Revision [15964]
This is an old revision of WindowManagers made by darkcity on 2011-06-24 08:55:42.
Window Managers
The window manager is the layer between X windows and the DesktopEnvironments desktop environment. If you imagine a computer system as a series of layers it would look something like this:
Hardware < Operating System < Window System < Window Manager < Desktop Environment
for Puppy the default is JWM (the window manager acts as the desktop environment as well):
Hardware < Linux < X Windows < JWM
List of Window Managers
JWM - default in most Puppy VersionsXFWM
FLUXBOX
ANTICO
Flwm
dwm
afterstep
List of Desktop Environment
XFCEKDE
GNOME
EDE
LXDE
Forum Pages
XFCE forum pageKDE forum page
GNOME forum page
FLUXBOX forum page
ANTICO forum page
Flwm forum page
dwm forum page
afterstep forum page
EDE forum page
LXDE forum page
Configuring IceWM themes
* go to root/
* turn on hidden windows from ROX
* go to the .icewm hidden folder
* then into the theme
* and edit as text the default theme text/config file
Window Managers with Special Effects
Window managers (WM) control the placement & appearance of windows. The default WM in Puppy is JoesWindowManager JWM, a very light and basic but effective WM. However there are many other window managers (& windowing systems and desktop environments) available and some offer special effects like transparency & 3D. Primary examples are:- Beryl
- Compiz
- Compiz-Fusion
- Metisse
- Project Looking Glass
- Xfwm
Understanding these Effects
To get an idea of the difference these effects can make to how to use your computer, static pictures alone won't help.- Watch some videos. Here's a short one (1 min 11 secs) showing Beryl, Metisse & Looking Glass.
- Try them out for yourself
Beryl
Originally a fork of Compiz. Now officially re-merged into Compiz to create Compiz-Fusion. Some people still prefer Beryl.- BerylUsage, for more info about using Beryl in Puppy.
- Puppy 2.13 with Beryl 0.2.1 (2 mins 15 secs)
- Short video (47 secs)
- Beryl demonstration video (5 mins 39 secs)
Compiz
Now merged with Beryl into Compiz-Fusion, but still available as Compiz Core, without Fusion additions.- Compiz on Ubuntu (1 min 36 secs)
Compiz-Fusion
The "hot" special effects window manager, with many plug-ins to add different effects.- PuppyNOP > Compiz-Fusion & Wobbly NOP: combines Xfce with Compiz-Fusion.
- Wobbly Puppy NOP experimental in action (2 mins 48 secs)
- Compiz-Fusion on Puppy 3.00 (6 mins 11 secs)
Metisse
A somewhat different concept from straightforward 3D WMs like Compiz-Fusion. Apparently lighter on computer resources than the Compiz family.
- Video of Metisse on Puppy by Crusty Lobster (48MB, .mov)
- Video of creating you own UI for The GIMP (6 mins, 12 secs)
- Video showing some more effects (50 secs)
Project Looking Glass
3D desktop environment using Java3D.- Video of PLG on Linux (3 mins 54 secs)
Xfwm
Xfwm is the default WM of the Xfce desktop environment, capable of true transparency & shadows. While not as flexible as Metisse or Compiz-Fusion, it is very stable.- XfcePuppy, for more info re Xfce on Puppy
- PuppyNOP, a Puplets puplet with Xfce & Opera already built-in.
- Short video of Xfwm transparency effects (12 secs)
- Video showing how to enable & change effects in Xfwm (2 mins 46 secs)(loud music!)
eg. root/.icewm/themes/Venusian/default theme
Also see
ChangeWindowManager How to Change Window ManagerDesktopEnvironments Desktop Environments
