The X Window System provides numerous command-line options that you can use when you are starting most client applications:
| Option | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| -background | -bg | Color of the window's background |
| -bordercolor | -bd | Color of the window's border |
| -borderwidth | -bw | Width of the border in pixels |
| -display | -d | Display on which the client can run |
| -foreground | -fg | Color of the text or drawings |
| -geometry | -g | Size and placement |
| -iconic | -i | Start application as an icon |
| -name | -n | Name of the application |
| -reverse | -rv, +rv | Reverse foreground and background colors |
| -title | -t | Text displayed in the title bar |
| -xrm | None | Next argument contains any resource specification |
These options usually correspond to specific resources. If you want
to start a new terminal window with a color that is not the background
color specified in the configuration file, start the client using the
-bg option; all other resources will take the default
values. For example:
xterm -bg Red &
Any valid resource specification can follow the -xrm
option in '' (single quotes). For example:
xclock -xrm 'xclock*background: Red' &
Resources specified in this manner are only applicable to the current instance of the program.
Be sure that the resource specification is specific enough to have the desired effect. A resource specification in a configuration file takes precedence over a command-line option if the command line is less explicit. For example, if the resource file includes this specification:
xclock*hands: Blue
the following command line will have no effect:
xclock -xrm `*hands: Red' &
Therefore, you would have to enter the following command line:
xclock -xrm 'xclock*hands: Red' &
Not all Motif applications support all of these command-line options. To see which options are actually available for a particular application, refer to the documentation for the application.