Ubuntu Manpage: icewm - lightweight X11 window manager

NAME

        icewm - lightweight X11 window manager

SYNOPSIS

       icewm [OPTIONS]

DESCRIPTION

icewm is a window manager for the X11 window system. It aims to be small, fast and
familiar to new users.

icewm is called a re-parenting window manager, because it draws small frames around
application windows. By dragging this frame with the mouse, windows are resized or moved.

Because windows may overlap, icewm is also a stacking window manager. Many windows may
exist, some hidden behind others.

icewm supports a configurable number of virtual desktops. These are called workspaces.
Related windows are grouped on a dedicated workspace. By switching between workspaces,
the user can attend to different tasks, while keeping oversight. This is supported by a
task bar and a pager.

The installation comes with several themes. Choose a theme via a menu.

icewm is compliant with the ICCCM and EWMH window manager specifications.

PROGRAMS
The icewm package includes several programs:

icewm(1)
The actual window manager. It positions application windows on screen and decorates
them with borders. It gives input focus to the current active application. icewm
supports different focus modes, which are explained below. It draws a small task bar
at the bottom of the screen, which gives easy access to programs, to virtual desktops,
to active applications, and to a small set of monitoring applets.

icewmbg(1)
The background setting application. It can assign plain background color or images in
different formats to the X background. Each workspace can have its own background.
It supports semi-transparency. Semitransparent background image and colour can be
configured. When the background image has changed then icewmbg(1) can be notified to
update the background. Multi-head monitor setups are fully supported. See the
icewmbg(1).

icewm-session(1)
icewm-session(1) is the preferred program to start the IceWM system. It first loads
additional environment variables from the optional env file. Then it starts icewmbg(1)
and icewm. It also runs the startup script and implements basic session management.
On termination the shutdown script will be run first, then icewm-session(1) will
terminate icewm and icewmbg(1). icewm-session(1) will also start the optional
icesound(1) if you give it the --sound option. See icewm-session(1).

icesh(1)
A powerful tool to control window properties and to interact with the window manager.
It is typically used in shell scripts. See icesh(1).

icehelp(1)
A small document browser, which is used by icewm to display the 'IceWM manual' and
some man pages.

icewmhint(1)
A utility for passing IceWM-specific window options to icewm. The options are used to
configure the first application which is started subsequently. See icewmhint(1).

icesound(1)
Plays audio files on GUI events which are raised by icewm. It supports ALSA, AO and
OSS. See the icesound(1) man page.

icewm-menu-fdo(1)
Generate an icewm menu with executable desktop applications according to XDG
specifications. See the icewm-menu-fdo(1) man page.

icewm-set-gnomewm(1)
Configures GNOME to start IceWM instead of its own WM.

OPTIONS

COMMON OPTIONS
Each of the IceWM executables supports the following options:

-c, --config=FILE
Use FILE as the source of configuration options. By default icewm looks for a file
named preferences. This is a readable text file which can be modified with the help
of a text editor.

-t, --theme=NAME
Use NAME as the name of the icewm theme to use. A theme defines the look and feel of
icewm, like colors, fonts and buttons.

--display=DISPLAY
DISPLAY specifies the connection to the X11 server. By default the environment
variable "DISPLAY" is used.

--sync
This option specifies to use a slower synchronous communication mode with the X11
server. This is irrelevant for normal use.

-h, --help
Gives a complete list of all the available command-line options with some very brief
explanation.

-V, --version
Shows the software release version for this program.

ICEWM OPTIONS
The icewm program supports some additional options:

-a, --alpha
Use a 32-bit visual for translucency. This can also be set in the preferences file as
"Alpha=1".

--replace
Instructs icewm to replace an existing window manager. Provided that the window
manager being replaced is ICCCM 2.0 compliant, once it notices that it is to be
replaced it will cease operations and typically stop execution. This allows icewm to
establish itself as the only active window manager.

-r, --restart
Tell icewm to restart itself. This reloads the configuration from file.

-s, --splash=IMAGE
Briefly show IMAGE on startup in the center of the screen. This can also be set in
the preferences file as Splash="image.jpg".

--configured
Shows a list of configuration options which were enabled when icewm was compiled from
source code. This can be helpful if one suspects some functionality may be missing.

--directories
Gives a list of directories where icewm will look for configuration data. This list
is printed in the actual order in which icewm uses it to search for configuration
files.

-l, --list-themes
icewm will search all the configuration directories for theme files and print a list
of all found themes.

-p, --postpreferences
This gives a long list of all the internal icewm options with their actual values
after icewm has processed all of the configuration and theme files. In some advanced
scenarios this can be helpful to inspect which configuration was chosen or whether
option formatting was correct.

--rewrite-preferences
Overwrite an existing preferences file with an icewm default preferences, but preserve
all modifications insofar they deviate from the defaults.

--extensions
Give a list of the current X extensions, their versions and status.

--trace=conf,font,icon,prog,systray
Enable tracing of the paths which are used to load configuration, fonts, icons,
executed programs, and/or system tray applets.

USAGE

TASKBAR
On startup icewm launches the task bar at the bottom of the screen. The task bar consists
from left to right of the following components:

The Menu button in the lower left corner gives access to the icewm root menu. This menu
has sub-menus to start applications, to control icewm settings, and the icewm Logout menu.

The Show Desktop button unmaps all application windows to fully uncover the desktop.

The Window List Menu button gives access to a menu with a list of active windows for the
current workspace and a list of workspaces with sub-menus for their active application
windows.

The Toolbar is a list of icons for applications which are defined in the toolbar
configuration file.

The Workspace Pane shows one button for each workspace. The current workspace is
indicated by a pressed button. Clicking another workspace switches to that workspace.
Press left mouse, then the Shift key, then release the left mouse, takes the current
window to that workspace. Press left, then Alt, then release left, moves only the focused
window to other workspace, without changing the current workspace.

The workspaces are defined in the preferences file. To change a name for only this
session, double click, edit the name and hit Enter. When "PagerShowPreview" is turned on,
a small graphical window summary for each workspace is shown. They support drag-and-drop:
dragging a Firefox tab to a workspace button changes the current workspace. Then
releasing it moves that tab to a new window in that workspace.

The Task Pane consists of a list of wide buttons for each application which is running on
the current workspace, or all workspaces if "TaskBarShowAllWindows=1". Each task button
shows the application icon and the application title. The active application is indicated
by a pressed button. This is the application which has input focus. Pressing another
button activates that application: it is brought to the foreground and receives input
focus. Other mouse controlled activities on the window buttons are: dragging window
buttons with the left mouse button to rearrange the order, closing the application window
with "Alt" + middle button, lowering the application window with "Ctrl" + middle button,
or bringing the application window to the current workspace with "Shift" + middle button
if "TaskBarShowAllWindows=1".

If there are not many application buttons then a stretch of plain task bar is visible.
Clicking on it with the right mouse button gives the task bar menu. Even with a full task
pane, this menu can be usually accessed by right-clicking the bottom right corner of the
taskbar.

The Tray Applet shows system tray objects.

The APM Applet shows battery power status.

The Net Applet shows network activity. Network devices to monitor are given by the
"NetworkStatusDevice" option.

The Memory Applet monitors memory usage.

The CPU Applet monitors processor utilization.

The Mailbox Applet monitors mailbox status changes. See the section MAILBOX MONITORING
below.

The Clock Applet shows the current time and date. It is configured by the "TimeFormat"
option.

The Task Bar Collapse button collapses the task bar and hides it.

Not all icewm applets may show up on the task bar. They must have been enabled during
configuration of the icewm software. Their appearance is also controlled by options in
the preferences file.

INPUT FOCUS
Of all visible windows only one can be the active window. This is the window which has
input focus. It is the primary receiver of keyboard and mouse events and hence one can
interact with the application which created that window. A primary task of a window
manager is to allow the user to switch input focus between different windows. The primary
means to do this is the mouse pointer. By moving the mouse pointer over the screen to
another window, and perhaps also by clicking on a window, input focus can be directed.

The "FocusMode" option controls the way icewm gives input focus to applications. It is
initialized by the focus_mode configuration file. The focus mode is set via the Focus
menu. icewm supports six focus models:

1. Click-to-focus
The default focus mode. In this mode changing input focus requires to click a window
with the left mouse button. The window is raised if needed. When an application
requests focus its task pane button flashes. This gives the option to honor this
request or to ignore it. When a new application window appears it automatically
receives focus. Also when a hidden application raises to the front it receives focus.

2. Sloppy-mouse-focus
Sets input focus merely by moving the mouse pointer over a window. It is called
sloppy, because if the mouse then leaves the window and moves to the desktop
background the input focus remains with the last active window. When a window
receives focus it is raised. When an application requests focus its task pane button
flashes. A new application or an application which raises to the front automatically
receives focus.

3. Explicit-focus
Focus is even more user-controlled than Click-to-focus. When a window receives focus
it is not raised by default, unless the frame border is clicked. No flashing occurs
when an application requests focus. When a new application window appears it does not
receive focus. Only by explicit clicking on a window is focus directed.

4. Strict-mouse-focus
Like Sloppy but focus remains with the last window. New applications don't receive
focus and are mapped behind other windows. When an application raises to the front it
still does not get focus.

5. Quiet-sloppy-focus
Like Sloppy but no disturbing flashing occurs on the task bar when an application
requests focus.

6. Custom-mode
A focus mode which is defined in detail by ten options in the preferences file. These
are: "ClickToFocus", "FocusOnAppRaise", "RequestFocusOnAppRaise", "RaiseOnFocus",
"RaiseOnClickClient", "FocusChangesWorkspace", "FocusOnMap", "FocusOnMapTransient",
"FocusOnMapTransientActive", "MapInactiveOnTop".

All non-Custom focus modes override these ten options.

Apart from the mouse, icewm supports changing input focus in two ways by keyboard. By
pressing "Alt+Esc" or "Alt+Shift+Esc", input focus is immediately changed to the next or
previous window, which will be raised to make it fully visible. The other method involves
the quick switch.

QUICK SWITCH
The QuickSwitch is a means to quickly and interactively change the input focus to another
window. It is activated by pressing the "Alt+Tab" or "Alt+Shift+Tab" key combination. A
window pops up in the centre of the screen with a list of windows to choose from. A
narrow band indicates a selection: the candidate window that will be activated to receive
input focus when the Alt key is released.

The selection can be changed. By repeatedly pressing the Tab key, one can cycle over all
windows. If a Shift key is down, the direction of traversal is reversed. Or use the
scroll wheel of the mouse. Or use one of the digit keys to select the corresponding
window from the list. Arrow keys are also supported, as well as the Home and End key.

To make a selected window the active window, just release the Alt key, or hit the Return
key, or click on it. To cancel the QuickSwitch, press Escape or click outside of the
QuickSwitch window.

A selected window can be closed by Delete, "Alt+F4", or the middle mouse button. While
the QuickSwitch window is up, one can still change workspace with the usual workspace
hotkeys.

The QuickSwitch has two distinct modes: vertical and horizontal. The window list can
include all windows or be limited to the current workspace. See the many preferences
available for the QuickSwitch.

WINDOW PLACEMENT
A second important task of a window manager is to place new windows on the screen. By
default icewm chooses a placement with minimal overlap, but this is determined by the
"SmartPlacement" option in the preferences file. If "SmartPlacement" is turned off then
windows are placed in sequence from left to right and top to bottom. One can also turn on
"ManualPlacement". Then new windows appear initially in the top left corner and the mouse
cursor changes into a fist. By moving the fist cursor to a suitable location and clicking
the new window will appear at the mouse click location.

WINDOW LAYERS
Windows can overlap. Which window appears on top is determined by three features. Newer
windows appear over older windows. By clicking on a window it is raised to the top. But
both are overruled by the window layer. Windows can be placed in different layers via the
Layers menu. Click with the right mouse button on the window frame and select Layer.
From there choose one of seven window layers. These are ordered from higher to lower.
Windows in higher layers appear over windows in lower layers.

WORKSPACES
icewm supports multiple virtual desktops called workspaces. A workspace is like a screen
where a subset of all application windows are mapped. Thanks to multiple workspaces we
can more easily manage a large number of applications. The number of workspaces and their
names are configurable in the preferences file through the "WorkspaceNames" option. By
default four workspaces are created with the names 1, 2, 3 and 4 thus:

WorkspaceNames=" 1 ", " 2 ", " 3 ", " 4 "

This syntax is typical for icewm options which receive multiple values. It is a list of
comma-separated values each of which can be quoted.

The workspaces are visible on the toolbar. One can switch to a different workspace by
pressing the workspace button in the toolbar, but after becoming familiar with the
'keyboard shortcuts' below one will want to use a hotkey to choose a workspace. If the
"EdgeSwitch" options is enabled in the preferences file (with sub-options
"HorizontalEdgeSwitch" and "VerticalEdgeSwitch") then one can move to the next or previous
workspace by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen. The "ContinuousEdgeSwitch"
option enables continuous movement to subsequent workspaces. The "EdgeSwitchDelay" option
says how long to wait before a change of workspace occurs.

To move an application window to a different workspace one can use a keyboard shortcut.
Another option is to select the Move To submenu in the window menu of the window frame.

DRAG AND DROP
The task bar supports drag and drop operations. When a drag is in progress, the
destination window can be activated by hovering the drag icon over the task button for
that window. Alternatively, the current workspace can be changed by hovering the drag
icon over the desired workspace button. When edge switching is enabled, the current
workspace can also be changed by bringing the drag icon to the screen edge.

ADDRESS BAR
If EnableAddressBar=1 then KeySysAddressBar="Alt+Ctrl+Space" activates the address bar in
the task bar. If ShowAddressBar=1 it is always shown. This is a command-line in the task
bar where a shell command can be typed. Pressing "Enter" will execute the command.
AddressBarCommand="/bin/sh" will be used to execute the command. On "Control+Enter" the
command is executed in a terminal as given by TerminalCommand. The address bar maintains
a history which is navigable by the Up and Down keys. It supports command completion
using "Tab" or "Ctrl+I". A rich set of editing operations is supported, including
cut-/copy-/paste-operations.

WINDOW LIST
The window list window shows a list of all workspaces. For each workspace it shows the
window titles of the windows which are mapped on it. The bottom entry reads "All
Workspaces". It holds the sticky windows. These windows are mapped in all workspaces.

The window list window is normally hidden. Choose one of the following four methods to
make it visible:

• Select the bottom window list menu entry.

• Press the "KeySysWindowList=Ctrl+Alt+Esc" key.

• Press the right Windows key if "Win95Keys=1"

• Press the "DesktopWinListButton=2" mouse button in the root window.

• Press the middle mouse button in a workspace button on the task bar.

A single-click on a window entry selects it. A group of windows can be selected by
"Shift+Pointer_Button1" or by dragging with the left mouse button. Use
"Ctrl+Pointer_Button1" to individually select windows in a multi-selection. A right mouse
click over a selection will popup the system menu for this selection. To close the
selected windows, press "Delete". Press "Shift+Delete" to forcefully kill them. Right
mouse click below the sticky windows for a menu with window arranging actions.

Double-click on a workspace to switch to it. Double-click on a window to activate it. Or
navigate by arrow keys and press Enter. The space bar toggles a selection of a window.
"Ctrl+a" and "Ctrl+/" will select the entire list of windows. "Ctrl+\\" deselects
everything. Press the first letter of a window title to navigate to it and select it. If
titles of multiple windows start with the same letter then repeatedly pressing the first
letter cycles over those windows. "Home" selects the first entry and "End" the last.
"PageUp" and "PageDown" move up or down by ten entries. Combine this with the "Shift" key
to extend a selection over the range of motion.

MAILBOX MONITORING
The task bar can show one or more icons to reflect the status of a mailbox. The mailbox
can be a local file or a remote POP or IMAP account. For this a couple of options must be
set. First, TaskBarShowMailboxStatus must be enabled, which it is by default. Then the
location of the mailbox must be set. Icewm first looks for MailBoxPath in preferences. If
this is unset, it looks at the environment variables "MAILPATH" and "MAIL". MailBoxPath
may contain a space-separated list of mailboxes, while "MAILPATH" may contain a colon-
separated list of mailboxes. If a mailbox starts with a slash "/", then it is a local
file, otherwise a URL. These are six examples of possible mailboxes:

file:///var/spool/mail/captnmark
file:///home/captnmark/Maildir/
pop3://markus:%2f%40%3a@maol.ch/
pop3s://markus:password@pop.gmail.com/
imap://mathias@localhost/INBOX.Maillisten.icewm-user
imaps://mathias:password@imap.gmail.com/INBOX

The POP3S and IMAPS schemes use "openssl" for TLS/SSL encryption. Note that for IceWM to
access Gmail you must first configure your Gmail account to enable POP3 or IMAP access.
Make sure you have secure file permissions on your IceWM preferences file and the
directory which contains it.

Reserved characters in the password, like slash, at and colon can be specified using
escape sequences with a hexadecimal encoding like %2f for the slash or %40 for the at
sign. For example, to hex-encode "!p@a%s&s~" use this Perl snippet:

perl -e 'foreach(split("", $ARGV[0])) { printf "%%%02x", ord($_); };
print "\n";' '!p@a%s&s~'

Which will print:

%21%40%23%24%25%5e%26%2a%7e

This is the hex-encoded password. However, it is unwise to store a password in your
preferences. Consider a wallet extension for IceWM.

IceWM will check a mailbox periodically. The period in seconds can be set by the
MailCheckDelay option, which is 30 seconds by default.

Whenever new mail arrives, the mailbox icon will be highlighted. The color will indicate
if the mail has been read or not. Hovering the mouse over the mailbox icon will show a
tooltip with more details. A command can be also be run on new mail. Set the
NewMailCommand option. Its environment will have these variables set by IceWM:

ICEWM_MAILBOX
The mailbox index number of MailBoxPath starting from 1.

ICEWM_COUNT
The total number of messages in this mailbox.

ICEWM_UNREAD
The number of unread messages in this mailbox.

KEYBOARD LAYOUT SWITCHING
To control keyboard layouts on the task bar, define in preferences the option
KeyboardLayouts to a comma-separated list of your preferred keyboard layouts. For example:

KeyboardLayouts="de","fr","jp"

A keyboard layout can simply be a name. Usually this is a two-letter country code. See the
directory /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols for a list of available keyboard layouts for your
system. If it is enclosed in double quotes, it can also be a space-separated list of
command-line arguments to an invocation of the "setxkbmap" program.

The first layout is the default. It will be installed when icewm starts. The task bar
will show the current keyboard layout. If an icon can be found for the first two letters
of the layout, then that icon will be shown. Otherwise the first two letters of the name
of the layout will be shown.

Click on the current keyboard layout to cycle through all the available keyboard layouts.
Click with the right mouse button to open a menu of all available keyboard layouts.

It is also possible to configure a default keyboard layout for each program individually
in the icewm-winoptions(5) file. Whenever such a program receives input focus, icewm will
install this configured keyboard layout automatically. The keyboard status on the task bar
will be updated to reflect this.

Please note that for keyboard layout switching to work, the "setxkbmap" program must be
installed. To see your current keyboard layout settings, do "setxkbmap -query".

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
icewm supports a large number of hotkeys to activate some behaviour with a single key
combination. These are all configurable in the preferences file. Here we give their
preferences name, followed by their default value in double quotes, and a short
descriptions of their effect.

Note that all use one or more key modifiers. Icewm supports the following modifiers: Alt,
AltGr, Ctrl, Hyper, Meta, Shift, Super. Setting ModSuperIsCtrlAlt=1 makes the Super
modifier an alias for Ctrl+Alt.

KeyWinRaise="Alt+F1"
Raises the window which currently has input focus.

KeyWinOccupyAll="Alt+F2"
Makes the active window occupy all workspaces.

KeyWinLower="Alt+F3"
Lowers the window which currently has input focus.

KeyWinClose="Alt+F4"
Closes the active window.

KeyWinRestore="Alt+F5"
Restores the active window to its visible state.

KeyWinNext="Alt+F6"
Switches focus to the next window.

KeyWinPrev="Alt+Shift+F6"
Switches focus to the previous window.

KeyWinMove="Alt+F7"
Starts movement of the active window.

KeyWinSize="Alt+F8"
Starts resizing of the active window.

KeyWinMinimize="Alt+F9"
Iconifies the active window.

KeyWinMaximize="Alt+F10"
Maximizes the active window with borders.

KeyWinMaximizeVert="Alt+Shift+F10"
Maximizes the active window vertically.

KeyWinMaximizeHoriz="undefined"
Maximizes the active window horizontally.

KeyWinFullscreen="Alt+F11"
Maximizes the active window without borders.

KeyWinRollup="Alt+F12"
Rolls up the active window.

KeyWinHide="Alt+Shift+F12"
Hides the active window.

KeyWinMenu="Alt+Space"
Posts the window menu.

KeyWinArrangeNW="Ctrl+Alt+KP_7"
Moves the active window to the top left corner of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeN="Ctrl+Alt+KP_8"
Moves the active window to the top middle of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeNE="Ctrl+Alt+KP_9"
Moves the active window to the top right of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeE="Ctrl+Alt+KP_6"
Moves the active window to the middle right of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeSE="Ctrl+Alt+KP_3"
Moves the active window to the bottom right of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeS="Ctrl+Alt+KP_2"
Moves the active window to the bottom middle of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeSW="Ctrl+Alt+KP_1"
Moves the active window to the bottom left of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeW="Ctrl+Alt+KP_4"
Moves the active window to the middle left of the screen.

KeyWinArrangeC="Ctrl+Alt+KP_5"
Moves the active window to the center of the screen.

KeyWinSmartPlace="Ctrl+Alt+Shift+KP_5"
Smart place the active window.

KeySysWinMenu="Shift+Esc"
Posts the system window menu.

KeySysWinNext="Alt+Esc"
Give focus to the next window and raise it.

KeySysWinPrev="Alt+Shift+Esc"
Give focus to the previous window and raise it.

KeySysDialog="Alt+Ctrl+Del"
Opens the IceWM system dialog in the center of the screen.

KeySysMenu="Ctrl+Esc"
Activates the IceWM root menu in the lower left corner.

KeySysWindowList="Alt+Ctrl+Esc"
Opens the IceWM system window list in the center of the screen.

KeySysAddressBar="Alt+Ctrl+Space"
Opens the address bar in the task bar where a command can be typed.

KeySysWorkspacePrev="Alt+Ctrl+Left"
Goes one workspace to the left.

KeySysWorkspaceNext="Alt+Ctrl+Right"
Goes one workspace to the right.

KeySysWorkspaceLast="Alt+Ctrl+Down"
Goes to the previous workspace.

KeySysWorkspacePrevTakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Left"
Takes the active window one workspace to the left.

KeySysWorkspaceNextTakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Right"
Takes the active window one workspace to the right.

KeySysWorkspaceLastTakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Down"
Takes the active window to the previous workspace.

KeySysWorkspace1="Alt+Ctrl+1"
Goes to workspace 1.

KeySysWorkspace2="Alt+Ctrl+2"
Goes to workspace 2.

KeySysWorkspace3="Alt+Ctrl+3"
Goes to workspace 3.

KeySysWorkspace4="Alt+Ctrl+4"
Goes to workspace 4.

KeySysWorkspace5="Alt+Ctrl+5"
Goes to workspace 5.

KeySysWorkspace6="Alt+Ctrl+6"
Goes to workspace 6.

KeySysWorkspace7="Alt+Ctrl+7"
Goes to workspace 7.

KeySysWorkspace8="Alt+Ctrl+8"
Goes to workspace 8.

KeySysWorkspace9="Alt+Ctrl+9"
Goes to workspace 9.

KeySysWorkspace10="Alt+Ctrl+0"
Goes to workspace 10.

KeySysWorkspace11="Alt+Ctrl+bracketleft"
Goes to workspace 11.

KeySysWorkspace12="Alt+Ctrl+bracketright"
Goes to workspace 12.

KeySysWorkspace1TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+1"
Takes the active window to workspace 1.

KeySysWorkspace2TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+2"
Takes the active window to workspace 2.

KeySysWorkspace3TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+3"
Takes the active window to workspace 3.

KeySysWorkspace4TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+4"
Takes the active window to workspace 4.

KeySysWorkspace5TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+5"
Takes the active window to workspace 5.

KeySysWorkspace6TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+6"
Takes the active window to workspace 6.

KeySysWorkspace7TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+7"
Takes the active window to workspace 7.

KeySysWorkspace8TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+8"
Takes the active window to workspace 8.

KeySysWorkspace9TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+9"
Takes the active window to workspace 9.

KeySysWorkspace10TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+0"
Takes the active window to workspace 10.

KeySysWorkspace11TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+bracketleft"
Takes the active window to workspace 11.

KeySysWorkspace12TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+bracketright"
Takes the active window to workspace 12.

KeySysTileVertical="Alt+Shift+F2"
Tiles all windows from left to right maximized vertically.

KeySysTileHorizontal="Alt+Shift+F3"
Tiles all windows from top to bottom maximized horizontally.

KeySysCascade="Alt+Shift+F4"
Makes a horizontal cascade of all windows which are maximized vertically.

KeySysArrange="Alt+Shift+F5"
Rearranges the windows.

KeySysUndoArrange="Alt+Shift+F7"
Undoes arrangement.

KeySysArrangeIcons="Alt+Shift+F8"
Rearranges icons.

KeySysMinimizeAll="Alt+Shift+F9"
Minimizes all windows.

KeySysHideAll="Alt+Shift+F11"
Hides all windows.

KeySysShowDesktop="Alt+Ctrl+d"
Unmaps all windows to show the desktop.

KeySysCollapseTaskBar="Alt+Ctrl+h"
Hides the task bar.

KeyTaskBarSwitchNext="undefined"
Switches to the next window in the task bar.

KeyTaskBarSwitchPrev="undefined"
Switches to the previous window in the task bar.

KeyTaskBarMoveNext="undefined"
Moves the task bar button of the current window right.

KeyTaskBarMovePrev="undefined"
Moves the task bar button of the current window left.

KeySysWinListMenu="undefined"
Shows the window list menu.

KeySysSwitchNext="Alt+Tab"
Opens the "QuickSwitch" popup (see "INPUT FOCUS") and/or moves the selector in the
"QuickSwitch" popup.

KeySysSwitchLast="Alt+Shift+Tab"
Works like "KeySysSwitchNext" but moving in the opposite direction.

KeySysSwitchClass="Alt+grave"
Is like "KeySysSwitchNext" but only for windows with the same WM_CLASS property as the
currently focused window.

MOUSE BINDINGS
You can control windows by a modified mouse button press:

MouseWinMove="Alt+Pointer_Button1"
Moves the window under the mouse over the screen.

MouseWinSize="Alt+Pointer_Button3"
Resizes the window. Keep the key and button pressed. To enlarge the window move the
mouse button away from the center. To shrink it move towards the centre.

MouseWinRaise="Ctrl+Alt+Pointer_Button1"
Raises the window under the mouse.

MouseWinLower="Ctrl+Alt+Pointer_Button1"
Lowers the window under the mouse. If this is equal to "MouseWinRaise" and the window
can be raised then "MouseWinRaise" takes preference over "MouseWinLower".

The title frame of a window also listens for mouse clicks. Left double clicking maximizes
the window ("TitleBarMaximizeButton=1"). Press Shift to only maximize vertically. Press
Alt+Shift for horizontally. Middle double clicking rolls up the window
("TitleBarRollupButton=2"). Also press Shift to maximize horizontally. If
TitleBarRollupButton is either 4 or 5 then the scroll wheel controls rolling up or down.
Pressing a mouse button and moving it will move the window. "Alt+Pointer_Button1" lowers
the window.

When the mouse is on the window frame then a left click raises the window. Dragging with
the left button down resizes the window. Clicking the right button pops up the context
menu. Dragging with the right button moves the window.

Clicking on the desktop activates a menu. The middle button shows the window list
("DesktopWinListButton=2"). The right button shows the root menu ("DesktopMenuButton=3").
If you press "Ctrl+Alt" then the mouse wheel will focus all applications in turn.

SIGNALS

       icewm supports the following signals:

       SIGHUP
           icewm will restart itself. It is a way to reload the configuration.

       SIGINT, SIGTERM
           icewm will cease to manage application windows and terminate.

       SIGQUIT
           icewm will initiate the logout procedure.  If a "LogoutCommand" preferences option was
           configured it will be executed.

       SIGUSR2
           Toggle the logging of X11 events, if "logevents" was configured.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       ICEWM_PRIVCFG
           The directory for user private configuration files.  When this environment variable is
           not specified, the default directory is $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm when that directory
           exists, otherwise the default value is $HOME/.icewm.

       DISPLAY
           The name of the X11 server.  See Xorg(1) or Xserver(1).  This value can be overridden
           by the --display option.

       MAILPATH, MAIL
           Gives the location of your mailbox.  If the schema is omitted the local "file" schema
           is assumed.  This is used by the mailbox applet in the task bar to show the status of
           your mailbox.  If the "MailBoxPath" option in the preferences file is set, then that
           one takes precedence.

FILES

CONFIGURATION DIRECTORIES
icewm looks for configuration files in the following directories, in the given order,
until it finds one:

$ICEWM_PRIVCFG/
Contains user-specific configurations. When ICEWM_PRIVCFG is specified, this
directory takes precedence over $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm and $HOME/.icewm.

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm/
Contains user-specific configurations. When this directory exists it take precedence
over $HOME/.icewm.

$HOME/.icewm/
Contains user-specific configurations. This is the historical default directory.

/etc/X11/icewm/
Contains system-wide customized defaults. Please note that your local installation
may have been configured to use a different system location. The output of "icewm
--directories" will show this location.

/usr/share/icewm/
Default local installation settings.

CONFIGURATION FILES
env icewm-session(1) loads additional environment variables from the file env. Each line
is subjected to POSIX shell expansion by wordexp(3). Comment lines starting by a
hash-sign ("#") are ignored. icewm-session(1) will load those expanded lines which
contain a name, followed by an equals sign, followed by the value (which may be
empty).

See icewm-env(5).

focus_mode
Defines the initial value for "FocusMode". Its default value is "FocusMode=1" (Click-
to-focus). This can be changed via the menu. icewm will save the Focus menu choice
in this file.

See icewm-focus_mode(5).

keys
Global keybindings to launch applications, which need not be window manager related.
Each non-empty line starts with the word "key". After one or more spaces follows a
double-quoted string of the bound X11 key combination like "Alt+Ctrl+Shift+X". Then
after at least one space follows a shell command-line which will be executed by icewm
whenever this key combination is pressed. For example, the following line creates a
hotkey to reload the icewm configuration:

key "Ctrl+Shift+r" icesh restart

See icewm-keys(5).

menu
A menu of applications; usually customized by the user. icewm provides the
icewm-menu-fdo(1) program to generate a default menu. Similar programs are
xdg_menu(1), mmaker(1) (MenuMaker), xde-menu(1), xdgmenumaker(1).

See icewm-menu(5).

preferences
Contains general settings like paths, colors and fonts, but also options to control
the icewm focus behaviour and the applets which are started in the task bar. The
icewm installation will provide a default preferences file, which can be copied to the
icewm user configuration directory and modified.

See icewm-preferences(5).

prefoverride
Settings which override the settings from a theme. Some of the icewm configuration
options from the preferences file which control the look-and-feel may be overridden by
the theme, if the theme designer thinks this is desirable. However, this prefoverride
file will again override this for a few specific options of your choosing. It is safe
to leave this file empty initially.

See icewm-prefoverride(5).

programs
An automatically generated menu of applications. This could be used by wmconfig(1),
menu or similar programs to give easy access to all the desktop applications which are
installed on the system.

See icewm-programs(5).

theme
This file contains the name of the default theme. On startup icewm reads this file to
obtain the theme name, unless icewm was started with the --theme option. Whenever a
different theme is selected from the icewm Menu then the theme file is overwritten
with the name of the selected theme. This theme file contains the keyword "Theme",
followed by an equals sign, followed by a double-quoted string with the theme name.
The theme name is the name of the theme directory, followed by a slash, followed by
the theme file. Usually the theme file is just default.theme, but a theme may have
alternatives. Alternatives are small tweaks of a theme. These are specified in their
own .theme file, which replaces default.theme. If no theme file exists then icewm
will use the default setting of "Theme="default/default.theme"".

See icewm-theme(5).

toolbar
Contains names of quick to launch applications with icons for the task bar. Each non-
empty non-comment line starts with the keyword prog. After one or more spaces follows
a name, which is displayed in a tool tip whenever the mouse cursor hovers over the
toolbar icon. This name may be a double quoted string. Then follows the bare name of
the icon to use without extensions. This icon will be shown in the toolbar. The last
component is a shell command-line which will be executed whenever the user presses the
icon in the toolbar. For example, the following line in toolbar will create a button
with tool tip "Mozilla Firefox" with the firefox icon which launches firefox(1) when
clicked:

prog "Mozilla Firefox" firefox /usr/bin/firefox --private-window

See icewm-toolbar(5).

winoptions
Contains settings to control window appearance and behaviour which are specific to
applications or groups of applications. Options can control the border, whether it
appears on the task bar, the window list, the system tray and the workspaces. Also
its layer, geometry, whether it can be moved, resized and closed.

See icewm-winoptions(5).

startup
Contains commands to be executed on icewm startup. This is an executable script with
commands to tweak X11 settings and launch some applications which need to be active
whenever icewm is started. It is run by icewm-session(1) when icewm starts.

See icewm-startup(5).

shutdown
Contains commands to be executed on icewm shutdown. This is an executable script with
commands to be executed in the last stage of icewm termination. Typically they may
undo some of the effects of the startup script. It is run by icewm-session(1) when
icewm terminates.

See icewm-shutdown(5).

CONFIGURATION SUBDIRECTORIES
icons
Contains icons which are used to identify applications. Usually these files are in
the XPM format, but the PNG and SVG image formats are also supported. The names of
icon files may follow a specific naming pattern, like app_32x32.xpm. They start with
a base name, usually this is just a single word. Then follows an underscore, followed
by a size specification in the format "SIZExSIZE". This is followed by a dot and the
file extension, where the extension denotes the icon image format. Common sizes are
16, 32 and 48 for small, large and huge icons. This depends on the respective
"IconSize" preferences options.

ledclock
Pictures of digits for the LED clock which is displayed in the bottom-right corner of
the task bar. These can be seen when the "TaskBarShowClock" and "TaskBarClockLeds"
options are both set to 1.

mailbox
Icons which are used to display different states of the mailbox applet in the task
bar. There are five states and each has its own icon: mail.xpm, newmail.xpm,
unreadmail.xpm, nomail.xpm, errmail.xpm.

sounds
Audio files which are played by icesound(1) on GUI events. These are: startup.wav,
shutdown.wav, restart.wav, launchApp.wav, workspaceChange.wav, windowOpen.wav,
windowClose.wav, dialogOpen.wav, dialogClose.wav, windowMax.wav, windowRestore.wav,
windowMin.wav, windowHide.wav, windowRollup.wav, windowMoved.wav, windowSized.wav,
windowLower.wav.

taskbar
Pictures to customize the look of the task bar. These include: taskbarbg.xpm,
taskbuttonactive.xpm, taskbuttonbg.xpm, taskbuttonminimized.xpm, toolbuttonbg.xpm,
workspacebuttonactive.xpm, workspacebuttonbg.xpm.

themes
A directory to store themes. Each theme is stored in its own sub-directory in the
themes directory. A theme contains at least a default.theme file, and optionally theme
alternatives which are additional files which have a .theme file name extension and
which contain tweaks of the default.theme file. How to create a theme is explained in
the IceWM Theme Creation Howto.

OPACITY
IceWM supports window opacity and transparency in connection with an external compositor
like compton(1) or picom(1). If a client window sets the "_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY"
property on its window, then icewm will copy this to the outer frame window, where the
compositor will read it and adjust the opacity accordingly.

The opacity can also be set in the icewm-winoptions(5) file. icesh(1) can control the
opacity level of running applications.

The _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE properties which icewm sets on its windows are DIALOG,
NOTIFICATION, POPUP_MENU and TOOLTIP. The output of "icesh windows" shows their WM_CLASS
values. These can be helpful to configure compton.

EXAMPLES

       Examples of the above configuration files can be found in the default installation path or
       in the system-wide defaults.  See the output of "icewm --directories" for their locations.

CONFORMING TO

       ICCCM 2.0: partial.  NetWM/EWMH: extensive.  See the file COMPLIANCE in the distribution
       for full details.

BUGS

       Please report bugs at <https://github.com/bbidulock/icewm/issues>.

AUTHOR

       Brian Bidulock <mailto:bidulock@openss7.org>.

       See --copying for full copyright notice and copying permissions.

LICENSE

       IceWM is licensed under the GNU Library General Public License.  See the COPYING file in
       the distribution or use the --copying flag to display copying permissions.