webcollage(6) XScreenSaver manual webcollage(6)

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(6) 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.

SEE ALSO

X(1), xscreensaver(1), convert(1), vidwhacker(6), dadadodo(1),
driftnet(1), EtherPEG, EtherPeek, https://www.jwz.org/webcollage/

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 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 6.09 (07-Jun-2024) webcollage(6)