vidi --
set the font and video mode for a video device
Syntax
vidi [ -d ] [ -ffontfile ] font
vidimode
Description
The vidi command has two functions. With
arguments it loads/extracts a font or sets the video mode for
the current standard input device. Without arguments, it lists
all of the valid video mode and font commands.
Font options
Some video cards support changeable character fonts.
Available fonts are font8x8, font8x14, and font8x16.
The font options are used as follows:
vidifont
loads font from /usr/lib/vidi/font.
vidi -dfont
writes font to the standard output.
vidi -d -ffontfontfile
writes font to fontfile.
vidi -ffontfilefont
loads font from fontfile instead of default directory.
Mode options
vidi also sets the mode of the video adapter connected
to the standard input. The modes are:
mono
move current screen to the monochrome adapter.
cga
move current screen to the Color Graphics adapter.
ega
move current screen to the Enhanced Graphics adapter.
vga
move current screen to the Video Graphics adapter.
internal
activate the internal monitor on Compaq portable with a plasma screen.
external
activate the external monitor on Compaq portable with a plasma screen.
9bit
extend a font to the 9th bit
no9bit
do not extend a font to the 9th bit
Text and graphics modes
The following tables list the available modes.
Text Modes
Mode
Cols
Rows
Font
Adapter
c40x25
40
25
8x8
CGA (EGA VGA)
e40x25
40
25
8x14
EGA (VGA)
v40x25
40
25
8x16
VGA
m80x25
80
25
8x14
MONO (EGA_MONO VGA_MONO)
c80x25
80
25
8x8
CGA (EGA VGA)
em80x25
80
25
8x14
EGA_MONO (VGA_MONO)
e80x25
80
25
8x14
EGA (VGA)
vm80x25
80
25
8x16
VGA_MONO
v80x25
80
25
8x16
VGA
e80x43
80
43
8x14
EGA (VGA)
Graphics Modes
Mode
Pixel resolution
Colors
Adapter
mode5
320x200
4
CGA (EGA VGA)
mode6
640x200
2
CGA (EGA VGA)
modeD
320x200
16
EGA (VGA)
modeE
640x200
16
EGA (VGA)
modeF
640x350
2 (mono)
EGA (VGA)
mode10
640x350
16
EGA (VGA)
mode11
640x480
2
VGA
mode12
640x480
16
VGA
mode13
320x200
256
VGA
Mapping console screen fonts
You can use vidi to display
the full range of characters on a display adapter.
Normally, if you
have a console with a display adapter which has a character
set defined in a ROM,
you will be able to display only those characters defined
in that ROM.
In addition, the
mapchan(F)
file for the console must correspond to the character set
defined in the display adapter ROM
to display the entire font set.
For example, if your display adapter ROM has the
IBM PC character set defined, but you are using
the PC Nordic mapchan
file, you will not be able to display the following characters:
ø Ø L· l· õ Õ ã Ã
To display these characters, use vidi
to override the character set in
ROM with the PC Nordic font file.
In addition to using vidi to override the
ROM character set,
you can use it to define certain display fonts on some
display adapters.
For example, the VGA
adapter will allow you to display fonts in the sizes 8x8,
8x14, and 8x16.
If you change mapchan
mapping for a console with any type of display adapter, you
may also need to change the character font correspondingly.
vidi
defines the font for one of a number of
character sets.
The font definition files are
available in the directory /usr/lib/vidi,
and are listed in
``Screen font mapping for the console''
for the various character sets.
For example, the following command allows you to display the
full range of Nordic characters when you are using the
PC Nordic mapchan file and your display adapter
ROM has the IBM PC character set defined:
vidi -f /usr/lib/vidi/nor.8x14 font8x14
Screen font mapping for the console
If you change the
mapchan(M)
mapping for a console
with any type of display adapter, you
will also need to change the character font.
vidi defines the font for one of the
character sets given below.
The following font definition files are
available in the directory /usr/lib/vidi:
Character Set
8x8 font
8x14 font
8x16 font
Codepage 850
850.8x8
850.8x14
850.8x16
ISO 8859
iso.8x8
iso.8x14
iso.8x16
ISO 8859-2
ISO8859-2.8x8
ISO8859-2.8x14
ISO8859-2.8x16
ISO 8859-3
ISO8859-3.8x8
ISO8859-3.8x14
ISO8859-3.8x16
ISO 8859-4
ISO8859-4.8x8
ISO8859-4.8x14
ISO8859-4.8x16
ISO 8859-5
ISO8859-5.8x8
ISO8859-5.8x14
ISO8859-5.8x16
ISO 8859-6
ISO8859-6.8x8
ISO8859-6.8x14
ISO8859-6.8x16
ISO 8859-7
ISO8859-7.8x8
ISO8859-7.8x14
ISO8859-7.8x16
ISO 8859-8
ISO8859-8.8x8
ISO8859-8.8x14
ISO8859-8.8x16
ISO 8859-9
ISO8859-9.8x8
ISO8859-9.8x14
ISO8859-9.8x16
ISO 8859-10
ISO8859-10.8x8
ISO8859-10.8x14
ISO8859-10.8x16
ISO 8859-15
ISO8859-15.8x8
ISO8859-15.8x14
ISO8859-15.8x16
PC Greek
grk.8x8
grk.8x14
grk.8x16
PC Israeli
isr.8x8
isr.8x14
isr.8x16
PC Nordic
nor.8x8
nor.8x14
nor.8x16
PC Portuguese
por.8x8
por.8x14
por.8x16
PC Spanish
spa.8x8
spa.8x14
spa.8x16
PC Standard
font.8x8
font.8x14
font.8x16
Limitations
The internal and external commands should only be
used on Compaq compatible displays.
You must select the mode no9bit before loading
ISO8859.* fonts. This is to prevent characters appearing
corrupted in certain localized codesets.