EMWM(1) General Commands Manual EMWM(1)

emwm — The Enhanced Motif Window Manager

emwm [options]

The emwm window manager provides functions that facilitate control (by the user and the programmer) of elements of window state such as placement, size, icon/normal display, and input-focus ownership.

This option specifies the display to use; see X(1).
This option specifies a resource string to use.
This option causes emwm to manage all screens on the display. The default is to manage only a single screen.
This option causes emwm to retrieve its resources using the specified name, as in name*resource.
This option specifies the resource names to use for the screens managed by emwm. If emwm is managing a single screen, only the first name in the list is used. If emwm is managing multiple screens, the names are assigned to the screens in order, starting with screen 0. Screen 0 gets the first name, screen 1 the second name, and so on.

The following sections describe the basic default behaviors of windows, icons, the icon box, input focus, and window stacking. The appearance and behavior of the window manager can be altered by changing the configuration of specific resources. Resources are defined under the heading "X DEFAULTS."

By default, emwm manages only the single screen specified by the -display option or the DISPLAY environment variable (by default, screen 0). If the -multiscreen option is specified or if the multiScreen resource is True, emwm tries to manage all the screens on the display.

When emwm is managing multiple screens, the -screens option can be used to give each screen a unique resource name. The names are separated by blanks, for example, -screens scr0 scr1. If there are more screens than names, resources for the remaining screens will be retrieved using the first name. By default, the screen number is used for the screen name.

Default emwm window frames have distinct components with associated functions:

In addition to displaying the client's title, the title area is used to move the window. To move the window, place the pointer over the title area, press button 1 and drag the window to a new location. By default, a wire frame is moved during the drag to indicate the new location. When the button is released, the window is moved to the new location.
The title bar includes the title area, the minimize button, the maximize button, and the window menu button. In shaped windows, such as round windows, the title bar floats above the window.
To turn the window into an icon, click button 1 on the minimize button (the frame box with a small square in it).
To make the window fill the screen (or enlarge to the largest size allowed by the configuration files), click button 1 on the maximize button (the frame box with a large square in it).
The window menu button is the frame box with a horizontal bar in it. To pull down the window menu, press button 1. While pressing, drag the pointer on the menu to your selection, then release the button when your selection is highlighted. Pressing button 3 in the title bar or resize border handles also posts the window menu. Alternately, you can click button 1 to pull down the menu and keep it posted; then position the pointer and select. You can also post the window menu by pressing <Shift> <Esc> or <Alt> <Space>. Double-clicking button 1 with the pointer on the window menu button closes the window.

The following table lists the contents of the window menu.

Selection Accelerator Description
Restore Restores the window to its size before minimizing or maximizing.
Move Allows the window to be moved with keys or mouse.
Size Allows the window to be resized.
Minimize Turns the window into an icon.
Maximize Makes the window fill the screen.
Lower Moves window to bottom of window stack.
Close Alt+F4 Causes client to terminate.
To change the size of a window, move the pointer over a resize border handle (the cursor changes), press button 1, and drag the window to a new size. When the button is released, the window is resized. While dragging is being done, a rubber-band outline is displayed to indicate the new window size.
An optional matte decoration can be added between the client area and the window frame (see the matteWidth resource). A matte is not actually part of the window frame. There is no functionality associated with a matte.

Icons are small graphic representations of windows. A window can be minimized (iconified) using the minimize button on the window frame. Icons provide a way to reduce clutter on the screen.

Pressing mouse button 1 when the pointer is over an icon causes the icon's window menu to pop up. Releasing the button (press + release without moving mouse = click) causes the menu to stay posted. The menu contains the following selections:

Selection Accelerator Description
Restore Opens the associated window.
Move Allows the icon to be moved with keys.
Size Inactive (not an option for icons).
Minimize Inactive (not an option for icons).
Maximize Opens the associated window and makes it fill the screen.
Lower Moves icon to bottom of icon stack.
Close Alt+F4 Removes client from emwm management.

Note that pressing button 3 over an icon also causes the icon's window menu to pop up. To make a menu selection, drag the pointer over the menu and release button 3 when the desired item is highlighted.

Double-clicking button 1 on an icon invokes the f.restore_and_raise function and restores the icon's associated window to its previous state. For example, if a maximized window is iconified, double-clicking button 1 restores it to its maximized state. Double-clicking button 1 on the icon box's icon opens the icon box and allows access to the contained icons. (In general, double-clicking a mouse button is a quick way to perform a function.) Pressing <Shift> <Esc> or <Menu> (the pop-up menu key) causes the icon window menu of the currently selected icon to pop up.

When icons begin to clutter the screen, they can be packed into an icon box. (To use an icon box, emwm must be started with the icon box configuration already set.) The icon box is a emwm window that holds client icons. It includes one or more scroll bars when there are more window icons than the icon box can show at the same time.

Icons in the icon box can be manipulated with the mouse. The following table summarizes the behavior of this interface. Button actions apply whenever the pointer is on any part of the icon. Note that double-clicking an icon in the icon box invokes the f.restore_and_raise function.

Button Action Description
Button 1 click Selects the icon.
Button 1 double-click Normalizes (opens) the associated window. Raises an already open window to the top of the stack.
Button 1 drag Moves the icon.
Button 3 press Causes the menu for that icon to pop up.
Button 3 drag Highlights items as the pointer moves across the menu.

Pressing mouse button 3 when the pointer is over an icon causes the menu for that icon to pop up.

Selection Accelerator Description
Restore Opens the associated window (if not already open).
Move Allows the icon to be moved with keys.
Size Inactive.
Minimize Inactive.
Maximize Opens the associated window (if not already open) and maximizes its size.
Lower Inactive.
Close Alt+F4 Removes client from emwm management.

To pull down the window menu for the icon box itself, press button 1 with the pointer over the menu button for the icon box. The window menu of the icon box differs from the window menu of a client window: The "Close" selection is replaced with the "PackIcons Shift+Alt+F7" selection. When selected, PackIcons packs the icons in the box to achieve neat rows with no empty slots.

You can also post the window menu by pressing <Shift>, <Esc> or <Alt> <Space>. Pressing <Menu> (the pop-up menu key) causes the icon window menu of the currently selected icon to pop up.

The emwm window manager supports (by default) a keyboard input focus policy of explicit selection. This means when a window is selected to get keyboard input, it continues to get keyboard input until the window is withdrawn from window management, another window is explicitly selected to get keyboard input, or the window is iconified. Several resources control the input focus. The client window with the keyboard input focus has the active window appearance with a visually distinct window frame.

The following tables summarize the keyboard input focus selection behavior:

Button Action Object Function Description
Button 1 press Window / window frame Keyboard focus selection.
Button 1 press Icon Keyboard focus selection.
Key Action Function Description
[Alt][Tab] Move input focus to next window in window stack (available only in explicit focus mode).
[Alt][Shift][Tab] Move input focus to previous window in window stack (available only in explicit focus mode).

There are two types of window stacks: global window stacks and an application's local family window stack.

The global stacking order of windows may be changed as a result of setting the keyboard input focus, iconifying a window, or performing a window manager window stacking function. When keyboard focus policy is explicit the default value of the focusAutoRaise resource is True. This causes a window to be raised to the top of the stack when it receives input focus, for example, by pressing button 1 on the title bar. The key actions defined in the previous table will thus raise the window receiving focus to the top of the stack.

In pointer mode, the default value of focusAutoRaise is False, that is, the window stacking order is not changed when a window receives keyboard input focus. The following key actions can be used to cycle through the global window stack.

Key Action Function Description
[Alt][ESC] Place top window on bottom of stack.
[Alt][Shift][ESC] Place bottom window on top of stack.

By default, a window's icon is placed on the bottom of the stack when the window is iconified; however, the default can be changed by the lowerOnIconify resource.

Transient windows (secondary windows such a dialog boxes) stay above their parent windows by default; however, an application's local family stacking order may be changed to allow a transient window to be placed below its parent top-level window. The following arguments show the modification of the stacking order for the f.lower function.

Lowers the transient window within the family (staying above the parent) and lowers the family in the global window stack.
Lowers the transient window within the family (staying above the parent) but does not lower the family in the global window stack.
Lowers the window free from its family stack (below the parent), but does not lower the family in the global window stack.

The arguments within and freeFamily can also be used with f.raise and f.raise_lower.

The window manager is an X Session Management Protocol aware client. It responds to SaveYourself (and other associated messages) by saving the geometries of its clients to a state file. emwm can then be restarted by the XSMP session manager. The default location for the state file is $HOME/.emwmclientdb. This location can be overriden with the resource sessionClientDB.

The emwm command is configured from its resource database. This database is built from the following sources. They are listed in order of precedence, low to high:

/usr/etc/X11/app-defaults/Emwm

$HOME/Emwm

RESOURCE_MANAGER root window property or $HOME/.Xdefaults

XENVIRONMENT variable or $HOME/.Xdefaults-host

emwm command line options

The file names /usr/etc/X11/app-defaults/Emwm and $HOME/Emwm represent customary locations for these files. The actual location of the system-wide class resource file may depend on the XFILESEARCHPATH environment variable and the current language environment. The actual location of the user-specific class resource file may depend on the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH and XAPPLRESDIR environment variables and the current language environment.

Entries in the resource database may refer to other resource files for specific types of resources. These include files that contain bitmaps, fonts, and emwm specific resources such as menus and behavior specifications (for example, button and key bindings).

Emwm is the resource class name and emwm is the default resource name used by emwm to look up resources. The -screens command line option specifies resource names, such as "emwm_b+w" and "emwm_color".) In the following discussion of resource specification, "Emwm" and "emwm" (and the aliased emwm resource names) can be used interchangeably, but "emwm" takes precedence over "Emwm".

The emwm command uses the following types of resources:

These resources specify appearance attributes of window manager user interface components. They can be applied to the appearance of window manager menus, feedback windows (for example, the window reconfiguration feedback window), client window frames, and icons.
These resources specify emwm appearance and behavior (for example, window management policies). They are not set separately for different emwm user interface components. They apply to all screens and workspaces.
These resources specify the appearance and behavior of emwm elements that are settable on a per-screen basis.
These emwm resources can be set for a particular client window or class of client windows. They specify client-specific icon and client window frame appearance and behavior.

Resource identifiers can be either a resource name (for example, foreground) or a resource class (for example, Foreground). If the value of a resource is a filename and if the filename is prefixed by "~/", then it is relative to the path contained in the HOME environment variable (generally the user's home directory).

The syntax for specifying component appearance resources that apply to window manager icons, menus, and client window frames is Emwm* resource_id

For example, Emwm*foreground is used to specify the foreground color for emwm menus, icons, client window frames, and feedback dialogs.

The syntax for specifying component appearance resources that apply to a particular emwm component is Emwm*[menu|icon|client|feedback] *resource_id

If menu is specified, the resource is applied only to emwm menus; if icon is specified, the resource is applied to icons; and if client is specified, the resource is applied to client window frames. For example, Emwm*icon*foreground is used to specify the foreground color for emwm icons, Emwm*menu*foreground specifies the foreground color for emwm menus, and Emwm*client*foreground is used to specify the foreground color for emwm client window frames.

The appearance of the title area of a client window frame (including window management buttons) can be separately configured. The syntax for configuring the title area of a client window frame is Emwm*client*title* resource_id

For example, Emwm*client*title*foreground specifies the foreground color for the title area. Defaults for title area resources are based on the values of the corresponding client window frame resources.

The appearance of menus can be configured based on the name of the menu. The syntax for specifying menu appearance by name is Emwm*menu* menu_name*resource_id

For example, Emwm*menu*my_menu*foreground specifies the foreground color for the menu named my_menu. The user can also specify resources for window manager menu components, that is, the gadgets that comprise the menu. These may include for example, a menu title, title separator, one or more buttons, and separators. If a menu contains more than one instance of a class, such as multiple PushButtonGadgets, the name of the first instance is "PushButtonGadget1", the second is "PushButtonGadget2", and so on. The following list identifies the naming convention used for window manager menu components:

•
Menu Title LabelGadget - "TitleName"
•
Menu Title SeparatorGadget - "TitleSeparator"
•
CascadeButtonGadget - "CascadeButtonGadget<n>"
•
PushButtonGadget - "PushButtonGadget<n>"
•
SeparatorGadget - "SeparatorGadget<n>"

Refer to the man page for each class for a list of resources that can be specified.

The following component appearance resources that apply to all window manager parts can be specified:

Name Class Value Type Default
background Background color varies†
backgroundPixmap BackgroundPixmap string†† varies†
bottomShadowColor Foreground color varies†
bottomShadowPixmap Foreground string†† varies†
List RenderTable string††† "fixed"
foreground Foreground color varies†
saveUnder SaveUnder T/F F
topShadowColor Background color varies†
topShadowPixmap TopShadowPixmap string†† varies†

†The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen. ††Image name. See XmInstallImage(3). †††X11 X Logical Font Description

This resource specifies the background color. Any legal X color may be specified. The default value is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the background Pixmap of the emwm decoration when the window is inactive (does not have the keyboard focus). The default value is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color. This color is used for the lower and right bevels of the window manager decoration. Any legal X color may be specified. The default value is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap. This Pixmap is used for the lower and right bevels of the window manager decoration. The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the render table used in the window manager decoration. The character encoding of the font specified should match the character encoding of the strings that are used. Note that UTF-8 support is required for window title strings obtained from EWMH. The default font is XFT Sans if Motif was built with Xft support, or "fixed" otherwise.
This resource specifies the foreground color. The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This is used to indicate whether "save unders" are used for emwm components. For this to have any effect, save unders must be implemented by the X server. If save unders are implemented, the X server saves the contents of windows obscured by windows that have the save under attribute set. If the saveUnder resource is True, emwm will set the save under attribute on the window manager frame of any client that has it set. If saveUnder is False, save unders will not be used on any window manager frames. The default value is False.
This resource specifies the top shadow color. This color is used for the upper and left bevels of the window manager decoration. The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the top shadow Pixmap. This Pixmap is used for the upper and left bevels of the window manager decoration. The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.

The following component appearance resources that apply to frame and icons can be specified:

Name Class Value Type Default
activeBackground Background color varies†
activeBackgroundPixmap BackgroundPixmap string†† varies†
activeBottomShadowColor Foreground color varies†
activeBottomShadowPixmap BottomShadowPixmap string†† varies†
activeForeground Foreground color varies†
activeTopShadowColor Background color varies†
activeTopShadowPixmap TopShadowPixmap string†† varies†
titleLeft TitleLeft Boolean False

†The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen. ††See XmInstallImage(3).

This resource specifies the background color of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the background Pixmap of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the foreground color of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the top shadow color of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies the top shadow Pixmap of the emwm decoration when the window is active (has the keyboard focus). The default is chosen based on the visual type of the screen.
This resource specifies whether the title bar text is left aligned. If False, the text is centered. The default value is False.

General Appearance and Behavior Resources

The syntax for specifying general appearance and behavior resources is Emwm*resource_id

For example, Emwm*keyboardFocusPolicy specifies the window manager policy for setting the keyboard focus to a particular client window.

The following general appearance and behavior resources can be specified:

General Appearance and Behavior Resources

Name Class Value Type Default
autoKeyFocus AutoKeyFocus T/F T
autoRaiseDelay AutoRaiseDelay millisec 500
bitmap- Bitmap- directory /usr/include
Directory Directory /X11/bitmaps
clientAutoPlace ClientAutoPlace T/F T
colormapFocus- ColormapFocus- string keyboard
Policy Policy
configFile ConfigFile file $HOME/.emwmrc
deiconifyKeyFocus DeiconifyKeyFocus T/F T
doubleClick- DoubleClick- millisec. multi-click
Time Time time†
enableWarp enableWarp T/F T
enforceKeyFocus EnforceKeyFocus T/F T
frameStyle FrameStyle string recessed
iconAutoPlace IconAutoPlace T/F T
iconClick IconClick T/F T
interactivePlacement InteractivePlacement T/F T
keyboardFocus- KeyboardFocus- string explicit
Policy Policy
lowerOnIconify LowerOnIconify T/F T
moveThreshold MoveThreshold pixels 4
multiScreen MultiScreen T/F F
outlineWidth OutlineWidth pixels 2
passButtons PassButtons T/F F
passSelectButton PassSelectButton T/F T
positionOnScreen PositionOnScreen T/F T
primaryXineramaScreen PrimaryXineramaScreen index 0
quitTimeout QuitTimeout millisec. 1000
raiseKeyFocus RaiseKeyFocus T/F F
refreshByClearing RefreshByClearing T/F T
rootButtonClick RootButtonClick T/F F
screens Screens string varies
sessionClientDB SessionClientDB string $HOME/.emwmclientdb
showFeedback ShowFeedback string all
startupKeyFocus StartupKeyFocus T/F T
useWindowOutline UseWindowOutline T/F T
wMenuButtonClick WMenuButtonClick T/F T
wMenuButtonClick2 WMenuButtonClick2 T/F T
xineramaFollowPointer XineramaFollowPointer T/F F

†The resource doubleClickTime is included for backward compatibility. Use of the Xt resource multiClickTime is preferred.

This resource is available only when the keyboard input focus policy is explicit. If autoKeyFocus is given a value of True, then when a window with the keyboard input focus is withdrawn from window management or is iconified, the focus is set to the previous window that had the focus. If the value given is False, there is no automatic setting of the keyboard input focus. It is recommended that both autoKeyFocus and startupKeyFocus be True to work with tear off menus. The default value is True.
This resource is available only when the focusAutoRaise resource is True and the keyboard focus policy is pointer. The autoRaiseDelay resource specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds) that emwm will wait before raising a window after it gets the keyboard focus. The default value of this resource is 500 (ms).
This resource identifies a directory to be searched for bitmaps referenced by emwm resources. This directory is searched if a bitmap is specified without an absolute pathname. The default value for this resource is /usr/include/X11/bitmaps. The directory /usr/include/X11/bitmaps represents the customary locations for this directory. The actual location of this directory may vary on some systems. If the bitmap is not found in the specified directory, XBMLANGPATH is searched.
This resource determines the position of a window when the window has not been given a program- or user-specified position. With a value of True, windows are positioned with the top left corners of the frames offset horizontally and vertically. A value of False causes the currently configured position of the window to be used. In either case, emwm will attempt to place the windows totally on-screen. The default value is True.
This resource indicates the colormap focus policy that is to be used. If the resource value is explicit, a colormap selection action is done on a client window to set the colormap focus to that window. If the value is pointer, the client window containing the pointer has the colormap focus. If the value is keyboard, the client window that has the keyboard input focus has the colormap focus. The default value for this resource is keyboard.
The resource value is the pathname for a emwm resource description file. If the pathname begins with "~/", emwm considers it to be relative to the user's home directory (as specified by the HOME environment variable). If the LANG environment variable is set, emwm looks for $HOME/$LANG/ configFile. If that file does not exist or if LANG is not set, emwm looks for $HOME/configFile. If the configFile pathname does not begin with "~/" or "/", emwm considers it to be relative to the current working directory. If the configFile resource is not specified or if that file does not exist, emwm uses several default paths to find a configuration file. The order of the search is shown below: /usr/etc/X11/$LANG/system.emwmrc† /usr/etc/X11/system.emwmrc† Paths marked with '†' are implementation dependent.
This resource applies only when the keyboard input focus policy is explicit. If a value of True is used, a window receives the keyboard input focus when it is normalized (deiconified). True is the default value.
This resource is used to set the maximum time (in ms) between the clicks (button presses) that make up a double-click. The use of this resource is deprecated. Use the Xt resource multiClickTime instead. The value of doubleClickTime dynamically defaults to the value of multiClickTime.
The default value of this resource, True, causes emwm to warp the pointer to the center of the selected window during keyboard-controlled resize and move operations. Setting the value to False causes emwm to leave the pointer at its original place on the screen, unless the user explicitly moves it with the cursor keys or pointing device.
If this resource is given a value of True, the keyboard input focus is always explicitly set to selected windows even if there is an indication that they are "globally active" input windows. (An example of a globally active window is a scroll bar that can be operated without setting the focus to that client.) If the resource is False, the keyboard input focus is not explicitly set to globally active windows. The default value is True.
If this resource is given a value of "slab", the the window manager frame is drawn such that the client area appears to be at the same height as the top of the window frame. If the resource is set to "recessed", the window frame is drawn such that the client area appears lower than the top of the window frame. The default value is "recessed".
This resource indicates whether the window manager arranges icons in a particular area of the screen or places each icon where the window was when it was iconified. The value True indicates that icons are arranged in a particular area of the screen, determined by the iconPlacement resource. The value False indicates that an icon is placed at the location of the window when it is iconified. The default is True.
When this resource is given the value of True, the system menu is posted and left posted when an icon is clicked. The default value is True.
This resource controls the initial placement of new windows on the screen. If the value is True, the pointer shape changes before a new window is placed on the screen to indicate to the user that a position should be selected for the upper-left hand corner of the window. If the value is False, windows are placed according to the initial window configuration attributes. The default value of this resource is False.
If set to pointer, the keyboard focus policy is to have the keyboard focus set to the client window that contains the pointer (the pointer could also be in the client window decoration that emwm adds). If set to explicit, the policy is to have the keyboard focus set to a client window when the user presses button 1 with the pointer on the client window or any part of the associated emwm decoration. The default value for this resource is explicit.
If this resource is given the default value of True, a window's icon appears on the bottom of the window stack when the window is minimized (iconified). A value of False places the icon in the stacking order at the same place as its associated window. The default value of this resource is True.
This resource is used to control the sensitivity of dragging operations that move windows and icons. The value of this resource is the number of pixels that the locator is moved with a button down before the move operation is initiated. This is used to prevent window/icon movement when you click or double-click and there is unintentional pointer movement with the button down. The default value of this resource is 4 (pixels).
This resource, if True, causes emwm to manage all the screens on the display. If False, emwm manages only a single screen. The default value is False.
Specifies the width of rubber-bands shown during client placement and resizing. The default value is 2 pixels.
This resource indicates whether or not button press events are passed to clients after they are used to do a window manager function in the client context. If the resource value is False, the button press is not passed to the client. If the value is True, the button press is passed to the client window. The window manager function is done in either case. The default value for this resource is False.
This resource indicates whether or not to pass the select button press events to clients after they are used to do a window manager function in the client context. If the resource value is False, then the button press will not be passed to the client. If the value is True, the button press is passed to the client window. The window manager function is done in either case. The default value for this resource is True.
This resource is used to indicate that windows should initially be placed (if possible) so that they are not clipped by the edge of the screen (if the resource value is True). If a window is larger than the size of the screen, at least the upper-left corner of the window is on-screen. If the resource value is False, windows are placed in the requested position even if totally off-screen. The default value of this resource is True.
This resource specifies the index of a Xinerama screen that is preferred when placing newly mapped application windows and modal dialog boxes.
This resource specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds) that emwm will wait for a client to update the WM_COMMAND property after emwm has sent the WM_SAVE_YOURSELF message. The default value of this resource is 1000 (ms). (Refer to the f.kill function description for additional information.)
This resource is available only when the keyboard input focus policy is explicit. When set to True, this resource specifies that a window raised by means of the f.normalize_and_raise function also receives the input focus. The default value of this resource is False.
This resource determines the mechanism used to refresh a window (or the screen) when the f.refresh_win (f.refresh) function is executed. When set to True, an XClearArea is performed over the window for f.refresh_win. When set to False, a covering window is created and destroyed over the top of the window to be refreshed. If the function is f.refresh and this resource is set to True, then an XClearArea is performed over every window on the screen. If the resource is set to False, then one large window covering the entire screen is created and destroyed. The default value of this resource is True.
The rootButtonClick resource controls whether the a click on the root window will post the root menu in a "sticky" mode. If this resource is set to True, a button click on the root window will post the menu bound to the button down event for that button in a "sticky" fashion. If this resource is set to False, then the same button click would only cause the menu to flash as it would be unposted once the button up event is seen. The criterion used to determine if it is a button click is if the pointer doesn't move between the button down and button up events. The default value for this resource is True.
This resource specifies the resource names to use for the screens managed by emwm. If emwm is managing a single screen, only the first name in the list is used. If emwm is managing multiple screens, the names are assigned to the screens in order, starting with screen 0. Screen 0 gets the first name, screen 1 the second name, and so on. The default screen names are 0, 1, and so on.
This resource identifies a file name to use as a root when saving state at the request of an XSMP session manager. When the session is saved, the window manager will then reuse the file name by automatically incrementing a suffix.
This resource controls whether or not feedback windows or confirmation dialogs are displayed. A feedback window shows a client window's initial placement and shows position and size during move and resize operations. Confirmation dialogs can be displayed for certain operations. The value for this resource is a list of names of the feedback options to be enabled or disabled; the names must be separated by a space. If an option is preceded by a minus sign, that option is excluded from the list. The sign of the first item in the list determines the initial set of options. If the sign of the first option is minus, emwm assumes all options are present and starts subtracting from that set. If the sign of the first decoration is plus (or not specified), emwm starts with no options and builds up a list from the resource.

The names of the feedback options are shown below:

Name Description
all Show all feedback (Default value).
behavior Confirm behavior switch.
kill Confirm on receipt of KILL signal.
move Show position during move.
none Show no feedback.
placement Show position and size during initial placement.
quit Confirm quitting emwm.
resize Show size during resize.
restart Confirm emwm restart.

The following command line illustrates the syntax for showFeedback:

Emwm*showFeedback: placement resize behavior restart

This resource specification provides feedback for initial client placement and resize, and enables the dialog boxes to confirm the restart and set behavior functions. It disables feedback for the move function. The default value for this resource is all.

This resource is available only when the keyboard input focus policy is explicit. When given the default value of True, a window gets the keyboard input focus when the window is mapped (that is, initially managed by the window manager). It is recommended that both autoKeyFocus and startupKeyFocus be True to work with tear off menus. The default value is True.
True by default, enables the use of overlay windows to draw client placement and size rubber-bands. If set to False, the server will remain grabbed during client placement and rubber-bands will be drawn on the root window.
This resource indicates whether a click of the mouse when the pointer is over the window menu button posts and leaves posted the window menu. If the value given this resource is True, the menu remains posted. True is the default value for this resource.
When this resource is given the default value of True, a double-click action on the window menu button does an f.kill function.
If this resource is True, new windows will be placed on Xinerama screen that contains the pointer. By default, new windows are placed on Xinerama screen containing the currently focused window.

The syntax for specifying screen specific resources is Emwm* screen_name*resource_id For example, Emwm*1*keyBindings specifies the key bindings to use for screen "1".

Name Class Value Type Default
buttonBindings ButtonBindings string DefaultButtonBindings
cleanText CleanText T/F T
fadeNormalIcon FadeNormalIcon T/F F
feedbackGeometry FeedbackGeometry string center on screen
frameBorderWidth FrameBorderWidth pixels varies
iconBoxGeometry IconBoxGeometry string 6x1+0-0
iconBoxName IconBoxName string iconbox
iconBoxSBDisplayPolicy IconBoxSBDisplayPolicy string all
iconBoxTitle IconBoxTitle XmString Icons
iconDecoration IconDecoration string varies
iconImageMaximum IconImageMaximum wxh 48x48
iconImageMinimum IconImageMinimum wxh 16x16
iconPlacement IconPlacement string left bottom
iconPlacementMargin IconPlacementMargin pixels varies
keyBindings KeyBindings string DefaultKeyBindings
limitResize LimitResize T/F T
moveOpaque MoveOpaque T/F F
resizeBorderWidth ResizeBorderWidth pixels varies
resizeCursors ResizeCursors T/F T
transientDecoration TransientDecoration string menu title
transientFunctions TransientFunctions string -minimize-maximize
useIconBox UseIconBox T/F F
utilityDecoration utilityDecoration string menu title
utilityFunctions utilityFunctions string -minimize-maximize
This resource identifies the set of button bindings for window management functions. The named set of button bindings is specified in the emwm resource description file. These button bindings are merged with the built-in default bindings. The default value for this resource is "DefaultButtonBindings".
This resource controls the display of window manager text in the client title and feedback windows. If the default value of True is used, the text is drawn with a clear (no stipple) background. This makes text easier to read on monochrome systems where a backgroundPixmap is specified. Only the stippling in the area immediately around the text is cleared. If False, the text is drawn directly on top of the existing background.
If this resource is given a value of True, an icon is grayed out whenever it has been normalized (its window has been opened). The default value is False.
This resource sets the position of the move and resize feedback window. If this resource is not specified, the default is to place the feedback window at the center of the screen. The value of the resource is a standard window geometry string with the following syntax: [=]{ +-}xoffset{+-} yoffset]
This resource specifies the width (in pixels) of a client window frame border without resize handles. The border width includes the 3-D shadows. The default value is based on the size and resolution of the screen.
This resource indicates the initial position and size of the icon box. The value of the resource is a standard window geometry string with the following syntax: [=][width xheight][{+-}xoffset {+-}yoffset] If the offsets are not provided, the iconPlacement policy is used to determine the initial placement. The units for width and height are columns and rows. The actual screen size of the icon box window depends on the iconImageMaximum (size) and iconDecoration resources. The default value for size is (6 * iconWidth + padding) wide by (1 * iconHeight + padding) high. The default value of the location is +0 -0.
This resource specifies the name that is used to look up icon box resources. The default name is iconbox.
This resource specifies the scroll bar display policy of the window manager in the icon box. The resource has three possible values: all, vertical, and horizontal. The default value, "all", causes both vertical and horizontal scroll bars always to appear. The value "vertical" causes a single vertical scroll bar to appear in the icon box and sets the orientation of the icon box to horizontal (regardless of the iconBoxGeometry specification). The value "horizontal" causes a single horizontal scroll bar to appear in the icon box and sets the orientation of the icon box to vertical (regardless of the iconBoxGeometry specification).
This resource specifies the name that is used in the title area of the icon box frame. The default value is Icons.
This resource specifies the general icon decoration. The resource value is label (only the label part is displayed) or image (only the image part is displayed) or label image (both the label and image parts are displayed). A value of activelabel can also be specified to get a label (not truncated to the width of the icon) when the icon is selected. The default icon decoration for icon box icons is that each icon has a label part and an image part (label image). The default icon decoration for stand alone icons is that each icon has an active label part, a label part, and an image part (activelabel label image).
This resource specifies the maximum size of the icon image. The resource value is widthx height (for example, 64x64). The maximum supported size is 128x128. The default value of this resource is 50x50.
This resource specifies the minimum size of the icon image. The resource value is widthx height (for example, 32x50). The minimum supported size is 16x16. The default value of this resource is 16x16.
This resource specifies the icon placement scheme to be used. The resource value has the following syntax:
primary_layout secondary_layout [tight]

The layout values are one of the following:

Value Description
top Lay the icons out top to bottom.
bottom Lay the icons out bottom to top.
left Lay the icons out left to right.
right Lay the icons out right to left.

A horizontal (vertical) layout value should not be used for both the primary_layout and the secondary_layout (for example, don't use top for the primary_layout and bottom for the secondary_layout).

The primary_layout indicates whether, when an icon placement is done, the icon is placed in a row or a column and the direction of placement. The secondary_layout indicates where to place new rows or columns. For example, top right indicates that icons should be placed top to bottom on the screen and that columns should be added from right to left on the screen.

The default placement is left bottom (icons are placed left to right on the screen, with the first row on the bottom of the screen, and new rows added from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen). A tight value places icons with zero spacing in between icons. This value is useful for aesthetic reasons, as well as X-terminals with small screens.

This resource sets the distance between the edge of the screen and the icons that are placed along the edge of the screen. The value should be greater than or equal to 0. A default value (see below) is used if the value specified is invalid. The default value for this resource is equal to the space between icons as they are placed on the screen (this space is based on maximizing the number of icons in each row and column).
This resource identifies the set of key bindings for window management functions. If specified, these key bindings replace the built-in default bindings. The named set of key bindings is specified in emwm resource description file. The default value for this resource is "DefaultKeyBindings".
If this resource is True, the user is not allowed to resize a window to greater than the maximum size. The default value for this resource is True.
This resource controls whether the actual window is moved or a rectangular outline of the window is moved. A default value of False displays a rectangular outline on moves.
This resource specifies the width (in pixels) of a client window frame border with resize handles. The specified border width includes the 3-D shadows. The default value is based on the size and resolution of the screen.
This is used to indicate whether the resize cursors are always displayed when the pointer is in the window size border. If True, the cursors are shown, otherwise the window manager cursor is shown. The default value is True.
This controls the amount of decoration that emwm puts on transient windows. The decoration specification is exactly the same as for the clientDecoration (client specific) resource. Transient windows are identified by the WM_TRANSIENT_FOR property, which is added by the client to indicate a relatively temporary window. The default value for this resource is menu title (that is, transient windows have frame borders and a titlebar with a window menu button).
An application can also specify which decorations emwm should apply to its windows. If it does so, emwm applies only those decorations indicated by both the application and the transientDecoration resource. Otherwise, emwm applies the decorations indicated by the transientDecoration resource. For more information see the description of XmNemwmDecorations on the VendorShell(3) reference page.
This resource is used to indicate which window management functions are applicable (or not applicable) to transient windows. The function specification is exactly the same as for the clientFunctions (client specific) resource. The default value for this resource is -minimize -maximize.
An application can also specify which functions emwm should apply to its windows. If it does so, emwm applies only those functions indicated by both the application and the transientFunctions resource. Otherwise, emwm applies the functions indicated by the transientFunctions resource. For more information see the description of XmNemwmFunctions on the VendorShell(3) reference page.
If this resource is given a value of True, icons are placed in an icon box. When an icon box is not used, the icons are placed on the root window (default value).
This controls the amount of decoration that emwm puts on utility windows. The decoration specification is exactly the same as for the clientDecoration (client specific) resource. Utility windows are identified by the _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_UTILITY or the _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_TOOLBAR value in the _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE property. The default value for this resource is menu title (that is, utility windows have frame borders and a titlebar with a window menu button).
This resource is used to indicate which window management functions are applicable (or not applicable) to utility windows. The function specification is exactly the same as for the clientFunctions (client specific) resource. The default value for this resource is -maximize.

Client Specific Resources

The syntax for specifying client specific resources is

Emwm*client_name_or_class *resource_id

For example, Emwm*mterm*windowMenu is used to specify the window menu to be used with mterm clients. The syntax for specifying client specific resources for all classes of clients is

Emwm*resource_id

Specific client specifications take precedence over the specifications for all clients. For example, Emwm*windowMenu is used to specify the window menu to be used for all classes of clients that don't have a window menu specified.

The syntax for specifying resource values for windows that have an unknown name and class (that is, windows that do not have a WM_CLASS property associated with them) is

Emwm*defaults*resource_id

For example, Emwm*defaults*iconImage is used to specify the icon image to be used for windows that have an unknown name and class.

The following client specific resources can be specified:

Client Specific Resources

Name Class Value Type Default
clientDecoration ClientDecoration string all.
clientFunctions ClientFunctions string all.
focusAutoRaise FocusAutoRaise T/F varies
iconImage IconImage pathname (image)
iconImage- Background color icon background
Background
iconImageBottom- Foreground color icon
ShadowColor bottom shadow
iconImageBottom- BottomShadow- color icon bottom
ShadowPixmap Pixmap shadow pixmap
iconImageForeground Foreground color varies
iconImageTopShadowColor Background color icon top
shadow color
iconImageTop- TopShadowPixmap color icon top
ShadowPixmap shadow pixmap
matteBackground Background color background
matteBottom- Foreground color bottom
ShadowColor shadow color
matteBottom- BottomShadow- color bottom
ShadowPixmap Pixmap shadow pixmap
matteForeground Foreground color foreground
matteTopShadowColor Background color top
shadow color
matteTopShadowPixmap TopShadowPixmap color top
shadow pixmap
matteWidth MatteWidth pixels 0
maximumClientSize MaximumClientSize wxh
vertical horizontal fill the screen
useClientIcon UseClientIcon T/F T
usePPosition UsePPosition string nonzero
windowMenu WindowMenu string DefaultWindowMenu
This resource controls the amount of window frame decoration. The resource is specified as a list of decorations to specify their inclusion in the frame. If a decoration is preceded by a minus sign, that decoration is excluded from the frame. The sign of the first item in the list determines the initial amount of decoration. If the sign of the first decoration is minus, emwm assumes all decorations are present and starts subtracting from that set. If the sign of the first decoration is plus (or not specified), then emwm starts with no decoration and builds up a list from the resource.
An application can also specify which decorations emwm should apply to its windows. If it does so, emwm applies only those decorations indicated by both the application and the clientDecoration resource. Otherwise, emwm applies the decorations indicated by the clientDecoration resource. For more information see the description of XmNemwmDecorations on the VendorShell(3) reference page.
Name Description
all Include all decorations (default value).
border Window border.
maximize Maximize button (includes title bar).
minimize Minimize button (includes title bar).
none No decorations.
resizeh Border resize handles (includes border).
menu Window menu button (includes title bar).
title Title bar (includes border).

Examples: Emwm*XClock.clientDecoration: -resizeh -maximize This removes the resize handles and maximize button from XClock windows. Emwm*XClock.clientDecoration: menu minimize border This does the same thing as above. Note that either menu or minimize implies title.

This resource is used to indicate which emwm functions are applicable (or not applicable) to the client window. The value for the resource is a list of functions. If the first function in the list has a minus sign in front of it, then emwm starts with all functions and subtracts from that set. If the first function in the list has a plus sign in front of it, then emwm starts with no functions and builds up a list. Each function in the list must be preceded by the appropriate plus or minus sign and separated from the next function by a space.
An application can also specify which functions emwm should apply to its windows. If it does so, emwm applies only those functions indicated by both the application and the clientFunctions resource. Otherwise, emwm applies the functions indicated by the clientFunctions resource. For more information see the description of XmNemwmFunctions on the VendorShell(3) reference page.

The following table lists the functions available for this resource:

Name Description
all Include all functions (default value).
none No functions.
resize f.resize†.
move f.move†.
minimize f.minimize†.
maximize f.maximize†.
close f.kill†.

†See emwmrc(4).

When the value of this resource is True, clients are raised when they get the keyboard input focus. If the value is False, the stacking of windows on the display is not changed when a window gets the keyboard input focus. The default value is True when the keyboardFocusPolicy is explicit and False when the keyboardFocusPolicy is pointer.
This resource can be used to specify an icon image for a client (for example, "Emwm*myclock*iconImage"). The resource value is a pathname for a pixmap or bitmap file. The value of the (client specific) useClientIcon resource is used to determine whether or not user supplied icon images are used instead of client supplied icon images. The default value is to display a built-in window manager icon image.
This resource specifies the background color of the icon image that is displayed in the image part of an icon. The default value of this resource is the icon background color (that is, specified by "Emwm*background or Emwm*icon*background).
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color of the icon image that is displayed in the image part of an icon. The default value of this resource is the icon bottom shadow color (that is, specified by Emwm*icon*bottomShadowColor).
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap of the icon image that is displayed in the image part of an icon. The default value of this resource is the icon bottom shadow Pixmap (that is, specified by Emwm*icon*bottomShadowPixmap).
This resource specifies the foreground color of the icon image that is displayed in the image part of an icon. The default value of this resource varies depending on the icon background.
This resource specifies the top shadow color of the icon image that is displayed in the image part of an icon. The default value of this resource is the icon top shadow color (that is, specified by Emwm*icon*topShadowColor).
This resource specifies the top shadow Pixmap of the icon image that is displayed in the image part of an icon. The default value of this resource is the icon top shadow pixmap (that is, specified by Emwm*icon*topShadowPixmap).
This resource specifies the background color of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The default value of this resource is the client background color (that is, specified by "Emwm*background or Emwm*client*background).
This resource specifies the bottom shadow color of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The default value of this resource is the client bottom shadow color (that is, specified by Emwm*bottomShadowColor or Emwm*client*bottomShadowColor).
This resource specifies the bottom shadow Pixmap of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The default value of this resource is the client bottom shadow pixmap (that is, specified by Emwm*bottomShadowPixmap or Emwm*client*bottomShadowPixmap).
This resource specifies the foreground color of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The default value of this resource is the client foreground color (that is, specified by Emwm*foreground or Emwm*client*foreground).
This resource specifies the top shadow color of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The default value of this resource is the client top shadow color (that is, specified by Emwm*topShadowColor or Emwm*client*topShadowColor).
This resource specifies the top shadow pixmap of the matte, when matteWidth is positive. The default value of this resource is the client top shadow pixmap (that is, specified by "Emwm*topShadowPixmap or Emwm*client*topShadowPixmap).
This resource specifies the width of the optional matte. The default value is 0, which effectively disables the matte.
This resource is either a size specification or a direction that indicates how a client window is to be maximized. The resource value can be specified as a size specification widthxheight. The width and height are interpreted in the units that the client uses (for example, for terminal emulators this is generally characters). Alternately, "vertical" or "horizontal" can be specified to indicate the direction in which the client maximizes.
If this resource is not specified, the maximum size from the WM_NORMAL_HINTS property is used if set. Otherwise the default value is the size where the client window with window management borders fills the screen. When the maximum client size is not determined by the maximumClientSize resource, the screen size is used as a constraint on the maximum size.
If the value given for this resource is True, a client-supplied icon image takes precedence over a user-supplied icon image. The default value is True, giving the client-supplied icon image higher precedence than the user-supplied icon image.
This resource specifies whether emwm honors program specified position PPosition specified in the WM_NORMAL_HINTS property in the absence of an user specified position. Setting this resource to on, causes emwm to always honor program specified position. Setting this resource to off, causes emwm to always ignore program specified position. Setting this resource to the default value of nonzero cause emwm to honor program specified position other than (0,0).
This resource indicates the name of the menu pane that is posted when the window menu is popped up (usually by pressing button 1 on the window menu button on the client window frame). Menu panes are specified in the emwm resource description file. Window menus can be customized on a client class basis by creating custom menus in your mwmrc file (see emwmrc(4) and specifying resources to activate the custom menus. The resources have the form Emwm* client_name_or_class*windowMenu. The default value of this resource is DefaultWindowMenu.

The emwm resource description file is a supplementary resource file that contains resource descriptions that are referred to by entries in the resource manager property (see xrdb(1) and the defaults files (.Xdefaults, app-defaults/Emwm ). It contains descriptions of resources that are to be used by emwm, and that cannot be easily encoded in the defaults files (a bitmap file is an analogous type of resource description file). A particular emwm resource description file can be selected using the configFile resource.

The following types of resources can be described in the emwm resource description file:

Window manager functions can be bound (associated) with button events.
Window manager functions can be bound (associated) with key press events.
Menu panes can be used for the window menu and other menus posted with key bindings and button bindings.
The emwm resource description file is described in mwmrc(4).

The emwm window manager uses the environment variable HOME specifying the user's home directory.

The emwm window manager uses the environment variable LANG specifying the user's choice of language for the emwm message catalog and the emwm resource description file.

The emwm window uses the environment variable XFILESEARCHPATH, XUSERFILESEARCHPATH, XAPPLRESDIR, XENVIRONMENT, LANG, and HOME in determining search paths for resource defaults files. The emwm window manager may also us XBMLANGPATH to search for bitmap files.

The emwm window manager reads the $HOME/.motifbind file if it exists to install a virtual key bindings property on the root window. For more information on the content of the .motifbind file, see

The emwm window manager uses the environment variable WMSHELL (or SHELL, if WMSHELL is not set), specifying the shell to use when executing commands via the f.exec function.

/usr/etc/X11/$LANG/system.emwmrc†

/usr/etc/X11/system.emwmrc†

/usr/etc/X11/app-defaults/Emwm†

$HOME/Emwm

$HOME/$LANG/.emwmrc

$HOME/.emwmrc

† Paths may vary depending on system/distribution.

VendorShell(3), VirtualBindings(3), X(1), XmInstallImage(3), xrdb(1).