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From: Rich <rich@example.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: What Window Manager/Desktop Environment do you use, and why?
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2025 21:36:19 -0000 (UTC)
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Borax Man <rotflol2@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 2025-06-05, Rich <rich@example.invalid> wrote:
>> Borax Man <rotflol2@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> So, what Desktop Environment/Window Manager do you use, and why?
>>
>> A somewhat custom Fvwm2 config.  "Somewhat" in that it began (many 
>> years ago) as the default, and it has diverged since then as I've added 
>> tweaks along the way.
>>
>> Started out with Twm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twm), moved to Fvwm 
>> (when it was just Fvwm) at some point when it offered something that 
>> Twm didn't (I forget what the "offering" was now).  Then moved to Fvwm2 
>> when it replaced the original.
>>
>>> Also, what do you think your choice of environment has to offer that 
>>> isn't found, or rarely found in others?
>>
>> Infinite customizations.  One very useful tweak I made a number of 
>> years ago was to change the right mouse click on the title bar to be an 
>> Fvwm2 "RaiseLower" operation.  The result is it gives the missing 
>> opposite function to the usual "click to raise" a window in that it is 
>> also "click to push down" a window.  So what ever is on top, I can 
>> "push it down in the stack" to then see what is underneath.
>>
>> Another useful tweak has been to "force correct behavior" on badly 
>> behaved programs.  There have been the occasional program (OpenOffice 
>> was one) that thought themselves too self important and did a "Raise" 
>> on themselves anytime the mouse passed over their windows.  As I have 
>> Fvwm2 set to focus-follows-mouse without any raise, this miss-behavior 
>> was very bad.  So a few Fvwm2 config tweaks later and I took away those 
>> programs ability to "self-raise" themselves.  At which point they 
>> became properly well behaved.
>>
> I like the "RaiseLower" idea.  I might implement that, as it could be
> more useful than alt-tabbing my way through.  Hence why I like this
> Window Manager.  Good ideas you see elsewhere, you can implement without
> having to move out.

I've found it to be a very useful addition to the "window controls" 
after I added it (a goodly number of years ago now).

Yes, a vast majority of "options" can be configured in by proper use of 
the existing primitives.  Fvwm2 is somewhat like the Unix CLI text tool 
set.  A lot of very useful individual tools that can also be combined 
in unique ways to achieve an end goal.