BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

johnraff · 2022-01-20 07:56:54

I took the liberty of writing a BL helpfile for BLOB. Apart from adding it to the "Help & Resources" > "Bunsen Help Files" menu, an extra "Help" button on the BLOB intro dialogue will also bring it up. (We could do this for any of our yad-based utilities.)

I pulled in some text from damo's Lithium desktop intro, and the --help message, then padded it out. If this looks OK (improvements welcome of course) I'll put it in bunsen-docs.

BLOB - The BunsenLabs theme management script
=============================================
bl-obthemes is a script to save or restore gui theme settings,
from a graphical user interface based on yad.
To launch from the BL Menu: Utilities -> BLOB Themes Manager
To launch from a terminal: bl-obthemes [-h|--help][-v|--verbose]
Optional arguments:
-h, --help show a help message
-v, -d, --verbose, --debug describe actions being performed
No other CLI options are supported, and the user interface remains graphic.

The initial BLOB window
=======================
Options:
"Save Settings": The current theme settings of important applications will be saved
to a directory in ~/.config/blob, with a name of your choosing.
"View Saved": The saved theme collections ("blobs") will be shown,
and you can choose one to restore. Some blobs come pre-installed for you to try,
others will be added by you.
"Help": Show this document.
"Close": Exit BLOB.

Save options
============
When you have set up the looks of your desktop and windows how you like them,
all the settings can be saved as a single collection for future restoration.
After choosing a name for the new "blob", you can check over the list of
configurations to be saved:
Openbox theme
GTK theme including Icon theme
Background
(uses Nitrogen or feh, depending which has the newer saved bg config file)
Running Conky(s)
Running Tint2(s)
Alt Menu (dmenu)
Lightdm login gtk greeter
X config (.Xresources)
Bash config (.bashrc)
Compositor settings
jgmenu settings
Terminal emulator config (if available)
Everything will be saved to the new blob, but on restoring you can choose which configs to restore.
A screenshot is stored with each blob, so you can remember what it looks like.
(Windows are hidden briefly so the image is the bare desktop, with any Tint2s
or Conkys which are running, and a representive menu and window open.)

Restore Options
===============
Open the "View Saved" window to see what blobs are available to restore.
Options:
"View Image": see the screenshot close up.
"Add New": the "Save Settings" dialogue.
"Restore": restore the selected blob.
etc.
Several blobs are shipped with Bunsenlabs, so you can try some alternative desktop appearances.
The current default desktop is also available as "Beryllium" in case you want to come back.
If some of your configs are different from when your last blob was saved,
they will be overwitten when restoring a different blob.
This situation is detected, and you can save your current desktop before continuing,
if you want. You can view file differences before deciding.
When you restore a blob, you can choose which specific configs you want to restore.
Others will be left as they are now.

Configuration
=============
Some variables at the top of the script can be adjusted to suit your needs.
Copy /usr/bin/bl-obthemes to ~/bin, and edit your local copy.
Make sure it is the new default by running 'which bl-obthemes'.
USER VARIABLE: xdotool is used to move the mouse pointer, and assumes the
root-menu is shown with "Super + Space" keys, and the right mouse button is
set for "r-click". If you have set these to something else, then edit the
"MENUMODIFIER" variable and "MOUSECMD" array.
Set the variable "KEYDOWN" to where "Preferences" is in the root-menu (or
anything else you might want displayed).
The image viewer is set to be "bl-image-viewer". Edit the "IMGCMD" variable
to change this.
WARNING:
Conkys in non-default directories can be saved,
but will not be seen when running the bl conky chooser.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Virtualbox does not allow the guest to move the host mouse cursor,
using xdotool, so the screenshot may produce an incorrect theme displayed
and/or poor positioning.
A workaround is to move the cursor to some free space, and use
the "Enter" key in the "Configurations to be saved:" dialog.

Last edited by johnraff (2022-01-24 08:13:42)

hhh · 2022-01-20 08:51:28

^ Great! I've been using BLOB more and more, it's great.

rbh · 2022-01-21 00:58:39

Very good!

johnraff · 2022-01-22 07:33:38

Thanks guys! @rbh with your recent work on the forum documentation we might be moving towards a slightly better place.

I remember finding the conky and tint2 utilities very confusing at first, and the scripts have had some recent updates so I did some work on the conky helpfile, reorganizing and adding short notes about tint2. Any suggestions to make this easier to understand still appreciated:

BunsenLabs Conky and Tint2 Management
=====================================
BunsenLabs provides a number of tools to make using conky and tint2 easier.
Conky
=====
Many people like to run several conkys at the same time in their desktop session.
A Conky "session" makes this easy to organize with a "conky sessionfile"
- a text file holding a list of conky config files' paths, something like this:
.config/conky/First-conky.conf
.config/conky/possible_subdir/Second-conky.conf
(Paths can be absolute or relative - see bl-conky-session below.)
When a user logs in, the default conky session ~/.config/conky/conky-startup-session is run.
This is a symlink which points, by default, to ~/.config/conky/conky-sessionfile,
but can be changed at any time to point to a different login sessionfile.
It is also easy to switch from one conky session to another during a desktop session.

The Conky Pipemenu
==================
Menu > Preferences > Conky
Items:
"Conky Manager": You can choose conkys to run from all those available.
See "bl-conky-manager" below.
"Edit Conkys": Choose a conky config to edit. There are menu options to
choose from all conkys, the running conkys, or just the default conky.
See "bl-conky-edit" below.
"Move a Conky": move any currently visible conky to a new place on the desktop.
See "bl-conkymove" below.
"Reload Startup Session": conkys are reset to those in the startup sessionfile.
See "bl-conky-session" below.
"New Conky Session": choose a new session name and choose the conkys to run.
(Empty sessions are possible too.)
"Saved Sessions": if more than one sessionfile exists, choose one to run.
"Choose Startup Session": the startup symlink mentioned above is changed to
point to the chosen sessionfile.
"Conky Manager Help": open this document.

bl-conky-manager
================
From menu: Preferences > Conky > Conky Manager
From terminal: bl-conky-manager
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
-f,--file <FILENAME> : specify file to save session to
-z,--choose-sessfile : run gui filename entry dialog for new saved session
-s,--choose-startup : choose session file to run at startup
All available conky config files in ~/.config/conky are shown with checkboxes.
Those currently running are shown checked.
Check the ones you want to run, uncheck the ones to stop, and click "Apply".
Your chosen conky session will be saved to the default startup sessionfile.
If you have chosen to create a new session the selected conkys will be saved there instead.
If you choose to start a conky which is not "sticky",
you will be prompted to choose which desktop to launch it on.
The desktop will be saved in the sessionfile (see bl-conky-session below).
NOTE: Although the conky session manager allows conkys to be anywhere in $HOME,
the conky manager only handles conkys which are in ~/.config/conky.

bl-conky-edit
=============
From menu: Preferences > Conky > Edit Conkys > Conky Editor
From terminal: bl-conky-edit
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
As with bl-conky-manager, a listbox with all the conkys available will be shown for editing.
Chosen conky config files will open in the default text editor.
Multiple conkys can be opened for editing at the same time.

bl-conkymove
============
From menu: Preferences > Conky > Move a Conky
From terminal: bl-conkymove
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
You will be invited to click on a conky to identify it, then Alt+LeftMouse drag it
to its new position. The new position will be written to the conky config file.

bl-conky-session
================
From menu: Preferences > Conky >
"Reload Startup Session", "New Conky Session", "Saved Sessions" and "Choose Startup Session"
all use bl-conky session. ("Choose Startup Session" uses bl-conky-manager too.)
From terminal: bl-conky-session
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
<no argument> : run the default startup sessionfile
<filepath1> [<filepath2>...] : run all these sessionfiles
--default : add the default startup sessionfile to the list to run
--kill-running : kill current running conkys without prompting
--set-startup <file> : set <file> as default startup sessionfile
(Use "default" to reset startup session to conky-sessionfile.)
--list : list available session files
Conky sessionfile paths can be absolute (start with /) or relative to ~/.config/conky,
The conky paths inside the sessionfiles can be absolute, relative to ~/.config/conky or relative to ~/.
(~/.config/conky will be checked first)
Conkys are usually configured as "sticky" so they run on all desktops simultaneously,
but can also be set in the sessionfile to run on one desktop only.
For example, such an entry to run a conky on Desktop 1 would look like this:
D[1] .config/conky/possible_subdir/MySpecial-conky.conf
(Desktop numbering starts at 0)

Tint2
=====
There is a smaller set of tint2 management tools, and they work like the conky tools.

The tint2 pipemenu
==================
Menu > Preferences > Tint2
Items:
"Tint2 Manager": shows a checkbox list like the conky manager.
"Restart Tint2": kill all running tint2 instances and restart them with the same arguments
"Reload Default Session": kill tint2s and reload the default ~/.config/tint2/tint2-sessionfile
"Edit tint2s": the same options as for conky

bl-tint2-manager
================
From menu: Preferences > Tint2 > Tint2 Manager
From terminal: bl-tint2-manager
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
The tint2 manager displays tint2 files inside ~/.config/tint2 which can be
checked or unchecked as with the conky manager.
Only the default ~/.config/tint2/tint2-sessionfile is used.

bl-tint2-edit
=============
From menu: Preferences > Tint2 > Edit Tint2s > Tint2 Editor
From terminal: bl-tint2-edit
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
A listbox with all the tint2s available will be shown for editing, as with conky.

bl-tint2-session
================
From menu: Preferences > Tint2 > Reload Default Session
From terminal: bl-tint2-session
Options:
-h,--help : show help message
Tint2 sessionfile paths can be absolute (start with /) or relative to ~/.config/tint2,
The tint2 paths inside the sessionfiles can be absolute, relative to ~/.config/tint2 or relative to ~/.
(~/.config/tint2 will be checked first)
When called, bl-tint2-session will kill any running tint2s and start those
which are written in the default tint2 sessionfile ~/.config/tint2/tint2-sessionfile
If any sessionfiles are passed as arguments they will be loaded instead of the default.
Multiple sessionfiles can be loaded.
There is no support for setting a specific desktop with tint2.

Conky and Tint2 sessionfiles can be edited by hand as well as via the GUI tools.

johnraff · 2022-01-24 08:16:10

And I thought we should have something for the BL autostart file. Anything needs adding to this?

BunsenLabs Autostart
===================
The X session and BunsenLabs session
====================================
When you log in to an X session, a "session manager" is chosen from the
.desktop files in /usr/share/xsessions to start a window manager and other processes needed.
With simple systems like BunsenLabs it's usual to have a user "autostart" file to run
things like desktop panels and utilities.
The BL session manager 'bunsenlabs-session' runs a window manager (openbox by default),
sets openbox to use ~/.config/openbox/bl-rc.xml as its config file,
and runs the user autostart file ~/.config/bunsen/autostart.
SEE ALSO: 'man bunsenlabs-session', 'man openbox-session', 'man openbox', 'man xsession'
BL forum thread on 'startx': https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=3774

The BunsenLabs autostart file
=============================
~/.config/bunsen/autostart
This script is run after the window manager has started up.
All lines are treated as normal shell commands and can be
changed by users to set up their desktop session as they want.
The comments should help, but note:
1) This will be run by the default shell 'sh' which in Debian is dash, not bash,
so only basic shell commands will work.
2) Commands which start long-running processes should be "forked" with an ampersand
or else the autostart script will stop at that line till the process ends, eg:
pnmixer &
Commands which return quickly do not need this, eg:
xset b off
3) There is a section in the middle where certain lines only apply for a particular window manager.
The openbox section is complete, but the XFCE and Awesome Window Manager clauses
are just suggestions. If you want to use a different window manager, change the
window_manager=openbox
line near the top of the file to whatever you want to use, eg
window_manager=awesome
(Use the actual command which launches the window manager, not its name, if different.)
Then make a new clause in the 'case $window_manager in...' section to call the apps you will need.
4) Many applications use the xdg autostart mechanism based on
.desktop files in /etc/xdg/autostart and ~/.config/autostart.
The last line in the BunsenLabs autostart file:
bl-xdg-autostart
will start up the appropriate .desktop files for you.
If you would prefer to ignore the xdg autostart and start all applications manually,
comment out that line and add the necessary commands to your autostart file instead.
NOTE: Openbox and desktop environments like Gnome or XFCE will also invoke the same xdg autostart.
SEE ALSO: 'man bl-xdg-autostart'
Arch Wiki on XDG Autostart: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/XDG_Autostart

Last edited by johnraff (2022-01-26 03:58:58)

hhh · 2022-01-24 20:23:53

Maybe add that desktop files in ~/.config/autostart will get read by both the OB and BL sessions, and any other installed desktop sessions.

johnraff · 2022-01-25 00:04:41

^Indeed! The XDG autostart mechanism - I didn't say anything about it at all.
~/.config/autostart and /etc/xdg/autostart

Updated with a note about xdg autostart. Also rewrote some other parts. Struggled a bit to find the right compromise between simplicity and correctness...

Last edited by johnraff (2022-01-25 04:54:22)

hhh · 2022-01-25 21:43:57

>Struggled a bit to find the right compromise between simplicity and correctness...

Even stripped down like that, it seems complicated and verbose when reading it. Maybe just deal with bl-autostart and throw in a note about autostart desktop files and a link to the Arch Wiki?

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/XDG_Autostart

Last edited by hhh (2022-01-25 21:44:35)

johnraff · 2022-01-26 02:19:11

hhh wrote:

...it seems complicated and verbose when reading it.

This is what I was afraid of.

I'll have a go at stripping it down.
But I think it's important to at least list the some of those directories and files - I remember having the hardest time remembering eg where the xsession .desktop files lived...

A couple of hours...

hhh · 2022-01-26 03:55:49

I'll hack at it as well. Maybe a flow chart? Something visual.

johnraff · 2022-01-26 04:01:37

I had a go at it https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic … 00#p120200
cutting out a certain amount, but your input too, please.

hhh · 2022-01-26 04:02:29

^ And let's not forget @damo's excellent guide here...

https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=6461

hhh · 2022-01-26 04:08:55

johnraff wrote:

I had a go at it https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic … 00#p120200
cutting out a certain amount, but your input too, please.

OK, this is really good, John. Make it public, please.

Last edited by hhh (2022-01-26 04:18:53)

johnraff · 2022-01-26 04:47:55

OK enough time spent on these for now. I'll update bunsen-docs today, and bunsen-configs so the help menu points to the right places.

Let's add links to Damo's intro here and there though, just because it deserves more exposure.
Pity right now it's the "Lithium" desktop. Would it be hard to update to Beryllium? Mainly, change the screenshots?

hhh · 2022-01-26 05:24:14

^ I still need to upload the themes. Or at least take some scrots of them.

johnraff · 2022-01-26 05:50:15

Going to use Bronto's dark wallpaper with the red squiggle? Hope so - at least as an option...

hhh · 2022-01-26 06:46:56

I thought that was decided, more or less...

https://i.imgur.com/a5ibmQV.png

https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic … 17#p120017

johnraff · 2022-01-26 07:56:17

^I think that looks pretty nice, a worthy successor to Helium and Lithium.

8bital was posting a lot about the #! look and you were responding with some grey/black stuff, so I thought perhaps still wavering a bit...

johnraff · 2022-01-26 07:58:02

Anyway the new docs are online in bunsen-docs, and the new bunsen-configs should have a slightly improved menu. You need to accept its offer to update prepend.csv to get it though.

#1 2022-01-20 07:56:54

BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#2 2022-01-20 08:51:28

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#3 2022-01-21 00:58:39

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#4 2022-01-22 07:33:38

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#5 2022-01-24 08:16:10

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#6 2022-01-24 20:23:53

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#7 2022-01-25 00:04:41

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#8 2022-01-25 21:43:57

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#9 2022-01-26 02:19:11

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#10 2022-01-26 03:55:49

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#11 2022-01-26 04:01:37

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#12 2022-01-26 04:02:29

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#13 2022-01-26 04:08:55

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#14 2022-01-26 04:47:55

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#15 2022-01-26 05:24:14

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#16 2022-01-26 05:50:15

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#17 2022-01-26 06:46:56

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#18 2022-01-26 07:56:17

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

#19 2022-01-26 07:58:02

Re: BLOB, Conky & autostart help files

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