Graphics Administration Guide (April 2009)

NOTE: Changing the monitor type while the X Server is running will necessitate killing and
restarting the X Server. In order to change the monitor settings, the X Server needs to be running
on the device specified. For these graphics cards, it may not be possible to test some of the monitor
settings before making the change permanent.
the XF86Config file
The XF86Config file is located in /etc/X11/XF86Config. It can be generated automatically
or modified using SAM/SMH. A working configuration file is also delivered on the system. You
must be root to create or edit this file. The XF86Config man page provides additional information
regarding the configuration file. It is necessary to re-start the X Server for changes made to the
XF86Config file to take effect.
the XF86Config file format
Most of the content in this section has been copied from the XF86Config(5) man page listed on
“The XFree86 Project, Inc.” web site (http://www.xfree86.org). The man pages are available from
http://www.xfree86.org/4.2.0
Config file keywords are case-insensitive, and underscore “_” characters are ignored. Most strings
(including Option names) are also case-insensitive, and insensitive to white space and underscore
“_” characters.
Each config file entry usually takes up a single line in the file. They consist of a keyword, which
is possibly followed by one or more arguments, with the number and types of the arguments
depending on the keyword. The argument types are:
Integer - an integer number in decimal, hex or octal
Real - a floating point number
String - a string enclosed in double quote marks (“)
NOTE: Hex integer values must be prefixed with “0x”, and octal values with “0”.
A special keyword called Option may be used to provide free-form data to various components
of the server. The Option keyword takes either one or two string arguments. The first is the
option name, and the optional second argument is the option value. Some commonly used option
value types include:
Integer - an integer number in decimal, hex or octal
Real - a floating point number
String - a sequence of characters
Boolean - a boolean value (see below)
Frequency - a frequency value (see below)
NOTE: All Option values, not just strings, must be enclosed in quotes.
Boolean options may optionally have a value specified. When no value is specified, the option's
value is TRUE. The following boolean option values are recognized as TRUE:
1, on, true, yes
and the following boolean option values are recognized as FALSE:
0, off, false, no
If an option name is prefixed with “No”, then the option value is negated.
Frequency option values consist of a real number that is optionally followed by one of the
following frequency units:
Hz, k, kHz, M, MHz
the XF86Config file 11