Alternative Window Managers

[Linux for blind general discussion]

Tim here.  While fluxbox isn't a tiling window manager, it's my daily
driver.  I'm partial to the control it gives for mapping keys.  Some
of my favorite mappings:

- "maximize" vs. "maximize vertically only" vs. "maximize
  horizontally only"

- raising/lowering windows to layers above/below so one one is always
  on top even if it's not focused

- pin/unpin a window so it appears on all desktops

- toggle window-chrome (hiding the title-bar, resize handles, etc)

- jumping to, moving windows to, or taking windows (moving + jumping)
  to other desktops

- slamming a window to any edge ("move the current window all the way
  to the top/bottom/left/right of the screen")

- I can move/resize windows with a modifier-key and left/right-click
  dragging anywhere in the windows.  A number of other WMs let you do
  this, usually with Alt+drag, but Fluxbox lets me change what the
  modifier key is (I use Mod4, AKA the "windows logo key").  Same
  with using Mod4+tab/Mod4+shift+tab for switching between windows
  instead of alt+tab/alt+shift+tab in most other WMs.

- launch all my usual applications without needing a menu, just a
  hot-key.  This also works nicely since I can control my volume with
  my media-keys.  I like to have my volume-down button decrease
  faster than my volume-up button increases.  So volume-down decreases
  by 7% while my volume-up key increases by 3%.  It's quirky, but
  what I want, and fluxbox lets me do it.

It's also very light-weight, not requiring much in the way of
resources, so it runs well even on my older or more underpowered
machines.

I believe that i3 also offers much of the same sort of functionality,
but I've not tinkered with it so I can't speak to how it behaves.
I'd be glad to share excerpts from my ~/.fluxbox/keys file if you
need any of them.

-tim



On March 31, 2018, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
> I would like to try a tialing window manager. Something like i3-wm
> or fluxbox but I don't know how accessible they would be.
> 
> On 3/31/18, Linux for blind general discussion
> <blinux-list at redhat.com> wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > Le 31/03/2018 à 12:46, Linux for blind general discussion a
> > écrit :  
> >> Hello, I'm looking for alternative window mangers. I don't
> >> really want mate, gnome, and xfce. I want to try out new ones.  
> >
> > What are your needs with respect to accessibility?
> >
> > What don't you like in the software you listed?
> >
> > Strictly speaking mate, gnome and xfce are desktops, not just
> > window managers.
> >
> > As an example the mate desktop includes the marco window manager
> > by default, but it can be replaced by another one like compiz or
> > metacity.
> >
> > There are a lot of other window managers, as an example we ship in
> > Slint all listed plus fluxbox, windowmaker and fvwm2, whose level
> > of accessibility vary.
> >
> > Didier Spaier
> > Slint distribution: http://slint.fr
> >  
> 
> 
> -- 
> Seth Hurst
> hurstseth405 at gmail.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list at redhat.com
> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list