[wmii] getting started (confused)

In my never-ending search for the perfect window manager I'm
currently experimenting with WMII. So far I like what I see
but I am confused on a few points and am having difficulty
determining how to accomplish some tasks (if they can be
done at all). I've been reading through mailing list
archives, but in some respects I lack enough understanding
of the system to understand what is being said.

Let me start off by noting that I really like the design
concept of WMII. Its a lot cleaner and easier to navigate
than other window managers I've used (including my standard
fvwm setup).

To put questions in perspective, here is my setup:
OS: Debian Lenny
WMII: latest snapshot from web
DMENU: latest snapshot from web
9base: Debian Lenny default version

So, my questions:

1. wmiirc and rc.wmii
This has me the most perplexed....why two configuration
files with overlapping functionality? Are they both used,
or only one? If only one, how is the correct config file
chosen.

2. How do I set a color scheme?
I put the following lines in my rc.wmii.local file:

    wmiifocuscol=`{echo '#ffffff #153F1F #2A7F3F'}
    wmiinormcol =`{echo '#222222 #5FBF77 #2A7F3F'}
    wmiibackground='#333333'
        
This changes *most* of the colors, but not the center of the
bar at the bottom of the screen. I tried the script listed
on the web page under the themes section, but it does not
seem to work.

3. How can I change window size with keyboard shortcut keys?
For my use, this is a vital feature of the window manager I
use.

4. How can I set the layout for one full-width window at the
bottom of the screen and multiple columns above it (usually
two)? The window at the bottom should be fixed in size
while I switch between multiple windows in the columns above
(e.g. which are stacked within the column). How can I move
this window to the top of the screen above the other
columns? Again, this is a critical feature for me because
of the type of work I do. (side note, would it be possible
to do this with a window always in "stacked" mode regardless
of the layout of the columns above/below?)

5. How can I pull a window from a different view to the
current view with a shortcut key, then send it back with the
same key (or hide it entirely as an alternative)? Ideally
this would appear as a fixed size window at the bottom of
the screen and "push up" all windows currently existing on
the screen, but I could live with it floating above existing
windows if that isn't possible. It looks like this should
be possible somehow with tags but I haven't been able to
make it work yet.

6. Is it possible to move the title bar to the left side of
windows and have stacking mode move left-right instead of
up-down? This would be useful on small widescreen laptop
displays (for example, the EEE PC).

Thanks for any tips!

--David
Received on Sat Mar 01 2008 - 19:41:36 UTC