ROOTTAIL(1) Version 0.0.10 ROOTTAIL(1)
Nov 13, 2000
NAME
root-tail - print text directly to X11 root window
SYNOPSIS
root-tail [-g|-geometry GEOMETRY] [-fn|-font FONTSPEC] [-color color]
[-reload SEC COMMAND] [-shade] [-f|-fork] [-noinitial] [-frame]
[-i|-interval SECONDS] [-V] file1[,color[,desc]] [file2[,color[,desc]]]
DESCRIPTION
Displays a given file anywhere on your X11 root window with a
transparent background. It was made because I'm very lazy and this was
easier than making a new rxvt pixmap each time I changed my background
to simulate that transparent effect. A null desc (example:
"/var/log/messages,red,") will prevent the printing of a description
and the []'s.
General Options
-color COLOR
Use color $color as default.
-font | -fn FONTSPEC
Use font FONTSPEC this can be either fixed withn fonts like -fn
fixed or any font using -fn '-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*' with
the appropriate fields filled out (see xfontsel)
-f | -fork
Forks to the background and gives the pid of itself (useful if rt
is being called from a script or frontend)
-reload SEC COMMAND
Run command & run command after $sec seconds.
-shade
Add shading to font.
-noinitial
Don't display the end of the file(s) initially.
-i | -interval SECONDS
Use the specified sleeping interval between checks instead of the
default 3 seconds. Fractional values are o.k.
-V Print version information.
-frame
Surround the selected area with a frame. This is just a debugging
tool and doesn't always work properly. Use it to find the perfect
geometry.
- 1 - Formatted: December 13, 2025
ROOTTAIL(1) Version 0.0.10 ROOTTAIL(1)
Nov 13, 2000
EXAMPLE
root-tail -g 80x25+100+50 /var/log/messages,green
/var/log/secure,red,'ALERT'
BUGS
- width must be larger than the longest file-header, otherwise
segfaults.
Should you happen to find any bugs please fix them and send me a diff.
NOTE: This program was modified by Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com>, who
couldn't reach the original author. Please direct bug-reports etc.. to
pcg@goof.com.
http://root-tail.plan9.de/
- 2 - Formatted: December 13, 2025
