Ubuntu Manpage: webcollage - a collage of random images from the World Wide Web

Provided by: xscreensaver-screensaver-webcollage_6.08+dfsg1-1ubuntu4_amd64

NAME

       webcollage - a collage of random images from the World Wide Web

SYNOPSIS

       webcollage  [--display  host:display.screen]  [--root]  [--window-id number] [--window-id id] [--verbose]
       [--timeout secs] [--delay secs] [--background bg] [--no-output] [--urls-only] [--imagemap  filename-base]
       [--size  WxH]  [--opacity  ratio]  [--filter  command]  [--filter2  command]  [--http-proxy  host[:port]]
       [--dictionary dictionary-file] [--directory dir] [--fps]

DESCRIPTION

       This screen saver creates collages out of random images from the World Wide Web.  It finds the images  by
       feeding  random words into various search engines, then pulling images (or sections of images) out of the
       pages returned.  One satisfied customer described it as "a nonstop pop culture brainbath".

       You can also see it in action at https://www.jwz.org/webcollage/

OPTIONS

webcollage accepts the following options:

--root or --window-id number
Draw on the specified window. Images are placed on the root window using the
xscreensaver-getimage(6x) program.

--verbose or --v
Print diagnostics to stderr. Multiple -v switches increase the amount of output. -v will print
out the URLs of the images, and where they were placed; -vv will print out any warnings, and all
URLs being loaded; -vvv will print information on what URLs were rejected; and so on.

--timeout seconds
How long to wait for a URL to complete before giving up on it and moving on to the next one.
Default 30 seconds.

--delay seconds
How long to sleep between images. Default 2 seconds. (Remember that this program probably
spends a lot of time waiting for the network.)

--background color-or-file
What to use for the background onto which images are pasted. This may be a color name, a
hexadecimal RGB specification in the form '#rrggbb', or the name of an image file.

--size WxH
Normally, the output image will be made to be the size of the screen (or target window). This
lets you specify the desired size.

--opacity ratio
How transparently to paste the images together, with 0.0 meaning "completely transparent" and 1.0
meaning "opaque." Default 0.85. A value of around 0.3 will produce an interestingly blurry
image after a while.

--no-output
If this option is specified, then no composite output image will be generated. This is only
useful when used in conjunction with --verbose.

--urls-only
If this option is specified, then no composite output image will be generated: instead, a list of
image URLs will be printed on stdout.

--imagemap filename-base
If this option is specified, then instead of writing an image to the root window, two files will
be created: "base.html" and "base.jpg". The JPEG will be the collage; the HTML file will include
that image, and a series of clickable rectangles linking the sub-images to the pages on which
they were found, as seen on the web version of WebCollage at https://www.jwz.org/webcollage/

--filter command
Filter all source images through this command. The command must take a PPM file on stdin, and
write a new PPM file to stdout. One good choice for a filter would be:

webcollage -root -filter 'vidwhacker -stdin -stdout'

--filter2 command
Filter the composite image through this command. The -filter option applies to the sub-images;
the -filter2 applies to the final, full-screen image.

--http-proxy host:port
If you must go through a proxy to connect to the web, you can specify it with this option, or
with the $http_proxy or $HTTP_PROXY environment variables.

--dictionary file
Webcollage normally looks at the system's default spell-check dictionary to generate words to
feed into the search engines. You can specify an alternate dictionary with this option.

Note that by default, webcollage searches for images using several different methods, not all of
which involve dictionary words, so using a "topical" dictionary file will not, in itself, be as
effective as you might be hoping.

--directory dir
Instead of searching the web for images, use the contents of the given directory.

--fps Display the current frame rate and CPU load (MacOS only).

ENVIRONMENT

       DISPLAY to get the default host and display number.

       XENVIRONMENT
               to  get  the  name  of  a  resource  file  that  overrides  the  global  resources  stored in the
               RESOURCE_MANAGER property.

       XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW
               The window ID to use with --root.

       http_proxy or HTTP_PROXY
               to get the default HTTP proxy host and port.

FILES AND URLS

       /usr/dict/words, /usr/share/lib/dict/words, or /usr/share/dict/words to find the  random  words  to  feed
       into to various search fields, including Google, Bing, Flickr, Imgur and Tumblr.

BOOBIES

       The  Internet  being  what  it  is,  absolutely  anything might show up in the collage including -- quite
       possibly -- pornography, or even nudity.

BUGS

       Animating GIFs are not supported: only the first frame will be used.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright  ©  1998-2022  by  Jamie  Zawinski.  Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this
       software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee,  provided  that  the  above
       copyright  notice  appear  in  all  copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice
       appear in supporting documentation.  No representations are made about the suitability of  this  software
       for any purpose.  It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

AUTHOR

       Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 24-May-1998.

X Version 11                                   6.08 (10-Oct-2023)                                 webcollage(6x)