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

[Member ile]

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Hello PPC and Everyone
tint2irling fluxbox menu on the tint2 Start Menu Button.
Easy Thrill.
into file .fluxbox/menu create this as the last menu entry before the final [end]

[CustomMenu]  {~/.fluxbox/menu-applications}

into file .fluxbox/menu-applications create
the very first line yes before [submenu] add

[begin]

also into file .fluxbox/menu-applications create
the very last lines yes after [end] add

[RootMenu]
[end]

Click and click and click on your Bottom start button there.

[Member ile]

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Hello PPC
So many blank mouse commands on the tint2 launcher Buttons is fun to juggle filling them in for use.
To the start menu button is right or left click rootmenu, middle-click is control centre.
To skippy-xd left-click skippy, right-click is ClientMenu.

To Button 6 example for notebook screenbrightness on right or left click, middle-click is control centre, scroll up is ShowDesktop, scroll down is NextWorkspace.

Not to leave out the desktop users
For Button 6 example for desktop, not notebook, is left or right click ShowDesktop, middle-click is WorkspaceMenu (or “workspaces” with the end s works in menu but not -remote), scroll down is NextWorkspace.

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

[Anonymous]

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The layer is set to 12 (I got that value from the MX forum),
to avoid maximized windows overlaping tint2’s panel…
I tried setting it to 1, and restarting tint2… I even logged out and back on- no difference

“1” was only a suggestion.
Check the manpage. IIRC, the layers range 0 (rootwindow, aka wallpaper layer) thru 12.
For convenient cross-reference throughout the various fluxbox manpages, the even-numbers are “named”.
(Hmm, the point: any “names” are just words seen in docs. The fluxbox program parses “layer” as an integer.)
By forcing it to “12”, yes I expect it would compete with the fluxbox toolbar.

? Toward troubleshooting the behavior seen under MX being “different”, I would recheck to determine whether both of your installs are launching tint2 identically. If, in one install, tint2 is launched via the autostart file (before fluxbox proper has launched), fluxbux may grant priority to placemnt of the tint2 panel… vs if tint2 is started while the session is underway it may receive lesser priority. I would also check: identical versions of fluxbox and tint2 are installed on both systems?

When switching between window managers, settings can become jangled when returning to fluxbox (i.e. switching away from iceWM). FWIW, the “reconfigure” command, available via fb menu or via fbremote command, will sometimes restore order to any chaos, and sometimes not ~~ e.g. whatif the “other” window manager is configured to use 3 workspaces, but the current fb config uses only 2?

[Member ile]

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Hello PPC and Everyone
have put two E s. EE next to the Start Menu Button to its immediate right:

#-------------------------------------
# Executor name
execp = new
execp_command =  printf \   ; id -un
execp_interval = 0
execp_tooltip = Welcome 
execp_font_color = fake 240
execp_lclick_command  = desktop-defaults-run -fm ~/
execp_mclick_command = xeyes
execp_rclick_command  = desktop-defaults-run -fm ~/.fluxbox
# Executor machine name 
execp = new
execp_command =  printf ' on '; hostname
execp_interval = 0
execp_tooltip = machine
execp_font_color = fake 240
execp_lclick_command = xwd -out ~/Pictures/spin.xwd -root ; xwud -in ~/Pictures/spin.xwd
execp_mclick_command = lxtask
execp_rclick_command = antixscreenshot.sh

These two new ones travel together. as one. giving click choices separately.
Some systems have the user Name on the start menu.
The name button might work for recent documents (?)
What will you want to have for click here? system monitor? favorite folders? disk usage? system info? rox panel toggle? searchBar? App Select? hide a shell without a scary terminal icon?

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

[Member PPC]

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Hi everyone. I still had time for some improvements on my tint2 toolbar:

1-Cosmetic changes:
Running applications now have a line under their icons, so they can be better distinguiched from launcher icons (also, that is very similar to Windows 10 toolbar, if that matters to you)
Fully black toolbar background

2-Executors (they are special “buttons” that can display output from scripts):
I now added “executors” to display, near the clock. the percentage of CPU usage and also used RAM (in MiB), so I no longer have to run Conky (and also always have that info available, without having to see the desktop). Both were grabbed from https://lecorbeausvault.wordpress.com/2020/04/03/tint2-executors/
I saved the “cpu” script under the name “cpu” on my home folder, and made it executable.
I saved the “mem” script under the name “mem” on my home folder, and made it executable.
Both executables can be made to display icons, but I did not change that in the original executors, not to waste more toolbar real-state

Current tint2 config file:
https://pastebin.com/2P1D2vSj

P.S: the above web link also contains scripts and executors for network and volume, that need to be adapted to run under antiX… Feel free to do that and post the adapted scripts here…

@Skidoo- thanks for all your input, but I gave up on why the rootmenu overlaps the tint2 toolbar…

P.

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

[Anonymous]

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I gave up on why the rootmenu overlaps the tint2 toolbar…

Another possibility (toward explaining different behavior on your different systems): check the fluxbox toolbar “Maximize Over” setting.

Sooooo many configurable settings to keep track of, eh.
I can’t remember all of ’em and catch myself (re)discovering details I had known earlier, but have forgotten.
Outa the blue yesterday, the little “dot” in the corner of fb window titlebars caught my attention.
Hmm, clicking it repeatedly seems like it toggles some setting… but which one?
I had forgotten that it is the “stick(y)” toggle, causes a sticked window to display on every workspace.
.
Although I often use “sticky”, I had grown accustomed to right-clicking a window titlebar and perfoming the toggle action via the menu ~~ probably because I had recently been using a different style (aka fluxbox “theme”) recently and that theme didn’t specify a “left corner dot” in its layout.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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Thanks skidoo! Though I’ve used many different window managers over the years including Fluxbox, I haven’t used Fluxbox (except for a few moments) in quite a few years.

Way back when, in the days that I used UNIX workstations and servers on the job on a daily basis, some of the environments, especially in the nineties, operated similarly to the behavior of Fluxbox, especially right click behavior. Over the past decade or more, I have used tools with those interfaces much less frequently, and I’ve become less accustomed to those interfaces.

To this day, Fluxbox has some features that some people prefer over anything else, so I’m definitely in favor of keeping it around for a long time, but I confess that I haven’t been using it much in recent years, so seeing your clear example of how to use a particular feature is both interesting and also a reminder of why some people continue to favor Fluxbox; it’s not just the efficiency of Fluxbox. Based on my past studies on this, Fluxbox, jwm, Icewm, fvwm, and several other window managers are within a few MB of one another in resource usage, and all of them use significantly fewer resources than any major desktop environment. Therefore anyone who does not really need the conveniences (or the overhead) of a desktop environment definitely benefits from choosing a light window manager. Though not something that everyone will be used to using, Fluxbox has a few features not found in many, if any, window managers, so in addition to efficiency, it’s functionality is worth a look for those who want to try something decidedly different from what they find in any commercially available desktop or laptop operating system.

Your tip will help people get used to at least one visible feature; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxbox has some information on Fluxbox in comparison to other window managers, and it also notes that “Right-clicking on the desktop gives a root menu”.

--
Brian Masinick

[Member ile]

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Hello PPC and Everyone
For the Drill Program
it will be sufficient to have only one instance (?) Will there be a need for two windows of drill at the same time? together? at once?

Trialed a launcher that checks for an active instance of drill.
If one drill is active it gets focus, otherwise a new instance of drill. Try it?

Where you suggest put this file for launcher for your drill appimage. the tint2 drill launcher icon lclick command needs to point at this file location to take it through this filter. Right-click could assure new instance of drill-search-gtk if it is needed(?) you can augment with a direct command on rclick. (?)
Point the launcher to this “drilllauncher drill solo” file content created in your location of choice

#!/bin/bash

drill-search-gtk=$1
WINID=$(wmctrl -lx | grep 'Drill' | awk 'NR==1{print $1}')

if [ $WINID ]; then
    wmctrl -ia $WINID &
 #  exit 0  
else
    drill-search-gtk &
 #  exit 0 
fi

#drill-search-gtk PROGRAM single instance trial

here, this launcher points to /opt/drill-search-gtk/drilllaunch. Also
/usr/bin/drill-search-gtk points to /opt/drill-search-gtk/drill-search-gtk.

.no <who> here this antiX.
.Which of these prefer ?
.<whoami> or <id -un>
.or better?

I used Your recent tint2rc paste. So much work on colors. I stuck with your first set of colors for now.
Here adopted the icon indicator active task/ border that you incorporated. Great idea. A Top border one here turns off when thumbnailing preview on the focused window icon. More effects the better? Based on Stock first edition, not latest colors. Full screen is showing the active bar not showing. (really. but no cursor showing.) Short picture the highlight bar when not thumbnailing the active window is leafpad with a light border on top.

Attachments:

1. 

   tint2_00PPC00.jpg
   

2. 

   scrEnhot2.jpg
   

[Member ile]

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To demonstrate that the name width is near to the size of the menu. This one is short names. How long? Not covering launchers; Yes I cheated and moved the menu up for the capture of the panel; menu comes up near bottom. give an idea of the spacing. The rootmenu goes over everything except the rox panel?; it goes under rox-panel.

Attachments:

1. 

   intint2uder.jpg
   

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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Nice work!

--
Brian Masinick

[Member PPC]

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@ile: Very nice idea- I did something very similar one, but not as elegant, to use xfce4-appfinder as a “start menu” in MX-fluxbox, and even tried it with Drill… I loced the simplicity and efficiency of your script.

I adapted the above script to do exactly the same for the “Internet” (connman-gtk) and “Exit” (desktop-session-exit) buttons- this makes tint2 feel a lot more “polished”- it works exactly as a “normal” modern OS User Interface should. That, in conjunction with my added CPU and RAM usage “executors” make this little toolbar perfect…
Tint2 could go a lot more “mainstream” (in antiX terms) if someone figured out an efficient way for it to display IceWM’s menu on the lower part of the screen when the user clicks the “Start menu” icon ( when I tried that- running on Icewm, with Icewm’s toolbar hidden and using xdo to simulate pressing the keyboard shortcut to display the menu, it displays the menu on the upper left side of the screen)

I’m glad someone is adapting my initial concept for using Tint2 on antiX, making it work better than before!

@anticapitalista- would it be possible to add skippy-xd (from MX’s repo) and tint2 (from the Debian repo) to antiX’s Package Installer, please?

P.

Script to have only one instance of the “Exit” window:

#!/bin/bash
desktop-session-exit=$1
WINID=$(wmctrl -lx | grep 'Exit Session' | awk 'NR==1{print $1}')
if [ $WINID ]; then
    wmctrl -ia $WINID &
else
    desktop-session-exit &
fi

Script to have only one instance of the “Internet” window:

#!/bin/bash
connman-gtk=$1
WINID=$(wmctrl -lx | grep 'Network Settings' | awk 'NR==1{print $1}')
if [ $WINID ]; then
    wmctrl -ia $WINID &
else
    connman-gtk &
fi

[Member olsztyn]

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PPC wrote:

@anticapitalista- would it be possible to add skippy-xd (from MX’s repo) and tint2 (from the Debian repo) to antiX’s Package Installer, please?

Thank you PPC, Ile, skidoo and other team members for such fantastic accomplishment. Greatly appreciated…
Screens look beautiful and Fluxbox seems to have a new life now. It would be great if adopted by antiX permanently and becomes a part of antiX desktop choice.
If I only can follow all these many configuration items it may become my primary desktop…
Thanks and Regards…

Live antiX Boot Options (Previously posted by Xecure):
https://antixlinuxfan.miraheze.org/wiki/Table_of_antiX_Boot_Parameters

[Member PPC]

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Hi everyone, just a kick tip, to apply the previous scripts, directly on tint’s config GUI, instead of having to create costume scripts:

#Exit one liner, that can be added directly on tint2rc "Exit button" Left Click command:
WINID=$(wmctrl -lx | grep 'Exit Session' | awk 'NR==1{print $1}'); if [ $WINID ]; then  wmctrl -ia $WINID & else    desktop-session-exit & fi

#Internet one liner, that can be added directly on tint2rc "Internet button" Left Click command:
WINID=$(wmctrl -lx | grep 'Network Settings' | awk 'NR==1{print $1}'); if [ $WINID ]; then  wmctrl -ia $WINID & else    connman-gtk & fi

#Drill one liner, that can be added directly on tint2rc "Search button" Left Click command:
WINID=$(wmctrl -lx | grep 'Drill' | awk 'NR==1{print $1}'); if [ $WINID ]; then  wmctrl -ia $WINID & else    drill-search-gtk & fi

[Anonymous]

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display IceWM’s menu on the lower part of the screen when the user clicks the “Start menu” icon
( when I tried that- running on Icewm, with Icewm’s toolbar hidden
and using xdo to simulate pressing the keyboard shortcut to display the menu,
it displays the menu on the upper left side of the screen)

Apparently your config specified “TaskBarAtTop=true” while testing.
If “TaskBarAtTop=false” is set, the location will (must) be lower-left.

The iceWM “startmenu” is not exposed to wmctrl, as demonstrated by:
xdotool key “Super_L” && sleep 2 && wmctrl -l

Inspecting the wmtaskbar.cc source code, we learn that the “startmenu” isn’t a “thing” isn’t a widget that we can call into existence and then dragged or repositioned… the x,y offset for the bounding boxes of each menu cell is dynapically calculated based on an offset determined by (TaskBarAtTop y/n, and) the current themed height of the wmtaskbar widget.

[Anonymous]

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dunno what in tarnation triggered the spamfilter in THAT —-^ post

spamfilter must be having a bad hair day

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