[Solved] Setting xterm to xterm-256color won't work as described

Question

My goal was to set TERM to xterm-256color as described in the wiki but it doesn't work.
I tried to add xterm*termName: xterm-256color to ~/.Xresources (with .xinitrc containing [[ -f ~/.Xresources ]] && xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources) and /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc. Merging the setting manually with  xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources was also without luck.
Additionally i tried to add the line export TERM=xterm256-color to /etc/profile and to a custom script in /etc/profile.d.
I've also checked if even the scripts were executed by creating a file with touch. The file was created, so /etc/profile was executed.
The only way to set TERM to xterm-256color was by adding export TERM=xterm256-color to my ~/.zshrc (~/.bashrc would've worked also), but this is the way how it should not be done and furthermore i would like to set xterm to use 256 colors system-wide.'
I use XFCE, gnome and gdm if this helps.
Last edited by klingt.net (2014-03-11 09:25:42)

Answer 1

Are you using xterm or are you using Xfce's Terminal app?  I ask because there has been confusion in the past about setting $TERM for Xfce's Terminal. See https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=175581
From the documentation for the Xfce Terminal Preferences, http://docs.xfce.org/apps/terminal/preferences, under Compatibility:
Emulation setting
    This specifies the terminal emulation. This does not only set the $TERM value, but also the input conversion of the VTE widget. By default this is set to xterm, if changed /etc/termcap will be read to get the emulation values.
    If you have an application that needs $TERM for correct functionality, it is better to set this manually in your ~/.bashrc file (or whatever shell you use) and set the terminal emulation as xterm to avoid incorrect characters in the Terminal.