- This topic has 410 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated Jan 26-1:03 pm by marcelocripe.
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imsoenthused
You were right, it still hung up eventually running in user space and the changes disappeared when I closed it, but they all came back properly when I restarted the computer, so I’m going to rate it a success. The only issue I’ve had so far is that occasionally the tint2 bar will suddenly jump from the bottom of the screen to the top for no reason.
marcelocripe
Hello imsoenthused,
Let’s wait for PPC to be able to participate in this thread again.
The only issue I’ve had so far is that occasionally the tint2 bar will suddenly jump from the bottom of the screen to the top for no reason.
I have seen this happen with the IceWM toolbar 3 or 4 times on antiX 19.3 full.
marcelocripe
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Olá imsoenthused,
Vamos aguardar o PPC poder participar novamente deste tópico.
The only issue I’ve had so far is that occasionally the tint2 bar will suddenly jump from the bottom of the screen to the top for no reason.
Eu já isto acontecer com a barra de ferramentas do IceWM por 3 ou 4 vezes no antiX 19.3 full.
marcelocripe
PPC
You were right, it still hung up eventually running in user space and the changes disappeared when I closed it, but they all came back properly when I restarted the computer, so I’m going to rate it a success. The only issue I’ve had so far is that occasionally the tint2 bar will suddenly jump from the bottom of the screen to the top for no reason.
Hi! I’m more or less back to the forum, and catching up with posts- from what you said “changes disappeared when I closed it”- it seems that tint2 was correctly installed… The fluxbox error made me think that, for some reason, you man not have fluxbox desktop environment installed, or, like Xecure said, you are running the script as root.
Please report back, if the toolbar appears as it should, if the menu opens when you click the Menu icon on the left of the toolbar, etc…- This FT10 desktop was built for and tested in fluxbox, I’ve run it in icewm, but not extensively.
If you can, take a screenshot of your system, running the tint2 toolbar, when it jumps to the top of the screen, to help me debug the problems you are experiencing. I’ve been using this desktop in fluxbox-min, in 3 computers for months now, without a single problem…P.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by PPC.
I noticed that I haven’t updated this thread in a very long time, but I’ve been talking about my “transformation pack” over at https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/setting-up-antix-with-icewm-to-make-it-more-comfy-for-ex-windows-folks/page/2/#post-71125
Since this is the “official” thread, here it goes:What does the Transformation Pack look like?
You can see, on the end of this post, a small .gif showing what antiX looks like, with this Transformation Pack. Click it to see FT10 in action…
News:
-the transformation pack was updated to also have a new “start menu”, I don’t mean a “new start menu icon”, but a costume jgmenu, so you always get the same user experience no matter what window manager (or even Desktop Enviroment) you are running. Jgmenu’s main point is that it has a search function- begin typing and it only displays apps that correspond to what you typed,
-I updated (and I’m still updating) some configurations, I now have available a GUI script to not only add/remove icons to the toolbar, but also manage it’s position and auto-hide status, etc – in a far simplier way than using tint2 config’s menu
– Thanks to Xecure (that packaged jgmenu for antiX and also packaged, localized, and created the option to select between menus with or without application categories), we now have a .deb file that anyone can install and test, in IceWM (no need to use Fluxbox, if you don’t want to)Installing the Transformation Pack:
1- Download a 32 bits/64 bits jgmenu .deb package available from: https://gitlab.com/antix-contribs/jgmenu-antix/-/tree/main/deb-package (thanks to Xecure, that packaged it)
2- Download the latest FT10 Transformation pack .deb package, from: https://gitlab.com/antix-contribs/ft10-transformation/-/blob/main/packages/
3- Instal jgmenu first, then ft10-transformationTesting/running the Transformation Pack (does not perform any permanent change to you antiX desktop)
– from the terminal / “run” menu, execute this command:
ft10-start-Choose if you want a menu with Debian categories or if you want a menu with only favorites and All Apps, displayed in alphabetical order (Windows 10/11 style)
(if you run the command from the terminal, as soon as you close the terminal the tint2 toolbar closes too, and you get back to only the default Icewm toolbar.
Setting FT10 as your default User Interface in antiX (instructions for the IceWM desktops)
If you are happy with this toolbar and menu, addft10-start &
to your start up/init file.
Also, you may want to disable the default Icewm toolbar (in Icewm’s “preferences” config file, make sure that you have this line:
ShowTaskBar=0If you want to do that config change the lazy (but also faster) way, run this command on the terminal:
echo ShowTaskBar=0 >> ~/.icewm/preferencesAnd log off and back on.
Disabling the Transformation Pack (if you are using it in IceWM):
1-Remove the ft10-start & line from your startup file
2-Click click the desktop > Menu > Control Center > Edit ICeWM… > “Preferences” tab. Make sure that it states this:
ShowTaskBar=1
(If this variable appears more than once in your config file, make sure that the final version of that variable is set to “1”)
3- Log off and back on- you should now be back to your default IceWM desktopTODO’s:
– Update the scripts that manage the menu and the toolbar
– Improve localization
– Add a “show desktop” option that works across all Window Managers
– Create a script, that can be launched from a .desktop file, to enable/disable the Transformation Pack across all 3 default antiX Window Managers (this is not high priority)
– Change the package name- “FT” referes to “Fluxbox + Tint2”- since the package now is made to work across all Window Managers AND uses jgmenu, I’ve been thinking about renaming it to “JT10”- “Jgmenu + Tint2” (the 10, I confess, It’s just to make it sound cool, does not really add anything, except point to the fact that the User Interface uses some concepts people are used to see in a major operating system that also has that number)Please note that. for now the Transformation Pack no longer changes your default File Manager (my advice is to use zzzfm or Spacefm) nor change the default theme/style- it does not change your config, that’s why there’s a small “how to” enable the Transformation Pack as default User Interface above (a simple script to set it as default for IcewM and Fluxbox is on the works)
Also, the “Search” icon, near the start menu is no longer there- there’s a search field (to search for apps) on the top of the menu. But I’m thinking of reading the Search Icon, as a fast way to launch searchmonkey/zzzfm-search (I use it with a one liner rofi script to search for apps and another one to search for files).P.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by PPC.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by PPC.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by PPC.
Attachments:
This little, but time consuming project is very near the final 1.0 version.
The current version 0.9.6.1 has some tiny improvements, that I find make using the toolbar easier, and reduce the user’s learning curve…
CHANGES:
-Now left clicking the “pseudo system tray” icons (System resources, Network Manager, Volume, and also click the the Power icon- toggle on/off the windows of the related programs
– Right clicking the System resources indicator displays a small window with Hard Drive space
– Right clicking the “+/-” icon summons a window that allows the user to configure some essential toolbar settings:
– The “show desktop” button, on the further right does not make the toolbar flash off an then back onKNOWN BUGS:
– I noticed that running the initial configuration on Fluxbox runs the installer twice- but bad, just an annoyance- you see the Menu selection window and the warning window twice…
– The add/remove/move toolbar icons still does not work on JWM (I know how to fix this, but it will make displaying changes on the toolbar slower on IcewM and FLuxbox, so I probably won’t fix this, unless some JWM users needs this fixed)
– Right clicking the “menu” icon does not display the root menu, when using fluxbox window manager- the fix is on the way.For IceWM and Fluxbox desktops, this version is already stable, just needs some minor adjustments- it can be used under a production enviroment.
P.
ModdIt
I showed antix the way I set it up, caused some astonishment,
then booted a fresh install, updated and fired up the script.Eyes popped out jaw dropped, total disbelief, its a video du willst mich nur verappeln, bis ein Ar*ch#*§
unfriendly german expressions from my daughters boyfriend. First time he has shown interest in anything
other than secret behind closed door..I am not in to making a wondoze clone but this is a brilliant setup for new users.
Only things missing are a simulated windoze update generator and random blue screens so all win users really
feel at home. :-).
Failed updates are still loved for extended coffee breaks in Offices all over this country.LOL!
Thanks for your input, Moddit! I had to use an on-line translator for the first German phrase and I have to guess the meaning of the second one…
I’ll see what I can do about mimicking Forced Updates and Blue Screens Of Death…Now seriously – I wanted, with this project, to achieve several things:
– Get a system that I love using and filled any my UI needs.
– Get a system that helped me adapt to when I’m forced to work with Windows 10
– … Make that available to other antiX users
– … and finally turn experimenting with antiX into a easier and more pleasurable experience for non-linux users and maybe help antiX gain some more users. It’s not meant “to be Windows”, just be as easy, or easier to use as Windows, for folks that have only known that operating system.I agree with anticapitalista that this Transformation Pack is not meant as a general antiX user interface- it violates several antiX principles- it includes a new toolbar that takes slightly more resources than the default toolbars that come with our Window Managers, it includes a new menu, that also takes slightly more resources (although it’s configured to not stay resident in RAM, so it only uses resources when it’s being displayed) when we have amazing default menus, very uniform across all 3 window managers.
But that slight increase on resource usage has to be put into context- the toolbar includes stuff that make using both Conky and Volumeicon irrelevant- not running those 2 apps makes running FT10 use less system resources than the default setup… All that making some nice extras available to the user: easy to read system resources monitor, easy access to Connman Network Manager and volume (without using any extra RAM). Also offers previews of running windows, and a menu that allows fast search of apps- app-select is great (and I use to as a way to select apps to be added to the menu) but fast it’s not, on very old machines- jgmenu’s search is instant!
Also the “+/-” icon makes it easy for anyone to manage toolbar icons (and right clicking that icon is a way more friendlier and safe experience to manage the toolbar than the default tint2 config GUI)
The menu makes it easy to manage favorite/pinned apps (in Windows lingo). Maybe we should include, out of the box, as a favorite, the menu entry to toggle between categories/tiled menu templates- both I and Xecure tried to appeal to both folks that like the cleaner look of Windows 10 menu, and the default general Linux menus, with categories (tip: for those that like Windows 11 menu, the menu entry that manages favorites also allows to toggle between displaying/hiding Tiles.
I also though that antiX users deserved some simple and tiny apps, like Weather and News (I’ll be adding those as “tiles” in a future version). I also would like to add a tiny open source alarm/count-down timer- I found one in the Busen labs forum, but it does not state it’s OpenSource in the code… and some functions do not work in antiX (canceling the alarm, disabling to system tray icon).- Way of into the future I’ll probably try making a script inspired by that one… it’s not a priority.
Also a nice “hidden feature” is that you can create~/yad-agenda.txt~/yad-calendar.txt and insert events (starting with the date, as used by your system by default), a space and then the entry for that day)- those events will be displayed when the user hover the mouse point on that day, on the menu- it does not include any alarms, it’s just a complementary way to keep track of events, that does not cost any system resources).@Moddit- is there any interest in helping localize FT10 to German? 🙂
P.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by PPC.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by PPC.
Second phrase means being bombarded with horse poo, Pferde Apfel.
The situation was really funny,
I am hoping it will lead to more interest from a very intelligent but lazy young guy. He finished high school best in class,
now doing a helper job because he has no direction or ambition. With the present crazy situation getting worse not really
surprising.regarding translation I will ask Robin what he is planning, I am an immigrant and self taught with way less than perfect German.
My daughter probably too busy with university and work to help.
Will see what I can do, if she or her boyfriend will correct my mistakes, yes. I will let you know as soon as I am sure.BobC
I think volumeicon should be removed as part of the Ft10 install and added back as part of uninstall.
Conky… Maybe the conky could be turned off by default if we had a button to pop it up on demand and run it till you say to close it again?
Version 0.9.7.2 is out (the .2 is due to me always messing up when creating the .deb package with the intended changes), once again with tiny improvements:
– New default “tiles” in the menu: mpaint, Weather, News
– New option on the toolbar manager- “Show window titles on toolbar”
– Reworked the toolbar manager so on/off settings work just by clicking the button, without further warning- just click the respective buttons to: toogle autohide toolbar; 24/12h clock; Display window titles in toolbar.Easy TO DO’s:
-Add an option, to the toolbar manager to toggle on/off the system resources gauge (it’s only really useful for folks with low end computers, for those that never have problem with CPU/RAM usage, it just takes up toolbar space…)
-Change some icons
-improve localizationHard TO DO’s (possible not ever implemented):
– Light toolbar, with a GUI way to switch between light/dark modes (that would also change gtk themes to match the toolbar)@Bobc – I have one empty “tile” on my default layout, I’ll try placing a title to toogle conky on/off- it has it’s uses, after all, like checking out network at a glance…
I get that automatically disabling conky and volume icon would make it even simpler to set up FT10 for a newbie- the only reason I’ve not implemented this yet is this: I don’t want to change any setting that affects a Window Manager other than the one where FT10 got installed- so users can switch to pristine WM’s quickly if they want to, or if they manually mess up the tint2 config file…
Probably next week, I’ll go back to the roots of the transformation pack and create a .deb package “pro” version- that forces installation of zzzfm, forces zzzfm as default file manager (it would be perfect if I found a way to also automatically apply the recycle bin/bookmark changes, not no can do, at least for now), disable volumeicon and conky…
Any other automatic change you would like me to try to apply in the “pro” version of the transformation pack?As always, enjoy
P.
Hi, folks!
FT10 is very near version 1.0… I just uploaded v.9.9.1 (https://gitlab.com/antix-contribs/ft10-transformation/-/blob/main/packages/ft10-transformation_0.9.9.1_all.deb)
Changes:
-Corrected FT10 Fluxbox installer/uninstaller
-Now adding icons to the toolbar is done using app-select as the GUI, just like when adding Favorites to the menu
-Added a way to toggle between the default Dark Mode and Light Mode, from the Toolbar Configuration GUI (it was way easier than I though it would be, I just had to think outside my usual box)
-Added a way to toggle showing CPU/RAM in the toolbar on/off too
-Corrected a few typos, clarified some tool-tips, particularly in pt and pt-br
-Adjusted a few iconsTO DO’s:
-Adjust some more icons
-Check localizationCurrently my main doubt is if the Light Mode should use a bluer background (if you are tech savvy and curious to see how it would look, edit tint2rc, checkout the comments on the start of the file, edit it accordingly and restart tint2)
If anyone wants to test this latest version and make some suggestions before the final version, now is the time…
I’ll probably just check some localization suggestions Marcelo provided and bump this to version 1.0, if no bug/typo is found.Later, after FT v 1.0 is done, I’ll try to start a “Pro” version, that changes system defaults (like disabling volumeicon, making zzzfm the default file manager, etc)
P.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by PPC.
Thanks PPC, not forgetting BobC.
Downloaded, unpacked immediately, will be looking in to the dark secrets hidden in the scripts :-), wish I could make more sense of what I see. I am beginning to regard codelines like tools in a toolbox, see they can be used reused or modified in many useful ways. Now hungrily devour any I am able to understand.
Actually the main reason I unpacked was to look at locales, once Robin has his laptop running again I hope he can spare me a little time and advice. Will begin with getting German ready to use, I am a bit concerned that the translation should be as standard as possible, ie follow official antiX. And should not have my terrible spelling or grammar mistakes.
Have to setup yet another stick to take a look at latest changes and additions. job for tomorrow.
@Moddit – later I’ll try to get the source files on gitlab correctly updated, so you, or any other user, get to have an easy way to localize FT10, I’m away from the computer that I use to create FT10, but I’m betting there are some 5 files that need to be translated, and about 40 strings of text (the toolbar tool-tips, the categories, the default menu Favorites, the menu manager yad window buttons and it’s sub windows that allows to change size of the toolbar and toolbar position (that I would like to replace with icons, pointing up, down, left and right, but I found that simply text stating where the toolbar would be placed was clearer).
Most options from the script that manages tint2 options were reworked to be simple toggles (simpler to use, one less window to localize per script).Also, I just noticed that the “+/-” original English tool-tip needs to be corrected to something like “Left click: manage toolbar icons; Right click: manage toolbar”.
I can recommend several very nice youtube videos in “Distrotube” and “LearnLinuxTV” that are great sources to learn very useful bash commands- my scripts depend a great deal on “sed” to edit the tint2 config file. And you are learning the same way I did- “hum… if this script edits this file, how can I adapt it to edit the file I want?”. Yad is a very useful app to create GUI’s- using all this put together the final result ends up looking quite professional, even though all I know is a bit of bash and yad…
I will have time for testing over the weekend… Too much work during the week is keeping me very drained and dull, I’m afraid.
@BobC – I’ve been thinking about your suggestions… What do you think about, instead adding one extra ft10 “pro” version, having an extra menu entry for advanced settings? It would go something like this:
yad --center --height=300 --width=500 --title="FT10 Advanced Initial setup Options" --list --checklist --column "" --column "" TRUE "Use zzzfm as default file manager" TRUE "Enable Recycle bin in zzzfm" TRUE "Install Compton compositor" TRUE "Install Clock/timer/Alarm app" FALSE "Disable default antiX volume icon (affects all Window Managers)" FALSE "Disable Conky (affects all Window Managers)"Any other suggestions you want to make? [Please note that at this moment I’m not sure how to automatically add the recycle bin to zzzfm- I don’t want to bug skidoo with this trivial problem.
P.
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