mwm (X) X Version 11 (Release 4) mwm (X)
NAME
mwm - The Motif Window Manager.
SYNOPSIS
mwm [options]
DESCRIPTION
mwm is an X Window System client that provides win-
dow management functionality and some session
management functionality. It provides functions
that facilitate control (by the user and the pro-
grammer) of elements of window states such as place-
ment, size, icon/normal display, and input-focus
ownership. It also provides session management
functions such as stopping a client.
OPTIONS
-display display
This option specifies the display to use;
see X(X).
-xrm resourcestring
This option specifies a resource string to
use.
-multiscreen
This option causes mwm to manage all screens
on the display. The default is to manage
only a single screen.
-name name
This option causes mwm to retrieve its
resources using the specified name, as in
name*resource.
-screens name [name [...]]
This option specifies the resource names to
use for the screens managed by mwm. If mwm
is managing a single screen, only the first
name in the list is used. If mwm is manag-
ing multiple screens, the names are assigned
to the screens in order, starting with
screen 0. Screen 0 gets the first name,
screen 1 the second name, and so on.
Appearance
The following sections describe the basic default
behaviors of windows, icons, the icon box, input
focus, and window stacking. The appearance and
behavior of the window manager can be altered by
changing the configuration of specific resources.
Resources are defined under the heading "X
DEFAULTS."
Screens
By default, mwm manages only the single screen
specified by the -display option or the DISPLAY
environment variable (by default, screen 0). If the
-multiscreen option is specified or if the mul-
tiScreen resource is True, mwm tries to manage all
the screens on the display.
When mwm is managing multiple screens, the -screens
option can be used to give each screen a unique
resource name. The names are separated by blanks,
for example, -screens mwm0 mwm1. If there are more
screens than names, resources for the remaining
screens will be retrieved using the first name.
Windows
Default mwm window frames have distinct components
with associated functions:
Title Area In addition to displaying the
client's title, the title area is
used to move the window. To move
the window, place the pointer over
the title area, press button 1 and
drag the window to a new location.
A wire frame is moved during the
drag to indicate the new location.
When the button is released, the
window is moved to the new loca-
tion.
Title Bar The title bar includes the title
area, the minimize button, the
maximize button, and the window
menu button.
Minimize Button To turn the window into an icon,
click button 1 on the minimize
button (the frame box with a small
square in it).
Maximize Button To make the window fill the screen
(or enlarge to the largest size
allowed by the configuration
files), click button 1 on the max-
imize button (the frame box with a
large square in it).
Window Menu Button
The window menu button is the
frame box with a horizontal bar in
it. To pull down the window menu,
press button 1. While pressing,
drag the pointer on the menu to
your selection, then release the
button when your selection is
highlighted. Alternately, you can
click button 1 to pull down the
menu and keep it posted; then
position the pointer and select.
______________________________________________________________
Default Window Menu
______________________________________________________________
Selection Accelerator Description
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Restore Alt+F5 Restores the window to its size
before minimizing or maximizing
______________________________________________________________
Move Alt+F7 Allows the window to be moved
with keys or mouse
______________________________________________________________
Size Alt+F8 Allows the window to be resized
______________________________________________________________
Minimize Alt+F9 Turns the window into an icon
______________________________________________________________
Maximize Alt+F10 Makes the window fill the screen
______________________________________________________________
Lower Alt+F3 Moves window to bottom of window
stack
______________________________________________________________
Close Alt+F4 Causes client to terminate
______________________________________________________________
Resize Border Handles
To change the size of a window,
move the pointer over a resize
border handle (the cursor
changes), press button 1, and drag
the window to a new size. When
the button is released, the window
is resized. While dragging is
being done, a rubber-band outline
is displayed to indicate the new
window size.
Matte An optional matte decoration can be
added between the client area and
the window frame. A matte is not
actually part of the window frame.
There is no functionality associ-
ated with a matte.
Icons
Icons are small graphic representations of windows.
A window can be minimized (iconified) using the
minimize button on the window frame. Icons provide
a way to reduce clutter on the screen.
Pressing mouse button 1 when the pointer is over an
icon causes the icon's window menu to pop up.
Releasing the button (press + release without moving
mouse = click) causes the menu to stay posted. The
menu contains the following selections:
___________________________________________________________________
Icon Window Menu
___________________________________________________________________
Selection Accelerator Description
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Restore Alt+F5 Opens the associated window
___________________________________________________________________
Move Alt+F7 Allows the icon to be moved with keys
___________________________________________________________________
Size Alt+F8 Inactive (not an option for icons)
___________________________________________________________________
Minimize Alt+F9 Inactive (not an option for icons)
___________________________________________________________________
Maximize Alt+F10 Opens the associated window and makes
it fill the screen
___________________________________________________________________
Lower Alt+F3 Moves icon to bottom of icon stack
___________________________________________________________________
Close Alt+F4 Removes client from mwm management
___________________________________________________________________
Note that pressing button 3 over an icon also causes
the icon's window menu to pop up. To make a menu
selection, drag the pointer over the menu and
release button 3 when the desired item is
highlighted.
Double-clicking button 1 on an icon normalizes the
icon into its associated window. Double-clicking
button 1 on the icon box's icon opens the icon box
and allows access to the contained icons. (In gen-
eral, double-clicking a mouse button is a quick way
to perform a function.) Double-clicking button 1
with the pointer on the window menu button closes
the window.
Icon Box
When icons begin to clutter the screen, they can be
packed into an icon box. (To use an icon box, mwm
must be started with the icon box configuration
already set.) The icon box is a mwm window that
holds client icons. It includes one or more scroll
bars when there are more window icons than the icon
box can show at the same time.
Icons in the icon box can be manipulated with the
mouse. The following table summarizes the behavior
of this interface. Button actions apply whenever
the pointer is on any part of the icon. Note that
invoking the f.raise function on an icon in the icon
box raises an already open window to the top of the
stack.
__________________________________________________________________
Button Action Description
__________________________________________________________________
Button 1 click Selects the icon
__________________________________________________________________
Button 1 double-click Normalizes (opens) the associated window
__________________________________________________________________
Button 1 double-click Raises an already open window to the top
of the stack
__________________________________________________________________
Button 1 drag Moves the icon
__________________________________________________________________
Button 3 press Causes the menu for that icon to pop up
__________________________________________________________________
Button 3 drag Highlights items as the pointer moves
across the menu
__________________________________________________________________
Pressing mouse button 3 when the pointer is over an
icon causes the menu for that icon to pop up.
___________________________________________________________________
Icon Menu for the Icon Box
___________________________________________________________________
Selection Accelerator Description
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Restore Alt+F5 Opens the associated window (if not
already open)
___________________________________________________________________
Move Alt+F7 Allows the icon to be moved with keys
___________________________________________________________________
Size Alt+F8 Inactive
___________________________________________________________________
Minimize Alt+F9 Inactive
___________________________________________________________________
Maximize Alt+F10 Opens the associated window (if not
already open) and maximizes its size
___________________________________________________________________
Lower Alt+F3 Inactive
___________________________________________________________________
Close Alt+F4 Removes client from mwm management
___________________________________________________________________
To pull down the window menu for the icon box
itself, press button 1 with the pointer over the
menu button for the icon box. The window menu of the
icon box differs from the window menu of a client
window: The "Close" selection is replaced with the
"PackIcons Shift+Alt+F7" selection. When selected,
PackIcons packs the icons in the box to achieve neat
rows with no empty slots.
Pressing [Shift][Escape] when the icon box has the
input focus causes the window menu of the icon box
to pop up. Pressing F4 (the pop-up menu key) causes
the window menu of the currently selected icon to
pop up.
Input Focus
mwm supports (by default) a keyboard input focus
policy of explicit selection. This means when a
window is selected to get keyboard input, it contin-
ues to get keyboard input until the window is with-
drawn from window management, another window is
explicitly selected to get keyboard input, or the
window is iconified. Several resources control the
input focus. The client window with the keyboard
input focus has the active window appearance with a
visually distinct window frame.
The following tables summarize the keyboard input
focus selection behavior:
____________________________________________________________________
Button Action Object Function Description
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Button 1 press Window / window frame Keyboard focus selection
____________________________________________________________________
Button 1 press Icon Keyboard focus selection
____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Key Action Function Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
[Alt][Tab] Move input focus to next window in window stack
_________________________________________________________________________
[Alt][Shift][Tab] Move input focus to previous window in window stack
_________________________________________________________________________
X Defaults
mwm is configured from its resource database. This
database is built from the following sources. They
are listed in order of precedence, low to high:
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Mwm
$HOME/Mwm
RESOURCE_MANAGER root window property or
$HOME/.Xdefaults
XENVIRONMENT variable or $HOME/.Xdefaults-host
mwm command line options
The file names /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Mwm and
$HOME/Mwm represent customary locations for these
files. The actual location of the system-wide class
resource file may depend on the XFILESEARCHPATH
environment variable and the current language
environment. The actual location of the user-
specific class resource file may depend on the
XUSERFILESEARCHPATH and XAPPLRESDIR environment
variables and the current language environment.
Entries in the resource database may refer to other
resource files for specific types of resources.
These include files that contain bitmaps, fonts, and
mwm specific resources such as menus and behavior
specifications (for example, button and key bind-
ings).
Mwm is the resource class name of mwm and mwm is the
resource name used by mwm to look up resources. (For
looking up resources of multiple screens, the
-screens command line option specifies resource
names, such as "mwm_b+w" and "mwm_color".) In the
following discussion of resource specification,
"Mwm" and "mwm" (and the aliased mwm resource names)
can be used interchangeably, but "mwm" takes pre-
cedence over "Mwm".
mwm uses the following types of resources:
Component Appearance Resources:
These resources specify appearance attributes of
window manager user interface components. They can
be applied to the appearance of window manager
menus, feedback windows (for example, the window
reconfiguration feedback window), client window
frames, and icons.
Specific Appearance and Behavior Resources:
These resources specify mwm appearance and behavior
(for example, window management policies). They are
not set separately for different mwm user interface
components.
Client Specific Resources:
These mwm resources can be set for a particular
client window or class of client windows. They
specify client-specific icon and client window frame
appearance and behavior.
Resource identifiers can be either a resource name
(for example, foreground) or a resource class (for
example, Foreground). If the value of a resource is
a filename and if the filename is prefixed by "~/",
then it is relative to the path contained in the
HOME environment variable (generally the user's home
directory).
Component Appearance Resources
The syntax for specifying component appearance
resources that apply to window manager icons, menus,
and client window frames is
Mwm*resource_id
For example, Mwm*foreground is used to specify the
foreground color for mwm menus, icons, client window
frames, and feedback dialogs.
The syntax for specifying component appearance
resources that apply to a particular mwm component
is
Mwm*[menu|icon|client|feedback]*resource_id
If menu is specified, the resource is applied only
to mwm If menu is specified, the resource is applied
only to MWM menus; if icon is specified, the
resource is applied to icons; and if client is
specified, the resource is applied to client window
frames. For example, Mwm*icon*foreground is used to
specify the foreground color for mwm icons,
Mwm*menu*foreground specifies the foreground color
for mwm menus, and Mwm*client*foreground is used to
specify the foreground color for mwm client window
frames.
The appearance of the title area of a client window
frame (including window management buttons) can be
separately configured. The syntax for configuring
the title area of a client window frame is
Mwm*client*title*resource_id
For example, Mwm*client*title*foreground specifies
the foreground color for the title area. Defaults
for title area resources are based on the values of
the corresponding client window frame resources.
The appearance of menus can be configured based on
the name of the menu. The syntax for specifying
menu appearance by name is
Mwm*menu*menu_name*resource_id
For example, Mwm*menu*mymenu*foreground specifies
the foreground color for the menu named mymenu.
The following component appearance resources that
apply to all window manager parts can be specified:
__________________________________________________________________
Component Appearance Resources - All Window Manager Parts
__________________________________________________________________
Name Class Value Type Default
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
background Background color varies†
__________________________________________________________________
backgroundPixmap BackgroundPixmap string†† varies†
__________________________________________________________________
bottomShadowColor Foreground color varies†
__________________________________________________________________
bottomShadowPixmap BottomShadowPixmap string†† varies†
__________________________________________________________________
fontList FontList string††† "fixed"
__________________________________________________________________
foreground Foreground color varies†
__________________________________________________________________
saveUnder SaveUnder T/F F
__________________________________________________________________
topShadowColor Background color varies†
__________________________________________________________________
topShadowPixmap TopShadowPixmap string†† varies
__________________________________________________________________
† The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
†† Image name. See XmInstallImage(Xm).
††† X11 R4 Font description.
background (class Background)
This resource specifies the background color. Any
legal X color may be specified. The default
value is chosen based on the visual type of the
screen.
backgroundPixmap (class BackgroundPixmap)
This resource specifies the background Pixmap of
the mwm decoration when the window is inactive
(does not have the keyboard focus). The default
value is chosen based on the visual type of the
screen.
bottomShadowColor (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color.
This color is used for the lower and right bevels
of the window manager decoration. Any legal X
color may be specified. The default value is
chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
bottomShadowPixmap (class BottomShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap.
This Pixmap is used for the lower and right bev-
els of the window manager decoration. The default
is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
fontList (class FontList)
This resource specifies the font used in the win-
dow manager decoration. The character encoding
of the font should match the character encoding
of the strings that are used. The default is
"fixed."
foreground (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the foreground color.
The default is chosen based on the visual type of
the screen.
saveUnder (class SaveUnder)
This is used to indicate whether "save unders"
are used for mwm components. For this to have
any effect, save unders must be implemented by
the X server. If save unders are implemented,
the X server saves the contents of windows
obscured by windows that have the save under
attribute set. If the saveUnder resource is
True, mwm will set the save under attribute on
the window manager frame of any client that has
it set. If saveUnder is False, save unders will
not be used on any window manager frames. The
default value is False.
topShadowColor (class Background)
This resource specifies the top shadow color.
This color is used for the upper and left bevels
of the window manager decoration. The default is
chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
topShadowPixmap ( class TopShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the top shadow Pixmap.
This Pixmap is used for the upper and left bevels
of the window manager decoration. The default is
chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
The following component appearance resources that
apply to frame and icons can be specified:
___________________________________________________________________
Frame and Icon Components
___________________________________________________________________
Name Class Value Type Default
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
activeBackground Background color varies†
___________________________________________________________________
activeBackgroundPixmap BackgroundPixmap string †† varies†
___________________________________________________________________
activeBottomShadowColor Foreground color varies†
___________________________________________________________________
activeBottomShadowPixmap BottomShadowPixmap string†† varies†
___________________________________________________________________
activeForeground Foreground color varies†g
___________________________________________________________________
activeTopShadowColor Background color varies†
___________________________________________________________________
activeTopShadowPixmap TopShadowPixmap string†† varies†
___________________________________________________________________
† The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
†† See XmInstallImage(Xm).
activeBackground (class Background)
This resource specifies the background color of
the mwm decoration when the window is active (has
the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based
on the visual type of the screen.
activeBackgroundPixmap (class ActiveBackgroundPixmap)
This resource specifies the background Pixmap of
the mwm decoration when the window is active (has
the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based
on the visual type of the screen.
activeBottomShadowColor (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color
of the mwm decoration when the window is active
(has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen
based on the visual type of the screen.
activeBottomShadowPixmap (class BottomShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap
of the mwm decoration when the window is active
(has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen
based on the visual type of the screen.
activeForeground (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the foreground color of
the mwm decoration when the window is active (has
the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based
on the visual type of the screen.
activeTopShadowColor (class Background)
This resource specifies the top shadow color of
the mwm decoration when the window is active (has
the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based
on the visual type of the screen.
activeTopShadowPixmap (class TopShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the top shadow Pixmap of
the mwm decoration when the window is active (has
the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based
on the visual type of the screen.
Specific Appearance and Behavior Resources
The syntax for specifying specific appearance and
behavior resources is
Mwm*resource_id
For example, Mwm*keyboardFocusPolicy specifies the
window manager policy for setting the keyboard focus
to a particular client window.
The following specific appearance and behavior
resources can be specified:
__________________________________________________________________________
Specific Appearance and Behavior Resources
__________________________________________________________________________
Name Class Value Type Default
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
autoKeyFocus AutoKeyFocus T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
autoRaiseDelay AutoRaiseDelay millisec 500
__________________________________________________________________________
bitmapDirectory BitmapDirectory directory /usr/include/\
X11/bitmaps
__________________________________________________________________________
buttonBindings ButtonBindings string "Default-
But\
tonBind-
ings"
__________________________________________________________________________
cleanText CleanText T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
clientAutoPlace ClientAutoPlace T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
colormapFocusPolicy ColormapFocusPolicy string keyboard
__________________________________________________________________________
configFile ConfigFile file .mwmrc
__________________________________________________________________________
deiconifyKeyFocus DeiconifyKeyFocus T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
doubleClickTime DoubleClickTime millisec. multi-click
time
__________________________________________________________________________
enableWarp enableWarp T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
enforceKeyFocus EnforceKeyFocus T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
fadeNormalIcon FadeNormalIcon T/F F
__________________________________________________________________________
frameBorderWidth FrameBorderWidth pixels 5
__________________________________________________________________________
iconAutoPlace IconAutoPlace T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
iconBoxGeometry IconBoxGeometry string 6x1+0-0
__________________________________________________________________________
iconBoxName IconBoxName string iconbox
__________________________________________________________________________
iconBoxSBDisplayPolicy IconBoxSBDisplayPolicy string all
__________________________________________________________________________
iconBoxTitle IconBoxTitle XmString Icons
__________________________________________________________________________
iconClick IconClick T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
iconDecoration IconDecoration string varies
__________________________________________________________________________
iconImageMaximum IconImageMaximum wxh 50x50
__________________________________________________________________________
iconImageMinimum IconImageMinimum wxh 16x16
__________________________________________________________________________
iconPlacement IconPlacement string left bottom
__________________________________________________________________________
iconPlacementMargin IconPlacementMargin pixels varies
__________________________________________________________________________
interactivePlacement InteractivePlacement T/F F
__________________________________________________________________________
keyBindings KeyBindings string "DefaultKey\
Bindings"
__________________________________________________________________________
keyboardFocusPolicy KeyboardFocusPolicy string explicit
__________________________________________________________________________
limitResize LimitResize T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
lowerOnIconify LowerOnIconify T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
maximumMaximumSize MaximumMaximumSize wxh 2X screen
(pixels) w&h
__________________________________________________________________________
moveThreshold MoveThreshold pixels 4
__________________________________________________________________________
multiScreen MultiScreen T/F F
__________________________________________________________________________
passButtons PassButtons T/F F
__________________________________________________________________________
passSelectButton PassSelectButton T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
positionIsFrame PositionIsFrame T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
positionOnScreen PositionOnScreen T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
quitTimeout QuitTimeout millisec. 1000
__________________________________________________________________________
raiseKeyFocus RaiseKeyFocus T/F F
__________________________________________________________________________
resizeBorderWidth ResizeBorderWidth pixels 10
__________________________________________________________________________
resizeCursors ResizeCursors T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
screens Screens string varies
__________________________________________________________________________
showFeedback ShowFeedback string -kill
__________________________________________________________________________
startupKeyFocus StartupKeyFocus T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
transientDecoration TransientDecoration string system title
__________________________________________________________________________
transientFunctions TransientFunctions string -minimize
-maximize
__________________________________________________________________________
useIconBox UseIconBox T/F F
__________________________________________________________________________
wMenuButtonClick WMenuButtonClick T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
wMenuButtonClick2 WMenuButtonClick2 T/F T
__________________________________________________________________________
autoKeyFocus (class AutoKeyFocus)
This resource is available only when the keyboard
input focus policy is explicit. If autoKeyFocus
is given a value of True, then when a window with
the keyboard input focus is withdrawn from window
management or is iconified, the focus is set to
the previous window that had the focus. If the
value given is False, there is no automatic set-
ting of the keyboard input focus. The default
value is True.
autoRaiseDelay (class AutoRaiseDelay)
This resource is available only when the focusAu-
toRaise resource is True and the keyboard focus
policy is pointer. The autoRaiseDelay resource
specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds)
that mwm will wait before raising a window after
it gets the keyboard focus. The default value of
this resource is 500 (ms).
bitmapDirectory (class BitmapDirectory)
This resource identifies a directory to be
searched for bitmaps referenced by mwm resources.
This directory is searched if a bitmap is speci-
fied without an absolute pathname. The default
value for this resource is
/usr/include/X11/bitmaps.
buttonBindings (class ButtonBindings)
This resource identifies the set of button bind-
ings for window management functions. The named
set of button bindings is specified in the mwm
resource description file. These button bindings
are merged with the built-in default bindings.
The default value for this resource is "Default-
ButtonBindings".
cleanText (class CleanText)
This resource controls the display of window
manager text in the client title and feedback
windows. If the default value of True is used,
the text is drawn with a clear (no stipple) back-
ground. This makes text easier to read on mono-
chrome systems where a backgroundPixmap is speci-
fied. Only the stippling in the area immediately
around the text is cleared. If False, the text
is drawn directly on top of the existing back-
ground.
clientAutoPlace (class ClientAutoPlace)
This resource determines the position of a window
when the window has not been given a user-
specified position. With a value of True, win-
dows are positioned with the top left corners of
the frames offset horizontally and vertically. A
value of False causes the currently configured
position of the window to be used. In either
case, mwm will attempt to place the windows
totally on-screen. The default value is True.
colormapFocusPolicy (class ColormapFocusPolicy)
This resource indicates the colormap focus policy
that is to be used. If the resource value is
explicit, a colormap selection action is done on
a client window to set the colormap focus to that
window. If the value is pointer, the client win-
dow containing the pointer has the colormap
focus. If the value is keyboard, the client win-
dow that has the keyboard input focus has the
colormap focus. The default value for this
resource is keyboard.
configFile (class ConfigFile)
The resource value is the pathname for an mwm
resource description file.
If the pathname begins with "~/", mwm considers it
to be relative to the user's home directory (as
specified by the HOME environment variable). If
the LANG environment variable is set, mwm looks
for $HOME/$LANG/configFile. If that file does
not exist or if LANG is not set, mwm looks for
$HOME/configFile.
If the configFile pathname does not begin with
"~/", mwm considers it to be relative to the
current working directory.
If the configFile resource is not specified or if
that file does not exist, mwm uses several
default paths to find a configuration file. If
the LANG environment variable is set, mwm looks
for the configuration file first in
$HOME/$LANG/.mwmrc. If that file does not exist
or if LANG is not set, mwm looks for
$HOME/.mwmrc. If that file does not exist and if
LANG is set, mwm next looks for
/usr/lib/X11/$LANG/system.mwmrc. If that file
does not exist or if LANG is not set, mwm looks
for /usr/lib/X11/system.mwmrc.
deiconifyKeyFocus (class DeiconifyKeyFocus)
This resource applies only when the keyboard
input focus policy is explicit. If a value of
True is used, a window receives the keyboard
input focus when it is normalized (deiconified).
True is the default value.
doubleClickTime (class DoubleClickTime)
This resource is used to set the maximum time (in
ms) between the clicks (button presses) that make
up a double-click. The default value of this
resource is the display's multi-click time.
enableWarp (class EnableWarp)
The default value of this resource, True, causes
mwm to "warp" the pointer to the center of the
selected window during keyboard-controlled resize
and move operations. Setting the value to False
causes mwm to leave the pointer at its original
place on the screen, unless the user explicitly
moves it with the cursor keys or pointing device.
enforceKeyFocus (class EnforceKeyFocus)
If this resource is given a value of True, the
keyboard input focus is always explicitly set to
selected windows even if there is an indication
that they are "globally active" input windows.
(An example of a globally active window is a
scroll bar that can be operated without setting
the focus to that client.) If the resource is
False, the keyboard input focus is not explicitly
set to globally active windows. The default
value is True.
fadeNormalIcon (class FadeNormalIcon)
If this resource is given a value of True, an
icon is grayed out whenever it has been normal-
ized (its window has been opened). The default
value is False.
frameBorderWidth (class FrameBorderWidth)
This resource specifies the width (in pixels) of
a client window frame border without resize han-
dles. The border width includes the 3-D shadows.
The default value is 5 pixels.
iconAutoPlace (class IconAutoPlace)
This resource indicates whether the window
manager arranges icons in a particular area of
the screen or places each icon where the window
was when it was iconified. The value True indi-
cates that icons are arranged in a particular
area of the screen, determined by the iconPlace-
ment resource. The value False indicates that an
icon is placed at the location of the window when
it is iconified. The default is True.
iconBoxGeometry (class IconBoxGeometry)
This resource indicates the initial position and
size of the icon box. The value of the resource
is a standard window geometry string with the
following syntax:
[=][widthxheight][{+-}xoffset{+-}yoffset]
If the offsets are not provided, the iconPlacement
policy is used to determine the initial place-
ment. The units for width and height are columns
and rows.
The actual screen size of the icon box window
depends on the iconImageMaximum (size) and icon-
Decoration resources. The default value for size
is (6 * iconWidth + padding) wide by (1 *
iconHeight + padding) high. The default value of
the location is +0 -0.
iconBoxName (class IconBoxName)
This resource specifies the name that is used to
look up icon box resources. The default name is
"iconbox".
iconBoxSBDisplayPolicy (class IconBoxSBDisplayPolicy)
This resource specifies the scroll bar display
policy of the window manager in the icon box. The
resource has three possible values: all, verti-
cal, and horizontal. The default value, "all",
causes both vertical and horizontal scroll bars
always to appear. The value "vertical" causes a
single vertical scroll bar to appear in the icon
box and sets the orientation of the icon box to
horizontal (regardless of the iconBoxGeometry
specification). The value "horizontal" causes a
single horizontal scroll bar to appear in the
icon box and sets the orientation of the icon box
to vertical (regardless of the iconBoxGeometry
specification).
iconBoxTitle (class IconBoxTitle)
This resource specifies the name that is used in
the title area of the icon box frame. The
default value is "Icons".
iconClick (class IconClick)
When this resource is given the value of True,
the system menu is posted and left posted when an
icon is clicked. The default value is True.
iconDecoration (class IconDecoration)
This resource specifies the general icon decora-
tion. The resource value is label (only the
label part is displayed) or image (only the image
part is displayed) or label image (both the label
and image parts are displayed). A value of
activelabel can also be specified to get a label
(not truncated to the width of the icon) when the
icon is selected. The default icon decoration
for icon box icons is that each icon has a label
part and an image part (label image). The
default icon decoration for stand alone icons is
that each icon has an active label part, a label
part, and an image part (activelabel label
image).
iconImageMaximum (class IconImageMaximum)
This resource specifies the maximum size of the
icon image. The resource value is widthxheight
(for example, 64x64). The maximum supported size
is 128x128. The default value of this resource
is 50x50.
iconImageMinimum (class IconImageMinimum)
This resource specifies the minimum size of the
icon image. The resource value is widthxheight
(for example, 32x50). The minimum supported size
is 16x16. The default value of this resource is
16x16.
iconPlacement (class IconPlacement)
This resource specifies the icon placement scheme
to be used. The resource value has the following
syntax:
primary_layout secondary_layout
The layout values are one of the following:
___________________________________________
Value Description
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
top Lay the icons out top to bottom.
___________________________________________
bottom Lay the icons out bottom to top.
___________________________________________
left Lay the icons out left to right.
___________________________________________
right Lay the icons out right to left.
___________________________________________
A horizontal (vertical) layout value should not be
used for both the primary_layout and the
secondary_layout (for example, don't use top for
the primary_layout and bottom for the
secondary_layout). The primary_layout indicates
whether, when an icon placement is done, the icon
is placed in a row or a column and the direction
of placement. The secondary_layout indicates
where to place new rows or columns. For example,
top right indicates that icons should be placed
top to bottom on the screen and that columns
should be added from right to left on the screen.
The default placement is left bottom (icons are
placed left to right on the screen, with the
first row on the bottom of the screen, and new
rows added from the bottom of the screen to the
top of the screen).
iconPlacementMargin (class IconPlacementMargin)
This resource sets the distance between the edge
of the screen and the icons that are placed along
the edge of the screen. The value should be
greater than or equal to 0. A default value (see
below) is used if the value specified is invalid.
The default value for this resource is equal to
the space between icons as they are placed on the
screen (this space is based on maximizing the
number of icons in each row and column).
interactivePlacement (class InteractivePlacement)
This resource controls the initial placement of
new windows on the screen. If the value is True,
the pointer shape changes before a new window is
placed on the screen to indicate to the user that
a position should be selected for the upper-left
hand corner of the window. If the value is
False, windows are placed according to the ini-
tial window configuration attributes. The
default value of this resource is False.
keyBindings (class KeyBindings)
This resource identifies the set of key bindings
for window management functions. If specified,
these key bindings replace the built-in default
bindings. The named set of key bindings is speci-
fied in mwm resource description file. The
default value for this resource is "DefaultKey-
Bindings".
keyboardFocusPolicy (class KeyboardFocusPolicy)
If set to pointer, the keyboard focus policy is
to have the keyboard focus set to the client win-
dow that contains the pointer (the pointer could
also be in the client window decoration that mwm
adds). If set to explicit, the policy is to have
the keyboard focus set to a client window when
the user presses button 1 with the pointer on the
client window or any part of the associated mwm
decoration. The default value for this resource
is explicit.
limitResize (class LimitResize)
If this resource is True, the user is not allowed
to resize a window to greater than the maximum
size. The default value for this resource is
True.
lowerOnIconify (class LowerOnIconify)
If this resource is given the default value of
True, a window's icon appears on the bottom of
the window stack when the window is minimized
(iconified). A value of False places the icon in
the stacking order at the same place as its asso-
ciated window. The default value of this
resource is True.
maximumMaximumSize (class MaximumMaximumSize)
This resource is used to limit the maximum size
of a client window as set by the user or client.
The resource value is widthxheight (for example,
1024x1024) where the width and height are in pix-
els. The default value of this resource is twice
the screen width and height.
moveThreshold (class MoveThreshold)
This resource is used to control the sensitivity
of dragging operations that move windows and
icons. The value of this resource is the number
of pixels that the locator is moved with a button
down before the move operation is initiated.
This is used to prevent window/icon movement when
you click or double-click and there is uninten-
tional pointer movement with the button down.
The default value of this resource is 4 (pixels).
multiScreen (class MultiScreen)
This resource, if True, causes mwm to manage all
the screens on the display. If False, mwm
manages only a single screen. The default value
is False.
passButtons (class PassButtons)
This resource indicates whether or not button
press events are passed to clients after they are
used to do a window manager function in the
client context. If the resource value is False,
the button press is not passed to the client. If
the value is True, the button press is passed to
the client window. The window manager function
is done in either case. The default value for
this resource is False.
passSelectButton (class PassSelectButton)
This resource indicates whether or not to pass
the select button press events to clients after
they are used to do a window manager function in
the client context. If the resource value is
False, then the button press will not be passed
to the client. If the value is True, the button
press is passed to the client window. The window
manager function is done in either case. The
default value for this resource is True.
positionIsFrame (class PositionIsFrame)
This resource indicates how client window posi-
tion information (from the WM_NORMAL_HINTS pro-
perty and from configuration requests) is to be
interpreted. If the resource value is True, the
information is interpreted as the position of the
MWM client window frame. If the value is False,
it is interpreted as being the position of the
client area of the window. The default value of
this resource is True.
positionOnScreen (class PositionOnScreen)
This resource is used to indicate that windows
should initially be placed (if possible) so that
they are not clipped by the edge of the screen
(if the resource value is True). If a window is
larger than the size of the screen, at least the
upper-left corner of the window is on-screen. If
the resource value is False, windows are placed
in the requested position even if totally off-
screen. The default value of this resource is
True.
quitTimeout (class QuitTimeout)
This resource specifies the amount of time (in
milliseconds) that mwm will wait for a client to
update the WM_COMMAND property after mwm has sent
the WM_SAVE_YOURSELF message. This protocol is
used only for those clients that have a
WM_SAVE_YOURSELF atom and no WM_DELETE_WINDOW
atom in the WM_PROTOCOLS client window property.
The default value of this resource is 1000 (ms).
(Refer to the f.kill function for additional
information.)
raiseKeyFocus (class RaiseKeyFocus)
This resource is available only when the keyboard
input focus policy is explicit. When set to
True, this resource specifies that a window
raised by means of the f.normalize_and_raise
function also receives the input focus. The
default value of this resource is False.
resizeBorderWidth (class ResizeBorderWidth)
This resource specifies the width (in pixels) of
a client window frame border with resize handles.
The specified border width includes the 3-D sha-
dows. The default is 10 (pixels).
resizeCursors (class ResizeCursors)
This is used to indicate whether the resize cur-
sors are always displayed when the pointer is in
the window size border. If True, the cursors are
shown, otherwise the window manager cursor is
shown. The default value is True.
screens (class Screens)
This resource specifies the resource names to use
for the screens mananged by mwm. If mwm is
managing a single screen, only the first name in
the list is used. If mwm is managing multiple
screens, the names are assigned to the screens in
order, starting with screen 0. Screen 0 gets the
first name, screen 1 the second name, and so on.
The default screen names are 0, 1, and so on.
showFeedback (class ShowFeedback)
This resource controls when feedback information
is displayed. It controls both window position
and size feedback during move or resize opera-
tions and initial client placement. It also con-
trols window manager message and dialog boxes.
The value for this resource is a list of names of
the feedback options to be enabled or disabled;
the names must be separated by a space. If an
option is preceded by a minus sign, that option
is excluded from the list. The sign of the first
item in the list determines the initial set of
options. If the sign of the first option is
minus, mwm assumes all options are present and
starts subtracting from that set. If the sign of
the first decoration is plus (or not specified),
mwm starts with no options and builds up a list
from the resource.
The names of the feedback options are shown below:
_____________________________________________________________
Name Description
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
all Show all feedback (Default value)
_____________________________________________________________
behavior Confirm behavior switch
_____________________________________________________________
kill Confirm on receipt of KILL signal
_____________________________________________________________
move Show position during move
_____________________________________________________________
none Show no feedback
_____________________________________________________________
placement Show position and size during initial placement
_____________________________________________________________
quit Confirm quitting mwm
_____________________________________________________________
resize Show size during resize
_____________________________________________________________
restart Confirm mwm restart
_____________________________________________________________
The following command line illustrates the syntax
for showFeedback: Mwm*showFeedback: placement
resize behavior restart
This resource specification provides feedback for
initial client placement and resize, and enables
the dialog boxes to confirm the restart and set
behavior functions. It disables feedback for the
move function. The default value for this
resource is all.
startupKeyFocus (class StartupKeyFocus)
This resource is available only when the keyboard
input focus policy is explicit. When given the
default value of True, a window gets the keyboard
input focus when the window is mapped (that is,
initially managed by the window manager).
transientDecoration (class TransientDecoration)
This controls the amount of decoration that mwm
puts on transient windows. The decoration
specification is exactly the same as for the
clientDecoration (client specific) resource.
Transient windows are identified by the
WM_TRANSIENT_FOR property, which is added by the
client to indicate a relatively temporary window.
The default value for this resource is menu title
(that is, transient windows have resize borders
and a titlebar with a window menu button).
transientFunctions (class TransientFunctions)
This resource is used to indicate which window
management functions are applicable (or not
applicable) to transient windows. The function
specification is exactly the same as for the
clientFunctions (client specific) resource. The
default value for this resource is -minimize
-maximize.
useIconBox (class UseIconBox)
If this resource is given a value of True, icons
are placed in an icon box. When an icon box is
not used, the icons are placed on the root window
(default value).
wMenuButtonClick (class WMenuButtonClick)
This resource indicates whether a click of the
mouse when the pointer is over the window menu
button posts and leaves posted the window menu.
If the value given this resource is True, the
menu remains posted. True is the default value
for this resource.
wMenuButtonClick2 (class WMenuButtonClick2)
When this resource is given the default value of
True, a double-click action on the window menu
button does an f.kill function.
Client Specific Resources
The syntax for specifying client specific resources
is
Mwm*client_name_or_class*resource_id
For example, Mwm*mterm*windowMenu is used to specify
the window menu to be used with mterm clients.
The syntax for specifying client specific resources
for all classes of clients is
Mwm*resource_id
Specific client specifications take precedence over
the specifications for all clients. For example,
Mwm*windowMenu is used to specify the window menu to
be used for all classes of clients that don't have a
window menu specified.
The syntax for specifying resource values for win-
dows that have an unknown name and class (that is,
windows that do not have a WM_CLASS property associ-
ated with them) is
Mwm*defaults*resource_id
For example, Mwm*defaults*iconImage is used to
specify the icon image to be used for windows that
have an unknown name and class.
The following client specific resources can be specified:
________________________________________________________________________
Client Specific Resources
________________________________________________________________________
Name Class Value Type Default
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
clientDecoration ClientDecoration string all
________________________________________________________________________
clientFunctions ClientFunctions string all
________________________________________________________________________
focusAutoRaise FocusAutoRaise T/F varies
________________________________________________________________________
iconImage IconImage pathname (image)
________________________________________________________________________
iconImageBackground Background color icon
background
________________________________________________________________________
iconImageBottomShadowColor Foreground color icon bottom
shadow
________________________________________________________________________
iconImageBottomShadowPixmap BottomShadow- color icon bottom
Pixmap shadow
pixmap
________________________________________________________________________
iconImageForeground Foreground color varies
________________________________________________________________________
iconImageTopShadowColor Background color icon top
shadow
color
________________________________________________________________________
iconImageTopShadowPixmap TopShadow- color icon top
Pixmap shadow
pixmap
________________________________________________________________________
matteBackground Background color background
________________________________________________________________________
matteBottomShadowColor Foreground color bottom
shadow
color
________________________________________________________________________
matteBottomShadowPixmap BottomShadow- color bottom
Pixmap shadow
pixmap
________________________________________________________________________
matteForeground Foreground color foreground
________________________________________________________________________
matteTopShadowColor Background color top shadow
color
________________________________________________________________________
matteTopShadowPixmap TopShadow- color top shadow
Pixmap pixmap
________________________________________________________________________
matteWidth MatteWidth pixels 0
________________________________________________________________________
maximumClientSize MaximumClientSize wxh fill the
screen
________________________________________________________________________
useClientIcon UseClientIcon T/F F
________________________________________________________________________
windowMenu WindowMenu string "Default-
Window-
Menu"
________________________________________________________________________
clientDecoration (class ClientDecoration)
This resource controls the amount of window frame
decoration. The resource is specified as a list
of decorations to specify their inclusion in the
frame. If a decoration is preceded by a minus
sign, that decoration is excluded from the frame.
The sign of the first item in the list determines
the initial amount of decoration. If the sign of
the first decoration is minus, mwm assumes all
decorations are present and starts subtracting
from that set. If the sign of the first decora-
tion is plus (or not specified), then mwm starts
with no decoration and builds up a list from the
resource.
____________________________________________________
Name Description
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
all Include all decorations (default value)
____________________________________________________
border Window border
____________________________________________________
maximize Maximize button (includes title bar)
____________________________________________________
minimize Minimize button (includes title bar)
____________________________________________________
none No decorations
____________________________________________________
resizeh Border resize handles (includes border)
____________________________________________________
menu Window menu button (includes title bar)
____________________________________________________
title Title bar (includes border)
____________________________________________________
Examples:
Mwm*XClock.clientDecoration: -resizeh -maximize
This removes the resize handles and maximize but-
ton from XClock windows.
Mwm*XClock.clientDecoration: menu minimize border
This does the same thing as above. Note that
either menu or minimize implies title.
clientFunctions (class ClientFunctions)
This resource is used to indicate which mwm func-
tions are applicable (or not applicable) to the
client window. The value for the resource is a
list of functions. If the first function in the
list has a minus sign in front of it, then mwm
starts with all functions and subtracts from that
set. If the first function in the list has a
plus sign in front of it, then mwm starts with no
functions and builds up a list. Each function in
the list must be preceded by the appropriate plus
or minus sign and separated from the next func-
tion by a space.
The table below lists the functions available for
this resource:
__________________________________________________
Name Description
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
all Include all functions (default value)
__________________________________________________
none No functions
__________________________________________________
resize f.resize
__________________________________________________
move f.move
__________________________________________________
minimize f.minimize
__________________________________________________
maximize f.maximize
__________________________________________________
close f.kill
__________________________________________________
focusAutoRaise (class FocusAutoRaise)
When the value of this resource is True, clients
are raised when they get the keyboard input
focus. If the value is False, the stacking of
windows on the display is not changed when a win-
dow gets the keyboard input focus. The default
value is True when the keyboardFocusPolicy is
explicit and False when the keyboardFocusPolicy
is pointer.
iconImage (class IconImage)
This resource can be used to specify an icon
image for a client (for example,
"Mwm*myclock*iconImage"). The resource value is
a pathname for a bitmap file. The value of the
(client specific) useClientIcon resource is used
to determine whether or not user supplied icon
images are used instead of client supplied icon
images. The default value is to display a built-
in window manager icon image.
iconImageBackground (class Background)
This resource specifies the background color of
the icon image that is displayed in the image
part of an icon. The default value of this
resource is the icon background color (that is,
specified by "Mwm*background or
Mwm*icon*background).
iconImageBottomShadowColor (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color
of the icon image that is displayed in the image
part of an icon. The default value of this
resource is the icon bottom shadow color (that
is, specified by Mwm*icon*bottomShadowColor).
iconImageBottomShadowPixmap (class BottomShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap
of the icon image that is displayed in the image
part of an icon. The default value of this
resource is the icon bottom shadow Pixmap (that
is, specified by Mwm*icon*bottomShadowPixmap).
iconImageForeground (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the foreground color of
the icon image that is displayed in the image
part of an icon. The default value of this
resource varies depending on the icon background.
iconImageTopShadowColor (class Background)
This resource specifies the top shadow color of
the icon image that is displayed in the image
part of an icon. The default value of this
resource is the icon top shadow color (that is,
specified by Mwm*icon*topShadowColor).
iconImageTopShadowPixmap (class TopShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the top shadow Pixmap of
the icon image that is displayed in the image
part of an icon. The default value of this
resource is the icon top shadow pixmap (that is,
specified by Mwm*icon*topShadowPixmap).
matteBackground (class Background)
This resource specifies the background color of
the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The
default value of this resource is the client
background color (that is, specified by
"Mwm*background or Mwm*client*background).
matteBottomShadowColor (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color
of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The
default value of this resource is the client bot-
tom shadow color (that is, specified by
"Mwm*bottomShadowColor or Mwm*client*bottom-
ShadowColor).
matteBottomShadowPixmap (class BottomShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap
of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The
default value of this resource is the client bot-
tom shadow pixmap (that is, specified by
"Mwm*bottomShadowPixmap or Mwm*client*bottomShadowPixmap).
matteForeground (class Foreground)
This resource specifies the foreground color of
the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The
default value of this resource is the client
foreground color (that is, specified by
"Mwm*foreground or Mwm*client*foreground).
matteTopShadowColor (class Background)
This resource specifies the top shadow color of
the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The
default value of this resource is the client top
shadow color (that is, specified by
"Mwm*topShadowColor or Mwm*client*topShadowColor).
matteTopShadowPixmap (class TopShadowPixmap)
This resource specifies the top shadow pixmap of
the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The
default value of this resource is the client top
shadow pixmap (that is, specified by
Mwm*topShadowPixmap or Mwm*client*topShadowPixmap).
matteWidth (class MatteWidth)
This resource specifies the width of the optional
matte. The default value is 0, which effectively
disables the matte.
maximumClientSize (class MaximumClientSize)
This is a size specification that indicates the
client size to be used when an application is
maximized. The resource value is specified as
widthxheight. The width and height are inter-
preted in the units that the client uses (for
example, for terminal emulators this is generally
characters). If this resource is not specified,
the maximum size from the WM_NORMAL_HINTS pro-
perty is used if set. Otherwise the default
value is the size where the client window with
window management borders fills the screen. When
the maximum client size is not determined by the
maximumClientSize resource, the
maximumMaximumSize resource value is used as a
constraint on the maximum size.
useClientIcon (class UseClientIcon)
If the value given for this resource is True, a
client-supplied icon image takes precedence over
a user-supplied icon image. The default value is
False, giving the user-supplied icon image higher
precedence than the client-supplied icon image.
windowMenu (class WindowMenu)
This resource indicates the name of the menu pane
that is posted when the window menu is popped up
(usually by pressing button 1 on the window menu
button on the client window frame). Menu panes
are specified in the MWM resource description
file. Window menus can be customized on a client
class basis by specifying resources of the form
Mwm*client_name_or_class*windowMenu
(see "Mwm Resource Description File Syntax"). The
default value of this resource is "DefaultWindowMenu".
Resource Description File
The MWM resource description file is a supplementary
resource file that contains resource descriptions
that are referred to by entries in the defaults
files (.Xdefaults, app-defaults/Mwm). It contains
descriptions of resources that are to be used by
mwm, and that cannot be easily encoded in the
defaults files (a bitmap file is an analogous type
of resource description file). A particular mwm
resource description file can be selected using the
configFile resource.
The following types of resources can be described in
the mwm resource description file:
Buttons Window manager functions can be bound
(associated) with button events.
Keys Window manager functions can be bound
(associated) with key press events.
Menus Menu panes can be used for the window
menu and other menus posted with key
bindings and button bindings.
mwm Resource Description File Syntax
The mwm resource description file is a standard text
file that contains items of information separated by
blanks, tabs, and newline characters. Blank lines
are ignored. Items or characters can be quoted to
avoid special interpretation (for example, the com-
ment character can be quoted to prevent it from
being interpreted as the comment character). A
quoted item can be contained in double quotes (").
Single characters can be quoted by preceding them by
the backslash character (\). All text from an
unquoted # to the end of the line is regarded as a
comment and is not interpreted as part of a resource
description. If ! is the first character in a line,
the line is regarded as a comment. Window manager
functions can be accessed with button and key bind-
ings, and with window manager menus. Functions are
indicated as part of the specifications for button
and key binding sets, and menu panes. The function
specification has the following syntax:
function = function_name [function_args]
function_name = window manager function
function_args = {quoted_item | unquoted_item}
The following functions are supported. If a func-
tion is specified that isn't one of the supported
functions, then it is interpreted by mwm as f.nop.
f.beep
This function causes a beep.
f.circledown [icon | window]
This function causes the window or icon that is
on the top of the window stack to be put on the
bottom of the window stack (so that it no longer
obscures any other window or icon). This func-
tion affects only those windows and icons that
obscure other windows and icons, or that are
obscured by other windows and icons. Secondary
windows (that is, transient windows) are res-
tacked with their associated primary window.
Secondary windows always stay on top of the asso-
ciated primary window and there can be no other
primary windows between the secondary windows and
their primary window. If an icon function argu-
ment is specified, the function applies only to
icons. If a window function argument is speci-
fied, the function applies only to windows.
f.circleup [icon | window]
This function raises the window or icon on the
bottom of the window stack (so that it is not
obscured by any other windows). This function
affects only those windows and icons that obscure
other windows and icons, or that are obscured by
other windows and icons. Secondary windows (that
is, transient windows) are restacked with their
associated primary window. If an icon function
argument is specified, the function applies only
to icons. If a window function argument is
specified, the function applies only to windows.
f.exec or !
This function causes command to be executed
(using the value of the MWMSHELL environment
variable if it is set, otherwise the value of the
SHELL environment variable if it is set, other-
wise /bin/sh). The ! notation can be used in
place of the f.exec function name.
f.focuscolor
This function sets the colormap focus to a client
window. If this function is done in a root con-
text, the default colormap (set up by the X Win-
dow System for the screen where MWM is running)
is installed and there is no specific client win-
dow colormap focus. This function is treated as
f.nop if colormapFocusPolicy is not explicit.
f.focuskey
This function sets the keyboard input focus to a
client window or icon. This function is treated
as f.nop if keyboardFocusPolicy is not explicit
or the function is executed in a root context.
f.kill
This function is used to terminate a client. If
the WM_DELETE_WINDOW protocol is set up, the
client is sent a client message event, indicating
that the client window should be deleted. If the
WM_SAVE_YOURSELF protocol is set up and the
WM_DELETE_WINDOW protocol is not set up, the
client is sent a client message event, indicating
that the client needs to prepare to be ter-
minated. If the client does not have the
WM_DELETE_WINDOW or WM_SAVE_YOURSELF protocol set
up, this function causes a client's X connection
to be terminated (usually resulting in termina-
tion of the client). Refer to the description of
the quitTimeout resource and the WM_PROTOCOLS
property.
f.lower [-client]
This function lowers a client window to the bot-
tom of the window stack (where it obscures no
other window). Secondary windows (that is, tran-
sient windows) are restacked with their associ-
ated primary window. The client argument indi-
cates the name or class of a client to lower. If
the client argument is not specified, the context
that the function was invoked in indicates the
window or icon to lower.
f.maximize
This function causes a client window to be
displayed with its maximum size.
f.menu
This function associates a cascading (pull-right)
menu with a menu pane entry or a menu with a but-
ton or key binding. The menu_name function argu-
ment identifies the menu to be used.
f.minimize
This function causes a client window to be minim-
ized (iconified). When a window is minimized
when no icon box is used, its icon is placed on
the bottom of the window stack (so that it
obscures no other window). If an icon box is
used, the client's icon changes to its iconified
form inside the icon box. Secondary windows
(that is, transient windows) are minimized with
their associated primary window. There is only
one icon for a primary window and all its secon-
dary windows.
f.move
This function causes a client window to be
interactively moved.
f.nextcmap
This function installs the next colormap in the
list of colormaps for the window with the color-
map focus.
f.nextkey [icon | window | transient]
This function sets the keyboard input focus to
the next window/icon in the set of windows/icons
managed by the window manager (the ordering of
this set is based on the stacking of windows on
the screen). This function is treated as f.nop
if keyboardFocusPolicy is not explicit. The key-
board input focus is moved only to windows that
do not have an associated secondary window that
is application modal. If the transient argument
is specified, transient (secondary) windows are
traversed (otherwise, if only window is speci-
fied, traversal is done only to the last focused
window in a transient group). If an icon func-
tion argument is specified, the function applies
only to icons. If a window function argument is
specified, the function applies only to windows.
f.nop
This function does nothing.
f.normalize
This function causes a client window to be
displayed with its normal size. Secondary win-
dows (that is, transient windows) are placed in
their normal state along with their associated
primary window.
f.normalizeandraise
This function causes the corresponding client
window to be displayed with its normal size and
raised to the top of the window stack. Secondary
windows (that is, transient windows) are placed
in their normal state along with their associated
primary window.
f.packicons
This function is used to relayout icons (based on
the layout policy being used) on the root window
or in the icon box. In general this causes icons
to be "packed" into the icon grid.
f.passkeys
This function is used to enable/disable (toggle)
processing of key bindings for window manager
functions. When it disables key binding process-
ing, all keys are passed on to the window with
the keyboard input focus and no window manager
functions are invoked. If the f.pass_keys func-
tion is invoked with a key binding to disable
key-binding processing, the same key binding can
be used to enable key-binding processing.
f.postwmenu
This function is used to post the window menu.
If a key is used to post the window menu and a
window menu button is present, the window menu is
automatically placed with its top-left corner at
the bottom-left corner of the window menu button
for the client window. If no window menu button
is present, the window menu is placed at the
top-left corner of the client window.
f.prevcmap
This function installs the previous colormap in
the list of colormaps for the window with the
colormap focus.
f.prevkey [icon | window | transient]
This function sets the keyboard input focus to
the previous window/icon in the set of
windows/icons managed by the window manager (the
ordering of this set is based on the stacking of
windows on the screen). This function is treated
as f.nop if keyboardFocusPolicy is not explicit.
The keyboard input focus is moved only to windows
that do not have an associated secondary window
that is application modal. If the transient
argument is specified, transient (secondary) win-
dows are traversed (otherwise, if only window is
specified, traversal is done only to the last
focused window in a transient group). If an icon
function argument is specified, the function
applies only to icons. If an window function
argument is specified, the function applies only
to windows.
f.quitmwm
This function terminates mwm (but NOT the X win-
dow system).
f.raise [-client]
This function raises a client window to the top
of the window stack (where it is obscured by no
other window). Secondary windows (that is, tran-
sient windows) are restacked with their associ-
ated primary window. The client argument indi-
cates the name or class of a client to raise. If
the client argument is not specified, the context
that the function was invoked in indicates the
window or icon to raise.
f.raiselower
This function raises a client window to the top
of the window stack if it is partially obscured
by another window, otherwise it lowers the window
to the bottom of the window stack. Secondary
windows (that is, transient windows) are res-
tacked with their associated primary window.
f.refresh
This function causes all windows to be redrawn.
f.refreshwin
This function causes a client window to be
redrawn.
f.resize
This function causes a client window to be
interactively resized.
f.restart
This function causes mwm to be restarted (effec-
tively terminated and re-executed).
f.sendmsg message_number
This function sends a client message of the type
_MOTIF_WM_MESSAGES with the message_type indi-
cated by the message_number function argument.
The client message is sent only if message_number
is included in the client's _MOTIF_WM_MESSAGES
property. A menu item label is grayed out if the
menu item is used to do f.send_msg of a message
that is not included in the client's
_MOTIF_WM_MESSAGES property.
f.separator
This function causes a menu separator to be put
in the menu pane at the specified location (the
label is ignored).
f.setbehavior
This function causes the window manager to res-
tart with the default behavior (if a custom
behavior is configured) or revert to the custom
behavior. By default this is bound to
Shift Ctrl Meta <Key>!.
f.title
This function inserts a title in the menu pane at
the specified location.
Each function may be constrained as to which
resource types can specify the function (for exam-
ple, menu pane) and also what context the function
can be used in (for example, the function is done to
the selected client window). Function contexts are
root No client window or icon has been
selected as an object for the func-
tion.
window A client window has been selected as
an object for the function. This
includes the window's title bar and
frame. Some functions are applied
only when the window is in its nor-
malized state (for example,
f.maximize) or its maximized state
(for example, f.normalize).
icon An icon has been selected as an
object for the function.
If a function's context has been specified as
icon|window and the function is invoked in an icon
box, the function applies to the icon box, not to
the icons inside.
If a function is specified in a type of resource
where it is not supported or is invoked in a context
that does not apply, the function is treated as
f.nop. The following table indicates the resource
types and function contexts in which window manager
functions apply.
_____________________________________________________________________
Function Contexts Resources
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
f.beep root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.circle_down root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.circle_up root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.exec root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.focus_color root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.focus_key root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.kill icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.lower icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.maximize icon, window(normal) button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.menu root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.minimize window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.move icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.next_cmap root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.next_key root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.nop root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.normalize icon, window(maximized) button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.normalize_and_raise icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.pack_icons root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.pass_keys root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.post_wmenu root, icon, window button, key
_____________________________________________________________________
f.prev_cmap root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.prev_key root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.quit_mwm root button, key, menu
(root only)
_____________________________________________________________________
f.raise icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.raise_lower icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.refresh root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.refresh_win window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.resize window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.restart root button, key, menu
(root only)
_____________________________________________________________________
f.send_msg icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.separator root, icon, window menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.set_behavior root, icon, window button, key, menu
_____________________________________________________________________
f.title root, icon, window menu
_____________________________________________________________________
Window Manager Event Specification
Events are indicated as part of the specifications
for button and key-binding sets, and menu panes.
Button events have the following syntax:
button = [modifier_list]<button_event_name>
modifier_list = modifier_name {modifier_name}
All modifiers specified are interpreted as being
exclusive (this means that only the specified modif-
iers can be present when the button event occurs).
The following table indicates the values that can be
used for modifier_name. The [Alt] key is frequently
labeled [Extend] or [Meta]. Alt and Meta can be
used interchangeably in event specification.
___________________________
Modifier Description
___________________________
___________________________
Ctrl Control Key
___________________________
Shift Shift Key
___________________________
Alt Alt/Meta Key
___________________________
Meta Meta/Alt Key
___________________________
Lock Lock Key
___________________________
Mod1 Modifier1
___________________________
Mod2 Modifier2
___________________________
Mod3 Modifier3
___________________________
Mod4 Modifier4
___________________________
Mod5 Modifier5
___________________________
The following table indicates the values that can be
used for button_event_name.
_________________________________________
Button Description
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Btn1Down Button 1 Press
_________________________________________
Btn1Up Button 1 Release
_________________________________________
Btn1Click Button 1 Press and Release
_________________________________________
Btn1Click2 Button 1 Double-Click
_________________________________________
Btn2Down Button 2 Press
_________________________________________
Btn2Up Button 2 Release
_________________________________________
Btn2Click Button 2 Press and Release
_________________________________________
Btn2Click2 Button 2 Double-Click
_________________________________________
Btn3Down Button 3 Press
_________________________________________
Btn3Up Button 3 Release
_________________________________________
Btn3Click Button 3 Press and Release
_________________________________________
Btn3Click2 Button 3 Double-Click
_________________________________________
Btn4Down Button 4 Press
_________________________________________
Btn4Up Button 4 Release
_________________________________________
Btn4Click Button 4 Press and Release
_________________________________________
Btn4Click2 Button 4 Double-Click
_________________________________________
Btn5Down Button 5 Press
_________________________________________
Btn5Up Button 5 Release
_________________________________________
Btn5Click Button 5 Press and Release
_________________________________________
Btn5Click2 Button 5 Double-Click
_________________________________________
Key events that are used by the window manager for
menu mnemonics and for binding to window manager
functions are single key presses; key releases are
ignored. Key events have the following syntax:
key = [modifier_list]<Key>key_name
modifier_list = modifier_name {modifier_name}
All modifiers specified are interpreted as being
exclusive (this means that only the specified modif-
iers can be present when the key event occurs).
Modifiers for keys are the same as those that apply
to buttons. The key_name is an X11 keysym name.
Keysym names can be found in the keysymdef.h file
(remove the XK_ prefix).
Button Bindings
The buttonBindings resource value is the name of a
set of button bindings that are used to configure
window manager behavior. A window manager function
can be done when a button press occurs with the
pointer over a framed client window, an icon, or the
root window. The context for indicating where the
button press applies is also the context for invok-
ing the window manager function when the button
press is done (significant for functions that are
context sensitive).
The button binding syntax is
Buttons bindings_set_name
{
button context function
button context function
.
.
button context function
}
The syntax for the context specification is
context = object[|context]
object = root | icon | window | title | frame | border | app
The context specification indicates where the
pointer must be for the button binding to be effec-
tive. For example, a context of window indicates
that the pointer must be over a client window or
window management frame for the button binding to be
effective. The frame context is for the window
management frame around a client window (including
the border and titlebar), the border context is for
the border part of the window management frame (not
including the titlebar), the title context is for
the title area of the window management frame, and
the app context is for the application window (not
including the window management frame).
If an f.nop function is specified for a button bind-
ing, the button binding is not done.
Key Bindings
The keyBindings resource value is the name of a set
of key bindings that are used to configure window
manager behavior. A window manager function can be
done when a particular key is pressed. The context
in which the key binding applies is indicated in the
key binding specification. The valid contexts are
the same as those that apply to button bindings.
The key binding syntax is
Keys bindings_set_name
{
key context function
key context function
.
.
key context function
}
If an f.nop function is specified for a key binding,
the key binding is not done. If an f.post_wmenu or
f.menu function is bound to a key, mwm will automat-
ically use the same key for removing the menu from
the screen after it has been popped up.
The context specification syntax is the same as for
button bindings. For key bindings, the frame,
title, border, and app contexts are equivalent to
the window context. The context for a key event is
the window or icon that has the keyboard input focus
(root if no window or icon has the keyboard input
focus).
Menu Panes
Menus can be popped up using the f.post_wmenu and
f.menu window manager functions. The context for
window manager functions that are done from a menu
is root, icon or window depending on how the menu
was popped up. In the case of the window menu or
menus popped up with a key binding, the location of
the keyboard input focus indicates the context. For
menus popped up using a button binding, the context
of the button binding is the context of the menu.
The menu pane specification syntax is
Menu menu_name
{
label [mnemonic] [accelerator] function
label [mnemonic] [accelerator] function
.
.
label [mnemonic] [accelerator] function
}
Each line in the Menu specification identifies the
label for a menu item and the function to be done if
the menu item is selected. Optionally a menu button
mnemonic and a menu button keyboard accelerator may
be specified. Mnemonics are functional only when
the menu is posted and keyboard traversal applies.
The label may be a string or a bitmap file. The
label specification has the following syntax:
label = text | bitmap_file
bitmap_file = @file_name
text = quoted_item | unquoted_item
The string encoding for labels must be compatible
with the menu font that is used. Labels are greyed
out for menu items that do the f.nop function or an
invalid function or a function that doesn't apply in
the current context.
A mnemonic specification has the following syntax:
mnemonic = character
The first matching character in the label is under-
lined. If there is no matching character in the
label, no mnemonic is registered with the window
manager for that label. Although the character must
exactly match a character in the label, the mnemonic
does not execute if any modifier (such as Shift) is
pressed with the character key.
The accelerator specification is a key event specif-
ication with the same syntax as is used for key
bindings to window manager functions.
Environment
mwm uses the environment variable HOME specifying
the user's home directory.
mwm uses the environment variable LANG specifying
the user's choice of language for the mwm message
catalog and the mwm resource description file.
mwm uses the environment variables XFILESEARCHPATH,
XUSERFILESEARCHPATH, XAPPLRESDIR, XENVIRONMENT,
LANG, and HOME in determining search paths for
resource defaults files.
mwm reads the $HOME/.motifbind file if it exists to
install a virtual key bindings property on the root
window. For more information on the content of the
.motifbind file, see VirtualBindings(Xm).
mwm uses the environment variable MWMSHELL (or
SHELL, if MWMSHELL is not set), specifying the shell
to use when executing commands via the f.exec func-
tion.
FILES
/usr/lib/X11/$LANG/system.mwmrc
/usr/lib/X11/system.mwmrc
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Mwm
$HOME/Mwm
$HOME/.Xdefaults
$HOME/$LANG/.mwmrc
$HOME/.mwmrc
$HOME/.motifbind
RELATED INFORMATION
X(X)
VendorShell(Xm)
VirtualBindings(Xm)
XmInstallImage(Xm)