AfterStep(1) AfterStep X11 window manager AfterStep(1)

NAME

AfterStep - X11 window manager

STANDARD OPTIONS

The following is the list of command line options supported by all
AfterStep modules and applications.


-v | --version

Display version information and stop.


-c | --config

Display Config information and stop.


-h | --help

Display uasge information and stop.


--debug

Debugging: Run in Synchronous mode.


-s | --single

Run on single screen only.


-r | --restart

Run as if it was restarted. Same as regular startup, only runs
RestartFunctioninstead of InitFunction.


-d | --displayval

Specify what X display we should connect to. Overrides
$DISPLAY environment variable.


-f | --config-fileval

Read all config from requested file. Use it if you want to use
.steprc instead of standard config files.


-p | --user-dirval

Read all the config from requested dir. Use it to override
config location requested in compile time.


-g | --global-dirval

Use requested dir as a shared config dir. Use it to override
shared config location requested in compile time.


-V | --verbosity-levelval

Change verbosity of the AfterStep output. 0 - will disable any
output; 1 - will allow only error messages; 5 - both errors
and warnings(default).


--windowval

Internal Use: Window in which action occured. Interface part
which has triggered our startup.


--contextval

Internal Use: Context in which action occured. Interface part
which has triggered our startup.


--lookval

Read look config from requested file. Use it if you want to
use different look instead of what was selected from the menu.


--feelval

Read feel config from requested file. Use it if you want to
use different feel instead of what was selected from the menu.


--themeval

Read theme config from requested file. Use it if you want to
use different theme instead of what was selected from the
menu.


-l | --logval

Save all output into the file (instead of printing it to
console).


-L | --localeval

Set language locale. To be used while displaying text.


--mynameval

Overrides module name. Will be used while parsing config files
and reporting to AfterStep.


--geometryval

Overrides module's geometry.


--gravityval

Overrides module's gravity.


AfterStep has been almost entirely rewritten in this new
incarnation. Here is the short list of new architectural
changes:

1.1. New high performance and high quality image handling
engine has been developed to fulfill GUI needs. It includes
different image transformations, such as scaling, tiling,
cropping, blurring, blending of arbitrary number of layers,
in-memory image compression, support for 12 different file
formats, including its own parser/writer of XPM files, capable
of achieving much better performance then default libXpm.
Supported image formats are :

XPM, PNG, JPEG, XCF(GIMP image format), PPM, PNM, BMP, ICO,
CUR, GIF, TIFF, and XML scripts. Where XML scripts allow for
user to create script of transformations to be performed on
the image at the time when it gets loaded./para> libAfterImage
also provides support for TTF fonts ( using libfreetype ) and
smoothed standard X raster fonts.

1.2. Window hints handling has been rewriten and reorganized,
and most of the Extended WM specs has been incorporated, as
well, as better support for Motif, ICCCM and old GNOME hints
has been implemented.

1.3. All the GUI rendering code has been aggregated into
libAfterStep and now all the GUI elements are rendered using
consistent approach in every module and every part of the
AfterStep proper. From now on interface is build from so
called TBars. TBar is rectangular area that may be
focused(hilited) or unfocused and pressed or unpressed. Each
TBar has the following structure :

- the background of the TBar, which is defined by MyStyle and
state of the bar - there are two MyStyles assigned to each
TBar - one for focused and one for unfocused state.

- tiles of the TBar. Tiles are smaller features that gets
arranged inside the bar according to its size, alignment,
position and order. Tiles could be static icons ( cannot be
pressed ); blocks of buttons - each having two shapes -
pressed and normal; Text labels; Empty space tiles.

There could be upto 256 tiles, each residing on one of the
cells in 16x16 grid. Several tiles could reside in single
cell, in which case they get superimposed on top of each
other.

- bevel of the TBar. When TBar is rendered all of its tiles
are superimposed on top of its background, and resulting image
will have a 3D bevel drawn on it, using colors from same
MyStyle as used for background. Bevel could be switched off
partially or entirely. Respective configuration options has
been added where appropriate. When TBar is pressed - its bevel
is inverted.

When TBar is rendered all of its elements gets superimposed on
top of each other using one of 13 blending methods supported
by libAfterImage, with default being simple alphablending. See
MyFrame configuration for more details. This is refrred to as
"Composition Method".

1.4. Due to the fact that AfterStep is using compression to
store images in memory - there is no need to have separate
root background handler, and so asetroot has been discontinued
and afterstep proper now does all the root background loading.
You could simply copy-and-paste your asteroot config into your
look file. This has an added advantage of simplifing theme
support for root backgrounds.

1.5. Significant work has been done to create libAfterConf
which provides easy means for reading configuration options,
and facilitates implementation of any configuration tool.

1.6. Some work has been done to improve support for themes.
AfterStep proper and modules now load configuration files is
this order :

#1 - base config; #2 - look, feel, menu, database, autoexec
and module specific config; #3 - theme file; #4 - theme
override file;

Theme override file is needed so that user may have a list of
critical options that he/she does not want to be changed by
any theme. What is missing here is a comprehensive theme
building tool.

1.7. AfterStep now make extensive use of X shaped extensions (
where available ) Everything could be shaped now - titlebars,
Pager, Wharf, etc. To make some element shaped - MyStyle with
BackPixmap type 125 or 126 should be used.

1.8. Menus are now treated same as regular windows. They could
be configured in database file using preset Style "ASMenu" to
have different titlebar buttons, frame decorations,
stickiness, etc. MenuPinOn has been changed to be just another
titlebar button, with PinMenu function assigned to it.

1.9. AfterStep no longer uses fixed scheme of 5 titlebar
buttons on each side, and order of buttons could be configured
in look. There is still limitation to have no more then 10
buttons total.


3rd Berkeley Distribution AfterStep v.2.2.12 AfterStep(1)