Subject: FVWM: fvwm-2 config question for newbie

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 17:17:33 EDT

Hello,

I'm fairly new at linux, but even newer to fvwm.  I have RH 6 and I don't like
KDE or Gnome which come as default.  I'm trying to set up fvwm2 and I'm 
getting
a little bogged down and I would really appreciate any direction and advice.  

I'd just like to have a basic look to my desktop right now.  I've looked at
countless amounts of screenshots and their .fvwm2rc files and tried to get as
much info on fvwm.  I've very recently subscribed to this newgroup as well.

Is it possible to view the changed settings in the .fvwm2rc file without
exiting out and beginning with startx again?  I don't even have it set up to
boot up to an X-login screen.  If I switch runlevels I go into gdm and then to
gnome, but that's another problem once I get fvwm to look and feel right.  

I realize this message may appear to be broad, and it is supposed.  I'm not
looking for anything to be handed over to me.  I just need a little help
getting in the right direction.  

Thanks very much in advance for any assistance and advice you may be able to
provide.

Jason
Email:  [email-masked]
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---

From: Dominik Vogt <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 00:37:54 +0200

On Tue, Jul 13, 1999 at 05:17:33PM -0400, [email-masked] wrote:
> exiting out and beginning with startx again?

Yes. Fvwm has a built in 'Restart' command. There have been a lot of changes
to this command recently, so be sure to read the man page that comes with
your distribution. Usually you put the restart command in one of your menus:

  AddToMenu some_menu "Restart fvwm" Restart

Depending on the version you may get sligtly different effects when calling
'Restart'. If you have one of the 2.3.x alpha versions and notice that some
settings you changed in the config file are not reflected in the new fvwm,
try 'Restart --dont-preserve-state'.

The Red Hat setup is a bit tricky. If you run into any trouble with it
please have a look at our FAQ. There is a question/answer about RH setup.

The modules FvwmConsole and FvwmCommand will be invaluable aids when
trying out new config commands. Fvwm accepts virtually all commands
at run time. You can issue all commands with said modules.

FvwmConsole is a shell like terminal window in which you can type your
commands. To start it you use this command:

  Module FvwmConsole

You will probably want to bind it to a menu or your FvwmButtons

  AddToMenu some_menu
  + FvwmConsole Module FvwmConsole

The other module (FvwmCommand) must be invoked once from the config
file. You should invoke the FvwqmCommand server from both, the
InitFunction and the RestartFunction:

  AddToFunc InitFunction Module FvwmCommandS
  AddToFunc RestartFunction Module FvwmCommandS

(modules are killed during a restart, so you have to respawn them).
When the server is in place you can issue fvwm commands from any
shell prompt:

  FvwmCommand 'command 1' 'command 2' ...

(you need to quote the commands if they contain whitespace).

Other commands and modules you might want to have a look at:

Modules:

  FvwmButtons (you'll find my config in the FvwmButtons man page).
  FvwmAnimate (really nice if you like fancy animations)
  FvwmIconMan (very flexible)
  FvwmTaskBar (if you like win95 style)
  FvwmPager (transient pager, viewing current desks)

Styles:

  SloppyFocus
  DecorateTransient 

Commands:

  GlobalOpts (SmartPlacementIsReallySmart, MouseFocusClickRaises)
  SnapAttraction
  SnapGrid

(the list is by no means complete).

> I don't even have it set up to

If you want to learn some of the neat tricks and fancy features with fvwm
you should have a look at the tips-and-tricks section of the FAQ as well
as the announcement file (where all the new features and hilights are
mentioned). If you have some ideas how things should work but can't figure
them out, just ask. If they can be done you will probably get the answer
on the list and if not they might be useful enhancements.

Bye

Dominik ^_^

--
Dominik Vogt, [email-masked]
Reply-To: [email-masked]
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From: "Thomas A. Gardiner" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 09:21:19 -0400 (EDT)

Hi all,

I wonder if you might have a suggestion for me.  I decided to try out
FvwmAnimate to put a little spark on the screen, and as usual ran into a
problem - nothing happens.  I'm a little confused as I have tried both
setting the options directly as well as saving the options to the file
~/.FvwmAnimate.  I wonder, is it possible that there is some other option
set which is nulling out the effects?  Or, am I just doing something
stupid again.  

Thanks,
Tom

Ps. I tried the following to slow things down enough to see 'em, to no
avail.

*FvwmAnimateDelay 1000
*FvwmAnimateIterations 100
*FvwmAnimateTwist 2
*FvwmAnimateWidth 4
*FvwmAnimateEffect Turn
*FvwmAnimateSave

The save, while it should be overkill, was a last ditch effort to see if
things were being set properly...

_________________________________________________________________________
Thomas Gardiner
[email-masked]

University of Rochester
Department of Physics and Astronomy
P. O. Box 270171
Rochester, NY 14627-0171

(716) 275-9625 Office 2
(716) 275-0537 Office 1
(716) 275-8527 fax
__________________________________________________________________________

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it
because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.
If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature
were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living.- Henri Poincare
__________________________________________________________________________

---

From: Dan Espen <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 09:39:38 -0400

> things were being set properly...

First make sure you have FvwmAnimate running:

ps -ef | grep FvwmAnimate

should give you a result like this:

xxxx> ps -ef | grep FvwmAnimate
    dane 11613  2075  0 09:33:13 ttyp0    0:00 grep FvwmAnimate
    dane 26666 26660  0   Jul 08 console  0:00 /usr/local/fvwm/2.3.6//FvwmAnimate 9 4 none 0 8

Also note that FvwmAnimate currently only animates desktop icons.
If you are using FvwmTaskbar, FvwmIconMan, or FvwmIconBox and have
"Style * NoIcon" set, you won't see any animation.

I can't predict what putting the "Save" command in the file is going to
do.  (I've never tested it that way.)

--
Dan Espen
444 Hoes Lane  Room RRC 1C-214           E-mail: [email-masked]
Piscataway, NJ 08854                     Phone: (732) 699-5570
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From: "Thomas A. Gardiner" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 10:07:09 -0400 (EDT)

Dan,

Thanks!

FvwmAnimate is running.  The save option just tells FvwmAnimate to save
the options to a file in the user's home directory named .FvwmAnimate
which is read by FvwmAnimate when it starts up.  You hit the problem right
on the head, though, with your last comment.  I am slowly modifying the
default "decor" of Fvwm95 on a RH5.2 system.  As such the default is to
have both FvwmTaskbar running and Style * NoIcon!  Commenting out this
style definition corrected the problem. 

Thanks,
Tom