In the X window system, a window manager controls the way your desktop works, including how the windows look and act.
15
votes
10answers
3k views
the lightest way to have a GUI in Linux?
I have been using Gnome and KDE for a while, and I am now running Compiz standalone... Regarding system resource, I think the most heavy ones are feature-rich desktop environments (Gnome, KDE), then ...
13
votes
11answers
1k views
Need advice in choosing a tiling WM
I've used GNOME's default window manager for some years, but now I want to try a tiling window manager.
I want it to satisfy these two criteria:
WM must be lightweight
WM should not be complicated ...
6
votes
2answers
691 views
Difference between a Window Manager and a Desktop Environment?
What exactly is the difference between between a Window Manager and a Desktop Environment? E.g.: sawfish vs. gnome.
3
votes
2answers
326 views
How to keep YouTube video fullscreen after moving mouse to other screen in Awesome WM?
I've managed to get YouTube Flash videos fullscreen by using two tips, but whenever I move the mouse pointer to a different screen (thereby changing the application focus) the fullscreen mode is ...
1
vote
2answers
391 views
How to get lighter (more white) themes for Xfce?
Xfce seems bathing in an ocean of endless gray, unless using dark themes.
Are there Xfce themes that are clear, bright, whiter?
And also: is there a way to change the colors in a given theme in ...
14
votes
6answers
10k views
10
votes
3answers
3k views
How to get rid of desktop environment and use a window manager only?
I have been using xterm for all my work. I realized that the features that desktop environments like GNOME has to provide are not of much use to me. Now is it possible that I remove GNOME and KDE ...
4
votes
1answer
317 views
Understanding linux desktop
I use debian wheezy xfce and want to set up my desktop. But I read some settings are redundant. Hence I want to understand how everything works, but I am massively lost. Can someone please sort, ...
4
votes
2answers
342 views
What are the user interface subsystems, their components and responsibilities?
I am trying to understand the different subsystems that are in charge of the user interface, the terminology to refer to them, and how they are structured; so far I know there are:
At the top level:
...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
The most light-weight Compiz compatible environment?
I require Compiz for organizational reasons; I make heavy use of its window sorting features. But I like light-weight environments so that I can give as much of my system's resources to the ...
3
votes
2answers
821 views
How to refresh a window by terminal? Or how to simulate `F5`?
I would like a way to refresh a specific window by the terminal.
Probably I will need a comand to find the id or the name of the window and a command to refresh it.
It looks like xrefresh cannot do ...
2
votes
2answers
463 views
Starting certain applications fullscreen in Xfce
Is it possible to make Xfce window manager to open certain applications fullscreen by default? For example i want Emacs in Xfce to be always run fullscreen on start. I know how to execute specifically ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
How to solve window manager problem in Linux Mint 14 (Xfce) after installing LXDE?
I like the way Xfce works on top of Linux Mint 14 Nadia (Quantal) - but I also like LXDE that I want to have in parallel. Mint 14 has no LXDE "version" now, and that is too bad.
I heard that ...
3
votes
1answer
746 views
How to close any window in Awesome WM?
The shortcut to close individual applications completely depends on the application developer. Some examples:
Ctrl-q for Firefox
Meta-F4 for Chromium
Ctrl-Shift-q for GNOME Shell
To close ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
debian wireless networking through terminal
I'm starting to use the wmii windows manager and I want certain pieces of information to display on a status bar. If I were to want to display the ESSID for the network, I would have to find it ...
3
votes
1answer
269 views
How to launch a GTK program centered on the screen?
I'm trying to launch xcalc from the command line, in my embedded Unix, and I would like it to start centered on the screen, is there a way?
By the way, I'm using WindowMaker, if it makes any ...
2
votes
3answers
282 views
How to resize application windows in an arbitrary direction (not vertical and not horizontal)
One of the most annoying things for me in using Linux, is resizing an open window, such as a terminal window.
I'd like to resize the terminal window (make it larger or smaller). But when I put the ...
2
votes
1answer
178 views
Does Gnome Shell use Mutter?
In Wikipedia is written that Gnome Shell in Gnome 3 uses Mutter window manager.
But ps x | grep mutter shows that Mutter is not running. Moreover I had experience with working Gnome Shell before I ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
Unity problems & Searching for a good WM [closed]
I am a front-end developer doing primarily HTML/CSS and JavaScript. My past Unix experience was on FreeBSD. I used it for a year or so, and was quite satisfied about its stability and the lack of any ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Fix terminal title after SSH remote logging to another machine
right now I am using an one-line perl code to change titles of my terminal bars,
print("\e]0;@ARGV\7");
but every time after I ssh to another remote machine, the title will be modified by the host ...
1
vote
2answers
375 views
Theming in tiling window managers?
I am trying out tiling window managers like scrotWM, and have noticed that GUI programs start with a "theme" (or lack, thereof) that looks like the bland Redmond theme. Is there a way to specify the ...
