I was using OpenLook virtual window manager for a long time. Got kind of addicted to it. But being a Java developer was always giving me a hard time, since OpenLook doesn't support or has a lot of bugs that prevent Java AWT or Swing applications to run.
So I started looking for something more modern and well-supported window manager, but I also wanted to save as many features that I so liked in olvwm (that are quite unexplainable :). My final choice was Window Maker. For some reasons, I saw other people used it, it shouldn't be worse then something else, and navigating through it's source code I didn't find it too complicated.

The set of the following patches were created during cutomization of Window Maker so it fits what I want it to. It also took me some time to modify the preferences, but something can't be changed from there, hence the vim.

The list of what was fixed, changed or enhanced:

Available for 0.80.0

• Icons are mapped only once, during window creation. So never moved icons will never get shuffled
• Pressing "Minituarize" key on the miniwindow (icon) will open the window
• Application icons are disabled completely (don't really get the idea)
• If the focus mode is SLOPPY (i.e. on mouse pointer move), remove the focus from the window when pointer leaves it for root.
• Pressing "Close" key on the window that doesn't allow to close itself will work
• Menus are no longer stay on top of everything, they have the same priority as a normal window
• If there is no "WMState" file found in ~/GNUstep/Defaults directory, the wmaker wouldn't crash as it did
• Frame border thickness extended to 3 from 1, and painted in "#b2b2b2" instead of black. People may say that's ugly (well, I do), but having idea of invisible (i love the black background), superthin frame you have a hard time clicking is what I disliked.
• Ctrl-dblClick and dblClick behaviour on the title bar has been swapped.
• You can always move the window holding it at frame only. (this thin one, remember?)
• Double click on frame passes the double click to the title bar, so this is the same.
• Added resistance to icon move. Works a little bit different from the window resistant. Basically it's not about pressure, it's about speed. Stick to screen edges and other icons.
• The title of an icon moved to bottom from top
• The window is not autoraised if you just moving it around.
• Fix SIGSEGV if menu is clicked below the last entry
• Fix SIGSEGV if "Save" clicked in "Attributes" menu when no application options are available.
• Fixed focus problems in SLOPPY mode : if pointer is moved away from the window to an icon, it will be removed.
• Fixed another focus problem : if a window has been deiconified, don't send focus in there (the only happened if there are no other windows opened in the workspace)

Here is the list of that I plan to change:

• Add properties for default icon placement for an application.
• Add resistance for menu movement.
• Make icons be resistant when moved to a window's edge
• Don't autoraize the window if one doubleclicks on the titlebar. Gonna be hard due to doubleclick events implementation in wmaker

BUGS

• Of course they are !
• When you change property of an application class, for some reason, the application icon is being created along with miniwindow. This behaviour is completely behind by powers of understanding. Restarting the manager helps to get rid of them. Or you can set "No application icon" for the application classs from attributes menu.
• Due to the focus handling in wmaker (enter/leave events), when you actually move the pointer into the window, it first gains focus (when frame is hit), then looses focus (after pointer leaves the frame) and immediately regains it back. There may be an extra couple of events that are generated for the application. Hope all of yours applications can handle that.
• Looks like closing by a keyboard shortcut doesn't work if window doesn't allow close operation after all.

• version 0.80.0 (unified diffs)
  • plain version
  • gzipped version

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(C) Pawel S. Veselov, 2002.

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