---
layout: default
title: Guided Tour - Menus
---
</head>
<h1>
<center>Menus</center>
</h1>

<center><a href="index.html">Back
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<ul>

  <li><a href="#menu">Menu list</a></li>
  <li><a href="#root">Root window menu</a></li>
  <li><a href="#list">Window list menu</a></li>
  <li><a href="#wspace">Workspaces menu</a></li>
  <li><a href="#apps">Application icon menu</a></li>
</ul>

<h2><a id="menu">Menu list</a></h2>

<p>Different menus are available within Window Maker:</p>

<ul>

  <li>The root window menu or applications menu</li>
  <li>The window list menu</li>
  <li>The workspace menu</li>
  <li>The application icon menu<br>
  </li>
</ul>

<p>Menus provide a list of applications or commands for execution. They
can be used to launch applications, to get information, to configure
the workspace...<br>
</p>

<p>Menus are opened by right-clicking either in the "blank" area of the
workspace or in a window's titlebar or in docked icons. The <em>window
list menu</em> is the only one opened with the middle mouse button.
With a two-button mouse, pressing both buttons at once usually does the
trick. A number of keyboard shortcuts are provided. These shortcuts are
indicated by the modifier key + letter shown to the right of a menu
item.</p>

<p>The keyboard can be used to open and move through some of the menus.
For instance, the root menu can be opened using F12 (default setting).
The Up and Down arrow keys can then be used to navigate through the
menu or the Left and Right arrow keys to jump between parent menus and
submenus. Hitting the <em>Enter</em> key executes the selected item.
the <em>Escape</em> key closes the menu or stops menu traversal.</p>

<p>Menus can be forced to remain open on the workspace by left-clicking
the titlebar. This creates a <em>close</em> button on the titlebar.</p>

<h2><a id="root">Root window menu</a></h2>

<center><img style="width: 107px; height: 261px;" alt="Root window menu (applications menu)" src="images/apm.png"></center>

<br>

The root window menu or applications menu is opened by right-clicking
on an empty area of the workspace or by hitting the pre-defined
keyboard shortcut (default is F12). This menu launches applications,
allows for the customization of the workspace (backgrounds, themes...),
and the management of other workspace characteristics using standard X
utilities (xprop, xfontsel, xcmap...).
<p>The menu content is totally configurable, either using WPrefs.app or
by editing the plain text menu file. Instructions on how to configure
one or the other can be found in the WindowMaker directory of the
distribution. To use WPrefs.app, menus must be in property list format
(plmenu). A script is available to convert plain text menus to property
list menus and it's called wm-oldmenu2new. </p>

<h2><a id="list">Window list menu</a></h2>

<center><img style="width: 265px; height: 141px;" alt="Window list menu" src="images/wlm.png"></center>

<br>

Middle-clicking an empty area of the workspace opens the window list
menu. With a two-button mouse, clicking both buttons at once usually
gives the same result. F11 is the default keyboard shorcut to open the
window list menu.
<p>This menu lists all windows - whether active or inactive - in every
workspace. The workspace containing each window is indicated at the
right of the window name. The current focused window is marked by a
diamond sign to the left of the window's name. Clicking any window in
the list focuses and raises the corresponding window and moves you to
the workspace where it's located.</p>

<h2><a id="wspace">Workspaces menu</a></h2>

<center><img style="width: 101px; height: 121px;" alt="Workspaces menu" src="images/wksm.png"></center>

<br>

<br>

The workspaces menu is part of the root menu (applications menu).
This item has two options: <em>new</em> and <em>destroy last</em>.
<p>The first option creates a new workspace and automatically switches
you to it. </p>

<p>The second option destroys the last workspace as soon as there are
no windows opened in it.</p>

<p>Each workspace has a corresponding item in this menu. The active
workspace is indicated by a diamond to the left of the workspace name
or number.</p>

<p>Clicking a workspace entry switches from the current workspace to
the selected workspace.</p>

<p>To change the name of a workspace, first "stick" the menu by
left-clicking the menu titlebar. Then <em>Ctrl + click</em> the menu
item to make it editable and type in the new name. Hitting <em>Return</em>
saves the new name, hitting <em>Escape</em> cancels the operation.</p>

<p>Key bindings allow movement from one workspace to another. Usually <em>Meta
+ (number)</em>. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Meta</span> key
is normally the "<span style="font-style: italic;">Alt</span>" key,
while <em>(number)</em> represents a number
key that corresponds to the workspace number. For instance 1 can be
the default workspace (workspace 1), 2 the second workspace and so on.
Thus,
<span style="font-style: italic;">Meta + 2</span> switches to workspace
2.</p>

<p>These key bindings can be set (or changed) from the keyboard
shortcut dialog in
WPrefs.app. </p>

<h2><a id="apps">Application icon menu</a></h2>

<center><img style="width: 98px; height: 119px;" alt="Icon application menu" src="images/dockm.png"></center>

<br>

<br>

Clicking an icon in the dock with the right mouse button brings a
menu for modifying that icon's application. There are six options
available in the application icon menu for docked applications. (Some
applications will not have all six&nbsp; options available.&nbsp; If an
option is not available, it will appear "greyed out" in the menu.) <br>

<ol>

  <li>
    <p>Clicking "Keep on top" places a check-mark beside that option,
which means that the icon will always be on "top" of
opened windows. If "Keep on top" is unchecked, windows will be allowed
to cover the icons in the dock. Selecting "Keep on top" for one icon
automatically affects all of the items in the dock. You cannot keep
just one docked icon on top of windows - it's all or nothing, one way
or the other.<br>
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>"Launch" opens the application without double-clicking the icon.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>"Bring here" unhides the application in the current workspace.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>"Hide" hides the application or unhides it if already hidden.
Unhiding opens the application in the workspace where it is located.
(This option may not work if the application has it's own hiding menu
option.)</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>"Settings" allows the modification of application path and
arguments, the command line, and the icon used.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>"Kill" closes the application immediately and should only be
used if absolutely necessary.</p>
  </li>
</ol>

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