Answers Database

"Can't open display" error when invoking install and other programs withgraphical interfaces


Record #1163

Product Family:  Software

Product Line:  Merged Core

Problem Title:
"Can't open display" error when invoking install and other programs
withgraphical interfaces



Problem Description:
The "Can't open display" error means that an application is unable to
write to the user's workstation display.  This usually happens when you
are running graphical software while remotely connected to a workstation
from your own machine.


Solution 1:

There are two ways this can happen.

  1)  Often the customer has not started OpenWindows (or any
      other X server) before running the install.
      The solution is to start Openwindows first.  If the
      user REALLY doesn't want to run X, or doesn't have
      a graphical monitor for the system with the CD, there's
      a second, non-graphical install script,

	 /cdrom/cdi.csh,

      which can install the XACT software; however, it has less functionality
      than the graphical install.

  2)  Even if openwin or X is running, the display is
      protected by default so that no one else can connect.
      If the customer does "su" to become root, and runs the
      install, the X server won't let root connect to the
      user's display.

      The solution here is to have the user type

	"xhost +"

      as himself
      from a command tool in which he is logged on to his LOCAL machine.
      This will allow root as well as other users to write to the user's
      display.


      If you are invoking the software from the remote machine, you must also
      first set the DISPLAY environment variable to "hostname:0" in the
      command tool connected to the REMOTE machine.  In this case, "hostname"
      is the hostname of your LOCAL machine:


	 setenv DISPLAY `hostname`:0

      This will allow root as well as other users to write to the user's
      display.

3) On Solaris systems, an additional step is required as a workaround
This problem happens because the XACT programs are statically
linked in an environment which uses NIS.  They consequently
can't find network information in an environment which uses DNS.

This affects the X programs, and also the license manager.




Solution 2:

Although running the Xilinx software on a remote PC X-Server
utility is not supported by Xilinx, and has never been tested.
It has been found that by using the complete IP address in the
display variable sometimes will solve the Can't Open Display problem.



End of Record #1163