dialog(1)



DIALOG(1)                   General Commands Manual                  DIALOG(1)

NAME
       dialog - display dialog boxes from shell scripts

SYNOPSIS
       dialog --clear
       dialog --create-rc file
       dialog --print-maxsize
       dialog common-options box-options

DESCRIPTION
       Dialog is a program that will let you present a variety of questions or
       display messages using dialog boxes from a shell script.   These  types
       of  dialog  boxes  are implemented (though not all are necessarily com-
       piled into dialog):

              buildlist, calendar, checklist, dselect, editbox, form, fselect,
              gauge, infobox, inputbox, inputmenu, menu, mixedform,
              mixedgauge, msgbox (message), passwordbox, passwordform, pause,
              prgbox, programbox, progressbox, radiolist, rangebox, tailbox,
              tailboxbg, textbox, timebox, treeview, and yesno (yes/no).

       You can put more than one dialog box into a script:

       o   Use the "--and-widget" token to force dialog to proceed to the next
           dialog unless you have pressed ESC to cancel, or

       o   Simply add the tokens for the next dialog box, making a chain.  Di-
           alog stops chaining when the return code from a dialog is  nonzero,
           e.g., Cancel or No (see DIAGNOSTICS).

       Some  widgets,  e.g.,  checklist,  will  write text to dialog's output.
       Normally that is the standard error, but there are options for changing
       this:  "--output-fd", "--stderr" and "--stdout".  No text is written if
       the Cancel button (or ESC) is pressed; dialog exits immediately in that
       case.

OPTIONS
       All  options  begin  with  "--"  (two ASCII hyphens, for the benefit of
       those using systems with deranged locale support).

       A "--" by itself is used as an escape, i.e., the next token on the com-
       mand-line is not treated as an option.
              dialog --title -- --Not an option

       The "--args" option tells dialog to list the command-line parameters to
       the standard error.  This is useful when debugging complex scripts  us-
       ing  the  "--" and "--file", since the command-line may be rewritten as
       these are expanded.

       The "--file" option tells dialog to read parameters from the file named
       as its value.
              dialog --file parameterfile

       Blanks not within double-quotes are discarded (use backslashes to quote
       single characters).  The result is inserted into the command-line,  re-
       placing  "--file" and its option value.  Interpretation of the command-
       line resumes from that point.  If parameterfile begins with "&", dialog
       interprets the following text as a file descriptor number rather than a
       filename.

       Most widgets accept height and width parameters, which can be  used  to
       automatically  size the widget to accommodate multi-line message prompt
       values:

       o   If the parameter is negative, dialog uses the screen's size.

       o   If the parameter is zero, dialog uses minimum size for  the  widget
           to display the prompt and data.

       o   Otherwise, dialog uses the given size for the widget.

   Common Options
       Most of the common options are reset before processing each widget.

       --ascii-lines
              Rather than draw graphics lines around boxes, draw ASCII "+" and
              "-" in the same place.  See also "--no-lines".

       --aspect ratio
              This gives you some control over the box dimensions  when  using
              auto  sizing (specifying 0 for height and width).  It represents
              width / height.  The default is 9, which means 9 characters wide
              to every 1 line high.

       --backtitle backtitle
              Specifies a backtitle string to be displayed on the backdrop, at
              the top of the screen.

       --begin y x
              Specify the position of the upper left corner of a dialog box on
              the screen.

       --cancel-label string
              Override the label used for "Cancel" buttons.

       --clear
              Clears  the  widget  screen, keeping only the screen_color back-
              ground.  Use this when you combine widgets  with  "--and-widget"
              to  erase the contents of a previous widget on the screen, so it
              won't be seen under the contents of a following widget.   Under-
              stand this as the complement of "--keep-window".  To compare the
              effects, use these:

              All three widgets visible, staircase effect, ordered 1,2,3:

              dialog \
                                             --begin 2 2 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget               --begin 4 4 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget               --begin 6 6 --yesno "" 0 0

              Only the last widget is left visible:

              dialog \
                               --clear       --begin 2 2 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget --clear       --begin 4 4 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget               --begin 6 6 --yesno "" 0 0

              All three widgets visible, staircase effect, ordered 3,2,1:

              dialog \
                               --keep-window --begin 2 2 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget --keep-window --begin 4 4 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget               --begin 6 6 --yesno "" 0 0

              First and third widget visible, staircase effect, ordered 3,1:

              dialog \
                               --keep-window --begin 2 2 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget --clear       --begin 4 4 --yesno "" 0 0 \
                  --and-widget               --begin 6 6 --yesno "" 0 0

              Note, if you want to restore original console  colors  and  send
              your  cursor  home  after the dialog program has exited, use the
              clear (1) command.

       --colors
              Interpret embedded "\Z" sequences in the dialog text by the fol-
              lowing  character, which tells dialog to set colors or video at-
              tributes:

              o   0 through 7 are the  ANSI  color  numbers  used  in  curses:
                  black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan and white re-
                  spectively.

              o   Bold is set by 'b', reset by 'B'.

              o   Reverse is set by 'r', reset by 'R'.

              o   Underline is set by 'u', reset by 'U'.

              o   The settings are cumulative, e.g., "\Zb\Z1" makes  the  fol-
                  lowing text bold (perhaps bright) red.

              o   Restore normal settings with "\Zn".

       --column-separator string
              Tell  dialog to split data for radio/checkboxes and menus on the
              occurrences of the given string, and to align the split data in-
              to columns.

       --cr-wrap
              Interpret  embedded  newlines in the dialog text as a newline on
              the screen.  Otherwise, dialog will only wrap lines where needed
              to fit inside the text box.

              Even  though  you can control line breaks with this, Dialog will
              still wrap any lines that are too long for the width of the box.
              Without  cr-wrap,  the  layout  of your text may be formatted to
              look nice in the source code of your  script  without  affecting
              the way it will look in the dialog.

              The cr-wrap feature is implemented subject to these conditions:

              o   the  string  contains  "\n" and the --no-nl-expand option is
                  not used, or

              o   the --trim option is used.

              For more information, see Whitespace Options.

       --create-rc file
              When dialog supports run-time configuration, this can be used to
              dump a sample configuration file to the file specified by file.

       --date-format format
              If the host provides strftime, this option allows you to specify
              the format of the date printed for the --calendar  widget.   The
              time of day (hour, minute, second) are the current local time.

       --defaultno
              Make  the default value of the yes/no box a No.  Likewise, treat
              the default button of widgets that provide "OK" and "Cancel"  as
              a  Cancel.   If  "--nocancel" or "--visit-items" are given those
              options overrides this, making the default button  always  "Yes"
              (internally the same as "OK").

       --default-button string
              Set the default (preselected) button in a widget.  By preselect-
              ing a button, a script makes it possible for the user to  simply
              press  Enter  to  proceed through a dialog with minimum interac-
              tion.

              The option's value is the name of the button: ok,  yes,  cancel,
              no, help or extra.

              Normally  the  first  button in each widget is the default.  The
              first button shown is determined by the widget together with the
              "--nook"  and "--nocancel options.  If this option is not given,
              there is no default button assigned.

       --default-item string
              Set the default item in a checklist, form or menu box.  Normally
              the first item in the box is the default.

       --exit-label string
              Override the label used for "EXIT" buttons.

       --extra-button
              Show an extra button, between "OK" and "Cancel" buttons.

       --extra-label string
              Override  the  label used for "Extra" buttons.  Note: for input-
              menu widgets, this defaults to "Rename".

       --help Prints the help message to the standard output and  exits.   The
              help  message  is also printed if no options are given, or if an
              unrecognized option is given.

       --help-button
              Show a help-button after "OK"  and  "Cancel"  buttons  in  boxes
              which  have  a list of tagged items (i.e., checklist, radiolist,
              menu, and treeview boxes).

              On exit, the return status indicates that the  Help  button  was
              pressed.   Dialog  also writes a message to its output after the
              token "HELP":

              o   If "--item-help" is also given, the item-help text is  writ-
                  ten.

              o   Otherwise, the item's tag (the first field) is written.

              You   can  use  the  --help-tags  option  and/or  set  the  DIA-
              LOG_ITEM_HELP environment variable to modify these messages  and
              exit-status.

              This  option can be applied to other widgets, which have an "OK"
              button, whether or not the "Cancel" button is used.  The  return
              status  and  output are not treated specially for the other wid-
              gets; the help-button is just an extra button.

       --help-label string
              Override the label used for "Help" buttons.

       --help-status
              If the help-button is selected, writes the checklist,  radiolist
              or  form  information  after  the  item-help "HELP" information.
              This can be used to reconstruct the state of a  checklist  after
              processing the help request.

       --help-tags
              Modify  the messages written on exit for --help-button by making
              them always just the item's tag.  This does not affect the  exit
              status code.

       --hfile filename
              Display the given file using a textbox when the user presses F1.

       --hline string
              Display the given string centered at the bottom of the widget.

       --ignore
              Ignore  options that dialog does not recognize.  Some well-known
              ones such as "--icon" are ignored anyway, but this is  a  better
              choice for compatibility with other implementations.

       --input-fd fd
              Read keyboard input from the given file descriptor.  Most dialog
              scripts read from the standard input, but the gauge widget reads
              a pipe (which is always standard input).  Some configurations do
              not work properly when dialog tries to reopen the terminal.  Use
              this  option  (with appropriate juggling of file-descriptors) if
              your script must work in that type of environment.

       --insecure
              Makes the password widget friendlier but less secure, by echoing
              asterisks for each character.

       --iso-week
              Set  the starting point for the week-number shown in the "--cal-
              endar" option according to ISO-8601, which starts numbering with
              the first week which includes a Thursday in January.

       --item-help
              Interpret  the tags data for checklist, radiolist and menu boxes
              adding a column which is displayed in the  bottom  line  of  the
              screen, for the currently selected item.

       --keep-tite
              When  built with ncurses, dialog normally checks to see if it is
              running in an xterm, and in that case tries to suppress the ini-
              tialization  strings  that would make it switch to the alternate
              screen.  Switching between the normal and alternate  screens  is
              visually  distracting  in  a  script  which  runs dialog several
              times.  Use this option to allow dialog to use those initializa-
              tion strings.

       --keep-window
              Normally when dialog performs several tailboxbg widgets connect-
              ed by "--and-widget", it clears the old widget from  the  screen
              by  painting over it.  Use this option to suppress that repaint-
              ing.

              At exit, dialog repaints all of  the  widgets  which  have  been
              marked with "--keep-window", even if they are not tailboxbg wid-
              gets.  That causes them to be repainted in reverse  order.   See
              the discussion of the "--clear" option for examples.

       --last-key
              At  exit,  report  the last key which the user entered.  This is
              the curses key code rather than a symbol or  literal  character,
              and  is only reported for keys which are bound to an action.  It
              can be used by scripts to distinguish between two keys which are
              bound to the same action.

       --max-input size
              Limit  input  strings  to the given size.  If not specified, the
              limit is 2048.

       --no-cancel

       --nocancel
              Suppress the "Cancel" button in checklist, inputbox and menu box
              modes.   A script can still test if the user pressed the ESC key
              to cancel to quit.

       --no-collapse
              Normally dialog converts tabs to  spaces  and  reduces  multiple
              spaces  to  a single space for text which is displayed in a mes-
              sage boxes, etc.  Use this option to disable that feature.  Note
              that dialog will still wrap text, subject to the "--cr-wrap" and
              "--trim" options.

              The no-collapse feature is implemented subject to  these  condi-
              tions:

              o   the  string  contains  "\n" and the --no-nl-expand option is
                  not used, or

              o   the --trim option is not used.

              For more information, see Whitespace Options.

       --no-items
              Some widgets (checklist, inputmenu, radiolist, menu)  display  a
              list with two columns (a "tag" and "item", i.e., "description").
              This option tells dialog to  read  shorter  rows,  omitting  the
              "item"  part of the list.  This is occasionally useful, e.g., if
              the tags provide enough information.

              See also --no-tags.  If both options are given, this one is  ig-
              nored.

       --no-kill
              Tells  dialog to put the tailboxbg box in the background, print-
              ing its process id to dialog's output.  SIGHUP is  disabled  for
              the background process.

       --no-label string
              Override the label used for "No" buttons.

       --no-lines
              Rather  than  draw  lines  around boxes, draw spaces in the same
              place.  See also "--ascii-lines".

       --no-mouse
              Do not enable the mouse.

       --no-nl-expand
              Do not convert "\n" substrings of the message/prompt  text  into
              literal newlines.

              The  no-nl-expand  feature  is  used only if the string contains
              "\n" so that there is something to convert.

              For more information, see Whitespace Options.

       --no-ok

       --nook Suppress the "OK" button in checklist,  inputbox  and  menu  box
              modes.   A script can still test if the user pressed the "Enter"
              key to accept the data.

       --no-shadow
              Suppress shadows that would be drawn to the right and bottom  of
              each dialog box.

       --no-tags
              Some  widgets  (checklist, inputmenu, radiolist, menu) display a
              list with two columns (a "tag" and "description").  The  tag  is
              useful  for scripting, but may not help the user.  The --no-tags
              option (from Xdialog) may be used to suppress the column of tags
              from  the  display.  Unlike the --no-items option, this does not
              affect the data which is read from the script.

              Xdialog does not  display  the  tag  column  for  the  analogous
              buildlist and treeview widgets; dialog does the same.

              Normally  dialog  allows  you  to quickly move to entries on the
              displayed list, by matching a  single  character  to  the  first
              character  of the tag.  When the --no-tags option is given, dia-
              log matches against the first character of the description.   In
              either case, the matchable character is highlighted.

       --ok-label string
              Override the label used for "OK" buttons.

       --output-fd fd
              Direct output to the given file descriptor.  Most dialog scripts
              write to the standard error, but  error  messages  may  also  be
              written there, depending on your script.

       --separator string

       --output-separator string
              Specify  a string that will separate the output on dialog's out-
              put from checklists, rather than a newline (for  --separate-out-
              put)  or  a  space.  This applies to other widgets such as forms
              and editboxes which normally use a newline.

       --print-maxsize
              Print the maximum size of dialog boxes, i.e., the  screen  size,
              to  dialog's  output.  This may be used alone, without other op-
              tions.

       --print-size
              Prints the size of each dialog box to dialog's output  when  the
              box is initialized.

       --print-text-only string [ height [ width ] ]
              Prints the string as it would be wrapped in a message box to di-
              alog's output.

              Because the optional height and width default to zero,  if  they
              are  omitted,  dialog  autosizes  according to the screen dimen-
              sions.

       --print-text-size string [ height [ width ] ]
              Prints the size of the string as it would be wrapped in  a  mes-
              sage box, to dialog's output, as

              height width

              Because  the optional height and width parameters default to ze-
              ro, if they are  omitted,  dialog  autosizes  according  to  the
              screen dimensions.

       --print-version
              Prints  dialog's  version  to dialog's output.  This may be used
              alone, without other options.  It does not cause dialog to  exit
              by itself.

       --quoted
              Normally  dialog  quotes  the strings returned by checklist's as
              well as the item-help text.  Use this option to quote all string
              results.

       --reorder
              By  default,  the  buildlist  widget uses the same order for the
              output (right) list as for the input (left).  Use this option to
              tell  dialog to use the order in which a user adds selections to
              the output list.

       --scrollbar
              For widgets holding a scrollable set of data, draw  a  scrollbar
              on its right-margin.  This does not respond to the mouse.

       --separate-output
              For certain widgets (buildlist, checklist, treeview), output re-
              sult one line at a time,  with  no  quoting.   This  facilitates
              parsing by another program.

       --separate-widget string
              Specify  a string that will separate the output on dialog's out-
              put from each widget.  This is used to simplify parsing the  re-
              sult  of  a  dialog with several widgets.  If this option is not
              given, the default separator string is a tab character.

       --shadow
              Draw a shadow to the right and bottom of each dialog box.

       --single-quoted
              Use single-quoting as needed (and no quotes if unneeded) for the
              output  of  checklist's  as well as the item-help text.  If this
              option is not set, dialog uses double quotes around  each  item.
              In  either case, dialog adds backslashes to make the output use-
              ful in shell scripts.

       --size-err
              Check the resulting size of a dialog box before  trying  to  use
              it, printing the resulting size if it is larger than the screen.
              (This  option  is  obsolete,  since  all  new-window  calls  are
              checked).

       --sleep secs
              Sleep (delay) for the given number of seconds after processing a
              dialog box.

       --stderr
              Direct output to the standard error.  This is the default, since
              curses normally writes screen updates to the standard output.

       --stdout
              Direct  output  to the standard output.  This option is provided
              for compatibility with Xdialog, however  using  it  in  portable
              scripts  is  not  recommended,  since curses normally writes its
              screen updates to the standard output.  If you use this  option,
              dialog  attempts  to  reopen the terminal so it can write to the
              display.  Depending on the platform and your  environment,  that
              may fail.

       --tab-correct
              Convert  each  tab  character  to  one  or  more spaces (for the
              textbox widget; otherwise to a single space).   Otherwise,  tabs
              are  rendered  according to the curses library's interpretation.
              The --no-collapse option disables tab expansion.

       --tab-len n
              Specify the number of spaces that a tab  character  occupies  if
              the  "--tab-correct"  option  is given.  The default is 8.  This
              option is only effective for the textbox widget.

       --time-format format
              If the host provides strftime, this option allows you to specify
              the  format  of  the time printed for the --timebox widget.  The
              day, month, year values in this case are for the  current  local
              time.

       --timeout secs
              Timeout  (exit  with  error code) if no user response within the
              given number of seconds.  A timeout of zero seconds is ignored.

              This option is ignored by the  "--pause"  widget.   It  is  also
              overridden if the background "--tailboxbg" option is used to set
              up multiple concurrent widgets.

       --title title
              Specifies a title string to be displayed at the top of the  dia-
              log box.

       --trace filename
              logs  the command-line parameters, keystrokes and other informa-
              tion to the given file.  If dialog reads a configure file, it is
              logged as well.  Piped input to the gauge widget is logged.  Use
              control/T to log a picture of the current dialog window.

              The dialog program handles some command-line parameters special-
              ly,  and  removes  them from the parameter list as they are pro-
              cessed.  For example, if the first option is --trace, then  that
              is  processed  (and  removed) before dialog initializes the dis-
              play.

       --week-start day
              sets the starting day for the week, used in the "--calendar" op-
              tion.  The day parameter can be

              o   a number (0 to 6, Sunday through Saturday using POSIX) or

              o   the  special  value  "locale" (this works with systems using
                  glibc, providing an extension to  the  locale  command,  the
                  first_weekday value).

              o   a  string  matching  one of the abbreviations for the day of
                  the week shown in the calendar widget, e.g., "Mo" for  "Mon-
                  day".

       --trim eliminate  leading  blanks,  trim  literal newlines and repeated
              blanks from message text.

              The trim feature is implemented subject to these conditions:

              o   the string does not contain "\n" or

              o   the --no-nl-expand option is used.

              For more information, see Whitespace Options.

              See also the "--cr-wrap" and "--no-collapse" options.

       --version
              Prints dialog's version to the standard output, and exits.   See
              also "--print-version".

       --visit-items
              Modify  the  tab-traversal  of checklist, radiolist, menubox and
              inputmenu to include the list of items as  one  of  the  states.
              This  is useful as a visual aid, i.e., the cursor position helps
              some users.

              When this option is given, the cursor is initially placed on the
              list.   Abbreviations (the first letter of the tag) apply to the
              list items.  If you tab to the button row,  abbreviations  apply
              to the buttons.

       --yes-label string
              Override the label used for "Yes" buttons.

   Box Options
       All dialog boxes have at least three parameters:

       text   the caption or contents of the box.

       height the height of the dialog box.

       width  the width of the dialog box.

       Other parameters depend on the box type.

       --buildlist text height width list-height [ tag item status ] ...
              A  buildlist  dialog displays two lists, side-by-side.  The list
              on the left shows unselected items.  The list on the right shows
              selected  items.  As items are selected or unselected, they move
              between the lists.

              Use a carriage return or the "OK" button to accept  the  current
              value  in the selected-window and exit.  The results are written
              using the order displayed in the selected-window.

              The initial on/off state of each entry is specified by status.

              The dialog behaves like a menu, using the --visit-items to  con-
              trol whether the cursor is allowed to visit the lists directly.

              o   If --visit-items is not given, tab-traversal uses two states
                  (OK/Cancel).

              o   If --visit-items is given, tab-traversal  uses  four  states
                  (Left/Right/OK/Cancel).

              Whether  or  not  --visit-items is given, it is possible to move
              the highlight between the two lists using the default "^" (left-
              column) and "$" (right-column) keys.

              On  exit,  a  list  of the tag strings of those entries that are
              turned on will be printed on dialog's output.

              If the "--separate-output" option is not given, the strings will
              be  quoted  as  needed to make it simple for scripts to separate
              them.  By default, this uses double-quotes.  See the  "--single-
              quoted" option, which modifies the quoting behavior.

       --calendar text height width day month year
              A  calendar  box  displays month, day and year in separately ad-
              justable windows.  If the values for  day,  month  or  year  are
              missing or negative, the current date's corresponding values are
              used.  You can increment or decrement any  of  those  using  the
              left-, up-, right-, and down-arrows.  Use vi-style h, j, k and l
              for moving around the array of days in  a  month.   Use  tab  or
              backtab  to move between windows.  If the year is given as zero,
              the current date is used as an initial value.

              On exit, the date is printed in the  form  day/month/year.   The
              format can be overridden using the --date-format option.

       --checklist text height width list-height [ tag item status ] ...
              A checklist box is similar to a menu box; there are multiple en-
              tries presented in the form of a menu.   Another  difference  is
              that you can indicate which entry is currently selected, by set-
              ting its status to on.  Instead of choosing one entry among  the
              entries,  each  entry  can be turned on or off by the user.  The
              initial on/off state of each entry is specified by status.

              On exit, a list of the tag strings of  those  entries  that  are
              turned on will be printed on dialog's output.

              If the "--separate-output" option is not given, the strings will
              be quoted as needed to make it simple for  scripts  to  separate
              them.   By default, this uses double-quotes.  See the "--single-
              quoted" option, which modifies the quoting behavior.

       --dselect filepath height width
              The directory-selection dialog displays a text-entry  window  in
              which  you  can  type a directory, and above that a windows with
              directory names.

              Here filepath can be a filepath in which case the directory win-
              dow  will  display  the  contents of the path and the text-entry
              window will contain the preselected directory.

              Use tab or arrow keys to move between the windows.   Within  the
              directory  window, use the up/down arrow keys to scroll the cur-
              rent selection.  Use the space-bar to copy the current selection
              into the text-entry window.

              Typing any printable characters switches focus to the text-entry
              window, entering that character as well as scrolling the  direc-
              tory window to the closest match.

              Use  a  carriage return or the "OK" button to accept the current
              value in the text-entry window and exit.

              On exit, the contents of the text-entry window  are  written  to
              dialog's output.

       --editbox filepath height width
              The  edit-box  dialog displays a copy of the file.  You may edit
              it using the backspace, delete and cursor keys to correct typing
              errors.   It  also recognizes pageup/pagedown.  Unlike the --in-
              putbox, you must tab to the "OK" or "Cancel"  buttons  to  close
              the  dialog.  Pressing the "Enter" key within the box will split
              the corresponding line.

              On exit, the contents of the edit window are written to dialog's
              output.

       --form text height width formheight [ label y x item y x flen ilen ] ...
              The form dialog displays a form consisting of labels and fields,
              which are positioned on a scrollable window by coordinates given
              in the script.  The field length flen and input-length ilen tell
              how long the field can be.  The former defines the length  shown
              for  a  selected field, while the latter defines the permissible
              length of the data entered in the field.

              o   If flen is zero, the corresponding field cannot be  altered.
                  and  the  contents  of  the  field  determine the displayed-
                  length.

              o   If flen is negative, the corresponding field cannot  be  al-
                  tered,  and  the  negated  value of flen is used as the dis-
                  played-length.

              o   If ilen is zero, it is set to flen.

              Use up/down arrows (or control/N,  control/P)  to  move  between
              fields.  Use tab to move between windows.

              On exit, the contents of the form-fields are written to dialog's
              output, each field separated by a newline.   The  text  used  to
              fill non-editable fields (flen is zero or negative) is not writ-
              ten out.

       --fselect filepath height width
              The fselect (file-selection) dialog displays a text-entry window
              in  which you can type a filename (or directory), and above that
              two windows with directory names and filenames.

              Here filepath can be a filepath in which case the file  and  di-
              rectory  windows  will  display the contents of the path and the
              text-entry window will contain the preselected filename.

              Use tab or arrow keys to move between the windows.   Within  the
              directory  or  filename  windows,  use the up/down arrow keys to
              scroll the current selection.  Use the  space-bar  to  copy  the
              current selection into the text-entry window.

              Typing any printable characters switches focus to the text-entry
              window, entering that character as well as scrolling the  direc-
              tory and filename windows to the closest match.

              Typing the space character forces dialog to complete the current
              name (up to the point where there may be a  match  against  more
              than one entry).

              Use  a  carriage return or the "OK" button to accept the current
              value in the text-entry window and exit.

              On exit, the contents of the text-entry window  are  written  to
              dialog's output.

       --gauge text height width [percent]
              A  gauge  box displays a meter along the bottom of the box.  The
              meter indicates the percentage.  New percentages are  read  from
              standard  input,  one integer per line.  The meter is updated to
              reflect each new percentage.  If the standard  input  reads  the
              string "XXX", then the first line following is taken as an inte-
              ger percentage, then subsequent lines up to  another  "XXX"  are
              used  for  a new prompt.  The gauge exits when EOF is reached on
              the standard input.

              The percent value denotes the initial percentage  shown  in  the
              meter.  If not specified, it is zero.

              On  exit, no text is written to dialog's output.  The widget ac-
              cepts no input, so the exit status is always OK.

       --infobox text height width
              An info box is basically a message box.  However, in this  case,
              dialog will exit immediately after displaying the message to the
              user.  The screen is not cleared when dialog exits, so that  the
              message will remain on the screen until the calling shell script
              clears it later.  This is useful when you want to inform the us-
              er  that  some  operations are carrying on that may require some
              time to finish.

              On exit, no text is written to dialog's output.  An OK exit sta-
              tus is returned.

       --inputbox text height width [init]
              An  input  box is useful when you want to ask questions that re-
              quire the user to input a string as the answer.  If init is sup-
              plied  it is used to initialize the input string.  When entering
              the string, the backspace, delete and cursor keys can be used to
              correct  typing  errors.  If the input string is longer than can
              fit in the dialog box, the input field will be scrolled.

              On exit, the input string will be printed on dialog's output.

       --inputmenu text height width menu-height [ tag item ] ...
              An inputmenu box is very similar to an ordinary menu box.  There
              are only a few differences between them:

              1.  The  entries are not automatically centered but left adjust-
                  ed.

              2.  An extra button (called Rename) is  implied  to  rename  the
                  current item when it is pressed.

              3.  It  is  possible to rename the current entry by pressing the
                  Rename button.  Then dialog will write the following on dia-
                  log's output.

                  RENAMED <tag> <item>

       --menu text height width menu-height [ tag item ] ...
              As  its  name  suggests,  a menu box is a dialog box that can be
              used to present a list of choices in the form of a menu for  the
              user to choose.  Choices are displayed in the order given.  Each
              menu entry consists of a tag string and an item string.  The tag
              gives  the entry a name to distinguish it from the other entries
              in the menu.  The item is a short description of the option that
              the  entry  represents.   The user can move between the menu en-
              tries by pressing the cursor keys, the first letter of  the  tag
              as  a  hot-key, or the number keys 1 through 9.  There are menu-
              height entries displayed in the menu at one time, but  the  menu
              will be scrolled if there are more entries than that.

              On exit the tag of the chosen menu entry will be printed on dia-
              log's output.  If the "--help-button" option is given, the  cor-
              responding  help  text  will  be printed if the user selects the
              help button.

       --mixedform text height width formheight [ label y x item y x flen ilen itype ] ...
              The mixedform dialog displays a form consisting  of  labels  and
              fields,  much  like  the  --form dialog.  It differs by adding a
              field-type parameter to each field's description.  Each  bit  in
              the type denotes an attribute of the field:

              1    hidden, e.g., a password field.

              2    readonly, e.g., a label.

       --mixedgauge text height width percent [ tag1 item1 ] ...
              A  mixedgauge  box displays a meter along the bottom of the box.
              The meter indicates the percentage.

              It also displays a list of the tag- and item-values at  the  top
              of the box.  See dialog(3) for the tag values.

              The  text is shown as a caption between the list and meter.  The
              percent value denotes the initial percentage shown in the meter.

              No provision is made for reading data from the standard input as
              --gauge does.

              On  exit, no text is written to dialog's output.  The widget ac-
              cepts no input, so the exit status is always OK.

       --msgbox text height width
              A message box is very similar to a yes/no box.  The only differ-
              ence  between  a  message box and a yes/no box is that a message
              box has only a single OK button.  You can use this dialog box to
              display  any  message  you like.  After reading the message, the
              user can press the ENTER key so that dialog will  exit  and  the
              calling shell script can continue its operation.

              If  the message is too large for the space, dialog may allow you
              to scroll it, provided that the underlying curses implementation
              is  capable  enough.  In this case, a percentage is shown in the
              base of the widget.

              On exit, no text is written to dialog's output.   Only  an  "OK"
              button  is provided for input, but an ESC exit status may be re-
              turned.

       --pause text height width seconds
              A pause box displays a meter along the bottom of the  box.   The
              meter  indicates  how  many  seconds remain until the end of the
              pause.  The pause exits when timeout  is  reached  or  the  user
              presses the OK button (status OK) or the user presses the CANCEL
              button or Esc key.

       --passwordbox text height width [init]
              A password box is similar to an input box, except that the  text
              the user enters is not displayed.  This is useful when prompting
              for passwords or other sensitive information.  Be aware that  if
              anything is passed in "init", it will be visible in the system's
              process table to casual snoopers.  Also, it is very confusing to
              the  user  to  provide  them with a default password they cannot
              see.  For these reasons, using  "init"  is  highly  discouraged.
              See "--insecure" if you do not care about your password.

              On exit, the input string will be printed on dialog's output.

       --passwordform text height width formheight [ label y x item y x flen ilen ] ...
              This  is  identical  to  --form  except that all text fields are
              treated as password widgets rather than inputbox widgets.

       --prgbox text command height width

       --prgbox command height width
              A prgbox is very similar to a programbox.

              This dialog box is used to display the output of a command  that
              is specified as an argument to prgbox.

              After the command completes, the user can press the ENTER key so
              that dialog will exit and the calling shell script can  continue
              its operation.

              If  three  parameters  are given, it displays the text under the
              title, delineated from the scrolling file's contents.   If  only
              two parameters are given, this text is omitted.

       --programbox text height width

       --programbox height width
              A programbox is very similar to a progressbox.  The only differ-
              ence between a program box and a progress box is that a  program
              box  displays  an  OK  button  (but  only after the command com-
              pletes).

              This dialog box is used to display the piped output  of  a  com-
              mand.  After the command completes, the user can press the ENTER
              key so that dialog will exit and the calling  shell  script  can
              continue its operation.

              If  three  parameters  are given, it displays the text under the
              title, delineated from the scrolling file's contents.   If  only
              two parameters are given, this text is omitted.

       --progressbox text height width

       --progressbox height width
              A progressbox is similar to an tailbox, except that

              a) rather than displaying the contents of a file,
                 it displays the piped output of a command and

              b) it will exit when it reaches the end of the file
                 (there is no "OK" button).

              If  three  parameters  are given, it displays the text under the
              title, delineated from the scrolling file's contents.   If  only
              two parameters are given, this text is omitted.

       --radiolist text height width list-height  [ tag item status ] ...
              A  radiolist  box is similar to a menu box.  The only difference
              is that you can indicate which entry is currently  selected,  by
              setting its status to on.

              On  exit,  the  tag  of the selected item is written to dialog's
              output.

       --tailbox file height width
              Display text from a file in a dialog box, as in a "tail -f" com-
              mand.   Scroll  left/right using vi-style 'h' and 'l', or arrow-
              keys.  A '0' resets the scrolling.

              On exit, no text is written to dialog's output.   Only  an  "OK"
              button  is provided for input, but an ESC exit status may be re-
              turned.

       --rangebox text height width min-value max-value default-value
              Allow the user to select from a range of values, e.g.,  using  a
              slider.   The  dialog shows the current value as a bar (like the
              gauge dialog).  Tabs or arrow keys move the cursor  between  the
              buttons and the value.  When the cursor is on the value, you can
              edit it by:

              left/right cursor movement to select a digit to modify

              +/-  characters to increment/decrement the digit by one

              0 through 9
                   to set the digit to the given value

              Some keys are also recognized in all cursor positions:

              home/end
                   set the value to its maximum or minimum

              pageup/pagedown
                   increment the value so that the slider moves by one column

       --tailboxbg file height width
              Display text from a file in a dialog box as a  background  task,
              as  in  a "tail -f &" command.  Scroll left/right using vi-style
              'h' and 'l', or arrow-keys.  A '0' resets the scrolling.

              Dialog treats the background task specially if there  are  other
              widgets  (--and-widget) on the screen concurrently.  Until those
              widgets are closed (e.g., an "OK"), dialog will perform  all  of
              the  tailboxbg widgets in the same process, polling for updates.
              You may use a tab to traverse between the widgets on the screen,
              and  close them individually, e.g., by pressing ENTER.  Once the
              non-tailboxbg widgets are closed, dialog forks a copy of  itself
              into  the  background,  and  prints its process id if the "--no-
              kill" option is given.

              On exit, no text is written to dialog's output.  Only an  "EXIT"
              button  is provided for input, but an ESC exit status may be re-
              turned.

              NOTE: Older versions of dialog forked immediately and  attempted
              to  update  the screen individually.  Besides being bad for per-
              formance, it was unworkable.  Some older scripts  may  not  work
              properly with the polled scheme.

       --textbox file height width
              A text box lets you display the contents of a text file in a di-
              alog box.  It is like a simple text file viewer.  The  user  can
              move  through  the  file by using the cursor, page-up, page-down
              and HOME/END keys available on most keyboards.  If the lines are
              too  long to be displayed in the box, the LEFT/RIGHT keys can be
              used to scroll the text region horizontally.  You may  also  use
              vi-style  keys h, j, k, and l in place of the cursor keys, and B
              or N in place of the page-up and page-down keys.  Scroll up/down
              using  vi-style  'k'  and 'j', or arrow-keys.  Scroll left/right
              using vi-style 'h' and 'l', or arrow-keys.   A  '0'  resets  the
              left/right  scrolling.   For  more convenience, vi-style forward
              and backward searching functions are also provided.

              On exit, no text is written to dialog's output.  Only an  "EXIT"
              button  is provided for input, but an ESC exit status may be re-
              turned.

       --timebox text height [width hour minute second]
              A dialog is displayed which allows you to  select  hour,  minute
              and  second.  If the values for hour, minute or second are miss-
              ing or negative, the current  date's  corresponding  values  are
              used.   You  can  increment  or decrement any of those using the
              left-, up-, right- and down-arrows.  Use tab or backtab to  move
              between windows.

              On  exit,  the result is printed in the form hour:minute:second.
              The format can be overridden using the --time-format option.

       --treeview text height width list-height [ tag item status depth ] ...
              Display data organized as a tree.  Each group of data contains a
              tag,  the  text  to  display  for  the item, its status ("on" or
              "off") and the depth of the item in the tree.

              Only one item can be selected (like the radiolist).  The tag  is
              not displayed.

              On  exit,  the  tag  of the selected item is written to dialog's
              output.

       --yesno text height width
              A yes/no dialog box of size height rows by width columns will be
              displayed.  The string specified by text is displayed inside the
              dialog box.  If this string is too long to fit in one  line,  it
              will be automatically divided into multiple lines at appropriate
              places.  The text string can also contain the sub-string "\n" or
              newline  characters  `\n'  to  control line breaking explicitly.
              This dialog box is useful for asking questions that require  the
              user  to answer either yes or no.  The dialog box has a Yes but-
              ton and a No button, in which the user  can  switch  between  by
              pressing the TAB key.

              On  exit, no text is written to dialog's output.  In addition to
              the "Yes" and "No" exit codes (see DIAGNOSTICS) an ESC exit sta-
              tus may be returned.

              The  codes used for "Yes" and "No" match those used for "OK" and
              "Cancel", internally no distinction is made.

   Obsolete Options
       --beep This was used to tell the original cdialog that it should make a
              beep  when  the separate processes of the tailboxbg widget would
              repaint the screen.

       --beep-after
              Beep after a user has completed a widget by pressing one of  the
              buttons.

   Whitespace Options
       These options can be used to transform whitespace (space, tab, newline)
       as dialog reads the script:
              --cr-wrap, --no-collapse, --no-nl-expand, and --trim

       The options are not independent:

       o   Dialog checks if the script contains at least one "\n" and  (unless
           --no-nl-expand is set) will ignore the --no-collapse and --trim op-
           tions.

       o   After checking for "\n" and the --no-nl-expand option, dialog  han-
           dles the --trim option.

           If  the  --trim  option takes effect, then dialog ignores --no-col-
           lapse.  It changes sequences of tabs, spaces (and  newlines  unless
           -cr-wrap is set) to a single space.

       o   If  neither the "\n" or --trim cases apply, dialog checks --no-col-
           lapse to decide whether to reduce sequences of tabs and spaces to a
           single space.

           In this case, dialog ignores -cr-wrap and does not modify newlines.

       Taking those dependencies into account, here is a table summarizing the
       behavior for the various combinations of options.   The  table  assumes
       that  the script contains at least one "\n" when the --no-nl-expand op-
       tion is not set.

        cr-     no-        no-         trim    Result
        wrap    collapse   nl-expand
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
        no      no         no          no      Convert tab to space.  Convert
                                               newline to space.  Convert
                                               "\n" to newline.
        no      no         no          yes     Convert tab to space.  Convert
                                               newline to space.  Convert
                                               "\n" to newline.
        no      no         yes         no      Convert tab to space.  Do not
                                               convert newline to space.
                                               Convert multiple-space to sin-
                                               gle.  Show "\n" literally.
        no      no         yes         yes     Convert tab to space.  Convert
                                               multiple-space to single.
                                               Convert newline to space.
                                               Show "\n" literally.
        no      yes        no          no      Convert newline to space.
                                               Convert "\n" to newline.
        no      yes        no          yes     Convert newline to space.
                                               Convert "\n" to newline.

        no      yes        yes         no      Do not convert newline to
                                               space.  Do not reduce multiple
                                               blanks.  Show "\n" literally.
        no      yes        yes         yes     Convert multiple-space to sin-
                                               gle.  Convert newline to
                                               space.  Show "\n" literally.
        yes     no         no          no      Convert tab to space.  Wrap on
                                               newline.  Convert "\n" to new-
                                               line.
        yes     no         no          yes     Convert tab to space.  Wrap on
                                               newline.  Convert "\n" to new-
                                               line.
        yes     no         yes         no      Convert tab to space.  Do not
                                               convert newline to space.
                                               Convert multiple-space to sin-
                                               gle.  Show "\n" literally.
        yes     no         yes         yes     Convert tab to space.  Convert
                                               multiple-space to single.
                                               Wrap on newline.  Show "\n"
                                               literally.
        yes     yes        no          no      Wrap on newline.  Convert "\n"
                                               to newline.
        yes     yes        no          yes     Wrap on newline.  Convert "\n"
                                               to newline.
        yes     yes        yes         no      Do not convert newline to
                                               space.  Do not reduce multiple
                                               blanks.  Show "\n" literally.
        yes     yes        yes         yes     Convert multiple-space to sin-
                                               gle.  Wrap on newline.  Show
                                               "\n" literally.

RUN-TIME CONFIGURATION
       1.  Create a sample configuration file by typing:

              dialog --create-rc file

       2.  At start, dialog determines the settings to use as follows:

           a)  if environment variable DIALOGRC is set, its  value  determines
               the name of the configuration file.

           b)  if  the  file in (a) is not found, use the file $HOME/.dialogrc
               as the configuration file.

           c)  if the file in (b) is not found, try using  the  GLOBALRC  file
               determined at compile-time, i.e., /etc/dialogrc.

           d)  if the file in (c) is not found, use compiled in defaults.

       3.  Edit  the  sample configuration file and copy it to some place that
           dialog can find, as stated in step 2 above.

KEY BINDINGS
       You can override or add to key bindings in dialog by adding to the con-
       figuration  file.  Dialog's bindkey command maps single keys to its in-
       ternal coding.

              bindkey widget curses_key dialog_key

       The widget name can be "*" (all widgets), or specific widgets  such  as
       textbox.  Specific widget bindings override the "*" bindings.  User-de-
       fined bindings override the built-in bindings.

       The curses_key can be any of the names  derived  from  curses.h,  e.g.,
       "HELP" from "KEY_HELP".  Dialog also recognizes ANSI control characters
       such as "^A", "^?", as well as C1-controls such as "~A" and "~?".   Fi-
       nally, it allows any single character to be escaped with a backslash.

       Dialog's internal keycode names correspond to the DLG_KEYS_ENUM type in
       dlg_keys.h, e.g., "HELP" from "DLGK_HELP".

   Widget Names
       Some widgets (such as the formbox) have an area  where  fields  can  be
       edited.   Those  are managed in a subwindow of the widget, and may have
       separate keybindings from the main widget because  the  subwindows  are
       registered using a different name.

                     Widget        Window name   Subwindow Name
                     -------------------------------------------
                     calendar      calendar
                     checklist     checklist
                     editbox       editbox       editbox2
                     form          formbox       formfield
                     fselect       fselect       fselect2
                     inputbox      inputbox      inputbox2
                     menu          menubox       menu
                     msgbox        msgbox
                     pause         pause
                     progressbox   progressbox
                     radiolist     radiolist
                     tailbox       tailbox
                     textbox       textbox       searchbox
                     timebox       timebox
                     yesno         yesno
                     -------------------------------------------

       Some  widgets  are  actually  other widgets, using internal settings to
       modify the behavior.  Those use the same widget name as the actual wid-
       get:

                            Widget         Actual Widget
                            -----------------------------
                            dselect        fselect
                            infobox        msgbox
                            inputmenu      menu
                            mixedform      form
                            passwordbox    inputbox
                            passwordform   form
                            prgbox         progressbox
                            programbox     progressbox
                            tailboxbg      tailbox
                            -----------------------------

   Built-in Bindings
       This  manual  page  does not list the key bindings for each widget, be-
       cause that detailed information can be obtained by running dialog.   If
       you have set the --trace option, dialog writes the key-binding informa-
       tion for each widget as it is registered.

   Example
       Normally dialog uses different keys for navigating between the  buttons
       and editing part of a dialog versus navigating within the editing part.
       That is, tab (and back-tab) traverse buttons (or  between  buttons  and
       the  editing part), while arrow keys traverse fields within the editing
       part.  Tabs are also recognized as a special case  for  traversing  be-
       tween widgets, e.g., when using multiple tailboxbg widgets.

       Some users may wish to use the same key for traversing within the edit-
       ing part as for traversing between buttons.  The form widget is written
       to  support  this sort of redefinition of the keys, by adding a special
       group in dlgk_keys.h for "form" (left/right/next/prev).  Here is an ex-
       ample binding demonstrating how to do this:

              bindkey formfield TAB  form_NEXT
              bindkey formbox   TAB  form_NEXT
              bindkey formfield BTAB form_prev
              bindkey formbox   BTAB form_prev

       That  type  of redefinition would not be useful in other widgets, e.g.,
       calendar, due to the potentially large number of fields to traverse.

ENVIRONMENT
       DIALOGOPTS     Define this variable to apply any of the common  options
                      to  each  widget.   Most of the common options are reset
                      before processing each widget.  If you set  the  options
                      in  this  environment variable, they are applied to dia-
                      log's state after the reset.  As in the "--file" option,
                      double-quotes and backslashes are interpreted.

                      The  "--file"  option  is not considered a common option
                      (so you cannot embed it within  this  environment  vari-
                      able).

       DIALOGRC       Define  this variable if you want to specify the name of
                      the configuration file to use.

       DIALOG_CANCEL

       DIALOG_ERROR

       DIALOG_ESC

       DIALOG_EXTRA

       DIALOG_HELP

       DIALOG_ITEM_HELP

       DIALOG_OK      Define any of these variables to change the exit code on
                      Cancel  (1), error (-1), ESC (255), Extra (3), Help (2),
                      Help with --item-help (2), or OK  (0).   Normally  shell
                      scripts cannot distinguish between -1 and 255.

       DIALOG_TTY     Set  this  variable to "1" to provide compatibility with
                      older versions of  dialog  which  assumed  that  if  the
                      script  redirects  the standard output, that the "--std-
                      out" option was given.

FILES
       $HOME/.dialogrc     default configuration file

EXAMPLES
       The dialog sources contain several samples of how to use the  different
       box  options  and  how  they look.  Just take a look into the directory
       samples/ of the source.

DIAGNOSTICS
       Exit status is subject to being overridden  by  environment  variables.
       The  default  values  and  corresponding environment variables that can
       override them are:

       0    if the YES or OK button is pressed (DIALOG_OK).

       1    if the No or Cancel button is pressed (DIALOG_CANCEL).

       2    if the Help button is pressed (DIALOG_HELP),
            except as noted below about DIALOG_ITEM_HELP.

       3    if the Extra button is pressed (DIALOG_EXTRA).

       4    if the Help button is pressed,
            and the --item-help option is set
            and the DIALOG_ITEM_HELP environment variable is set to 4.

            While any of the exit-codes can be  overridden  using  environment
            variables,  this  special  case was introduced in 2004 to simplify
            compatibility.  Dialog uses  DIALOG_ITEM_HELP(4)  internally,  but
            unless  the  environment  variable is also set, it changes that to
            DIALOG_HELP(2) on exit.

       -1   if errors occur inside dialog (DIALOG_ERROR) or dialog  exits  be-
            cause the ESC key (DIALOG_ESC) was pressed.

PORTABILITY
       Dialog  works  with  X/Open curses.  However, some implementations have
       deficiencies:

          o   HPUX curses (and perhaps others) do not open the terminal  prop-
              erly  for  the  newterm function.  This interferes with dialog's
              --input-fd option, by preventing cursor-keys and similar  escape
              sequences from being recognized.

          o   NetBSD  5.1  curses  has incomplete support for wide-characters.
              dialog will build, but not all examples display properly.

COMPATIBILITY
       You may want to write scripts which run with other dialog "clones".

   Original Dialog
       First, there is the "original" dialog program to consider (versions 0.3
       to 0.9).  It had some misspelled (or inconsistent) options.  The dialog
       program maps those deprecated options to the preferred ones.  They  in-
       clude:

              Option         Treatment
              ---------------------------------
              --beep-after   ignored
              --guage        mapped to --gauge
              ---------------------------------

   Xdialog
       This  is  an  X application, rather than a terminal program.  With some
       care, it is possible to write useful scripts that work with both  Xdia-
       log and dialog.

       The  dialog program ignores these options which are recognized by Xdia-
       log:

              Option             Treatment
              -----------------------------------------------
              --allow-close      ignored
              --auto-placement   ignored
              --fixed-font       ignored
              --icon             ignored
              --keep-colors      ignored
              --no-close         ignored
              --no-cr-wrap       ignored
              --screen-center    ignored
              --separator        mapped to --separate-output
              --smooth           ignored
              --under-mouse      ignored
              --wmclass          ignored
              -----------------------------------------------

       Xdialog's manpage has a section discussing its compatibility with  dia-
       log.   There  are some differences not shown in the manpage.  For exam-
       ple, the html documentation states

              Note: former Xdialog releases used the "\n" (line feed) as a re-
              sults  separator for the checklist widget; this has been changed
              to "/" in Xdialog v1.5.0 to make it compatible  with  (c)dialog.
              In  your  old scripts using the Xdialog checklist, you will then
              have to add the --separate-output option before the  --checklist
              one.

       Dialog  has  not  used a different separator; the difference was likely
       due to confusion regarding some script.

   Whiptail
       Then there is whiptail.  For practical purposes, it  is  maintained  by
       Debian (very little work is done by its upstream developers).  Its doc-
       umentation (README.whiptail) claims

              whiptail(1) is a lightweight replacement for dialog(1),
              to provide dialog boxes for shell scripts.
              It is built on the
              newt windowing library rather than the ncurses library, allowing
              it to be smaller in embedded environments such as installers,
              rescue disks, etc.

              whiptail is designed to be drop-in compatible with dialog, but
              has less features: some dialog boxes are not implemented, such
              as tailbox, timebox, calendarbox, etc.

       Comparing actual sizes (Debian testing, 2007/1/10): The total of  sizes
       for whiptail, the newt, popt and slang libraries is 757 KB.  The compa-
       rable number for dialog (counting ncurses) is  520 KB.   Disregard  the
       first paragraph.

       The  second  paragraph is misleading, since whiptail also does not work
       for common options of dialog, such as the gauge box.  whiptail is  less
       compatible with dialog than the original mid-1990s dialog 0.4 program.

       whiptail's  manpage borrows features from dialog, e.g., but oddly cites
       only dialog versions up to 0.4 (1994) as a source.  That is,  its  man-
       page  refers  to features which were borrowed from more recent versions
       of dialog, e.g.,

       o   --gauge (from 0.5)

       o   --passwordbox (from Debian changes in 1999),

       o   --default-item (from dialog 2000/02/22),

       o   --output-fd (from dialog 2002/08/14).

       Somewhat humorously, one may note that the popt  feature  (undocumented
       in its manpage) of using a "--" as an escape was documented in dialog's
       manpage about a year before it was  mentioned  in  whiptail's  manpage.
       whiptail's  manpage incorrectly attributes that to getopt (and is inac-
       curate anyway).

       Debian uses whiptail for the official dialog variation.

       The dialog program ignores or maps these options which  are  recognized
       by whiptail:

              Option            Treatment
              -------------------------------------------
              --cancel-button   mapped to --cancel-label
              --fb              ignored
              --fullbutton      ignored
              --no-button       mapped to --no-label
              --nocancel        mapped to --no-cancel
              --noitem          mapped to --no-items
              --notags          mapped to --no-tags
              --ok-button       mapped to --ok-label
              --scrolltext      mapped to --scrollbar
              --topleft         mapped to --begin 0 0
              --yes-button      mapped to --yes-label
              -------------------------------------------

       There  are  visual  differences which are not addressed by command-line
       options:

       o   dialog centers lists within the window.   whiptail  typically  puts
           lists against the left margin.

       o   whiptail  uses  angle  brackets  ("<" and ">") for marking buttons.
           dialog uses square brackets.

       o   whiptail marks the limits of subtitles with vertical bars.   dialog
           does not mark the limits.

       o   whiptail  attempts to mark the top/bottom cells of a scrollbar with
           up/down arrows.  When it cannot do this, it fills those cells  with
           the background color of the scrollbar and confusing the user.  dia-
           log uses the entire scrollbar space, thereby getting better resolu-
           tion.

BUGS
       Perhaps.

AUTHOR
       Thomas E. Dickey (updates for 0.9b and beyond)

CONTRIBUTORS
       Kiran Cherupally - the mixed form and mixed gauge widgets.

       Tobias C. Rittweiler

       Valery Reznic - the form and progressbox widgets.

       Yura Kalinichenko adapted the gauge widget as "pause".

       This  is  a  rewrite (except as needed to provide compatibility) of the
       earlier version of dialog 0.9a, which lists as authors:

       o   Savio Lam - version 0.3, "dialog"

       o   Stuart Herbert - patch for version 0.4

       o   Marc Ewing - the gauge widget.

       o   Pasquale De Marco "Pako" - version 0.9a, "cdialog"

$Date: 2019/08/06 21:28:23 $                                         DIALOG(1)

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