afterstep_faq(1) AfterStep X11 window manager afterstep_faq(1)NAMEafterstep_faq - This document is an ever growing set of questions,
statements, ideas and complaints about AfterStep version 2.0 3. Getting
and Installing AfterStep 2.03.1. Where can I get AfterStep 2.0? You
can download AfterStep 2.0 at any of the following locations:
ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/stable/ SourceForge.net RPM packages 3.2.
What do I need to compile and install AfterStep? Because AfterStep is
an X application, you need to have X installed, and the X development
libraries (note, in this case "development" means libraries need to
compile things with X, not development level code). It's probably a
good idea to also have a working C compiler.
AfterStep includes some image libraries, but it is recommended that you
install those libraries using your distribution's package management
system. Note that you will need development libraries in addition to
run-time libraries. The following are the libraries that AfterStep can
take advantage of : libJPEG - support for JPEG image format
libPNG - support for PNG image format
libTIFF - support for TIFF image format
Freetype - support for TrueType fonts
Note that following image format do not require any external libraries
: XPM, PPM, BMP, ICO, XCF, GIF. 3.3. Can I install AfterStep without
being root? Yes, before compiling AfterStep, do this:
Source : mkdir �/bin
mkdir -p �/man/man1
Source : make installwithout being root. 3.4. How do I upgrade After‐
Step from AfterStep version prior to 2.0.0? Install AfterStep 2.0 and
then run it. It will start with default configuration that you may or
maynot like. If you wish to try and reuse your old configuration files,
then copy them over from your old �/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/ direc‐
tory and into �/.afterstep/. Restart AfterStep to make changes effec‐
tive. If some of the features do not work quite right - feel free to
submit bug report along with your configuration files.
It is recommended though that you start with default configuration and
try out all of the supplied looks and color schemes. Select whichever
is close to what you want and then modify it to your liking. These
approach will allow you to take advantage of many new features, avail‐
able in AfterStep 2.0. 3.4. How do I upgrade AfterStep from AfterStep
version higher then 2.0.0? Make sure that all configuration files that
you ever changed are in your home directory at �/.afterstep/, as
installing afterstep will replace everything in global shared location
(/usr/local/share/afterstep). Install afterstep and run. You should not
have any trouble. 3.5. What's up with all these compile errors? Most
likely, you don't have the X devel package (should have come with your
operating system, if not, check http://www.x.org/ ). 3.6. How the hell
does one configure AfterStep? Configuration files are usually either
in /usr(/local)/share/afterstep for system wide configuration and
~.afterstep for personal settings.
Configuration is handled in multiple files: look file (in looks subdi‐
rectory) for visual attributes, feel file (in feels subdirectory) for
the general behaviour; wharf, winlist, banner, pager, animate for mod‐
ule specific configuration.
Just copy any file you want to modify over from
/usr(/local)/share/afterstep to ~.afterstep to override system wide
defaults retaining subdirectory layout.
1. General Information1.1. About this Document. This document is an
ever growing set of questions, statements, ideas and complaints about
AfterStep version 2.0.
You can get this FAQ at the following locations:
The rest of this document assumes you are running AfterStep 2.0. If you
are running a version of AfterStep prior to version 2.0, this document
will suggests only one thing: upgrade. 1.2. What is AfterStep? After‐
Step is a Window Manager for the X Window System (hereafter referred to
as X). It was started to emulate the look and feel of NeXTSTEP(tm), but
has evolved into something that while still being able to emulate NeXT,
can do much much more. Without using much memory or cpu time, AfterStep
provides all the features one could want in a Window Manager. 1.3.
What is AfterStep's history? Original AfterStep was a continuation of
the BowMan Window Manager which was originally put together by Bo Yang.
BowMan was based on the fvwm Window Manager, written by Robert Nation.
Fvwm was based on code from twm. And so on....
Idea was to emulate some of the look and feel of the NEXTSTEP(tm) user
interface, but overtime it evolved to include other concepts, as dic‐
tated by end user needs. It is that unholy direction that made Alfredo
Kojima abandon project in 1997 and create a Window Manger of its own -
Window Maker, which had a goal of strict adherance to NEXTSTEP inter‐
face ideas.
After releasing version 1.8.11 it became aparent for developers that
old AfterStep codebase had reached its limits and required a substan‐
tial redesign. Such redesign began with development of radically new
image handling library libAfterImage, introducing high quality image
manipulation, blending, TrueType fonts, XML image scripting, and more.
Building off of libAfterImage and incorporating new developments in X
Window management, AfterStep 2.0 was born and released in September,
2004. As of now AfterStep code base contains none of the original fvwm
parts, and association to fvwm, twm and BowMan remain only in history.
1.4. Fine, what if I'm not running AfterStep 2.0? Is there a FAQ for
me? Yes. There should be a version of the AfterStep FAQ available
within your specific AfterStep distribution. If you are using a version
earlier than 2.0, it is strongly suggested you upgrade. 1.5. What is
X? What are these "window managers" ? "X" is shorthand for The X Win‐
dow System. It is a basis for building graphical user interfaces for
UNIX (it is available for non-UNIX systems, but wasn't designed to be
as such). "X" is not the interface itself, just a foundation for one.
For more information, check www.x.org .
A Window Manager is a program that manages your windows during your X
session. AfterStep is one of many available window managers . 1.6.
What are AfterStep's main features?
The Wharf
Similar to NeXTSTEP's(tm) Dock, it allows applications to be
Swallowed, shortcuts with icons, and many other things.
The Pager
Shows a miniature view of the Afterstep desktops, you can move
between them, and move windows around in the Pager as though it
were a miniature desktop.
The WinList
A list of all the windows, clicking on the items can show that
window, destroy it, shade it, or anything you might want.
Configurability
Almost anything can be changed.
XML image scripting
AfterStep allows XML scripts to be used to assemble complex
images for things like buttons, frame sides, etc, from other,
simplier images or graphical primitives.
TrueType fonts support
Antialised TrueType fonts could be used to render window titles
and other labels.
Unicode, UTF8 and other encodings support
Most international character encodings are supported as long as
fonts provide glyphs.
ColorSchemes
AfterStep can calculate a set of about 34 colors to create looks
with harmonious color composition. 1.7. Is AfterStep 2.0 GNOME
and/or KDE compliant? AfterStep 2.0 supports Extended Window
Manager Hints, ICCCM protocol and Motif hints, thus making it as
compatible as possible with both GNOME and KDE, as well as most
other X applications. 1.8. Can I run it in Microsoft Win‐
dows(tm)? AfterStep 2.0 does run under Windows using CYGWIN
compatibility layer, while running any X server. Some of the X
servers available under Windows allow so-called root-less mode,
where X applications can coincide with native applications. See
sample screenshot . 1.9. Who develops AfterStep?
Sasha Vasko <sasha at aftercode.net>
coordinator, coder, web designer, carpenter, and everything else
( at the moment ).
Niklas Lunger <niklas at fet dot at>
documentation and user testing.
Nathan Mahon <as_ml at vaevictus net>
realease manager 1.10. AfterStep is awesome! How can I help?
Code contributions are welcome. Hardware donations are welcome.
If you can help write AfterStep, or feel you can help the effort
elsewhere, do so. Hang out on irc (#afterstep, efnet), partici‐
pate on the mailing lists, suggest ideas, help code, etc etc.
1.11. Who writes this FAQ? see 1.9. above.
2. Resources2.1. Where can I find AfterStep resources, or help?
HTML documentation
AfterStep 2.0 comes installed with complete set of documentation
in HTML format, usually installed at /usr/local/share/after‐
step/doc/html or /usr/share/afterstep/doc/html . Same documenta‐
tion is available online from : http://www.afterstep.org/visual‐
doc.php . If you find that documentation incomplete in some
areas - please feel free to submit any corrections to any of the
AfterStep mailing lists.
WWW Page
The official AfterStep web page is at http://www.afterstep.org/
. This web site is managed by whoever has write access to After‐
Step CVS, and is kindly hosted by the generous people at Web
Conquest .
FTP site
The FTP site, ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/ , is the best place to
get AfterStep.
AfterStep applets
The applets (asapps) that go with AfterStep are distributed sep‐
arately. The applet distribution is maintained by Albert Doro‐
feev, (<tigr@tigr.net>). You can find the applets at
http://www.tigr.net/afterstep/as-apps/ . RPMs for many an applet
could be found here : http://www.afterstep.org/rpms/
Man pages.
AfterStep installation comes with set of man pages that attempt
to cover all aspects of AfterStep configuration. Please read the
relevent man page before asking a question. Also note that the
Pager man page is 'man Pager' (note the capitalization).
IRC
There is also #afterstep on freenode.net IRC servers. You can
view current activity here : http://www.rchitecture.com/~com‐
puter/
2.2. What are the AfterStep mailing lists, and where are their
archives? There are three AfterStep mailing lists. as-users,
as-devel and as-bugs.
as-users.
as-users is the general AfterStep mailing list, open to all
AfterStep questions, concerns and ideas ( NO LiteSTEP, Window
Maker, some-x-app questions unless it really does pertain to
AfterStep, please). Subscribe by entering your e-mail at :
http://mail.afterstep.org/mailman/listinfo/as-users/
as-devel.
as-devel is the development AfterStep mailing list. It is used
to send notices about commits to CVS repository. Subscribe by
entering your e-mail at : http://mail.afterstep.org/mail‐
man/listinfo/as-devel/
as-bugs.
as-bugs is the AfterStep mailing list for submiting bug reports.
It is geared toward development questions, ideas and complaints.
Subscribe by entering your e-mail at : http://mail.after‐
step.org/mailman/listinfo/as-bugs/
The mailing list archives can be read at
http://www.tigr.net/afterstep/mail/ .
3rd Berkeley Distribution AfterStep v.2.2.11afterstep_faq(1)
