Launch X11 xterm windows from anywhere

Mar 08, '04 09:54:00AM

Contributed by: toblak

I prefer to use the xterm that comes with X11 over Apple's Terminal. However, launching a new xterm window can be a pain when X11 isn't the current active app. I wrote the following AppleScript which starts X11, if it isn't running, and then launches an xterm window. The only requirement is that there is a menu entry in X11's Application menu with the title of Terminal (this entry is present by default):

tell application "X11"
  activate
end tell

tell application "System Events"
  tell process "X11"
    tell menu bar 1
      tell menu "Applications"
        click menu item "Terminal"
      end tell
    end tell
  end tell
end tell
After testing the script, I saved it as an application with the "Run Only" checkbox checked. I then downloaded a "terminal" icon from xicons.com and applied it to the program. Now an xterm window is a click away on my desktop.

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