[SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

agkbill · 2011-08-01 21:13:04

Hi,

I am running Xmonad and would like to get xmobar up and running with it.

Instalation with pacman OK and I can start with just

xmobar

or as in the wiki

xmobar -B white -a right -F blue -t '%LIPB%' -c '[Run Weather "LIPB" [] 36000]'

The problem is that I can not se the bar if a window is up, for example xterm. Changing to a empty workspace and I se the bar, but opening xterm it disapears behind it.

Any idea what is happening here?

My xmonad.hs look like this:

--
-- xmonad example config file.
--
-- A template showing all available configuration hooks,
-- and how to override the defaults in your own xmonad.hs conf file.
--
-- Normally, you'd only override those defaults you care about.
--

import XMonad
import Data.Monoid
import System.Exit

import qualified XMonad.StackSet as W
import qualified Data.Map        as M

-- The preferred terminal program, which is used in a binding below and by
-- certain contrib modules.
--
myTerminal      = "xterm"

-- Whether focus follows the mouse pointer.
myFocusFollowsMouse :: Bool
myFocusFollowsMouse = True

-- Width of the window border in pixels.
--
myBorderWidth   = 3 

-- modMask lets you specify which modkey you want to use. The default
-- is mod1Mask ("left alt").  You may also consider using mod3Mask
-- ("right alt"), which does not conflict with emacs keybindings. The
-- "windows key" is usually mod4Mask.
--
myModMask       = mod4Mask

-- The default number of workspaces (virtual screens) and their names.
-- By default we use numeric strings, but any string may be used as a
-- workspace name. The number of workspaces is determined by the length
-- of this list.
--
-- A tagging example:
--
-- > workspaces = ["web", "irc", "code" ] ++ map show [4..9]
--
myWorkspaces    = ["1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9"]

-- Border colors for unfocused and focused windows, respectively.
--
myNormalBorderColor  = "#dddddd"
myFocusedBorderColor = "#ff0000"

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Key bindings. Add, modify or remove key bindings here.
--
myKeys conf@(XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = M.fromList $

    -- launch a terminal
    [ ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_Return), spawn $ XMonad.terminal conf)

    -- launch dmenu
    , ((modm,               xK_p     ), spawn "exe=`dmenu_run` && eval \"exec $exe\"")

    -- launch gmrun
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_p     ), spawn "gmrun")

    -- close focused window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_c     ), kill)

     -- Rotate through the available layout algorithms
    , ((modm,               xK_space ), sendMessage NextLayout)

    --  Reset the layouts on the current workspace to default
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_space ), setLayout $ XMonad.layoutHook conf)

    -- Resize viewed windows to the correct size
    , ((modm,               xK_n     ), refresh)

    -- Move focus to the next window
    , ((modm,               xK_Tab   ), windows W.focusDown)

    -- Move focus to the next window
    , ((modm,               xK_j     ), windows W.focusDown)

    -- Move focus to the previous window
    , ((modm,               xK_k     ), windows W.focusUp  )

    -- Move focus to the master window
    , ((modm,               xK_m     ), windows W.focusMaster  )

    -- Swap the focused window and the master window
    , ((modm,               xK_Return), windows W.swapMaster)

    -- Swap the focused window with the next window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_j     ), windows W.swapDown  )

    -- Swap the focused window with the previous window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_k     ), windows W.swapUp    )

    -- Shrink the master area
    , ((modm,               xK_h     ), sendMessage Shrink)

    -- Expand the master area
    , ((modm,               xK_l     ), sendMessage Expand)

    -- Push window back into tiling
    , ((modm,               xK_t     ), withFocused $ windows . W.sink)

    -- Increment the number of windows in the master area
    , ((modm              , xK_comma ), sendMessage (IncMasterN 1))

    -- Deincrement the number of windows in the master area
    , ((modm              , xK_period), sendMessage (IncMasterN (-1)))

    -- Toggle the status bar gap
    -- Use this binding with avoidStruts from Hooks.ManageDocks.
    -- See also the statusBar function from Hooks.DynamicLog.
    --
    -- , ((modm              , xK_b     ), sendMessage ToggleStruts)

    -- Quit xmonad
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_q     ), io (exitWith ExitSuccess))

    -- Restart xmonad
    , ((modm              , xK_q     ), spawn "xmonad --recompile; xmonad --restart")
    ]
    ++

    --
    -- mod-[1..9], Switch to workspace N
    -- mod-shift-[1..9], Move client to workspace N
    --
    [((m .|. modm, k), windows $ f i)
        | (i, k) <- zip (XMonad.workspaces conf) [xK_1 .. xK_9]
        , (f, m) <- [(W.greedyView, 0), (W.shift, shiftMask)]]
    ++

    --
    -- mod-{w,e,r}, Switch to physical/Xinerama screens 1, 2, or 3
    -- mod-shift-{w,e,r}, Move client to screen 1, 2, or 3
    --
    [((m .|. modm, key), screenWorkspace sc >>= flip whenJust (windows . f))
        | (key, sc) <- zip [xK_w, xK_e, xK_r] [0..]
        , (f, m) <- [(W.view, 0), (W.shift, shiftMask)]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Mouse bindings: default actions bound to mouse events
--
myMouseBindings (XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = M.fromList $

    -- mod-button1, Set the window to floating mode and move by dragging
    [ ((modm, button1), (\w -> focus w >> mouseMoveWindow w
                                       >> windows W.shiftMaster))

    -- mod-button2, Raise the window to the top of the stack
    , ((modm, button2), (\w -> focus w >> windows W.shiftMaster))

    -- mod-button3, Set the window to floating mode and resize by dragging
    , ((modm, button3), (\w -> focus w >> mouseResizeWindow w
                                       >> windows W.shiftMaster))

    -- you may also bind events to the mouse scroll wheel (button4 and button5)
    ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Layouts:

-- You can specify and transform your layouts by modifying these values.
-- If you change layout bindings be sure to use 'mod-shift-space' after
-- restarting (with 'mod-q') to reset your layout state to the new
-- defaults, as xmonad preserves your old layout settings by default.
--
-- The available layouts.  Note that each layout is separated by |||,
-- which denotes layout choice.
--
myLayout = tiled ||| Mirror tiled ||| Full
  where
     -- default tiling algorithm partitions the screen into two panes
     tiled   = Tall nmaster delta ratio

     -- The default number of windows in the master pane
     nmaster = 1

     -- Default proportion of screen occupied by master pane
     ratio   = 2/3 

     -- Percent of screen to increment by when resizing panes
     delta   = 3/100

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Window rules:

-- Execute arbitrary actions and WindowSet manipulations when managing
-- a new window. You can use this to, for example, always float a
-- particular program, or have a client always appear on a particular
-- workspace.
--
-- To find the property name associated with a program, use
-- > xprop | grep WM_CLASS
-- and click on the client you're interested in.
--
-- To match on the WM_NAME, you can use 'title' in the same way that
-- 'className' and 'resource' are used below.
--
myManageHook = composeAll
    [ className =? "MPlayer"        --> doFloat
    , className =? "Gimp"           --> doFloat
    , resource  =? "desktop_window" --> doIgnore
    , resource  =? "kdesktop"       --> doIgnore ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Event handling

-- * EwmhDesktops users should change this to ewmhDesktopsEventHook
--
-- Defines a custom handler function for X Events. The function should
-- return (All True) if the default handler is to be run afterwards. To
-- combine event hooks use mappend or mconcat from Data.Monoid.
--
myEventHook = mempty

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Status bars and logging

-- Perform an arbitrary action on each internal state change or X event.
-- See the 'XMonad.Hooks.DynamicLog' extension for examples.
--
myLogHook = return ()

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Startup hook

-- Perform an arbitrary action each time xmonad starts or is restarted
-- with mod-q.  Used by, e.g., XMonad.Layout.PerWorkspace to initialize
-- per-workspace layout choices.
--
-- By default, do nothing.
myStartupHook = return ()

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Now run xmonad with all the defaults we set up.

-- Run xmonad with the settings you specify. No need to modify this.
--
main = xmonad defaults

-- A structure containing your configuration settings, overriding
-- fields in the default config. Any you don't override, will
-- use the defaults defined in xmonad/XMonad/Config.hs
--
-- No need to modify this.
--
defaults = defaultConfig {
      -- simple stuff
        terminal           = myTerminal,
        focusFollowsMouse  = myFocusFollowsMouse,
        borderWidth        = myBorderWidth,
        modMask            = myModMask,
        workspaces         = myWorkspaces,
        normalBorderColor  = myNormalBorderColor,
        focusedBorderColor = myFocusedBorderColor,

      -- key bindings
        keys               = myKeys,
        mouseBindings      = myMouseBindings,

      -- hooks, layouts
        layoutHook         = myLayout,
        manageHook         = myManageHook,
        handleEventHook    = myEventHook,
        logHook            = myLogHook,
        startupHook        = myStartupHook
    }

Best regards,
/Christer

Last edited by agkbill (2011-08-02 19:21:45)

valium97582 · 2011-08-01 21:18:16

It is an Xmobar configuration issue. Try to use the Xmobar configuration found on the step-by-step xmonad guide on the xmonad website.

Works on my computer. (TM)

mjdwitt · 2011-08-02 15:32:24

You need to use the avoidStruts and manageDocks layout and manage hooks, respectively. See John Goerzen's configuration over at the xmonad wiki for a simple example of a customized xmonad.hs with xmobar.

agkbill · 2011-08-02 19:21:21

Thank you!

I was following John Goerzen's configuration but I tried to get everything up and running at once.

I now got the bar up and running OK, started by Xmonad according to Johns description.

But now DMENU stoped working, I only get a white field when I activate it. I guess it have to do with that they are located in the same place. Well, I will work on that later.

Next is to configure the bar as I would like to have it.

You are great! Thanks for helping!

Best regards,
/Christer

mjdwitt · 2011-08-02 19:47:05

agkbill wrote:

But now DMENU stoped working, I only get a white field when I activate it.

A group of us actually just ran into that the other week when we upgraded dmenu. There's a whole thread in this forum somewhere about it, but in short, you need to override the default binding for (modMask, xk_p) so that it spawns the updated script called "dmenu_run" instead of the now-obsolete method used in the default config. There are multiple ways to do this and I am not enough of an expert to really recommend any way in particular, so you're probably best off just reading the thread and deciding for yourself unless someone more knowledgeable than myself happens across this thread.

agkbill wrote:

I guess it have to do with that they are located in the same place.

This can actually be managed just by adding some extra arguments when spawning dmenu_run. The arguments allowed are the same as those allowed by dmenu, so check

$ man dmenu

agkbill · 2011-08-05 16:46:57

Hi,

The problem with DMENU was not the issue with upgrade. I had already made the change to "dmenu_run".

In John Goerzen's configur it is the line.

main = do
    xmonad $ defaultConfig
        { manageHook = manageDocks <+> manageHook defaultConfig
        , layoutHook = avoidStruts  $  layoutHook defaultConfig
        }

I had to change it to.

main = do
    xmproc <- spawnPipe "/usr/bin/xmobar /home/christer/.xmonad/xmobarrc"
    xmonad defaults
        { manageHook = manageDocks <+> manageHook defaultConfig
        , layoutHook = avoidStruts  $  layoutHook defaultConfig
        }

Before the settings I did for DMENU was ignored, guess it was due to "xmonad $ defaultConfig" setting.

I need to learn more about the syntax in .xmonad.hs

My xmonad.hs now look like this (input for improvement most wellcome).

--
-- xmonad example config file.
--
-- A template showing all available configuration hooks,
-- and how to override the defaults in your own xmonad.hs conf file.
--
-- Normally, you'd only override those defaults you care about.
--

import XMonad
import Data.Monoid
import System.Exit

import XMonad.Hooks.ManageDocks
import XMonad.Util.Run(spawnPipe)

import qualified XMonad.StackSet as W
import qualified Data.Map        as M


main = do
    xmproc <- spawnPipe "/usr/bin/xmobar /home/christer/.xmonad/xmobarrc"
    xmonad defaults
        { manageHook = manageDocks <+> manageHook defaultConfig
        , layoutHook = avoidStruts  $  layoutHook defaultConfig
        } 



-- The preferred terminal program, which is used in a binding below and by
-- certain contrib modules.
--
myTerminal      = "xterm"

-- Whether focus follows the mouse pointer.
myFocusFollowsMouse :: Bool
myFocusFollowsMouse = True

-- Width of the window border in pixels.
--
myBorderWidth   = 3


-- modMask lets you specify which modkey you want to use. The default
-- is mod1Mask ("left alt").  You may also consider using mod3Mask
-- ("right alt"), which does not conflict with emacs keybindings. The
-- "windows key" is usually mod4Mask.
--
myModMask       = mod4Mask

-- The default number of workspaces (virtual screens) and their names.
-- By default we use numeric strings, but any string may be used as a
-- workspace name. The number of workspaces is determined by the length
-- of this list.
--
-- A tagging example:
--
-- > workspaces = ["web", "irc", "code" ] ++ map show [4..9]
--
myWorkspaces    = ["1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9"]

-- Border colors for unfocused and focused windows, respectively.
--
myNormalBorderColor  = "#dddddd"
myFocusedBorderColor = "#ff0000"

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Key bindings. Add, modify or remove key bindings here.
--
myKeys conf@(XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = M.fromList $

    -- launch a terminal
    [ ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_Return), spawn $ XMonad.terminal conf)

    -- launch dmenu
    , ((modm,               xK_p     ), spawn "dmenu_run -b")

    -- launch gmrun
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_p     ), spawn "gmrun")

    -- close focused window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_c     ), kill)

     -- Rotate through the available layout algorithms
    , ((modm,               xK_space ), sendMessage NextLayout)

    --  Reset the layouts on the current workspace to default
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_space ), setLayout $ XMonad.layoutHook conf)

    -- Resize viewed windows to the correct size
    , ((modm,               xK_n     ), refresh)

    -- Move focus to the next window
    , ((modm,               xK_Tab   ), windows W.focusDown)

    -- Move focus to the next window
    , ((modm,               xK_j     ), windows W.focusDown)

    -- Move focus to the previous window
    , ((modm,               xK_k     ), windows W.focusUp  )

    -- Move focus to the master window
    , ((modm,               xK_m     ), windows W.focusMaster  )

    -- Swap the focused window and the master window
    , ((modm,               xK_Return), windows W.swapMaster)

    -- Swap the focused window with the next window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_j     ), windows W.swapDown  )

    -- Swap the focused window with the previous window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_k     ), windows W.swapUp    )

    -- Shrink the master area
    , ((modm,               xK_h     ), sendMessage Shrink)

    -- Expand the master area
    , ((modm,               xK_l     ), sendMessage Expand)

    -- Push window back into tiling
    , ((modm,               xK_t     ), withFocused $ windows . W.sink)

    -- Increment the number of windows in the master area
    , ((modm              , xK_comma ), sendMessage (IncMasterN 1))

    -- Deincrement the number of windows in the master area
    , ((modm              , xK_period), sendMessage (IncMasterN (-1)))

    -- Toggle the status bar gap
    -- Use this binding with avoidStruts from Hooks.ManageDocks.
    -- See also the statusBar function from Hooks.DynamicLog.
    --
    -- , ((modm              , xK_b     ), sendMessage ToggleStruts)

    -- Quit xmonad
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_q     ), io (exitWith ExitSuccess))

    -- Restart xmonad
    , ((modm              , xK_q     ), spawn "xmonad --recompile; xmonad --restart")
    ]
    ++

    --
    -- mod-[1..9], Switch to workspace N
    -- mod-shift-[1..9], Move client to workspace N
    --
    [((m .|. modm, k), windows $ f i)
        | (i, k) <- zip (XMonad.workspaces conf) [xK_1 .. xK_9]
        , (f, m) <- [(W.greedyView, 0), (W.shift, shiftMask)]]
    ++

    --
    -- mod-{w,e,r}, Switch to physical/Xinerama screens 1, 2, or 3
    -- mod-shift-{w,e,r}, Move client to screen 1, 2, or 3
    --
    [((m .|. modm, key), screenWorkspace sc >>= flip whenJust (windows . f))
        | (key, sc) <- zip [xK_w, xK_e, xK_r] [0..]
        , (f, m) <- [(W.view, 0), (W.shift, shiftMask)]]


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Mouse bindings: default actions bound to mouse events
--
myMouseBindings (XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = M.fromList $

    -- mod-button1, Set the window to floating mode and move by dragging
    [ ((modm, button1), (\w -> focus w >> mouseMoveWindow w
                                       >> windows W.shiftMaster))

    -- mod-button2, Raise the window to the top of the stack
    , ((modm, button2), (\w -> focus w >> windows W.shiftMaster))

    -- mod-button3, Set the window to floating mode and resize by dragging
    , ((modm, button3), (\w -> focus w >> mouseResizeWindow w
                                       >> windows W.shiftMaster))

    -- you may also bind events to the mouse scroll wheel (button4 and button5)
    ]------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Layouts:

-- You can specify and transform your layouts by modifying these values.
-- If you change layout bindings be sure to use 'mod-shift-space' after
-- restarting (with 'mod-q') to reset your layout state to the new
-- defaults, as xmonad preserves your old layout settings by default.
--
-- The available layouts.  Note that each layout is separated by |||,
-- which denotes layout choice.
--
myLayout = tiled ||| Mirror tiled ||| Full
  where
     -- default tiling algorithm partitions the screen into two panes
     tiled   = Tall nmaster delta ratio

     -- The default number of windows in the master pane
     nmaster = 1

     -- Default proportion of screen occupied by master pane
     ratio   = 2/3 

     -- Percent of screen to increment by when resizing panes
     delta   = 3/100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Window rules:

-- Execute arbitrary actions and WindowSet manipulations when managing
-- a new window. You can use this to, for example, always float a
-- particular program, or have a client always appear on a particular
-- workspace.
--
-- To find the property name associated with a program, use
-- > xprop | grep WM_CLASS
-- and click on the client you're interested in.
--
-- To match on the WM_NAME, you can use 'title' in the same way that
-- 'className' and 'resource' are used below.
--
myManageHook = composeAll
    [ className =? "MPlayer"        --> doFloat
    , className =? "Gimp"           --> doFloat
    , resource  =? "desktop_window" --> doIgnore
    , resource  =? "kdesktop"       --> doIgnore ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Event handling

-- * EwmhDesktops users should change this to ewmhDesktopsEventHook
--
-- Defines a custom handler function for X Events. The function should
-- return (All True) if the default handler is to be run afterwards. To
-- combine event hooks use mappend or mconcat from Data.Monoid.
--
myEventHook = mempty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Status bars and logging

-- Perform an arbitrary action on each internal state change or X event.
-- See the 'XMonad.Hooks.DynamicLog' extension for examples.
--
myLogHook = return ()

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Startup hook

-- Perform an arbitrary action each time xmonad starts or is restarted
-- with mod-q.  Used by, e.g., XMonad.Layout.PerWorkspace to initialize
-- per-workspace layout choices.
--
-- By default, do nothing.
myStartupHook = return ()

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Now run xmonad with all the defaults we set up.

-- Run xmonad with the settings you specify. No need to modify this.
--
-- main = xmonad defaults

-- A structure containing your configuration settings, overriding
-- fields in the default config. Any you don't override, will
-- use the defaults defined in xmonad/XMonad/Config.hs
--
-- No need to modify this.
--
defaults = defaultConfig {
      -- simple stuff
        terminal           = myTerminal,
        focusFollowsMouse  = myFocusFollowsMouse,
        borderWidth        = myBorderWidth,
        modMask            = myModMask,
        workspaces         = myWorkspaces,
        normalBorderColor  = myNormalBorderColor,
        focusedBorderColor = myFocusedBorderColor,

      -- key bindings
        keys               = myKeys,
        mouseBindings      = myMouseBindings,

      -- hooks, layouts
        layoutHook         = myLayout,
        manageHook         = myManageHook,
        handleEventHook    = myEventHook,
        logHook            = myLogHook,
        startupHook        = myStartupHook
    }

All the best!
/Christer

Arch Linux

#1 2011-08-01 21:13:04

[SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

#2 2011-08-01 21:18:16

Re: [SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

#3 2011-08-02 15:32:24

Re: [SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

#4 2011-08-02 19:21:21

Re: [SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

#5 2011-08-02 19:47:05

Re: [SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

#6 2011-08-05 16:46:57

Re: [SOLVED] With Xmonad, xmobar not visible behind windows.

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