Provided by: afterstep_2.2.12-2_amd64 
NAME
AfterStep - X11 window manager
STANDARD OPTIONS
The following is the list of command line options supported by all AfterStep modules and
applications.
-v | --version
Display version information and stop.
-c | --config
Display Config information and stop.
-h | --help
Display uasge information and stop.
--debug
Debugging: Run in Synchronous mode.
-s | --single
Run on single screen only.
-r | --restart
Run as if it was restarted. Same as regular startup, only runs
RestartFunctioninstead of InitFunction.
-d | --displayval
Specify what X display we should connect to. Overrides $DISPLAY environment
variable.
-f | --config-fileval
Read all config from requested file. Use it if you want to use .steprc instead of
standard config files.
-p | --user-dirval
Read all the config from requested dir. Use it to override config location
requested in compile time.
-g | --global-dirval
Use requested dir as a shared config dir. Use it to override shared config location
requested in compile time.
-V | --verbosity-levelval
Change verbosity of the AfterStep output. 0 - will disable any output; 1 - will
allow only error messages; 5 - both errors and warnings(default).
--windowval
Internal Use: Window in which action occured. Interface part which has triggered
our startup.
--contextval
Internal Use: Context in which action occured. Interface part which has triggered
our startup.
--lookval
Read look config from requested file. Use it if you want to use different look
instead of what was selected from the menu.
--feelval
Read feel config from requested file. Use it if you want to use different feel
instead of what was selected from the menu.
--themeval
Read theme config from requested file. Use it if you want to use different theme
instead of what was selected from the menu.
-l | --logval
Save all output into the file (instead of printing it to console).
-L | --localeval
Set language locale. To be used while displaying text.
--mynameval
Overrides module name. Will be used while parsing config files and reporting to
AfterStep.
--geometryval
Overrides module's geometry.
--gravityval
Overrides module's gravity.
AfterStep has been almost entirely rewritten in this new incarnation. Here is the
short list of new architectural changes:
1.1. New high performance and high quality image handling engine has been developed
to fulfill GUI needs. It includes different image transformations, such as scaling,
tiling, cropping, blurring, blending of arbitrary number of layers, in-memory image
compression, support for 12 different file formats, including its own parser/writer
of XPM files, capable of achieving much better performance then default libXpm.
Supported image formats are :
XPM, PNG, JPEG, XCF(GIMP image format), PPM, PNM, BMP, ICO, CUR, GIF, TIFF, and XML
scripts. Where XML scripts allow for user to create script of transformations to be
performed on the image at the time when it gets loaded./para> libAfterImage also
provides support for TTF fonts ( using libfreetype ) and smoothed standard X raster
fonts.
1.2. Window hints handling has been rewriten and reorganized, and most of the
Extended WM specs has been incorporated, as well, as better support for Motif,
ICCCM and old GNOME hints has been implemented.
1.3. All the GUI rendering code has been aggregated into libAfterStep and now all
the GUI elements are rendered using consistent approach in every module and every
part of the AfterStep proper. From now on interface is build from so called TBars.
TBar is rectangular area that may be focused(hilited) or unfocused and pressed or
unpressed. Each TBar has the following structure :
- the background of the TBar, which is defined by MyStyle and state of the bar -
there are two MyStyles assigned to each TBar - one for focused and one for
unfocused state.
- tiles of the TBar. Tiles are smaller features that gets arranged inside the bar
according to its size, alignment, position and order. Tiles could be static icons (
cannot be pressed ); blocks of buttons - each having two shapes - pressed and
normal; Text labels; Empty space tiles.
There could be upto 256 tiles, each residing on one of the cells in 16x16 grid.
Several tiles could reside in single cell, in which case they get superimposed on
top of each other.
- bevel of the TBar. When TBar is rendered all of its tiles are superimposed on top
of its background, and resulting image will have a 3D bevel drawn on it, using
colors from same MyStyle as used for background. Bevel could be switched off
partially or entirely. Respective configuration options has been added where
appropriate. When TBar is pressed - its bevel is inverted.
When TBar is rendered all of its elements gets superimposed on top of each other
using one of 13 blending methods supported by libAfterImage, with default being
simple alphablending. See MyFrame configuration for more details. This is refrred
to as "Composition Method".
1.4. Due to the fact that AfterStep is using compression to store images in memory
- there is no need to have separate root background handler, and so asetroot has
been discontinued and afterstep proper now does all the root background loading.
You could simply copy-and-paste your asteroot config into your look file. This has
an added advantage of simplifing theme support for root backgrounds.
1.5. Significant work has been done to create libAfterConf which provides easy
means for reading configuration options, and facilitates implementation of any
configuration tool.
1.6. Some work has been done to improve support for themes. AfterStep proper and
modules now load configuration files is this order :
#1 - base config; #2 - look, feel, menu, database, autoexec and module specific
config; #3 - theme file; #4 - theme override file;
Theme override file is needed so that user may have a list of critical options that
he/she does not want to be changed by any theme. What is missing here is a
comprehensive theme building tool.
1.7. AfterStep now make extensive use of X shaped extensions ( where available )
Everything could be shaped now - titlebars, Pager, Wharf, etc. To make some element
shaped - MyStyle with BackPixmap type 125 or 126 should be used.
1.8. Menus are now treated same as regular windows. They could be configured in
database file using preset Style "ASMenu" to have different titlebar buttons, frame
decorations, stickiness, etc. MenuPinOn has been changed to be just another
titlebar button, with PinMenu function assigned to it.
1.9. AfterStep no longer uses fixed scheme of 5 titlebar buttons on each side, and
order of buttons could be configured in look. There is still limitation to have no
more then 10 buttons total.