Provided by: vtwm_5.4.7-5build1_amd64 
NAME
vtwm - Virtual Tab Window Manager for the X Window System
SYNOPSIS
vtwm [ -d display ] [ -f initfile ] [ -m [ m4-options ] ] [ -p ] [ -s ] [ -v ]
DESCRIPTION
vtwm is a window manager for the X Window System. It provides titlebars, shaped windows, several forms
of icon management, user-defined macro functions, click-to-type and pointer-driven keyboard focus, and
user-specified key and pointer button bindings.
This program is usually started by the user's session manager or startup script. When used from xdm(1)
or xinit(1) without a session manager, vtwm is frequently executed in the foreground as the last client.
When run this way, exiting vtwm causes the session to be terminated (i.e., logged out).
By default, application windows are surrounded by a border with a titlebar at the top. The titlebar
contains the window's name, a rectangular area that indicates when the window is receiving keyboard
input, and three function boxes known as "titlebar buttons". Pressing pointer Button1 (usually the left-
most button unless it has been changed with xmodmap(1)) on any of these titlebar features will invoke the
function associated with them.
With the default interface, windows are iconified by clicking (pressing and then immediately releasing)
the titlebar button that looks like a dot. Conversely, windows are deiconified by clicking in the
associated icon or entry in the icon manager (see the descriptions of the variable ShowIconManager and
the function f.showiconmgr in the BINDINGS section).
Windows are resized by pressing the titlebar button that resembles a group of nested squares, dragging
the pointer over the edge that is to be moved, and releasing the pointer when the window is the desired
size. Similarly, windows are moved by pressing in the title or highlight area, dragging it to the new
location, and then releasing when the window is in the desired position. Just clicking in the title or
highlight area raises the window without moving it.
Pressing the titlebar button with the down arrow in it brings up a menu with many other functions that
may be applied to the window.
When new windows are created, vtwm will honor any size and location information requested by the user
(usually through -geometry command line argument or X11 resources for the individual applications). With
the default configuration, Clicking pointer Button1 will position the window at the current position and
give it the default size. Pressing pointer Button2 (usually the middle pointer button) and dragging the
window will give the window its current position but allow the sides to be resized as described above.
Clicking pointer Button3 (usually the right pointer button) will give the window its current position but
attempt to make it long enough to touch the bottom of the screen.
The default behavior during these operations is to represent the window with an outline of the client
window and its titlebar, lines crossing within the client window. Alternatively, vtwm may be configured
to draw the window completely, but it is not recommended unless yours is a fast system.
THE VIRTUAL DESKTOP
vtwm is based upon the twm(1) window manager, but adds extra functionality in the form of a virtual
desktop. The virtual desktop is an area larger than the physical screen. The real screen is considered
to be a window onto portions of the virtual desktop showing whatever windows are present in that area of
the desktop. To help navigate around the desktop, vtwm creates a new window, of the name VTWM Desktop,
which shows the entire desktop using a small scale. In the Virtual Desktop window, all windows that
exist are displayed and various options are provided to recognize the identity of the different windows
(see the descriptions of the variables DesktopDisplayBackground, DesktopDisplayForeground,
DesktopDisplayBorder and VirtualDesktopFont).
To provide a consistent workspace, the option is provided of nailing windows onto the real screen. When
a window is nailed, it is considered stuck to the real screen no matter what part of the desktop is
currently being displayed.
Normally, a few standard utilities are nailed down: the icon manager, the desktop view, a load average
chart, a clock, and a mail notifier. The f.nail (or its alias, f.stick) function can be used to change
the nailed status of any window; see the BINDINGS section for details.
The root window of the display is unchanged by this program and utilities such as xsetroot(1) will
continue to work unmodified.
OPTIONS
vtwm accepts the following command line options:
-d display This option specifies the X server to use.
-f [initfile] This option specifies the name of the startup file to use. By default, vtwm will look in
the user's home directory for files named .vtwmrc.N, .vtwmrc, .twmrc.N, or .twmrc (where
'N' is a screen number). It also looks for system-wide default files; see the
CUSTOMIZATION section below for details. If initfile is not provided, this specifies that
vtwm should disregard any startup files it finds, and use only the defaults that are
compiled in (intended for testing compiled-in defaults).
-m [options] This option causes vtwm to preprocess the startup file using the m4(1) macro processor.
The options will be passed verbatim to m4 along with those symbols that vtwm declares.
Note that options itself should be quoted, to prevent unwanted processing that may occur
by the shell, etc.
-p This option indicates that vtwm should attempt to write it's PID to $HOME/vtwm.pid on
startup, and delete that file on shutdown. This file may be useful as a lock file, or for
determining the correct vtwm process for a particular user. If the file cannot be written
on startup, a bell will sound, but vtwm will continue.
-s This option indicates that only the default screen (as specified by the -d option or by
the DISPLAY environment variable) should be managed. By default, vtwm will attempt to
manage all screens on the display.
-v This option indicates that vtwm should print messages to the stderr device when an
unexpected event occurs. This can be be useful for debugging applications, but may be
distracting in regular use.
CUSTOMIZATION
Much of vtwm's appearance and behavior can be controlled by providing a startup file in one of the
following locations (searched in order for each screen being managed when vtwm begins):
$HOME/.vtwmrc.screennumber
The screennumber is a small positive number (e.g., 0, 1, etc.) representing the screen number
(e.g., the last number in the DISPLAY environment variable host:displaynum.screennum) that would
be used to contact that screen of the display. This is intended for displays with multiple
screens of differing visual types.
$HOME/.vtwmrc
This is the usual name for an individual user's startup file.
$VTWMDIR/twm/system.vtwmrc
If neither of the preceding files are found, vtwm will look in this file for a default
configuration. Note that the variable is defined only in the Makefile, and is often set and
tailored by the site administrator to provide convenient menus or familiar bindings for novice
users.
$HOME/.twmrc.screennumber
$HOME/.twmrc
$VTWMDIR/twm/system.twmrc
When none of the .vtwmrc files can be found, vtwm reverts to acting like twm(1), and searches for
these three .twmrc variants. Note that the variable is defined only in the Makefile.
This search algorithm allows both twm(1) and vtwm to coexist peacefully at an installation. Since vtwm
is a superset of twm(1), it can even used to replace the latter, and users who have only a .twmrc-style
file should not notice much difference.
If no startup files are found, or if vtwm is told to ignore them, vtwm will use built-in defaults as
described in the DESCRIPTION section above, though the system.vtwmrc file, if re-configured before the
build, may intervene. The only X11 resource used by vtwm is bitmapFilePath for a colon-separated list of
directories to search when looking for bitmap and pixmap files (for more information, see the Athena
Widgets manual and xrdb(1)).
vtwm startup files are logically broken up into three types of specifications: Variables, Bindings,
Menus.
The Variables section must come first and is used to describe the fonts, colors, cursors, border widths,
icon and window placement, highlighting, autoraising, layout of titles, warping, and use of the icon
manager.
The Bindings section usually comes second and is used to specify the functions that should be to be
invoked when keyboard and pointer buttons are pressed in windows, icons, titles, and frames.
The Menus section gives any user-defined menus (containing functions to be invoked or commands to be
executed).
Variable names and keywords are case-insensitive. Strings must be surrounded by double quote characters
(e.g., "blue") and are case-sensitive. A sharp sign ('#') outside of a string causes the remainder of
the line in which the character appears to be treated as a comment.
M4 PREPROCESSING
A powerful feature of vtwm as of version 5.4.6 is that it can use m4(1) to pre-process it's startup
files. When vtwm is started with -m, it will open a file for input as described above, but will process
that file through m4 before parsing it. So, you can use m4 macros to perform operations at runtime.
This makes it very easy to work when you use many different displays, etc. For example, if you want to
set the lower right section of the screen to be your IconRegion, you can use m4 directives and pre-
defined symbols to calculate the region you want:
define(IRegion, translit(eval(WIDTH/3)*eval(HEIGHT/2)+eval(WIDTH-WIDTH/3)-0, *, x))
IconRegion "IRegion" SOUTH EAST 75 25
will define the lower half, and right-hand third of the screen. The symbols WIDTH and HEIGHT are
calculated by vtwm for m4 to use. The following symbols are pre-defined by vtwm:
SERVERHOST This variable is set to the name of the machine that is running the X server.
CLIENTHOST The machine that is running the X clients (i.e., "vtwm", "xterm", etc.).
HOSTNAME The canonical hostname running the clients (i.e., a fully-qualified version of
CLIENTHOST).
USER The name of the user running the program. Gotten from the environment.
HOME The user's home directory. Gotten from the environment.
VERSION The X major protocol version. As seen by ProtocolVersion().
REVISION The X minor protocol revision. As seen by ProtocolRevision().
VENDOR The vendor of your X server (i.e., "MIT X Consortium").
RELEASE The release number of your X server. For MIT X11R5, this is "5".
WIDTH The width of your display in pixels.
HEIGHT The height of your display in pixels.
X_RESOLUTION The X resolution of your display in pixels per meter.
Y_RESOLUTION The Y resolution of your display in pixels per meter.
PLANES The number of bit planes your display supports in the default root window.
BITS_PER_RGB The number of significant bits in an RGB color. (log base 2 of the number of distinct
colors that can be created. This is often different from the number of colors that can be
displayed at once.)
TWM_TYPE Tells which twm derivative is running. It will always be set to "vtwm" in this program.
This is useful for protecting parts of your startup file that twm proper won't understand
(like VirtualDesktop) so that it is still usable with other twm-based programs.
CLASS Your visual class. Will return one of "StaticGray", "GrayScale", "StaticColor",
"PseudoColor", "TrueColor", "DirectColor", or, if it cannot determine what you have,
"NonStandard".
COLOR This will be either "Yes" or "No". This is just a wrapper around the above definition.
Returns "Yes" on "*Color", and "No" on "StaticGray" and "GrayScale".
I18N This will be either "Yes" or "No" depending on whether support for internationalization
has been compiled in.
XPM This will be either "Yes" or "No" depending on whether support for pixmap image files has
been compiled in.
SOUND This will be either "Yes" or "No" depending on whether support for sound has been compiled
in.
REGEX This will be either "Yes" or "No" depending on whether support for regular expressions
("RE"s) has been compiled in.
Note that any symbols passed to m4 on the command line that conflict with these will not be anticipated
or dealt with by vtwm; you will be at the mercy of your particular m4.
Note also that if vtwm's preparation for executing m4 fails, the startup file will be processed normally,
and will choke on the first m4 macro encountered.
Finally, be aware that m4 preprocessing can cause things often found in startup files to break. For
example, quotes and backquotes in shell commands will be badly messed up by m4's own internal quoting
mechanism. This particular problem can be worked around by placing changequote(,) at the top of your
startup file.
Invoking vtwm with both the -m and -v options will print the m4 command with all symbols expanded.
VARIABLES
Many of the aspects of vtwm's user interface are controlled by variables that may be set in the user's
startup file. Some of the options are enabled or disabled simply by the presence of a particular
keyword. Other options require keywords, numbers, strings, or lists of all of these.
Lists are surrounded by braces and are usually separated by whitespace or a newline. For example:
AutoRaise { "emacs" "VTWM*" "x*clock" "Xmh" "XTerm" }
or
AutoRaise
{
"emacs"
"VTWM*"
"x*clock"
"Xmh"
"XTerm"
}
When a variable containing a list of strings representing windows is searched (e.g., to determine whether
or not to enable autoraise as shown above), a string must be a case-sensitive match to the window's name
(given by the WM_NAME window property), or the class name or class class (both given by the WM_CLASS
window property). The preceding example would enable autoraise on windows named "emacs", all vtwm-
specific windows, any clocks installed whose name starts with an 'x' (asclock will not autoraise), and
all xmh and xterm windows (which are of class "XTerm" and "Xmh", respectively). See the WILDCARDS
section for details on what the asterisks ('*') mean.
String arguments that are interpreted as filenames (see the Pixmaps, Cursors, and IconDirectory variables
below) will prepend the user's directory (specified by the HOME environment variable) if the first
character is a tilde ('~'). If, instead, the first character is a colon (':'), the name is assumed to
refer to one of the internal bitmaps that are used to create 2D titlebar buttons, the 2D icon manager
button, and the 2D menu pull-right icon. Finally, if the first five characters are ":xpm:", the name is
assumed to refer to one of the built-in pixmaps that can used to create 3D titlebar buttons, the 3D icon
manager button, and the 3D menu pull-right icon. See the IMAGE AND AUDIO FORMATS section for further
details.
The following variables may be specified in the vtwm startup file. Lists of window names are indicated
by win-list, and optional arguments are shown in square brackets. Any default values are based on the
distributed system.vtwmrc files, and if none is mentioned, the default setting is "off", "disabled", or
"none".
AppletRegion geomstr vgrav hgrav hgrid vgrid { win-list }
This variable specifies an area on the root window in which the windows listed in win-list are
placed. The geomstr is a quoted string containing a standard geometry specification for the
region size and location. If more than one AppletRegion is specified, windows will be put into
succeeding regions that have the window listed when the first is full. The vgrav argument should
be either North or South and is used to control whether windows are first filled in from the top
or bottom of the region. Similarly, the hgrav argument should be either East or West and is used
to control whether windows should be filled in from the left or right. Windows are laid out in a
grid with cells hgrid pixels wide and vgrid pixels high. Note that the smallest dimension of the
region must be at least the size of the largest window in it, including frame and titlebar, in the
same direction. This variable is intended to simplify management of all those little tool
applications like xcb(1), xbiff(1), xload(1), etc. that are used regularly.
AutoPan N
This variable allows the screen to automatically pan by N% of a real screen when the pointer
approaches the edge of the screen. The pan will be in the direction of the edge approached. The
default is 100, effectively "paging" across the virtual desktop.
AutoPanBorderWidth pixels
If AutoPan is turned on, when the pointer goes within the specified number of pixels of the real
screen's border, the screen is panned. The default value is 5.
AutoPanExtraWarp pixels
If AutoPan is turned on and NaturalAutopanBehavior turned off, this variable specifies how far,
in pixels, you want the pointer to move away from the inner edge of the autopan border when
autopanning. The default value is 2 pixels.
AutoPanWarpWithRespectToRealScreen N
With this option turned on, the pointer is warped by N% as many pixels on the real screen as the
screen is scrolled, or by
(AutoPanBorderWidth + AutoPanExtraWarp)
pixels, whichever is greater. See NaturalAutopanBehavior for a more thorough discussion of this
and some recommended settings.
AutoRaise [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies a list of windows (all windows if win-list is omitted) to be
automatically raised whenever the pointer has come to rest in a window for the amount of time
specified by the RaiseDelay variable. This action can be interactively enabled or disabled on
individual windows using the function f.autoraise.
AutoRaiseDelay milliseconds
A synonym for RaiseDelay.
AutoRelativeResize
This variable indicates that dragging out a window size (either when initially sizing the window
with pointer Button2 or when resizing it) should not wait until the pointer has crossed the
window edges. Instead, moving the pointer automatically causes the nearest edge or edges to move
by the same amount. This allows the resizing windows that extend off the edge of the screen. If
the pointer is in the center of the window, or if the resize is begun by pressing a titlebar
button, vtwm will still wait for the pointer to cross a window edge (to prevent accidents). This
option is particularly useful for people who like the press-drag-release method of sweeping out
window sizes.
BeNiceToColormap
This variable specifies that stippled lines be used for the bevel colors when any of the 3D
variables are set, to conserve on colormap allocations.
BorderBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking window borders, and specifies the width in pixels of the bevel. The
color of the 3D border is BorderTileBackground, and if NoHighlight is not selected, the border of
the Focus window is BorderColor. The default is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 2 when
vtwm is built with 3D features.
BorderColor string [{ wincolorlist }]
This variable specifies the default color of the border to be placed around all non-iconified
windows, and may only be given within a Color or Monochrome list. The optional wincolorlist
specifies a list of window and color name pairs for specifying particular border colors for
different types of windows. For example:
BorderColor "gray50"
{
"XTerm" "red"
"xmh" "green"
}
The default is "gray70".
BorderTileBackground string [{ wincolorlist }]
This variable specifies the default background color in the gray pattern used in unhighlighted
borders (only if NoHighlight hasn't been set), and may only be given within a Color or Monochrome
list. The optional wincolorlist allows per-window colors to be specified. The default is
"gray60".
BorderTileForeground string [{ wincolorlist }]
This variable specifies the default foreground color in the gray pattern used in unhighlighted
borders (only if NoHighlight hasn't been set), and may only be given within a Color or Monochrome
list. The optional wincolorlist allows per-window colors to be specified. The default is
"gray60".
BorderWidth pixels
This variable specifies the width in pixels of the border surrounding all client window frames if
ClientBorderWidth has not been specified. This value is also used to set the border size of
windows created by vtwm (such as the icon manager). The default is 2 if vtwm is built with 2D
features, or 6 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
ButtonBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking window buttons. It specifies the width in pixels of the bevel. The
default is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 1 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
ButtonIndent pixels
This variable specifies the size of titlebar buttons, expressed as a difference from the titlebar
font height, and normally means that titlebar buttons will shrink (built-in images) or be cropped
(external images) accordingly. A negative value is accepted, however, indicating that titlebar
buttons should be larger than the titlebar font. Setting this to a negated FramePadding value,
with TitleButtonBorderWidth set to 0, makes titlebar buttons as tall and wide as possible. The
default is 0 if vtwm is built with with 2D features, or -2 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
ButtonColorIsFrame
This variable specifies that the titlebar buttons will be the same color as the window frame. It
is set by default if vtwm is built with 3D features.
ClearBevelContrast contrast
Indicates to vtwm how to calculate the clear bevel color for 3D items. The value is a compressed
to the range 0 and 100. The formula used is:
clear.{RGB} = (65535 - color.{RGB}) * (contrast / 100)
The default is 40 if vtwm is built with 3D features.
ClientBorderWidth
This variable indicates that width of a window's frame should be set to the border width as
specified by the client, rather than to the value of BorderWidth. If BorderBevelWidth is non-
zero, however, this variable is ignored.
Color { colors-list }
This variable specifies a list of color assignments to be made if the default display is capable
of displaying more than simple black and white. The colors-list is made up of the following
color variables and their values: DefaultBackground, DefaultForeground, MenuBackground,
MenuForeground, MenuTitleBackground, MenuTitleForeground, and MenuShadowColor. The following
color variables may also be given a list of window and color name pairs to allow per-window
colors to be specified (see BorderColor for details): BorderColor, DesktopDisplayForeground,
DesktopDisplayBackground, RealScreenForeground, RealScreenBackground, VirtualForeground,
VirtualBackground, DekstopDisplayBorder, IconManagerHighlight, BorderTitleBackground,
BorderTitleForeground, TitleBackground, TitleForeground, IconBackground, IconForeground,
IconBorderColor, IconManagerBackground, and IconManagerForeground. For example:
Color
{
MenuBackground "gray50"
MenuForeground "blue"
BorderColor "red"
{
"XTerm" "yellow"
}
TitleForeground "yellow"
TitleBackground "blue"
}
All of these color variables may also be specified for the Monochrome variable, allowing the same
initialization file to be used on both color and monochrome displays.
ConstrainedMoveTime milliseconds
This variable specifies the length of time between button clicks needed to begin a constrained
move operation. Double clicking within this amount of time when invoking f.move will cause the
window only to be moved in a horizontal or vertical direction. Setting this value to 0 will
disable constrained moves. The default is 400 milliseconds.
Cursors { cursor-list }
This variable specifies the glyphs that vtwm should use for various pointer cursors. Each cursor
may be defined either from the cursor font or from two bitmap files. Shapes from the cursor font
may be specified directly as:
cursorname "string"
where cursorname is one of the cursor names listed below, and string is the name of a glyph as
found in the file /usr/include/X11/cursorfont.h (without the "XC_" prefix). If the cursor is to
be defined from bitmap files, the following syntax is used instead:
cursorname "image" "mask"
where image and mask specify the names of files containing the glyph image and mask in bitmap(1)
form. The bitmap files are located in the same manner as icon bitmap files. The following
example shows the default cursor definitions:
Cursors
{
Frame "top_left_arrow"
Title "top_left_arrow"
Icon "top_left_arrow"
IconMgr "top_left_arrow"
Move "fleur"
Resize "fleur"
Menu "sb_left_arrow"
Button "hand2"
Wait "watch"
Select "dot"
Destroy "pirate"
Door "exchange"
Virtual "rtl_logo"
Desktop "dotbox"
}
DarkBevelContrast contrast
Indicates to vtwm has to calculate the dark bevel color for 3D items. The value is a comprised
between 0 and 100. The formula used is:
dark.{RGB} = color.{RGB} * ((100 - contrast) / 100)
The default is 40 if vtwm is built with 3D features.
DecorateTransients
This variable indicates that transient windows (those containing a WM_TRANSIENT_FOR property)
should have titlebars. By default, transients are not reparented.
DefaultBackground string
This variable specifies the background color to be used for sizing and information windows. The
default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50" for monochrome displays.
DefaultForeground string
This variable specifies the foreground color to be used for sizing and information windows. The
default is "gray85".
DeiconifyToScreen
When deiconifying a window, by default, the window will be placed at its previous geometry in the
virtual desktop. With this variable set, vtwm ensures that the window will be placed somewhere on
the real screen.
DesktopDisplayBackground color [{ win-list }]
This variable sets the backgrounds of the little windows inside the Virtual Desktop window, AND
it sets the backgrounds of menu entries in the VTWM Windows menu -- unless you specify
OldFashionedVtwmWindowsMenu. The default color is used for the default background of windows not
named in the list. The optional win-list is a list of window names and colors, for example:
DesktopDisplayBackground "purple"
{
"zwgc" "green"
}
The default is "gray60".
DesktopDisplayBorder color [{ win-list }]
This variable sets the border color in the virtual desktop representation window to color. The
win-list is in the same format as TitleForeground and other similar variables.
DesktopDisplayBorder "black"
{
"zwgc" "green"
}
The default is "black".
DesktopDisplayForeground color [{ win-list }]
If both this and the VirtualDesktopFont variable are set, then the names of the windows will be
written in the window representations shown in the desktop. This entry also sets foreground
colors for entries in the VTWM Windows menu. The format of this variable is the same as that
used for DesktopDisplayBackground. The default is "gray85".
DontDeiconifyTransients
This variable sees that iconified transient windows of an iconified parent window aren't
deiconified when that parent is, thus preserving their state. Default behavior is to deiconify
all transient subwindows of the ancestor window when it is deiconified.
DontIconifyByUnmapping { win-list }
This variable specifies a list of windows that should not be iconified by simply unmapping the
window (as would be the case if IconifyByUnmapping had been set). This is frequently used to
force some windows to be treated as icons while other windows are handled by the icon manager.
DontInterpolateTitles
This variable specifies a modification to the InterpolateMenuColors behavior. It will cause vtwm
to not apply color interpolation to any titles in the middle of the menu. So, f.title strings
that appear in the middle of the menu (ie, without a specific color defined for them) will
inherit the default MenuTitle foreground and background colors.
DontMoveOff
This variable indicates that windows should not be allowed to be moved off the screen. It can be
overridden by the f.forcemove function.
DontShowInDisplay { list }
This variable specifies a list of clients that should not appear in the desktop display. The
default is:
DontShowInDisplay
{
"VTWM *"
"xclock"
"xload"
}
DontShowInTwmWindows { list }
DontShowInVtwmWindows { list }
These variables specify a list of clients that should not appear in the VTWM Windows menu.
DontSqueezeTitle [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that titlebars should not be squeezed to their minimum size as described
under SqueezeTitle below. If the optional window list is supplied, only those windows will be
prevented from being squeezed.
DoorBackground color [{ door-list }]
Specifies background colors of doors. The default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50" for
monochrome displays.
DoorBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking doors, and specifies the width in pixels of the bevel. The default
is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 1 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
DoorFont string
This variable specifies the font to be used for text in doors. This must be set in order to see
the doors. The default is "-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-*-*".
DoorForeground color [{ door-list }]
Specifies foreground colors of doors. The default is "gray85".
Doors { door-list }
This variable is used to create doors, which are teleports. Each item in the door-list has the
following format:
"winname" "location" "jumpTo"
Windows with the name winname appear with geometry and position as defined in location, and warp
the user to jumpTo when f.enterdoor is executed inside them. Doors have a class of "VTWM Door".
EnhancedExecResources
By default, f.exec variables behaved as they always did in vtwm. You would have to append " &"
to all of your variables in order to execute them without blocking the window manager. With this
option turned on, you don't have to; vtwm will automatically append " &" to the f.exec variable
unless the last non-space character is either '&' or (in case you still want a command to block
the window manager) ';'. For example, in a variable such as:
f.exec "foo; bar; baz"
the window manager will be blocked so that "foo" and "bar" can be executed; "baz" is the only
command which will NOT block the window manager. If you want all these commands to be
backgrounded, try the following:
f.exec "{ foo; bar; baz }" # note that "{" and "}"
# are shell keywords; they
# MUST be separated by
# spaces.
If you still want a command to block the window manager, you would use:
f.exec "xset fp rehash;" # vtwm will not append " &"
# because ';' is the last
# non-space character.
This behavior was inspired by that of vuewm(1), Hewlett-Packard's workspace implementation of
mwm(1).
FixManagedVirtualGeometries
FixTransientVirtualGeometries
These are bug workarounds that *should* fix the way most windows' virtual geometries are handled,
i.e., they should be on the real screen if the parent windows are on the real screen, no matter
where the virtual desktop is (xv(1) is one example of how these don't work). They are both set
by default.
ForceIcons
This variable indicates that icon image files specified in the Icons variable should override any
client-supplied images.
FramePadding pixels
This variable specifies the distance between the titlebar font or the titlebar button height,
whichever is greater, and the window frame, enlarging the titlebar as required. See also
ButtonIndent, for how it influences the titlebar. The default is 2 pixels.
IconBackground string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the background color of icons, and may only be specified inside of a
Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of window names and colors so that
per-window colors may be specified. See the BorderColor variable for a complete description of
the win-list. The default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50" for monochrome displays.
IconBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking icons, and specifies the width in pixels of the bevel. The default
is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 2 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
IconBorderColor string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the color of the border used for icon windows, and may only be specified
inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of window names and colors
so that per-window colors may be specified. See the BorderColor variable for a complete
description of the win-list. The default is "gray85".
IconBorderWidth pixels
This variable specifies the width in pixels of the border surrounding icon windows. The default
is 2 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 0 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
IconDirectory string
This variable specifies the directory that should be searched if an image file cannot be found in
any of the directories in the bitmapFilePath variable.
IconFont string
This variable specifies the font to be used to display icon names within icons. The default is
"-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-*-*".
IconForeground string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the foreground color to be used when displaying icons, and may only be
specified inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of window names
and colors so that per-window colors may be specified. See the BorderColor variable for a
complete description of the win-list. The default is "gray85".
IconifyByUnmapping [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that windows should be iconified by being unmapped without trying to map
any icons. If the optional win-list is provided, only those windows will be iconified by simply
unmapping. Windows that have both this and the IconManagerDontShow options set may not be
accessible unless the user has provided bindings to the warp functions (f.warp and the like)
while WarpUnmapped is set, or by the VTWM Windows menu. It is set by default.
IconManagerBackground string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the background color to use for icon manager entries, and may only be
specified inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of window names
and colors so that per-window colors may be specified. See the BorderColor variable for a
complete description of the win-list. The default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50" for
monochrome displays.
IconManagerBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking icon manager entries, and specifies the width in pixels of their
bevels. The default is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 1 when vtwm is built with 3D
features.
IconManagerDontShow [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that the icon manager should not display any windows. If the optional
win-list is given, only those windows will not be displayed. This variable is used to prevent
windows that are rarely iconified (such as xclock or xload) from taking up space in the icon
manager. The default is:
IconManagerDontShow
{
"VTWM *"
"xclock"
"xload"
}
IconManagerFont string
This variable specifies the font to be used when displaying icon manager entries. The default is
"-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-*-*".
IconManagerForeground string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the foreground color to be used when displaying icon manager entries, and
may only be specified inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of
window names and colors so that per-window colors may be specified. See the BorderColor variable
for a complete description of the win-list. The default is "gray85".
IconManagerGeometry string [ columns ]
This variable indicates that a default icon manager is to be created, with the geometry specified
with string. The string argument should be a standard X geometry specification, specifying the
initial size and/or location. The icon manager window is then broken into columns pieces and
scaled according to the number of entries in the icon manager. Extra entries are wrapped to form
additional rows. The default string is "+0+0", and the default columns is 1.
IconManagerHighlight string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the border color to be used when highlighting the icon manager entry that
currently has the focus, and can only be specified inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The
optional win-list is a list of window names and colors so that per-window colors may be
specified. See the BorderColor variable for a complete description of the win-list. The default
is "black".
IconManagers { iconmgr-list }
This variable specifies a list of icon managers to create, in addition to the default icon
manager if IconManagerGeometry is used. Each item in the iconmgr-list has the following format:
"winname" ["iconname"] "geometry" columns
where winname is the name of the windows that should be put into this icon manager, iconname is
the name of that icon manager window's icon, geometry is a standard geometry specification, and
columns is the number of columns in this icon manager as described in IconManagerGeometry. For
example:
IconManagers
{
"XTerm" "300x5+800+5" 5
"myhost" "400x5+100+5" 2
}
Clients whose name or class is "XTerm" will have an entry created in the "XTerm" icon manager.
Clients whose name was "myhost" would be put into the "myhost" icon manager.
IconManagerShow { win-list }
This variable specifies a list of windows that should appear in the icon manager. When used in
conjunction with the IconManagerDontShow variable, only the windows in this list will be shown in
the icon manager. By default, all windows are shown except those in IconManagerDontShow.
IconRegion geomstr vgrav hgrav hgrid vgrid
This variable specifies an area on the root window in which icons are placed if no specific icon
location is provided by the client. The geomstr is a quoted string containing a standard
geometry specification for the region size and location. If more than one IconRegion line is
given, icons will be put into the succeeding regions when the first is full. The vgrav argument
should be either North or South and is used to control whether icons are first filled in from the
top or bottom of the region. Similarly, the hgrav argument should be either East or West and is
used to control whether icons should be filled in from the left or right. Icons are laid out in
a grid with cells hgrid pixels wide and vgrid pixels high. Note that the smallest dimension of
the region must be at least the size of the largest icon in it in the same direction. Note also
that many applications change their icon name as they run, and no provision is made to reformat
the icon regions if any icon changes size accordingly.
Icons { win-list }
This variable specifies a list of window names and the image filenames that should be used as
their icons. For example:
Icons
{
"XTerm" "xterm.icon"
"xfd" "xfd_icon"
}
Windows that match "XTerm" and would not be iconified by unmapping, and would try to use the icon
image in the file "xterm.icon". If ForceIcons is specified, this image will be used even if the
client has requested its own icon image.
IgnoreModifiers modlist
This variable specifies the "shift states" to ignore when determining if an event is bound by
vtwm. In this example:
IgnoreModifiers l | m2
the CapsLock and NumLock states will be ignored. Note that the use of this variable can generate
quite a bit of X protocol network traffic; modlist should be kept as small as possible. See also
the BINDINGS section.
InfoBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking identify, move and resize windows, and specifies the width in pixels
of the bevel. The default is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 2 when vtwm is built with
3D features.
InfoFont string
This variable specifies the font to be used for in the identify window. The default is "-adobe-
helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-*-*".
InterpolateMenuColors
This variable indicates that menu entry colors should be interpolated between entry specified
colors. In this example:
Menu "mymenu"
{
"Title" ("black":"red") f.title
"entry1" f.nop
"entry2" f.nop
"entry3" ("white":"green") f.nop
"entry4" f.nop
"entry5" ("red":"white") f.nop
}
the foreground colors for "entry1" and "entry2" will be interpolated between black and white, and
the background colors between red and green. Similarly, the foreground for "entry4" will be
half-way between white and red, and the background will be half-way between green and white.
LessRandomZoomZoom
With this option turned on, this makes random zooms a bit less "random" and a bit more visible.
This might make a better visual bell, depending on your personal taste.
MakeTitle { win-list }
This variable specifies a list of windows on which a titlebar should be placed and is used to
request titles on specific windows when NoTitle has been set.
MaxWindowSize string
This variable specifies a geometry in which the width and height give the maximum size for a
given window. This is typically used to restrict windows to the size of the screen. The default
is "30000x30000".
MenuBackground string
This variable specifies the background color used for menus, and can only be specified inside of
a Color or Monochrome list. The default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50" for
monochrome displays.
MenuBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking menus, and specifies the width in pixels of the bevel. The default
is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 2 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
MenuFont string
This variable specifies the font to use when displaying menus. The default is "-adobe-helvetica-
bold-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".
MenuForeground string
This variable specifies the foreground color used for menus, and can only be specified inside of
a Color or Monochrome list. The default is "gray85".
MenuScrollBorderWidth pixels
When the contents of a menu would make it taller than the display, moving the pointer within
pixels of the top or bottom of the menu causes it to scroll the entries. The default value is 2.
MenuScrollJump entries
This variable specifies the number of entries to scroll when the pointer is moved within the area
defined by MenuScrollBorderWidth. The default is 3 entries.
MenuShadowColor string
This variable specifies the color of the shadow behind pull-down menus and can only be specified
inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The default is "black".
MenuTitleBackground string
This variable specifies the background color for f.title entries in menus, and can only be
specified inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The default is "gray70".
MenuTitleFont string
This variable specifies the font to be used in menu titles. The default is "-adobe-helvetica-
bold-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".
MenuTitleForeground string
This variable specifies the foreground color for f.title entries in menus and can only be
specified inside of a Color or Monochrome list. The default is "maroon" for color displays or
"gray50" for monochrome displays.
Monochrome { colors }
This variable specifies a list of color assignments that should be made if the screen has a depth
of 1. See the description of Colors.
MoveDelta pixels
This variable specifies the number of pixels the pointer must move before the f.move and f.resize
functions and initial menu highlighting starts working. See also the f.deltastop function. The
default is 3 pixels.
NailedAbove
This variable causes nailed windows to be physically above non-nailed windows. The f.nailedabove
function can be used to toggle this setting.
NailedDown { list }
This variable gives a list of clients that are nailed initially. The default is:
NailedDown
{
"VTWM *"
"xclock"
"xload"
}
NaturalAutopanBehavior
By default, when autopanning, the pointer is warped by only
(AutoPanBorderWidth + AutoPanExtraWarp)
pixels on the real screen. With this option turned on, the pointer is warped on the real screen
by as many pixels as the screen is scrolled, or the above value, whichever is greater. Thus, the
pointer does not normally move very much (only by AutoPanExtraWarp) in relation to the virtual
desktop.
This works really well on faster X terminals and workstations, although for slower ones, you may
want to use the following:
AutoPanWarpWithRespectToRealScreen 50
to achieve a similar effect. Setting NaturalAutopanBehavior has the exact same effect as using
the variable
AutoPanWarpWithRespectToRealScreen 100
NoBackingStore
This variable indicates that vtwm's windows should not request backing store to minimize
repainting. This is typically used with servers that can repaint faster than they can handle
backing store.
NoBorder [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that windows should not have borders. If the optional win-list is given,
only those windows will not have borders.
NoBorderDecorations
This variable indicates that the 3D borders of titled windows should not have the little divots
adorning the corners.
NoCaseSensitive
This variable indicates that case should be ignored when sorting icon names in an icon manager.
This option is typically used with applications that capitalize the first letter of their icon
name.
NoDefaultMouseOrKeyboardBindings
This variable indicates that vtwm should not supply the default pointer and keyboard bindings.
This option should only be used if the startup file contains a completely new set of pointer and
keyboard bindings and definitions. See also NoDefaults.
NoDefaults
This variable indicates that vtwm should not supply the default titlebar buttons and bindings.
This option should only be used if the startup file contains a completely new set of bindings and
definitions. This function has the effect of setting both NoDefaultMouseOrKeyboardBindings and
NoDefaultTitleButtons.
NoDefaultTitleButtons
This variable indicates that vtwm should not supply the default titlebar buttons. This option
should only be used if the startup file contains a completely new set of titlebar button
definitions. See also NoDefaults.
NoGrabServer
This variable indicates that vtwm should minimize server grabs when popping up menus and moving
or resizing windows.
NoHighlight [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that borders should not be highlighted to track the location of the
pointer. If the optional win-list is given, highlighting will only be disabled for those
windows. When the border is highlighted, it will be drawn in the current BorderColor. When the
border is not highlighted, it will be stippled with an gray pattern using the current
BorderTileForeground and BorderTileBackground colors. It is set by default if vtwm is built with
3D features.
NoIconManagerFocus
This variable indicates that vtwm should not set focus to windows corresponding to their entries
in an icon manager. Normally, vtwm sets the focus so that events from an icon manager are
delivered to the application. Typically, this is set to facilitate icon manager bindings that
would otherwise be delivered to the application.
NoIconManagerHighlight
This variable indicates that icon manager entries will not be highlighted to track the location
of the pointer. This is independant of the NoHighlight variable.
NoIconManagers
This variable indicates that no icon manager should be created.
NoIconifyIconManagers
This variable indicates that no icon manager should be iconified.
NoMenuShadows
This variable indicates that menus should not have drop shadows drawn behind them. This is
typically used with slower servers since it speeds up menu drawing at the expense of making the
menu slightly harder to read.
NoOpaqueMove [{ win-list }]
NoOpaqueResize [{ win-list }]
These variables indicate that the f.move and f.resize functions should change just a window's
outline. If the optional win-list is given, only those windows will be affected. These are
usually used to narrow the scope of "global" OpaqueMove and OpaqueResize variables.
NoPrettyTitles
If you don't mind long titles butting up against the right edge of short titlebars and icon
managers. Disables the default behavior of using ellipses to indicate a truncated title.
NoRaiseOnDeiconify
NoRaiseOnMove
NoRaiseOnResize
NoRaiseOnWarp
These variables indicate that windows should not be raised after a deiconify, move, resize, or
warp operation, and are typically used to preserve the window stacking order. Note that the
pointer may end up in an occluding window when these variables are used.
NoSaveUnders
This variable indicates that menus should not request save-unders to minimize window repainting
following menu selection. It is typically used with displays that can repaint faster than they
can handle save-unders.
NoStackMode [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that client window requests to change stacking order should be ignored.
If the optional win-list is given, only requests on those windows will be ignored. This is
typically used to prevent applications from relentlessly popping themselves to the front of the
window stack.
NoTitle [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that windows should not have titlebars. If the optional win-list is
given, only those windows will not have titlebars. MakeTitle may be used with this option to
force titlebars to be put on specific windows. The default is:
NoTitle
{
"VTWM *"
"xclock"
"xload"
}
NoTitleFocus
This variable indicates that vtwm should not set keyboard input focus to each window as it is
entered. Normally, vtwm sets the focus so that focus and key events from the titlebar and icon
managers are delivered to the application. If the pointer is moved quickly and vtwm is slow to
respond, input can be directed to the old window instead of the new. This option is typically
used to prevent this "input lag" and to work around bugs in older applications that have problems
with focus events.
NoTitleHighlight [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that the highlight area of the titlebar, which is used to indicate the
window that currently has the input focus, should not be displayed. If the optional win-list is
given, only those windows will not have highlight areas. This and the SqueezeTitle options can
be set to substantially reduce the amount of screen space required by titlebars.
NotVirtualGeometries
This variable indicates that vtwm should assume that user geometries should be relative to the
current virtual window, as opposed to absolute. If you set this, then "xterm -geometry +20+20"
specifies a position in the current view; otherwise, it would specify a position in the top-left
view. It is set by default.
NoWindowRing { win-list }
This variable specifies a list of windows that will not be added to the list along which the
f.warpring function cycles. See also WindowRing.
OldFashionedTwmWindowsMenu
OldFashionedVtwmWindowsMenu
By default, the VTWM Windows menu will use the same colors that you see in the panner. This
variable disables that behavior.
OpaqueMove [{ win-list }]
OpaqueResize [{ win-list }]
These variables indicate that the f.move and f.resize functions should actually change the window
instead of just an outline so that the user can immediately see what the window will look like.
If the optional win-list is given, only those windows will be affected "opaquely". These options
are typically used on fast systems (particularly when NoGrabServer is set).
PanDistanceX N
PanDistanceY N
These variables define a grid of screens for the virtual desktop, expressed as N% of a real
screen. When the f.snap function is called, the real screen will be moved to the closest grid
location. The (mis)naming of these variables is for historical reasons. The default value is 100,
effectively setting up "pages" in the virtual desktop.
PanResistance milliseconds
This variable indicates how hard it should be to pan to an adjacent virtual screen. It specifies
how long the pointer must be within AutoPanBorderWidth pixels of the real screen's edge. Values
equal to 0 or greater than 10000 disables this feature. The default is 750 milliseconds.
PauseOnExit N
PauseOnQuit N
These variables define a delay on exit, expressed in seconds. They allow the (vtwm stop) and
f.quit sounds time to play before the connection to rplayd(8) is closed.
Pixmaps { pixmaps }
This variable specifies a list of images that define the appearance of various windows. Each
entry is a keyword indicating the window to set, followed by a string giving the name of the
image. Built-in and external images may be freely mixed, given the constraints described in the
IMAGE AND AUDIO FORMATS section. The following windows may be specified thus:
Pixmaps
{
TitleHighlight ":xpm:sunkenbox"
RealScreenPixmap "scaledbackground.xpm"
VirtualBackgroundPixmap "gray1"
MenuIconPixmap ":xpm:rarrow"
IconManagerPixmap ":xpm:zoom"
}
By default, the TitleHighlight is an even, stippled pattern if vtwm is built with 2D features, or
"sunken" lines when vtwm is built with 3D features. The MenuIconPixmap is a right arrow by
default (rendered 3D as appropriate), and the default IconManagerPixmap is either the X logo or a
"raised" box, for 2D or 3D features, respectively.
PointerPlacement
This variable indicates that windows with no specified geometry should be placed with the window
origin at the location of the mouse pointer or, if WarpSnug is specified, as close as possible to
that location such that the window fits onto the real screen. If RandomPlacement is also set then
it takes precedence.
PrettyZoom
If Zoom is turned on, this makes the associated animation look just a little nicer, depending on
your personal taste. This makes the zoom slower, however, so you may have to decrease the value
of the Zoom variable.
RaiseDelay milliseconds
For windows that are to be automatically raised when the pointer enters (see the AutoRaise
variable and the f.autoraise function) this variable specifies the length of time the pointer
should rest in the window before it is raised. The default is 0 milliseconds.
RaiseOnStart
This variable specifies that the raise which would normally occur at the end of a move or resize
operation (subject to MoveDelta, NoRaiseOnMove, and NoRaiseOnResize) will occur at the start of
the operation. This may be useful when OpaqueMove and/or OpaqueResize are specified. Note that
cancelling a move or resize operation with this variable set will not preserve the window
stacking order.
RandomPlacement
This variable indicates that windows with no specified geometry should be placed in a pseudo-
random location instead of having the user drag an outline (or the window itself if the
OpaqueMove variable is set) to the preferred location.
RealScreenBackground string
See RealScreenForeground.
RealScreenBorderWidth pixels
This value specifies the border width of the RealScreen window (see RealScreenForeground). The
default value is 0 pixels.
RealScreenForeground string
Inside what vtwm calls the virtual desktop window, but which we might call the "panner", is a
little window that shows where the physical screen is located in virtual space. The vtwm source
code calls this little window the RealScreen. By default, it has no border, and can be
distinguished from the normal backdrop of the panner only by its color or image. Its foreground
color has no meaning unless you give it an image. (It can be given a border with
RealScreenBorderWidth.)
RealScreenPixmap string
Names an image file used to decorate the RealScreen window. A sample is provided, nestedsqu.xbm,
but your mileage may vary as the size of your screen varies! It is easy to find out the size of
this window and to create any image file of type bitmap(1) or pixmap(1) for it; that is the
recommended procedure.
ResizeFont string
This variable specifies the font to be used for in the dimensions window when resizing windows.
The default is "-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".
ResizeRegion location
This variable specifies the area on the screen to display the resize window. The location should
be one of NorthWest, NorthEast, SouthWest, SouthEast, or Centered.
RestartPreviousState
This variable indicates that vtwm should attempt to use the WM_STATE property on client windows
to tell which windows should be iconified and which should be left visible. This is typically
used to try to regenerate the state that the screen was in before the previous window manager was
shutdown. It is set by default.
RightHandSidePulldownMenus
Pull-down menus can appear when the pointer is to the right of the center of their parent menu,
or they can appear when the pointer is closer to the right edge of their parent menu. This
option enables the latter behavior, and is the default.
SaveColor { colors-list }
This variable indicates a list of color assignments to be stored as pixel values in the root
window property _MIT_PRIORITY_COLORS. Clients may elect to preserve these values when installing
their own colormap. Note that use of this mechanism is a way an for application to avoid the
"technicolor" problem, whereby useful screen objects such as window borders and titlebars
disappear when a programs custom colors are installed by the window manager. For example:
SaveColor
{
BorderColor
TitleBackground
TitleForeground
"red"
"green"
"blue"
}
This would place on the root window 3 pixel values for borders and titlebars, as well as the
three color strings, all taken from the default colormap.
ShallowReliefWindowButton
This indicates that the features of built-in 3D titlebar buttons, the 3D icon manager button the
3D menu pull-right icon, and the 3D titlebar highlight area should be rendered with a "flatter"
appearance. It is set by default if vtwm is built with 3D features.
ShowIconManager
This variable indicates that the icon manager window should be displayed when vtwm is started.
It can always be brought up using the f.showiconmgr function.
SnapRealScreen
This variable causes the real screen to snap to a grid defined in PanDistanceX and PanDistanceY
increments whenever the representation moves. The f.snaprealscreen function can be used to toggle
this setting.
SortIconManager
This variable indicates that entries in the icon manager should be sorted alphabetically rather
than by simply appending new windows to the end. It is set by default.
SoundHost string
This variable specifies what machine (by its TCP/IP hostname) is running the rplayd(8) daemon. If
not specified, the local machine is tried. If rplayd(8) cannot be accessed, sound will be toggled
off.
Sounds { sound-list }
This variable is a list of identifiers and associated sound files. It contains entries of the
form:
"identifier" "soundfile" [volume]
where identifier is any function described in the BINDINGS section except f.playsound, f.sounds,
and f.separator, as well as these event identifiers: (vtwm start), (vtwm stop), (client map),
(client unmap), (menu map), (menu unmap), (info unmap), (autopan event), and (bell event). The
soundfile is the full pathname of the sound file to play for the associated identifier, and
volume sets the volume for which to play that sound (see also SoundVolume). Note that the list
entries must be quoted:
Sounds
{
"(vtwm start)" "/usr/share/sounds/wowee.wav"
"(vtwm stop)" "/usr/share/sounds/seeya.wav"
"f.exec" "/usr/share/sounds/click.au" 50
"(client map)" "/usr/share/sounds/ping.au" 50
"f.delete" "/usr/share/sounds/doh1.wav"
"f.deletedoor" "/usr/share/sounds/doh2.wav"
"f.destroy" "/usr/share/sounds/doh3.wav"
"(client unmap)" "/usr/share/sounds/ping.au"
}
This example points out that some identifiers "overlap":
f.beep > (bell event) f.exec > (client map)
f.delete > (client unmap) f.menu > (menu map)
f.deletedoor > (client unmap) f.quit > (vtwm stop)
f.destroy > (client unmap) f.version = f.identify
In these cases, the function takes precedence over the event when both would otherwise play.
SoundVolume N
This variable sets the overall volume for which to play sounds, expressed as N% of maximum.
Default is 25 (1/4 attenuation).
SqueezeTitle [{ squeeze-list }]
This variable indicates that vtwm should attempt to use the SHAPE extension to make titlebars
occupy only as much screen space as they need, rather than extending all the way across the top
of the window. The optional squeeze-list may be used to control the location of the squeezed
titlebar along the top of the window. It contains entries of the form:
"name" justification num denom
where name is a window name, justification is either left, center, or right, and num and denom
are numbers specifying a ratio for the relative position about which the titlebar is located,
measured from left to right. A ratio of 0/0 indicates that the justification is absolute, A non-
zero numerator with a zero denominator indicates a pixel count, and the justification is ignored
entirely for any other ratio. For example:
SqueezeTitle
{
"XTerm" left 0 0
"xterm1" left 1 3
"xterm2" right 2 3
"oclock" center 0 0
"emacs" right 0 0
}
The DontSqueezeTitle list can be used to turn off squeezing on certain titles. It is set by
default.
StartIconified [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that client windows should initially be left as icons until explicitly
deiconified by the user. If the optional win-list is given, only those windows will be started
iconic. This is useful for programs that do not support an -iconic command line option or
resource.
StaticIconPositions
This variable alters icon placement such that they will maintain their positions on the virtual
desktop when not nailed and DeiconifyToScreen is not used. This is most applicable when
SnapRealScreen and AutoPan is used with PanDistanceX and PanDistanceY values to simulate ctwm(1)
workspaces.
StayUpMenus
This variable alters menu interaction. By default, a menu item is selected when a pointer button
is released over it. This variable causes menu items to be selected on the next button press
event.
StayUpOptionalMenus
This variable is similar to StayUpMenus, except that if any menu items are selected, the menu
interaction reverts to the old behavior. For example, suppose you have the right pointer button
bound to bring up a menu with a title bar. Clicking the right button and releasing it (over the
title bar) will bring up the menu and have it stay up until you click on a menu item. Clicking
the right button, moving the pointer to a menu item, and releasing the right button will activate
that menu item and dismiss the menu.
Sticky { list }
A synonym for NailedDown.
StickyAbove
A synonym for NailedAbove.
StrictIconManager
This variable causes icon managers to list only those windows that are in an iconified state.
TitleBackground string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the background color used in titlebars, and may only be specified inside
of a Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of window names and colors so
that per-window colors may be specified. The default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50"
for monochrome displays.
TitleBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use 3D-looking titlebars, and specifies the width in pixels of the bevel that
surrounds the titlebar. If the value of ButtonIndent added to FramePadding equals zero, the bevel
will be bound to the text and highlight area. The default is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features,
or 1 when vtwm is built with 3D features..
TitleButtonBorderWidth pixels
This variable specifies the width in pixels of the border surrounding titlebar buttons, drawn in
the TitleForeground color. The default is 1 if vtwm is built with 2D bitmaps, or 0 when vtwm is
built with 3D pixmaps.
TitleFont string
This variable specifies the font to used for displaying window names in titlebars. The default
is "-adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".
TitleForeground string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies the foreground color used in titlebars, and may only be specified inside
of a Color or Monochrome list. The optional win-list is a list of window names and colors so
that per-window colors may be specified. The default is "maroon" for color displays or "gray50"
for monochrome displays.
TitlePadding pixels
This variable specifies the distance between titlebar buttons in the titlebar. Note that
distances between buttons and the title, the title and the highlight area, and the highlight area
and buttons, are all set to a hard-coded value. The default is 5 if vtwm is built with 2D
features, or 0 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
UnknownIcon string
This variable specifies the filename of an image file to be used as the default icon. This
image will be used as the icon of all clients which do not provide an icon image and are not
listed in the Icons list.
UsePPosition string [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies whether or not vtwm should honor program-requested locations (given by
the PPosition flag in the WM_NORMAL_HINTS property), in the absence of a user-specified position.
The argument string may have one of three values: "off" (the default) indicating that vtwm
should ignore the program-supplied position, "on" indicating that the position should be used,
and "non-zero" indicating that the position should used if it is other than (0,0) (for working
around a bug in older toolkits). The optional win-list is a list of window names and arguments
that will override the global string argument. For example:
UsePPosition "off"
{
"MPlayer" "on"
}
VirtualBackground string
This is the background color for the panner, a.k.a. the Virtual Desktop window. The default is
"maroon" for color displays or "gray50" for monochrome displays.
VirtualBackgroundPixmap string
Names an image file to decorate the panner.
VirtualForeground string
Foreground for the panner; has no use unless you specify a panner image of type bitmap(1).
VirtualDesktop geometry scale
This variable must be set to enable the virtual desktop features of vtwm. If this variable is not
set, vtwm will behave in the same manner as twm. This variable specifies where to place the
virtual desktop window and its size. The geometry is a standard X geometry specification and
defines the size and location of the window containing the desktop representation.
The scale parameter specifies the scaling of the virtual desktop window compared to the desktop.
The size specification can be given in three ways: If size is larger than the screen size, it
represents the size of the whole desktop, and the virtual window desktop size will then be size
divided by scale. When size times scale is smaller than the screen size, size represents the
number of screens that should fit in the desktop. Otherwise size represents the size of the
virtual desktop window, and the currently accessible virtual desktop is then scale times the size
of the desktop window. Using the default as an example:
VirtualDesktop "5x2-0-0" 16
With scale set to 16, and a physical screen size of 1024x768, the desktop area is 1/16 the size
of the screen times the number of screens specified:
(5 * (1024 / 16)) x (2 * (768 / 16)) = 320 x 96
The size of the desktop can be changed dynamically, by simply resizing the virtual desktop
window.
VirtualDesktopBevelWidth pixels
Tells vtwm to use a 3D-looking virtual desktop, and specifies the width in pixels of the bevel.
The default is 0 if vtwm is built with 2D features, or 1 when vtwm is built with 3D features.
VirtualDesktopFont font
This variable causes font to be used when displaying the names of windows in the virtual desktop
display. If this variable is not set, then names will not be displayed. The
DesktopDisplayForeground should also be set for this feature to be useful. The default is
"-adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-75-*-*-*-*-*-*".
VirtualReceivesMotionEvents
VirtualSendsMotionEvents
These variables indicate that changes to the position and dimension of windows on the real screen
will be reflected in the virtual desktop as they occur, and visa-versa.
WarpCentered string
By default, on warps to windows, the pointer goes to either the center of the titlebar, or in the
absence of, the center of the top border member. This variable specifies that the pointer should
warp to the center of the window depending on the string argument: "on" indicates all windows,
"titled" indicates titled windows only, "untitled" indicates untitled windows only, and "off"
(the default) indicating the default behavior. Note that warps to icon managers are exceptional:
The pointer always goes to either the active entry, or in the absence of, the top entry.
WarpCursor [{ win-list }]
This variable indicates that the pointer should be warped into windows when they are deiconified.
If the optional win-list is given, the pointer will only be warped when those windows are
deiconified. It is set by default.
WarpSnug
With this variable set, the warp functions (f.warp and the like) will fit the entire window on
the screen, i.e., they'll be snugged on the real screen.
WarpToTransients
This variable indicates that the pointer should be warped into transient windows when they are
created.
WarpUnmapped
This variable indicates that the warp functions (f.warp and the like) should deiconify any
iconified windows they encounter. This is typically used to make a key binding that will pop a
particular window (such as xmh), no matter where it is. The default is for the functions to
ignore iconified windows.
WarpVisible
This variable indicates that the warp functions f.warpclassnext, f.warpclassprev, f.warpring, and
f.warpto should restrict themselves to windows that are on the screen. The default is for the
functions to traverse the entire virtual desktop.
WarpWindows
When warping to a window, by default the real screen will be moved to find the window on the
virtual desktop. With this set, the window itself will be warped to the real screen, moving the
window in the virtual desktop.
WindowRing [{ win-list }]
This variable specifies that when windows are created, they should be added to the list that the
f.warpring function operates on. If the optional win-list is given, then only those windows will
be included in the window ring. See also NoWindowRing and f.ring.
XorValue number
This variable specifies the value to use when drawing window outlines for moving and resizing.
This should be set to a value that will result in a variety of distinguishable colors when
exclusive-or'ed with the contents of the user's typical screen. Setting this variable to 1 often
gives nice results if adjacent colors in the default colormap are distinct. By default, vtwm
will attempt to cause temporary lines to appear at the opposite end of the colormap from the
graphics.
Zoom [ count ]
This variable indicates that outlines suggesting movement of a window to and from its iconified
state should be displayed whenever a window is iconified or deiconified. The optional count
argument specifies the number of outlines to be drawn. The default count is 8.
ZoomZoom
This variable modifies zooms such that a random place will be used for the source or destination
when there isn't an appropriate window (e.g., an icon, icon manager entry, or client window).
Default behavior inhibits zooms when there aren't appropriate windows, except for the f.zoomzoom
function.
SPECIAL VARIABLES
The following variables must be set after the fonts have been assigned, so it is usually best to put them
at the end of the variables or beginning of the bindings sections:
DefaultFunction function
This variable specifies the function to be executed when a key or button event is received for
which no binding is provided. This is typically bound to f.nop, f.beep, or a menu containing
window operations.
WindowFunction function
This variable specifies the function to execute when a window is selected from the VTWM Windows
menu. If this variable is not set (default), the window will be deiconified and raised. It is
strongly recommended that if this is set, the function includes provision for deiconifying
windows.
BINDINGS
After the desired variables have been set, functions may be attached titlebar buttons and key and pointer
buttons. Titlebar buttons may be added from the left or right side and appear in the titlebar from left-
to-right according to the order in which they are specified. Key and pointer button bindings may be
given in any order.
Titlebuttons specifications must include the name of the image to use in the button box and the function
to be invoked when a pointer button is pressed within them:
LeftTitleButton "image" = function
or
RightTitleButton "image" = function
See the ButtonIndent and FramePadding variables and the IMAGE AND AUDIO FORMATS section for details on
the image specification.
Key and pointer button specifications must give the modifiers that must be pressed, over which parts of
the screen the pointer must be, and what function is to be invoked. Keys are given as strings containing
the appropriate keysym name; buttons are given as the keywords Button1-Button5:
"FP1" = modlist : context : function
Button1 = modlist : context : function
The modlist is any combination of the modifier names shift, control, lock, meta, mod1, mod2, mod3, mod4,
or mod5 (which may be abbreviated as s, c, l, m, m1, m2, m3, m4, m5, respectively) separated by a
vertical bar (|). Similarly, the context is any combination of window, title, icon, root, frame,
virtual, desktop, door, iconmgr, their first letters (iconmgr abbreviation is m, door has no
abbreviation), or all, separated by a vertical bar. It is rumored that window class names will also
work. The function is any of the f. keywords described below. For example, the default startup file
contains the following bindings:
Button1 = : root : f.menu "VTWM Windows"
Button1 = m : window | icon : f.function "move-or-lower"
Button2 = m : window | icon : f.iconify
Button3 = m : window | icon : f.move
Button1 = : title : f.move
Button2 = : title : f.raiselower
Button1 = : icon : f.function "move-or-iconify"
Button2 = : icon : f.iconify
Button1 = : iconmgr : f.iconify
Button2 = : iconmgr : f.iconify
A user who wanted to be able to manipulate windows from the keyboard could use the following bindings:
"F1" = : all : f.iconify
"F2" = : all : f.raiselower
"F3" = : all : f.warpring "next"
"F4" = : all : f.warpto "xmh"
"F5" = : all : f.warpto "emacs"
"F6" = : all : f.colormap "next"
"F7" = : all : f.colormap "default"
"F20" = : all : f.warptoscreen "next"
"Left" = m : all : f.backiconmgr
"Right" = m | s : all : f.forwiconmgr
"Up" = m : all : f.upiconmgr
"Down" = m | s : all : f.downiconmgr
Note, however, that using all for button or key bindings is almost always a bad idea, since it prevents
all applications from receiving those events; this can cripple text and graphics editors that otherwise
expect to see those buttons or keys (see also the IgnoreModifiers variable, and the f.bindbuttons,
f.bindkeys, f.unbindbuttons, and f.unbindkeys functions).
vtwm provides many more window manipulation primitives than can be conveniently stored in a titlebar,
menu, or set of key bindings. Although a small set of defaults are supplied (unless either NoDefaults,
NoDefaultMouseOrKeyboardBindings, or NoDefaultTitleButtons is specified), most users will want to have
their most common operations bound to key and button strokes. To do this, vtwm associates names with
each of the primitives and provides user-defined functions for building higher level primitives and menus
for interactively selecting among groups of functions.
User-defined functions contain the name by which they are referenced in calls to f.function and a list of
other functions to execute. For example:
Function "move-or-lower" { f.move f.deltastop f.lower }
Function "move-or-iconify" { f.move f.deltastop f.iconify }
Function "restore-colormap" { f.colormap "default" f.lower }
The function name must be used in f.function exactly as it appears in the function specification.
VTWM PROFILE. If a function called "VTWM Profile" is defined within the startup file, that function will
be executed upon startup or restarting of the window manager. For example:
AutoPan 25
Function "VTWM Profile"
{
f.autopan
}
gives AutoPan a value but turns autopanning off initially (it won't have a value unless AutoPan is set in
the startup file; see f.autopan below), in case you want to turn it on sometime later.
In the descriptions below, if the function is said to operate on the selected window, but is invoked from
a root menu, the cursor will be changed to the Select cursor and the next window to receive a button
press will be chosen:
! string
This is an abbreviation for f.exec string.
^ string (OBSOLETE --- use a clipboard client)
This is an abbreviation for f.cut string.
f.autopan
If autopan wasn't configured in your .vtwmrc file, this does nothing. If, however, it was
configured, this toggles the current autopan state. The reason for this command is that autopan
is sometimes nice to have, but it interferes with using sticky windows that are near the edge of
the screen. With this command, you get the best of both worlds.
f.autoraise
This function toggles whether or not the selected window is raised whenever entered by the
pointer. See the description of the variable AutoRaise.
f.backiconmgr
This function warps the pointer to the previous column in the current icon manager, wrapping back
to the previous row if necessary.
f.beep This function sounds the keyboard bell.
f.bindbuttons
f.bindkeys
These functions enable vtwm's pointer or keyboard bindings for the selected window. These are
only needed if the bindings have been disabled with the f.unbindbuttons or f.unbindkeys
functions. Be careful what you bind these functions to; f.bindkeys bound to a window context key
will not be accessable after f.unbindkeys is invoked for the window!
f.bottomzoom
This function is similar to the f.fullzoom function, but resizes the window to fill only the
bottom half of the screen.
f.circledown
This function lowers the top-most window that occludes another window.
f.circleup
This function raises the bottom-most window that is occluded by another window.
f.colormap string
This function rotates the colormaps (obtained from the WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property on the
window) that vtwm will display when the pointer is in this window. The argument string may have
one of the following values: "next", "prev", and "default". It should be noted here that in
general, the installed colormap is determined by keyboard focus. A pointer driven keyboard focus
will install a private colormap upon entry of the window owning the colormap. Using the click to
type model, private colormaps will not be installed until the user presses a pointer button on
the target window.
f.cut string (OBSOLETE --- use a clipboard client)
This function places the specified string (followed by a newline character) into the root window
property CUT_BUFFER0.
f.cutfile (OBSOLETE --- use a clipboard client)
This function reads the file indicated by the contents of the CUT_BUFFER0 window property and
replaces the cut buffer.
f.deiconify
This function deiconifies the selected window. If the window is not an icon, this function does
nothing.
f.delete
This function sends the WM_DELETE_WINDOW message to the selected window if the client application
has requested it through the WM_PROTOCOLS window property. The application is supposed to
respond to the message by removing the window. If the window has not requested WM_DELETE_WINDOW
messages, the keyboard bell will be rung indicating that the user should choose an alternative
method. Note this is very different from f.destroy. The intent here is to delete a single
window, not necessarily the entire application.
f.deletedoor
This function deletes a door.
f.deltastop
This function allows a user-defined function to be aborted if the pointer has been moved more
than MoveDelta pixels. See the example definition given for Function "move-or-lower" at the
beginning of the section.
f.destroy
This function instructs the X server to close the display connection of the client that created
the selected window. This should only be used as a last resort for shutting down runaway
clients. See also f.delete.
This action sometimes leaves a runaway process that consumes CPU cycles; you should always try to
use the applications own quit function, rather than this one.
f.downiconmgr
This function warps the pointer to the next row in the current icon manger, wrapping to the
beginning of the next column if necessary.
f.enterdoor
This function activates this door. Typically one binds:
Button1 = : door : f.enterdoor
Button2 = : door : f.enterdoor
Button3 = : door : f.enterdoor
f.exec string
This function passes the argument string to /bin/sh for execution. In multiscreen mode, if
string starts a new X client without giving a display argument, the client will appear on the
screen from which this function was invoked.
f.file string (OBSOLETE --- use a clipboard client)
This function assumes string is a file name. This file is read into the window server's cut
buffer.
f.focus This function toggles the keyboard focus of the server to the selected window, changing the focus
rule from pointer-driven if necessary. If the selected window already was focused, this function
executes an f.unfocus.
f.forcemove
This function is like f.move except that it ignores the DontMoveOff variable.
f.forwiconmgr
This function warps the pointer to the next column in the current icon manager, wrapping to the
beginning of the next row if necessary.
f.fullzoom
This function resizes the selected window to the full size of the display or else restores the
original size if the window was already zoomed.
f.function string
This function executes the user-defined function whose name is specified by the argument string.
f.hbzoom
This function is a synonym for f.bottomzoom.
f.hidedesktopdisplay
This function unmaps the desktop display.
f.hideiconmgr
This function unmaps the current icon manager when selected from a client window, and unmaps all
icon managers when selected from the root window.
f.horizoom
This variable is similar to the f.zoom function except that the selected window is resized to the
full width of the display.
f.htzoom
This function is a synonym for f.topzoom.
f.hzoom This function is a synonym for f.horizoom.
f.iconify
This function iconifies or deiconifies the selected window or icon, respectively.
f.identify
This function displays a summary of the name and geometry of the selected window. Clicking the
pointer or pressing a key in the window will dismiss it. If the function is invoked on a desktop
representation of a window, the real window which is represented will be identified.
f.lefticonmgr
This function similar to f.backiconmgr except that wrapping does not change rows.
f.leftzoom
This variable is similar to the f.bottomzoom function but causes the selected window is only
resized to the left half of the display.
f.lower This function lowers the selected window.
f.menu string
This function invokes the menu specified by the argument string. Cascaded menus may be built by
nesting calls to f.menu.
f.move This function drags an outline of the selected window (or the window itself if the OpaqueMove
variable is set) until the invoking pointer button is released, at which time the window is
raised (subject to RaiseOnStart, MoveDelta, and NoRaiseOnMove). Double clicking within the number
of milliseconds given by ConstrainedMoveTime warps the pointer to the center of the window and
constrains the move horizontally or vertically, depending on pointer movement. To abort the move,
press another button before releasing the invoking button.
f.movescreen
Moves a window (or possibly the real screen) inside the desktop display. To abort the move, press
another button before releasing the invoking button. By default, the bindings using the desktop
context are defined as:
Button1 = : desktop : f.movescreen
Button2 = : desktop : f.movescreen
This is useful if you want to reset the default keyboard and pointer bindings via
NoDefaultMouseOrKeyboardBindings and use some of your own for the virtual desktop, e.g.:
NoDefaultMouseOrKeyboardBindings
Button1 = : desktop : f.movescreen
Button2 = : desktop : f.warp
Button3 = : desktop : f.iconify
This function is not useful under any context other than "desktop".
f.nail This function nails or unnails the selected window onto the real screen; the current value of
this property is toggled on the window.
f.nailedabove
This function toggles the setting of the NailedAbove variable.
f.namedoor
This function, bound to the door context, pastes a name from CUT_BUFFER0 into the selected door
(see the BINDINGS section for details).
f.newdoor
This function creates a new door with it's destination and name set to the real screen's current
position in the virtual desktop.
f.nexticonmgr
This function warps the pointer to the next icon manager containing any windows on the current or
any succeeding screen.
f.nop This function does nothing and is typically used with the DefaultFunction or WindowFunction
variables or to introduce blank lines in menus.
f.panup N
f.pandown N
f.panleft N
f.panright N
These functions move the real screen by N% of the screen dimension in the indicated direction.
These are ideally bound to the cursor keys:
"Up" = : root : f.panup "100"
"Down" = : root : f.pandown "100"
"Left" = : root : f.panleft "100"
"Right" = : root : f.panright "100"
f.playsound soundfile
This function plays the specified sound at SoundVolume volume. The soundfile must be the full
pathname of the sound file. This is a rather "expensive" function compared to that provided by
the Sounds variable, and should be avoided.
f.previconmgr
This function warps the pointer to the previous icon manager containing any windows on the
current or preceding screens.
f.quit This function causes vtwm to restore the window's borders and exit. If vtwm is the last client
invoked from xdm, this will result in a server reset, and the user's session will be logged out.
Users who stay logged in for long periods (days or weeks), or who like to change window managers,
or experiment with them, may find it desirable to use a relatively simple application, such as
xbiff(1), as the last application in their .xinitrc or .xsession file, letting the window manager
start earlier, and run in the background. This allows changing window managers without logging
out, and also makes it much less likely that a session will be abruptly terminated by a bug in a
complex program like a window manager. The one drawback to this approach is that f.quit then no
longer terminates the session: you need to use f.delete or f.destroy on that last application to
logout.
f.raise This function raises the selected window.
f.raiselower
This function raises the selected window to the top of the stacking order if it is occluded by
any windows, otherwise the window will be lowered.
f.refresh
This function causes all windows to be refreshed.
f.resetdesktop
This function moves the real display to (0,0)
f.resize
This function drags an outline of the selected window (or the window itself if the OpaqueResize
variable is set) after crossing a border (or by setting AutoRelativeResize) until the invoking
pointer button is released, at which time the window is raised (subject to RaiseOnStart,
MoveDelta, and NoRaiseOnResize). To abort the resize, press another button before releasing the
invoking button.
f.restart
This function kills and restarts vtwm. See also f.startwm.
f.righticonmgr
This function is similar to f.nexticonmgr except that wrapping does not change rows.
f.rightzoom
This variable is similar to the f.bottomzoom function except that the selected window is only
resized to the right half of the display.
f.ring Selects a window and adds it to the WindowRing list, or removes it if it was already in the ring.
This command makes f.warpring much more useful, by making its configuration dynamic.
f.saveyourself
This function sends a WM_SAVEYOURSELF message to the selected window if it has requested the
message in its WM_PROTOCOLS window property. Clients that accept this message are supposed to
checkpoint all state associated with the window and update the WM_COMMAND property as specified
in the ICCCM. If the window has not requested this message, the keyboard bell will be rung.
f.separator
Valid only in menus. The effect is to add a line separator between the previous and the following
entry. The name selector part in the menu is not used (but must be present).
f.setrealscreen geomstr
This function sets the real screen to the virtual coordinates specified. The geomstr is a quoted
string containing a standard geometry specification.
f.showdesktopdisplay
This function maps the desktop display.
f.showiconmgr
This function maps the current icon manager when selected from a client window, and maps all icon
managers when selected from the root window.
f.snap This function snaps the real screen to a grid defined on virtual space with PanDistanceX and
PanDistanceY increments.
f.snaprealscreen
This function toggles the setting of SnapRealScreen.
f.snugdesktop
moves the display to try to fit all partially visible windows completely on the screen.
f.snugwindow
moves the display to try to fit the selected window completely on the screen
f.sorticonmgr
This function sorts the entries in the current icon manager alphabetically. See the variable
SortIconManager.
f.sounds
This function toggles the playing of sounds. It's a "mute" function.
f.squeezecenter
f.squeezeleft
f.squeezeright
Selects a window and makes its title appear as though you had configured it as
SqueezeTitle center 0 0
or
SqueezeTitle left 0 0
or
SqueezeTitle right 0 0
respectively. These make squeezed titles much more useful because their configuration is dynamic.
f.startwm commandline
This function kills vtwm, and starts up the window manager as specified by commandline. A
trailing ampersand and/or environment variables should not be used. See also f.restart.
f.staticiconpositions
This function toggles the setting of StaticIconPositions.
f.stick This function is a synonym for f.nail.
f.stickyabove
This function is synonymous with the f.nailedabove function.
f.stricticonmgr
This function toggles the setting of StrictIconManager.
f.title This function provides a centered, unselectable item in a menu definition. It should not be used
in any other context.
f.topzoom
This variable is similar to the f.bottomzoom function except that the selected window is only
resized to the top half of the display.
f.twmrc Synonymous with f.restart. Historically, this function was intended to cause the startup
customization file to be re-read.
f.unbindbuttons
f.unbindkeys
These functions disable vtwm's pointer or keyboard bindings for the selected window, allowing
events to pass directly to the application. These are useful, for example, when running another
window manager within Xnest or Xvnc.
f.unfocus
This function resets the focus back to pointer-driven. This should be used when a focused window
is no longer desired.
f.upiconmgr
This function warps the pointer to the previous row in the current icon manager, wrapping to the
last row in the same column if necessary.
f.version
This function causes the vtwm version window to be displayed. This window will be displayed
until a pointer button is pressed or the pointer is moved from one window to another.
f.virtualgeometries
This function toggles the setting of NotVirtualGeometries.
f.vlzoom
This function is a synonym for f.leftzoom.
f.vrzoom
This function is a synonym for f.rightzoom.
f.warp Warp the cursor to the selected window. This is only useful if the window is selected via the
icon manager.
f.warpclassnext string
f.warpclassprev string
These functions warp the pointer to the next or previous window in the specified class indicated
by the argument string. If string is "VTWM", only icon managers, doors, and the Virtual Desktop
window are considered. If string empty (i.e., ""), the class of the window with focus is used.
If the window is iconified, it will be deiconified if the variable WarpUnmapped is set or else
ignored.
f.warpring string
This function warps the pointer to the next or previous window (as indicated by the argument
string, which may be "next" or "prev") specified in the WindowRing variable. If the window is
iconified, it will be deiconified if the variable WarpUnmapped is set or else ignored.
f.warpsnug
This function toggles the setting of WarpSnug.
f.warpto string
This function warps the pointer to the window which has a name or class that matches string. The
string may be a VTWM-style wildcard, but not a regular expression (see the WILDCARDS section for
details). If the window is iconified, it will be deiconified if the WarpUnmapped variable is
set, or else ignored.
f.warptoiconmgr string
This function warps the pointer to the icon manager entry associated with the window containing
the pointer in the icon manager specified by the argument string. If string is empty (i.e., ""),
the current icon manager is chosen. If the window is iconified, it will be deiconified if the
variable WarpUnmapped is set or else ignored.
f.warptonewest
This function warps the pointer to the most recently created window. If the window is iconified,
it will be deiconified if the variable WarpUnmapped is set or else ignored.
f.warptoscreen string
This function warps the pointer to the screen specified by the argument string. String may be a
number (e.g., "0" or "1"), the word "next" (indicating the current screen plus 1, skipping over
any unmanaged screens), the word "back" (indicating the current screen minus 1, skipping over any
unmanaged screens), or the word "prev" (indicating the last screen visited.
f.warpvisible
This function toggles the setting of WarpVisible.
f.winrefresh
This function is similar to the f.refresh function except that only the selected window is
refreshed.
f.zoom This function is similar to the f.fullzoom function, except that the only the height of the
selected window is changed.
f.zoomzoom
This function makes a zoom outline from a random place to another random place (see the Zoom and
ZoomZoom variables). It's silly, but can be used as a visual bell in place of f.beep. See also
the LessRandomZoomZoom variable.
MENUS
Functions may be grouped and interactively selected using pop-up (when bound to a pointer button) or
pull-down (when associated with a titlebar button) menus. Each menu specification contains the name of
the menu as it will be referred to by f.menu, optional default foreground and background colors, the list
of item names and the functions they should invoke, and optional foreground and background colors for
individual items:
Menu "menuname" [ ("deffore":"defback") ]
{
string1 [ ("fore1":"back1")] function1
string2 [ ("fore2":"back2")] function2
...
stringN [ ("foreN":"backN")] functionN
}
The menuname is case-sensitive. The optional deffore and defback arguments specify the foreground and
background colors used on a color display to highlight menu entries. The string portion of each menu
entry will be the text which will appear in the menu. The optional fore and back arguments specify the
foreground and background colors of the menu entry when the pointer is not in the entry. These colors
will only be used on a color display. The default is to use the colors specified by the MenuForeground
and MenuBackground variables. The function portion of the menu entry is one of the functions, including
any user-defined functions, or additional menus.
There is a special menu named VTWM Windows which contains the names of all of the client and vtwm-
supplied windows. Selecting an entry will cause the WindowFunction to be executed on that window. If
WindowFunction hasn't been set, the window will be deiconified and raised. This menu uses the same
colors as the little windows in the panner. This feature still honors the traditional TwmWindows menu
name of yore.
ICONS
vtwm supports several different ways of manipulating iconified windows. The common image-and-text style
may be laid out by hand or automatically arranged as described by the IconRegion variable. In addition,
a terse grid of icon names, called an icon manager, provides a more efficient use of screen space as well
as the ability to navigate among windows from the keyboard.
An icon manager is a window that contains names of selected or all windows currently on the display. In
addition to the window name, a small button using the default iconify symbol will be displayed to the
left of the name when the window is iconified. By default, clicking on an entry in the icon manager
performs f.iconify. To change the actions taken in the icon manager, use the iconmgr context when
specifying button and keyboard bindings.
Moving the pointer into the icon manager also directs keyboard focus to the indicated window when
NoIconManagerFocus is not set (setting the focus explicitly or else sending synthetic events if
NoTitleFocus is set). Using the f.upiconmgr, f.downiconmgr f.lefticonmgr, and f.righticonmgr functions,
the input focus can be changed between windows directly from the keyboard.
IMAGE AND AUDIO FORMATS
vtwm supports many images on its own (referred to as "internal" or "built-in" in this document), divided
into two types, bitmaps and pixmaps. They are differentiated from file images by either a colon (':') or
the string ":xpm:" as the first character(s) of the name, respectively:
:darrow scaled in any, n/a for highlight
:delete / :xlogo centered in any drawable
:dot / :iconify centered in any drawable
:menu scaled in any drawable
:rarrow scaled in any, n/a for highlight
:resize scaled in any drawable
:xpm:bar scaled in any drawable
:xpm:box scaled in any drawable
:xpm:darrow scaled in any, n/a for highlight
:xpm:dot centered in any drawable
:xpm:lines scaled in any drawable
:xpm:menu scaled in any drawable
:xpm:raisedbox scaled, for highlight only
:xpm:raisedlines scaled, for highlight only
:xpm:rarrow scaled in any, n/a for highlight
:xpm:resize scaled in any drawable
:xpm:sunkenbox scaled, for highlight only
:xpm:sunkenlines scaled, for highlight only
:xpm:zoom scaled in any drawable
vtwm also supports a single image file format by default, the X Window System bitmap (files typically
carrying an extension of ".xbm"), for two-color images. However, when built with the XPM library, vtwm
will also support the X Window System pixmap (files typically carrying an extension of ".xpm"), for full-
color images.
All image types and sources can be freely mixed within the variables that use them, given the behavior
listed above, and with the following additional exceptions: The Icons and UnknownIcon variables don't
recognize the built-in images, the RealScreenPixmap, TitleHighlight, and VirtualBackgroundPixmap entries
of the Pixmaps variable don't recognize the built-in images, only titlebar buttons can accomodate
external images that would be larger than the default space allocated for them (in any other case, the
image will be cropped to fit), and only the RealScreenPixmap, TitleHighlight, and VirtualBackgroundPixmap
entries of the Pixmaps variable will tile small images into the space allocated for them.
The icon manager drawable is hard-coded to 11x11 pixels, the menu drawable is MenuFont pixels square, and
titlebar buttons are
(TitleFont - (2 * ButtonIndent))
pixels square. The titlebar highlight area is
(titlebar height - (2 * FramePadding) - 2)
pixels high, where titlebar height is determined by TitleFont or the titlebar button height, whichever is
greater, and FramePadding.
The root window can be decorated with whatever image files that are supported by X Window System
utilities and applications (xloadimage(1), xsetroot(1), xv(1), etc.).
If vtwm is built with sound support, several audio file formats are supported, not by vtwm per se, but by
the rplayd(8) daemon. Currently, the AU, AIFF, WAV, and VOC formats are natively supported, but see also
rplay.helpers(5).
WILDCARDS
vtwm supports "wildcarding" when matching windows against a variable's win-list. By default, the question
mark ('?') represents any single character, the asterisk ('*') represents any zero or more characters,
and brackets ('[' and ']') represent any characters listed within them. The backslash ('\') "escapes" any
one character, allowing these reserved characters to be used literally.
vtwm can support a richer method of character substitution, called regular expressions, or "RE"s. If vtwm
is built with REs, many more "wildcard" rules are added. A description of REs is beyond the scope of this
document; see the re_format(7) or egrep(1) man pages.
vtwm distinguishes REs from strings by enclosing them in forward slashes ('/'). The two may be freely
mixed; changing the example in the VARIABLES section to:
AutoRaise
{
"emacs"
"VTWM*"
/x.*clock/ # was "x*clock"
"Xmh"
"XTerm"
}
accomplishes the same thing. This is but a simple example of RE usage, and as such doesn't demonstrate or
leverage their capabilities.
ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS
It is possible to issue an f.restart via a Unix signal, to ease debugging of vtwm resource files. To do
this, send a SIGUSR1 to the vtwm process ID (written to $HOME/vtwm.pid). See kill(1) or slay(1).
BUGS
There are precious few safeguards against binding functions to objects inappropriately, especially where
the virtual desktop is concerned.
Double clicking very fast to get the constrained move function will sometimes cause the window to move,
even though the pointer is not moved.
It is possible to ‘lose’ windows in the virtual desktop by placing them in a large desktop area, then
shrinking the desktop so as to remove them from view. They are still there, of course, but are
unreachable until the
See the BUGS file in the distribution for others.
FILES
$HOME/.vtwmrc.screen-number
$HOME/.vtwmrc
$VTWMETCMDIR/vtwm/system.vtwmrc
$HOME/.twmrc.screen-number
$HOME/.twmrc
$VTWMETCMDIR/twm/system.vtwmrc
are files vtwm will search for and use as its configuration file. They are searched for in the
order shown, and the first readable file found is used.
$HOME/vtwm.pid
contains the ID of the user's vtwm process; see the description of the -p option above.
ENVIRONMENT
DISPLAY
This variable is used to determine which X server to use. It is also set during f.exec so that
programs come up on the proper screen.
HOME This variable is used as the prefix for files that begin with a tilde and for locating the vtwm
startup file.
AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Tom LaStrange, Solbourne Computer; Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium; Steve Pitschke, Stardent Computer; Keith
Packard, MIT X Consortium; Dave Payne, Apple Computer; Nick Williams <njw@athena.mit.edu>; Dave
Edmondson, Santa Cruz Operation, <davided@sco.com>; Dana Chee, Bellcore (R5 conversion),
<dana@thumper.bellcore.com>; Warren Jessop, University of Washington, <whj@cs.washington.edu>; Gilligan
<thoth@reef.cis.ufl.edu>; Tim Ramsey <tar@math.ksu.edu>; Ralph Betza <gnohmon@ssiny.com>; Michael Kutzner
<futzi@uni-paderborn.de>; Stig Ostholm <ostholm@ce.chalmers.se>; M. Eyckmans <mce@ping.be>; Tony
Brannigan <tbrann@ox.ac.uk>; Alec Wolman <wolman@crl.dec.com>; <gdmr@dcs.edinburgh.ac.uk>; Marcel Mol
<marcel@duteca.et.tudelft.nl>; Darren S. Embry <dsembr01@starbase.spd.louisville.edu>; Chris P. Ross
<cross@eng.umd.edu>; Paul Falstad <pf@z-code.z-code.com>; D. J. Hawkey Jr., (version 5.4),
<hawkeyd@visi.com>, with Erik Agsjo <erik.agsjo@aktiedirekt.com>, Ugen Antsilevitch <ugen@xonix.com>,
Nelson H. F. Beebe <beebe@math.utah.edu>, Michael Dales <michael@dcs.gla.ac.uk>, Jennifer Elaan
<jen@elaan.com>, Michel Eyckmans <mce@ping.be>, Callum Gibson <callum.gibson@db.com>, Jason Gloudon
<jdg@world.std.com>, Nicholas Jacobs <nicholas_jacobs@hotmail.com>, Caveh Frank Jalali
<caveh@eng.sun.com> Takeharu Kato <magician@maekawa.is.uec.ac.jp>, Goran Larsson
<hoh@lorelei.approve.se>, Rolf Neugebauer <neugebar@dcs.gla.ac.uk>, Jonathan Paisley <jp@dcs.gla.ac.uk>,
Steve Ratcliffe <sterat@dial.pipex.com>, Seth Robertson <seth@baka.org>, Mehul N. Sanghvi
<mehul@kirsun.ne.mediaone.net>, Tim Wiess <tim@zetaflops.net>, acknowledging Claude Lecommandeur, (ctwm),
<lecom@sic.epfl.ch>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1988 Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation
Copyright 1989 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Copyright 1990 Dave Edmondson
Copyright 1990 Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine
Copyright 1990, 1991 Groupe Bull
Copyright 2001 David J. Hawkey Jr.
See the copyright notices in the vtwm source distribution for copyright license statements. On Debian
systems, these may also be found in the file /usr/share/doc/vtwm/copyright.
SEE ALSO
bitmap(1), ctwm(1), m4(1), mwm(1), pixmap(1), regex(7) or egrep(1), rplayd(8), tvtwm(1), twm(1),
vuewm(1), X(1), xdm(1), xinit(1), xmodmap(1), xrdb(1), Xserver(1)