-always

overrides xmotd default behavior; the ~/.xmotd time-stamp is ignored and the message (or messages) is always displayed. Zero-length (empty) files are displayed when this option is specified.

-atom atom-name

register xmotd with name atom-name. By default, only one xmotd is allowed to run (per user). You can permit multiple instances of xmotd to run by giving each instance an unique name. xmotd will intern an atom with the X server, that combines the atom-name and the user's login-id (e.g. "xmotd.elf" ; the default atom name is "xmotd"); subsequent invocations of xmotd will check if this atom exists and exit if it does.

-bitmaplogo bitmap-filename

specifies that the bitmap bitmap-filename is to be displayed in place of the default bitmap, the "X" logo.  Ideally, the specified bitmap should have a width and height of 100 pixels. If xpm support is compiled-in, xpm colour pixmaps may be substituted instead. See NOTES for additional details.

-help

displays command-line options usage.

-paranoid

(used with -warnfile) displays the warning message unconditionally at every login (even when there are no messages to be displayed).

-popdown timeout

exit or pop-down without user intervention, timeout seconds after being invoked. The user can dismiss xmotd at any time before the timeout, by clicking on the "Dismiss" button. This option is only valid at the initial login; it is ignored on subsequent pop-ups when xmotd is invoked with -wakeup.

-showfilename

displays the filename of the file currently being viewed (as it appears on the command-line), alongside the date.

-stampfile stamp-filename

overrides the default timestamp filename, ~/.xmotd, and uses stamp-filename instead.

-tail

display the end of a file; the text is automatically scrolled so the end of the file is visible.

-usedomains

uses local domain-name based time-stamping in cases where user's home-directories are shared (NFS mounted) across various domains. Time-stamps are created (and checked) with appropriate domain-names appended.

-warnfile warning-filename

specifies a file containing a standard message used to warn users of the consequences of deviance and sundry unlawful things they should not even think of doing on your network; your network's rules of use, information about disk quotas, modem charges and printer accounting fees (used with -paranoid).

-wakeup sleep-period

causes xmotd to run in the background and wakeup periodically every sleep-period hours to check whether the files have been modified and therefore need to be (re-)displayed. The sleep period is specified as a floating point number where the fractional portion indicates the number of minutes. For example, a sleep-period of 0.25 indicates 15 minutes (one quarter of an hour) and a sleep-period of 1.5 indicates one and one-half hours; the minimum (enforced) sleep-period is 1 minute. The -wakeup option is useful at sites where users with personal workstations never log-out. See NOTES for additional details.

file [file2 ... ]

one or more files to be displayed may be specified. The file(s) contain the text of the message(s) of the day. If HTML support is compiled-in the motd files should be marked-up with HTML.

directory

Instead of supplying one or more files on the command-line, xmotd may be supplied a directory containing file(s) to be displayed. xmotd will scan the directory and display all the files contained therein, that need to be displayed. This feature is useful when used with the -wakeup option; upon waking-up, xmotd will re-scan the directory for any files (including new files that have been subsequently added) that need to be displayed.

   xmotd -geometry +20+20 /usr/local/motd

   xmotd -geom 900x600+20+20 -always -popdown 20 /usr/local/motd

   xmotd -geom +5+5 -bitmaplogo /usr/local/xmotd.bm /usr/local/motd

   xmotd -geom +5+5 -wakeup 8.5 /usr/local/messages/ 

   xmotd -geom +5+5 -warnfile /usr/local/WARNING -paranoid \
      -showfilename /usr/local/motds/

    /usr/bin/xmotd -always \
        -xrm "*title.label: Top 10 Disk Hogs\n As of midnight\n " \
        -xrm "*title.foreground: yellow" \
        -xrm "*form.background: red" \
        -xrm "*title.background: red" \
        -xrm "*logo.background: pink" \
        -xrm "*text*font: -adobe-times-bold-*-normal-*-*-180-*" \
        -geometry 500x650-1-1 \
        -bitmaplogo /usr/common/choke.xbm 
        -popdown 10 \
        /usr/common/accounting/top &

         This is the
      Message of the Day

       *title.label: \       This is the\nMessage of the Day\n\n

XMotd xmotd 


        Form form


            Label logo


            Label title


            Label hline


            Label info


            Command quit 


            Text text     OR      Html text

                ...and our lives are forever changed
                      we will never be the same
                the more you change the less you feel

               --Tonight, tonight,
               "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness"
               Billy Corgan, The Smashing Pumpkins


             Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.
          (All things change, and we change with them).

               --Matthias Borbonius:
               Deliciae Poetarum Germanorum, i. 685


                 To everything there is a season,
            And a time to every purpose under heaven.

               --Ecclesiastes 3:1-4