Re: [SLUG] Linux on a Dell Latitude X1

[Nick Croft <nicko@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

* James (jimbob.coffey@xxxxxxxxx) wrote:
> On 12/10/05, Erik de Castro Lopo <erikd-slug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > James wrote:
> >
> > > Pity about the linux Colour Scheme in the terminals though. Has anyone
> > > got a good colourmap for a black background terminal.  

> .. you can hardly read the
> dark blue (directories) on black.  
>
> I was just wondering if someone has
> come up with a similar colour scheme to the vty but with slightly
> different colours that are readable on an X generated black terminal.
> 
> --
> James
> --

Hi James,

Trouble is the basic 8-color xterm uses dark-blue for directories. There is
a way to get 16, 88 or even 256 colors and to select whatever you like as a 
substitute for dark-blue (or any other colour).

The information for this is buried deep within the xfree86 source code.
Probably now in the xorg equivalent. I stumbled across it trying to use a
better comment color in vim. 

You may not be a vim user. Even if you're not, it's worth firing up vim and
typing ' :help xterm-color '.

You'll find that a 16 color xterm is the easiest alternative if all you're
after is a lighter blue for directories (and vim comments).

Xterm uses a built-in colour map or a user-specified colour-map if found.

I attach my .Xdefaults file. All you need to do is to create this file, and
then to call it into action by way of 'xrdb -merge ~/.Xdefaults'. On subsequent 
logins this will load automatically.

XTerm*color12 is the one you want to fiddle with.

=========================================================================
! .Xdefaults
! http://www.math.fu-berlin.de/~guckes/setup/Xdefaults
! Make "TERM=xterm-color" for xterms,
! so that mutt and vim produce color:
 XTerm*termName: xterm-color
!
! Settings colors explicitly - see ":help xterm-color" in Vim:
! These are the ones from the vim help file. the next stanza is my changes.

! XTerm*color0:                 #000000
! XTerm*color1:                 #c00000
! XTerm*color2:                 #008000
! XTerm*color3:                 #808000
! XTerm*color4:                 #0000c0
! XTerm*color5:                 #c000c0
! XTerm*color6:                 #008080
! XTerm*color7:                 #c0c0c0
! XTerm*color8:                 #808080
! XTerm*color9:                 #ff6060
! XTerm*color10:                #00ff00
! XTerm*color11:                #ffff00
! XTerm*color12:                #8080ff
! XTerm*color13:                #ff40ff
! XTerm*color14:                #00ffff
! XTerm*color15:                #ffffff
! Xterm*cursorColor:            Black
! ! !
!
! ! !
! The colours I've been happy with:

  XTerm*color0:                 #000000
  XTerm*color1:                 #c00000
! XTerm*color2:                 #008000
  XTerm*color2:                 #00ff00
! XTerm*color3:                 #808000
  XTerm*color3:                 #ffff00
! XTerm*color4:                 #0000c0
  XTerm*color4:                 #00bfff
! XTerm*color5:                 #c000c0
  XTerm*color5:                 #ff40ff
! XTerm*color6:                 #008080
  XTerm*color6:                 #00ffff
  XTerm*color7:                 #c0c0c0
  XTerm*color8:                 #808080
  XTerm*color9:                 #ff6060
  XTerm*color10:                #00ff00
  XTerm*color11:                #ffff00
! XTerm*color12:                #8080ff
! The BEST colour for xterm directories
! is DeepSkyBlue == #00bfff
  XTerm*color12:                #00bfff
  XTerm*color13:                #ff40ff
  XTerm*color14:                #00ffff
  XTerm*color15:                #ffffff
  Xterm*cursorColor:            Black

============================================
! ! ! !

If you use vim for your scripting, code or html, comments are rendered in xterm
colour 12. Sometimes you want the comments to be unnoticeable, so stick with
the default. Sometimes you want them very legible. Within vim type ':hi Comment
ctermfg=LightBlue'.

But I digress ...

N