Which *Box?

Ben-Hayman · 2007-12-14 07:46:18

Hey! I've got quite used to GNOME and I've been looking for a more minimalist approach. I decided to try one of the various *Box WMs that there are, but I'm not sure which one to choose. Is there any difference?

Dheart · 2007-12-14 07:54:14

Well the main diference is in that which is easier to configure, also some come with panel, other - without...
Anyway, I've used both fluxbox and openbox (now using openbox with pypanel) and IMO openbox is a little bit harder to configure (but there is a nice wiki entry for it, and obconf, so that should not be the problem), but I find it to fit my needs perfectly. I recomend it to you.

cry0x · 2007-12-14 08:14:27

Openbox is nice.

x0r · 2007-12-14 09:03:36

Out of the *box families, I'm definitely in love with fluxbox. Non-box families, I really like XFCE, they are doing a good job with that thunar file browser, among other things.

arkanum · 2007-12-14 09:39:14

+1 for fluxbox.

Very easy to configure, and it can look pretty decent.

Last edited by arkanum (2007-12-14 09:39:31)

iphitus · 2007-12-14 10:13:22

don't ask, try them yourself.

timtux · 2007-12-14 11:26:24

Openbox.

xnooby2 · 2007-12-14 13:39:34

I'm trying both OpenBox and FluxBox. So far, the extra stuff FluxBox has, is the stuff that is irritating me. Their right-click menu never pops up exactly the same way, because I never right-click in exactly the same stop. I don't like the openbox menu either, but I (currently) replace it with fbpanel. FluxBox also has a lot of config options in the menu, but I don't know what any of them do.

Fatsobob · 2007-12-14 13:59:17

I would say openbox because it allows for more customization options, and I love pypanel. Also since the code was completely rewritten, I feel that it had a second going over compared to flux. Both are good though.

rson451 · 2007-12-14 15:54:04

xnooby2 wrote:

So far, the extra stuff FluxBox has, is the stuff that is irritating me. Their right-click menu never pops up exactly the same way, because I never right-click in exactly the same stop.

care to explain more what is irritating you? maybe we can shed some light on why it's doing what it's doing. also the menu popping up, i'm guessing you mean if you are close to the edge of the screen it pops up on the opposite side of the mouse that your expecting? please explain.

xnooby2 · 2007-12-15 00:17:05

For the menu, yes, having it sometimes pop-up to the left, and other times pop-up to the right, is visually irritating. It does that as you said, based on how close my mouse is to the edge of the screen. It is also easier for me if I have a visual "target" to click my mouse in order to bring up the menu.

I also have no idea what many of the options do, things like "workspace warping". I had to enable the "slit" and put a windowmaker applet (which I had to compile from source) in to it, to see what it really did.

I choose to "regen" the menu, thinking it would scour my machine and make menu entries for my executables, but it didn't. My menu is filled with tons of apps that I don't have, which is annoying. Under Net->Browsers it has 4 web-browsers I don't have, and doesn't have the one (FireFox) that I do have.

I made some Fluxbox keybindings which worked well, so i could cycle through open apps and workspaces. Fluxbox workspace support seems better than Openboxes, if only because in Fluxbox I know how to change the workspace.

Fluxbox and Openbox seem very similar, I think they even tend to use the same helper programs (like tint, etc). If Fluxbox could expand it's menubar to 100% of the screenwidth, and have a menu button in the bottom left corner, that would very close to what I'm looking for. Currently, Openbox with Fbpanel seems to be the best option for that. Or maybe I should look into IceWm if it still exists.

xnooby2 · 2007-12-15 00:36:40

Having said all that, I installed IceWm, and it looks like what might be best for me. I will see if I can get it configured properly. It alreads has a clock, menu, workspace switcher, and seems to be lightweight.

peets · 2007-12-15 00:53:23

iphitus wrote:

don't ask, try them yourself.

Yes. And why are you limiting yourself to *boxes? With pacman, it's very fast to try many WMs. You get to judge books by their covers!

Ben-Hayman · 2007-12-15 14:52:52

I mainly like the box approach, but at some point I might try a tiling wm like xmonad or dwm. I just like nice design and looks - nothing too flashy but simple!

haxit · 2008-08-28 14:31:36

My recommendation is OpenBox!

cinan · 2008-08-28 14:39:00

I think main difference is in configuration. IMO fluxbox is easier, but if you find some guide "How to configure openbox", openbox configuration will be easy, too. So try fluxbox and openbox, configure them and make choice

Acecero · 2008-08-28 14:46:14

Actually I don't see how it's any harder to configure openbox then to fluxbox but that's just my own opinion. Though I do use Openbox another choice would be to try out Pekwm.

haxit · 2008-08-28 14:56:43

You will learn more from configuring OpenBox.

Sp4rkR4t · 2008-08-28 14:59:04

Openbox has to be my pick, it just makes more sense than the others.

voteforpedro36 · 2008-08-28 23:02:15

haxit wrote:

You will learn more from configuring OpenBox.

Why? Because you can use a GUI app? Either way, I see Openbox editing as either a) a limitedGUI or b)a confusing XML format. Fluxbox doesn't have this problem. But yeah I prefer Openbox, but try both and PekWM, IceWM, and others.

.:B:. · 2008-08-29 02:00:59

Definitely Openbox. It's a bit like Irssi - looks like it can't do anything, but highly configurable, very flexible and extensible.

Allan · 2008-08-29 02:06:34

I say go for xbox360.

Xyne · 2008-08-29 02:15:44

voteforpedro36 wrote:

b)a confusing XML format.

Some people find XML confusing, others find it pleasantly clear and logical... and then there are those who think it's a clothing size.

Oh, and I would agree with the "try them yourself and see what you like" reply. Having said that, I've only tried openbox but I liked it so much that I just stuck with it.

Here's a little comparison (not sure how up-to-date/accurate it is) that might be useful: http://urukrama.wordpress.com/2008/04/2 … -managers/

Last edited by Xyne (2008-08-29 02:18:43)

smakked · 2008-08-29 03:44:14

Yep Im an Openbox convert aswell been using it for a week and love it.

thisllub · 2008-08-29 11:07:31

With Openbox, gmrun and the Vimperator Firefox plugin I can almost do without a mouse altogether.

Arch Linux

#1 2007-12-14 07:46:18

Which *Box?

#2 2007-12-14 07:54:14

Re: Which *Box?

#3 2007-12-14 08:14:27

Re: Which *Box?

#4 2007-12-14 09:03:36

Re: Which *Box?

#5 2007-12-14 09:39:14

Re: Which *Box?

#6 2007-12-14 10:13:22

Re: Which *Box?

#7 2007-12-14 11:26:24

Re: Which *Box?

#8 2007-12-14 13:39:34

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#9 2007-12-14 13:59:17

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#10 2007-12-14 15:54:04

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#11 2007-12-15 00:17:05

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#12 2007-12-15 00:36:40

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#13 2007-12-15 00:53:23

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#14 2007-12-15 14:52:52

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#15 2008-08-28 14:31:36

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#16 2008-08-28 14:39:00

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#17 2008-08-28 14:46:14

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Re: Which *Box?

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