Hi, I recently switched from Ubuntu 16.04 to Linux Mint 18.2.
When using Ubuntu, I usually experimented with SSH, RLogin, Telnet, etc...
While experimenting with the twm window manager, I found a "Debian" menu that had a bunch of useful applications. But on Linux mint, the "Debian" menu is still there, but nothing happens when I hover over it. Is there any way I can get those applications back? (Other than installing Ubuntu/Debian)

The default twm menu appears to exist as a portion of /usr/share/X11/twm/system.twmrc, at least in Slackware.

I'm guessing you could either edit the menu portion of that file appropriately or create a .system.twmrc in ~/ that would supersede the default.

I have not tested this, but a similar process (created the relevant config files in ~/ works to customer Fluxbox).

In the old days of debian minimal installs you needed to install menu to have your menu's populated in various wm's of the non-mainstream variety. It looks like menulibre is the modern version of that option.

$ sudo apt-get install menulibre

It basically builds a menu based on the contents of /usr/share/menu/. Or should (in theory) yada yada yada...

Not quite - copy /usr/share/X11/twm/system.twmrc to your /home directory as .twmrc, then edit it to your own preferences.

1 members found this post helpful.

/usr/share/X11/twm doesn't even exist.
Am I doing something wrong here?

Try /etc/X11/twm/ for the default configuration. The user file can be ~/.twmrc
This .twmrc file shows menu specification
http://www.xwinman.org/rc/twmrc-thomas
As with all simple window managers, a menu is not created automatically as it would be with a desktop: you have to write your own.

I just realized, I could just take the .twmrc from the installation that had the pre-installed menus over to my current linux.

You can give a try to rename .twmrc

and to do apt-get install menu

then restart X / TWM

Thanks, fatmac. I learned something.

Big WELCOME j. Your posts look GREAT!!! (LQ'ers forgot to 'welcome' you)

Re: you next thread on lagging-X11: Idk GUI well, but my OldUnix thot is:
Check the ping reply time (&obviously net speed, like a big filecopy).

You can mark this thread as 'Solved' at top
(so future searchers can find what frankbell learned)

And a LQholidayGift (LQblog search Titled: code tags)

All depends upon what you're looking for. The default twm rc is barely OK and does little to 'sell' twm IMO. My ~/.twmrc is attached along with a animated gif sequence of what that looks like. I've gone for colour theming of icon manager that loads left to right across the top of screen and matches menu colouring and program decoration colouring (titles/borders); No desktop icons and a left window title button that shows the icon manager when clicked (for switching between programs/windows). I also have the window title set to show the normal twm menu when right mouse pressed in a similar manner to how more usually you right mouse press the desktop to show the twm menu (handy for when a window is full screen and there's no desktop space showing that you can mouse press to show the twm menu).

https://s33.postimg.org/yxrnej47j/twm-ani.gif

Attached Files

.twmrc.txt (12.4 KB, 39 views)

What's the point to use the TWM since you have libre office that takes all your memory? TWM is today very little used. XFCE, Gnome, KDE,... are widely used.

That's comparing a windows manager to desktop environments. I had issues with Xfce deciding how it thought best to do things such as desktop icon placement, and other issues with both Gnome and KDE and hence prefer to define my own DE. twm also comes as part of X11 so its part of core rather than being third party under OpenBSD (Unix philosophy of doing one thing ... well), helping reduce security risks (and bloat). In respect to just window management, twm excels each of Xfce, Gnome and KDE IMO (and later wm's such as jwm where for instance you can't add a launch menu option as a button or click option on windows titles ... and as such doesn't do as good a job as a windows manager).

The layering works well as well, such as writing/pasting into one window that is behind another window (and resizing/moving behind other windows). If you don't like the icons or icon manager then turn those off and add in your own choice of alternatives (perhaps pcmanfm as a filemanager and use its pcmanfm --desktop option to add desktop icon manager/icons, maybe xfce panel, stalonetray for the systray ...etc.).

Works for me, but like OpenBSD isn't a popular/widely used choice as a desktop. twm recently celebrated its 30th birthday and its still part of core X11 so certainly has pedigree. Better suited to physical mouse dominance usage. For keyboard dominance such as laptops with awkward mouse touchpads alternatives such as cwm are better.

Fluxbox is probably easier to use. Have you tried Fluxbox though? For the desktop, rox has a cool DESKTOP capability. Rox-filer could replace xfdesktop well. XFCE is in any cases smaller than GNOME and KDE.

But you know that Wayland will be replacing X11. Soon or later, TWM will no longer exist.

lol, windows is even more widely used.
what's wrong with wanting to use twm?
choice is the beauty of linux...

the same goes for most windowmanagers, fluxbox too.
or is somebody working on porting it to wayland?