WindowMaker Dockapps

WindowMaker is one of my favorite window managers as my regular readers might remember. WindowMaker is simple, strong, and lightweight. Just the right combination for my old hardware.

WindowMaker in itself is pretty simple and does not provide any widgets or gadgets out of the box. But its functionality can greatly be enhanced by different dockapps that exist for just about every possible use. I rarely need anything special but if I would ever want to have a fractal graphics program running in a dockapp I would have no difficulties in finding, installing and running one.



The screenshot shows several dockapps in action. From left to right there is wmcalclock, wmmixer, wmrecord, wmload, wmtop, wmmand, and wmcube. If these dockapps cannot be installed with the help of the package management of the distro you use, you can of course install them from the sources. All the dockapps can be browsed in Dockapps.org.

If you have never used WindowMaker, it is certainly worth a try.

See also:
[1] WindowMaker links in the column to the right.
[2] WindowMaker Themes
[3] More WindowMaker Themes

More WindowMaker Themes

I have found some more very nice themes for WindowMaker. If you like to use WindowMaker as the window manager you should visit Jess Anderson's site Themes for Window Maker. At the moment I'm using the theme Bavarian Road. It's a nice rather grey theme, very easy for my eyes and has nothing that would disturb me while I write.



(Download)

For information about installing WindowMaker themes, see the end of my previous post on WindowMaker: WindowMaker Themes

WindowMaker Links

I decided to add some of the most useful WindowMaker links to the column on the right side. You'll find them in a separate section dedicated to WindowMaker links.

If you are using Linux on an old computer with limited specifications, you should seriously consider using WindowMaker as the window manager. It is very different from most of the other lightweight alternatives. I especially like the way WM uses corners for icons and dock apps, this way I seem to be able to use the limited 1024x768 resolution of my monitor much more efficiently than with the traditional icons on the desktop where they are always hidden behind application windows.

Earlier post about WindowMaker:

• WindowMaker Themes
  

WindowMaker Themes

WindowMaker is an often forgotten lightweight window manager. Also I tend to forget it when using a modern desktop, but when I have to use an old computer I sooner or later come back to WindowMaker.

Now that I'm using my 1 GHz 'Oikos' desktop I've again installed WindowMaker. It's design is very different from most of the other window managers and desktops, as it does not have a panel or a start menu for starting applications. Right-clicking the root window does, however, open a context menu for running applications, opening XTerm, changing the visual appearance of WindowMaker and so on. More functionality can be added by installing and running WindowMaker applets.

1) Default look


WindowMaker's default desktop is probably not the prettiest of all desktops. There are, however, hundreds of different themes that can be used for modifying the simple desktop to become simple, strong and sharp. Freshmeat has an excellent collection of themes for WindowMaker.

2) Aay: A light grey theme



3) WMCrystal



4) One



5) PureWM is another light theme.



These light themes are the most usable ones with my old recycled 17" monitor. Your hardware might like some other combinations of colors better, remember to experiment also with themes that are not provided by your distribution. Many more beautiful themes and icon sets can be found in Freshmeat!

Installing a theme is not difficult. They are distributed as .tar.gz packages. Gunzip and tar xvf them in the directory ~/GNUstep/Library/WindowMaker/Themes and you will find the just installed theme by right-clicking the root window (wallpaper), and selecting Appearance, Themes, Theme.