README
1README
2
3$Id: README,v 1.3 1999/11/16 18:09:42 M Exp $
4
5
6DESCRIPTION
7wmanager is a small X11 application for selecting a window manager
8at X startup.
9
10
11DISCLAIMER
12Copyright (C) 1999 M. Tessmer
13
14This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
15it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
16the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
17(at your option) any later version.
18
19This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
20but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
21MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
22GNU General Public License for more details.
23
24You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
25along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
26Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
27
28
29INTERNET RESOURCES
30For the latest version of wmanager look at
31
32 http://heuss.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/mtessmer/wmanager/index.html
33
34
35INSTALLATION
36You need a working X11 environment and a C++ compiler. wmanager uses
37the Fast Light Toolkit which can be found at
38
39 http://www.fltk.org
40
41For installation instructions look at 'INSTALL'.
42
43
44NEWS
45For latest news or new features on this project look at 'NEWS' or at
46the homepage above.
47
48
49FAQ
50There is also a frequently asked questions section. Look at 'FAQ'.
51
52
53USAGE
54After invoking, wmanager is looking for a file named '.wmanagerrc'
55in the user's home directory or the one specified at the commandline with
56the 'r' switch. This file contains a list of window managers:
57
58 # sample .wmanagerrc file for wmanager
59
60 9wm=/home/M/bin/9wm
61 AfterStep=/usr/X11R6/bin/afterstep
62 Fltk Windowmanager=/home/M/bin/flwm
63 Fvwm2=/usr/X11R6/bin/fvwm2
64 IceWm=/usr/X11R6/bin/icewm
65 K Desktop Environment=/usr/X11R6/bin/kde
66 Macintosh-like virtual wm=/usr/X11R6/bin/mlvwm
67 Qvwm=/usr/X11R6/bin/qvwm
68 Sapphire=/home/M/bin/sapphire
69 Tabular wm = /usr/X11R6/bin/twm
70 WindowMaker=/usr/X11R6/bin/wmaker
71 wmG=/home/M/bin/wm
72 wmx=/home/M/bin/wmx
73
74Lines beginning with a '#' are treated as comments. The first words are
75the name which is listed in 'wmanager', i.e. '9wm'. After that you
76must specify the executable file; it is '/home/M/bin/9wm' for '9wm' in
77the example file above. Relative path names are allowed.
78
79The following commandline options are allowed:
80
81 -r file alternative .wmanagerrc file
82 -d[isplay] host:n.n network
83 -g[eometry] WxH+X+Y window size and position
84 -t[itle] windowtitle window title
85 -n[ame] classname window class
86 -i[conic] iconfy application
87 -fg color foreground color
88 -bg color background color
89 -bg2 color widget background color
90
91Typically, you add some lines to your .xinitrc/.xsession file in the
92following manner:
93
94 #!/bin/bash
95 #
96 # sample .xinitrc for wmanager
97
98 # ...
99
100 #default wm
101 WM=/home/jane_user/bin/wmx
102
103 # set nice(?) background
104 xsetroot -solid black
105
106 # start wmanager at root window center
107 WM=$( wmanager -g +365+322; )
108
109 # test for -1 (returned if 'Exit' was pressed)
110 #
111 # WINDOWMANAGER is the final environment variable
112 if test "$WM"!="-1" ; then
113 WINDOWMANAGER=$WM ;
114 else
115 exec $failsafe ;
116 fi
117
118
119 # GNOME panel
120 panel &
121
122 # finally start a windowmanager
123 $WINDOWMANAGER &
124
125
126 # ...
127
128wmanager prints out the path for the selected window manager to
129standard output, so you can store it in a variable like 'WM'. If you
130exit the program without selecting a window manager, it prints '-1' to stdout.
131
132The distribution comes with sample files for .wmanagerrc and .xinitrc. It
133should be easy to modify and use them in any environment.
134
135In future versions wmanager will check for file access rights and
136inform the user about it.
137
138Now you are prepared to go and set up your personal '.wmanagerrc' with your
139preferred window managers.
140
141
142If you find any bugs, have requests or questions, please mail to
143
144 mtessmer@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de
145
146with 'wmanager: your question' in the subject field.
147
148
149Have fun,
150 Meik
151
152
153
154