XWin window manager with virtual desktops

Perhaps you are asking for something else, but here is a list of virtual desktop apps that I know of.


DesktopManager
http://desktopmanager.berlios.de/ (may be down)

VirtueDesktops
http://virtuedesktops.info/

CodeTek VirtualDesktop
http://codetek.com/ctvd/

You Control: Desktops
http://www.yousoftware.com/desktops/desktops.php


I have been using DesktopManager for a while now and it is really nice. However on my MacBook Pro it has issues although it still works well enough.

I have not yet tried any of the others. I plan to. If anyone else has tried any of the others I would love to hear feedback on them, compared to any of the others. Based on what I have read, I am currently leaning toward the VirtueDesktops since it is free while the others are not. But in many cases you get what you pay for. =)

I hope this helps.

Jonathan

Hi Don,
It's good to hear from you, as always! I believe that the lazy symbol binding failure is the result of the use of the wrong version gcc. I think that it happens when you use gcc-3.3 when gcc-4.0.1 is required, although I could have that backwards; it hasn't happened to me yet. I don't know why some apps would require a new version of gcc when most don't.

It appears that Jonathan's suggestions are for virtual desktops for Aqua and not X11. Of course given your taste for virtual desktops, that is likely to be something of interest to you.

As for virtual desktops for X11, they abound. My preference for a window manager that implements virtual desktops is Enlightenment. I like it for other reasons but it has a nice virtual desktop arrangement that "plays well" with Rootless mode. The desktops are arranged in a square. By default, the top two desktops have no background image, while the bottom two do. This allows one to use Enlightenment's elaborate contextual menu, which I like. There are numerous subtle features that make using desktops convenient and I think you'd like it.
--
Gary
~~~~
A "practical joker" deserves applause for his wit according
to its quality. Bastinado is about right. For exceptional
wit one might grant keelhauling. But staking him out on
an anthill should be reserved for the very wittiest.
-- Lazarus Long

Gary, thanks for suggesting Enligtenment - I found that I had it but hadn't tried it before - takes some getting used to.

My question: is there a way to make the clipboard work between the X11 windows and the normal Mac windows? They seem to be in different "worlds".

Thanks.

Boyd

Hi Boyd,
When using a window manager other than Apple's Quartz window manager, interplay between the X11 and Apple clipboards is obtained by running the Quartz window manager in proxy mode. That can be done before enlightenment is started with the following command in your ~/.xinitrc file:

/usr/X11R6/bin/quartz-wm --only-proxy &

In fact I do this before starting any X11 application.
--
Gary
~~~~
I'd rather have two girls at 21 each than one girl at 42.
-- W.C. Fields

Thanks, Gary. That worked, sort of.

If I copy something from iTerm to the clipboard, using command-C, then I can paste it into xterm with the middle mouse button, but I haven't been able to reverse the procedure.

What I mean is, I haven't been able to copy from the xterm to the iTerm. I'll keep reading and trying different things.

Boyd

When I go between X11 and Quartz I just have to remember to do CTRL+C in X11 and APPLE+C in Quartz. It is mostly habit now, but if I could do just one method and have it work, that would be better.

Hi Boyd,
As SunSparc essentially says, "It ain't perfect", but I would guess that it's as good as it is with the Quartz window manager. Of course I've never used the Quartz window so I don't know.

I think that you have to use Mac-like key combinations to copy and UNIX-style actions to paste but it may not be perfect. I think that the window manager "sees" more events than X11 so I don't know that it works in all situations. I'm not an expert on using X11 on the Mac; I just know how to enable the "bridge" so I wanted you to know.
--
Gary
~~~~
Fast, cheap, good: pick two.

Thanks, SunSparc and Gary. When I do CTRL-C in the xterm window, I just get a new prompt - oh I was able to stop that by stty intr ^V^X to redefine it to ^X.

But, I still doesn't go onto the apple clipboard - maybe that is because I have PTHpasteboard running. I'll try stopping that. Restart X11. reset stty intr. Nope - still doesn't work. That's frustrating....

Boyd