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Window Manager or Desktop Environment?


raymac46

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Hedon James
5 hours ago, abarbarian said:

 

I was just funnin. WM do not do auto resize, just about the only thing it do not do. 😎

 

You have nitrogen or feh installed?  It's been awhile, but I think both resize to monitor resolution.  And if I'm wrong, I'm absolutely certain GIMP will "scale image" to specified resolution.

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abarbarian
8 hours ago, Hedon James said:

 

You have nitrogen or feh installed?  It's been awhile, but I think both resize to monitor resolution.  And if I'm wrong, I'm absolutely certain GIMP will "scale image" to specified resolution.

 

Ta . No need for nitrogen or feh in Window Maker as it has a built in background , style and theme changer. I use Mirage for resizing usually as I only do simple stuff and it is quick and easy to use.

I have played around with the GIMP but I end up feeling like a blind person in a maze. 😎

 

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Kinda interesting, I decided to add Fluxbox in Kubuntu 20.04. I only installed the fluxbox package and dependencies, and didn't really do any configuration except for changing styles. When I first booted up Fluxbox, the background was a garbled mess. And I couldn't really use the menu for launching apps, but Alt + F1 launched Konsole and Alt + F2 gave me a "run program" dialog. So I was good to go! Switching styles and doing a Reconfigure and/or Restart fixed the background. At this point I'd normally install a few apps, copy over some old config files, and get things set up to suit my tastes, but for now I just wanna stick with "raw" Fluxbox and see how things go.

 

kubuntu-focal-fluxbox-01.png

kubuntu-focal-fluxbox-02.png

kubuntu-focal-fluxbox-03.png

 

Edit: Haven't changed the menu yet, but I added a keybind (Alt + F3) that opens KRunner, Plasma's excellent application launcher. Ha-ha, this is a long way from the slick Fluxbox setups you get from MX and some other distros (and not even close to how I usually set it up!) , but it's actually quite easy to work with!

 

Edited by saturnian
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I know, what's up with that? I'm seeing that different "styles" set different backgrounds. I think 3 of the styles come with Ubuntu- or Kubuntu-related backgrounds. And those don't aren't being rendered correctly, looks like. Anyway, I settled on "zimek_darkblue" for now, which sets a plain dark blue background. I haven't installed Nitrogen to handle my own wallpaper images like I normally do.

 

I've literally done no configuration other than switching styles and adding a keybind for krunner. It's just basic Fluxbox, but running apps that I've already got installed in Kubuntu. Just experimenting, but I wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to add Fluxbox and use it with minimal customization. I don't know how this would go over for someone who is new to Fluxbox, or even to a new Linux newbie.

 

My other point here is that adding a WM when you've already got a DE installed, and then logging into the WM session, that can be a nice way to go instead of starting from scratch and installing only a WM.

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abarbarian
29 minutes ago, saturnian said:

I've literally done no configuration other than switching styles and adding a keybind for krunner. It's just basic Fluxbox, but running apps that I've already got installed in Kubuntu. Just experimenting, but I wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to add Fluxbox and use it with minimal customization. I don't know how this would go over for someone who is new to Fluxbox, or even to a new Linux newbie.

 

I had a look at Flubox and Openbox when I first started out on my journey with the penguins. I was looking for a desktop that I could customise easily to suit me. I found Gnome and KDE just too complicated. At that time I had to post on the net querying what NANO was :hysterical:

So Flubox and Openbox attracted me but I was put of by the pretty complicated way you made changes with text editors, I could barley type in them days. I stumbled across Window Maker with its Window Maker Preferences GUI and was hooked, that and the easy way you could change icon graphics made me decide to stick with the good old thing.

 

😎

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One takeaway for me in this thread is that I am a far different penguin than many of you. I accepted the burden of text based configuration as the price I had to pay for an ultralight GUI on very old rigs. You WM tweakers embrace that as a feature and choice. More power to you!

If I get in the mood for something lighter I just install LXQt as an alternate DE or I can use the very slick Flux option with MX Linux. The rest of the time I just plow ahead with GNOME or Cinnamon.

BTW I had a look at Pantheon but that is too locked down even for me. I can get something of that experience with GNOME and a few Shell Extensions.

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securitybreach
29 minutes ago, raymac46 said:

One takeaway for me in this thread is that I am a far different penguin than many of you. I accepted the burden of text based configuration as the price I had to pay for an ultralight GUI on very old rigs. You WM tweakers embrace that as a feature and choice. More power to you.

 

I am kind of like that but I prefer lightweight environments on powerful machines. I don't care about all the fancy decorations and such so a tiling WM that only manages windows, works best for me.

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Hedon James
51 minutes ago, raymac46 said:

BTW I had a look at Pantheon but that is too locked down even for me. I can get something of that experience with GNOME and a few Shell Extensions.

 

Pantheon is meant to imitate the OSX appearance.  But if its that locked down, I guess they moved on to imitate the OSX experience?!  LOL!

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securitybreach
2 minutes ago, Hedon James said:

 

Pantheon is meant to imitate the OSX appearance.  But if its that locked down, I guess they moved on to imitate the OSX experience?!  LOL!

 

 

:hysterical: !!!!

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I have just logged on to Debian Buster on the Thinkpad and discovered that I have the default GNOME desktop plus LXQt, Openbox and Fluxbox available. I am having a senior moment as I can't recall whether I installed all these alternatives or if they came in during my original install.

I installed nitrogen to help out with wallpaper on the WMs. In any event I am good to go with experimentation.

I also have Xfce installed so I have a choice of WMS for LXQt. At present I am using the popular Fluxbox.

Edited by raymac46
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I now have LXQt running with PeKWM as my preferred Window manager. It works but could HJ comment about why I would use it over Flux or for than matter XWM4? Just curious.

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Hedon James
2 hours ago, raymac46 said:

I now have LXQt running with PeKWM as my preferred Window manager. It works but could HJ comment about why I would use it over Flux or for than matter XWM4? Just curious.

 

Can't comment on Pek or Flux vs XFWM4, but with Pek vs. Flux, it's down to personal preferences.

 

I really like both, and they're nearly identical to the casual user.  I'm no expert, but I'm way beyond casual, so my noted differences mostly boil down to these subtle differences:

 - Flux has a taskbar, Pek does not; I'm not fond of Flux's taskbar, so I disable it, and use Tint instead.  If you prefer a taskbar, Flux is pre-configured to include one

- Flux configurations are more of a "plain english" syntax, while Pek configs are more "code-like" syntax.  I like my root menus to be consistent across Openbox/Flux/Pek, and I go to great lengths to make them as similar as possible.  Comparing two IDENTICAL menu configs, here is my Flux Menu:

[begin] (** Fluxbox Menu **)
	[exec] (Firefox Browser) {firefox}
	[exec] (Chrome Browser) {google-chrome-stable %U}
	[exec] (File Manager) {pcmanfm-qt}
	[exec] (Terminal) {qterminal}
	[exec] (Text Editor) {featherpad}
	[exec] (Force Quit) {xkill}
	[spacer]
	[separator]
	[submenu] (Applications Menu) {}
		[begin] (Applications) {}
			[include] (~/.fluxbox/xdg_menu)
			[exec] (Update Menu) {xdgmenumaker -f fluxbox > ~/.fluxbox/xdg_menu}
		[end]
	[submenu] (Desktop Preferences) {}
		[exec] (Wallpaper) {pcmanfm-qt --desktop-pref=general}
		[exec] (General Appearance) {lxqt-config-appearance}
		[exec] (LXQT Settings) {lxqt-config}
 		[submenu] (Window Managers) {}
 			[restart] (FluxBox)  {/usr/bin/startfluxbox}
			[restart] (Openbox)  {/usr/bin/openbox}
			[restart] (PekWM) 	 {/usr/bin/pekwm}
		[end]
	[end]
	[spacer]
	[separator]
	[submenu] (Fluxbox Settings) {}
		[config] (Fluxbox Configuration)
			[submenu] (System Styles) {Choose from...}
			[stylesdir] (/usr/share/fluxbox/styles)
		[end]
			[submenu] (User Styles) {Choose from...}
			[stylesdir] (~/.fluxbox/styles)
		[end]
	[workspaces] (Workspaces)
	[exec] (Fluxbox-Run) {fbrun}
	[exec] (About Fluxbox) {(fluxbox -v; fluxbox -info | sed 1d) | xmessage -file - -center}
	[reconfig] (Reconfigure Fluxbox)
	[restart] (Restart Fluxbox)
	[exit] (Exit)
	[end]
[spacer]
[separator]
# Logout crashes fluxbox in lxsession; uncomment in "naked" fluxbox
#[exit] (Logout) {lxsession-default quit}
[exec] (Reboot/Shutdown/Switch User) {lxqt-leave}
[spacer]
[end]

and here is the identical menu in Pek:

# Menu config for pekwm

# Variables
INCLUDE = "vars"

RootMenu = "** Pekwm **" {
	Entry = "Firefox" { Actions = "Exec firefox &" }
	Entry = "Chrome" { Actions = "Exec google-chrome-stable %U &" }
	Entry = "File Manager" { Actions = "Exec pcmanfm-qt &" }
	Entry = "Terminal" { Actions = "Exec $TERM &" }
	Entry = "Text Editor" { Actions = "Exec featherpad &" }
	Entry = "Force Quit" { Actions = "Exec xkill &" }
	Entry = "Run..." { Actions = "ShowCmdDialog" }

	Separator {}
	Entry = "Dynamic Menu" { Actions = "Dynamic /usr/bin/xdgmenumaker -n -f pekwm --pekwm-dynamic" }
	Submenu = "Applications Menu" {
		Submenu = "Applications" {
			INCLUDE = "$_HOME/.pekwm/xdg_menu"
		}
			Entry = "Update App Menu" { Actions = "Exec xdgmenumaker -n -f pekwm > ~/.pekwm/xdg_menu" }
		}
	Submenu = "Desktop Preferences" {
		Entry = "Wallpaper" { Actions = "Exec pcmanfm-qt --desktop-pref=general &" }
		Entry = "General Appearance" { Actions = "Exec lxqt-config-appearance &" }
		Entry = "LXQT Settings" { Actions = "Exec lxqt-config &" }
		Submenu = "Window Managers" {
				Entry = "FluxBox" { Actions = "RestartOther /usr/bin/startfluxbox" } 
				Entry = "Openbox" { Actions = "RestartOther /usr/bin/openbox" } 
				Entry = "Pekwm" { Actions = "RestartOther /usr/bin/pekwm" } 
			} 
	}
	Separator {}
	# Entry = "Take screenshot" { Actions = "Exec $_PEKWM_SCRIPT_PATH/pekwm_screenshot.sh" }

	Submenu = "Go to" {
		SubMenu = "Workspace" {
			# Create goto menu once per pekwm config reload. The fast way that
			# will work for most if not all users.
			COMMAND = "$_PEKWM_SCRIPT_PATH/pekwm_ws_menu.sh goto"
			# Create goto menu every time the menu is opened. The slow way.
			# This is what you want if you are using external tools to make
			# the amount of workspaces something else than what you define in
			# ~/.pekwm/config. You will know if you want this.
			# Entry = "" { Actions = "Dynamic $_PEKWM_SCRIPT_PATH/pekwm_ws_menu.sh goto dynamic" }
		}
		Entry = "Window..." { Actions = "ShowMenu GotoClient True" }
	}

	Submenu = "Pekwm" {
		Submenu = "Stock Themes" {
			Entry { Actions = "Dynamic $_PEKWM_SCRIPT_PATH/pekwm_themeset.sh $_PEKWM_THEME_PATH" }
		}
		Submenu = "User Themes" {
			Entry { Actions = "Dynamic $_PEKWM_SCRIPT_PATH/pekwm_themeset.sh ~/.pekwm/themes" }
		}
		Entry = "Reload" { Actions = "Reload" }
		Entry = "Restart" { Actions = "Restart" }
		# Entry = "Exit" { Actions = "Exit" }
	}
	Separator {}
	# Entry = "Logout" { Actions = "Exec lxsession-default quit" } 
	Entry = "Reboot/Shutdown/Switch User" { Actions = "Exec lxqt-leave" } 
}

- Flux has WAY MORE themes (Flux calls them "styles") than Pek.  And Pek themes tend to be more "minimal".

- Pek is slightly more "responsive", IMO, but this is entirely subjective.  They're both fast, and responsive, but Pek just "feels tighter" to me.  If Flux does it in the "blink of an eye", Pek does it in "3/4 of a blink", or so it feels...

 

By not using the built in Flux tasbar, both Flux & Pek are "on par" with each other in my eyes.  I give Flux the nod for the easier configuration syntax (IMO), and the wider variety of available themes.  But if Flux became unusable for any reason (Wayland support?), while Pek continued, I could easily switch to Pek with no loss of function whatsoever.  If you don't like Flux, you almost certainly won't like Pek; and the converse is also true. I guess it all boils down to personal preferences, and the option for variety.

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The menus (code-like or plain text) seem pretty complicated to code in a text editor. I assume you use a "crutch" like xdgmenumaker to set them up the way you like. Or you can get a basic setup with xdgmenumaker and then modify the code.

Edited by raymac46
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Hedon James
1 hour ago, raymac46 said:

The menus (code-like or plain text) seem pretty complicated to code in a text editor. I assume you use a "crutch" like xdgmenumaker to set them up the way you like. Or you can get a basic setup with xdgmenumaker and then modify the code.

 

Flux is really easy to setup in a text editor.  Pek is a little more tricky because of the bracketing syntax.  I usually copy a line (any line) and then modify the command and arguments to what I want.  It avoids syntax errors.  But again, Flux is very easy, and I can't remember ever having a problem with it, as long as you follow the proper order:

[operand] (menu title) {cli incantation}

such that:

[exec] (Firefox Browser) {firefox}

tells Fluxbox that the custom menu entry should "execute" a command you know as "Firefox Browser" but the terminal knows as "firefox".  That's it.  Other operands such as "separator" and "submenu" are pretty self-explanatory and require no further arguments.

 

I do use xdgmenumaker to scan my system for all installed programs, which then creates a program menu in specified format (fluxbox or pek, and some other formats available).  Then I "nest" the xdgmenu inside the Flux menu (and the Pek menu) as a submenu.  This section does that:

[separator]
	[submenu] (Applications Menu) {}
		[begin] (Applications) {}
			[include] (~/.fluxbox/xdg_menu)
			[exec] (Update Menu) {xdgmenumaker -f fluxbox > ~/.fluxbox/xdg_menu}
		[end]

the line "submenu, applications menu" creates a submenu item called applications menu.  The "begin" operand starts the submenu section, while the "end" operand indicates the end of that section.  Nested inside the "begin" and "end" is my xdgmenu created by the xdgmenumaker program.  The "include" operand displays the xdgmenumaker-created xdg_menu within the fluxbox menu (think of it as a pipe menu).  The xdg_menu is actually created by the 2nd line, which is the CLI command "xdgmenumaker -f fluxbox > ~./fluxbox/xdg_menu", as indicated by xdgmenumaker manual.  "xdgmenumaker" is the command line operation, "-f" is the format flag, and "fluxbox" is the specified format (in a Pek menu the command would specify a flag of "-f pekwm"); while the ">" indicates to "pipe output to" and "~./fluxbox/xdg_menu" specifies the desired location inside the fluxbox directory of my home folder.  I can specify anywhere, but this makes the most intuitive sense.

 

It took me a long time to figure this stuff out by myself, but once I did, it was an "AHA" moment and I've only performed minor tweaks since the initial menu construction.  Despite appearances, it really is simple.  Once you understand Fluxbox, PekWM is actually pretty simple too, but those D*** starting brackets "{" and ending brackets "}" always seem to trip me up somewhere.  Flux has those nice [begin] and [end] operands, but those Pek brackets get missed somewhere, EVERY TIME.

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I thought the best place to experiment with Fluxbox would be on the old Toshiba netbook I have as it is the most memory challenged and weakest machine in my junker museum.

It runs Arch Linux, so the menumaker is called xdg_menu and the update syntax is a little different but it works. I am posting this from the netbook running naked Fluxbox on Arch Linux.I also installed LXQt so I can use Flux as the WM there.

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Hedon James
2 hours ago, raymac46 said:

I thought the best place to experiment with Fluxbox would be on the old Toshiba netbook I have as it is the most memory challenged and weakest machine in my junker museum.

It runs Arch Linux, so the menumaker is called xdg_menu and the update syntax is a little different but it works. I am posting this from the netbook running naked Fluxbox on Arch Linux.I also installed LXQt so I can use Flux as the WM there.

 

That's what I do.  I used to start a naked *box session and autostart what I wanted.  I found myself autostarting a LOT of the LXDE tools that an LXDE session started automatically.  Once I learned how to start LXDE with Fluxbox as WM in place of Openbox, I just started doing that.  That was kinda of a PITA with LXDE, but LXQT is supremely easy to swap out WMs.  Most of the LXQT devs prefer XFWM and Kwin, but acknowledge the popularity of Openbox, calling it the "least common denominator".  I find Flux and Pek work very well in LXQT also.  FWIW...

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@HJ one thing that perplexed me for a while was how to get a background photo in a naked Fluxbox session. For me that is just a static thing - I don't change the background once I decide on a particular wallpaper to use.

I didn't see how to include that in a menu. Looking at your menu it seems to be more of an LXQt thing than Flux. I installed feh and then discovered a command called fbsetbg. I ran this, the background I wanted came up and it sticks through logouts and reboots.

The netbook seems to run a bit faster with the lightweight Flux in command. However it still sucks with heavyweight browsers like Chromium. The puny Atom processor is maxed right out when Chromium loads. Midori works a bit better but that is really a weird browser.

I really don't see much use for this netbook aside from a testbed for Arch and window managers. I am also really liking LXQt with Flux. So thanks for that. I may go that way on the Thinkpad I have.

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securitybreach
5 minutes ago, raymac46 said:

@HJ one thing that perplexed me for a while was how to get a background photo in a naked Fluxbox session. For me that is just a static thing - I don't change the background once I decide on a particular wallpaper to use.

I didn't see how to include that in a menu. Looking at your menu it seems to be more of an LXQt thing than Flux. I installed feh and then discovered a command called fbsetbg. I ran this, the background I wanted came up and it sticks through logouts and reboots.

The netbook seems to run a bit faster with the lightweight Flux in command. However it still sucks with heavyweight browsers like Chromium. The puny Atom processor is maxed right out when Chromium loads. Midori works a bit better but that is really a weird browser.

I really don't see much use for this netbook aside from a testbed for Arch and window managers. I am also really liking LXQt with Flux. So thanks for that. I may go that way on the Thinkpad I have.

 

Using Feh and/or a script:  How To Change Wallpaper in Fluxbox Window Manager

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It seems to me that this WM menu programming is a one time skill - once learned, soon forgotten. 😜

Edited by raymac46
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Hedon James
3 hours ago, raymac46 said:

@HJ one thing that perplexed me for a while was how to get a background photo in a naked Fluxbox session. For me that is just a static thing - I don't change the background once I decide on a particular wallpaper to use.

I didn't see how to include that in a menu. Looking at your menu it seems to be more of an LXQt thing than Flux. I installed feh and then discovered a command called fbsetbg. I ran this, the background I wanted came up and it sticks through logouts and reboots.

The netbook seems to run a bit faster with the lightweight Flux in command. However it still sucks with heavyweight browsers like Chromium. The puny Atom processor is maxed right out when Chromium loads. Midori works a bit better but that is really a weird browser.

I really don't see much use for this netbook aside from a testbed for Arch and window managers. I am also really liking LXQt with Flux. So thanks for that. I may go that way on the Thinkpad I have.

 

Fluxbox will set its own background, as you discovered, with fbsetbg.  In fact, many Fluxbox themes will also include a background pic in the "styles" folder of that theme.  If you're a static wallpaper guy, this is perfect for you.  I like to change my wallpapers when bored, so I looked into feh & nitrogen to set backgrounds.  Feh seems lighter weight, while Nitrogren seems multi-featured and better documented, so I chose Nitrogen.  Whether it's Feh or Nitrogen, make sure it's listed (and uncommented) in the startup file.

 

Here's an old startup file for a naked Flux session:

#!/bin/sh
#
# fluxbox startup-script:
#
# Lines starting with a '#' are ignored.

# Change your keymap:
xmodmap "/home/jim/.Xmodmap"

# Applications you want to run with fluxbox.
# MAKE SURE THAT APPS THAT KEEP RUNNING HAVE AN ''&'' AT THE END.
#
# unclutter -idle 2 &
# wmnd &
# wmsmixer -w &
# idesk &
# comment out the lxsession line below if using "naked" fluxbox
# lxsession -s Mimetic-Fluxbox -e LXDE &
# and uncomment the following line for "naked" fluxbox
export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=lubuntu

#Applications started by user preference ("naked" fluxbox only)
lxpolkit &
xfce4-notifyd &
nitrogen --restore &
stalonetray &
compton &
conky -p 2 &
#conky -w &
#conky -b -o &
nm-applet &
dbus-launch dropbox start -i &
tint2 &
teamviewer &
nixnote2 &
thunderbird &
virtualbox &

#leave lxpanels commented out if using lxsession above, otherwise
#uncomment selected Paradigm to "skin" naked Fluxbox desktop
#CAUTION:  MAY "modify" lxpanel appearance based on LXDE apps not started in Fluxbox lxsession!
#lxpanel -p Mimetic &
#lxpanel -p Mimetic-OSX &
lxpanel -p Mimetic-Unity &
#lxpanel -p Mimetic-Windows &

# Debian-local change:
#   - fbautostart has been added with a quick hack to check to see if it
#     exists. If it does, we'll start it up by default.
which fbautostart > /dev/null
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    fbautostart
fi

# And last but not least we start fluxbox.
# Because it is the last app you have to run it with ''exec'' before it.

exec fluxbox
# or if you want to keep a log:
# exec fluxbox -log "/home/jim/.fluxbox/log"

In this menu, the wallpaper is handled by "nitrogen --restore &".  But you can see I was autostarting a lot of applications within naked Flux; and it bears mentioning that Flux has the ability to "remember" specified applications settings, saved to the "apps" file in the .fluxbox directory.  I like certain apps to ALWAYS start on a specified desktop (I use my virtual desktops as "activities" centers), and a specified size; and some applications I prefer to open as "pinned" to all desktops.  By choosing those settings in Fluxbox right-click window menu, you can choose what Flux will "remember" for future instances; coupled with the startup file/script, this was a powerful feature for me.  But I digress....back to the multiple applications autostarting.....that is when I decided to boot into LXDE (now LXQT) session, with Flux as the WM of that session.

 

Which brings me to another way to display wallpapers.  Many folks aren't aware that PCManFM and PCManFM-QT file managers also handle "desktop paint".  So whether you're using PCManFM (LXDE) or PCManFM-QT (LXQT), you can use the file manager to "paint the background", or "manage the desktop".  Since I'm using Flux as a WM for LXQT, I handle wallpapers with PCManFM-QT within the LXQT session.  Here's the menu item, shown in Fluxbox menu above:

[exec] (Wallpaper) {pcmanfm-qt --desktop-pref=general}

But you could also have PCManFM handle this in a naked Flux session by putting a PCManFM entry in the startup file, by autostarting PCManFM with a wallpaper "flag" setting, -w, --set-wallpaper=FILE, as indicated in the manual.  So I'd probably use PCManFM to set/manage my static wallpaper in the startup menu, like this:

pcmanfm-qt --set-wallpaper=path/to/wallpaper/file.jpg

Just recognize that you can change the wallpapers within your session, but will always "restore" the same wallpaper on startup unless/until you change it in the startup file.  If you're a static wallpaper guy, pcmanfm is the way to go in a naked Flux session, IMO.  If you're a wallpaper changer, Nitrogen is the way to go in a naked Flux session (or possibly Feh, but I'm not sure how Feh works).  If you decide to start an LXQT session and let Flux be the WM of that session, LXQT will handle it all for you.

Edited by Hedon James
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Hedon James
14 minutes ago, raymac46 said:

It seems to me that this WM menu programming is a one time skill - once learned, soon forgotten. 😜

 

True dat!  I'm looking at my configs when I post them to you, and trying to remember "what does this do, and why did I do that?"  On the flip side, this could be a huge PLUS.  When I ported my desktop from an Ubuntu based LXDE to a Debian based LXQT, all I had to do was copy over my entire .fluxbox directory and change a few (VERY FEW!) entries from "lx-?????" to "lxqt-????"; such as lx-logout, lxsession, lxpanel, etc...

 

Easiest customization I ever did.  And if I wasn't porting from LXDE to LXQT, I wouldn't have had to do anything of that sort!  😎

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Rather than have a wallpaper setter in the startup, I added a submenu that uses feh and I can select whatever background I want within the session itself. That gets remembered and displayed on reboot. 

 

Quote

If you decide to start an LXQT session and let Flux be the WM of that session, LXQT will handle it all for you.

 

This looks like the most elegant (and painless) way to handle things. I used to prefer Xfce for a lighter weight desktop but LXQt is really growing on me.

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Hedon James
2 hours ago, raymac46 said:

Rather than have a wallpaper setter in the startup, I added a submenu that uses feh and I can select whatever background I want within the session itself. That gets remembered and displayed on reboot. 

 

 

This looks like the most elegant (and painless) way to handle things. I used to prefer Xfce for a lighter weight desktop but LXQt is really growing on me.

 

LXDE & XFCE were the most popular lightweight DEs, but of the two, LXDE is definitely lighter.  That's why, when folks said they used XFCE because they preferred a lightweight environment, I'd question "why not LXDE?  it's even lighter than XFCE!"  But with the switch to LXQT, both LXQT and XFCE are pretty much on par with each other.

 

However, LXQT devs will point out they only APPEAR to be similar in terms of RAM, because QT and GTK environments handle RAM differently.  Beyond my pay grade, but my understanding is that XFCE RAM usage will grow more with each app opened; while LXQT RAM usage will tend to be more static, as the QT libraries are already in RAM for additional QT applications.  In other words, newly booted LXQT and XFCE are very similar in terms of RAM usage, but with numerous applications open on each system, XFCE increases more rapidly.  And by that measure, LXQT is still lighter.  If XFCE is a lightweight version of Gnome (GTK), then LXQT is a lightweight version of KDE (QT).  I guess the old advice still applies....you have a choice, use what suits ya!

 

I was a HUGE proponent of LXDE.  But with the migration to QT toolkits, I've become an LXQT fan.  They've been real sticklers for the "modularity, by design" concept, which is a carryover from LXDE concepts.  So it's still very easy to mix & match components, if that's what you want.  And LXQT is still pretty young...I expect it will only get better with more time.

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BTW if you are a lazy penguin like me and wish to avoid all this text programming, just check out the very slick Fluxbox install in MX Linux 19. Some of these guys cut their teeth on antiX and they know their way around WMs. You can just use the default menu for most stuff and if you want a  dock or a few icons on the desktop it is handled with a little clicking and typing.

Edited by raymac46
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On 5/13/2020 at 5:30 AM, raymac46 said:

One takeaway for me in this thread is that I am a far different penguin than many of you. I accepted the burden of text based configuration as the price I had to pay for an ultralight GUI on very old rigs. You WM tweakers embrace that as a feature and choice. More power to you!

If I get in the mood for something lighter I just install LXQt as an alternate DE or I can use the very slick Flux option with MX Linux. The rest of the time I just plow ahead with GNOME or Cinnamon.

BTW I had a look at Pantheon but that is too locked down even for me. I can get something of that experience with GNOME and a few Shell Extensions.

 

I know that I'm "a far different penguin than many of you", ha-ha! But that's how things go with Linux, a lot of room for individuality. I can't (and wouldn't want to) settle on any one DE or WM. I like using a vertical, left-side panel; I don't see that very often in others' screenshots. I have multiple installations, but for some time now I've been sticking with only three distros (Debian, Arch, Kubuntu). I think I'm probably more comfortable with Ubuntu and Flavours than most of the posters here, even though I don't like everything that Canonical does.

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