Dot files

% ls -a

.                               Calendar
..                              ...
.X11defaults                    Other files and directories
.Xauthority                     
.cshrc                          
.elm                            
.emacs                          
.env                            
.login                          
.newsrc                         
.oldnewsrc                    
.plan                         
.pnewsexpert                  
.profile                      
.rnlast                       
.rnsoft                       
.sh_history                   
.subscriptions                
.tvtwmrc                      
.xinitrc

These dot files typically contain application-specific resource information. What follows is a brief description of the purpose of many common dot files which you may wish to customize:

.X11defaults

This contains resource information which specifies attributes for X11 client applications. It is accessed during startup.

.cshrc

This file contains information used by csh. It typically includes information such as terminal settings and alias definitions. It is read everytime a csh is started.

.login

After .cshrc is read by csh, .login is read. It typically contains information such as environment variable definitions and invokes startup customized startup shell scripts.

.env

This file is examined by each instance of ksh when it starts. It functions in the same way for ksh that .cshrc functions for csh.

.profile

This file is examined before ~/.env by the login shell only. Actions and environmental setups described here affect the rest of the user's session.

.elm

This is a directory which contains resource information for the elm mailer. See elm users guide.

.emacs

Customizations to the emacs editor can be made here.

.newsrc

This contains a list of subscribed and unsubscribed newsgroups and information about which messages in each group have been read.

.plan

This contains information about you that will be displayed when someone fingers your account. See (.plan FAQ).

.subscriptions

This specifies programs and utilities that you may access.

.tvtwmrc

This is a resource file for the tvtwm, which is a window manager that specifies the look and feel of X clients.

.xinitrc

This is an X11 startup file which contains commands that activate X clients during local login and specifies where they should be positioned on the display.