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.

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
    theme/
      System7
      MacOS8
      MacOS9
    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.

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.

LICENSE

TBD