i3 FAQ - Individual question feed

urxvt not handling UTF-8 when started from i3 commands

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:40:10 +0000

Steps: 1. Start i3. (config below) 1. Press `alt-Enter`. 1. `ls` the home directory:

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  æµè¯

1. The 4th item is in Chinese, but it's not displayed correctly. 1. Start another urxvt window by pressing alt-d (dmenu) and type urxvt. 1. `ls` in new window, get the same result with previous. 1. Start another urxvt from command line (after either of the incorrect `ls`) by

fam@localhost:~$ urxvt

1. This time a "good" version of urxvt is running `ls` will get the right result.

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  测试

Appearance: any `urxvt` opened by `alt-enter` or `dmenu`, or started from i3 config file (`exec urxvt`) fails to display UTF-8 character. But one started from terminal works just fine. No such problem with `Terminator`. My i3 config

# This file has been auto-generated by i3-config-wizard(1).
# It will not be overwritten, so edit it as you like.
#
# Should you change your keyboard layout somewhen, delete
# this file and re-run i3-config-wizard(1).
#

set $mod Mod1

# Font for window titles. Will also be used by the bar unless a different font
# is used in the bar {} block below. ISO 10646 = Unicode
# font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
# The font above is very space-efficient, that is, it looks good, sharp and
# clear in small sizes. However, if you need a lot of unicode glyphs or
# right-to-left text rendering, you should instead use pango for rendering and
# chose a FreeType font, such as:
font xft:Droid Sans 11

# Use Mouse+$mod to drag floating windows to their wanted position
floating_modifier $mod

# start a terminal
bindsym $mod+Return exec urxvt

# kill focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+q kill

# start dmenu (a program launcher)
bindsym $mod+d exec dmenu_run
# There also is the (new) i3-dmenu-desktop which only displays applications
# shipping a .desktop file. It is a wrapper around dmenu, so you need that
# installed.
# bindsym $mod+d exec --no-startup-id i3-dmenu-desktop

# change focus
bindsym $mod+h focus left
bindsym $mod+j focus down
bindsym $mod+k focus up
bindsym $mod+l focus right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Down focus down
bindsym $mod+Up focus up
bindsym $mod+Right focus right

# move focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+h move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+j move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+k move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+l move right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Shift+Left move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+Down move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+Up move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+Right move right

# split in horizontal orientation
bindsym $mod+g split h

# split in vertical orientation
bindsym $mod+v split v

# enter fullscreen mode for the focused container
bindsym $mod+f fullscreen

# change container layout (stacked, tabbed, toggle split)
bindsym $mod+s layout stacking
bindsym $mod+w layout tabbed
bindsym $mod+e layout toggle split

# toggle tiling / floating
bindsym $mod+Shift+space floating toggle

# change focus between tiling / floating windows
bindsym $mod+space focus mode_toggle

# focus the parent container
bindsym $mod+a focus parent

# focus the child container
#bindsym $mod+d focus child

# switch to workspace
bindsym $mod+1 workspace 1
bindsym $mod+2 workspace 2
bindsym $mod+3 workspace 3
bindsym $mod+4 workspace 4
bindsym $mod+5 workspace 5
bindsym $mod+6 workspace 6
bindsym $mod+7 workspace 7
bindsym $mod+8 workspace 8
bindsym $mod+9 workspace 9
bindsym $mod+0 workspace 10: Last

# move focused container to workspace
bindsym $mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace 1
bindsym $mod+Shift+2 move container to workspace 2
bindsym $mod+Shift+3 move container to workspace 3
bindsym $mod+Shift+4 move container to workspace 4
bindsym $mod+Shift+5 move container to workspace 5
bindsym $mod+Shift+6 move container to workspace 6
bindsym $mod+Shift+7 move container to workspace 7
bindsym $mod+Shift+8 move container to workspace 8
bindsym $mod+Shift+9 move container to workspace 9
bindsym $mod+Shift+0 move container to workspace 10

# reload the configuration file
bindsym $mod+Shift+c reload
# restart i3 inplace (preserves your layout/session, can be used to upgrade i3)
bindsym $mod+Shift+r restart
# exit i3 (logs you out of your X session)
bindsym $mod+Shift+e exec "i3-nagbar -t warning -m 'You pressed the exit shortcut. Do you really want to exit i3? This will end your X session.' -b 'Yes, exit i3' 'i3-msg exit'"

# resize window (you can also use the mouse for that)
mode "resize" {
        # These bindings trigger as soon as you enter the resize mode

        # Pressing left will shrink the window’s width.
        # Pressing right will grow the window’s width.
        # Pressing up will shrink the window’s height.
        # Pressing down will grow the window’s height.
        bindsym j resize shrink width 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym k resize grow height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym l resize shrink height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym semicolon resize grow width 10 px or 10 ppt

        # same bindings, but for the arrow keys
        bindsym Left resize shrink width 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym Down resize grow height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym Up resize shrink height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym Right resize grow width 10 px or 10 ppt

        # back to normal: Enter or Escape
        bindsym Return mode "default"
        bindsym Escape mode "default"
}

bindsym $mod+r mode "resize"

# Start i3bar to display a workspace bar (plus the system information i3status
# finds out, if available)
bar {
        status_command i3status
}

#

My .Xresources

URxvt*depth: 32
URxvt*scrollBar: no
URxvt*font: xft:Droid Sans Mono:pixelsize=14,xft:WenQuanYi Micro Hei Mono:style=Regular:pixelsize=15:antialias=true
! URxvt.font: xft:ttf-arphic-ukai:size=8
URxvt*inputMethod: ibus

locale

fam@localhost:~$ locale
LANG=zh_CN.UTF-8
LC_CTYPE="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_NUMERIC="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_TIME="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_COLLATE="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_MONETARY="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_MESSAGES="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_PAPER="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_NAME="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_ADDRESS="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_TELEPHONE="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_MEASUREMENT="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_IDENTIFICATION="zh_CN.UTF-8"
LC_ALL=

Answer by UsernameForAskingQuestionsWhy for

Steps:

Start i3. (config below)
Press alt-Enter.
ls the home directory:

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  æµè¯

The 4th item is in Chinese, but it's not displayed correctly.
Start another urxvt window by pressing alt-d (dmenu) and type urxvt.
ls in new window, get the same result with previous.
Start another urxvt from command line (after either of the incorrect ls) by

fam@localhost:~$ urxvt

This time a "good" version of urxvt is running ls will get the right result.

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  测试

Appearance: any urxvt opened by alt-enter or dmenu, or started from i3 config file (exec urxvt) fails to display UTF-8 character. But one started from terminal works just fine.

No such problem with Terminator.

My i3 config

# This file has been auto-generated by i3-config-wizard(1).
# It will not be overwritten, so edit it as you like.
#
# Should you change your keyboard layout somewhen, delete
# this file and re-run i3-config-wizard(1).
#

set $mod Mod1

# Font for window titles. Will also be used by the bar unless a different font
# is used in the bar {} block below. ISO 10646 = Unicode
# font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
# The font above is very space-efficient, that is, it looks good, sharp and
# clear in small sizes. However, if you need a lot of unicode glyphs or
# right-to-left text rendering, you should instead use pango for rendering and
# chose a FreeType font, such as:
font xft:Droid Sans 11

# Use Mouse+$mod to drag floating windows to their wanted position
floating_modifier $mod

# start a terminal
bindsym $mod+Return exec urxvt

# kill focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+q kill

# start dmenu (a program launcher)
bindsym $mod+d exec dmenu_run
# There also is the (new) i3-dmenu-desktop which only displays applications
# shipping a .desktop file. It is a wrapper around dmenu, so you need that
# installed.
# bindsym $mod+d exec --no-startup-id i3-dmenu-desktop

# change focus
bindsym $mod+h focus left
bindsym $mod+j focus down
bindsym $mod+k focus up
bindsym $mod+l focus right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Down focus down
bindsym $mod+Up focus up
bindsym $mod+Right focus right

# move focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+h move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+j move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+k move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+l move right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Shift+Left move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+Down move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+Up move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+Right move right

# split in horizontal orientation
bindsym $mod+g split h

# split in vertical orientation
bindsym $mod+v split v

# enter fullscreen mode for the focused container
bindsym $mod+f fullscreen

# change container layout (stacked, tabbed, toggle split)
bindsym $mod+s layout stacking
bindsym $mod+w layout tabbed
bindsym $mod+e layout toggle split

# toggle tiling / floating
bindsym $mod+Shift+space floating toggle

# change focus between tiling / floating windows
bindsym $mod+space focus mode_toggle

# focus the parent container
bindsym $mod+a focus parent

# focus the child container ...

(more)

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 15:27:52 +0000

I have a similar problem. Using Alt-enter creates a instance that doesn't show Unicode, instance opened from command line shows unicode fine. Similar problem: If I open the first gnome-instance using Alt-enter, it doesn't show unicode, but if the first instance is opened from another terminal, say urxvt, then it shows unicode fine. All further instances of gnome-terminal have the behavior as first instance of gnome-terminal. It doesn't fix by rebooting.. I'm on i3 version 4.7.2 (2014-01-23, branch "tags/4.7.2")

Answer by Fam for

Steps:

Start i3. (config below)
Press alt-Enter.
ls the home directory:

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  æµè¯

The 4th item is in Chinese, but it's not displayed correctly.
Start another urxvt window by pressing alt-d (dmenu) and type urxvt.
ls in new window, get the same result with previous.
Start another urxvt from command line (after either of the incorrect ls) by

fam@localhost:~$ urxvt

This time a "good" version of urxvt is running ls will get the right result.

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  测试

Appearance: any urxvt opened by alt-enter or dmenu, or started from i3 config file (exec urxvt) fails to display UTF-8 character. But one started from terminal works just fine.

No such problem with Terminator.

My i3 config

# This file has been auto-generated by i3-config-wizard(1).
# It will not be overwritten, so edit it as you like.
#
# Should you change your keyboard layout somewhen, delete
# this file and re-run i3-config-wizard(1).
#

set $mod Mod1

# Font for window titles. Will also be used by the bar unless a different font
# is used in the bar {} block below. ISO 10646 = Unicode
# font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
# The font above is very space-efficient, that is, it looks good, sharp and
# clear in small sizes. However, if you need a lot of unicode glyphs or
# right-to-left text rendering, you should instead use pango for rendering and
# chose a FreeType font, such as:
font xft:Droid Sans 11

# Use Mouse+$mod to drag floating windows to their wanted position
floating_modifier $mod

# start a terminal
bindsym $mod+Return exec urxvt

# kill focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+q kill

# start dmenu (a program launcher)
bindsym $mod+d exec dmenu_run
# There also is the (new) i3-dmenu-desktop which only displays applications
# shipping a .desktop file. It is a wrapper around dmenu, so you need that
# installed.
# bindsym $mod+d exec --no-startup-id i3-dmenu-desktop

# change focus
bindsym $mod+h focus left
bindsym $mod+j focus down
bindsym $mod+k focus up
bindsym $mod+l focus right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Down focus down
bindsym $mod+Up focus up
bindsym $mod+Right focus right

# move focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+h move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+j move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+k move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+l move right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Shift+Left move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+Down move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+Up move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+Right move right

# split in horizontal orientation
bindsym $mod+g split h

# split in vertical orientation
bindsym $mod+v split v

# enter fullscreen mode for the focused container
bindsym $mod+f fullscreen

# change container layout (stacked, tabbed, toggle split)
bindsym $mod+s layout stacking
bindsym $mod+w layout tabbed
bindsym $mod+e layout toggle split

# toggle tiling / floating
bindsym $mod+Shift+space floating toggle

# change focus between tiling / floating windows
bindsym $mod+space focus mode_toggle

# focus the parent container
bindsym $mod+a focus parent

# focus the child container ...

(more)

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:19:16 +0000

Fixed by rebooting.

Answer by Yayg for

Steps:

Start i3. (config below)
Press alt-Enter.
ls the home directory:

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  æµè¯

The 4th item is in Chinese, but it's not displayed correctly.
Start another urxvt window by pressing alt-d (dmenu) and type urxvt.
ls in new window, get the same result with previous.
Start another urxvt from command line (after either of the incorrect ls) by

fam@localhost:~$ urxvt

This time a "good" version of urxvt is running ls will get the right result.

fam@localhost:~$ ls
bin  downloads  myhome  测试

Appearance: any urxvt opened by alt-enter or dmenu, or started from i3 config file (exec urxvt) fails to display UTF-8 character. But one started from terminal works just fine.

No such problem with Terminator.

My i3 config

# This file has been auto-generated by i3-config-wizard(1).
# It will not be overwritten, so edit it as you like.
#
# Should you change your keyboard layout somewhen, delete
# this file and re-run i3-config-wizard(1).
#

set $mod Mod1

# Font for window titles. Will also be used by the bar unless a different font
# is used in the bar {} block below. ISO 10646 = Unicode
# font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
# The font above is very space-efficient, that is, it looks good, sharp and
# clear in small sizes. However, if you need a lot of unicode glyphs or
# right-to-left text rendering, you should instead use pango for rendering and
# chose a FreeType font, such as:
font xft:Droid Sans 11

# Use Mouse+$mod to drag floating windows to their wanted position
floating_modifier $mod

# start a terminal
bindsym $mod+Return exec urxvt

# kill focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+q kill

# start dmenu (a program launcher)
bindsym $mod+d exec dmenu_run
# There also is the (new) i3-dmenu-desktop which only displays applications
# shipping a .desktop file. It is a wrapper around dmenu, so you need that
# installed.
# bindsym $mod+d exec --no-startup-id i3-dmenu-desktop

# change focus
bindsym $mod+h focus left
bindsym $mod+j focus down
bindsym $mod+k focus up
bindsym $mod+l focus right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Down focus down
bindsym $mod+Up focus up
bindsym $mod+Right focus right

# move focused window
bindsym $mod+Shift+h move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+j move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+k move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+l move right

# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
bindsym $mod+Shift+Left move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+Down move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+Up move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+Right move right

# split in horizontal orientation
bindsym $mod+g split h

# split in vertical orientation
bindsym $mod+v split v

# enter fullscreen mode for the focused container
bindsym $mod+f fullscreen

# change container layout (stacked, tabbed, toggle split)
bindsym $mod+s layout stacking
bindsym $mod+w layout tabbed
bindsym $mod+e layout toggle split

# toggle tiling / floating
bindsym $mod+Shift+space floating toggle

# change focus between tiling / floating windows
bindsym $mod+space focus mode_toggle

# focus the parent container
bindsym $mod+a focus parent

# focus the child container ...

(more)

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:24:19 +0000

This post seems old but I am currently experiencing the same problem but with each UTF-8 character... Does anybody found a solution ?

Comment by Adaephon for
This post seems old but I am currently experiencing the same problem but with each UTF-8 character... Does anybody found a solution ?

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:44:01 +0000

Please, do not post comments as answers. The OP seems to have fixed his problem by rebooting.

i3 FAQ - Individual question feed

urxvt not handling UTF-8 when started from i3 commands

Comment by Adaephon for This post seems old but I am currently experiencing the same problem but with each UTF-8 character... Does anybody found a solution ?

Comment by Adaephon for
This post seems old but I am currently experiencing the same problem but with each UTF-8 character... Does anybody found a solution ?