You
already know what this means...!
Fvwm95-2.0.43a
is out!
Fvwm95
mailing list!
What is FVWM-95 ?
Fvwm95 is a hack based on fvwm2.x.
It tries to emulate the good features of a well known product without bloating
the regular fvwm code.
The main aspects are:
- A familiar look and feel. It can be interesting for users moving from
the MS-World to Unix, or for those who have to switch regularly between
the two. Or for those that simply would like to have the same MS look and
feel in Unix, or for those that just want to have another window
manager, or... But before all, it's meant to be useful, simple and efficient.
- Same flexible and easy configuration as the native fvwm.
- Functionality extensible via loadable modules.
- A taskbar: find quickly an application window and don't take space
with icon windows.
In the future, we plan to have a desktop/folder metaphor supported by
the window manager, as well as improve the current version. This
is the current status. We started rewriting the program in C++, and already
have working menus, scrollbars, status bar and toolbar, directories can
be browsed, but file operations are still missing. Here
is another screenshot showing the explorer windows. The development is
evolving towards the creation of a class library,
containing an easily extensible set of Win95-looking widgets, which should
ease the development of new applications.
Here are some pictures of it:
Please note that fvwm-2.x is work in progress, so is fvwm95 too...
What's new ?
This is the change log:
Fvwm95-2.0.43a:
- Bug corrections: m4-preprocessing, taskbar's MailBox command
problem, etc...
- New taskbar option for showing only the buttons corresponding
to the windows in the active desktop.
- Support for side pixmaps in menus.
Now you can make your start menu look like this
- The TitleIcon style option now has MiniIcon as a synonym
for compatibility with (future) fvwm2 similar directive.
- Configuration changes: the menu colors are now specified by a MenuColors
directive.
- Name changes: the executable file is now fvwm95 instead of fvwm95-2.
The user's config file is .fvwm95rc instead of .fvwm2rc95, the system-wide
config file is system.fvwm95rc.
- Slow-sliding taskbar when the AutoHide option is enabled.
- Corrected a bug in fvwm code that caused the window manager to die
when using the taskbar option "*FvwmTaskBarAction Click3 PopUp
Window-Ops2". Now the window-ops popup can be used correctly when
right-clicking on a taskbar button.
- Some more new mini-icons.
Fvwm95-2.0.42a:
- Incorporated the changes and new modules from fvwm-2.0.42
- The installation process now uses GNU autoconfigure (experimental).
If case of troubles, a version of the package with the old Imake is
still available.
- Configuration options added to the WindowList menu.
- Changes to the FvwmWinList module: now it uses mini-cons too, a new
option added for showing the windows in the current desktop only.
- The maximize button now correctly reflects the window's maximized status.
- The name-matching algorithm for the Style command has changed
the search priority, now is:
- Usual taskbar updates: The button positioning routines now uses more
efficiently the available space. AutoHide option added (experimental, use
with care, as this option may conflict with EdgeScroll settings).
Zoombie mail-reader processes are now properly trapped (well, now they
are trapped by fvwm :-) ). Now the tip windows are shown
only when the button text is truncated.
- Fvwm95 man pages updated.
- Some few new mini-icons.
Fvwm95-2.0.41f:
- WindowList built-in menu now shows the application mini-icons.
- More corrections to the MWM decoration stuff.
- Fvwm95 no more hangs when no startup file is present. Note that now
by default the ClickToFocus mode is activated, and you have to specify
explicitly Style "*" MouseFocus or Style "*"
SloppyFocus to override it.
- The ButtonStyle command now allows to change the titlebar buttons.
- Taskbar enhancements: tip windows
added. A new option allows it to behave like the TVTWM Icon Manager. Also,
double-clicking in the envelope icon lauches your preferred mail reader
program. Plus some others... see the man pages!
Fvwm95-2.0.41e:
- Better consistency of the MWM decoration hints handling and the decoration
of the transient windows.
- Event and drawing code speedup. Also, the titlebar-blink problem should
have been eliminated now.
- NO-Warp to focus patch applied.
- Taskbar updates: new configuration options added. The Icon option was
removed, as the taskbar now receives the titlebar icon pixmaps from fvwm.
- FvwmConfig removed from the distribution, because it does not
work properly with fvwm95. In a future release we will include a reworked
version.
Fvwm95-2.0.41d:
- Resize code improved, the rubber-band borders do not flip anymore when
trying to resize to a size smaller than the minimal. Also corrects the
problem that caused the window to jump when the move operation was invoked
from the title bar menu.
- Added support for the left title-bar icon, instead of the "dash"
button.
- Corrected a bug in the taskbar that caused to permanently stick to
the top of the screen when it was dragged there, refusing to abandon that
position.
Fvwm95-2.0.41c:
- The menu code has changed: the mouse warping in popup menus has been
eliminated, and popup menus now appear at the left side of their parents
if there is no more space at the right.
- A new version of the taskbar with support for pixmaps is included.
Fvwm95-2.0.41b:
- Some code cleanup, taskbar code improved, added the AutoStick
and resize options.
Fvwm95-2.0.41a:
- Initial release of fvwm95, based on fvwm-2.0.41
Where to get it ?
- I also have a copy on this site (press shift-Button1 with Netscape
to download it):
Fvwm95 mailing list
There is a new mailing list for fvwm95-related questions and discussions.
The address is:
To subscribe or unsubscribe a message should be sent to:
with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the
message body. The messages will be archived and could be requested from:
A weekly (or when 40kByte of size is reached) digest is also available:
What YOU can do ?
Some fvwm and fvwm95-related links
Acknowledgements to
Alessandro Morelli, Andrew
(a.b.) Atrens, Andreas Klemm,
Al Dev, Balaji
R., Barry L. James, Brian
Wellington, Christiaan
Keet, David Given, Don
Mahurin, Georg
Hager, Greg Seidman,
Henry R. McTague, Jake
Lee, Jaromir Zdrazil, Larry
Schwimmer, Marko
Macek, Michael A. Kazda, Neil
Vachharajani, Oleg Girko, Peter
Williams, Raul
Sobon, Ricky Ralston, Roman
Mitnitski, Wei-Lun Chao,
William E. Roadcap, and to everybody
who sent bug reports, comments and suggestions.
Many thanks to all the Fvwm team, and to Mr. Rob Nation who started
to code a nice wm.
Page last updated: Dec 11, 1996.
Mail Hector
Peraza the main author of the fvwm95 hack.
