Hi,

I can only get root-tail v 1.2 to work if I login as root with kdm (red background) root GUI
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages

Any suggestion, thanks? I am stuck now despite some googling and man pages
saying that window id could be the key. I have removed the desktop background picture. I have only a blue screen + icons. I have enabled "allow program in desktop windows"

Otherwise if I login as a user, and then su in a terminal this does not work
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages -id 0x48
nor does
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages

root-tail just fork to the background

# xdpyinfo | grep "window id"
root window id: 0x48

As user or root I get from xwininfo
xwininfo: Window id: 0x1e00009 "KDE Desktop"

This does not work
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages -id 0x1e00009
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages -id "KDE Desktop" (this give an error)


xwininfo: Window id: 0x1e00009 "KDE Desktop"

Absolute upper-left X: 0
Absolute upper-left Y: 0
Relative upper-left X: 0
Relative upper-left Y: 0
Width: 1280
Height: 1024
Depth: 24
Visual Class: TrueColor
Border width: 0
Class: InputOutput
Colormap: 0x20 (installed)
Bit Gravity State: NorthWestGravity
Window Gravity State: NorthWestGravity
Backing Store State: NotUseful
Save Under State: no
Map State: IsViewable
Override Redirect State: no
Corners: +0+0 -0+0 -0-0 +0-0
-geometry 1280x1024+0+0

Im not that good with linux
What a root tail? Maybe a dumb question

root-tail is eye candy, real eye candy
It is a utility to display text from files (typically logs)
to the background image of X directly

see for pics
http://www.lynucs.org/?root-tail
see for info
http://goof.com/pcg/marc/root-tail.html

This utility has forked a few times

Name: root-tail
Version: 1.2-2mdk
Size: 29 KB

Summary: Root-tail prints text directly to an X11 root window

Description: Displays a given file anywhere on your X11 root window with a transparent background. It was made because I am very lazy and this was easier than making a new rxvt pixmap each time I changed my background to simulate that transparent effect.


BTW: red rootGUI has no icone in the background. Mandriva 2005LE as normal user does.
It may matter to root-tail

Not solved, but one step closer
Disabled desktop option "show icons"

Desktop1? becomes a dreadfull gnome-like background
(icones are still there), and it reverts to some mandriva
background image
xwininfo gives a new window ID wich is not 0x48 nor 0x1e00009
A terminal command such as below does not work
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages -id newID_number


Desktop2 (or the other) revert to a uniform background color only
and now root-tail works with commands
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages
# root-tail -f -g 720x250+15+30 /var/log/messages -id 0x48

In fact this desktop is such that xwininfo gives a window ID wich root 0x48

EDIT SOLVED see
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=383583