some things are pretty annoying about lucid, specifically the lack of icons in the gnome menu and the stupid window buttons being in a difference place
over at webupd8 there is a handy script which fixes all of this and more. you can follow the instructions there, get the latest version from https://launchpad.net/ubuntustart/+download or just do this in a terminal
sudo apt-get install zenity
wget http://launchpad.net/ubuntustart/0.4.x/0.4.9/+download/ubuntu-10.04-start-0.4.9.7.tar.gz
tar -xvf ubuntu-10.04-start-0.4.9.7.tar.gz
cd ubuntu-10.04-start/
sudo ./ubuntu-10.04-script
i'd suggest not ticking the GetDeb option (last option at the bottom) as this just slowed things down and broke audacious for me
combine this with the excellent Ubuntu Tweak and i have lucid looking and performing exactly how i want
Showing posts with label window manager. Show all posts
Showing posts with label window manager. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
compositing without compiz
i don't like eye candy. compiz, wobbly windows, shadows, fading, taskbar previews; they all just annoy me. i want my computer to do what i'm asking it, and now. i run a slightly minimal desktop, with just openbox to manage windows, a gnome-panel for tasks and systray, and nautilus to put files on the desktop
despite this approach, proper window transparency is a useful feature. i spend most of my work day going between a terminal and configuration files, so it is good to have a semi-transparent terminal in front, and the file i'm working on behind, that i can read off (yes, two monitors would be more useful). how can we get this effect, without all the other useless cruft?
enter xcompmgr. this useful app handles compositing, without replacing the existing window manager. install it with sudo apt-get install xcompmgr, and run with just xcompmgr
start up a gnome-terminal (or stjerm), and set transparency to about 80%. move that window over some other windows or icons, and enjoy actual proper window transparency!
xcompmgr can also do drop shadows, and combined with transset, can be setup to make your windows transparent too. i'm not so into this, but there's a good summary on urukrama's openbox guide
despite this approach, proper window transparency is a useful feature. i spend most of my work day going between a terminal and configuration files, so it is good to have a semi-transparent terminal in front, and the file i'm working on behind, that i can read off (yes, two monitors would be more useful). how can we get this effect, without all the other useless cruft?
enter xcompmgr. this useful app handles compositing, without replacing the existing window manager. install it with sudo apt-get install xcompmgr, and run with just xcompmgr
start up a gnome-terminal (or stjerm), and set transparency to about 80%. move that window over some other windows or icons, and enjoy actual proper window transparency!
xcompmgr can also do drop shadows, and combined with transset, can be setup to make your windows transparent too. i'm not so into this, but there's a good summary on urukrama's openbox guide
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Window control with wmctrl
wmctrl is a useful little commandline tool for manipulating windows. it works with any window manager that complies to the freedesktop.org spec, which is most common ones
to install it within a debian-based distro, just type sudo apt-get install wmctrl
what can it do? alot, but i mostly use it for resizing windows to certain sizes (which can be useful for testing a web layout in smaller resolutions), positioning windows at a particular place on the monitor, and for "shading" windows, which means drawing the window up to the titlebar
to see what windows wmctrl can see, type wmctrl -l in a terminal, you'll get a list like this:
jamie@one:~$ wmctrl -l
0x01000003 -1 one Bottom Expanded Edge Panel
0x0100002a -1 one Bottom Expanded Edge Panel
0x0120001f -1 one Desktop
0x028000c8 0 one : Linux Aleph : Tips for using Linux - Mozilla Firefox
0x03200021 0 one jamie@one: ~
so you can see a window ID, a number which is the workspace the window appears on (-1 means "sticky" on all workspaces), the X server the window is running on (my PC's hostname is "one"), and the window titles
to address a window, you can either use the window ID, or do a match on part of the title. so wmctrl -i -r 0x028000c8 and wmctrl -r Firefox will both address the same window. you can also address windows with -r :ACTIVE:, which is the active window, and -r :SELECT:, which gives you a mouse cursor to choose the window you wish to control
to resize a window, use the -e parameter, with a syntax that goesgravity,x,y,width,height, and a -1 option leaves a pixel value unchanged
don't worry about changing window gravity, just set it to 0, so to resize our Firefox window inplace to 1024x768, type wmctrl -r Firefox -e 0,-1,-1,1024,768 or to positon a window 100 pixels in without resizing it, use the command wmctrl -r Firefox -e 0,100,100,-1,-1
to change window shading, use the option -b toggle,shaded, you could even bind this to a keystroke (like Ctrl-Escape) to make it easy to get to quickly
there is alot more wmctrl can do, such as maximising, minimising, changing titles, the list goes on. type man wmctrl in a terminal to find out more
to install it within a debian-based distro, just type sudo apt-get install wmctrl
what can it do? alot, but i mostly use it for resizing windows to certain sizes (which can be useful for testing a web layout in smaller resolutions), positioning windows at a particular place on the monitor, and for "shading" windows, which means drawing the window up to the titlebar
to see what windows wmctrl can see, type wmctrl -l in a terminal, you'll get a list like this:
jamie@one:~$ wmctrl -l
0x01000003 -1 one Bottom Expanded Edge Panel
0x0100002a -1 one Bottom Expanded Edge Panel
0x0120001f -1 one Desktop
0x028000c8 0 one : Linux Aleph : Tips for using Linux - Mozilla Firefox
0x03200021 0 one jamie@one: ~
so you can see a window ID, a number which is the workspace the window appears on (-1 means "sticky" on all workspaces), the X server the window is running on (my PC's hostname is "one"), and the window titles
to address a window, you can either use the window ID, or do a match on part of the title. so wmctrl -i -r 0x028000c8 and wmctrl -r Firefox will both address the same window. you can also address windows with -r :ACTIVE:, which is the active window, and -r :SELECT:, which gives you a mouse cursor to choose the window you wish to control
to resize a window, use the -e parameter, with a syntax that goes
don't worry about changing window gravity, just set it to 0, so to resize our Firefox window inplace to 1024x768, type wmctrl -r Firefox -e 0,-1,-1,1024,768 or to positon a window 100 pixels in without resizing it, use the command wmctrl -r Firefox -e 0,100,100,-1,-1
to change window shading, use the option -b toggle,shaded, you could even bind this to a keystroke (like Ctrl-Escape) to make it easy to get to quickly
there is alot more wmctrl can do, such as maximising, minimising, changing titles, the list goes on. type man wmctrl in a terminal to find out more
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