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1 | \cfg{man-identity}{xcopy}{1}{2004-08-02}{Simon Tatham}{Simon Tatham} |
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2 | |
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3 | \define{dash} \u2013{-} |
4 | |
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5 | \title Man page for \cw{xcopy} |
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6 | |
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7 | \U NAME |
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8 | |
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9 | \cw{xcopy} \dash read and write text to/from an X selection from the |
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10 | command line |
11 | |
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12 | \U SYNOPSIS |
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13 | |
14 | \c xcopy [ -r ] [ -u | -c ] [ -C ] |
15 | \e bbbbb bb bb bb bb |
16 | |
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17 | \U DESCRIPTION |
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18 | |
19 | \cw{xcopy} is a command-line utility for manipulating the X selection. |
20 | |
21 | It has two basic modes. In read mode (\cw{xcopy -r}), it connects to |
22 | your X server, retrieves the contents of the selection as plain |
23 | text, and writes it on standard output. You would then typically |
24 | redirect its output into a file, or pipe it into some other program. |
25 | |
26 | In write mode (just \cw{xcopy}, if \cw{-r} is not specified), it |
27 | will read data from standard input, then connect to your X server |
28 | and place that data in the selection as plain text. So you can pipe |
29 | data into \cw{xcopy}, move to another application, and press Paste. |
30 | |
31 | The X selection model requires the selection-owning client to remain |
32 | connected to the server and hand out its data on request. Therefore, |
33 | \cw{xcopy} in write mode forks off a background process which does |
34 | this. The background process terminates once it is no longer the |
35 | selection owner (i.e. as soon as you select data in another |
36 | application), or if your X session finishes. Normally you can ignore |
37 | its presence, although it might become important to be aware of it |
38 | if (for example) the \cw{xcopy} background process were to be the |
39 | last X client still connected through an SSH tunnel. |
40 | |
41 | \cw{xcopy} currently only handles text data. However, it is capable |
42 | of handling it in the form of plain text, UTF-8, or compound |
43 | (multiple-character-set) text. Use the \cw{-u}, \cw{-c} and \cw{-C} |
44 | options to control this aspect of its behaviour. |
45 | |
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46 | \U OPTIONS |
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47 | |
48 | By default (if \cw{-r} is not supplied), \cw{xcopy} operates in |
49 | write mode. |
50 | |
51 | \dt \cw{-r} |
52 | |
53 | \dd Places \cw{xcopy} into read mode. |
54 | |
55 | By default (if neither \cw{-c} nor \cw{-u} is supplied), \cw{xcopy} |
56 | reads and writes the selection using the type \cw{STRING}, which |
57 | means that the input or output data is expected to be encoded in |
58 | ISO-8859-1. |
59 | |
60 | \dt \cw{-u} |
61 | |
62 | \dd In read mode, causes \cw{xcopy} to request the selection using |
63 | the type \cw{UTF8_STRING}, which typically means that the returned |
64 | data will be encoded as UTF-8. In write mode, causes \cw{xcopy} to |
65 | \e{give out} the selection as type \cw{UTF8_STRING}, meaning that |
66 | the data piped in to it is expected to be encoded as UTF-8. |
67 | |
68 | \dt \cw{-c} |
69 | |
70 | \dd Similar to \cw{-u}, but uses the type \cw{COMPOUND_TEXT} rather |
71 | than \cw{UTF8_STRING}. \cw{COMPOUND_TEXT} is a complex |
72 | multi-character-set encoding similar to ISO 2022, and is unlikely to |
73 | be a very useful form in which to pass data to or from non-X |
74 | programs. However, it might occasionally be useful to retrieve a |
75 | compound text selection using \cw{xcopy -r -c}, and later on return |
76 | it to the X selection using \cw{xcopy -c} so it can be pasted back |
77 | into a different application. |
78 | |
79 | In write mode, if \cw{xcopy} is operating in \cw{STRING} mode and a |
80 | pasting application requests the selection as \cw{COMPOUND_TEXT}, |
81 | \cw{xcopy} will convert the data automatically. This is normally |
82 | what you want. |
83 | |
84 | \dt \cw{-C} |
85 | |
86 | \dd Suppresses conversion to compound text in write mode. This is |
87 | occasionally useful if you are pasting control characters, since the |
88 | compound text specification forbids any control characters and the |
89 | Xlib conversion functions honour this. If you are (for example) |
90 | trying to paste a sequence of editor commands into a terminal |
91 | window, you might well want to paste a string full of escape |
92 | sequences and control characters, in which case you may need to use |
93 | \cw{-C} to disable conversion to compound text. |
94 | |
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95 | \dt \cw{-b} |
96 | |
97 | \dd Causes \cw{xcopy} to read or write the clipboard instead of the |
98 | selection. (Modern GNOME and KDE-style programs can often interact |
99 | with both. The \e{selection} is the traditional X-style storage |
100 | location which you typically copy things into just by selecting them |
101 | with the mouse, and paste with the middle mouse button. The |
102 | \e{clipboard} is a more Windows-like location which you access using |
103 | explicit Cut, Copy and Paste commands in your application.) |
104 | |
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105 | \dt \cw{-t} |
106 | |
107 | \dd Causes \cw{xcopy}, in read mode only, to return the list of |
108 | possible target types currently stored in the selection. This is |
109 | probably only useful for debugging X applications or X selection |
110 | issues. |
111 | |
112 | \dt \cw{-T} |
113 | |
114 | \dd Causes \cw{xcopy}, in read mode only, to return the time stamp |
115 | for the current selection. This is probably only useful for |
116 | debugging X applications or X selection issues. |
117 | |
118 | \dt \cw{-a} \e{target atom} |
119 | |
120 | \dd Causes \cw{xcopy}, in read mode only, to return the selection |
121 | contents corresponding to some particular user-specified target |
122 | type. The target type can be anything listed by \cq{xcopy -r -t}. |
123 | |
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124 | \dt \cw{-v} |
125 | |
126 | \dd Causes \cw{xcopy}, in read mode only, to produce a verbose |
127 | commentary on the progress of reading the X selection. Can be useful |
128 | for debugging interactions with other programs. |
129 | |
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130 | \dt \cw{-F} |
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131 | |
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132 | \dd Causes \cw{xcopy} not to fork, when in write mode. Instead the |
133 | original \cw{xcopy} process will continue to run until the selection |
134 | is taken away from it. Probably only useful when debugging |
135 | \cw{xcopy} itself, although it's just possible that it might turn |
136 | out to be useful for some other special purpose (e.g. having the |
137 | process waiting for it know when the selection owner has changed). |
138 | |
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139 | \dt \cw{-d} \e{size} |
140 | |
141 | \dd Alters the maximum size of data transferred in one lump by |
142 | \cw{xcopy}. (Probably most useful for diagnostic purposes.) |
143 | |
144 | \dt \cw{-I} |
145 | |
146 | \dd Inhibits \cw{xcopy}, in write mode, from using the \cw{INCR} |
147 | mechanism for transferring large amounts of selection data a piece at |
148 | a time and waiting for the recipient to acknowledge each chunk before |
149 | sending the next. (Just in case a client doesn't support it.) |
150 | |
151 | \dt \cw{-B} |
152 | |
153 | \dd Inhibits \cw{xcopy}, in write mode, from storing its data in the |
154 | persistent \q{cut buffers} on the root window as well as using the |
155 | peer-to-peer selection mechanism. |
156 | |
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157 | \U BUGS |
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158 | |
159 | Automatic conversion between compound text and UTF-8 is not |
160 | currently supported. There are Xlib functions to do it, although |
161 | they don't appear to work very well (missing out many characters |
162 | which they could have converted). |
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163 | |
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164 | \U LICENCE |
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165 | |
166 | \cw{xcopy} is free software, distributed under the MIT licence. Type |
167 | \cw{xcopy --licence} to see the full licence text. |
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168 | |
169 | \versionid $Id$ |