FvwmTaskBar(2.6)
NAME
FvwmTaskBar - the FVWM taskbar module
SYNOPSIS
FvwmTaskBar is spawned by FVWM, so no command line invoca-
tion will work.
DESCRIPTION
The FvwmTaskBar module provides a taskbar made up of but-
tons arranged by rows, each corresponding to a window that
FVWM is managing. Clicking on first button gives focus to
the corresponding toplevel window; clicking on the middle
button will hide a toplevel window; third mouse button is
reserved for a future extension (context menu). Like the
other modules, FvwmTaskBar only works when fvwm is used as
the window manager.
When started, the taskbar shows up as a single row of but-
tons filling the full width of the screen, but during the
work can be resized to accomodate up to 8 rows. In adi-
tion, if the AutoStick option is used, the taskbar will
autoposition itself at the top or bottom of the screen,
and can be dragged from one position to another with a
normal move operation.
The first button of the taskbar, labelled "Start" sends a
"Popup StartMenu" command to the FVWM, which can be used
to pop-up a general-purpose menu when the button is
pressed.
The FvwmTaskBar also displays at the right side a window
showing the current time and the built-in incoming mail
indicator.
COPYRIGHTS
The FvwmTaskBar module is derivated from Mike Finger's
FvwmWinList.
Copyright 1994, Mike Finger. The author makes no guaran-
tees or warranties of any kind about the use of this mod-
ule. Use this modules at your own risk. You may freely
use this module or any portion of it for any purpose as
long as the copyright is kept intact.
INITIALIZATION
During initialization, FvwmTaskBar will scan the same con-
figuration file that FVWM used during startup to find the
options that pertain to it. These options are discussed
in a later section.
INVOCATION
FvwmTaskBar can be invoked by fvwm during initialization
by inserting the line 'Module FvwmTaskBar' in the .fvwmrc
file.
FvwmTaskBar must reside in a directory that is listed in
the ModulePath option of FVWM for it to be executed by
FVWM.
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
The following options can be placed in the .fvwmrc file
*FvwmTaskBarGeometry {+-}<X>x{+-}<Y>
Specifies the location and gravity of the Fvwm-
TaskBar window. At the current version, size is
not supported and the taskbar will resize itself to
fill the full witdh of the screen. If the AutoStick
option is also specified, the module will automati-
cally "stick" to the top or the bottom of the
screen, whichever is closest to the geometry speci-
fication.
*FvwmTaskBarFont font
Specifies the default font to be used for labeling
the buttons, when they are not depressed. If not
specified, fixed font is assumed.
*FvwmTaskBarSelFont font
Specifies the font to be used for the depressed
buttons. Note that the Start button will use always
this font even if is not pressed. If this option is
not specified, the default font is used instead.
*FvwmTaskBarStatusFont font
Specifies the font to be used for the clock and tip
windows. If this option is not specified, fixed
font is used.
*FvwmTaskBarFore color
Specifies the color to use for the button names.
*FvwmTaskBarBack color
Specifies the background color for the bar and but-
tons.
*FvwmTaskBarTipsFore color
Specifies the color to be used for the text in the
tips windows.
*FvwmTaskBarTipsBack color
Specifies the background color for the tips win-
dows.
*FvwmTaskBarGeometry geometry
This option specifies the geometry of the window
(only the Y coordinate is useful)
*FvwmTaskBarAutoStick
This option causes the taskbar to "stick" either to
the top or bottom of the screen, whichever is clos-
est to the initial window placement. Any further
move operation is also subject to that behaviour.
*FvwmTaskBarAutoHide
This option causes the taskbar to disappear leaving
a narrow strip at the bottom of the screen, and
reappears only when the mouse is moved to that
strip. This option automatically enables AutoStick.
*FvwmTaskBarUseSkipList
Tells FvwmTaskBar to not show the windows that are
listed on a WindowListSkip line in the configura-
tion file.
*FvwmTaskBarDeskOnly
Tells FvwmTaskBar to show the windows that are only
on the current desktop. When desktops are
switched, the list of windows changes accordingly.
*FvwmTaskBarUseIconNames
Tells FvwmTaskBar to use the icon name of the win-
dow instead of the full window name. This is use-
ful to keep the width of the buttons small.
*FvwmTaskBarShowTransients
Tells FvwmTaskBar to show the application transient
windows also. By default they are not shown.
*FvwmTaskBarAction action response[,response...]
Tells FvwmTaskBar to do response when action is
done. The currently supported actions are: Click1,
Click2, Click3. The currently supported responses
are any fvwm built-in commands, including modules
and functions. The configuration example below
shows the default values.
*FvwmTaskBarButtonWidth width
Indicates the maximum width that window buttons
should reach. (the minimum is hardcoded at 32).
*FvwmTaskBarHighlightFocus
If the mouse pointer is over the taskbar, the win-
dow under the current button is active. This behav-
ior is like the TVTWM Icon Manager or FvwmIconMan.
Note: If you use this option combined with Follow-
Mouse focus style, you'll want the taskbar to be
ClickToFocus.
*FvwmTaskBarShowTips
Enables the tips windows (by default disabled).
The following options deal more specifically with the sta-
tus indicators displayed at the rigth of the taskbar.
*FvwmTaskBarClockFormat format-string
This option specifies the time format for the digi-
tal clock. It is a stfrtime(3) compatible format
string. By default it is "%R".
*FvwmTaskBarUpdateInterval seconds
Specifies how often the clock display should be
refreshed, so that times of the form HH:MM:SS can
be used. By default 60 seconds.
*FvwmTaskBarBellVolume volume
This sets the volume of the bell when mail is
detected. It is a value between 0 (no bell) and
100 (maximum volume). By default it is set to 20.
*FvwmTaskBarMailBox path
This option intructs the module to look for mail at
the specified place It is a full pathname to the
user's mailbox. By default it is
/var/spool/mail/$USER_LOGIN. A value of 'None'
instructs the module not to have a mail indicator.
*FvwmTaskBarMailCommand command
Specifies a fvwm95 command to be executed when dou-
ble-clicking on the mail icon.
*FvwmTaskBarIgnoreOldMail
If set, draw no bitmap if there is no new mail.
The following options deal with the Start button at the
left of the taskbar:
*FvwmTaskBarStartName string
This option specifies the string displayed in the
Start button. ('Start' by default).
*FvwmTaskBarStartMenu string
This option specifies the popup to invoke when the
start button is pressed. ('StartMenu' by default).
The module send a 'Popup StartMenu' command to the
fvwm window manager.
*FvwmTaskBarStartIcon icon-name
This option specifies the name of the icon to dis-
play at the left of the Start button.
SAMPLE CONFIGURATION
The following are excepts from a .fvwm95rc file which
describe FvwmTaskBar initialization commands:
#
# Start the taskbar on fvwm startup and restart
#
AddToFunc "InitFunction" "I" Module FvwmTaskBar
AddToFunc "RestartFunction" "I" Module FvwmTaskBar
#
# Set the style for the taskbar window, keep always on top of another
# windows
#
Style "FvwmTaskBar" NoTitle,BorderWidth 4, HandleWidth 4,Sticky,
StaysOnTop,WindowSkipList,CirculateSkip
#------------------------------------ taskbar
*FvwmTaskBarBack #c3c3c3
*FvwmTaskBarFore black
*FvwmTaskBarTipsBack bisque
*FvwmTaskBarTipsFore black
*FvwmTaskBarGeometry +0-1
*FvwmTaskBarFont -adobe-helvetica-medium-r-*-*-14-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*FvwmTaskBarSelFont -adobe-helvetica-bold-r-*-*-14-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*FvwmTaskBarStatusFont fixed
*FvwmTaskBarAction Click1 Iconify -1, Raise
*FvwmTaskBarAction Click2 Iconify +1, Lower
*FvwmTaskBarAction Click3 Iconify -1, Raise
*FvwmTaskBarUseSkipList
*FvwmTaskBarUseIconNames
*FvwmTaskBarAutoStick
*FvwmTaskBarShowTips
*FvwmTaskBarButtonWidth 180
*FvwmTaskBarBellVolume 20
*FvwmTaskBarMailBox /var/spool/mail/
*FvwmTaskBarMailCommand Exec xterm -e mail
*FvwmTaskBarClockFormat %I:%M %p
*FvwmTaskBarStartName Start
*FvwmTaskBarStartMenu StartMenu
*FvwmTaskBarStartIcon mini-exp.xpm
BUGS
At present the FvwmTaskBar works only with fvwm95.
AUTHOR
David Barth barth@di.epfl.ch