3 .\" Copyright (c) 2009 Marco Peereboom <marco@peereboom.us>
4 .\" Copyright (c) 2009 Darrin Chandler <dwchandler@stilyagin.com>
6 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
7 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
8 .\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
10 .\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
11 .\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
12 .\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
13 .\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
14 .\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
15 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
16 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
23 .Nd window manager for X11
28 is a minimalistic window manager that tries to stay out of the way so that
29 valuable screen real estate can be used for much more important stuff.
30 It has sane defaults and does not require one to learn a language to do any
32 It was written by hackers for hackers and it strives to be small, compact and
37 starts up, it reads settings from its configuration file,
40 .Sx CONFIGURATION FILES
43 The following notation is used throughout this page:
45 .Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
59 is very simple in its use.
60 Most of the actions are initiated via key or mouse bindings.
63 section below for defaults and customizations.
64 .Sh CONFIGURATION FILES
66 first tries to open the user specific file,
68 If that file is unavailable,
69 it then tries to open the global configuration file
70 .Pa /etc/scrotwm.conf .
72 The format of the file is \*(Ltkeyword\*(Gt = \*(Ltsetting\*(Gt.
77 Enabling or disabling an option is done by using 1 or 0 respectively.
79 The file supports the following keywords:
81 .Bl -tag -width "title_class_enabledXXX" -offset indent -compact
83 Launch an application in a specified workspace at start-of-day.
84 Defined in the format ws[<idx>]:application, e.g. ws[2]:xterm launches an
87 Border color of the currently focussed window.
89 Border color of unfocussed windows.
91 Enable or disable status bar.
92 .It Cm bar_border Ns Bq Ar x
93 Color of the status bar border in screen
95 .It Cm bar_border_width
96 Set status bar border thickness in pixels.
97 Disable border by setting to 0.
98 .It Cm bar_color Ns Bq Ar x
99 Color of the status bar window in screen
101 .It Cm bar_font_color Ns Bq Ar x
102 Color of the font in status bar in screen
107 External script that populates additional information in the status bar,
108 such as battery life.
110 Update frequency, in seconds, of external script that populates the status bar.
112 Place the statusbar at the bottom of each region instead of the top.
114 Enable or disable displaying the current stacking algorithm in the status bar.
116 Enable or disable displaying the clock in the status bar.
117 Disable by setting to 0
118 so a custom clock could be used in the
122 Some applications have dialogue windows that are too small to be useful.
123 This ratio is the screen size to what they will be resized.
124 For example, 0.6 is 60% of the physical screen size.
126 Select layout to use at start-of-day.
127 Defined in the format
128 ws[idx]:master_grow:master_add:stack_inc:layout:always_raise:stack_mode, e.g.
129 ws[2]:-4:0:1:0:horizontal sets worskspace 2 to the horizontal stack mode and
130 shrinks the master area by 4 ticks and adds one window to the stack, while
131 maintaining default floating window behavior.
132 Possible stack_mode values are
147 for more information.
148 Note that the stacking options are complicated and have side-effects.
149 One should familiarize oneself with these commands before experimenting with the
153 This setting is not retained at restart.
155 Allocates a custom region, removing any autodetected regions which occupy the same
157 Defined in the format screen[<idx>]:WIDTHxHEIGHT+X+Y,
158 e.g.\& screen[1]:800x1200+0+0.
160 To make a screen span multiple monitors, create a region big enough to cover
161 them all, e.g. screen[1]:2048x768+0+0 makes the screen span two monitors with
162 1024x768 resolution sitting one next to the other.
164 Set a preferred minimum width for the terminal.
165 If this value is greater than 0,
167 will attempt to adjust the font sizes in the terminal to keep the terminal
168 width above this number as the window is resized.
171 is currently supported.
174 binary must not be setuid or setgid, which it is by default on most systems.
175 Users may need to set program[term] (see the
177 section) to use an alternate copy of the
179 binary without the setgid bit set.
180 .It Cm title_class_enabled
181 Enable or disable displaying the window class in the status bar.
182 Enable by setting to 1.
183 .It Cm title_name_enabled
184 Enable or disable displaying the window title in the status bar.
185 Enable by setting to 1.
186 .It Cm urgent_enabled
187 Enable or disable the urgency hint.
188 Note that many terminal emulators require this to be enabled for it to
189 propagate. In xterm, for example, one needs to add the following line
190 .Pa xterm.urgentOnBell: true
193 .It Cm window_name_enabled
194 Enable or disable displaying the window name in the status bar.
195 Enable by setting to 1.
196 .It Cm verbose_layout
197 Enable or disable displaying the current master and stack values in the status
199 Enable by setting to 1.
202 Mod1 is generally the ALT key and Mod4 is the windows key on a PC.
206 will make the window manager focus the window
207 under the mouse when switching workspaces and creating windows.
208 .It Cm disable_border
209 Remove border when bar is disabled and there is only one window on the screen.
211 Set window border thickness in pixels.
212 Disable all borders by setting to 0.
213 .It Cm program Ns Bq Ar p
214 Define new action to spawn a program
219 .It Cm bind Ns Bq Ar x
220 Bind key combo to action
225 .It Cm quirk Ns Bq Ar c:n
226 Add "quirk" for windows with class
235 Colors need to be specified per the
237 specification and fonts need to be specified per the
241 To list the available fonts in your system see
248 application can help you to show the X Logical Font Description ("XLFD") used
249 as setting in the keyword
253 allows you to define custom actions to launch programs of your choice and then
254 bind them the same as with built-in actions.
259 The default programs are described below:
261 .Bl -tag -width "screenshot_wind" -offset indent -compact
264 .It Cm screenshot_all
266 .It Cm screenshot_wind
273 dmenu_run \-fn $bar_font \-nb $bar_color \-nf $bar_font_color \-sb $bar_border \-sf $bar_color
276 Custom programs in the configuration file are specified as follows:
278 .Dl program[<name>] = <progpath> [<arg> [... <arg>]]
281 is any identifier that does not conflict with a built-in action or keyword,
283 is the desired program, and
285 is zero or more arguments to the program.
287 The following variables represent settable values in
290 .Sx CONFIGURATION FILES
292 and may be used in the
294 fields and will be substituted for values at the time the program is spawned:
296 .Bl -tag -width "$bar_font_color" -offset indent -compact
300 .It Cm $bar_font_color
302 .It Cm $color_unfocus
306 .Bd -literal -offset indent
307 program[ff] = /usr/local/bin/firefox http://scrotwm.org/
308 bind[ff] = Mod+f # Now Mod+F launched firefox
311 To undo the previous:
312 .Bd -literal -offset indent
319 provides many functions (or actions) accessed via key or mouse bindings.
321 The current mouse bindings are described below:
323 .Bl -tag -width "M-j, M-<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
331 Resize window while maintaining it centered
334 The default key bindings are described below:
336 .Bl -tag -width "M-j, M-<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
337 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Return
345 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Space
347 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Space
361 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Return
370 .Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm TAB
387 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Ar n
389 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Right
391 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Left
395 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Right
397 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Left
407 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Delete
437 The action names and descriptions are listed below:
439 .Bl -tag -width "M-j, M-<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
465 Add windows to master area.
467 Remove windows from master area.
469 Add columns/rows to stacking area.
471 Remove columns/rows from stacking area.
473 Move current window to master area.
475 Focus next window in workspace.
477 Focus previous window in workspace.
479 Focus on main window in workspace.
481 Swap with next window in workspace.
483 Swap with previous window in workspace.
485 Toggle status bar in all workspaces.
487 Delete current window in workspace.
489 Destroy current window in workspace.
497 Move current window to workspace
503 Switch to next workspace with a window in it.
505 Switch to previous workspace with a window in it.
507 Switch to last visited workspace.
509 Move pointer to next region.
511 Move pointer to previous region.
512 .It Cm screenshot_all
513 Take screenshot of entire screen (if enabled)
517 .It Cm screenshot_wind
518 Take screenshot of selected window (if enabled)
523 Toggle version in status bar.
525 Toggle focused window between tiled and floating.
532 Reinitialize physical screens
537 Minimize (unmap) currently focused window.
539 Maximize (map) window returned by dmenu selection.
541 When set tiled windows are allowed to obscure floating windows.
543 Fake a middle mouse button click (mouse button 2).
545 Shrink the width of a floating window.
547 Grow the width of a floating window.
549 Shrink the height of a floating window.
551 Grow the height of a floating window.
553 Move a floating window a step to the left.
555 Move a floating window a step to the right.
557 Move a floating window a step upwards.
559 Move a floating window a step downwards.
562 Custom bindings in the configuration file are specified as follows:
564 .Dl bind[<action>] = <keys>
567 is one of the actions listed above (or empty) and
569 is in the form of zero or more modifier keys
570 (MOD, Mod1, Shift, etc.) and one or more normal keys
571 (b, space, etc.), separated by "+".
573 .Bd -literal -offset indent
574 bind[reset] = Mod4+q # bind Windows-key + q to reset
575 bind[] = Mod1+q # unbind Alt + q
578 Multiple key combinations may be bound to the same action.
581 provides "quirks" which handle windows that must be treated specially
582 in a tiling window manager, such as some dialogs and fullscreen apps.
584 The default quirks are described below:
586 .Bl -tag -width "OpenOffice.org N.M:VCLSalFrame<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
587 .It Firefox\-bin:firefox\-bin
594 FLOAT + FULLSCREEN + FOCUSPREV
595 .It OpenOffice.org 2.4:VCLSalFrame
597 .It OpenOffice.org 3.1:VCLSalFrame
605 .It xine:xine Video Fullscreen Window
615 The quirks themselves are described below:
617 .Bl -tag -width "XTERM_FONTADJ<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
619 This window should not be tiled, but allowed to float freely.
621 Adjusts size on transient windows that are too small using dialog_ratio
623 .Sx CONFIGURATION FILES ) .
625 Allow window to position itself, uncentered.
627 Adjust xterm fonts when resizing.
629 Remove border to allow window to use full screen size.
631 On exit force focus on previously focused application not previous application
635 Custom quirks in the configuration file are specified as follows:
637 .Dl quirk[<class>:<name>] = <quirk> [ + <quirk> ... ]
642 specify the window to which the quirk(s) apply, and
644 is one of the quirks from the list above.
646 .Bd -literal -offset indent
647 quirk[MPlayer:xv] = FLOAT + FULLSCREEN + FOCUSPREV
648 quirk[pcb:pcb] = NONE # remove existing quirk
655 by running xprop(1) and then clicking on the desired window.
656 In the following example the main window of Firefox was clicked:
657 .Bd -literal -offset indent
658 $ xprop | grep WM_CLASS
659 WM_CLASS(STRING) = "Navigator", "Firefox"
662 Note that grepping for WM_CLASS flips class and name.
663 In the example above the quirk entry would be:
664 .Bd -literal -offset indent
665 quirk[Firefox:Navigator] = FLOAT
669 also automatically assigns quirks to windows based on the value
670 of the window's _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE property as follows:
672 .Bl -tag -width "_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_TOOLBAR<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
673 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DOCK
675 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_TOOLBAR
677 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_UTILITY
679 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_SPLASH
681 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DIALOG
685 In all other cases, no automatic quirks are assigned to the window.
686 Quirks specified in the configuration file override the automatic quirks.
689 partially implements the Extended Window Manager Hints (EWMH) specification.
690 This enables controlling windows as well as
692 itself from external scripts and programs. This is achieved by
694 responding to certain ClientMessage events. From the terminal these events
695 can be conveniently sent using tools such as
700 actual format of these ClientMessage events, see the EWMH specification.
702 The id of the currently focused window is stored in the _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW
703 property of the root window. This can be used for example to retrieve the
704 title of the currently active window with
708 .Bd -literal -offset indent
709 $ WINDOWID=`xprop \-root _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW | grep \-o "0x.*"`
710 $ xprop \-id $WINDOWID WM_NAME | grep \-o "\\".*\\""
713 A window can be focused by sending a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW client message
714 to the root window. For example, using
717 (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of the window to be focused):
718 .Bd -literal -offset indent
719 $ wmctrl \-i \-a 0x4a0000b
722 Windows can be closed by sending a _NET_CLOSE_WINDOW client message
723 to the root window. For example, using
726 (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of the window to be closed):
727 .Bd -literal -offset indent
728 $ wmctrl \-i \-c 0x4a0000b
731 Windows can be floated and un-floated by adding or removing the
732 _NET_WM_STATE_ABOVE atom from the _NET_WM_STATE property of the window.
733 This can be achieved by sending a _NET_WM_STATE client message to the
734 root window. For example, the following toggles the floating state of
737 to send the message (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of the window floated
739 .Bd -literal -offset indent
740 $ wmctrl \-i \-r 0x4a0000b \-b toggle,_NET_WM_STATE_ABOVE
743 Floating windows can also be resized and moved by sending a
744 _NET_MOVERESIZE_WINDOW client message to the root window. For example,
747 to send the message (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of
748 the window to be resize/moved):
749 .Bd -literal -offset indent
750 $ wmctrl \-i \-r 0x4a0000b \-e 0,100,50,640,480
753 This moves the window to (100,50) and resizes it to 640x480.
755 Any _NET_MOVERESIZE_WINDOW events received for stacked windows are ignored.
760 a HUP signal will restart it.
762 .Bl -tag -width "/etc/scrotwm.confXXX" -compact
763 .It Pa ~/.scrotwm.conf
765 user specific settings.
766 .It Pa /etc/scrotwm.conf
772 was inspired by xmonad & dwm.
778 .Bl -tag -width "Ryan Thomas McBride Aq mcbride@countersiege.com " -offset indent -compact
779 .It Cm Marco Peereboom Aq marco@peereboom.us
780 .It Cm Ryan Thomas McBride Aq mcbride@countersiege.com
781 .It Cm Darrin Chandler Aq dwchandler@stilyagin.com
782 .It Cm Pierre-Yves Ritschard Aq pyr@spootnik.org
783 .It Cm Tuukka Kataja Aq stuge@xor.fi
784 .It Cm Jason L. Wright Aq jason@thought.net
787 Currently the menu, invoked with