__TOC__

What is Xdefaults

Xdefaults is a configuration file that your terminal emulator (and many other X applications) will use for settings, so you don't have to specify long command line args.

Xdefaults is the old name, still used as convention, but it's called Xresources since years and located in the users $HOME as a hidden file. If you don't have this file it's normal. Most people will have to create it before it is there.

An example of .Xresources

 !Xft.dpi:                      96
 Xft.rgba:                      rgb
 Xft.antialias:                 true
 Xft.hinting:                   true
 Xft.hintstyle:                 hintfull

 xcalendar*firstDay:            1
 xcalendar*markHoliday:         false
 !Xcursor.theme:                whitelarge
 !Xcursor.size:                 32

 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !  U R X V T - Setting
 !
 !real transparency with active compositor
 !URxvt*depth:                          32
 !URxvt*background:                     rgba:0000/0000/0000/dddd
 !
 URxvt*scrollBar:                       false
 !URxvt*scrollColor:                    grey13
 !URxvt*troughColor:                    black
 !URxvt*scrollBar_floating:             true
 !URxvt*scrollBar_right:                true
 URxvt*cursorColor:                     darkorange1
 URxvt*foreground:                      grey75
 URxvt*background:                      grey15
 URxvt*saveLines:                       7777
 URxvt*cursorBlink:                     false
 URxvt*termName:                        rxvt-256color
 URxvt*font:                            xft:Dejavu Sans Mono:pixelsize=10.5
 URxvt*boldFont:                        xft:Dejavu Sans Mono:pixelsize=10.5
 URxvt*colorBD:                         #FFB700
 !URxvt*transparent:                    true
 !URxvt*shading:                        33
 !URxvt*tintColor:                      turquoise
 URxvt.cutchars:                        ()*,<>[]{}|`""''
 !URxvt.tabbed.tabbar-fg:               6
 !URxvt.tabbed.tabbar-bg:               0
 !URxvt.tabbed.tab-fg:                  0
 !URxvt.tabbed.tab-bg:                  3
 URxvt*iso14755_52:         false
 URxvt.perl-ext-common:                 matcher
 URxvt.urlLauncher:                     urlLauncher $0
 URxvt.keysym.C-Delete:                 perl:matcher:last
 URxvt.keysym.M-Delete:                 perl:matcher:list
 URxvt*matcher.pattern.1:               \\bhttps?:\/\/(www.youtube.com|youtube.com|youtu.be)/\\S*
 URxvt*matcher.launcher.1:              urlLauncher -flash $0
 URxvt*matcher.pattern.2:               \\bhttps?:\/\/vimeo.com\/([\\w-]*)
 URxvt*matcher.launcher.2:              urlLauncher -flash $0
 URxvt*matcher.pattern.3:               \\bhttps?:\/\/[\\w-.]*\/[\\w./?&@#-]*\\.(?i)(mp4|flv|wmv)
 URxvt*matcher.launcher.3:              urlLauncher -video $0
 URxvt*matcher.pattern.4:               \\bhttps?:\/\/[\\w-.]*\/[\\w./?&@#-]*\\.(?i)(mp3|ogg|wav|wma)
 URxvt*matcher.launcher.4:              urlLauncher -audio $0
 URxvt*matcher.pattern.5:               \\bhttps?:\/\/[\\w-.]*\/[\\w./?&@#-]*\\.(?i)(jpg|jpeg|png)
 URxvt*matcher.launcher.5:              urlLauncher -image $0
 URxvt*matcher.pattern.6:               \\bhttps?:\/\/[\\w-.]*\/[\\w./?&@#-]*\\.(?i)(gif)
 URxvt*matcher.launcher.6:              urlLauncher -gif $0

 !colors
 !black
 URxvt*color0:              #171717
 URxvt*color8:              #737373
 !red
 URxvt*color1:              #FF5E5E
 URxvt*color9:              #FF7878
 !green
 URxvt*color2:              #9CE82B
 URxvt*color10:             #9ACD32
 !yellow
 URxvt*color3:              #F0E68C
 URxvt*color11:             #EEE8AA
 !blue
 URxvt*color4:              #008AFF
 URxvt*color12:             #4F98FF
 !magenta
 URxvt*color5:              #E88CFF
 URxvt*color13:             #EDA6FF
 !cyan
 URxvt*color6:              #87CEFA
 URxvt*color14:             #B0E2FF
 !white
 URxvt*color7:              #DCDCCC
 URxvt*color15:             #FFFFFF

 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !  X T E R M - Setting
 !
 !
 XTerm*background:                       grey15
 XTerm*foreground:                       grey75
 XTerm*cursorColor:                      darkorange1
 XTerm*scrollBar:                        false
 XTterm*utf8:                            2
 XTerm*termName:                         xterm-256color
 XTerm*faceName:                         xft:Dejavu Sans Mono:pixelsize=11.5
 ! http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.faq.html#tiny_menus
 XTerm.VT100.geometry:                   93x29
 XTerm*saveLines:                        7777
 XTerm*metaSendsEscape:                  true
 XTerm*highlightSelection:               true
 XTerm*trimSelection:                    true
 XTerm*cutNewline:                       false
 XTerm*colorBDMode:                      true
 XTerm*colorBD:                          khaki
 XTerm*charClass: 3:48,35:48,37:48,43:48,45-47:48,64:48,95:48,126:48,35:48,58:48,63:48,61:48,44:48,38:48,59:48
 
 !colors
 !black
 XTerm*color0:                           #171717
 XTerm*color8:                           #737373
 !red
 XTerm*color1:                           #FF5E5E
 XTerm*color9:                           #FF7878
 !green
 XTerm*color2:                           #9CE82B
 XTerm*color10:                          #9ACD32
 !yellow
 XTerm*color3:                           #F0E68C
 XTerm*color11:                          #EEE8AA
 !blue
 XTerm*color4:                           #008AFF
 XTerm*color12:                          #4F98FF
 !magenta
 XTerm*color5:                           #E88CFF
 XTerm*color13:                          #EDA6FF
 !cyan
 XTerm*color6:                           #87CEFA
 XTerm*color14:                          #B0E2FF
 !white
 XTerm*color7:                           #DCDCCC
 XTerm*color15:                          #FFFFFF
 
 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !
 !      A T E R M - Setting
 !
 !
 Aterm*background:      #000000
 Aterm*foreground:      #ffffff
 Aterm*transparent:     true
 Aterm*shading:         80
 Aterm*cursorColor:     #d8d8d8
 Aterm*scrollbars:      false
 Aterm*saveLines:       2000
 Aterm*tinting:         gray
 Aterm*scrollBar:       false
 !Aterm*scrollBar_right:    true
 Aterm*transpscrollbar:     true
 Aterm*borderwidth:     0
 Aterm*font:                    -lfp-gamow-medium-r-normal-*-*-90-*-*-c-*-iso8859-5
 Aterm*geometry:                80x25
 Aterm*fading:          70  
 
 !colors
 !black
 Aterm*color0:      #333333
 Aterm*color8:      #686868
 !red
 Aterm*color1:      #CA5E5E
 Aterm*color9:      #FF595D
 !green
 Aterm*color2:      #ABCB8D
 Aterm*color10:     #AFD78A
 !yellow
 Aterm*color3:      #C48D62
 Aterm*color11:     #E0A765
 !blue
 Aterm*color4:      #8CA0B0
 Aterm*color12:     #3D6A82
 !magenta
 Aterm*color5:      #CC98E0
 Aterm*color13:     #E1A2DC
 !cyan
 Aterm*color6:      #44CACF
 Aterm*color14:     #6CBFC4
 !white
 Aterm*color7:      #E7E6DD
 Aterm*color15:     #F0EFE7 
 
 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !  X C A L C - Setting
 !
 !
 xcalc*geometry: 200x275
 xcalc.ti.bevel.background: #111111
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.DEG.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.DEG.foreground: LightSeaGreen
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.GRAD.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.GRAD.foreground: LightSeaGreen
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.RAD.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.RAD.foreground: LightSeaGreen
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.INV.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.INV.foreground: Red
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.LCD.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.LCD.foreground: LightSeaGreen
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.LCD.shadowWidth: 0
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.M.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.M.foreground: LightSeaGreen
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.P.background: #000000
 xcalc.ti.bevel.screen.P.foreground: Yellow
 xcalc.ti.Command.foreground: White
 xcalc.ti.Command.background: #777777
 xcalc.ti.button5.background: Orange3
 xcalc.ti.button19.background: #611161
 xcalc.ti.button18.background: #611161
 xcalc.ti.button20.background: #611111
 xcalc.ti.button25.background: #722222
 xcalc.ti.button30.background: #833333
 xcalc.ti.button35.background: #944444
 xcalc.ti.button40.background: #a55555
 xcalc.ti.button22.background: #222262
 xcalc.ti.button23.background: #222262
 xcalc.ti.button24.background: #222272
 xcalc.ti.button27.background: #333373
 xcalc.ti.button28.background: #333373
 xcalc.ti.button29.background: #333373
 xcalc.ti.button32.background: #444484
 xcalc.ti.button33.background: #444484
 xcalc.ti.button34.background: #444484
 xcalc.ti.button37.background: #555595
 xcalc.ti.button38.background: #555595
 xcalc.ti.button39.background: #555595
 XCalc*Cursor:                 hand2
 XCalc*ShapeStyle:             rectangle
 
 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !  X M E S S A G E - Setting
 !
 !
 Xmessage.form.okay.shapeStyle:         rectangle
 Xmessage.form.okay.background:         #777777
 Xmessage.form.okay.foreground:         snow
 !Xmessage*message*background:          snow
 Xmessage*buttons:                       OK
 Xmessage*defaultButton:                 OK
 !Xmessage*Background:                  black
 !Xmessage*Foreground:                  grey85
 !Xmessage.Scrollbar:                   WhenNeeded
 Xmessage.form.message.Scroll:          WhenNeeded
 Xmessage*Font:                         -*-terminus-medium-*-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
 Xmessage*borderWidth:                  0
 Xmessage*Text.borderWidth:             0
 Xmessage*Command.shapeStyle:           rectangle
 Xmessage*Text.?.cursorColor:           white

 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !  X F O N T S E L - Setting
 !
 !
 !XFontSel*sampleText.background: TEXTBG
 XFontSel*menu*showUnselectable: false
 XFontSel*MenuButton.shadowWidth: 0
 XFontsel*Toggle*ToggleStyle: check
 XFontsel*MenuButton*Justify:    left
 XFontsel*MenuButton*MenuButtonStyle: select
 .xfontsel.pane.commandBox.quitButton.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.commandBox.quitButton.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.commandBox.ownButton.background: orange3
 .xfontsel.pane.commandBox.ownButton.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.commandBox.countLabel.background: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.viewPort.sampleText.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.viewPort.sampleText.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field0.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field0.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field1.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field1.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field2.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field2.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field3.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field3.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field4.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field4.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field5.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field5.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field6.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field6.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field7.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field7.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field8.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field8.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field9.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field9.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field10.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field10.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field11.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field11.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field12.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field12.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field13.background: #777777
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.field13.foreground: snow
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox*foreground: #000000
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.MenuButton.borderWidth: 1
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.MenuButton.internalHeight: 1
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.MenuButton.internalWidth: 2
 .xfontsel.pane.fieldBox.MenuButton.shapeStyle: rectangle
 
 !-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 !
 !  X C O L O R S E L - Setting
 !
 !
 xcolorsel*Background:                   black
 xcolorsel*Foreground:                   grey85
 xcolorsel*Font:                         -*-terminus-medium-*-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
 xcolorsel.geometry:                     399x595
 xcolorsel*displayFormat:                #rrggbb
 xcolorsel*maxRows:                      99

This is the ~/bin/urlLauncher script called by URxvt*matcher.launcher

#!/bin/bash

### urlLauncher 0.7 by skizzhg, a script to handle the urxvt matcher

case "$1" in
 -flash)
    { mpv --no-consolecontrols --ontop --really-quiet "$2" &>/dev/null
      if [[ "$?" != "0" ]]; then
        case "$2" in
          *vimeo*)
             mpv --no-consolecontrols --title="$(youtube-dl -e $2)" --ontop --really-quiet $(youtube-dl -f h264-sd -g "$2" || youtube-dl -g "$2") &>/dev/null
               ;;
           *youtu*)
                mpv --no-consolecontrols --title="$(youtube-dl --no-playlist -e $2)" --ontop --really-quiet $(youtube-dl --no-playlist -f 18 -g "$2") &>/dev/null
               ;;
           esac
         fi
       } &
    ;;
 -video)
    mpv --ontop --really-quiet "$2" &>/dev/null &
    ;;
 -audio)
    tmux split-window -vdp 10 "exec mpv --profile=mzk \"$2\""
    ;;
 -image)
    feh -. "$2" || firefox "$2" &>/dev/null
    ;;
  -gif)
    gifview -a < <(curl -s "$2")
    ;;
     *)
     if [[ -z $DISPLAY ]]; then
       tmux new-window -n w3m "exec w3m \"$1\""
     else
       firefox "$1" &>/dev/null
     fi
    ;;
esac

I've changed all the settings but they do nothing!

Changes will not be visible until you run

$ xrdb $HOME/.Xresources

And then run xterm or or urxvt or anything again, because the already running instance won't be involved.

How to load those settings on startup?

Add

$ xrdb ~/.Xresources

in your ~/.fluxbox/startup and remember to launch fluxbox with startfluxbox.

Are there more options that are not listed here?

Yes, for a complete listing of what all items your terminal emulator will take reference its man page. Typically you can open its man page and type

 /RESOURCES

Hit enter and most of the time this will bring you to where the begining of the optins listed are.

External resources

Category:English howtos