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Date:      Wed, 24 Jun 1998 04:15:43 -0700
From:      Tim Gerchmez <fewtch@serv.net>
To:        Jukka Simila <lmkjuksi@info1.info.tampere.fi>
Cc:        freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Fave Window Manager... found it.
Message-ID:  <3.0.5.32.19980624041543.00805100@mx.serv.net>
In-Reply-To: <XFMail.980624131401.lmkjuksi@info1.info.tampere.fi>
References:  <3.0.5.32.19980623195124.008076a0@mx.serv.net>

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At 01:01 PM 6/24/98 +0300, Jukka Simila wrote:

>Well I just wanted to say that I used fvwm2 2 weeks and didn't really
solve it
>out.. just configured colors & a little bit something else. But now I'm using
>ctwm, and yes, it is simple to use, but I think U really can do alot with
it. 

As I say, it is very simple and easy to use (I liked it a lot when I tried
it, but it didn't offer quite enough for me, at least for the amount of
time I tried it), and yes, you can do a lot with it (a lot more than with
plain old twm anyway)... the pager is very nice to look at as well (8
virtual desktops by default with different backgrounds on each) but it
didn't seem to offer a lot of features (as in, modules and other utilities
and stuff that comes with it).  It's really good for a newbie, and/or if
you don't want to deal with icons or a lot of other BS.  I tell you though,
advanced BSD users are laughing at both of us.  Fvwm2 is considered one of
the more basic window managers as well.  The "gurus" all are using KDE, or
Afterstep/Windowmaker/Enlightenment, or maybe even a commercial window
manager.  The "Nextstep/Openstep" look is very popular right now (which I
personally am not that thrilled with).

Maybe I didn't give ctwm enough of a chance.. if I get tired of not being
able to change the background in Fvwm2, maybe I'll switch.  Or maybe I'll
use both..  who knows... that's one of the cool things about X... try using
20 different user interfaces on a Microsoft OS... ;-)

>I
>don't have to look any icons around, I have disabled them from
>extremely-easy-to-configure-file .ctwmrc and I have a pop-up menu for my
third
>mousebutton. also, when i 'used' fvwm2 I didn't notice option available in
>ctwm: f.movepack or f.movepush, so windows are very easy to arrange nicely,
>when they don't overlap unless u really want so.

One of the disadvantages of Fvwm2 is that window resizing can be a pain in
the butt.  If your desktop and buttonbar are covered up, it becomes very
difficult to resize a window if you need to (you need to iconify it or
switch using the pager before you can resize).  I've always preferred
window managers that auto-resize when you click any edge of a window (like
Windows does it), and Fvwm2 doesn't do that.  So maybe eventually I'll
switch to something else (but probably not... I've put a LOT of work into
configuring Fvwm2 at this point).

>and backgrounds are working
>perfectly. :).

That's another beef I have with Fvwm2.  The background chooser (called the
'backer' module in Fvwm2) is broken, as far as I can see it.  You get two
choices - "puke purple" (default) or "bunghole brown" (if you try and use
the backer module).  Nothing else seems to work.  No pictures, nothing.
The purple is bearable, though.

>BTW, as u can see, I use Xfmail, but I would like to know if u
>tested it: does it support filters? - I haven't been able to find anything
>about them within xfmail.

I think it supports something called "rules" that are similar to filters..
but nothing is so easy in Unix, so check it out, it probably takes 10 times
as long to configure as the Eudora filters do, for example... ;-)

BTW, are you having the same problem I am... when you click on a message to
read or reply in Xfmail, the window that comes up is HUGE (fills more than
one whole screen) and there doesn't look like any way to change it... ?
You have to manually resize it each time, it looks like, or just put up
with it filling the entire screen from corner to corner (I hate programs
that do that... I always like some desktop space available).

Tim

(Now posting from Win95 ;-)


--
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