---
name: "XDrawRectangle"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "libx11"
version: "1.8.14-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/XDrawRectangle"
---

# XDrawRectangle(3)

draw rectangles and rectangles structure

## NAME

XDrawRectangle, XDrawRectangles, XRectangle - draw rectangles and rectangles structure

## SYNTAX

int XDrawRectangle(Display \**display*, Drawable *d*, GC *gc*, int *x*, int *y*, unsigned int *width*, unsigned int *height*);

int XDrawRectangles(Display \**display*, Drawable *d*, GC *gc*, XRectangle *rectangles*\[\], int *nrectangles*);

## ARGUMENTS

- *d*

  Specifies the drawable.

- *display*

  Specifies the connection to the X server.

- *gc*

  Specifies the GC.

- *nrectangles*

  Specifies the number of rectangles in the array.

- *rectangles*

  Specifies an array of rectangles.

- *width*

  - *height*

  Specify the width and height, which specify the dimensions of the rectangle.

- *x*

  - *y*

  Specify the x and y coordinates, which specify the upper-left corner of the rectangle.

## DESCRIPTION

The **XDrawRectangle** and **XDrawRectangles** functions draw the outlines of the specified rectangle or rectangles as if a five-point **PolyLine** protocol request were specified for each rectangle:

-

  \[x,y\] \[x+width,y\] \[x+width,y+height\] \[x,y+height\] \[x,y\]

For the specified rectangle or rectangles, these functions do not draw a pixel more than once. **XDrawRectangles** draws the rectangles in the order listed in the array. If rectangles intersect, the intersecting pixels are drawn multiple times.

Both functions use these GC components: function, plane-mask, line-width, line-style, cap-style, join-style, fill-style, subwindow-mode, clip-x-origin, clip-y-origin, and clip-mask. They also use these GC mode-dependent components: foreground, background, tile, stipple, tile-stipple-x-origin, tile-stipple-y-origin, dash-offset, and dash-list.

**XDrawRectangle** and **XDrawRectangles** can generate **BadDrawable**, **BadGC**, and **BadMatch** errors.

## STRUCTURES

The **XRectangle** structure contains:

```
typedef struct {
        short x, y;
        unsigned short width, height;
} XRectangle;
```

All x and y members are signed integers. The width and height members are 16-bit unsigned integers. You should be careful not to generate coordinates and sizes out of the 16-bit ranges, because the protocol only has 16-bit fields for these values.

## DIAGNOSTICS

- **BadDrawable**

  A value for a Drawable argument does not name a defined Window or Pixmap.

- **BadGC**

  A value for a GContext argument does not name a defined GContext.

- **BadMatch**

  An **InputOnly** window is used as a Drawable.

- **BadMatch**

  Some argument or pair of arguments has the correct type and range but fails to match in some other way required by the request.

## SEE ALSO

[**XDrawArc**(3)](/XDrawArc/3.md), [**XDrawLine**(3)](/XDrawLine/3.md), [**XDrawPoint**(3)](/XDrawPoint/3.md)\
 *Xlib - C Language X Interface*