doc/en/gpm.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
<!-- $Header$ -->

<guide link="/doc/en/gpm.xml">
<title>Using a Mouse within the Console</title>

<author title="Author">
  <mail link="jackdark@gmail.com">Joshua Saddler</mail>
</author>

<abstract>
This guide shows you how to set up and use gpm (the General
Purpose Mouse server) from within a command line interface. 
This is especially useful for new Gentoo installations or
for systems that cannot or do not use an X server.
</abstract>

<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
<license/>

<version>1.0</version>
<date>2005-07-19</date>

<chapter>
<title>Getting gpm</title>
<section>
<body>

<p>
If you've just installed Gentoo, you almost certainly don't have your mouse 
set up to work within a command line interface (CLI) yet. Or perhaps you 
can't use or don't need an X server, yet you still need to use a mouse. The 
solution is simple: <c>gpm</c>, the General Purpose Mouse server.
</p>

<p>
First, you will need to get gpm:
</p>

<pre caption="Obtaining gpm">
# <i>emerge gpm</i>
</pre>

<p>
You might have noticed a few messages during the compilation that warned 
about configuring the server. You must do this before starting gpm.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Configuring gpm</title>
<section>
<body>

<p>
Before you can use gpm, you will need to uncomment the lines 
corresponding to the location and protocol of your mouse. You do this by 
editing the gpm configuration file:
</p>

<pre caption="Setting up gpm">
# <i>nano /etc/conf.d/gpm</i>
</pre>

<p>
In my case, I have a USB mouse on <path>/dev/input/mouse0</path>. So, I 
have uncommented <path>/dev/input/mice</path>, as this is the cumulative 
device for all mice on the system, and the appropriate protocol. 
Try using <path>/dev/input/mice</path> before <path>/dev/psaux</path>, as 
the latter is deprecated and can be disabled in the latest 2.6 kernels. If 
<path>/dev/input/mice</path> fails, then fall back to other devices. Here is 
my example <path>/etc/conf.d/gpm</path>:
</p>

<pre caption="Example gpm config">
<comment># Please uncomment the type of mouse you have and the appropriate MOUSEDEV entry</comment>

#MOUSE=ps2
MOUSE=imps2
#MOUSEDEV=/dev/psaux
MOUSEDEV=/dev/input/mice
</pre>

<p>
If you have a wheelmouse, you will want to use the imps2 protocol, so 
uncomment that line. If imps2 and ps2 both fail to work for you, please
refer to the gpm info page (<c>info gpm</c>) for other protocols to try. 
Also, if you want to be able to click on hyperlinks in terminals to 
navigate to a website, it is a good idea to follow the suggestion in the 
<c>/etc/conf.d/gpm</c> file:
</p>

<pre caption="Other options">
<comment># Please uncomment this line if you want gpm to understand charsets</comment>
<comment># used in URLs and names with ~ or : in them, etc.</comment>
<comment># This is a good idea to turn on!</comment>

APPEND="-l \"a-zA-Z0-9_.:~/\300-\326\330-\366\370-\377\""
</pre>

<p>
The rest of the conf.d file contains other suggestions for your mouse server; 
uncomment the various options according to your needs. See <c>man gpm</c> 
for more information.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Running gpm</title>
<section>
<body>

<p>
Now that your mouse server is installed and configured, it's time to start 
using it:
</p>

<pre caption="The gpm init script">
# <i>/etc/init.d/gpm start</i>
</pre>

<p>
You should see a block cursor appear. Remember that only root can run the gpm 
init script. However, to avoid having to <c>su</c> and run the script every 
single time you begin a new session, why not set gpm to begin every time you 
turn on your computer?
</p>

<pre caption="Adding gpm to the default runlevel">
# <i>rc-update add gpm default</i>
</pre>

<p>
Now, whenever you start your computer, you'll be greeted by the console cursor 
by the time you get to the login prompt. The mouse server will continue to run 
even if you're not logged in as root.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Working with gpm</title>
<section>
<title>Copying and pasting</title>
<body>

<p>
Copying and pasting large blocks of text with a working mouse server is very 
easy. Simply highlight the text with the left mouse button (it will stay 
highlighted when you release the button), switch to a different terminal if you 
wish, position the cursor, and press the middle mouse button to paste the text 
where you placed the cursor. Note that you can copy and paste without ever 
leaving the terminal you started. This makes posting the output of error
messages  to the <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org">Gentoo forums</uri>
extremely simple.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Text-mode browsing and gpm</title>
<body>

<p>
If you have a message on one screen and a text-mode web browser on the other,
you  can copy the error message by highlighting it, then change to the other
terminal, left-click the appropriate text entry box to select it, and then press
the middle mouse button. Voila! Your error message can now be posted to the
forums.
</p>

<p>
Though discussion of text-only browsers is somewhat beyond the scope of this
guide,  inevitably users will need to find a compatible console browser. Though
<c>lynx</c> is most likely the oldest and well established browser, its
interface has poor mouse support and recognition. Instead, try using
<c>links</c>, the same browser which is also included in the Gentoo Installation
CDs. <c>links</c> has excellent mouse integration:
</p>

<pre caption="Obtaining links">
# <i>emerge links</i>
</pre>

<p>
This concludes the guide to using a mouse within the console. Happy mousing!
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

</guide>
1	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2	<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
3	<!-- $Header$ -->
4
5	<guide link="/doc/en/gpm.xml">
6	<title>Using a Mouse within the Console</title>
7
8	<author title="Author">
9	<mail link="jackdark@gmail.com">Joshua Saddler</mail>
10	</author>
11
12	<abstract>
13	This guide shows you how to set up and use gpm (the General
14	Purpose Mouse server) from within a command line interface.
15	This is especially useful for new Gentoo installations or
16	for systems that cannot or do not use an X server.
17	</abstract>
18
19	<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
20	<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
21	<license/>
22
23	<version>1.0</version>
24	<date>2005-07-19</date>
25
26	<chapter>
27	<title>Getting gpm</title>
28	<section>
29	<body>
30
31	<p>
32	If you've just installed Gentoo, you almost certainly don't have your mouse
33	set up to work within a command line interface (CLI) yet. Or perhaps you
34	can't use or don't need an X server, yet you still need to use a mouse. The
35	solution is simple: <c>gpm</c>, the General Purpose Mouse server.
36	</p>
37
38	<p>
39	First, you will need to get gpm:
40	</p>
41
42	<pre caption="Obtaining gpm">
43	# <i>emerge gpm</i>
44	</pre>
45
46	<p>
47	You might have noticed a few messages during the compilation that warned
48	about configuring the server. You must do this before starting gpm.
49	</p>
50
51	</body>
52	</section>
53	</chapter>
54
55	<chapter>
56	<title>Configuring gpm</title>
57	<section>
58	<body>
59
60	<p>
61	Before you can use gpm, you will need to uncomment the lines
62	corresponding to the location and protocol of your mouse. You do this by
63	editing the gpm configuration file:
64	</p>
65
66	<pre caption="Setting up gpm">
67	# <i>nano /etc/conf.d/gpm</i>
68	</pre>
69
70	<p>
71	In my case, I have a USB mouse on <path>/dev/input/mouse0</path>. So, I
72	have uncommented <path>/dev/input/mice</path>, as this is the cumulative
73	device for all mice on the system, and the appropriate protocol.
74	Try using <path>/dev/input/mice</path> before <path>/dev/psaux</path>, as
75	the latter is deprecated and can be disabled in the latest 2.6 kernels. If
76	<path>/dev/input/mice</path> fails, then fall back to other devices. Here is
77	my example <path>/etc/conf.d/gpm</path>:
78	</p>
79
80	<pre caption="Example gpm config">
81	<comment># Please uncomment the type of mouse you have and the appropriate MOUSEDEV entry</comment>
82
83	#MOUSE=ps2
84	MOUSE=imps2
85	#MOUSEDEV=/dev/psaux
86	MOUSEDEV=/dev/input/mice
87	</pre>
88
89	<p>
90	If you have a wheelmouse, you will want to use the imps2 protocol, so
91	uncomment that line. If imps2 and ps2 both fail to work for you, please
92	refer to the gpm info page (<c>info gpm</c>) for other protocols to try.
93	Also, if you want to be able to click on hyperlinks in terminals to
94	navigate to a website, it is a good idea to follow the suggestion in the
95	<c>/etc/conf.d/gpm</c> file:
96	</p>
97
98	<pre caption="Other options">
99	<comment># Please uncomment this line if you want gpm to understand charsets</comment>
100	<comment># used in URLs and names with ~ or : in them, etc.</comment>
101	<comment># This is a good idea to turn on!</comment>
102
103	APPEND="-l \"a-zA-Z0-9_.:~/\300-\326\330-\366\370-\377\""
104	</pre>
105
106	<p>
107	The rest of the conf.d file contains other suggestions for your mouse server;
108	uncomment the various options according to your needs. See <c>man gpm</c>
109	for more information.
110	</p>
111
112	</body>
113	</section>
114	</chapter>
115
116	<chapter>
117	<title>Running gpm</title>
118	<section>
119	<body>
120
121	<p>
122	Now that your mouse server is installed and configured, it's time to start
123	using it:
124	</p>
125
126	<pre caption="The gpm init script">
127	# <i>/etc/init.d/gpm start</i>
128	</pre>
129
130	<p>
131	You should see a block cursor appear. Remember that only root can run the gpm
132	init script. However, to avoid having to <c>su</c> and run the script every
133	single time you begin a new session, why not set gpm to begin every time you
134	turn on your computer?
135	</p>
136
137	<pre caption="Adding gpm to the default runlevel">
138	# <i>rc-update add gpm default</i>
139	</pre>
140
141	<p>
142	Now, whenever you start your computer, you'll be greeted by the console cursor
143	by the time you get to the login prompt. The mouse server will continue to run
144	even if you're not logged in as root.
145	</p>
146
147	</body>
148	</section>
149	</chapter>
150
151	<chapter>
152	<title>Working with gpm</title>
153	<section>
154	<title>Copying and pasting</title>
155	<body>
156
157	<p>
158	Copying and pasting large blocks of text with a working mouse server is very
159	easy. Simply highlight the text with the left mouse button (it will stay
160	highlighted when you release the button), switch to a different terminal if you
161	wish, position the cursor, and press the middle mouse button to paste the text
162	where you placed the cursor. Note that you can copy and paste without ever
163	leaving the terminal you started. This makes posting the output of error
164	messages to the <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org">Gentoo forums</uri>
165	extremely simple.
166	</p>
167
168	</body>
169	</section>
170	<section>
171	<title>Text-mode browsing and gpm</title>
172	<body>
173
174	<p>
175	If you have a message on one screen and a text-mode web browser on the other,
176	you can copy the error message by highlighting it, then change to the other
177	terminal, left-click the appropriate text entry box to select it, and then press
178	the middle mouse button. Voila! Your error message can now be posted to the
179	forums.
180	</p>
181
182	<p>
183	Though discussion of text-only browsers is somewhat beyond the scope of this
184	guide, inevitably users will need to find a compatible console browser. Though
185	<c>lynx</c> is most likely the oldest and well established browser, its
186	interface has poor mouse support and recognition. Instead, try using
187	<c>links</c>, the same browser which is also included in the Gentoo Installation
188	CDs. <c>links</c> has excellent mouse integration:
189	</p>
190
191	<pre caption="Obtaining links">
192	# <i>emerge links</i>
193	</pre>
194
195	<p>
196	This concludes the guide to using a mouse within the console. Happy mousing!
197	</p>
198
199	</body>
200	</section>
201	</chapter>
202
203	</guide>