Hi all,
For those of you who don’t follow the FVWM mailing list, please have a read of this thread:
thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.wind … neral/8411
I’d be interested in knowing people’s thoughts and ideas.
– Thomas Adam
IMHO Style * EWMHUseStackingOrderHints (like EWMHUseStateHints and EWMHUseStrutHints) should be enabled by default.
It would save a lot of time for people who are new to FVWM, because they wouldn’t try to configure 'Layer’s per each application, because all apps would work fine ‘out of the box’. And those (advanced users) who want to configure a layer per each app should use EWMHIgnoreStackingOrderHints
Also it would be nice to create few default rules to fix well known problems, like
[code]
IgnoreModifiers L25
Style XTerm ResizeHintOverride
Style *.exe Lenience
[/code]for example.
And yes, like phleagol said, ClickToFocus is a better option for new users.
In my opinion default config should be more like popular DE-s: Xfce, GNOME etc,
because I believe most of new users would try to achieve “classic” experience.
Okay, some thoughts about having a default config…
For FVWM, a default config is entirely transitional - it really only gets used until the new user learns how to write their own. And when I began FVWM 3 years ago(?), I remember being dismayed by the default desktop. I felt its main problem was its unfamiliarity, rather than any value it may or may not have had a tutorial.
I think a ClickToFocus single-Page per Desktop setup is most familiar for new users. A generic xfce/openbox LiveCD kind of simple functionality, that tides them over until they can config something better for themselves.
For a new user on day one, the process of FVWM configuration is almost entirely foreign. It may be tempting to include large chunks of FvwmScript etc., but then the tutorial becomes even less accessible to beginners. And as the learning curve gets too steep, then people will just switch off.
I favour having the config mostly in one file. But if there are parts of it that detract from its value as a tutorial, then I suggest reading them in from a separate file. New users don’t need to learn about fvwmscript on week one.
I like FvwmAnimate, for iconify and maximize/minimize. I know it is bloat, but have never gotten bored of it.
Thumbnail icons are an iconic FVWM feature that other WMs are jealous of. But it can’t be done without adopting imagemagick as a dependency.
FvwmPager is nice. But I mostly prefer a status bar at bottom of the screen, FvwmButtons based, showing time, desktop number/pager, taskbar etc. The point being that if it annoys me, then I can toggle it to hide. We don’t all have massive monitors.
I like a clean desktop at startup, free of extra widgets, clocks etc using up my desk space. If there is a config wizard, then it should let users opt for a clutter-free.
As for colorscheme, I don’t really care, provided it isn’t garish, bright, oversaturated. Because bright colorful desktops look good for about a day, after which they start to burn out my retinas.
I agree that most window borders should be at least 3px. That makes it easier to resize windows with a mouse.
For a default config, I think the main key bindings need to be shown on the desktop, like is done with some LiveCDs. Perhaps as part of the default wallpaper. It’s very easy for new users to entirely forget their bindings on week one.
Finally, I’d suggest a submenu of the WindowMenu that allows you to toggle various styles. Expose new users to the various styles and what they do.
Grant
Edit: Added bit about having a submenu of the windowmenu.