Please note: This page is obsolete now that the Xrandr (X Rotate AND Resize) support is ported to the agenda Xserver. Take a look at this page: http://www.gnb10.uklinux.net/agenda/xrandr/.

If you are running an old rootdisk the information in this page may be of some utility.

Some patches are required to make things work, I wrote this patches for the X server based in Xfree 4.1.0 and also for the Xfree 4.2.0 based X server.

Xfree 4.1.0

Starting the X server rotated is simple: just add the "-rotate cw" or "-rotate ccw". Unfortunately the X server is started from vrdm and the start command is hard-coded. Additionally, the line that starts vrdm is in the rootdisk, and so is vrdm itself. Conclusion: the agenda starts in portrait mode unless you change the rootdisk. (see below how to switch to landscape mode without flashing a new rootdisk).

Also, vrsm always "draw" the silkscreen buttons a couple of pixels down the "physical" screen (screen height + 2). And the Agenda X server is patched in order to be able to produce events beyond the physical screen, so the buttons can be pushed... if they are "below" the screen in the standard orientation.

I've patched and recompiled:

• An Xserver that can produce events up to three pixels beyond the physical limits of the screen, so the silkscreen buttons are now functional in every orientation. This X server has also some patches to the code that rotates the framebuffer for landscape and inverted orientations.
• A version of vrdm that starts the server with the rotate options, according to what finds in the config file: /etc/orientation. If the file is missing, the normal orientation is assumed.
• A version of vrsm that "draw" the silkscreen buttons in the correct position, according to what finds in /etc/orientation.
• A little fltk application to switch the orientation, change the behaviour of the hardware arrows and set /etc/orientation.

Usage:

• New rootdisk:

  put in the new rootdisk the patched versions of these programs: /usr/X11R6/bin/Xfbdev, /usr/bin/vrdm, /usr/bin/vrsm. (If you want to use keymacs at full speed, you can also use this patched vrwm -> /usr/bin/vrwm, that fixes a bug related to the placement of the keymacs window.

  Install also xvr3or-prd, either in /usr/bin/xvr3or or /usr/local/bin/xvr3or, making it suid root:

  chmod +s xvr3or
      

  Then you can make links in ~/.wmx as usual to make xvr3or appear in the VR menu, or use a file browser (such as fman) to execute it.

• With your old rootdisk:

  copy the patched versions to /usr/local/bin, copy /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession to /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession.local and change the line that starts vrsm from "exec vrsm" to "exec /usr/local/bin/vrsm".

  Download xvr3or, install it in /usr/local/bin/xvr3or, and make it suid root:

  su
  ...
  cd /usr/local/bin
  chmod +s xvr3or
      

  Then you can make links in ~/.wmx as usual to make xvr3or appear in the VR menu, or use a file browser (such as fman) to execute it.

WARNING!

xvr3or works by killing and restarting the X server with the "rotate" option. Any X client running will die with the X server, and any unsaved changes will be lost. Also, if the patched executables doesn't have the right permissions (execute permission, suid bit on in xvr3or), the X system may be unable to re-start, leaving the agenda in an unusable state (you should be able to reboot and get the Agenda working again).

Source files and compiling instructions:

• X server:

  Download X410src-1.tgz from ftp.xfree86.org or one of its mirrors. Apply this patch and do a "make World" in the directory xc. The patch is based in this one, found in agendawiki, with this modifications:

  • use the snow toolchain by default
  • don't build the docs/specs subdir
  • change programs/Xserver/dix/events.c to allow out of screen events
  • change programs/Xserver/miext/shadow/shrot4pack.c fixing some display bugs.

  Note: with the snow 1.2.x toolchain came the dynamic version of the compression library libz, which is not included in the latest rootdisks, you may have to link the X server with an static version of libz, such as this libz.a, compiled from this sources.

• vrdm:

  Get sources from the CVS, then apply this patch.

• vrwm:

  Get sources from the CVS, then apply this patch. The patch fixes a bug with the keyboard window, disables multiple desktops and decrease the EDGE_SNAP and SCREEN_SNAP thresholds.

• vrsm:

  Get sources from the CVS, then apply this patch. The patch adjust the position of the silkscreen buttons and the vr menu according to /etc/orientation. Also decreases the time of the message when an application is started.

• xvr3or:

  This is xvr3or.fl, mi first FLUID application!. Use FLUID to make xvr3or.h and xvr3or.cxx, you will need also do_rotate.cxx. Compile it with:

  mipsel-linux-g++ -B/opt/snow-gcc/lib/snow/ -o xvr3or \
   xvr3or.cxx do_rotate.cxx -Os -s -lfltk -lX11
      

  Add "-DPATCHED_ROOT_DISK" if you have a rootdisk with the patched versions of the X server, vrdm, vrwm and vrsm:

  mipsel-linux-g++ -B/opt/snow-gcc/lib/snow/ -DPATCHED_ROOT_DISK -o xvr3or \
   xvr3or.cxx do_rotate.cxx -Os -s -lfltk -lX11
      

Xfree 4.2.0

In Xfree 4.2.0 there is better support for screen rotation than in V 4.1.0. There are less patches required, but on the other hand, the rotation option for the Xserver is different: "-screen <size_x>x<size_y>@<angle>", where <angle> is the rotation angle: 0, 90, 180 or 270.

Because of this change in the X server starting syntax, the needed patch to vrdm changes. I've also simplified a little the /etc/orientation format (now it stores the rotation angle), so that a change in vrsm is also needed.

So, this are the new binaries:

• The X server, based in Xfree 4.2.0, with patches for the silkscreen buttons.
• The Display Manager (vrdm) that starts the server with the new rotate options, according to what finds in the config file: /etc/orientation.
• The Session Manager (vrsm) that "draw" the silkscreen buttons in the correct position, according to what finds in /etc/orientation.
• The Change orientation app. (xvr3or), version for a standard root disk (starts X server and window manager found in /usr/local/bin, use /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession.local instead of /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession) or for a patched root disk

Usage:

• New rootdisk:

  put in the new rootdisk the patched versions of these programs: /usr/X11R6/bin/X, /usr/bin/vrdm, /usr/bin/vrsm. (If you want to use keymacs at full speed, you can also use this patched vrwm -> /usr/bin/vrwm, that fixes a bug related to the placement of the keymacs window.

  Install also xvr3or-prd, either in /usr/bin/xvr3or or /usr/local/bin/xvr3or, making it suid root:

  chmod +s xvr3or
      

  Then you can make links in ~/.wmx as usual to make xvr3or appear in the VR menu, or use a file browser (such as fman) to execute it.

• With your old rootdisk:

  copy the patched versions to /usr/local/bin, copy /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession to /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession.local and change the line that starts vrsm from "exec vrsm" to "exec /usr/local/bin/vrsm".

  Download xvr3or, install it in /usr/local/bin/xvr3or, and make it suid root:

  su
  ...
  cd /usr/local/bin
  chmod +s xvr3or
      

  Then you can make links in ~/.wmx as usual to make xvr3or appear in the VR menu, or use a file browser (such as fman) to execute it.

WARNING!

xvr3or works by killing and restarting the X server with the proper options. Any X client running will die with the X server, and any unsaved changes will be lost. Also, if the patched executables doesn't have the right permissions (execute permission, suid bit on in xvr3or), the X system may be unable to re-start, leaving the agenda in an unusable state (you should be able to reboot and get the Agenda working again).

Source files and compiling instructions:

• X server:

  Download X420src-1.tgz from ftp.xfree86.org or one of its mirrors. Apply this patch and do a "make World" in the directory xc. The patch is based in this one, found in agendawiki, with this modifications:

  • use the snow toolchain by default
  • don't build the docs/specs subdir
  • change programs/Xserver/dix/events.c to allow out of screen events
  • change programs/Xserver/miext/shadow/shrot4pack.c fixing some display bugs.
  • change the touchpad driver according to version 4.2.0 input interfaces.
  • disabled Xinerama support to make the binary smaller.

  Note: with the snow 1.2.x toolchain came the dynamic version of the compression library libz, which is not included in the latest rootdisks, you may have to link the X server with an static version of libz, such as this libz.a, compiled from this sources.

• vrdm:

  Get sources from the CVS, then apply this patch.

• vrwm:

  Get sources from the CVS, then apply this patch. The patch fixes a bug with the keyboard window, disables multiple desktops and decrease the EDGE_SNAP and SCREEN_SNAP thresholds.

• vrsm:

  Get sources from the CVS, then apply this patch. The patch adjust the position of the silkscreen buttons and the vr menu according to /etc/orientation. Also decreases the time of the message when an application is started.

• xvr3or:

  This is xvr3or.fl, mi first FLUID application!. Use FLUID to make xvr3or.h and xvr3or.cxx, you will need also do_rotate.cxx. Compile it with:

  mipsel-linux-g++ -B/opt/snow-gcc/lib/snow/ -o xvr3or \
   xvr3or.cxx do_rotate.cxx -Os -s -lfltk -lX11
      

  Add "-DPATCHED_ROOT_DISK" if you have a rootdisk with the patched versions of the X server, vrdm, vrwm and vrsm:

  mipsel-linux-g++ -B/opt/snow-gcc/lib/snow/ -DPATCHED_ROOT_DISK -o xvr3or \
   xvr3or.cxx do_rotate.cxx -Os -s -lfltk -lX11