The Handbook
This document is the user handbook for the application.
is an X terminal emulator for .

Introduction to

What is a terminal?
operating systems were originally designed as text-only systems, controlled by keyboard commands -- what is known as a command-line interface (CLI). The and and other projects have since added the graphical interface you are now using. However, the underlying CLI system is still there, and is frequently the easiest, fastest and most powerful way to perform many tasks.
is what is known as an X terminal emulator, often referred to as a terminal or a shell. It gives you the equivalent of an old-fashioned text screen on your desktop, but one which can easily share the screen with your graphical applications. Windows users may be familiar with the MS-DOS Prompt utility, which has the analogous function of offering a DOS command-line under . (Although the CLIs offer far more power and ease of use than does DOS!)
Explaining the use of the CLI is beyond the scope of this document, as it would require a lengthy book. Fortunately, many such books are available in every language in any good bookstore or library. There are also tutorials available on the Internet. Enjoy , but don't be shy about learning to use the command-line! You will find that even learning just the basics will make your computer use much more efficient and enjoyable.

What makes special?
's advanced features include simple configuration and the ability to use multiple terminal shells in a single window, making for a less cluttered desktop.
Using , a user can open:
console sessions
Shell sessions
Screen sessions
Midnight Commander file manager sessions
Root console sessions
Root Midnight Commander sessions
These sessions can be renamed to help you keep track of all your shells, or signaled (STOP, CONT, HUP, INT, TERM, KILL).
For more control over , a user can:
hide/show the menubar, toolbar, scrollbar and/or frame
select the size of a window, fonts, color schemes, and key mapping
change location of the scrollbar or hide the scrollbar
All chosen settings can be made the default for forthcoming sessions by saving them.
For those with a deep interest in the taxonomy of free X terminals, there are two others of this kind: xterm, the original, written even before X itself (a month or two), and xvt, a lightweight xterm clone, on which most other currently available derivatives (notably eterm) are based.
After a decade, is the first rewrite from the ground up. While xterm has definitely been hacked to death (its README starts with the words Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here), offers a fresh start using contemporary technologies and understanding of X.