mlvwmrc

by Morgan Aldridge morgant@makkintosshu.com

OVERVIEW

This a set of configuration files for Takashi HASEGAWA's Macintosh-like Virtual Window Manager (MLVWM) with the following goals:

• More accurate emulation of System 7 and MacOS 8 User Interfaces
• A complete configuration out-of-the-box
• Well structured configuration files

MLVWM includes a very rudimentary set of rc (run command) files and requires a fair amount of customization to better emulate Macintosh operating systems' UI. Additionally, since it is generally no more than a hobbyist window manager, no appropriate structure for the rc files (esp. for individual applications), icons (i.e. pixmaps), etc. Last, but not least, I wanted to reduce the amount of configuration needed every time I configure MLVWM on a new workstation.

PREREQUISITES

• mlvwm
• xpm
• locale
• make

USAGE

Run make && make install to install .mlvwmrc and .mlvwm/ in your home directory, including downloading appropriate icons.

TESTING

It's a good idea to test your mlvwm configuration prior to attempting to use it as your default window manager for the first time or after making any changes. The easiest way to do this is using Xephyr. I do the following:

Xephyr :32 -screen 1024x768 &
DISPLAY=:32 mlvwm -debug

The above will run mlvwm in a window, so you can test within your existing environment and easily troubleshoot or kill it if something goes wrong.

APPLICATIONS

Configurations for the following X11 applications are included:

• Basilisk II
• Chromium
• Firefox
• HandBrake
• Meld
• PCManFM
• VLC
• Xcalc
• Xclock
• Xephyr
• Xload
• Xmag
• Xmessage
• Xosview2
• [Xterm]

DATA STRUCTURE

MLVWM loads its configuration from ~/.mlvwmrc, but to break configuration up into more logical and manageable chunks within a ~/.mlvwm/ directory. That directory contains its own .mlvwmrc file which ~/.mlvwmrc gets symlinked to, and it takes advantage of the Read command (see mlvwm/CONFIGURATION) to import the remaining configuration files.

The current structure is:

~/
  .mlvwmrc -> .mlvwm/.mlvwmrc
  .mlvwm/
    .mlvwmrc
    .initrc
    .restartrc
    MenuBar
    VirtualDesktops
    theme/
      System7
      MacOS8
      MacOS9
    MenuExtras/
      xload
      …
    apps/
      .AppManifest
      Xterm
      Xcalc
      …
    pixmap/
      *.xpm

.mlvwmrc

The main rc file. It contains some important configuration settings & commands, esp. IconPath, but primarily loads other rc & configuration files. The active theme can be changed by editing the Read .mlvwm/theme/System7 line to one of the other theme files.

.initrc

Contains an InitFunction block which can be modified to run commands upon initialization of MLVWM.

.restartrc

Contains a RestartFunction block which can be modified to run commands upon init or reload of MLVWM.

VirtualDesktops

Contains configuration settings for virtual desktops, incl. the number of virtual desktops (default is 1.)

MenuBar

Contains the default menu bar configuration. Note: the Apple menu is actually defined in the theme files as some theme-specific settings need to be applied during creation, incl. icons. For this reason, the theme files must be loaded prior to the default menu bar in .mlvwmrc.

.AppManifest

Includes a Read command for each application-specific file in the apps directory. This is primarily to limit the complexity of the main .mlvwmrc file.

SPECIAL THANKS

Many thanks to Takashi Hasegawa for creating MLVWM and Steffen Beyer for providing Apple/Mac icons in .xpm format.

LICENSE

TBD

Xosview icon by Oxygen Team.