afterstep(1.8)

NAME
afterstep - X11 window manager

SYNOPSIS
afterstep [-d displayname] [--debug] [-f steprc_file] [-s] [-v | --version] [-c | --config]

DESCRIPTION
afterstep is an X11 window manager with a NEXTSTEP look and feel but which attempts to go beyond this to provide new features and flexiblilty.

OPTIONS

-d [host]:display[.screen]
    Manage the display [host]:display[.screen] instead of the name obtained from the environment variable $DISPLAY. $DISPLAY may be unix:0.0, :0.0 or :0, which doesn't work too well when passed through rsh to another machine, so $HOSTDISPLAY will also be set, and will use a network-ready description of the display. Unfortunately, $HOSTDISPLAY will use the TCP/IP transport protocol, even for a local connection, so $DISPLAY should be used for local connections, as it may use unix-domain sockets, which are faster.

--debug
    Puts X transactions in synchronous mode, which dramatically slows things down, but guarantees that afterstep's internal error messages are correct.

-f streprc_file
    Causes afterstep to use the old streprc_file format instead of the default /usr/local/share/afterstep or user specific ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep directory, where the window manager configuration files are located. afterstep will set both the $DISPLAY and $HOSTDISPLAY environment variables which will be inherited by all of its children; refer to the -d host:display.screen to override these.

-s  This will run afterstep on only the specified screen of a multi-screen display. Normally, afterstep will attempt to manage all screens of a multi-screen display and treat each screen independantly. The "specified screen" is the one provided by the $DISPLAY environment variable, or provided through the -d displayname option. Restarts as well as Quits of afterstep need to be performed separately on each screen. The use of EdgeScroll 0 0 is strongly recommended for multi-screen displays.

-v | --version
    Prints out the version number of afterstep.

-c | --config
    Prints out the directory configuration specified to afterstep at compile time.

INITIALIZATION
During initialization, afterstep will search for the configuration files which define the look, feel, and functionality. The system default configuration files are located under /usr/local/share/afterstep; but if copied (and edited to suit a user's needs) to ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep, these will override the global share files. If the basic "working" configuration files are not found in either /usr/local/share/afterstep/non-configurable or ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/non-configurable, afterstep will exit. If these "working" configuration files have been corrupted or are from a previous incompatible version, afterstep will exit. Also realize that a system administrator or software packager might have these installed in alternate locations, finding them should not be hard.

INVOCATION
afterstep is typically invoked from users' ~/.xinitrc as "exec afterstep", located as the last line in this file. xdm or asdm et al use the ~/.xsession file.

ANATOMY OF THE DESKTOP
The default AfterStep starts with the module WinList(1) running as a dark grey bar originating from the upper left corner of the screen. This is to function in a manner similar to the Windows(R) StartBar, where windows appear when opened and can be Maximized from. The Pager(1) is also started in the upper right hand corner. This module controls which desktop and or view is visable as well as handles the graphics picked for the root background. Along the lower right hand of the screen and moving upwards is the module Wharf(1); this acts as a button bar in or from which applications can be started. A default startmenu was also provided which was created from the default start/ directory structure. Clicking with the left mouse button on the root background will bring this menu up, from which applications can be launched. afterstep itself creates the decorations for windows. The top decoration is called the TitleBar; it contains various window action controlling buttons along with the window's title. The lower decoration is called the Handles (or low bar or BottomBar); it contains the window resizing handles.

MODULES
A Module is a separate program, which runs as a separate unix process, but transmits commands for afterstep to execute. These Modules get many kinds of window information from afterstep, but typically use their own configuration files. Users can write their own modules to do any weird or bizarre manipulations, without affecting the integrity of afterstep itself. Modules are documented in their own man pages.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

$SCREEN_GAMMA
    Value of this env variable is used to gamma-correct PNG and JPEG images, when loading them from files. Default value of 1.0 is used if this variable is not defined - which means no correction at all. Try using 2.2 for some older monitors to get brighter images.

CONFIGURATION DIRECTORIES
There are several files within numerous directories which control and or provide configurations for afterstep. The backgrounds/ directory is where afterstep looks for root background images for insertion into the menu, so that picking one of these images causes Pager(1) to load the image into the root background. The Pager(1) must be running to utilize the menu Pictures entry. Valid images are currently XPM, JPEG, and PNG; provided the associated development libraries were located during compile and libraries are available during runtime. The desktop/ directory contains the buttons/, icons/, and sounds/ directories. The desktop/buttons/ directory is the location afterstep looks for the bitmaps or pixmaps to be used for the TitleButtons. These are the "icons" which control options for a window, e.g. shaded, iconified, and quit to name a few. Pixmaps for the buttons are defined in the look.name file and the actions taken are described in the feel.name file. The desktop/icons/ directory contains the icons which afterstep and its modules use. It is divided into three subdirectories, 8bpp/, 16bpp/, and common/. With the default configuration, 8bpp/ is used only when in 8bpp, 16bpp/ is used only when in 15bpp or better, and common/ is always used. The desktop/sounds/ directory contains the sounds used by afterstep and its modules. See the Audio(1) man page for more details on sound in AfterStep. The feels/ directory contains configuration files used to customize the feel of AfterStep. Any feel files created should be placed within this directory, and upon the next rebuild of the startmenu, they will appear under DeskTop->Feels in the menu. See the feel.name section below for more details. The looks/ directory contains configuration files used to customize the look of AfterStep. Any look files created should be placed within this directory, and upon the next rebuild of the startmenu, they will appear under DeskTop->Looks in the menu. See the look.name section below for more details. The non-configurable/ directory contains "working" copies of your configuration files; these are the Pager(1)'s image files, the current feel.name, look.name and startmenu files. Editing these files is a futile attempt unless you know that these files get overwritten; ergo the name "non-configurable". When running afterstep in multiscreen environment (but with NO xinerama!) it is possible to choose separate looks, feels and backgrounds for each screen. Just select needed item from the menu, while staying on the specific screen, and if screen is not 0 (first screen), then screen number will be appended to the "working" file name, and it will be used subsequently by afterstep in favor of the default file from screen 0(first screen). The start/ directory contains the start menu directory tree, which is used to build the popup desktop menu (startmenu). See the startmenu section below for more details. Also refer to the FILES section near the end of this man page.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - autoexec
This is the file that initializes various Modules or programs when afterstep is either started or restared. Each set is handled within Function stanzas. During the invocation of afterstep:
	Function "InitFunction"

or during a restart called via the menu or other button:
	Function "RestartFunction"
Refer to the BUILT-IN COMMANDS/FUNCTIONS and EXAMPLES sections below. When running afterstep in multiscreen environment (but with NO xinerama!) it is possible have separate Init/Restart functions for each screen. For example if you want to run different Init function on screen 1 (second screen), you should name it like so :
	Function "InitScreen1Function"

respectfully separate restart function should be named :
	Function "RestartScreen1Function"

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - base.#bpp
There should exist one base.#bpp configuration file for each colordepth. The # can be any of 8, 15, 16, 24, and 32; which are the colordepths available by most Xservers.

ModulePath path[:path]
    Specifies the paths to locate the Modules in.

IconPath path[:path]
    Specifies the paths to locate the bitmaps in, typically used only if XPM, JPEG, or PNG images aren't available. Valid bitmaps are standard X11 XBM's.

PixmapPath path[:path]
    Specifies the paths to locate the pixmaps in. Valid pixmaps are currently XPM, JPEG, and PNG.

*ScriptPath path[:path]
    Specifies the paths to locate the scripts for use with the Script Module. Refer to the Pager(1) man page for the other settings.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - compatibility
This file is only used with the -f steprc_file option. It defines a few needed configuration options which were not in the old .steprc files.

PixmapPath path[:path]
    Specifies the paths to locate the pixmaps in. Valid pixmaps are currently XPM, JPEG, and PNG.

TitleButton button unclicked_image clicked_image
    button defines the button location number from 1 to 10 in the following layout: [1] [3] [5] [7] [9] (title) [10] [8] [6] [4] [2]. unclicked_image is the bitmap or pixmap to be used during the static state of the associated buton location. clicked_image is the bitmap or pixmap to be used during a clicked state of the associated button location.

DrawMenuBorders 0|1|2
    Specifies the look of the (start)menu. Using 0 will draw the menu with no border on either the menu label or menu item portions. Using 1 will draw a border around each menu label and around the menu item. Using 2 will drawn a border around the menu label and the entire menu item list. The border colors are calculated from the BackColor under MyStyle menu_item of the look.name. The "hilight" (top & left) color is one half lighter than the BackColor color and the "shadow" (bottom & right) is one half darker than the BackColor color. If the BackColor color is black, the color grey is used.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - database
This file contains window properties for application windows which controls their "behavior" within afterstep.

Style "WM_NAME" option[s]
    The "WM_NAME" can the window's name, class or resource string. It can also contain wildcards such as "*" or "?", which are matched in the usual UNIX filename manner. Using the standard X11 xprop(1) command at a command prompt or the Window Properties menu item entry under Desktop menu entry will return this (and other) property.
    The option[s] is a comma separated list containing all or some of the following keywords. If conflicting style options are specified, the last one will be used:

    FocusStyle [style]
        Specifies a MyStyle to be used for this window when it has the keyboard focus. If style is unspecified, the default focus style will be used instead (see FWindowStyle, below).

    StickyStyle style
        Specifies a MyStyle to be used for this window when it does not have the keyboard focus, and is sticky. If style is unspecified, the default sticky style will be used instead (see SWindowStyle, below).

    UnfocusStyle style
        Specifies a MyStyle to be used for this window when it does not have the keyboard focus, and is not sticky. If style is unspecified, the default unfocus style will be used instead (see UWindowStyle, below).

    AvoidCover | AllowCover
        Specifies that other windows should not be allowed to cover the app window. Prevents other windows from moving in front of (or behind) the app window. If SmartPlacement is specified in the feel file, windows will not be allowed to automatically place themselves over the app window, if possible. AllowCover turns off AvoidCover. The default is AllowCover.

    BorderWidth width
        Specifying this in conjunction with NoHandles, sets the border width of a window to be width. A width of 0 causes no border.
         This option has no affect if not used with NoHandles. The default is 1 implicitly for all windows.

    NoFocus | Focus
        This will set the window to refuse any input focus. The default is Focus implicitly for all windows.

    Icon [/path/]name.[xpm|jpg|png] | NoIcon
        Specifies the [/path/]name.[xpm|jpg|png] to use when iconified, overriding any icon the app itself might provide. NoIcon turns this off for the specified app and the icon will simply disappear when the app is iconified. Refer to the EXAMPLES below for a method to make all icons disappear. The default is to use the app's supplied icon or the icon specified with the WM_NAME of "Unknown" or "*".

    NoTitle | Title
        Specifies that afterstep should not put a title bar decoration on the app. The default is Title implicitly for all windows.

    NoHandles | Handles
        Specifies that the app window will not display the "low bar" decoration. This also removes the ability to resize windows with the resize handles on the "low bar" ends. The default is Handles implicitly for all windows.

    WindowListSkip | WindowListHit
        Specifies that the app name will be omitted from both the internal Window List (default click of mouse buttons 2 & 3 on the root window), and the WinList(1) module bar. The default is WindowListHit implicitly for all windows.

    CirculateSkip | CirculateHit
        Causes windows to be skipped over when the ChangeWindowUp, ChangeWindowDown or Warp (also called alt-tabbing) functions are invoked. The default is CirculateHit implicitly for all windows.

    StaysOnTop | StaysPut | StaysOnBack
        StaysOnTop causes the window to always try to stay above all other open windows. If the window was explicitly lowered, it will loose this charateristic until explicitly told to stay on top again by calling the Buit-in Function PutOnTop. StaysOnBack causes a window to always try to remain behind all open windows. The default is StaysPut implicitly for all windows, which doesn't specify any specific stacking order of open windows. NOTE: deprecated, use Layer instead.

    Layer layer
        Specifies what layer this window should be in. layer may be any integer (positive, negative, or zero). Windows are grouped according to their layer, and may not be moved out of their layer. Windows in higher layers will be above windows in lower layers. By default, windows are placed in layer 0. StaysOnBack corresponds to Layer -1, and StaysOnTop corresponds to Layer 1.

    Sticky | Slippery
        Causes the app window to stick to it's location for each desktop that becomes current, allowing the window to "follow" while changings desks/ views. The default is Slippery implicitly for all windows.

    StartIconic | StartNormal
        Causes the app to start and immediately iconify itself to the IconBox. The default is StartNormal implicitly for all windows.

    StartsOnDesk number | StartsAnyWhere
        Causes the app window to start on the specified desk number. If SmartPlacement is used in the feel.name file, the window will appear on the specified desk number, but will require interaction to place it; unless it was called with geometry settings. Specific Viewports are also allowed, refer to them below. The default is StartsAnyWhere implicitly for all windows.

    VerticalTitle | HorizontalTitle
        Causes the window titlebar to be placed vertically along the left side of the window, instead of horizontally across the top.

    ViewportX number
        Specifies the coordinate along the x-axis that afterstep should place a window. This allows opening a window on a particular desk and view. number is measured in pixels and the screen resolution is the outline of a desk's particular boundaries; where it will then place it upon another desk or view. Combined with ViewportY, a window can be given geometry by afterstep and be placed in the desired desktop and view.

    ViewportY number
        Specifies the coordinate along the y-axis that afterstep should place a window. This allows opening a window on a particular desk and view. number is measured in pixels and the screen resolution is the outline of a desk's particular boundaries; where it will then place it upon another desk or view. Combined with ViewportX, a window can be given geometry by afterstep and be placed in the desired desktop and view.

    NoButton number | Button number
        Specifing a number to each use of NoButton will cause that buttons number to not be displayed in the title bar. See TitleButtons above for the number and their location on the title bar. The default is to display all buttons defined in the look.name file if the following conditions are met: there is a valid bitmap or pixmap specified for the button in the look.name file; and the button has not been forced not to display by the use of Motif WM hints specified (set on) in the feel.name file. The default is Button number implicitly for all windows.

    SuppressIcons
        Specifies that no icon should be shown for any window being iconified, similar to NoIcon.

    DefaultGeometry WIDTHxHEIGHT+X+Y
        Specifies initial placement for the given window, to be used in absense of USPosition geometry (command line specified one). Default behaviour is to either do Random or Smart placement or let user drag window around. Any of the geometry values can be ommited, and either of position values could be negative, in which case it will be added to screen size, effectively allowing placement relative to right/bottom edge. Just like standard X geometry.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - feel.name

AutoReverse 0|1|2
    Specifies the window Warping (also called alt-tabbing) style. 0 (the default) causes switching among windows in one direction. 1 causes a closed loop switching - #1->#2->#3->#4 then #4->#3->#2->#1. 2 causes an open loop switching - #1->#2->#3->#4 then #4->#1->#2->#3 etc.

AutoTabThroughDesks
    In conjunction with AutoReverse, this will Warp (alt-tab) through windows on all desks.

AutoRaise delay
    Specifies the delay in milliseconds of focus a window must attain before being raised.

MWMFunctionHints
    Adds support for Motif window manager function hints.

MWMDecorHints
    Adds support for Motif window manager decoration hints.

MWMHintOverride
    Allows Motif window manager function hints to be overridden by afterstep window styles.

Xzap number
    Specifies the horizontal offset of the cursor when warping. This offset is relative to the upper-left corner of the window being warped to.

Yzap number
    Specifies the vertical offset of the cursor when warping. This offset is relative to the upper-left corner of the window being warped to.

KeepIconWindows
    Specifies that applications should be allowed to specify their own icon windows.

Titlebarnopush
    Specifying this will disable the illusion that the title bars are being pressed when clicked upon. Without this option, clicking the title bar will cause it to invert its colors, making it appear to be a 3D button being pressed in.

ClickToFocus
    Specifies that the keyboard input (aka focus) stays with one window until a new window's TitleBar is clicked on, or gains focus through Warping or de-iconification.

ClickToRaise buttons
    Specifies that windows should be raised when a button is clicked in the titlebar, handle (low bar), or application area. buttons specifies the list of buttons which triggers this function. In AutoRaise mode this will simply raise the window if the click is before the delay specified in AutoRaise. In ClickToFocus mode, this will raise the window and give it focus.

SloppyFocus
    Specifies that windows retain focus until the mouse moves to another window, or Warping causes another window to gain focus. SloppyFocus has no effect if ClickToFocus is also specified.

StubbornIcons
    Specifies that icons should uniconify to their original desk. By default, icons uniconify to the current desk.

StubbornPlacement
    Specifies that new windows should avoid being placed over icons.

StubbornIconPlacement
    Specifies that icons should avoid being hidden behind windows placed over the IconBox by moving themselves around (dancing icons).

IconTitle
    Specifies that a title should be displayed under an iconified app. The colors used are the ForeColor and BackColor of the ButtonTitleFocus in the look.name file. Note: less space is left for the app's icon, so it will be resized acordingly. Only a portion of the icon title will be displayed until the icon gains focus, and then the title "box" will expand to reveal the window's entire name.

StickyIcons
    Specifies that icons should stick to the screen's glass and follow it from desk/view to desk/view.

CirculateSkipIcons
    Specifies that all icons should be skipped when Warping (alt-tabbing) between windows.

CenterOnCirculate
    Specifies that when Warping (alt-tabbing), the desktop page containing the window to which the pointer is moving will be automatically selected and afterstep will attempt to center the target window in the desktop viewport, rather than just flipping to the desktop the window resides in.

ClickTime delay
    Specifies that afterstep should consider two mouse clicks made within delay milliseconds to be a double mouse click, and not two single mouse clicks. The default delay is 150 milliseconds.

OpaqueMove %
    Specifies the maximum size window where opaque window movement should be used. % is percent of the total screen area. Set to 0, all windows will be moved using the traditional rubber-band outline. Set to 100, all windows will be move as solid windows. The default is 5 which allows small windows to be moved in an opaque manner, but large windows to be moved as rubber-bands. Using this option with large values can slow down video response on slower systems.

OpaqueResize %
    Specifies the maximum size window where opaque resizing should be used. % is percent of the total screen area. Set to 0, all windows will be resized using the traditional rubber-band outline. Set to 100, all windows will be resized as solid windows. The default is 5 which allows small windows to be resized in an opaque manner, but large windows to be resized as rubber-bands. Using this option with large values can slow down video response on slower systems.

EdgeScroll horizontal vertical
    Specifies the percentage of a page to scroll when the cursor hits the edge of a page. Setting EdgeScroll to 0 0 will disable scrolling. Setting this option to 100 100 will scroll whole pages. Set to 1000 1000, scrolling will wrap around at the edge of the desktop. Both horizontal and vertical should be positive numbers.

EdgeResistance delay pixels
    Specifies how hard it should be to change views within a desktop by moving the mouse over the edge of the screen, and how hard it should be to move a window over the edge of a screen. The delay in milliseconds, defines how long the pointer must spend at the screen edge before that view becomes current. This is useful in conjunction with EdgeScroll 100 100, so the views don't get switched accidently. The pixels defines how far over the edge a window must "appear" to move before it actually moves partially off the screen. Note that with EdgeScroll 0 0, it is still possible to move or resize windows across the edge of the current screen. By setting the pixels parameter of EdgeResistance to 10000, this type of motion is impossible. However, with EdgeResistances less than 10000, but greater than 0, moving over pages becomes difficult but not impossible.

SmartPlacement
    Specifies that windows be placed in areas that no other windows occupy, otherwise user intervention becomes required for placement. Have fun, try specifying both. :-)

RandomPlacement
    Specifies that windows which would normally require user intervention for placement be automagically placed in ever-so-slightly random locations.

NoPPosition
    Species that afterstep should ignore the PPosition field when placing new windows, in other words, windows can't choose where to place themselves. Adherence to the PPosition field is required for some applications.

DecorateTransients
    Specifies that transient windows (pop-up dialog boxes), which are normally not decorated, should be given the usual title and low bars. Note: some pop-up windows and menus are not managed by the window manager, so do not get these decorations.

AppsBackingStore
    Specifies that app windows should request backing store. X-terminals and low memory systems should avoid this as redrawing will be quicker than pulling the saved image from swap space. Backing store will always be faster than redraw on machines that have enough memory. This causes non-ICCCM compliance.

BackingStore
    Specifies that decorations should request backing store. Refer to AppsBackingStore above for further details.

SaveUnders
    Specifies that afterstep frames should request saveunders. This will cause afterstep to save those portions of windows that are not visible to system memory. This can significantly improve the performance during opaque moves, but it causes a significant increase in memory usage. This can also cause garbled display with some applications.

DontMoveOff
    Specifies that windows should not be moved off or initially placed off of the desktop. A few programs will not work correctly if you use this option. This only keeps windows from being completely lost off the edge of the desktop. It insists on keeping 16 pixels on the desktop, but does not attempt to keep the entire window on the desk.

XorValue value
    Specifies the value with which bits are XOR'ed when doing rubber-band window moving or resizing. Setting this value is a trial-and-error process.

MenusHigh
    Specifies that any pop-up menu's submenu should appear at the top of the parent menu instead of starting at the point in the parent window where the submenu item lies.

FollowTitleChanges
    Makes afterstep to change application's icon when it changes its title, if some other icon was specified in database for this new name.

PagingDefault 0|1
    Specifies if Paging should be enabled (1) or disabled (0). Paging is set to enabled by default.

Cursor cursor_number cursor_type
    Specifies the cursor_type for the given cursor_number. Valid cursor_numbers are 0 though 10 and listed in all the shipped feel.name files. The cursor_types are listed in the
     /usr/include/X11/cursorfont.h file.

Functions
    Specifies a function definition and is covered in the BUILT-IN COMMAND/FUNCTION below.

Popup
    Specifies a menu popup definition and is covered in the BUILT-IN COMMAND/FUNCTION below.

Mouse button context modifier Command
    Specifies a mouse binding definition. button is the mouse button number [0, 1, 2, or 3]. If button is zero, then any mouse button invoked issues the Command. context describes where the mouse click occurred and can be any combination of the following:
       R = Root window (main background)
       F = Window Frame (the BottomBar handle corners)
       S = Window TitleBar or BottomBar
       I = Iconified Button (minimized window icon)
       T = Window TitleBar
       W = Application Window
       A = Any of the above except for TitleButtons
    1-10 = TitleButton number of the TitleBar, corresponds to the
           entry in the look.name file
    The action to be taken by the defined TitleButton is defined in the feel.name file. Defining a TitleButton without having a corresponding entry in the feel.name file will cause the TitleButton icon to be displayed, but not react when pressed. modifier is the key-stroke combination associated with the context entry, to issue the Command. Valid modifier's are:
       N = No modifiers
       C = Control
       S = Shift
       M = Meta
       A = Any modifier
    Command can be any afterstep Built-in command/ function, Popup or user defined Function.

Key keyname context modifier Command
    Specifies a key-stroke binding definition, similar to Mouse above. keyname is the keyboard key name. Valid keyname's are found in the /usr/X11R6/include/X11/keysymdef.h file and are specified here without the leading "XK_". The context describes where the mouse is resting when the keyname is pressed and can be any combinationof the following:
       R = Root window (main background)
       F = Window Frame (the BottomBar handle corners)
       S = Window TitleBar or BottomBar
       I = Iconified Button (minimized window icon)
       T = Window TitleBar
       W = Application Window
       A = Any of the above except for TitleButtons
    1-10 = TitleButton number of the TitleBar [ not very useful here ]
    modifier is the key-stroke combination associated with the context entry, to issue the Command. Valid modifier's are:
       N = No modifiers
       C = Control
       S = Shift
       M = Meta
       A = Any modifier
    Command can be any afterstep Built-in command/ function, Popup or user defined Function.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - look.name

ButtonTextureType type
    Deprecated. Use MyStyle "ButtonPixmap" instead.

ButtonMaxColors maximum
    Deprecated. Use MyStyle "ButtonPixmap" instead.

ButtonBgColor color
    Deprecated. Use MyStyle "ButtonPixmap" instead.

ButtonTextureColor from to
    Deprecated. Use MyStyle "ButtonPixmap" instead.

ButtonPixmap pixmap_name
    Deprecated. Use MyStyle "ButtonPixmap" instead.

DecorateFrames [0|1]
    Specifies that windows should not have a lowbar, and should have a frame. The frame width and height are defined by the width and height of the associated pixmaps (see FrameNorth, FrameSouth, etc).

FrameNorth pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the top border of the window frame, DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameSouth pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the bottom border of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameEast pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the right border of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameWest pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the left border of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameNE pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the top right corner of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameSE pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the bottom right corner of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameNW pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the top left corner of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

FrameSW pixmap_name
    Specifies the pixmap to be displayed in the bottom left corner of the window frame, if DecorateFrames is set. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

MArrowPixmap pixmap_name
    Specifies a pixmap to use as the submenu indicator in popup menus. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

MenuPinOn pixmap_name
    Specifies a pixmap to use as the pinned menu indicator in popup menus. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

MenuPinOff pixmap_name
    Specifies a pixmap to use as the unpinned menu indicator in popup menus. See BackPixmap below for details on what pixmap_names are allowed.

TexturedHandle
    Specifies that the resize handles on the bottom of windows should be textured. The titlebar texture will be used.

TextGradientColor from to
    Specifies a gradient to be applied to the focused window titlebar text. TextGradientColor is ignored unless GradientText is also given. The gradient colors start at from and end at to. from and to are standard X11 color definitions.

GradientText
    Specifies that the gradient specified by TextGradientColor should be applied to the focused window titlebar text.

ButtonNoBorder
    Specifies that the border normally drawn around iconified windows should be omitted.

DrawMenuBorders border_style
    Specifies the menu border style. border_style can be one of the following:
    0: no borders
    1: borders around each title and each item
    2: borders around each title and all items
    3: borders around each title, all items, and the hilighted item

TextureMenuItemsIndividually texture_style
    Specifies how textures should be applied to menu items. If texture_style is 0, menu items are textured as a group. If texture_style is 1, menu items are textured individually. This option is ignored if the menu item MyStyle background uses a transparency effect.

SeparateButtonTitle onoff
    Specifies where iconified window titles should be drawn. If onoff is 0, the title will be drawn at the top of the icon. If onoff is 1, the title will be drawn in a separate window at the below the icon. The default value of onoff is 1.

ButtonSize width height
    Specifies the size of iconified windows. Every iconified window button will be exactly width pixels wide and height pixels high. This includes titles drawn at the top, but not the separate title window created by SeparateButtonTitle. If either width or height is less than one, that dimension will not be fixed. The default is ButtonSize 0 0.

ResizeMoveGeometry geom
    Specifies the location of the resize/move window. If this option is not specified, the move/resize window will be centered on the screen. geom may be any one of the following:
    ++: upper-left corner
    -+: upper-right corner
    +-: lower-left corner
    --: lower-right corner

MenuMiniPixmaps minis
    Specifies whether mini pixmaps should be included in menus. If minis is 0, mini pixmaps are not included. If minis is 1, mini pixmaps are included. Note that mini pixmaps will not be added to menus until the next time menus are updated. Mini pixmaps can cause AS to take much longer to load over a network.

IconFont font
    Deprecated. Use MyStyle "ButtonPixmap", "ButtonTitleFocus", "ButtonTitleSticky", and "ButtonTitleUnfocus" instead.

IconBox left top right bottom
    Specifies a region of the screen in which to place iconified windows. Up to four icon boxes can be defined. If an IconBox is provided, icons will automatically be placed in them, if possible. Otherwise, they will be placed in the upper left corner of the screen. Each time a window is iconified, a new place is found for it, unless the icon has been moved manually. An available space is searched for from left to right, then top to bottom. Icons will not be automatically placed on top of other icons, but they may be placed underneath application windows if StubbornIconPlacement has not been specified. If left or right is negative, then AfterStep will add the screen width to it. If top or bottom is negative, then AfterStep will add the screen height to it. Note that -0 is not parsed as the right or bottom pixel on the screen. Use -1 instead. The IconBox will normally be filled from left to right, then top to bottom. However, if the right edge of the IconBox is closer to the right edge of the screen than the left edge of the IconBox is to the left edge of the screen, then it will be filled from right to left. Similarly for top to bottom. For example, "2 2 -1 -1" will result in an IconBox which fills from right to left, then bottom to top.

RubberBand type
    Specifies the RubberBand type to use when moving or resizing non-opaque windows. There are 3 styles:
    0: the window is represented as a number of rectangles
    1: one rectangle the size of the window
    2: one crossed-out rectangle the size of the window.

TitleTextAlign alignment
    Specifies the alignment of the window title in the titlebar.  The
    allowable values for alignment are as follows:
    1: left aligned
    2: right aligned
    3: center aligned (default)

TitlebarNoPush
    Specifies that the titlebar should not to appear to be "pushed in" when clicked with a mouse button. This is useful to reduce video strain or if textured pixmaps that do not look good "pushed in" are used.

TitleButton num pixmap_name
    Specifies a pixmap to use as a titlebar button. Up to 10 buttons are possible. num specifies the position of the button on the window and is an integer from 1 to 10. The positions are indicated as below:
    [1] [3] [5] [7] [9] TitleBarText [10] [8] [6] [4] [2]
    The action to be taken by the defined TitleButton is defined in the feel.name file. Defining a TitleButton without having a corresponding entry in the feel.name file will cause the TitleButton icon to be displayed, but not react when pressed.

TitleButtonStyle num
    Specifies how much space is put between leftmost and rightmost titlebar buttons, and the edges of the titlebar. If num is 0, there is a two pixel buffer the buttons and the edge. If num is 1, there is no space between the buttons and the edge.

TitleButtonSpacing num
    Specifies how much space (in pixels) to put between titlebar buttons.

TitleButtonBalloons
    Turns on the balloon feature. A "balloon" is displayed showing the function(s) bound to a titlebar button. The balloon background and text are configured with the MyStyle "TitleButtonBalloon".

TitleButtonBalloonBorderWidth number
    Sets the width of the balloon window's border. Defaults to 1.

TitleButtonBalloonBorderColor color
    Sets the color of the balloon window's border. Defaults to black.

TitleButtonBalloonYOffset number
    The balloon window is positioned to be horizontally centered against the titlebar button it is describing. The vertical position may be set as an offset. Negative offsets of -N are placed N pixels above the pager window, positive offsets of +N are placed N pixels below. Defaults to +2.

TitleButtonBalloonDelay number
    Specifies the period in milliseconds to delay the appearance of the balloon.

DefaultStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use when no style has been specifically defined for a given situation. Note that if a style named "default" has been defined and DefaultStyle has not, the "default" style will be used as the default.

FWindowStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for the focused window decorations.

UWindowStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for the unfocused window decorations.

SWindowStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for the sticky window decorations.

MenuItemStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for menu items.

MenuTitleStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for menu titles.

MenuHiliteStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for hilighted menu items.

MenuStippleStyle "style_name"
    Specifies the MyStyle to use for stippled menu items.

MyStyle "ButtonPixmap"
    Specifies the background tile of iconified windows. Inherits from the old ButtonPixmap, IconFont, ButtonTextureType, ButtonMaxColors, ButtonBgColor, and ButtonTextureColor options, and also inherits from FWindowStyle.

MyStyle "ButtonTitleFocus"
    Specifies how focused iconified window titles should look. Inherits from FWindowStyle.

MyStyle "ButtonTitleSticky"
    Specifies how sticky iconified window titles should look. Inherits from SWindowStyle.

MyStyle "ButtonTitleUnfocus"
    Specifies how unfocused iconified window titles should look. Inherits from UWindowStyle.

MyStyle "style_name"

style_option

~MyStyle
    Specifies the beginning of a look style definition. The style can be referred to later by style_name. ~MyStyle ends a look style definition. The possible style_options follow:

    Font font
        Specifies the font associated with this style. font is a standard X11 font definition.

    ForeColor color
        Specifies the text color associated with this style. color is a standard X11 color definition.

    BackColor color
        Specifies the background color associated with this style. color is a standard X11 color definition.

    TextStyle style
        Specifies the text style associated with this style. style can be 0, 1, or 2:
        0: normal text
        1: 3d effect #1
        2: 3d effect #2

    DrawTextBackground [0|1]
        Specifies that the area behind text drawn in this style should be cleared to BackColor. The argument is optional. If the argument is 0, this option is turned off; if it is omitted or is nonzero, the option is turned on.

    MaxColors maximum
        Specifies the maximum number of colors that the BackGradient can use. jpegs specified with BackPixmap will also be limited to this number of colors.

    BackGradient type from to
        Specifies that a gradient should be used as a background instead of a solid color. The gradient colors start at from and end at to. from and to are standard X11 color definitions. type can be 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5:
        1: Wharf-style diagonal gradient
        2: Horizontal from top to bottom
        3: Horizontal from top/bottom to center
        4: Vertical from left to right
        5: Vertical from left/right to center

    BackMultiGradient type offset1 color1 ... offsetN  colorN
        Specifies that a gradient should be used as a background instead of a solid color. The gradient colors start at color1 and end at colorN. Each color has an offset associated with it. The offset is a number between 0.0 and 1.0, and specifies where in the gradient the colors are to be placed. The colors are standard X11 color definitions. At least two colors must be given. The offsets are non-decreasing numbers between 0.0 and 1.0. If the first offset is not 0.0, it will be set to 0.0. If the last offset is not 1.0, it will be set to 1.0. type may be any of the following:
        6: diagonal from top-left to bottom-right
        7: diagonal from bottom-left to top-right
        8: top to bottom
        9: left to right

    BackPixmap type pixmap_name|color_name
        Specifies that a pixmap should be used as a background instead of a solid color. This option has two forms, depending on the value of type. If type is 128, the second parameter, pixmap_name must be the name of an xpm, jpeg, or png image which can be found in PixmapPath. If type is 129, the root pixmap (desktop background) will be used, and the optional second parameter must be a color with which the root pixmap will be shaded. If type is 130, the root pixmap will be averaged with the specified pixmap, and the result will be used as the background. In order for type 129 or type 130 to work properly, your desktop background must be set by a program that also sets the _XROOTPMAP_ID property on the root window, such as asetroot or Esetroot.
        128: tiled pixmap from the upper left
        129: "transparent" (or tinted with color)
        130: translucent pixmap

    Inherit "style_name"
        Specifies a MyStyle to inherit options from. Options from style_name will override previously specified options for this style. Inherit is a good way to save memory and network bandwidth if the same BackPixmap is used for several styles, as the pixmap will only be loaded for the inherited style.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS - startmenu
The startmenu is built from the start/ tree by utilizing files which have the menu items as command strings within them. The basic structure of a command string is as follows:

Exec "name" exec command [-options]

Where Exec is a built-in command (see below); "name" is what will appear as the entry in the created startmenu; exec invokes a subprocess (via exec(3)) for the given "command"; and "command" is whatever program is to be invoked along with any "-options" that might be desired.

.include
    Any directory in the start/ directory tree may have an .include file. Also, any directory which is subsequently included (via this include directive) may also have an .include file. Valid entries for an .include file are as follows:

    Command command [args]
        Specifies an AfterStep function to apply to all items in this directory. Does not apply to subdirectories or included directories. The resulting function will be: command "menu name" args /menu/item/full/path

    Extension ext
        Specifies an extension to strip from all filenames in this directory prior to placing them in the menu as menu item names. For example, an ext of "look." will cause the file "look.DEFAULT" to show up as "DEFAULT" in the menu, and an ext of ".tar.gz" will cause the file "theme.tar.gz" to show up as "theme" in the menu.

    Include "path" [command [args]]
        Specifies the path to another directory, whose contents will be included in this menu. If command is given, it will be applied to all items in the included directory as if a Command directive (see above) had been given, except that subdirectories of the included directory are also affected.

    KeepName
        Specifies that the directory name should be retained when creating the distilled menu, so that it can be referred to by name in a PopUp statement (see BUILT-IN COMMANDS/FUNCTIONS, below). The toplevel menu (start) has this option on by default.

    MiniPixmap pixmap
        Specifies a pixmap to display to the left of the menu item which invokes this menu, and in the title of this menu.

    Name name
        Specifies the name of this folder in the final menu displayed to the user. This name will be overridden if the folder's filename includes an order; use the order command (below), instead.

    Order order
        Specifies where in its parent menu the item which invokes this menu should appear. A menu without this option will be given an order of 10000 by default.

BUILT-IN COMMANDS/FUNCTIONS
afterstep supports a small set of built in functions which can be bound to key-stroke combinations or mouse buttons. These can also be embeded within Function statements or within menu statements in a feel.name file. NOTE: ["name"] in the following is used in a popup or menu item entry to define the name which will appear in said pop-up or menu.

Nop ""
    Inserts a horizontal line (<HR> type html line) in a menu entry list.

Nop "name"
    Inserts a name in the menu, stippled (disabled and grayed-out).

Title "name"
    Insert a title line of heading name into a popup or menu.

Beep
    Make the window manager issue a beep - pretty useful eh? :)

Quit ["name"]
    Exits afterstep, generally causing X to exit too.

Restart "name" WindowManagerName
    Restarts X(1) with the given WindowManagerName. If WindowManagerName isafterstep, then this forces afterstep to reread all of its configuration files and reinitiate the session. If WindowManagerName is not in the default search path, then the full path name should be given.

Refresh ["name"]
    Causes all windows on the screen to re-draw themselves.

Move ["name"]
    Allows the user to move a window or iconified app.

Resize ["name"]
    Allows the user to resize a window.

Raise ["name"]
    Allows the user to raise a window.

Lower ["name"]
    Allows the user to lower a window.

RaiseLower ["name"]
    Alternately raises and lowers a window; i.e. if it's raised, the window will lower, and vice versa.

PutOnTop
    Moves the target window to the top of its layer, or up one layer if it is already at the top.

PutOnBack
    Moves the target window to the bottom of its layer, or down one layer if it is already at the bottom.

SetLayer layer
    Moves the target window to layer layer.

ToggleLayer layer1 layer2
    Specifies that if the window is in layer1, it should be placed in layer2. Otherwise, it is placed in layer1. In either case, the window will be placed on top of other windows in the target layer.

Shade ["name"]
    Emulates the MacOS WindowShade feature. Once activated the window will become a titlebar only.

Delete ["name"]
    Sends a WM_DELETE message to a window asking that it remove itself, frequently causing the application to exit.

Destroy ["name"]
    Sends the XKillClient(3) to a window. Guaranteed to get rid of the window.

Close ["name"]
    First sends the WM_DELETE message, if this is not understood, then the XKillClient(3) is sent to the window.

Iconify ["name"] [value]
    Iconifies a window if it is not already iconified, or de-iconifies it if it is already iconified. If the optional argument value is positive, then only iconification will be allowed, and de-iconification will be inhibited. If the optional argument is negative, only de-iconification will be allowed.

Maximize ["name"] [horizontal vertical]
    Causes the window to alternately switch from a full-screen size to its normal size. Specifying the optional arguments of horizontal and vertical, control can be attained as to the percentage of the full screen that the new size of the window becomes. If horizontal > 0, then the horizontal dimension of the window will be set to horizontal*screen_width/100. The vertical resizing is similar. Values larger than 100 can be used with caution. The defaults for horizontal and vertical are 100s (ie, fullscreen).

Stick ["name"]
    Makes a window sticky (stays on screen when desks/views are switched) if it is not already sticky, or non-sticky if it is already sticky.

Scroll horizontal vertical
    Scrolls the desktop's view by horizontal pages in the x-direction, and vertical pages in the y-direction. Either or both entries may be negative. Both horizontal and vertical values are expressed in percent of pages, so 100 would be one full page. Normally, scrolling stops at the edge of the desktop. If the horizontal and vertical values are multiplied by 1000, then scrolling will wrap around at the edge of the desktop. The scroll function should not be called from pop-up menus.

TogglePage ["name"]
    Temporarily disables EdgeScroll. Edge scrolling can be re-enabled by calling this again.

CursorMove horizontal vertical
    Moves the mouse pointer by horizontal views in the x-direction, and vertical views in the y-direction. Either or both entries may be negative. Both horizontal and vertical values are expressed in percent of pages, so 100 would be one full view. The CursorMove function should not be called from pop-up menus.

ChangeWindowUp ["name" window_name]
    Causes the pointer to move to the previous window in the list of windows for which CirculateSkip has not not been specified. The mouse will jump to the first window whose name (or icon name or class) matches window_name. The "name" entry then becomes required, but serves no purpose if the function is not called from a menu or popup.

ChangeWindowDown ["name" window_name]
    Causes the pointer to move to the previous window in the list of windows for which CirculateSkip has not not been specified. The mouse will jump (going backwards) to the first window whose name (or icon name or class) matches window_name. The "name" entry then becomes required, but serves no purpose if the function is not called from a menu or popup.

WarpFore ["name" window_name]
    Same as ChangeWindowUp, but uniconifies any iconified windows as it focuses on them.

WarpBack ["name" window_name]
    Same as ChangeWindowDown, but uniconifies any iconified windows as it focuses on them.

Wait app_name
    This is intended to be used in afterstep functions only. It causes execution of a function to pause until a new window named app_name appears. afterstep remains fully functional during a wait. This is particularly useful in the InitFunction and RestartFunction, if you are trying to start windows on specific desktops.

Focus
    Moves the view or window as needed to make the selected window visible. Sets the keyboard focus to the selected window. Raises the window if needed to make it visible. Warps the pointer into the selected window in focus-follows-mouse mode. Does not de-iconify. This function is primarily handy when used with a module such as the WinList.

Desk arg1 [arg2]
    Changes current desk to another desk as surmised from the arguments supplied. If only arg1 is specified and is non-zero, then the current desk will become "desk + arg1" and arg2 is ignored. If arg1 is zero, then arg2 must be specified or no desk change will occur; and arg2 will specify the desk to switch to. Desk numbers are determined dynamically and must be between 2147483647 and -2147483648; meaning they can also be negative.

WindowsDesk new_desk [10000]
    Moves the selected window to the desktop specified as new_desk. If second argument is set to 10000 then first is treated as relative desktop number.

GotoPage x y
    Moves the desktop view to page x y. The upper left page is (0,0), the upper right is (N,0), where N is one less than the current number of horizontal pages specified in the DeskTopSize command detailed in the Pager(1) man page. The lower left page is (0,M), and the lower right page is (N,M), where M is the desktop's vertical size as specified in the DeskTopSize command. The GotoPage function should not be used in a pop-up menu.

WindowList [arg1 arg2]
    Specifies the internal popup menu in which the titles of each open application are displayed, should be popped up. Selecting an item from the list will cause the current desk to switch to the application's desk, and will raise it if it's behind other windows. If the application is currently iconified, then it will be de-iconified normally. Generally, if arg1 is an even number, then the windows will be listed using the window name (the name that shows up in the title-bar); if arg1 is an odd number, then the window's icon name is used. Specifically, if arg1 is 0, 1 or 2, then all windows on all desks will be shown. If arg1 is 2 or 3, then only windows on the current desk will be shown. If arg1 is 4 or 5, then only windows on the desk number specified with arg2, will be shown. Windows which have WindowListSkip specified in their style will not be listed in the window list.

Exec "name" command [-options]
    Specifies a sub process to initiate. The "name" is required for ease of parsing. The command is the command or application to be invoked along with any desired -options.

PopUp "popup_name"
    There are two situations where this might occur; as a popup menu stanza definition, or in calling a previously defined menu declaration.
    Popup "popup_name"
        built-in_command  "name" [argument]
    EndPopup
    Specfies the definition of a complex menu popup "popup_name", which can be bound to a mouse button or key using "popup_name" to recall this declaration. built-in_command specifies which command will be performed, utilizing it's syntax from this list of Built-In Commands/Functions. "name" specifies the name which will appear within the menu for the given item, and additionally any arguments needed by the built-in_command. The Popup definition ends with the keyword EndPopup. Sub-menus can be created by calling the Popup built-in within another Popup declaration, as long as that sub-menu was defined earlier in the configuration file. Shortcut keys may be specified in the menu definition by preceding a character with an ampersand. The ampersand will not be displayed, but the character after it will be displayed at the right side of the same entry. Only alphanumeric characters may be used as shortcut keys. The shift state of the keyboard is ignored when testing shortcut characters. When calling a previously defined menu or a menu from a key-stroke combination, Popup is simply used as a built-in command with the "name" referring to the previously defined Popup definitions name. Popups can be bound to keys through the use of the key modifier. Popups can be operated without using the mouse by binding to keys, and operating via the up arrow, down arrow, and enter keys. Refer to the feel.name files and below in EXAMPLES for examples.

Function "function_name"
    There are also two situations where this might occur as well; as a function definition stanza, or in calling a previously defined function decleration.
    Function "function_name"
        built-in_command "action" [argument]
    EndFunction
    Specifies the definition of a complex function "function_name", which can later be bound to a mouse button or key using "function_name" to recall this declaration. built-in_command specifies which command will be performed, taking its syntax from this list of Built-In Commands/Functions. "action" specifies the action to take followed by any additional arguments needed by the built-in_command. Menus can be specified by using the Popup command, as long as the menu was defined earlier in the configuration file. The trigger actions which are recognized are Immediate (can be shortened to "I"), Motion, Click, DoubleClick and TripleClick. Immediate actions are executed as soon as the function is activated, even if a window has not been selected. If there are actions other than immediate ones, afterstep will wait to see if the user is clicking, double-clicking, triple-clicking or dragging the mouse; then will execute only the built-ins from the function definition whose trigger action matches the action performed by the user. The clicking, double-clicking and triple-clicking concepts do not carry through to using keyboard shortcuts. Two special functions exist: InitFunction and RestartFunction. The InitFunction will be called when afterstep is started for the first time in any X session, and can be used to start modules and begin programs. The RestartFunction will be called when afterstep is restarted. It can be used to re-start modules but probably should not be used to start programs. These two functions are defined in the autoexec file. When calling a previously defined Function or a Function from a key-stroke combination, Function is simply used as a built-in command using the previously defined "action" from the same function_name.
    Function built-in_command "action" function_name
    Refer to the feel.name files and below in EXAMPLES for examples.

Module ModuleName [arguments]
    Specifies that ModuleName should be spawned. Currently, many modules are included with afterstep. Wharf(1x) and Pager(1x) are two of the more popular ones. Wharf will normally be spawned during initialization instead of in response to a mouse binding or menu action. Modules can be short lived transient programs, or, like Wharf, can be intended to remain for the duration of the X session. Modules will be terminated by afterstep prior to restarts and quits, if possible.

FILES

/usr/local/share/afterstep/.workspace_state
    The global empty file which is copied, upon the first invocation of afterstep, into that users newly created $HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep tree.

$HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/.workspace_state
    The global file where applications still running are saved, including geometry (if possible) and options, when AfterStep is exitted normally. This ability can be disabled during configure or by closing all running applications before exiting AfterStep.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/autoexec
    The global configuration file that specifies which modules and/or programs to start upon afterstep's invocation or restart.

$HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/autoexec
    This file should be copied from the /usr/local/share/afterstep/autoexec and edited to suit the user's specific requirements. This file, if it exists, will override the system wide default file.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/base.[8|15|16|24|32]bpp
    The global configuration file setting the paths and a few Pager(1) options for the desired colordepth.

$HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/base.[8|15|16|24|32]bpp
    This file should be copied from the /usr/local/share/afterstep/base.[8|15|16|24|32]bpp and edited to suit the user's specific requirements. This file, if it exists, will override the system wide default file.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/compatibility
    The global configuration file to be used in conjunction with the -f steprc_file to gain a limited amount of compatiblity with the ancient steprc file structure.

$HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/compatibility
    This file should be copied from the /usr/local/share/afterstep/compatibility and edited to suit the user's specific requirements. This file, if it exists, will override the system wide default file.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/database
    The global configuration file containing entries for styles of some applications.

$HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/database
    This file should be copied from the /usr/local/share/afterstep/database and edited to suit the user's specific requirements. This file, if it exists, will override the system wide default file.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/non-configurable/[0|1|2|3]_background
    The default background for each desk shipped with AfterStep. These files will be copied, upon the first invocation of afterstep, into that user's newly created $HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/non-configurable/ tree.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/non-configurable/[0|1|2|3]_feel.[8|15|16|24|32]bpp
    The "feel.DEFAULT" for each desktop as shipped with AfterStep. These files will be copied, upon the first invocation of afterstep, into that user's newly created $HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/non-configurable/ tree.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/non-configurable/[0|1|2|3]_look.[8|15|16|24|32]bpp
    The "look.DEFAULT" for each desktop as shipped with AfterStep. These files will be copied, upon the first invocation of afterstep, into that user's newly created $HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/non-configurable/ tree.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/start/.include
    An include directive which controls various things in the startmenu; for instance the version number that appears on the menu. If this file is copied to the $HOME directory, then the version number will not increment upon subsequent upgrades.

/usr/local/share/afterstep/start/Desktop/Look/.include
    A file that is required for Look menu operations ($HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/start/Desktop/Look/.include overrides this file).

/usr/local/share/afterstep/start/Desktop/Feel/.include
    A file that is required for Feel menu operations ($HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/start/Desktop/Feel/.include overrides this file).

/usr/local/share/afterstep/start/Desktop/Theme/.include
    A file that is required for Theme menu operations ($HOME/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/start/Desktop/Theme/.include overrides this file).

EXAMPLES
AfterStep ships with the configuration files themeselves as examples. A few examples from various configuration files are below to show those that are possible, but not in the default files.

database
    To have all iconified apps "disappear" (not be displayed as an icon:
    Style	"*"	NoIcon
    To have an app which has a small TitleBar area not display the 1,2 and 4 TitleButtons, and stick to each desk, as well as using the icq.xpm icon when iconified:
    Style	"ICQ"	Icon icq.xpm, Sticky, NoButton 1, NoButton 2, NoButton 4

feel.name
    To have a right click menu which has some Window Operands:
    Popup "Window-Ops"
    	Title	 "Window Ops"
    	Function "Move"          Shade-or-Raise
    	Function "Resize"        Resize-or-Raise
    	Raise	 "Raise"
    	Lower	 "Lower"
    	PutOnTop "(Un)PutOnTop"
    	Stick	 "(Un)Stick"
    	Function "(Un)Maximize"  Maximize_Function
    	Destroy	 "Destroy"
    	Close	 "Close"
    	Refresh	 "Refresh Screen"
    	Exec	 "Window Properties" exec xprop | xmessage -center -title 'xprop' -file -
    EndPopup
    	...then assign this Popup the right mouse button click on the
    	desktop:
    Mouse 3         R       A       PopUp "Window-Ops"

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
All window-manager operations can be performed from the keyboard, so mouse-less operation should not be difficult. In addition to scrolling around the desktop by binding the Scroll built-in to appropriate keys, Pop-ups, move, resize and most other built-ins can be bound to keys. Once a built-in function is started, the pointer is moved by using the up, down, left, and right arrows, and the action is terminated by pressing return. Holding down the shift key will cause the pointer movement to go in larger steps, and holding down the control key will cause the cursor movement to go in smaller steps. Standard emacs and vi cursor movement controls (^n, ^p, ^f, ^b, and ^j, ^k, ^h, ^l) can be used instead of the arrow keys.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR XFREE86 USERS
XFree86 provides a virtual screen whose operation can be confusing when used in conjunction with this virtual window manager. With XFree86, windows which appear on the virtual screen actually get drawn into video memory, so the virtual screen size is limited by available video memory. With AfterStep's virtual desktop manager, Pager(1), windows which do not appear on the screen do not actually get drawn into video RAM. The size of the virtual desktop is limited to about 32,000 by 32,000 pixels. It is probably impractical to use a virtual desktop more than about 5 times the visible screen in each direction. Note that memory usage with the virtual desktop is a function of the number of windows which exist. The size of the desktop makes no difference. When becoming familiar with AfterStep, it is recommended that you disable XFree86's virtual screen, by setting the virtual screen size to the physical screen size. When familiar with AfterStep, you may want to re-enable XFree86's virtual screen.

AUTHORS
Frank Fejes (frank@canweb.net)
Alfredo Kenji Kojima (kojima@inf.ufrgs.br)
Dan Weeks (dan@mango.sfasu.edu)
Guylhem Aznar (guylhem@oeil.qc.ca)
Chris Ridd (C.Ridd@isode.com)
Rob Malda (malda@imagegroup.com)
Ethan Fischer <allanon@crystaltokyo.com>
David Mihm <dmihm@swbell.net> [Man page]
Sasha Vasko <sasha at aftercode.net>

SEE ALSO
X(1), Animate(1), Audio(1), Banner(1), Cascade(1), Clean(1), Form(1), Ident(1), Pager(1), Save(1), Script(1), Scroll(1), Tile(1), Wharf(1), WinList(1), Zharf(1)

BUGS
Bugs? we don't see no stinking bugs! :) Seriously, they are only bugs if you report them - then they can be fixed.

COPYRIGHTS
AfterStep is distributed under GNU GPL v2; however, AfterStep was based on BowMan which derived from Fvwm code, which is in turn derived from twm code, thus some C source files from AfterStep share copyrights with twm. AfterStep is copyright 1996 by Frank Fejes, Alfredo Kojima, and Dan Weeks. AfterStep is copyright 1998 by Guylhem Aznar, Raphael Goulais, and Rob Malda. AfterStep is copyright 1999 by Ethan Fischer, Sasha Vasko. Please see the file COPYING included with the AfterStep distribution for the conditions that are incumbent on the users of AfterStep due to its relations to fvwm and twm. AUTHORS AND ALL OTHER CONTRIBUTERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY CONTRIBUTOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTUOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

HISTORY
AfterStep is a continuation of the BowMan window manager which was originally put together by Bo Yang. BowMan was based on the fvwm window manager, written by Robert Nation. Fvwm was based on code from twm. And so on.... It is designed not only to emulate some of the look and feel of the NEXTSTEP(tm) user interface, but also to add useful, requested, and neat features. The changes which comprise AfterStep's personality were originally part of BowMan development, but due to a desire to move past SIMPLE EMULATION and into a niche as its OWN valuable window manager, the previous designers decided to change the project name and move on. Some major changes from fvwm(1) 1.24 include:

1. NEXTSTEP(tm)-alike title bar, title buttons, borders
   and corners.
2. AfterStep's Wharf(1). To avoid copyright
   complications it is not called a "Dock".
3. NEXTSTEP(tm) style menus. However the menus are not
   controlled by applications, they are more like pop-up
   service lists on the root window.
4. NEXTSTEP(tm) style icons. The default icons are
   consistent with those in the NEXTSTEP(tm) interface,
   but they are configurable.
5. Dissociation of Pager(1) desktops for background
   pixmaps and configuration: each desktop can have its
   own configuration, its own look, its own background
   picture and all this can be changed on fly with the
   Start/Desktop menu.

However, flexibility was not traded off. Initiation files, in ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep, recognize most of the fvwm(1) commands.

ICCCM COMPLIANCE
AfterStep attempts to be ICCCM 2.0 compliant. As of this release, colormap handling is not completely ICCCM compliant. In addition, ICCCM states that it should be possible for applications to receive ANY keystroke, which is not consistent with the keyboard shortcut approach used in AfterStep and most other window managers. The user can disable any AfterStep keystroke that should be passed to the application and not intercepted by the window manager. An ICCCM compliant feel file is included - feel.ICCCM from the startmenu.