Browser as Window Manager

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stemsee

Browser as Window Manager

#1 Post by stemsee »

Basically I want pinch to zoom everywhere on my linux desktop. It seems to me that piping my desktop through a browser interface would be the easiest way to acheive that. vnc server and viewer on the same machine works but there is infinite reflection.

Ventus is an html5 window manager written in javascript, but has since no development for 8 months.
Seems to use web apps.
http://www.rlamana.com/ventus/code/examples/desktop/

So basically how to pipe JWM/openbox activity to a browser! Or how to implement pinch to zoom everywhere in a linux WM?

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Burn_IT
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#2 Post by Burn_IT »

Does CNTRL/SCROLL with the mouse wheel work??
It does in Windows and I wonder if it is the same with the Linux Window manager.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

Gordie
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#3 Post by Gordie »

Pinch to zoom sounds like a phone or touchpad

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Burn_IT
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#4 Post by Burn_IT »

It would certainly need a touch sensitive screen, which may possibly have that as a feature of its driver.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

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01micko
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#5 Post by 01micko »

You can run any x application you like from xinitrc - including a browser. Just ditch all the rox/jwm/openbox/lxpanel or whatever stuff in there.
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tallboy
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#6 Post by tallboy »

Konqueror was a fiends absolute favorite, he almost never left it, because as he said: No need, I can do everything here!

tallboy
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dancytron
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#7 Post by dancytron »

01micko wrote:You can run any x application you like from xinitrc - including a browser. Just ditch all the rox/jwm/openbox/lxpanel or whatever stuff in there.
I have played around with this using Chrome on Puppy and Debian Dog a couple of times. It "works" but I've never spent enough time with it to get it usable. Quite a bit of time would have to be spent to get all the file associations right, since downloading something that's already on your hard drive when you really want to open it doesn't do much good.

stemsee

#8 Post by stemsee »

TagSpaces - chrome extension provides an iconified file manager on chrome (similar layout to MMView), with pinch to zoom everywhere. One step in the right direction.

Chrome also has a task manager.
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technosaurus
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#9 Post by technosaurus »

Notes:
Many years ago I experimented with a puppy web desktop using only web apps html and css for stationary icons and drop-down menus. Later I did some experiments with movable "icons" and​ "windows" in the web programming thread. Slitaz has several "apps" that can be run from busybox httpd on localhost (or remotely if you aren't concerned about security). If these were combined, it could make for a super light desktop via something like netsurf-framebuffer (would also work in X and Wayland too). Many of the gtkdialog apps could be adapted or rewritten to this model. I think I may have a way to handle tray applets too using refreshing iframes.
Check out my [url=https://github.com/technosaurus]github repositories[/url]. I may eventually get around to updating my [url=http://bashismal.blogspot.com]blogspot[/url].

stemsee

#10 Post by stemsee »

@technosaurus

way over my head! Come up with something!

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rufwoof
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#11 Post by rufwoof »

Not a solution, but brings back memories of twm. Within that you can set a virtual window size so rather than switching desktops you scan around a larger area by mousing to the screen edges to 'scroll'. Within that when you start a desktop it can be just a window ... for instance pcmanfm --desktop doesn't take over control of the entire virtual area but is just a window within that, that can be resized like any other window. Can't recall whether resizing a desktop scales it or just keeps the same size adding scrollbars, if it resized then that could be a path to what you desire assuming you could also get a pinch type action to keybind to resize window action.

twm is inbuilt into standard xorg, but cut down versions of xorg likely will exclude it.

... EDIT ... just tried and it looks like the desktop window remains fixed sized under twm
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technosaurus
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#12 Post by technosaurus »

http://www.xpud.org/ somehow used firefox as the window manager
Check out my [url=https://github.com/technosaurus]github repositories[/url]. I may eventually get around to updating my [url=http://bashismal.blogspot.com]blogspot[/url].

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tallboy
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#13 Post by tallboy »

rufwoof wrote:Within that you can set a virtual window size so rather than switching desktops you scan around a larger area by mousing to the screen edges to 'scroll'.
I think fvwm also had a similar setup.

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

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