# Xorg - how to change font size



## hennesse (Aug 19, 2011)

Hi,

I installed Xorg on my 8.1 system.  "startx" gives me a login and 2 xterm windows.  The text is so small that I need to use reading glasses.  How can I make it bigger?

It's a special-purpose machine, so I only need to do two things - run Firefox and vi.  Firefox works fine.  So I don't need any window managers or other complex stuff (I'm a command-line guy).  I just wanna be able to read the screen.

Thanks,
Dave


The "special purpose" is controlling a home beer brewery (FreeBSD can do anything!)
http://www.davehennessey.com/brewery/photos/


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## wblock@ (Aug 19, 2011)

Edit .xinitrc to start the xterms with a different font size.  See xterm(1).


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## hennesse (Aug 19, 2011)

*Solved!*

Well, not solved yet, but you got me going in the right direction.  

Already learned how to start up with the xterms in nice locations on the screen, autostart firefox, and twm as a "minimalist" window manager. I'll do my homework and figure out the darn font thing.

Thanks!
Dave


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## wblock@ (Aug 19, 2011)

Try -fn 10x20 as an option.


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## femc7488 (Aug 19, 2011)

Add .Xdefaults to user's home directory and append the code below


```
XTerm*utf8Title: true
XTerm*multiClickTime: 500
XTerm*faceName: Bitstream Vera Sans Mono
XTerm*faceSize: 10 # font size
XTerm*title: X-Terminal
XTerm*internalBorder: 10
XTerm*geometry: 80x20 # xterm geometry size
XTerm*saveLines: 1000
XTerm*visualBell: true
XTerm*colorULMode: true
XTerm*colorUL: #cc0000
XTerm*pointerMode: 0
```


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## hennesse (Aug 19, 2011)

*SOLVED - Many thanks*

A combination of .xinitrc and .Xdefaults did exactly what I wanted it to.

.xinitrc opens the windows the way I want them to look initially.

.Xdefaults not only allows finer control of the window appearance, but it makes any new xterms opened by twm look good too - in case I close the initial one, or need another.

This combo opens Firefox, a "programmer's window", and the twm window manager.

.xinitrc

```
xsetroot -solid gray &
xterm -geometry 80x24+10+10 -fn 10x20 -n "Use of this window may void your warranty" &
exec firefox3 &
exec twm
```
.Xdefaults

```
XTerm*utf8Title: true
XTerm*multiClickTime: 500
XTerm*faceName: Bitstream Vera Sans Mono
XTerm*faceSize: 14 # font size
XTerm*internalBorder: 10
XTerm*saveLines: 1000
XTerm*visualBell: false
XTerm*colorULMode: true
XTerm*colorUL: #cc0000
XTerm*pointerMode: 0

# XTerm*title: X-Terminal  # it overrides .xinitrc's settings
# XTerm*geometry: 80x20    # caused error messages (conflict with .xinitrc?)
# XTerm*visualBell: true   # changed to false - see below
```
I'm an old dog - back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, I developed the bad habit of hitting the ESC key multiple times when changing modes in vi - to get that re-assuring bell.  If I was particular satisfied with the line I just typed, I'd hit ESC twice. If I was angry, or didn't know what to do next, I might hit ESC three or four times. Multiple "visual bells" just aren't the same.  You can teach an old dog new tricks, but it's hard to erase bad habits.

Thanks again,
Dave


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## michaelrmgreen (Aug 20, 2011)

>http://www.davehennessey.com/brewery/photos/
THAT is all the awesome.


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