Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

The WinList: Switching the Focus

FvwmWinList is an fvwm2 module that lets you keep track of all the application windows on your many screen pages. Generally the WinList is configured to let you switch the focus to whatever window you want, but you can set it up to perform other operations.

In a typical environment, you can start the WinList from the Fvwm Modules menu on the Root menu. If you prefer to configure fvwm2 to start the WinList automatically, see Section 19.5.2. (You might also configure a keyboard shortcut to start the WinList module; see Section 19.3 for details.)

Some of WinList’s appearance and behavior can be customized. We’ll see some example module definition lines later. If you are using that example configuration, WinList performs the following operations:

First mouse button click

Switch the focus to the window in question. If the window is iconified, de-iconify. Switch the screen view so that the page with the window is displayed.

Second mouse button click

Iconify/deiconify window; the page displayed does not change.

Third mouse button click

Display a pop-up box containing information about the window in question (e.g., dimensions in pixels, whether it is sticky, permanent, or transient, etc.). Pop down the box by clicking any mouse button on it.

One of the interesting features of the WinList is that none of these commands moves the pointer to the focus window. Instead, the pointer stays on the entry in the WinList that corresponds to the focus window.

In theory, you ...