How to add features to antiX (and make it look more Window 10 like) with tint2

[Moderator christophe]

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Well, I’m glad you posted this how-to. I like the fluxbox+tint2 on MX, as well.
I set it up on a new VM of antiX 19.3, and tweaking it a bit, playing with it. (apt install skippy-xd didn’t work: not found. But that’s OK.) I like it. (Like Brian is always saying — options. Choices are good!)
Thanks, PPC.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by christophe.

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confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Anonymous]

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BobC
flaws in my idea before I would ask. For example, if I’m hovering that icon and click, let it stay active and turn off hover mode until I hover over something else.

installed tint2 in 64bit today to check its runtime memory overhead (7.3MB) and noticed that its package installs 2 executables. The second is a configuration gui and one of the details I noticed: tint2 does support customizing the behavior of mousebuttons in relation to the taskbar (toolbar) buttons. A mousewheel scrollUp will cause the window associated with the hovered toolbar button to RAISE, and scrollDown will cause it to iconize.

So, seems to me the idea you described for iceWM should be do-able. By pointing the iceWM dev toward tint2 as an example of how “it has already been accomplished for similar toobar widgets” maybe you can entice him to Keep Up With The Joneseseses?

[Moderator christophe]

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@PPC:
Regarding skippy-xd: I saw your screenshot from the MX forum. So now I see what I was missing. Honestly, that is the only thing I like about Windows 10 — the pop-up small representation of an app window, as one hovers the mouse over the task bar.
But I get this when attempting to install skippy-xd:

demo@antix1:~
$ sudo apt install skippy-xd 
[sudo] password for demo: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package skippy-xd

Is the package named differently?

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Anonymous]

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I get this when attempting to install skippy-xd:

Yeah, it’s served from a “PPA”, hosted on launchpad.net

I grabbed a copy of the source code & put it here:
https://gitlab.com/antix-contribs/skippy-xd
and compiled (only took 90sec or so) & tested it to confirm it works on antiX 19

The packaging was for ubuntu 16.04 and would need to be finagled, in order to create a suitable “package” for it. I didn’t bother to spend time doing so. Until someone does that… you can use the following to install it

sudo apt install git build-essential fakeroot
cd /tmp
git clone https://gitlab.com/-/ide/project/antix-contribs/skippy-xd

cd /tmp/skippy-xd
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libimlib2-dev libfontconfig1-dev libfreetype6-dev libx11-dev
sudo apt install libxext-dev libxft-dev libxrender-dev zlib1g-dev libxinerama-dev
sudo apt install libxcomposite-dev libxdamage-dev libxfixes-dev

make
sudo make install

cd /tmp && rm -Rf /tmp/skippy-xd

  ###   type  "skippy-xd" to launch the app
  ###
  ###   BEAR IN MIND: IT DOES ITS JOB, THEN IMMEDIATELY EXITS
  ###     TYPICALLY USAGE INVOLVES ASSIGNING IT TO A KEYBIND

 # optional
sudo apt purge libimlib2-dev libfontconfig1-dev libfreetype6-dev libx11-dev
sudo apt purge libxext-dev libxft-dev libxrender-dev zlib1g-dev libxinerama-dev
sudo apt purge libxcomposite-dev libxdamage-dev libxfixes-dev
 # another optional another optional tep
sudo apt purge git build-essential fakeroot

[Moderator christophe]

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Thanks, skidoo. 🙂

confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Member ile]

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Hello PPC
Thank You for the tint2 trial. Good Guide. Great tint2rcPPC paste.
Your steps are carefully complete that a new antix-19.3 is dressed in tint2.
kept the fluxbox toolbar at top, it acts okay with rox toolbar will cover,
with fluxbox iconbar minimized only, next workspace; borrowed skippy-xd from mx community test repo; Followed the steps here; added a [ShowDesktop] to fluxbox menu, found it on the skippy icon; in tint2 tried <xdotool key alt+r> works same as <fluxbox-remote rootmenu>; pasted in Your tint2rc, great.

Tint2 Panel at bottom with preview windows small , launchers, menu, good examples and keepers, enough that is learned:; tried wm_menu=1 then back to 0; to change a few personal settings to fiddle right-click shades window, close seemed abrupt is all; created some changes and example: (see if this works for you(?))
into the .fluxbox/keys file created this line

!notebook? screen brightness tui
Super_L :ExecCommand urxvt -e backlight-brightness

into tint2rc created the empty Button 6 with
#notebook? screenbrightness tui

# Button 6
button = new
button_icon = /usr/share/icons/papirus-antix/24x24/actions/stock_top.png
button_text = 
button_tooltip = Super L Backlight
button_lclick_command = xdotool key Super_L
button_rclick_command = xdotool key Super_L
button_mclick_command = 
button_uwheel_command = 
button_dwheel_command = 
button_font_color = #000000 100
button_padding = 0 0
button_background_id = 0
button_centered = 0
button_max_icon_size = 0

After. Press the Super Windows Keypress alone, or
click on the Super Brightness icon in the tint2 panel, right-click or left-click,
if on a notebook device, then it will trigger the brightness adjustment terminal.
[Or simply set the Button 6 lclick command and skip the /keys step]

I am not good at finding empty key combinations .. .. 8-|
Please find one you like.
Thanks PPC.

[Anonymous]

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@ile has sent me a message advising that skippy-xd, suitable for use with antiX 19, is available from MX Linux “test” repository.

Instead of juggling your sources.list(s) to download via apt, you can visit
http://mxrepo.com/MX19TestPackages.html
search with page for “skippy”
and download the (32, or 64bit) appropriate skippy-xd – 0.5.1~git20160429~mx19 package for your system
then, to install, use the command “sudo dpkg -i /path/to/downloaded/nameofdebfile.deb”

[Moderator christophe]

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Well, thank you skidoo, ile, PPC.

I tested skippy-xd as outlined from the MX site. To my sensibilities, it is too “Windowsey.” So I decided to go without that. But tint2 is excellent, IMO. And PPC’s theme (modified, of course — I love to tweak).

What I especially like is the configurability of the taskbar. And the nice pop-out thumbnail of current windows is a nice little bit of “eye candy”. (I haven’t looked into it too deeply, but I think that is because of PPC’s theme, because the stock tint2 didn’t give me that).

It gives fluxbox (my favorite wm) a lot more flexibility. It uses 10.5 MB RAM (as reported via ps_mem.py), so maybe not the best on low-RAM systems. But I enjoy it very much. Very good thing about this tutorial, is that it is very modular & concise. You can take the parts you want, and it is clear how to adjust & assemble those parts. Thanks, again, PPC.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by christophe.

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confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019

[Member ile]

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Hello PPC

Your steps, This guide is carefully complete, I like that word concise, accuracy appreciated.
Thank You for the tint2rcPPC paste. Great.
A new antiX-19.3 is all dressed in tint2 following these steps.
The little preview windows, launchers, pagers, menu, all easily evident.
Abundant tint2 starting point for me,, us,, the machines,,

A good initiation of tint2 for antiX fluxbox for trial examples and keepers.
;here tried <xdotool key alt+r> and <fluxbox-remote rootmenu> same result;
See if this works for you (?) on notebook laptop portable devices especialty:
into file .fluxbox/keys create this line

!notebook? screen brightness tui 
Super_L :ExecCommand urxvt -e backlight-brightness

into file tint2rc create on the empty Button .#for notebook

# Button 6
button = new
button_icon = /usr/share/icons/papirus-antix/24x24/actions/stock_top.png
button_text = 
button_tooltip = Super L Backlight
button_lclick_command = xdotool key Super_L
button_rclick_command = xdotool key Super_L
button_mclick_command = 
button_uwheel_command = 
button_dwheel_command = 
button_font_color = #000000 100
button_padding = 0 0
button_background_id = 0
button_centered = 0
button_max_icon_size = 0

After. Pressing the Super Windows Keypress alone, or clicking on the Super Brightness tint2 panel icon, left-click or right-click, if it is a notebook device, then it will trigger appearance of screen backlight adjustment terminal.
[Or set the tint2 lclick button to the command and skip the /keys step]

I am not good at finding empty key combinations .. .. 8-|
Please find one you like.
Thanks PPC.

[Member PPC]

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hi, everyone!
I was busy over the weekend, so I could not reply:

1- I’m glad some of you enjoyed the menu and the tint2 config file I provided!
2- Sorry for the mix up about skippy-xd- I probably copied and installed it along with all my config files over from MX-fluxbox, and I didn’t check if it was also on the antiX repo (like it is in MX’s)
I’ve been using skippy-xd for a long time, on the default IceWM- to get window previews, now I recall asking anticapitalista to add it to the pacage installer…
3- I gave my menu one last empty space on the bottom to avoid accidentally clicking the last entry when trying to close the menu… In MX Linux fluxbox 18.x, the rootmenu pops up above tint2, but that does not happen with other users, nor in antiX, and I don’t know what setting controls that behavior… any idea on that, Skidoo?
4- Tint2’s window previews work without any need to have skippy-xd installed, but I noticed that, sometimes they are overlaped by maximized windows…
5- I assume I clearly “windowfied” a but too much both the toolbar and the menu, in an effort to make it a bit more appealing to windows refugees…- the startmenu icon I was going to provide was to antix logo, and the “Most used” menu line is there just to provide a more similar appearance to Windows users (it’s an useless entry)

PS: I noticed that some icons that show up in my menu (on both my computers), no not show up on the screen grabs… I tought they were standard icons with antiX 19…

Tip: if you are low on RAM and want to compensate a bit for tint2’s memory consumption, disable volume icon and create an volume “button” that launches “yad-volume”, and put it near the clock… I suggested anticapitalista to include it in antix-goodies precisely because of using it in a icewm icon myself for a very long lime… not running volumeicon saves some Meg of RAM… Like the “internet” icon, it’s fixed, does not display the volume level, but, it’s handy…

P-

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by PPC.

[Member Xecure]

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PPC wrote:

In MX Linux fluxbox 18.x, the rootmenu pops up above tint2, but that does not happen with other users, nor in antiX, and I don’t know what setting controls that behavior…

I believe this is changed in the init file inside you ~/.fluxbox folder
session.screen0.allowRemoteActions: true

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Member PPC]

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Xecure wrote:

PPC wrote:

In MX Linux fluxbox 18.x, the rootmenu pops up above tint2, but that does not happen with other users, nor in antiX, and I don’t know what setting controls that behavior…

I believe this is changed in the init file inside you ~/.fluxbox folder
session.screen0.allowRemoteActions: true

Thanks… but sorry, my bad: I already use “allowRemoteActions = true” so I can trigger rootmenu from the “start menu” icon… I should have said I wanted “to make the rootmenu pop up above tint2’s toolbar (not over it)”

P.

[Anonymous]

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“to make the rootmenu pop up above tint2’s toolbar (not over it)”

man fluxbox
man fluxbox-apps

search within those manpages for “layer”, then edit ~/.fluxbox/apps file to add your custom instructions

[app] (name=tint2)
  [Layer]	{1}
[end]

Offhand, I don’t know whether targeting the “name” for tint2 will be effective.
If not, try specifying “class” instead, or you might target both.

[app] (name=tint2) (class=tint2)

The custom rules should take effect (without logout) the next time you launch tint2

[Member PPC]

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@skidoo: thanks… I already have a personalized tint2 entry, on the app file… The layer is set to 12 (I got that value from the MX forum), to avoid maxized windows overlaping tint2’s panel…
I tried setting it to 1, and restarting tint2… I even logged out and back on- no difference… I still have no inkling why MX and antiX behave differently on this subject, but, in fact I’m giving up on that- it does not affect the menu’s or the toolbar’s usability, it’s a minor GUI glitch, I can live with it… I won’t waste any more time on that…

Once again, my thanks for looking into this!

P.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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christophe wrote:

Well, I’m glad you posted this how-to. I like the fluxbox+tint2 on MX, as well.
I set it up on a new VM of antiX 19.3, and tweaking it a bit, playing with it. (apt install skippy-xd didn’t work: not found. But that’s OK.) I like it. (Like Brian is always saying — options. Choices are good!)
Thanks, PPC.

… “(Like Brian is always saying — options. Choices are good!)”ope that

Absolutely! I probably will not use this particular method, but I am really happy to see the discussion about this and I hope that many people actually try this out!

Who says that we all have to have the same software and the same preferences! That is what we LEFT in order to come HERE and enjoy the choices, the LEAN choices, the flexibility, and all that is wonderful with the free and/or Open Source community – and this work especially. Thanks everyone for all that you do!

Enjoy these interesting variations, or make up more new, creative ones of your own and share them with us.

--
Brian Masinick

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