Subject: FVWM: minimalist config?

From: "Thomas A. Horsley" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 01:46:36 +0000 (GMT)

I have a feeling I'm going to want to use fvwm, but at the moment
I'm being overwhelmed by bells and whistles :-).

All the documentation I've been reading so far has emphasized how
there are all sorts of fallback configs that provide useful root
menus, etc.

What if I don't want any of that? Is there a sample .fvwm2rc file
somewhere that can provide me with a config that basically does
nothing? Turns off all the key and mouse bindings? Has maybe a
single mouse click that brings up a single menu with just a "quit"
button?

I'd much rather start with nothing and add things one at a time
than start with something that has all sorts of amazing and
unexpected side-effects when I accidentally press a button in the
wrong context or something.

Just curious. Thanks for any pointers you can provide.

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From: Dan Espen <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 21:30:58 -0500

> there are all sorts of fallback configs that provide useful root

If you start Fvwm with no config file,
you get a very small menu with just a few choices,
one of them is quit.  Very few things are configured,
the man page lists the things that are configured and
how to unconfigure them.

The menu will offer to create a starting config for you,
but you don't have to select that option.

-- 
Dan Espen                           E-mail: [email-masked]

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From: Thomas Adam <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 03:18:10 +0000

> I'm being overwhelmed by bells and whistles :-).

Ah, a man after my own heart!  One that likes things simplistic.  :)  I
never did care for all the bells and whistles, either.

> there are all sorts of fallback configs that provide useful root

Indeed.  For instance, if you start up fvwm with no ~/.fvwm2rc file
present (or no system-wide config file), fvwm wil default to its
internal defaults, which in turn will allow you to create the most
minimalistic .fvwm2rc file I know of.  Indeed, this is perhaps where I
suggest you start.  You can read more [1] about that.

> nothing? Turns off all the key and mouse bindings? Has maybe a single
> mouse click that brings up a single menu with just a "quit" button?

Again, see above.  There isn't anything like what you're describing.
The paradox here is that you need a .fvwm2rc file to be able to turn off
the key/mouse bindings in the first place.  :)

> I'd much rather start with nothing and add things one at a time than
> start with something that has all sorts of amazing and unexpected
> side-effects when I accidentally press a button in the wrong context
> or something.

And why not, indeed.  I did this, too.  Built things up bit by bit.  You
can see my achievements [2].  But don't worry about "breaking" FVWM by
specifying a wrong key binding, or what have you.  It's pretty much
bullet-proof.  If you log errors Fvwm produces (typically
~/.xsession-errors, if you use xdm or startx) then you can always see
what you did wrong.

HTH,

-- Thomas Adam

[1] http://linuxgazette.net/105/adam.html
[2] http://www.fvwmwiki.org/cgi/moin.cgi/FvwmMWM

-- 
I know nothing, and understand even less.

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From: [email-masked] (Thomas A. Horsley)
Date: 26 Feb 2005 09:59:54 -0500

>The paradox here is that you need a .fvwm2rc file to be able to
>turn off the key/mouse bindings in the first place.  :)

My eyes are starting to be able to focus better as I read through
more of the docs and get used to new things :-). Here's the config
I came up with that seems to turn off almost everything:

   Key F1 R A -
   Key Tab A M -
   Key Escape A MC -
   Mouse 0 R N -
   Mouse 1 TS A -
   Mouse 1 F  A -

   AddToMenu Onemenu Onemenu Title
    + "Exit Fvwm" Quit

   Mouse 1 R N Menu Onemenu

That still leaves mouse 1 in the titlebar and border doing things
like move and resize, but even I can't object to those defaults :-).

I'm slowly starting to add things to the above, and I'm pretty
sure I'll be able to get it just as minimalist as I want it.
Thanks for the various tips.
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