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AIX Version 4.3 AIXwindows Programming Guide

How to Start the Customizing Tool

Prerequisite Condition

The customizing tool must be installed before you can start it. The custom command is installed in the /usr/bin/X11 directory.

Basic Start Procedure

To start the customizing tool with no options, enter the following:

custom

No command-line options are required. If no application name is specified at the command line, you are prompted for it.

The prompt, shown in the figure, provides the following three methods to choose an application:

After you have chosen an application, the customizing tool main window is displayed with the resources that are valid for that application.

Detailed Start Procedure

To start the customizing tool using a command-line option, use the following syntax:

custom [-h | -e Browser | [-s ResourceFile] [Application]]

Command line help can be obtained using the -h option.

The -e option allows one of the standalone browsers to be called. Valid values for the Browser parameter are color, font, cursor, and picture.

Use the -s option to specify the resource file from which to load and save resource settings. If the -s option is not specified, the default is to load the values from the resource database stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property on the X server. If this database does not exist, then $HOME/.Xdefaults is loaded. See the custom command in AIX Commands Reference for more information.

Most standard X Toolkit command-line options are understood by the custom command. See the table in the custom command that lists the standard command-line options.

An application name can be specified on the command line. If no application name is specified on the command line, you are prompted for it. See the figure titled "Starting the Customizing Tool" for an illustration.

When more than one instance of an application is running, all are updated immediately when a resource value is changed. The same behavior occurs if you save these changes and restart your application.

The customizing tool searches for an app-custom file that describes the resources that can be set for the application you chose. If there is no app-custom file for the application you are customizing, the DEFAULT app-custom file is used. The DEFAULT app-custom file provides a set of resources that apply to most applications. An error message is displayed if either the DEFAULT app-custom file cannot be found or if there is an error in the app-custom file itself.

Related Information

Using the AIXwindows Customizing Tool Overview

Using the Customizing Tool Main Window

Using the Browsers

Understanding the app-custom Files


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