Some OpenBox questions for a noob

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-11 17:55:28

Well...I'm sure of this is a repost, but I've done extensive searching to get as far as I have and I just feel stuck right now.

I've got OpenBox installed and setup with pypanel, uxrvt, thunar, leafpad, and firefox.

pypanel is far from tweaked to 100% my satisfaction - but I've got a grasp of it.

thunar is showing icons and cooperating great at this point.

leafpad is awesome with how leightweight and straightforward it is.

uxrvt - I like it so far...but how do I actually change the config for this one? ~/.Xauthority is just a jumbled mess that I cant see any logical config format for. I havent really been able to find any guides for tweaking this either. Help or sample configs would be appreciated.

Additionally, I got spoiled by the alt-f2 launchers in gnome/kde and miss it terribly. I cant really find a solution or how to bind anything to keys in OpenBox to do this. I saw some close approximations but had to take care of some other setup first, and now I cant find it again haha

Next question - is it okay to uninstall all of the X**** stuff that shows up in the mmaker -vf OpenBox3 output...will I cause system problems to get rid of stuff like xbiff and xcalc to replace with better apps for the purpose? If it has a potential to cause problems...I'll just manually delete that stuff from the XML after I generate a new menu.

Is there any way I can click on pypanel and pull up the "right click" openbox menu instead of having to minimize full size windows to get to that menu?

I apologize for any of this which is repost or searchable solutions...but I havent been having luck with these few items. Other than that - I'm amazed at all the difficulties the wiki and forum DID get me past with ease. So far I'm really digging the simple leightweight openbox style. Its fast and very clean looking...seems super stable so far too!

Thank you in advance!

XFire · 2009-05-11 18:05:19

Check the wiki for Gmrun
I think you configure uxrvt in Xdefaults opposed to the other one

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-11 18:13:16

XFire wrote:

Check the wiki for Gmrun
I think you configure uxrvt in Xdefaults opposed to the other one

Derp...gmrun is right in the openbox wiki...I need to call it a day soon - I'm burning out and not seeing this I suppose haha. Thanks for the suggestion though!

I dont have an .Xdefaults in ~/ - only the .Xauthority. Is Xdefaults located somewhere else...is there a skeleton file I can copy as a working basis?

EDIT: xdefaults such as described here? http://fluxbox-wiki.org/index.php?title … _Xdefaults

Last edited by thisperishedmin (2009-05-11 18:13:39)

scv5 · 2009-05-11 19:23:59

thisperishedmin wrote:

uxrvt - I like it so far...but how do I actually change the config for this one? ~/.Xauthority is just a jumbled mess that I cant see any logical config format for. I havent really been able to find any guides for tweaking this either. Help or sample configs would be appreciated.

I have the following in my .Xresources file then I just do a xrdb -all ~/.Xresources.

URxvt*termName: rxvt-unicode
URxvt*urlLauncher: /usr/bin/firefox
URxvt*saveLines: 4000
URxvt*background: black
URxvt*secondaryScroll: true
URxvt*scrollBar: false
URxvt*geometry: 150x25
URxvt.font: xft:DejaVu Sans Mono:size=8
URxvt.xftAntialias:      true
URxvt*foreground: white 
URxvt*pointerColor: white
URxvt*pointerColorBackground: black
URxvt*cursorColor: white 
!URxvt*inheritPixmap: True
!URxvt*shading: 90   
!URxvt*tintColor: #999
URxvt*keysym.Home: \033[1~
URxvt*keysym.End: \033[4~

Additionally, I got spoiled by the alt-f2 launchers in gnome/kde and miss it terribly. I cant really find a solution or how to bind anything to keys in OpenBox to do this. I saw some close approximations but had to take care of some other setup first, and now I cant find it again haha

sudo pacman -Sy gmrun

then add this to your ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml file (if it's not there, or the directories not there, create them. do an updatedb / locate rc.xml (i forget where the system wide one is in Arch by default) and copy the file to ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml

This keybinding needs to be in it:

  <keybind key="A-F2">
      <action name="Execute">
        <execute>gmrun</execute>
      </action>
  </keybind>

Last edited by scv5 (2009-05-11 19:24:16)

genisis300 · 2009-05-11 19:31:51

Is there any way I can click on pypanel and pull up the "right click" openbox menu instead of having to minimize full size windows to get to that menu?

not sure on that one but you can set a border around the edge of the screen so that you can access the right click menu.
it's in the obconf options

pacman -S obconf

Knute · 2009-05-11 19:41:45

urxvt is configured in your ~/.Xdefaults file. If it's not there, just make it.

There are lots of apps that can be configured in .Xdefaults, so it's good to learn about it.

For a launcher I acutally use dmenu. I have a script that will put a bar across the bottom of my screen and shows the apps as I type.
There was one in awesome 2.0 that I liked better, but this is ok.

HTH

NeoXP · 2009-05-11 21:01:04

thisperishedmin wrote:

...
Is there any way I can click on pypanel and pull up the "right click" openbox menu instead of having to minimize full size windows to get to that menu?

You could always make a keybinding to launch the menu, I have this one in my rc,xml:

    <keybind key="A-space">
      <action name="ShowMenu">
        <menu>root-menu</menu>
      </action>
    </keybind>

When I press alt+spacebar my menu appears under my mousepointer.

genisis300 · 2009-05-11 21:10:26

NeoXP wrote:

thisperishedmin wrote:
...
Is there any way I can click on pypanel and pull up the "right click" openbox menu instead of having to minimize full size windows to get to that menu?
You could always make a keybinding to launch the menu, I have this one in my rc,xml:
    <keybind key="A-space">
      <action name="ShowMenu">
        <menu>root-menu</menu>
      </action>
    </keybind>
When I press alt+spacebar my menu appears under my mousepointer.

thats not a bad idea (off to edit my rc.xml)

NeoXP · 2009-05-11 21:21:55

genisis300 wrote:

NeoXP wrote:
thisperishedmin wrote:
...
Is there any way I can click on pypanel and pull up the "right click" openbox menu instead of having to minimize full size windows to get to that menu?
You could always make a keybinding to launch the menu, I have this one in my rc,xml:
...
When I press alt+spacebar my menu appears under my mousepointer.
thats not a bad idea (off to edit my rc.xml)

Not using my mouse much after switching to OpenBox. I love keybindings .

celettu · 2009-05-11 22:06:25

Seriously, read this:

http://urukrama.wordpress.com/openbox-guide/

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-12 12:25:25

so much custom configuration its ALMOST overwhelming...i love this haha. So many key bindings to be done, too

scv5 wrote:

I have the following in my .Xresources file then I just do a xrdb -all ~/.Xresources.

URxvt*termName: rxvt-unicode
URxvt*urlLauncher: /usr/bin/firefox
URxvt*saveLines: 4000
URxvt*background: black
URxvt*secondaryScroll: true
URxvt*scrollBar: false
URxvt*geometry: 150x25
URxvt.font: xft:DejaVu Sans Mono:size=8
URxvt.xftAntialias:      true
URxvt*foreground: white 
URxvt*pointerColor: white
URxvt*pointerColorBackground: black
URxvt*cursorColor: white 
!URxvt*inheritPixmap: True
!URxvt*shading: 90   
!URxvt*tintColor: #999
URxvt*keysym.Home: \033[1~
URxvt*keysym.End: \033[4~

This config is a great starting point...thank you! I will definitely be looking into this file more sometime soon!

genisis300 wrote:

Is there any way I can click on pypanel and pull up the "right click" openbox menu instead of having to minimize full size windows to get to that menu?
not sure on that one but you can set a border around the edge of the screen so that you can access the right click menu.
it's in the obconf options
pacman -S obconf

duh - I cant believe I didn't think of that....great idea - thanks! I already had obconf installed and used it too - so this worked out great.

celettu wrote:

Seriously, read this:
http://urukrama.wordpress.com/openbox-guide/

ctrl+d haha. This looks like a great guide - thanks for the link.

Everyone else - thanks for the help so far!

New question...I added gDeskCal for a simple calendar application, and it works great. However, it shows up on pypanel across all 4 desktops. Any way i could remove it from the panel all together or specify it should only be on pypanel on a certain desktop, etc.? I dug through pypanels config and info and the config for gDeskCal to no avail...far from a deal breaker but it would be cool to change haha.

Thanks again everyone!!!

rangalo · 2009-05-12 13:24:38

I think this can be configured in rc.xml file in applications section

  <application name="gDeskCal">
      <layer>below</layer>
      <skip_taskbar>yes</skip_taskbar>
      <skip_pager>yes</skip_pager>
  </application>

I don't use gdeskCAL, so may be you have to find out the class or name of the application as openbox recognizes gdeslket.

More info can be found here. http://icculus.org/openbox/index.php/He … ettings.29

Last edited by rangalo (2009-05-12 13:27:02)

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-12 16:37:04

rangalo wrote:

I think this can be configured in rc.xml file in applications section
  <application name="gDeskCal">
      <layer>below</layer>
      <skip_taskbar>yes</skip_taskbar>
      <skip_pager>yes</skip_pager>
  </application>
I don't use gdeskCAL, so may be you have to find out the class or name of the application as openbox recognizes gdeslket.
More info can be found here. http://icculus.org/openbox/index.php/He … ettings.29

Thanks! For those interested, the exact code I used was:

  
<application name="gdeskcal" class="Gdeskcal">
      <layer>below</layer>
      <skip_taskbar>yes</skip_taskbar>
      <skip_pager>yes</skip_pager>
  </application>

Thanks for steering me in the right direction though

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-13 17:28:46

I need some way to lock the screen when I walk away at work...nothing fancy, but requires password entry in order to resume work. Preferably leaves apps open and unchanged.

Any suggestions? How does everyone else not using gnome/kde handle this?

Thanks...

Ashren · 2009-05-13 17:30:56

slock?

http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=7123

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-13 17:44:16

Well...call me crazy but I cant figure out how to return to my session after using slock... moving the mouse / hitting keys doesnt do anything...

I started slock from terminal and from alt+f2 gmrun. Is there something I'm missing?

I'd prefer not to use an actual login manager as the wiki suggests either...

Thanks for the quick reply though

Edit: nvm - I'm an idiot

For future reference simply type the password and hit enter haha.

Last edited by thisperishedmin (2009-05-13 17:47:38)

Ashren · 2009-05-13 17:59:21

Yeah slock is pretty secure in that way. Passersby have no idea if their unlocking attempts are doing anything.

thisperishedmin · 2009-05-13 18:35:13

assuming vty2-7 are locked or logged out - they shouldnt be able to gain access to those....but is there any way that they could switch to virtual console 2, then back to 1 - at which point it shows text output of x running, and somehow kill x and resume console session? I dont think so...but I cant help but wonder...

(when I couldnt figure out how to unlock, I went to virtual console 2 and logged in and killed x. this automatically put me back in console 1 to launch x again. next time i locked it and tried to figure it out - i bounced to virtual console 2 to find it unlocked and waiting... thus my inquiry... I will have to ensure other sessions stay locked...)

Thanks for the recommendation! perfect light tool for what I needed

Arch Linux

#1 2009-05-11 17:55:28

Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#2 2009-05-11 18:05:19

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#3 2009-05-11 18:13:16

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#4 2009-05-11 19:23:59

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#5 2009-05-11 19:31:51

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#6 2009-05-11 19:41:45

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#7 2009-05-11 21:01:04

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#8 2009-05-11 21:10:26

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#9 2009-05-11 21:21:55

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#10 2009-05-11 22:06:25

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#11 2009-05-12 12:25:25

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#12 2009-05-12 13:24:38

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#13 2009-05-12 16:37:04

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#14 2009-05-13 17:28:46

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#15 2009-05-13 17:30:56

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#16 2009-05-13 17:44:16

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#17 2009-05-13 17:59:21

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

#18 2009-05-13 18:35:13

Re: Some OpenBox questions for a noob

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