Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

xn123 · 2009-11-21 21:04:37

I originally liked the idea of maximum screen usage with minimum fuss, but I seem to be mentally and physically paralyzed the entire time I try to use it.

How long did it take you to get use to a tiling-window-manager, and was it really worth it?

SoleSoul · 2009-11-21 21:18:55

I didn't try awesome, but my first and only tiling wm is wmii and after completing the few minutes welcome tutorial and one hour of using it I felt comfortable with it and now I use it as a standalone environment (ie, no DE).
Give it a try.

humanzoo · 2009-11-21 21:34:57

I tried awesome and found I liked the tiling window manager concept. For some reason though, I could not get my mind around awesome's config file. On a whim, I tried subtle window manager... and I haven't looked back. The config file is done in ruby, but is very easy to customize (IMO). Tiling is done manually, with full screen as the default (which suits me just fine). The way virtual desktops (views) are handled is a little different from your average WM. Still, it didn't take me long to get used to how it works and I have to say, it was totally worth it.

flamelab · 2009-11-21 21:38:19

Ι only tried once to use a tiling WM, that was Awesome. After I found out how to manage the rc.lua config, they changed the syntax and I had to reconfigure it again. Too much time for nothing.

Dwm needs knowledge on C, I guess (I'm not sure).

mikesd · 2009-11-21 21:42:36

I became used to a tiling WM fairly quickly. I did have to print out the default key bindings at first to get used to how things were done. After a while though it just became automatic and I was able to start customising.

jasonwryan · 2009-11-21 21:48:22

I gave Awesome a crack, but never really got the hang of the config. Once I moved to dwm, I was sold. Simple, lightweight and does everything I need. I have zero C skills but have managed to configure it to exactly how I want it. I never thought I'd remove Openbox from my Eee, but dwm has convinced me...

trann · 2009-11-21 21:57:20

I still enjoy using Xmonad, but on my workstation I use Awesome and love it. Didn't take me long to get used to either of them.

Toke · 2009-11-21 23:54:40

The first tiling-wm I tested was Awesome, and I still use it. I actually like the lua-based config file. Not that I'm good at lua, but I understand it. But I haven't configured it that much, just a few non-mentionable changes. Suprisingly enough I liked the default config.

JohannesSM64 · 2009-11-22 00:02:33

I had a go with Awesome the other day, and I really liked the default config too. Except for the awful default window organization mode. I found a mode that I liked though (number 5 I think) but couldn't figure out how to make it default. I hated the lua config file. I also didn't like how some GUI apps just didn't work out with tiling, though some were automatically set to floating because of "hints set by the window".. Sometimes Firefox was forced to float, sometimes it wasn't. MPlayer was always forced to float, Mirage was never. Meh.

Last edited by JohannesSM64 (2009-11-22 00:06:05)

Ghost1227 · 2009-11-22 00:13:13

I've tried virtually all of the tiling WMs (and most of the floating as well), and although I don't use it exclusively, I do spend most of my time in Awesome. The defaults are remarkably usable and configuration isn't difficult even if you don't know lua.

JohannesSM64 · 2009-11-22 00:15:02

The configuration changes drastically with every new release though, I've heard
edit: not bashing anyone, just saying my (little) experience wasn't good

Last edited by JohannesSM64 (2009-11-22 00:41:42)

llcawthorne · 2009-11-22 05:06:13

I recall switching to tiling pretty easy, but then again, I don't open a lot of different windows for the most part. It suits my default layout of a browser and three terminals that I do "work" in great, and I just switch to another workspace and fire up a full screen whatever when I want to do something different.

I recall liking most of the defaults (except the layout) for awesome more than the other tiling WMs I looked at before it. I found in the FAQ how to set the default layout easily enough.

That being said, I use xmonad on my laptop and desktop. If I am going to learn a language to cnofigure my WM, I prefer Haskell, since it is so different from what I am accustomed to. The configuration also seems to vary less from version to version, from my little bit of experience and a whole lot of reports by others.

Everyone seems to say that DWM requires knowlege of C, but the config.h file is really pretty self-explanatory, IMHO. I copied it over from abs and looked, and you don't really need to know C since all the comments align in columns with their respective comma separated values for the most part. Even without a C background, I believe it would be an easier to understand configuration than what either Awesome or XMonad, if you don't need the expanded features either of those offer.

s3kt0r · 2009-11-22 12:45:17

After 1 month using awesome, I realized that automatic tiling and rc.lua changes in almost every version are not for me. Someone here in the forums told me about ratpoison, which I am using right now. Config file is pretty simple, and there's a thread on the forums with ratpoisonrc code. I can't seem to change to another tiling/floating, ratpoison does the trick for me, been using it for 6 months or more, don't remember.

lolilolicon · 2009-11-22 13:29:38

I first tried dwm, it's damn simple. Configuration plain and simple.
I use awesome quite like using dwm, actually. The reason why awesome is good in my point of view is it is "bloated" -- it is complete by itself. You get a bar which supports colors/fonts/widgets/tooltips/notification/systray/launcher etc etc. this is very different from other tiling/floating window managers and it is good. You don't need something like dzen2 dmenu xmonbar or tint2 or *panel, or *tray. i feel good when i feel my window manager (or call DE if you prefer) complete as a whole, and everything is configured with two files: rc.lua and theme.lua. And also I find some of the tiling layouts very interesting. Would be really fun to write my own, if only I know lua...
Configuration is not that hard to understand in my experience. Read through one of the good configs like the one from anrxc which is always up to date, and you may pretty well get the idea.

Cyrusm · 2009-11-22 15:36:25

I tried awesome for a couple of weeks, I wasn't really a fan at all and it turned me off of TWM's for about a year after that. I was too stuck on thinking that floating windows was the way things ought to work. After a long time I realized that I was either expanding the window to fit the entire screen, or spending 10 minutes carefully positioning each window so that I could see it, and I decided I probably ought to give twm's another chance. I switched to Xmonad because of it's reported stability, speed, and because it works well with multihead layouts and since I've switched I've never wanted to go back. It did take a couple of days to get used to all of the keybindings, the syntax of the config file, and other little nuances that come with switching. but you're going to run into that with any DE/WM. (standard twm love story)

Last edited by Cyrusm (2009-11-25 04:43:02)

nerdbot · 2009-11-22 15:54:25

The first tiling WM I ever met was Ion (speaking of terrifying config files), and ratpoison shortly after. I really dug the concepts behind them but for one reason or another, they didn't ever really stick with me and I always ended up going back to a stacking WM (afterstep, IIRC. This was... a while ago. )

When my interest was renewed in tiling WMs a little while ago, the first one I tried was Awesome2, which I loved. I'm now running 3.4 and I quite like it, although having to start a new configuration file from scratch in a language I don't particularly like does start to grate after a while.

Generally I find that every now and then, an application or WM or whatever will just stick with me, and it's not really a question of which has more intuitive keybindings or an easier configuration file so much as, heh, yes, what sticks.

xn123 · 2009-11-22 16:14:11

Thanks for all the great feedback! I am now trying wmii, and will try ratpoison and some of the others mentioned here. I still get confused, but the simpler they are, the less confused I get. I guess I just have to not give up so quickly. thanks again!

RevAaron · 2009-11-24 21:17:10

xn123 wrote:

I originally liked the idea of maximum screen usage with minimum fuss, but I seem to be mentally and physically paralyzed the entire time I try to use it.
How long did it take you to get use to a tiling-window-manager, and was it really worth it?

I dunno- maybe that's your problem. With ion initially, and xmonad and awesome after that I didn't have to get *used to* them so much as I was happy to have finally found a window manager that worked in the way I did.

It's laborious to play with xmobar configs or set up your keys, but I've not had a problem doing that as someone without much Haskell or Lua experience; no more than trying color and font settings for other WMs.

It's a lot more painful to use a non-tiling WM like Openbox or metacity or those built-in to XP and OS X. For years before I ever discovered a tiling WM I've been doing the work of a tiling WM manually; I've written way too much AutoHotKey and AppleScript for setting up a workspace of terminals like I wanted them, etc etc.

I've been using awesome lately; I seem to have problems with dwm and wmii, getting stuck in weird 'modes.' I do miss ion and it's ability to have tabs for each window within the overall frame. I imagine there's a way to get that in awesome or xmonad, but there's nothing in the example configs that jumps out at me.

Just my experience... Perhaps they aren't your thing.

darthlukan · 2009-11-24 22:10:48

I swear by awesome! I've used MANY window managers in the past (fluxbox, afterstep, window-maker, kde, gnome, xfce, wmii, xmonad, just to name a few...) and I must say that nothing compares to awesome. I have NO expertise in lua at all, I haven't even tried scripting "hello world" yet... but a few trials and errors and I figured out what NOT to do in the rc.conf.

I think the reason why most people (myself included) have a difficult time with awesome (and any other similar wm) is that it offers almost too much control over it's behavior. Most users are used to a graphical configurator or a config file that spells it all out (a la fluxbox). Sitting down and reading the how tos and various wikis got me up and running in about five minutes (mod4+r was crucial...) and from there it was "how to I change the background?", "how do I modify layouts and keys?", etc.

Personally I don't know what I ever did without awesome...my wife (a KDE user to a fault) is even jealous of how awesome awesome looks on my machines and loves being able to set up her menus (easily) to show ONLY what she wants to show when she wants to show them...She's about ready to dump the cartoony and bubbly kde for awesome...and that's.......awesome

If you need help setting it up, or coding widgets etc, hit me up, I'll help you out with a link to my own "dummy proof" blog on how to setup awesome...it has pictures

Arch Linux

#1 2009-11-21 21:04:37

Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#2 2009-11-21 21:18:55

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#3 2009-11-21 21:34:57

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#4 2009-11-21 21:38:19

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#5 2009-11-21 21:42:36

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#6 2009-11-21 21:48:22

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#7 2009-11-21 21:57:20

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#8 2009-11-21 23:54:40

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#9 2009-11-22 00:02:33

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#10 2009-11-22 00:13:13

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#11 2009-11-22 00:15:02

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#12 2009-11-22 05:06:13

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#13 2009-11-22 12:45:17

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#14 2009-11-22 13:29:38

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#15 2009-11-22 15:36:25

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#16 2009-11-22 15:54:25

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#17 2009-11-22 16:14:11

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#18 2009-11-24 21:17:10

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

#19 2009-11-24 22:10:48

Re: Awesome makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

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