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AIX Operating System
IBM AIX X-Windows
User's Guide
1.0 Chapter 1. Getting Started with X-Windows
1.1 CONTENTS
1.2 About This Chapter
1.3 Starting X-Windows
1.3.1 Additional Information
1.3.2 Menu Selection
1.4 Moving a Window
1.5 Resizing a Window
1.6 Opening a Clock Window
1.7 Hiding and Showing a Window
1.8 Opening an AIX Shell Window
1.9 Circulating a Window
1.10 Canceling a Window
1.11 Stopping the Server
1.12 Using Other Functions
1.2 About This Chapter
X-Windows is a tool designed to help enhance the usability
of the overall application processing environment. X-Windows provides
facilities that can help you work with existing application programs as
well as design and implement new applications.
X-Windows permits multiple application processes to operate
within multiple windows displayed on a virtual terminal. You can
manage windows directly or with application programs. You can hide
windows partially or completely. You can also update partially hidden
and completely hidden windows.
Each window can have a specific character set (font) associated
with it. Additionally, each window can have its own keyboard mapping.
This capability permits character sets available on the IBM RT, PS/2, or
the S/370 systems (with some exceptions) to be connected to a specific
window. Keyboard mapping coupled with the capability to access all system
characters provides National Language Support (NLS).
X-Windows provides many popular window management functions,
including opening, moving, resizing, or circulating a window.
X-Windows provides the capability to manage local and remote
displays. Remote display management can be accomplished with other RT,
PS/2, and S/370 systems connected through TCP/IP.
X-Windows also provides a library of C language functions
and macros and FORTRAN functions and subroutines to interface clients with
servers. Refer to IBM AIX X-Windows Programmer's Reference for more information
on these functions. Through various commands and calls, end users
or application programs can acquire the services of the windowing functions.
This chapter shows you how to use the following X-Windows functions:
Starting X-Windows
Moving and resizing a window
Opening a clock window
Hiding and showing a window
Opening an AIX shell window
Circulating a window
Canceling a window
Stopping the server.
1.3 Starting X-Windows
The steps in the following box tell you how to start X-Windows.
Be sure that X-Windows is installed. (For installation instructions,
refer to Appendix A, "Installing AIX X-Windows.")
+--- Starting X-Windows -------------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Log in to your system.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. At the shell prompt, type:
¦
¦
¦
¦ xinit
¦
¦
¦
¦ Press Enter.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Run programs in the AIX Shell or use the window
manager menu to ¦
¦ manipulate windows.
¦
¦
¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
1.3.1 Additional Information
1. If you do not know how to log in, refer to Using
the AIX Operating System.
If you want X-Windows to start
each time you log in, see "Logging into AIX X-Windows Automatically" in
topic 3.4.
2. Next to the shell prompt, type the command xinit.
The xinit command does three things:
a. Starts the X Server, except
on the S/370 system, using the X command. This controls the
input and output of X-Windows.
b. Opens the window manager
menu in the upper right corner of the screen using the aixwm
command.
c. Opens the initial X-Windows
AIX Shell window using the aixterm command.
Note: For more info on these
commands, see Chapter 2, "AIX X-Windows Commands."
3. After executing xinit, you see a screen similar
to this:
PICTURE 1
Note: To type in a window, the mouse cursor must
be in that window.
An AIX Shell window functions as a terminal. The
mouse cursor must be in the AIX Shell window to type in it. You can
run programs just as you would on any other terminal connected to your
system. For example, type li and press Enter to see the contents
of your current directory.
1.3.2 Menu Selection
aixwm provides two ways to make menu selections using the
mouse. To choose an item in a menu, do one of the following:
Use the mouse to move the cursor to the desired
item, and then click any button on the mouse.
-OR-
Press and hold a button on the mouse while
you move the cursor to the desired item. Then release the button.
aixwm highlights your selection.
For fast selection, refer to "Button/Key Selection" and
"Pop-up Button Selection" in topic 2.6.2.
1.4 Moving a Window
You can use the window manager to manipulate windows.
Use Reset to move a window. For example, you may want the AIX Shell
window in a different place. When you apply Move to a window, a rubber-band
outline is moved with the mouse. The rubber-band outline is the outline
that is displayed in the window. Use the following steps to move
a window:
+--- Moving a Window ----------------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Reset from the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Use the mouse to move the cursor inside the AIX
Shell window. ¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Press and hold the same button you used in Step
1. A rubber-band ¦
¦ outline is displayed.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 4. Use the mouse to move the rubber-band outline
while holding the ¦
¦ button down on the mouse.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 5. Release the button when the rubber-band outline
is in the location ¦
¦ you desire. The window is
moved to fill the rubber-band outline. ¦
¦
¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The following figure shows an example of an AIX Shell window
and the rubber-band outline created by using the Move item in the window
manager menu:
PICTURE 2
1.5 Resizing a Window
In addition to moving a window, you can also resize it.
Use Resize to resize a window by moving a corner or an edge. When
you apply Resize to a window, a rubber-band outline of the window is displayed.
Use the following steps to resize a window:
+--- Resizing a Window --------------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Resize from the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Move the cursor to any corner or edge of the
window that you want ¦
¦ to resize.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Press and hold the same mouse button you used
in step 1. A ¦
¦ rubber-band outline of the window
is displayed, and a box is ¦
¦ displayed inside the window with
the screen size in it.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 4. Move the rubber-band outline while holding the
button down on the ¦
¦ mouse. The numbers in the
box change as you move the mouse to ¦
¦ show the screen size in characters.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 5. Release the mouse button when you have the size
you want. The ¦
¦ window is resized.
¦
¦
¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Note: You may need to restart some commands or programs
after resizing a window.
The following is an example of a window with a rubber-band
outline which was created by using the Resize item in the window manager
menu. (The cursor shape changes when using Resize.)
PICTURE 3
1.6 Opening a Clock Window
Two kinds of X-Windows clocks are available from the Tools
submenu: the Analog Clock and the Digital Clock. Use the following
steps to open the Analog Clock window:
+--- Opening a Clock Window ---------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Tools from the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Select Analog Clock from the Tools submenu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. The Analog Clock window is opened in the lower
right corner of the ¦
¦ display.
¦
¦
¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The following figure shows a clock similar to the analog
clock:
PICTURE 4
To display a digital clock, follow the same steps as those
for the analog clock, but select Digital Clock. The digital clock looks
similar to this on your screen:
PICTURE 5
1.7 Hiding and Showing a
Window
When you apply Hide/Show to a window, it makes the window
into an icon window. When you apply Hide/Show to an icon window,
it makes the window reappear. Programs or commands running in a window
continue running when you use Hide/Show. For example, if you are
compiling a C language program in a window, you can hide the window and
the program will continue compiling. To use Hide/Show, use the following
steps:
+--- Hiding and Showing a Window ---------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ To hide a window:
¦
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Hide/Show in the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Move the cursor into the window you want to hide.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Click the same button you used in step 1. The
window is ¦
¦ represented on your display as an icon
window.
¦
¦
¦
¦ To show a window:
¦
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Hide/Show in the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Move the cursor into the icon window you want to show.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Click the same button you used in step 1. The
icon window is ¦
¦ changed into a window on your display.
The window is displayed at ¦
¦ its previous location on your display.
¦
¦
¦
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Note: An icon window can be moved to any place on
the display just as any other window can be moved to any place on the display.
The following is an example of an icon window:
PICTURE 6
1.8 Opening an AIX Shell
Window
To open an AIX Shell window, use the following steps:
+--- Opening an AIX Shell Window ---------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Tools from the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Select AIX Shell from the Tools submenu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. An AIX Shell window is displayed.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 4. Run programs in the AIX Shell window or use the
window manager ¦
¦ menu to manipulate the window.
¦
¦
¦
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
1.9 Circulating a Window
Circulate causes the lowest window in a stack of overlapping
windows to be raised. If used successively, Circulate causes each
window to be raised in turn. If you think of windows as being stacked
on top of each other, then imagine when you circulate windows, the lowest
one is raised to the top. If a window covers a large area of the
display, there may be windows that you cannot see until you circulate them.
To circulate among the windows, use the following steps:
+--- Circulating Windows -----------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Circulate from the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. The lowest window is raised to the top.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Repeat the first two steps to view all the windows
in order. ¦
¦
¦
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
1.10 Canceling a Window
When you select Cancel, aixwm disconnects the selected
window from the X Server. The window disappears from the display.
In most cases, commands or programs running in the window are also canceled.
To cancel a window, use the following steps:
+--- Canceling a Window ------------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ 1. Select Cancel from the window manager menu.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 2. Move the cursor into the window you want to cancel.
¦
¦
¦
¦ 3. Click the same button you used in step 1. The
window is canceled. ¦
¦
¦
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
1.11 Stopping the Server
+--- Stopping the Server -----------------------------------------------+
¦
¦
¦ Press Ctrl-Alt-Bksp to stop the X Server and return to
the shell ¦
¦ prompt.
¦
¦
¦
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Note: Stopping the server also kills the clients.
1.12 Using Other Functions
X-Windows also provides the following functions:
Copy and paste between terminal windows. For
more information, "The
COPY, PASTE, and RE-EXECUTE Functions" in topic
2.5.1.
Fast selection of window manager menu items.
For more information,
see "Pop-up Button Selection" in topic 2.6.2.
Change initial layout of screen. For more information,
see the xinit
command on page 2.11.
Use Set to set various keyboard and mouse options,
display the window
manager horizontally, reverse video, change
available colors (on the
RT only), and set the bell volume (on the RT
only). For more
information, see "Set" in topic 2.6.4.
Customize the window manager menu. For more
information, see
"Modifying the Window Manager Tools Menu" in
topic 3.5 and the aixwm
command on page 2.6.
Use a tablet as a locator device. (AIX X-Windows
supports the tablet
on the RT only.) The tablet puck buttons
correspond to the mouse
buttons as follows:
- button 1 is the left button
- button 2 is the middle button
- button 3 is the right button
- button 4 is not assigned.
PICTURE 7
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