TIP_Linux_Colors_in_Aterm/rxvt
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Contents |
Introduction
Do you like nice easy-on-the-eyes colors from the Command Line? The aterm default colors just aren't the best for easy viewing. Here are a few ways to lessen the stress on your eyes.
Locally
This method only involves modifying your .Xdefaults file. Many X applications will read configuration data from the ~/.Xdefaults file, including terminal emulators such as XTerm and ATerm. The format of .Xdefaults is:
app*resource: value
For XTerm and ATerm, app is simply their respective names. Note, however, that ATerm will inherit any resources from XTerm that have the same name and are not explicitly overwritten. Therefore, it is preferable to use XTerm for app, which sets both ATerm and XTerm at the same time.
So, simply open your .Xdefaults and add the following lines:
| File: ~/.Xdefaults |
XTerm*background: 0 0 0 XTerm*foreground: 168 168 168 XTerm*color0: 0 0 0 XTerm*color1: 168 0 0 XTerm*color2: 0 168 0 XTerm*color3: 168 84 0 XTerm*color4: 0 0 168 XTerm*color5: 168 0 168 XTerm*color6: 0 168 168 XTerm*color7: 168 168 168 XTerm*color8: 84 80 84 XTerm*color9: 248 84 80 XTerm*color10: 80 252 80 XTerm*color11: 242 252 80 XTerm*color12: 80 84 248 XTerm*color13: 248 84 248 XTerm*color14: 80 252 248 XTerm*color15: 248 252 248 |
For any of the colors, you can also use hexadecimal notation; simply prepend the hex color with a pound (#). So, the first line above would become XTerm*background: #000000.
Localized Global
Step 1: Adding colors to rgb.txt
This is one of the easiest parts. You must be root to perform this step.
First, we start nano with rgb.txt open, and go to the end (the file is 755 lines long so 760 goes to the end) then, add this to the bottom:
| File: /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt |
0 0 0 console_black 84 80 84 console_bright_black 168 0 0 console_red 248 84 80 console_bright_red 0 168 0 console_green 80 252 80 console_bright_green 168 84 0 console_yellow 242 252 80 console_bright_yellow 0 0 168 console_blue 80 84 248 console_bright_blue 168 0 168 console_magenta 248 84 248 console_bright_magenta 0 168 168 console_cyan 80 252 248 console_bright_cyan 168 168 168 console_white 248 252 248 console_bright_white |
Step 2: Editing ~/.Xdefaults file
Most X-Based terminals read the per-user configuration file in ~/.Xdefaults. In this file defaults for applications are specified with the syntax:
app*resource: value
Aterm's is aterm, Xterm is XTerm, and so on - Read the man page for your favorite. In these examples I'll use aterm. You need to change xterm to aterm or whatever your favorite term specifies.
I'll go straight to the colors - here's what you need in that file:
| File: ~/.Xdefaults |
aterm*background: console_black aterm*foreground: console_white aterm*color0: console_black aterm*color1: console_red aterm*color2: console_green aterm*color3: console_yellow aterm*color4: console_blue aterm*color5: console_magenta aterm*color6: console_cyan aterm*color7: console_white aterm*color8: console_bright_black aterm*color9: console_bright_red aterm*color10: console_bright_green aterm*color11: console_bright_yellow aterm*color12: console_bright_blue aterm*color13: console_bright_magenta aterm*color14: console_bright_cyan aterm*color15: console_bright_white |
Globally
X will apply settings per application to all users based on the files in /etc/X11/app-defaults. See the files XTerm and XTerm-color, which can be edited in the same method as described in the above examples. An ATerm file could also be added. These files will be overridden by settings in ~/.Xdefaults.
Some considerations
Xterm, rxvt and aterm (and most others) by default make the bright versions of the colors appear as bold. This can be overcome by adding your favorite font into the ~/.Xdefaults file as both normal font and bold font:
| File: ~/.Xdefaults |
aterm*font:-nil-profont-medium-r-normal--11-110-72-72-c-60-iso8859-1 aterm*boldFont:-nil-profont-medium-r-normal--11-110-72-72-c-60-iso8859-1 |
Note: You can use xfontsel to find a font in the form above.
You should also specify a different color for bold text if you use the same font for both:
| File: ~/.Xdefaults |
aterm*colorBD: console_bright_white |
The colors listed in the instructions above may still seem harsh to someone who stares at terminal windows a lot. If that describes you, you may wish to use even gentler colors. The example .Xdefaults below provides such colors:
| File: ~/.Xdefaults |
XTerm*background: #000000 XTerm*foreground: #7f7f7f XTerm*color0: #000000 XTerm*color1: #9e1828 XTerm*color2: #aece92 XTerm*color3: #968a38 XTerm*color4: #414171 XTerm*color5: #963c59 XTerm*color6: #418179 XTerm*color7: #bebebe XTerm*color8: #666666 XTerm*color9: #cf6171 XTerm*color10: #c5f779 XTerm*color11: #fff796 XTerm*color12: #4186be XTerm*color13: #cf9ebe XTerm*color14: #71bebe XTerm*color15: #ffffff |
Below is a table to demonstrate the difference between the two color schemes (both color sets look brighter against a black terminal window):
| Colors originally suggested: | ||||||||||||||||
| Colors listed above: |
That about does it, to enjoy the beautiful color reload the new configuration with:
xrdb -load ~/.Xdefaults
See also
http://mkaz.com/ref/xterm_colors.html
Gentoo forum thread, with howto transparency, eye candy, etc. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=68555
Discuss
Concerns or Compliments? Please use the Discussion section.