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FvwmButtons(1)			 FVWM Modules			FvwmButtons(1)

NAME
       FvwmButtons - the FVWM buttonbox module

SYNOPSIS
       Module FvwmButtons [-g geometry] [-transient | -transientpanel] [name[configfile]]

       FvwmButtons  can	 only  be invoked by fvwm.  Command line invocation of
       the FvwmButtons module will not work.

DESCRIPTION
       The FvwmButtons module provides a window of buttons which sits on the X
       terminal's root window. The user can press the buttons at any time, and
       trigger invocation of a user-specified command by the  window  manager.
       FvwmButtons only works when fvwm is used as the window manager.

       The  buttonbox  can  be	of any configuration or geometry, and can have
       monochrome or color icons to  represent	the  actions  which  would  be
       invoked.	 Even other applications can be 'swallowed' by the button bar.

       Panels that are opened on a button press are available too.  See CREAT‐
       ING PANELS section for details.

OPTIONS
       The -g option specifies the geometry of the main	 window.  The  command
       line  option  takes  precedence over any other geometry settings in the
       configuration file.

       The -transient option tells FvwmButtons to terminate itself  after  the
       first  key  or  button  press  has been received (presses to open a sub
       panel do not count) or a sub panel has been closed or  respawned.  This
       is  especially  useful for sub panels where you want to select a single
       button and have it closed automatically.	 It could be  used  to	create
       two-dimensional	graphical menus.  Since -transient is an option, not a
       configuration setting you can use the same configuration for  transient
       and non transient button bars.

       The  -transientpanel  option  does  roughly  the same as the -transient
       option, but instead of closing the whole	 button	 bar,  the  window  is
       merely  hidden.	 This is very useful if the button bar is started as a
       subpanel of another button bar  because	it  avoids  that  it  must  be
       started again when something is selected.

INVOCATION
       FvwmButtons  is	spawned	 by  fvwm, so command line invocation will not
       work.

       FvwmButtons can be invoked by inserting the  line  'Module  FvwmButtons
       OptionalName' in the .fvwm2rc file. This should be placed in the Start‐
       Function if FvwmButtons is to be spawned during fvwm's  initialization.
       This  can  be bound to a menu or mouse button or keystroke to invoke it
       later.

       When invoked with the OptionalName argument, the OptionalName  is  used
       to find configuration commands.	For example:

       AddToFunc StartFunction Module FvwmButtons MyButtonBox

       FvwmButtons  will then use only the lines starting with "*MyButtonBox",
       instead of the default "*FvwmButtons".

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
       The following commands are understood by FvwmButtons:

       *FvwmButtons: Back color
	      Specifies the background color for the buttons. The  relief  and
	      shadow color are calculated from the background color.

       *FvwmButtons: BoxSize algorithm
	      This option specifies how serious FvwmButtons takes the Rows and
	      Columns options (see below). It can be one  of  dumb,  fixed  or
	      smart.

	      If  fixed	 is  used  and both Rows and Columns are specified and
	      non-zero, FvwmButtons uses exactly the number of rows  and  col‐
	      umns specified.  If the box is too small to accommodate all but‐
	      tons the module will fail.

	      If smart is used FvwmButtons enlarges the	 box  so  all  buttons
	      have  a  chance to fit. The number of columns is increased to at
	      least the width of the widest button  and	 new  rows  are	 added
	      until all buttons are placed. For the best tolerance of configu‐
	      ration errors use the smart option.

	      dumb is neither fixed nor smart.	This is the default.

       *FvwmButtons: Colorset colorset
	      Tells the module to use colorset colorset for the	 window	 back‐
	      ground.	Refer to the FvwmTheme man page for details about col‐
	      orsets.

       *FvwmButtons: ActiveColorset colorset
	      Tells the module to use colorset	colorset  for  the  background
	      color/image  and/or  title  color	 of a button when the mouse is
	      hovering above a button.

       *FvwmButtons: PressColorset colorset
	      Tells the module to use colorset	colorset  for  the  background
	      color/image and/or title color of a button when it is pressed.

       *FvwmButtons: Columns columns
	      Specifies	 the  number  of  columns of buttons to be created. If
	      unspecified, the number of columns is set to the number of  but‐
	      tons  requested, divided by the number of rows. If both the rows
	      and columns are specified, but the number	 of  buttons  is  more
	      than  the	 rows and columns allow for, the columns specification
	      is ignored unless the BoxSize option is fixed.

       *FvwmButtons: File filename
	      Specifies that the configuration for this button is found in the
	      file filename. Filename can be a full pathname, or is assumed to
	      be in fvwm's startup directory. The configuration file is in the
	      same  format as fvwm's configuration file, but each line is read
	      as if prefixed by "*FvwmButtons". Comments are given by starting
	      a line with "#". Line continuation is done by ending a line with
	      a "\".

       *FvwmButtons: Font font
	      Specifies the font to be used for labeling the buttons, or None.

       *FvwmButtons: Fore color
	      Specifies the color used for button label	 text  and  monochrome
	      icons.

       *FvwmButtons: Frame width
	      Specifies the width of the relief around each button. If this is
	      a negative number, the relief is inverted. This makes the button
	      sunken normally and raised when activated.

       *FvwmButtons: Geometry geometry
	      Specifies	 the FvwmButtons window location and size.  The geome‐
	      try is a standard X11 window geometry specification.

       *FvwmButtons: ButtonGeometry geometry
	      This option works like the Geometry option except that the  size
	      is  the size of a single button.	The size of the whole FvwmBut‐
	      tons window is calculated by multiplying the button dimension by
	      the number of rows and columns.

       *FvwmButtons: Padding width height
	      This option specifies the default horizontal padding to be width
	      pixels, and the vertical padding to be height pixels. The amount
	      of  free space between the relief of the button and its contents
	      is normally 2 pixels on the sides and 4 pixels above and	below,
	      except  for  swallowed  windows  and  containers,	 which are not
	      padded at all, unless this option is used.

       *FvwmButtons: Pixmap pixmapfile
	      Specifies a background pixmap to use.  Specify  "none"  (without
	      the double quotes) for a transparent background.

       *FvwmButtons: Rows rows
	      Specifies	 the  number  of  rows	of  buttons to be created. The
	      default is 2 rows.

       *FvwmButtons: (options) [title icon command]
	      Specifies the contents of a button in the buttonbox. The follow‐
	      ing  options,  separated by commas or whitespace, can be given a
	      button:

	      geometry
		     Specifies the size and position of the button within  the
		     FvwmButtons  window or container. The geometry is a stan‐
		     dard X11 window geometry  specification.  The  button  is
		     width  times the normal button width and height times the
		     normal button height. If values for x and	y  are	given,
		     the  button  is  placed  x (y) button units from the left
		     (top) of the container if x (y) is	 positive  and	x  (y)
		     units  from the right (bottom) if x (y) is negative. But‐
		     tons with position arguments (x and y) are placed	before
		     those  without them. If two or more buttons are forced to
		     overlap by this, FvwmButtons exits with an error message.

	      Action [(options)] command
		     Specifies an fvwm command to be executed when the	button
		     is	 activated  by	pressing return or a mouse button. The
		     command needs to be quoted if it contains a  comma	 or  a
		     closing parenthesis.

		     The  current  options  of	the Action are: Mouse n - this
		     action is only executed for mouse button  n.  One	action
		     can  be defined for each mouse button, in addition to the
		     general action.

		     In the command part, you can use a number	of  predefined
		     variables:	 $left,	 $right,  $top and $bottom are substi‐
		     tuted by the left, right, top and bottom  coordinates  of
		     the  button  pressed. $-left, $-right, $-top and $-bottom
		     are substituted likewise, but the coordinates are	calcu‐
		     lated  from  the  bottom  or the right edge of the screen
		     instead (for a button that is  5  pixels  away  from  the
		     right  screen  border,  $-right  will  be	5). $width and
		     $height are replaced by the width or height of  the  but‐
		     ton. The variables $fg and $bg are replaced with the name
		     of the foreground or background color set with  the  Back
		     or	 Fore  option (see below). All this is done regardless
		     of any quoting characters. To get a literal '$'  use  the
		     string '$$'.

		     Example:

		       *FvwmButtons: (Title xload, Action (Mouse 1) \
			 `Exec exec xload -fg $fg -bg $bg -geometry -3000-3000`)

		     Note:  With  fvwm	versions prior to 2.5.0, actions could
		     not be assigned to a button that swallowed an application
		     window  (see  Swallow  option).  Such actions worked only
		     when the border around the button was clicked.   This  is
		     now  possible,  but  to  get  back	 the old behavior, the
		     ActionIgnoresClientWindow can be used on the button:

		       *FvwmButtons: (Action beep, ActionIgnoresClientWindow, \
			  Swallow xeyes "Exec exec xeyes")

		     In this example, the action is  only  executed  when  you
		     click on the border of the button or the transparent part
		     of the xeyes window, but not on the xeyes window itself.

	      ActionIgnoresClientWindow
		     See the note in the description of Action above.

	      ActionOnPress
		     Usually the action is  executed  on  the  button  release
		     except  for  the  Popup action.  This option changes this
		     behavior, the action is executed  on  the	button	press.
		     This  may be good, for example, with Menu or SendToModule
		     that generates popups, or when Frame is 0 and the	button
		     would look unresponsive otherwise.

	      Back color
		     Specifies	the  background	 color to be used drawing this
		     box. A relief color and a	shadow	color  are  calculated
		     from this.

	      Center The  contents  of	the  button is centered on the button.
		     This is the default but may be changed by Left or Right.

	      Colorset colorset
		     The given colorset can be applied to a container, a swal‐
		     lowed  application and a simple button.  To apply it to a
		     button or container, simply put the option in a line with
		     a	button	or container description.  Drawing backgrounds
		     for individual  buttons  and  containers  with  colorsets
		     requires a lot of communication with the X server.	 So if
		     you are not content with the drawing speed of  dozens  of
		     buttons  with  colorset backgrounds, do not use colorsets
		     here.  Setting colorsets as the background	 of  swallowed
		     applications  does	 not have this restriction but depends
		     entirely on the swallowed application.  It	 may  work  as
		     you  wish,	 but  since  it	 involves  fiddling with other
		     applications' windows there is no guarantee for anything.
		     I	have  tested  three applications: xosview works nicely
		     with a colorset background, xload works only with a VGra‐
		     dient  or	solid background and an analog xclock leaves a
		     trail painted in the background color after its hands.

		     If the swallowed  window  is  an  fvwm  module  (see  the
		     (No)FvwmModule  option  to Swallow), then the colorset is
		     not applied to the swallowed module. You should  use  the
		     colorset  in  the	module configuration. If the swallowed
		     module has a transparent colorset	background,  then  the
		     FvwmButtons  background  (and not the button colorset) is
		     seen by transparency of the background of	the  swallowed
		     module. Refer to the man page of the FvwmTheme module for
		     details about colorsets.

	      ActiveColorset colorset
		     Use colorset  colorset  for  the  background  color/image
		     and/or title color of the button when the mouse is hover‐
		     ing above it.

	      PressColorset colorset
		     Use colorset  colorset  for  the  background  color/image
		     and/or title color of the button when it is pressed.

	      Container [(options)]
		     Specifies	that this button will contain a miniature but‐
		     tonbox, equivalent to swallowing another FvwmButtons mod‐
		     ule.  The options are the same as can be given for a sin‐
		     gle button, but they affect all  the  contained  buttons.
		     Options  available	 for  this  use	 are Back, Font, Fore,
		     Frame and Padding. Flags for Title	 and  Swallow  options
		     can  be  set  with	 Title(flags)  and Swallow(flags). You
		     should also  specify  either  "Columns  width"  or	 "Rows
		     height", or "Rows 2" will be assumed. For an example, see
		     the Sample configuration section.

		     The container button itself (separate from the  contents)
		     can  take format options like Frame and Padding, and com‐
		     mands can be bound to it. This means you can make a  sen‐
		     sitive relief around a container, like

		       *FvwmButtons: (2x2, Frame 5, Padding 2 2, Action Beep,\
			   Container(Frame 1))

		     Typically	you will want to at least give the container a
		     size setting widthxheight.

	      End    Specifies that no more buttons are defined for  the  cur‐
		     rent  container,  and  further buttons will be put in the
		     container's parent. This option should be given on a line
		     by itself, i.e

		       *FvwmButtons: (End)

	      Font fontname
		     Specifies that the font fontname is to be used for label‐
		     ing this button.

	      Fore color
		     Specifies the foregound color of the title and monochrome
		     icons in this button.

	      Frame width
		     The  relief  of  the button will be width pixels wide. If
		     width is given  as	 a  negative  number,  the  relief  is
		     inverted.	This  makes  the  button  sunken  normally and
		     raised when activated.

	      Icon filename
		     The name of an image file, containing the icon to display
		     on	 the  button.	FvwmButtons  searches through the path
		     specified in the fvwm  ImagePath  configuration  item  to
		     find the icon file.

	      ActiveIcon filename
		     The name of an image file, containing an alternative icon
		     to display on the button when the mouse is hovering above
		     the  button.  If  no  ActiveIcon  is specified, the image
		     specified by Icon is displayed (if there is one).

	      PressIcon filename
		     The name of an image file, containing an alternative icon
		     to	 display  on the button when the button is pressed. If
		     no PressIcon is specified, the image specified by Icon is
		     displayed (if there is one).

	      Id id  The  id  to  be  used to identify this button.  The first
		     character of the id should be alphabetic.	See  also  the
		     "DYNAMICAL ACTIONS" section.

	      Left   The  contents  of the button are aligned to the left. The
		     default is to center the contents on the button.

	      NoSize This option specifies that this button will not  be  con‐
		     sidered  at  all  when making the initial calculations of
		     button sizes. Useful for the odd button that gets just  a
		     couple  of pixels too large to keep in line, and therefor
		     blows up your whole buttonbox. "NoSize" is equivalent  to
		     "Size 0 0".

	      Padding width height
		     The amount of free space between the relief of the button
		     and its contents is normally 2 pixels to the sides and  4
		     pixels  above and below, except for swallowed windows and
		     containers, which are by default not padded at all.  This
		     option  sets the horizontal padding to width and the ver‐
		     tical padding to height.

	      Panel [ (options) ] hangon command
		     Panels can be swallowed exactly like  windows  are	 swal‐
		     lowed by buttons with the Swallow command below, but they
		     are not displayed within the button.   Instead  they  are
		     hidden  until  the user presses the panel's button.  Then
		     the panel (the window of the swallowed application) opens
		     with  a sliding animation.	 The options can be any of the
		     flags described for the Swallow command.  In  addition  a
		     direction	'left', 'right', 'up' or 'down' can be used to
		     specify the sliding direction.

		     The steps animation-steps option defines  the  number  of
		     animation steps.

		     The  delay	 ms option sets the delay between the steps of
		     the animation in milliseconds.  Use zero  for  no	delay.
		     The  maximum delay is 10 seconds (10000). It doesn't make
		     any sense to use the delay option unless you also use the
		     smooth option.

		     The  smooth  option causes the panel  to  redraw  between
		     the steps of the animation.  The sliding animation may be
		     smoother  this  way,  it  depends on the application, and
		     display  speed.   The  application	 may  appear  to  grow
		     instead of sliding out.  The animation may be slower.

		     The  Hints	 option causes FvwmButtons to use the applica‐
		     tions size hints to calculate the size of	the  animation
		     steps.   Hints is the default.  If the number of steps is
		     not what you want, try using NoHints.

		     The noborder option tells FvwmButtons to ignore the  bor‐
		     ders  of  the  window  when calculating positions for the
		     animation (equivalent to set noplr and noptb in the posi‐
		     tion option).

		     With  the	indicator  option set, FvwmButtons will draw a
		     small triangle in the button that will open a panel.  The
		     triangle points in the direction where the panel will pop
		     up.  The indicator keyword may be followed by a  positive
		     integer  that  specifies  the maximum width and height of
		     the indicator.  Without this size FvwmButtons  will  make
		     the  indicator  fit the button. You will probably want to
		     use the Padding option to leave a few pixels between  the
		     indicator and the frame of the button.

		     The position option allows to place the panel. The syntax
		     is:

		     position [context-window] [pos] [x y] [border-opts]

		     The argument context-window can be one of: Button, Module
		     or	 Root.	The   context-window  is the window from which
		     panel percentage offsets are calculated. Button specifies
		     the  panel's button, Module specifies FvwmButtons itself,
		     and Root specifies a virtual screen.  The	context-window
		     together with the sliding direction define a line segment
		     which is one of the borders of  the  context-window:  the
		     top/bottom/left/right	 border	      for      sliding
		     up/down/left/right.

		     The pos argument can be one of:  center,  left  or	 right
		     (for  sliding up or a down) or top or bottom (for sliding
		     left or right). It defines the vertical (sliding  up  and
		     down) or the horizontal (sliding left and right) position
		     of the Panel on the line  segment.	 For  example,	for  a
		     sliding  up  if you use a left pos, then the left borders
		     of the panel and of the context-window will be aligned.

		     The offset values x and y specify how far	the  panel  is
		     moved from it's default position. By default, the numeric
		     value given is interpreted as a percentage of the context
		     window's  width  (height).	 A  trailing  "p"  changes the
		     interpretation to mean "pixels". All offset  calculations
		     are  relative  to the buttons location, even when using a
		     root context.

		     The border-opts are: mlr,	mtb,  noplr  and  noptb.  They
		     define  which  border  widths  are	 taken	in account. By
		     default, the borders of  FvwmButtons  are	not  taken  in
		     account.  mlr  reverses this default for the left and the
		     right border and mtb reverses this default	 for  the  top
		     and the bottom border. Conversely, by default the borders
		     of the Panel are taken in account.	 noplr	reverses  this
		     default  for  the	left  and  the	right border and noptb
		     reverses this default for the top and the bottom border.

		     The defaults are sliding up with a	 delay	of  five  mil‐
		     liseconds	and  twelve animation steps. To post the panel
		     without any animation, set the number of steps  to	 zero.
		     The default position is 'Button center'.

		     Please  refer  to the CREATING PANELS section for further
		     information on panels.

		     Example:

		       # To include the panel in a button
		       *FvwmButtons: (Panel(down, delay 0, steps 16) \
			 SubPanel "Module FvwmButtons SubPanel")

		       # To define the panel as an instance of
		       # FvwmButtons with a different name:
		       *SubPanel: (Icon my_lock.xpm, Action Exec xlock)
		       *SubPanel: (Icon my_move.xpm, Action Move)
		       ...

	      Right  The contents of the button are aligned to the right.  The
		     default is to center the contents on the button.

	      Size width height
		     Specifies	that the contents of this button require width
		     by height pixels, regardless  of  what  size  FvwmButtons
		     calculates from the icon and the title. A button bar with
		     only swallowed windows will not get  very	large  without
		     this  option  specified, as FvwmButtons does not consider
		     sizes for swallowing buttons. Note that this option gives
		     the  minimum  space  assured; other buttons might require
		     the buttonbox to use larger sizes.

	      Swallow [(flags)] hangon command
		     Causes FvwmButtons to execute command, and when a	window
		     with  a  name, class or resource matching hangon appears,
		     it is captured  and  swallowed  into  this	 button.   The
		     hangon  string may contain wildcard characters ('*') that
		     match any substring.  Swallow replaces the variables  $fg
		     and  $bg as described above for the Action option (but if
		     you use the UseOld and NoClose options the application is
		     not  be  restarted when FvwmButtons is restarted and thus
		     does not get the new colors - if you changed  them).   An
		     example:

		       *FvwmButtons: (Swallow XClock 'Exec xclock -geometry -3000-3000 &')

		     takes  the first window whose name, class, or resource is
		     "XClock" and displays it in the button.  If  no  matching
		     window  is	 found,	 the  "Exec" command creates one.  The
		     argument "-geometry -3000-3000" is used so that the  win‐
		     dow is first drawn out of sight before its swallowed into
		     FvwmButtons.

		     Modules can be swallowed by specifying the module instead
		     of 'Exec whatever', like:

		       *FvwmButtons: (Swallow "FvwmPager" "FvwmPager 0 0")

		     The flags that can be given to swallow are:

		     NoClose / Close - Specifies whether the swallowed program
		     in this button will be un-swallowed or closed when	 Fvwm‐
		     Buttons  exits  cleanly.  "NoClose"  can be combined with
		     "UseOld" to have windows survive a restart of the	window
		     manager. The default setting is "Close".

		     NoHints  / Hints - Specifies whether hints from the swal‐
		     lowed program in this button will be ignored or not, use‐
		     ful  in forcing a window to resize itself to fit its but‐
		     ton. The default value is "Hints".

		     NoKill / Kill - Specifies whether the  swallowed  program
		     will  be  closed by killing it or by sending a message to
		     it. This can be useful in ending  programs	 that  doesn't
		     accept  window  manager  protocol.	 The  default value is
		     "NoKill". This has no effect if "NoClose" is specified.

		     NoRespawn / Respawn / SwallowNew - Specifies whether  the
		     swallowed	program	 is  to be respawned (restarted) if it
		     dies. If "Respawn" is specified, the program is respawned
		     using  the	 original  command. Use this option with care,
		     the program might have a legitimate reason	 to  die.   If
		     "SwallowNew"  is given, the program is not respawned, but
		     if a new window with the specified name  appears,	it  is
		     swallowed.

		     NoOld / UseOld - Specifies whether the button will try to
		     swallow an	 existing  window  matching  the  hangon  name
		     before  spawning  one  itself  with  command.  The hangon
		     string may contain wildcard characters ('*')  that	 match
		     any  substring.The default value is "NoOld". "UseOld" can
		     be combined with  "NoKill"	 to  have  windows  survive  a
		     restart of the window manager. If you want FvwmButtons to
		     swallow an old window, and not spawn one itself if	 fail‐
		     ing, let the command be "Nop":

		       *FvwmButtons: (Swallow (UseOld) "Console" Nop)

		     If	 you  want to be able to start it yourself, combine it
		     with an action:

		       *FvwmButtons: (Swallow (UseOld) "Console" Nop, \
				    Action `Exec "Console" console &`)

		     NoTitle / UseTitle - Specifies whether the title  of  the
		     button will be taken from the swallowed window's title or
		     not. If "UseTitle" is given,  the	title  on  the	button
		     changes  dynamically  to  reflect	the  window  name. The
		     default is "NoTitle".

		     NoFvwmModule  /  FvwmModule  -  By	 default,  FvwmButtons
		     treats  the  swallowed window as an fvwm module window if
		     the 4 first letters of the command is  "Fvwm"  or	the  6
		     first  letters  of the command is "Module".  NoFvwmModule
		     and FvwmModule override this logic.

	      Title [(options)] name
		     Specifies the title to be written on the  button.	White‐
		     space  can	 be  included in the title by quoting it. If a
		     title at any time is too long for its buttons, characters
		     are chopped of one at a time until it fits. If justify is
		     "Right", the head	is  removed,  otherwise	 its  tail  is
		     removed. These options can be given to Title:

		     Center  - The title is centered horizontally. This is the
		     default.

		     Left - The title is justified to the left side.

		     Right - The title is justified to the right side.

		     Side - Causes the title to appear on the right hand  side
		     of	 any  icon or swallowed window, instead of below which
		     is the default. If you use small icons, and combine  this
		     with  the	"Left"	or  "Right" option, you can get a look
		     similar to fvwm's menus.

	      ActiveTitle name
		     Specifies the title to be written on the button when  the
		     mouse  is hovering above the button. If no ActiveTitle is
		     specified, the text specified by Title is	displayed  (if
		     there is any).

	      PressTitle name
		     Specifies	the title to be written on the button when the
		     button is pressed. If no  PressTitle  is  specified,  the
		     text specified by Title is displayed (if there is any).

	      Legacy fields [title icon command]
		     These  fields  are	 kept  for compatibility with previous
		     versions of FvwmButtons, and their	 use  is  discouraged.
		     The  title	 field is similar to the option Title name. If
		     the title field is "-", no title is displayed.  The  icon
		     field is similar to the option Icon filename. If the icon
		     field is "-" no icon is displayed. The command  field  is
		     similar  to  the  option  Action command or alternatively
		     Swallow "hangon" command.

	      The command
		     Any  fvwm	command	 is  recognized	 by  FvwmButtons.  See
		     fvwm(1) for more information.

		     The  Exec	command	 has  a	 small	extension when used in
		     Actions, its syntax is:

		       Exec ["hangon"] command

		     Example:

		       *FvwmButtons: (Action Exec "xload" xload)

		     The hangon string must  be	 enclosed  in  double  quotes.
		     When  FvwmButtons	finds such an Exec command, the button
		     remains pushed in until a window  whose  name,  class  or
		     resource  matches	the  quoted  portion of the command is
		     encountered.  This is intended to provide visual feedback
		     to the user that the action he has requested will be per‐
		     formed.  The hangon string may contain  wildcard  charac‐
		     ters  ('*')  that match any substring. If the quoted por‐
		     tion contains no characters, then the button will pop out
		     immediately.   Note  that users can continue pressing the
		     button, and re-executing the command, even when it	 looks
		     pressed in.

	      Quoting
		     Any string which contains whitespace must be quoted. Con‐
		     trary to earlier versions commands no longer need	to  be
		     quoted. In this case any quoting character will be passed
		     on to the application  untouched.	Only  commas  ','  and
		     closing  parentheses  ')' have to be quoted inside a com‐
		     mand. Quoting can be done with any of the three quotation
		     characters; single quote:

		       'This is a "quote"',

		     double quote:

		       "It's another `quote'",

		     and back quote:

		       `This is a strange quote`.

		     The  back	quoting is unusual but used on purpose, if you
		     use a preprocessor like FvwmCpp and want it to  get  into
		     your commands, like this:

		       #define BG gray60
		       *FvwmButtons: (Swallow "xload" `Exec xload -bg BG &`)

		     Any single character can be quoted with a preceding back‐
		     slash '\'.

CREATING PANELS
       Former versions of FvwmButtons (fvwm 2.0.46 to 2.3.6) had  a  different
       way  of	handling panels.  You can not use your old panel configuration
       with the new panel feature.  Read "CONVERTING OLD PANEL CONFIGURATIONS"
       for more information.

   HOW TO CREATE NEW PANELS
       Any program that can be launched from within fvwm and that has a window
       can be used as a panel.	A terminal window could be your panel, or some
       application  like  xload	 or  xosview or another fvwm module, including
       FvwmButtons itself.  All you need to know is how to start your applica‐
       tion from fvwm.

       The  button that invokes the panel is as easily configured as any other
       button.	Essentially you need nothing more than the Panel option:

       *FvwmButtons: (Panel my_first_panel \
	 "Module FvwmButtons -g -30000-30000 my_first_panel")
       *FvwmButtons: (Panel my_second_panel \
	 "Exec exec xterm -g -30000-30000 -n my_second_panel")

       This works like the Swallow option.  The difference is that the	appli‐
       cation  is not put into the button when it starts up but instead hidden
       from view.  When you press the button for the panel the	window	slides
       into  view.  The '-g -30000-30000' option tells the application that it
       should be created somewhere very far to the top and left of your	 visi‐
       ble  screen.   Otherwise	 you  would  see it flashing for a moment when
       FvwmButtons starts up.  Some applications do not work  well  with  this
       kind  of	 syntax so you may have to live with the short flashing of the
       window.	If you want to make a panel from another instance of  FvwmBut‐
       tons   you   can	 do  so,  but  you  must  give	it  a  different  name
       ('my_first_panel' in above example).  If you run FvwmButtons under  the
       same  name,  new	 panels are created recursively until your system runs
       out of resources and FvwmButtons crashes! To configure a second	button
       bar  with a different name, simply put '*new_name' in place of familiar
       with the Swallow option or if you want to learn more about  how	'swal‐
       lowing' panels works, refer to the description of the Swallow option.

       Now  that  your	panel  basically works you will want to tune it a bit.
       You may not want a window title on the panel.  To disable the title use
       the  fvwm Style command.	 If your button bar is the panel window should
       have no icon in case it is iconified.

       Style name_of_panel_window NoTitle, Sitcky, NoIcon

       You may want your panel to stay open only until you select something in
       it.   You  can give FvwmButtons the -transientpanel option after the -g
       option in the command. FvwmPager has a similar option '-transient'.

       Last, but not least, you can now put an icon, a title or a small	 arrow
       in  the	button so that you can see what it is for. A title or icon can
       be specified as usual.  To activate the arrow,  just  add  the  Padding
       option  to  leave  a few pixels between the arrow and the border of the
       button.	An optional direction in which the  panel  is  opened  can  be
       given too:

       *FvwmButtons: (Padding 2, Panel(down, indicator) my_first_panel \
	 "Module FvwmButtons -g -30000-30000 -transientpanel my_first_panel")

       There  are  several more options to configure how your panel works, for
       example the speed and smoothness of the sliding animation. Please refer
       to the description of the Panel option for further details.

   CONVERTING OLD PANEL CONFIGURATIONS
       This section describes how to convert a pretty old syntax used in 2.2.x
       versions.  You may skip it if your syntax is more recent.

       With the old panel feature you first had one  or	 more  lines  defining
       panels in your main FvwmButtons configuration:

       *FvwmButtons(Title WinOps,Panel WinOps)
       *FvwmButtons(Title Tools ,Panel Tools)

       After  the last configuration line for the main panel the configuration
       of the first panel followed, introduced	with  a	 line  beginning  with
       *FvwmButtonsPanel:

       *FvwmButtonsPanel WinOps
       *FvwmButtonsBack bisque2

       *FvwmButtonsPanel Tools
       *FvwmButtonsBack bisque2

       And perhaps you had style commands for you panels:

       Style FvwmButtonsPanel Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
       Style FvwmButtonsPanel NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky

       The new configuration looks much the same, but now the configuration of
       the main panel is independent of the configuration of the  sub  panels.
       The  lines  invoking  the  panels  use  the  same syntax as the Swallow
       option, so you simply add the name of the window to use as a panel  and
       the  command  to execute instead of the panel name.  Note that you give
       the new instance of FvwmButtons a different name.

       *FvwmButtons: (Title WinOps, Panel WinOps \
	 "Module FvwmButtons WinOps")
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Tools , Panel Tools \
	 "Module FvwmButtons Tools")

       If you used something like 'Panel-d' you now have  to  use  button  was
       selected start FvwmButtons with the '-transientpanel' option:

       *FvwmButtons: (Title Tools , Panel(down) Tools \
	 "Module FvwmButtons -transientpanel Tools")

       The rest of the configuration is very easy to change.  Delete the lines
       '*FvwmButtonsPanel <name>' and add <name> to all of the following  con‐
       figuration lines for the panel instead. Use the same name in your Style
       commands:

       *WinOps: Back bisque2
       *Tools: Back bisque2
       Style "WinOps" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
       Style "WinOps" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky
       Style "Tools" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
       Style "Tools" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky

       That's it.  The new panels are much more	 flexible.   Please  refer  to
       other parts of this documentation for details.

   WHY WAS THE PANEL FEATURE REWRITTEN?
       There  are several reasons.  The most important one is that the program
       code implementing the panels was very disruptive and caused  a  lot  of
       problems.   At  the same time it made writing new features for FvwmBut‐
       tons difficult at best.	The second reason is that most users were sim‐
       ply  unable  to make it work - it was way too complicated.  Even I (the
       author of the new code) had to spend several  hours  before  I  got  it
       working	the  first  time.  The third reason is that the new panels are
       more versatile.	Any application can be a  panel	 in  FvwmButtons,  not
       just  other  instances of FvwmButtons itself.  So I sincerely hope that
       nobody is angry about the change. Yes - you have to change your config‐
       uration, but the new feature is much easier to configure, especially if
       you already know how the Swallow option works.

ARRANGEMENT ALGORITHM
       FvwmButtons tries to arrange its buttons	 as  best  it  can,  by	 using
       recursively, on each container including the buttonbox itself, the fol‐
       lowing algorithm.

       Getting the size right
	      First it calculates the number of	 button	 unit  areas  it  will
	      need,  by	 adding	 the width times the height in buttons of each
	      button. Containers are for the moment considered a  normal  but‐
	      ton.  Then it considers the given rows and columns arguments. If
	      the number of rows is given, it will calculate how many  columns
	      are  needed,  and	 stick	to  that, unless columns is larger, in
	      which case you will get some empty space at the  bottom  of  the
	      buttonbox.  If the number of columns is given, it calculates how
	      many rows it needs to fit all the buttons. If neither is	given,
	      it  assumes  you	want two rows, and finds the number of columns
	      from that. If the BoxSize option is set to smart	at  least  the
	      height/width  of	the  tallest/widest  button  is used while the
	      fixed value prevents the box from getting resized if  both  rows
	      and columns have been set to non-zero.

       Shuffling buttons
	      Now it has a large enough area to place the buttons in, all that
	      is left is to place them right. There are two kinds of  buttons:
	      fixed  and  floating buttons. A fixed button is forced to a spe‐
	      cific slot in the button box by a	 x/y  geometry	argument.  All
	      other  buttons are considered floating. Fixed buttons are placed
	      first. Should a fixed button overlap another  one	 or  shall  be
	      place  outside  the  buttons  window,  FvwmButtons exits with an
	      error message. After that the floating buttons are  placed.  The
	      algorithm	 tries to place the buttons in a left to right, top to
	      bottom western fashion. If a button fits at the suggested	 posi‐
	      tion it is placed there, if not the current slot stays empty and
	      the slot to the right will be considered. After the  button  has
	      been  placed,  the next button is tried to be placed in the next
	      slot and so on until all buttons are placed. Additional rows are
	      added  below  the	 bottom	 line of buttons until all buttons are
	      placed if necessary if the BoxSize option smart is used.

       Containers
	      Containers are arranged by the same algorithm, in fact they  are
	      shuffled recursively as the algorithm finds them.

       Clarifying example
	      An example might be useful here: Suppose you have 6 buttons, all
	      unit sized except number two, which is 2x2.  This	 makes	for  5
	      times  1 plus 1 times 4 equals 9 unit buttons total area. Assume
	      you have requested 3 columns.

	      1) +---+---+---+	 2) +---+---+---+   3) +---+---+---+
		 | 1 |	     |	    | 1 |	|      | 1 |	   |
		 +---+	     +	    +---+   2	+      +---+   2   +
		 |	     |	    |	|	|      | 3 |	   |
		 +	     +	    +	+---+---+      +---+---+---+
		 |	     |	    |		|      |   |   |   |
		 +-----------+	    +---+-------+      +---+---+---+

	      4) +---+---+---+	 5) +---+-------+   6) +---+-------+
		 | 1 |	     |	    | 1 |	|      | 1 |	   |
		 +---+	 2   +	    +---+   2	|      +---+   2   |
		 | 3 |	     |	    | 3 |	|      | 3 |	   |
		 +---+---+---+	    +---+---+---+      +---+-------+
		 | 4 |	     |	    | 4 | 5 |	|      | 4 | 5 | 6 |
		 +---+---+---+	    +---+---+---+      +---+---+---+

       What size will the buttons be?
	      When FvwmButtons has read the icons and fonts that are  required
	      by  its  configuration, it can find out which size is needed for
	      every non-swallowing button. The unit button size of a container
	      is set to be large enough to hold the largest button in it with‐
	      out squeezing it. Swallowed windows are simply  expected	to  be
	      comfortable with the button size they get from this scheme. If a
	      particular configuration requires more  space  for  a  swallowed
	      window,  it can be set in that button's configuration line using
	      the option "Size width height". This will	 tell  FvwmButtons  to
	      give  this  button  at  least  width by height pixels inside the
	      relief and padding.

DYNAMICAL ACTIONS
       A running FvwmButtons instance  may  receive  some  dynamical  actions.
       This is achived using the fvwm command

       SendToModule FvwmButtons-Alias <action> <params>

       Supported actions:

       ChangeButton button_id options
	      where  button_id	is the id of the button to change as specified
	      using the Id button option. It may also be  a  number,  in  this
	      case  the button with the given number is assumed.  And finally,
	      button_id may be in the form +x+y, where x and y	are  a	column
	      number and a row number of the button to be changed.  It is pos‐
	      sible to specify multiple option	pairs  (name  with  value)  by
	      delimiting  them	using  comma. Currently options include Title,
	      ActiveTitle, PressTitle, Icon, ActiveIcon and PressIcon.

       ExpandButtonVars button_id command
	      where button_id has the same syntax as described in ChangeButton
	      above.  Command may be any fvwm command with variables $var that
	      are expanded if supported.

       PressButton button_id [mouse_button]
	      where button_id is the id of the button to  press	 as  specified
	      using  the  Id  button  option and mouse_button is the number of
	      mouse button used to click on the button e.g "1" for left	 mouse
	      button   etc.  Quotes  around  the  number  is  not  needed.  If
	      mouse_button option is omitted "1" assumed. This command behaves
	      exactly  like  if	 the  button in question was pressed using the
	      mouse.

       Silent This prefix may be specified before other actions.  It  disables
	      all possible error and warning messages.

       Example:

	      *FvwmButtons: (Id note1, Title "13:30 - Dinner", Icon clock1.xpm)

	      SendToModule FvwmButtons Silent \
		ChangeButton note1 Icon clock2.xpm, Title "18:00 - Go Home"

SAMPLE CONFIGURATION
       The following are excerpts from a .fvwm2rc file which describe FvwmBut‐
       tons initialization commands:

       ##########################################################
       # Load any modules which should be started during fvwm
       # initialization

       # Make sure FvwmButtons is always there.
       AddToFunc StartFunction	"I" Module FvwmButtons

       # Make it titlebar-less, sticky, and give it an icon
       Style "FvwmButtons" Icon toolbox.xpm, NoTitle, Sticky

       # Make the menu/panel look like CDE
       Style "WinOps" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
       Style "WinOps" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky
       Style "Tools" Title, NoHandles, BorderWidth 0
       Style "Tools" NoButton 2, NoButton 4, Sticky

       ##########################################################
       DestroyModuleConfig FvwmButtons: *
       *FvwmButtons: Fore Black
       *FvwmButtons: Back rgb:90/80/90
       *FvwmButtons: Geometry -135-5
       *FvwmButtons: Rows 1
       *FvwmButtons: BoxSize smart
       *FvwmButtons: Font -*-helvetica-medium-r-*-*-12-*
       *FvwmButtons: Padding 2 2

       *FvwmButtons: (Title WinOps, Panel WinOps \
	 "Module FvwmButtons -transientpanel WinOps")
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Tools, Panel Tools	 \
	 "Module FvwmButtons -transientpanel Tools")

       *FvwmButtons: (Title Resize, Icon resize.xpm,  Action Resize)
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Move,   Icon arrows2.xpm, Action Move  )
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Lower,  Icon Down,	      Action Lower )
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Raise,  Icon Up,	      Action Raise )
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Kill,   Icon bomb.xpm,    Action Destroy)

       *FvwmButtons: (1x1,Container(Rows 3,Frame 1))
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Dopey ,Action			   \
	   `Exec "big_win" xterm -T big_win -geometry 80x50 &`)
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Snoopy, Font fixed, Action		   \
	   `Exec "small_win" xterm -T small_win &`)
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Smokin')
       *FvwmButtons: (End)

       *FvwmButtons: (Title Xcalc, Icon rcalc.xpm,		   \
		    Action `Exec "Calculator" xcalc &`)
       *FvwmButtons: (Title XMag, Icon magnifying_glass2.xpm,	   \
		    Action `Exec "xmag" xmag &`)
       *FvwmButtons: (Title Mail, Icon mail2.xpm,		   \
		    Action `Exec "xmh" xmh &`)
       *FvwmButtons: (4x1, Swallow "FvwmPager" `FvwmPager 0 3`	   \
		    Frame 3)

       *FvwmButtons: (Swallow(UseOld,NoKill) "xload15" `Exec xload \
	    -title xload15 -nolabel -bg rgb:90/80/90 -update 15	   \
	    -geometry -3000-3000 &`)

       The last lines are a little tricky - one spawns	an  FvwmPager  module,
       and  captures  it  to display in a quadruple width button. is used, the
       Pager will be as big as possible within the button's relief.

       The final line is even more magic. Note the combination of  UseOld  and
       NoKill,	which  will  try  to  swallow an existing window with the name
       "xload15" when starting up (if failing: starting one with the specified
       command),  which is un-swallowed when ending FvwmButtons. The swallowed
       application is started with "-geometry -3000-3000" so that it will  not
       be visible until its swallowed.

       The other panels are specified after the root panel:

       ########## PANEL WinOps
       DestroyModuleConfig WinOps: *
       *WinOps: Back bisque2
       *WinOps: Geometry -3-3
       *WinOps: Columns 1

       *WinOps: (Title Resize, Icon resize.xpm,	 Action Resize)
       *WinOps: (Title Move,   Icon arrows2.xpm, Action Move  )
       *WinOps: (Title Lower,  Icon Down,	 Action Lower )
       *WinOps: (Title Raise,  Icon Up,		 Action Raise )

       ########## PANEL Tools
       DestroyModuleConfig Tools: *
       *Tools: Back bisque2
       *Tools: Geometry -1-1
       *Tools: Columns 1

       *Tools: (Title Kill,    Icon bomb.xpm,	 Action Destroy)

       The  color  specification rgb:90/80/90 is actually the most correct way
       of specifying independent colors in X, and should be  used  instead  of
       the older #908090. If the latter specification is used in your configu‐
       ration file, you should be sure to escape the hash in any of  the  com‐
       mands  which  will  be  executed, or fvwm will consider the rest of the
       line a comment.

       Note that with the x/y geometry specs you can easily build button  win‐
       dows  with  gaps.  Here is another example. You can not accomplish this
       without geometry specs for the buttons:

       ##########################################################
       # Another example
       ##########################################################

       # Make it titlebar-less, sticky, and give it an icon
       Style "FvwmButtons" Icon toolbox.xpm, NoTitle, Sticky

       DestroyModuleConfig FvwmButtons: *
       *FvwmButtons: Font	 5x7
       *FvwmButtons: Back rgb:90/80/90
       *FvwmButtons: Fore	 black
       *FvwmButtons: Frame	 1
       # 9x11 pixels per button, 4x4 pixels for the frame
       *FvwmButtons: Geometry	 580x59+0-0
       *FvwmButtons: Rows	 5
       *FvwmButtons: Columns	 64
       *FvwmButtons: BoxSize	 fixed
       *FvwmButtons: Padding	 1 1

       # Pop up a module menu directly above the button.
       *FvwmButtons: (9x1+3+0, Padding 0, Title "Modules",   \
	 Action `Menu Modulepopup rectangle \
	 $widthx$height+$lleft+$top o+50 -100m`)

       # first row of buttons from left to right:
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+0+1, Icon my_lock.xpm, Action `Exec xlock`)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+3+1, Icon my_recapture.xpm, Action Recapture)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+6+1, Icon my_resize.xpm, Action Resize)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+9+1, Icon my_move.xpm, Action Move)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+12+1, Icon my_fvwmconsole.xpm,     \
	 Action 'Module FvwmConsole')

       # second row of buttons from left to right:
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+0+3, Icon my_exit.xpm, Action QuitSave)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+3+3, Icon my_restart.xpm, Action Restart)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+6+3, Icon my_kill.xpm, Action Destroy)
       *FvwmButtons: (3x2+9+3, Icon my_shell.xpm, Action 'Exec rxvt')

       # big items
       *FvwmButtons: (10x5, Swallow (NoKill, NoCLose)	     \
	 "FvwmPager" 'FvwmPager * * -geometry 40x40-1024-1024')
       *FvwmButtons: (6x5, Swallow "FvwmXclock" `Exec xclock \
	 -name FvwmXclock -geometry 40x40+0-3000 -padding 1  \
	 -analog -chime -bg rgb:90/80/90`)
       *FvwmButtons: (13x5, Swallow (NoClose)		     \
       "FvwmIconMan" 'Module FvwmIconMan')
       *FvwmButtons: (20x5, Padding 0, Swallow "xosview"     \
	 `Exec /usr/X11R6/bin/xosview -cpu -int -page -net   \
	 -geometry 100x50+0-3000 -font 5x7`)

BUGS
       The action part of the Swallow option must be quoted if it contains any
       whitespace character.

COPYRIGHTS
       The FvwmButtons program, and the concept for interfacing this module to
       the Window Manager, are all original work by Robert Nation.

       Copyright 1993, Robert Nation. No guarantees or warranties or  anything
       are provided or implied in any way whatsoever. Use this program at your
       own risk. Permission to use this program for any purpose is  given,  as
       long as the copyright is kept intact.

       Further	modifications  and  patching  by Jarl Totland, copyright 1996.
       The statement above still applies.

AUTHOR
       Robert Nation.  Somewhat enhanced by  Jarl  Totland,  Jui-Hsuan	Joshua
       Feng, Scott Smedley.

3rd Berkeley Distribution (not released yet) (2.5.20)		FvwmButtons(1)
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