How to open ROX desktop shortcuts with keyboard? [SOLVED]

[MochiMoppel]

I'm stumped: After booting into the ROX desktop nothing seems to have focus. Pressing TAB sets focus to the first desktop icon, usually "file". How can I open it using the keyboard? Pressing ENTER or SPACEBAR lets the description flicker, but nothing else happens. I would find it strange if clicking an icon has no keyboard equivalent. Or is it only me?

P.S. Using individual keyboard shortcuts for desktop icons (defined in their "Edit Item" menu) is not what I am after.

[trapster]

The closest I can get you... if you're using jwm wm, use 'Alt F1' for the menu and then use the arrow keys to navigate.

[MochiMoppel]

Thanks, but that's not an option. My real target is one of the drive icons, which would make your workaround an awfully long ride

[musher0]

Hi, MochiMoppel. How are you doing?!

Simple: Bring your cursor over the "file" or "ROX-Filer" icon -> do a
right-click -> do a left-click on "Edit object": a panel opens.

In this panel, click on the long button just above the "locked" square.
Another little window opens. Type your key combination, such as
"Alt-Ctrl-F". The little window now closes and the key combo now
appears on the long button in the panel. Click "ok" or "Validate".
The panel closes.

Works for me!

Just be careful to use different key combinations for each desktop icon.

BFN.

musher0

[MochiMoppel]

Merci beaucoup, but it's not an option. See P.S. in my first post

[greengeek]

Hmmm, hadn't noticed that before. I see what you mean. I wonder if it requires some kind of "action" to be specified in the PuppyPin file??

Also noticed that the 'tab + enter + icon flicker' appears semi-random - in the sense that it almost scans across the top line, then the second row down, then the third etc, but not quite - it jumps around slightly. Can't tell exactly what determines the order that the tab key uses to jump to the next icon. EDIT : Now that I think about it, it might be tiny differences in the vertical position of the icons that determines which icon the tab jumps to. They are probably not perfectly lined up across identical pixel rows on my desktop. Bad eyesight.

Are you using a singleclick environment? Does setting doubleclick offer any other options you can use?
.

[musher0]

I'm stumped: After booting into the ROX desktop nothing seems to have focus. Pressing TAB sets focus to the first desktop icon, usually "file". How can I open it using the keyboard? Pressing ENTER or SPACEBAR lets the description flicker, but nothing else happens. I would find it strange if clicking an icon has no keyboard equivalent. Or is it only me?

P.S. Using individual keyboard shortcuts for desktop icons (defined in their "Edit Item" menu) is not what I am after.

My apologies if I reacted too quickly, MochiMoppei.

On what Puppy are you, with that problem, please? I have a similar
problem -- of ROX "simili" freezing -- on the new TahrPup-6, immediately
after boot. I have to do Alt-Ctrl-Backspace to go back to main console
and issue the usual command : xwin jwm -- or xwin pekwm, etc.

And then the ROX desktop behaves as usual.

BFN.

musher0

[MochiMoppel]

I've now tested various Puppies and all options. Conclusion:
ROX doesn't allow the use of the keyboard.

The reason why I was asking: I boot all my Puppies frugally from USB, no savefile, not remastered or altered in any way. The first thing after booting is to run my setup script, a file outside of Puppy on the USB stick. To get there as quickly as possible I would like to apply a key sequence. Starting with 2 times Alt+F4 to get past the initial screens is easy, but then I need to hit the sdb1 drive button. Kind of tricky using the mouse when the screen is rotated to portrait and the screen content is still landscape...

[Puppus Dogfellow]

I've now tested various Puppies and all options. Conclusion:
ROX doesn't allow the use of the keyboard.

The reason why I was asking: I boot all my Puppies frugally from USB, no savefile, not remastered or altered in any way. The first thing after booting is to run my setup script, a file outside of Puppy on the USB stick. To get there as quickly as possible I would like to apply a key sequence. Starting with 2 times Alt+F4 to get past the initial screens is easy, but then I need to hit the sdb1 drive button. Kind of tricky using the mouse when the screen is rotated to portrait and the screen content is still landscape...

the solution can't involve any modification to the pup? because if it's really that annoying to you, maybe it'd be worth it to open up the main sfs and add the program and shortcut to jwm-personal and a bin folder. wouldn't take very long and you could probably write a script that does it automatically for future use/other pups.

[Jasper]

Hi MochiMoppel.

My understanding is partial and poor, though

IF say, your sdb1 button appears to be at point "x" but is really at point "y" - then if you were to compute/find "y" as say, "672 696" might that be used with say,

Code: Select all

xdotool mousemove 672 696
sleep 0.2
xdotool click 1

My regards

[greengeek]

To get there as quickly as possible I would like to apply a key sequence. Starting with 2 times Alt+F4 to get past the initial screens is easy, but then I need to hit the sdb1 drive button..

If you are already running a script that applies a key sequence, I presume you could add commands that will mount sdb1?

Or is the key sequence simply manual taps on the keyboard rather than the use of xdotool or similar?

[Semme]

Hey Jasper.. YOU-da-MAN! I knew your post would work the minute I saw it.

[MochiMoppel]

If you are already running a script that applies a key sequence, I presume you could add commands that will mount sdb1?

That's impossible. As I said I'm booting into a pristine Puppy and my goal is to run my first script. How could I possibly scriptify this step? That would be black magic

Or is the key sequence simply manual taps on the keyboard ....

Correct! Sorry if this wasn't clear in my initial post ("How can I open it using the keyboard?"). Manual and fully analog

@ Puppus, Jasper: This is a minor issue and not worth to customize the original Puppy sfs. I'm not awfully annoyed by the inability to use the keyboard for a basic task, only surprised. If all this mousing and key tapping would be unbearable I would probably put my setup script into /root/Startup.

[Puppus Dogfellow]

@ Puppus, Jasper: This is a minor issue and not worth to customize the original Puppy sfs. I'm not awfully annoyed by the inability to use the keyboard for a basic task, only surprised. If all this mousing and key tapping would be unbearable I would probably put my setup script into /root/Startup.

aw, i was hoping to see what the script that decompresses the puppy.sfs, inserts a line in one file and a script in one directory and then recompresses the sfs looks like.

on a semi related note, i just put a few start up scripts in a bunch of remasters and found i had to manually click on two or three of them to get them to run at first boot. since your scenario is essentially always first boot, i was hoping to spare you from a potential annoyance. also figured you could reuse the thing. anyway, since coming across this thread, i sometimes find myself sitting at the machine annoyed i can't access the desktop icons with the keyboard.

[greengeek]

anyway, since coming across this thread, i sometimes find myself sitting at the machine annoyed i can't access the desktop icons with the keyboard.

Me too. It's bugging me now. However I have found a way to do this. Boot the puppy without savefile, use Alt+F4 twice as suggested by Mochi, then pick the keyboard up off the desk, nudge the mouse till the pointer is in position over sdb1, then smash the keyboard down on the left click mouse button. Depending on the puppy you may need to do this last step twice in quick succession.

Its a quite satisfying way to overcome the lack of any other keyboard method of accessing the icons.

[musher0]

anyway, since coming across this thread, i sometimes find myself sitting at the machine annoyed i can't access the desktop icons with the keyboard.

Me too. It's bugging me now. However I have found a way to do this. Boot the puppy without savefile, use Alt+F4 twice as suggested by Mochi, then pick the keyboard up off the desk, nudge the mouse till the pointer is in position over sdb1, then smash the keyboard down on the left click mouse button. Depending on the puppy you may need to do this last step twice in quick succession.

Its a quite satisfying way to overcome the lack of any other keyboard method of accessing the icons.

Hi, greengeek.

I'm not sure I understand. As a comparison, some rock stars smash their
guitars in concert. So, we computer types should "pick the keyboard up
off the desk" and smash it on the sdb1 icon?

(In which case we'll need an endless supply of keyboards AND screens!)

Sorry if this sounds like a first-level, nose-on-the-ground understanding.
I'm sure it's not a translation or cultural problem, though.

@mochimoppei: why the obsession with the "pristine Puppy"? You could
have a very small savefile, if you are concerned with safety. Or you could
memorize a one-liner to launch your script, something like:

Code: Select all

mount -t extM /dev/sdbN /mnt/sdbN;cd /mnt/sdbN;myscript.sh

and type it in console when needed.

No offense to anyone, but it seems to me that we've seriously started splitting hairs!

BFN.

musher0

[Puppus Dogfellow]

[...]
Or you could
memorize a one-liner to launch your script, something like:

Code: Select all

mount -t extM /dev/sdbN /mnt/sdbN;cd /mnt/sdbN;myscript.sh

yeah, but to get to the console without a built in shortcut for it requires the mouse or a lengthy menu-stroll, no?

i think the issue is that it's just kind of odd that you can't switch focus to a desktop icon and then navigate them like files in a folder using the arrow keys.

also, the smashing part is just for show when there's people around watching you type. otherwise you can just gently use the keyboard to nudge around the mouse and depress the proper button.

[greengeek]

So, we computer types should "pick the keyboard up
off the desk" and smash it on the sdb1 icon?

Je m'excuse musher0 - that was just my weird sense of humour coming to the fore. Hard for me to make funny jokes in English, impossible in French

I was just suggesting that there is in fact a method for activating the drive icon without putting hands on the mouse...
Not quite what Mochi was asking for i suspect though

[MochiMoppel]

No offense to anyone, but it seems to me that we've seriously started splitting hairs!

No offense, but it seems that you missed a couple of important points

[musher0]

No offense to anyone, but it seems to me that we've seriously started splitting hairs!

No offense, but it seems that you missed a couple of important points

Hi, MochiMoppei.

I haven't missed anything. Start no rumors please.

Ok, the ROX DE cannot give focus to any icon per se, so we can't use any
key from the keyboard on any ROX icon -- because no focus.

Solution: someone will have to write a new version of ROX adding this
feature, that's all. In the meantime, we ROX lovers have to take patience.

But ROX has a workaround in the form of key combinations that can be
twinned to each icon. You do not wish to use that feature...

... because you are imposing to yourself a limitation of "no pupsave file".
That is a valid choice, but it is a self-discipline, it is not a problem per se.

In short, no wonder the ROX bird can't bark. It's a bird.