Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Running X11

X11 can be run in two modes: full screen or rootless (the default). Both modes run side by side with Aqua, although full-screen mode hides the Finder and Mac OS X’s desktop (to hide X11 and return to the Finder, press Option--A).

To launch the X server, double-click the X11 application (in /Applications/Utilities). An xterm window that looks similar to a Mac OS X Terminal window opens, sporting Aqua-like buttons for closing, minimizing, and maximizing the window. Also, X11 windows minimize to the Dock, just like other Aqua windows. Figure 26-1 shows a Terminal window and an xterm window side by side.

Figure 26-1. A Terminal and an xterm sporting the Aqua look

If you’re using the default configuration, you’ll also notice three obvious differences from a Terminal window. In particular:

• The xterm window has a titlebar that reads “xterm.”

• The xterm window doesn’t have vertical and horizontal scrollers.

• The xterm window doesn’t have a split-window option.

A less obvious difference between a Terminal window and an X11 xterm window is that Control-clicking (or right-clicking) in an xterm window doesn’t invoke the same contextual menu it does in a Terminal window. Control-clicking, Control-Option-clicking, and Control--clicking in an xterm invokes xterm-specific contextual menus, ...