Subject: Re: FVWM: icon name-changes

From: Bob Woodside <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 1996 18:58:41 -0500 (EST)

On Sat, 9 Nov 1996, Paul Boven wrote:
>  I like to be able to see at a glance whether there are any new messages in
>  my iconified xconsole, and it changes it's icon-name to "xconsole *" just
>  for that purpose.  However, I do not see that happen on my screen unless I
>  move my mouse pointer over the icon, giving it focus.
>  ...
>  How much trouble would it be to make fvwm2 behave a bit more sane in this
>  regard?

Hi, Paul --

	Actually, fvwm's policy is quite rational, and not uncommon among
window managers (mwm does this, too). The policy is to size the title to match
the width of the icon pixmap, except for the icon that has focus. Many apps,
like word processors and text editors, like to insert the name of the document
being edited into the title, and if all titles are shown full width, you get
a desktop cluttered with icons that look something like this.

                                  ----------
                                 |          |
                                 | icon.xpm |
                                 |          |
              ---------------------------------------------------
              | ./my/really/long/directory/path/and/filename.txt |
              ---------------------------------------------------

This very quickly gets ugly and hard to read.

	When you shift focus to an icon, the window manager assumes that you
might be expressing an interest in it, so it shows you the full width title.

	The problem with xconsole is that it doesn't provide an icon pixmap
resource, so you get nothing but the little title icon window. However,
this is easy to get around.

	Can you live with having a small, unobtrusive icon pixmap associated
with xconsole? If so, here's what you do.

	1) Find a pixmap that suits you. This may take a little trial and
           error, depending on the effect you want. Most pixmaps are easily
           wide enough to accommodate the string "xconsole *" (except for
           those itty-bitty ones designed for button bars.) If you want one
           that's really minimal, you may have to create your own. I just
           tried a little one sized at 56 x 26 that nicely fits xconsole;
           but YMMV, depending on your font selection.

	2) Change your fvwm2rc Style definition for xconsole as follows:
                Style "xconsole"    Icon My-Favorite-Xconsole.xpm
           (plus whatever other Style arguments you like for xconsole).

	Restart fvwm, and you're in business. You'll now see the title change
to "xconsole *" as soon as new output appears in the buffer.

	Alternatively, you could add an icon to the generic style
specification (the one that says Style "*"), so that all apps that aren't
otherwise associated with an icon resource would use that.

	Good luck,
	Bob

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---

From: [email-masked] (Paul Boven)
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 10:10:39 +0100 (MET)

Hi Bob, everyone,
 
> >  How much trouble would it be to make fvwm2 behave a bit more sane in this
[ --8<-- ]
> with xconsole? If so, here's what you do.

Well, I tried, and I find I really really can't ;) 

I made an empty 64x1 bitmap-file and made that my icon, but it looks rather
ugly, as fvwm draws a black line around it. It does do the trick for me, 
but it looks bad. Prefer my old style of getting this to work, given that
I don't reboot my machine that often. Then again, that way I risk forgetting
about it and not realising, like, someone managed to su while I wasn't looking.

So I guess I'll have to either patch xconsole or fvwm2 in some way to behave
special for this problem. Yuck :) Any hints?
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Boven, <[email-masked]>  PE1NUT  QRV 145.575 JO32KF
 "Read some Kerouac,  and it put me on the tracks,  to burn a little 
    brighter now"    - Torch song, Clutching at straws, Marillion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
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---

From: Jakob Schiotz <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 96 11:15:34 +0100

Paul Boven wrote:

 > ugly, as fvwm draws a black line around it. 
	[ ..... ]

Have you tried a shaped icon (an xpm pixmap, not a bitmap).  Then you
can have an icon that has a size, but which really isn't there
(i.e. it is all transparent).  I guess fvwm won't put a black line
around it.  I haven't tried it, so I don't know how fvwm will react to
a completely empty icon though.   Note that you must have compiled fvwm
with the xpm library.

Jakob

--
Jakob Schiotz                    !  Email: [email-masked]
CAMP, Department of Physics      !  WWW: http://www.fysik.dtu.dk/~schiotz/
Technical University of Denmark  !  
DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark          !

---

From: [email-masked] (Paul Boven)
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 13:28:53 +0100 (MET)

Hello everyone,

> a completely empty icon though.   Note that you must have compiled fvwm

Yup, that did the trick! No lines around it, just the text-icon. Only funny
thing is that the word xconsole has a bit more room in it's icon than any
of the other icon, but I guess I'll.. have to live with that ;)

/* XPM */
static char *xfm_ps_xpm[] = {
"64 1 1 1",
" 	s none c none",
"                                                                "};

Regards, keep hacking, Paul.

---

From: "James R. R. Tullett" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 08:26:24 GMT

> >  > ugly, as fvwm draws a black line around it. 
[.. lines removed jamest..]
 > static char *xfm_ps_xpm[] = {
[... You've all seen Paul's sig & the ad for the FVWM www site ...]

And here's a less minimalist xconsole XPM for all you
retro-computing fans out there...
(you'll have to add your own tape punch...)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Tullett		  + Trite saying under devalopment
[email-masked] +
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