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Customizing window manager menus

About window manager menus

By default, the window manager provides two menus: the Window menu and the Root menu. The Window menu appears when you click on the window menu button, which is on the top left of a window frame. The Root menu appears when you press and hold mouse button 1 anywhere on the Desktop background or, if the Desktop is not running, in the Root window.

The functionality of these menus is defined in the menu section of the window manager configuration file (the /usr/lib/X11/system.pmwmrc or /usr/lib/X11/system.mwmrc system-wide files or the $HOME/.pmwmrc or $HOME/.mwmrc local files).

Depending on the window manager configuration file you use, you can modify the default menus or create new window manager menus that affect all users on your system or individual users only.

A window manager menu definition uses the following format:

   Menu menu_name
   {
       label   [mnemonic]   [accelerator]   function
       label   [mnemonic]   [accelerator]   function
       .
       .
       label   [mnemonic]   [accelerator]   function
   }

The action of a window manager menu is defined through window manager functions. These functions define behavior, such as moving or iconifying a window, or displaying a submenu. Window manager functions are contextual; if an action is inappropriate for a circumstance, the menu item is dimmed.

Because window manager menus are not accessed from a menu bar, you also need to define the mouse button or key events that display the menus, and the context in which the menus are available. For example, by default, the Root menu is only available when you click and hold mouse button 1 in the Root window. If you click and hold mouse button 1 over an iconified window, the Root menu is not displayed.

See also:


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SCO OpenServer Release 6.0.0 -- 26 May 2005