tput(1) General Commands Manual tput(1)
NAME
tput - Queries the terminal information database
SYNOPSIS
tput [-S] [-T term] [capability_name [parameter...]]
The tput command uses the terminfo database to make terminal-dependent information available to the shell.
STANDARDS
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:
tput: XCU5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags.
OPTIONS
[Tru64 UNIX] Specifies that input be received from standard input. Specifies the terminal type. By default, the terminal type is taken
from the environment variable TERM.
OPERANDS
The capability_name argument may be one of the following special strings: Displays the clear-screen sequence. Displays the sequences that
initialize the user's terminal. [Tru64 UNIX] Displays the terminfo long name for the terminal. Displays the sequences that reset the
user's terminal.
DESCRIPTION
The capability_name argument indicates the attribute type from a terminfo file. The output of the tput command is a string if the
attribute capability_name is of the type string, or an integer if the attribute is of the type integer. If the capability_name is of the
type Boolean, the tput command sets the exit value to zero (0) for TRUE, 1 for FALSE, and produces no other output. For more information,
see the terminfo(4) reference page.
NOTES
If your terminal does not support the requested capability, it is not an error.
EXIT STATUS
Equals FALSE Boolean value or the requested string was written successfully. [Tru64 UNIX] Equals TRUE Boolean value. Specifies a usage
error. Specifies that information on this terminal is not available. Specifies that the capability_name is invalid. Specifies that an
error occurred.
EXAMPLES
To echo the clear-screen sequence for the current terminal: # tput clear To display the number of columns for the current terminal: # tput
cols To set and unset the highlight-mode sequences for the current terminal: # bold=`tput smso` # unbold=`tput rmso`
If you are using the C shell (csh), the argument to set and unset sequences must be enclosed in double quotes: # bold="`tput smso`"
# unbold="`tput rmso`"
Both of these examples can be followed by a prompt: echo "${bold}Please type in your name:${unbold} To set the exit value to indi-
cate if the current terminal is a hardcopy terminal: tput hc
If you are using the C shell (csh), the exit value for the preceding example is stored in $status; otherwise, the exit value is
stored in $?. To move the cursor to line 2, row 2: tput cup 2 2
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables affect the execution of tput: Provides a default value for the internationalization variables that are
unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding value from the default locale is used. If any of the internationalization vari-
ables contain an invalid setting, the utility behaves as if none of the variables had been defined. If set to a non-empty string value,
overrides the values of all the other internationalization variables. Determines the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes
of text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to multibyte characters in arguments). Determines the locale for the for-
mat and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error. Determines the location of message catalogues for the processing of
LC_MESSAGES.
FILES
Terminal information database Definition files curses library definition file
SEE ALSO
Commands: stty(1), tabs(1)
Routines: curses(3)
Files: terminfo(4)
Standards: standards(5)
tput(1)