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|
======================================================================
FVWM Frequently Asked Questions
======================================================================
INDEX
1) What does FVWM stand for?
2) Where do I find the current versions of fvwm?
3) Any WWW Sites about FVWM?
4) Where do I ask questions about FVWM?
5) What are the differences between FVWM 1.xx and 2.xx?
6) My .fvwmrc from version 1.xx no longer works. What do I do?
7) 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?
8) What's the relative memory usage for the various window managers
out there?
9) I used to use GoodStuff in FVWM 1.xx, but it's not in the 2.xx
distribution. What do I use now?
10) I'm using FvwmButtons (or GoodStuff in 1.xx), and sometimes the
buttons stay depressed, and other times they don't. Why is that?
11) What happened to the FVWM 1.xx 'include' command?
12) I really like the horizontal bars that appear on the title bars of
sticky windows. Can I get those on other windows as well?
13) I'm trying to build FVWM, but the linker is complaining
about missing functions like 'XpmReadFileToPixmap' or the
compiler can't find the include file X11/xpm.h. Why is
that?
14) I'm trying to compile FVWM under SunOS using cc, but the compiler
is having lots of problems. What gives?
15) Why does the screen go blank at startup and during Recaptures now
when it didn't in FVWM 1.xx?
16) 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?
17) 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?
18) Where can I get more XPMs for icons?
19) 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?
20) I clicked on a program's Motif menubar and the menu pops up
then dissappears. What gives?
21) I heard about this FvwmFileMgr module. Where can I find it?
22) I'd really like {NeXT, Win95, etc} look and feel. Are you
going to support that?
23) Imake didn't come with my machine. How do I build FVWM?
24) How do I create/submit/apply patches?
25) I'd like to bind a key to paste/use the current selection,
how can I do that?
26) You can bind mouse movements to keystrokes, how about mouse
presses?
27) What exactly is the differenct between a DESK, a PAGE, and
the SCREEN?
28) Why the rename of the various files (fvwm2, .fvwm2rc,
fvwm2.man)?
29) Every time I update my install, my currently running fvwm
session dies. Why is that?
30) Will FVWM ever support a separate colormap for each desktop?
31) 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?
32) I'm want to use FVWM, but I don't have root access on my
machine. Can I still install and run it?
33) I'm compiling under SunOS/Solaris with gcc, but it's
complaining that "Language 'F' is unknown". What's the
problem?
34) When will fvwm release X.Y.Z be ready?
35) 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?
36) I'm a sysadmin, and if I wanted fvwm to look for all of
it's rc files in a hidden directory, say ~/.fvwm, much like
CDE does, how could I do that?
37) When trying to install under Solaris, I'm getting errors.
Why?
38) 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.
39) I'm trying to use fvwm under CDE/COSE, but encountering
difficulties. Any suggestions?
40) How do I capture the output (eg errors) of fvwm?
41) Linux XF86 virtual screen size & fvwm interaction...
42) Why do NumLock and CapsLock interfere with ClickToFocus
and/or my mouse bindings?
======================================================================
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 origninally, so we
have several potential answers:
Feeble, Fabulous, Famous, Fast, Foobar, Fantastic, Flexible,
F!@#$%, FVWM (the GNU recursive approach), Free, Final, Funky,
Fred's (who the heck is Fred?), Freakin', Father-of-all, etc.
Just pick your favorite (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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2) Where do I find the current versions of fvwm?
A: New main distribution site (official + beta code):
ftp://ftp.hpc.uh.edu/pub/fvwm
Alternate sites:
USA:
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/window-managers/
ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/pub/cheah/
Overseas:
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 will be 2.1.0.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Any WWW Sites about FVWM?
A: Yup. The official site is currently:
http://www.hpc.uh.edu/fvwm/
And there are others. Try the following (note - the first one has
changed recently):
http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~tkelly/docs/proj/fvwm.html
http://www.cobaltgroup.com/~roland/fvwm/
http://xenon.chem.uidaho.edu/~fvwm/
http://namu19.gwdg.de/fvwm/fvwm.html
http://mars.superlink.net/user/ekahler/fvwm.html
There are pointers to all of these (and maybe more) from the
official fvwm WWW site.
Here's an FVWM related one, for 'The Dotfile Generator' which can
be used to create and customize .fvwmrc/.fvwm2rc files (and .emacs
and .tcshrc files too). Some people have found it a handy tool:
http://www.imada.ou.dk/~blackie/dotfile/
Here' another related one for TKGoodStuff, which can be compiled to
be an FVWM module (and is based on the idea of GoodStuff or
FvwmButtons) but can be used with any window manager:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~markcrim/tkgoodstuff/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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@hpc.uh.edu
And there is an announce mailing list as well:
fvwm-announce@hpc.uh.edu
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 majordomo@hpc.uh.edu. To unsubscribe from
the list, send "unsubscribe fvwm" in the body of a message to
majordomo@hpc.uh.edu. To report problems, send mail to
fvwm-owner@hpc.uh.edu.
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 be sent to the FVWM
maintainer for inspection and possible inclusion in the
distribution. The current maintainer is
Charles Hines <chuck_hines@VNET.IBM.COM>
Instructions
------------
To send a message to the list, mail to fvwm@hpc.uh.edu. 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 majordomo@hpc.uh.edu. If you have problems with the mailing
list itself and need to talk to a human, send mail to
fvwm-owner@hpc.uh.edu. 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.hpc.uh.edu in /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@hpc.uh.edu.
The current FVWM distribution is available for ftp at
ftp.hpc.uh.edu in /pub/fvwm.
=================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5) What are the differences between FVWM 1.xx and 2.xx?
A: A lot. To name a few general ones:
- Bugfixes. 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.
- OpaqueResize is gone (fear not, it may come back).
- 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6) 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 'conversion_script' in the
sample.fvwmrc 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.
** Fvwm-1.xx commands ** ** Fvwm-2.xx equiv **
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 (obsoleted)
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 HilightColor (arg1)
HiForeColor colorname HilightColor (arg2)
Icon windowname bitmap-file Style (Icon iconname-file)
IconBox left top right bottom Style (IconBox l t r b)
IconFont fontname <-
IconPath 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, use FvwmPager)
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 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 <-
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 <-
WindowList arg1 arg2 <-
*** New in fvwm-2 **
Destroy
DestroyMenu
KillModule
Menu menu-name double-click-action
Next [conditions] command
None [arguments] command
Prev [conditions] command
Read filename
Recapture
+
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7) 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,
plus *PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE* check the FAQ, BUGS, TO-DO, and man
pages (i.e. RTFM). Perhaps even the official WWW page and the
mailing list archives (which have a search facility) stored there.
If you still can't figure it out, send a DETAILED description of
the problem to the FVWM mailing list. By detailed I mean more than
just "my window isn't behaving right" or "I found a bug":
- Describe the problem as best you can, preferrably with
suggestions on how to reproduce it easily
- If applicable, include information from:
xwininfo
xprop
FvwmIdent
xdpyinfo (maybe)
- 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 (ex the OpenWindow X
server under SunOS)
- What exact version of FVWM you are running (note that this
is a number like 2.0.43, not just 2.4, and the distinction
is important)
- How was FVWM compiled (compiler & version, options, etc)
- What settings to you have in your .fvwm2rc that may be
pertinent
----------------------------------------------------------------------
8) 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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
9) 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).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10) 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: This may be the biggest RTFM answerable question that we get on the
mailing list (at one time anyways)! But, since it is always asked
anyways, I'll put it here. 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 qouted 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 qouted 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."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
11) What happened to the FVWM 1.xx 'include' command?
A: It was actually part of the M4 preprocessing (see above). You can
use the 'Read' builtin to get the same effect, or use the M4
module.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12) 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: Nope. Maybe in the future, but not right now. Unless you modify
the code yourself, that is (which several people have for this).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
13) I'm trying to build FVWM, but the linker is complaining about
missing functions like 'XpmReadFileToPixmap' or the compiler can't
find the include file X11/xpm.h. Why is that?
A: You need to have the Xpm library on your system. You can find the
source for it at ftp.x.org in /contrib/libraries. Or you can
compile without Xpm support (see the configure.h file) and lose out
on all the pretty color icons.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
14) 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15) Why does the screen go blank at startup and during Recaptures now
when it didn't in FVWM 1.xx?
A: Rob put it in there for the following reason:
Rob> Actually, I thought that this would make things happen more
Rob> quickly/smoothly. While fvwm is adding borders, it keeps
Rob> raising and lowering and reparenting windows, which means that
Rob> they get lots of expose events, and they redraw a lot, many
Rob> times unnecessarily, because they soon get hidden again. I
Rob> thought that the single black window covering everything would
Rob> keep these windows from getting unneede expose events, and
Rob> minimize redraws.
Which makes a lot of sense.
BTW, I've shut it off by default now. Use the command line option
-blackout to enable it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
16) 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: People are always requesting or suggestion 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.
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. Also, take a look in the TO-DO list and see if it
isn't already in there.
Bear in mind that I make no guarantees that I'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. I like to
get new ideas and I'm always curious to see how someone would
implement a given feature, even if I never plan to put it in fvwm.
Also, I may choose to reimplement any patches submitted, which may
change the syntax, functionality, etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
17) 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: This has come up a few times, so I thought I'd put it here too.
The new official (I believe) home for rxvt is:
ftp://ftp.nuclecu.unam.mx/linux/local/rxvt/
And rclock can be found in that rxvt package, plus I saw it at:
ftp://ftp.best.com/pub/newton/rclock/
which I'm not sure if it's the new official home for that or not.
I actually have another version here which is a different date and
size that I can't rememember where I picked it up from so there may
be multiple copies of that one out there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
18) 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).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
19) 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 CurrentScreen CurrentDesk] Focus
Key F12 AWF N Prev [!iconic CurrentScreen CurrentDesk] 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 xkeykaps (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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
20) I clicked on a program's Motif menubar (with click to focus or
stays on top set) and the menu pops up then dissappears. What
gives?
A: Known problem. The window is being raised over the
override_redirect window that is being used to display the menu.
Be sure the window is raised before you click on the menubar. I
don't know if there is really anything I can do to help this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
21) I heard about this FvwmFileMgr module. Where can I find it?
A: The FvwmFileMgr module dissappeared 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).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
22) I'd really like {OpenWindows, NeXT, Win95, Mac, etc} look and
feel. Are you going to support that?
A: Nope! Generically applicable features might appear, but no work
will be specifically added to FVWM just to make it look or feel
specifically like another window manager or window manager like
product. Future enhancements may appear that allow you to alter
the appearance to get similiar to other window managers though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
23) Imake didn't come with my machine. How do I build FVWM?
A: This is a problem with some IBM AIX and HP HP-UX installations.
You really have to have Imake currently to build FVWM. So, you'll
either have to find out how to install Imake from your install
media (it does come on the AIX install media), or get it from from
MIT and install it yourself, or wait until I convert over to using
GNU's AutoConf, which I would like to do someday...
Also checkout the following URL:
http://www.primate.wisc.edu/software/imake-stuff/
which contains lots of Imake info, hints, tips, fixes, etc.
For HPs, the following note was sent to the FVWM mailing list that
may be helpfull:
============================================================
>> I've been using and compiling fvwm on HP-UX since version
>> 0.99 something. I've always used HP's C compiler and make.
>> I can't remember when was the last time it didn't compile out
>> of the box.
>
> What do you do for imake?
>
(-: Not an official HP response or advertisement :-)
Imake used to be available on a HP ftp server accessible from
the "outside" (hpcvaaz.cv.hp.com). The current imake I have,
may or not have been obtained there, as I've installed a few
different versions from a few different (HP) places, some that
work on my system, some that don't, that I've lost track.
Same goes for Xaw and Xmu, which along with imake, HP doesn't
ship on 9.0x, and rather points to public sites. This may have
changed at 10.x, but I'm not sure what the "official line" is.
A good place to get HP-UX stuff is at the archives maintained by
the University of Liverpool, which are mirrored at the
University of Wisconsin, and a few other places,
http://hpux.cae.wisc.edu, http://hpux.csc.liv.ac.uk, etc.
> My HPUX 9.03 doesn't have it, I had to install X11R5. Is this
> normal for HPUX?
X11R5 development is probably an optional product, as is the
"real C" compiler, for example. X11R5 run time libraries is
probably part of the core HP-UX, as is the brain dead C compiler
used to regen the kernel.
============================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------------
24) How do I create/submit/apply patches?
A: Creating a patch -
1) Copy the originial source file(s) to the same name with the
additional extension of .orig (or something like that).
2) Then run diff with either the -c (context) or -u (unified)
switch on the sets of files, with the .orig file FIRST. I
prefer unifified 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 -
Just mail it to the fvwm mailing list, is the best way I
guess. And be sure to read the last paragraph of #16 above...
Applying a patch -
Get a copy of the program 'patch' from your favorite source,
such as prep.ai.mit.edu in /pub/gnu, compile it, and then
follow it's directions (generally just cd into the appropriate
directory and run 'patch < patchfile').
----------------------------------------------------------------------
25) 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.x.org in /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 (eg - 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 #26 below). If anyone
comes up with a good example of this, please send it to the fvwm
mailing list for inclusion here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
26) You can bind mouse movements to keystrokes, how about mouse
presses?
A: Hm. This one is a little tougher. It could be done, but many
programs ignore synthetic events, which is what would be generated.
In X11R6.1 there is an extension (called XKBD?) which can do this,
but I don't want to code to anything specific to one of the newer
X11 versions like this. You could try using Xse, which is a
program to interface to XSentEvent, available at ftp.x.org. It
could probably be used in a smiliar manner to xcb above (or in
conjunction with it). If anyone comes up with good examples for
this, please send it to the fvwm mailing list for inclusion here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
27) What exactly is the differenct 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
28) 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
- fvwm2 coredumps usually if it tries to read in a 1.xx rc
file because the syntax is pretty different and completely
incompatable
- 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.
BTW - If you want to compile it as just 'fvwm' and all that, there
is an option for that in the Fvwm.tmpl file.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
29) 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 execs or move them to some other
directory. The 'mv' command preserves the inode so it won't
coredump, but then when you restart fvwm it'll pick up the new
copy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
30) Will FVWM ever support a separate colormap for each desktop?
A: Doubtful, althougth 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 it's
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 feasable right now (too much code bloat and
complexity), especially since most color hog programs (ie Netscape)
allow you to have them install private colormaps.
I may explore this a little at some point in the future though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
31) 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
FvwmTalk by removing the FVWM binding (see the man page for the Key
& Mouse commands).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
32) I'm want to use FVWM, but I don't have root access on my machine.
Can I still install and run it?
A: Oh yes. FVWM doesn't need to be "properly" installed by root to be
run. All you really have to do is copy the binaries to one of your
local directories to run it out of and make sure that the paths in
your ~/.fvwm2rc file are correct.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
33) I'm compiling under SunOS/Solaris with gcc, but it's complaining
that "Language 'F' is unknown". What's the problem?
A: Your Imake setup is not right for using gcc. It's trying to use
some flags for the native compilers that gcc interprets
differently. Get your system admin to "fix" your setup for use
with gcc, or try using the FvwmCompiler and FvwmCompilerFlags
defines in the Fvwm.tmpl file to get it to work for you.
Also, check out the URL mentioned in #23 above - I believe there is
a fix for this located there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
34) When will fvwm release X.Y.Z be ready?
A: This is always a difficult question to answer. I work on fvwm at
home in my rather nebulous and semi-mythical "spare time", therefore
I usually can't provide an exact answer for this, since my time
estimates for it are often wrong/changing.
"Real Soon Now" is one of my favorite responses when they are
getting close, but then, who is to say what "close" means? :)
Never fear though, as they will keep coming... I do try to post
periodic status reports to the mailing lists, so you could search
the archives at any point in time to see if I've made any reports
lately.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
35) 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 these:
- have the first line of everyone's .fvwm2rc be 'Read
global.fvwm2rc' and have global.fvwm2rc reside in your
defined FvwmDir (in Fvwm.tmpl).
- change FvwmRc (in Fvwm.tmpl) to be something odd, like
.FVWM2RC, but don't tell anyone, then put a .FVWM2RC in the
FvwmDir and have the last line of it be 'Read .fvwm2rc'.
~/.FVWM2RC wouldn't be found so it would look for the system
one, which would then load the user's one.
and I'm sure there are more ways.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
36) I'm a sysadmin, and if I wanted fvwm to look for all of it's rc
files in a hidden directory, say ~/.fvwm, much like CDE does, how
could I do that?
A: This could be probably done similarily to #35 above. The system rc
file in the FvwmDir could do something like:
Read .fvwm/Init
Read .fvwm/Decors
Read .fvwm/Styles
Read .fvwm/Functions
Read .fvwm/Menus
Read .fvwm/Keys
Read .fvwm/Modules
or whatever breakdown you deemed appropriate, and you would have
default versions of these in {FvwmDir}/.fvwm/ that it could find in
case the user was missing one of them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
37) When trying to install under Solaris, I'm getting errors. Why?
A: You need to use a certain version of 'install', specifically the
one in /usr/ucb. Make sure that /usr/ucb is in your path ahead of
the openwindows bin directory (and in front of /etc and /usr/sbin).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
38) 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: You can do this, but it's not obvious how. 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 app itself...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
39) 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:
*wmStartupCommand: /home/orion/spxgm/bin/Fvwm
*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 seesion manager how long to wait until it starts the
window manager. I've set it to 1 second. by default it's 60 secs
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.
-----
----------------------------------------------------------------------
40) How do I capture the output (eg errors) of fvwm?
A: A couple of different ideas spring to mind:
- XSession, which is handy for other reasons
- FvwmTalk will show them
- pipe the output of fvwm to something like 'notifier' when
invoking it
- XConsole (or xterm/rxvt -C) might catch them, depending on
your X11 setup
----------------------------------------------------------------------
41) 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...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42) Why do NumLock and CapsLock interfere with ClickToFocus and/or my
mouse bindings?
A: Because they are treated as modifiers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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