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Jim Ramsay <i.am@jimramsay.com>
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v1.1.2, 18 February 2009
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:man source: fluxbox-menu.txt
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:man version: {revision}
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:man manual: Fluxbox Manual
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fluxbox-menu - fluxbox(1) menu syntax
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Variable parameters are shown in emphasis: 'argument'
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All other characters shown are required verbatim. Whitespce is only required to
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delimit words, but it is fine to add more whitespace.
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There are two types of menus in fluxbox which can be configured.
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The first is the root menu, which normally appears when you right-click on the
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The first is the *ROOT MENU* (Or right-click menu), is usually bound to a
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right-click on the desktop, though this binding can be changed in the `keys'
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file (*fluxbox-keys(5)*). This same syntax is used for the *CustomMenu* command,
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also mentioned in *fluxbox-keys(5)*.
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Fluxbox installs a default root menu file in *@pkgdatadir@/menu*. You can also
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use fluxbox -i to confirm this location. Of course this system-wide menu can be
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customized for all users at once, but it is also possible to create an
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individual menu file for each user. By convention, users create a menu file in
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*~/.fluxbox/menu*. Once you've created your own menu file, you'll want to make
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sure that you properly declare this location in your `init' file so that fluxbox
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knows where to look. See *RESOURCES*, below for details.
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The second type is the *WINDOW MENU*, which defines the contents of the menu
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which appears when you right-click on a window's titlebar or iconbar. This opens
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a menu file as defined by *~/.fluxbox/windowmenu*. If this file does not exist,
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fluxbox will copy in the default from *@pkgdatadir@/windowmenu*.
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You do not need to ``reload'' fluxbox after editing the apps file, the changes
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should be taken into account the next time you open the menu.
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The root menu must begin with a *[begin]* tag and end with an *[end]* tag, and
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every tag must be on its own line.
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There are up to four fields in a menu line. They are of the form:::
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['tag'] ('label') {'command'} <'icon'>
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The <'icon'> field is always optional when show below. If specified, the 'icon'
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will be scaled down and displayed in the menu alongside the text label of the
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item. It must be in .xpm or .png format.
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Any line that starts with a '#' or '!' is considered a comment and ignored by
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fluxbox. Also, in the label/command/filename fields you can escape any
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character. Using '\\' inserts a literal back-slash into the
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label/command/filename field.
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You may enter labels, commands, and icons using characters from any *iconv(1)*
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language/locale by specifying the encoding used via the *[encoding]* tag,
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This tells fluxbox to start parsing the menu file. This tag is required for
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fluxbox to read your menu file. If it cannot find it, the system default menu
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is used in its place. The 'title' appears at the top of the menu. And *[end]*
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tag is required to end the menu.
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*[submenu]* ('label') {'title'} <'icon'>;;
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This tells fluxbox to create and parse a new menu, which is inserted as a
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submenu into the parent menu. These menus are parsed recursively, so there is
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no limit to the number of levels or nested submenus you can have. The 'label'
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is the text that will appear in the parent menu, and the 'title' is shown at
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the top of the submenu. If omitted, the 'title' will be the same as the
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'label'. An *[end]* tag is required to end the submenu.
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This tells fluxbox that it is at the end of a menu. This can either be a
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*[submenu]* or the *[begin]* tag of the main root menu. There must be at
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least one of these tags in your menu to correspond to the required *[begin]*
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tag, and one for each *[submenu]*.
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*[encoding]* {'encoding'};;
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This begins an *[encoding]* section and specifies the string encoding of
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all strings until the matching *[endencoding]* tag. For a list of available
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encodings on your system, run *iconv -l*.
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This ends an *[encoding]* section.
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*[include]* ('path');;
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Parses the file specified by filename inline with the current menu. The
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'path' can be the full path to a file or it can begin with *~/*, which will
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be expanded into your home directory. If 'path' is a directory, then all
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files in that directory are included.
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This will create a nice separation line. Useful for splitting up sections in
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a ``pretty'' way. The optional 'comment' is not displayed, but can be useful
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for internal documentation or script parsing of menu files.
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*[nop]* ('label') <'icon'>;;
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Insert a non-operational item into the current menu. This is much like
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*[separator]*, but instead of a line, it inserts a 'label'. This can be used
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to help format the menu into blocks or sections if so desired. The 'label' is
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optional, and if omitted a blank item will be inserted.
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*[exec]* ('label') {'command...'} <'icon'>;;
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Inserts a command item into the menu. When you select the menu item from the
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menu, fluxbox runs 'command...' in your *$SHELL* (or /bin/sh if $SHELL is not
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set). You can use this to launch applications, run shell scripts, etc. Since
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all arguments are passed verbatim to te shell, you can use environment
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variables, pipes, or anything else the shell can do. Note that processes only
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see environment variables that were set before fluxbox started (such as in
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*[config]* ('label') <'icon'>;;
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Inserts a fluxbox native submenu item, containing numerous configuration
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options concerning window placement, focus style, window moving style, etc.
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See *Configuration Menu* in *fluxbox(1)* for details.
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*[reconfig]* ('label') <'icon'>;;
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When selected this item re-reads the current style and menu files and applies
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any changes. This is useful for creating a new style or theme, as you don't
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have to constantly restart fluxbox every time you save your style. However,
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fluxbox automatically rereads the menu whenever it changes.
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*[restart]* ('label') {'command'} <'icon'>;;
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This tells fluxbox to restart. If 'command' is supplied, it shuts down and
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runs the command (which is commonly the name of another window manager). If
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'command' is omitted, fluxbox restarts itself.
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*[exit]* ('label') <'icon'>;;
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Inserts an item that shuts down and exits fluxbox. Any open windows are
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reparented to the root window before fluxbox exits.
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*[style]* ('label') {'filename'} <'icon'>;;
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This tells fluxbox to insert an item that, when selected, reads style file
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named filename and apply the new textures, colors and fonts to the current
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*[stylesmenu]* ('directory') <'icon'>;;
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Reads all filenames from the specified directory, assuming that they are all
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valid style files, and creates inline menu items in the current menu for
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every filename, that, when selected by the user will apply the selected style
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file to the current session. The labels that are created in the menu are the
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filenames of the style files.
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*[stylesdir]* ('label') {'directory'} <'icon'>;;
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Creates a submenu entry with 'label' (that is also the title of the new
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submenu), and inserts in that submenu all filenames in the specified
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'directory', assuming that they are all valid style files (directories are
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ignored) in the same way as the *[stylesdir]* command does. Both
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*[stylesdir]* and *[stylesmenu]* commands make it possible to install style
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files without editing your init file.
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*[wallpapers]* ('directory') {'command'} <'icon'>;;
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This inserts a menu item to set the wallpaper for each file in the given
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directory. The 'command' is optional, and defaults to *fbsetbg*.
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*[workspaces]* ('label') <'icon'>;;
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This tells fluxbox to insert a link to the workspaces menu directly into your
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menu. See *Workspace Menu* in *fluxbox(1)* for details.
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*[*'command'*]* ('label') <'icon'>;;
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In addition to the commands above, any legal keys file 'command' may be used
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as a menu item. See *fluxbox-keys(5)* for more information.
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Like the *ROOT MENU*, this menu file must start with *[begin]* and end with
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*[end]*. However, this file consists of only one *[*'tag'*]* per line with no
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labels, commands, or icons.
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The available tags in this menu are:
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Provides a menu item to shade or unshade (or, roll-up) the window. This is
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equivalent to the shade titlebar button.
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Provides a menu item to stick or unstick the window. Stuck windows are
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displayed on all workspaces. This is equivalent to the stick titlebar button.
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Provides a menu item to maximize or unmaximize the window, equivalent to the
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maximize titlebar button. The button with which you click alters the
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behaviour of this item as follows:
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* Button 1 (Un)Maximize as normal.
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* Button 2 (Un)Maximize window vertically.
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* Button 3 (Un)Maximize window horizontally.
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Provides a menu item to iconify (or, minimize) the window, equivalent to the
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iconify titlebar button.
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Closes the window gracefully, equivalent to the titlebar button.
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Kills the window's process, like *xkill(1)*.
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Raise the window to the top of the stack within its layer.
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Lower the window to the bottom of the stack within its layer.
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Opens a dialog which can be used to set the window's title. Some applications
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may re-set their own title from time-to-time, wiping out your setting.
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Sends the window to a different workspace. When you select the workspace with
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a middle-click, fluxbox will also change to the new workspace. A regular
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click only sends the window.
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Adds a ``Layer...'' submenu which lets you change the layer of this window.
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Adds a ``Transparency...'' submenu which lets you change the focused and
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unfocused transparency of this window.
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Adds the ``Remember...'' menu item, which allows you to specify which
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settings should be stored in the `apps' file (See *fluxbox-apps(5)* for more
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Adds a horizontal line to the menu
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This is the default location for the user's root menu.
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*@pkgdatadir@/menu*::
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This is the system-wide root menu file. It will be used if the user's root
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menu is missing or unparseable.
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*~/.fluxbox/windowmenu*::
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This is the user's window menu definition file
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*@pkgdatadir@/menu*::
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This is the default window menu. If the user does not have this file, it will
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be copied to *~/.fluxbox/windowmenu* on fluxbox startup.
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*session.menuFile:* 'location'::
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This may be set to override the location of the user's root menu.
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The 'comand...' field of the *[exec]* tag can take advantage of other
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environment variables if they are set before fluxbox is started.
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[exec] (rxvt) {rxvt -ls} </usr/X11R6/share/icons/terminal.xpm>
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[exec] (netscape) {netscape -install}
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[exec] (The GIMP) {gimp}
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[exec] (Vim) {rxvt -geometry 132x60 -name VIM -e screen vim}
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[exec] (Mutt) {rxvt -name mutt -e mutt}
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[exec] (browser) {mozilla -browser}
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[exec] (news) {mozilla -news}
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[exec] (mail) {mozilla -mail}
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[exec] (edit) {mozilla -edit}
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[exec] (compose) {mozilla -compose}
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[submenu] (Window Manager)
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[exec] (Edit Menus) {nedit ~/.fluxbox/menu}
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[submenu] (Style) {Which Style?}
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[stylesdir] (~/.fluxbox/styles)
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[stylesmenu] (fluxbox Styles) {@pkgdatadir@/styles}
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[config] (Config Options)
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[reconfig] (Reconfigure)
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- Jim Ramsay <i.am at jimramsay com> (>fluxbox-1.0.0)
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- Curt Micol <asenchi at asenchi com> (>fluxbox-0.9.11)
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- Tobias Klausmann <klausman at users sourceforge net> (<=fluxbox-0.9.11)
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- Grubert <grubert at users sourceforge net> (fluxbox)
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- Matthew Hawkins <matt at mh dropbear id au> (blackbox)
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- Wilbert Berendsen <wbsoft at xs4all nl> (blackbox)
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fluxbox(1) fluxbox-keys(5) fluxbox-apps(5) xkill(1) iconv(1)