Subject: Fvwm version 1.21c available
From: [email-masked] (Robert Nation)
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 17:48:15 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce

Fvwm release 1.21c (source and Linux binaries) have been uploaded to 
sunsite.unc.edu as file /pub/Linux/Incoming/fvwm-1.21c-source.tar.z.

Fvwm is a just another window manager, which provides a simple virtual
desktop, a 3-D look for windows decorations, and shaped, color icons. 
It can be configured to use far less memory than twm, or to give a very 
good emulation of mwm. A nice button-bar can be used to provide convenient 
access to frequently used functions or programs.

There are approximately 55 entries in the ChangeLog since version 1.20b, so
I'll only hit the high points here:
	1. Added the ability to recognize and parse mwm-hints
	   regarding functions and decorations. Input mode hints 
	   are not recognized, since I couldn't figure out what 
	   they do.
	2. General speed improvements
	3. Renamed all files to 14 or less characters. Not likely
	   to have a lot of impact on Linux or BSD users, but it was needed
	   for some other Unices.
	4. Colormap handling is finally ICCCM compliant.
	5. Focus control can be ICCCM compliant, if you really want
	   that. Most people don't because a lot of applications have
	   problems with it. If you select ICCCM focus control, Fvwm
	   is fully ICCCM compliant, as far as I can tell.
	6. Enhanced multi-desktop control. Users can specify the
	   desktop on which an application should start, and switching
	   to that desktop is automatic when an appropriate window is
	   mapped. 
	7. Improved complex functions (macros) a bit.
	   Can now bind actions to clicks or double clicks in the
	   root window, and can now do raise-before-move instead of
	   the old move-before-raise macro. Detection of motion-click-
	   double click is improved to void unneeded delays.
	8. Added resize-on-window-placement support, using either
	   the twm-style button 3 to resize or the mwm-style shift-button 1
	9. Now compatible with Sun's Wabi, at least when running on
	   solaris 2.

******************************************************************************
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   mail to [email-masked] with the body of the message:

   subscribe fvwm

   That's all there is to it.  To send to the list, mail to [email-masked], 
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*****************************************************************************

I believe that the module interface is a good way to extend the
functionality of Fvwm, without adversely affecting the integrity of the
window manager itself, and without adding unnecessary software bloat. Modules
are programs that have special access to fvwm's internal data structures,
and can provide many of the same services as built in functions.

I would like to put out a call for module ideas and donated modules. Ideas
questions, etc should be discussed on the fvwm mailing list, mentioned above.
Here are some ideas which should be feasible:
1. An improved pager. Supports multiple desktops better than the
   current built-in pager.
2. A WindowList module. Could replace the current Window-list, and provide
   a permanantly displayed Window-list, which would make an excellent
   icon manager.
3. Tear-off menus, like the olwm pushpins provide.

Let your imagination go! Read the documentation, fvwm/documentation/modules.tex
and then discuss your ideas. 

It should be possible to design modules using the toolkit of your
choice, and possibly even using Tcl/Tk. 

*****************************************************************************
Note: If you want to use color icons, you will need to get the Xpm libraries 
from sunsite.unc.edu:
 /pub/X11/contrib/xpm-3.3.tar.gz for the Xpm library, or
 /pub/Linux/X11/libs, file libXpm-3.3.tar.gz. for a pre-compiled shared 
                       library of libXpm for Linux (it was still in /pub
			/Linux/Incoming last I checked).

You may also want these from sunsite.unc.edu:
 /pub/X11/contrib/xpm3icons.tar.Z, sample icons
 /pub/X11/contrib/ctwm-3.0.tar.Z, pull out the icons. ctwm has really nice
                        color icons.
and this from ftp.x.org:
 /contrib/SunDesk???, lots of sample icons, which, unfortunately, have
                      very undescriptive file names. Apparantly there is
		      another version of this file with descriptive names,
	              also on ftp.x.org.
and this,
hplyot.obspm.circe.fr /fvwm/hobbes-icons-xpm3.tar.gz
			lots of icons.
 
Rob Nation
([email-masked])