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Tutorials & Tips The place to find Ubuntu related Tips & Tricks. |
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#1 | |
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Chocolate Ubuntu Mocha Blend
![]() Join Date: Dec 2006
Beans: 1,783
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HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
Contents
General Information The Default Menu Tips for Creating a Custom Menu More Fluxbox Information and Links ***** General Information Basic Requirements for the Fluxbox Menu The Fluxbox menu is created from a simple text file. The default menu configuration file is created automatically using the menu package. The menu package is a dependency for fluxbox. If you installed the fluxbox package from the Ubuntu repositories, the menu package was installed automatically when you installed fluxbox. Editing the Fluxbox configuration files The Fluxbox configuration files that you will be editing are located in the directory ~/.fluxbox. If you have another window manager or desktop environment installed on your system (Openbox, IceWM, GNOME, KDE, XFCE, etc.), you can edit all of your Fluxbox configuration files from there, if you prefer. The next time you run Fluxbox you will see the changes you made. If you are running Fluxbox and you edit the menu configuration file (~/.fluxbox/menu), you can see the changes you made by simply right-clicking on the desktop to bring up the menu; there is no need to restart Fluxbox to see the changes. Backups Before you edit a configuration file, it is a good idea to make a backup in case something goes wrong. Example: Code:
cp ~/.fluxbox/menu ~/.fluxbox/menu.backup Fluxconf fluxconf has some nasty bugs, particularly in fluxkeys. My recommendation is to avoid the program altogether and learn to configure Fluxbox by editing the configuration files directly. Testing This tutorial has been tested on the following systems:
***** The Default Menu In your ~/.fluxbox directory, you have a file named menu. It is a text file. The contents of the default menu file look like this: Code:
[begin] (fluxbox) [include] (/etc/X11/fluxbox/fluxbox-menu) [end] If for any reason you need to recreate a default fluxbox menu, simply create a text file with the above three lines and save it as ~/.fluxbox/menu. Steps: 1. Open the menu file using a text editor: Code:
nano -w ~/.fluxbox/menu Code:
[begin] (fluxbox) [include] (/etc/X11/fluxbox/fluxbox-menu) [end] Tips for Creating a Custom Menu Sample file The default menu is a good place to look for ideas. Make a copy of the default menu: Code:
cp /etc/X11/fluxbox/fluxbox-menu ~/.fluxbox/fluxbox-menu_ideas.txt Read the section from the man page that deals with the menu syntax Run (in a terminal): Code:
man fluxbox Look for the section entitled, "MENUS". Press "q" when you have finished reading the man page. Helpful Menu Sections Backgrounds Menu This will create a menu item that lists all of the backgrounds (wallpapers) in the directories you supply. Adjust the paths to suit wherever you store your wallpapers. Code:
[submenu] (Backgrounds) [wallpapers] (/usr/share/backgrounds) [wallpapers] (~/.fluxbox/backgrounds) [wallpapers] (~/misc/wallpapers) [end] Debian Menu Most of the applications on your system can be found in this menu. When you install new programs, the menu is updated automatically to include them. Code:
[submenu] (Debian Menu) </usr/share/pixmaps/debian-logo.png> [include] (/etc/X11/fluxbox/menudefs.hook) [end] desktop-2009-10-31_14:46:15.jpgdesktop-2009-10-31_14:48:04.jpg The Fluxbox Configuration Menu Here is an example: Code:
[submenu] (Fluxbox Menu)
[config] (Configure)
[submenu] (System Styles) {Choose a style...}
[stylesdir] (/usr/share/fluxbox/styles)
[end]
[submenu] (User Styles) {Choose a style...}
[stylesdir] (~/.fluxbox/styles)
[end]
[workspaces] (Workspace List)
[reconfig] (Reload config)
[restart] (Restart)
[exit] (Exit)
[end]
Icons Locations for icon files that you may wish to use in your menu can be found by looking in the sample menu file mentioned above. You can start by looking in the following directories: /usr/share/pixmaps /usr/share/icons A Fluxbox menu with icons: desktop-2009-04-25_21:15:59.jpg Menu delay/click to open or close submenus (from the man page and the Fluxbox source code Changelog) Quote:
***** More Fluxbox Information and Links The man pages for fluxbox and fluxstyle are definitely worth reading. Code:
man fluxbox Code:
man fluxstyle Main Fluxbox site http://fluxbox.org Fluxbox wiki (This is an excellent reference.) http://fluxbox-wiki.org Credits 1. Fluxbox wiki -- http://fluxbox-wiki.org 2. posts on ubuntuforums.org (especially by yabbadabbadont and kerry_s) 3. the man page for fluxbox 4. the Changelog of the fluxbox source code Recent changes December 10, 2009 Some minor changes. October 31, 2009 Some small additions. Tested on Karmic Koala (Ubuntu 9.10). Works well. April 25, 2009 The default Fluxbox menu on older versions of Ubuntu had several issues. This tutorial contained detailed information about getting the menu to work properly. The default Fluxbox menu on recent versions of Ubuntu works very well and that problem-solving information is no longer necessary. For this reason, I removed it. Last edited by RedSquirrel; December 10th, 2009 at 11:40 PM.. |
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#2 |
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5 Cups of Ubuntu
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
Thankyou! You've helped a lot!
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#3 |
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Chocolate Ubuntu Mocha Blend
![]() Join Date: Dec 2006
Beans: 1,783
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
Glad I could help.
Thank you for taking the time to say Thank you! I was having a pretty good day already and your post made it even better, Cheers! |
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#4 |
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First Cup of Ubuntu
![]() Join Date: Mar 2007
Beans: 1
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
Thanks for that info! I'm a long time fluxbox/blackbox user from other distros, and that automatic menu config was driving me nuts.
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#5 |
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Chocolate Ubuntu Mocha Blend
![]() Join Date: Dec 2006
Beans: 1,783
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
Glad you found it useful.
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#6 |
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Ubuntu Guru
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Great how-to RedSquirrel.
This is a common question. You *might* want to mention fluxconf. It is in the ubuntu repository Screenshot Also, if anyone just wants to check out Fluxbox and what it can do, it is on the gparted cd, DSL, and wolvix. All 3 distro's have a polished, mauture Fluxbox interface. Fluxbuntu is based on Ubuntu and is due out in a few weeks.
__________________
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. ~ Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1999 ![]() |
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#7 |
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A Carafe of Ubuntu
![]() Join Date: Mar 2006
Beans: 89
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
sweet tutorial dude.
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#8 |
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Chocolate Ubuntu Mocha Blend
![]() Join Date: Dec 2006
Beans: 1,783
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
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#9 |
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5 Cups of Ubuntu
![]() Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: India
Beans: 19
Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
thnks a ton mate,ur how to really helped me a lot :cheers:
__________________
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. --Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
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#10 |
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Chocolate Ubuntu Mocha Blend
![]() Join Date: Dec 2006
Beans: 1,783
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Re: HOWTO: get a Fluxbox menu (and customization)
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