Alternative JWM desktop manager

[ASRI éducation]

ASRI éducation
Your idea is ok, but I don't see how to implement it in an easy way. My alternative JWM-configuration tool does not support all twists, as my goal is to make things powerful without making them complex. The new tray-manager is not that simple, and it could be better to skip some features to not scare a newbie.

Hello Sigmund,
I admit I'm a little too ambitious.
Anyway, thank you for all your efforts.
Cédric

[zigbert]

More work is done - info here.
Your thoughts are welcome


Sigmund

[john biles]

Hello zigbert,
While it's relativity easy to create a stunning default default desktop that gives a good first impression, once you click on the start menu and start selecting applications that first impression is quickly replaced by the same old looking Puppy desktop that has served Puppy users for years.

As an example, let's look at the calculators included in Puppy 5.7 Some are gtk2 based (theme-able) while others look just plain ugly and should not have been included.
A number of apps have been left out or modified solely on their looks in recent Legacy OS releases because of the impression they leave in the users mind. Humans are visual creatures and the better something in their minds look the more interested they are in using it and here lies a common problem. What one user sees as a beautiful desktop others see as ugly. I know Legacy's Desktop hasn't always had the response I was hoping for in relation to its look.
The " My Puppy is more gorgeous than yours!" thread only highlights what I'm talking about. I'm sure we've all seen someone's desktop posted and thought that's ugly what were they thinking. To the user posting their desktop it's just wonderful to others it not.

Your theme changer is a great addition which would allow users to create some great personal themes. These personal themes could be posted and in time voted on to become default themes for later releases.

Over the years your created "P" apps have found their way in to default releases of Puppy improving usability. The work you've created here brings the freshness needed to move Puppy forward and I hope it is adopted in to future Puppy releases.

I really believe you have the programming skill and knowledge to turn the visual and usability elements of future Puppy's in to something unique in the Linux world.

A personal hate I've always had is when there's say a "Control panel" and you click on a setting a new window opens instead of staying within the control panel. Wouldn't it be nice to have all of Puppy's Wizards in one cool control panel opening within this panel like the bigger Linux's distro's do.
I know this would be a massively big task to created so this isn't a request, it's just food for thought.

zigbert this forum and Puppy have benefited greatly from the work and apps you've provided over the years and it's great to see that enthusiasm is alive and strong. Long live zigbert

[mavrothal]

A thing that I noticed is that ROX-filer takes for ever to open a window for the first time (over a minute for /usr/bin a a dual core machine). So maybe a good idea to cash icons in the background after a theme change to avoid such an "unpuppy" behavior.

I have not been aware of this, and do not understand why. All the included global themes uses the standardSVG icon theme, so there shouldn't be any changes in the rox preview, or ???

Unfortunately I have no time to look at it but finally I removed all the pets and now big-folder windows draw way much faster.
All I can add is that is not a theme related issue.

[zigbert]

See main post for updated versions of these alternative desktop configuration tools.

[mavrothal]

See main post for updated versions of these alternative desktop configuration tools.

This is OK. No lag what so ever.
It actually also corrects some desktop icon degradation reported for slacko 6 in some cases!

[zigbert]

This is OK. No lag what so ever.

Good news.
I made an install on a 10" netbook today - seems stable.

[zigbert]

If you want to install it on your Slacko 5.7, you need the attached switch2. place it in /usr/bin/switch2

[zigbert]

Update - see main post

- Bookmark ANY file from ROX right-click menu.
- pTheme temporary dir is not longer hardcoded to /tmp.
- pTheme_roxpin has got a button that points to eventmanager (drive-icons)
- pWidgets is getting nicer. Most widgets are now revisited.

[ASRI éducation]

I'm surprised not to see more user reviews.
The creation of Zigbert is full of interesting news.
I encourage users to test, criticize, suggest improvements.
Regards,

[zigbert]

I'm surprised not to see more user reviews.
The creation of Zigbert is full of interesting news.
I encourage users to test, criticize, suggest improvements.
Regards,

It would be very helpful with more feedback, both positive and negative.

The code is now uploaded to Woof-CE, so hopefully, we'll see an iso with these new desktop tools builtin.

[MochiMoppel]

It would be very helpful with more feedback, both positive and negative.

Maybe I didn't understand the concept completely and I could only test in Precise 5.6 and Slacko5.6, but what it did is that it destroyed my desktop settings thoroughly. All my shortcuts., menus, tray customization are gone. I now have an (almost empty) pinboard and hard to read fonts. In Precise I was left without a functioning main menu, in Slacko at least Alt+F1 still works.

I think this application can be useful for a pristine system as a starting point for customizations, but it never ever should overwrite existing personal settings. Uninstalling the PET didn't bring back my previous settings.

Maybe the way to improve is:
1) Check if jwmrc-personal jwmrc-theme etc. are still in their original state. If not, don't touch them
2) Make backup copies of the files your PET overwrites.
3) After installation make no changes at all. Like the old desktop manager let the user decide if and what to change

[zigbert]

MochiMoppel
From the main post

Please test on Slacko 6 - it won't work on older Puppies.

[MochiMoppel]

Please test on Slacko 6 - it won't work on older Puppies.

Yes, I'm aware of your main post. That's why I mentioned my test environment. I understand that some features don't work in older Puppies, but my concern was more about the concept, not single features, i.e. the potential damage for an existing installation. Does this mean that the PET does not overwrite JWM's personal setting files in Slacko 6 during installation?

[zigbert]

Oh yeah, it overwrites existing jwm settings. Most important - the /root/.jwmrc.

Yes, there is a potential for damage, and the jwm_config pack could be extended with a roll-back-feature, but;
- As long as you run Slacko 6, you already run an unstable release, that is meant for testing in the beginning.
- If these packages aren't adopted by the iso-builders, there is a reason for making them ready for post-installation. At this stage, testing (and further evolving) is the main focus.


Sigmund

[ASRI éducation]

If these packages aren't adopted by the iso-builders, there is a reason for making them ready for post-installation. At this stage, testing (and further evolving) is the main focus.

Of course.

[mavrothal]

Tried the latest on Tahr RC and is almost OK.
One thing wrong is that "activate menu by mouse click" does not show the main menu but the last 2 lines (Leave and Help).

Another thing that may be handy is to modify the install script to save the current pinboard so the user may reinstate it without any hassle (Micko's original was doing this).
In Tahr for example you have quickpet that is not "puppy standard".

[zigbert]

Tried the latest on Tahr RC and is almost OK.
One thing wrong is that "activate menu by mouse click" does not show the main menu but the last 2 lines (Leave and Help).

Can not see this behavior in Slacko, maybe Tahr specific (sound strange). I am downloading TahrPup...

Another thing that may be handy is to modify the install script to save the current pinboard so the user may reinstate it without any hassle (Micko's original was doing this).
In Tahr for example you have quickpet that is not "puppy standard".

Shouldn't be hard to add

[zigbert]

TahrPup is using an older xdg generator.

TahrPup-5.8.3.rc1

Code: Select all

# grep xdg_puppy /root/.packages/woof-installed-packages
xdg_puppy-0.7.6-15-binaries_only-p4|xdg_puppy|0.7.6-15-binaries_only-p4||BuildingBlock|328K||xdg_puppy-0.7.6-15-binaries_only-p4.pet||essential XDG utilities developed by rarsa, binary executables only, /etc/xdg and /usr/share/desktop-directories moved to Woof|puppy|4||

Slacko-5.7.0

Code: Select all

# grep xdg_puppy /root//.packages/woof-installed-packages
xdg_puppy_jwm-0.7.6-16-i486|xdg_puppy_jwm|0.7.6-16-i486||BuildingBlock|24K||xdg_puppy_jwm-0.7.6-16-i486.pet||essential XDG utilities developed by rarsa, binary executables only, /etc/xdg and /usr/share/desktop-directories moved to Woof|puppy|4||

This is the reason for TahrPup to fail setting the height of the menuitems using /usr/sbin/menumanager or /usr/local/jwm_config/menu

[zigbert]

I have updated the packages in the main post. This is only minor updates, but includes as mavrothal suggested, a backup solution for puppypin.


Sigmund