MOVING windows with MWM
To manipulate the windows on your screen, you need to have a "window
manager" running on your workstation. Normally, the window manager is
started automatically when you login. If, for some reason, the window
manager operations described below don't seem to be working, you should
type this command to start the window manager:
mwm &
After a few moments, mwm will be activated, and you will be able to move
the windows around, resize them, and change how the windows are "stacked"
on the screen. Mwm is designed to provide these functions in an intuitive
fashion by the use of window borders and areas within these borders
(`buttons', not to be confused with `Mouse-buttons'). In addition, almost
every window manager function is accessible from either the mouse or the
keyboard.
If you have used an Apple Macintosh, you should find mwm rather similar.
When mwm is running, most windows are surrounded by a border and have a
titlebar on the top. The borders are broken into corner buttons (which
look like, well, corners), and edge buttons (long vertical/horizontal
bars). The titlebar is broken into 4 sections, which are described below.
Note: When performing window manager operations, you may need to press and
hold the "Meta" key on your keyboard while using the mouse. The "Meta"
key may be labeled "Compose Character", "Symbol", or "Alt" on your
particular keyboard.
Depending on the operation you want to perform, you will need to either
push and release a single button on the mouse (`click') or move the mouse
while holding down a button (`drag'). This table summarizes the
operations you can perform:
Mouse Keyboard
----------- -----------
Move title area-drag M-F6
Resize edge/corner-drag M-F7
Iconify iconify button M-F8
Deiconify MB1 double-click M-F5
Raise Any MB click on edge/title M-F12
Lower M-MB1 anywhere on window M-F10
Root Window
Menus S-M-MB2 <-- same MB1,MB2,MB3, or Shift-ESC
on root window
LEGEND:
M = META or COMPOSE key C = CONTROL key
MB1 = Mouse-button-1 ESC = ESCAPE (F11 on non-IBM keyboards)
MB2 = Mouse-button-2 (*) Fx = Function key (located at the top
MB3 = Mouse-button-3 of the keyboard)
(*) On 2-button mouses, hold down both MB1 and MB2.
The "raise" and "lower" operations control how your windows are "stacked"
on the screen, i.e. which windows are fully visible, and which are
obscured.
The "iconify" and "un-iconify" operations allow you to "compress" windows
into small icons and then "expand" them again.
iconify button: On the titlebar, there are two small boxes on the right
side. The one with a picture of a small box in it, when
pressed, will iconify the window.
maximize button: The other button on the far right of the titlebar has a
large box in it. Pressing this button will make the window as
large as the screen, or as big as the program will allow the
window to become. Pressing it a second time will return the
window to its former size and place.
window menu: The left side of the titlebar has a button with a rectangle
in it. Holding down this button reveals a pull-down menu that
contains all of the window operations (moving, resizing, etc.)
as well. Holding down MB2 or MB3 anywhere on the border or
title-bar of a window reveals the same menu. On an icon,
clicking MB1, or holding down MB2 or MB3 does the same.
title area: This displays the name of the program you are running, such
as `xterm' or `emacs'.
Shift-ESCAPE: While in a window, this key combination will pop-up the
window menu. On the root window (gray background), this will
pop-up the root window menus. You can use the arrow keys to
traverse these menus. Remember you need to use F11 for ESCAPE on
non-IBM keyboards.
You can also use the keyboard arrow keys, spacebar and return to set the
initial position of a window, or to move a window. Much more information is
available on request, or by reading the (lengthy!) man page -- simply type:
man mwm
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