vidi(1)

vidi -- set font and video mode for console

Synopsis

vidi [-d] [-f fontfile] font

vidi mode

Description

The vidi command loads or extracts a font or sets the video mode for the console. When vidi is used without arguments, it lists all 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:

vidi font: Load font from /usr/lib/vidi/font.
vidi -d font: Write font to the standard output.
vidi -f fontfile font: Load 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.

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)

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

mode5 320x200 4

mode6 640x200 2

modeD 320x200 16

modeE 640x200 16

modeF 640x350 2 (mono)

mode10 640x350 16

mode11 640x480 2

mode12 640x480 16

mode13 320x200 256

att640 640x400 16

att800x600 800x600 16

att640x400 640x400 256

Graphics Modes
Mode	Pixel Resolution	Colors
`mode5`	320x200	4
`mode6`	640x200	2
`modeD`	320x200	16
`modeE`	640x200	16
`modeF`	640x350	2 (mono)
`mode10`	640x350	16
`mode11`	640x480	2
`mode12`	640x480	16
`mode13`	320x200	256
`att640`	640x400	16
`att800x600`	800x600	16
`att640x400`	640x400	256

When using the vidi command to set modes, if the error message Invalid argument or No such device or address is displayed, either the user doesn't have permission to change the mode or the video hardware doesn't support the mode specified. For example, the mode value ``vm80x25'' is not valid for a system configured with an EGA video adapter.

The format of a data file for a font is an array of bytes where each byte represents one line of the pixel image for the character. The bits within the byte are ``1'' if the pixel should be drawn and ``0'' if it shouldn't be. For example, for an 8x14 font, 14 consecutive bytes are needed to represent the pixel image for the character. The bytes are ordered top to bottom.

For every font file, 256 pixel images are provided with the images ordered from 0 to 255. For example, the 8x14 font contains 14*256 bytes. The first 14 bytes are displayed for ASCII value ``\0'', the next 14 bytes are for ASCII value ``\001'', and so on.

References

stty(1)