Manual: Fvwm2Proxy
FvwmProxy(1) Fvwm Modules FvwmProxy(1)
NAME
FvwmProxy - the fvwm proxy module
SYNOPSIS
FvwmProxy is spawned by fvwm, so no command line invocation will work.
DESCRIPTION
The FvwmProxy allows the user to locate and control windows obscured by other windows by using small non-overlapping
proxy windows. The default capabilities include raising and lowering the proxied windows.
Using the sample configuration, pressing Alt-Tab cycles through the windows and allows the use of assignable click
actions on the proxies. Releasing the Alt key deactivates the proxy windows. By default, pressing the left or right
mouse buttons on a proxy window raises or lowers the associated proxied window respectively. An additional mapping
can have the proxies automatically appear by just holding the Alt key.
Proxy windows are always on top and try to center on the regular window they proxy. A simple collision algorithm
tweaks the positions of the proxy windows to prevent them from overlapping.
COPYRIGHTS
The FvwmProxy program is original work by Jason Weber.
Copyright 2002, Jason Weber. No guarantees or warranties or anything are provided or implied in any way whatsoever.
Use this program at your own risk.
INVOCATION
FvwmProxy can be invoked by inserting the line 'Module FvwmProxy' in the .fvwm2rc file. This can be placed on a line
by itself, if FvwmProxy is to be spawned during fvwm's initialization, or can be bound to a menu or mouse button or
keystroke to invoke it later. Fvwm will search directory specified in the ModulePath configuration option to attempt
to locate FvwmProxy.
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
*FvwmProxy: Colorset n
Specifies the color theme for unselected proxy windows.
*FvwmProxy: SelectColorset n
Specifies the color theme for the selected proxy window.
*FvwmProxy: IconifiedColorset n
Specifies the color theme for proxy windows of iconified windows. This is only meaningful in conjunction with
the ProxyIconified option on.
*FvwmProxy: Font font
Specifies the font used for large proxy window text. This usually contains the icon string and is nearly ver‐
tically centered in the proxy. If there is no icon string, the title bar string is used. If this text ex‐
ceeds the width of the proxy, it is cropped on the right. If no Font is specified, a default is used.
*FvwmProxy: SmallFont font
Specifies the font used for the auxiliary proxy window text. This usually contains the title bar string, but
is omitted if it is identical to the icon string and that text was not cropped. The text is drawn close to
the bottom of the proxy and should probably be the smallest legible font available. If this text exceeds the
width of the proxy, it is cropped on the left. If no SmallFont is specified, this text is never drawn.
*FvwmProxy: Width w
Specifies the size in X of each proxy window. The default is 180.
*FvwmProxy: Height h
Specifies the size in Y of each proxy window. The default is 60.
*FvwmProxy: Separation d
Specifies the minimum distance between proxy windows when adjusting for collisions. The default is 10.
*FvwmProxy: ShowMiniIcons bool
If true, proxy windows show the mini icon for the window they represent, if it has a mini icon. The default
is true.
*FvwmProxy: EnterSelect bool
If true, a proxy is automatically selected when the mouse is moved over the proxy, even if no mouse buttons
are pressed. The default is false.
*FvwmProxy: ProxyMove bool
If true, moving a proxy window will move the window it represents. Currently, the proxied window doesn't rec‐
ognize snap effects during this operation. The default is false.
*FvwmProxy: ProxyIconified bool
If true, continue to show proxy windows when they are iconified. In addition, consider adding click actions
that Iconify on and off, such as on the middlemouse button. The default is false.
*FvwmProxy: ShowOnly mode
Limits the appearance of proxy windows during the Show action. The supported modes are Selected, Covered,
Grouped, and All. The default is All which shows every proxy window on the current desk. Select mode will
only show the proxy window for the selected window. If no window is selected, the currently focused window is
treated as the select window for ShowOnly filtering. Covered mode extends Select mode to add proxy windows
that overlap the select real window. Just using Selected mode can result in untouchable proxy windows that
disappear before you can reach them. Grouped mode extends Covered mode to show proxy windows in the same win‐
dow group as the selected window. In all cases, iconified proxy windows never appear if ProxyIconified is
false.
*FvwmProxy: Action mouseaction response
Tells FvwmProxy to do the specified response when the given action is done. The currently supported mouse ac‐
tions are: Click1, Click2, Click3 and so on, representing mouse clicks with various buttons. By default, the
module supports 3 mouse buttons, but it can be compiled to support more. The default responses are Raise,
Nop, and Lower for Click1, Click2, and Click3, respectively.
*FvwmProxy: Action Select command
This selects an fvwm function to be called during a FvwmProxy Hide command for the window whose proxy was se‐
lected. The default is WindowListFunc. WindowListFunc is predefined by the fvwm install. You can replace
it, add to it, or supply an independent function.
*FvwmProxy: Action Show command
This selects an fvwm function to be called during a FvwmProxy Show command. The default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: Action Hide command
This selects an fvwm function to be called during a FvwmProxy Hide command. The default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: Action Abort command
This selects an fvwm function to be called during a FvwmProxy Abort command. The default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: Action Mark command
This selects an fvwm function to be called on a window after it is marked. The default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: Action Unmark command
This selects an fvwm function to be called on a marked window just after another window gets the mark. The
default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: Action ModifierRelease modifiers command
This selects an fvwm function to be called while proxies are shown and the specified modifiers are all re‐
leased. The modifiers are specified using the same syntax as in the Mouse command. The default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: Group groupname command pattern
For the given named group, adjust inclusion of the windows matching the pattern. The groupname is a string
identifier used to associate windows. The window pattern uses the same format as the Style command. The sup‐
ported commands are Include, SoftInclude, WeakInclude, WeakSoftInclude, and Exclude. The commands ending in
Include identify a pattern to add windows to the group. Exclude identifies pattern to counteract inclusion
pattern or auto-inclusion (see flags below). All exclusion checks follow all inclusion checks. Soft inclu‐
sion limits the windows in that pattern to only move when an non-soft window in the group moves. Moving or
resizing these windows does not affect any other windows. They are also immune to edge effects. Soft inclu‐
sion also affects provocation effects (see below). Weak inclusion prevents inclusion purely on name, instead
relying on X11 leader or process id matching. Weakly included names will not start a group, but will join a
group in the same known process or with the same leader. Once the window has joined, the name is just used to
determine if the inclusion is soft.
*FvwmProxy: Group groupname flag
For the given named group, activate the given flag. The supported flags are AutoInclude, AutoSoft, and Ignor‐
eIDs. All window grouping is normally checked to only group windows that are in the same process or that have
the same X11 client leader. IgnoreIDs deactivates this mechanism. AutoInclude automatically includes any
window that matches the same process or client leader, without having to name them specifically. AutoSoft
makes all AutoInclusions soft (see inclusion description above).
*FvwmProxy: Group groupname provocation pattern
The provocation flags allow you to customize whether grouped windows provoke each other in response to a
raise/lower, desk move, drag, or iconification change. The compound provocation flag is of the form (No|In‐
herit)(Hard|Soft)(Raise|Desk|Drag|Icon|All). The pattern is optional and should already have been included.
The pattern limits the change to only affect that part of the group. The first element of the flag is op‐
tional and can turn off the effect, or, with a pattern, can dynamically inherit the setting for the group.
The default is to turn the effect on. The second element can be used to only apply the change to windows with
the soft state either on or off. The default is to change both. The third element specifies what provoking
effect is being changed: window raise/lower, moving to another desk, dragging windows together, toggling
iconification, or all of these. If either the provoking window or a potentially provoked window has an effect
turned off, the provocation does not occur.
*FvwmProxy: SlotWidth w
This specifies the width of the icons used in slots. The default is 16.
*FvwmProxy: SlotHeight h
This specifies the height of the icons used in slots. The default is 16.
*FvwmProxy: SlotSpace d
This specifies the space between icons used in slots. The default is 4.
*FvwmProxy: GroupSlot n
This specifies the first slot that represent a colored group. Group slots don't need icons as the are drawn
by predetermined means. The default is 2.
*FvwmProxy: GroupCount n
This specifies the number of group slots. The default is 6.
*FvwmProxy: SlotStyle n style
For non-group slots, this defines the appears of the indicated slot. The style format matches ButtonStyle
command. The default is nothing.
*FvwmProxy: SlotAction n mouseaction response
For non-group slots, this defines the behavior of the indicated slot. The mouse action and response is used
the same as the FvwmProxy Action configuration. The default is Nop.
*FvwmProxy: UndoLimit n
This specifies the number of entries in the undo buffer. this limits how far back you can undo. The default
is 8.
COMMANDS
SendToModule FvwmProxy Show
Activate proxy windows for all windows on the current desk that do not use the WindowListSkip option. If the
desk is switched, new proxies are automatically generated.
SendToModule FvwmProxy Hide
Deactivate all proxy windows. If a proxy is selected (such as with the Next and Prev commands), the Select
Action is call on the window that the proxy represents. The default action includes raising the window and
warping the mouse to a position over that window.
SendToModule FvwmProxy ShowToggle
If shown, hide. If hidden, show.
SendToModule FvwmProxy Abort
Deactivate all proxy windows. This differs from the Hide command in that no action is taken on any selected
window.
SendToModule FvwmProxy Circulate command
Tell FvwmProxy to run a conditional command and mark the result. The imbedded command SendToModule FvwmProxy
Mark is automatically appended after the optional condition, so supplying your own imbedded command will prob‐
ably fail. An example argument to Circulate is ScanForWindow East South (CurrentPage). If the proxies aren't
already shown (such as with the Show command), any Circulate command will automatically show the proxies.
SendToModule FvwmProxy Next (obsolete)
If a proxy window is selected, the next proxy is selected. Windows with the WindowListSkip option are ig‐
nored. The proxies are sorted left to right during the Show command. If no proxy is currently selected, but
a proxy on this desk was selected on a recent show, that proxy is selected. If no proxy on this desk was re‐
cently selected, the leftmost proxy is used. This nearly duplicates the functionality of Circulate ScanFor‐
Window East South (CurrentPage).
SendToModule FvwmProxy Prev (obsolete)
If a proxy window is selected, the previous proxy is selected. The starting point is the same as with the
Next command, except that the choice with no recent selection is the rightmost proxy. This nearly duplicates
the functionality of Circulate ScanForWindow West North (CurrentPage).
SendToModule FvwmProxy SoftToggle
Toggle the soft group inclusion setting for the selected window. This setting is the same that can be acti‐
vated using the SoftInclude and AutoSoft commands inside the FvwmProxy Group configuration.
SendToModule FvwmProxy IsolateToggle
Toggle the isolation setting for the selected window's group. Isolated groups only allow one member to not be
iconified at a time. The members are also coerced to the same position and size, constrained by their size
increment.
SendToModule FvwmProxy PrevIsolated
If focused on a member of a isolating group, deiconify the member higher on list. If no member is higher, de‐
iconify the last member.
SendToModule FvwmProxy NextIsolated
If focused on a member of a isolating group, deiconify the member lower on list. If no member is higher, de‐
iconify the first member.
SendToModule FvwmProxy Undo
Attempt to undo the last window move and/or resize.
SendToModule FvwmProxy Redo
Attempt to redo the most recent Undo. If another move or resize occurs since the previous undo, the redo
buffer will be cleared.
SAMPLE CONFIGURATION
The following are excerpts from a .fvwm2rc file which describe FvwmProxy initialization commands:
Key Tab A M SendToModule FvwmProxy Circulate \
ScanForWindow East South (CurrentPage)
Key Tab A SM SendToModule FvwmProxy Circulate \
ScanForWindow West North (CurrentPage)
*FvwmProxy: Action ModifierRelease M SendToModule FvwmProxy Hide
But Meta-Shift-Tab can be awkward, so Meta-Q may be a better alternative.
Key Q A M SendToModule FvwmProxy Circulate \
ScanForWindow West North (CurrentPage)
You might consider adding !Sticky to the (CurrentPage) conditional if you use Sticky for low-interactivity programs,
like load meters and music players.
To have the proxies immediately pop up when you hold the Alt key, add
Key Meta_L A N SendToModule FvwmProxy Show
If that's too intrusive, you can assign Alt-Esc to switch the proxies on and off by adding
Key Escape A M SendToModule FvwmProxy ShowToggle
Some platforms have problems where general Alt key combinations becoming otherwise dysfunctional after defining these
mappings. If this happens, it might be difficult to take full advantage of this module.
To have the mouse jump to the center instead of the upper left corner, try adding
AddToFunc WindowListFunc
+ I WarpToWindow 50 50
or just make your own list function from scratch, for example
DestroyFunc WindowListFunc
AddToFunc WindowListFunc
+ I WindowId $[w.id] Raise
+ I WindowId $[w.id] WarpToWindow 50 50
Note that the default configuration does not activate any Next/Prev operations for Alt-Tab since that sequence is, by
default, used by another module. Adding appropriate key mappings to your .fvwm2rc will switch this responsibility to
FvwmProxy.
If you use ProxyIconified, you might consider adding Iconify actions.
AddToFunc WindowListFunc
+ I WindowId $[w.id] Iconify Off
AddToFunc Raise-and-Deiconify
+ I WindowId $[w.id] Raise
+ I WindowId $[w.id] Iconify Off
*FvwmProxy: Action Click1 Raise-and-Deiconify
*FvwmProxy: Action Click2 Iconify
You can set up some basic slots fairly easily.
*FvwmProxy: GroupSlot 2
*FvwmProxy: GroupCount 5
*FvwmProxy: SlotStyle 1 MiniIcon
*FvwmProxy: SlotStyle 7 Pixmap "squeeze.xpm"
*FvwmProxy: SlotStyle 8 Pixmap "mini-up.xpm"
*FvwmProxy: SlotStyle 9 Pixmap "mini-bball.xpm"
*FvwmProxy: SlotStyle 10 Pixmap "mini-cross.xpm"
*FvwmProxy: SlotAction 1 Click1 Popup WindowMenu
*FvwmProxy: SlotAction 7 Click1 SendToModule FvwmProxy IsolateToggle
*FvwmProxy: SlotAction 8 Click1 SendToModule FvwmProxy SoftToggle
*FvwmProxy: SlotAction 9 Click1 Iconify
*FvwmProxy: SlotAction 10 Click1 Delete
In this example, WindowMenu is something you would have to define. If your proxy width is too small, some slots can
get cut off.
Undo and redo can be easily mapped to any keys.
Key Z A 3 SendToModule FvwmProxy Undo
Key R A 3 SendToModule FvwmProxy Redo
You can rotate through an isolated group using any keys. For example, meta cursor-up and cursor-down could traverse
the group.
Key Up A 3 SendToModule FvwmProxy PrevIsolated
Key Down A 3 SendToModule FvwmProxy NextIsolated
A somewhat impractical example of a group definition using GIMP is as follows:
*FvwmProxy: Group "GIMP" Include "The GIMP"
*FvwmProxy: Group "GIMP" Include "Module Manager"
*FvwmProxy: Group "GIMP" SoftInclude "Unit Editor"
*FvwmProxy: Group "GIMP" AutoInclude
*FvwmProxy: Group "GIMP" AutoSoft
*FvwmProxy: Group "GIMP" Exclude "Preferences"
This sets up a hard attachment between the windows "The GIMP" and "Module Manager". The "Unit Editor" is also in the
group, but only responds to movement of one of the hard inclusions. Any window in the same process or with the same
client leader is also associated, but they default to soft inclusion, except "Preferences" which is explicitly ex‐
cluded. Note that in this case, the explicit soft inclusion of "Unit Editor" is redundant with the combination of
AutoInclude and AutoSoft. However, if AutoSoft was not specified, the explicit SoftInclude would distinguish that
pattern from the otherwise hard inclusion under just AutoInclude.
AUTHOR
Jason Weber
3rd Berkeley Distribution 19 October 2022 (2.7.0) FvwmProxy(1)