ApplicationDatabase(1) FVWM-Crystal ApplicationDatabase(1)NAME
FVWM-Crystal: application database
AUTHOR
Maciej Delmanowski <harnir@berlios.de>
DESCRIPTION
Application database (and fvwm-crystal.apps script) is one of the most
interesting elements of FVWM-Crystal desktop. Thanks to these elements
you can have a panel or the menu with applications currently installed
on a given system.
Database structure is very flexible, allowing you to combine several
databases into one (system-wide and user-wide, for example), mask
selected applications or even whole directories, so they won't be visi‐
ble, and so on.
Application panel/menu generator also has many interesting features -
you can create different panels and menu systems and easily blend them
with your FVWM configuration.
DATABASE STRUCTURE
A database is a set of directories and scripts with special naming
structure. Each directory and subdirectory creates a "category" in
which you can put selected applications, for example "Games" or
"Office". Categories can be nested, in turn creating subcategories,
like "FPP Games" or "OpenOffice.org". In generation process each subdi‐
rectory is transformed into a submenu containg menu items specified in
this subdirectory.
Each directory and script have a special naming pattern. Here's the
list of possible names:
entry_name
~entry_name
~~entry_name
~executable_name~entry_name
priority~entry_name
priority~~entry_name
priority~executable_name~entry_name
entry_name
is the name of the menu item or button on a panel. This is a
required field. If it's the only one present, generator assumes
that this entry should be put in the menu or panel without
checking if associated application is present.
executable_name
is used to specify a name of the executable file. It's used to
determine if selected application is installed on the system,
and in turn decide if this entry should be put in the menu/panel
or not. Applications are searched in the directories specified
using $PATH environment variable. This field is optional, and is
only tested, if '--check-exec' option is present.
priority
is a numeric only field (also optional). It is used in the sort‐
ing mechanism to determine, what "importance" has particular
menu item. Entries with higher priorities will be put higher in
the menu system (therefore closer to the mouse pointer), lower
priorities will be pushed at the end of the menu. By default an
entry without priority field has priority set to 0.
As you can see, each directory and script name is used to sort and cre‐
ate menus and panels. Also attributes of the files and directories are
used in this process. Each directory and script has an executable (x)
bit set, for allowing execution (see below) or reading inside directo‐
ries. This can be used to exclude certain files or directories from the
generated menus or panels. By removing the executable bit (chmod -x)
from a file or directory you can prevent it to be "seen" by the genera‐
tor and ommited in the generated menu. By combining this ability with
"database merging" (each database masks previous one) you can use, for
example, user-side application database to remove certain programs from
this users' menu.
Generator doesn't put in the menu entry complete path to the binary it
found - instead it puts the path to the script itself. In the end, what
users do is not launching applications directly, but instead launching
scripts located in the application database, which in turn launch the
applications themselves. That means, what's inside of the script, is
completely meaningless to the generator; you can write complex scripts
which are shown in the menu system and easily launch them.
Instead of using the scripts, you can also make symlinks to selected
binaries (using the specified naming rules), they also will be checked
and included in the menu system. Script automatically tests, if symlink
is correct (ie. target is present), and if the target has an executable
bit set.
DATABASE MASKING
You can give 'fvwm-crystal.apps' script several databases in one com‐
mand, for example:
fvwm-crystal.apps --database=/some/directory --database=/other/dir
When that happens, generator first reads first given database
(/some/directory), and after that adds next databases (/other/dir) to
the first one. You can use this feature to make changes in separate
database that affect generated menus and panels, but not modify the
original database itself. This mechanism is used in FVWM-Crystal by
combining user-side database located in '~/.fvwm/Applications' with
system-wide, located in '/usr/share/fvwm-crystal/fvwm/Applications' (by
default).
For successfull "database masking" you need to use the same directory
structure as the original database. That means, if you want to modify
an entry located in, for example, '/Applications/Games/FPP', you need
to create the same directories in your "local" database. You can omit
the "priority" field in directory/file names, or change it, thus moving
selected menu entry in the menu hierarhy. For example:
system-wide: /Applications/20~Games/FPP/10~quake~Quake
user-wide: /Applications/Games/FPP/30~quake~Quake
File attributes also can be masked. If you want to remove a menu entry
(or even entire submenu), you need to create all directories and a
script which lead to selected entry, and then remove the executable bit
(chmod -x) from the directory or script in your "local" database.
Consequently, if you want to move a menu entry or submenu itself from
one place to another in the menu structure, you can create neccesary
files in desired location (or make symlinks to files/directories in
original database), then create the "old" files and directories, and
remove their executable bit. Menu entries will disappear from their
original locations and appear in those selected by your database.
APPLICATION ICONS
Each application has it's own icon. Icon files are found using the
entry or exectuable file name, like this:
entry_name.png
executable_name.png
First 'entry_name' is tested, if icon doesn't exist, script looks for
one with 'executable_name'.
Icon directories can be specified using '--search-icons-in' option. You
can specify more than one directory by separating them using : (colon)
sign.
There are two special file names:
- directory.png
is used for the "categories" which doesn't have their own icon
(it was not found by the generator in specified directory). You
can specify your own name using '--default-dir-icon' option. For
example:
ImagePath $[FVWM_USERDIR]/icons/
fvwm-crystal.apps --search-icons-in=$[FVWM_USERDIR]/icons/
--default-dir-icon=22x22/dir.png
Result: <ImagePath>22x22/dir.png
- default.png
is used for applications which doesn't have their own icon. You
can use '--default-file-icon' to change the name, in the same
way '--default-dir-icon' can be used.
PANEL MENU GENARATOR
Here I will describe some example uses of the generator, if you want to
see complete list of commandline options, you can use command:
fvwm-crystal.apps --help | less
CREATING PANELS
Generator doesn't create all panel options specified in 'man FvwmBut‐
tons', just the button themselves. Therefore you can use FVWM configu‐
ration to decide how the resulting panel will look and where it will be
placed. For example, you can create panels with swallowed windows and
application buttons, by putting PipeRead command with 'fvwm-crys‐
tal.apps' in between the panel configuration, like this:
*SomePanel: (1x1, Swallow FvwmPager)
PipeRead 'fvwm-crystal.apps --database=/some/base
--panel-name="SomePanel"'
*SomePanel: (1x1, Swallow xclock)
You can make application panels which will open app menus, with differ‐
ent icon size on the panel and in the menu (big on the panel, small in
the menu), by using generator several times with different options. For
example:
PipeRead 'fvwm-crystal.apps --database=/some/base
--panel-action1=menu --search-icons-in=/icons/32x32/apps
--no-menus'
PipeRead 'fvwm-crystal.apps --database=/some/base .PP
--search-icons-in=/icons/22x22/apps --no-panel'
TODO
add more examples here...
version 3.0.5 mai 06, 2007 ApplicationDatabase(1)
