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LFCS · Question #474

One of your users has installed a commercial publishing program that works under X on a variety of UNIX and Linux platforms. The user made a series of configuration changes regarding the initial…

The correct answer is A. ~/.Xdefaults. User-specific configuration settings for X Window applications, such as window size or color, are typically stored in a hidden configuration file in the user's home directory.

Submitted by weili_xi· Apr 18, 2026Operation of Running Systems

Question

One of your users has installed a commercial publishing program that works under X on a variety of UNIX and Linux platforms. The user made a series of configuration changes regarding the initial window size, location and color. Now he is having difficulties undoing these changes and is asking for your help. In which file would you think you would most likely find the configuration settings you are seeking to change?

Options

  • A~/.Xdefaults
  • B~/.xinitrc
  • C~/.xconfig
  • D/etc/X11/XF86Config

How the community answered

(46 responses)
  • A
    91% (42)
  • B
    2% (1)
  • C
    2% (1)
  • D
    4% (2)

Why each option

User-specific configuration settings for X Window applications, such as window size or color, are typically stored in a hidden configuration file in the user's home directory.

A~/.XdefaultsCorrect

~/.Xdefaults is a traditional X Window System file located in a user's home directory that stores application-specific resource settings, including preferences like window geometry, colors, and fonts, which X applications read at startup.

B~/.xinitrc

~/.xinitrc is a shell script executed by 'startx' to initialize a user's X session, not for storing individual application preferences.

C~/.xconfig

~/.xconfig is not a standard X configuration file for application resources.

D/etc/X11/XF86Config

/etc/X11/XF86Config (or xorg.conf) is a system-wide configuration file for the X server hardware, not for user application settings.

Concept tested: X Window System user configuration files

Source: https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jammy/en/man1/xrdb.1.html

Topics

#X Window System#User Configuration#.Xdefaults#GUI settings

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