[ale] Window Managers for X

Mon Sep 18 17:18:17 EDT 2006

On Mon, 2006-09-18 at 16:44 -0400, Ken Cochran wrote:
> Oh, oh, thank you!
> 
> Narrowing things down somewhat, here are a couple of other
> things I like about my (old) fvwm95 2.0.43a:
> 
> - Middle mouse button (#3) on a taskbar item minimizes it.  Left
>   click (button 1) selects the item, bringing it up if it was
>   minimized.  I like being able to quick-select/minimize windows
>   from the taskbar - I seldom if ever use the 3 little boxes at
>   the upper right of the menu-bar.

OK. You are IN THE DARK AGES!! :) It's official. :)

I tossed out fvwm2 around gnome v. .5 or so so my knowledge of the
details are core-dumped.  Most managers have short cuts like that. My
current gnome stuff lets me min and max windows from the task bar with a
left click. A right click on the window top bar lets me select from a
menu of options.
> 
> - Analog xclock in the "dock" along with xload; bottom-right
>   of taskbar has digital clock.

xdaliclock -cycle -transparent -root was pretty, cool and fun. the -root
won't work now with gnome and kde as they claim the root window.
> 
> Mostly I just run a bunch of xterms, ya I'm old-fashioned like that.  :)
> Additionally there are a few browser windows & that's about it.
> 
> Looks to me like the "environments" (GNOME, KDE, XFCE) are all
> overkill for my needs.
> 
> I'm just fine editing config files with vi.  :)  But alas I have
> yet to see instructions explaining any examples, e.g. with fvwm2,
> fvwm95, icewm, E, windowmaker, *box, whatever...

Old distros went to great lengths to set up a good working environment
for the wm they were using. Slackware still has a pretty good twm
configed.
> 
> q:  If I "pin" a window, what if I launch a whole bunch of the
> same window?  (For example, a bunch of xterms and/or several
> browser windows)

I think the pin is per window so the others will follow the behavior the
wm tells them (tile, stack, random, etc)
> 
> -kc
> 
> >From: "James P. Kinney III" <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
> >To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> >Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:20:02 -0400
> >Subject: Re: [ale] Window Managers for X
> >
> >
> >On Mon, 2006-09-18 at 15:39 -0400, Ken Cochran wrote:
> >> Hehe, I caught the article in /. too.  :)  That, along with
> >> this thread finally poked me into asking, after long delay...
> >> Wrt documentation I'd just about be happy knowing what the terms
> >> at xwinman.org, etc. mean, e.g. "pinning."  I think I know what
> >> "focus" is but there are modes there I'm not grokking yet,
> >> for example "sloppy."  Some kind of glossary would be nice...
> >>
> >> -kc
> >
> >pinning: when a window is "pinned" to a particular location on the
> >desktop. It will then reopen at that location from then on.
> >
> >sloppy focus: the opposite of "click to focus". Usually moving the mouse
> >over the exposed portion of the window will bring it into focus after a
> >definable time delay.
> >
> >When sloppy focus (delay=3D0ms) is combined with raise on focus, moving
> >the mouse across a very busy, filled desktop can cause nausea and the
> >onscreen windows popup into focus and resink for the next one. twm was
> >notorious for that one.
> >
> >An old desktop environment that looked good, and had some nice design
> >ideas was tkdesktop. It still used a window manager like twm. There was
> >an actual desk picture with file folders, etc. Can't find it on the web
> >now. I should have it still in an old walnut creek CD set _somewhere_.
> >>=20
> >> >Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 11:55:01 -0500
> >> >From: KingBahamut <gwosbahamut at gmail.com>
> >> >To: "Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts" <ale at ale.org>
> >> >Subject: Re: [ale] Window Managers for X
> >> >
> >> >Ken, Ive heard that fvwm-crystal is pretty nice looking.
> >> >
> >> >http://fvwm-crystal.org/
> >> >
> >> >Dont know how this will work into your equation though.
> >> >
> >> >On 9/18/06, Ken Cochran <kwc at theworld.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> Hi, this thread on window managers has me wondering too...
> >> >> Right now I'm running fvwm95 but I'd like to change to something
> >> >> else more up-to-date.  I've looked at the likes of window-maker,
> >> >> fvwm2 and icewm.
> >> >>
> >> >> What I like about what I have (fvwm95 v2.0.43a):
> >> >>
> >> >> - There's a taskbar, analogous to that in MSwin.
> >> >>
> >> >> - It shows me the pixel positions & sizes of windows if I
> >> >>   left-click (button 1?) on a title bar (window position) or
> >> >>   border/corner (window size).
> >> >>
> >> >> - There is an xload window in what appears to be analogous to
> >> >>   OSX's Dock, among other things there.
> >> >>
> >> >> What I don't like about it:
> >> >>
> >> >> - It seems rather "long in the tooth" & I'm *sure* there has to
> >> >>   be Something Better nowadays.
> >> >>
> >> >> - The taskbar is shared among all desktops.  I'd like for each
> >> >>   desktop to have its own taskbar.
> >> >>
> >> >> - I can't find any documentation about how to configure it.  For
> >> >>   that matter, neither can I find documentation on how to configure
> >> >>   any other window manager.  :(  How about even a glossary of terms?
> >> >>
> >> >> What I'm looking for:
> >> >>
> >> >> - Widely available, maintaned & supported/supportable and
> >> >>   *documented*.  (So far *everything* I've looked at falls flat on
> >> >>   its face wrt documentation.  Am I asking too much for some docs?)
> >> >>
> >> >> - Not so "big" - e.g. light on resource utilization; a "desktop
> >> >>   environment" such as GNOME, KDE, or even XFCE is probably
> >> >>   overkill.  (But KDE looks pretty good, hmmm...  Khtml browser
> >> >>   support would be nice.)
> >> >>
> >> >> - Ability to display the sizes & positions of windows, etc.  (See
> >> >>   2nd point, above.)
> >> >>
> >> >> - Multiple desktops, with a taskbar that goes with each desktop
> >> >>
> >> >> - Familiarity, e.g. can be made to look & work reasonably similar
> >> >>   to MSWin or OSX/Aqua (especially Aqua :).
> >> >>
> >> >> - and of course the "usual" niceties like lack of clutter &
> >> >>   "usability" (whatever passes for these things nowadays I guess...)
> >> >>
> >> >> The site http://www.xwinman.org/ is some (but not enough) help,
> >> >> nice resource though.  Maybe I'm just asking for too much {sigh}.
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James P. Kinney III          
CEO & Director of Engineering 
Local Net Solutions,LLC        
770-493-8244                    
http://www.localnetsolutions.com

GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
<jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
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