terminals with status lines need special sequences to access the
1517 These may be expressed as a string with single parameter
1518 \fBtsl\fP which takes the cursor to a given zero-origin column on the
1520 The capability \fBfsl\fP must return to the main-screen
1521 cursor positions before the last \fBtsl\fP.
1522 You may need to embed the
1523 string values of \fBsc\fP (save cursor) and \fBrc\fP (restore cursor)
1524 in \fBtsl\fP and \fBfsl\fP to accomplish this.
1526 The status line is normally assumed to be the same width as the width
1528 If this is untrue, you can specify it with the numeric
1529 capability \fBwsl\fP.
1531 A command to erase or blank the status line may be specified as \fBdsl\fP.
1533 The boolean capability \fBeslok\fP specifies that escape sequences, tabs,
1534 etc., work ordinarily in the status line.
1536 The \fBncurses\fP implementation does not yet use any of these capabilities.
1537 They are documented here in case they ever become important.
1539 Many terminals have alternate character sets useful for forms-drawing.
1540 Terminfo and \fBcurses\fP have built-in support
1541 for most of the drawing characters
1542 supported by the VT100, with some characters from the AT&T 4410v1 added.
1543 This alternate character set may be specified by the \fBacsc\fP capability.
1548 \& \& ASCII acsc acsc
1549 Glyph Name ACS Name Fallback Symbol Value
1553 arrow pointing right ACS_RARROW > + 0x2b
1554 arrow pointing left ACS_LARROW < , 0x2c
1555 arrow pointing up ACS_UARROW \*^ \- 0x2d
1556 arrow pointing down ACS_DARROW v . 0x2e
1557 solid square block ACS_BLOCK # 0 0x30
1558 diamond ACS_DIAMOND + \(ga 0x60
1559 checker board (stipple) ACS_CKBOARD : a 0x61
1560 degree symbol ACS_DEGREE \e f 0x66
1561 plus/minus ACS_PLMINUS # g 0x67
1562 board of squares ACS_BOARD # h 0x68
1563 lantern symbol ACS_LANTERN # i 0x69
1564 lower right corner ACS_LRCORNER + j 0x6a
1565 upper right corner ACS_URCORNER + k 0x6b
1566 upper left corner ACS_ULCORNER + l 0x6c
1567 lower left corner ACS_LLCORNER + m 0x6d
1568 large plus or crossover ACS_PLUS + n 0x6e
1569 scan line 1 ACS_S1 \*~ o 0x6f
1570 scan line 3 ACS_S3 \- p 0x70
1571 horizontal line ACS_HLINE \- q 0x71
1572 scan line 7 ACS_S7 \- r 0x72
1573 scan line 9 ACS_S9 \&_ s 0x73
1574 tee pointing right ACS_LTEE + t 0x74
1575 tee pointing left ACS_RTEE + u 0x75
1576 tee pointing up ACS_BTEE + v 0x76
1577 tee pointing down ACS_TTEE + w 0x77
1578 vertical line ACS_VLINE | x 0x78
1579 less-than-or-equal-to ACS_LEQUAL < y 0x79
1580 greater-than-or-equal-to ACS_GEQUAL > z 0x7a
1581 greek pi ACS_PI * { 0x7b
1582 not-equal ACS_NEQUAL ! | 0x7c
1583 UK pound sign ACS_STERLING f } 0x7d
1584 bullet ACS_BULLET o \*~ 0x7e
1587 A few notes apply to the table itself:
1589 X/Open Curses incorrectly states that the mapping for \fIlantern\fP is
1590 uppercase \*(``I\*('' although Unix implementations use the
1591 lowercase \*(``i\*('' mapping.
1593 The DEC VT100 implemented graphics using the alternate character set
1594 feature, temporarily switching \fImodes\fP and sending characters
1595 in the range 0x60 (96) to 0x7e (126)
1596 (the \fBacsc Value\fP column in the table).
1598 The AT&T terminal added graphics characters outside that range.
1600 Some of the characters within the range do not match the VT100;
1601 presumably they were used in the AT&T terminal:
1602 \fIboard of squares\fP replaces the VT100 \fInewline\fP symbol, while
1603 \fIlantern symbol\fP replaces the VT100 \fIvertical tab\fP symbol.
1604 The other VT100 symbols for control characters (\fIhorizontal tab\fP,
1605 \fIcarriage return\fP and \fIline-feed\fP) are not (re)used in curses.
1607 The best way to define a new device's graphics set is to add a column
1608 to a copy of this table for your terminal, giving the character which
1609 (when emitted between \fBsmacs\fP/\fBrmacs\fP switches) will be rendered
1610 as the corresponding graphic.
1611 Then read off the VT100/your terminal
1612 character pairs right to left in sequence; these become the ACSC string.
1614 The curses library functions \fBinit_pair\fP and \fBinit_color\fP
1615 manipulate the \fIcolor pairs\fP and \fIcolor values\fP discussed in this
1617 (see \fBcurs_color\fP(3X) for details on these and related functions).
1619 Most color terminals are either \*(``Tektronix-like\*('' or \*(``HP-like\*('':
1622 terminals have a predefined set of \fIN\fP colors
1623 (where \fIN\fP is usually 8),
1625 character-cell foreground and background characters independently, mixing them
1626 into \fIN\fP\ *\ \fIN\fP color-pairs.
1628 On HP-like terminals, the user must set each color
1629 pair up separately (foreground and background are not independently settable).
1630 Up to \fIM\fP color-pairs may be set up from 2*\fIM\fP different colors.
1631 ANSI-compatible terminals are Tektronix-like.
1633 Some basic color capabilities are independent of the color method.
1635 capabilities \fBcolors\fP and \fBpairs\fP specify the maximum numbers of colors
1636 and color-pairs that can be displayed simultaneously.
1637 The \fBop\fP (original
1638 pair) string resets foreground and background colors to their default values
1640 The \fBoc\fP string resets all colors or color-pairs to
1641 their default values for the terminal.
1642 Some terminals (including many PC
1643 terminal emulators) erase screen areas with the current background color rather
1644 than the power-up default background; these should have the boolean capability
1647 While the curses library works with \fIcolor pairs\fP
1648 (reflecting the inability of some devices to set foreground
1649 and background colors independently),
1650 there are separate capabilities for setting these features:
1652 To change the current foreground or background color on a Tektronix-type
1653 terminal, use \fBsetaf\fP (set ANSI foreground) and \fBsetab\fP (set ANSI
1654 background) or \fBsetf\fP (set foreground) and \fBsetb\fP (set background).
1655 These take one parameter, the color number.
1656 The SVr4 documentation describes
1657 only \fBsetaf\fP/\fBsetab\fP; the XPG4 draft says that "If the terminal
1658 supports ANSI escape sequences to set background and foreground, they should
1659 be coded as \fBsetaf\fP and \fBsetab\fP, respectively.
1662 supports other escape sequences to set background and foreground, they should
1663 be coded as \fBsetf\fP and \fBsetb\fP, respectively.
1664 The \fBvidputs\fP and the \fBrefresh\fP(3X) functions
1665 use the \fBsetaf\fP and \fBsetab\fP capabilities if they are defined.
1667 The \fBsetaf\fP/\fBsetab\fP and \fBsetf\fP/\fBsetb\fP capabilities take a
1668 single numeric argument each.
1669 Argument values 0-7 of \fBsetaf\fP/\fBsetab\fP are portably defined as
1670 follows (the middle column is the symbolic #define available in the header for
1671 the \fBcurses\fP or \fBncurses\fP libraries).
1672 The terminal hardware is free to
1673 map these as it likes, but the RGB values indicate normal locations in color
1680 Color #define Value RGB
1682 black COLOR_BLACK 0 0, 0, 0
1683 red COLOR_RED 1 max, 0, 0
1684 green COLOR_GREEN 2 0, max, 0
1685 yellow COLOR_YELLOW 3 max, max, 0
1686 blue COLOR_BLUE 4 0, 0, max
1687 magenta COLOR_MAGENTA 5 max, 0, max
1688 cyan COLOR_CYAN 6 0, max, max
1689 white COLOR_WHITE 7 max, max, max
1692 The argument values of \fBsetf\fP/\fBsetb\fP historically correspond to
1693 a different mapping, i.e.,
1699 Color #define Value RGB
1701 black COLOR_BLACK 0 0, 0, 0
1702 blue COLOR_BLUE 1 0, 0, max
1703 green COLOR_GREEN 2 0, max, 0
1704 cyan COLOR_CYAN 3 0, max, max
1705 red COLOR_RED 4 max, 0, 0
1706 magenta COLOR_MAGENTA 5 max, 0, max
1707 yellow COLOR_YELLOW 6 max, max, 0
1708 white COLOR_WHITE 7 max, max, max
1711 It is important to not confuse the two sets of color capabilities;
1712 otherwise red/blue will be interchanged on the display.
1714 On an HP-like terminal, use \fBscp\fP with a color-pair number parameter to set
1715 which color pair is current.
1717 Some terminals allow the \fIcolor values\fP to be modified:
1719 On a Tektronix-like terminal, the capability \fBccc\fP may be present to
1720 indicate that colors can be modified.
1721 If so, the \fBinitc\fP capability will
1722 take a color number (0 to \fBcolors\fP \- 1)and three more parameters which
1724 These three parameters default to being interpreted as RGB
1725 (Red, Green, Blue) values.
1726 If the boolean capability \fBhls\fP is present,
1727 they are instead as HLS (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) indices.
1731 On an HP-like terminal, \fBinitp\fP may give a capability for changing a
1733 It will take seven parameters; a color-pair number (0 to
1734 \fBmax_pairs\fP \- 1), and two triples describing first background and then
1736 These parameters must be (Red, Green, Blue) or
1737 (Hue, Lightness, Saturation) depending on \fBhls\fP.
1739 On some color terminals, colors collide with highlights.
1741 these collisions with the \fBncv\fP capability.
1742 This is a bit-mask of
1743 attributes not to be used when colors are enabled.
1744 The correspondence with the
1745 attributes understood by \fBcurses\fP is as follows:
1751 Attribute Bit Decimal Set by
1761 A_ALTCHARSET 8 256 sgr
1762 A_HORIZONTAL 9 512 sgr1
1765 A_RIGHT 12 4096 sgr1
1767 A_VERTICAL 14 16384 sgr1
1768 A_ITALIC 15 32768 sitm
1771 For example, on many IBM PC consoles, the underline attribute collides with the
1772 foreground color blue and is not available in color mode.
1774 an \fBncv\fP capability of 2.
1776 SVr4 curses does nothing with \fBncv\fP, ncurses recognizes it and optimizes
1777 the output in favor of colors.
1779 If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character as a pad, then this
1780 can be given as pad.
1781 Only the first character of the pad string is used.
1782 If the terminal does not have a pad character, specify npc.
1783 Note that ncurses implements the termcap-compatible \fBPC\fP variable;
1784 though the application may set this value to something other than
1785 a null, ncurses will test \fBnpc\fP first and use napms if the terminal
1786 has no pad character.
1788 If the terminal can move up or down half a line,
1789 this can be indicated with
1795 This is primarily useful for superscripts and subscripts on hard-copy terminals.
1796 If a hard-copy terminal can eject to the next page (form feed), give this as
1798 (usually control/L).
1800 If there is a command to repeat a given character a given number of
1801 times (to save time transmitting a large number of identical characters)
1802 this can be indicated with the parameterized string
1804 The first parameter is the character to be repeated and the second
1805 is the number of times to repeat it.
1806 Thus, tparm(repeat_char, \*'x\*', 10) is the same as \*(``xxxxxxxxxx\*(''.
1808 If the terminal has a settable command character,
1809 such as the \s-1TEKTRONIX\s+1 4025,
1810 this can be indicated with
1812 A prototype command character is chosen which is used in all capabilities.
1813 This character is given in the
1815 capability to identify it.
1816 The following convention is supported on some Unix systems:
1817 The environment is to be searched for a
1819 variable, and if found, all
1820 occurrences of the prototype character are replaced with the character
1821 in the environment variable.
1823 Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind of known
1832 (generic) capability so that programs can complain that they do not know
1833 how to talk to the terminal.
1834 (This capability does not apply to
1836 terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are known.)
1838 If the terminal has a \*(``meta key\*('' which acts as a shift key,
1839 setting the 8th bit of any character transmitted, this fact can
1842 Otherwise, software will assume that the 8th bit is parity and it
1843 will usually be cleared.
1844 If strings exist to turn this \*(``meta mode\*('' on and off, they
1850 If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on the screen
1851 at once, the number of lines of memory can be indicated with
1855 indicates that the number of lines is not fixed,
1856 but that there is still more memory than fits on the screen.
1858 If the terminal is one of those supported by the Unix virtual
1859 terminal protocol, the terminal number can be given as
1863 strings which control an auxiliary printer connected to the terminal
1866 print the contents of the screen,
1868 turn off the printer, and
1870 turn on the printer.
1871 When the printer is on, all text sent to the terminal will be sent
1873 It is undefined whether the text is also displayed on the terminal screen
1874 when the printer is on.
1877 takes one parameter, and leaves the printer on for as many characters
1878 as the value of the parameter, then turns the printer off.
1879 The parameter should not exceed 255.
1882 is transparently passed to the printer while an
1885 .SS Glitches and Braindamage
1886 Hazeltine terminals,
1887 which do not allow \*(``\*~\*('' characters to be displayed should
1890 Terminals which ignore a line-feed immediately after an \fBam\fP wrap,
1891 such as the Concept and vt100,
1892 should indicate \fBxenl\fP.
1896 is required to get rid of standout
1897 (instead of merely writing normal text on top of it),
1898 \fBxhp\fP should be given.
1900 Teleray terminals, where tabs turn all characters moved over to blanks,
1901 should indicate \fBxt\fP (destructive tabs).
1902 Note: the variable indicating this is now \*(``dest_tabs_magic_smso\*(''; in
1903 older versions, it was teleray_glitch.
1904 This glitch is also taken to mean that it is not possible to position
1905 the cursor on top of a \*(``magic cookie\*('',
1906 that to erase standout mode it is instead necessary to use
1907 delete and insert line.
1908 The ncurses implementation ignores this glitch.
1910 The Beehive Superbee, which is unable to correctly transmit the escape
1911 or control/C characters, has
1913 indicating that the f1 key is used for escape and f2 for control/C.
1914 (Only certain Superbees have this problem, depending on the ROM.)
1915 Note that in older terminfo versions, this capability was called
1916 \*(``beehive_glitch\*(''; it is now \*(``no_esc_ctl_c\*(''.
1918 Other specific terminal problems may be corrected by adding more
1919 capabilities of the form \fBx\fIx\fR.
1920 .SS Pitfalls of Long Entries
1921 Long terminfo entries are unlikely to be a problem; to date, no entry has even
1922 approached terminfo's 4096-byte string-table maximum.
1923 Unfortunately, the termcap
1924 translations are much more strictly limited (to 1023 bytes),
1925 thus termcap translations of long terminfo entries can cause problems.
1927 The man pages for 4.3BSD
1928 and older versions of \fBtgetent\fP instruct the user to
1929 allocate a 1024-byte buffer for the termcap entry.
1930 The entry gets null-terminated by
1931 the termcap library, so that makes the maximum safe length for a termcap entry
1933 Depending on what the application and the termcap library being used does,
1934 and where in the termcap file the terminal type that \fBtgetent\fP
1935 is searching for is, several bad things can happen:
1937 some termcap libraries print a warning message,
1939 some exit if they find an entry that's longer than 1023 bytes,
1941 some neither exit nor warn, doing nothing useful, and
1943 some simply truncate the entries to 1023 bytes.
1945 Some application programs allocate more than
1946 the recommended 1K for the termcap entry; others do not.
1948 Each termcap entry has two important sizes associated with it: before
1949 \*(``tc\*('' expansion, and after \*(``tc\*('' expansion.
1950 \*(``tc\*('' is the capability that
1951 tacks on another termcap entry to the end of the current one, to add
1952 on its capabilities.
1953 If a termcap entry does not use the \*(``tc\*(''
1954 capability, then of course the two lengths are the same.
1956 The \*(``before tc expansion\*('' length is the most important one, because it
1957 affects more than just users of that particular terminal.
1959 length of the entry as it exists in /etc/termcap, minus the
1960 backslash-newline pairs, which \fBtgetent\fP strips out while reading it.
1961 Some termcap libraries strip off the final newline, too (GNU termcap does not).
1964 a termcap entry before expansion is more than 1023 bytes long,
1966 and the application has only allocated a 1k buffer,
1968 and the termcap library (like the one in BSD/OS 1.1 and GNU) reads
1969 the whole entry into the buffer, no matter what its length, to see
1970 if it is the entry it wants,
1972 and \fBtgetent\fP is searching for a terminal type that either is the
1973 long entry, appears in the termcap file after the long entry, or
1974 does not appear in the file at all (so that \fBtgetent\fP has to search
1975 the whole termcap file).
1977 Then \fBtgetent\fP will overwrite memory,
1979 and probably core dump the program.
1980 Programs like telnet are particularly vulnerable; modern telnets
1981 pass along values like the terminal type automatically.
1982 The results are almost
1983 as undesirable with a termcap library, like SunOS 4.1.3 and Ultrix 4.4, that
1984 prints warning messages when it reads an overly long termcap entry.
1986 termcap library truncates long entries, like OSF/1 3.0, it is immune to dying
1987 here but will return incorrect data for the terminal.
1989 The \*(``after tc expansion\*('' length will have a similar effect to the
1990 above, but only for people who actually set \fITERM\fP to that terminal
1991 type, since \fBtgetent\fP only does \*(``tc\*('' expansion once it is found the
1992 terminal type it was looking for, not while searching.
1994 In summary, a termcap entry that is longer than 1023 bytes can cause,
1995 on various combinations of termcap libraries and applications, a core
1996 dump, warnings, or incorrect operation.
1997 If it is too long even before
1998 \*(``tc\*('' expansion, it will have this effect even for users of some other
1999 terminal types and users whose \fITERM\fP variable does not have a termcap
2002 When in \-C (translate to termcap) mode, the \fBncurses\fP implementation of
2003 \fB@TIC@\fP(1M) issues warning messages when the pre-tc length of a termcap
2004 translation is too long.
2005 The \-c (check) option also checks resolved (after tc
2008 Do not count on compiled (binary) \fI\%terminfo\fP entries being
2009 portable between commercial Unix systems.
2010 At least two implementations of \fI\%terminfo\fP
2011 (those of HP-UX and AIX)
2012 diverged from those of other System V Unices after SVr1,
2013 adding extension capabilities to the string table that
2014 (in the binary format)
2015 collide with subsequent System V and XSI Curses extensions.
2017 Searching for terminal descriptions in
2018 \fI$HOME/.terminfo\fP and \fI\%TERMINFO_DIRS\fP
2019 is not supported by older implementations.
2021 Some SVr4 \fBcurses\fP implementations, and all previous to SVr4, do not
2022 interpret the %A and %O operators in parameter strings.
2024 SVr4/XPG4 do not specify whether \fBmsgr\fP licenses movement while in
2025 an alternate-character-set mode (such modes may, among other things, map
2026 CR and NL to characters that do not trigger local motions).
2027 The \fBncurses\fP implementation ignores \fBmsgr\fP in \fBALTCHARSET\fP
2029 This raises the possibility that an XPG4
2030 implementation making the opposite interpretation may need terminfo
2031 entries made for \fBncurses\fP to have \fBmsgr\fP turned off.
2033 The \fBncurses\fP library handles insert-character and insert-character modes
2034 in a slightly non-standard way to get better update efficiency.
2036 the \fBInsert/Delete Character\fP subsection above.
2038 The parameter substitutions for \fBset_clock\fP and \fBdisplay_clock\fP are
2039 not documented in SVr4 or the XSI Curses standard.
2040 They are deduced from the
2041 documentation for the AT&T 505 terminal.
2043 Be careful assigning the \fBkmous\fP capability.
2044 The \fBncurses\fP library wants to interpret it as \fBKEY_MOUSE\fP,
2045 for use by terminals and emulators like xterm
2046 that can return mouse-tracking information in the keyboard-input stream.
2048 X/Open Curses does not mention italics.
2049 Portable applications must assume that numeric capabilities are
2050 signed 16-bit values.
2051 This includes the \fIno_color_video\fP (\fBncv\fP) capability.
2052 The 32768 mask value used for italics with \fBncv\fP can be confused with
2053 an absent or cancelled \fBncv\fP.
2054 If italics should work with colors,
2055 then the \fBncv\fP value must be specified, even if it is zero.
2057 Different commercial ports of \fI\%terminfo\fP and \fIcurses\fP support
2058 different subsets of XSI Curses and
2060 different extensions.
2062 accurate as of October 1995,
2063 after which the commercial Unix market contracted and lost diversity.
2067 and \fI\%ncurses\fP support all SVr4 capabilities.
2069 IRIX supports the SVr4 set and adds one undocumented extended string
2070 capability (\fB\%set_pglen\fP).
2072 SVr1 and Ultrix support a restricted subset of \fI\%terminfo\fP
2074 The Booleans end with \fB\%xon_xoff\fP;
2075 the numerics with \fB\%width_status_line\fP;
2076 and the strings with \fB\%prtr_non\fP.
2078 HP/UX supports the SVr1 subset,
2079 plus the SVr[234] numerics
2081 \fB\%label_height\fP,
2082 \fB\%label_width\fP,
2083 plus function keys 11 through 63,
2089 plus a number of incompatible string table extensions.
2091 AIX supports the SVr1 subset,
2092 plus function keys 11 through 63,
2093 plus a number of incompatible string table extensions.
2095 OSF/1 supports both the SVr4 set and the AIX extensions.
2099 compiled terminal description database directory
2101 Zeyd M. Ben-Halim, Eric S. Raymond, Thomas E. Dickey.
2102 Based on \fIpcurses\fP by Pavel Curtis.
2104 \fB\%@INFOCMP@\fP(1M),
2108 \fB\%curs_color\fP(3X),
2109 \fB\%curs_terminfo\fP(3X),
2110 \fB\%curs_variables\fP(3X),
2112 \fB\%term_variables\fP(3X),
2114 \fB\%user_caps\fP(5)