Fluxbox

From openSUSE

Fluxbox
A lightweight and highly-configurable window manager - Current version: 1.1.1
Developer:	A group of developers
Package Info (pin)	openSUSE 11.2 openSUSE 11.1 openSUSE 11.0
License:	MIT
Website:	http://fluxbox.org

Fluxbox is a highly-configurable window manager for the X Window System. It is based on the code of Blackbox 0.61.1, looks like Blackbox and handles the styles, colours, window placement and similar things exactly like Blackbox (100% theme and style compatibility). Since the splitting-off from Blackbox, Fluxbox was developed functionally further and offers consequently another practical features.

Its user interface has only a toolbar and menu, which is accessible by a right click on the work space.

The basic configurations are controlled by text files.

An intended less memory consumption as well as fast boost times make the assignment on older machines possible.

Features

Implemented

• Configurable window tabs
• UTF-8 support
• Iconbar (for minimized/iconified windows)
• Windows/Tabs auto grouping
• MouseWheel scroll changes workspace
• Configurable titlebar (placement of buttons, new buttons etc.)
• KDE and GNOME (including GNOME 2) support
• Extended Window Manager Hints (EWMH) support
• Native integrated keygrabber
  • supports EMACS like keychains
• Maximize over slit option
• Slit (area for dockapps in the toolbar) dockapp ordering
• Configurable toolbar
• a.o.

Planned

• Session Management
• a.o.

Starting Fluxbox by

GNOME Display Manager (GDM)

Condition: GNOME ist our default desktop.

• Choose the window manager with the mouse in the session menu of the GDM and log in.
• Possibly you need to restart GDM after the installation in graphical mode.

KDE Display Manager (KDM)

Condition: KDE ist our default desktop.

• Choose the window manager with the mouse in the session menu of the KDM and log in.
• Possibly you need to restart KDM after the installation in graphical mode.

X Display Manager (XDM) and /etc/sysconfig/windowmanager (global)

Condition: Installed desktop: Minimal Graphical System

1) Edit the /etc/sysconfig/windowmanager.

  DEFAULT_WM="startfluxbox"

2) Change to text mode.

3) Restart XDM.

X Display Manager (XDM) and ~/.xinitrc (local)

Condition: Installed desktop: Minimal Graphical System

1) Edit the ~/.xinitrc.
Replace

  exec $WINDOWMANAGER

with

  exec startfluxbox

2) Log out.
3) Log in.

Settings

It is recommend to configure Fluxbox by its text configuration files, that means with the text editor. So you can configure the style, menu, toolbar a.o.

Additional programmes has been developed to edit or expand the window manager. Among others:

• fbdesk
  • Offers desktop icons which aren't included by default.
• fluxconf
  • Allows the graphical configuration of the window manager.
• fluxter
  • Dockapp to list the work spaces.

You can find these and another additional programmes on the Fluxbox pages, though in the form of source code packages. (see also "Availability on (open)SUSE Linux")

Hints

• Use a stand-alone programme to set wallpapers, e.g. xsetbg.

Special

• If you want to set icons in the menu, then you need the package imlib2-loaders additionally. Also if you want to use apps like wbar.
• You can use KDEsu and GNOMEsu (or xdg-su) in the menu in case an application requires root privileges. For example, add the following line to ~/.fluxbox/usermenu to start YaST from the menu.

   [exec] (YaST) {xdg-su -c yast2}

• In case an app ignores the settings in ~/.fluxbox/apps, you can make it suitable with the app specific geometry option insofar it exists. For example:

• An auto startup of scripts is possible by ~/.fluxbox/apps.
  • Set:

  [startup] {~/path/script.sh}

Availability on (open)SUSE Linux

Fluxbox packages are not contained in the (open)SUSE Linux distributions. Also the official OSS package repository doesn't contain a Fluxbox package. The following possibilities are available:

• You add another, non-official package repository. You can find an up to date package repository by the Software Search.
  • How to add package repositories with Smart or Zypper, you will find here:
    • Guides to:
      • Smart; Use 'man smart' or 'smart --help' on the command line.
      • Zypper

• • Since openSUSE 10.3, you can use the One-Click-Installation by default.
• You compile Fluxbox from the source code. You can find packages on the Fluxbox pages. (Attention: Recommendable for advanced Linux users and (open)SUSE appreciators only!).
  • You'll find guides in the package.

You can also use the ways mentioned above for the additional programmes insofar the packages were build.

Alternatives to Fluxbox

From the window manager field

• Compiz_Fusion

From the desktop field

• GNOME
• KDE

WWW links

• The article to Fluxbox from Wikipedia
• The official webpage
• The Fluxbox Wiki (including umpteen hints, multilingual)