doc/en/xorg-config.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>

<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xorg-config.xml,v 1.11 2005/04/11 12:05:08 swift Exp $ -->

<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">

<guide link="xorg-config.xml">

<title>The X Server Configuration HOWTO</title>

<author title="Author">
  <mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail>
</author>

<abstract>
Xorg is the X Window server which allows users to have a graphical
environment at their fingertips. This HOWTO explains what Xorg is, how to 
install it and what the various configuration options are.
</abstract>

<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 -->
<license/>

<version>1.10</version>
<date>2005-04-11</date>

<chapter>
<title>What is the X Window Server?</title>
<section>
<title>Graphical vs Command-Line</title>
<body>

<p>
The average user may be frightened at the thought of having to type in commands.
Why wouldn't he be able to point and click his way through the freedom provided
by Gentoo (and Linux in general)? Well, *big smile*, of course you are able to
do this :-) Linux offers a wide variety of flashy user interfaces and 
environments which you can install on top of your existing installation.
</p>

<p>
This is one of the biggest surprises new users come across: a graphical user
interface is nothing more than an application which runs on your system. It is
<e>not</e> part of the Linux kernel or any other internals of the system. It is
a powerful tool that fully enables the graphical abilities of your workstation.
</p>

<p>
As standards are important, a standard for drawing and moving windows on a
screen, interacting with the user through mouse and keyboard and other basic yet
important aspects has been created and named the <e>X Window System</e>,
commonly abbreviated as <e>X11</e> or just <e>X</e>. It is used on Unix, Linux
and Unix-like operating systems throughout the world.
</p>

<p>
The application that provides Linux users with the ability to run graphical 
user interfaces and that uses the X11 standard is Xorg-X11, a fork of
the XFree86 project. XFree86 has decided to use a license that might not be
compatible with the GPL license; the use of Xorg is therefore recommended. 
The official Portage tree does not provide an XFree86 package anymore.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>The X.org Project</title>
<body>

<p>
The <uri link="http://www.x.org">X.org</uri> project created and
maintains a freely redistributable open-source implementation of the X11 system.
It is an open source X11-based desktop infrastructure. 
</p>

<p>
Xorg provides an interface between your hardware and the graphical software
you want to run. Besides that, Xorg is also fully network-aware, meaning you
are able to run an application on one system while viewing it on a different
one. 
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Installing Xorg</title>
<section>
<title>Using emerge</title>
<body>

<p>
Enough chitchat, let's get to business shall we? To install Xorg, you just 
need to run <c>emerge xorg-x11</c>. Installing Xorg does take a while 
though, so you might want to grab a snack while you are waiting.
</p>

<pre caption="Installing Xorg">
# <i>emerge xorg-x11</i>
</pre>

<p>
When the installation is finished, you might need to reinitialise some
environment variables before you continue. Just run <c>env-update</c> followed
by <c>source /etc/profile</c> and you're all set. This doesn't harm your system
in any way.
</p>

<pre caption="Reinitialising the environment variables">
# <i>env-update</i>
# <i>source /etc/profile</i>
</pre>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Configuring Xorg</title>
<section>
<title>The xorg.conf File</title>
<body>

<p>
The configuration file of Xorg is called <path>xorg.conf</path> and it
resides in <path>/etc/X11</path>. The Xorg-X11 package provides an example
configuration as <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf.example</path> which you can use to
create your own configuration. It is heavily commented, but if you are in need
of more documentation regarding the syntax, don't hesitate to read the man page:
</p>

<pre caption="Reading the xorg.conf man page">
# <i>man 5 xorg.conf</i>
</pre>

<p>
Happy reading for those of you willing to. We surely don't so we'll continue
with checking out how we can create the file automatically.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Default: Automatic Generation of xorg.conf</title>
<body>

<p>
Xorg itself is able to guess most parameters for you. In most cases, you 
will only have to change some lines to get the resolution you want up and 
running. If you are interested in more in-depth tweaking, be sure to check the 
resources at the end of this chapter. But first, let us generate a (hopefully 
working) Xorg configuration file. 
</p>

<pre caption="Generating an xorg.conf file">
# <i>Xorg -configure</i>
</pre>

<p>
Be sure to read the last lines printed on your screen when Xorg has finished
probing your hardware. If it tells you it failed at some point, you're forced to
manually write an <path>xorg.conf</path> file. Assuming that it didn't fail, it
will have told you that it has written <path>/root/xorg.conf.new</path> ready
for you to test. So let's test :)
</p>

<pre caption="Testing the xorg.conf.new file">
# <i>X -config /root/xorg.conf.new</i>
</pre>

<p>
If all goes well, you should see a simple black and white pattern.  Verify if
your mouse works correctly and if the resolution is good. You might not be able
to deduce the exact resolution, but you should be able to see if it's too low.
You can exit any time by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Alternative: Semi-Automatic Generation of xorg.conf</title>
<body>

<p>
Xorg provides a tool called <c>xorgconfig</c> which will ask you for various
information regarding your system (graphical adapter, keyboard, ...). Based on
your input it will create a <path>xorg.conf</path> file.
</p>

<pre caption="Semi-Automatic Generation of xorg.conf">
# <i>xorgconfig</i>
</pre>

<p>
Another tool, also provided by Xorg, is <c>xorgcfg</c>, which will first
attempts to run <c>Xorg -configure</c> and then start the X server for more
final tweaking.
</p>

<pre caption="Using xorgcfg">
# <i>xorgcfg</i>
</pre>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Copying over xorg.conf</title>
<body>

<p>
Let us copy over the <path>xorg.conf.new</path> to
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> now, so we won't have to continuously run
<c>X -config</c> -- typing just <c>X</c> or <c>startx</c> is far more easy :)
</p>

<pre caption="Copying over xorg.conf">
# <i>cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf</i>
</pre>

</body>
</section>
<section id="using_startx">
<title>Using startx</title>
<body>

<p>
Now try <c>startx</c> to start up your X server.  <c>startx</c> is a script
that executes an <e>X session</e>, that is, it starts the X servers and some
graphical applications on top of it.  It decides which applications to run
using the following logic:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    If a file named <path>.xinitrc</path> exists in the home directory, it will
    execute the commands listed there.
  </li>
  <li>
    Otherwise, it will read the value of the XSESSION variable and will execute
    one of the sessions available in <path>/etc/X11/Sessions/</path>
    accordingly (you can set the value of XSESSION in <path>/etc/rc.conf</path>
    to make it a default for all the users on the system).
  </li>
<li>
    If all of the above fail, it will fall back to a simple window manager,
    usually <c>twm</c>.
  </li>
</ul>

<pre caption="Starting X">
# <i>startx</i>
</pre>

<p>
If you see an ugly, loathsome, repulsive, deformed window manager, that's
<c>twm</c>. To finish the twm session, type in <c>exit</c> or Ctrl-D in the
upcoming xterms. You can also kill the X session using the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace
combination. This will however make X exit disgracefully - something that you
might not always want. It doesn't hurt though :)
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Tweaking xorg.conf</title>
<section>
<title>Setting your Resolution</title>
<body>

<p>
If you feel that the screen resolution is wrong, you will need to check two
sections in your configuration. First of all, you have the <e>Screen</e> section
which lists the resolutions - if any - that your X server will run at. By
default, this section might not list any resolutions at all. If this is the
case, Xorg will estimate the resolutions based on the information in the
second section, <e>Monitor</e>.
</p>

<p>
What happens is that Xorg checks the settings of <c>HorizSync</c> and
<c>VertRefresh</c> in the <e>Monitor</e> section to compute valid resolutions.
For now, leave these settings as-is. Only when the changes to the <e>Screen</e>
section (which we will describe in a minute) don't work, then you will need to
look up the specs for your monitor and fill in the correct values. You can also
use a tool that searches for your monitor's specs, such as
<c>sys-apps/ddcxinfo-knoppix</c>.
</p>

<warn>
Do <b>not</b> "just" change the values of these two monitor-related variables
without consulting the technical specifications of your monitor. Setting
incorrect values lead to out-of-sync errors at best and smoked up screens at
worst.
</warn>

<p>
Now let us change the resolutions. In the next example from
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> we add the <c>Modes</c> lines and the
<c>DefaultDepth</c> so that our X server starts with 24 bits at 1024x768 by
default. Don't mind the given strings - they are examples and will most likely
differ from the settings on your system.
</p>

<pre caption="Changing the Screen section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf">
Section "Screen"
  Identifier  "Default Screen"
  Device    "S3 Inc. ProSavage KN133 [Twister K]"
  Monitor   "Generic Monitor"
  <i>DefaultDepth  24</i>
  <comment># Skipping some text to improve readability</comment>
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth   24
    <i>Modes   "1024x768"</i>
  EndSubSection
EndSection
</pre>

<p>
Run X (<c>startx</c>) to discover it uses the resolution you want :)
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring your Keyboard</title>
<body>

<p>
To setup X to use an international keyboard, search for the <e>InputDevice</e>
section that configures the keyboard and add the <c>XkbLayout</c> option to
point to the keyboard layout you want. As an example, we show you how to apply
for the Belgian layout. Just substitute the country-keycode with yours:
</p>

<pre caption="Changing the keyboard layout">
Section "InputDevice"
  Identifier  "Generic Keyboard"
  Driver    "keyboard"
  Option    "CoreKeyboard"
  Option    "XkbRules"  "xorg"
  Option    "XkbModel"  "pc105"
  <i>Option    "XkbLayout" "be"</i>
EndSection
</pre>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring your Mouse</title>
<body>

<p>
If your mouse isn't working, you will first need to find out if it is detected
by the kernel at all. Mice are (device-wise) seen as
<path>/dev/input/mouse0</path> (or <path>/dev/input/mice</path> if you want to
use several mice). In either case you can check if the devices do represent
your mouse by checking the output of those files when you move your mouse. To
end the session press <c>Ctrl-C</c>.
</p>

<pre caption="Checking the device files">
# <i>cat /dev/input/mouse0</i>
<comment>(Don't forget to press Ctrl-C to end this)</comment>
</pre>

<p>
If your mouse isn't detected, verify if all the necessary modules are loaded.
</p>

<p>
If your mouse is detected, fill in the device in the appropriate 
<e>InputDevice</e> section. In the next example you'll see we also set two other
options: <c>Protocol</c> (which lists the mouse protocol to be used - most users
will use PS/2 or IMPS/2) and <c>ZAxisMapping</c> (which allows for the 
mousewheel (if applicable) to be used).
</p>

<pre caption="Changing the mouse settings in Xorg">
Section "InputDevice"
  Identifier  "TouchPad Mouse"
  Driver    "mouse"
  Option    "CorePointer"
  <i>Option    "Device"    "/dev/input/mouse0"</i>
  <i>Option    "Protocol"    "IMPS/2"</i>
  <i>Option    "ZAxisMapping"    "4 5"</i>
EndSection
</pre>

<p>
Run <c>startx</c> and be happy about the result :) Congratulations, you now
(hopefully) have a working Xorg on your system. The next step is to remove this
ugly lightweight window manager and use a high-feature one (or even a desktop
environment) such as KDE or GNOME, but that's not part of this guide :)
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Resources</title>
<section>
<title>Creating and Tweaking xorg.conf</title>
<body>

<p>
First of all, <c>man 5 xorg.conf</c> provides a quick yet complete reference
about the syntaxis used by the configuration file. Be sure to have it open on a
terminal near you when you edit your configuration file!
</p>

<p>
A second point of resources on your system is the
<path>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc</path> directory with various <path>README</path>'s
for individual graphical chipsets.
</p>

<p>
There are also many online resources on editing <path>xorg.conf</path>. We only
list few of them here, be sure to <uri link="http://www.google.com">Google</uri>
for more :) As <path>xorg.conf</path> and <path>XF86Config</path> (the
configuration file for the XFree86 project) use the
same syntaxis for most configuration options and more information about
<path>XF86Config</path> is available, we'll list those resources as well.
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree-Local-multi-user-HOWTO/">The XFree
    Local Multi-User HOWTO</uri>
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri
    link="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-linuxxwin-i.html">An
    Introduction to XFree 4.x</uri> by Chris Houser
  </li>
</ul>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
</guide>
1	swift	1.1	<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
2
3	neysx	1.12	<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xorg-config.xml,v 1.11 2005/04/11 12:05:08 swift Exp $ -->
4	swift	1.1
5			<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
6
7	swift	1.7	<guide link="xorg-config.xml">
8	swift	1.1
9			<title>The X Server Configuration HOWTO</title>
10
11			<author title="Author">
12			<mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail>
13			</author>
14
15			<abstract>
16			Xorg is the X Window server which allows users to have a graphical
17			environment at their fingertips. This HOWTO explains what Xorg is, how to
18			install it and what the various configuration options are.
19			</abstract>
20
21			<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
22	swift	1.7	<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 -->
23	swift	1.1	<license/>
24
25	swift	1.11	<version>1.10</version>
26			<date>2005-04-11</date>
27	swift	1.1
28			<chapter>
29			<title>What is the X Window Server?</title>
30			<section>
31			<title>Graphical vs Command-Line</title>
32			<body>
33
34			<p>
35			The average user may be frightened at the thought of having to type in commands.
36			Why wouldn't he be able to point and click his way through the freedom provided
37			by Gentoo (and Linux in general)? Well, big smile, of course you are able to
38			do this :-) Linux offers a wide variety of flashy user interfaces and
39			environments which you can install on top of your existing installation.
40			</p>
41
42			<p>
43			This is one of the biggest surprises new users come across: a graphical user
44			interface is nothing more than an application which runs on your system. It is
45			<e>not</e> part of the Linux kernel or any other internals of the system. It is
46			a powerful tool that fully enables the graphical abilities of your workstation.
47			</p>
48
49			<p>
50			As standards are important, a standard for drawing and moving windows on a
51			screen, interacting with the user through mouse and keyboard and other basic yet
52			important aspects has been created and named the <e>X Window System</e>,
53			commonly abbreviated as <e>X11</e> or just <e>X</e>. It is used on Unix, Linux
54			and Unix-like operating systems throughout the world.
55			</p>
56
57			<p>
58			The application that provides Linux users with the ability to run graphical
59			user interfaces and that uses the X11 standard is Xorg-X11, a fork of
60			the XFree86 project. XFree86 has decided to use a license that might not be
61	swift	1.8	compatible with the GPL license; the use of Xorg is therefore recommended.
62			The official Portage tree does not provide an XFree86 package anymore.
63	swift	1.1	</p>
64
65			</body>
66			</section>
67			<section>
68			<title>The X.org Project</title>
69			<body>
70
71			<p>
72			The <uri link="http://www.x.org">X.org</uri> project created and
73			maintains a freely redistributable open-source implementation of the X11 system.
74			It is an open source X11-based desktop infrastructure.
75			</p>
76
77			<p>
78			Xorg provides an interface between your hardware and the graphical software
79			you want to run. Besides that, Xorg is also fully network-aware, meaning you
80			are able to run an application on one system while viewing it on a different
81			one.
82			</p>
83
84			</body>
85			</section>
86			</chapter>
87			<chapter>
88			<title>Installing Xorg</title>
89			<section>
90			<title>Using emerge</title>
91			<body>
92
93			<p>
94			Enough chitchat, let's get to business shall we? To install Xorg, you just
95			need to run <c>emerge xorg-x11</c>. Installing Xorg does take a while
96			though, so you might want to grab a snack while you are waiting.
97			</p>
98
99			<pre caption="Installing Xorg">
100			# <i>emerge xorg-x11</i>
101			</pre>
102
103			<p>
104			When the installation is finished, you might need to reinitialise some
105			environment variables before you continue. Just run <c>env-update</c> followed
106			by <c>source /etc/profile</c> and you're all set. This doesn't harm your system
107			in any way.
108			</p>
109
110			<pre caption="Reinitialising the environment variables">
111			# <i>env-update</i>
112			# <i>source /etc/profile</i>
113			</pre>
114
115			</body>
116			</section>
117			</chapter>
118			<chapter>
119			<title>Configuring Xorg</title>
120			<section>
121			<title>The xorg.conf File</title>
122			<body>
123
124			<p>
125	neysx	1.2	The configuration file of Xorg is called <path>xorg.conf</path> and it
126	swift	1.1	resides in <path>/etc/X11</path>. The Xorg-X11 package provides an example
127			configuration as <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf.example</path> which you can use to
128			create your own configuration. It is heavily commented, but if you are in need
129			of more documentation regarding the syntax, don't hesitate to read the man page:
130			</p>
131
132			<pre caption="Reading the xorg.conf man page">
133			# <i>man 5 xorg.conf</i>
134			</pre>
135
136			<p>
137			Happy reading for those of you willing to. We surely don't so we'll continue
138			with checking out how we can create the file automatically.
139			</p>
140
141			</body>
142			</section>
143			<section>
144			<title>Default: Automatic Generation of xorg.conf</title>
145			<body>
146
147			<p>
148			Xorg itself is able to guess most parameters for you. In most cases, you
149			will only have to change some lines to get the resolution you want up and
150			running. If you are interested in more in-depth tweaking, be sure to check the
151			resources at the end of this chapter. But first, let us generate a (hopefully
152			working) Xorg configuration file.
153			</p>
154
155			<pre caption="Generating an xorg.conf file">
156			# <i>Xorg -configure</i>
157			</pre>
158
159			<p>
160			Be sure to read the last lines printed on your screen when Xorg has finished
161			probing your hardware. If it tells you it failed at some point, you're forced to
162			manually write an <path>xorg.conf</path> file. Assuming that it didn't fail, it
163			will have told you that it has written <path>/root/xorg.conf.new</path> ready
164			for you to test. So let's test :)
165			</p>
166
167			<pre caption="Testing the xorg.conf.new file">
168	swift	1.6	# <i>X -config /root/xorg.conf.new</i>
169	swift	1.1	</pre>
170
171			<p>
172	swift	1.9	If all goes well, you should see a simple black and white pattern. Verify if
173			your mouse works correctly and if the resolution is good. You might not be able
174			to deduce the exact resolution, but you should be able to see if it's too low.
175			You can exit any time by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace.
176	swift	1.7	</p>
177
178	swift	1.1	</body>
179			</section>
180			<section>
181			<title>Alternative: Semi-Automatic Generation of xorg.conf</title>
182			<body>
183
184			<p>
185			Xorg provides a tool called <c>xorgconfig</c> which will ask you for various
186			information regarding your system (graphical adapter, keyboard, ...). Based on
187			your input it will create a <path>xorg.conf</path> file.
188			</p>
189
190			<pre caption="Semi-Automatic Generation of xorg.conf">
191			# <i>xorgconfig</i>
192			</pre>
193
194	swift	1.10	<p>
195			Another tool, also provided by Xorg, is <c>xorgcfg</c>, which will first
196			attempts to run <c>Xorg -configure</c> and then start the X server for more
197			final tweaking.
198			</p>
199
200			<pre caption="Using xorgcfg">
201			# <i>xorgcfg</i>
202			</pre>
203
204	swift	1.1	</body>
205			</section>
206			<section>
207			<title>Copying over xorg.conf</title>
208			<body>
209
210			<p>
211	swift	1.9	Let us copy over the <path>xorg.conf.new</path> to
212			<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> now, so we won't have to continuously run
213			<c>X -config</c> -- typing just <c>X</c> or <c>startx</c> is far more easy :)
214	swift	1.1	</p>
215
216			<pre caption="Copying over xorg.conf">
217			# <i>cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf</i>
218			</pre>
219
220	swift	1.9	</body>
221			</section>
222			<section id="using_startx">
223			<title>Using startx</title>
224			<body>
225
226	swift	1.1	<p>
227	swift	1.9	Now try <c>startx</c> to start up your X server. <c>startx</c> is a script
228			that executes an <e>X session</e>, that is, it starts the X servers and some
229			graphical applications on top of it. It decides which applications to run
230			using the following logic:
231	swift	1.1	</p>
232
233	swift	1.9	<ul>
234			<li>
235			If a file named <path>.xinitrc</path> exists in the home directory, it will
236			execute the commands listed there.
237			</li>
238			<li>
239			Otherwise, it will read the value of the XSESSION variable and will execute
240			one of the sessions available in <path>/etc/X11/Sessions/</path>
241			accordingly (you can set the value of XSESSION in <path>/etc/rc.conf</path>
242			to make it a default for all the users on the system).
243			</li>
244			<li>
245			If all of the above fail, it will fall back to a simple window manager,
246			usually <c>twm</c>.
247			</li>
248			</ul>
249
250	swift	1.1	<pre caption="Starting X">
251			# <i>startx</i>
252			</pre>
253
254	swift	1.9	<p>
255			If you see an ugly, loathsome, repulsive, deformed window manager, that's
256			<c>twm</c>. To finish the twm session, type in <c>exit</c> or Ctrl-D in the
257			upcoming xterms. You can also kill the X session using the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace
258			combination. This will however make X exit disgracefully - something that you
259			might not always want. It doesn't hurt though :)
260			</p>
261
262	swift	1.1	</body>
263			</section>
264	swift	1.9	</chapter>
265			<chapter>
266			<title>Tweaking xorg.conf</title>
267	swift	1.1	<section>
268			<title>Setting your Resolution</title>
269			<body>
270
271			<p>
272			If you feel that the screen resolution is wrong, you will need to check two
273			sections in your configuration. First of all, you have the <e>Screen</e> section
274			which lists the resolutions - if any - that your X server will run at. By
275			default, this section might not list any resolutions at all. If this is the
276			case, Xorg will estimate the resolutions based on the information in the
277			second section, <e>Monitor</e>.
278			</p>
279
280			<p>
281			What happens is that Xorg checks the settings of <c>HorizSync</c> and
282			<c>VertRefresh</c> in the <e>Monitor</e> section to compute valid resolutions.
283			For now, leave these settings as-is. Only when the changes to the <e>Screen</e>
284			section (which we will describe in a minute) don't work, then you will need to
285			look up the specs for your monitor and fill in the correct values. You can also
286			use a tool that searches for your monitor's specs, such as
287			<c>sys-apps/ddcxinfo-knoppix</c>.
288			</p>
289
290			<warn>
291			Do <b>not</b> "just" change the values of these two monitor-related variables
292			without consulting the technical specifications of your monitor. Setting
293			incorrect values lead to out-of-sync errors at best and smoked up screens at
294			worst.
295			</warn>
296
297			<p>
298			Now let us change the resolutions. In the next example from
299			<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> we add the <c>Modes</c> lines and the
300			<c>DefaultDepth</c> so that our X server starts with 24 bits at 1024x768 by
301			default. Don't mind the given strings - they are examples and will most likely
302			differ from the settings on your system.
303			</p>
304
305			<pre caption="Changing the Screen section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf">
306			Section "Screen"
307			Identifier "Default Screen"
308			Device "S3 Inc. ProSavage KN133 [Twister K]"
309			Monitor "Generic Monitor"
310			<i>DefaultDepth 24</i>
311			<comment># Skipping some text to improve readability</comment>
312			SubSection "Display"
313			Depth 24
314			<i>Modes "1024x768"</i>
315			EndSubSection
316			EndSection
317			</pre>
318
319			<p>
320			Run X (<c>startx</c>) to discover it uses the resolution you want :)
321			</p>
322
323			</body>
324			</section>
325			<section>
326			<title>Configuring your Keyboard</title>
327			<body>
328
329			<p>
330			To setup X to use an international keyboard, search for the <e>InputDevice</e>
331			section that configures the keyboard and add the <c>XkbLayout</c> option to
332			point to the keyboard layout you want. As an example, we show you how to apply
333			for the Belgian layout. Just substitute the country-keycode with yours:
334			</p>
335
336			<pre caption="Changing the keyboard layout">
337			Section "InputDevice"
338			Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
339			Driver "keyboard"
340			Option "CoreKeyboard"
341	swift	1.3	Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
342	swift	1.1	Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
343			<i>Option "XkbLayout" "be"</i>
344			EndSection
345			</pre>
346
347			</body>
348			</section>
349			<section>
350			<title>Configuring your Mouse</title>
351			<body>
352
353			<p>
354			If your mouse isn't working, you will first need to find out if it is detected
355	neysx	1.12	by the kernel at all. Mice are (device-wise) seen as
356	swift	1.11	<path>/dev/input/mouse0</path> (or <path>/dev/input/mice</path> if you want to
357	neysx	1.12	use several mice). In either case you can check if the devices do represent
358			your mouse by checking the output of those files when you move your mouse. To
359			end the session press <c>Ctrl-C</c>.
360	swift	1.1	</p>
361
362			<pre caption="Checking the device files">
363	swift	1.11	# <i>cat /dev/input/mouse0</i>
364	swift	1.1	<comment>(Don't forget to press Ctrl-C to end this)</comment>
365			</pre>
366
367			<p>
368			If your mouse isn't detected, verify if all the necessary modules are loaded.
369			</p>
370
371			<p>
372			If your mouse is detected, fill in the device in the appropriate
373			<e>InputDevice</e> section. In the next example you'll see we also set two other
374			options: <c>Protocol</c> (which lists the mouse protocol to be used - most users
375			will use PS/2 or IMPS/2) and <c>ZAxisMapping</c> (which allows for the
376			mousewheel (if applicable) to be used).
377			</p>
378
379			<pre caption="Changing the mouse settings in Xorg">
380			Section "InputDevice"
381			Identifier "TouchPad Mouse"
382			Driver "mouse"
383			Option "CorePointer"
384	swift	1.11	<i>Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"</i>
385	swift	1.1	<i>Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"</i>
386			<i>Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"</i>
387			EndSection
388			</pre>
389
390			<p>
391			Run <c>startx</c> and be happy about the result :) Congratulations, you now
392			(hopefully) have a working Xorg on your system. The next step is to remove this
393			ugly lightweight window manager and use a high-feature one (or even a desktop
394			environment) such as KDE or GNOME, but that's not part of this guide :)
395			</p>
396
397			</body>
398			</section>
399			</chapter>
400			<chapter>
401			<title>Resources</title>
402			<section>
403			<title>Creating and Tweaking xorg.conf</title>
404			<body>
405
406			<p>
407			First of all, <c>man 5 xorg.conf</c> provides a quick yet complete reference
408			about the syntaxis used by the configuration file. Be sure to have it open on a
409			terminal near you when you edit your configuration file!
410			</p>
411
412			<p>
413			A second point of resources on your system is the
414			<path>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc</path> directory with various <path>README</path>'s
415			for individual graphical chipsets.
416			</p>
417
418			<p>
419			There are also many online resources on editing <path>xorg.conf</path>. We only
420			list few of them here, be sure to <uri link="http://www.google.com">Google</uri>
421			for more :) As <path>xorg.conf</path> and <path>XF86Config</path> (the
422			configuration file for the XFree86 project) use the
423			same syntaxis for most configuration options and more information about
424			<path>XF86Config</path> is available, we'll list those resources as well.
425			</p>
426
427			<ul>
428			<li>
429			<uri link="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree-Local-multi-user-HOWTO/">The XFree
430			Local Multi-User HOWTO</uri>
431			</li>
432			<li>
433			<uri
434			link="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-linuxxwin-i.html">An
435			Introduction to XFree 4.x</uri> by Chris Houser
436			</li>
437			</ul>
438
439			</body>
440			</section>
441			</chapter>
442			</guide>