File Formats terminfo(4)
NAME
terminfo - terminal and printer capability database
SYNOPSIS
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
DESCRIPTION
The terminfo database describes the capabilities of devices
such as terminals and printers. Devices are described in
terminfo source files by specifying a set of capabilities,
by quantifying certain aspects of the device, and by speci-
fying character sequences that affect particular results.
This database is often used by screen oriented applications
such as vi and curses-based programs, as well as by some
system commands such as ls and more. This usage allows them
to work with a variety of devices without changes to the
programs.
terminfo descriptions are located in the directory pointed
to by the environment variable TERMINFO or in
/usr/share/lib/terminfo. terminfo descriptions are generated
by tic(1M).
terminfo source files consist of one or more device descrip-
tions. Each description consists of a header (beginning in
column 1) and one or more lines that list the features for
that particular device. Every line in a terminfo source file
must end in a comma (,). Every line in a terminfo source
file except the header must be indented with one or more
white spaces (either spaces or tabs).
Entries in terminfo source files consist of a number of
comma-separated fields. White space after each comma is
ignored. Embedded commas must be escaped by using a
backslash. Each device entry has the following format:
alias1 alias2 ... aliasn fullname,
capability1, capability2,
.
.
.
capabilityn,
The first line, commonly referred to as the header line,
must begin in column one and must contain at least two
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 1
File Formats terminfo(4)
aliases separated by vertical bars. The last field in the
header line must be the long name of the device and it may
contain any string. Alias names must be unique in the ter-
minfo database and they must conform to system file naming
conventions. See tic(1M). They cannot, for example, contain
white space or slashes.
Every device must be assigned a name, such as "vt100". Dev-
ice names (except the long name) should be chosen using the
following conventions. The name should not contain hyphens
because hyphens are reserved for use when adding suffixes
that indicate special modes.
These special modes may be modes that the hardware can be
in, or user preferences. To assign a special mode to a par-
ticular device, append a suffix consisting of a hyphen and
an indicator of the mode to the device name. For example,
the -w suffix means "wide mode". When specified, it allows
for a width of 132 columns instead of the standard 80
columns. Therefore, if you want to use a "vt100" device set
to wide mode, name the device "vt100-w". Use the following
suffixes where possible.
Suffix Meaning Example
-w Wide mode (more than 80 columns) 5410-w
-am With auto. margins (usually default) vt100-am
-nam Without automatic margins vt100-nam
-n Number of lines on the screen 2300-40
-na No arrow keys (leave them in local) c100-na
-np Number of pages of memory c100-4p
-rv Reverse video 4415-rv
The terminfo reference manual page is organized in two sec-
tions:
o PART 1: DEVICE CAPABILITIES
o PART 2: PRINTER CAPABILITIES
PART 1: DEVICE CAPABILITIES
Capabilities in terminfo are of three types: Boolean capa-
bilities (which show that a device has or does not have a
particular feature), numeric capabilities (which quantify
particular features of a device), and string capabilities
(which provide sequences that can be used to perform partic-
ular operations on devices).
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 2
File Formats terminfo(4)
In the following table, a Variable is the name by which a C
programmer accesses a capability (at the terminfo level). A
Capname is the short name for a capability specified in the
terminfo source file. It is used by a person updating the
source file and by the tput command. A Termcap Code is a
two-letter sequence that corresponds to the termcap capabil-
ity name. (Note that termcap is no longer supported.)
Capability names have no real length limit, but an informal
limit of five characters has been adopted to keep them
short. Whenever possible, capability names are chosen to be
the same as or similar to those specified by the ANSI
X3.64-1979 standard. Semantics are also intended to match
those of the ANSI standard.
All string capabilities listed below may have padding speci-
fied, with the exception of those used for input. Input
capabilities, listed under the Strings section in the fol-
lowing tables, have names beginning with key. The #i symbol
in the description field of the following tables refers to
the ith parameter.
Booleans
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
autoleftmargin bw bw cub1 wraps from column 0 to
last column
autorightmargin am am Terminal has automatic margins
backcolorerase bce be Screen erased with background
color
canchange ccc cc Terminal can re-define existing
color
ceolstandoutglitch xhp xs Standout not erased by
overwriting (hp)
coladdrglitch xhpa YA Only positive motion
for hpa/mhpa caps
cpichangesres cpix YF Changing character pitch
changes resolution
crcancelsmicromode crxm YB Using cr turns off micro mode
desttabsmagicsmso xt xt Destructive tabs, magic
smso char (t1061)
eatnewlineglitch xenl xn Newline ignored after
80 columns (Concept)
eraseoverstrike eo eo Can erase overstrikes with a
blank
generictype gn gn Generic line type
(for example, dialup, switch)
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 3
File Formats terminfo(4)
hardcopy hc hc Hardcopy terminal
hardcursor chts HC Cursor is hard to see
hasmetakey km km Has a meta key (shift,
sets parity bit)
hasprintwheel daisy YC Printer needs operator
to change character set
hasstatusline hs hs Has extra "status line"
huelightnesssaturation hls hl Terminal uses only HLS
color notation (Tektronix)
insertnullglitch in in Insert mode distinguishes nulls
lpichangesres lpix YG Changing line pitch
changes resolution
memoryabove da da Display may be retained
above the screen
memorybelow db db Display may be retained
below the screen
moveinsertmode mir mi Safe to move while in insert
mode
movestandoutmode msgr ms Safe to move in standout modes
needsxonxoff nxon nx Padding won't work,
xon/xoff required
noescctlc xsb xb Beehive (f1=escape, f2=ctrl C)
nopadchar npc NP Pad character doesn't exist
nondestscrollregion ndscr ND Scrolling region
is nondestructive
nonrevrmcup nrrmc NR smcup does not reverse rmcup
overstrike os os Terminal overstrikes
on hard-copy terminal
prtrsilent mc5i 5i Printer won't echo on screen
rowaddrglitch xvpa YD Only positive motion
for vpa/mvpa caps
semiautorightmargin sam YE Printing in last column causes
cr
statuslineescok eslok es Escape can be used on
the status line
tildeglitch hz hz Hazeltine; can't print tilde (~)
transparentunderline ul ul Underline character overstrikes
xonxoff xon xo Terminal uses xon/xoff
handshaking
Numbers
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
bitimageentwining bitwin Yo Number of passes for each
bit-map row
bitimagetype bitype Yp Type of bit image device
buffercapacity bufsz Ya Number of bytes buffered
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 4
File Formats terminfo(4)
before printing
buttons btns BT Number of buttons on the mouse
columns cols co Number of columns in a line
dothorzspacing spinh Yc Spacing of dots horizontally
in dots per inch
dotvertspacing spinv Yb Spacing of pins vertically
in pins per inch
inittabs it it Tabs initially every # spaces
labelheight lh lh Number of rows in each label
labelwidth lw lw Number of columns in each label
lines lines li Number of lines on a screen or
a page
linesofmemory lm lm Lines of memory if > lines;
0 means varies
maxattributes ma ma Maximum combined video attributes
terminal can display
magiccookieglitch xmc sg Number of blank characters
left by smso or rmso
maxcolors colors Co Maximum number of colors
on the screen
maxmicroaddress maddr Yd Maximum value in
micro...address
maxmicrojump mjump Ye Maximum value in parm...micro
maxpairs pairs pa Maximum number of
color-pairs on the screen
maximumwindows Wnum MW Maximum number of definable windows
microcharsize mcs Yf Character step size when
in micro mode
microlinesize mls Yg Line step size when in micro mode
nocolorvideo ncv NC Video attributes that
can't be used with colors
numlabels nlab Nl Number of labels on screen
numberofpins npins Yh Number of pins in print-head
outputreschar orc Yi Horizontal resolution in
units per character
outputresline orl Yj Vertical resolution in units per
line
outputreshorzinch orhi Yk Horizontal resolution in
units per inch
outputresvertinch orvi Yl Vertical resolution in
units per inch
paddingbaudrate pb pb Lowest baud rate
printrate cps Ym Print rate in characters per second
where padding needed
virtualterminal vt vt Virtual terminal number (system)
widecharsize widcs Yn Character step size when
in double wide mode
widthstatusline wsl ws Number of columns in status line
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 5
File Formats terminfo(4)
Strings
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
acschars acsc ac Graphic charset pairs aAbBcC
altscancodeesc scesa S8 Alternate escape for
scancode emulation
(default is for vt100)
backtab cbt bt Back tab
bell bel bl Audible signal (bell)
bitimagecarriagereturn bicr Yv Move to beginning of
same row (use tparm)
bitimagenewline binel Zz Move to next row of
the bit image (use tparm)
bitimagerepeat birep Zy Repeat bit-image cell
#1 #2 times (use tparm)
carriagereturn cr cr Carriage return
changecharpitch cpi ZA Change number of
characters per inch
changelinepitch lpi ZB Change number of lines per inch
changereshorz chr ZC Change horizontal resolution
changeresvert cvr ZD Change vertical resolution
changescrollregion csr cs Change to lines #1
through #2 (vt100)
charpadding rmp rP Like ip but when in replace
mode
charsetnames csnm Zy List of character set names
clearalltabs tbc ct Clear all tab stops
clearmargins mgc MC Clear all margins
(top, bottom, and sides)
clearscreen clear cl Clear screen and home cursor
clrbol el1 cb Clear to beginning of
line, inclusive
clreol el ce Clear to end of line
clreos ed cd Clear to end of display
codesetinit csin ci Init sequence
for multiple codesets
colornames colornm Yw Give name for color #1
columnaddress hpa ch Horizontal position
commandcharacter cmdch C Terminal settable cmd
character in prototype
createwindow cwin CW Define win #1 to go
from #2,#3to #4,#5
cursoraddress cup cm Move to row #1 col #2
cursordown cud1 do Down one line
cursorhome home ho Home cursor (if no cup)
cursorinvisible civis vi Make cursor invisible
cursorleft cub1 le Move left one space.
cursormemaddress mrcup CM Memory relative cursor
addressing
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 6
File Formats terminfo(4)
cursornormal cnorm ve Make cursor appear
normal (undo vs/vi)
cursorright cuf1 nd Non-destructive space
(cursor or carriage right)
cursortoll ll ll Last line, first
column (if no cup)
cursorup cuu1 up Upline (cursor up)
cursorvisible cvvis vs Make cursor very visible
definebitimageregion defbi Yx Define rectangular bit-
image region (use tparm)
definechar defc ZE Define a character in
a character set
deletecharacter dch1 dc Delete character
deleteline dl1 dl Delete line
devicetype devt dv Indicate language/
codeset support
dialphone dial DI Dial phone number #1
disstatusline dsl ds Disable status line
displayclock dclk DK Display time-of-day clock
displaypcchar dispc S1 Display PC character
downhalfline hd hd Half-line down (forward
1/2 linefeed)
enaacs enacs eA Enable alternate character set
endbitimageregion endbi Yy End a bit-image region
(use tparm)
enteraltcharsetmode smacs as Start alternate character set
enterammode smam SA Turn on automatic margins
enterblinkmode blink mb Turn on blinking
enterboldmode bold md Turn on bold (extra
bright) mode
entercamode smcup ti String to begin programs
that use cup
enterdeletemode smdc dm Delete mode (enter)
enterdimmode dim mh Turn on half-bright mode
enterdoublewidemode swidm ZF Enable double wide printing
enterdraftquality sdrfq ZG Set draft quality print mode
enterinsertmode smir im Insert mode (enter)
enteritalicsmode sitm ZH Enable italics
enterleftwardmode slm ZI Enable leftward carriage
motion
entermicromode smicm ZJ Enable micro motion
capabilities
enternearletterquality snlq ZK Set near-letter quality print
enternormalquality snrmq ZL Set normal quality
enterpccharsetmode smpch S2 Enter PC character display mode
enterprotectedmode prot mp Turn on protected mode
enterreversemode rev mr Turn on reverse video mode
enterscancodemode smsc S4 Enter PC scancode mode
enterscancodemode smsc S4 Enter PC scancode mode
entersecuremode invis mk Turn on blank mode
(characters invisible)
entershadowmode sshm ZM Enable shadow printing
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 7
File Formats terminfo(4)
enterstandoutmode smso so Begin standout mode
entersubscriptmode ssubm ZN Enable subscript printing
entersuperscriptmode ssupm ZO Enable superscript printing
enterunderlinemode smul us Start underscore mode
enterupwardmode sum ZP Enable upward carriage motion
mode
enterxonmode smxon SX Turn on xon/xoff handshaking
erasechars ech ec Erase #1 characters
exitaltcharsetmode rmacs ae End alternate character set
exitammode rmam RA Turn off automatic margins
exitattributemode sgr0 me Turn off all attributes
exitcamode rmcup te String to end programs
that use cup
exitdeletemode rmdc ed End delete mode
exitdoublewidemode rwidm ZQ Disable double wide printing
exitinsertmode rmir ei End insert mode
exititalicsmode ritm ZR Disable italics
exitleftwardmode rlm ZS Enable rightward (normal)
carriage motion
exitmicromode rmicm ZT Disable micro motion
capabilities
exitpccharsetmode rmpch S3 Disable PC character
display mode
exitscancodemode rmsc S5 Disable PC scancode mode
exitshadowmode rshm ZU Disable shadow printing
exitstandoutmode rmso se End standout mode
exitsubscriptmode rsubm ZV Disable subscript printing
exitsuperscriptmode rsupm ZW Disable superscript printing
exitunderlinemode rmul ue End underscore mode
exitupwardmode rum ZX Enable downward (normal)
carriage motion
exitxonmode rmxon RX Turn off xon/xoff handshaking
fixedpause pause PA Pause for 2-3 seconds
flashhook hook fh Flash the switch hook
flashscreen flash vb Visible bell (may
not move cursor)
formfeed ff ff Hardcopy terminal page eject
fromstatusline fsl fs Return from status line
getmouse getm Gm Curses should get button events
gotowindow wingo WG Go to window #1
hangup hup HU Hang-up phone
init1string is1 i1 Terminal or printer
initialization string
init2string is2 is Terminal or printer
initialization string
init3string is3 i3 Terminal or printer
initialization string
initfile if if Name of initialization file
initprog iprog iP Path name of program
for initialization
initializecolor initc Ic Initialize the
definition of color
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 8
File Formats terminfo(4)
initializepair initp Ip Initialize color-pair
insertcharacter ich1 ic Insert character
insertline il1 al Add new blank line
insertpadding ip ip Insert pad after
character inserted
keyStrings
The ``key'' strings are sent by specific keys. The ``key''
descriptions include the macro, defined in , for
the code returned by the curses routine getch when the key
is pressed (see cursgetch(3CURSES)).
Cap- Termcap
Variable name Code Description
keya1 ka1 K1 KEYA1, upper left of keypad
keya3 ka3 K3 KEYA3, upper right of keypad
keyb2 kb2 K2 KEYB2, center of keypad
keybackspace kbs kb KEYBACKSPACE, sent by
backspace key
keybeg kbeg @1 KEYBEG, sent by beg(inning) key
keybtab kcbt kB KEYBTAB, sent by back-tab key
keyc1 kc1 K4 KEYC1, lower left of keypad
keyc3 kc3 K5 KEYC3, lower right of keypad
keycancel kcan @2 KEYCANCEL, sent by cancel key
keycatab ktbc ka KEYCATAB, sent by
clear-all-tabs key
keyclear kclr kC KEYCLEAR, sent by
clear-screen or erase key
keyclose kclo @3 KEYCLOSE, sent by close key
keycommand kcmd @4 KEYCOMAND, sent by
cmd (command) key
keycopy kcpy @5 KEYCOPY, sent by copy key
keycreate kcrt @6 KEYCREATE, sent by create key
keyctab kctab kt KEYCTAB, sent by clear-tab key
keydc kdch1 kD KEYDC, sent by delete-character
key
keydl kdl1 kL KEYDL, sent by delete-line key
keydown kcud1 kd KEYDOWN, sent by terminal
down-arrow key
keyeic krmir kM KEYEIC, sent by rmir or smir in
insert mode
keyend kend @7 KEYEND, sent by end key
keyenter kent @8 KEYENTER, sent by enter/send
key
keyeol kel kE KEYEOL, sent by
clear-to-end-of-line key
keyeos ked kS KEYEOS, sent by
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 9
File Formats terminfo(4)
clear-to-end-of-screen key
keyexit kext @9 KEYEXIT, sent by exit key
keyf0 kf0 k0 KEYF(0), sent by function key f0
keyf1 kf1 k1 KEYF(1), sent by function key f1
keyf2 kf2 k2 KEYF(2), sent by function key f2
keyf3 kf3 k3 KEYF(3), sent by function key f3
keyfB kf4 k4 KEYF(4), sent by function key fB
keyf5 kf5 k5 KEYF(5), sent by function key f5
keyf6 kf6 k6 KEYF(6), sent by function key f6
keyf7 kf7 k7 KEYF(7), sent by function key f7
keyf8 kf8 k8 KEYF(8), sent by function key f8
keyf9 kf9 k9 KEYF(9), sent by function key f9
keyf10 kf10 k; KEYF(10), sent by function key
f10
keyf11 kf11 F1 KEYF(11), sent by function key
f11
keyf12 kf12 F2 KEYF(12), sent by function key
f12
keyf13 kf13 F3 KEYF(13), sent by function key
f13
keyf14 kf14 F4 KEYF(14), sent by function key
f14
keyf15 kf15 F5 KEYF(15), sent by function key
f15
keyf16 kf16 F6 KEYF(16), sent by function key
f16
keyf17 kf17 F7 KEYF(17), sent by function key
f17
keyf18 kf18 F8 KEYF(18), sent by function key
f18
keyf19 kf19 F9 KEYF(19), sent by function key
f19
keyf20 kf20 FA KEYF(20), sent by function key
f20
keyf21 kf21 FB KEYF(21), sent by function key
f21
keyf22 kf22 FC KEYF(22), sent by function key
f22
keyf23 kf23 FD KEYF(23), sent by function key
f23
keyf24 kf24 FE KEYF(24), sent by function key
f24
keyf25 kf25 F KEYF(25), sent by function key
f25
keyf26 kf26 FG KEYF(26), sent by function key
f26
keyf27 kf27 FH KEYF(27), sent by function key
f27
keyf28 kf28 FI KEYF(28), sent by function key
f28
keyf29 kf29 FJ KEYF(29), sent by function key
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 10
File Formats terminfo(4)
f29
keyf30 kf30 FK KEYF(30), sent by function key
f30
keyf31 kf31 FL KEYF(31), sent by function key
f31
keyf32 kf32 FM KEYF(32), sent by function key
f32
keyf33 kf33 FN KEYF(13), sent by function key
f13
keyf34 kf34 FO KEYF(34), sent by function key
f34
keyf35 kf35 FP KEYF(35), sent by function key
f35
keyf36 kf36 FQ KEYF(36), sent by function key
f36
keyf37 kf37 FR KEYF(37), sent by function key
f37
keyf38 kf38 FS KEYF(38), sent by function key
f38
keyf39 kf39 FT KEYF(39), sent by function key
f39
keyfB0 kf40 FU KEYF(40), sent by function key
fB0
keyfB1 kf41 FV KEYF(41), sent by function key
fB1
keyfB2 kf42 FW KEYF(42), sent by function key
fB2
keyfB3 kf43 FX KEYF(43), sent by function key
fB3
keyfB4 kf44 FY KEYF(44), sent by function key
fB4
keyfB5 kf45 FZ KEYF(45), sent by function key
fB5
keyfB6 kf46 Fa KEYF(46), sent by function key
fB6
keyfB7 kf47 Fb KEYF(47), sent by function key
fB7
keyfB8 kf48 Fc KEYF(48), sent by function key
fB8
keyfB9 kf49 Fd KEYF(49), sent by function key
fB9
keyf50 kf50 Fe KEYF(50), sent by function key
f50
keyf51 kf51 Ff KEYF(51), sent by function key
f51
keyf52 kf52 Fg KEYF(52), sent by function key
f52
keyf53 kf53 Fh KEYF(53), sent by function key
f53
keyf54 kf54 Fi KEYF(54), sent by function key
f54
keyf55 kf55 Fj KEYF(55), sent by function key
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 11
File Formats terminfo(4)
f55
keyf56 kf56 Fk KEYF(56), sent by function key
f56
keyf57 kf57 Fl KEYF(57), sent by function key
f57
keyf58 kf58 Fm KEYF(58), sent by function key
f58
keyf59 kf59 Fn KEYF(59), sent by function key
f59
keyf60 kf60 Fo KEYF(60), sent by function key
f60
keyf61 kf61 Fp KEYF(61), sent by function key
f61
keyf62 kf62 Fq KEYF(62), sent by function key
f62
keyf63 kf63 Fr KEYF(63), sent by function key
f63
keyfind kfnd @0 KEYFIND, sent by find key
keyhelp khlp %1 KEYHELP, sent by help key
keyhome khome kh KEYHOME, sent by home key
keyic kich1 kI KEYIC, sent by ins-char/enter
ins-mode key
keyil kil1 kA KEYIL, sent by insert-line key
keyleft kcub1 kl KEYLEFT, sent by
terminal left-arrow key
keyll kll kH KEYL, sent by home-down key
keymark kmrk %2 KEYMARK, sent by
keymessage kmsg %3 KEYMESAGE, sent by message key
keymouse kmous Km 0631, Mouse event has occured
keymove kmov %4 KEYMOVE, sent by move key
keynext knxt %5 KEYNEXT, sent by next-object
key
keynpage knp kN KEYNPAGE, sent by next-page
key
keyopen kopn %6 KEYOPEN, sent by open key
keyoptions kopt %7 KEYOPTIONS, sent by options
key
keyppage kpp kP KEYPAGE, sent by
previous-page key
keyprevious kprv %8 KEYPREVIOUS, sent by
previous-object key
keyprint kprt %9 KEYPRINT, sent by
print or copy key
keyredo krdo %0 KEYREDO, sent by redo key
keyreference kref &1 KEYREFERENCE, sent by
reference key
keyrefresh krfr &2 KEYREFRESH, sent by
refresh key
keyreplace krpl &3 KEYREPLACE, sent by
replace key
keyrestart krst &4 KEYRESTART, sent by
restart key
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 12
File Formats terminfo(4)
keyresume kres &5 KEYRESUME, sent by resume key
keyright kcuf1 kr KEYRIGHT, sent by terminal
right-arrow key
keysave ksav &6 KEYSAVE, sent by save key
keysbeg kBEG &9 KEYSBEG, sent by
shifted beginning key
keyscancel kCAN &0 KEYSCANCEL, sent by
shifted cancel key
keyscommand kCMD *1 KEYSCOMAND, sent by
shifted command key
keyscopy kCPY *2 KEYSCOPY, sent by
shifted copy key
keyscreate kCRT *3 KEYSCREATE, sent by
shifted create key
keysdc kDC *4 KEYSDC, sent by
shifted delete-char key
keysdl kDL *5 KEYSDL, sent by
shifted delete-line key
keyselect kslt *6 KEYSELECT, sent by
select key
keysend kEND *7 KEYSEND, sent by
shifted end key
keyseol kEOL *8 KEYSEOL, sent by
shifted clear-line key
keysexit kEXT *9 KEYSEXIT, sent by
shifted exit key
keysf kind kF KEYSF, sent by
scroll-forward/down key
keysfind kFND *0 KEYSFIND, sent by
shifted find key
keyshelp kHLP #1 KEYSHELP, sent by
shifted help key
keyshome kHOM #2 KEYSHOME, sent by
shifted home key
keysic kIC #3 KEYSIC, sent by
shifted input key
keysleft kLFT #4 KEYSLEFT, sent by
shifted left-arrow key
keysmessage kMSG %a KEYSMESAGE, sent by
shifted message key
keysmove kMOV %b KEYSMOVE, sent by
shifted move key
keysnext kNXT %c KEYSNEXT, sent by
shifted next key
keysoptions kOPT %d KEYSOPTIONS, sent by
shifted options key
keysprevious kPRV %e KEYSPREVIOUS, sent by
shifted prev key
keysprint kPRT %f KEYSPRINT, sent by
shifted print key
keysr kri kR KEYSR, sent by
scroll-backward/up key
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 13
File Formats terminfo(4)
keysredo kRDO %g KEYSREDO, sent by
shifted redo key
keysreplace kRPL %h KEYSREPLACE, sent by
shifted replace key
keysright kRIT %i KEYSRIGHT, sent by shifted
right-arrow key
keysrsume kRES %j KEYSRSUME, sent by
shifted resume key
keyssave kSAV !1 KEYSAVE, sent by
shifted save key
keyssuspend kSPD !2 KEYSUSPEND, sent by
shifted suspend key
keystab khts kT KEYSTAB, sent by
set-tab key
keysundo kUND !3 KEYSUNDO, sent by
shifted undo key
keysuspend kspd &7 KEYSUSPEND, sent by
suspend key
keyundo kund &8 KEYUNDO, sent by undo key
keyup kcuu1 ku KEYUP, sent by
terminal up-arrow key
keypadlocal rmkx ke Out of
``keypad-transmit'' mode
keypadxmit smkx ks Put terminal in
``keypad-transmit'' mode
labf0 lf0 l0 Labels on function key
f0 if not f0
labf1 lf1 l1 Labels on function key
f1 if not f1
labf2 lf2 l2 Labels on function key
f2 if not f2
labf3 lf3 l3 Labels on function key
f3 if not f3
labfB lfB l4 Labels on function key
fB if not fB
labf5 lf5 l5 Labels on function key
f5 if not f5
labf6 lf6 l6 Labels on function key
f6 if not f6
labf7 lf7 l7 Labels on function key
f7 if not f7
labf8 lf8 l8 Labels on function key
f8 if not f8
labf9 lf9 l9 Labels on function key
f9 if not f9
labf10 lf10 la Labels on function key
f10 if not f10
labelformat fln Lf Label format
labeloff rmln LF Turn off soft labels
labelon smln LO Turn on soft labels
metaoff rmm mo Turn off "meta mode"
metaon smm mm Turn on "meta mode" (8th bit)
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 14
File Formats terminfo(4)
microcolumnaddress mhpa ZY Like columnaddress
for micro adjustment
microdown mcud1 Z Like cursordown
for micro adjustment
microleft mcub1 Za Like cursorleft
for micro adjustment
microright mcuf1 Zb Like cursorright
for micro adjustment
microrowaddress mvpa Zc Like rowaddress
for micro adjustment
microup mcuu1 Zd Like cursorup
for micro adjustment
mouseinfo minfo Mi Mouse status information
newline nel nw Newline (behaves like
cr followed by lf)
orderofpins porder Ze Matches software bits
to print-head pins
origcolors oc oc Set all color(-pair)s
to the original ones
origpair op op Set default color-pair
to the original one
padchar pad pc Pad character (rather than null)
parmdch dch DC Delete #1 chars
parmdeleteline dl DL Delete #1 lines
parmdowncursor cud DO Move down #1 lines
parmdownmicro mcud Zf Like parmdowncursor
for micro adjust
parmich ich IC Insert #1 blank chars
parmindex indn SF Scroll forward #1 lines
parminsertline il AL Add #1 new blank lines
parmleftcursor cub LE Move cursor left #1 spaces
parmleftmicro mcub Zg Like parmleftcursor
for micro adjust
parmrightcursor cuf RI Move right #1 spaces
parmrightmicro mcuf Zh Like parmrightcursor
for micro adjust
parmrindex rin SR Scroll backward #1 lines
parmupcursor cuu UP Move cursor up #1 lines
parmupmicro mcuu Zi Like parmupcursor
for micro adjust
pctermoptions pctrm S6 PC terminal options
pkeykey pfkey pk Prog funct key #1 to
type string #2
pkeylocal pfloc pl Prog funct key #1 to
execute string #2
pkeyplab pfxl xl Prog key #1 to xmit
string #2 and show string #3
pkeyxmit pfx px Prog funct key #1 to
xmit string #2
plabnorm pln pn Prog label #1 to show
string #2
printscreen mc0 ps Print contents of the screen
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 15
File Formats terminfo(4)
prtrnon mc5p pO Turn on the printer for #1 bytes
prtroff mc4 pf Turn off the printer
prtron mc5 po Turn on the printer
pulse pulse PU Select pulse dialing
quickdial qdial QD Dial phone number #1, without
progress detection
removeclock rmclk RC Remove time-of-day clock
repeatchar rep rp Repeat char #1 #2 times
reqforinput rfi RF Send next input char (for ptys)
reqmousepos reqmp RQ Request mouse position report
reset1string rs1 r1 Reset terminal completely to
sane modes
reset2string rs2 r2 Reset terminal completely to
sane modes
reset3string rs3 r3 Reset terminal completely to
sane modes
resetfile rf rf Name of file containing
reset string
restorecursor rc rc Restore cursor to
position of last sc
rowaddress vpa cv Vertical position absolute
savecursor sc sc Save cursor position
scancodeescape scesc S7 Escape for scancode emulation
scrollforward ind sf Scroll text up
scrollreverse ri sr Scroll text down
selectcharset scs Zj Select character set
set0desseq s0ds s0 Shift into codeset 0
(EUC set 0, ASCI)
set1desseq s1ds s1 Shift into codeset 1
set2desseq s2ds s2 Shift into codeset 2
set3desseq s3ds s3 Shift into codeset 3
attributes #1-#6
setabackground setab AB Set background color
using ANSI escape
setaforeground setaf AF Set foreground color
using ANSI escape
setattributes sgr sa Define the video
attributes #1-#9
setbackground setb Sb Set current background color
setbottommargin smgb Zk Set bottom margin at
current line
setbottommarginparm smgbp Zl Set bottom margin at
line #1 or #2
lines from bottom
setclock sclk SC Set time-of-day clock
setcolorband setcolor YzChange to ribbon color #1
setcolorpair scp sp Set current color-pair
setforeground setf Sf Set current foreground color1
setleftmargin smgl ML Set left margin at current line
setleftmarginparm smglp Zm Set left (right) margin
at column #1 (#2)
setlrmargin smglr ML Sets both left and right margins
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 16
File Formats terminfo(4)
setpagelength slines YZ Set page length to #1 lines
(use tparm) of an inch
setrightmargin smgr MR Set right margin at
current column
setrightmarginparm smgrp Zn Set right margin at column #1
settab hts st Set a tab in all rows,
current column
settbmargin smgtb MT Sets both top and bottom margins
settopmargin smgt Zo Set top margin at current line
settopmarginparm smgtp Zp Set top (bottom) margin
at line #1 (#2)
setwindow wind wi Current window is lines
#1-#2 cols #3-#4
startbitimage sbim Zq Start printing bit image graphics
startcharsetdef scsd Zr Start definition of a character
set
stopbitimage rbim Zs End printing bit image graphics
stopcharsetdef rcsd Zt End definition of a character set
subscriptcharacters subcs Zu List of ``subscript-able''
characters
superscriptcharacters supcs Zv List of ``superscript-able''
characters
tab ht ta Tab to next 8-space hardware tab
stop
thesecausecr docr Zw Printing any of these
chars causes cr
tostatusline tsl ts Go to status line, col #1
tone tone TO Select touch tone dialing
user0 u0 u0 User string 0
user1 u1 u1 User string 1
user2 u2 u2 User string 2
user3 u3 u3 User string 3
user4 u4 u4 User string 4
user5 u5 u5 User string 5
user6 u6 u6 User string 6
user7 u7 u7 User string 7
user8 u8 u8 User string 8
user9 u9 u9 User string 9
underlinechar uc uc Underscore one char
and move past it
uphalfline hu hu Half-line up (reverse
1/2 linefeed)
waittone wait WA Wait for dial tone
xoffcharacter xoffc XF X-off character
xoncharacter xonc XN X-on character
zeromotion zerom Zx No motion for the
subsequent character
Sample Entry
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 17
File Formats terminfo(4)
The following entry, which describes the AT&T 610 terminal,
is among the more complex entries in the terminfo file as of
this writing.
610610bctAT610att610AT&T610;80column;98key keyboard
am, eslok, hs, mir, msgr, xenl, xon,
cols#80, it#8, lh#2, lines#24, lw#8, nlab#8, wsl#80,
acsc=``aaffggjjkkllmmnnooppqqrrssttuuvvwwxxyyzz{{}}~~,
bel=^G, blink=\E[5m, bold=\E[1m, cbt=\E[Z,
civis=\E[?25l, clear=\E[H\E[J, cnorm=\E[?25h\E[?12l,
cr=\r, csr=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dr, cub=\E[%p1%dD, cub1=\b,
cud=\E[%p1%dB, cud1=\E[B, cuf=\E[%p1%dC, cuf1=\E[C,
cup=\E[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH, cuu=\E[%p1%dA, cuu1=\E[A,
cvvis=\E[?12;25h, dch=\E[%p1%dP, dch1=\E[P, dim=\E[2m,
dl=\E[%p1%dM, dl1=\E[M, ed=\E[J, el=\E[K, el1=\E[1K,
flash=\E[?5h$<200>\E[?5l, fsl=\E8, home=\E[H, ht=\t,
ich=\E[%p1%d@, il=\E[%p1%dL, il1=\E[L, ind=\ED, .ind=\ED$<9>,
invis=\E[8m,
is1=\E[8;0 \E[?3;4;5;13;15l\E[13;20l\E[?7h\E[12h\E(B\E)0,
is2=\E[0m^O, is3=\E(B\E)0, kLFT=\E[\s@, kRIT=\E[\sA,
kbs=^H, kcbt=\E[Z, kclr=\E[2J, kcub1=\E[D, kcud1=\E[B,
kcuf1=\E[C, kcuu1=\E[A, kf1=\EOc, kf10=\ENp,
kf11=\ENq, kf12=\ENr, kf13=\ENs, kf14=\ENt, kf2=\EOd,
kf3=\EOe, kf4=\EOf, kf5=\EOg, kf6=\EOh, kf7=\EOi,
kf8=\EOj, kf9=\ENo, khome=\E[H, kind=\E[S, kri=\E[T,
ll=\E[24H, mc4=\E[?4i, mc5=\E[?5i, nel=\E,
pfxl=\E[%p1%d;%p2%l%02dq%?%p1%{9}%<%t\s\s\sF%p1%1d\s\s\s\s\s
\s\s\s\s\s\s%%p2%s,
pln=\E[%p1%d;0;0;0q%p2%:-16.16s, rc=\E8, rev=\E[7m,
ri=\EM, rmacs=^O, rmir=\E[4l, rmln=\E[2p, rmso=\E[m,
rmul=\E[m, rs2=\Ec\E[?3l, sc=\E7,
sgr=\E[0%?%p6%t;1%%?%p5%t;2%%?%p2%t;4%%?%p4%t;5%
%?%p3%p1% %t;7%%?%p7%t;8%m%?%p9%t^N%e^O%,
sgr0=\E[m^O, smacs=^N, smir=\E[4h, smln=\E[p,
smso=\E[7m, smul=\E[4m, tsl=\E7\E[25;%i%p1%dx,
Types of Capabilities in the Sample Entry
The sample entry shows the formats for the three types of
terminfo capabilities listed: Boolean, numeric, and string.
All capabilities specified in the terminfo source file must
be followed by commas, including the last capability in the
source file. In terminfo source files, capabilities are
referenced by their capability names (as shown in the previ-
ous tables).
Boolean capabilities are specified simply by their comma
separated cap names.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 18
File Formats terminfo(4)
Numeric capabilities are followed by the character `#' and
then a positive integer value. Thus, in the sample, cols
(which shows the number of columns available on a device) is
assigned the value 80 for the AT&T 610. (Values for numeric
capabilities may be specified in decimal, octal, or hexade-
cimal, using normal C programming language conventions.)
Finally, string-valued capabilities such as el (clear to end
of line sequence) are listed by a two- to five-character
capname, an `=', and a string ended by the next occurrence
of a comma. A delay in milliseconds may appear anywhere in
such a capability, preceded by $ and enclosed in angle
brackets, as in el=\EK$<3>. Padding characters are supplied
by tput. The delay can be any of the following: a number, a
number followed by an asterisk, such as 5*, a number fol-
lowed by a slash, such as 5/, or a number followed by both,
such as 5*/. A `*' shows that the padding required is pro-
portional to the number of lines affected by the operation,
and the amount given is the per-affected-unit padding
required. (In the case of insert characters, the factor is
still the number of lines affected. This is always 1 unless
the device has in and the software uses it.) When a `*' is
specified, it is sometimes useful to give a delay of the
form 3.5 to specify a delay per unit to tenths of mil-
liseconds. (Only one decimal place is allowed.)
A `/' indicates that the padding is mandatory. If a device
has xon defined, the padding information is advisory and
will only be used for cost estimates or when the device is
in raw mode. Mandatory padding will be transmitted regard-
less of the setting of xon. If padding (whether advisory or
mandatory) is specified for bel or flash, however, it will
always be used, regardless of whether xon is specified.
terminfo offers notation for encoding special characters.
Both \E and \e map to an ESCAPE character, ^x maps to a con-
trol x for any appropriate x, and the sequences \n, \l, \r,
\t, \b, \f, and \s give a newline, linefeed, return, tab,
backspace, formfeed, and space, respectively. Other escapes
include: \^ for caret (^); \\ for backslash (\); \, for
comma (,); \: for colon (:); and \0 for null. (\0 will actu-
ally produce \200, which does not terminate a string but
behaves as a null character on most devices, providing CS7
is specified. (See stty(1)). Finally, characters may be
given as three octal digits after a backslash (for example,
\123).
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 19
File Formats terminfo(4)
Sometimes individual capabilities must be commented out. To
do this, put a period before the capability name. For exam-
ple, see the second ind in the example above. Note that
capabilities are defined in a left-to-right order and,
therefore, a prior definition will override a later defini-
tion.
Preparing Descriptions
The most effective way to prepare a device description is by
imitating the description of a similar device in terminfo
and building up a description gradually, using partial
descriptions with vi to check that they are correct. Be
aware that a very unusual device may expose deficiencies in
the ability of the terminfo file to describe it or the ina-
bility of vi to work with that device. To test a new device
description, set the environment variable TERMINFO to the
pathname of a directory containing the compiled description
you are working on and programs will look there rather than
in /usr/share/lib/terminfo. To get the padding for insert-
line correct (if the device manufacturer did not document
it) a severe test is to comment out xon, edit a large file
at 9600 baud with vi, delete 16 or so lines from the middle
of the screen, and then press the u key several times
quickly. If the display is corrupted, more padding is usu-
ally needed. A similar test can be used for insert-
character.
Section 1-1: Basic Capabilities
The number of columns on each line for the device is given
by the cols numeric capability. If the device has a screen,
then the number of lines on the screen is given by the lines
capability. If the device wraps around to the beginning of
the next line when it reaches the right margin, then it
should have the am capability. If the terminal can clear its
screen, leaving the cursor in the home position, then this
is given by the clear string capability. If the terminal
overstrikes (rather than clearing a position when a charac-
ter is struck over) then it should have the os capability.
If the device is a printing terminal, with no soft copy
unit, specify both hc and os. If there is a way to move the
cursor to the left edge of the current row, specify this as
cr. (Normally this will be carriage return, control M.) If
there is a way to produce an audible signal (such as a bell
or a beep), specify it as bel. If, like most devices, the
device uses the xon-xoff flow-control protocol, specify xon.
If there is a way to move the cursor one position to the
left (such as backspace), that capability should be given as
cub1. Similarly, sequences to move to the right, up, and
down should be given as cuf1, cuu1, and cud1, respectively.
These local cursor motions must not alter the text they pass
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 20
File Formats terminfo(4)
over; for example, you would not normally use ``cuf1=\s''
because the space would erase the character moved over.
A very important point here is that the local cursor motions
encoded in terminfo are undefined at the left and top edges
of a screen terminal. Programs should never attempt to back-
space around the left edge, unless bw is specified, and
should never attempt to go up locally off the top. To scroll
text up, a program goes to the bottom left corner of the
screen and sends the ind (index) string.
To scroll text down, a program goes to the top left corner
of the screen and sends the ri (reverse index) string. The
strings ind and ri are undefined when not on their respec-
tive corners of the screen.
Parameterized versions of the scrolling sequences are indn
and rin. These versions have the same semantics as ind and
ri, except that they take one parameter and scroll the
number of lines specified by that parameter. They are also
undefined except at the appropriate edge of the screen.
The am capability tells whether the cursor sticks at the
right edge of the screen when text is output, but this does
not necessarily apply to a cuf1 from the last column. Back-
ward motion from the left edge of the screen is possible
only when bw is specified. In this case, cub1 will move to
the right edge of the previous row. If bw is not given, the
effect is undefined. This is useful for drawing a box around
the edge of the screen, for example. If the device has
switch selectable automatic margins, am should be specified
in the terminfo source file. In this case, initialization
strings should turn on this option, if possible. If the dev-
ice has a command that moves to the first column of the next
line, that command can be given as nel (newline). It does
not matter if the command clears the remainder of the
current line, so if the device has no cr and lf it may still
be possible to craft a working nel out of one or both of
them.
These capabilities suffice to describe hardcopy and screen
terminals. Thus the AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal is described
as follows:
5320att5320AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal,
am, hc, os,
cols#132,
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 21
File Formats terminfo(4)
bel=^G, cr=\r, cub1=\b, cnd1=\n,
dch1=\E[P, dl1=\E[M,
ind=\n,
while the Lear Siegler ADM-3 is described as
adm3 lsi adm3,
am, bel=^G, clear=^Z, cols#80, cr=^M, cub1=^H,
cud1=^J, ind=^J, lines#24,
Section 1-2: Parameterized Strings
Cursor addressing and other strings requiring parameters are
described by a parameterized string capability, with
printf-like escapes (%x) in it. For example, to address the
cursor, the cup capability is given, using two parameters:
the row and column to address to. (Rows and columns are num-
bered from zero and refer to the physical screen visible to
the user, not to any unseen memory.) If the terminal has
memory relative cursor addressing, that can be indicated by
mrcup.
The parameter mechanism uses a stack and special % codes to
manipulate the stack in the manner of Reverse Polish Nota-
tion (postfix). Typically a sequence will push one of the
parameters onto the stack and then print it in some format.
Often more complex operations are necessary. Operations are
in postfix form with the operands in the usual order. That
is, to subtract 5 from the first parameter, one would use
%p1%{5}%-.
The % encodings have the following meanings:
%%
outputs `%'
%[:]flags][width[.precision][doxXs]
as in printf, flags are [-]#] and space
%c
print pop gives %c
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 22
File Formats terminfo(4)
%p[1-9]
push ith parm
%P[a-z]
set dynamic variable [a-z] to pop
%g[a-z]
get dynamic variable [a-z] and push it
%P[A-Z]
set static variable [a-z] to pop
%g[A-Z]
get static variable [a-z] and push it
%'c'
push char constant c
%{nn}
push decimal constant nn
%l
push strlen(pop)
%] %- %* %/ %m
arithmetic (%m is mod): push(pop integer2 op pop
integer1)
%& % %^
bit operations: push(pop integer2 op pop integer1)
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 23
File Formats terminfo(4)
%= %> %<
logical operations: push(pop integer2 op pop integer1)
%A %O
logical operations: and, or
%! %~
unary operations: push(op pop)
%i
(for ANSI terminals) add 1 to first parm, if one parm
present, or first two parms, if more than one parm
present
%? expr %t thenpart %e elsepart %
if-then-else, %e elsepart is optional; else-if's are
possible ala Algol 68: %? c(1) %t b(1) %e c(2) %t b(2)
%e c(3) %t b(3) %e c(4) %t b(4) %e b(5)% c(i) are condi-
tions, b(i) are bodies.
If the ``-'' flag is used with ``%[doxXs]'', then a colon
(:) must be placed between the ``%'' and the ``-'' to dif-
ferentiate the flag from the binary ``%-'' operator, for
example ``%:-16.16s''.
Consider the Hewlett-Packard 2645, which, to get to row 3
and column 12, needs to be sent \E&a12c03Y padded for 6 mil-
liseconds. Note that the order of the rows and columns is
inverted here, and that the row and column are zero-padded
as two digits. Thus its cup capability is:
cup=\E&a%p2%2.2dc%p1%2.2dY$<6>
The Micro-Term ACT-IV needs the current row and column sent
preceded by a ^T, with the row and column simply encoded in
binary, ``cup=^T%p1%c%p2%c''. Devices that use ``%c'' need
to be able to backspace the cursor (cub1), and to move the
cursor up one line on the screen (cuu1). This is necessary
because it is not always safe to transmit \n, ^D, and \r, as
the system may change or discard them. (The library routines
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 24
File Formats terminfo(4)
dealing with terminfo set tty modes so that tabs are never
expanded, so \t is safe to send. This turns out to be essen-
tial for the Ann Arbor 4080.)
A final example is the LSI ADM-3a, which uses row and column
offset by a blank character, thus
``cup=\E=%p1%'\s'%]%c%p2%'\s'%]%c''. After sending ``\E='',
this pushes the first parameter, pushes the ASCI value for
a space (32), adds them (pushing the sum on the stack in
place of the two previous values), and outputs that value as
a character. Then the same is done for the second parameter.
More complex arithmetic is possible using the stack.
Section 1-3: Cursor Motions
If the terminal has a fast way to home the cursor (to very
upper left corner of screen) then this can be given as home;
similarly a fast way of getting to the lower left-hand
corner can be given as ll; this may involve going up with
cuu1 from the home position, but a program should never do
this itself (unless ll does) because it can make no assump-
tion about the effect of moving up from the home position.
Note that the home position is the same as addressing to
(0,0): to the top left corner of the screen, not of memory.
(Thus, the \EH sequence on Hewlett-Packard terminals cannot
be used for home without losing some of the other features
on the terminal.)
If the device has row or column absolute-cursor addressing,
these can be given as single parameter capabilities hpa
(horizontal position absolute) and vpa (vertical position
absolute). Sometimes these are shorter than the more general
two-parameter sequence (as with the Hewlett-Packard 2645)
and can be used in preference to cup. If there are
parameterized local motions (for example, move n spaces to
the right) these can be given as cud, cub, cuf, and cuu with
a single parameter indicating how many spaces to move. These
are primarily useful if the device does not have cup, such
as the Tektronix 4025.
If the device needs to be in a special mode when running a
program that uses these capabilities, the codes to enter and
exit this mode can be given as smcup and rmcup. This arises,
for example, from terminals, such as the Concept, with more
than one page of memory. If the device has only memory rela-
tive cursor addressing and not screen relative cursor
addressing, a one screen-sized window must be fixed into the
device for cursor addressing to work properly. This is also
used for the Tektronix 4025, where smcup sets the command
character to be the one used by terminfo. If the smcup
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 25
File Formats terminfo(4)
sequence will not restore the screen after an rmcup sequence
is output (to the state prior to outputting rmcup), specify
nrrmc.
Section 1-4: Area Clears
If the terminal can clear from the current position to the
end of the line, leaving the cursor where it is, this should
be given as el. If the terminal can clear from the beginning
of the line to the current position inclusive, leaving the
cursor where it is, this should be given as el1. If the ter-
minal can clear from the current position to the end of the
display, then this should be given as ed. ed is only defined
from the first column of a line. (Thus, it can be simulated
by a request to delete a large number of lines, if a true ed
is not available.)
Section 1-5: Insert/Delete Line
If the terminal can open a new blank line before the line
where the cursor is, this should be given as il1; this is
done only from the first position of a line. The cursor must
then appear on the newly blank line. If the terminal can
delete the line which the cursor is on, then this should be
given as dl1; this is done only from the first position on
the line to be deleted. Versions of il1 and dl1 which take a
single parameter and insert or delete that many lines can be
given as il and dl.
If the terminal has a settable destructive scrolling region
(like the VT100) the command to set this can be described
with the csr capability, which takes two parameters: the top
and bottom lines of the scrolling region. The cursor posi-
tion is, alas, undefined after using this command. It is
possible to get the effect of insert or delete line using
this command - the sc and rc (save and restore cursor) com-
mands are also useful. Inserting lines at the top or bottom
of the screen can also be done using ri or ind on many ter-
minals without a true insert/delete line, and is often fas-
ter even on terminals with those features.
To determine whether a terminal has destructive scrolling
regions or non-destructive scrolling regions, create a
scrolling region in the middle of the screen, place data on
the bottom line of the scrolling region, move the cursor to
the top line of the scrolling region, and do a reverse index
(ri) followed by a delete line (dl1) or index (ind). If the
data that was originally on the bottom line of the scrolling
region was restored into the scrolling region by the dl1 or
ind, then the terminal has non-destructive scrolling
regions. Otherwise, it has destructive scrolling regions. Do
not specify csr if the terminal has non-destructive
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 26
File Formats terminfo(4)
scrolling regions, unless ind, ri, indn, rin, dl, and dl1
all simulate destructive scrolling.
If the terminal has the ability to define a window as part
of memory, which all commands affect, it should be given as
the parameterized string wind. The four parameters are the
starting and ending lines in memory and the starting and
ending columns in memory, in that order.
If the terminal can retain display memory above, then the da
capability should be given; if display memory can be
retained below, then db should be given. These indicate that
deleting a line or scrolling a full screen may bring non-
blank lines up from below or that scrolling back with ri may
bring down non-blank lines.
Section 1-6: Insert/Delete Character
There are two basic kinds of intelligent terminals with
respect to insert/delete character operations which can be
described using terminfo. The most common insert/delete
character operations affect only the characters on the
current line and shift characters off the end of the line
rigidly. Other terminals, such as the Concept 100 and the
Perkin Elmer Owl, make a distinction between typed and
untyped blanks on the screen, shifting upon an insert or
delete only to an untyped blank on the screen which is
either eliminated, or expanded to two untyped blanks. You
can determine the kind of terminal you have by clearing the
screen and then typing text separated by cursor motions.
Type ``abc def'' using local cursor motions (not spaces)
between the abc and the def. Then position the cursor before
the abc and put the terminal in insert mode. If typing char-
acters causes the rest of the line to shift rigidly and
characters to fall off the end, then your terminal does not
distinguish between blanks and untyped positions. If the abc
shifts over to the def which then move together around the
end of the current line and onto the next as you insert, you
have the second type of terminal, and should give the capa-
bility in, which stands for ``insert null.'' While these are
two logically separate attributes (one line versus multiline
insert mode, and special treatment of untyped spaces) we
have seen no terminals whose insert mode cannot be described
with the single attribute.
terminfo can describe both terminals that have an insert
mode and terminals which send a simple sequence to open a
blank position on the current line. Give as smir the
sequence to get into insert mode. Give as rmir the sequence
to leave insert mode. Now give as ich1 any sequence needed
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 27
File Formats terminfo(4)
to be sent just before sending the character to be inserted.
Most terminals with a true insert mode will not give ich1;
terminals that send a sequence to open a screen position
should give it here. (If your terminal has both, insert mode
is usually preferable to ich1. Do not give both unless the
terminal actually requires both to be used in combination.)
If post-insert padding is needed, give this as a number of
milliseconds padding in ip (a string option). Any other
sequence which may need to be sent after an insert of a sin-
gle character may also be given in ip. If your terminal
needs both to be placed into an `insert mode' and a special
code to precede each inserted character, then both smir/rmir
and ich1 can be given, and both will be used. The ich capa-
bility, with one parameter, n, will insert n blanks.
If padding is necessary between characters typed while not
in insert mode, give this as a number of milliseconds pad-
ding in rmp.
It is occasionally necessary to move around while in insert
mode to delete characters on the same line (for example, if
there is a tab after the insertion position). If your termi-
nal allows motion while in insert mode you can give the
capability mir to speed up inserting in this case. Omitting
mir will affect only speed. Some terminals (notably
Datamedia's) must not have mir because of the way their
insert mode works.
Finally, you can specify dch1 to delete a single character,
dch with one parameter, n, to delete n characters, and
delete mode by giving smdc and rmdc to enter and exit delete
mode (any mode the terminal needs to be placed in for dch1
to work).
A command to erase n characters (equivalent to outputting n
blanks without moving the cursor) can be given as ech with
one parameter.
Section 1-7: Highlighting, Underlining, and Visible Bells
Your device may have one or more kinds of display attributes
that allow you to highlight selected characters when they
appear on the screen. The following display modes (shown
with the names by which they are set) may be available: a
blinking screen (blink), bold or extra-bright characters
(bold), dim or half-bright characters (dim), blanking or
invisible text (invis), protected text (prot), a reverse-
video screen (rev), and an alternate character set (smacs to
enter this mode and rmacs to exit it). (If a command is
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 28
File Formats terminfo(4)
necessary before you can enter alternate character set mode,
give the sequence in enacs or "enable alternate-character-
set" mode.) Turning on any of these modes singly may or may
not turn off other modes.
sgr0 should be used to turn off all video enhancement capa-
bilities. It should always be specified because it
represents the only way to turn off some capabilities, such
as dim or blink.
You should choose one display method as standout mode and
use it to highlight error messages and other kinds of text
to which you want to draw attention. Choose a form of
display that provides strong contrast but that is easy on
the eyes. (We recommend reverse-video plus half-bright or
reverse-video alone.) The sequences to enter and exit stan-
dout mode are given as smso and rmso, respectively. If the
code to change into or out of standout mode leaves one or
even two blank spaces on the screen, as the TVI 912 and
Teleray 1061 do, then xmc should be given to tell how many
spaces are left.
Sequences to begin underlining and end underlining can be
specified as smul and rmul , respectively. If the device has
a sequence to underline the current character and to move
the cursor one space to the right (such as the Micro-Term
MIME), this sequence can be specified as uc.
Terminals with the ``magic cookie'' glitch (xmc) deposit
special ``cookies'' when they receive mode-setting
sequences, which affect the display algorithm rather than
having extra bits for each character. Some terminals, such
as the Hewlett-Packard 2621, automatically leave standout
mode when they move to a new line or the cursor is
addressed. Programs using standout mode should exit standout
mode before moving the cursor or sending a newline, unless
the msgr capability, asserting that it is safe to move in
standout mode, is present.
If the terminal has a way of flashing the screen to indicate
an error quietly (a bell replacement), then this can be
given as flash; it must not move the cursor. A good flash
can be done by changing the screen into reverse video, pad
for 200 ms, then return the screen to normal video.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 29
File Formats terminfo(4)
If the cursor needs to be made more visible than normal when
it is not on the bottom line (to make, for example, a non-
blinking underline into an easier to find block or blinking
underline) give this sequence as cvvis. The boolean chts
should also be given. If there is a way to make the cursor
completely invisible, give that as civis. The capability
cnorm should be given which undoes the effects of either of
these modes.
If your terminal generates underlined characters by using
the underline character (with no special sequences needed)
even though it does not otherwise overstrike characters,
then you should specify the capability ul. For devices on
which a character overstriking another leaves both charac-
ters on the screen, specify the capability os. If over-
strikes are erasable with a blank, then this should be indi-
cated by specifying eo.
If there is a sequence to set arbitrary combinations of
modes, this should be given as sgr (set attributes), taking
nine parameters. Each parameter is either 0 or non-zero, as
the corresponding attribute is on or off. The nine parame-
ters are, in order: standout, underline, reverse, blink,
dim, bold, blank, protect, alternate character set. Not all
modes need to be supported by sgr; only those for which
corresponding separate attribute commands exist should be
supported. For example, let's assume that the terminal in
question needs the following escape sequences to turn on
various modes.
tparm
parameter attribute escape sequence
none \E[0m
p1 standout \E[0;4;7m
p2 underline \E[0;3m
p3 reverse \E[0;4m
p4 blink \E[0;5m
p5 dim \E[0;7m
p6 bold \E[0;3;4m
p7 invis \E[0;8m
p8 protect not available
p9 altcharset ^O (off) ^N (on)
Note that each escape sequence requires a 0 to turn off
other modes before turning on its own mode. Also note that,
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 30
File Formats terminfo(4)
as suggested above, standout is set up to be the combination
of reverse and dim. Also, because this terminal has no bold
mode, bold is set up as the combination of reverse and
underline. In addition, to allow combinations, such as
underline]blink, the sequence to use would be \E[0;3;5m. The
terminal doesn't have protect mode, either, but that cannot
be simulated in any way, so p8 is ignored. The altcharset
mode is different in that it is either ^O or ^N, depending
on whether it is off or on. If all modes were to be turned
on, the sequence would be \E[0;3;4;5;7;8m^N.
Now look at when different sequences are output. For exam-
ple, ;3 is output when either p2 or p6 is true, that is, if
either underline or bold modes are turned on. Writing out
the above sequences, along with their dependencies, gives
the following:
sequence when to output terminfo translation
\E[0 always \E[0
;3 if p2 or p6 %?%p2%p6%%t;3%
;4 if p1 or p3 or p6 %?%p1%p3%%p6%%t;4%
;5 if p4 %?%p4%t;5%
;7 if p1 or p5 %?%p1%p5%%t;7%
;8 if p7 %?%p7%t;8%
m always m
^N or ^O if p9 ^N, else ^O %?%p9%t^N%e^O%
Putting this all together into the sgr sequence gives:
sgr=\E[0%?%p2%p6%%t;3%%?%p1%p3%%p6%
%t;4%%?%p5%t;5%%?%p1%p5% %t;7%%?%p7%t;8%m%?%p9%t^N%e^O%,
Remember that sgr and sgr0 must always be specified.
Section 1-8: Keypad
If the device has a keypad that transmits sequences when the
keys are pressed, this information can also be specified.
Note that it is not possible to handle devices where the
keypad only works in local (this applies, for example, to
the unshifted Hewlett-Packard 2621 keys). If the keypad can
be set to transmit or not transmit, specify these sequences
as smkx and rmkx. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to always
transmit.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 31
File Formats terminfo(4)
The sequences sent by the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow,
down arrow, and home keys can be given as kcub1, kcuf1,
kcuu1, kcud1,and khome, respectively. If there are function
keys such as f0, f1, ..., f63, the sequences they send can
be specified as kf0, kf1, ..., kf63. If the first 11 keys
have labels other than the default f0 through f10, the
labels can be given as lf0, lf1, ..., lf10. The codes
transmitted by certain other special keys can be given: kll
(home down), kbs (backspace), ktbc (clear all tabs), kctab
(clear the tab stop in this column), kclr (clear screen or
erase key), kdch1 (delete character), kdl1 (delete line),
krmir (exit insert mode), kel (clear to end of line), ked
(clear to end of screen), kich1 (insert character or enter
insert mode), kil1 (insert line), knp (next page), kpp (pre-
vious page), kind (scroll forward/down), kri (scroll
backward/up), khts (set a tab stop in this column). In addi-
tion, if the keypad has a 3 by 3 array of keys including the
four arrow keys, the other five keys can be given as ka1,
ka3, kb2, kc1, and kc3. These keys are useful when the
effects of a 3 by 3 directional pad are needed. Further keys
are defined above in the capabilities list.
Strings to program function keys can be specified as pfkey,
pfloc, and pfx. A string to program screen labels should be
specified as pln. Each of these strings takes two parame-
ters: a function key identifier and a string to program it
with. pfkey causes pressing the given key to be the same as
the user typing the given string; pfloc causes the string to
be executed by the terminal in local mode; and pfx causes
the string to be transmitted to the computer. The capabili-
ties nlab, lw and lh define the number of programmable
screen labels and their width and height. If there are com-
mands to turn the labels on and off, give them in smln and
rmln. smln is normally output after one or more pln
sequences to make sure that the change becomes visible.
Section 1-9: Tabs and Initialization
If the device has hardware tabs, the command to advance to
the next tab stop can be given as ht (usually control I). A
``backtab'' command that moves leftward to the next tab stop
can be given as cbt. By convention, if tty modes show that
tabs are being expanded by the computer rather than being
sent to the device, programs should not use ht or cbt (even
if they are present) because the user may not have the tab
stops properly set. If the device has hardware tabs that are
initially set every n spaces when the device is powered up,
the numeric parameter it is given, showing the number of
spaces the tabs are set to. This is normally used by tput
init (see tput(1)) to determine whether to set the mode for
hardware tab expansion and whether to set the tab stops. If
the device has tab stops that can be saved in nonvolatile
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 32
File Formats terminfo(4)
memory, the terminfo description can assume that they are
properly set. If there are commands to set and clear tab
stops, they can be given as tbc (clear all tab stops) and
hts (set a tab stop in the current column of every row).
Other capabilities include: is1, is2, and is3, initializa-
tion strings for the device; iprog, the path name of a pro-
gram to be run to initialize the device; and if, the name of
a file containing long initialization strings. These strings
are expected to set the device into modes consistent with
the rest of the terminfo description. They must be sent to
the device each time the user logs in and be output in the
following order: run the program iprog; output is1; output
is2; set the margins using mgc, smgl and smgr; set the tabs
using tbc and hts; print the file if; and finally output
is3. This is usually done using the init option of tput.
Most initialization is done with is2. Special device modes
can be set up without duplicating strings by putting the
common sequences in is2 and special cases in is1 and is3.
Sequences that do a reset from a totally unknown state can
be given as rs1, rs2, rf, and rs3, analogous to is1, is2,
is3, and if. (The method using files, if and rf, is used for
a few terminals, from /usr/share/lib/tabset/*; however, the
recommended method is to use the initialization and reset
strings.) These strings are output by tput reset, which is
used when the terminal gets into a wedged state. Commands
are normally placed in rs1, rs2, rs3, and rf only if they
produce annoying effects on the screen and are not necessary
when logging in. For example, the command to set a terminal
into 80-column mode would normally be part of is2, but on
some terminals it causes an annoying glitch on the screen
and is not normally needed because the terminal is usually
already in 80-column mode.
If a more complex sequence is needed to set the tabs than
can be described by using tbc and hts, the sequence can be
placed in is2 or if.
Any margin can be cleared with mgc. (For instructions on how
to specify commands to set and clear margins, see "Margins"
below under "PRINTER CAPABILITIES".)
Section 1-10: Delays
Certain capabilities control padding in the tty driver.
These are primarily needed by hard-copy terminals, and are
used by tput init to set tty modes appropriately. Delays
embedded in the capabilities cr, ind, cub1, ff, and tab can
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 33
File Formats terminfo(4)
be used to set the appropriate delay bits to be set in the
tty driver. If pb (padding baud rate) is given, these values
can be ignored at baud rates below the value of pb.
Section 1-11: Status Lines
If the terminal has an extra ``status line'' that is not
normally used by software, this fact can be indicated. If
the status line is viewed as an extra line below the bottom
line, into which one can cursor address normally (such as
the Heathkit h19's 25th line, or the 24th line of a VT100
which is set to a 23-line scrolling region), the capability
hs should be given. Special strings that go to a given
column of the status line and return from the status line
can be given as tsl and fsl. (fsl must leave the cursor
position in the same place it was before tsl. If necessary,
the sc and rc strings can be included in tsl and fsl to get
this effect.) The capability tsl takes one parameter, which
is the column number of the status line the cursor is to be
moved to.
If escape sequences and other special commands, such as tab,
work while in the status line, the flag eslok can be given.
A string which turns off the status line (or otherwise
erases its contents) should be given as dsl. If the terminal
has commands to save and restore the position of the cursor,
give them as sc and rc. The status line is normally assumed
to be the same width as the rest of the screen, for example,
cols. If the status line is a different width (possibly
because the terminal does not allow an entire line to be
loaded) the width, in columns, can be indicated with the
numeric parameter wsl.
Section 1-12: Line Graphics
If the device has a line drawing alternate character set,
the mapping of glyph to character would be given in acsc.
The definition of this string is based on the alternate
character set used in the DEC VT100 terminal, extended
slightly with some characters from the AT&T 4410v1 terminal.
Glyph Name vt100] Character
arrow pointing right ]
arrow pointing left ,
arrow pointing down .
solid square block 0
lantern symbol I
arrow pointing up -
diamond `
checker board (stipple) a
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 34
File Formats terminfo(4)
degree symbol f
plus/minus g
board of squares h
lower right corner j
upper right corner k
upper left corner l
lower left corner m
plus n
scan line 1 o
horizontal line q
scan line 9 s
left tee t
right tee u
bottom tee v
top tee w
vertical line x
bullet ~
The best way to describe a new device's line graphics set is
to add a third column to the above table with the characters
for the new device that produce the appropriate glyph when
the device is in the alternate character set mode. For exam-
ple,
Glyph Name vt100] Char New tty Char
upper left corner l R
lower left corner m F
upper right corner k T
lower right corner j G
horizontal line q ,
vertical line x .
Now write down the characters left to right, as in
``acsc=lRmFkTjGq\,x.''.
In addition, terminfo allows you to define multiple charac-
ter sets. See Section 2-5 for details.
Section 1-13: Color Manipulation
Let us define two methods of color manipulation: the Tek-
tronix method and the HP method. The Tektronix method uses a
set of N predefined colors (usually 8) from which a user can
select "current" foreground and background colors. Thus a
terminal can support up to N colors mixed into N*N color-
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 35
File Formats terminfo(4)
pairs to be displayed on the screen at the same time. When
using an HP method the user cannot define the foreground
independently of the background, or vice-versa. Instead, the
user must define an entire color-pair at once. Up to M
color-pairs, made from 2*M different colors, can be defined
this way. Most existing color terminals belong to one of
these two classes of terminals.
The numeric variables colors and pairs define the number of
colors and color-pairs that can be displayed on the screen
at the same time. If a terminal can change the definition of
a color (for example, the Tektronix 4100 and 4200 series
terminals), this should be specified with ccc (can change
color). To change the definition of a color (Tektronix 4200
method), use initc (initialize color). It requires four
arguments: color number (ranging from 0 to colors-1) and
three RGB (red, green, and blue) values or three HLS colors
(Hue, Lightness, Saturation). Ranges of RGB and HLS values
are terminal dependent.
Tektronix 4100 series terminals only use HLS color notation.
For such terminals (or dual-mode terminals to be operated in
HLS mode) one must define a boolean variable hls; that would
instruct the curses initcolor routine to convert its RGB
arguments to HLS before sending them to the terminal. The
last three arguments to the initc string would then be HLS
values.
If a terminal can change the definitions of colors, but uses
a color notation different from RGB and HLS, a mapping to
either RGB or HLS must be developed.
To set current foreground or background to a given color,
use setaf (set ANSI foreground) and setab (set ANSI back-
ground). They require one parameter: the number of the
color. To initialize a color-pair (HP method), use initp
(initialize pair). It requires seven parameters: the number
of a color-pair (range=0 to pairs-1), and six RGB values:
three for the foreground followed by three for the back-
ground. (Each of these groups of three should be in the
order RGB.) When initc or initp are used, RGB or HLS argu-
ments should be in the order "red, green, blue" or "hue,
lightness, saturation"), respectively. To make a color-pair
current, use scp (set color-pair). It takes one parameter,
the number of a color-pair.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 36
File Formats terminfo(4)
Some terminals (for example, most color terminal emulators
for PCs) erase areas of the screen with current background
color. In such cases, bce (background color erase) should be
defined. The variable op (original pair) contains a sequence
for setting the foreground and the background colors to what
they were at the terminal start-up time. Similarly, oc (ori-
ginal colors) contains a control sequence for setting all
colors (for the Tektronix method) or color-pairs (for the HP
method) to the values they had at the terminal start-up
time.
Some color terminals substitute color for video attributes.
Such video attributes should not be combined with colors.
Information about these video attributes should be packed
into the ncv (no color video) variable. There is a one-to-
one correspondence between the nine least significant bits
of that variable and the video attributes. The following
table depicts this correspondence.
Attribute Bit Position Decimal Value
ASTANDOUT 0 1
AUNDERLINE 1 2
AREVERSE 2 4
ABLINK 3 8
ADIM 4 16
ABOLD 5 32
AINVIS 6 64
APROTECT 7 128
ALTCHARSET 8 256
When a particular video attribute should not be used with
colors, the corresponding ncv bit should be set to 1; other-
wise it should be set to zero. To determine the information
to pack into the ncv variable, you must add together the
decimal values corresponding to those attributes that cannot
coexist with colors. For example, if the terminal uses
colors to simulate reverse video (bit number 2 and decimal
value 4) and bold (bit number 5 and decimal value 32), the
resulting value for ncv will be 36 (4 ] 32).
Section 1-14: Miscellaneous
If the terminal requires other than a null (zero) character
as a pad, then this can be given as pad. Only the first
character of the pad string is used. If the terminal does
not have a pad character, specify npc.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 37
File Formats terminfo(4)
If the terminal can move up or down half a line, this can be
indicated with hu (half-line up) and hd (half-line down).
This is primarily useful for superscripts and subscripts on
hardcopy terminals. If a hardcopy terminal can eject to the
next page (form feed), give this as ff (usually control L).
If there is a command to repeat a given character a given
number of times (to save time transmitting a large number of
identical characters) this can be indicated with the
parameterized string rep. The first parameter is the charac-
ter to be repeated and the second is the number of times to
repeat it. Thus, tparm(repeatchar, 'x', 10) is the same as
xxxxxxxxxx.
If the terminal has a settable command character, such as
the Tektronix 4025, this can be indicated with cmdch. A pro-
totype command character is chosen which is used in all
capabilities. This character is given in the cmdch capabil-
ity to identify it. The following convention is supported on
some systems: If the environment variable C exists, all
occurrences of the prototype character are replaced with the
character in C.
Terminal descriptions that do not represent a specific kind
of known terminal, such as switch, dialup, patch, and net-
work, should include the gn (generic) capability so that
programs can complain that they do not know how to talk to
the terminal. (This capability does not apply to virtual
terminal descriptions for which the escape sequences are
known.) If the terminal is one of those supported by the
system virtual terminal protocol, the terminal number can be
given as vt. A line-turn-around sequence to be transmitted
before doing reads should be specified in rfi.
If the device uses xon/xoff handshaking for flow control,
give xon. Padding information should still be included so
that routines can make better decisions about costs, but
actual pad characters will not be transmitted. Sequences to
turn on and off xon/xoff handshaking may be given in smxon
and rmxon. If the characters used for handshaking are not ^S
and ^Q, they may be specified with xonc and xoffc.
If the terminal has a ``meta key'' which acts as a shift
key, setting the 8th bit of any character transmitted, this
fact can be indicated with km. Otherwise, software will
assume that the 8th bit is parity and it will usually be
cleared. If strings exist to turn this ``meta mode'' on and
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 38
File Formats terminfo(4)
off, they can be given as smm and rmm.
If the terminal has more lines of memory than will fit on
the screen at once, the number of lines of memory can be
indicated with lm. A value of lm#0 indicates that the number
of lines is not fixed, but that there is still more memory
than fits on the screen.
Media copy strings which control an auxiliary printer con-
nected to the terminal can be given as mc0: print the con-
tents of the screen, mc4: turn off the printer, and mc5:
turn on the printer. When the printer is on, all text sent
to the terminal will be sent to the printer. A variation,
mc5p, takes one parameter, and leaves the printer on for as
many characters as the value of the parameter, then turns
the printer off. The parameter should not exceed 255. If the
text is not displayed on the terminal screen when the
printer is on, specify mc5i (silent printer). All text,
including mc4, is transparently passed to the printer while
an mc5p is in effect.
Section 1-15: Special Cases
The working model used by terminfo fits most terminals rea-
sonably well. However, some terminals do not completely
match that model, requiring special support by terminfo.
These are not meant to be construed as deficiencies in the
terminals; they are just differences between the working
model and the actual hardware. They may be unusual devices
or, for some reason, do not have all the features of the
terminfo model implemented.
Terminals that cannot display tilde (~) characters, such as
certain Hazeltine terminals, should indicate hz.
Terminals that ignore a linefeed immediately after an am
wrap, such as the Concept 100, should indicate xenl. Those
terminals whose cursor remains on the right-most column
until another character has been received, rather than wrap-
ping immediately upon receiving the right-most character,
such as the VT100, should also indicate xenl.
If el is required to get rid of standout (instead of writing
normal text on top of it), xhp should be given.
Those Teleray terminals whose tabs turn all characters moved
over to blanks, should indicate xt (destructive tabs). This
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 39
File Formats terminfo(4)
capability is also taken to mean that it is not possible to
position the cursor on top of a ``magic cookie.'' Therefore,
to erase standout mode, it is necessary, instead, to use
delete and insert line.
Those Beehive Superbee terminals which do not transmit the
escape or control-C characters, should specify xsb, indicat-
ing that the f1 key is to be used for escape and the f2 key
for control C.
Section 1-16: Similar Terminals
If there are two very similar terminals, one can be defined
as being just like the other with certain exceptions. The
string capability use can be given with the name of the
similar terminal. The capabilities given before use override
those in the terminal type invoked by use. A capability can
be canceled by placing xx@ to the left of the capability
definition, where xx is the capability. For example, the
entry
att4424-2Teletype4424 in display function group ii,
rev@, sgr@, smul@, use=att4424,
defines an AT&T4424 terminal that does not have the rev,
sgr, and smul capabilities, and hence cannot do highlight-
ing. This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or
for different user preferences. More than one use capability
may be given.
PART 2: PRINTER CAPABILITIES
The terminfo database allows you to define capabilities of
printers as well as terminals. To find out what capabilities
are available for printers as well as for terminals, see the
two lists under "DEVICE CAPABILITIES" that list capabilities
by variable and by capability name.
Section 2-1: Rounding Values
Because parameterized string capabilities work only with
integer values, we recommend that terminfo designers create
strings that expect numeric values that have been rounded.
Application designers should note this and should always
round values to the nearest integer before using them with a
parameterized string capability.
Section 2-2: Printer Resolution
A printer's resolution is defined to be the smallest spacing
of characters it can achieve. In general printers have
independent resolution horizontally and vertically. Thus the
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 40
File Formats terminfo(4)
vertical resolution of a printer can be determined by
measuring the smallest achievable distance between consecu-
tive printing baselines, while the horizontal resolution can
be determined by measuring the smallest achievable distance
between the left-most edges of consecutive printed, identi-
cal, characters.
All printers are assumed to be capable of printing with a
uniform horizontal and vertical resolution. The view of
printing that terminfo currently presents is one of printing
inside a uniform matrix: All characters are printed at fixed
positions relative to each ``cell'' in the matrix; further-
more, each cell has the same size given by the smallest hor-
izontal and vertical step sizes dictated by the resolution.
(The cell size can be changed as will be seen later.)
Many printers are capable of ``proportional printing,''
where the horizontal spacing depends on the size of the
character last printed. terminfo does not make use of this
capability, although it does provide enough capability
definitions to allow an application to simulate proportional
printing.
A printer must not only be able to print characters as close
together as the horizontal and vertical resolutions suggest,
but also of ``moving'' to a position an integral multiple of
the smallest distance away from a previous position. Thus
printed characters can be spaced apart a distance that is an
integral multiple of the smallest distance, up to the length
or width of a single page.
Some printers can have different resolutions depending on
different ``modes.'' In ``normal mode,'' the existing ter-
minfo capabilities are assumed to work on columns and lines,
just like a video terminal. Thus the old lines capability
would give the length of a page in lines, and the cols capa-
bility would give the width of a page in columns. In ``micro
mode,'' many terminfo capabilities work on increments of
lines and columns. With some printers the micro mode may be
concomitant with normal mode, so that all the capabilities
work at the same time.
Section 2-3: Specifying Printer Resolution
The printing resolution of a printer is given in several
ways. Each specifies the resolution as the number of smal-
lest steps per distance:
Specification of Printer Resolution
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jul 1996 41
File Formats terminfo(4)
Characteristic Number of Smallest Steps
orhi Steps per inch horizontally
orvi Steps per inch vertically
orc Steps per column
orl Steps per line
When printing in normal mode, each character printed causes
movement to the next column, except in special cases
described later; the distance moved is the same as the per-
column resolution. Some printers cause an automatic movement
to the next line when a character is printed in the right-
most position; the distance moved vertically is the same as
the per-line resolution. When printing in micro mode, these
distances can be different, and may be zero for some
printers.
Specification of Printer Resolution
Automatic Motion after Printing
Normal Mode:
orc Steps moved horizontally
orl Steps moved vertically
Micro Mode:
mcs Steps moved horizontally
mls Steps moved vertically
Some printers are capable of printing wide characters. The
distance moved when a wide character is printed in normal
mode may be different from when a regular width character is
printed. The distance moved when a wide character is printed
in micro mode may also be different from when a regular
character is printed in micro mode, but the differences are
assumed to be related: If the distance moved for a regular
character is the same whether in normal mode or micro mode
(mcs=orc), then the distance moved for a wide character is
also the same whether in normal mode or micro mode. This
doesn't mean the normal character distance is necessarily
the same as the wide character distance, just that the dis-
tances don't change with a change in normal to micro mode.
However, if the distance moved for a regular character is
different in micro mode from the distance moved in normal
mode (mcs |
