XWD(1)

💅 XWD(1) — the girlies' guide to xwd

okay so real talk, the full name of this page is XWD(1) from the General Commands Manual, and the command itself is xwd. it dumps an image of an X window. that's the whole vibe. let's get into it bestie 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

xwd — dump an image of an X window

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

xwd [-debug] [-help] [-nobdrs] [-out file] [-xy] [-frame] [-add value]
[-root | -id wdid | -name wdname ] [-icmap] [-screen] [-silent]
[-display host:dpy] [-version]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so xwd is an X Window System window dumping utility. it lets X users store window images into a specially formatted dump file ✨ and like… that file can then be read by a bunch of other X utilities for redisplay, printing, editing, formatting, archiving, image processing, etc. the range?? iconic.

the target window gets selected by clicking the pointer in the desired window. and here's the lil audio cue nobody asked about: the keyboard bell gets rung once at the beginning of the dump and twice when the dump is completed. it's giving notification system from 1987 and honestly? we respect it 💀

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -debug — turns on debug mode. that's it, that's the whole thing 🔥
• -d, -display host:dpy — lets you pick which server to connect to. go read X(7) if you want the deets bestie 💜
• -help — prints out the Usage: command syntax summary. a lil cheat sheet, love that for us ✨
• -nobdrs — says the window dump should NOT include the pixels that make up the X window border. super useful when you wanna drop the window contents into a document as an illustration 🖼️
• -out file — you explicitly name the output file right there on the command line. the default (iykyk) is to output to standard out 📤
• -xy — color displays only!! this one selects XY format dumping instead of the default Z format. pick your fighter 🎨
• -add value — specifies a signed value to be added to every pixel. every. single. pixel. 😌
• -frame — indicates the window manager frame should be included when you're manually selecting a window. frame included, no gatekeeping 🪟
• -root — the root window gets selected for the dump, no pointer-clicking required. the whole desktop said "I'll go" 👑
• -id wdid — selects the window with the specified resource id for the dump. again, no pointer selection needed 🆔
• -name wdname — selects the window with the specified WM_NAME property for the dump. still no pointer action. she's efficient 💅
• -icmap — normally the colormap of the chosen window is what's used to obtain RGB values. this option forces the first installed colormap of the screen to be used instead. plot twist 🌈
• -screen — indicates the GetImage request used to grab the image should happen on the root window instead of directly on the specified window. why do we care?? because this way you can grab pieces of other windows that overlap the specified window — and more importantly, you can capture menus or other popups that are independent windows but still appear over the specified window. popup capture supremacy fr fr 🫶
• -silent — operate silently, meaning don't ring any bells before or after dumping the window. peace and quiet, we stan 🤫
• -version — says xwd should print its version info and then exit. bye bestie 👋

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🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

• DISPLAY — used to get the default host and display number.

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🍓 FILES 🍓

• XWDFile.h — the X Window Dump File format definition file 📄

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• xwud(1)
• X(7)

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👑 AUTHORS 👑

• Tony Della Fera, Digital Equipment Corp., MIT Project Athena
• William F. Wyatt, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

these two invented the vibe, no cap 💖

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X Version 11 · xwd 1.0.9 — okay that's the whole page bestie, go dump some windows and remember: the bells are part of the experience 💀🔔✨