Provided by: afterstep_2.2.12-6_amd64 bug

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       afterstep_faq -  This  document is an ever growing set of questions, statements, ideas and
       complaints about AfterStep version 2.0

1. General Information

   1.1. About this Document.
       This document is an ever growing set of questions, statements, ideas and complaints  about
       AfterStep version 2.0.

       You can get this FAQ at the following locations: http://www.afterstep.org/

       The  rest  of  this  document  assumes you are running AfterStep 2.0. If you are running a
       version of AfterStep prior to version 2.0, this document will  suggests  only  one  thing:
       upgrade.

   1.2. What is AfterStep?
       AfterStep is a Window Manager for the X Window System (hereafter referred to as X). It was
       started to emulate the look and feel of NeXTSTEP(tm), but has evolved into something  that
       while  still  being able to emulate NeXT, can do much much more. Without using much memory
       or cpu time, AfterStep provides all the features one could want in a Window Manager.

   1.3. What is AfterStep's history?
       Original AfterStep was a continuation of the BowMan Window Manager  which  was  originally
       put  together  by  Bo Yang. BowMan was based on the fvwm Window Manager, written by Robert
       Nation. Fvwm was based on code from twm. And so on....

       Idea was to emulate some of the look and feel of  the  NEXTSTEP(tm)  user  interface,  but
       overtime  it  evolved to include other concepts, as dictated by end user needs. It is that
       unholy direction that made Alfredo Kojima abandon project in  1997  and  create  a  Window
       Manger  of  its  own  -  Window  Maker,  which  had a goal of strict adherance to NEXTSTEP
       interface ideas.

       After releasing version 1.8.11  it  became  aparent  for  developers  that  old  AfterStep
       codebase  had  reached its limits and required a substantial redesign. Such redesign began
       with development of radically new image handling library libAfterImage,  introducing  high
       quality  image  manipulation,  blending,  TrueType  fonts,  XML image scripting, and more.
       Building off of libAfterImage and incorporating new developments in X  Window  management,
       AfterStep  2.0  was  born  and  released in September, 2004. As of now AfterStep code base
       contains none of the original fvwm parts, and association to fvwm, twm and  BowMan  remain
       only in history.

   1.4. Fine, what if I'm not running AfterStep 2.0? Is there a FAQ for me?
       Yes.  There  should  be  a  version  of  the  AfterStep FAQ available within your specific
       AfterStep distribution. If you are using a  version  earlier  than  2.0,  it  is  strongly
       suggested you upgrade.

   1.5. What is X? What are these window managers ?
       "X"  is  shorthand  for  The  X  Window  System. It is a basis for building graphical user
       interfaces for UNIX (it is available for non-UNIX systems, but wasn't designed  to  be  as
       such).  "X"  is not the interface itself, just a foundation for one. For more information,
       check www.x.org .

       A Window Manager is a program that manages your windows during your X  session.  AfterStep
       is one of many available window managers .

   1.6. What are AfterStep's main features?
       The Wharf
              Similar  to  NeXTSTEP's(tm) Dock, it allows applications to be Swallowed, shortcuts
              with icons, and many other things.

       The Pager
              Shows a miniature view of the Afterstep desktops, you can move  between  them,  and
              move windows around in the Pager as though it were a miniature desktop.

       The WinList
              A  list of all the windows, clicking on the items can show that window, destroy it,
              shade it, or anything you might want.

       Configurability
              Almost anything can be changed.

       XML image scripting
              AfterStep allows XML scripts to be used to assemble complex images for things  like
              buttons, frame sides, etc, from other, simplier images or graphical primitives.

       TrueType fonts support
              Antialised TrueType fonts could be used to render window titles and other labels.

       Unicode, UTF8 and other encodings support
              Most  international  character  encodings  are  supported  as long as fonts provide
              glyphs.

       ColorSchemes
              AfterStep can calculate a set of about 34 colors to create  looks  with  harmonious
              color composition.

   1.7. Is AfterStep 2.0 GNOME and/or KDE compliant?
       AfterStep 2.0 supports Extended Window Manager Hints, ICCCM protocol and Motif hints, thus
       making it as compatible as possible with both GNOME and KDE,  as  well  as  most  other  X
       applications.

   1.8. Can I run it in Microsoft Windows(tm)?
       AfterStep 2.0 does run under Windows using CYGWIN compatibility layer, while running any X
       server. Some of the X servers available under  Windows  allow  so-called  root-less  mode,
       where X applications can coincide with native applications. See sample screenshot .

   1.9. Who develops AfterStep?
       Sasha Vasko <sasha at aftercode.net>
              coordinator, coder, web designer, carpenter, and everything else ( at the moment ).

       Niklas Lunger <niklas at fet dot at>
              documentation and user testing.

       Nathan Mahon <as_ml at vaevictus net>
              realease manager

   1.10. AfterStep is awesome! How can I help?
       Code  contributions  are  welcome.  Hardware  donations are welcome. If you can help write
       AfterStep, or feel you can help the effort elsewhere, do so. Hang out on irc  (#afterstep,
       efnet), participate on the mailing lists, suggest ideas, help code, etc etc.

   1.11. Who writes this FAQ?
       see 1.9. above.

3. Getting and Installing AfterStep 2.0

   3.1. Where can I get AfterStep 2.0?
       You can download AfterStep 2.0 at any of the following locations:
        ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/stable/  SourceForge.net  RPM packages

   3.2. What do I need to compile and install AfterStep?
       Because AfterStep is an X application, you need to have X installed, and the X development
       libraries (note, in this case "development" means libraries need to compile things with X,
       not development level code). It's probably a good idea to also have a working C compiler.

       AfterStep  includes  some  image  libraries,  but it is recommended that you install those
       libraries using your distribution's package management system. Note  that  you  will  need
       development  libraries  in addition to run-time libraries. The following are the libraries
       that AfterStep can take advantage of : libJPEG - support for JPEG image format

       libPNG - support for PNG image format

       libTIFF - support for TIFF image format

       Freetype - support for TrueType fonts

       Note that following image format do not require any external libraries :  XPM,  PPM,  BMP,
       ICO, XCF, GIF.

   3.3. Can I install AfterStep without being root?
       Yes, before compiling AfterStep, do this:

           mkdir ~/bin mkdir -p ~/man/man1 ./configure --prefix ~/

       Then follow the normal install directions, allowing you to
           make install
       without being root.

   3.4. How do I upgrade AfterStep from AfterStep version prior to 2.0.0?
       Install  AfterStep  2.0 and then run it. It will start with default configuration that you
       may or maynot like. If you wish to try and reuse your old configuration files,  then  copy
       them  over  from  your  old ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/ directory and into ~/.afterstep/.
       Restart AfterStep to make changes effective. If some of the features  do  not  work  quite
       right - feel free to submit bug report along with your configuration files.

       It  is recommended though that you start with default configuration and try out all of the
       supplied looks and color schemes. Select whichever is close to  what  you  want  and  then
       modify  it  to  your  liking.  These approach will allow you to take advantage of many new
       features, available in AfterStep 2.0.

   3.4. How do I upgrade AfterStep from AfterStep version higher then 2.0.0?
       Make sure that all configuration files that you ever changed are in your home directory at
       ~/.afterstep/,  as  installing afterstep will replace everything in global shared location
       (/usr/local/share/afterstep). Install afterstep and run. You should not have any trouble.

   3.5. What's up with all these compile errors?
       Most likely, you don't have the X devel package (should  have  come  with  your  operating
       system, if not, check http://www.x.org/ ).

   3.6. How the hell does one configure AfterStep?
       Configuration  files  are  usually  either in /usr(/local)/share/afterstep for system wide
       configuration and ~/.afterstep for personal settings.

       Configuration is handled in multiple files: look file (in looks subdirectory)  for  visual
       attributes,  feel  file (in feels subdirectory) for the general behaviour; wharf, winlist,
       banner, pager, animate for module specific configuration.

       Just  copy  any  file  you  want  to  modify  over  from  /usr(/local)/share/afterstep  to
       ~/.afterstep to override system wide defaults retaining subdirectory layout.

2. Resources

   2.1. Where can I find AfterStep resources, or help?
       HTML documentation

              AfterStep  2.0  comes  installed with complete set of documentation in HTML format,
              usually       installed       at       /usr/local/share/afterstep/doc/html       or
              /usr/share/afterstep/doc/html  .  Same  documentation  is  available  online from :
              http://www.afterstep.org/visualdoc.php . If you find that documentation  incomplete
              in  some areas - please feel free to submit any corrections to any of the AfterStep
              mailing lists.

       WWW Page

              The official AfterStep web page is at http://www.afterstep.org/ . This web site  is
              managed  by  whoever has write access to AfterStep CVS, and is kindly hosted by the
              generous people at Web Conquest .

       FTP site

              The FTP site, ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/ , is the best place to get AfterStep.

       AfterStep applets

              The applets (asapps) that go with AfterStep are distributed separately. The  applet
              distribution  is maintained by Albert Dorofeev, (<tigr@tigr.net>). You can find the
              applets at http://www.tigr.net/afterstep/as-apps/ . RPMs for many an  applet  could
              be found here : http://www.afterstep.org/rpms/

       Man pages.

              AfterStep  installation  comes  with  set  of  man  pages that attempt to cover all
              aspects of AfterStep configuration. Please read the relevent man page before asking
              a  question.  Also  note  that  the  Pager  man  page  is  'man  Pager'  (note  the
              capitalization).

       IRC

              There is also #afterstep on freenode.net IRC servers . Feel free  to  come  in  and
              have a chat with us!

   2.2. What are the AfterStep mailing lists, and where are their archives?
       There currently is a mailing list for users to ask questions and get support: as-users.

       as-users.

              as-users  is  the  general AfterStep mailing list, open to all AfterStep questions,
              concerns   and   ideas.    Subscribe    by    entering    your    e-mail    at    :
              http://lists.afterstep.org/listinfo.cgi/as-users-afterstep.org

              The  old mailing list archives can be read at http://www.tigr.net/afterstep/mail/ ,
              while   current   archives   (registration    required)    can    be    found    at
              http://lists.afterstep.org/private.cgi/as-users-afterstep.org/ .