Release Switch GUI: Openbox

[mono]

Bummer. Can you post a screenshot? I'm having difficulty understanding what people mean with this.

This is what it looks like for me:

there are only the first 5 entries in PNDs -> System, as you can see, everything up to ConBTGPS

 

[freamon]

Thanks for the screenshot, mono. I understand now.


I'll see if I can re-produce, and fix.

 

[levi]

Interesting. I've also not got PNDmanager to talk to the repo using my ext2-formatted SD card - I assumed it just handled locally installed files, and PNDstore was for downloading stuff.


Regarding the new Openbox PND, can I assume it'll all work fine if I run it from an OS image in one of the SD slots. I'm trying to hold off installing too much to my NAND flash while I get that sorted out.

 

[freamon]

Regarding the new Openbox PND, can I assume it'll all work fine if I run it from an OS image in one of the SD slots. I'm trying to hold off installing too much to my NAND flash while I get that sorted out.

Yeah - if you're booting from an SD card, then Openbox will install to the OS on that card, not on the nand.


Re: the problem of System PNDs showing outside of the System menu


Is this only happening for people who tried out LXDE? That's potentially the cause of it, since both LXDE and this version of Openbox use the 'menu-cache' program. One thing you could try is:

1. rm /home/<yourname>/Applications/Cache/menus/*

2. Press the Pandora button, and choose PNDs.  It will come up with an error.

3. Click OK to dismiss the error.

4.  Press the Pandora button and choose PNDs again.

 

[mono]

1. rm /home//Applications/Cache/menus/* 2. Press the Pandora button, and choose PNDs. It will come up with an error. 3. Click OK to dismiss the error. 4. Press the Pandora button and choose PNDs again.

that didn`t helped me... I also did a reinstall of openbox.


I remember having an error message (like the one you predicted above) twice when I started the PNDs-menu first.


Don`t minde, I can live with that, but ask me to post any contend you like if that would help.


(But I do mind about Pogo-player - still not booting, thinking of starting a thread about that

 

[frefol]

I have never tried LXDE before and I have the same menu problem. I did have an error message whenever I opened the menu and chose PND. I just switched GUIs and then switched back and the error message stopped but the menu is still messed up.

 

[freamon]

Oh well. I'll have another think (and go fix Pogo).

 

[freamon]

Re: Only one category in games


Normally, in XFCE you get Games->Arcade, Game->Adventure, etc. I decided (possibly incorrectly) that this was a bit of a overkill, because, you know, who has more then 3 games on their Pandora? (I know *I* don't).


If you want sub-categories back, edit /etc/xdg/menus/openbox-pnd.menu to add <Menu><Name>sub-category</Name><Directory>openbox-games.directory</Directory><Include> on one side of each category, and </Include></Menu> on the other. For example, "Action" would look like:

<Menu>

	 <Name>Games</Name>

	 <Directory>openbox-games.directory</Directory>

	 <Menu>

		 <Name>Action</Name>

		 <Directory>openbox-games-action.directory</Directory>

		 <Include>

			 <Category>ActionGame</Category>

		 </Include>

	 </Menu>


    <Include>

			 <Category>AdventureGame</Category>

			 <Category>RolePlaying</Category>

			 <Category>ArcadeGame</Category>

			 <Category>BoardGame</Category>

			 <Category>BlocksGame</Category>

			 <Category>CardGame</Category>

			 <Category>LogicGame</Category>

			 <Category>KidsGame</Category>

			 <Category>StrategyGame</Category>

			 <Category>Simulation</Category>

			 <Category>SportsGame</Category>

    </Include>

</Menu>

Note you'll have to actually create a "openbox-games-action.directory" file in /usr/share/desktop-directories/ if you want a nice icon to go with it (the fact that I used a 'sunshine' icon for games should indicate that I was running out of options for these).


If you want to put all your gaming subcategories back, see /etc/xdg/op/menus/xfce-applications.menu for reference.

 

[freamon]

New start post for updated version. PND link: http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=switchguiopenbox


Firstly, a screenshot:

This PND lets you install OpenBox Window Manager to your OS (it's less than a meg in size, so NAND space isn't an issue). Afterwards, you'll be able to choose it as a GUI to switch to, or as your default one to boot to.


Features

• Low Resource Usage (a few more MBs of ram than MiniMenu, but about 20 MB less than XFCE)
  
• Speedy execution
  
• Multi-tasking
  
• Desktop-Switching
  
• Maximum screen real-estate (no system tray or panels taking up room)
  
• Easy to get online
  
• All your PNDs magically appear in the menu
  
• All PNDs placed in pandora/desktop or pandora/apps are automatically place in warlock bar at startup.
  
• Pandora-friendly keybindings
  

Default Keybindings

• Root Menu: "Pandora Key" or "Ctrl-M" "Right-Nub-Right-Click"
  
• Go To Desktop 1: Alt DPAD-left
  
• Go To Desktop 2: Alt DPAD-right
  
• Send To Desktop 1: Ctrl DPAD-left
  
• Send To Desktop 2: Ctrol DPAD-right
  
• Client Menu: Alt DPAD-up
  
• Switch Applications: Alt DPAD-down
  
• Toggle Maximize: Ctrl DPAD-up
  
• Toggle Shade: Ctrl DPAD-down
  
• Quit Application: Ctrl-q
  

Config Files

• start-up file: /usr/bin/openbox-session
  
• pnd menu: /etc/xdg/menus/openbox-pnd.menu
  
• root menu: /home/<yourname>/Applications/Settings/openbox/menu.xml
  
• openbox settings: /home/<yourname>/Applications/Settings/openbox/rc.xml
  
• execute before openbox starts: /home/<yourname>/Applications/Settings/openbox/environment
  
• execute after openbox starts: /home/<yourname>/Applications/Settings/openbox/autostart
  
• manually add stuff to warlock bar: /home/<yourname>/Applications/Settings/openbox/wbar_custom.cfg
  

The 5 files in Applications/Settings are the ones you may want to modify. After doing so, the quickest way to reload is choosing Switch Gui -> Openbox again.


Issues


It uses XFCE's terminal, the default font of which (monospace, size 12) forces the window to be bigger than the screen. To solve this, 'terminal' launched from the menu is actually 'terminal --geometry 70x22', whilst terminals launched by PNDs etc get auto-maximized. This makes them fit the screen, but it's an imperfect solution.


Networking uses NetworkManager (since it's already running, and you should only have to enter your connection details once), but accessing that (via nm-applet) brings a bunch of other daemons from XFCE in, so it's less efficient online, than offline (still better than XFCE itself though).


The battery status display requires kernel 3.2.


After first installing it, the PNDs menu may error (didn't when I tried on the nand, did when I booted off an sd-card). It'll only happen once - it'll be fine for ever more after that.


New in this version

• Warlock Bar included - automatically displays PNDs you've put in pandora/apps or pandora/desktop. Leftmost icon brings up the menu. Restart openbox to re-populate it.
  
• Nitrogen X Background Setter is part of the main PND (it's not installed to the OS). This provides a graphical way to set the default desktop background.
  
• The Pandora key doesn't nuke PNDs anymore.
  
• Shift-Drag mousebinding for move over-sized windows
  
• I've tried to fix the System-PNDs-In-Root-Of-PNDs-Menu problem. What I'm up against is that I can't re-create the bug, so I can't see what's going wrong. Please let me know if it's still there.
  

 

[Askarus]

That looks nice now.


I'd like to have game categories as default as I have 9 rows of games on my Pandora .


Where are windows I minimize? How can I access them? Alt+Tab/Alt+DPAD down or is there some other solution?


Is there some menu to change window style/theme?


I'm sure after playing with those settings you explained above most of my questions will be answered . This was simply my first impression. Perhaps it helps you to make this GUI more user friendly.


The only thing I'd really like to change is the menu when pressing the Pandora button.


For now it appears where the mouse arrow is. This is annoying, especially when sub categories appear left of the main menu.


Is it possible to make the Pandora button menu to appear in the upper left instead where the mouse arrow is?


It would be pretty usable then for me .


EDIT:


How to add single PNDs to warlock bar?


I have

i: /usr/share/pixmaps/wbar/dock.png

c: wbar --bpress --pos bottom --isize 48 --idist 15 --nanim 4 --falfa 65

t: /usr/share/fonts/truetype/DejaVuSans/10


i: /usr/share/pixmaps/openbox.png

c: xdotool key XF86MenuKB

t: Menu

inside.


How do I add for example PCSX from my Pandora>menu folder?


Edit 2:


You should not have to hold the Pandora button to kill PNDs.


Edit 3:


Warlock bar doesn't show what's on the right SD in Pandora > apps.

 

[freamon]

That looks nice now.


I'd like to have game categories as default as I have 9 rows of games on my Pandora .

Okay. I'll probably put them for the next version. I was thinking that because Games is already a sub-menu, having extra categories aswell would bury things a bit too deeply, but yours is the 2nd vote in favour of game subcategories, so I'm happy to be out-numbered.

Where are windows I minimize? How can I access them? Alt+Tab/Alt+DPAD down or is there some other solution?

There's no taskbar, so they disappear when minimized. Alt+DPAD-down is the best way to get them back.

Is there some menu to change window style/theme?

$HOME/Applications/Settings/openbox/rc.xml has lots of settings for how windows look. The default theme is called Syscrash. I'll attach some extra ones to this post - if you want to use them, extract the file into /usr/share/, and change the theme name in rc.xml (it's on line 52). They don't seem to make *that* much difference to be honest.

The only thing I'd really like to change is the menu when pressing the Pandora button.


For now it appears where the mouse arrow is. This is annoying, especially when sub categories appear left of the main menu.


Is it possible to make the Pandora button menu to appear in the upper left instead where the mouse arrow is?


It would be pretty usable then for me .

I know what you mean. It's annoying for me too. Clicking the menu icon in warlock bar brings it up in a good place, but that doesn't help if you're using the Pandora button. I'll have a think. EDIT: I've thought about it:

EDIT:


How to add single PNDs to warlock bar?


I have

i: /usr/share/pixmaps/wbar/dock.png

c: wbar --bpress --pos bottom --isize 48 --idist 15 --nanim 4 --falfa 65

t: /usr/share/fonts/truetype/DejaVuSans/10


i: /usr/share/pixmaps/openbox.png

c: xdotool key XF86MenuKB

t: Menu

inside.


How do I add for example PCSX from my Pandora>menu folder?

It's kind of tedious. For each new item, you'll have to add 3 new lines - 'i:' is the location of the icon, 'c:' is the command to execute, and 't:' is the popup text. You can get these from looking at /usr/share/applications/pcsx_rearmed.notaz.r16#0.desktop (for example). Looking at $HOME/Applications/Settings/openbox/wbar.cfg will show you what get's generated for the PNDS in apps, to use as a reference.

Edit 2:


You should not have to hold the Pandora button to kill PNDs.

You don't. You can close them the normal way (as provided by the individual application), or by pressing 'Ctrl+q'. Holding the Pandora button down is to kill misbehaving apps - it just offers the same functionality as in XFCE.

Edit 3:


Warlock bar doesn't show what's on the right SD in Pandora > apps.

Warlock bar isn't generated by looking at PNDs, but rather the .desktop files that are created in $HOME/Desktop by libpnd - if PNDs from your right SD card are showing up, it's because libpnd hasn't found them yet. Personally, after I've downloaded a new PND, I go play SGD for a bit, and in the short time it takes me to die, libpnd has woken up and done it's stuff. Once libpnd has created the desktop file, reloading openbox will put it in the Warlock bar.

openbox_themes.tar

 

[Binky]

OK. Kinda silly question, but where do I put those themes?

 

[freamon]

In /usr/share/. One way to do it:

tar xf openbox_themes.tar

sudo cp -r themes /usr/share/

Those are just the ones included by default with openbox source, there's likely to be better ones on the web.

 

[Binky]

even dumber question: how do I choose which theme to use? Is there a gui included?

 

[freamon]

change the theme name in $HOME/Applications/Settings/openbox/rc.xml (it's on line 52).


gui-schmooey

 

[freamon]

How to make the menu always appear in to top left


There's 3 files to edit.


1. $HOME/Applications/Settings/openbox/rc.xml


Line 196. Change <keybind key="XF86MenuKB"> to <keybind key="C-XF86MenuKB">


2. /usr/pandora/scripts/op_menu.sh (you'll need to use sudo to edit it)


Line 37. Underneath the line "# quit and let openbox display the menu", add

su -c 'DISPLAY=:0.0 xdotool mousemove 50 50; DISPLAY=:0.0 xdotool key ctrl+XF86MenuKB' - $user

3. $HOME/Application/Settings/openbox/wbar_custom.cfg



Line 6. Change it to

c: xdotool key ctrl+XF86MenuKB

Reload openbox via Switch Gui - > OpenBox.

 

[Binky]

The above doesn't work for me


Any ideas why abmouse isn't showing up in warlockbar?


How would I create somewhere for docked apps like radiotray to live?


This setup is a few tweaks from being awesome


some of those would be:


nicer gtk theme


toggle USB host in main menu


system menu fixed


always open menu in top left


bundle obconf if practical

 

[Askarus]

Thanks for your answer, freamon.


Edit:


I could add PCSX to warlock bar.


Thanks for your help.


Will try menu config now.


Edit 2:


That's what happens when pressing the Pandora button:


Mouse arrow appears near the upper left edge.


Menu appears.


It's much better than it was before now.


First I didn't like the mouse arrow to move to where the menu appears but then I think it's great to have it there as it makes navigation fast and easy.


Also the position is good as it's little below the edge and leaves some space for PanDebian .


Edit 3:


The kill application window is also better now.


It's now no flickering menu while holding the Pandora button any more.


Would be great if you could add the menu fix in your next version.

 

[_wb_]

This is getting better and better - I have a feeling that in a short while, I'll be using this as my default GUI.


I really like not having a task bar, but still having the menu available at any time. The task bar in xfce either takes up valuable screen height (if you use a horizontal bar) or is not that nice to look at (if you use a vertical bar; it's not very nice because things like the time/date and battery time left need the bar to be wide).

 

[Binky]

That's what happens when pressing the Pandora button: Mouse arrow appears near the upper left edge. Menu appears.

thats what I can't get working


Will check I got those settings right, then come back here...