Chapter 16

Customizing the Workspace Manager

This chapter describes how to customize the desktop Workspace Manager.

The Workspace Manager is the window manager provided by the desktop. Like other window managers, it controls:

The appearance of window frame components
The behavior of windows, including their stacking order and focus behavior
Key bindings and button bindings
The appearance of minimized windows
Workspace and Window menus

In addition, the Workspace Manager controls these desktop components:

Workspaces. The Workspace Manager controls the number of workspaces, and keeps track of which windows are open in each workspace.

Workspace backdrops. The user changes backdrops using Style Manager. However, backdrop management is a function of the Workspace Manager.

The Front Panel. Although the Front Panel uses its own configuration files, it is created and managed by the Workspace Manager.

Many of these can be changed with Style Manager. Style Manager is able to make often-used changes quickly, with little effort on your part. Other resources must be set manually.

The Workspace Manager is dtwm. It is based on the Motif Window Manager.

For reference information about the Workspace Manager, see the dtwm(1) and dtwmrc(4) man pages.

For information about setting Workspace Manager resources, see "Setting Application Resources".

For information on Front Panel configuration files, see Chapter 15, Advanced Front Panel Customization.

For additional information about setting resources, see "Setting Application Resources".

Workspace Manager Configuration Files

The Workspace Manager gets information about the window menus, workspace menus, button bindings, and key bindings from a configuration file.

It uses one of the following files:

Personal file: HomeDirectory/.dt/dtwmrc
System custom file: /etc/dt/config/language/sys.dtwmrc
Built-in file: /usr/dt/config/language/sys.dtwmrc

The Workspace Manager searches for a configuration file in the order shown above, and uses the first one it finds.

For users who use more than one session language, a personal, language-dependent configuration file HomeDirectory/.dt/language/dtwrmc can be created that takes precedence over HomeDirectory/.dt/dtwmrc.

To Create or Modify a Personal Configuration File

The personal Workspace Manager configuration file is HomeDirectory/.dt/dtwmrc. If this file exists, it is the file used.

Double-click Edit Dtwmrc in the Desktop_Tools application group.
If you already have a personal dtwmrc file, it is loaded into the editor. If not, sys.dtwmrc is copied to HomeDirectory/.dt/dtwmrc, which is then loaded into the editor.

Edit the file.

Exit the editor.
The file is saved as your personal dtwmrc, regardless of its original source.


	Chapter 16 Customizing the Workspace Manager This chapter describes how to customize the desktop Workspace Manager. "Workspace Manager Configuration Files" "Customizing Workspaces" "Workspace Manager Menus" "Customizing Button Bindings" "Customizing Key Bindings" "Switching Between Default and Custom Behavior" The Workspace Manager is the window manager provided by the desktop. Like other window managers, it controls: The appearance of window frame components The behavior of windows, including their stacking order and focus behavior Key bindings and button bindings The appearance of minimized windows Workspace and Window menus In addition, the Workspace Manager controls these desktop components: Workspaces. The Workspace Manager controls the number of workspaces, and keeps track of which windows are open in each workspace. Workspace backdrops. The user changes backdrops using Style Manager. However, backdrop management is a function of the Workspace Manager. The Front Panel. Although the Front Panel uses its own configuration files, it is created and managed by the Workspace Manager. Many of these can be changed with Style Manager. Style Manager is able to make often-used changes quickly, with little effort on your part. Other resources must be set manually. The Workspace Manager is `dtwm`. It is based on the Motif Window Manager. For reference information about the Workspace Manager, see the dtwm(1) and dtwmrc(4) man pages. For information about setting Workspace Manager resources, see "Setting Application Resources". For information on Front Panel configuration files, see Chapter 15, Advanced Front Panel Customization. For additional information about setting resources, see "Setting Application Resources". Workspace Manager Configuration Files The Workspace Manager gets information about the window menus, workspace menus, button bindings, and key bindings from a configuration file. It uses one of the following files: Personal file: HomeDirectory`/.dt/dtwmrc` System custom file: `/etc/dt/config/`language`/sys.dtwmrc` Built-in file: `/usr/dt/config/`language`/sys.dtwmrc` The Workspace Manager searches for a configuration file in the order shown above, and uses the first one it finds. For users who use more than one session language, a personal, language-dependent configuration file HomeDirectory`/.dt/`language`/dtwrmc` can be created that takes precedence over HomeDirectory`/.dt/dtwmrc`. To Create or Modify a Personal Configuration File The personal Workspace Manager configuration file is HomeDirectory`/.dt/dtwmrc`. If this file exists, it is the file used. Double-click Edit Dtwmrc in the Desktop_Tools application group. If you already have a personal `dtwmrc` file, it is loaded into the editor. If not, `sys.dtwmrc` is copied to HomeDirectory`/.dt/dtwmrc`, which is then loaded into the editor. Edit the file. Exit the editor. The file is saved as your personal `dtwmrc`, regardless of its original source.