VWMSelExpand <border size>
|
The area that the desktop select bitmap is drawn in is the area for the selected
desktop, plus this amount of padding on each side.
|
VWMDeskBorder <border size>
|
Defines a border area inside the VWM window where desktops are not drawn.
The select bitmap can overlap this area, and miniwindows which are partially
outside the edge desks can as well.
|
VWMUseFakeTrans
|
This enables "fake" background transparency by drawing the background
image in the transparent areas. Windows behind the VWM will be obscured.
|
VWMTransparent
|
This enables real transparency in Windows 2000 and above, it will be ignored
on systems that do not support it. (note that alpha works slightly differently
between real and fake transparency, windows and select alpha cut through for
real transparency and are layered for fake)
|
VWMConstantUpdate
|
This causes the VWM window to be redrawn constantly even if no windows
have changed. This is intended to be used with .snapshot
mode if you want the miniwindows to stay up to date better (off screen
windows will still not be updated), but it does take a lot more CPU time.
Without .snapshot windows this should have no visible effect.
!This can easily increase your CPU usage by more than 400 times. RabidVWM will go
from a quiet little module using less than 0.1% of your CPU to a ravenous monster, consuming
more than 40%.
|
VWMUseTransBlt
|
This enables magic pink transparency in bitmaps. This will take about 3 times the
cpu usage of solid bitmaps, about the same as 1 sample snapshot mode.
|
|
The VWM is made up of several elements, such as the miniwindows, each desktop's area,
and the selected desktop area, each of which is drawn as a box. Each of these elements
has sub-elements, such as the interior fill color and the border color, which can be specified
separately for each element.
Older color settings should also work, but I don't recommend them since
they don't make any sense.
Any <color> can be:
- a standard litestep color:
VWMWinColor 00a000
- a scaled litestep color:
VWMWinColor 00a000*-32
- an index for a system color:
VWMWinColor :2
- a scaled system color:
VWMWinColor :2*64
(the scale values are the same as for ...Bevel)
Alpha amounts range from 0 to 255: 255 = completely opaque/solid, 0 = completely
transparent. With real transparency, anything with an alpha of 0 will let mouse clicks
through to whatever's underneath, use an alpha of 1 to prevent that.
|
| Sub-Elements |
|---|
...Color <color> |
element fill color |
...BorderColor <color> |
element border color, only used if bevel is not set or to automatically calculate
bevel colors from |
...LightColor <color> |
element border highlight color |
...DarkColor <color> |
element border shadow color |
...Bevel [<amount>] |
whether or not to draw 3D "bevels" around this element
(VWMBevel turns this on for miniwindows),
and optionally the amount to lighten/darken the border color to produce the highlight and
shadow colors if they are not given |
...Alpha <amount> |
element alpha transparency level |
| Main Elements |
|---|
VWMWinColor <color>
VWMWinBorderColor <color>
VWMWinDarkColor <color>
VWMWinLightColor <color>
VWMWinBevel <amount>
VWMWinAlpha <amount>
|
Colors for the miniwindows. |
VWMTitleColor <color>
VWMTitleBorderColor <color>
VWMTitleDarkColor <color>
VWMTitleLightColor <color>
VWMTitleBevel <amount>
|
Colors for the miniwindow titles, if drawn. Note that titles drawn in magic pink
will probably not work the way you expect. Don't do that.
(Is this still true?)
Titles use the same alpha as the window.
|
VWMBackColor <color>
VWMBackBorderColor <color>
VWMBackDarkColor <color>
VWMBackLightColor <color>
VWMBackBevel [<amount>]
VWMBackAlpha <amount>
|
Colors for the VWM background. (That is, the background area for
each desktop in the VWM.)
You must set VWMUseFakeTrans
for background transparency to work.
|
VWMFlashColor <color>
VWMFlashBorderColor <color>
VWMFlashDarkColor <color>
VWMFlashLightColor <color>
VWMFlashBevel <amount>
VWMFlashAlpha <amount>
|
Colors used for miniwindows while they are flashing.
|
VWMSelColor <color>
VWMSelBorderColor <color>
VWMSelDarkColor <color>
VWMSelLightColor <color>
VWMSelBevel [<amount>]
VWMSelAlpha <amount>
|
Colors used for the selected desktop.
|
VWMBevel
|
Turns on bevelling for miniwindows.
|
VWMBevelWidth <pixels>
|
The bevel on miniwindows has an outer part and an inner part. This sets the distance between
them, which defaults to 0. If you set this to a negative number, the inner bevel is not drawn.
|
VWMNoBorder
|
Doesn't draw borders around desks or miniwindows. If
VWMBevel is specified miniwindows still get a bevelled border.
|
|
The VWM is made up of several elements, such as the miniwindows, each desktop's area,
and the selected desktop area, each of which is drawn as a box. A bitmap and border area
can be specified for each of these elements.
Any <border size> can be either a
single number to indicate a fixed border on all sides, or four numbers: left, top, right, and
bottom border sizes. Setting the border to 0 will effectively remove the border.
Alpha transparency values in the colors section also
apply to bitmaps.
SNAPSHOT MODE:
You can set some bitmaps to ".snapshot" to set the bitmap to a shrunken screen-shot
of the element as it was last displayed on the screen. This takes a lot of processor
time, so you can select a quality setting (eg ".snapshot 3",
including quotes) as a number from 0-5, 0 being the default:
0 1 sample/pixel
1 5 samples in a +
2 5 samples in a X
3 9 samples in an octagon
4 8 samples, same as 3 but without center
5 17 samples in two octagons, for the truely insane
CPU usage will be higher with snapshot (and with more samples), but the
snapshots aren't updated very often. One sample snapshot mode takes about
the same CPU time as transparent bitmaps.
|
VWMBackBmp <bitmap>
VWMBackBorder <border size>
VWMBackTile
|
Instructs the vwm to use a bitmap for the background of the main window, and
specifies which bitmap should be used. VWMBackTile
makes the back bitmap tiled rather than stretched. Use this if you just want to
specify one bitmap and tile it for every desktop, for example.
This can be set to ".snapshot" for snapshot mode.
|
VWMSelBmp <bitmap>
VWMSelBorder <border size>
VWMSelTile
|
Bitmap for selected desktop.
This can be set to ".snapshot" for snapshot mode.
|
VWMWinBmp <bitmap>
VWMWinBorder <border size>
VWMWinTile
|
Set the bitmap for the miniwindows. VWMWinBorder
specifies a border around the bitmap that does not get stretched. This basically
works the same as skins for systray except in separate commands.
VWMWinTile will tile anything that would have been stretched.
This can be set to ".snapshot" for snapshot mode.
VWMWinBmp is also used to switch to bitmapped
miniwindow mode. If no bitmap is specified, or it doesn't load, none of
the other miniwindow bitmaps will work:
VWMTitlebarBmp,
VWMFlashBmp,
VWMFlashTitleBmp.
(Miniwindows are then drawn using solid colors.)
|
VWMTitlebarBmp <bitmap>
VWMTitlebarBorder <border size>
VWMTitlebarTile
|
Same as VWMWin...
except for the titlebar of the miniwindows, if it gets drawn. No effect without
VWMTitlebars and
VWMWinBmp.
|
VWMFlashBmp <bitmap>
VWMFlashBorder <border size>
VWMFlashTile
|
Same as VWMWin...
except for flashing miniwindows. No effect without
VWMWinBmp.
|
VWMFlashTitleBmp <bitmap>
VWMFlashTitleBorder <border size>
VWMFlashTitleTile
|
Same as VWMTitlebar...
except for flashing miniwindows.
|
|
See also:
|
VWMHideTaskOnSwitch
|
Hides tasks that aren't on the current desktop. This means they don't show
up in tasks-type modules, or in the alt-tab list. If litestep crashes with this
setting, you're in trouble. (During testing, I had music coming from an
invisible and uncontrollable winamp.)
|
VWMNoSwitchOnFocus
|
Prevents the VWM from switching desktops when LiteStep gives
a window on a different desk input focus. (for example, clicking
on a tasks tile) Switching to a window with ALT-TAB or any way
but through LiteStep will not change desks.
|
VWMSwitchOnAnyFocus
|
Switches to the desk containing the window with input focus no matter
how it was set. This will enable switching desks with ALT-TAB, but
also sometimes when you close the last window on a desk or other times.
|
VWMFocusTop
|
Set the input focus to the topmost window on the desktop you're switching to.
(not counting "always on top" windows)
|
VWMFocusLast
|
Set the input focus to whichever window last had input focus on the desktop
you're switching to.
|
VWMNoGathering
|
Doesn't gather all windows on exit. This may not work if you use
VWMHideTaskOnSwitch.
|
VWMReturnToFirstScreen
|
Causes the VWM to switch to the top-left desk on exit.
|
VWMInitialDesk <desk>
|
Specifies desk to start on. Note that any existing windows may not be in the
correct desk if you use this.
|
VWMMouseLeft <action>
VWMMouseRight <action>
VWMMouseMiddle <action>
|
These select an action for each mouse button when you click on the vwm window.
Valid actions are:
0 Do nothing
1 Switch desktops
2 Drag miniwindow
(hold down CTRL to snap on drop)
The default for left is drag and right is switch desktops.
|
VWMAlwaysOnTop
|
Makes the vwm window float above mere mortal windows. This has no effect
if the VWM is in the Wharf or a Box. The default
is to stick to the desktop, below other windows.
|
VWMNoShow
VWMHidden
|
If either of these is present, the VWM windows starts hidden. Use
!VWMShow to make it visible.
|
VWMNoWrap
|
Normally going right from the right-most desktop will take you to the
left-most, etc. This setting will disable that.
|
VWMDeskSpacing <width> <height>
|
Maximized windows are usually sized to slightly larger than the visible
area so that their borders are placed offscreen. To prevent these borders
from being drawn on adjacent desks, an amount of space is reserved
between desks that never appears on screen. This option specifies the
size of that space. Default is 16 12, other VWMs use 10 10, so use that
is you're going to switch between them with windows still up.
This will also affect the space between desks in the VWM, but in scale
with the screen resolution.
|
VWMSnapWindowOnDrag
|
Windows snap while they are being dragged, hold down ctrl to drag normally.
|
VWMHoverTime <millisec>
|
Specifies the amount of time that the mouse stays in one place before
it is considered to be hovering,
and the time after the mouse leaves the
window that it is considered gone. Default is 500 milliseconds =
1/2 second.
|
VWMDetectTitleChange
|
Tells it to monitor the titles of windows, so miniwindows corresponding
to new windows or windows whose titles have changed can register
for VWMOnTitleChange.
|
VWMNoShellFlash
|
Stop miniwindows from flashing when their window's titles do. (AIM for example.)
|
VWMFlashCount
|
This sets the maximum number of times a window will flash. After it has flashed
this number of times, the window will remain in the flash colors/bitmap. The
default of 0 means flash forever.
|
VWMRefreshTime
|
This sets the time interval for VWM refreshes and the time between miniwindow
flashes and updates with VWMConstantUpdate. The default is 250 milliseconds.
|
VWMKeepWindowsWithParent
|
When a program pops up a message, this will try to move those messages to the desktop where that program is.
This might also work for instant messaging apps and the like, but I'm not sure. (technically, it gathers new
windows to their owner because using the actual parent would be silly... parent sounds
nicer tho :)
|
Anywhere you see <deskno>,
you can use:
- desk number
- a desk x and y coordinate (as
<deskx> <desky>)
- left, right, up, or down (optionally followed by a number of desks to move
in that direction)
- a
(windowspec)
in (parenthesis), to refer to the desk containing that window
All desk numbers start at 1, 0 is the current desk (usually the same as just leaving it out).
To open Notepad on the desk containing WinAmp:
!VWMOpen (#c WinAmp*) notepad.exe
To move right 4 desks:
!VWMDesk right 4 or !VWMDesk left -4
To gather all windows to desk 3 down a (vertical) 1x4 VWM:
!VWMGather 3 or
!VWMGather 1 3 or
!VWMMoveApp 3 #a or (these are a bit less efficient)
!VWMMoveApp 1 3 #a
|
!VWMLeft/Right/Up/Down
!VWMDesk <deskno>
|
Switch to a specific desktop.
|
!VWMGather [<deskno>]
|
Gathers all windows to the current or a specific desktop.
|
!VWMGatherLost [<deskno>]
|
Gathers all "lost" windows to the current or a specific desktop. Lost
windows are windows that are currently outside of any desktop, normally
they are left there until you try to switch to them (at which point that window
is brought to the current desk).
|
!VWMOpen <deskno> <command> <parameters>
|
Switches to a specific desktop and opens or executes a command.
|
!VWMMoveApp <deskno>
!VWMMoveApp <deskno> <windowspec>
|
Move the foreground window to the specified desktop, or in the specified
direction. If windowspec is given, moves the first matching window instead.
See "special windows" for a description of windowspec, several more flags are accepted:
d find window on current desk only
p find topmost window rather than lowest hwnd
h find by window handle, in decimal
a find all matching windows
d1.1 only windows on desk 1,1
d4 only windows on desk 4
|
To gather all notepad windows to the current desk:
!VWMMoveApp 0 #ac Notepad
To move all notepad windows on desk 3,2 to a desk containing a mozilla window:
!VWMMoveApp (#c MozillaWindowClass) #ad3.2c Notepad
|
!VWMReset
|
Resets the VWM to the initial state specified in step.rc, also reload all bitmaps.
This is the same as !refresh exept it only applies to the vwm.
|
!VWMMove [<monitor>] <x> <y>
|
Sets the screen position of the VWM window. Position is the same as for
VWMPos.
If the monitor name is supplied,
the VWM is moved to that monitor, otherwise it stays on whichever monitor it was last placed on.
You can put r after a number to make it relative to the VWM's
current position: !VWMMove 0r -10r
|
!VWMSize <width> <height>
|
Sets the size of the VWM window.
|
!VWMFlash [<state>] <windowspec>
|
Flashes the miniwindow for windows that match the given windowspec.
windowspec is the same as for
!VWMMoveApp.
|
!VWMExec <command>
|
Executes a command after replacing variables, see the reference section below.
This allows you to read information out of the module outside of a
VWMOn... action.
|
To find the class name for a window with a specific title, try:
!VWMExec !alert "^@wc(#t * - Notepad)^"
|
!VWMSetDesks <x> <y>
|
Change the number of desks available. This will not be remembered next time
you start LiteStep. Relative values are allowed, start with + or -. 0 means no change.
|
!VWMSetDesks 0 +1 ; add one row of desks
|
!VWMShow [toggle|off|no|false|hide]
|
Shows or hides the VWM window. If toggle is specified, the state is toggled,
if off, no, false, or hide is specified, the window is hidden, if anything else or
nothing is specified, the window is shown.
|
!VWMHide
|
Hides the VWM window.
|
!VWMToggleOnTop [toggle|on|yes|true]
|
This toggles between on top and on bottom. You can specify true, yes, on,
or toggle (or anything else). true, yes, or on will set it to on top, toggle or
nothing will toggle the state, and anything else will set it to on bottom.
|
!VWMToggle <setting> [<state>]
|
Toggle a setting on the fly, changes are NOT saved to the config file.
state is the same as for
!VWMToggleOnTop,
setting can be any of:
Bevel,
DetectTitleChange,
FocusTop,
FocusLast,
ForceIconBorderTop,
NoBorder,
NoGathering,
NoSwitchOnFocus,
NoWindows,
NoWrap,
ReturnToFirstScreen,
ScaleIconToFit,
ShowIcons,
SnapWindowOnDrag,
Titlebars,
TitleForTitle,
UseTransBlt,
NoShellFlash,
ConstantUpdate
|
!VWMToggleHideTask [toggle|on|yes|true]
|
Changes the state of
VWMHideTaskOnSwitch
on the fly. Any parameters are treated the same as for
!VWMToggleOnTop.
|
!VWMAction <action> <command>
|
Set an event triggerred action on the fly, changes are NOT saved to the config file.
action can be any of the VWMOnXXX
commands, without the leading "VWMOn". command is the same as for those, or nothing to
clear it.
|
!VWMSticky [<state>] [<windowspec>]
|
Changes the "stickiness" of the given window, or the active window if none is
specified. state can be toggle, on,
off, true, false, or nothing. If you
supply a windowspec but no state, it must start with
#flags.
|
Any of these can have the window spec preceded by flags, starting with #, that will
tell the vwm what to match against:
t match window title
c match window class
If you don't specify any flags, it will check both, but you can specify the flags to save
a little processor time and prevent accidentally misidentified windows.
Use !VWMExec !alert "^@wc^" to find the window class of the
active window, or !VWMExec !alert "^@wc(#t Window Title)^"
for the window class of a window from a title.
Wildcards are allowed in all window specs.
|
*VWMIgnoreTitleChange <windowspec>
|
List windows that change their window titles often and it doesn't matter.
No effect without
VWMDetectTitleChange.
|
To prevent WinAmp's miniwindow from triggering
VWMOnTitleChange
when it changes songs and you have VWMDetectTitleChange set:
*VWMIgnoreTitleChange #c WinAmp*
|
*VWMFix <windowspec>
|
Windows that should be hidden rather than moved to different desktops.
You'll probably want this for Photoshop 5.5 and older, don't bother for
newer ones. I have to decide what to do on exit for these guys, probably
show them and gather their parents to the current desktop. Note that the
window spec identifies the PARENT of the window to be fixed.
|
*VWMSticky <windowspec>
|
Windows that should appear on all desktops and should not be drawn in the vwm.
|
*VWMStartWindowsOnDesktop
<windowspec> <deskno>
|
Windows that should start on a specific desktop. Idea stolen from ckVWM, of
course. All desk numbers start at 1.
See also VWMKeepWindowsWithParent.
|
My favorite is: (one line)
*VWMStartWindowsOnDesktop #c AIM_IMessage
(#c _Oscar_BuddyListWin)
This starts all AIM message windows on whatever desk the buddy list is on.
|
|
These can all use ^@variable^ as listed in the
reference section below.
|
VWMOnInit <command>
VWMOnQuit <command>
|
Command is run after the VWM has initialized or before it quits. If the VWM
is in lsbox mode, each of these will be called only once, and the VWM window
may not be set up when they are called.
|
VWMOnMouseOver <command>
VWMOnMouseOut <command>
|
Runs command when mouse enters/leaves VWM window.
VWMOnMouseOut will be delayed by the
hover time.
|
For autohide:
VWMOnMouseOut !VWMHide
|
VWMOnHover <command>
VWMOnUnhover <command>
|
Runs commands when the mouse stops moving for a while over the VWM
or starts moving again.
|
VWMOnHover !VWMDesk ^@md^
will switch desks on hover.
|
VWMOnSwitchFrom <command>
VWMOnSwitchTo <command>
|
Runs commands before or after switching desktops.
|
|
Combined with a
background switcher, you can use something like
VWMOnSwitchTo !SwitchBackground bitmap^@dc^.bmp
to have a different background for each desk.
Or, run a different script before leaving each desk:
VWMOnSwitchFrom !DoScriptNo^@dc^
|
|
If you'd rather have a separate VWMOnSwitchTo1,
VWMOnSwitchTo2, etc. for each desktop, use:
VWMOnSwitchTo ^@#d^VWMOnSwitchTo^@dc^^@#d^
There is a downside to this, you can't use ^@...^ variables in VWMOnSwitchTo#
unless you use a !VWMExec, and the command must be
in quotes.
|
VWMOnNewWindow <command>
VWMOnRemoveWindow <command>
|
Runs when windows are added/removed. This may include windows that
are not drawn in the VWM. I recommend against openning a new window
in response to these, LiteStep windows should be ok.
|
VWMOnTitleChange <command>
|
Runs a command when a window title changes.
VWMDetectTitleChange
must be set for this to work.
|
VWMOnLeftButtonDown <command>
VWMOnRightButtonDown <command>
VWMOnMiddleButtonDown <command>
VWMOnLeftButtonUp <command>
VWMOnRightButtonUp <command>
VWMOnMiddleButtonUp <command>
|
Runs a command when a mouse button is pressed or released over the VWM's
window. These actions happen before any
VWMMouse... ones.
VWMOn...ButtonDown replace VWMOnClick..., although those
still work for now. If both are specified, the new ones take precedence.
|
VWMOnMouseMove
|
Executes a command when the mouse moves over the VWM. Don't do anything too
lengthy here, since it will get called a lot.
|
VWMOnRepaint
|
Called when the VWM has repainted its display. This may be useful if you're
using the bitmap handle from ^@ib^ to display a copy of the VWM someplace
else.
|
VWMOnMoveWindow <command>
VWMOnSizeWindow <command>
|
Runs a command when a window is moved or resized.
|
VWMOnFlash <command>
|
Runs a command when a window first starts flashing. This is NOT run each time the window flashes,
just once when it starts flashing. This can be used even if
VWMNoShellFlash is set.
!VWMFlash does not trigger this action.
|
|
If you wanted to be difficult, you could use:
VWMNoShellFlash
VWMOnFlash !VWMFlash #h ^@ch^
instead of just leaving out VWMNoShellFlash
|
|
Multimonitor positioning has typically been difficult to set up, and entirely non-portable
across different configurations. I have tried to allow positions on different monitors
to be specified in an easy to understand way that also will let single- or multi-monitor
themes usable on different multimonitor configurations.
|
MonitorNames <list of monitor names>
|
This specifies the names of the monitors on your system. These are only used in
step.rc and don't have anything to do with the names in control panel.
Monitor names are all listed on the same line, separated by spaces. The primary
monitor is the first one, and the rest follow in order.
The special name "all" is reserved and refers to the total
combined workspace of all monitors.
Monitor names should begin with a letter or underscore.
|
|
If you have three monitors and the second one (according to the order
given in control panel) is the primary one,
MonitorNames pri one two
will name monitor 1 "one", monitor 2 "pri",
and monitor 3 "two"
|
VWMOnMonitor <monitor name>
|
This specifies which monitor the VWM window will be drawn on.
VWMPos will
always specify a position on this monitor.
If no monitor name is specified, it will be on the primary monitor.
|
VWMSwitchMonitor <monitor name>
|
When specified, this will tell the vwm to only switch windows that are on the
named monitor. It seems a littly quirky at times, but generally works pretty
well. (This does not yet adjust the desktop rectangle in the VWM.)
|
System colors (:###) are the same as for GetSysColor(), or:
:0 Scrollbar color
:1 Background color
:2 Active titlebar color
:3 Inactive titlebar color
:4 Menu color
:5 Window color
:6 Window "frame" color?
:7 Menu text color
:8 Window text color
:9 Active titlebar text color
:10 Active window border color
:11 Inactive window border color
:12 Background color of MDI window
:13 Selected item color
:14 Selected item text color
:15 Button/3D item color
:16 Button/3d item shadow color
:17 Disabled item text color
:18 Button/3d item text color
:19 Inactive titlebar text color
:20 Button/3d item highlight color
-- Windows 95 and newer --
:21 Button/3d item dark shadow color
:22 Button/3d item bright highlight color
:23 Tooltip text color
:24 Tooltip background color
:25 undefined
-- Windows 2000 and newer (not 98/ME?) --
:26 "hotlight"?
:27 Active titlebar gradient color
:28 Inactive titlebar gradient color
-- Windows XP and newer --
:29 "menuhilight"?
:30 "menubar"?
|
^@Variables^:
^@wd^ desk no of the active window (usually the current desk)
^@wh^ handle of active window
^@wo^ handle of active window's owner
^@wt^ title of active window
^@wc^ class of active window
^@wx^ x position of active window in the vwm
^@wy^ y position of active window in the vwm
^@wxs^ x position of active window on screen
^@wys^ y position of active window on screen
^@wxv^ x position of active window on virtual screen
^@wyv^ y position of active window on virtual screen
^@wsx^ x size of active window in the vwm
^@wsy^ y size of active window in the vwm
^@wsxs^ x size of active window on screen
^@wsys^ y size of active window on screen
^@wsxv^ x size of active window on virtual screen (same as wsxs)
^@wsyv^ y size of active window on virtual screen (same as wsys)
Any of the ^@w...^ may also be specified as ^@w...(<windowspec>)^
to use the first window matching the given windowspec rather than the active
window. For example, ^@wsxs(#c notepad)^ is the width in screen coordinates
of the first notepad window found.
^@dx^ total number of desks across
^@dy^ total number of desks down
^@dc^ current desktop number
^@de^ number of first empty desk
^@md^ desk no that the mouse is over
^@mx^ cursor x coordinate relative to VWM window
^@my^ cursor y coordinate relative to VWM window
^@mxs^ cursor x coordinate relative to screen
^@mys^ cursor y coordinate relative to screen
^@mxv^ virtual screen x coordinate corresponding to the mouse position
^@myv^ virtual screen y coordinate corresponding to the mouse position
^@cc^ class of window relevant to command
^@ct^ title of window relevant to command
^@ch^ handle of window relevant to command
^@cd^ desk of window relevant to command
^@ka^ status of "ALT" key, either true or false
^@kc^ status of control key
^@ks^ status of shift key
^@kw^ status of window key
^@km^ status of context menu key
^@kal^ status of left alt key, c, s, or w can replace a
^@kar^ status of right alt key, c, s, or w can replace a
^@ib^ handle to the vwm's screen buffer bitmap
^@#a^ apostrophe/single quote '
^@#c^ carrot/exponent thingy ^
^@#d^ dollar sign $
^@#q^ quote "
If any variable might evaluate to some special character that can be escaped with
a backslash (\), you can tell RabidVWM to insert the backslash for those characters.
For example, if you try to set the text of a label to a window title, any square brackets
will need to be escaped to keep it from treating them special:
!VWMExec !LabelSetText ^@ct\[]^
All characters including and following the backslash will be preceded with a backslash.
So, if notepad is open with step.rc, "^@wt\aeiou^" will be
"st\ep.rc - N\ot\ep\ad" (with letters this is case sensitive, so STEP would
not be escaped.)
|
windowspec #flags
t match window title
c match window class
d find window on current desk only
d1.1 only windows on desk 1,1; only numbers are valid
d4 only windows on desk 4
p find top window in paint order rather than lowest hwnd #
h find by window handle, in decimal
a find all matching windows, or LAST if used in a ^@var^
|
|
To allow dragging the VWM, use lsbox.
You can also do some clumbsy dragging with
VWMOnMouseMove
and the ^@mxs^ variables:
(VWMOnLeftButtonDown should have one very long line)
VWMOnLeftButtonDown !VWMAction OnMouseMove !VWMMove ^@#c^@#d^@#c^^@#c^@mxs^@#c^-^@mx^^@#c^@#d^@#c^
^@#c^@#d^@#c^^@#c^@mys^@#c^-^@my^^@#c^@#d^@#c^
VWMOnLeftButtonUp !VWMAction OnMouseMove
In VWMOnLeftButtonDown:
^@#c^@#d^@#c^^@#c^@mxs^@#c^-^@mx^^@#c^@#d^@#c^ becomes
^@#d^^@mxs^-(mouse x pos)^@#d^
Then, in VWMOnMouseMove:
^@#d^^@mxs^-(mouse x pos)^@#d^
becomes $(new mouse pos, rel to screen)-(mouse
pos when dragging started, rel to VWM)$
|
Switch on hover with VWMOnHover
!VWMDesk ^@md^
|
|
Miniwindow bitmaps can be very small when used with a border, I usually use 9x9 pixels.
|
You can get the window class of the active window with
!VWMExec !alert "^@wc^"
|
Use VWMOnMouseOut
!VWMHide for autohide. Make sure
you have a way to show it again!
|
To test a flash bitmap, try VWMOnHover
!vwmflash #h ^@ch^
|
Use ^@ch^
to tell whether the mouse is over a window. It will be 0 if it's not.
Alternatively, test ^@ct^ against an empty string.
|
If you want RabidVWM to use the same confusing multi-monitor coordinates as other
modules, set VWMOnMonitor
to all.
|
tooltips, using label.dll:
(note: VWMOnHover lines have been broken for the sake of page layout.)
labels vwmtiplabel
vwmtiplabelstarthidden
vwmtiplabelheight 16
; may want to dynamically size it with a script or something
vwmtiplabelwidth 128
vwmtiplabelonleftclick !execute [!vwmtiplabelhide][!vwmtiplabelpintodesktop]
vwmtiplabelonrightclick !execute [!vwmtiplabelhide][!vwmtiplabelpintodesktop]
vwmtiplabelonmouseleave !execute [!vwmtiplabelhide][!vwmtiplabelpintodesktop]
; set the label's appearance however you want
; set the title, move to cursor, pop it up over the vwm
VWMOnHover !execute [!vwmtiplabelsettext "^@ct\[]^"][!vwmtiplabelmove ^@mxs^ ^@mys^]
[!vwmtiplabelshow][!vwmtipLabelAlwaysOnTop]
; hide it and reset z-order
; (need to keep changing z order to pop up over always-on-top vwm)
VWMOnUnhover !execute [!vwmtiplabelhide][!vwmtiplabelpintodesktop]
This does pop up the tooltip if you hover over empty space, you should be able to
fix that with a script module.
A better version might use mzscript, like so:
VWMOnHover !execute [!varset vwmtipx ^@mxs^][!varset vwmtipy ^@mys^]
[!varset vwmtiptitle "^@ct\[]^"][!dovwmtip]
VWMOnUnhover !execute [!vwmtiplabelhide][!vwmtiplabelpintodesktop]
*script var vwmtiptitle ""
*script var vwmtipx 0
*script var vwmtipy 0
*script bang !dovwmtip
*script gotoif ("%[vwmtiptitle]" = "") nope
; split window titles that are "doc - app" to "doc "
*script exec !setlistsep -
*script exec !vwmtiplabelsettext "%[vwmtiptitle:]"
; don't pop up directly under cursor, that's unfriendly
*script exec !varadd vwmtipx 1
*script exec !vwmtiplabelmove %[vwmtipx] %[vwmtipy]
*script exec !vwmtiplabelshow
*script exec !vwmtiplabelalwaysontop
*script exec !setlistsep :
*script label nope
*script ~bang
|
To change a 4x1 (horizontal) VWM into a 1x4 (vertical) VWM:
!VWMSetDesks 4 4
!VWMMoveApp 1 2 #ad2.1
!VWMMoveApp 1 3 #ad3.1
!VWMMoveApp 1 4 #ad4.1
!VWMSetDesks 1 4
You'll probably want to !VWMSize after that.
|
|
How do I find a window's class name?
|
|---|
|
Execute the following in LSXCommand, or bind it to a hotkey, to find the class of the active window:
!VWMExec !alert "^@wc^"
You can also find the class for a window from its title:
!VWMExec !alert "^@wc(#t insert title here)^"
Winamp 3.0's class is BaseWindow_RootWnd
|
|
Why do maximized windows keep moving to different desktops?
|
|---|
|
If you're using Windows XP with XP styles (ie, not using the Windows 2000 look), maximized windows will
sometimes follow when you move to a desktop down/left. This is a known problem with LiteStep VWMs and
XP styles, disable XP styles and everything should work.
If you aren't using XP styles, I don't know what the problem is. (actually I don't know what the problem is with
XP styles or I'd try to fix it...) Some programs just do this, I suggest loading them in the last desktop if possible.
|
|
How do I get a different wallpaper for each desktop?
|
|---|
|
RabidVWM does not directly support changing the wallpaper, however you can easily do this in combination
with a wallpaper changing module.
Wallpaper changing modules you might try: (I haven't tested any of them)
|
If you name your wallpapers something1.bmp, something2.bmp, etc:
VWMOnSwitchTo !wallpaper something^@dc^.bmp
If you name them something else:
Desk1Paper "c:\path\wallpaper1.bmp"
Desk2Paper "c:\somewhere\else\another.bmp"
; etc., for each desktop
VWMOnSwitchTo !wallpaper "^@#d^Desk^@dc^Paper^@#d^"
|
| Unsupported VWM Commands
|
|---|
VWMNoMove
|
RabidVWM does not support dragging the VWM around with the mouse, so
this command is unnecessary. If you want to be able to drag it, use
LsBox.
|
VWMOnSwitchTo#
|
This can be emulated with
VWMOnSwitchTo ^@#d^VWMOnSwitchTo^@dc^^@#d^, which
will map to $VWMOnSwitchTo1$, $VWMOnSwitchTo2$, etc.
|
VWMFlashOnTitleChange
|
This poorly thought out command was my own doing. Now it's gone.
If you're a psycho little pervert and want this behavior, use:
VWMOnTitleChange !VWMFlash #h ^@ch^
|
| Drag and Drop |
|---|
|
You can drop a number of different kinds of things onto the VWM:
- files (incl. special objects like Control Panel)
- URLs
- raw text
In all cases, the VWM will switch to the desktop which you dropped
the crud over and execute it.
Some types of files don't quite open right, folders will open and then
complain that they couldn't. (this is a problem in ShellExecuteEx, if
anyone knows how to get around this. must use PIDLs)
Control Panel applets don't seem to work right either.
Raw text will be executed, line by line, by LiteStep. This means you
can drop !bang commands onto the vwm. Unfortunately, some programs
seem to let you drag text, but either they don't do it right, or they do
it in a way that I didn't anticipate.
|
|
In addition to this, you also get a "drag and hover" feature. Drag a file
over the VWM and hover over a desk with a program to drop it on. The VWM
will switch to that desk, then you can continue to drag the file over the
program you want to drop it on and go. Fun for the whole family!
|
| Known Problems |
|---|
|
If a window somehow gets "lost": First try switching to that window, it should come back,
otherwise try !VWMGatherLost.
If that doesn't work, use Alt-Tab to switch to that window, then press Alt-Space. If the window
was maximized, select "Restore" (press R if there's no menu) and it will reappear, otherwise select
"Move" (or press M), press any arrow key on the keyboard, then move the mouse. Click to drop
the window. (This trick should work with ANY vwm.)
If a *Fix window or toolbar gets lost...
well you're screwed for now, deal. There's no easy way for me to distinguish between that
and a window that shouldn't be shown at all. (depending on conditions...)
|
-
The background doesn't always update properly when you change it. This seems to be a bug
in the Windows desktop control panel applet, if you change the screen saver at the same time
(even changing it and changing it back is enough), it will work. If it really bothers you, there
is a
!VWMRefreshBack command, but I don't really feel motivated to
document it more than that.
- Sometimes programs will show up in the VWM but not on the screen when they first start.
I don't know why this is happening, but it seems to happen mostly with programs that have splash
screens. In any case, the window will usually show up if you click where it should be, or switch
to the desktop its on. (even if you're already on that desktop)
- Apparently sometimes windows get lost when Photoshop is open and you recycle.
Haven't tracked this down yet.
- XP-styled windows are sometimes a little sticky. (I blame the eye-candy, har har)
I have no idea what would do this, and I have no intention of buying XP, so someone else
will have to fix this. (or point me in the right direction) Turning off the styling is reported
to work, and things like WindowBlinds do not have this problem.
(actually, MSVC seems to do the same thing, and I don't know why that is either.)
|
|
1.1.1
|
- removed
VWMConfigFile and code to read from box files
- turned on code to break from loops in paint order to "fix" freeze bug
- floating tool windows should now "re-home" to their parent when you
switch desktops (eg, if you open photoshop, then move it to a different
desktop, the tool palettes should now learn to be on the new desktop)
- added
^@#n^ for newline
- added
VWMOnLeft/Right/MiddleButtonUp/Down. Down actions are the same
as VWMOnClickLeft/Right/Middle, which may change in the future
- VWMFocusLast will not change focus when a window is destroyed (thanks deuce)
- implemented
LM_GETDESKTOPOF
- drag&drop will now work when loaded threaded (thanks faithful and the flying monkeys)
- fixed !vwmup/down/left/right with
VWMNoWrap (thanks smurth)
SwitchOnAnyFocus now only goes off when focus changes (thanks ckvwm)- fixed windows randomly getting "*fixed"
- a bit of code cleanup
|
|
1.01
|
- added
^@wo^ for window's owner's handle
- added
VWMKeepWindowsWithParent (thx Paradox)
- fixed continually trying to gather windows that just won't budge
- fixed continually trying to set focus on empty desks
(thx uggi for the logs where I noticed those)
- stole some flags from popup2 to fix starting idlists in drag&drop
(now folders and control panel applets work just fine)
|
|
1.0 final
|
- changed to use more uniform names (like SkinBox):
changed !VWMResize to !VWMSize
changed !VWMSetAction to !VWMAction
removed the "On" part of action names in !VWMAction
- fixed missing center of image problem
- fixed: should no longer crash on startup on win95 - *and* actually tested it on win95
- added
VWMOnRepaint (to go with ^@ib^, which I also added somewhere in here)
- fixed
VWMTransparent crashing without VWMAlwaysOnTop
- fixed Bersirc stickiness (mostly)
- added
VWMOnMouseMove
- fixed
^@mx^,^@wx^,^@cx^ (was returning y coord)
- fixed
^@wx^,^@wy^,^@wsx^,etc (were causing command to fail when no window was given)
- fixed
!LsBoxHook to not ignore quotes around box name
- fixed sticky windows causing
SwitchOnAnyFocus to switch desks
- assorted source code cleanup (no functional change)
- fixed
FocusTop/Last while in a box
- fixed
!VWMSetAction not working after action had been cleared (or never set)
- taking way to long to release this
- added
VWMFlashCount
- fixed desk backgrounds "sliding" with solid colors
- using ShowWindowAsync if the window seems Hung to keep it from freezing the VWM too
- added real layered window transparency (
VWMTransparent)
- now using ParseCoordinate only if it's available in lsapi
otherwise it uses its own internal version
Of course the internal version can do percents +/- somthing and relative amounts,
so maybe I should always use the internal version? but then you never know when
they'll add something flashy to the core that you want to use...
- fixed
VWMNoWrap so it doesn't go past the edges
- reduced start-up time with
VWMUseFakeTrans
- added
VWMRefreshTime
- changed ShowWindowAsync to ShowWindow to fix improper drawing of windows with
VWMHidetask
- fixed ForEachMonitor not working on single monitor systems (for bg image)
- fixed Photoshop palettes being sticky, turns out it was my fault after all
|
|
1.0 beta 5
|
- added ^@#...^ to escape special chars like $
- added \ to escape special chars in titles and such (see tooltip example)
- added
VWMBevelWidth
- added
VWMOnFlash
- fixed bug causing the module to freeze on repaint (usually start up) if there were no
windows for it to draw (fixed a few hours before it was reported :)
- heavily modified desktop background painter (for transparency and .snapshots) so it's accurate for
Windows' brain dead multiple monitor settings (I mean what were they thinking with how "stretch" works?)
- made
*VWMIgnoreTitleChange
apply to VWMOnTitleChange, since
it wasn't doing anything else.
- hopefully reduced memory usage
- fixed miniwindows not updating properly on a
!VWMSize
- fixed a bug preventing focus from being set when switching desks from a bang command (I suspect
there may be another, but it works for me)
- fixed ^@k...^ key state vars, though I'm still not quite sure they're right
- added optional monitor parameter to
!VWMMove
- fixed the size of the "
all" monitor
|
|
1.0 beta 4
|
- converted docs to html for happy linking and stuff
- new drag&drop handling, should now work with special folders and urls as well
as some other things
- added drag&hover desk switch
- actually got
VWMSwitchMonitor
to work (props to blkhawk for the idea)
- slightly reduced idle cpu usage (in theory, at least)
- fixed minimized windows becoming hopelessly lost with
VWMHideTaskOnSwitch
- You can now click and hold on a window's title (or drag it) while switching desks and it
will be semi-sticky. So you can drag a window and switch with the keyboard like in ckVWM
and others.
- added
!VWMSticky at xnowfall's
suggestion and adjusted !VWMFlash to
take the same parameters
- removed
VWMFlashOnTitleChange (What was I thinking?)
Use VWMOnTitleChange
!VWMFlash #h ^@wh^ instead if you really want it.
- made
VWMFocusTop ignore
"always on top" windows
- added possibility of using window handle in hex to
windowspec, using C 0x... format, for no good reason at all.
|
|
1.0 beta 3.1
|
- fixed desktop bitmap memory leak
- tweaked defaults a bit
|
|
1.0 beta 3
|
- removed imports from user32 that did not exist in win95 (incl multimon)
- fixed snapshot with slowly drawing windows and with dragging off the current desk
- fixed snapshots for overlapping windows and "half off the screen" windows
- fixed multimonitor so it will probably work on single monitor systems (but not win95)
- added non-functional
VWMSwitchMonitor
- added
MonitorNames
and VWMOnMonitor
- fixed window flashing,
still won't work in ls builds after 2001-11-19
because it's broken in the shell (COM interface limitation?)
- snapshots for windows are not taken while dragging in vwm
- fixed position of monitors to the left or above the primary monitor
- fixed popups losing focus on empty desks
|
|
1.0 beta 2
|
- fixed problems restoring previously maximized windows from minimized state
- added snapshot mode for select bitmap
- removed requirement of
VWMUseTransBlt
for back alpha to work
You still need to set VWMUseFakeTrans.
- fixed .snapshot backs not showing up without background transparency
- fixed not-on-top lsbox problems. thanks blkhawk
This also affected task tiles in some circumstances.
|
|
1.0 beta 1
|
- added
VWMBackBevel
and VWMSelBevel
- added .snapshot mode for background,
also thanks to that code from label
- added new color settings, part 1
- added alpha settings, should work in all but win95
- tried to add multimonitor support, but I can't test it
- fake transparency is now flickerless thanks to code borrowed from Maduin's label
- tried to be a little more forceful at switching focus when changing desks
(this fixes problems I was having, esp with msvc)
- fixed wrong window gaining focus on window close
- added
VWMNoShellFlash
and VWMFlashOnTitleChange
- added
VWMConstantUpdate
- fixed problems with desks shifting around with
FocusXXX &
SwitchOnAnyFocus
- added window size and position ^@vars^
- hopefully fixed problems with refresh ∓ lsbox
- fixed windows jumping across the screen while dragging off the edge
- added
OnMoveWindow
and OnSizeWindow
- put !left/right/up/down back in to work with lsdistro (grr)
- added
!VWMToggleHideTask
- fixed gathering on quit with
VWMHideTaskOnSwitch
- added proper window flashing, just like in the movies
(thanks Chaku, even if you're unaware that you've helped me:)
- fixed .snapshot with tiny windows
- improved state change detection
|
|
1.0 alpha 6.1 and prior
|
- Secret, terrible things that men only dare to consider in nightmares.
- VWM was bitten by a rabid cow
|
This module uses code from jugg's tasks (the infamous getIconFromWindow, with its endless
legacy) and Maduin's label (two functions, one of which has been ripped apart and put back
together in a hideous, hideous way). The rest of it's ALL MINE, except for the bits
that aren't. SO THERE!