I'm finally trying a different WM

[cardinals_fan]

I want a little help deciding on a WM. Openbox is great, but I need something new to play with. Here are my needs:

* It should be in Pkgsrc. Check at http://pkgsrc.se/wm
* Keyboard shortcuts must be configurable. This is not negotiable.
* I use most of my apps full screen. Maybe 70% of my time is spent in a fullscreen web browser or terminal. Another 20% is in Abiword, Gnumeric, Evince or PCManFM, all fullscreen. That leaves only 10% in non-fullscreen windows.
* Alt-tab window switching is nice.
* Virtual desktops (or perhaps the Ratpoison workspace system) are a must. This is required.
* Conky support should be good - it's my lifeline :)
* Easy to understand config files
* Lightweight (of course ;) )

[brunovecchi]

Have you tried awesome (http://awesome.naquadah.org/)? It's what I'm using right now, I find it better than wmii. It fulfills all of the requirements you just posted!

And... (I couldn't resist, sorry)

it's awesome.

[chucky chuckaluck]

i would also say awesome. i think it meets most of your requirements, though i'm not sure about conky (i don't use it).

[urukrama]

Try Pekwm. It is an awesome window manager.

[chris4585]

Try Pekwm. It is an awesome window manager.

I'm a openbox fan, and I don't plan on leaving it any time soon. I've always wanted to try awesome, or wmii, or pekwm, all of those I want to try, but right now I have my system as I like it, please inform us of your experiences :D

[cardinals_fan]

Try Pekwm. It is an awesome window manager.
Don't get me wrong, Pekwm is great. But I prefer Openbox. I mostly want to try a very lightweight, perhaps tiling, WM. Awesome looks good for the tiling front. Has anybody tried Ratpoison?

[zmjjmz]

Try vtwm
It prolly isn't in pkgsrc, bit it may meet all your other requirements. (expect lotsa configgin, and it won't be pretty)
Edit: It's in pkgsrc

[urukrama]

please inform us of your experiences :D

I've been using Pekwm almost constantly for the last few months. It isn't as polished as Openbox, but I really like it. It has a lot of the great features of Openbox, some of the good things of Fluxbox (tabbing!), and some nice additional ones (screen edges!).

[chucky chuckaluck]

Don't get me wrong, Pekwm is great. But I prefer Openbox. I mostly want to try a very lightweight, perhaps tiling, WM. Awesome looks good for the tiling front. Has anybody tried Ratpoison?

i've found ratpoison a bit awkward when compared to wmii, dwm, awesome and xmonad.

[cardinals_fan]

I've pkg_added awesome. Would any of you awesome users mind starting me out with an awesomerc?

[chris4585]

I've been using Pekwm almost constantly for the last few months. It isn't as polished as Openbox, but I really like it. It has a lot of the great features of Openbox, some of the good things of Fluxbox (tabbing!), and some nice additional ones (screen edges!).

What do you mean tabbing, and screen edges?

[msrinath80]

I use Windowmaker almost exclusively. It has been my favorite since 1998.

[cardinals_fan]

What do you mean tabbing, and screen edges?
Tabbed windows are great. Middle-click a window and drag it onto another one, and the two will merge into a tabbed window. Click between the tabs on the top of the window border. Screen edges let you launch apps from the edges of the screen - think Compiz.

[chris4585]

Tabbed windows are great. Middle-click a window and drag it onto another one, and the two will merge into a tabbed window. Click between the tabs on the top of the window border. Screen edges let you launch apps from the edges of the screen - think Compiz.

Thanks for the info, but that's what virtual desktops are used for imo, I see virtual desktops as grouping places.

[brunovecchi]

I've pkg_added awesome. Would any of you awesome users mind starting me out with an awesomerc?

Here's a great, complete guide:
Setting up AwesomeWM (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=678902&highlight=setting+awesomeWm)

May I suggest you throw in xcompmgr for transparency support and nice shadows? I followed this guide (http://www.jabberoo.net/index.php/2008/03/16/my-perfect-arch-x-and-awesome/) for that (bottom line of the article).

Hope it helps.

[kerry_s]

I want a little help deciding on a WM. Openbox is great, but I need something new to play with. Here are my needs:

* It should be in Pkgsrc. Check at http://pkgsrc.se/wm
* Keyboard shortcuts must be configurable. This is not negotiable.
* I use most of my apps full screen. Maybe 70% of my time is spent in a fullscreen web browser or terminal. Another 20% is in Abiword, Gnumeric, Evince or PCManFM, all fullscreen. That leaves only 10% in non-fullscreen windows.
* Alt-tab window switching is nice.
* Virtual desktops (or perhaps the Ratpoison workspace system) are a must. This is required.
* Conky support should be good - it's my lifeline :)
* Easy to understand config files
* Lightweight (of course ;) )


good for you, you should try new things when ever you can, not just wm's, try different programs to. the repo is full of alternatives. :)

[cardinals_fan]

good for you, you should try new things when ever you can, not just wm's, try different programs to. the repo is full of alternatives. :)
I already have a perfect assortment of 'alternative' programs. It's a relative term because NetBSD doesn't have a lot in the way of defaults ;)

[cardinals_fan]

I think I've narrowed things down some. The three left on my list are Xmonad, wmii, and dwm. Awesome was buggy. Of the three above, what experiences have you had?

[init1]

Don't get me wrong, Pekwm is great. But I prefer Openbox. I mostly want to try a very lightweight, perhaps tiling, WM. Awesome looks good for the tiling front. Has anybody tried Ratpoison?
I tried ratpoison, but never used it for very long. I guess I just prefer ion and dwm.