viewres

viewres [-toolkitoption ...] [resourcefile]

-all
    Includes all specified resource files and the RESOURCE_MANAGER property when displaying resources, providing a comprehensive view.

-top
    Displays resources specifically for the top-level application shell, useful for debugging root application resources or global settings.

-variable
    Shows only the variable part of resource specifications (e.g., *background instead of xterm.background), simplifying the display for pattern-based resources.

-override
    Prioritizes the display of overridden resources, highlighting how specific settings might be taking precedence over general ones.

-v, -verbose
    Enables verbose output, providing additional diagnostic information and progress messages during execution, typically sent to standard error.

-s, -standard
    Includes standard X Toolkit resources in the display, in addition to application-specific ones, offering a complete picture of all resolved resources.

-width , -height
    Specifies the initial width and height of the viewres window in pixels, controlling its initial size on the screen.

-x , -y
    Sets the initial X and Y position of the viewres window on the screen, defining its starting location.

resourcefile
    An optional path to a file containing additional X resource specifications. These resources are loaded and displayed alongside the standard ones.

-toolkitoption ...
    Represents common X Toolkit command-line options such as -display, -geometry, -bg (background), -fg (foreground), and -xrm (specify resource string). These options configure the graphical environment or provide additional resource settings directly.

viewres is an X Toolkit utility designed to graphically display the resource specifications that Xt (the X Toolkit Intrinsics) would use for a given class hierarchy. It serves as a crucial tool for developers and advanced users to understand how X resources are loaded, merged, and applied to X applications. The utility can show resources originating from various sources, including application defaults files, the RESOURCE_MANAGER property on the root window, and user-specific resource files like .Xdefaults. By providing a hierarchical view, viewres is particularly useful for debugging resource conflicts, allowing you to visually inspect the exact resource values Xt would resolve for widgets and application components, including intricate inheritance and override mechanisms. Its graphical interface facilitates navigation through the resource tree and inspection of individual resource values, making the complex X resource system more transparent.

viewres is an X11 application and requires a running X server to function. It is primarily a debugging and development tool for X Toolkit applications, not typically intended for general end-user daily tasks. While it visualizes resource resolution, it doesn't solve all potential resource-related issues, especially those stemming from application-specific code that might bypass or override Xt's resource manager. Its graphical interface is functional but reflects an older aesthetic.

The X resource manager resolves resources from multiple sources in a specific order of precedence: application defaults, the RESOURCE_MANAGER property (managed by xrdb), .Xdefaults files, and command-line options. viewres helps visualize this complex hierarchy, showing which resource values are ultimately applied after all merging and overriding rules have been evaluated. This is invaluable for understanding why a particular widget might not be adopting the expected color, font, or other attributes.

For developers and system administrators, viewres is an essential debugging tool. It allows for quick identification of resource conflicts, typos in resource specifications, or issues with resource loading paths. By providing an interactive tree view of resolved resources, it simplifies the process of diagnosing unexpected visual behaviors or configuration problems in X Toolkit-based applications, saving significant time compared to manual inspection of configuration files.

viewres has been a component of the X Window System utilities since its early development. It emerged alongside the X Toolkit Intrinsics (Xt) library, serving its core purpose of visualizing the X resource management system—a fundamental aspect of X11 application configuration. While it doesn't see active feature development in modern times, it remains a stable and maintained utility within the X.Org distribution, crucial for understanding legacy X Toolkit applications.

xrdb(1), appres(1), xprop(1)