Menus

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  • Menu list

    Different menus are available within Window Maker:
    - The root window menu or applications menu
    - The window list menu
    - The workspace menu
    - The application icon menu
    Menus provide a list of command to execute.
    They can be used to launch applications, to get information, to configure the workspace...
    They are opened clicking the right mouse button either in the workspace or in windows titlebar and docked icons.
    The window list menu is the only one opened with middle mouse button. With a two buttons mouse, and according to the OS, pressing both buttons at once does the trick.
    A lot of keyboard shortcuts are provided. They are indicated by the letter at the right of the item.
    The keyboard can be used to open and traverse some of the menus.
    For instance, the root menu can be opened hitting F12 (default setting). Then the Up and Down arrow keys can be used to navigate through the menu or the Left and Right arrow keys to jump between parent menus and submenus.
    Hitting the Enter key executes the selected item.
    Escape key closes the menu or stops menu traversal.
    Menus can be sticked to the workspace by dragging the titlebar. This creates a close button on the titlebar, allowing to close the menu clicking in that button.

  • Root window menu

    root menu

    The root window menu or application menu is opened clicking on the workspace with the right mouse button or hitting the corresponding shortcut (default is F12).
    This menu allows to launch applications, to customize workspace (backgrounds, themes...), to do some management using X utilities (xprop, xfontsel, xcmap...).
    The menu content is totally configurable, either using WPrefs.app or editing the plain text menu file.
    Instructions on how to configure one or the other can be found in the WindowMaker directory of the distribution.
    To use WPrefs.app, menus must be in property list format (plmenu).
    A script is available to convert plain text menus to property list menus and it's called wm-oldmenu2new.

  • Window list menu

    window list menu

    Clicking in the workspace with the middle mouse button opens the window list menu.
    With two buttons mouse, clicking both buttons at once gives the same result on some OSes.
    When the two buttons mouse doesn't work, there is a keyboard shorcut to open the window list menu (F11 is the default).
    This menu lists all the existing windows in every workspace.
    The workspace where the window exists is indicated at the right of the window name.
    The current focused window is marked by a diamond sign at it's left.
    Clicking in an entry of this list menu focuses and raises the corresponding window in the workspace where it's located.

  • Workspaces menu

    workspaces menu

    The workspaces menu is part of the root menu (applications menu).
    This item has two options: new and destroy last.
    The first option allows to create a new workspace and to switch to it.
    The second option destroys the last workspace as soon as there are no windows opened in it.
    Each workspace has a corresponding item in this menu.
    The active workspace is the one with a diamond at it's left.
    Clicking in a workspace entry switches from the current one to the selected one.
    To change the name of a workspace, the menu must be stick. Then, Ctrl + click in the item makes it editable allowing to type a new name. Hitting Return saves the new name, hitting Escape cancels the operation.
    Key bindings allow to move from one workspace to another one.
    Usually Meta + F figure. Figure corresponds to the workspace number.
    For instance F1 can be the default workspace, F2 the second one and so on.
    Thus, Meta + F2 switches to workspace 2.
    These key bindings can be set from Keyboard shortcut

  • Application icon menu

    dock menu

    Clicking an icon in the dock with the right mouse button brings a menu applying to the corresponding application.
    The first item is "keep on top" what is self explanatory. If it shows "lowering" instead, it means that selecting it will allow windows to cover the dock.
    The second item "launch" allows to run the application without double-clicking in the icon.
    The third item "unhide here" unhides the application in the current workspace.
    The fourth item "hide" hides the application or unhides it if already hidden. Unhiding opens the application in the workspace where it is located.
    This option may not work if the application has it's own hiding menu option.
    The fifth item is called "settings" and allows to modify application path and arguments, the command line and the icon. Check Configuring
    The last item "kill" allows to kill the application.

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