Fluxbox problem

[buugmenot]

I have a problem with fluxbox
I installed it but it isn't already in the sessions menu
i tried this installation guide:

.:F L U X B O X:. - Documentation - FAQ

there i did no.4 but it didn't work
the folder sessions didn't exist only presession and another one
i am using gnome and opensuse 11.1

[Yosuf Mossad Mohammed Vitriolus]

> it isn't already in the sessions menu

is there a reason you didn't want to install using the "One-Click
Install" found from http://software.opensuse.org/search ?

If you used that method it _should_ automatically install it
correctly AND add it to the sessions menu.

[buugmenot]

i took 1-klick-install but it isn't working

[Yosuf Mossad Mohammed Vitriolus]

> i took 1-klick-install but it isn't working

Oops, THAT is unlucky. :-(

[buugmenot]

what is to do to make it working?

[yamatotakeru]

Assuming that 'fluxbox' is installed (I've just tried the 1-click thingie, but the package did not get installed for me), the first thing is to check 'fluxbox.desktop'.

[One way to check is if the package is installed is to enter: "rpm -q fluxbox" at the command line in a terminal. "rpm -ql fluxbox" gives you where 'fluxbox' files are located. This usually is correct, though a few packages have lied to me recently.]

Make sure that that file is pointing to the correct executable for the program: '/usr/bin/fluxbox' or simply 'fluxbox'.

'xxx.desktop' ('icewm.desktop'for 'IceWm', for example) resides in either one or both of the two places:
(1) /usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/sessions,
(2) /usr/share/xsessions

(1) is for the KDE4 installation. If you are using KDE3, the file should be in /opt/kde3/.../sessions. I don't do GNOME.

The files in these directories are executable ASCII files; you can edit them if you are 'root'.

Go to the directory and view the content of 'fluxbox.desktop' (right-click; left-click may launch the program).

The following is for my installation of 'blackbox':

[Desktop Entry]
X-SuSE-translate=true
Encoding=UTF-8
Type=XSession
Exec=blackbox
TryExec=blackbox
Name=Blackbox
Name[bn]=...
...

What you are interested in is the two lines pointing to the probable location of the executable for the window manager. In your case, they should look like:

Exec=fluxbox
TryExec=fluxbox

If the 'fluxbox' executable is located in /usr/local/bin, "Exec=/usr/local/bin/fluxbox" should get you going. My 'icewm.desktop' said 'Exec=icewm-session' instead of 'Exec=icewm', I think.

Don't forget to become 'root' to edit the file.

[buugmenot]

i have gnome
there isn't the folder with usr/share/xsession is only icewm, gnome and another one but not fluxbox

[buugmenot]

It is working!
i only had to create the fluxbox.desktop in usr/share/xsession

thanks

but the desktop is all empty is that normally?
and i didn't find a button for logout?
that is really empty
can i change this but it should still be resource friendly

[yamatotakeru]

"only had to create the fluxbox.desktop in usr/share/xsession"

(1) But you should find that in the GDM directory, something like /usr/share/GNOME/.../gdm/sessions/. Or use a search command,like:
$ find /usr/share -name 'fluxbox.desktop'
And check the search result. You can use a GUI wrapper app like 'kfind', 'gfind'(?) If you are going to experiment with light-weight window mangers, you should know the directory, as 'xxx.desktop' is often configured wrong.


"The desktop is all empty is that normally? and i didn't find a button for logout?"

(2) Well, I've installed 'fluxbox' (1-Click Install), this time from a different repo (OBS/home:/sdrahn); a somewhat older version, 'fluxbox-1.1.1-4.1'.

(3) From my experience, you should have had no problem at all. Perhaps remove the current installed 'fluxbox', and install this one.

(4) Anyway, assuming that you are actually in 'fluxbox', yes, the screen is quite bare (no resource-hogging icons, etc). But if you click the right mouse button, a menu box should pop up, with three items: 'xterm', 'Run', 'Fluxbox menu', if you have not generated a menu of your own yet. Click on 'Fluxbox menu', you'll get 'Exit'

If you cannot get this menu, you are truly in a trouble. I suggest you do (3).

(5) I was pleasantly surprised this time that Mr SD Rahns' rpm package created and installed personal configuration file in $HOME/.fluxbox, automagically. In the past I had to do this manually. Nice.

(6) $ ls .fluxbox
apps fbrun_history init lastwallpaper menu.bak overlay startup windowmenu
backgrounds icons keys menu menuconfig pixmaps styles

Of these files, you'll be interested in, at first: menu, init, startup.

(7) 'menu' gives you the pop-up menu when you right-click on an empty spot on the screen/desktop. There's 'menu.bak' now, because I have created a new menu.

$ /usr/bin/fluxbox-generate_menu

You type the command in a terminal; I suppose 'fluxbox-generate_menu' will do fine, too. This creates a menu for your system, overwriting the bare-bone system menu. Since you use GNOME, there will be many GNOME apps I don't have.

Edit the file ($ gedit $HOME/.fluxbox/menu, perhaps), to customize for yourself. You can see, and follow, patterns in the structure of the 'menu' file.

(8) The 'init' file:
session.menuFile: ~/.fluxbox/menu
session.keyFile: ~/.fluxbox/keys
session.configVersion: 10

If you want to use a different menu file, say, my_local_menu, edit the first line:
session.menuFile: ~/.fluxbox/my_local_menu

You can call the menu file any way you like, so long as its name is registered here.

(9) "startup". Put the name of the application you'd like to start automatically in 'fluxbox', like:
/usr/bin/korganizer &

As the comment says: don't forget "&" at the end of the line.

(10) "Run" in the menu lets you enter the name of a program to launch it with navigating through the menu or from a terminal.

I' assuming that you are new to this sort of things. If you an old hand at it, my apology for the details.

[buugmenot]

At first many thanks for this long answer.
I will try this next time, but first I have to translate in German because I don't understand much now
find / -name fluxbox.desktop couldn't find anything i need.
so i maybe have to install fluxbox with your package

and i am a linux newbie