Paper and ink
The paper is chosen independently of the theme, and it supplies the terminal's colours. Every paper keeps ink above a contrast of 7:1, muted ink above 4.5:1 and every ANSI colour above 3:1; these are checked by the project's tests.
| Paper | Character |
|---|---|
| Cotton | Cotton rag, felted rather than crumpled: a soft tooth of little rounded hills, as on cold-pressed watercolour paper, with faint threads in the pulp |
| Laid | Fine laid lines across the sheet, chain lines down it |
| Linen | A woven cross-hatch with slubs |
| Onionskin (default) | Thin and smooth, with only a gentle crinkle |
| Parchment | Mottled and aged, with foxing, tide lines and a fold |
| Night | A dark sheet for night work, with pale ink |
Sheet width
Sheet width in the Paper & Ink section of the Studio sets how wide the sheet stands in the typewriter: from the narrowest, with the platen's ends showing beside it, to the full length of the platen. The machine keeps its size; the terminal gains the columns.
Texture and impressions
Texture depth sets how deep the paper's relief is and how strongly its fibres catch the light. Each paper keeps its own texture under the lamp and in the window's light; the light only makes it brighter. Type impression sets how a character you type lands: for a moment it is heavier and its ink spreads a little, then it settles into ordinary print. An impression is only ever drawn over a character the terminal has already displayed, so hidden input such as a password never appears in it.
Selecting text
Selected text lies under a soft, feathered wash instead of a flat box, and each character taken into the selection dissolves like a drop of ink in water and re-forms. It follows the mouse while you drag, so you always see how far the selection reaches. Selecting and copying work exactly as before; only the drawing changes. Selection in the Type section of the Studio switches between Ink and Classic, xterm's own selection box.