How_To set up Fluxbox from the default Debian Desktop Environment

[Trihexagonal]

A member was putting much more work into attempting to get Fluxbox set up than it takes so I thought this may be of help to others. This is to get you to the desktop, once there you can use the programsof your choice.

Fr this tutorial you'll need to install rxvt-unicode sa a terminal emulator, Xfe as a File Manager and Leafpad as a text editor.

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sudo apt update 
sudo apt install fluxbox && xfe && rxvt-unicode && leafpad && feh

Copy this FLuxbox menu into a text editor and put it in your Documents directory where you can find it:

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# Generated by fluxbox-generate_menu
#
# If you read this it means you want to edit this file manually, so here
# are some useful tips:
#
# - You can add your own menu-entries to ~/.fluxbox/usermenu
#
# - If you miss apps please let me know and I will add them for the next
#   release.
#
# - The -r option prevents removing of empty menu entries and lines which
#   makes things much more readable.
#
# - To prevent any other app from overwriting your menu
#   you can change the menu name in ~/.fluxbox/init to:
#     session.menuFile: ~/.fluxbox/my-menu
[begin] (Fluxbox)
[encoding] {UTF-8}
      [exec]   (urxvt) {urxvt}
      [exec]   (Firefox) {firefox}
[submenu] (Files)
      [exec]   (leafpad) {leafpad}
      [exec]   (xfe) {xfe}
      [exec]   (mc) {xterm -e -u mc}
[end]
[submenu] (Multimedia)
      [exec]   (Gimp) {gimp}
      [exec]   (VLC) {vlc}
      [exec]   (mplayer) {mplayer}
      [exec]   (Audacity) {audacity}
      [exec]   (Audacious) {audacious}
[end]
[submenu] (System)
      [exec]   (kismet) {urxvt -e -u kismet}
      [exec]   (gKrellm) {gkrellm}
      [exec]   (Asunder) {asunder}
      [exec]   (ePDFview) {epdfview}
      [exec]   (xclock) {xclock}
      [exec]   (xcalc) {xcalc}
      [exec] (Reload .Xdefaults) {xrdb -load $HOME/.Xdefaults}
[end]
[submenu] (Fluxbox)
      [config] (Configure)
[submenu] (System Styles) {Choose a style...}
      [stylesdir] (/usr/local/share/fluxbox/styles)
[end]
[submenu] (User Styles) {Choose a style...}
      [stylesdir] (~/.fluxbox/styles)
[end]
      [workspaces] (Workspace List)
[submenu] (Tools)
      [exec] (Window name) {xprop WM_CLASS|cut -d \" -f 2|xmessage -file - -center}
[end]
[submenu] (Window Managers)
      [restart] (twm) {twm}
[end]
      [commanddialog] (Fluxbox Command)
      [reconfig] (Reload config)
      [restart] (Restart)
      [exec] (About) {(fluxbox -v; fluxbox -info | sed 1d) | xmessage -file - -center}
      [separator]
      [exit] (Exit)
[end]
[endencoding]
[end]

Now exit your DE and enter a Fluvbox session. This is going to generate your /home/user/.fluxbox Directory. You won't be able to do anything from where you are now so exit and go back to the DE.

Now you should have a hidden Fluxbox directory in your /home/user/ Directory. Copy the body of the menu I gave you into the enu that was generated.

Now you're ready to run Fluxbox as a WM. Exit the DE and start another Fluxbox session.

It will be a blank desktop with only a cursor, that's what you should expect to see right now.

Right click and your new menu is there with access to the urxvt terminal emulator, Xfe File Manager and Leafpad text editor I suggested you install.

To populate your new menu with the est of your programs run this command from the user account:

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 fluxbox-generate_menu

If you would like to add icons to the Fluxbox menu, you can create a small 32x32 image, or find the one associated with the appropriate program , then "Export As" an image in .xpm format from Gimp to where you want to save it.

Then you link to the image from the Fluxbox menu behind the command to call the program. It should look something like this:

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[exec]   (urxvt) {urxvt} </usr/home/Trihexagonal/Pictures/icon.xpm>

I have Gkrellm (for meters), urxvt and xfe open at boot for easy access and scrolled when not in use the whole time I'm running. It should end up looking "something" like this.

Fluxbox Window Manager

The_Lords_of_Salem.jpg (316.51 KiB) Viewed 15362 times

[Enigma83]

Nice guide. I've never used fluxbox but want to try it as a standalone WM (no DE running at the same time). I currently have LXQT as DE and openbox as WM, and sddm as my login display manager.

I just have a few questions:
1. Can openbox and fluxbox coexist? Will they conflict with each other if both are installed? I don't mean having them running at the same time, that's obviously not going to work out since they're both X11 WMs.

2. I have SciTE as a text editor, PCManFM-Qt as a file manager, and whatever terminal app LXQT installed. So, I'm assuming it's not really necessary to install the 3 programs you mentioned, just fluxbox.

3. How does fluxbox handle display scaling? I'm assuming it doesnt, since openbox doesnt either (I mean, not on its' own). When I first logged into the lxqt desktop, i had to manually configure some settings because everything was too small. What are my options for dealing with scaling in fluxbox?

Last time I tried fluxbox a few weeks ago, I got some error about a conflicting window manager. Not sure what that was all about, so i uninstalled fluxbox.

[None1975]

I just have a few questions:
1. Can openbox and fluxbox coexist?

Yes.

Will they conflict with each other if both are installed? I don't mean having them running at the same time, that's obviously not going to work out since they're both X11 WMs.

No.

2. I have SciTE as a text editor, PCManFM-Qt as a file manager, and whatever terminal app LXQT installed. So, I'm assuming it's not really necessary to install the 3 programs you mentioned, just fluxbox.

Yes, just install fluxbox.

3. How does fluxbox handle display scaling?

Check this:
https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic ... k-screens/

[Enigma83]

The first error I'm getting is:
fluxbox-generate_menu, command not found

I replaced the text in the default menu with the text from the OP.