antiX-forum

I'm a window manager addict, i've tried most of them; but i always come back to icewm. I have installed and configured presently in my box: awesome, dwm, wmii, ratpoison, fluxbox and Icewm. Tiling wms are for me, i also like to use key bindings to launch my apps, icons are for wimps (they are slower than key bindings), i use the mouse sporadically, hate wallpapers, i need eye-candy like i need another hole in the head, looks mean nothing, speed is where is at; and in general, i try to KISS everything about my computer, and last, but not least, I cannot live without Vimperator. Evidently, i'm opinionated and always right

I use a substandard box, a Sempron 2600 (1.6 Mhz) with 512 MB RAM, everything else is integrated to the mb and to top it all, the SiS driver is buggy, so i use 'vesa'.

These are my config files for IceWM:

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# .icewm/preferences
OpaqueMove=0
OpaqueResize=0
SmartPlacement=1
MenuMouseTracking=1
ModSuperIsCtrlAlt=1
UseMouseWheel=1
QuickSwitch=1
AutoReloadMenus=1
ShowProgramsMenu=1
ShowThemesMenu=1
ShowHelp=1
TerminalCommand="urxvt"
ShutdownCommand="sudo halt"
RebootCommand="sudo reboot"
WorkspaceNames=" 1 ", " 2 "
LockCommand="xlock -mode blank"


ShowTaskBar=1
TaskBarAutoHide=0
TaskBarShowClock=1
TaskBarShowAPMStatus=0
TaskBarAtTop=1
TaskBarShowAPMStatus=0
TaskBarShowAPMTime=0
TaskBarShowMailboxStatus=1
TaskBarShowWindows=1
TaskBarShowShowDesktopButton=0
TaskBarShowTray=1
TaskBarShowWindowIcons=0
TaskBarShowCPUStatus=0
TaskBarShowNetStatus=0
TaskBarShowCollapseButton=0
TaskBarWorkspacesLeft=1
TimeFormat="%R"
TaskBarShowShowDesktopButton=1
TaskBarShowWindowListMenu=0
TaskBarShowMailboxStatus=0
TaskBarMailboxStatusBeepOnNewMail=0
NormalTaskBarFontName="-*-sans-medium-r-*-*-*-100-*-*-*-*-*- *"
NormalTaskBarFontNameXft="sans-serif:size=9"
ActiveTaskBarFontName="-*-sans-r-*-*-*-100-*-*-*-*-*-*"
ActiveTaskBarFontNameXft="sans-serif:size=9"


These are my key bindings, Super=Windows key, notice i can shut the machine off with the Windows key and the Pause key (sudo has to be configured), and take a screenshot by pressing the Print key.

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# .icewm/keys

key "Super+c" urxvt
key "Super+e" xfe -m
key "Super+m" sylpheed
key "Super+i" iceweasel
key "Super+u" xchat
key "Super+q" gqview
key "Super+l" xlock -mode blank
key "Super+Pause" sudo halt
key "Print" urxvt -e scrot -cd 10


I like my apps maximized
# .icewm/winoptions

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urxvt.startMaximized: 1
sylpheed.startMaximized: 1
xchat.startMaximized: 1
gqview.startMaximized: 1
iceweasel.startMaximized: 1
pcmanfm.startMaximized: 1


I like to use my own keys instead of the icewm default ones.
# .icewm/prefoverride

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KeyWinClose="Super+k"
KeyWinMaximize="F12"
KeySysTileHorizontal="Super+F3"
KeySysTileVertical="Super+F2"


I close my apps with win key and k
I maximize with F12
I split the screen horizontally with win key and F3
and vertically with win key and F2
For the main menu, just press Windows key.
Alt-Tab is enabled by default
Switch to next workspace with win key + right arrow, go back with left arrow OR win key + #
Move a screen to another workspace with Win key+Shift+arrow OR # of workspace you want.
To restart icewm: win key + Delete
IceWM uses 3 MB RAM, hard to beat...

To me, the object of the game is to keep my hands on the keyboard, it's faster and my wrists appreciate it; thus, my configuration.

Screenshot
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2291/353 ... 4010_o.png

PD: I forgot, to eliminate the taskbar: Windows key + h
to bring it back, same keybindings.

Thanks macondo. Even ignorant me can realize how IceWM is easy to configure and operate and has so far everything I thought I could want.

secipolla wrote:Thanks macondo. Even ignorant me can realize how IceWM is easy to configure and operate and has so far everything I thought I could want.

Don't kid yourself, we are ALL ignorant about something, in my case, multimedia. Howtos are my savior, i fail and try again, the secret is to try again.

If you want to start a certain app in a specific workspace (think tags), edit your ~/.icewm/winoptions and add these lines to it.

IceWM starts with workspace zero (very similar to Grub and partitions), here's my winoptions file:

$ nano -w .icewm/winoptions

Iceweasel.workspace: 0
Sylpheed.workspace: 1
urxvt.workspace: 2

This way every time i launch iceweasel, it will do it in workspace 1, same with Sylpheed in workspace 2 and my terminal in workspace 3. Restart icewm or reboot.

I guess I must be a "wimp", then, because I use icons, but I prefer to at most click one item on the task bar for the majority of my commonly invoked tasks. I'm not one who likes to navigate much through three or four levels of menus, so I do a lot with quick task and panel customization, but not to the keypad level. I do, however, frequently use accelerators and key bindings quite often, not so much with desktop or window managers, but quite a bit in text editors, and I use a lot of alias definitions in shell configurations to cut down on typing. I move around a lot with many window and desktop managers and environments, so it can become a chore to put a lot of time and effort into configuration files, only to have to move or copy them around a lot. I've been there and done that, though. My days with X go back before the days of the desktop, and with Motif and fvwm fifteen to twenty years ago, I was tweaking accelerators, mneumonics, and keypad settings all the time, so I appreciate what you have done and it is quite good!

Thanks for the posts!

masinick wrote:I guess I must be a "wimp", then, because I use icons, but I prefer to at most click one item on the task bar for the majority of my commonly invoked tasks.

LOL! that's the spirit
With a quarter and my opinion you can get a cup of coffee down here

masinick wrote: so I appreciate what you have done and it is quite good! Thanks for the posts!

You are welcome!