Some information on the Fluxbox ["window_manager"].

?TableOfContents

Introduction

In ["Unix"] computing, Fluxbox is fast and light ["window manager"] for the ["X Window System"] based on ["Blackbox"] 0.61.1. and compatible with it. It has support for KDE (see ["DebianKDE"]) and ["Gnome"] applications.

Unlike the heavy weights, Gnome and KDE which take 15-30 seconds to get up and running, Fluxbox is up and running as soon as you hit the enter key. Its menu and configuration is done by simple files located in the user directory under the name .fluxbox.

Fluxbox has a slick tabbing mechanism for windows. You can combine multiple windows into one window with tabs across the top by simply middle-clicking the tab of one window (and holding it down) and dragging and dropping on the tab of another window. This is very nice for cleaning up a desktop without exiling applications to other virtual windows (it has those too).

Another nice feature is Fluxbox's support for docking applications. Basically a docking app runs as sort of an icon with minature display or controls. But not like an icon, more like small controls on a walkman (for example) as opposed to a big dial face of a home stereo. It aims to be lightweight and highly customizable, with only minimal support for graphical icons, and only basic interface style capabilities. The basic interface has only a TaskBar and a menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop. Fluxbox also supports user created ?KeyboardShortcut s.

Fluxbox is an amazing piece of software that does not depend on any other WindowManager. It is small, fast and almost a sure thing for pleasing the eye. (Source < 500K) . It can be stored in a 64 M UsbKey (see DamnSmallLinux).

In accordance with Fluxbox's goal of simplicity, the main menu, the keyboard shortcuts and the basic configuration are all changed by editing text files. Fluxbox's themes are 100% compatible with those of blackbox. Colors, gradients, borders, and several other basic appearance attributes can be specified; recent versions of Fluxbox support rounded corners and graphical elements. Fluxbox also has several features which blackbox lack, including ?TabbedWindow s, a feature familiar from ["PWM"], and configurable titlebar.

Installation

When you install Fluxbox in ["Debian"] a right-click desktop menu is automagically generated.

# apt-get install fluxbox

The Fluxbox DebianPackage contains the following tools:

Fluxbox Session

KDM and GDM

To start a Fluxbox session from ["KDM"] or ["GDM"] you can choose 'fluxbox' from the session or session-type menu.

XDM

To run Fluxbox from xdm you should setup a .xsession file in your ["home_directory"].

exec startfluxbox

Alternatively there is the possibility to use the debian alternatives (see ["update-alternatives"]) and setup x-session-manager to be Fluxbox.

From Commandline

To run Fluxbox from the commandline login, setup the .["xinitrc"] file in your ["home_directory"] and insert the following line:

exec startfluxbox

Alternatively there is the possibility to use the debian alternatives (see ["update-alternatives"]) and setup x-window-manager to be Fluxbox.

Configuration

Keyboard Shortcuts

It is possible to setup a wide range of keyboard shortcuts for Fluxbox using the ~/.fluxbox/keys configuration (although it is possible to use another name and specify it in ~/.fluxbox/init).

The key file has a rather simple and clean layout, as shown in the following example:

# fluxbox keys file
Mod1 Tab :NextWindow
Mod1 Shift Tab :PrevWindow

Mod1 F1 :Workspace 1
Mod1 F2 :Workspace 2
Mod1 F3 :Workspace 3
Mod1 F4 :Workspace 4

Mod1 a :Maximize
Mod1 h :MaximizeHorizontal
Mod1 v :MaximizeVertical
Mod1 q :ExecCommand aterm
Mod1 d :ToggleDecor

So the general layout is:

<modifier> <key> [...] :<operation>

NOTE: The following tables are not complete!

modifier

key on the keyboard

Mod1

Alt

Mod4

OS, a.k.a. Win-key

Control

control key

Shift

shift key

keys

key on the keyboard

a-zA-Z0-9

letters and digits, case insensitive

Escape

the escape key

Right|Left|Up|Down

Arrow-keys beyond the Home/End keys

Tab

tabulator key

Delete

delete key

operations

action

Workspace N

switch to workspace N

PrevWindow|NextWindow

cycle to prev/next window on current workspace

Exec|ExecCommand

execute the following arguments

FullScreen

toggle fullscreen for the current window

ToggleDecor

toggle window decorations

Maximize[Horizontal|Vertical]

toggle maximize for current window

NextTab|PrevTab

switch between tabs

MoveTo x y

move the current window to coordinates (x,y) (where (0,0) is the upper left corner

ArrangeWindows

automatically arrange windows on current desktop

RootMenu

popup the rootmenu on the cursor's position

Modifier, keys and operations are not case sensitive, it's a matter of readability in this case.

Further Information

See also ["xinitrc"], ?FluxboxMenu, FluxboxIcon, ?FluxboxBackground, ["slit"], ["Free Desktop"], ["GDM"].

External links