Installation Basics

Downloading and Extracting

The first necessary step is to download? the Window Maker source distribution. From this point on, we'll assume it has been retrieved and is residing on the local hard disk. The next step is to extract it, and change into the source directory.

# cd /path/to/your/download
# gunzip WindowMaker-0.xx.xx.tar.gz
# tar -xf WindowMaker-0.xx.xx.tar
# cd WindowMaker-0.xx.xx

Now that things are extracted, it's time to look at the relevant pieces of documentation. Most UNIX oriented free software packages come with a README file, and Window Maker is no exception. The README file contains a summary overview of what the distribution is, what the various directories contain, and other general information.

Next, we have the ChangeLog which describes a list of changes since the first version. Although it usually lists technical advancements about the distribution, it is also useful for finding out about bug fixes and recently added features.

Moving along, we have the NEWS file. For now, we just want to point out its existence. It will become more useful to novice users over time. Veteran Window Maker users will find it handy for keeping their configuration files up to date, and learning about various changes which affect Window Maker's behavior.

The two remaining files we need to look at are INSTALL and BUGS. The INSTALL file provides additional information that is necessary to install Window Maker successfully. The BUGS file contains a list of known Window Maker bugs. If a user feels they've found a bug in Window Maker, they should consult the BUGS file first. If the bug isn't listed, proceed to the Bug Tracker and see if its there.

Compiling

After extracting the latest version of Window Maker using the previous instructions, the next step is to compile it. First of all, the configure script should be run. It will test to make sure all the necessary libraries, compilers and build tools are available on the local system. The configure script allows for various arguments to be passed to it which relate to Window Maker's installation. For a complete list of all configurable settings, enter:

# ./configure -help

Three commonly used configuration options are:

--prefix=DIR --enable-kde --enable-gnome

The first configuration option lets Window Maker be installed into a non-default installation directory (e.g if Window Maker cannot be installed system wide for some reason, a user can specify a path under his/her home directory). The default installation directory is /usr/local/bin for the wmaker binary and /usr/local/GNUstep/Apps for the WPrefs application (the WPrefs installation directory can be specified by using --with-appspath=DIR). Note that root access will be needed later on during the installation process if the defaults were used. The second and third configuration options will enable Window Maker to fully cooperate with KDE and GNOME respectively.

So if a user johndoe would like to install the wmaker binary into /home/johndoe/wmaker/bin instead of the default /usr/local/bin, and if he wishes to use Window Maker in cooperation with KDE, the following arguments would be passed to the configure script:

 # ./configure --prefix=/home/johndoe/wmaker --enable-kde

After the configure script has been successfully executed, Window Maker can now be compiled with the make command; simply enter:

# make

Now is a good time to get a drink while the compilation takes place. Providing the compilation goes well, the final step is to install the binaries and other support files. This is accomplished by entering: # make install

Note that this is the step that needs to be performed by root if the default installation directory was used, or if a directory was specified that the running user cannot write to. If the installing user has root access, they should first become root by issuing su - root. Otherwise, reconfigure and recompile Window Maker by specifying a different installation directory, or kindly ask the local system administator to install it system wide.

Once Window Maker is installed system-wide, a default configuration can be installed on a per-user basis, through the bundled installation script, wmaker.inst. Enter wmaker.inst in a terminal emulator to configure Window Maker for your user.

This script copies the default Window Maker configuration to your user's home directory and sets Window Maker as the default window manager. It is recommended to create ~/GNUstep before executing the script.