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X Window System Resources

You can control many cosmetic aspects of Apex through X Window System resources. For example:

If you are unfamiliar with X Window System resources, you can find more details in the X Window System User's Guide, OSF/Motif Edition by Valerie Quercia and Tim O'Reilly (O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1990).


How Apex Looks for Resources

Apex stores its systemwide default resources in one of the following files, depending on the type of display being used.

color display
apex_release/app-defaults/Rational-color
black & white display
apex_release/app-defaults/Rational-mono
greyscale display
apex_release/app-defaults/Rational

where apex_release is the current Apex release directory.

When you start Apex, it looks for resources first in the file apex_release/app-defaults/Rational[-color | -mono] (depending on the type of display you are using), and then in your X resources.

If Apex finds a resource more than once, it uses the last one found. Thus, resources specified in your X resources will override resources in the system file apex_release/app-defaults/Rational[-color | -mono].


Resources That You Can Change

Comments in apex_release/app-defaults/Rational describe the various resources that you can change.

Changing Resources for Personal Use

To make personal changes, copy the resources you want to override from apex_release/app-defaults/Rational[-color | -mono], and then edit your copy of the resources. For example, if you have an X resource file (usually a .Xdefaults or .Xresources file in your home directory), you can merge the resources into your X resource file and edit them there.

Note: In the systemwide file, resource names begin with an asterisk (*), for example, *background: gray90. In your personal file, prepend Rational, for example, Rational*background: white. Otherwise, the resource will apply to all of your X applications instead of just Apex.

There is also a directory, apex_release/resources, which contains several examples of how to change color, fonts, and so on.

For changes to take effect:

1 . Load the new resource values into your X server, using the command xrdb –merge. For example:

2 . Exit and restart Apex, which forces it to reload your resources from the X server.

You can also make the changes take effect by logging out, logging back in, and starting Apex. This is sometimes less convenient, but can produce less errors than using xrdb –merge.

Changing Resources for All Users

Default resources for all users can be changed by editing apex_release/app-defaults/Rational[-color | -mono]. However, this job is best left to the system administrator who is responsible for your Apex installation.


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