Cant install OpenBox ??

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 02:04:03

I have downloaded the latest build and installed it. When i try to run either openbox or openbox-session from the cli before any de is started, i get this error: Failed to open the DISPLAY environment variable. I tried to install lxde and it says the same thing. The ONLY DE I was able to get working was xfce. I start it manually each boot by startxfce, and it seems to work fine.

How can I configure the Display settings so I can get other DE's to install and test ??

** Edit when i run a echo $DISPLAY there is nothing set.

Last edited by banshee28 (2008-11-30 02:06:55)

SamC · 2008-11-30 02:09:54

This is easily started via the wiki...
You can edit the "~/.xinitrc" file to say "exec openbox", and then type "startx" on the command line.

cdwillis · 2008-11-30 02:16:43

Instead of "exec openbox" you should add "exec openbox-session" to .xinitrc

Make sure to edit your /openbox/autostart.sh file and add programs you want to start with openbox

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 02:17:21

I edited the file and when I type startx it takes me to the original x windows. If i type openbox as root it just hangs and does nothing. The only thing I can do is type startxfce4 which will start xfce4 fine! Any ideas?

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 02:21:33

cdwillis wrote:

Instead of "exec openbox" you should add "exec openbox-session" to .xinitrc
Make sure to edit your /openbox/autostart.sh file and add programs you want to start with openbox

I tried this too and it does the same thing. I will look into the autostart.sh once I can get openbox to load.

When I try the openbox-session I get many errors now...Most are the DISPLAY setting errors, traceback (most recent call last), IndentationError: expected an indented block, then Openbox-Message: Failed to open the display from the DISPLAY environment. kdeinit: Aborting. $DISPLAY is not set...

Last edited by banshee28 (2008-11-30 02:32:47)

SamC · 2008-11-30 02:38:24

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/.xinitrc

It's not that hard...

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 02:51:08

SamC wrote:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/.xinitrc
It's not that hard...

If you are talking about just uncommenting out the openbox or openbox-session, I have done that, but it fails to start. maybe I am just too much of a linux noob, but the only DE I can get working is xfce4 right now..It works fine...Maybe I should remove all DE's I installed and start over?

exec startxfce4
exec openbox
exec openbox-session

** Edit I ran xinit /full/path/to/window-manager and i think openbox did load, but the screen is blank except for the mouse. When I right click, i can see the openbox options, but since the window is black I cant see any windows. I did a openbox-lxde and it also loaded lxde and did the same thing. I run the xinit /path to xfce4 and it opens fine...

Maybe this is normal until I configure openbox or lxde so how can I view the windows?

Last edited by banshee28 (2008-11-30 03:04:17)

SamC · 2008-11-30 02:55:16

You should only have one "exec " line in your xinitrc. Could you paste the output of "startx" with an ~/.xinitrc containing only

#!/bin/sh
exec openbox-session

?

Last edited by SamC (2008-11-30 02:57:00)

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 03:14:02

SamC wrote:

You should only have one "exec " line in your xinitrc. Could you paste the output of "startx" with an ~/.xinitrc containing only
#!/bin/sh
exec openbox-session
?

Ok, this seems to be most of the problem. I only left in openbox-session and it starts with startx. Now I need to work on getting it working like xfce as a windows manager.

SamC · 2008-11-30 03:19:15

Just a tip, you should install obconf and obmenu, they can handle most of the setup graphically if you need it.

skottish · 2008-11-30 03:20:38

SamC wrote:

Just a tip, you should install obconf and obmenu, they can handle most of the setup graphically if you need it.

And openbox-themes too. No one should be without.

elmer_42 · 2008-11-30 04:56:31

skottish wrote:

And openbox-themes

I actually prefer to find and install only the themes I actually want.

Hrod beraht · 2008-11-30 14:38:23

banshee28 wrote:

...i think openbox did load, but the screen is blank except for the mouse. When I right click, i can see the openbox options, but since the window is black I cant see any windows.

It sounds like Openbox is working fine. If you see the Openbox menu when you right-click, it must be working.
The blank screen with just a mouse is how Openbox starts. There simply aren't any default windows to see. Try starting a program to see a window.

Bob

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 17:23:46

Hrod beraht wrote:

banshee28 wrote:
...i think openbox did load, but the screen is blank except for the mouse. When I right click, i can see the openbox options, but since the window is black I cant see any windows.
It sounds like Openbox is working fine. If you see the Openbox menu when you right-click, it must be working.
The blank screen with just a mouse is how Openbox starts. There simply aren't any default windows to see. Try starting a program to see a window.
Bob

Bob, this must be the case, but it seems like only some programs open on the list but not all. Nothing under Accessories, graphics, multimedia and most file managers other than Thunar will not open. Amarok and Firefox both open fine. Reconfigure openbox does not work either. Ob conf manager opens fine.

I installed lxde and it opens fine, has the full desktop, icons, start menu, etc. All programs seem to work. Maybe since lxde is the full DE, and is using openbox for the WM...I guess I am still learning the difference between just a WM and a DE

skottish · 2008-11-30 17:48:57

banshee28 wrote:

Hrod beraht wrote:
banshee28 wrote:
...i think openbox did load, but the screen is blank except for the mouse. When I right click, i can see the openbox options, but since the window is black I cant see any windows.
It sounds like Openbox is working fine. If you see the Openbox menu when you right-click, it must be working.
The blank screen with just a mouse is how Openbox starts. There simply aren't any default windows to see. Try starting a program to see a window.
Bob
Bob, this must be the case, but it seems like only some programs open on the list but not all. Nothing under Accessories, graphics, multimedia and most file managers other than Thunar will not open. Amarok and Firefox both open fine. Reconfigure openbox does not work either. Ob conf manager opens fine.
I installed lxde and it opens fine, has the full desktop, icons, start menu, etc. All programs seem to work. Maybe since lxde is the full DE, and is using openbox for the WM...I guess I am still learning the difference between just a WM and a DE

You're going to need to setup a pipe-menu to get the right click menu to show all of your stuff. Read the obm-xdg stuff here:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Openbox

And then this thread may help:

http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=58447

Sometimes menu items are in languages that I don't have enabled.

--EDIT--

You can show anything that you want in an Openbox menu. What I mentioned above is the basically the same as what you're seeing in lxde.

Last edited by skottish (2008-11-30 17:58:53)

banshee28 · 2008-11-30 18:28:39

Thanks skottish..... Guess I still have more to read and configure...I will get it setup eventually. Luckily this is installed on my laptop as a "test" build until I get everything working. I will then install on my main pc.

skottish · 2008-11-30 18:32:16

banshee28 wrote:

Thanks skottish..... Guess I still have more to read and configure...I will get it setup eventually. Luckily this is installed on my laptop as a "test" build until I get everything working. I will then install on my main pc.

You're welcome.

One thing that's really cool about Openbox is that it's supremely well designed. Once you do a couple of things like this, the entire system will fall into place for you.

Last edited by skottish (2008-11-30 20:33:19)

Hrod beraht · 2008-11-30 18:36:54

banshee28 wrote:

...it seems like only some programs open on the list but not all. Nothing under Accessories, graphics, multimedia and most file managers other than Thunar will not open. Amarok and Firefox both open fine. Reconfigure openbox does not work either. Ob conf manager opens fine.

The default Openbox menu seems a bit messy to me. But that doesn't matter as the default menu isn't something you're likely to keep as you'll customize the menu to your particular installation. That's the reason only some programs work, because the menu isn't customized to your particular installation. Just because the menu has an entry for Program X doesn't mean it will run. You have to have actually installed that program or no-go. Install Obmenu and use that to customize your menu to your particular installation. The 'reconfigure' option on the Openbox menu, by the way, isn't for changing the menu, it merely refreshes the menu after you have made a change.

Bob

Last edited by Hrod beraht (2008-11-30 18:37:53)

Arch Linux

#1 2008-11-30 02:04:03

Cant install OpenBox ??

#2 2008-11-30 02:09:54

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#3 2008-11-30 02:16:43

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#4 2008-11-30 02:17:21

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#5 2008-11-30 02:21:33

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#6 2008-11-30 02:38:24

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#7 2008-11-30 02:51:08

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#8 2008-11-30 02:55:16

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#9 2008-11-30 03:14:02

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#10 2008-11-30 03:19:15

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#11 2008-11-30 03:20:38

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#12 2008-11-30 04:56:31

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#13 2008-11-30 14:38:23

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#14 2008-11-30 17:23:46

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#15 2008-11-30 17:48:57

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#16 2008-11-30 18:28:39

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#17 2008-11-30 18:32:16

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

#18 2008-11-30 18:36:54

Re: Cant install OpenBox ??

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