Configurable Preferences
In the Settings Menu on the Menu Bar there is a Preferences option. Selecting this option launches the Preferences Dialog. It is also available from the popup menu that appears on a mouse right button press.
General Page
The General Page, displayed in the image below, controls some of the basic aspects of the behavior of each terminal.
The Enable Terminal Bell checkbox controls whether or not the terminal bell is enabled.
The Use Blinking Cursor checkbox controls whether or not the terminal cursor blinks.
The Scroll on Keystroke checkbox controls whether or not the terminal will scroll back down to the bottom when you press a key.
The Hide Menubar checkbox controls whether or not the Menu Bar is visible.
The Swap Backspace/Delete checkbox sets the mode for interpreting the DEL and Backspace keys.
The Hide Task Bar for a Single Terminal checkbox controls whether or not the Task Bar is visible when there is only a single terminal open.
The Scroll on Output checkbox controls whether or not the shell will scroll back down to the bottom when output appears.
The Scrollbar Position option menu controls whether the scrollbar is on the left or right of the window, or hidden.
The Task Bar Position option menu controls whether the Task Bar is above or below the terminal.
The Scrollback Lines text field is where to enter the number of lines that are stored that can be scrolled back.
The Font text field shows the font used in the terminal. A mouse press on the Browse...button causes a font selection dialog to appear, which can be used to select a new font.
The Select-by-Word Characters text field is where to enter the list of characters that are considered part of a single word. A single word can be selected from a terminal by double-clicking on it with the mouse.
Appearance Page
The Appearance Page, displayed in the image below, controls the looks of mpterm.
The Color Scheme option menu selects a color scheme for the terminal. The choices are a number of pre-defined schemes, and a Custom scheme. If the Custom scheme is selected, the color pickers below become active, and by clicking on them with the mouse they can be set to any desired color.
The Foreground/Background option menu selects the color of the foreground and background of the terminal. If the Custom option is selected, the color pickers below can be used to select any desired foreground and background colors.
The Use Background Pixmap checkbox controls whether or not an image is to be used as the background of the terminal. If the checkbox is pressed in, the Background Pixmap text field shows the full path name to the selected image file. By clicking the Browse... button with the mouse, a file select dialog appears which can be used to select an image file.
The Transparent checkbox controls whether or not the terminal background is set to transparent. If the checkbox is pressed in, the terminal background is set to be the same as the image on the root window.
The Shaded checkbox controls whether or not the terminal background, when set to transparent, is also shaded. If the checkbox is pressed in, terminal background is set to be the same as the image on the root window, but darkened.
Menu Page
The Menus Page, displayed in the image below, controls the applications that can be run from from the File Menu or from the popup menu that appears on a right mouse button press.
The page contains a list of rows with three columns. The first column contains the command to execute the application, the second column contains the text that appears in the File Menu, and the third column contains a key binding - a combination of keys that when pressed simultaneously runs its respective application.
To edit a particular row, first select it with the mouse. It is then reproduced in the three text fields below the list. The text fields can be modified and the Replace button pressed to change the contents of the selected row. The key binding text field is modified by selecting the desired combination of keys, rather than typing out Ctrl, Alt, etc.
The key binding can consist of of the function keys, arrow keys, and keypad keys, as well as letter keys. The modifiers can be either Ctrl, Alt, and Shift, in any combination. When choosing key bindings, care must be taken to not select those are used in an application. For example, Ctrl+x would be a bad choice as it is used extensively in the Emacs editor.
To add a new row to the list, simply fill in the three text fields below the list with the desired application, the text to appear in the menu, and the key binding. Then press the Add button.
To remove a row from the list, simply select it with the mouse and press the Remove button.
Keyboard Page
The Keyboard Page, displayed in the image below, controls the key bindings that can be used to perform various actions available within mpterm.
The text fields can be changed to any desired key binding. To set a key binding read the instructions in the Menu Page.