i3 HUD menu

Waxolunist · 2016-08-02 05:56:44

Hello

I wanted to ask if somebody knows a possibility to get a hud menu running in openbox like this one: https://github.com/RafaelBocquet/i3-hud-menu

It would be awesome to have less mouse interaction during the day.

Kind regards
Christian

qcgxr · 2016-08-31 20:11:52

Been using just that for several months. It uses dmenu and fits in well with BL. With most applications (e.g., Gimp, Thunar, Darktable) it works great. Just wish Firefox and Libreoffice worked with it.

ohnonot · 2016-09-01 06:17:47

looks interesting.
what exactly is it, what does it do?
does it have its own look?
it's a lot of code to not have been updated in 3 years, but if it works...

Waxolunist · 2016-09-01 06:23:10

Functionally it is the same as the Ubuntu HUD menu, but the UI comes from dmenu.
I was just asking because I saw the hud menu in ubuntu and thought it would be cool because it enables better keyboard control and less mouse fiddling in menus, but if libreoffice is not working with it (the app with probably the most menu entries) it gets a bit useless.

ohnonot · 2016-09-01 06:24:50

Waxolunist wrote:

Functionally it is the same as the Ubuntu HUD menu

sorry, i am completely ubuntu-illiterate.
you will have to explain it as if to your grandmother.

Waxolunist · 2016-09-01 06:32:51

Ok, as you type it filters / searches the menu of an application and has autocompletion (at least in ubuntu). So instead of clicking File > Open > FileDialog (click, click, click) > Open you type "Op[Tab] ~/file.txt" and triggers the menu. Or instead of in Thunar click View > Sidebar > Tree you type Tr[Key Down][Key Down][Enter].

see also youtube

qcgxr · 2016-09-01 14:12:59

It's one of the few brilliant ui-changes to come out of Ubuntu (actually, when they added it with Unity, I was so pleased by the idea I installed Ubuntu just to try it--but couldn't deal with the rest of Unity...). To add to what @waxolunish said, it makes menu items searchable via dmenu. So, shortcut key, then type whatever command you would normally either mouse to or use a series of keys to get to. It's very nice with, e.g., Gimp, when you can't remember where something is in the menu and, perchance, has no shortcut key. It adds no slowdown whatsoever. If it were up to me, I'd say integrate it into Bunsen--but I guess I'd say the same for all sorts of other dmenu coolness.

qcgxr · 2016-09-01 14:15:08

Oh, also, I believe I saw on reddit that this specific adaption has been integrated into (?) Mint Mate as an add-on. Don't have any experience w/ Mint, but if they've forked/updated/extended the code, might be worth looking into.

damo · 2016-09-01 14:42:06

May be problems getting it to work on BL. First issue was easy to overcome:

sudo apt-get install python3-dbus

But then

dbus.exceptions.DBusException: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name com.canonical.AppMenu.Registrar was not provided by any .service files

README wrote:

i3-appmenu-service.py
=====================
Incomplete implementation of the com.canonical.AppMenu.Registrar DBus service.
Applications exporting their menu through dbusmenu need this service to run

It may need some input from a systemd guru! <shout>@HoaS</shout>

qcgxr · 2016-09-01 17:11:53

Ohps, I guess I didn't look carefully at the github you linked. If I recall, I followed this fork: https://github.com/jamcnaughton/i3-hud-menu. I'm running a testing-Bunsen install and IIRC I had to install a several unity-related debs from Ubuntu (yeah, I know...). Though I don't think there is any systemd stuff.

Also, here is the Mate version, which looks like it's being worked into Xubuntu: https://bitbucket.org/ubuntu-mate/mate-hud

ohnonot · 2016-09-02 05:33:27

imo this can only work if each and every application in question supports it.
this may hold true for the unity desktop experience, but i don't think is the case on bunsenlabs.

qcgxr, did you get it working? does it really support gimp, thunar, firefox, libreoffice...?

that would indeed be cool.
but it does add some (likely significant) overhead - even if the frontend is dmenu - and the lean experience that is bunsenlabs gets bogged down.

as to technically installing it, why not, try it, but i suspect that some of the dependencies will be pretty ubuntu specific and you know not to add any incompatible sources, right?

apart from that, this is easily achievable for executables that are in your $PATH and, to some extent, other things.
it is already installed on your bl, and it's gmrun (Alt+F2). read its documentation!
there also was a thread on crunchbang forums about other cool stuff you can do with gmrun.

if it has to be dmenu, it also comes with dmenu_run (tab completion).

Last edited by ohnonot (2016-09-02 05:34:56)

damo · 2016-09-02 08:53:51

damo wrote:

sudo apt-get install python3-dbus

No unity or 'buntu stuff was needed when I tried, just ^

qcgxr wrote:

I had to install a several unity-related debs from Ubuntu (yeah, I know...). Though I don't think there is any systemd stuff.

I meant that there would likely need to be systemd (or dbus) configuration, since i3-HUD is expecting a certain service to be running.

ohnonot · 2016-09-03 04:55:24

ok, i stand corrected.

so the service is running, but doesn't it need constant input from apps?

not sure how this is supposed to work technically.

the dmenu frontend is just cosmetics, what matters is the underlying mechanism, which i understand is the same on the i3-hud or stock ubuntu???

#1 2016-08-02 05:56:44

i3 HUD menu

#2 2016-08-31 20:11:52

Re: i3 HUD menu

#3 2016-09-01 06:17:47

Re: i3 HUD menu

#4 2016-09-01 06:23:10

Re: i3 HUD menu

#5 2016-09-01 06:24:50

Re: i3 HUD menu

#6 2016-09-01 06:32:51

Re: i3 HUD menu

#7 2016-09-01 14:12:59

Re: i3 HUD menu

#8 2016-09-01 14:15:08

Re: i3 HUD menu

#9 2016-09-01 14:42:06

Re: i3 HUD menu

#10 2016-09-01 17:11:53

Re: i3 HUD menu

#11 2016-09-02 05:33:27

Re: i3 HUD menu

#12 2016-09-02 08:53:51

Re: i3 HUD menu

#13 2016-09-03 04:55:24

Re: i3 HUD menu

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