HOWTO: Transparent Desktop Terminal in Fluxbox

[jr.gotti]

Please note...this only applies to Fluxbox (And maybe openbox...I'm not entirely sure.) If you don't know what Fluxbox is, then head over to http://www.fluxbox.org. Basically, it's a very lightweight, highly customizable window manager. If you're big on eye-candy though, I'd suggest you stick with you're higher end WM's. (Personally, I'd take speed over aesthetics any day...)

But enough about me!

After searching for a long time on how to have one of those attractive yet surprisingly convienient transparent desktop terminals...I've finally compiled a very quick and easy method on achieving this much sought-after affect.

Surprisingly, many of the guides I found suggested using Eterm...I found it to be bulky and cumbersome, so I decided to go with aterm. Get this from the repositories first...

sudo apt-get install aterm

Next, you're going to want to edit your "apps" file...

vim ~/.fluxbox/apps

Now paste the following at the end of the file (Or if it's a new file, just paste it in.)


[app] (aterm)
[sticky] {yes}
[Layer] {12}
[Hidden]
[Dimensions] {550 500}
[Position] {0 0}
[Deco] {0x1c0}
[end]


Most of these options are self-explanitory, but I'll explain them anyway...

The (app) portion dictates which application should follow these rules.
The sticky option places the terminal on all desktops. This should be left as yes.
The Layer option dictates what layer it should be on. This should be left alone.
The hidden option hides the terminal from the 'taskbar.'
The dimensions should be changed to your needs. [height][width]
The position tells FB where to put the terminal. 0 0 is the top left corner.
Finally the deco line strips the terminal of the window decorations.

Now save the file, right click the desktop, and click "Reconfigure."

Now in any existing terminal, you are going to want to type;

aterm -tr +sb -fg black -bg white &

"-tr" Turns on transparency
"+sb" Turns off the scrollbar
"-fg black" Makes the text black. Change it to what you need.
"-bg white" Makes the selected text white. Again, change it.
"&" Makes the process run in the background. You need this.

That's it! You're done!

I'd suggest placing this command in the startup file, (~/.fluxbox/startup) or as a menu option in ~/.fluxbox/menu.

Thanks,
-Jason

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/jrgotti/fluxitus.jpg

[freduardo]

Great howto, worked like a charm here !
I just need to fiddle around with size and positioning.

Thanks a lot.

[paul6]

Nice, now if only there was a way to do this in Openbox...

[Abstract]

http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=18462&stc=1&d=1162145396

[zoidburg016]

Is there any way to get it to do this automaticaly when I start fluxbox? I tried adding [exec] (aterm) {aterm -tr +sb -fg white -bg black &} to the start up file and it doesn't work.

[jr.gotti]

Is there any way to get it to do this automaticaly when I start fluxbox? I tried adding [exec] (aterm) {aterm -tr +sb -fg white -bg black &} to the start up file and it doesn't work.

Yes, actually...here is a copy of my startup file...


exec conky &
exec aterm -tr +sb -fg black -bg white &
exec fbsetbg -l &
exec /usr/bin/fluxbox -log ~/.fluxbox/log


As you can see, exec /usr/bin/fluxbox -log ~/.fluxbox/log needs to be the last line. Every other line before that must be formatted as "exec [program] &" The Ampersand (&) is required.

Hope this helped!

-Jason

[kerry_s]

You don't need the exec in the startup for apps.->

conky &
aterm -tr +sb -fg black -bg white &
fbsetbg -l & <-put this in init and you don't need it here
(session.screen0.rootCommand: fbsetbg -l)

Another alternative is Eterm, which can also be used to set the background.
[exec] (Eterm) {Eterm --borderless --buttonbar 0 --trans --shade 0 --scrollbar false}

in startup->

Eterm --borderless --buttonbar 0 --trans --shade 0 --scrollbar false &

[jr.gotti]

Well thanks! Didn't know that!

While I'm here...does anyone know how to hide this thing from fbpager? That's the only thing I can't get working...

[kerry_s]

Nice, now if only there was a way to do this in Openbox...

You can use all these tips in openbox, the "startup" would be the ".xsession" in openbox.

[kerry_s]

Well thanks! Didn't know that!

While I'm here...does anyone know how to hide this thing from fbpager? That's the only thing I can't get working...

Try adding-> --skip-taskbar <to your command

You can also learn to use kdocker and dock it to the system tray.Pic of xfce4-terminal,which is the easyist to set up->

[NavmaN]

Hi, I followed these steps, but when I run 'aterm' from terminal, the terminal freezes, and aterm doesn't load.
Please help,
Thanks,
NavmaN

[jr.gotti]

Hmm....what exactly are you entering in the terminal? And what terminal are you entering it in? Gnome-terminal? And could you post your .fluxbox/apps file? Thanks.

[evandrofisico]

To hide your terminal from the taskbar use wmctrl.

In my machine i use:
wmctrl -r monitor -b add,skip_taskbar,below

to skip the taskbar, and put it in the lowest level.

[shellhrs]

I tried the method mentioned in Post #1 on an IBM TP 600e running Xubuntu Dapper. It worked like a charm. :-D
I had to install eterm to set the background using fbsetbg though.

However, when I tried the same method on a Compaq Presario 2500 running Ubuntu Dapper, it didn't work. The terminal window borders were disappear as expected, but the scrollbar still appear on the left side of the window. The worst part is that transparency doesn't work.

I tried using eterm instead, but while transparency worked, the terminal window borders just won't disappear.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks.

[Maelgwyn]

Awesome - this worked perfectly!

Just a quick question... How did you get the stats bar on the right of your desktop?

[kortelainen]

Allright.. maybe im like a year to late, but i just switch from gnome to fluxbox.


Allthough, ive been trying to get this to work but all i can perform is a regular transparent window wich has borders, shows on panel (and when alt+tab), i can also move this window.

Im somehow missing some "gdevilspie" liking commands with commands like undercorate, below, skip_pager and alikes.

Any help to get? I have done exactly as the walkthrough says..

Thx for help.

[k0rfain]

is there anyway to take away the window boarder, where close, maximize and lower is?

[Hooya]

Bumping to re-address the two posts above me. I also have borders and can move the terminal. How do I get rid of them?

Found it. Try these settings in the app file

[Deco] {NONE}
[sticky] {yes}
[Position] {715 0}
[Layer] {12}
[FocusHidden] {yes}
[Tab] {No}

[monroetransfer]

To hide your terminal from the taskbar use wmctrl.

In my machine i use:
wmctrl -r monitor -b add,skip_taskbar,below

to skip the taskbar, and put it in the lowest level.

Where does this line go? If I run it once I log in and fluxbox is running and my terminal is showing up in the taskbar then it works and hides the taskbar item for the terminal, but if I try to put it in my ~/.fluxbox/startup file, even at the very end, it doesn't seem to work. I feel as though I'm so close to getting this to work, but I hate alt-tabbing to it.