Re: Configuring Xf86.
At 08:43 AM 11/20/98 -0800, Bret Craw wrote:
>With Debian, there is a configuration program that I use by typing
>/usr/sbin/xbase-configure force at the prompt. It goes through the
>configuration and then takes you to Vidtune, where you adjust the image to
>fit your screen. If it is able to display in the vidtune, why is it that
>after I get out of the program and type startx, it is unable to start up? I
>have also tried using xf86config, but that doesn't work either. I am really
>new to this.
You've tried xf86config; that's good. Now try XF86Setup. You may have
better success with that. As far as the xbase-configure utility goes, I've
heard of it, but I've never used it. I'm fairly new to Linux/Unix myself,
but I suspect this utility is older and that the xf86config and XF86Setup
utils have pretty much made xbase-configure obsolete. But don't quote me on
this.
> Also, people keep telling me to edit the config file. What
>editor do I use and how do I start it? I am so used to window environment,
>I am a fish out of water without one. Just let me know what I type to get
>the editor going and how to bring up the file I want to configure.
Almost all systems have the vi editor; it's fairly small and fast, but it's
not very intuitive, kindda like DOS's EDLIN program, only better.
You can change to the /etc/X11 directory like so:
cd /etc/X11
and look at the contents of a file (such as XF86Config) with the more (or
less, if it's installed) command, like so:
more XF86Config
To actually edit the file, you'd type:
vi XF86Config
or you might try one of the other editors, such as joe, ae, pico, emacs,
etc. None of them will seem as intuitive to you as DOS's EDIT or Windows'
Notepad; just part of the learning curve.
Assuming you're using vi, once the file is open, you can use your arrow
keys to move around. When you're where you need to insert text, you'll have
to press i (for insert, which puts you in edit mode), then type your stuff.
To quit the insert mode, you'll have to press ESC (to get into command
mode). Then you can delete stuff by placing your cursor on the text you
want to delete and pressing x. Like I said, it's not at all intuitive. (I
personally think vi is nasty, but it's on almost every system, so you
should at least be familiar enough with it to kind of clunk around with
it.) vim (vi -improved) is much nicer, but still has room for improvement,
plus it's not likely to be on any particular system.
Once you've got the file the way you want it, you can press ESC to get into
command mode. Then press :wq. The colon says "hey I'm doing something
special, like quitting. The w says "write the file to disk", and the q says
"quit". If you make a mistake and just want to quit without saving the
file, press :q! which says "quit and yes I know I haven't saved the file
and I don't want to".
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