Window Maker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Window Maker | |
 Default look of the Window Maker environment |
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| Developer: | Window Maker developers |
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| Latest release: | 0.92.0 (stable) / July 3, 2005 |
| OS: | Unix-like |
| Use: | Window Manager |
| License: | GPL |
| Website: | http://www.windowmaker.info/ |
Window Maker is a window manager for the X Window System, which allows graphical applications to be run on Unix-like operating-systems. It is designed to emulate NeXT's GUI, as an OpenStep-compatible environment.
Window Maker is free, open source software and is released under the GNU GPL.
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[edit] Overview
Window Maker has a reputation of being relatively fast and efficient compared to many other window managers and operating systems, and is often used on older machines. Window Maker is also known for being configurable and user-friendly, partially due to its small size and simplicity that make it relatively easy to understand.
It uses the WINGs widget set common to several other applications, including a display manager called WINGs Display Manager (WDM) and many dockapps. The applets that integrate into Window Maker's Dock and Clip are compatible with those from Afterstep's Wharf.
[edit] History
Window Maker was written primarily by Alfredo Kojima, a Brazilian programmer, for the GNUstep desktop environment. It was originally meant to be an improved version of the AfterStep window manager.
[edit] Getting and using Window Maker
Window Maker is included with many Unix-like operating systems. For example: Fedora Core and Mandriva Linux both include other graphical desktops as an option, Debian and Ubuntu users have a package named "wmaker", while FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD offer it as both a port and a package. The Blastwave software collection for Solaris also includes a package for Window Maker.
The default appearance can be confusing to those who are expecting a taskbar and start menu, but all applications can be accessed by right-clicking on the background to obtain the main menu. Keyboard users can use F12 for the application menu, and F11 for a window menu.
Window Maker itself can be configured by double-clicking on the icon with a white screwdriver at the top-right of the screen (or on the Window Maker logo in recent versions), while an icon depicting a computer monitor is used to launch a command-window. A paperclip icon is used to cycle between workspaces.
Application icons and docked applications appear at the bottom of the screen and may be covered by windows when they maximise - drag icons to the right of the screen to make them permanent, and right-click on their edges to adjust an icon's settings.
[edit] Useful applications
The archetypical WM dockable applications (dockapps) are clocks and system monitoring applications. For the clock functionality alone there are numerous implementations, including but not limited to wmcalclock, wmtime, wmclock, wmclockmon. For monitoring, there's wmload, wmavgload, wmmon, wmnet, wmnd, etc.
Many other dockapps are available, including apps that show various system parameters, run other applications, etc — see examples at Ben Sinclair DockApp Warehouse or dockapps.org.
To change the background, use the command wmsetbg -s -u [filename.jpg] (windowmaker set background) - it's possible to create a menu which automatically shows and allows you to select wallpaper from a directory, see below.
The WPrefs configuration tool enables tuning of most Window Maker preferences, while additional programs such as WMakerConf were developed to provide an alternative interface and additional configuration options.
Configuration files are typically stored in ~/GNUstep/ .
[edit] Menu
The configuration tool allows you to edit the application menu graphically, in a very versatile manner which is recorded in ~/GNUstep/Defaults/WMRootMenu as a text file which can be easily read and edited (or automatically generated if you have a list of installed applications elsewhere).
Menu items can be set to:
- Run a program or application
- Run an internal command, such as quitting Window Maker
- List a directory in a submenu
- Where clicking on a file runs it as a program
- Where clicking on a program runs an application with that filename as an argument
- List the windows being shown
- List the workspaces available
Many Linux distributions define their own applications menu for Window Maker, although they cannot usually be edited using the configuration tool (which will offer to replace the unknown menu with a default which you can edit).
[edit] Name
The original name of the program was WindowMaker (without the space) until a name conflict arose with the older product Windowmaker from Windowmaker Software Ltd, producers of software for windows and doors. An agreement between the developers of Window Maker and Windowmaker Software in 1998 specified that 'Window Maker' (in the X Window sense) should never be used as a single word.
[edit] External links
- Window Maker web site
- dockapps.org - Dockapps for Window Maker
