A Russian translated version is available at
http://gazette.linux.ru.net/etc/bb-faq.html.
(Previously at
http://alterart.boom.ru/linux/bb-faq.html.)
(Thanks to Pavel < cobalt @ non-conformism.com >.)
A French version is at
http://tranber1.free.fr/bb_faq_fr-0.2.html
Information compiled from mailing list, other sources and various
contributions ...
John Kennis, Gregory J. Barlow, beef(niggard.org), Brett Williams,
Bradley T. Hughes, Steve Carter, Chris Brown, Aaron M.,
David W. Talmage, Kevin Miller, Brock Sides, Jesse Becker,
Jan Ruediger, Matthew R. Briggs, Mark Charlebois,
s_rasul, Sean 'Shaleh' Perry,
Matthew Weier O'Phinney,
and many others...
(The official website is at
http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/.)
I have used Blackbox for over three years and I have not tried all
the options, tools or patches.
Please send any clarifications and suggestions for this FAQ to
jeremy@reedmedia.net.
Please do not send questions to me, unless you have an answer with it;
consider reading this FAQ and the manual page, and then asking the
mailing list if you have questions.
1 General
1.1 What is Blackbox?1.2 What is a window manager?
2 Key Grabs
2.1 Why can't I use my keys to change windows? My Modifiers won't work.2.2 How do I choose my own keystrokes for changing windows?
2.3 What is Mod1?
2.4 What are the common keystroke commands?
2.5 I am losing keystrokes, for example CTRL-S won't save in nedit.
2.6 Can I use the keyboard to access the menu?
3 Installation
3.1 What if I want to launch ??? automatically?3.2 How can I compile under Solaris or SunOS?
4 Miscellaneous
4.1 When I minimize an app it is gone. Where are the icons?4.2 Can you put icons on a blackbox desktop?
4.3 Window moves and redrawing are really slow. What can I do?
4.4 Is there a way to start apps with a set location and/or size?
4.5 Is there a default/global setting to force BB to remember windows position, size, attributes, etc.?
5 Usage
5.1 What are the common mouse commands?5.2 How can I change the background?
5.3 Is there a way for each workspace to have its own background image?
5.4 What is the (Un)Stick menu item used for in the window menu?
5.5 How can I get a minimized window (or app) back?
5.6 How do I resize the toolbar? How can I move the toolbar?
5.7 Can I get rid of the toolbar?
5.8 How can I resize a window?
5.9 How can I make my maximized windows cover the entire screen?
5.10 Why do my windows pop-up underneath my toolbar/slit?
5.11 How can I maximize a window vertically?
6 Support for other Desktop Environments
6.1 Kpanel (or other KDE apps) don't work correctly.6.2 What about GNOME support?
7 The Slit
7.1 What is the Slit?7.2 How do I enable the Slit?
7.3 What does the menu do when you click in the slit? and How do you specify where the slit is drawn?
8 Configuration
8.1 I edited my blackboxrc config file, but when I log back in my settings were gone.8.2 How can I have blank seperator line in menus?
8.3 What are the focus models (focusModel)?
8.4 How can I have the window come to the front after it holds the focus for, say 500ms?
8.5 How to get new program to automatically receive focus?
8.6 How do you get the toolbar to display the date and time?
8.7 How can I have Blackbox automatically create a second workspace by default on startup?
9 Patches
9.1 What about extras (patches) to Blackbox?9.2 How do I use a patch?
10 Themes/Styles
10.1 Where can I find more styles or themes?10.2 Some styles have transparent titlebars and other strange appearances. What's up?
1 General
1.1 What is Blackbox?
Blackbox is a window manager for X.
1.2 What is a window manager?
The software that controls the layout of the windows on the screen is called a window manager. The window manager is just another X client, but can do a lot to make the entire graphical user interface easy to use, such as look and usage of the frame around windows and the titlebars on-top of windows, providing menus for quickly starting software or for configurations, overlapping and resizing windows, auto-arranging windows, and more. Also, a window manager can control where you can type (which window has focus). Window managers allow you to close, kill, hide or minimize, and maximize or resize windows.
2 Key Grabs
2.1 Why can't I use my keys to change windows? My Modifiers won't work. My hotkeys won't work. What happened to the key grab support?
Since version 0.60.x, Blackbox does not handle the keyboard. You should use an external program like bbkeys (http://movingparts.thelinuxcommunity.org/bbkeys.shtml). Blackbox is attempting to be ICCCM (Inter-Client Communications Conventions Manual) compatible.
2.2 How do I choose my own keystrokes for changing windows?
Use bbkeys, or with old (pre-0.60) versions, try for example, in your .blackboxrc file:
session.windowCycleModifier: Mod1Possibilities: Shift, Lock, Control, Mod1, Mod2, Mod3, Mod4, Mod5
2.3 What is Mod1?
Mod1 is usually Alt. It is the modifier used for switching windows and desktops, on your machine it may be Alt by default.
2.4 What are the common keystroke commands?
The newer blackbox versions do not support keystrokes. You must use a separate tool, bbkeys, to do this. (See above.) Below are the common keystrokes for older versions (pre-0.60 versions):
Alt-TAB in the root window cycles through the open windows, bringing one to the front each time Alt-TAB is pressed.
Shift-Alt-TAB in the root window is like Alt-TAB but it cycles windows in the reverse direction.
Ctrl-Alt-{Left,Right}Arrow in the root window cycles through the workspaces.
2.5 I am losing keystrokes, for example CTRL-S won't save in nedit.
Try turning off the Num-lock and Caps-lock from within the application having the troubles.
2.6 Can I use the keyboard to access the menu?
Not currently. This has been discussed a lot and hopefully will be available.
3 Installation
3.1 What if I want to launch ??? automatically?
You can start it from your .xinitrc or .xsession before you start Blackbox.
For example, my ~/.xsession file:
#!/bin/sh loadmeter -override -geom 40x94+1+382 & rxvt -fn 6x13 -geometry 80x24+45+25 & exec blackbox
3.2 How can I compile under Solaris or SunOS?
Blackbox 0.65.0 and later should compile under Solaris just fine. Older versions try: In the Makefile, add -fpermissive to the CXXFLAGS. Add to the Makefile in src/ and in util/.
Maybe use with ./configure --x-includes=/usr/openwin/include and --x-libraries=/usr/openwin/lib.
Apparently, gcc doesn't like the old-style Sun X headers.
You may be able to work around this problem, by making a local copy
of the headers and fix them (by adding the missing int return type
to all the prototypes).
Then use:
./configure --x-includes=<your_new_directory>
4 Miscellaneous
4.1 When I minimize an app it is gone. Where are the icons?
Blackbox was designed to be visually minimal. These means not showing icons.
"iconify" really means "I do not want to see it right now".
You could try window shading instead.
Or access them via the blackbox menu -> Workspace List -> Icons. (You
can rip this list away and keep on desktop separately.)
4.2 Can you put icons on a blackbox desktop?
Blackbox doesn't natively support icons. But you can use a different program with blackbox; i.e: kfm (KDE filemanager), gmc (GNOME filemanager), xfm (X filemanager), ROX, dfm ...
(By default with dfm, if you click on the background, you'll get the dfm menu and not the blackbox menu. You can change this by going to the "dfm x11" menu and then unselect "desktop context menu".)
4.3 Window moves and redrawing are really slow. What can I do?
If your style uses a gradient for your window.frame resource, the rendering may be slow on low-end machines. Changing the window.frame resource to a Raised Solid (or something similar) will greatly increase the speed.
Also... edit the style file you're using, e.g. /usr/local/share/Blackbox/styles/default, and set moveStyle to Wire instead of Opaque.
You may also be able to speed up Blackbox by:
strip blackbox
4.4 Is there a way to start apps with a set location and/or size?
Try using -geometry or other command-line options to set position and size when launching apps. Or use bbappconf or bblaunch.
4.5 Is there a default/global setting to force BB to remember windows position, size, attributes, etc.?
Session management is not included in blackbox. To remember settings, try to record info from xwininfo, xlsclients and xprop (look in archive for bbsnapshot ideas) and then use bblaunch or bbappconf with that info.
5 Usage
5.1 What are the common mouse commands?
Double-Button1 on the titlebar of a window toggles the windowshade effect.
Ctrl-Button1 on the titlebar of a window has the same effect as Double-Button1.
Button3 or Ctrl-Button3 on the workspace name in the toolbar lets you change the name of the current workspace.
Button3 in the root window displays the application menu.
Button3 on the titlebar of a window displays the window function menu.
Middle click on the maximize button and it maximizes vertically. Left click maximizes horizontally.
Middleclick on titlebars lowers window.
Button 3 is the menu hide button.
5.2 How can I change the background?
Blackbox includes bsetbg and bsetroot for setting the root image background. Or use wmsetbg, XV, xsetroot, Esetroot, xli, ImageMagick's display, or many other tools. For example:
xv -root -quit -max -smooth ~/blackbox/styles/LoveHewett/Love1.jpgor
display -window root /home/fred/images/animals/cougar01.jpg
5.3 Is there a way for each workspace to have its own background image?
Sorry. No.
5.4 What is the (Un)Stick menu item used for in the window menu?
It sticks (unsticks) the application onto the desktop, so it is visible on all desktops (workspaces).
5.5 How can I get a minimized window (or app) back?
Mouse 2 brings up menu, of which a submenu will be 'Icons'. Select from this list.
5.6 How do I resize the toolbar? How can I move the toolbar? Is there a way to configure Blackbox, so that you can have the toolbar at the top of your screen opposed to the bottom?
(In your .blackboxrc file:)
session.screen0.toolbarWidthPercent: [0-100] ; percentage session.screen0.toolbarPlacement: [bottom|top]
5.7 Can I get rid of the toolbar?
A patch for removing the toolbar is available at http://blackbox.linuxbox.com/.
5.8 How can I resize a window?
Either grab one of the handles and drag it. Or press your MOD key (like ALT) and then click with your right mouse button within the window and drag. A little box will appear showing the size and a "corner" pointer will appear.
5.9 How can I make my maximized windows cover the entire screen?
Select "Full Maximization" in your blackbox configuration menu and deselect "Always on top" in your toolbar configuration menu.
5.10 Why do my windows pop-up underneath my toolbar/slit? How can I make sure they do not cover my toolbar/slit on opening?
De-select "Full Maximization" in your blackbox configuration menus; optionally, select "Always on top" in your toolbar configuration menu.
5.11 How can I maximize a window vertically? How do I horizontally maximize across the screen?
Middle-click on the window's toolbar's maximize button to maximize the window vertically (up and down screen). Right-click on the maximize button to grow the window horizontally from right to left. (And, of course, left-click does both covering entire screen; see "Full Maximation" above.)
6 Support for other Desktop Environments
6.1 Kpanel (or other KDE apps) don't work correctly.
Compile Blackbox with KDE support:
./configure --enable-kdeIf you have Blackbox with kde-support and kpanel doesn't work you can try:
kpanel -no-KDE-compliant-window-managerFor more information about using KDE with blackbox, read the Integrating KDE and Blackbox HOWTO at http://www.draknor.net/kbb/howto/index.html.
6.2 What about GNOME support?
You can add minimal GNOME support by applying a patch you can get at gnome.windsofstorm.net.
7 The Slit
7.1 What is the Slit?
The slit is another window on the screen for placing WindowMaker-type dockapps -- and you will only see it if you are running dockapps.
A WindowMaker 'dockapp' is a program just like any other that you would run. Usually, they do a *single* thing, like display the current time, or show CPU usage. You can (usually) run them by themselves, and they will pop up in a small window controlled by whatever window-manager you happen to be using.
What makes dockapps special is that they can be 'swallowed' under certain circumstances. This means that they loose some of the usual properties that most windows have: stuff like title-bars, scrollbars, resize handles, and the like. The flip side of this is that they (usually) get placed into the Wharf/Dock/Slit. This tends to mean a few things: they are always present on your desktop, regardless of what 'workspace' you are currently using; they are grouped together, so that you don't have to go hunting all over the place to find them; sometimes, depending on the implementation, they can be 'always on top.'
Apparently, all WindowMaker dockapps and AfterStep "wharf" apps work with blackbox.
Dockapps are available at:
http://bbtools.windsofstorm.net
http://bensinclair.com/dockapp/
http://windowmaker.mezaway.org/
http://www.linuks.mine.nu/dockapp
Screenshots:
http://blackbox.wiw.org/screenshots/blackbox-theme.{gif,jpg,tif}
http://themes.org/current/FORTYoz-current.jpg
http://home.midsouth.rr.com/biermans/ (located on the far right side, center
screen.)
7.2 How do I enable the Slit?
The slit is included in 0.65.0 (and newer) versions. You will see the slit when a window is put in it and then it will appear as a larger border around the application(s) there. (With older versions of blackbox, to enable the slit, you need to [--enable-slit] when you compile blackbox.)
7.3 What does the menu do when you click in the slit? and How do you specify where the slit is drawn?
In the slit menu you can choose the position of the slit. Possible positions are Top left, Center left, Bottom left, Top right, Center right and bottom right
8 Configuration
8.1 I edited my blackboxrc config file, but when I log back in my settings were gone.
When blackbox exits it writes out the current configuration to disk, overwriting your changes. Either exit and then edit the file and then start blackbox; or use the built-in functionality to edit features (such as right-click on toolbar).
8.2 How can I have blank seperator line in menus?
Use [nop] as in:
[nop] (--------)or
[nop]
8.3 What are the focus models (focusModel)?
ClickToFocus
SloppyFocus
FocusFollowsMouse ??
AutoRaiseSloppyFocus
8.4 How can I have the window come to the front after it holds the focus for, say 500ms?
(Set in your ~/.blackboxrc and restart blackbox)
session.screen#.focusModel: AutoRaiseSloppyFocus session.autoRaiseDelay: 500
8.5 How to get new program to automatically receive focus?
In the configuration menu, choose "focus new windows".
8.6 How do you get the toolbar to display the date and time?
Edit ~/.blackboxrc using format from date (man date or man strftime) to change.
%D will also give you mm/dd/yy.
session.screen0.strftimeFormat: %I:%M%P %m/%d/%yor
session.screen0.strftimeFormat: %I:%M %p
8.7 How can I have Blackbox automatically create a second workspace by default on startup?
Blackbox saves the workspace-info on restart and exit. So if you have created a new workspace, it will be there on the next startup.
Middle-click on the root window (that's the background). If you have a two-button mouse, clicking both the right and left buttons of the mouse should be equivalent to a double-click. A menu should pop up. Select "New Workspace." That new workspace should still be there the next time you start X.
9 Patches
9.1 What about extras (patches) to Blackbox?
http://blackbox.linuxbox.com/
http://www.holoweb.net/ubb/
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rjmorris/blackbox
http://www.draknor.net/kbb/
9.2 How do I use a patch?
First change to your Blackbox compile directory. For a normal (an unzipped, untarred format, plain text) patch:
patch -p0 < name.patchOr for a gzip patch do :
gzip -cd name.patch.gz | patch -p0The -p0 could be -p1 or -p2 or even greater, this option just strips parts of the paths of the filenames defined in the patch file. For example. if path is /src/Window.cc
-p0 : blackbox/src/Window.cc -p1 : src/Window.cc -p2 : Window.cc(If -p0 patch complains it cannot find filename, try -p1 etc.) Then make and optionally make install.
10 Themes/Styles
10.1 Where can I find more styles or themes?
You can find over 450 blackbox styles or themes via http://bb.themes.org/.
10.2 Some styles have transparent titlebars and other strange appearances. What's up?
The style format changed from 0.5x.x to the 0.6x.x series. You may need to fix the style or use a newer version of the style.
Please send any clarifications and suggestions for this FAQ to jeremy@reedmedia.net. Please do not send questions to me, unless you have an answer with it; consider reading this FAQ and the manual page, and then asking the mailing list if you have questions.