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FVWM Frequently Asked Questions
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Last updated 7 Aug 2003 for unstable release 2.5.7 and stable
release 2.4.16.
Contents
0. *The* most frequently asked questions :)
0.1 A few minutes after fvwm is started my keyboard and
mouse bindings stop working. What can I do?
0.2 I use XMMS, but it ignores some window styles.
0.3 I like transparency. What can I do?
1. About Fvwm
1.1 What does FVWM stand for?
1.2 Where do I find the current versions of fvwm?
1.3 Any WWW Sites about FVWM?
1.4 Where do I ask questions about FVWM?
1.5 What are the differences between FVWM 1.xx and 2.xx?
1.6 What's the relative memory usage for the various window
managers out there?
1.7 Why the rename of the various files (fvwm2, .fvwm2rc,
fvwm2.man)?
1.8 When will fvwm release X.Y.Z be ready?
2. Installation
2.1 I want to use FVWM, but I don't have root access on my
machine. Can I still install and run it?
2.2 I'm trying to use fvwm under CDE/COSE, but encountering
difficulties. Any suggestions?
2.3 I'm trying to compile FVWM under SunOS using cc, but the
compiler is having lots of problems. What gives?
2.4 I want colored icons, but they won't work. Why not?
When I run configure, it reports "no" to "Have XPM
support?" How can I get XPM support?
2.5 I'm a sysadmin, and if I wanted to force fvwm to read a
system rc file and then the user's rc file, how would I
do that?
2.6 I'm a sysadmin, and if I wanted fvwm to look for all of
its rc files in a hidden directory, say ~/.fvwm, much
like CDE does, how could I do that?
2.7 How can I use FVWM with GNOME version <= 1?
2.8 How can I use FVWM with GNOME version >= 2 or KDE
version >= 2?
3. Features, Configuration, Functions & Commands
3.1 I use FVWM on a RedHat Linux system and can't figure out
how to change my FVWM configuration. I've read the FVWM
man page but when I edit my .fvwm2rc nothing seems to
happen. What's going on?
3.2 Is it possible to raise a window when I click into the
window itself, not just the border?
3.3 How do I get Alt-Tab behavior like another GUI?
3.4 What's the difference between the Focus and FlipFocus
commands?
3.5 You can bind mouse movements to keystrokes, how about
mouse presses?
3.6 I'd like to bind a key to paste/use the current
selection, how can I do that?
3.7 Will FVWM ever support a separate colormap for each
desktop?
3.8 I really like the horizontal bars that appear on the
title bars of sticky windows. Can I get those on other
windows as well?
3.9 How do I set the Sun keyboard key xxxx to an FVWM
command? Or more generally, I'm having problems defining
key bindings for FVWM - what can I do?
3.10 My .fvwmrc from version 1.xx no longer works. What do I
do?
3.11 What happened to the FVWM 1.xx 'include' command?
3.12 How do I get window titles on sub windows of ...
3.13 I just upgraded to version >= 2.3.2, and my
configuration settings disappeared! How do I get them
back?
3.14 Some applications (e.g. Eterm) don't use the icon I
defined for them. Why?
3.15 I don't like the gaps in my icon box when I de-iconify
an application. Is there some kind of auto arrange
function?
3.16 How do I set up an fvwm menu item that shuts down my
Linux machine?
3.17 Although the Recapture command is obsolete, do I still
need it to apply certain style changes?
3.18 When my specific window (or all windows) pops up, I want
it to get focus/be moved/be resized/be closed/be
shaded... How?
3.19 When my specific window (or all windows) is closed, I
want to switch desks/wrap to my app X/popup a menu/start
app X... How?
3.20 I have a multi head setup (multiple screens used under
X). How can I tell fvwm to use different configurations
for the screens?
3.21 How do I maximize a window but not cover up FvwmTaskBar?
3.22 Why don't buttons show on the titlebar of some windows?
3.23 How to define transparent menus?
3.24 How to define transparent modules?
3.25 How to define transparent decorations?
3.26 How about transparent applications too?
3.27 How can I define emacs type multi-keystroke fvwm bindings?
4. Modules
4.1 I'm using FvwmButtons (or GoodStuff in 1.xx), and
sometimes the buttons stay depressed, and other times
they don't. Why is that?
4.2 When having FvwmButtons swallow an app, is it possible
to have button presses assigned to actions as well? For
instance, I'd like to swallow xload and have a button
press pop up an xterm, or swallow xbiff and have a
button press bring up the list of messages.
4.3 I'm seeing odd things when trying to preprocess files
with the FvwmM4/Cpp module...
4.4 I heard about this FvwmFileMgr module. Where can I find
it?
4.5 I used to use GoodStuff in FVWM 1.xx, but it's not in
the 2.xx distribution. What do I use now?
4.6 I want to have the sub panels in FvwmButtons not at
their default position near the button but somewhere
else on the screen. Is this possible?
4.7 How can I open a sub panel or push buttons in
FvwmButtons with a keyboard shortcut?
5. Development, Known Problems & Bug Reports
5.1 I'd really like to see neat feature XYZ in
FVWM. Wouldn't that be cool? I even have a patch. When
can it be added?
5.2 How do I create/submit/apply patches?
5.3 How do I submit a bug report?
5.4 I have a window that is behaving unexpectedly under
FVWM, but just fine under (whatever other window
manager), or I have just some random bug. What do I do?
5.5 Why do NumLock, CapsLock and ScrollLock interfere with
ClickToFocus and/or my mouse bindings?
5.6 Menus with gradient backgrounds flicker or are very
slow.
5.7 Why won't the StartIconic style work with {Netscape,
etc.}?
5.8 How do I capture the output (e.g. errors) of fvwm?
5.9 I try to run some program under FVWM, but it dies with
an X11 error like BadAccess. The same program works
just fine under MWM or OLWM. What's going on?
5.10 Every time I update my install, my currently running
fvwm session dies. Why is that?
5.11 After I restart fvwm certain windows or icons raise
above all other windows and cannot be lowered by any
means. One example are the shortcuts of KFM (the KDE
file manager). What can I do about that?
5.12 The StartsOnPage style does not work for me. Why?
5.13 Some modules can not be started when I restart fvwm.
5.14 I'm running Rational Rose and fvwm ignores its windows.
5.15 Although I use the WindowListSkip style for my modules
they still show up in FvwmIconMan, FvwmWinList etc.
6. Miscellaneous
6.1 What exactly is the difference between a DESK, a PAGE,
and the SCREEN?
6.2 I'd really like {NeXT, Win95, etc} look and feel. Are
you going to support that?
6.3 Where can I get more XPMs for icons?
6.4 Linux XF86 virtual screen size & fvwm interaction...
6.5 I know this question doesn't have to do with FVWM, but
what happened to to rxvt and rclock which Rob Nation
used to support? Where can I find them now?
6.6 How do I set the background with fvwm?
6.7 When I use Fvwm, my XYZ isn't the right color. Whats
wrong?
6.8 I just got a mouse with 57 buttons. How do I make Fvwm
use them?
7. Hints and Examples from the Developers
7.1 An easy way to test new configurations.
7.2 Using shell commands for configuration.
7.3 How to start applications on a page or desk other than
the current.
7.4 How to start applications on a page or desk other than
the current without moving the viewport to the new page
or desk.
7.5 A more efficient MWM menu style.
7.6 Placing menus on the screen.
7.7 Are you flipping pages by accident when moving the mouse
close to the border of the screen?
7.8 Lining up your windows and icons.
7.9 Moving the mouse/focus/page with the keyboard.
7.10 The cat safe desktop :-)
7.11 Lowering and moving windows.
7.12 Toggling windows on and off.
7.13 Starting applications by clicking on an icon (also known
as "docking" applications).
7.14 Positioning a window using arithmetic.
7.15 Hiding the mouse pointer.
7.16 Finding the mouse pointer.
7.17 Autohiding FvwmButtons or other windows.
======================================================================
0 - The most frequently asked question
======================================================================
0.1 A few minutes after fvwm is started my keyboard and mouse
bindings stop working. What can I do?
A: Probably your NumLock, CapsLock or ScrollLock key is pressed. See
Q 5.5 for more details.
Trivia: In all my years as an fvwm developer this has been by far the
most frequently asked question. Whoever can solve this problem so
that this question is never asked again will be mentioned in big
letters on the fvwm home page :-)
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0.2 I use XMMS, but it ignores some window styles.
A: XMMS wants to do evrything by itself and overrides many
settings of the window manager. Check the options menu in XMMS
and if that does not help, ask the XMMS people about it at
http://xmms.org/
*Please* do not ask XMMS questions on the fvwm mailing lists
and so not report XMMS related bugs before you tried the XMMS
mailing lists. No offence meant, but we really have more
important things to do than providing user support for third
party software.
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0.3 I like transparency. What can I do?
A: See questions 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 3.26 that deal with transparency.
Also see configurations supplied in fvwm-themes package, some
themes use transparent menus, modules and/or decorations. F.e.:
http://fvwm-themes.sf.net/screenshots/full/transparent.png
http://fvwm-themes.sf.net/screenshots/full/transparent.jpg
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1 - About Fvwm
======================================================================
1.1 What does FVWM stand for?
A: "Fill_in_the_blank_with_whatever_f_word_you_like_at_the_time
Virtual Window Manager". Rob Nation (the original Author of FVWM)
doesn't really remember what the F stood for originally, so we
have several potential answers:
Feeble, Fabulous, Famous, Fast, Foobar, Fantastic, Flexible,
F!@#$%, Flashy, FVWM (the GNU recursive approach), Free, Final,
Funky, Fred's (who the heck is Fred?), Freakin', Flawed,
Father-of-all, Feivel (the mouse from "An American Tail"),
Frungy (hey, where does that come from?), Floppy, Foxy,
Frenzied, Funny, Fumbling etc.
Just pick your Favorite (hey, there's another one!), which will of
course change depending on your mood and whether or not you've run
across any bugs recently. I prefer Fabulous or Fantastic myself,
although I often use F!@#$% or Freakin' while debugging...
Recently 'Feline' is becoming popular. Perhaps this has something
to do with the discovery that four of the six core developers have
cats (averaging 1.17 cats)? Miaow.
Know what? I found another one while stroking my cats: FEEDING :-)
Check this link:
http://fvwm.org/fvwm-cats/
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1.2 Where do I find the current versions of fvwm?
A: New main distribution site (official + beta code):
ftp://ftp.fvwm.org/pub/fvwm/
Alternate sites:
USA:
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/window-managers/
ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/pub/cheah/
Europe:
ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk/pub/walnut.creek/FreeBSD/incoming/
ftp://ftp.jussieu.fr/pub/X11/fvwm/
ftp://ftp.loria.fr/pub/unix/fvwm/
BTW, 1.24r was the last released version of the 1.xx series and the
first official release of 2.xx is 2.2. As of 2.2, an odd second
digit denotes development releases and even numbers denote stable
releases.
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1.3 Any WWW Sites about FVWM?
A: Yup. The official site is:
http://www.fvwm.org/
There are links on the official site to other related fvwm sites.
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1.4 Where do I ask questions about FVWM?
A: If your local FVWM maintainer can't help you, then the newsgroup
comp.windows.x.apps is a good place, but the fvwm mailing list is
usually better. The new FVWM discussion mailing list address is:
fvwm@fvwm.org
And there is an announce mailing list as well:
fvwm-announce@fvwm.org
They are maintained by Jason Tibbitts, and are Majordomo based
mailing lists. To subscribe to the list, send "subscribe fvwm" in
the body of a message to <list>-request@fvwm.org. For example, to
subscribe to the fvwm mailing list, send a request to
fvwm-request@fvwm.org.
To unsubscribe from a list, send "unsubscribe fvwm" in the body of a
message to <list>-request@fvwm.org. To report problems, send mail to
fvwm-owner@fvwm.org.
Here's the list descriptions and instructions directly from Jason:
------------------------------------------------------------------
(fvwm)
Description
-----------
This list is for discussion relating to the FVWM window manager,
which is intended to have a small memory footprint and a rich
feature set, be extremely customizable and extendable and have a
high degree of Motif MWM compatibility. All relevant discussion
is encouraged. Posting of binaries or irrelevant discussion is
strongly frowned upon. Posting of short patches (less than 200
lines) is acceptable, but all patches should also be sent to the
fvwm-workers list (see Q5.2, below) for inspection and possible
inclusion in the distribution.
Instructions
------------
To send a message to the list, mail to fvwm@fvwm.org. For help on
dealing with the mailing list software (for getting the archives or
other files which may be made available) send the message "help" to
fvwm-request@fvwm.org. If you have problems with the mailing list
itself and need to talk to a human, send mail to fvwm-owner@fvwm.org.
This address is for mailing list issues only; reports on the FVWM
software will be sent to /dev/null.
Archives of previous messages are available; to get them send the
above mentioned help message and investigate the "index" and "get"
commands or ftp them from ftp://ftp.fvwm.org/pub/fvwm/list-archive/.
(fvwm-announce)
This list is for announcements relating to the FVWM window manager,
which is intended to have a small memory footprint and a rich
feature set, be extremely customizable and extendable and have a
high degree of Motif MWM compatibility.
Replies to messages from this list are set by default to go the
FVWM discussion list, fvwm@fvwm.org.
The current FVWM distribution is available for ftp at
ftp://ftp.fvwm.org/pub/fvwm/
------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.5 What are the differences between FVWM 1.xx and 2.xx?
A: A lot. To name a few general ones:
- Bug fixes. 1.xx is not worked on at all any more.
- Better rc file format. No longer order dependent.
- More flexible and powerful. For example, many previously
global options now operate on a per window group level
instead.
- More and better modules.
- M4 preprocessing is no longer part of the fvwm exec, but
rather has been moved to a module. There is also a module
to use cpp too. See the FvwmM4 and FvwmCpp man pages.
Be sure to check the NEWS file for new or changed features too.
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1.6 What's the relative memory usage for the various window managers
out there?
A: Here's a little table comparing some of them. It was done on an
AIX based IBM RS6000 model 355 using the same number of windows (3)
and XSession to switch between the window managers, and I used
'top' to show the values:
SIZE RES
545K 652K fvwm2 (fvwm 2.0.35)
457K 528K fvwm (fvwm 1.24rb)
856K 960K ctwm (ctwm 3.2p1)
1004K 1156K mwm (mwm 1.2)
543K 632K twm (???)
263K 328K aixwm (a simple ugly window manager included w/ aix)
Note: This information is terribly outdated.
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1.7 Why the rename of the various files (fvwm2, .fvwm2rc, fvwm2.man)?
A: Some people find this annoying, but let me say that I did that for
several reasons:
- so both 1.xx and 2.xx can be installed for use, in case some
people at the same site would rather stay at 1.xx
- the syntax of the rc files is pretty different and
completely incompatible
- when people ask questions, if they explicitly mention their
.fvwm2rc file I know that they are running one of the 2.xx
versions, since they rarely mention exactly what version
they are running.
Note, starting from 2.5.1, the executable fvwm2 became fvwm again.
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1.8 When will fvwm release X.Y.Z be ready?
A: This is always a difficult question to answer. We work on fvwm on
a volunteer basis. Things get done when we have the time.
Joining the fvwm-workers mailing list might prove instructive.
======================================================================
2 - Installation
======================================================================
2.1 I want to use FVWM, but I don't have root access on my machine.
Can I still install and run it?
A: Very easily, using the '--prefix' flag at configure time.
Suppose your home directory is /home/sam. After unpacking the
fvwm sources, do "./configure --prefix=/home/sam [other options as
needed]'. Now, after building ("make") and installing ("make
install"), you will find the binaries in /home/sam/bin, the
man pages in /home/sam/man, etc. The modules will be in
/home/sam/libexec, and fvwm binary will have this module path
built in.
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2.2 I'm trying to use fvwm under CDE/COSE, but encountering
difficulties. Any suggestions?
A: Sure - here's one from Graeme McCaffery:
-----
Finally I have found out how to run fvwm properly from CDE 8-))
(thanks to Lars Sodergren).
First set your home session in Dtwm. That usually is an empty
session, though you could have the CDE session manager remember
what your desktop was like instead of FvwmSaveDesk etc..
Then you have to set two resources in .Xdefaults:
Dtsession*wmStartupCommand: /home/orion/spxgm/bin/Fvwm
Dtsession*waitWmTimeout: 1
In this case I run fvwm from a shell script so that library
variables etc are set properly for everyone. The waitWmTimeout
tells the session manager how long to wait until it starts the
window manager. I've set it to 1 second. By default it's 60 seconds.
Finally you have to quit with
/usr/dt/bin/dtaction ExitSession (or whatever your path is for dtaction)
Now you can happily use CDE programs and fvwm.
-----
On the other hand, here is a link to a web page that describes how to
add multiple window managers to the CDE login menu:
http://twirl.mcc.ac.uk/~zzassgl/wm.html
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2.3 I'm trying to compile FVWM under SunOS using cc, but the compiler
is having lots of problems. What gives?
A: cc under SunOS is not an ANSI C compiler. Try using acc or gcc
instead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4 I want colored icons, but they won't work. Why not?
When I run configure, it reports "no" to "Have XPM support?" How
can I get XPM support?
A: FVWM uses the XPM (X PixMap) library to provide support for colored
and shaped icons. XPM doesn't ship with the basic X distribution as
provided by The Open Group or XFree86. However, many vendors will
bundle it as a standard component anyway. If not, you can get a copy
of the source from ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/libraries/ and build it
yourself.
If you have XPM on your system, there are a number of ways configure
could still decide not to use it.
First, if you've installed XPM in a non-standard place (not in the
normal system or X11 directories--say in /opt/xpm or /usr/local or
similar) then you need to tell configure where to look. Use the
--with-xpm-library and --with-xpm-includes options (see
INSTALL.fvwm). Typically configure will say "Xpm library or header
not found" if this is the problem.
Second, your version of XPM may be too old. FVWM requires XPM 3.4g
or better. Typically configure will say "Xpm library version is too
old!" if this is the problem. In that case, you'll need to install a
newer version.
Third, XPM may be mis-installed on your system. If configure says "
Xpm library version and header file version don't match!" then this
may be the problem. Either use the --with-xpm-library and
--with-xpm-includes options to specify more precisely what you want,
or try re-installing XPM.
Last, there could be a linker error. This is especially common on
systems where XPM may be built as a shared library and installed in a
non-standard directory (Solaris is a good example). There are some
notes about building using shared libraries in the INSTALL.fvwm
file.
If you can't figure it out, contact the FVWM mailing list. Please be
sure to provide the type of hardware and operating system you're
using, how you invoked configure, and extract the lines dealing with
XPM from the config.log file and include that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5 I'm a sysadmin, and if I wanted to force fvwm to read a system rc
file and then the user's rc file, how would I do that?
A: Well, you could probably do something like this:
- have the first line of everyone's .fvwm2rc be 'Read
global.fvwm2rc' and have global.fvwm2rc reside in your
defined "datadir"/fvwm (from the ./configure step).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.6 I'm a sysadmin, and if I wanted fvwm to look for all of its rc
files in a hidden directory, say ~/.fvwm, much like CDE does, how
could I do that?
A: FVWM now supports ~/.fvwm search directory by default.
This could be probably done similarly to Q2.5 above. The system rc
file "sysconfdir"/system.fvwm2rc (or "datadir"/fvwm/system.fvwm2rc)
could do something like:
Read Init quiet
Read Decors quiet
Read Styles quiet
Read Functions quiet
Read Menus quiet
Read Keys quiet
Read Modules quiet
or whatever breakdown you deemed appropriate, and you would have
default versions of these in {"datadir"}/fvwm/ that it could find in
case the user was missing one of them and you wanted to supply defaults.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.7 How can I use FVWM with GNOME (version <= 1)?
A: Since the latest fvwm versions are mostly GNOME compliant, you may
simply run GNOME applications, like panel, gmc, gnome-terminal and
all others with FVWM.
The included fvwm-menu-desktop script (with a massive man page) will
help you build fvwm menus for gnome applications.
To ensure you run FVWM and not gnome-session, create .Xclients
file in your home directory and put a call to fvwm in it.
The file ~/.xinitrc can be used for the same purpose if you want
to bypass any system-wide logic installed by your distributor or sysadmin.
An alternative solution is to run FVWM inside of /usr/bin/gnome-session.
After you start gnome-session (don't start FVWM yourself), go to the
foot menu in the GNOME panel, then choose
System menus / Settings / Desktop / Window Manager
and create an entry for FVWM. FVWM supports session management.
If you run gnome-session, SessionInitFunction and SessionRestartFunction
are called instead of InitFunction and RestartFunction, see the fvwm man page.
StartFunction, for running modules, is called as usual.
Here are examples of the GNOME Window Manager hints support in FVWM:
o If you run gnome panel inside fvwm without GNOME support, you can't
fully use GNOME pager applets (if at all); with GNOME support you can
correctly see pages/desks and move windows between them inside applets.
You can also use the GNOME Tasklist applet and manage your windows using it.
o If you run gmc and bind GnomeButton (see the man page), you can pass
root clicks to a gnome application (i.e. to gmc in this case).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.8 How can I use FVWM with GNOME version >= 2 or KDE version >= 2?
A: Most standard applications work as any other application with
FVWM. However, some features and special applications such as panels,
pagers, taskbars and desktops need a special support. Interaction
between the window manager, the desktop environment and applications
is standardized in the Extended Window Manager Hints
specification. FVWM supports this specification since the 2.5.x
series (GNOME, GTK, KDE and QT since their version 2). See the
"Extended Window Manager Hints" section of the fvwm manual page and
the commands and styles which start with "EWMH" for more details.
You can use fvwm as the GNOME window manager. For this, start GNOME
(gnome-session). The game is to replace the running window manager
(sawfish or metacity by default) by fvwm. You may try to type
"fvwm --replace&" in a terminal. If this does not work kill fvwm and
open the session properties dialog (run "gnome-session-properties&"
in a terminal) and change, in the second tab, the metacity (or
sawfish) Style value from "Restart" to "Normal" (do not forget to
"Apply" this change), so that gnome-session won't restart it when
you kill it. Then, run "killall metacity; sleep 1; fvwm &" in a
terminal. After you have succeeded starting fvwm you just have to save
your session (say via GNOME session logout). The next time you start
gnome-session, fvwm will be used (and you do not need to save the
session again at logout). Note that if you use gnome-smproxy, and run
an FvwmButtons which swallows some applications which use the old
session protocol these applications are restarted by gnome-session
and FvwmButtons at session restart which can cause trouble.
You can also use fvwm as the KDE window manager. KDE is started by a
shell script called "startkde". This script starts ksmserver which
starts the window manager (kwin by default). To start fvwm you should
add the option "-w fvwm" to the ksmserver command line (close to the
end of the script). You may copy startkde to startkde_fvwm somewhere
in your path, edit startkde_fvwm and finally replace startkde by
startkde_fvwm in your X startup script (e.g., ~/.xinitrc, ~/.Xclients
or ~/.xsession). Note that ksmserver does not support the fvwm Restart
command. You should use "Restart fvwm" for restarting fvwm. But if you
do that it is a bad idea to save the session later.
======================================================================
3 - Features, Configuration, Functions & Commands
======================================================================
3.1 I use FVWM on a RedHat Linux system and can't figure out how to
change my FVWM configuration. I've read the FVWM man page but when
I edit my .fvwm2rc nothing seems to happen. What's going on?
A: RedHat Linux installs the X server accompanied (by default) by a
configuration management system. In earlier releases it was called
TheNextLevel and in more recent releases it's called AnotherLevel.
For further information about TheNextLevel, consult RedHat's
documentation in /usr/doc/TheNextLevel/. For information about
AnotherLevel, do a 'man AnotherLevel'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2 Is it possible to raise a window when I click into the window
itself, not just the border?
A: Any version later than 2.0.46 (i.e. 2.1.0 or later) has this
feature. In the 2.2.x series, use:
GlobalOpts MouseFocusClickRaises
With the later 2.3.x betas and after use:
Style * MouseFocusClickRaises
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3 How do I get Alt-Tab behavior like another GUI?
A: The built in command WindowList provides a very close approximation
to the Alt-Tab feature found in another GUI. It doesn't look the
same but the following .fvwm2rc sample will provide a similar
interface:
Key Tab A M WindowList Root c c NoDeskSort
Starting with release 2.3.2, the above key binding is built-in.
Starting with release 2.3.15 you can hold the alt key down and
keep hitting tab. A single alt-tab selects the previous window.
The remainder of this FAQ entry describes releases prior to 2.3.2.
Hitting Alt-Tab will pop up the WindowList menu. Unlike another GUI
you should not keep the Alt key held down, the menu will stay up
until you hit Return/Enter/Space or Escape. You can change focus to
a window on the menu by using the up and down arrow keys to move the
menu selection and then hitting Return or Enter. Hitting Escape will
close the menu without doing anything. The WindowList menu has hot
keys assigned for the first 26 windows and you can use the hot key to
go directly to the window.
The menu invoked with the above line will show all windows in
most recently focused order unless you have used the Focus
command (see Q3.4). It shows each windows name and geometry
with some extra flags to indicate Sticky, OnTop and iconified
windows.
A simpler style can be used with the following:
Key Tab A M WindowList Root c c CurrentDesk NoGeometry
This will just list the windows on the current desk (titles only).
The other GUI has the feature of selecting the previous window if
Alt-TAB is hit and released quickly. This behavior cannot be exactly
duplicated but similar functionality can be assigned to hitting
Alt-TAB twice in quick succession (like a double click for keys):
DestroyFunc my_dbltab2
AddToFunc my_dbltab2
+ I WindowListFunc
DestroyFunc my_dbltab
AddToFunc my_dbltab
+ I Prev (CurrentDesk) my_dbltab2
Key Tab A M WindowList Root c c CurrentDesk NoGeometry my_dbltab
There are a lot of options to the WindowList command to control which
windows are listed in which order and it may not be possible to set
conditions for the Prev command to reliably select the second item
when double keying. The WindowList command has no parallel for
CurrentPage, Transient, Visible, Maximized, Raised, and pattern
matching. The Prev conditions have no parallel for OnTop, Alphabetic
and desk sorting. The WindowList menu respects the WindowListSkip
style attribute whereas Prev respects the CirculateSkip and
CirculateSkipIcon style attributes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4 What's the difference between the Focus and FlipFocus commands?
A: Both of these commands change the keyboard focus to the target
window. They differ only in the way they affect the internally held
list of windows. This list is used by the Next, Prev and WindowList
commands. The list is normally sorted in most recently focused order
with new windows being added to the end. The FlipFocus command plucks
the target window from the list and inserts it at the beginning, The
Focus command rotates the list around until the target window is at
the beginning. The behavior of FlipFocus is also used when changing
focus with the mouse and the automatic focus changing when using
ClickToFocus style.
If you never use the Focus command the list will remain in most
recently focused order. If you do use the Focus command the list will
gradually get back to most recently focused order as you use
FlipFocus.
The Focus command is very useful in conjunction with the Next and
Prev commands. e.g.
Key KP_Add A M Next (AcceptsFocus CurrentDesk !Iconic) Focus
Key KP_Subtract A M Prev (AcceptsFocus CurrentDesk !Iconic) Focus
Or for fvwm versions earlier than 2.4.1:
Key KP_Add A M Next [CurrentDesk !Iconic] Focus
Key KP_Subtract A M Prev [CurrentDesk !Iconic] Focus
These bindings allow you to circulate the focus around the windows on
the current desk in both directions. If Prev FlipFocus were used the
focus would toggle between the top two windows on the window list.
If you have several windows on a desk and you want to set the
circulation order for the Next and Prev commands you should focus on
the windows using the mouse or FlipFocus in the order you want. Fvwm
will learn the order and use it for the Next and Prev commands. If
you subsequently use the mouse to focus or FlipFocus the order will
be lost.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5 You can bind mouse movements to keystrokes, how about mouse
presses?
A: Although fvwm has commands for binding movements to keystrokes,
controlling the pointer with the keyboard should really be handled by
the X server. The following is an excerpt of the X FAQ on this topic:
If you have the X Keyboard (XKB) Extension, you can enable mouse keys,
which makes it possible to generate mouse motion and button events
using the keyboard. Events generated by MouseKeys are completely
transparent -- they will work with any application that connects to a
server that has the X Keyboard Extension, regardless of whether the
application itself uses XKB.
XKB is enabled by default in X11R6.1.
First, set up the Num Lock key so that Shift+Num_Lock toggles mouse keys:
xmodmap -e "keysym Num_Lock = Num_Lock Pointer_EnableKeys"
(XFree86 3.1.2E is based on R6.1 and has the X Keyboard Extension;
it also has a binding to Pointer_EnableKeys in its default keymap.
You use Alt+Shift+Num_Lock to toggle MouseKeys on and off. If you
are using an earlier release of X or XFree86, you won't have XKB and
the instructions will not work. See http://www.XFree86.org/FAQ for
more information.)
You might also have to turn off server num lock for this to work.
Now press "Shift+Num_Lock" to enable MouseKeys. When MouseKeys are on:
o) The keypad arrow keys move the pointer
o) The keypad '5' key behaves like the 'default' pointer button
o) The keypad '0' key locks the default pointer button (for easy
dragging)
o) The keypad '.' key unlock the default pointer button (to release
a drag)
o) The keypad '+' key double-clicks the default pointer button.
o) The keypad '/' key sets the 'default' button to Button1
o) The keypad '*' key sets the default button to Button2
o) The keypad '-' key sets the default button to Button3
This is the default configuration, but the mechanism allows for nearly
infinite configurability.
[thanks to Erik Fortune (erik@westworld.engr.sgi.com), 6/96]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.6 I'd like to bind a key to paste/use the current selection, how can
I do that?
A: You can't directly with fvwm, but there may be a solution that is
more generally applicable - use the program 'xcb' available at
ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/utilities/ or from your favorite mirror. It
could probably be used to get the desired effect or close to it.
This is most useful for running programs and passing the selection to
them (e.g. - invoke your favorite browser with the current selection as
the URL). To get a semi-generic paste facility to work, you'll
probably need to use 'xse' (see Q3.5). If anyone comes up with a
good example of this, please send it to the fvwm mailing list for
inclusion here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.7 Will FVWM ever support a separate colormap for each desktop?
A: Doubtful, although I'd like to see it too. I believe that it'd be
possible to change the default colormap whenever you switch desks,
which would give programs started when that desk is active that
colormap, how would you deal with windows being moved across desks?
Plus fvwm itself needs certain colormap entries for all of its
drawing (borders, menus, etc), so these colors would have to be
pre-allocated in all of the colormaps, or something like that.
While this all *might* be technically possible, I don't feel that
it's really feasible right now (too much code bloat and
complexity), especially since most color hog programs (i.e. Netscape)
allow you to have them install private colormaps.
I may explore this a little at some point in the future though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.8 I really like the horizontal bars that appear on the title bars of
sticky windows. Can I get those on other windows as well?
A: Yes. For release 2.3.14 and after,
put the line
Style * StippledTitle
in your .fvwm2rc. For earlier releases use
GlobalOpts StipledTitles
(Yes the spelling was inconsistent.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.9 How do I set the Sun keyboard key xxxx to an FVWM command? Or
more generally, I'm having problems defining key bindings for FVWM
- what can I do?
A: From Jon Mountjoy, one of FVWM's users:
- Function keys on Sun Keyboard on Top Row are F1 - F8
- Keys on the function keypad on the Left of the Sun Keyboard
are F11 == Stop, F12 == Again, ..., F20 == Cut
His Example:
# Function keys on Sun Keyboard on Top Row
Key F1 A N Exec me(netscape) &
Key F2 A N Exec me(netscape -install) &
Key F5 A N Exec makex(Adder)
Key F6 A N Exec makex(Lambda)
Key F7 A N Exec makex(Castor)
Key F8 A N Exec xterm -T Local &
# Keys on the function keypad on the Left of the Sun Keyboard:
# F11 = Stop, F12 = Again, ..., F20 = Cut
Key F11 AWF N Next (!iconic CurrentPage) Focus
Key F12 AWF N Prev (!iconic CurrentPage) Focus
Key F13 WF N Maximize 100 100
Key F15 WF N RaiseLower ""
Key F17 WIF N Iconify ""
Key F18 WF N Stick ""
Key F20 WIF N Delete ""
Key Help AWF N Iconify ""
A more general solution is to use xev (usually distributed w/ X11)
or xkeycaps (an X11 interface to xmodmap written by Jamie Zawinski,
available from ftp.x.org) to find out what the keysym for whatever
key you want REALLY is, and use that for binding fvwm commands.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.10 My .fvwmrc from version 1.xx no longer works. What do I do?
A: Start with a new one or convert your old one. This can be done by
hand or with a little help from the 'fvwm-convert-2.2' in the
utils directory.
And here is a list of rc file command changes compiled by Makoto
'MAR_kun' MATSUSHITA <matusita@ics.es.osaka-u.ac.jp>. It may or
may not be 100% accurate or complete, especially as changes evolve,
but it's a good start.
Note that there have been some changes in 2.1.x and up that are
not reflected in the conversion script yet.
** Fvwm-1.xx commands ** ** Fvwm-2.0.x equivalent **
AppsBackingStore (obsoleted)
AutoRaise delay (obsoleted, use FvwmAuto)
BackingStore (obsoleted)
BoundaryWidth Width Style (BorderWidth width)
ButtonStyle button# WidthxHeight <-
CenterOnCirculate (obsoleted)
CirculateSkip windowname Style (CirculateSkip)
CirculateSkipIcons Style (CirculateSkipIcon)
ClickTime delay <-
ClickToFocus Style (ClickToFocus)
Cursor cursor_num cursor_type CursorStyle context cursornum
DecorateTransients Style (DecorateTransient)
DeskTopScale Scale (obsoleted, use FvwmPager)
DeskTopSize HorizontalxVertical <-
DontMoveOff (obsoleted)
EdgeResistance scrolling moving <-
EdgeScroll horizontal vertical <-
Font fontname MenuStyle (arg4)
Function FunctionName AddToFunc (not compatible)
HiBackColor colorname Style (HilightFore color)
HiForeColor colorname Style (HilightFore color)
Icon windowname bitmap-file Style (Icon iconname-file)
IconBox left top right bottom Style (IconBox l t r b)
IconFont fontname Style (IconFont fontname)
IconPath path ImagePath path
Key keyname Context Modifiers Function <-
Lenience Style (Lenience)
MenuBackColor colorname MenuStyle (arg2)
MenuForeColor colorname MenuStyle (arg1)
MenuStippleColor colorname MenuStyle (arg3)
Module ModuleName <-
ModulePath path <-
Mouse Button Context Modifiers Function <-
MWMBorders Style (MWMBorder)
MWMButtons Style (MWMButtons)
MWMDecorHints Style (MWMDecor)
MWMFunctionHints Style (MWMFunctions)
MWMHintOverride Style (HintOverride)
MWMMenus MenuStyle (arg5)
NoBorder windowname Style (NoBorder)
NoBoundaryWidth Width Style (HandleWidth width)
NoPPosition Style (NoPPosition)
NoTitle windowname Style (NoTitle)
OpaqueMove percentage OpaqueMoveSize percentage
OpaqueResize (obsoleted)
Pager X_Location Y_Location (obsoleted, use FvwmPager)
PagerForeColor colorname (obsoleted, use FvwmPager)
PagerBackColor colorname (obsoleted, use FvwmPager)
PagerFont fontname (obsoleted, use FvwmPager)
PagingDefault pagingdefaultvalue (obsoleted)
PixmapPath ImagePath path
Popup PopupName AddToMenu (not compatible)
RandomPlacement Style (RandomPlacement)
SaveUnders (obsoleted)
SloppyFocus Style (SloppyFocus)
SmartPlacement Style (SmartPlacement)
StartsOnDesk windowname desk-number Style (StartsOnDesk desk-number)
StaysOnTop windowname Style (StaysOnTop)
StdBackColor colorname Style (BackColor color)
StdForeColor colorname Style (ForeColor color)
StickyBackColor colorname (obsoleted)
StickyForeColor colorname (obsoleted)
Sticky windowname Style (Sticky)
StickyIcons Style (StickyIcon)
StubbornIcons (obsoleted)
StubbornIconPlacement (obsoleted)
StubbornPlacement (obsoleted)
Style windowname options <-
SuppressIcons Style (NoIcon)
WindowFont fontname Style (Font fontname)
WindowListSkip windowname Style (WindowListSkip)
XORvalue number <-
** fvwm-1 built-in functions ***
Beep <-
CirculateDown [ name window_name ] Next (not compatible)
CirculateUp [ name window_name ] Prev (not compatible)
Close <-
CursorMove horizonal vertical <-
Delete <-
Desk arg1 arg2 <-
Destroy <-
Exec name command <-
Focus <-
Function <-
GotoPage x y <-
Iconify [ value ] <-
Lower <-
Maximize [ horizontal vertical ] <-
Module name ModuleName Module ModuleName
Move [ x y ] <-
Nop <-
Popup <-
Quit <-
Raise <-
RaiseLower <-
Refresh <-
Resize [ x y ] <-
Restart name WindowManagerName <-
Stick <-
Scroll horizonal vertical <-
Title <-
TogglePage (obsoleted)
Wait name <-
Warp [ name window_name ] Next or Prev (not compatible)
WindowsDesk new_desk (obsoleted, use MoveToDesk)
WindowList arg1 arg2 <-
*** New in fvwm-2 **
All
AnimatedMove
BugOpts
BusyCursor
DefaultColors
DefaultColorset
DefaultFont
DefaultIcon
DefaultLayers
Destroy
DestroyMenu
EdgeThickness
Emulate
EscapeFunc
ExecUseShell
HideGeometryWindow
KillModule
Layer
Menu menu-name double-click-action
MoveToDesk
MoveToPage
Next (conditions) command
None (arguments) command
Pick
PointerKey
Prev (conditions) command
QuitSession
Read filename
Recapture
RecaptureWindow
SaveQuitSession
SaveSession
Silent
SnapAttraction
SnapGrid
StrokeFunc
XORPixmap
+
(more functions are being added from time to time, so please check
the man page and the NEWS file too).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.11 What happened to the FVWM 1.xx 'include' command?
A: It was actually part of the M4 preprocessing. You can use the 'Read'
builtin to get the same effect, or use the FvwmM4 module.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.12 How do I get window titles on sub windows of ... (e.g. Netscape)?
A: These windows are known as 'transient' windows because of their
short lived nature. To get the window decorations for transient
windows you can use the Style command:
Style * DecorateTransient
or to switch it off:
Style * NakedTransient
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.13 I just upgraded to version >= 2.3.2, and my configuration settings
disappeared! How do I get them back?
A: The directory for system-wide configuration files changed from
${sysconfdir} (/usr/local/etc, unless set otherwise at configure time)
to a subdirectory, ${sysconfdir}/fvwm. Move your config files by hand
and restart FVWM.
This change was made because FVWM now installs several files into this
directory.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.14 Some applications (e.g. Eterm) don't use the icon I defined for them.
Why?
A: Eterm provides its own icon and fvwm does not know if it is a plain
icon or if Eterm wants to draw into it (like xbiff does when you get
new mail). You can explicitly override the application provided
icon with a style command:
Style <application-name> IconOverride
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.15 I don't like the gaps in my icon box when I de-iconify an
application. Is there some kind of auto arrange function?
A: Assuming you are using the IconBox option of the Style command
this can be done with a tricky fvwm function. Put the
DeiconifyAndRearrange function below in your configuration file:
AddToFunc DeiconifyAndRearrange
+ C Iconify off
+ C All (CurrentPage Iconic) PlaceAgain Icon
This works with fvwm-2.5.3 and later. Older fvwm releases can
achieve the same effect with
AddToFunc DeiconifyAndRearrange
+ C Iconify off
+ C All (CurrentPage Iconic) RecaptureWindow
However, as the Recapture and RecaptureWindow commands may be
removed in the future, please use PlaceAgain instead of
Recapture if possible.
Also, replace all places where you call the Iconify builtin
function to de-iconify an icon with a call to the new function.
For example, replace
AddToFunc IconFunc
+ C Iconify off
+ M Raise
+ M Move
+ D Iconify off
with
AddToFunc IconFunc
+ C DeiconifyAndRearrange
+ M Raise
+ M Move
+ D DeiconifyAndRearrange
and
Mouse 1 I A Iconify off
with
Mouse 1 I A DeiconifyAndRearrange
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.16 How do I set up an fvwm menu item that shuts down my Linux machine?
A: Write a little shell script to run the shutdown command.
Install sudo on your system (see the man page, etc.)
Set up the sudoers config file to allow you, your wife, etc. to run
that script with root permissions.
Add a menu item to your FVWM root menu (or wherever) that invokes
"sudo /my/script/name".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.17 Although the Recapture command is obsolete, do I still need it to
apply certain style changes?
A: Excerpt from the man page:
There are many commands that affect look and feel of specific,
some or all windows, like Style, Mouse, the FvwmTheme module and
many others. For performance reasons such changes are not applied
immediately but only when fvwm is idle, i.e. no user interaction
or module input is pending. Specifically, new Style options that
are set in a function are not applied until after the function has
completed. This can sometimes lead to unwanted effects. To force
that all pending changes are applied immediately, use the
UpdateStyles, Refresh or RefreshWindow commands.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.18 When my specific window (or all windows) pops up, I want it to
get focus/be moved/be resized/be closed/be shaded... How?
A: The following discusses a general solution, you should substitute
the application names used in the examples as well as fvwm commands
(Move, Iconify, Close) with the ones you need. To get resource
names of an application you want to catch, use FvwmIdent module.
The first possible approach to achieve what you want is to have a
separate function to start your application, like:
DestroyFunc StartKedit
AddToFunc StartKedit
+ I Exec kedit
+ I Wait kedit
+ I Next (kedit) Resize 100p 200p
This approach has 3 problems:
1) You need to use StartKedit function to start your application,
this will not work if you start it from the command line.
2) If for some reason the application is not started, FVWM waits
for it in Wait, you will need to press Ctrl-Alt-Esc.
3) If you have more than one kedit window, it is not guaranteed
that the right one is resized.
But this approach has one plus - it also enables any fvwm commands
that you may want to issue before executing your command. For example,
to start kedit window iconic, but not affect its subwindows, you can use:
DestroyFunc StartAppIconic
AddToFunc StartAppIconic
+ I Style $0 StartIconic
+ I Exec exec $0 $1
+ I Wait $0
+ I Style $0 StartNormal
StartAppIconic kedit /tmp/my.txt
The second approach is to use FvwmEvent, this solves the first two
problems (in fvwm 2.2) or all three problems (in fvwm 2.3 and later).
The sample to use with fvwm 2.2.3+ versions (this resizes the newly
created window "My Window", supposing you have only one such window):
DestroyModuleConfig FvwmEvent*
*FvwmEvent add_window SetGeometryForMyWindow
DestroyFunc SetGeometryForMyWindow
AddToFunc SetGeometryForMyWindow
+ I Next ("My Window") Move +10p +10p
+ I Next ("My Window") Resize 100p 200p
AddToFunc StartFunction I Module FvwmEvent
The sample to use with fvwm 2.3.21 to 2.4.15 versions (consider
to upgrade and use the version below). This moves a newly
created window named "My Window", and warps a pointer to all new
windows regardless of their name:
*FvwmEvent-NewWindow: Cmd
*FvwmEvent-NewWindow: PassId
*FvwmEvent-NewWindow: StartDelay 4
*FvwmEvent-NewWindow: add_window FuncFocusWindow
DestroyFunc FuncFocusWindow
AddToFunc FuncFocusWindow
+ I WindowId $0 ("My Window") Move 200p 100p
+ I WindowId $0 Focus
+ I WindowId $0 WarpToWindow
AddToFunc StartFunction I FvwmEvent FvwmEvent-NewWindow
And finally the suggested configuration for 2.5.7+ and 2.4.16+.
This moves a newly created window named "My Window", and wraps a
pointer to all new windows regardless of their name:
*FvwmEvent-NewWindow: StartDelay 4
*FvwmEvent-NewWindow: add_window FuncFocusWindow
DestroyFunc FuncFocusWindow
AddToFunc FuncFocusWindow
+ I ThisWindow ("My Window") Move 200p 100p
+ I Focus
+ I WarpToWindow
AddToFunc StartFunction I FvwmEvent FvwmEvent-NewWindow
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.19 When my specific window (or all windows) is closed, I want to
switch desks/wrap to my app X/popup a menu/start app X... How?
A: Please read the answer to the previous question to understand better.
Again, there are two approaches. The first is good in one kind of
situations, bad in others:
DestroyFunc StartKedit
AddToFunc StartKedit
+ I Exec kedit; xmessage -name DummyWindow -g +10000+10000 "dummy"
+ I Wait DummyWindow
+ I Exec xmessage -timeout 10 "Sorry, you can't close kedit"
+ I StartKedit
The second approach is to use FvwmEvent:
*FvwmEvent-OldWindow: Cmd
*FvwmEvent-OldWindow: PassId
*FvwmEvent-OldWindow: destroy_window FuncPopupMyMenu
DestroyFunc FuncPopupMyMenu
AddToFunc FuncPopupMyMenu
# go to the desk 0 when any window is closed
+ I GotoDesk 0
# popup my menu when "panel" is closed
+ I WindowId $0 ("panel") Popup MenuFvwmRoot
AddToFunc StartFunction I FvwmEvent FvwmEvent-OldWindow
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.20 I have a multi head setup (multiple screens used under X). How
can I tell fvwm to use different configurations for the screens?
A: FVWM spawns itself into all found screens unless -s command line
parameter is specified, as explained in the man page. All spawned
fvwm processes by default use the same configuration on each screen.
There are several ways to change the default behavior.
Write your configuration file as you would if you had only one
screen. Then move the screen specific lines into separate
configuration files and call them, for example, .fvwm2rc.<screen>
where <screen> is the screen number. Usually this will be 0 for
the main screen and 1 for the secondary screen. Place the screen
specific files in the $HOME/.fvwm directory or whatever you set
$FVWM_USERDIR to. Now add this line to your .fvwm2rc:
Read .fvwm2rc.$[screen]
The $[screen] will be replaced with the number of the screen each
instance of fvwm is started on.
Another method, which should work for older fvwm versions as well,
is to specify a separate file for each screen explicitly. For this,
start a separate fvwm for each screen in your .xinitrc (or .Xclients):
fvwm -s -d :0.0 -f .fvwm2rc-0 &
fvwm -s -d :0.1 -f .fvwm2rc-1 &
fvwm -s -d :0.2 -f .fvwm2rc-2
Note that only the last command is without a trailing ampersand.
If you wish, .fvwm2rc-* files may all include line
"Read .fvwm2rc-common".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.21 How do I maximize a window but not cover up FvwmTaskBar?
A: Instead of Maximize use "Maximize 100 -30p" where 30 is the width of
your FvwmTaskBar.
Or use EwmhBaseStruts in Fvwm 2.5.x or later.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.22 Why don't buttons show on the titlebar of some windows?
A: Fvwm has some builtin idea of what the buttons do, and some
applications can request that certain buttons not be shown.
For example, its normal for Fvwm to suppress the iconify button
(button 2, the second button from the right)
on a transient (dialog) window.
The command:
Style * DecorateTransient
Tells Fvwm you want titles and buttons on transient windows.
Style * MwmFunctions
Tells Fvwm to accept application hints not to show certain
buttons.
ButtonStyle 2 - Clear MWMDecorMin
Says button 2 performs the minimize (iconify) function.
Mouse 0 2 A Iconify
Makes any mouse button on button 2 iconify the window.
Buttons won't show until some action is assigned to them.
Things to look for in the man page are:
DecorateTransient, MwmDecorXXX, MwmFunctions
So, if you use Windows-like buttons, then redefine button hints:
ButtonStyle 1 - MwmDecorMenu
ButtonStyle 6 - MwmDecorMin
ButtonStyle 4 - MwmDecorMax
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.23 How to define transparent menus?
A: First, it may help to read about colorsets in fvwm and FvwmTheme
man pages.
We speak about transparency, not translucency here. This means
the background of the parent window (for example the root window)
will be used for our "transparent" areas, this is not always the
window under our "transparent" window. However, it is possible
to get a real transparency (i.e. translucency) by applying one
patch and using new Colorset Translucent option the patch adds.
We do not discuss this here, however you may get this patch with
README.patch included from:
http://fvwm-themes.sf.net/patch/
To define a transparent colorset, use something like:
Colorset 23 Transparent, fg rgb:ff/ff/c4, bg darkgray
(you may use any other number greater than 0 instead of 23)
There is another way to define transparent colorset, by using
RootTransparent instead of Transparent, but please remember,
you should use a good utility to set the root background image,
like "fvwm-root -r" or "Esetroot" or "wmsetbg", otherwise
RootTransparent will not work:
Colorset 23 RootTransparent, fg rgb:ff/ff/c4, bg darkcyan
The good thing about RootTransparent is that it is possible to
automatically claculate the average background color (used for
highlighting/shading) and efficiently tint the visible part of the
root image using something like:
Colorset 23 RootTransparent, fg rgb:ff/ff/c4, bg average, \
Tint black 20, bgTint black 20
If you have enough memory, you may use "RootTransparent buffer"
to speed up transparent menus, modules or decorations.
If you are not sure whether you use "fvwm-root -r" or similar
utility to set the root background, do not use RootTransparent
option, use Transparent option without tinting, and set the bg
color explicitely.
Once a transparent colorset is defined, use it in menus:
MenuStyle * MenuColorset 23
See the man pages for a more complete explanation of colorsets.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.24 How to define transparent modules?
A: See question 3.23 to learn how to define a transparent colorset
(you may reuse the same transparent colorset or define separate
colorsets for different modules).
Then read the man page for your specific module that you want to
make transparent and specify this transparent colorset(s), like:
*FvwmPager: Colorset * 23
*FvwmButtons: Colorset 23
*FvwmIconMan: Colorset 23
Style FvwmPager ParentalRelativity
Style FvwmButtons ParentalRelativity
Style FvwmIconMan ParentalRelativity
A side note: the ParentalRelativity option is not always needed.
It is not needed if you use RootTransparent or you never intend to
move a module inside its parent, or you swallow a module, since
FvwmButtons adds ParentalRelativity automatically for swallowed
fvwm modules. Otherwise you need Style ParentalRelativity for
transparent windows, but doing this for all windows is overhead.
Note, that previously "Pixmap none" option was used to define
transparency; Pixmap option is obsolete, use colorsets instead.
If you swallow FvwmPager (or FvwmIconMan) into FvwmButtons, then
you may configure both FvwmPager and FvwmButtons to be transparent
or just one of them to be transparent, depending on what you want
to achieve.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.25 How to define transparent decorations?
A: See question 3.23 to learn how to define a transparent colorset.
Only RootTransparent method works for transparent decorations!
This basically means that you should use external utilities like
"wmsetbg" or "Esetroot" to set background in JPG/GIF/TIFF format
and our utility "fvwm-root -r" for XPM/PNG images.
To get transparent decorations, use a configuration like this:
AddToFunc StartFunction
+ I Exec fvwm-root -r $HOME/wallpapers/sea.png
Colorset 41 RootTransparent buffer, fg white, bg average, \
Tint cyan 15, bgTint cyan 15 # tint is optional
Colorset 42 RootTransparent buffer, fg white, bg average, \
Tint red 15, bgTint red 15 # tint is optional
Style * Colorset 41, HilightColorset 42 # to use fg and bg
BorderStyle Inactive Colorset 42 -- flat
BorderStyle Active Colorset 41 -- flat
TitleStyle AllInactive Colorset 42 -- flat
TitleStyle AllActive Colorset 41 -- flat
ButtonStyle All -- UseTitleStyle flat
It is possible to define partially transparent decorations too.
You may achieve this by adding "AddTitleStyle Colorset NN PP",
or even "TitleStyle Colorset NN PP". Please read the man page.
Also search in fvwm-themes to see whether some theme provides
the window decoration look similar to what you want to achieve.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.26 How about transparent applications too?
A: This is not really an FVWM related question, you should find X
applications supporting transparency and read their documentation.
Depending on the application you should set the root image in one
or another way. Usually utilities like fvwm-root (with possible
"-r" parameter), Esetroot or wmsetbg should be used.
There is a wide range of terminal emulators that may be configured
to be transparent, like Eterm, aterm, gnome-terminal and others.
Here is an example command line:
aterm -ls -sh 70 -bg black -fg white -tr +sb -fn 7x14 -fb 7x14bold
Some applications have transparent theme, f.e. gkrellm and xmms.
Some applications may show text on the root image, f.e. root-tail.
There are a lot of other applications supporting transparency not
listed here, search in FreshMeat, http://freshmeat.net/.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3.27 How can I define emacs type multi-keystroke fvwm bindings?
A: In emacs, keys can be set up as prefix keys, so that once
you type the prefix key, a subsequent key has a special meaning.
For example, Control-a would normally go to the beginning of a line
but Control-c Control-a might do something completely different.
There are at least 2 ways to do the same thing with fvwm.
The simplest technique is to use the prefix key to invoke a menu
and then use the menu hot keys as the second key in the binding.
Since menu hot keys don't include modifiers, you can only use plain
keys for the second key in the sequence.
This second technique lets you use any key for the second key but
only works with 2.5.x or later.
This approach invokes a function on the first key that defines the
action of the second key for a short time and then removes it:
DestroyFunc Ctrl-Alt-F-Action
AddToFunc Ctrl-Alt-F-Action
+ I Key X A A Exec xterm
+ I Key C A A Exec xcalc
# optionally popup a prompt window here
+ I Schedule 5000 Key X A A -
+ I Schedule 5000 Key C A A -
# Press Ctrl-Alt-F and then "x" or "c"
Key F A CM Ctrl-Alt-F-Action
With this, you press the second key in 5 seconds otherwise the
binding for the second key is removed.
======================================================================
4 - Modules
======================================================================
4.1 I'm using FvwmButtons (or GoodStuff in 1.xx), and sometimes the
buttons stay depressed, and other times they don't. Why is that?
A: From the FvwmButtons man page:
If command is an fvwm Exec command, then the button
will remain pushed in until a window whose name or
class matches the quoted portion of the command is
encountered. This is intended to provide visual
feedback to the user that the action he has requested
will be performed. If the quoted portion contains no
characters, then the button will pop out immediately.
Note that users can continue pressing the button, and
re-executing the command, even when it looks "pressed
in."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 When having FvwmButtons swallow an app, is it possible to have
button presses assigned to actions as well? For instance, I'd
like to swallow xload and have a button press pop up an xterm, or
swallow xbiff and have a button press bring up the list of
messages.
A: Yes, with the alpha release 2.5.0 or any later release. For older
releases, read on.
The button presses normally get passed through to the swallowed
application, but if you put a title on the button, you can
assign actions to that. Here's an example that someone sent to
the mailing list once:
*FvwmButtons(1x4, \
Title 'System Info', \
Swallow "xload" 'Exec xload', \
Action(Mouse 1) 'Exec xosview -cua0 -net 200 -ul -l -geometry 325x325', \
Action(Mouse 2) 'Exec xcpustate -interval 1 -bg "#a4978e" -fg black', \
Action(Mouse 3) 'Exec rxvt -fg "khaki" -bg "dark olive green" \
-fat -n top -T Top -7 -e top' )
And you could come up with something similar for xbiff (untested):
*FvwmButtons(1x2, \
Title 'Check Mail' Swallow "xbiff" 'Exec xbiff', \
Action(Mouse 1) 'Exec from | xmessage -file -' )
plus you could bind another button (say Mouse 3) to run your
mail program.
Sometime in the future I'll probably try and fix it so that you can
actually assign a button press over the application itself...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3 I'm seeing odd things when trying to preprocess files with the
FvwmM4/Cpp module...
A: Yup, I imagine that you might be. Things like the InitFunction not
being called or windows that were running before FVWM started not
getting their Borders & Style options set, etc.
The reason for all this is because of the fact that FvwmM4 is a
module. Fvwm won't be looking at the commands coming back from
the module until after it hits the main loop of the code, AFTER the
startup is all done and it has already tried to execute the
InitFunction.
To force synchronous execution of FvwmM4/Cpp use:
ModuleSunchronous FvwmM4/Cpp -lock filename
See the man page for more details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4 I heard about this FvwmFileMgr module. Where can I find it?
A: The FvwmFileMgr module disappeared because a file manager doesn't
need to be integrated with a window manager and something like xfm
does a much better job. I recommend you pick that up instead (from
ftp.x.org or your favorite mirror).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5 I used to use GoodStuff in FVWM 1.xx, but it's not in the 2.xx
distribution. What do I use now?
A: GoodStuff was renamed to FvwmButtons. Same module, new name (that
fits in with the other modules naming convention).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6 I want to have the sub panels in FvwmButtons not at their default
position near the button but somewhere else on the screen. Is this
possible?
A: Yes, but not with the current implementation of the panels. Please
read question 7.12 for instructions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4.7 How can I open a sub panel or push buttons in FvwmButtons
with a keyboard shortcut?
A: FvwmButtons does not support keyboard shortcuts itself. Since
fvwm version 2.3.24 the FakeClick command can be used to
simulate a click in the FvwmButtons window:
fvwm-2.3.24 or later:
DestroyFunc press_fvwmbuttons
AddToFunc press_fvwmbuttons
+ I Next (FvwmButtons, CirculateHit) WarpToWindow $1 $2
+ I FakeClick depth 2 press $0 release $0
fvwm-2.5.1 or later (moves the pointer back to the original
position):
AddToFunc press_fvwmbuttons
+ I SetEnv pointer_x $[pointer.x]
+ I SetEnv pointer_y $[pointer.y]
+ I Next (FvwmButtons, CirculateHit) WarpToWindow $1 $2
+ I FakeClick depth 2 press $0 release $0
+ I WindowId root WarpToWindow $[pointer_x]p $[pointer_y]p
With this function, you can warp the pointer to the desired
button to press and simulate a click. Call it with
press_fvwmbuttons btn xoff yoff
^ ^ ^
| | |___ y offset of the button
| |________ x offset of the button
|_____________ button to press
For example, if the button of a panel is at 30% of FvwmButtons'
width and 10% of its height and you want to simulate mouse
button 1, issue
press_fvwmbuttons 1 30 10
You can bind this to a key. For example:
Key f1 a n press_fvwmbuttons 1 30 10
Note that this solution does not work well if the mouse is moved at
the same time.
======================================================================
5 - Development, Known Problems & Bug Reports
======================================================================
5.1 I'd really like to see neat feature XYZ in FVWM. Wouldn't
that be cool? I even have a patch. When can it be added?
A: If you plan to write a patch, *please*, first of all fetch the
latest development release from our web site or better yet use CVS
as described in http://www.fvwm.org/cvs.html. It is also a good
idea to contact the fvwm-workers list. At times, patches for
older releases may prove completely worthless, e.g. because the
fix has already been integrated, a feature already added or
removed or simply because the code is very different to the code
you patches. You will do yourself and us a great favour.
Otherwise all your hard work may be wasted.
People are always requesting or suggesting new features (many of
which are great ideas and where a lot of the current features came
from). One of the more common ones for example is Windows 95 look
and feel (although since this was first written, that particular
feature has actually been indirectly implemented via several
appearance-affecting features).
I'd like to make a statement about this. FVWM is supposed to be
small, fast, powerful, and flexible, and sometimes tradeoffs have
to be made here. The module interface helps here, as a lot of
features that not everyone wants or needs don't have to be in the
main module consuming resources for those people that don't want or
need them.
So if you have a suggestion (or a patch), please think of a way to
make it as small and generic as possible if you feel it belongs in
the main module. Please have a look at the enhancements that are
listed in our bug tracking system (see Q5.3).
If you plan to make a patch, please contact the fvwm-workers mailing
list first. From time to time we are changing the code in a very
disruptive way and if you create a patch to a version before such
changes were made we will all have a hard time to integrate the
patch. Most of the time we will ask you to update the patch for the
current code anyway.
Bear in mind that we make no guarantees that we'll add any requested
feature or apply any submitted patches to the official version, but
please don't let this dissuade you from submitting them. We like to
get new ideas and we're always curious to see how someone would
implement a given feature, even if we never plan to put it in fvwm.
Also, we may choose to re-implement any patches submitted, which may
change the syntax, functionality, etc. Please don't take offense
from that, as we mean no offense and we generally have a good reason
(at least by our way of thinking) for our actions...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2 How do I create/submit/apply patches?
A: First of all, please read the first section of the answer to Q5.1!
Creating a patch against CVS sources (preferrable) -
1) Execute "cvs update -AdP" to ensure there are no conflicts
with the most recent sources.
2) Don't forget to update the ChangeLog file (see below) and
all manual pages if needed.
3) In the base cvs directory run: cvs diff -u >myfeature.patch
Creating a patch against released sources -
1) Copy the original file(s) to the same name with the
additional extension of .orig (or something like that).
2) Update the ChangeLog file. If you use (x)emacs, move the
cursor into the function you changed and hit <ctrl>-x 4 a.
This will generate an empty ChangeLog entry in the right
file (there are several ChangeLogs). Add a description of
what you did. Do this each time you change a function or
file (for changes outside of functions). You should update
the AUTHORS and NEWS files too if appropriate.
Please take the time to add the ChangeLog entries, it makes
our work a lot easier.
3) Run diff with either the -c (context) or -u (unified)
switch on the sets of files, with the .orig file FIRST. I
prefer unified diff's because they are smaller, but
sometimes they aren't as readable (and some diff versions
don't support unified diffs), so either context or unified
diffs are fine (but please, no "plain" diffs).
ex: cp fvwm.c fvwm.c.orig ; <edit> ; diff -u fvwm.c.orig fvwm.c
Submitting a patch -
Mail it to the fvwm-workers mailing list <fvwm-workers@fvwm.org>.
If your patch is large you should compress it (preferably
with gzip). Should it still be larger than 25k you might want
to to place it on a web page and email the URL to the mailing
list or ask on the fvwm-workers list first.
Be sure to read the answer to Q5.1.
Don't forget the ChangeLog and the documentation.
Applying a patch -
Get a copy of the program 'patch' from your favorite source,
such as ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/patch/, compile it, and then
follow its directions (generally just cd into the appropriate
directory and run 'patch < patchfile').
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3 How do I submit a bug report?
A: Please do not report any 'bugs' related to XMMS in the fvwm bug
tracking system or the fvwm mailing lists but send them to the XMMS
developers instead.
Please enter a DETAILED description of your problem in our web-based
bug-tracking system. You can find a link on our web page (see Q1.3).
By detailed we mean more than just "my window isn't behaving right" or
"I found a bug":
- First of all: use our bug tracking system! You will find
a link to it on our main web page (see Q1.3). If for some
reason the bug tracking system doesn't work for you, please
use the fvwmbug.sh shell script that comes with fvwm.
- Describe the problem as best you can, preferably with
suggestions on how to reproduce it easily
- If applicable, include information from:
xwininfo (preferably w/ the -all option)
xprop
FvwmIdent
xdpyinfo (maybe)
- What exact version of FVWM you are running.
- What OS & version you are running under
- What version of X11 are you running under, and is it an MIT
server or a vendor specific server (e.g. the OpenWindow X
server under SunOS)
- How was FVWM compiled (compiler & version, options, etc)
- What settings do you have in your .fvwm2rc that may be
pertinent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4 I have a window that is behaving unexpectedly under FVWM, but just
fine under (whatever other window manager), or I have just some
random bug. What do I do?
A: First, check your rc file and your .Xdefaults to make sure that
something blatantly obvious in there isn't causing the problem.
Second, *PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE* check the FAQ, BUGS, TODO, and man
pages. Finally, check the official WWW page and the mailing list
archives (which have a search facility) stored there.
If you still can't figure it out, report your problem to our bug
tracking system (see Q5.3).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.5 Why do NumLock, CapsLock and ScrollLock interfere with
ClickToFocus and/or my mouse bindings?
A: Because they are treated as modifiers. You can use the
IgnoreModifiers command to turn individual modifiers off for
bindings. With XFree86 and fvwm version 2.4.0 or above, the
right command is
IgnoreModifiers L25
If you changed your modifiers manually or are using a different
X server use the 'xmodmap' command to find out which modifiers
correspond to the keys you want to switch off.
This command creates a lot of extra network traffic, depending
on your CPU, network connection, the number of Key, Mouse or
PointerKey commands in your configuration file and the number
of modifiers you want to ignore. If you do not have a
lightning fast machine or very few bindings you should not
ignore more than two modifiers. So do not ignore scroll-lock
if you have no problem with it.
A better way to solve this problem is to modify the keyboard
mapping of your X server. The commands
xmodmap -e "clear Lock"
xmodmap -e "clear Mod2"
xmodmap -e "clear Mod5"
remove the CapsLock, NumLock and ScrollLock from the keyboard
map. Pressing these keys has no effect then. To re-add them
try this:
xmodmap -e "add Lock = Caps_Lock"
xmodmap -e "add Mod2 = Num_Lock"
xmodmap -e "add Mod5 = Scroll_Lock"
Fvwm has to be restarted to use the changes made by
xmodmap. Please refer to the man page of the xmodmap command
for further details. If you disable the CapsLock key in your
keyboard map in this way, you can speed up fvwm a bit by
removing the Lock modifier from the list of ignored modifiers:
IgnoreModifiers
Since we all occasionally press NumLock or ScrollLock, it makes
sense to redefine some main bindings to work with any modifiers.
I.e. consider to replace something like this in your configuration:
Mouse 1 R N Menu MenuFvwmRoot
with this:
Mouse 1 R A Menu MenuFvwmRoot
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.6 Menus with gradient backgrounds flicker or are very slow.
A: The flickering is caused by fvwm constantly redrawing the menus
when a sub menu pops up or down. One way to help this is to use
a X server with backing storage (XFree86 has backing storage
support, I don't know about other servers but I guess that any
decent X server has it). If your Xserver is started with the
-bs option, remove it. If not try the -wm option, for example:
startx -- -wm
You may have to adapt this example to your system (e.g. if you
use xinit to start X).
If that doesn't help, either because your X server does not have
backing storage or because system resources are limited, make
sure sub menus do not overlap the parent menu:
MenuStyle <stylename> PopupOffset 1 100
Unfortunately this does not work properly with the fvwm
menu style.
For the speed problem both suggestions above might help too.
Another thing to try is to turn hilighting of the active menu
item other than by foreground color off. Put these lines in your
.fvwm2rc after the menu styles have been defined:
MenuStyle <stylename> Hilight3DOff, HilightBackOff
MenuStyle <Stylename> ActiveFore <preferred color>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.7 Why won't the StartIconic style work with {Netscape, etc.}?
A: The application won't allow it. This has only been observed with
Netscape. When Netscape starts up, FVWM starts the main window in
the iconic state. Netscape immediately issues another MapRequest,
to which the window manager must respond by de-iconifying the
window, according to the ICCCM rules. (Netscape can be persuaded to
start iconic, however, by invoking it with the -iconic command line
flag.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.8 How do I capture the output (e.g. errors) of fvwm?
A: Errors are reported to the standard error file. You can redirect
standard error to a file when fvwm is started: "fvwm 2> fvwm-errors".
X sessions started by xdm often redirect errors to a file named
".xsession-errors".
Alternatively, FvwmConsole or "FvwmForm FvwmForm-Talk" modules
will display error messages.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.9 I try to run some program under FVWM, but it dies with an X11
error like BadAccess. The same program works just fine under MWM
or OLWM. What's going on?
A: The error message usually looks something like this:
X Error of failed request: BadAccess (attempt to access private
resource denied)
Major opcode of failed request: 28 (X_GrabButton)
Serial number of failed request: 1595
Current serial number in output stream: 1596
Well, this is telling you that there is a conflict in key/button
assignments. In your .fvwm2rc you have bound some key/button that
this program really wants to bind to an action, but it can't since
FVWM has already done so (but you weren't doing it in the rc file
for your previous window manager). Figure out what the offending
key binding is and remove it from your .fvwm2rc, or temporarily via
"FvwmForm FvwmForm-Talk" by removing the FVWM binding (see the man
page for the Key & Mouse commands).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.10 Every time I update my install, my currently running fvwm session
dies. Why is that?
A: Many OSes swap the program from memory via the image on the disk,
and if you overwrite it, and then the current one tries to swap
something back into memory before you restart, it'll core dump. To
avoid this, rename your old executables or move them to some other
directory. The 'mv' command preserves the inode so it won't
core dump, but then when you restart fvwm it'll pick up the new
copy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.11 After I restart fvwm certain windows or icons raise above
all other windows and cannot be lowered by any means. One
example are the shortcuts of KFM (the KDE file manager).
What can I do about that?
A: Some applications use so called 'override redirect' windows that
are not (and cannot be) managed by the window manager. By
convention as defined in the ICCCM, such windows must only be
displayed for a very short time. KFM and possibly other
applications ignore this convention and use permanent 'override
redirect' windows, e.g. the KFM shortcuts. Fvwm can not easily
detect these windows when it restarts and places the windows
managed by fvwm below them.
However, since fvwm version 2.3.8 there is a command that will
help you, although it might cause trouble with other applications
using 'override redirect' windows. We can't make any promises
since KFM is violating the conventions and the applications may
violate them in different ways.
Now the command. Put this anywhere in your .fvwm2rc file:
BugOpts RaiseOverUnmanaged on
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.12 The StartsOnPage style does not work for me. Why?
A: Many applications request a specific position where they want to
appear (the so called 'program specified position'). Unless fvwm
is told explicitly to ignore this, the program specified position
overrides the StartsOnPage style. Use this line in your
configuration file:
Style * NoPPosition
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.13 Some modules can not be started when I restart fvwm.
A: You may see the following error message on the console:
[FVWM][PositiveWrite]: <<ERROR>> Failed to read descriptor:
- data available=N
- terminate signal=N
It means that fvwm has given up waiting for one of its modules to
reply, and so has killed it. The length of the timeout is a
configuration parameter - try adding
ModuleTimeout 10
to your .fvwm2rc file. The units are in seconds and the default
value is 5.
This problem will only occur on slow machines or high system load
(many open windows).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.14 I'm running Rational Rose and fvwm ignores its windows.
A: This problem might occur on other applications besides the one
mentioned.
The symptoms as reported by Raymond Toy are:
I've been using FVWM for ages and it's always worked for me just
fine. However, I've started using Rational Rose for Solaris. FVWM
seems to get completely confused.
o FVWM doesn't draw any frames around the Rose window like it does for
all other windows (except for those I explicit said not to).
o The Rose window is always on top. Nothing I do can bring another
window above the Rose window.
o Using FVWM's identify window module shows nothing. No identify
window pops up showing the window info.
o Focus sometimes seems to be lost. (I have focus follows mouse). I
have to move the mouse out of the window and back in to get focus.
Sometimes I also have to click in the window to get focus.
The annoying thing is that this all seems to work with CDE and dtwm.
I don't want to have to switch to dtwm so any hints or pointers on
where to look to get FVWM to understand this window would help me a
lot.
Heres what we found out:
Rational Rose uses software from Mainsoft that lets MS Windows
applications be recompiled to run on UNIX.
There are 2 Mainsoft Knowledgebase pages that relate to UNIX
window managers:
http://www.mainsoft.com/kb_mainwin/kbmw0027.html
http://www.mainsoft.com/kb_mainwin/kbmw0034.html
These pages suggest that you export MWWM=allwm or MWWM=MWM before
starting the application.
Raymond reports:
This works just fine! Setting MWWM=allwm, Rose comes
up like a normal X app where the WM draws the borders.
With MWWM=MWM, it works ok too except that for the main
window, no borders are drawn by the WM and Rose draws
it's own borders (I have fvwm respecting MWM decor
hints). (This is correct as mentioned by the
Knowledgebase pages above.) I don't recall what Rose
looks like with dtwm, but I suspect it's quite close to
all MWWM=MWM.
Next we had Klaus Zeitler report that the Rational Rose official
startup script is explictly setting ALLWM to nothing. This makes
it more difficult for an individual user to set this variable.
If you can, you can just modify the script, otherwise, your other
alternative is to copy the script somewhere where you can modify it
and run it from there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.15 Although I use the WIndowListSkip style for my modules they
still show up in FvwmIconMan, FvwmWinList etc.
A: Make sure you have
*FvwmIconMan*UseWinList true
in you .fvwm2rc file. If that does not help, the modules you are
using may not match the fvwm executable. Recompile and reinstall
everything and the problem should go away.
======================================================================
6 - Miscellaneous
======================================================================
6.1 What exactly is the difference between a DESK, a PAGE, and the
SCREEN?
A: Our naming convention is sometimes a source of confusion, and when
discussing problems and the like it's good to maintain a consistent
meaning. To illustrate how features of fvwm should be referred to
- fvwm has multiple disjoint DESKTOPS, each of which is comprised
of M by N PAGES, which are each the size of the physical SCREEN.
The physical SCREEN acts as a viewport over one of the PAGES of the
current DESK. Here's a picture to clarify (also, take a look at
the FvwmPager module):
Desk 0 Desk 1
+----------+----------+ +----------+----------+
| | | | | |
| Page 0 0 | Page 1 0 | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+----------+----------+ +----------+----------+
|+--------+| | | | |
||Page 0 1|| Page 1 1 | | | |
|| || | | | |
|+--------+| | | | |
+----------+----------+ +----------+----------+
It shows two 2 x 2 DESKTOPS. If the current DESK were number 0,
and the current PAGE were 0 1, the SCREEN would show only the
windows located there, plus any sticky ones.
Desktops are numbered consecutively, beginning with 0. The user is
not responsible for creating new desktops, those details are
handled inside fvwm. To display the different desktops, the user
can configure key bindings that determine which desktop is
displayed. For example, to have the combinations Meta-1 to Meta-4
display desktop numbers 0 to 3, one would add this to .fvwm2rc:
Key 1 A M GotoDesk 0
Key 2 A M GotoDesk 1
Key 3 A M GotoDesk 2
Key 4 A M GotoDesk 3
The same can be done for pages. For example, if each desktop has
a size of 2 by to pages you could bind Meta-F1 to Meta-F4 to
flip pages:
DeskTopSize 2x2
Key F1 A M GotoPage 0 0
Key F2 A M GotoPage 1 0
Key F3 A M GotoPage 0 1
Key F4 A M GotoPage 1 1
It is also a good idea to create a pager that displays several
desktops, side by side. This command displays the first 4 desktops:
Module FvwmPager 0 3
Or if you prefer to see only the current desktop in the pager:
Module FvwmPager * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2 I'd really like {OpenWindows, NeXT, Win95, Mac, etc} look and
feel. Are you going to support that?
A: This is not our primary mission, but we think fvwm does a pretty
good job of producing these appearances.
You may want to take a look at the
http://fvwm-themes.sourceforge.net/
package.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.3 Where can I get more XPMs for icons?
A: If you want more color icons, grab the ones out of the ctwm
distribution (also at ftp.x.org) which has a lot of nice ones. You
can also find more in other distributions at ftp.x.org, and at
http://www.sct.gu.edu.au/~anthony/icons/ (which has a lot, I
believe).
Icons used to be distributed along with fvwm. Now there is a basic
set of icons available at the fvwm web site. You might find some
links at the fvwm web site to other sources of icons.
You may want to take a look at the
http://wm-icons.sourceforge.net/
package.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.4 Linux XF86 virtual screen size & fvwm interaction...
A: Turn off the Linux Virtual Screen stuff in your XF86Config file if
you don't like it. The XFree86 virtual screen feature and hardware
panning support in certain video cards is a pretty useless kludge when
you're using a window manager that implements virtual desktops.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.5 I know this question doesn't have to do with FVWM, but what
happened to to rxvt and rclock which Rob Nation used to support?
Where can I find them now?
A: The official home for rxvt is:
http://www.rxvt.org/
and rclock can be found in that rxvt distribution as well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.6 How do I set the background with fvwm?
A: Setting the background image is not really part of the window
manager. If you are using one of the Linux distributions,
most likely, some part of the distribution is setting the background
for you.
There is a program shipped with fvwm (fvwm-root, previously known as
xpmroot) that you can use to set the background to an XPM or PNG
image. Other programs like "xv", "xli", "xloadimage", "display" and
"Esetroot", may be used too, they support some image formats that
fvwm-root does not.
If you just want a static image on your background, you might invoke
one of these programs from your .xsession or .xinitrc file. You can
also invoke one of these programs from the InitFunction in your
.fvwm2rc.
The fvwm module FvwmBacker can be used to change the background
depending on the desk you are currently on by calling an external
program. One big disadvantage of external programs is that
changing the beckground on the fly can be pretty slow. FvwmBacker
can use the image defined in a colorset and cached by fvwm for fast
background changing. For example:
Colorset 10 TiledPixmap foo.xpm
Colorset 11 Pixmap bar.png
FvwmBacker: Command (Desk *, Page * 0) Colorset 10
FvwmBacker: Command (Desk *, Page * 1) Colorset 11
However, fvwm can handle only xpm, xbm and png images. Other
formats must be converted before they can be used in fvwm.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.7 When I use Fvwm, my XYZ isn't the right color. Whats wrong?
A: Under this heading we've had questions about FvwmForm being all
white, icons not displaying and messages about being unable to
allocate colors.
Older hardware uses something called 8 bit color. You can also
misconfigure newer hardware so that its only using 8 bit color.
When you use 8 bit color, your display can only have 256 colors on
it at once.
This is explained in excruciating detail in the
http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/FrameBuffer.html
If your display can support more than 256 colors, that's the way to
go. Look up the documentation for your X server. You may want to
start with "man X".
If you are stuck with 8 bit color, fvwm can help. In the 2.2.x
releases, you can use the "ColorLimit" command to reduce the number
of colors Fvwm uses in icons. In the 2.3.x releases and later,
ColorLimiting is automatic, but you still might want to use this
command to further reduce color use.
Other things you may want to do:
- Always run Netscape with the "-install" argument.
- If you use an image on your screen background, reduce the number
of colors it uses. For xv add the "-nc nn" argument. For
xli use the "-colors nn" argument.
- Don't use color gradients.
- Some applications are color hungry. Beware of anything TK based,
and FrameMaker in its default setting.
If you still have problems after this, try the fvwm mailing list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.8 I just got a mouse with 57 buttons. How do I make Fvwm use them?
A: OK, 93 is a joke, we know you don't have 93 buttons, but we've
seen reports of up to 7 so far. Starting with Fvwm 2.4.0
Fvwm supports all five mouse buttons that X officially
supports. To increase the number of buttons that Fvwm can handle,
you have to modify the file libs/defaults.h:
Replace
#define NUMBER_OF_MOUSE_BUTTONS 5
with
#define NUMBER_OF_MOUSE_BUTTONS 7
and recompile and reinstall fvwm. However, the buttons with numbers
higher than 5 do not work as well as 1 to 5. This is because X
does not provide the necessary interface to handle more that 5
buttons in all functions. This means that some functionality is
not available with buttons 6 and higher.
The maximum possible number you can use is 31. Any higher value
will probably not work and possibly even crash fvwm or its modules.
======================================================================
7 - Hints and Examples from the Developers
======================================================================
7.1 An easy way to test new configurations.
Did you know that you do not need to restart X or fvwm to see what
most configuration commands do? There are several modules
that allow you to issue fvwm commands at any time. Among
these are FvwmCommand, "FvwmForm FvwmForm-Talk" and FvwmConsole.
Personally I use FvwmCommand and FvwmConsole.
When you run FvwmConsole you get a shell like window where you can
type configuration commands that are sent to fvwm. Just add an
entry to some menu that starts it:
AddToMenu main_menu
+ "FvwmConsole" Module FvwmConsole
Using FvwmCommand is a bit more tricky. To use it you need to start
a server in your .fvwm2rc by adding this line:
Module FvwmCommandS
Make sure FvwmCommand is in your search path. Now you can enter
commands on the command line of your favorite shell:
FvwmCommand "MenuStyle * Font 6x9"
Note that you have to quote the command. The advantage of
FvwmCommand over FvwmConsole is that you can use your shell with
all its features to run commands (command completion and history
for example). The disadvantage is that it is a bit slow since a new
FvwmCommand has to be started for each command.
Other related modules and commands are FvwmScript and PipeRead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.2 Using shell commands for configuration.
Sometimes you might want to use the output of a shell command or
script in your .fvwm2rc. For example you might need a menu that has
all filenames in a certain directory as its entries. You can use
the PipeRead command and the FvwmCommand module. I recommend using
PipeRead since creating twenty menu items takes a considerable
amount of time with FvwmCommand.
Example from my .fvwm2rc:
# make the background menu
AddToFunc MakeBackgroundMenu
+ "I" DestroyMenu BackgroundMenu
+ "I" AddToMenu BackgroundMenu Backgrounds Title
+ "I" PipeRead 'for i in `/bin/ls $HOME/.fvwm2/backgrounds/*.bg.*`; \
do echo -e AddToMenu BackgroundMenu `basename $i | sed -e \
"s/\.bg\..*$//"` Function SetDefaultBackground $i; done'
# set the default background
AddToFunc SetDefaultBackground
+ "I" Exec echo -e $0 > $HOME/.fvwm2/background
+ "I" Function SetBackground
# set a new background
AddToFunc SetBackground
+ "I" Exec test -r $HOME/.fvwm2/background && xv -root -quit -viewonly \
`cat $HOME/.fvwm2/background|tr -d "\n"`
# activate setting from last session and build the menu
AddToFunc InitFunction
+ "I" Function SetBackground
+ "I" Function MakeBackgroundMenu
The MakeBackgroundMenu function builds a menu that contains an item
for every file that matches the pattern "*.bg.*" in the directory
$HOME/.fvwm2/backgrounds. The suffix .bg.* is removed. When I
select an item the file is displayed in the background using xv.
Furthermore the path and filename are stored in
$HOME/.fvwm2/background. When I start my next fvwm session the
filename is fetched from there so I get the background from my last
session.
I have an even more complex setup for color palettes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.3 How to start applications on a page or desk other than the current.
Use the 'StartsOnDesk' or 'StartsOnPage' style in your .fvwm2rc:
Style Netscape* StartsOnPage 0 1
or
Style Netscape* StartsOnDesk 1
Any window with a title that begins with 'Netscape' will be placed
on page 0 1 (desk 1). You will probably want to use these options
too:
Style * RecaptureHonorsStartsOnPage, CaptureHonorsStartsOnPage
If you want to start applications on a different page in the
background without switching to this page, use the 'SkipMapping'
style:
Style Netscape* StartsOnPage 0 1, SkipMapping
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.4 How to start applications on a page or desk other than the current
without moving the viewport to the new page or desk.
Use the SkipMapping style:
Style Netscape* StartsOnPage 0 1, SkipMapping
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.5 A more efficient MWM menu style.
Perhaps you have noticed that with the MWM menu style your sub
menus are shown as soon as the pointer enters their menu items, even
if you just want to scroll down the list. You can prevent this with
the 'PopupDelay' and 'PopupDelayed' options of the MenuStyle
command:
MenuStyle mwm
MenuStyle PopupDelayed, PopupDelay 80
The sub menu will be shown 80 milliseconds after the pointer enters
the menu item. You will hardly notice the delay. Note that 80 ms
is just long enough to move through the menu with auto repeat on my
cursor keys. You may have to experiment with this number to get it
right.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.6 Placing menus on the screen.
Do you have to close windows or move the pointer all over the
screen to find some part of the background where you can bring up
your main menu (or any other root menu)?
Then you should use a keyboard shortcut. For example
Key space A M Menu root c c main_menu
in your .fvwm2rc gives you the menu 'main_menu' in the center of
the screen when you press Alt-space. Or you might want a shortcut
to the window menu:
Key space A SM Menu root c c WindowMenu
You can place menus anywhere you like, not just where the mouse
pointer is. Please read the section for the 'Menu' command in the
man page.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.7 Are you flipping pages by accident when moving the mouse close to
the border of the screen?
You can disable page flipping with the EdgeScroll command:
EdgeScroll 0 0
in your .fvwm2rc turns it off.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.8 Lining up your windows and icons.
The SnapAttraction and SnapGrid commands really help to keep your
desktop tidy. With SnapAttraction windows (or icons or both) are
'attracted' to each other. When you drag a window (icon) and it
comes close to another window (icon) it clings to it without a gap
between the borders. Put this command in your .fvwm2rc:
SnapAttraction 8 SameType
This means windows cling to other windows if they get closer than
8 pixels and icons cling to icons. Or if you just want it for
windows/icons use
SnapAttraction 8 Windows
or
SnapAttraction 8 Icons
Or if you want icons to cling to windows and vice versa:
SnapAttraction 8 All
The SnapGrid command is a big help too:
SnapGrid 8
in your .fvwm2rc tells fvwm to use a grid of 8 pixels to place
windows and icons. Try it and see if you like it.
Hint: It might be a good idea to use a divisor of your desktop
width and height for SnapGrid.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.9 Moving the mouse/focus/page with the keyboard.
Try these key bindings for mouse movement:
# shift-<direction> to move a few pixels
Key Left A S CursorMove -1 0
Key Right A S CursorMove +1 +0
Key Up A S CursorMove +0 -1
Key Down A S CursorMove +0 +1
# shift-meta-<direction> to move 1/4 page
Key Left A SM Scroll -25 +0
Key Right A SM Scroll +25 +0
Key Up A SM Scroll +0 -25
Key Down A SM Scroll +0 +25
or these to flip pages
# shift-control-<direction> to move a full page
Key Left A SC CursorMove -10 +0
Key Right A SC CursorMove +10 +0
Key Up A SC CursorMove +0 -10
Key Down A SC CursorMove +0 +10
# Alt-Fn to go to a specific page (like on the Linux console)
Key F1 A M GotoPage 0 0
Key F2 A M GotoPage 1 0
Key F3 A M GotoPage 0 1
Key F4 A M GotoPage 1 1
or to change the focus to a window in a specific direction:
# number keys on keypad to move the focus
Key KP_1 A C Direction SouthWest Focus
Key KP_2 A C Direction South Focus
Key KP_3 A C Direction SouthEast Focus
Key KP_4 A C Direction West Focus
Key KP_6 A C Direction East Focus
Key KP_7 A C Direction NorthWest Focus
Key KP_8 A C Direction North Focus
Key KP_9 A C Direction NorthEast Focus
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.10 The cat safe desktop ^_^
If your cats keep stepping on your keyboard while you are brewing
another cup of coffee, one of these hints may help:
Use 'Style * MouseFocus' and move the mouse pointer over the
background when you go away.
If you can't do without your 'SloppyFocus' you can move the
mouse pointer into a window that takes no keyboard input and
give it the focus (e.g. FvwmButtons or a console message
window). A true fanatic creates a separate window with a picture
of his cat for this ^_^
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.11 Lowering and moving windows.
In some configurations moving a window with the middle mouse
button lowers the window after moving it. Lowering it before
moving gives you a nice visual effect:
Mouse 2 T A Function MoveOrLower
AddToFunc MoveOrLower
+ "Click" Lower
+ "Motion" Lower
+ "Motion" Move
+ "DoubleClick" Lower
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.12 Toggling windows on and off.
It is often desirable to have a menu item or perhaps a button in
FvwmButtons or FvwmWharf that launches an application when used
the first time and closes it if used a second time. Although it
is not obvious how to do this, it is possible. Let's assume you
need a menu item that toggles an FvwmConsole window on and off.
Then put the following lines in your .fvwm2rc:
AddToFunc ToggleFvwmConsole
+ I None (FvwmConsole, CirculateHit) Module FvwmConsole
+ I Next (FvwmConsole, CirculateHit, CurrentPage, Visible) Close
+ I Next (FvwmConsole, CirculateHit) MoveToDesk
+ I Next (FvwmConsole, CirculateHit) MoveToPage
+ I Next (FvwmConsole, CirculateHit) Raise
AddToMenu <some menu>
+ "toggle FvwmConsole" Function ToggleFvwmConsole
Or if you prefer a button in the button bar:
*FvwmButtons: (Action ToggleFvwmConsole)
The lines with MoveToDesk, MoveToPage and Raise will bring the
window to the top of the current page if it is not visible
instead of closing it.
If you want to toggle one specific window, e.g. an xterm, but
still want to have other xterms that are not toggled, you must
give the window an unique name:
AddToFunc ToggleXMessages
+ I None (XMessages, CirculateHit) Exec exec \
xterm -T XMessages -n XMessages -e tail -f /var/adm/?* ~/.X.err
+ I Next (XMessages, CirculateHit) Close
(CirculateHit is needed for windows with Style CirculateSkip.)
Or for a toggling Netscape button:
AddToFunc ToggleNetscape
+ I None (Navigator) Exec exec netscape
+ I All (Navigator) Close
Keep in mind that these functions simply check if a window with
the specified name exists. They will happily close manually
opened windows or launch an application multiple times if the
application is slow to start (e.g. like netscape).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.13 Starting applications by clicking on an icon (also known as
"docking" applications).
Normally an icon represents a minimized application. If you
want to turn that around, and launch applications by clicking
on icons we can't stop you. Heres a way to do that using
FvwmButtons:
# FvwmButtons icon launcher:
DestroyFunc Launcher
AddToFunc Launcher
+ I DestroyModuleConfig $0Launch: *
+ I *$0Launch: Geometry 64x68
+ I *$0Launch: Columns 1
+ I *$0Launch: Rows 4
+ I *$0Launch: Frame 0
+ I *$0Launch: (1x3+0+0, Icon $1, Action (Mouse 1) `Exec $2`)
+ I *$0Launch: Pixmap none
+ I *$0Launch: (1x1+0+3, Font 9x15, Fore White, Back DarkBlue, \
Title $0, Action (Mouse 1) `Exec $2`)
+ I Style $0Launch HandleWidth 0, NoTitle
+ I Module FvwmButtons $3 $0Launch
# Examples:
Launcher RXVT xterm.xpm "rxvt -bg black" "-g +0+0"
Launcher XV xv.xpm "xv" "-g +0+100"
Also, GNOME and KDE have desktop icon applications gmc and kfm,
which enable this functionality. These applications may be run
under FVWM. Nautilus (version >= 2) and kdesktop may be run under
FVWM version 2.5.1 or better.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.14 Positioning a window using arithmetic.
This example shows how to center a window on the screen.
Notice how is uses PipeRead and the shell construct
$(()) in order to perform arithmetic.
DestroyFunc CenterWindow
AddToFunc CenterWindow
+ I ThisWindow Piperead "echo Move \
$(( $[vp.width]/2-$[w.width]/2 ))p \
$(( $[vp.height]/2-$[w.height]/2 ))p"
If you had a window named "MyWindow" you would center it using
the command:
Next (MyWindow) CenterWindow
ThisWindow may be removed, it is only needed to avoid errors when
CenterWindow is called without a window context.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.15 Hiding the mouse pointer.
Some users don't like the mouse pointer getting in the way of
what they are looking at. You might want to search for and
install the "unclutter" program. Unclutter hides the mouse
pointer after you haven't moved the mouse for a while.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.16 Finding the mouse pointer.
Sometimes its hard to see the mouse pointer.
Here is a way to find it:
Key Super_L A A Exec xmessage -name "SmallBlob" -bg red \
-fg white -nearmouse -timeout 1 'I am here!'
Style SmallBlob UsePPosition, NoTitle, NoHandles, BorderWidth 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.17 Autohiding FvwmButtons or other windows.
Some applications have a feature usually called "autohiding"
which allows to withdraw a window to a location where it does
not use precious desktop space. It is possible to write some
small functions in fvwm that can hide any window you like:
fvwm-2.5.8 or later:
# The autohiding functions
AddToFunc autohide
+ I ThisWindow ($0) Deschedule $[w.id]
+ I ThisWindow ($0) ThisWindow (shaded) WindowShade off
+ I TestRc (!Match) All ($0, !shaded) autohide_hide $1 $2
AddToFunc autohide_hide
+ I Schedule $0 $[w.id] WindowShade $1
+ I Schedule $0 $[w.id] Deschedule $[w.id]
# Start FvwmAuto
AddToFunc StartFunction
+ I Module FvwmAuto FvwmAutohide -menter enter_handler
# Add the windows you want to autohide
AddToFunc enter_handler
+ I autohide FvwmButtons 500 S
# ^ ^ ^
# | | |___ Shade direction (optional)
# | |_______ Hide delay (milliseconds)
# |___________________ Unique window name/resource
Simply add any windows you like to the enter_handler function
as in the example above. The autohide function is called with
two or three parameters. The first one is the window's name
or class, which must be unique. The second is the delay in
milliseconds before the window is hidden after the pointer
leaves it, and the last - optional - one indicates the
direction in which it is hidden (N, S, E, W, NW, NE, SW or SE).
You can find a slightly more complicated version below. The
difference is that showing the window does not happen
immediately, but can be delayed too.
fvwm-2.5.8 or later:
AddToFunc autohide
+ I ThisWindow ($0) Deschedule $[w.id]
+ I TestRc (!Match) Deschedule -$[w.id]
+ I ThisWindow ($0) ThisWindow (shaded) autohide_show $1 $3
+ I TestRc (!Match) All ($0, !shaded) autohide_hide $2 $3
AddToFunc autohide_show
+ I Schedule $0 -$[w.id] WindowShade $1 off
+ I Schedule $0 -$[w.id] Deschedule $[w.id]
+ I Schedule $0 -$[w.id] Deschedule -$[w.id]
AddToFunc autohide_hide
+ I Schedule $0 $[w.id] WindowShade $1 on
+ I Schedule $0 $[w.id] Deschedule $[w.id]
+ I Schedule $0 $[w.id] Deschedule -$[w.id]
AddToFunc StartFunction
+ I Module FvwmAuto FvwmAutohide -menter enter_handler
AddToFunc enter_handler
+ I autohide FvwmButtons 250 500 S
# ^ ^ ^ ^
# | | | |___ Shade direction (optional)
# | | |________ Hide delay
# | |___________ Show delay
# |_______________________ Unique window name/resource