X3270(1)
NAME
x3270 - IBM host access tool
SYNOPSIS
x3270 [ options ] [ [ prefix: ] hostname [ port ] ]
DESCRIPTION
x3270 opens a telnet connection to an IBM host in an X
window. The window created by x3270 can use its own font
for displaying characters, so it is a fairly accurate rep-
resentation of an IBM 3278 or 3279. It is similar to
tn3270(1) except that it is X-based, not curses-based.
Prepending a p: onto hostname causes the connection to go
through the telnet-passthru service rather than directly
to the host. See PASSTHRU below.
Prepending an s: onto hostname removes the "extended data
stream" option reported to the host. See -tn below for
further information.
The port to connect to defaults to telnet. This can be
overridden with the -port option, or by specifying a port
on the command line.
OPTIONS
x3270 is a toolkit based program, so it understands stan-
dard options and resources. It also understands the fol-
lowing options:
-activeicon
Specifies that the icon should be a miniature ver-
sion of the screen image. See ICONS below.
-apl Sets up APL mode. This is actually an abbreviation
for several options. See APL SUPPORT below.
-cc range:value[,...]
Sets character classes. See CHARACTER CLASSES,
below.
-charset name
Specifies an EBCDIC national character set. See
CHARACTER SETS below.
-clear toggle
Sets the initial value of toggle to false. The
list of toggle names is under MENUS below.
-efont name
Specifies a font for the emulator window. See
FONTS below.
-iconname name
Specifies an alternate title for the program icon.
-iconx x
Specifies the initial x coordinate for the program
icon.
-icony y
Specifies the initial y coordinate for the program
icon.
-keymap name
Specifies a keymap name and optional modifiers.
See KEYMAPS below.
-keypad
Turns on the keypad as soon as x3270 starts.
-model name
The model of 3270 display to be emulated. The
model name is in three parts, any of which may be
omitted:
The first part is the base model, which is either
3278 or 3279. 3278 specifies a monochrome 3270
display; 3279 specifies a color 3270 display. When
3278 emulation is specified for a color X display,
fields are displayed using pseudo-colors; see
PSEUDO-COLOR below.
The second part is the model number, which speci-
fies the number of rows and columns. Model 4 is
the default.
Model Number Columns Rows
------------------------------
2 80 24
3 80 30
4 80 43
5 132 27
Note: Technically, there is no such 3270 display as
a 3279-4 or 3279-5, but most hosts seem to work
with them anyway.
The third part specifies the Extended 3270 Data
Stream, and is given as -E. It signals the host
that the 3270 display is capable of displaying
extended field attributes, and supports structured
fields and query replies. A 3279 always uses the
Extended Data Stream (whether or not -E is speci-
fied); for a 3278 it is optional.
The default model for a color X display is
3279-4-E. For a monochrome X display, it is
3278-4-E. (The behavior of previous versions of
x3270 on color X displays can be specified as
3278-4).
-mono Forces x3270 to believe it is running on a
monochrome X display.
-once Causes x3270 to exit after a host disconnects.
This option has effect only if a hostname is speci-
fied on the command line.
-oversize colsxrows
Makes the screen larger than the default for the
chosen model number. This option has effect only
in combination with extended data stream support
(the -E suffix on the model), and only if the host
supports the Query Reply structured field. The
number of columns multiplied by the number of rows
must not exceed 16383 (3fff hex), the limit of
14-bit 3270 buffer addressing.
-port n
Specifies a different TCP port to connect to. n
can be a name from /etc/services like telnet, or a
number. This option changes the default port num-
ber used for all connections. (The positional
parameter affects only the initial connection.)
-reconnect
Causes x3270 to automatically reconnect to the host
if it ever disconnects. This option has effect
only if a hostname is specified on the command
line.
-sb Turns on the scrollbar. +sb turns the scrollbar
off.
-scheme name
Specifes a color scheme to use in 3279 mode. This
option has effect only in combination with 3279
emulation. See COLOR SCHEMES below.
-script
Causes x3270 to read commands from standard input,
with the results written to standard output. The
protocol for these commands is documented in
x3270-script(1).
-sl n Specifies that n lines should be saved for
scrolling back. The default is 64.
-set toggle
Sets the initial value of toggle to true. The list
of toggle names is under MENUS below.
-tn name
Specifies the terminal name to be transmitted over
the telnet connection. The default name is
IBM-model_name, for example, IBM-3279-4-E for a
color X display, or IBM-3278-4-E for a monochrome X
display.
Some hosts are confused by the -E suffix on the
terminal name, and will ignore the extra screen
area on models 3, 4 and 5. Prepending an :s on the
hostname removes the -E from the terminal name when
connecting to such hosts.
The name can also be specified with the
"x3270.termName" resource.
-trace Turns on data stream tracing at startup. Unlike
turning it on from a menu option, there is no pop-
up to confirm the file name, which defaults to
/tmp/x3trc.process_id.
FONTS
By default, x3270 does not use the "*font" resource for
its main window. Instead, it uses a custom 14-point font
called 3270, which is a close approximation of a real 3270
display and allows x3270 to display a complete EBCDIC
character set and special status-line symbols. A more
compact font, 3270-12, is also supported, as are the vari-
ous sized fonts 3270gt8, 3270gt12, 3270gt16, 3270-20,
3270gt24, and 3270gt32. The font 3270h is also included
to allow display of Hebrew text.
The font may be specified with the -efont option or the
"x3270.emulatorFont" resource.
x3270 can also use any constant-spaced X font, but unless
the font implements the entire ISO 8859-1 (Latin-1) char-
acter set, x3270 may not properly display several EBCDIC
graphics that do not have ASCII equivalents.
One additional font, 3270d, is supplied. This font is
identical to the default 3270 font, except that it has
bitmaps defined for field attribute characters. This
means that field attributes, which are normally displayed
as blanks, are now visible on the screen. The characters
displayed are hexadecimal codes, which can be translated
using a document provided with the x3270 sources.
The font can be changed at any time through a menu option.
It can also be implicitly changed by changing the size of
the x3270 window with the mouse: if the window is made
larger, x3270 will try to change to a larger font, and
vice-versa.
CHARACTER SETS
The -charset option or the "x3270.charset" resource con-
trols the EBCDIC national character set used by x3270.
Available sets include:
Charset Name Q121 Code
-------------------------
bracket -
us-intl 01
german 03
finnish 09
uk 22
norwegian 23
french 30
hebrew* -
(*) requires a special font, 3270h
The default character set is bracket, which is useful for
common IBM hosts which use EBCDIC codes 0xAD and 0xBD for
the `[' and `]' characters, respectively.
You can also specify national-language translations for
your keyboard; see KEYMAPS below.
CHARACTER CLASSES
x3270 supports character classes (groupings of characters
chosen with a double mouse click) in the same manner as
xterm(1). The "x3270.charClass" resource or the -cc
option can be used to alter the character class table.
The default table is the same as xterm's; It groups let-
ters together, and puts most punctuation characters in
individual classes. To put all non-whitespace characters
together in the same class (and duplicate the behavior of
some early versions of x3270), use the following value:
33-127:48,161-255:48
See xterm(1) for further syntax details.
KEYPAD
A keypad may optionally be displayed, with a mouse-click-
able button for each 3270 function key (these functions
are also available from the keyboard). The keypad can be
turned on and off by clicking on the "keypad" button in
the upper-right-hand corner of the window. The
"x3270.keypad" resource controls where it is displayed.
Options are:
left in a separate window, to the left of the screen
right in a separate window, to the right of the screen
bottom in a separate window, below the screen
integral in the same window as the screen, below it
The default is right.
If the "x3270.keypadOn" resource is set to true, the key-
pad will be displayed at startup.
HOSTS DATABASE
x3270 uses the ibm_hosts database to construct a pull-down
menu of hosts to connect to. It supports the loginstring
function, which allows you to specify a macro to be sent
to the host when the connection is first made. See
ibm_hosts(5) for details.
You may specify a different ibm_hosts database with the
"x3270.hostsFile" resource.
COLOR SCHEMES
When emulating a 3279 display, the X colors used to draw
the display are selected by two resources: the "x3270.col-
orScheme" resource, which gives the name of the color
scheme to use, and the individual "x3270.colorScheme.xxx"
resources, which give the actual definitions. The color
scheme resources are documented in the Docs/Resources file
with the x3270 source.
The color scheme may also be changed while x3270 is run-
ning with a selection from the Options menu.
PSEUDO-COLOR
When emulating a 3278 display on a color X display, x3270
does not understand IBM 3270 color protocols. Instead, it
draws text in one of three colors depending on the field
attributes. Those colors may be customized using the fol-
lowing resources (shown with their default values):
x3270.normalColor: green
x3270.boldColor: cyan
x3270.inputColor: orange
x3270.colorBackground: black
x3270.selectBackground: dim gray
ANSI MODE
Some hosts use an ASCII front-end to do initial login
negotiation, then later switch to 3270 mode. x3270 will
emulate an ANSI X.64 terminal until the host places it in
3270 mode (telnet BINARY and SEND EOR modes). The emula-
tion is fairly complete; however, it is not intended to
make x3270 a replacement for xterm(1).
If the host later negotiates to stop functioning in 3270
mode, x3270 will return to ANSI emulation.
When emulating an ANSI terminal, x3270 supports both
character-at-a-time mode and line mode operation. You may
select the mode with a menu option. When in line mode,
the special characters and operational characteristics are
defined by resources:
Mode/Character Resource Default
------------------------------------------------------------------
Translate CR to NL x3270.icrnl true
Translate NL to CR x3270.inlcr false
Erase previous character x3270.erase ^?
Erase entire line x3270.kill ^U
Erase previous word x3270.werase ^W
Redisplay line x3270.rprnt ^R
Ignore special meaning of next character x3270.lnext ^V
Interrupt x3270.intr ^C
Quit x3270.quit ^\\
End of file x3270.eof ^D
MENUS
x3270 has a menu bar with three pull-down menus (File,
Options, and Connect) and a button to turn the keypad on
and off. The pull-down menus are also available as pop-up
menus by using the "Ctrl" key and the left, middle and
right mouse buttons, respectively.
The menu bar can be turned off by setting the
"x3270.menuBar" resource to false.
Many sections of the File and Options menus are toggles,
options that may be either on or off. The entries under
the File menu are as follows:
File Transfer
Initiates transferring a file between the IBM host
and the local workstation, using the IND$FILE pro-
tocol. A pop-up menu allows specifying the file
names and other attributes of the transfer.
The IND$FILE program must be installed on the IBM
host, and the 3270 cursor must be located in a
field that will accept a TSO or VM/CMS command.
Trace Data Stream
If set, network traffic (both a hexadecimal repre-
sentation and its interpretation) are logged to the
file /tmp/x3trc.process_id, and a window is popped
up to monitor the data. The file name is confirmed
with a pop-up; the default directory name for the
trace file can be changed with the "x3270.traceDir"
resource.
Trace X Events
If set, information about X events and the actions
that x3270 takes in response are logged to a file.
This is the same file as used for tracing the data
stream, above. X event tracing is useful for cre-
ating and debugging custom keymaps, macros and
scripts. For example, it will tell you precisely
what action was taken in response to pressing a
particular key. If the key is not mapped, it will
tell you the keysym name and keycode so you can add
it to a custom keymap.
Save Screen(s) in File
If set, saves an ASCII representation of the cur-
rent screen image in the file /tmp/x3scr.pro-
cess_id. A pop-up allows the file name to be
changed; the default directory name can be changed
with the "x3270.traceDir" resource. The pop-up
also has buttons to choose between saving just the
current image, or continuously saving it as it is
redrawn.
Save Changed Options in File
Saves into a file the values of all options that
have been changed since x3270 was started. A pop-
up allows the file name to be changed; the default
file is .x3270pro in the user's home directory. If
the file already exists, it is appended to. x3270
will read the contents of this file the next time
it starts up. The options settings in the file
override any resources defined with xrdb or in the
user's .Xdefaults file; command-line switches over-
ride the file. A different options file can be
specified by the X3270PRO environment variable. If
the environment variable NOX3270PRO is set, no
options file will be read.
Execute an Action
Allows an action name and parameters to be entered
from the keyboard. This allows experimentation
with actions without having to edit keymaps and
repeatedly restart x3270.
The toggles under the Options menu are as follows:
Monocase
If set, x3270 operates in uppercase-only mode.
Blinking Cursor
If set, the cursor blinks once per second.
Blank Fill
If set, x3270 behaves in some un-3270-like ways.
First, when a character is typed into a field, all
nulls in the field to the left of that character
are changed to blanks. This eliminates a common
3270 data-entry surprise. Second, in insert mode,
trailing blanks in a field are treated like nulls,
eliminating the annoying ``lock-up'' that often
occurs when inserting into an field with (apparent)
space at the end.
Show Timing
If set, the time taken by the host to process an
AID is displayed on the status line.
Track Cursor
If set, the cursor position is displayed on the
status line.
Scrollbar
If set, the scrollbar appears.
Wraparound
If set, the ANSI terminal emulator automatically
assumes a NEWLINE character when it reaches the end
of a line.
Paste with Left Margin
If set, puts restrictions on how pasted text is
placed on the screen. The position of the cursor
at the time the paste operation is begun is used as
a left margin. No pasted text will fill any area
of the screen to the left of that position. This
option is useful for pasting into certain IBM edi-
tors that use the left side of the screen for con-
trol information.
Select by Rectangles
If set, x3270 will always select rectangular areas
of the screen. Otherwise, x3270 selects by rectan-
gles when in 3270 mode, but in ANSI mode it selects
continuous regions of the screen like xterm(1).
The names of the toggles for use with the -set and -clear
options are as follows:
Menu Option Name
-----------------------------------------
Monocase monoCase
Blinking Cursor cursorBlink
Blank Fill blankFill
Show Timing showTiming
Track Cursor cursorPos
Trace Data Stream dsTrace
Trace X Events eventTrace
Save Screen(s) in File screenTrace
Scrollbar scrollBar
Wraparound lineWrap
Paste with Left Margin marginedPaste
Select by Rectangles rectangleSelect
In addition, the toggle altCursor can be used to select
the cursor type. If set, an underline cursor will be
used. If clear, the normal block cursor will be used.
These names also represent resources that can be set in
your .Xdefaults file. For example, if you always want to
have the scrollbar on, you can add the following to your
.Xdefaults:
x3270.scrollBar: true
STATUS LINE
The x3270 status line contains a variety of information.
From left to right, the fields are:
comm status
Three symbols indicate the state of the connection
to the host. If connected, the right-hand symbol
is a solid box; if not, it is a question mark.
keyboard lock
If the keyboard is locked, an "X" symbol and a mes-
sage field indicate the reason for the keyboard
lock.
shift Three characters indicate the keyboard modifier
status. "M" indicates the Meta key, "A" the Alt
key, and an up-arrow or "^" indicates the Shift
key.
compose
The letter "C" indicates that a composite character
is in progress. If another symbol follows the "C",
it is the first character of the composite.
typeahead
The letter "T" indicates that one or more
keystrokes are in the typeahead buffer.
temporary keymap
The letter "K" indicates that a temporary keymap is
in effect.
reverse
The letter "R" indicates that the keyboard is in
reverse field entry mode.
insert mode
A thick caret "^" or the letter "I" indicates that
the keyboard is in insert mode.
timing A clock symbol and a time in seconds indicate the
time it took to process the last AID or the time to
connect to a host. This display is optional.
cursor position
The cursor row and column are optionally displayed,
separated by a "/".
ICONS
If the -activeicon option is given (or the "x3270.active-
Icon" resource is set to true), x3270 will attempt to make
its icon a miniature version of the current screen image.
This function is highly dependent on your window manager:
mwm The size of the icon is limited by the "Mwm.iconIm-
ageMaximum" resource, which defaults to 50x50. The
image will be clipped at the bottom and right. The
icon cannot accept keyboard input.
olwm The full screen image of all 3270 models can be
displayed on the icon. However, the icon cannot be
resized, so if the model is later changed with an
x3270 menu option, the icon image will be cor-
rupted. The icon cannot accept keyboard input.
twm and tvtwm
The full screen image of all 3270 models can be
displayed on the icon, and the icon can be resized.
The icon can accept keyboard input.
However, twm does not put labels on application-
supplied icon windows. You can have x3270 add its
own label to the icon by setting the "x3270.labelI-
con" resource to true. The default font for icon
labels is 8x13; you may change it with the
"x3270.iconLabelFont" resource.
KEYMAPS
The type of keyboard may be specified with the -keymap
switch or using either the KEYMAP or KEYBD environment
variables. The types of supported keyboards include
sun_k3, sun_k4, sun_k5, hp-k1, hp-pc and ncd.
The keymap may also be specified as a comma-separated list
of names. Later definitions override earlier ones. This
is used to specify both a primary keyboard type and a set
of modifiers. The modifiers defined include:
ow (OpenWindows) Swaps the middle and right mouse but-
ton definitions, so the middle button performs the
"Extend" function and the right-hand button per-
forms the "Paste" function. Also changes the cut
and paste actions to use the OpenWindows CLIPBOARD.
alt Replaces the default "Meta" key definitions with
"Alt" definitions, for keyboards which do not have
a "Meta" key.
apl Allows entry of APL characters (see APL SUPPORT
below).
finnish7
Replaces the bracket, brace and bar keys with com-
mon Finnish characters.
norwegian7
Replaces the bracket, brace and bar keys with com-
mon Norwegian characters.
A temporary keymap can also be specified while x3270 is
running with the Keymap() action. When the action
Keymap(n) is executed, temporary keymap n is added to or
deleted from the current keymap. Multiple temporary
keymaps can be active simultaneously. The action
Keymap(None) restores the original keymap. Note: When
Keymap() is specified as part of a list of multiple
actions in a keymap, it must be the last action in the
list.
The temporary keymap hebrew is provided to allow entry of
Hebrew characters.
The X Toolkit translation mechanism is used to provide
keyboard emulation. It maps events into actions. The
best documentation can be found with X toolkit documents,
but the following should suffice for simple customization.
An Xt event consists of (at least) four fields. The first
is called a modifier. It may be any combination of meta,
shift and ctrl. If it is prefaced by !, it means those
modifiers only. The second field is the specific event,
in x3270 usually just <Key>. The third field is the
detail field, which gives the actual key. The name of the
key may be determined using the xev program or with the
"Trace X Events" menu option. The last field is the
action, which is the internal emulator function. A com-
plete list of actions may be found later in the manual.
There are three levels of translation tables in x3270.
The first is a default, compiled in table. It defines
alphabetic, numeric, function keys, and such basic func-
tions as Enter and Delete. It allows a minimal useful
functionality.
The second level is a keyboard specific table, which is
found in the application default file, which defines
actions for such things as keypad keys, and keys unique to
certain keyboards.
The third level is a user customizable table which may be
used to augment or override key definitions. This will
typically be found in the users .Xdefaults file. The
naming for a sun4 keyboard would be:
x3270.keymap.default:
x3270.keymap.sun_k4:
x3270.keymap.sun_k4.user:
The basic default translation table is:
<Key>Multi_key Compose()
Shift<Key>Return Newline()
<Key>Return Enter()
<Key>Linefeed Newline()
Shift<Key>Tab BackTab()
<Key>Tab Tab()
<Key>Home Home()
Meta<Key>Left PreviousWord()
<Key>Left Left()
Meta<Key>Right NextWord()
<Key>Right Right()
<Key>Up Up()
<Key>Down Down()
<Key>Insert Insert()
<Key>Delete Delete()
<Key>BackSpace BackSpace()
Ctrl<Btn1Down> HandleMenu(quitMenu)
Ctrl<Btn2Down> HandleMenu(optionsMenu)
Ctrl<Btn3Down> HandleMenu(hostMenu)
Shift<Btn1Down> MoveCursor()
<Btn1Down> select-start()
<Btn1Motion> select-extend()
<Btn2Down> ignore()
<Btn2Motion> ignore()
<Btn2Up> insert-selection(PRIMARY)
<Btn3Down> start-extend()
<Btn3Motion> select-extend()
<BtnUp> select-end(PRIMARY)
Meta<Key>F1 PF(13)
Meta<Key>F2 PF(14)
Meta<Key>F3 PF(15)
Meta<Key>F4 PF(16)
Meta<Key>F5 PF(17)
Meta<Key>F6 PF(18)
Meta<Key>F7 PF(19)
Meta<Key>F8 PF(20)
Meta<Key>F9 PF(21)
Meta<Key>F10 PF(22)
Meta<Key>F11 PF(23)
Meta<Key>F12 PF(24)
<Key>F1 PF(1)
<Key>F2 PF(2)
<Key>F3 PF(3)
<Key>F4 PF(4)
<Key>F5 PF(5)
<Key>F6 PF(6)
<Key>F7 PF(7)
<Key>F8 PF(8)
<Key>F9 PF(9)
<Key>F10 PF(10)
<Key>F11 PF(11)
<Key>F12 PF(12)
Meta<Key>1 PA(1)
Meta<Key>2 PA(2)
Meta<Key>3 PA(3)
Meta<Key>a Attn()
Meta<Key>b PrintWindow()
Meta<Key>c Clear()
Meta<Key>d Delete()
Meta<Key>h Home()
Meta<Key>i Insert()
Meta<Key>l Redraw()
Meta<Key>p PrintText()
Meta<Key>q Quit()
Meta<Key>r Reset()
Ctrl<Key>u DeleteField()
Ctrl<Key>w DeleteWord()
:<Key>asciicircum CircumNot()
:<Key> Default()
Meta is the diamond shaped key on a sun_k4, "Alt" on an
NCD, "Extend Char" on an HP. The following xmodmap com-
mand must be used on the NCD to allow use the the "Alt"
key:
xmodmap -e "keysym Alt_L = Meta_L"
The left mouse button may be used to make a selection.
Clicking once unselects the current selection. Clicking
twice selects the word under the mouse cursor. Clicking
three times selects the line under the mouse cursor.
Clicking and dragging selects a rectangular area of the
display.
The middle mouse button may be used to paste a selection.
The right mouse button may also be used for selections,
selecting the rectangular area between the current posi-
tion and where the left button was last pressed.
On color X displays, the "x3270.selectBackground" resource
is used to distinguish the selected text from the rest of
the screen. On monochrome X displays, selected text is in
reverse video. (It can be distinguished from a block cur-
sor because the block cursor covers slightly less than an
entire character position on the screen.)
The left mouse button, when pressed with the "Shift" key
held down, moves the 3270 cursor to the where the mouse
cursor is pointing.
This is the complete list of keymap-callable actions.
Other actions are defined for use by scripts and are docu-
mented in x3270-script(1); still others actions are
defined for internal use by x3270 and are not documented
here.
Attn attention key
AltCursor switch between block and underscore cursor
BackSpace move cursor left (or send ASCII BS)
BackTab tab to start of previous input field
CircumNot input "^" in ANSI mode, or "notsign" in 3270 mode
Clear clear screen
Compose next two keys form a special symbol
CursorSelect Cursor Select AID
Cut erase selected text
Default enter key literally
Delete delete character under cursor (or send ASCII DEL)
DeleteField delete the entire field
DeleteWord delete the current or previous word
Down move cursor down
Dup duplicate field
Enter Enter AID (or send ASCII CR)
Erase erase previous character (or send ASCII BS)
EraseEOF erase to end of current field
EraseInput erase all input fields
Execute(cmd) execute a command in a shell
FieldEnd move cursor to end of field
FieldMark mark field
HandleMenu(name) pop up a menu
Home move cursor to first input field
Insert set insert mode
Key(keysym) insert key keysym
Keymap(keymap) toggle alternate keymap (or remove with None)
Left move cursor left
Left2 move cursor left 2 positions
Macro(macro) run a macro
MoveCursor move cursor to mouse position
MonoCase toggle uppercase-only mode
Newline move cursor to first field on next line (or send ASCII LF)
NextWord move cursor to next word
PA(n) Program Attention AID (n from 1 to 3)
PF(n) Program Function AID (n from 1 to 24)
PreviousWord move cursor to previous word
PrintText(command) print screen text on printer
PrintWindow(command) print screen image (bitmap) on printer
Quit exit x3270
Reconnect reconnect to previous host
Redraw redraw window
Reset reset locked keyboard
Right move cursor right
Right2 move cursor right 2 positions
SetFont(font) change emulator font
Script(command[,arg...]) run a script
String(string) insert string (simple macro facility)
SysReq System Request AID
Tab move cursor to next input field
ToggleInsert toggle insert mode
Up move cursor up
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(the following are similar to xterm)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ignore do nothing
insert-selection([atom[,atom...]]) paste selection
move-select a combination of MoveCursor and select-start
select-end(atom[,atom...]]) complete selection and assign to atom(s)
select-extend move the end of a selection
select-start mark the beginning of a selection
set-select(atom[,atom...]]) assign exsting selection to atom(s)
start-extend begin marking the end of a selection
MACROS AND SCRIPTS
There are several types of macros and script functions
available.
The String() Action
The simplest method for macros is provided via the
String action, which can be bound to any key in a
keymap. The arguments to String() are one or more
double-quoted strings which are inserted directly
as if typed. Hex constants may be entered in the
form 0xff, and the C backslash conventions are hon-
ored as follows. (Entries marked * mean that after
sending the AID code to the host, x3270 will wait
for the host to unlock the keyboard before further
processing the string.)
\b Left
\f Clear*
\n Enter*
\\pan PA key n*
\\pfnn PF key nn*
\r Newline
\t Tab
An example action would be:
Meta<Key>p: String("probs clearrdr\n")
Note: The strings are in ASCII and converted to
EBCDIC, so beware of inserting control codes.
Also, a backslash before a p must be doubled so it
will not be removed when resource files are read.
The Script() Action
This facility causes x3270 to start a child process
which can execute x3270 actions. The child pro-
cess' standard input and output are piped back to
x3270. The Script() action is fully documented in
x3270-script(1).
The macros Resource
An alternate method of defining macros is the
"x3270.macros" resource. This resource is similar
to a keymap, but instead of defining keyboard map-
pings, it associates a list of X actions with a
name. These names are displayed on a Macros menu
that appears when x3270 is connected to a host.
Selecting one of the names on the menu executes the
X actions associated with it. Typically the
actions are String() calls, but any action may be
specified. Here is a sample macros resource defi-
nition, which would result in a four-entry Macros
menu:
x3270.macros: \
log off: String("logout\n")\n\
vtam: String("dial vtam\n")\n\
pa1: PA(1)\n\
alt printer: PrintText("lpr -Plw2")
You can also define a different set of macros for
each host. If there is a resource named
``x3270.macros.somehost'', it defines the macros
menu for when x3270 is connected to somehost.
The -script Switch
This facility allows x3270 to operate under the
complete control of a script. x3270 accepts
actions from standard input, and prints results on
standard output. The -script switch is fully docu-
mented in x3270-script(1).
COMPOSITE CHARACTERS
If your keyboard has a "Compose" key, x3270 allows the
direct entry of accented letters and special symbols.
Pressing and releasing the "Compose" key, followed by two
other keys, causes entry of the symbol combining those two
keys. For example, "Compose" followed by the "C" key and
the "," (comma) key, enters the "C-cedilla" symbol. A `C'
on the status line indicates a pending composite charac-
ter.
The mappings between these pairs of ordinary keys and the
symbols they represent is controlled by the "x3270.com-
poseMap" resource; it gives the name of the map to use.
The maps themselves are named "x3270.composeMap.name".
The default is "latin1", which gives mappings for most of
the symbols in the ISO 8859-1 Latin-1 character set that
are not in the 7-bit ASCII character set.
Note: The default keymap defines the "Multi_key" keysym as
the "Compose" key. If your keyboard lacks such a key, you
may set up your own "Compose" key with a keymap that maps
some other keysym onto the "Compose" action.
APL SUPPORT
x3270 supports the full APL2 character set and the entry
of APL characters from the keyboard.
APL characters are supported only in the special 3270
font.
Keyboard entry of APL characters is supported through the
apl keymap modifier. This modifier defines the "Alt" key
as an APL shift key, with a typical APL keyboard layout,
e.g., "Alt" pressed with the A key results in the APL
`alpha' symbol. Overstruck characters such as `quad-
quote' are not defined as single keystrokes; instead they
are entered as composites (see COMPOSITE CHARACTERS
above). A special composite map, apl, is provided for
this purpose.
Note: Some keyboards do not define the "Alt" key as a mod-
ifier, so keymaps that use the "Alt" key will not func-
tion. On a Sun for example, this can be remedied with the
command:
xmodmap -e "add mod2 = Alt_L"
For convenience, an -apl option is defined, which is an
abbreviation for the following resource definitions:
x3270.keymap: your_keymap_name,apl
x3270.charset: apl
x3270.composeMap: apl
There are a number of APL characters that are similar in
appearance to non-APL characters. In particular, the APL
`stile', `slope,' `tilde' and `quotedot' characters are
similar to the EBCDIC `bar', `backslash,' `tilde' and
`exclaim' characters. The APL characters are entered with
the "Alt" key, and have slightly different appearances.
The complete list of special APL keysyms is as follows.
Entries marked with an asterisk (*) represent simple
aliases for standard EBCDIC characters.
APL Symbol Hex x3270 Keysym x3270 Key x3270 Composed Keys
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A underbar 41 apl_Aunderbar Alt-A A + underbar
alpha B0 apl_alpha Alt-a
B underbar 42 apl_Bunderbar Alt-B B + underbar
bar 60* apl_bar -
C underbar 43 apl_Cunderbar Alt-C C + underbar
circle 9D apl_circle Alt-o
circle bar ED apl_circlebar circle + bar
circle slope CF apl_circleslope circle + slope
circle star FD apl_circlestar circle + star
circle stile CD apl_circlestile circle + stile
colon 7A* apl_colon :
comma 6B* apl_comma ,
D underbar 44 apl_Dunderbar Alt-D D + underbar
del BA apl_del Alt-g
del stile DC apl_delstile del + stile
del tilde FB apl_deltilde del + tilde
delta BB apl_delta Alt-h
delta stile DD apl_deltastile delta + stile
delta underbar FC apl_deltaunderbar delta + underbar
diamond 70 apl_diamond up caret + down caret
dieresis 72 apl_dieresis Alt-1
dieresis dot EC apl_dieresisdot dieresis + dot
divide B8 apl_divide Alt-+
dot 4B* apl_dot .
down arrow 8B apl_downarrow Alt-u
down caret 78 apl_downcaret Alt-9
down caret tilde CB apl_downcarettilde down caret + tilde
down shoe AB apl_downshoe Alt-v
down stile 8E apl_downstile Alt-d
down tack AC apl_downtack Alt-b
down tack jot FE apl_downtackjot down tack + jot
down tack up tack DA apl_downtackuptack down tack + up tack
E underbar 45 apl_Eunderbar Alt-E E + underbar
epsilon B1 apl_epsilon Alt-e
epsilon underbar 75 apl_epsilonunderbar epsilon + underbar
equal 7E* apl_equal '='
equal underbar E1 apl_equalunderbar equal + underbar
F underbar 46 apl_Funderbar Alt-F F + underbar
G underbar 47 apl_Gunderbar Alt-G G + underbar
greater 6E* apl_greater >
H underbar 48 apl_Hunderbar Alt-H H + underbar
I underbar 49 apl_Iunderbar Alt-I I + underbar
iota B2 apl_iota Alt-i
iota underbar 74 apl_iotaunderbar iota + underbar
J underbar 51 apl_Junderbar Alt-J J + underbar
jot AF apl_jot alt-j
K underbar 52 apl_Kunderbar Alt-K K + underbar
L underbar 53 apl_Lunderbar Alt-L L + underbar
left arrow 9F apl_leftarrow Alt-[
left bracket AD apl_leftbracket [
left paren 4D* apl_leftparen (
left shoe 9B apl_leftshoe Alt-z
less 4C* apl_less <
M underbar 54 apl_Munderbar Alt-M M + underbar
N underbar 55 apl_Nunderbar Alt-N N + underbar
not equal BE apl_notequal Alt-8 equal + slash
not greater 8C apl_notgreater Alt-4 less + equal
not less AE apl_notless Alt-6 greater + equal
O underbar 56 apl_Ounderbar Alt-O O + underbar
omega B4 apl_omega Alt-w
overbar A0 apl_overbar Alt-2
P underbar 57 apl_Punderbar Alt-P P + underbar
plus 4E* apl_plus +
Q underbar 58 apl_Qunderbar Alt-Q Q + underbar
quad 90 apl_quad Alt-l
quad divide EE apl_quaddivide quad + divide
quad jot 73 apl_quadjot quad + jot
quad quote DE apl_quadquote quad + quote
quad slope CE apl_quadslope quad + slope
query 6F* apl_query ?
quote 7D* apl_quote '
quote dot DB apl_quotedot quote + dot
R underbar 59 apl_Runderbar Alt-R R + underbar
rho B3 apl_rho Alt-r
right arrow 8F apl_rightarrow Alt-]
right bracket BD apl_rightbracket ]
right paren 5D* apl_rightparen )
right shoe 9A apl_rightshoe Alt-x
S underbar 62 apl_Sunderbar Alt-S S + underbar
semicolon 5E* apl_semicolon ;
slash 61* apl_slash /
slash bar EA apl_slashbar slash + bar
slope B7 apl_slope Alt-\\
slope bar EB apl_slopebar slope + bar
squad CC apl_squad quad + quad
star 5C* apl_star *
stile BF apl_stile Alt-|
T underbar 63 apl_Tunderbar Alt-T T + underbar
tilde 80 apl_tilde Alt-~
times B6 apl_times Alt-=
U underbar 64 apl_Uunderbar Alt-U U + underbar
underbar 6D* apl_underbar '_'
up arrow 8A apl_uparrow Alt-y
up caret 71 apl_upcaret Alt-0
up caret tilde CA apl_upcarettilde up caret + tilde
up shoe AA apl_upshoe Alt-c
up shoe jot DF apl_upshoejot up shoe + jot
up stile 8D apl_upstile Alt-s
up tack BC apl_uptack Alt-n
up tack jot EF apl_uptackjot up tack + jot
V underbar 65 apl_Vunderbar Alt-V V + underbar
W underbar 66 apl_Wunderbar Alt-W W + underbar
X underbar 67 apl_Xunderbar Alt-X X + underbar
Y underbar 68 apl_Yunderbar Alt-Y Y + underbar
Z underbar 69 apl_Zunderbar Alt-Z Z + underbar
SCREEN PRINTING
Screen printing is handled through options on the File
menu or by the PrintText and PrintWindow keyboard actions.
Each results in a pop-up to confirm the print command.
The PrintText action (usually assigned to the key <Meta>p)
sends the current screen image to the printer as ASCII
characters. The default command used to print the data is
controlled by the "x3270.printTextCommand" resource; the
default is lpr. You may also use a keymap definition to
pass a print command the PrintText action itself. The
command receives the screen text as its standard input.
For example, the following keymap will save the screen
text in a file:
Meta<Key>f: PrintText("cat >screen.image")
Note: HardPrint is an alias for PrintText.
The PrintWindow action (usually assigned to the key
<Meta>b) sends the current screen image to the printer as
a bitmap. The default command used to print the data is
controlled by the "x3270.printWindowCommand" resource; the
default is
xwd -id %d | xpr | lpr.
You may also use a keymap definition to pass a print com-
mand to the PrintWindow action itself. If the command
contains the text "%d", the window ID of x3270 will be
substituted before it is run. For example, the following
keymap will pop up a duplicate of the current screen
image:
Meta<Key>g: PrintWindow("xwd -id %d | xwud &")
If the command for PrintWindow or PrintText begins with an
"@" character, the initial pop-up menu to confirm the
print command is not displayed and the command cannot be
edited.
BUGS
Cursor highlighting will not work with if you use the
NoTitleFocus option in your .twmrc file.
Pull-down menus may not work properly if the Caps Lock,
Num Lock, Shift, Alt or Meta keys are pressed. This is a
bug in the Athena menu widget and affects several other X
applications as well.
PASSTHRU
x3270 supports the Sun telnet-passthru service provided by
the in.telnet-gw server. This allows outbound telnet con-
nections through a firewall machine. When a p: is
prepended to a hostname, x3270 acts much like the itel-
net(1) command. It contacts the machine named internet-
gateway at the port defined in /etc/services as telnet-
passthru (which defaults to 3514). It then passes the
requested hostname and port to the in.telnet-gw server.
FILES
/usr/lib/X11/x3270/ibm_hosts
SEE ALSO
telnet(1) tn3270(1) ibm_hosts(5) x3270-script(1)
X Toolkit Intrinsics
Data Stream Programmer's Reference, IBM GA23-0059
Character Set Reference, IBM GA27-3831
COPYRIGHTS
Modifications Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 by
Paul Mattes.
Original X11 Port Copyright 1990 by Jeff Sparkes.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute
this software and its documentation for any purpose
and without fee is hereby granted, provided that
the above copyright notice appear in all copies and
that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation.
Copyright 1989 by Georgia Tech Research Corporation,
Atlanta, GA 30332.
All Rights Reserved. GTRC hereby grants public use
of this software. Derivative works based on this
software must incorporate this copyright notice.
VERSION
x3270 3.1.1.6