xref: /freebsd/share/man/man4/vt.4 (revision 8ef24a0d4b28fe230e20637f56869cc4148cd2ca)
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25.\" $FreeBSD$
26.\"
27.Dd April 17, 2016
28.Dt "VIRTUAL TERMINALS" 4
29.Os
30.Sh NAME
31.Nm vt
32.Nd virtual terminal console driver
33.Sh SYNOPSIS
34.Cd "options TERMINAL_KERN_ATTR=_attribute_"
35.Cd "options TERMINAL_NORM_ATTR=_attribute_"
36.Cd "options VT_MAXWINDOWS=N"
37.Cd "options VT_ALT_TO_ESC_HACK=1"
38.Cd "options VT_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE"
39.Cd "options VT_FB_DEFAULT_WIDTH=X"
40.Cd "options VT_FB_DEFAULT_HEIGHT=Y"
41.Cd "options SC_NO_CUTPASTE"
42.Cd "device vt"
43.Pp
44In
45.Xr loader.conf 5 :
46.Cd hw.vga.textmode=1
47.Cd kern.vty=vt
48.Cd kern.vt.fb.default_mode="<X>x<Y>"
49.Cd kern.vt.fb.modes.<connector>="<X>x<Y>"
50.Pp
51In
52.Xr loader.conf 5 or
53.Xr sysctl.conf 5 :
54.Cd kern.vt.kbd_halt=1
55.Cd kern.vt.kbd_poweroff=1
56.Cd kern.vt.kbd_reboot=1
57.Cd kern.vt.kbd_debug=1
58.Cd kern.vt.kbd_panic=0
59.Cd kern.vt.enable_bell=1
60.Sh DESCRIPTION
61The
62.Nm
63device provides multiple virtual terminals with an extensive feature
64set:
65.Bl -item -offset indent
66.It
67Unicode UTF-8 text with double-width characters.
68.It
69Large font maps in graphics mode, including support for Asian
70character sets.
71.It
72Graphics-mode consoles.
73.It
74Integration with
75KMS
76.Pq Kernel Mode Setting
77video drivers for switching between the
78.Em X Window System
79and virtual terminals.
80.El
81.Ss Virtual Terminals
82Multiple virtual terminals are provided on a single computer.
83Up to sixteen virtual terminals can be defined.
84A single virtual terminal is connected to the screen and keyboard
85at a time.
86Key combinations are used to select a virtual terminal.
87Alt-F1 through Alt-F12 correspond to the first twelve virtual terminals.
88If more than twelve virtual terminals are created, Shift-Alt-F1 through
89Shift-Alt-F4 are used to switch to the additional terminals.
90.Ss Copying and Pasting Text with a Mouse
91Copying and pasting text from the screen with a mouse is supported.
92Press and hold down mouse button 1, usually the left button, while
93moving the mouse to select text.
94Selected text is highlighted with reversed foreground and background
95colors.
96To select more text after releasing mouse button 1, press mouse button
973, usually the right button.
98To paste text that has been selected, press mouse button 2, usually the
99middle button.
100The text is entered as if it were typed at the keyboard.
101The
102.Dv VT_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE
103kernel option can be used with mice that only have two buttons.
104Setting this option makes the second mouse button into the
105paste button.
106See
107.Xr moused 8
108for more information.
109.Ss Scrolling Back
110Output that has scrolled off the screen can be reviewed by pressing the
111Scroll Lock key, then scrolling up and down with the arrow keys.
112The Page Up and Page Down keys scroll up or down a full screen at a
113time.
114The Home and End keys jump to the beginning or end of the scrollback
115buffer.
116When finished reviewing, press the Scroll Lock key again to return to
117normal use.
118.Sh DRIVER CONFIGURATION
119.Ss Kernel Configuration Options
120These kernel options control the
121.Nm
122driver.
123.Bl -tag -width MAXCONS
124.It Dv TERMINAL_NORM_ATTR= Ns Pa attribute
125.It Dv TERMINAL_KERN_ATTR= Ns Pa attribute
126These options change the default colors used for normal and kernel
127text.
128Available colors are defined in
129.In sys/terminal.h .
130See
131.Sx EXAMPLES
132below.
133.It Dv VT_MAXWINDOWS=N
134Set the number of virtual terminals to be created to
135.Fa N .
136The value defaults to 12.
137.It Dv VT_ALT_TO_ESC_HACK=1
138When the Alt key is held down while pressing another key, send an ESC
139sequence instead of the Alt key.
140.It Dv VT_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE
141If defined, swap the functions of mouse buttons 2 and 3.
142In effect, this makes the right-hand mouse button perform a paste.
143These options are checked in the order shown.
144.It Dv SC_NO_CUTPASTE
145Disable mouse support.
146.It VT_FB_DEFAULT_WIDTH=X
147Set the default width to
148.Fa X .
149.It VT_FB_DEFAULT_HEIGHT=Y
150Set the default height to
151.Fa Y .
152.El
153.Sh BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
154Several options are provided for compatibility with the previous
155console device,
156.Xr sc 4 .
157These options will be removed in a future
158.Fx
159version.
160.Bl -column -offset indent ".Sy vt VT_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE" ".Sy SC_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE"
161.It Sy vt Option Name Ta Sy sc Option Name
162.It Dv TERMINAL_KERN_ATTR Ta Dv SC_KERNEL_CONS_ATTR
163.It Dv TERMINAL_NORM_ATTR Ta Dv SC_NORM_ATTR
164.It Dv VT_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE Ta Dv SC_TWOBUTTON_MOUSE
165.It Dv VT_MAXWINDOWS Ta Dv MAXCONS
166.It none Ta Dv SC_NO_CUTPASTE
167.El
168.Sh START-UP OPERATION WITH X86 BIOS SYSTEMS
169The computer BIOS starts in text mode, and
170the
171.Fx
172.Xr loader 8
173runs, loading the kernel.
174If
175.Va hw.vga.textmode
176is set, the system remains in text mode.
177Otherwise,
178.Nm
179switches to 640x480x16 VGA mode using
180.Cm vt_vga .
181If a KMS
182.Pq Kernel Mode Setting
183video driver is available, the display is switched to high resolution
184and the KMS driver takes over.
185When a KMS driver is not available,
186.Cm vt_vga
187remains active.
188.Sh LOADER TUNABLES
189These settings can be entered at the
190.Xr loader 8
191prompt or in
192.Xr loader.conf 5 .
193.Bl -tag -width indent
194.It Va hw.vga.textmode
195Set to 1 to use virtual terminals in text mode instead of graphics mode.
196Features that require graphics mode, like loadable fonts, will be
197disabled.
198.It Va kern.vty
199Set this value to
200.Ql vt
201or
202.Ql sc
203to override the default driver used for the system console.
204By default,
205.Xr sc 4
206is used on computers that boot from BIOS, and
207.Nm
208is used on computers that boot from UEFI.
209.It Va kern.vt.fb.default_mode
210Set this value to a graphic mode to override the default mode picked by the
211.Nm
212backend.
213The mode is applied to all output connectors.
214This is currently only supported by the
215.Cm vt_fb
216backend when it is paired with a KMS video driver.
217.It Va kern.vt.fb.modes. Ns Pa connector_name
218Set this value to a graphic mode to override the default mode picked by the
219.Nm
220backend.
221This mode is applied to the output connector
222.Pa connector_name
223only.
224It has precedence over
225.Va kern.vt.fb.default_mode .
226The names of available connector names can be found in
227.Xr dmesg 8
228after loading the KMS driver.
229It will contain a list of connectors and their associated tunables.
230This is currently only supported by the
231.Cm vt_fb
232backend when it is paired with a KMS video driver.
233.El
234.Sh KEYBOARD SYSCTL TUNABLES
235These settings control whether certain special key combinations are enabled or
236ignored.
237The specific key combinations can be configured by using a
238.Xr keymap 5
239file.
240.Pp
241These settings can be entered at the
242.Xr loader 8
243prompt or in
244.Xr loader.conf 5
245and can also be changed at runtime with the
246.Xr sysctl 8
247command.
248.Bl -tag -width indent
249.It Va kern.vt.kbd_halt
250Enable halt keyboard combination.
251.It Va kern.vt.kbd_poweroff
252Enable power off key combination.
253.It Va kern.vt.kbd_reboot.
254Enable reboot key combination, usually Ctrl+Alt+Del.
255.It Va kern.vt.kbd_debug
256Enable debug request key combination, usually Ctrl+Alt+Esc.
257.It Va kern.vt.kbd_panic
258Enable panic key combination.
259.El
260.Sh OTHER SYSCTL TUNABLES
261These settings can be entered at the
262.Xr loader 8
263prompt, set in
264.Xr loader.conf 5 ,
265or changed at runtime with
266.Xr sysctl 8 .
267.Bl -tag -width indent
268.It Va kern.vt.enable_bell
269Enable the terminal bell.
270.El
271.Sh FILES
272.Bl -tag -width /usr/share/vt/keymaps/* -compact
273.It Pa /dev/console
274.It Pa /dev/consolectl
275.It Pa /dev/ttyv*
276virtual terminals
277.It Pa /etc/ttys
278terminal initialization information
279.It Pa /usr/share/vt/fonts/*.fnt
280console fonts
281.It Pa /usr/share/vt/keymaps/*.kbd
282keyboard layouts
283.El
284.Sh EXAMPLES
285This example changes the default color of normal text to green on a
286black background, or black on a green background when reversed.
287Note that white space cannot be used inside the attribute string
288because of the current implementation of
289.Xr config 8 .
290.Pp
291.Dl "options TERMINAL_NORM_ATTR=(FG_GREEN|BG_BLACK)"
292.Pp
293This line changes the default color of kernel messages to be bright red
294on a black background, or black on a bright red background when reversed.
295.Pp
296.Dl "options TERMINAL_KERN_ATTR=(FG_LIGHTRED|BG_BLACK)"
297.Pp
298To set a 1024x768 mode on all output connectors, put the following line in
299.Pa /boot/loader.conf :
300.Pp
301.Dl kern.vt.fb.default_mode="1024x768"
302.Pp
303To set a 800x600 only on a laptop builtin screen, use the following line instead:
304.Pp
305.Dl kern.vt.fb.modes.LVDS-1="800x600"
306.Pp
307The connector name was found in
308.Xr dmesg 8 :
309.Pp
310.Dl info: [drm] Connector LVDS-1: get mode from tunables:
311.Dl info: [drm]   - kern.vt.fb.modes.LVDS-1
312.Dl info: [drm]   - kern.vt.fb.default_mode
313.Sh SEE ALSO
314.Xr kbdcontrol 1 ,
315.Xr login 1 ,
316.Xr vidcontrol 1 ,
317.Xr atkbd 4 ,
318.Xr atkbdc 4 ,
319.Xr kbdmux 4 ,
320.Xr keyboard 4 ,
321.Xr screen 4 ,
322.Xr splash 4 ,
323.Xr syscons 4 ,
324.Xr ukbd 4 ,
325.Xr kbdmap 5 ,
326.Xr rc.conf 5 ,
327.Xr ttys 5 ,
328.Xr config 8 ,
329.Xr getty 8 ,
330.Xr kldload 8 ,
331.Xr moused 8 ,
332.Xr vtfontcvt 8
333.Sh HISTORY
334The
335.Nm
336driver first appeared in
337.Fx 9.3 .
338.Sh AUTHORS
339.An -nosplit
340The
341.Nm
342device driver was developed by
343.An \&Ed Schouten Aq Mt ed@FreeBSD.org ,
344.An \&Ed Maste Aq Mt emaste@FreeBSD.org ,
345and
346.An Aleksandr Rybalko Aq Mt ray@FreeBSD.org ,
347with sponsorship provided by the
348.Fx
349Foundation.
350This manual page was written by
351.An Warren Block Aq Mt wblock@FreeBSD.org .
352.Sh CAVEATS
353Paste buffer size is limited by the system value
354.Brq Dv MAX_INPUT ,
355the number of bytes that can be stored in the terminal
356input queue, usually 1024 bytes
357(see
358.Xr termios 4 ) .
359