PCLinuxOS OpenBox Tricks

[melodie]

Hi,

Here are a few methods for the users who want to have it and wonder what they can do to make it their's.

You can change the shortcuts, remove some and add your's;
You can change the background in 2 different ways : by PCManFM desktop preferences or by feh;

You may want to read or to read again the 2 posts I had put on my blog (in 2 languages) for the shortcuts:
http://melodie.toile-libre.org/index.php/pclinuxos-beta1-with-openbox/?lang=en
http://melodie.toile-libre.org/index.php/pclinuxos-openbox-beta2-2/?lang=en

The files you should open and read, to start seing how it goes: /home/user/.config/openbox/autostart.sh
then the file  /home/user/.config/tint2/tintrc (here you can configure the panel, or use tintwizard... take a look at the file anyway, you may find it not so hard to understand it or parts of it)

You can configure feh to manage the wallpapers instead of PCManFM, and have a different wallpaper displaying at each session.

If some want more explanations about how to add shortcuts or retrieve some : they should look at the file /home/user/.config/openbox/rc.xml

In the section "personal configurations", for example:

   <keybind key="W-S-f">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>firefox</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>

This is the type of block text which is used to define a shortcut.

[melodie]

With the new Openbox coming and the new PCManFM package, new tricks are to be setup.

In order to get background, transparency in panel, and icons all at same time:
Now the novelty is to have a .xsession file in your home with permissions set to 755 and theses lines in it:

Code: [Select]

#!/bin/sh
#
#~/.xinitrc
#
# Executed by startx (run your windows manager from here)
#

/usr/bin/pcmanfm --desktop -d &
feh --bg-scale ~/.local/wallpapers/your_image_name.png &

exec ck-launch-session openbox-session

In the above script, you can see pcmanfm started to manage desktop and icons, and feh started to manage background. You will set pcmanfm to use the same background : from the right-click openbox menu "Preferences > Desktop-prefs"

You will then go to GDM login and set up GDM to use Xscripts.

Alternately you can use feh alone : then no icons. Or you can use idesk to manage icons. Not that easy but after reading the README in the config directory we can work it out.

You could also set the background to be shown by nitrogen : well, feh is fun too, look at the comments in the .config/openbox/autostart.sh file.

One more thing for people liking icons : now they can be moved around on the destkop !

For thoses who like to have a few effects in their desktop : I installed the dana version of xcompmgr, along with Calimeroteknik's bash script : which allows having more effects and having them available in the right-click Openbox menu in the Preferences menus. Of course, no comparision with what Compiz can do. It's much lighter, of course.

[melodie]

Hi,

For the people using PCLinuxOS Openbox with the latest kernels, after versions 2.6.33.x, you may want to change the configuration from ramzswap to zram0. You will find all informations about it in this post : Information for Openbox Full and Bonsai Users - kernel - ramzswap.

Other changes can be done when you update to latest openbox-menu (available with your usual updates, thanks to Leiche and Texstar, who I both thank). You can either read the post-install message and act accordingly, or go fetch the README in /usr/share/openbox-menu.

Regards,
Mélodie

[gseaman]

Excellent work! Thanks.

Galen

[melodie]

Excellent work! Thanks.

Galen

Thanks Galen !!! \o/ !

[melodie]

Hi,

Openbox and Openbox Bonsai users will have noticed that the last update, a few weeks ago, brought in new configuration files. Theses configuration files need to be used in replacement to the former ones, as a few details have changed... mostly one, is that pcmanfm must not be started as daemon (with the -d option) anymore to work correctly. (As file manager and as desktop manager). The file /home/user/.xinitrc, on the other side, can be cleared of particular configurations. If you have switched to the new configuration files, his is just enough:

#!/bin/sh
#
#~/.xinitrc
#
# Executed by startx (run your windows manager from here)
#

exec ck-launch-session openbox-session

Regards,
Mélodie

[melodie]

Hi,

The big trick of the year will be to go get the new configuration files, and apply them to your Openbox standalone systems. There are many little things that have changed for this one year, for different reasons, and which are meant to make your daily use easier and working better. Please read here : New configurations for Openbox standalone systems available.

Regards,
Mélodie

[Jimshock]

Hello Melodie, I'm new to the Linux scene and Loaded PCLOS Openbox to a new system.  A long time ago I tried a 2007 version of PC linux and now noticed a difference desktops.  All the desktops share the same wallpaper.  Is separate wallpapers for each of the four desktops a feature that was dropped or is there a way to set it up?
Thanks for any info provided..
Jim

[melodie]

Hi,

Neither nor. As far as I know the KDE desktop can provide this. Openbox is a window manager with extended features, not a desktop, and it's a few additional light programs which make it look like a desktop.

PCLinuxOS Openbox is provided with 4 desktops because I like it this way, and because nobody objected, but the Obconf program lets you setup 2, 3, 4, or more, or even just 1 : as you wish.

In PCLinuxOS Openbox, you can also have random backgrounds, thanks to feh, which is installed. If you choose to set it up this way, you can't have pcmanfm that manages the desktop and allows showing icons on the background of the Desktop.

You can find more informations about all this in the PCLinuxOS Mag, starting from last July, each month up to now the PCLOS mag has published interesting articles about the Openbox versions of PCLinuxOS, and some of the interesting tweaks you can do in it. http://pclosmag.com/

I hope you will enjoy !

Mélodie

[Jimshock]

Thank you, Mélodie, for that information.  I definitely need to read more (I think it's a man thing - not to read enough).  I may redo to the KDE desktop but I will read into it first.  Thank you...
Jim