[openbox] Helper Windows

Jehan jehan at zemarmot.net
Thu Oct 25 19:35:05 EDT 2007


Hello,

thank you this works... mostly. Now I have a last question (at least for
today). What does this sentence mean?

"Toolbars and menus are also not given focus when you click in them, so
that you can keep on working in the main window without having to click
back to it."

What I understood, in Gimp for instance, is that if I work in the main
windows (the image in Gimp); then I want to click some option in the
tool box, I should though still be focused in the main window.

Yet after the modification in the preference you hinted me, all the
other feature worked, but not this one. Here is an example of step by
step procedure to reproduce:

1/ I am focused on the image.

2/ I click on a button in a toolbox, for instance, I choose a previous
step in the annulation history.

3/ Now I am supposed to be kept focused in the image. But this is not
the case (a test for instance is to run a shortcut of menu, let's say
"alt-f", it will open the File menu of the toolbox, not the image).

So is it a bug, or something I don't understand?
Bye.

Jehan



Dana Jansens wrote:
> On 10/25/07, Jehan <jehan at zemarmot.net> wrote:
>> Hello,
> 
> Hi
> 
>> I am new to OpenBox and really first, let me thanks the dev because you
>> have done some pretty great job. So far, OpenBox is the first Window
>> Manager which has so many of the features I have so often wanted without
>> finding them. Before, I have known a few typical Desktop (Windows-like
>> or close, KDE, Gnome), fastly gone to the OpenStep WMs (WindowMaker,
>> then Fluxbox, and Blackbox, both very good one). And lastly I have been
>> on Ion3 for several monthes (very good ideas in some place which made me
>> continue to use it but many other enerving features, and difficult to
>> customize).
>>
>> Now I discover OpenBox and I really wonder why this is not better known.
>> So... thanks.
> 
> I'm happy you like it :)
> 
>> Now comes my question, for which I subscribe to the list. :-)
>>
>> In the page for new features of v3.4, I saw the part about the Helper
>> Windows. I will copy it here so that everyone can have a look without
>> the time lost to search for it:
> 
> [snip]
> 
>> And so... I said "Waw!!!". That's so good. But... I could find no other
>> reference to this in the documentations, nor in comments in the default
>> conf files. As for search engines, there are pretty scarce with these
>> keywords ("helper windows" + openbox).
>>
>> So the question is: how does this work? Do we have to activate
>> something? Because if this is supposed to work by default, I don't
>> understand. For instance Gimp is given as an example in the wiki. And
>> this is true that Gimp is exactly the example of a program which can
>> become sometimes a pain in the ass: losing focus all the time, so many
>> windows (so annoying to cycle through them when you would like to be
>> able to focus them with one simple shortcut). But I made tests in Gimp
>> and none of the announced features (I am in 3.4.2) work. So what to do
>> please? Any hint is welcome.
>> Thanks.
> 
> Gimp, by default, does not provide the hints for Openbox to know which
> windows are helper windows.  I know not why.  You need to go to
> File->Preferences->Window Management and set the toolbox and docks to
> be "Utility windows".  Then it'll all work as described.  Many
> programs don't use these hints at all, sigh, but when they do then
> Openbox can help make life better. :)
> 
> Cheers,
> Dana
> 
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