1ICEWM(1) User Commands ICEWM(1)
2 NAME
6 icewm - lightweight X11 window manager
7 SYNOPSIS
9 icewm [OPTIONS]
10 DESCRIPTION
12 icewm is a window manager for the X11 window system. It aims to be
13 small, fast and familiar to new users.
14 icewm is called a re-parenting window manager, because it draws small
16 frames around application windows. By dragging this frame with the
17 mouse, windows are resized or moved.
18 Because windows may overlap, icewm is also a stacking window manager.
20 Many windows may exist, some hidden behind others.
21 icewm supports a configurable number of virtual desktops. These are
23 called workspaces. Related windows are grouped on a dedicated
24 workspace. By switching between workspaces, the user can attend to
25 different tasks, while keeping oversight. This is supported by a task
26 bar and a pager.
27 The installation comes with several themes. Choose a theme via a menu.
29 icewm is compliant with the ICCCM and EWMH window manager
31 specifications.
32 PROGRAMS
34 The icewm package includes several programs:
35 icewm(1)
37 The actual window manager. It positions application windows on
38 screen and decorates them with borders. It gives input focus to the
39 current active application. icewm supports different focus modes,
40 which are explained below. It draws a small task bar at the bottom
41 of the screen, which gives easy access to programs, to virtual
42 desktops, to active applications, and to a small set of monitoring
43 applets.
44 icewmbg(1)
46 The background setting application. It can assign plain background
47 color or images in different formats to the X background. Each
48 workspace can have its own background. It supports semi-
49 transparency. Semitransparent background image and colour can be
50 configured. When the background image has changed then icewmbg(1)
51 can be notified to update the background. Multi-head monitor
52 setups are fully supported. See the icewmbg(1).
53 icewm-session(1)
55 icewm-session(1) is the preferred program to start the IceWM
56 system. It first loads additional environment variables from the
57 optional env file. Then it starts icewmbg(1) and icewm. It also
58 runs the startup script and implements basic session management.
59 On termination the shutdown script will be run first, then
60 icewm-session(1) will terminate icewm and icewmbg(1).
61 icewm-session(1) will also start the optional icesound(1) if you
62 give it the --sound option. See icewm-session(1).
63 icesh(1)
65 A powerful tool to control window properties and to interact with
66 the window manager. It is typically used in shell scripts. See
67 icesh(1).
68 icehelp(1)
70 A small document browser, which is used by icewm to display the
71 'IceWM manual' and some man pages.
72 icewmhint(1)
74 A utility for passing IceWM-specific window options to icewm. The
75 options are used to configure the first application which is
76 started subsequently. See icewmhint(1).
77 icesound(1)
79 Plays audio files on GUI events which are raised by icewm. It
80 supports ALSA, AO and OSS. See the icesound(1) man page.
81 icewm-menu-fdo(1)
83 Generate an icewm menu with executable desktop applications
84 according to XDG specifications. See the icewm-menu-fdo(1) man
85 page.
86 icewm-set-gnomewm(1)
88 Configures GNOME to start IceWM instead of its own WM.
89 OPTIONS
91 COMMON OPTIONS
92 Each of the IceWM executables supports the following options:
93 -c, --config=FILE
95 Use FILE as the source of configuration options. By default icewm
96 looks for a file named preferences. This is a readable text file
97 which can be modified with the help of a text editor.
98 -t, --theme=NAME
100 Use NAME as the name of the icewm theme to use. A theme defines
101 the look and feel of icewm, like colors, fonts and buttons.
102 -d, --display=DISPLAY
104 Connect to the X11 server on DISPLAY. By default the environment
105 variable "DISPLAY" is used.
106 --sync
108 This option specifies to use a slower synchronous communication
109 mode with the X11 server. This is irrelevant for normal use.
110 -h, --help
112 Gives a complete list of all the available command-line options
113 with some very brief explanation.
114 -V, --version
116 Shows the software release version for this program.
117 ICEWM OPTIONS
119 The icewm program supports some additional options:
120 -a, --alpha
122 Use a 32-bit visual for translucency. This can also be set in the
123 preferences file as "Alpha=1".
124 --replace
126 Instructs icewm to replace an existing window manager. Provided
127 that the window manager being replaced is ICCCM 2.0 compliant, once
128 it notices that it is to be replaced it will cease operations and
129 typically stop execution. This allows icewm to establish itself as
130 the only active window manager.
131 -r, --restart
133 Tell icewm to restart itself. This reloads the configuration from
134 file.
135 -s, --splash=IMAGE
137 Briefly show IMAGE on startup in the center of the screen. This
138 can also be set in the preferences file as Splash="image.jpg".
139 --configured
141 Shows a list of configuration options which were enabled when icewm
142 was compiled from source code. This can be helpful if one suspects
143 some functionality may be missing.
144 --directories
146 Gives a list of directories where icewm will look for configuration
147 data. This list is printed in the actual order in which icewm uses
148 it to search for configuration files.
149 -l, --list-themes
151 icewm will search all the configuration directories for theme files
152 and print a list of all found themes.
153 -p, --postpreferences
155 This gives a long list of all the internal icewm options with their
156 actual values after icewm has processed all of the configuration
157 and theme files. In some advanced scenarios this can be helpful to
158 inspect which configuration was chosen or whether option formatting
159 was correct.
160 --rewrite-preferences
162 Overwrite an existing preferences file with an icewm default
163 preferences, but preserve all modifications insofar they deviate
164 from the defaults.
165 --extensions
167 Give a list of the current X extensions, their versions and status.
168 --trace=conf,font,icon,prog,systray
170 Enable tracing of the paths which are used to load configuration,
171 fonts, icons, executed programs, and/or system tray applets.
172 USAGE
174 TASKBAR
175 On startup icewm launches the task bar at the bottom of the screen.
176 The task bar consists from left to right of the following components:
177 The Menu button in the lower left corner gives access to the icewm root
179 menu. This menu has sub-menus to start applications, to control icewm
180 settings, and the icewm Logout menu.
181 The Show Desktop button unmaps all application windows to fully uncover
183 the desktop.
184 The Window List Menu button gives access to a menu with a list of
186 active windows for the current workspace and a list of workspaces with
187 sub-menus for their active application windows.
188 The Toolbar is a list of icons for applications which are defined in
190 the toolbar configuration file.
191 The Workspace Pane shows one button for each workspace. The current
193 workspace is indicated by a pressed button. Clicking another workspace
194 switches to that workspace. Press left mouse, then the Shift key, then
195 release the left mouse, takes the current window to that workspace.
196 Press left, then Alt, then release left, moves only the focused window
197 to other workspace, without changing the current workspace.
198 The workspaces are defined in the preferences file. To change a name
200 for only this session, double click, edit the name and hit Enter. When
201 "PagerShowPreview" is turned on, a small graphical window summary for
202 each workspace is shown. They support drag-and-drop: dragging a Firefox
203 tab to a workspace button changes the current workspace. Then
204 releasing it moves that tab to a new window in that workspace.
205 The Task Pane consists of a list of wide buttons for each application
207 which is running on the current workspace, or all workspaces if
208 "TaskBarShowAllWindows=1". Each task button shows the application icon
209 and the application title. The active application is indicated by a
210 pressed button. This is the application which has input focus.
211 Pressing another button activates that application: it is brought to
212 the foreground and receives input focus. Other mouse controlled
213 activities on the window buttons are: dragging window buttons with the
214 left mouse button to rearrange the order, closing the application
215 window with "Alt" + middle button, lowering the application window with
216 "Ctrl" + middle button, or bringing the application window to the
217 current workspace with "Shift" + middle button if
218 "TaskBarShowAllWindows=1".
219 If there are not many application buttons then a stretch of plain task
221 bar is visible. Clicking on it with the right mouse button gives the
222 task bar menu. Even with a full task pane, this menu can be usually
223 accessed by right-clicking the bottom right corner of the taskbar.
224 The Tray Applet shows system tray objects.
226 The APM Applet shows battery power status.
228 The Net Applet shows network activity. Network devices to monitor are
230 given by the "NetworkStatusDevice" option.
231 The Memory Applet monitors memory usage.
233 The CPU Applet monitors processor utilization.
235 The Mailbox Applet monitors mailbox status changes. See the section
237 MAILBOX MONITORING below.
238 The Clock Applet shows the current time and date. It is configured by
240 the "TimeFormat" option.
241 The Task Bar Collapse button collapses the task bar and hides it.
243 Not all icewm applets may show up on the task bar. They must have been
245 enabled during configuration of the icewm software. Their appearance
246 is also controlled by options in the preferences file.
247 INPUT FOCUS
249 Of all visible windows only one can be the active window. This is the
250 window which has input focus. It is the primary receiver of keyboard
251 and mouse events and hence one can interact with the application which
252 created that window. A primary task of a window manager is to allow
253 the user to switch input focus between different windows. The primary
254 means to do this is the mouse pointer. By moving the mouse pointer
255 over the screen to another window, and perhaps also by clicking on a
256 window, input focus can be directed.
257 The "FocusMode" option controls the way icewm gives input focus to
259 applications. It is initialized by the focus_mode configuration file.
260 The focus mode is set via the Focus menu. icewm supports six focus
261 models:
262 1. Click-to-focus
264 The default focus mode. In this mode changing input focus requires
265 to click a window with the left mouse button. The window is raised
266 if needed. When an application requests focus its task pane button
267 flashes. This gives the option to honor this request or to ignore
268 it. When a new application window appears it automatically
269 receives focus. Also when a hidden application raises to the front
270 it receives focus.
271 2. Sloppy-mouse-focus
273 Sets input focus merely by moving the mouse pointer over a window.
274 It is called sloppy, because if the mouse then leaves the window
275 and moves to the desktop background the input focus remains with
276 the last active window. When a window receives focus it is raised.
277 When an application requests focus its task pane button flashes. A
278 new application or an application which raises to the front
279 automatically receives focus.
280 3. Explicit-focus
282 Focus is even more user-controlled than Click-to-focus. When a
283 window receives focus it is not raised by default, unless the frame
284 border is clicked. No flashing occurs when an application requests
285 focus. When a new application window appears it does not receive
286 focus. Only by explicit clicking on a window is focus directed.
287 4. Strict-mouse-focus
289 Like Sloppy but focus remains with the last window. New
290 applications don't receive focus and are mapped behind other
291 windows. When an application raises to the front it still does not
292 get focus.
293 5. Quiet-sloppy-focus
295 Like Sloppy but no disturbing flashing occurs on the task bar when
296 an application requests focus.
297 6. Custom-mode
299 A focus mode which is defined in detail by ten options in the
300 preferences file. These are: "ClickToFocus", "FocusOnAppRaise",
301 "RequestFocusOnAppRaise", "RaiseOnFocus", "RaiseOnClickClient",
302 "FocusChangesWorkspace", "FocusOnMap", "FocusOnMapTransient",
303 "FocusOnMapTransientActive", "MapInactiveOnTop".
304 All non-Custom focus modes override these ten options.
306 Apart from the mouse, icewm supports changing input focus in two ways
308 by keyboard. By pressing "Alt+Esc" or "Alt+Shift+Esc", input focus is
309 immediately changed to the next or previous window, which will be
310 raised to make it fully visible. The other method involves the quick
311 switch.
312 QUICK SWITCH
314 The QuickSwitch is a means to quickly and interactively change the
315 input focus to another window. It is activated by pressing the
316 "Alt+Tab" or "Alt+Shift+Tab" key combination. A window pops up in the
317 centre of the screen with a list of windows to choose from. A narrow
318 band indicates a selection: the candidate window that will be activated
319 to receive input focus when the Alt key is released.
320 The selection can be changed. By repeatedly pressing the Tab key, one
322 can cycle over all windows. If a Shift key is down, the direction of
323 traversal is reversed. Or use the scroll wheel of the mouse. Or use
324 one of the digit keys to select the corresponding window from the list.
325 Arrow keys are also supported, as well as the Home and End key.
326 To make a selected window the active window, just release the Alt key,
328 or hit the Return key, or click on it. To cancel the QuickSwitch,
329 press Escape or click outside of the QuickSwitch window.
330 A selected window can be closed by Delete, "Alt+F4", or the middle
332 mouse button. While the QuickSwitch window is up, one can still change
333 workspace with the usual workspace hotkeys.
334 The QuickSwitch has two distinct modes: vertical and horizontal. The
336 window list can include all windows or be limited to the current
337 workspace. See the many preferences available for the QuickSwitch.
338 WINDOW PLACEMENT
340 A second important task of a window manager is to place new windows on
341 the screen. By default icewm chooses a placement with minimal overlap,
342 but this is determined by the "SmartPlacement" option in the
343 preferences file. If "SmartPlacement" is turned off then windows are
344 placed in sequence from left to right and top to bottom. One can also
345 turn on "ManualPlacement". Then new windows appear initially in the
346 top left corner and the mouse cursor changes into a fist. By moving
347 the fist cursor to a suitable location and clicking the new window will
348 appear at the mouse click location.
349 WINDOW LAYERS
351 Windows can overlap. Which window appears on top is determined by
352 three features. Newer windows appear over older windows. By clicking
353 on a window it is raised to the top. But both are overruled by the
354 window layer. Windows can be placed in different layers via the Layers
355 menu. Click with the right mouse button on the window frame and select
356 Layer. From there choose one of seven window layers. These are
357 ordered from higher to lower. Windows in higher layers appear over
358 windows in lower layers.
359 WORKSPACES
361 icewm supports multiple virtual desktops called workspaces. A
362 workspace is like a screen where a subset of all application windows
363 are mapped. Thanks to multiple workspaces we can more easily manage a
364 large number of applications. The number of workspaces and their names
365 are configurable in the preferences file through the "WorkspaceNames"
366 option. By default four workspaces are created with the names 1, 2, 3
367 and 4 thus:
368 WorkspaceNames=" 1 ", " 2 ", " 3 ", " 4 "
370 This syntax is typical for icewm options which receive multiple values.
372 It is a list of comma-separated values each of which can be quoted.
373 The workspaces are visible on the toolbar. One can switch to a
375 different workspace by pressing the workspace button in the toolbar,
376 but after becoming familiar with the 'keyboard shortcuts' below one
377 will want to use a hotkey to choose a workspace. If the "EdgeSwitch"
378 options is enabled in the preferences file (with sub-options
379 "HorizontalEdgeSwitch" and "VerticalEdgeSwitch") then one can move to
380 the next or previous workspace by moving the mouse to the edge of the
381 screen. The "ContinuousEdgeSwitch" option enables continuous movement
382 to subsequent workspaces. The "EdgeSwitchDelay" option says how long
383 to wait before a change of workspace occurs.
384 To move an application window to a different workspace one can use a
386 keyboard shortcut. Another option is to select the Move To submenu in
387 the window menu of the window frame.
388 DRAG AND DROP
390 The task bar supports drag and drop operations. When a drag is in
391 progress, the destination window can be activated by hovering the drag
392 icon over the task button for that window. Alternatively, the current
393 workspace can be changed by hovering the drag icon over the desired
394 workspace button. When edge switching is enabled, the current
395 workspace can also be changed by bringing the drag icon to the screen
396 edge.
397 ADDRESS BAR
399 If EnableAddressBar=1 then KeySysAddressBar="Alt+Ctrl+Space" activates
400 the address bar in the task bar. If ShowAddressBar=1 it is always
401 shown. This is a command-line in the task bar where a shell command can
402 be typed. Pressing "Enter" will execute the command.
403 AddressBarCommand="/bin/sh" will be used to execute the command. On
404 "Control+Enter" the command is executed in a terminal as given by
405 TerminalCommand. The address bar maintains a history which is
406 navigable by the Up and Down keys. It supports command completion
407 using "Tab" or "Ctrl+I". A rich set of editing operations is
408 supported, including cut-/copy-/paste-operations.
409 WINDOW LIST
411 The window list window shows a list of all workspaces. For each
412 workspace it shows the window titles of the windows which are mapped on
413 it. The bottom entry reads "All Workspaces". It holds the sticky
414 windows. These windows are mapped in all workspaces.
415 The window list window is normally hidden. Choose one of the following
417 four methods to make it visible:
418 • Select the bottom window list menu entry.
420 • Press the "KeySysWindowList=Ctrl+Alt+Esc" key.
422 • Press the right Windows key if "Win95Keys=1"
424 • Press the "DesktopWinListButton=2" mouse button in the root window.
426 • Press the middle mouse button in a workspace button on the task
428 bar.
429 A single-click on a window entry selects it. A group of windows can be
431 selected by "Shift+Pointer_Button1" or by dragging with the left mouse
432 button. Use "Ctrl+Pointer_Button1" to individually select windows in a
433 multi-selection. A right mouse click over a selection will popup the
434 system menu for this selection. To close the selected windows, press
435 "Delete". Press "Shift+Delete" to forcefully kill them. Right mouse
436 click below the sticky windows for a menu with window arranging
437 actions.
438 Double-click on a workspace to switch to it. Double-click on a window
440 to activate it. Or navigate by arrow keys and press Enter. The space
441 bar toggles a selection of a window. "Ctrl+a" and "Ctrl+/" will select
442 the entire list of windows. "Ctrl+\\" deselects everything. Press the
443 first letter of a window title to navigate to it and select it. If
444 titles of multiple windows start with the same letter then repeatedly
445 pressing the first letter cycles over those windows. "Home" selects
446 the first entry and "End" the last. "PageUp" and "PageDown" move up or
447 down by ten entries. Combine this with the "Shift" key to extend a
448 selection over the range of motion.
449 MAILBOX MONITORING
451 The task bar can show one or more icons to reflect the status of a
452 mailbox. The mailbox can be a local file or a remote POP or IMAP
453 account. For this a couple of options must be set. First,
454 TaskBarShowMailboxStatus must be enabled, which it is by default. Then
455 the location of the mailbox must be set. Icewm first looks for
456 MailBoxPath in preferences. If this is unset, it looks at the
457 environment variables "MAILPATH" and "MAIL". MailBoxPath may contain a
458 space-separated list of mailboxes, while "MAILPATH" may contain a
459 colon-separated list of mailboxes. If a mailbox starts with a slash
460 "/", then it is a local file, otherwise a URL. These are six examples
461 of possible mailboxes:
462 file:///var/spool/mail/captnmark
464 file:///home/captnmark/Maildir/
465 pop3://markus:%2f%40%3a@maol.ch/
466 pop3s://markus:password@pop.gmail.com/
467 imap://mathias@localhost/INBOX.Maillisten.icewm-user
468 imaps://mathias:password@imap.gmail.com/INBOX
469 The POP3S and IMAPS schemes use "openssl" for TLS/SSL encryption. Note
471 that for IceWM to access Gmail you must first configure your Gmail
472 account to enable POP3 or IMAP access. Make sure you have secure file
473 permissions on your IceWM preferences file and the directory which
474 contains it.
475 Reserved characters in the password, like slash, at and colon can be
477 specified using escape sequences with a hexadecimal encoding like %2f
478 for the slash or %40 for the at sign. For example, to hex-encode
479 "!p@a%s&s~" use this Perl snippet:
480 perl -e 'foreach(split("", $ARGV[0])) { printf "%%%02x", ord($_); };
482 print "\n";' '!p@a%s&s~'
483 Which will print:
485 %21%40%23%24%25%5e%26%2a%7e
487 This is the hex-encoded password. However, it is unwise to store a
489 password in your preferences. Consider a wallet extension for IceWM.
490 IceWM will check a mailbox periodically. The period in seconds can be
492 set by the MailCheckDelay option, which is 30 seconds by default.
493 Whenever new mail arrives, the mailbox icon will be highlighted. The
495 color will indicate if the mail has been read or not. Hovering the
496 mouse over the mailbox icon will show a tooltip with more details. A
497 command can be also be run on new mail. Set the NewMailCommand option.
498 Its environment will have these variables set by IceWM:
499 ICEWM_MAILBOX
501 The mailbox index number of MailBoxPath starting from 1.
502 ICEWM_COUNT
504 The total number of messages in this mailbox.
505 ICEWM_UNREAD
507 The number of unread messages in this mailbox.
508 KEYBOARD LAYOUT SWITCHING
510 To control keyboard layouts on the task bar, define in preferences the
511 option KeyboardLayouts to a comma-separated list of your preferred
512 keyboard layouts. For example:
513 KeyboardLayouts="de","fr","jp"
515 A keyboard layout can simply be a name. Usually this is a two-letter
517 country code. See the directory /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols for a list
518 of available keyboard layouts for your system. If it is enclosed in
519 double quotes, it can also be a space-separated list of command-line
520 arguments to an invocation of the "setxkbmap" program.
521 The first layout is the default. It will be installed when icewm
523 starts. The task bar will show the current keyboard layout. If an icon
524 can be found for the first two letters of the layout, then that icon
525 will be shown. Otherwise the first two letters of the name of the
526 layout will be shown.
527 Click on the current keyboard layout to cycle through all the available
529 keyboard layouts, or use the KeySysKeyboardNext key. Click with the
530 right mouse button to open a menu of all available keyboard layouts.
531 It is also possible to configure a default keyboard layout for each
533 program individually in the icewm-winoptions(5) file. Whenever such a
534 program receives input focus, icewm will install this configured
535 keyboard layout automatically. The keyboard status on the task bar will
536 be updated to reflect this.
537 Please note that for keyboard layout switching to work, the "setxkbmap"
539 program must be installed. To see your current keyboard layout
540 settings, do "setxkbmap -query".
541 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
543 icewm supports a large number of hotkeys to activate some behaviour
544 with a single key combination. These are all configurable in the
545 preferences file. Here we give their preferences name, followed by
546 their default value in double quotes, and a short descriptions of their
547 effect.
548 Note that all use one or more key modifiers. Icewm supports the
550 following modifiers: Alt, AltGr, Ctrl, Hyper, Meta, Shift, Super.
551 Setting ModSuperIsCtrlAlt=1 makes the Super modifier an alias for
552 Ctrl+Alt.
553 KeyWinRaise="Alt+F1"
555 Raises the window which currently has input focus.
556 KeyWinOccupyAll="Alt+F2"
558 Makes the active window occupy all workspaces.
559 KeyWinLower="Alt+F3"
561 Lowers the window which currently has input focus.
562 KeyWinClose="Alt+F4"
564 Closes the active window.
565 KeyWinRestore="Alt+F5"
567 Restores the active window to its visible state.
568 KeyWinNext="Alt+F6"
570 Switches focus to the next window.
571 KeyWinPrev="Alt+Shift+F6"
573 Switches focus to the previous window.
574 KeyWinMove="Alt+F7"
576 Starts movement of the active window.
577 KeyWinSize="Alt+F8"
579 Starts resizing of the active window.
580 KeyWinMinimize="Alt+F9"
582 Iconifies the active window.
583 KeyWinMaximize="Alt+F10"
585 Maximizes the active window with borders.
586 KeyWinMaximizeVert="Alt+Shift+F10"
588 Maximizes the active window vertically.
589 KeyWinMaximizeHoriz="undefined"
591 Maximizes the active window horizontally.
592 KeyWinFullscreen="Alt+F11"
594 Maximizes the active window without borders.
595 KeyWinRollup="Alt+F12"
597 Rolls up the active window.
598 KeyWinHide="Alt+Shift+F12"
600 Hides the active window.
601 KeyWinMenu="Alt+Space"
603 Posts the window menu.
604 KeyWinArrangeNW="Ctrl+Alt+KP_7"
606 Moves the active window to the top left corner of the screen.
607 KeyWinArrangeN="Ctrl+Alt+KP_8"
609 Moves the active window to the top middle of the screen.
610 KeyWinArrangeNE="Ctrl+Alt+KP_9"
612 Moves the active window to the top right of the screen.
613 KeyWinArrangeE="Ctrl+Alt+KP_6"
615 Moves the active window to the middle right of the screen.
616 KeyWinArrangeSE="Ctrl+Alt+KP_3"
618 Moves the active window to the bottom right of the screen.
619 KeyWinArrangeS="Ctrl+Alt+KP_2"
621 Moves the active window to the bottom middle of the screen.
622 KeyWinArrangeSW="Ctrl+Alt+KP_1"
624 Moves the active window to the bottom left of the screen.
625 KeyWinArrangeW="Ctrl+Alt+KP_4"
627 Moves the active window to the middle left of the screen.
628 KeyWinArrangeC="Ctrl+Alt+KP_5"
630 Moves the active window to the center of the screen.
631 KeyWinSmartPlace="Ctrl+Alt+Shift+KP_5"
633 Smart place the active window.
634 KeySysWinMenu="Shift+Esc"
636 Posts the system window menu.
637 KeySysWinNext="Alt+Esc"
639 Give focus to the next window and raise it.
640 KeySysWinPrev="Alt+Shift+Esc"
642 Give focus to the previous window and raise it.
643 KeySysDialog="Alt+Ctrl+Del"
645 Opens the IceWM system dialog in the center of the screen.
646 KeySysMenu="Ctrl+Esc"
648 Activates the IceWM root menu in the lower left corner.
649 KeySysWindowList="Alt+Ctrl+Esc"
651 Opens the IceWM system window list in the center of the screen.
652 KeySysAddressBar="Alt+Ctrl+Space"
654 Opens the address bar in the task bar where a command can be typed.
655 KeySysWorkspacePrev="Alt+Ctrl+Left"
657 Goes one workspace to the left.
658 KeySysWorkspaceNext="Alt+Ctrl+Right"
660 Goes one workspace to the right.
661 KeySysWorkspaceLast="Alt+Ctrl+Down"
663 Goes to the previous workspace.
664 KeySysWorkspacePrevTakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Left"
666 Takes the active window one workspace to the left.
667 KeySysWorkspaceNextTakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Right"
669 Takes the active window one workspace to the right.
670 KeySysWorkspaceLastTakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Down"
672 Takes the active window to the previous workspace.
673 KeySysWorkspace1="Alt+Ctrl+1"
675 Goes to workspace 1.
676 KeySysWorkspace2="Alt+Ctrl+2"
678 Goes to workspace 2.
679 KeySysWorkspace3="Alt+Ctrl+3"
681 Goes to workspace 3.
682 KeySysWorkspace4="Alt+Ctrl+4"
684 Goes to workspace 4.
685 KeySysWorkspace5="Alt+Ctrl+5"
687 Goes to workspace 5.
688 KeySysWorkspace6="Alt+Ctrl+6"
690 Goes to workspace 6.
691 KeySysWorkspace7="Alt+Ctrl+7"
693 Goes to workspace 7.
694 KeySysWorkspace8="Alt+Ctrl+8"
696 Goes to workspace 8.
697 KeySysWorkspace9="Alt+Ctrl+9"
699 Goes to workspace 9.
700 KeySysWorkspace10="Alt+Ctrl+0"
702 Goes to workspace 10.
703 KeySysWorkspace11="Alt+Ctrl+bracketleft"
705 Goes to workspace 11.
706 KeySysWorkspace12="Alt+Ctrl+bracketright"
708 Goes to workspace 12.
709 KeySysWorkspace1TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+1"
711 Takes the active window to workspace 1.
712 KeySysWorkspace2TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+2"
714 Takes the active window to workspace 2.
715 KeySysWorkspace3TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+3"
717 Takes the active window to workspace 3.
718 KeySysWorkspace4TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+4"
720 Takes the active window to workspace 4.
721 KeySysWorkspace5TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+5"
723 Takes the active window to workspace 5.
724 KeySysWorkspace6TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+6"
726 Takes the active window to workspace 6.
727 KeySysWorkspace7TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+7"
729 Takes the active window to workspace 7.
730 KeySysWorkspace8TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+8"
732 Takes the active window to workspace 8.
733 KeySysWorkspace9TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+9"
735 Takes the active window to workspace 9.
736 KeySysWorkspace10TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+0"
738 Takes the active window to workspace 10.
739 KeySysWorkspace11TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+bracketleft"
741 Takes the active window to workspace 11.
742 KeySysWorkspace12TakeWin="Alt+Ctrl+Shift+bracketright"
744 Takes the active window to workspace 12.
745 KeySysTileVertical="Alt+Shift+F2"
747 Tiles all windows from left to right maximized vertically.
748 KeySysTileHorizontal="Alt+Shift+F3"
750 Tiles all windows from top to bottom maximized horizontally.
751 KeySysCascade="Alt+Shift+F4"
753 Makes a horizontal cascade of all windows which are maximized
754 vertically.
755 KeySysArrange="Alt+Shift+F5"
757 Rearranges the windows.
758 KeySysUndoArrange="Alt+Shift+F7"
760 Undoes arrangement.
761 KeySysArrangeIcons="Alt+Shift+F8"
763 Rearranges icons.
764 KeySysMinimizeAll="Alt+Shift+F9"
766 Minimizes all windows.
767 KeySysHideAll="Alt+Shift+F11"
769 Hides all windows.
770 KeySysShowDesktop="Alt+Ctrl+d"
772 Unmaps all windows to show the desktop.
773 KeySysCollapseTaskBar="Alt+Ctrl+h"
775 Hides the task bar.
776 KeyTaskBarSwitchNext="undefined"
778 Switches to the next window in the task bar.
779 KeyTaskBarSwitchPrev="undefined"
781 Switches to the previous window in the task bar.
782 KeyTaskBarMoveNext="undefined"
784 Moves the task bar button of the current window right.
785 KeyTaskBarMovePrev="undefined"
787 Moves the task bar button of the current window left.
788 KeySysWinListMenu="undefined"
790 Shows the window list menu.
791 KeySysKeyboardNext="undefined"
793 Switch to the next keyboard layout in the KeyboardLayouts list.
794 KeySysSwitchNext="Alt+Tab"
796 Opens the "QuickSwitch" popup (see "INPUT FOCUS") and/or moves the
797 selector in the "QuickSwitch" popup.
798 KeySysSwitchLast="Alt+Shift+Tab"
800 Works like "KeySysSwitchNext" but moving in the opposite direction.
801 KeySysSwitchClass="Alt+grave"
803 Is like "KeySysSwitchNext" but only for windows with the same
804 WM_CLASS property as the currently focused window.
805 MOUSE BINDINGS
807 You can control windows by a modified mouse button press:
808 MouseWinMove="Alt+Pointer_Button1"
810 Moves the window under the mouse over the screen.
811 MouseWinSize="Alt+Pointer_Button3"
813 Resizes the window. Keep the key and button pressed. To enlarge
814 the window move the mouse button away from the center. To shrink
815 it move towards the centre.
816 MouseWinRaise="Ctrl+Alt+Pointer_Button1"
818 Raises the window under the mouse.
819 MouseWinLower="Ctrl+Alt+Pointer_Button1"
821 Lowers the window under the mouse. If this is equal to
822 "MouseWinRaise" and the window can be raised then "MouseWinRaise"
823 takes preference over "MouseWinLower".
824 The title frame of a window also listens for mouse clicks. Left double
826 clicking maximizes the window ("TitleBarMaximizeButton=1"). Press Shift
827 to only maximize vertically. Press Alt+Shift for horizontally. Middle
828 double clicking rolls up the window ("TitleBarRollupButton=2"). Also
829 press Shift to maximize horizontally. If TitleBarRollupButton is either
830 4 or 5 then the scroll wheel controls rolling up or down. Pressing a
831 mouse button and moving it will move the window. "Alt+Pointer_Button1"
832 lowers the window.
833 When the mouse is on the window frame then a left click raises the
835 window. Dragging with the left button down resizes the window.
836 Clicking the right button pops up the context menu. Dragging with the
837 right button moves the window.
838 Clicking on the desktop activates a menu. The middle button shows the
840 window list ("DesktopWinListButton=2"). The right button shows the
841 root menu ("DesktopMenuButton=3"). If you press "Ctrl+Alt" then the
842 mouse wheel will focus all applications in turn.
843 SIGNALS
845 icewm supports the following signals:
846 SIGHUP
848 icewm will restart itself. It is a way to reload the configuration.
849 SIGINT, SIGTERM
851 icewm will cease to manage application windows and terminate.
852 SIGQUIT
854 icewm will initiate the logout procedure. If a "LogoutCommand"
855 preferences option was configured it will be executed.
856 SIGUSR2
858 Toggle the logging of X11 events, if "logevents" was configured.
859 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
861 ICEWM_PRIVCFG
862 The directory for user private configuration files. When this
863 environment variable is not specified, the default directory is
864 $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm when that directory exists, otherwise the
865 default value is $HOME/.icewm.
866 DISPLAY
868 The name of the X11 server. See Xorg(1) or Xserver(1). This value
869 can be overridden by the --display option.
870 MAILPATH, MAIL
872 Gives the location of your mailbox. If the schema is omitted the
873 local "file" schema is assumed. This is used by the mailbox applet
874 in the task bar to show the status of your mailbox. If the
875 "MailBoxPath" option in the preferences file is set, then that one
876 takes precedence.
877 FILES
879 CONFIGURATION DIRECTORIES
880 icewm looks for configuration files in the following directories, in
881 the given order, until it finds one:
882 $ICEWM_PRIVCFG/
884 Contains user-specific configurations. When ICEWM_PRIVCFG is
885 specified, this directory takes precedence over
886 $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm and $HOME/.icewm.
887 $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm/
889 Contains user-specific configurations. When this directory exists
890 it take precedence over $HOME/.icewm.
891 $HOME/.icewm/
893 Contains user-specific configurations. This is the historical
894 default directory.
895 /etc/icewm/
897 Contains system-wide customized defaults. Please note that your
898 local installation may have been configured to use a different
899 system location. The output of "icewm --directories" will show
900 this location.
901 /usr/share/icewm/
903 Default local installation settings.
904 CONFIGURATION FILES
906 env icewm-session(1) loads additional environment variables from the
907 file env. Each line is subjected to POSIX shell expansion by
908 wordexp(3). Comment lines starting by a hash-sign ("#") are
909 ignored. icewm-session(1) will load those expanded lines which
910 contain a name, followed by an equals sign, followed by the value
911 (which may be empty).
912 See icewm-env(5).
914 focus_mode
916 Defines the initial value for "FocusMode". Its default value is
917 "FocusMode=1" (Click-to-focus). This can be changed via the menu.
918 icewm will save the Focus menu choice in this file.
919 See icewm-focus_mode(5).
921 keys
923 Global keybindings to launch applications, which need not be window
924 manager related. Each non-empty line starts with the word "key".
925 After one or more spaces follows a double-quoted string of the
926 bound X11 key combination like "Alt+Ctrl+Shift+X". Then after at
927 least one space follows a shell command-line which will be executed
928 by icewm whenever this key combination is pressed. For example,
929 the following line creates a hotkey to reload the icewm
930 configuration:
931 key "Ctrl+Shift+r" icesh restart
933 See icewm-keys(5).
935 menu
937 A menu of applications; usually customized by the user. icewm
938 provides the icewm-menu-fdo(1) program to generate a default menu.
939 Similar programs are xdg_menu(1), mmaker(1) (MenuMaker),
940 xde-menu(1), xdgmenumaker(1).
941 See icewm-menu(5).
943 preferences
945 Contains general settings like paths, colors and fonts, but also
946 options to control the icewm focus behaviour and the applets which
947 are started in the task bar. The icewm installation will provide a
948 default preferences file, which can be copied to the icewm user
949 configuration directory and modified.
950 See icewm-preferences(5).
952 prefoverride
954 Settings which override the settings from a theme. Some of the
955 icewm configuration options from the preferences file which control
956 the look-and-feel may be overridden by the theme, if the theme
957 designer thinks this is desirable. However, this prefoverride file
958 will again override this for a few specific options of your
959 choosing. It is safe to leave this file empty initially.
960 See icewm-prefoverride(5).
962 programs
964 An automatically generated menu of applications. This could be
965 used by wmconfig(1), menu or similar programs to give easy access
966 to all the desktop applications which are installed on the system.
967 See icewm-programs(5).
969 theme
971 This file contains the name of the default theme. On startup icewm
972 reads this file to obtain the theme name, unless icewm was started
973 with the --theme option. Whenever a different theme is selected
974 from the icewm Menu then the theme file is overwritten with the
975 name of the selected theme. This theme file contains the keyword
976 "Theme", followed by an equals sign, followed by a double-quoted
977 string with the theme name. The theme name is the name of the
978 theme directory, followed by a slash, followed by the theme file.
979 Usually the theme file is just default.theme, but a theme may have
980 alternatives. Alternatives are small tweaks of a theme. These are
981 specified in their own .theme file, which replaces default.theme.
982 If no theme file exists then icewm will use the default setting of
983 "Theme="default/default.theme"".
984 See icewm-theme(5).
986 toolbar
988 Contains names of quick to launch applications with icons for the
989 task bar. Each non-empty non-comment line starts with the keyword
990 prog. After one or more spaces follows a name, which is displayed
991 in a tool tip whenever the mouse cursor hovers over the toolbar
992 icon. This name may be a double quoted string. Then follows the
993 bare name of the icon to use without extensions. This icon will be
994 shown in the toolbar. The last component is a shell command-line
995 which will be executed whenever the user presses the icon in the
996 toolbar. For example, the following line in toolbar will create a
997 button with tool tip "Mozilla Firefox" with the firefox icon which
998 launches firefox(1) when clicked:
999 prog "Mozilla Firefox" firefox /usr/bin/firefox --private-window
1001 See icewm-toolbar(5).
1003 winoptions
1005 Contains settings to control window appearance and behaviour which
1006 are specific to applications or groups of applications. Options
1007 can control the border, whether it appears on the task bar, the
1008 window list, the system tray and the workspaces. Also its layer,
1009 geometry, whether it can be moved, resized and closed.
1010 See icewm-winoptions(5).
1012 startup
1014 Contains commands to be executed on icewm startup. This is an
1015 executable script with commands to tweak X11 settings and launch
1016 some applications which need to be active whenever icewm is
1017 started. It is run by icewm-session(1) when icewm starts.
1018 See icewm-startup(5).
1020 shutdown
1022 Contains commands to be executed on icewm shutdown. This is an
1023 executable script with commands to be executed in the last stage of
1024 icewm termination. Typically they may undo some of the effects of
1025 the startup script. It is run by icewm-session(1) when icewm
1026 terminates.
1027 See icewm-shutdown(5).
1029 CONFIGURATION SUBDIRECTORIES
1031 icons
1032 Contains icons which are used to identify applications. Usually
1033 these files are in the XPM format, but the PNG and SVG image
1034 formats are also supported. The names of icon files may follow a
1035 specific naming pattern, like app_32x32.xpm. They start with a
1036 base name, usually this is just a single word. Then follows an
1037 underscore, followed by a size specification in the format
1038 "SIZExSIZE". This is followed by a dot and the file extension,
1039 where the extension denotes the icon image format. Common sizes
1040 are 16, 32 and 48 for small, large and huge icons. This depends on
1041 the respective "IconSize" preferences options.
1042 ledclock
1044 Pictures of digits for the LED clock which is displayed in the
1045 bottom-right corner of the task bar. These can be seen when the
1046 "TaskBarShowClock" and "TaskBarClockLeds" options are both set to
1047 1.
1048 mailbox
1050 Icons which are used to display different states of the mailbox
1051 applet in the task bar. There are five states and each has its own
1052 icon: mail.xpm, newmail.xpm, unreadmail.xpm, nomail.xpm,
1053 errmail.xpm.
1054 sounds
1056 Audio files which are played by icesound(1) on GUI events. These
1057 are: startup.wav, shutdown.wav, restart.wav, launchApp.wav,
1058 workspaceChange.wav, windowOpen.wav, windowClose.wav,
1059 dialogOpen.wav, dialogClose.wav, windowMax.wav, windowRestore.wav,
1060 windowMin.wav, windowHide.wav, windowRollup.wav, windowMoved.wav,
1061 windowSized.wav, windowLower.wav.
1062 taskbar
1064 Pictures to customize the look of the task bar. These include:
1065 taskbarbg.xpm, taskbuttonactive.xpm, taskbuttonbg.xpm,
1066 taskbuttonminimized.xpm, toolbuttonbg.xpm,
1067 workspacebuttonactive.xpm, workspacebuttonbg.xpm.
1068 themes
1070 A directory to store themes. Each theme is stored in its own sub-
1071 directory in the themes directory. A theme contains at least a
1072 default.theme file, and optionally theme alternatives which are
1073 additional files which have a .theme file name extension and which
1074 contain tweaks of the default.theme file. How to create a theme is
1075 explained in the IceWM Theme Creation Howto.
1076 OPACITY
1078 IceWM supports window opacity and transparency in connection with an
1079 external compositor like compton(1) or picom(1). If a client window
1080 sets the "_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY" property on its window, then icewm
1081 will copy this to the outer frame window, where the compositor will
1082 read it and adjust the opacity accordingly.
1083 The opacity can also be set in the icewm-winoptions(5) file. icesh(1)
1085 can control the opacity level of running applications.
1086 The _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE properties which icewm sets on its windows are
1088 DIALOG, NOTIFICATION, POPUP_MENU and TOOLTIP. The output of "icesh
1089 windows" shows their WM_CLASS values. These can be helpful to configure
1090 compton.
1091 EXAMPLES
1093 Examples of the above configuration files can be found in the default
1094 installation path or in the system-wide defaults. See the output of
1095 "icewm --directories" for their locations.
1096 CONFORMING TO
1098 ICCCM 2.0: partial. NetWM/EWMH: extensive. See the file COMPLIANCE in
1099 the distribution for full details.
1100 SEE ALSO
1102 icehelp(1), icesh(1), icesound(1), icewm-env(5), icewm-focus_mode(5),
1103 icewm-keys(5), icewm-menu(5), icewm-menu-fdo(1), icewm-menu-xrandr(1),
1104 icewm-preferences(5), icewm-prefoverride(5), icewm-programs(5),
1105 icewm-session(1), icewm-set-gnomewm(1), icewm-shutdown(5),
1106 icewm-startup(5), icewm-theme(5), icewm-toolbar(5),
1107 icewm-winoptions(5), icewmbg(1), icewmhint(1), setxkbmap(1), Xorg(1),
1108 Xserver(1), xinit(1), xprop(1), xwininfo(1), wmctrl(1).
1109 BUGS
1111 Please report bugs at <https://github.com/bbidulock/icewm/issues>.
1112 AUTHOR
1114 Brian Bidulock <mailto:bidulock@openss7.org>.
1115 See --copying for full copyright notice and copying permissions.
1117 LICENSE
1119 IceWM is licensed under the GNU Library General Public License. See
1120 the COPYING file in the distribution or use the --copying flag to
1121 display copying permissions.
1122icewm 2.9.7 2022-05-16 ICEWM(1)