Can't Start xfwm4

[Olivier Fourdan]

John,

Ok, let's try to make things simple: In xfce4, all components are
separate, ie, if you run xfwm4 you get a window manager, and only a
window manager, while if you run xfce4-panel, you get just the panel.

This way, you can decide what to run, let's say, xfwm4 + gnome-panel +
kdesktop + konqueror... (that's just an example)

If you want to run just the window manager (xfwm4) then you need another
application to be able to launch apps. xfce4 provides the xfce4-panel
for that prupose, but you may want to run something else, you can choose
from plenty of apps that can do the job, using Rox (http://rox.sf.net)
for example.

But you can run xfwm4 from ~/.xinitrc with something like this:

xfwm4&
xterm

The session will stay active until you close the terminal. It's the most
basic session I can think of...

I think the misunderstanding comes from that some other window managers
take the "all-in-one" approach, providing menus, taskbar, etc. In xfce4,
it's separate apps, so you can "build" your prefered desktop the way you
want.

Cheers,
Olivier.

On Tue, 2003-09-09 at 20:38, John Lowell wrote:
> Joe, Olivier, Jasper, and Biju,
> 
> Re-reading all the messages in this thread, its becoming clear to me that
> I'm mistaken to conclude that xfwm4 can't be used in the way I want to use
> it, it's simply that it's out-of-the-package functionality differs from that
> of, say, fluxbox or waimea. Where fluxbox can be started by making an entry
> in ~/.xinitrc and programs can be run via a menu from there, one needs to
> handle xfwm4 somewhat differently to achieve the same result. What's still a
> bit unclear to me is how to get it to start. I think I understand what
> packages I need to install to get things to work and, in fact, I have them
> installed already, that is to say xfwm4, xfce4-desktop, xfce-mcs-manager,
> startup-notification, and xfce4-iconbox. What's getting past me is how to
> start them, and in what order. Biju has suggested two methods, one of them
> starting XFree86 and using xterm to launch xfwm4, at least that's what I
> understand him to be saying. Are we limited to something like this or can
> ~/.xinitrc be arranged in such a way to do the trick? I'm told with some
> emphasis that a window manager requires window to manage and that's all well
> and good but how do we make that possible via ~/.xintrc if it is possible to
> do that at all. As much as window managers require windows to manage,
> programs need to be opened into something that will manage their windows. I
> certainly hope we're not in a which-comes-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg
> situation.
> 
> I would very much like to use xfwm4 as my stand-alone window manager. All of
> my experience with stand-alone window managers to date is with ones that
> function along the lines of a fluxbox. You make appropriate entries in
> ~/.xintrc you run startx and, voila, you're able to open programs. I
> wouldn't bring this question here at all if I didn't feel that xfwm4 had
> something more to offer me than fluxbox. Assuming a fresh install of my
> distro and all of the needed packages, what do I need to do to get this
> thing to work?
> 
> John Lowell
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joe Klemmer" <klemmerj at webtrek.com>
> To: "XFce is a lightweight desktop environment for various UNIX systems."
> <xfce at xfce.org>
> Cc: "John Lowell" <johnlowell at ameritech.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 9:46 AM
> Subject: Re: Can't Start xfwm4
> 
> 
> > On Tue, 9 Sep 2003, John Lowell wrote:
> >
> > > It would seems that I've been acting on a mistaken premise: That xfwm4,
> > > when used as a stand-alone, would function in a way similar to fluxbox
> > > or waimea and offer similar capabilities. One does well not to force
> > > square pegs into round holes, eh? :-)
> > >
> > > Since it had not been my choice to install a full scale DE, but rather
> > > to use something substantially lighter simply to open programs, it looks
> > > as though I'll have to set xfwm4 aside. Its clearly intended to operate
> > > only inside the xfce4 envelope.
> >
> > No need to do that.  fluxbox and the rest are built to start up
> > the equivalent to xfwm4, xfce4-desktop & either the taskbar or the
> > iconbox.  I'm betting that you'll see more functionality with this kind of
> > xfwm setup and an equal or lesser usage of system resources.
> >
> > --
> > Joe "Kuramarujo" Klemmer
> > Hoping to make Ozeki someday.
> >
> >
> >
-- 
Olivier Fourdan - fourdan at xfce.org
   
   Interoperability is the keyword, uniformity is a dead end. 
   http://www.xfce.org