The X Window System is an advanced, network transparent, windowing, graphical environment, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and first released in 1984. This document assumes that you have installed X and it is functional. We intend to learn how to use X productively, not so much how to compile the programs; most Linux distributions come with X as an option during installation, compiled and ready to go.
If you are just starting out, you may find the XFree86 HOWTO and XFree86 Video Timings HOWTOs to be more helpful, and you should be able to find that in the same place you found this. At the end of the document you will also find a Bibliography And Resources section, to find even more information. Oh, and don't forget to read the man pages.
New versions of this HOWTO may be periodically posted to comp.os.linux.help They will also be uploaded to various Linux WWW and FTP sites, including Linux Documentation Project web site. The latest version can (almost) always be found at http://www.croftj.net/~ray/howto.
Changes in version 1.1 include more coverage of rxvt, expanded coverage of X Resources, more trivial history of X, corrected references to SunSite to point to MetaLab, and instructions on using Type 1 fonts with X.
Changes in version 1.2 include much-requested coverage of using
TrueType fonts in X, more details about setting up xdm, and a
few more added resources. There is also a correction to my discussion
of screen blanking features (thanks to Heinrich Langos for the
correction!).
Changes in this version (1.3) include some fixes, info for corrupted font paths in some recent distributions, and lots more info about basic X security. I've also added some tips about KDE and an e-mail address update.
If you have questions or comments about this document, please feel
free
to email Ray Brigleb at ray@croftj.net or
rayola@mindless.com. I readily welcome any
suggestions or criticisms. If you find any mistakes with this document,
please let me know so I can correct them in the next revision. If you
have information you would like to see in future revisions, or you
would
like to contribute to a future revision, drop me a line. I'm also
looking for more resources to add to the sections and bibliography.
While we're at it, I'm also looking for a job in the Portland, Oregon
area...
A special thanks to the HOWTO coordinator Tim Bynum for help and suggestions, and the XFree86 Group for the man pages and help files that come with XFree86. I really need to thank all of those who have written documentation and descriptions of their offerings in the past, I have just gleaned a selection of the most relevant items from their material for this document. Also, thanks are due to Matt Chapman, author of the Window Managers Guide website, and Scott Scriven, for the FVWM2 Themes tips and tricks I stole from some of his hacks. Thanks are also due to Joe Croft for the Internet service, invaluable to the ongoing development of this HOWTO, and Claire Galper, for moral support and miscellaneous tips. Last but not least, thanks to the whole GNU/Linux community, for everything, and Mr. Stallman, for this text editor (and philosophy).
Copyright (c) 1998, 1999 by Ray Brigleb.
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