Configurating ICEWM with IcePref
Icepref is one of the most complete tools to configure icewm. Once installed the package, we can
configure almost all features of our favorite window manager without editing any line of text. The
program is organized in a few tabs which are in the left side. Each one of these tabs allow us to
enter in the different sections of configuration, whose options are shown in the right side of the window.
These are the sections:
- Behavior
- Focus
- Window Placement
- Borders
- Timings
- Thresholds
- Mouse Buttons
- Title Buttons
- Paths
- Commands
- Formats
- Theme
- Fonts
- Colors
- Wallpaper
- Key bindings
- Desktops
The way it works is really easy: we access each of the config tabs in the left side, and in each
section we mark the options we need. Once all is ok, we only have to press "Save" and after that
"Restart", so the changes will take effect. We can do this, if we have changed some options
and we need to check if the result is successful or it is not. Once we are sure we chose the
correct config, we will quit with "Close" button. Finally, it is important to say, that the
"Defaults" button allow us to give the desktop the default options.
In http://members.nbci.com/SaintChoj/icepref.html, icepref's creator's page, you can find more information about this interesting config tool for icewm.
You can also find the latest version of tools to configure icewm in
http://www.icewm.org/index.php/utilities.html.
Configuring ICEWM with IceConf
This is another tool available to config the icewm. Although it is not so complete as icepref, it can be
very useful in some situations, and there is people who prefer this one. It is organized in a few sections,
like the previous one, using tabs to select the different config sections. These sections are not so much
organized as in icepref, because in this case they are only five sections and several options that are
in different groups in the other program, are now together.
Iceconf allow us to configure easily a lot of features of icewm, although its number is not so high as in previous tool. The sections are:
- Taskbar
- Fonts
- Windows
- Sizes
- Misc
Mainly these five sections allow us to configure almost all parameters that icepref can. The use of this tool is easier, but it has the disadvantage of not to have a button to reload the config, so we will have to test the changes manually. To sum up, this is a more modest tool than previous, but is enough to people who does not need a very exhaustive config of icewm.
The main page of iceconf, is http://freshmeat.net/redir/iceconf/4286/url_homepage/,
although it is not active at the moment of writing these lines.
Modifying the menus with KIceMenu
KIceMenu is a config tool for icewm, that allow us to personalize the menus of the "Start" button on our taskbar using an easier way than editing our ~/.icewm/menu manually.
The way it works is very simple. In the left side of the screen, it there is a tree that we will see in structure of menu when we click in the "Start" button. By clicking with the right button of the mouse over one of the entries, we will access to a contextual menu that which be used to add new directories, separators or programs to run, or move/remove the existing entries.
In the right side it is shown the kind of entry we are creating. If we are creating an entry to run a program, we only have to assign a name to it in "Name" and introduce in "Command" the command that will run when the menu entry is pressed. It is so easy. By repeating this operation, we can configure quickly and easily our menu with all our common programs, with a good look.
The official web page of this useful tool is: http://freshmeat.net/redir/kicemenu/5143/url_homepage/
Changing Icons and Themes of ICEWM
Icons used by Icewm are in format XPM and are saved in .icewm/icons called like the following:
xterm_16x16.xpm
xterm_32x32.xpm
xisp_16x16.xpm
xisp_32x32.xpm
bomb_16x16.xpm
...
When we define icons in the menu or toolbar file we only have to push the icon's name (in other words, where is xterm_16x16.xpm, write xterm)
as Icewm will take one or other icon size according with taskbar size and screen resolution.
We can download new icons on http://www.icewm.org/index.php/icons.html and
copy them to icons directory to have news icons.
With themes it is similar: Icewm themes can be found on http://icewm.themes.org and
are simple .tar.gz files that we can uncompress in .icewm/themes. After that we will modify the preferences file to say ICEWM what theme we want to use.
# Theme (theme_directory/default.theme)
Theme="metal-small/default.theme"
-