5 Known Problems and Workarounds
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1. Introduction
4Dwm is an X Window System client based on mwm. It provides
window management functionality and some session management
functionality. 4Dwm has functions that facilitate control
(by the user and the programmer) of elements of window
states, such as placement, size, icon/normal display, and
input-focus ownership. It also provides session management
functions, such as stopping a client.
Note: Packaged with your software is a separate sheet that
contains the Software License Agreement. This
software is provided to you solely under the terms
and conditions of the Software License Agreement.
Please take a few moments to review the Agreement.
This document contains the following chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Installation Information
3. Changes and Additions
4. Bug Fixes
5. Known Problems and Workarounds
1.1 Release_Identification_Information
Following is the release identification information for
4Dwm.
Software Product 4Dwm
Version 5.2
System Software Requirements IRIX-5.2
1.2 Online_Release_Notes
After you install the online release notes for a product
(the relnotes subsystem), you can view the release notes on
your screen.
Note: You can read the online release notes for most
products before installing the software. Refer to
the booklet in your CD-ROM case for more information.
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If you have a graphics system, select ``Release Notes'' from
the Tools submenu of the Toolchest. This displays the
grelnotes(1) graphical browser for the online release notes.
Refer to the grelnotes(1) man page for information on
options to this command.
If you do not have a graphics system, you can use the
relnotes command. Refer to the relnotes(1) man page for
accessing the online release notes.
1.3 Product_Support
Silicon Graphics, Inc., provides a comprehensive product
support maintenance program for its products.
If you are in the U.S. or Canada and would like support for
your Silicon Graphics-supported products, contact the
Technical Assistance Center at (800) 800-4SGI. If you are
outside these areas, contact the Silicon Graphics subsidiary
or authorized distributor in your country.
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2. Installation_Information
This chapter lists supplemental information to the IRIS
Software Installation Guide. The information listed here is
product- and release-specific; use it with the Installation
Guide to install this product.
2.1 4Dwm_Subsystems
The 4Dwm product includes these subsystems:
4Dwm.sw.4Dwm This is the 4Dwm software, the
IRIS Extended Motif Window
Manager. It is the default
window manager. Install this
subsystem on graphics systems.
It is not important to install
this subsystem on non-graphics
systems.
4Dwm.man.4Dwm Manual page for 4Dwm.
4Dwm.man.relnotes The online version of these
release notes.
2.2 Installation_Method
All of the 4Dwm subsystems can be installed using IRIX. You
do not need to use the miniroot. Refer to the IRIS Software
Installation Guide for complete installation instructions.
2.3 4Dwm_Subsystem_Disk_Space_Requirements
This section lists the subsystems (and their sizes) of the
4Dwm software.
If you are installing this software for the first time, the
subsystems marked ``default'' are the ones that are
installed if you use the ``go'' menu item. To install a
different set of subsystems, use the ``install,''
``remove,'' ``keep,'' and ``step'' commands in inst to
customize the list of subsystems to be installed, then
select the ``go'' menu item.
Note: The listed subsystem sizes are approximate. Refer to
the IRIS Software Installation Guide for information
on finding exact sizes.
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Subsystem Name Subsystem Size
(512-byte blocks)
4Dwm.sw.4Dwm (default) 1558
4Dwm.man.4Dwm (default) 69
4Dwm.man.relnotes (default) 20
2.4 Prerequisites
If you want to install 4Dwm.sw.4Dwm, you must also install
motif_eoe.sw.eoe and x_eoe.sw.eoe. If you want to install
4Dwm.man.4Dwm, be aware that the 4Dwm man page contains only
additions to the mwm man page; therefore you must also
install motif_eoe.man.eoe.
2.5 Configuration_Files
/usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc contains menus and button and key
bindings used by 4Dwm. /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/4DWm
contains 4Dwm resource settings.
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3. Changes_and_Additions
This chapter lists the changes to 4Dwm since the previous
release.
o 4Dwm is now based on the Motif 1.2.3 version of mwm.
This includes some support for internationalization.
See the Motif release notes for new features that were
integrated into 4Dwm from mwm.
o Desks functionality has been added to 4Dwm. Desks
allows the user to organize windows into related groups
called ``desks.'' The toolchest entry ``Desktop->Desks
Overview'' invokes the user interface controls needed
to use desks easily and effectively. See the 4Dwm man
page for more information on desks.
o Some additional session management functionality has
been added to 4Dwm. In its default configuration, 4Dwm
will attempt to save command lines for windows that are
on your display. Then, when you log in again, 4Dwm
will attempt to execute these commands. 4Dwm only
attempts to execute these commands if the -launch
option is specified on the 4Dwm command line. See the
toolchest Desktop->Customize->Windows control panel, as
well as the 4Dwm man page, for more information.
o Screen background management has been added to 4Dwm.
It switches the screen backgrounds automatically when
the user switches desks, and it communicates to the
file manager when icons are on the background, so the
file manager can maintain the background. Backgrounds
are on by default and can be turned off by setting the
SG_useBackgrounds resource to False.
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4. Bug_Fixes
The following bugs were fixed in the 4Dwm software. See the
Motif release notes for fixes that were integrated into 4Dwm
from mwm.
o The bug in Xt/Xlib that caused multiple 4Dwm and/or mwm
processes to be running was fixed in X11R5. It should
be safe to add the kill option to the showFeedback
resource.
o 4Dwm no longer core dumps when using the iconBox with
the icon decoration set to label.
o 4Dwm exhibits better behavior than it did on multi-
headed machines that use the desks and session
management functionality. Not all the problems have
been solved.
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5. Known_Problems_and_Workarounds
This chapter lists the known problems with this release of
4Dwm and, where known, ways to work around them.
o If 4Dwm receives a signal it cannot catch (for example,
killall 4Dwm) you might be unable to type in any
windows. This is because the windows are unable to get
focus. If this happens, you need to start a window
manager. There are several ways you might be able to
start one:
- Start one over the network.
- Cut and paste 4Dwm and a new line into a terminal
emulator.
Once a window manager is started, you can exit it
cleanly and start the window manager of your choice.
To exit 4Dwm cleanly:
- Use tellwm quit from a terminal emulator window.
or
- Send 4Dwm a signal it can catch (for example, kill
).
o When invoking f.exec commands, 4Dwm uses the MWMSHELL
environment variable if it is set, otherwise the value
of the SHELL environment variable if it is set,
otherwise /bin/sh. These must be valid command shells
for the f.exec to work. f.exec command failure might
not be obvious. The f.exec command is most efficient
when MWMSHELL is set to /bin/sh.
o Certain client programs have chosen not to use the
``Close'' function. Double-clicking on their window
menu buttons will not close their windows. These client
programs can be identified by the lack of ``Close'' in
their menu.
o Occasionally, when moving between two windows using
non-default colormaps, there is some brief colormap
flashing. The correct colormap is normally installed.
o There seems to be an increasing number of clients that
use X grabs. On occasion a 4Dwm menu will not be able
to get the X grabs it needs to function. The result is
a 4Dwm menu that stays posted and does not respond to
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the pointer. Pressing the Esc key will usually remedy
the situation.
o If more icons need to be displayed than can fit in the
icon tiling region, ``holes'' may appear in the tiling
region (places where you cannot place an icon, even
though you could before). The workaround is to reduce
the number of icons needed and restart 4Dwm.
o Sometimes the iconbox does not display a scroll bar to
allow access to all the available icons. To work
around this problem, resize the iconbox or use the Pack
Icons entry on the iconbox menu.
o 4Dwm may print an error message when icon image files
are not found or are not valid image files. This may
happen in an unusual way if the client's class starts
with a '/'. Client or class names should not begin
with a '/' for the 4Dwm icon search to work properly.
o Some applications have a problem detecting double-
clicks when 4Dwm has a button binding active in the
window context. By default, 4Dwm does not have such a
button binding (except for on Meta). This
may happen with the Desks Overview (ov), interfering
with switching desks.
o Windows may receive a stray Button Up event as a result
of the user double-clicking on the system button of the
window above it (when it succeeds in closing the
window).
o With pointer focus mode, some applications that use
modal dialogs may lose input focus. If this happens,
move the pointer out of the application window.
o Session management attempts to launch applications that
provide a WM_COMMAND property on their windows. There
are many reasons why the WM_COMMAND alone is not
sufficient information to successfully launch an
application.
o The session management and desks code work together to
try to determine which window should appear at what
location and size and in which desk. This
determination is based on the WM_CLASS and WM_COMMAND
properties of the window, so 4Dwm may not be able to
distinguish between different windows, especially if
these windows lack the WM_CLASS and WM_COMMAND
properties.
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o Desks remembers the state and geometry of your window
in your various desks. Session management tries to
launch the applications that correspond to the windows.
If session management can not launch an application,
desks may still remember the configuration of that
window. Launching the application by hand may cause
the windows to appear in the state that desks
remembered them.
o Deleting a desk does not cause the windows that appear
in that desk to go away (close or quit) or the
application to quit running. If the windows do not
appear in any remaining desk, access the windows from
the Desks Overview (ov) Window->List All... menu
selection or the Windows Overview (iconbox) if it is
present.
o Sometimes the $HOME/.desktop-/4Dwm* files are
corrupted on shutdown/reboot or if the power is turned
off. If 4Dwm is running with continuous session
management, it is recommended that you quit 4Dwm before
the shutdown/reboot. This can be done by issuing the
command tellwm quit from a terminal emulator window.
o The $HOME/.desktop-/4Dwm* files are meant to
be written only by 4Dwm. Hand editing these files will
result in undefined behavior.
o If you choose to run multiple instances of 4Dwm, be
aware that they will overwrite each other's
$HOME/.desktop-/4Dwm* files. The resulting
desks and session management behavior is undefined.
With careful attention to turning off session
management (SG_manageSession: false) or to setting
session management to the explicit (SG_autoSave: false)
mode, it is possible to use the window management
functions of 4Dwm.
o This version of 4Dwm has some problems with multi-
headed systems. One is the situation given above:
multiple instances of 4Dwm overwriting each other's
files if you choose to run separate instances of 4Dwm
on each head. Another problem occurs when fm is
running: the dynamic root menu may be incorrect
(usually on the head on which fm is not running).
Another problem is that schemes-related resources do
not work correctly on any but the first head.
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o 4Dwm has not kept up with the increasing number of
visuals available on some systems. It may not work
properly with some visuals, especially on multi-headed
systems.
o Occasionally there seems to be an interaction between
the Desks Overview (ov) window and 4Dwm that appears as
a constant resizing of the ov window. Manually
resizing or closing the ov window should stop this
behavior.
o Since 4Dwm session mangement tries to launch
applications, if you have your own $HOME/.sgisession or
$HOME/.xsession file that launches the same
applications as 4Dwm launches, you may start multiple
copies of the same application. If SG_manageSession is
set to True, you should remove the launching of
applications that 4Dwm can launch from these files.
o 4Dwm session management and desks do not always work
well with multi-windowed applications. There is
currently no mechanism in place to relate windows of an
application. Oftentimes not all windows of an
application appear as they were when a session was
saved. Dialogs or other windows that an application
launches may appear in a different desk than the other
windows of the application.
o Desks may size windows that do not have the resize
function the size that desks last saved. If the
application has changed such that the application
window now needs to be a new size, quit the application
and run it again. It is recommended that applications
that have non-resizable windows set the minimum and
maximum sizes in the WM_NORMAL_HINTS to the same
values.
o Desks does not understand about maximized windows.
Since windows are quite often resized when switching
desks, the maximized windows usually turn into large
normalized windows upon return to the desk where they
were previously maximized.
o If an attempt is made to change the background through
a tool other than the background control panel or
xsetroot, a warning will be given. If file manager
icons on the background are enabled, the warning will
always be given. If they are disabled, the warning
will be given only the first time this occurs.
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o Backgrounds are cached for all desks. If a user has
many desks, each using many colors, the colors can fill
up the colormap. Similarly, if many desks each have
large background pixmaps, much server memory may be
used.