OpenBox Re-spin

[manyroads]

Hello all.

I have completed my first 'draft' of an OpenBox install combined with some bits of PCmanFM, tint2, jgmenu all built on MX Linux. There are certainly bugs (aka "Known Issues") as well as 'surprises.

Be advised the landing page for the install is 'really sparse'. I recommend performing the install before attempting anything... else.

This draft Openbox desktop setup offers the following "features":

-- Openbox (wm) with tint2 panel (compiled by me); note I'm using Sardi-Flat icons (in the screenshot and Roboto Regular font).

-- A Customize icon/ launcher is on the tint2/jgmenu panel/launcher. (You can use it modify your setup from this launcher/area, should you so wish.)

-- The Desktop offers a fairly traditional Desktop Environment look (a bit like XFCE/ LXQt). This is not a traditional BunsenLabs, #! layout or approach. My version uses PCmanFM for managing the Desktop. PCmanFM which also manages the OpenBox desktop wallpaper (and is pretty light in features).

--- There are numerous "bolt-on" functions not normally found in OpenBox installs. The environment is not designed to be super geeky but rather a familiar & lightweight Desktop with a modicum of beauty. Hopefully the feature set is pretty easy to use. I leave BunsenLabs, ArchLabs, etc. to support that cool, geeky, Openbox Community.

-- I elected to use Compton as the Compositor rather than xcompmgr (Compton comes with a nice Configurator and is much more user friendly, but heavier than xcompmgr.) It is, also, reasonably tear-free.

-- For quick Semantic access to applications, I chose to use Albert as a semantic application launcher (Synapse, my favorite, doesn't like to work on OpenBox).

In the 'a bit awkward' arena:

-- If you want to change Preferred Applications you need to use terminal in cli-mode and enter:

Code: Select all

exo-preferred-applications

-- To access Openbox AutoStart, you need to use an editor (I have Mousepad set as the desktop's default or optionally Geany). If you have ever edited a file, I think you'll find it pretty easy, but it does NOT have a nice GUI, for you technophobes. The autostart I have currently in use may be viewed at the bottom of this document. You'll note it is highly plagiarized (The world's most sincere form of flattery.)

Known Issues (Bugs???):bug:

--- Because I set PCmanFM to control the Desktop, I have simply hidden the tradional "obmenu"; obmenu has a pretty annoying error, anyway. And as we all know, an error you don't see doesn't exist, right? See the following note:

I used an automated tool to generate the obmenu, and it works for everything except the MX Linux links (they seem to follow some non-standard approach for .desktop files/ layout) see: https://sysdfree.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/165/

--- Catfish file search does not function. I'm trying to see what I can do about that. Ideas/ suggestions are welcomed.

Openbox Desktop Images:
http://treemagic.org/MX%20Desktops/Openbox-1.jpg

http://treemagic.org/MX%20Desktops/OpenBox-2.jpg

The Internet Archive Download (to be removed in about 30 days)
https://archive.org/download/MXOpenbox0.1


===== AutoStart (located in ~/.config/openbox of your install) ==================

Code: Select all

## Openbox autostart
## ====================
## When you login to your Openbox session, this autostart script
## will be executed to set-up your environment and launch any applications
## you want to run at startup.
##
## Note: some programs, such as 'nm-applet' are run via XDG autostart.
## Run
## /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/openbox-xdg-autostart --list
## or
## /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/openbox-xdg-autostart --list
## to list any XDG autostarted programs.
##
## More information about this can be found at:
## http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Autostart
##
## This script is modified from the original available at
## http://forums.bunsenlabs.org
##

### SETTINGS START

## Turn on/off system beep.
xset b off

## Set keyboard settings - 250 ms delay and 25 cps (characters per second) repeat rate.
## Adjust the values according to your preferances.
xset r rate 250 25

## Set Desktop Manager
sleep 1; pcmanfm --desktop &

## Add keyboard mapping.
#xmodmap -e "keysym Insert = Multi_key"

## Disable CapsLock
#setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps
# alternative: use as compose key
#setxkbmap -option compose:caps

# Alias Super key to Super+Space for single-key menu.
# See 'man xcape' for other possibilities.
xcape -e 'Super_L=Super_L|space'

### TOUCHPAD: comment out the next two entries if you don't have one

## Configure touchpad. See 'man synaptics' for more info.
## (Now might be using libinput instead of synaptics.)
synclient VertEdgeScroll=1 HorizEdgeScroll=1 TapButton1=1 2>/dev/null

## Disable touchpad while typing
syndaemon -i .5 -K -t -R -d &

### TOUCHPAD END

### SETTINGS END

## GNOME PolicyKit authentication
/usr/lib/policykit-1-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1 &

## Set a wallpaper
#nitrogen --restore
#variety &
#fehbg &
feh --randomize --bg-fill /usr/share/backgrounds/openbox/*

## Compton
## NOTE: composition must be started before tint2
compton &

## Start the tint2 session (the default tint2 will run if no sessions have been set)
tint2 &

## Volume control for systray
pnmixer &

## Start the Conky session (the default conkyrc will run if no sessions have been set)
# bl-conky-session --autostart &

## Start Clipboard manager
 clipit &

[Jerry3904]

Cool, thanks. Make sure to get it added to the existing respin thread--where there is some great stuff being created!

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Nice work!

A few comments:

-- I elected to use Compton as the Compositor rather than xcompmgr (Compton comes with a nice Configurator and is much more user friendly, but heavier than xcompmgr.) It is, also, reasonably tear-free.

For optimal tear-reduction launch compton like this:

Code: Select all

compton -b --backend glx --vsync opengl-mswc

But the glx backend only works if hardware accelerated graphics are available (which is why BL & MX use the stock xrender backend with no vsync).

More here: https://github.com/chjj/compton/wiki/perf-guide

===== AutoStart (located in ~/.config/openbox of your install) ==================

Code: Select all

[...]
## Set Desktop Manager
sleep 1; pcmanfm --desktop &

Don't put sleep commands in the autostart file, we found that the ones in the #! autostart file could cause race conditions and result in the panel not being transparent because the compositor was started after tint2 as well as a few other things — that's why the BL version doesn't include any (and also why the compositor is controlled from a script).

I will play around with your ISO and offer some more feedback later.

[manyroads]

Nice work!

A few comments:

-- I elected to use Compton as the Compositor rather than xcompmgr (Compton comes with a nice Configurator and is much more user friendly, but heavier than xcompmgr.) It is, also, reasonably tear-free.

For optimal tear-reduction launch compton like this:

Code: Select all

compton -b --backend glx --vsync opengl-mswc

But the glx backend only works if hardware accelerated graphics are available (which is why BL & MX use the stock xrender backend with no vsync).

More here: https://github.com/chjj/compton/wiki/perf-guide

===== AutoStart (located in ~/.config/openbox of your install) ==================

Code: Select all

[...]
## Set Desktop Manager
sleep 1; pcmanfm --desktop &

Don't put sleep commands in the autostart file, we found that the ones in the #! autostart file could cause race conditions and result in the panel not being transparent because the compositor was started after tint2 as well as a few other things — that's why the BL version doesn't include any (and also why the compositor is controlled from a script).

I will play around with your ISO and offer some more feedback later.

Thank you very much, @head_on_a_stick. Your assistance/ comments are much appreciated.

[rasat]

Great!! ... added in respin list.
viewtopic.php?f=100&t=48617

[chrispop99]

Thanks manyroads.

Is this 64-bit? I wondered if a 32-bit would be of interest to users with older hardware.

Chris

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Quick update:

Catfish file search does not function.

It works with the Adwaita icon theme selected, running it with the Sardi icon theme returns an error about not being able to load the pixbuf from the icon theme.

[skidoo]

if no joy with catfish, consider replacing it with "searchmonkey"

Code: Select all

exo-preferred-applications

PCManFM, does it (its exo backend) ignore elections specified via galternatives ?

I used an automated tool to generate the obmenu, and it works for everything except the MX Linux links (they seem to follow some non-standard approach for .desktop files/ layout) see: sysdfree.wordpress...

obmenu-generator#L123
I see "Example" mentioned within the code ~~ obmenu-generator expects you to specify each absolute path to be scanned? Said differently, this might represent a "non-standard" quirk of the obmenu-generator app; "standard" behavior would be for the app to also traverse, descend into, any /usr/share/applications/... subdirectories.

Code: Select all

   desktop_files_paths   : Absolute paths which contain .desktop files.
                              Example: [  '/usr/share/applications',
                                "\$ENV{HOME}/.local/share/applications",
                                glob("\$ENV{HOME}/.local/share/applications/wine/Programs/*"),   ]

[manyroads]

Thanks manyroads.

Is this 64-bit? I wondered if a 32-bit would be of interest to users with older hardware.

Chris

Hi Chris... yes it is 64bit.

[manyroads]

Quick update:

Catfish file search does not function.

It works with the Adwaita icon theme selected, running it with the Sardi icon theme returns an error about not being able to load the pixbuf from the icon theme.

The same happens with Synapse...@Head_on_a_stick. I was looking for a pixabuf fix. But it looks like both apps require gtk3.