NAME
choosewm - Select a window manager to be used.
SYNOPSIS
choosewm [-f] [-p] [-t]
choosewm [-t] -c
DESCRIPTION
choosewm presents a window to let the user choose a window manager to
start. By default it shows everything registered as window manager at
the Debian menu system, but it allows global and local configuration to
change that data.
OPTIONS
-c, --config
Allow the user to change the default. Beside telling choosewm
to not start the chosen window manger, this mostly changes the
text of some buttons and labels
-f, --force
Show the selection window unconditionally.
-p, --print
Do not start the window-manager, but print it to stdout.
-t, --text
Do not ask by opening an X11 window, but ask on the terminal.
Needs a terminal as stdin. This is activated by default with -c
and DISPLAY not set.
CONFIG FILES
After reading /var/lib/choosewm/windowmanagers, treating anything
before a equal (=) sign in a line a name and everything after that as
window manager path, choosewm checks /etc/X11/choosewm/config and after
that by default .choosewm/config in the user’s $HOME-directory. Lines
containing only spaces or starting with a # are ignored. Every other
line may contain one of the following commands:
add: name=path
Add an additional window manager to the list. name will be shown
in the list, path will be started.
This option is only useful to add something that should be only
added to this list. If you installed a window manager by hand,
please consider to register it in the Debian menu instead. That
way all potent enough window managers will be able to offer
switching to that window manager by menu.
remove: path
Do not list the window manager with path in the list to choose
from.
default: defaultwindowmanagerpath
Use the window manager defaultwindowmanagerpath as default, when
no last selection of the window manager is available.
userconf: filename
Read the user’s config from $(HOME)/filename. If filename is -,
no user config is read.
Default is .choosewm/config
dontaskfile: filename
Create the file $(HOME)/filename, if the user selected to not be
asked about the window manger, and do not ask if this file is
present. (Unless -f is command line argument.)
Default is .choosewm/dontask
lastdecisionfile: filename
Read the last decision from the file $(HOME)/filename, and save
the decision of the user there.
Default is .choosewm/lastwm
inalias: oldold=newpath
If the last decision is oldpath, change it to newpath.
askalias: oldold=newpath
If the last decision is oldpath, change it to newpath and force
showing of the selection window.
outalias: path=output
If the user has chosen path as window manager, write instead
output to the file as new last decision.
sTAG: text
Are used to set strings to be shown to the user in labels,
buttons or headers. The CONFIGTAG variants are used with -c.
The following are the currently definied Tags and their default
values:
sCONFIGHEADER: Choose default Window Manager
sHEADER: Choose Window Manager
sCONFIGWELCOME: Please choose the default window manager and
whether to reask at start time.
sWELCOME: Welcome, please select a Window manager to use.
sCONFIGASK: _Ask when starting
sASK: _Ask again at every login
sCONFIGSELECT: _Select
sSELECT: _Start
sCONFIGCANCEL: _Cancel
sCANCEL: _Log out
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
HOME The current home directory of the current user.
DEFAULTWINDOWMANAGER
If no default is specified in the config files nor by the user’s
last choice, the content of this environment variable is tried
before the path /etc/alternatives/x-window-manager is pointing
to is tried.
FILES
/etc/X11/choosewm/config
Global config file read.
/var/lib/choosewm/windowmanagers
Default system window manager file.
/etc/alternatives/x-window-manager
Default link to compute a default.
$(HOME)/.choosewm/config
Default user config file.
$(HOME)/.choosewm/lastwm
Default file to store the users default.
$(HOME)/.choosewm/dontask
Default file to signal not asking when existant.
SEE ALSO
update-menus(1), xsession(1).
AUTHOR
choosewm was written by Bernhard R. Link <brlink@debian.org>.
This manual page was written by Bernhard R. Link.
2009-06-11