TODO: Formatting is off.

• The default rxvt font size is too small. How do I enlarge it?
  • Open C:\MSYS\1.0\msys.bat with a text editor and search for a line containing "80x25". Then replace it with:
    

     rem The following should be all one line.
     start rxvt -backspacekey ^H -sl 2500 -fg grey90 -bg black -sr -fn "Courier-bold-20" 
       -tn msys -geometry 80x25 -e /bin/sh --login -i

  • You can change the Courier font above with your favorite one. Note that using TrueType fonts (such as Courier New or Lucida Console) will result in sluggish performance under Windows XP.

• Why don't the Home and End keys work in rxvt and vim?
  • This is because rxvt's terminal emulation uses different escape codes for these two keys. This sample ~/.inputrc file solves this issue:
    

          set completion-query-items 100
          set completion-ignore-case on
          set show-all-if-ambiguous off
    
          set input-meta on
          set output-meta on
          set convert-meta off
          set bell-style none
    
          "\e[2~": paste-from-clipboard
          "\e[3~": delete-char
          "\e[5~": beginning-of-history
          "\e[6~": end-of-history
          "\e[7~": beginning-of-line
          "\e[8~": end-of-line

  • Also, you need to set up your ~/.vimrc to enable the Home/End keys in ViM:
    

          set nocompatible
          set backspace=2
          syntax on
    
          map  <Esc>[7~ <Home>
          map  <Esc>[8~ <End>
    
          imap <Esc>[7~ <Home>
          imap <Esc>[8~ <End>