NAME
FvwmButtons - the fvwm buttonbox moduleSYNOPSIS
Module FvwmButtons [-g geometry] [-transient | -transientpanel] [name[configfile]]
DESCRIPTION
The FvwmButtons module provides a window of buttons which sits on the X terminal’s root window. The user can press the buttons at any time, and trigger invocation of a user-specified command by the window manager. FvwmButtons only works when fvwm is used as the window manager.OPTIONS
The -g option specifies the geometry of the main window. The command line option takes precedence over any other geometry settings in the configuration file.INVOCATION
FvwmButtons is spawned by fvwm, so command line invocation will not work.AddToFunc StartFunction Module FvwmButtons MyButtonBox
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
The following commands are understood by FvwmButtons:Specifies the background color for the
buttons. The relief and shadow color are calculated from the background
color.
This option specifies how serious FvwmButtons
takes the Rows and Columns options (see below). It can be one of dumb,
fixed or smart.
If fixed is used and both Rows and Columns are specified and non-zero,
FvwmButtons uses exactly the number of rows and columns specified. If the box
is too small to accommodate all buttons the module will fail.
If smart is used FvwmButtons enlarges the box so all buttons have a
chance to fit. The number of columns is increased to at least the width of the
widest button and new rows are added until all buttons are placed. For the
best tolerance of configuration errors use the smart option.
dumb is neither fixed nor smart. This is the default.
Tells the module to use colorset
colorset for the window background. Refer to the fvwm man page for
details about colorsets.
Tells the module to use colorset
colorset for the background color/image and/or title color of a button
when the mouse is hovering above a button.
Tells the module to use colorset
colorset for the background color/image and/or title color of a button
when it is pressed.
Specifies the number of columns of buttons to
be created. If unspecified, the number of columns is set to the number of
buttons requested, divided by the number of rows. If both the rows and columns
are specified, but the number of buttons is more than the rows and columns
allow for, the columns specification is ignored unless the BoxSize
option is fixed.
Specifies that the configuration for this
button is found in the file filename. Filename can be a full
pathname, or is assumed to be in fvwm’s startup directory. The
configuration file is in the same format as fvwm’s configuration file,
but each line is read as if prefixed by "*FvwmButtons". Comments are
given by starting a line with "#". Line continuation is done by
ending a line with a "\".
Specifies the font to be used for labeling the
buttons, or None.
Specifies the color used for button label text
and monochrome icons.
Specifies the width of the relief around each
button. If this is a negative number, the relief is inverted. This makes the
button sunken normally and raised when activated.
Specifies the FvwmButtons window location and
size. The geometry is a standard X11 window geometry specification.
This option works like the Geometry
option except that the size is the size of a single button. The size of the
whole FvwmButtons window is calculated by multiplying the button dimension by
the number of rows and columns.
This option specifies the default horizontal
padding to be width pixels, and the vertical padding to be
height pixels. The amount of free space between the relief of the
button and its contents is normally 2 pixels on the sides and 4 pixels above
and below, except for swallowed windows and containers, which are not padded
at all, unless this option is used.
Specifies a background pixmap to use. Specify
"none" (without the double quotes) for a transparent
background.
Specifies the number of rows of buttons to be
created. The default is 2 rows.
If FvwmButtons has a titlebar enabled with
Title style, (for example, some transient subpanel), this option can set
it’s Window name and Icon name to a string provided with this
parameter. If omitted, default for Window and Icon name is the window resource
name which itself is simply "FvwmButtons", or is derived from the
alias by which FvwmButtons configuration is referenced. This enables setting a
title with spaces and larger number of non-ASCII characters which is not
allowed as an alias for FvwmButtons module instance otherwise.
Specifies the contents of a button in the
buttonbox. The following options, separated by commas or whitespace,
can be given a button:
geometry
Action [( options)] command
ActionIgnoresClientWindow
ActionOnPress
Back color
Center
Top
Colorset colorset
ActiveColorset colorset
PressColorset colorset
Container [(options)]
End
Font fontname
Fore color
Frame width
Icon filename
ActiveIcon filename
PressIcon filename
Id id
Left
NoSize
Padding width height
Panel [ (options) ] hangon command
Right
Size width height
Swallow [(flags)] hangon command
Title [(options)] name
ActiveTitle name
PressTitle name
Legacy fields [title icon command]
The command
Quoting
Specifies the size and position of the button
within the FvwmButtons window or container. The geometry is a standard X11
window geometry specification. The button is width times the normal
button width and height times the normal button height. If values for
x and y are given, the button is placed x (y) button units from
the left (top) of the container if x (y) is positive and x (y) units from the
right (bottom) if x (y) is negative. Buttons with position arguments (x and y)
are placed before those without them. If two or more buttons are forced to
overlap by this, FvwmButtons exits with an error message.
Specifies an fvwm command to be executed when
the button is activated by pressing return or a mouse button. The
command needs to be quoted if it contains a comma or a closing
parenthesis.
The current options of the Action are: Mouse n - this action is
only executed for mouse button n. One action can be defined for each
mouse button, in addition to the general action.
In the command part, you can use a number of predefined variables:
$left, $right, $top and $bottom are substituted by
the left, right, top and bottom coordinates of the button pressed.
$-left, $-right, $-top and $-bottom are
substituted likewise, but the coordinates are calculated from the bottom or
the right edge of the screen instead (for a button that is 5 pixels away from
the right screen border, $-right will be 5). $width and $height
are replaced by the width or height of the button. The variables $fg
and $bg are replaced with the name of the foreground or background
color set with the Back or Fore option (see below). All this is
done regardless of any quoting characters. To get a literal '$' use the string
'$$'.
Example:
Note: With fvwm versions prior to 2.5.0, actions could not be assigned to a
button that swallowed an application window (see Swallow option). Such
actions worked only when the border around the button was clicked. This is now
possible, but to get back the old behavior, the
ActionIgnoresClientWindow can be used on the button:
In this example, the action is only executed when you click on the border of the
button or the transparent part of the xeyes window, but not on the xeyes
window itself.
*FvwmButtons: (Title xload, Action (Mouse 1) \
`Exec exec xload -fg $fg -bg $bg -geometry -3000-3000`)
*FvwmButtons: (Action beep, ActionIgnoresClientWindow, \
Swallow xeyes "Exec exec xeyes")
See the note in the description of
Action above.
Usually the action is executed on the button
release except for the Popup action. This option changes this behavior,
the action is executed on the button press. This may be good, for example,
with Menu or SendToModule that generates popups, or when
Frame is 0 and the button would look unresponsive otherwise.
Specifies the background color to be used
drawing this box. A relief color and a shadow color are calculated from
this.
The contents of the button is centered on the
button. This is the default but may be changed by Left or
Right.
The contents of the button is vertically
aligned at the top of the button. The default is to vertically center
it.
The given colorset can be applied to a
container, a swallowed application and a simple button. To apply it to a
button or container, simply put the option in a line with a button or
container description. Drawing backgrounds for individual buttons and
containers with colorsets requires a lot of communication with the X server.
So if you are not content with the drawing speed of dozens of buttons with
colorset backgrounds, do not use colorsets here. Setting colorsets as the
background of swallowed applications does not have this restriction but
depends entirely on the swallowed application. It may work as you wish, but
since it involves fiddling with other applications' windows there is no
guarantee for anything. I have tested three applications: xosview works nicely
with a colorset background, xload works only with a VGradient or solid
background and an analog xclock leaves a trail painted in the background color
after its hands.
If the swallowed window is an fvwm module (see the (No)FvwmModule option to
Swallow), then the colorset is not applied to the swallowed module. You
should use the colorset in the module configuration. If the swallowed
module has a transparent colorset background, then the FvwmButtons background
(and not the button colorset) is seen by transparency of the background of the
swallowed module. Refer to the fvwm man page for details about
colorsets.
Use colorset colorset for the
background color/image and/or title color of the button when the mouse is
hovering above it.
Use colorset colorset for the
background color/image and/or title color of the button when it is
pressed.
Specifies that this button will contain a
miniature buttonbox, equivalent to swallowing another FvwmButtons module. The
options are the same as can be given for a single button, but they affect all
the contained buttons. Options available for this use are Back,
Font, Fore, Frame and Padding. Flags for Title and Swallow
options can be set with Title(flags) and Swallow(flags). You
should also specify either "Columns width" or "Rows
height", or "Rows 2" will be assumed. For an example,
see the Sample configuration section.
The container button itself (separate from the contents) can take format options
like Frame and Padding, and commands can be bound to it. This
means you can make a sensitive relief around a container, like
Typically you will want to at least give the container a size setting
widthx_height_.
*FvwmButtons: (2x2, Frame 5, Padding 2 2, Action Beep,\
Container(Frame 1))
Specifies that no more buttons are defined for
the current container, and further buttons will be put in the
container’s parent. This option should be given on a line by itself,
i.e
*FvwmButtons: (End)
Specifies that the font fontname is to
be used for labeling this button.
Specifies the foregound color of the title and
monochrome icons in this button.
The relief of the button will be width
pixels wide. If width is given as a negative number, the relief is
inverted. This makes the button sunken normally and raised when
activated.
The name of an image file, containing the icon
to display on the button. FvwmButtons searches through the path specified in
the fvwm ImagePath configuration item to find the icon file.
The name of an image file, containing an
alternative icon to display on the button when the mouse is hovering above the
button. If no ActiveIcon is specified, the image specified by Icon is
displayed (if there is one).
The name of an image file, containing an
alternative icon to display on the button when the button is pressed. If no
PressIcon is specified, the image specified by Icon is displayed (if there is
one).
The id to be used to identify this button. The
first character of the id should be alphabetic. See also the "DYNAMICAL
ACTIONS" section.
The contents of the button are aligned to the
left. The default is to center the contents on the button.
This option specifies that this button will
not be considered at all when making the initial calculations of button sizes.
Useful for the odd button that gets just a couple of pixels too large to keep
in line, and therefore blows up your whole buttonbox. "NoSize" is
equivalent to "Size 0 0".
The amount of free space between the relief of
the button and its contents is normally 2 pixels to the sides and 4 pixels
above and below, except for swallowed windows and containers, which are by
default not padded at all. This option sets the horizontal padding to
width and the vertical padding to height.
Panels can be swallowed exactly like windows
are swallowed by buttons with the Swallow command below, but they are
not displayed within the button. Instead they are hidden until the user
presses the panel’s button. Then the panel (the window of the swallowed
application) opens with a sliding animation. The options can be any of
the flags described for the Swallow command. In addition a direction
'left', 'right', 'up' or 'down' can be used to specify the sliding direction.
The steps animation-steps option defines the number of animation steps.
The delay ms option sets the delay between the steps of the animation in
milliseconds. Use zero for no delay. The maximum delay is 10 seconds (10000).
It doesn’t make any sense to use the delay option unless you also use
the smooth option.
The smooth option causes the panel to redraw between the steps of the
animation. The sliding animation may be smoother this way, it depends on the
application, and display speed. The application may appear to grow instead of
sliding out. The animation may be slower.
The Hints option causes FvwmButtons to use the applications size hints to
calculate the size of the animation steps. Hints is the default. If the
number of steps is not what you want, try using NoHints.
The noborder option tells FvwmButtons to ignore the borders of the window
when calculating positions for the animation (equivalent to set noplr and
noptb in the position option).
With the indicator option set, FvwmButtons will draw a small triangle in
the button that will open a panel. The triangle points in the direction where
the panel will pop up. The indicator keyword may be followed by a
positive integer that specifies the maximum width and height of the indicator.
Without this size FvwmButtons will make the indicator fit the button. You will
probably want to use the Padding option to leave a few pixels between
the indicator and the frame of the button. Second option to indicator may be
given which enters the look of the triangle. If this keyword is in,
triangle will appear pressed in, while out will make triangle to appear
depressed (3D raised). If this keyword is omitted, default will be out
or depressed.
The position option allows one to place the panel. The syntax is:
The argument context-window can be one of: Button, Module or Root. The
context-window is the window from which panel percentage offsets are
calculated. Button specifies the panel’s button, Module specifies
FvwmButtons itself, and Root specifies a virtual screen. The context-window
together with the sliding direction define a line segment which is one of the
borders of the context-window: the top/bottom/left/right border for sliding
up/down/left/right.
The pos argument can be one of: center, left or right (for sliding up or
a down) or top or bottom (for sliding left or right). It defines the vertical
(sliding up and down) or the horizontal (sliding left and right) position of
the Panel on the line segment. For example, for a sliding up if you use a left
pos, then the left borders of the panel and of the context-window will be
aligned.
The offset values x and y specify how far the panel is moved from
it’s default position. By default, the numeric value given is
interpreted as a percentage of the context window’s width (height). A
trailing "p" changes the interpretation to mean "pixels".
All offset calculations are relative to the buttons location, even when using
a root context.
The border-opts are: mlr, mtb, noplr and noptb. They define which border
widths are taken in account. By default, the borders of FvwmButtons are not
taken in account. mlr reverses this default for the left and the right border
and mtb reverses this default for the top and the bottom border. Conversely,
by default the borders of the Panel are taken in account. noplr reverses this
default for the left and the right border and noptb reverses this default for
the top and the bottom border.
The defaults are sliding up with a delay of five milliseconds and twelve
animation steps. To post the panel without any animation, set the number of
steps to zero. The default position is 'Button center'.
Please refer to the CREATING PANELS section for further information on
panels.
Example:
position [context-window] [pos] [x y] [border-opts]
# To include the panel in a button
*FvwmButtons: (Panel(down, delay 0, steps 16) \
SubPanel "Module FvwmButtons SubPanel")
# To define the panel as an instance of
# FvwmButtons with a different name:
*SubPanel: (Icon my_lock.xpm, Action Exec xlock)
*SubPanel: (Icon my_move.xpm, Action Move)
...
The contents of the button are aligned to the
right. The default is to center the contents on the button.
Specifies that the contents of this button
require width by height pixels, regardless of what size
FvwmButtons calculates from the icon and the title. A button bar with only
swallowed windows will not get very large without this option specified, as
FvwmButtons does not consider sizes for swallowing buttons. Note that this
option gives the minimum space assured; other buttons might require the
buttonbox to use larger sizes.
Causes FvwmButtons to execute command,
and when a window with a name, class or resource matching hangon
appears, it is captured and swallowed into this button. The hangon
string may contain wildcard characters ('*') that match any substring. Swallow
replaces the variables $fg and $bg as described above for the
Action option (but if you use the UseOld and NoClose options the
application is not be restarted when FvwmButtons is restarted and thus does
not get the new colors - if you changed them). An example:
takes the first window whose name, class, or resource is "XClock" and
displays it in the button. If no matching window is found, the
"Exec" command creates one. The argument "-geometry
-3000-3000" is used so that the window is first drawn out of sight before
its swallowed into FvwmButtons.
Modules can be swallowed by specifying the module instead of 'Exec whatever',
like:
The flags that can be given to swallow are:
NoClose / Close - Specifies whether the swallowed program in this button will be
un-swallowed or closed when FvwmButtons exits cleanly. "NoClose" can
be combined with "UseOld" to have windows survive a restart of the
window manager. The default setting is "Close".
NoHints / Hints - Specifies whether hints from the swallowed program in this
button will be ignored or not, useful in forcing a window to resize itself to
fit its button. The default value is "Hints".
NoKill / Kill - Specifies whether the swallowed program will be closed by
killing it or by sending a message to it. This can be useful in ending
programs that doesn’t accept window manager protocol. The default value
is "NoKill". This has no effect if "NoClose" is specified.
NoRespawn / Respawn / SwallowNew - Specifies whether the swallowed program is to
be respawned (restarted) if it dies. If "Respawn" is specified, the
program is respawned using the original command. Use this option with
care, the program might have a legitimate reason to die. If
"SwallowNew" is given, the program is not respawned, but if a new
window with the specified name appears, it is swallowed.
NoOld / UseOld - Specifies whether the button will try to swallow an existing
window matching the hangon name before spawning one itself with
command. The hangon string may contain wildcard characters ('*')
that match any substring.The default value is "NoOld".
"UseOld" can be combined with "NoKill" to have windows
survive a restart of the window manager. If you want FvwmButtons to swallow an
old window, and not spawn one itself if failing, let the command be
"Nop":
If you want to be able to start it yourself, combine it with an action:
NoTitle / UseTitle - Specifies whether the title of the button will be taken
from the swallowed window’s title or not. If "UseTitle" is
given, the title on the button changes dynamically to reflect the window name.
The default is "NoTitle".
NoFvwmModule / FvwmModule - By default, FvwmButtons treats the swallowed window
as an fvwm module window if the 4 first letters of the command is
"Fvwm" or the 6 first letters of the command is
"Module". NoFvwmModule and FvwmModule override this logic.
*FvwmButtons: (Swallow XClock 'Exec xclock -geometry -3000-3000 &')
*FvwmButtons: (Swallow "FvwmPager" "FvwmPager 0 0")
*FvwmButtons: (Swallow (UseOld) "Console" Nop)
*FvwmButtons: (Swallow (UseOld) "Console" Nop, \
Action `Exec "Console" console &`)
Specifies the title to be written on the
button. Whitespace can be included in the title by quoting it. If a title at
any time is too long for its buttons, characters are chopped of one at a time
until it fits. If justify is "Right", the head is removed,
otherwise its tail is removed. These options can be given to Title:
Center - The title is centered horizontally. This is the default.
Left - The title is justified to the left side.
Right - The title is justified to the right side.
Side - Causes the title to appear on the right hand side of any icon or
swallowed window, instead of below which is the default. If you use small
icons, and combine this with the "Left" or "Right" option,
you can get a look similar to fvwm’s menus.
Specifies the title to be written on the
button when the mouse is hovering above the button. If no ActiveTitle is
specified, the text specified by Title is displayed (if there is any).
Specifies the title to be written on the
button when the button is pressed. If no PressTitle is specified, the text
specified by Title is displayed (if there is any).
These fields are kept for compatibility with
previous versions of FvwmButtons, and their use is discouraged. The
title field is similar to the option Title name. If the title
field is "-", no title is displayed. The icon field is
similar to the option Icon filename. If the icon field is "-"
no icon is displayed. The command field is similar to the option Action
command or alternatively Swallow " hangon"
command.
Any fvwm command is recognized by FvwmButtons.
See fvwm(1) for more information.
The Exec command has a small extension when used in Actions, its syntax is:
Example:
The hangon string must be enclosed in double quotes. When FvwmButtons finds such
an Exec command, the button remains pushed in until a window whose name, class
or resource matches the quoted portion of the command is encountered. This is
intended to provide visual feedback to the user that the action he has
requested will be performed. The hangon string may contain wildcard characters
('*') that match any substring. If the quoted portion contains no characters,
then the button will pop out immediately. Note that users can continue
pressing the button, and re-executing the command, even when it looks pressed
in.
Exec ["hangon"] command
*FvwmButtons: (Action Exec "xload" xload)
Any string which contains whitespace must be
quoted. Contrary to earlier versions commands no longer need to be quoted. In
this case any quoting character will be passed on to the application
untouched. Only commas ',' and closing parentheses ')' have to be quoted
inside a command. Quoting can be done with any of the three quotation
characters; single quote:
'This is a "quote"',
double quote:
"It’s another `quote'",
and back quote:
This is a strange quote.
The back quoting is unusual but used on purpose, if you use a preprocessor like
FvwmCpp and want it to get into your commands, like this:
Any single character can be quoted with a preceding backslash '\'.
#define BG gray60 *FvwmButtons: (Swallow "xload" `Exec xload -bg BG &`)
CREATING PANELS
Former versions of FvwmButtons (fvwm 2.0.46 to 2.3.6) had a different way of handling panels. You can not use your old panel configuration with the new panel feature. Read "CONVERTING OLD PANEL CONFIGURATIONS" for more information.HOW TO CREATE NEW PANELS
Any program that can be launched from within fvwm and that has a window can be used as a panel. A terminal window could be your panel, or some application like xload or xosview or another fvwm module, including FvwmButtons itself. All you need to know is how to start your application from fvwm.*FvwmButtons: (Panel my_first_panel \ "Module FvwmButtons -g -30000-30000 my_first_panel") *FvwmButtons: (Panel my_second_panel \ "Exec exec xterm -g -30000-30000 -n my_second_panel")
Style name_of_panel_window NoTitle, Sitcky, NoIcon
*FvwmButtons: (Padding 2, Panel(down, indicator) my_first_panel \ "Module FvwmButtons -g -30000-30000 -transientpanel my_first_panel")
CONVERTING OLD PANEL CONFIGURATIONS
This section describes how to convert a pretty old syntax used in 2.2.x versions. You may skip it if your syntax is more recent.... *FvwmButtons(Title WinOps,Panel WinOps) *FvwmButtons(Title Tools ,Panel Tools) ...
*FvwmButtonsPanel WinOps *FvwmButtonsBack bisque2 ... *FvwmButtonsPanel Tools *FvwmButtonsBack bisque2 ...
Style FvwmButtonsPanel Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0 Style FvwmButtonsPanel NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky
*FvwmButtons: (Title WinOps, Panel WinOps \ "Module FvwmButtons WinOps") *FvwmButtons: (Title Tools , Panel Tools \ "Module FvwmButtons Tools")
*FvwmButtons: (Title Tools , Panel(down) Tools \ "Module FvwmButtons -transientpanel Tools")
*WinOps: Back bisque2 ... *Tools: Back bisque2 ... Style "WinOps" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0 Style "WinOps" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky Style "Tools" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0 Style "Tools" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky
WHY WAS THE PANEL FEATURE REWRITTEN?
There are several reasons. The most important one is that the program code implementing the panels was very disruptive and caused a lot of problems. At the same time it made writing new features for FvwmButtons difficult at best. The second reason is that most users were simply unable to make it work - it was way too complicated. Even I (the author of the new code) had to spend several hours before I got it working the first time. The third reason is that the new panels are more versatile. Any application can be a panel in FvwmButtons, not just other instances of FvwmButtons itself. So I sincerely hope that nobody is angry about the change. Yes - you have to change your configuration, but the new feature is much easier to configure, especially if you already know how the Swallow option works.ARRANGEMENT ALGORITHM
FvwmButtons tries to arrange its buttons as best it can, by using recursively, on each container including the buttonbox itself, the following algorithm.First it calculates the number of button unit
areas it will need, by adding the width times the height in buttons of each
button. Containers are for the moment considered a normal button. Then it
considers the given rows and columns arguments. If the number of
rows is given, it will calculate how many columns are needed, and stick to
that, unless columns is larger, in which case you will get some empty
space at the bottom of the buttonbox. If the number of columns is given, it
calculates how many rows it needs to fit all the buttons. If neither is given,
it assumes you want two rows, and finds the number of columns from that. If
the BoxSize option is set to smart at least the height/width of the
tallest/widest button is used while the fixed value prevents the box
from getting resized if both rows and columns have been set to
non-zero.
Now it has a large enough area to place the
buttons in, all that is left is to place them right. There are two kinds of
buttons: fixed and floating buttons. A fixed button is forced to a specific
slot in the button box by a x/y geometry argument. All other buttons are
considered floating. Fixed buttons are placed first. Should a fixed button
overlap another one or shall be place outside the buttons window, FvwmButtons
exits with an error message. After that the floating buttons are placed. The
algorithm tries to place the buttons in a left to right, top to bottom western
fashion. If a button fits at the suggested position it is placed there, if not
the current slot stays empty and the slot to the right will be considered.
After the button has been placed, the next button is tried to be placed in the
next slot and so on until all buttons are placed. Additional rows are added
below the bottom line of buttons until all buttons are placed if necessary if
the BoxSize option smart is used.
Containers are arranged by the same algorithm,
in fact they are shuffled recursively as the algorithm finds them.
An example might be useful here: Suppose you
have 6 buttons, all unit sized except number two, which is 2x2. This makes for
5 times 1 plus 1 times 4 equals 9 unit buttons total area. Assume you have
requested 3 columns.
1) +---+---+---+ 2) +---+---+---+ 3) +---+---+---+ | 1 | | | 1 | | | 1 | | +---+ + +---+ 2 + +---+ 2 + | | | | | | 3 | | + + + +---+---+ +---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +-----------+ +---+-------+ +---+---+---+ 4) +---+---+---+ 5) +---+-------+ 6) +---+-------+ | 1 | | | 1 | | | 1 | | +---+ 2 + +---+ 2 | +---+ 2 | | 3 | | | 3 | | | 3 | | +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+ +---+-------+ | 4 | | | 4 | 5 | | | 4 | 5 | 6 | +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+
When FvwmButtons has read the icons and fonts
that are required by its configuration, it can find out which size is needed
for every non-swallowing button. The unit button size of a container is set to
be large enough to hold the largest button in it without squeezing it.
Swallowed windows are simply expected to be comfortable with the button size
they get from this scheme. If a particular configuration requires more space
for a swallowed window, it can be set in that button’s configuration
line using the option "Size width height". This will tell
FvwmButtons to give this button at least width by height pixels
inside the relief and padding.
DYNAMICAL ACTIONS
A running FvwmButtons instance may receive some commands at run time. This is achieved using the fvwm commandSendToModule FvwmButtons-Alias <action> <params>
can be used to change the title or icon of a
button at run time. button_id is the id of the button to change as
specified using the Id button option. It may also be a number, in this
case the button with the given number is assumed. And finally,
button_id may be in the form +x+y, where x and y are a column number
and a row number of the button to be changed. It is possible to specify
multiple option pairs (name with value) by delimiting them using comma.
Currently options include Title, ActiveTitle, PressTitle,
Colorset, Icon, ActiveIcon and PressIcon. These
options work like the configuration options of the same name.
replaces variables present in the
command exactly like in the Action button option and then sends
the command back to fvwm. button_id has the same syntax as described in
ChangeButton above.
simulates a mouse click on a button.
button_id is the id of the button to press as specified using the
Id button option and mouse_button is the number of mouse button
used to click on the button e.g "1" for the left mouse button etc.
Quotes around the number are not necessary. If mouse_button option is
omitted, mouse button 1 is assumed. This command behaves exactly as if the
mouse button was pressed and released on the button on in question.
This prefix may be specified before other
actions. It disables all possible error and warning messages.
Example
*FvwmButtons: (Id note1, Title "13:30 - Dinner", Icon clock1.xpm) SendToModule FvwmButtons Silent \ ChangeButton note1 Icon clock2.xpm, Title "18:00 - Go Home"
SAMPLE CONFIGURATION
The following are excerpts from a .fvwm2rc file which describe FvwmButtons initialization commands:
##########################################################
# Load any modules which should be started during fvwm
# initialization
# Make sure FvwmButtons is always there.
AddToFunc StartFunction "I" Module FvwmButtons
# Make it titlebar-less, sticky, and give it an icon
Style "FvwmButtons" Icon toolbox.xpm, NoTitle, Sticky
# Make the menu/panel look like CDE
Style "WinOps" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
Style "WinOps" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky
Style "Tools" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
Style "Tools" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky
##########################################################
DestroyModuleConfig FvwmButtons: *
*FvwmButtons: Fore Black
*FvwmButtons: Back rgb:90/80/90
*FvwmButtons: Geometry -135-5
*FvwmButtons: Rows 1
*FvwmButtons: BoxSize smart
*FvwmButtons: Font -*-helvetica-medium-r-*-*-12-*
*FvwmButtons: Padding 2 2
*FvwmButtons: (Title WinOps, Panel WinOps \
"Module FvwmButtons -transientpanel WinOps")
*FvwmButtons: (Title Tools, Panel Tools \
"Module FvwmButtons -transientpanel Tools")
*FvwmButtons: (Title Resize, Icon resize.xpm, Action Resize)
*FvwmButtons: (Title Move, Icon arrows2.xpm, Action Move )
*FvwmButtons: (Title Lower, Icon Down, Action Lower )
*FvwmButtons: (Title Raise, Icon Up, Action Raise )
*FvwmButtons: (Title Kill, Icon bomb.xpm, Action Destroy)
*FvwmButtons: (1x1,Container(Rows 3,Frame 1))
*FvwmButtons: (Title Dopey ,Action \
`Exec "big_win" xterm -T big_win -geometry 80x50 &`)
*FvwmButtons: (Title Snoopy, Font fixed, Action \
`Exec "small_win" xterm -T small_win &`)
*FvwmButtons: (Title Smokin')
*FvwmButtons: (End)
*FvwmButtons: (Title Xcalc, Icon rcalc.xpm, \
Action `Exec "Calculator" xcalc &`)
*FvwmButtons: (Title XMag, Icon magnifying_glass2.xpm, \
Action `Exec "xmag" xmag &`)
*FvwmButtons: (Title Mail, Icon mail2.xpm, \
Action `Exec "xmh" xmh &`)
*FvwmButtons: (4x1, Swallow "FvwmPager" `FvwmPager 0 3` \
Frame 3)
*FvwmButtons: (Swallow(UseOld,NoKill) "xload15" `Exec xload \
-title xload15 -nolabel -bg rgb:90/80/90 -update 15 \
-geometry -3000-3000 &`)
########## PANEL WinOps DestroyModuleConfig WinOps: * *WinOps: Back bisque2 *WinOps: Geometry -3-3 *WinOps: Columns 1 *WinOps: (Title Resize, Icon resize.xpm, Action Resize) *WinOps: (Title Move, Icon arrows2.xpm, Action Move ) *WinOps: (Title Lower, Icon Down, Action Lower ) *WinOps: (Title Raise, Icon Up, Action Raise ) ########## PANEL Tools DestroyModuleConfig Tools: * *Tools: Back bisque2 *Tools: Geometry -1-1 *Tools: Columns 1 *Tools: (Title Kill, Icon bomb.xpm, Action Destroy)
########################################################## # Another example ########################################################## # Make it titlebar-less, sticky, and give it an icon Style "FvwmButtons" Icon toolbox.xpm, NoTitle, Sticky DestroyModuleConfig FvwmButtons: * *FvwmButtons: Font 5x7 *FvwmButtons: Back rgb:90/80/90 *FvwmButtons: Fore black *FvwmButtons: Frame 1 # 9x11 pixels per button, 4x4 pixels for the frame *FvwmButtons: Geometry 580x59+0-0 *FvwmButtons: Rows 5 *FvwmButtons: Columns 64 *FvwmButtons: BoxSize fixed *FvwmButtons: Padding 1 1 # Pop up a module menu directly above the button. *FvwmButtons: (9x1+3+0, Padding 0, Title "Modules", \ Action `Menu Modulepopup rectangle \ $widthx$height+$lleft+$top o+50 -100m`) # first row of buttons from left to right: *FvwmButtons: (3x2+0+1, Icon my_lock.xpm, Action `Exec xlock`) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+3+1, Icon my_recapture.xpm, Action Recapture) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+6+1, Icon my_resize.xpm, Action Resize) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+9+1, Icon my_move.xpm, Action Move) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+12+1, Icon my_fvwmconsole.xpm, \ Action 'Module FvwmConsole') # second row of buttons from left to right: *FvwmButtons: (3x2+0+3, Icon my_exit.xpm, Action QuitSave) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+3+3, Icon my_restart.xpm, Action Restart) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+6+3, Icon my_kill.xpm, Action Destroy) *FvwmButtons: (3x2+9+3, Icon my_shell.xpm, Action 'Exec rxvt') # big items *FvwmButtons: (10x5, Swallow (NoKill, NoCLose) \ "FvwmPager" 'FvwmPager * * -geometry 40x40-1024-1024') *FvwmButtons: (6x5, Swallow "FvwmXclock" `Exec xclock \ -name FvwmXclock -geometry 40x40+0-3000 -padding 1 \ -analog -chime -bg rgb:90/80/90`) *FvwmButtons: (13x5, Swallow (NoClose) \ "FvwmIconMan" 'Module FvwmIconMan') *FvwmButtons: (20x5, Padding 0, Swallow "xosview" \ `Exec /usr/X11R6/bin/xosview -cpu -int -page -net \ -geometry 100x50+0-3000 -font 5x7`)
BUGS
The action part of the Swallow option must be quoted if it contains any whitespace character.HISTORY
The FvwmButtons program, and the concept for interfacing this module to the Window Manager, are all original work by Robert Nation.AUTHOR
Robert Nation (1993). Somewhat enhanced by Jarl Totland (1996), Jui-Hsuan Joshua Feng, Scott Smedley.| 2023-01-17 |