Basic Information on xmtv

Task: xmtv
Purpose: Miriad X-windows display
Categories: tools


xmtv is a Miriad utility to display image-like data in an
X-windows environment. It is becoming of less use with time.
The only place where it is still useful is in association
with the interactive visibility flagging task "tvflag". 

XMTV has a number of flaws. One is that it only works on 8-bit
screens. If your workstation has more than 8-bits, you can make
it simulate an 8-bit screen with the following recipes.

Under Solaris - when using the standard ATNF login script
=========================================================
In your .login file, include the statement

  % setenv WINDOWS OpenWin8

Under Solaris - otherwise
=========================
Formerly Solaris would enter 8-bit mode (even if you had a 24-bit display)
by default. The newer SunBlades enter 24-bit by default. To start X-Windows
up in 8-bit mode, use

  % openwin -dev "/dev/fb defclass PseudoColor defdepth 8" -ar1 250


Under Linux
===========
Peter Teuben (teuben@astro.umd.edu) states that you can use virtual
consoles in Linux (normally there are 6, accessible via ALT-F1 ... ALT-F6.
Each X binds itself to VC7..VC12, i.e. VC1 X display (normally :0)
displays on VC7, VC2 on VC8 etc. So, one does (in extraneous full
syntax to show the arguments, for which the vc1 can be defaulted):

vc1>  startx -- :0 -bpp 8       
                (will start X on VC7)
                now hit CTRL-ALT-F2 to get to VC2
vc2>  startx -- :1 -bpp 16
                (will start X on VC8)
                

and viola! you can now flip back between DISPLAY :0 (in 8 bit mode) and
DISPLAY :1 (in 16 bit mode) via CTRL-ALT-F7 and CTRL-ALT-F8. Cheap but
effective.