General Front Panel Configuration

Front Panel's PANEL syntax allows you to:

• Change the location of the Front Panel

• Change the window decoration

• Set general appearance and behavior of controls

  The default PANEL description is in /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dtwm.fp.

  For additional information, see the dtfpfile(4X) man page.

General Steps

1. Create a new Front Panel configuration file in /etc/dt/appconfig/types/language or HomeDirectory/.dt/types.

2. Copy the default PANEL description from /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dtwm.fp to the new file.

3. Edit the PANEL description.

   The new PANEL description has precedence over the default one.

To Change the Default Front Panel Location

Use the PANEL_GEOMETRY field in the PANEL definition to specify the location.

For example, the following panel is in the upper right corner.

	PANEL SpecialFrontPanel
 	{
  	 PANEL_GEOMETRY      -1+1
  	  …
 	}

To Label Controls in the Main Panel

1. Add the following line to the PANEL definition:

   	DISPLAY_CONTROL_LABELS   True

2. Add a LABEL field to each control.

   The control_name is used if no LABEL is specified.

To Change the Click Behavior of Controls

Use the CONTROL_BEHAVIOR field in the PANEL definition to specify how the user runs a control's PUSH_ACTION. Values for the field are:

single_click—the user clicks the control to run the PUSH_ACTION

double_click—the user double-clicks the control to run the PUSH_ACTION

To Create an Entirely New Front Panel

Creating a new Front Panel may be preferable when you want to make extensive changes.

To avoid conflict with the built-in Front Panel components, an entirely new Front Panel should use new names for the PANEL and other containers.

1. Create the PANEL component for the new Front Panel. Give it a unique name:

   	PANEL front_panel_name
    	{
    	   …
    	}

2. Create the new boxes and controls, using the new container names.

   If you want to use existing components, you must copy their definitions and change the CONTAINER_NAME value.

3. Choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace menu.

Example of Creating a Personal Front Panel with Three Rows

The following example changes the default Front Panel so that its controls are organized into three rows.

1. Copy /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dtwm.fp to HomeDirectory/.dt/types/MyFrontPanel.fp. Give the file write permission.

   This is the file you will edit to provide the new Front Panel.

2. Change the name of the Front Panel:

   	PANEL NewFrontPanel

3. Change the name of the box named Top and edit its container name:

   	BOX NewFrontPanelTop
    	{
    	  CONTAINER_NAME					NewFrontPanel
    	  POSITION_HINTS					first
    	  … 	
   	}

4. Add box definitions for the middle and bottom rows:

   	BOX NewFrontPanelMiddle
    	{
    	  CONTAINER_NAME						NewFrontPanel
     	 POSITION_HINTS						second
    	}
    

   	BOX NewFrontPanelBottom
    	{
    	  CONTAINER_NAME						NewFrontPanel
    	  POSITION_HINTS						second
    	}

5. Change the CONTAINER_NAME of the following controls to NewFrontPanelTop:

   • Clock

   • Date

   • Home

   • TextEditor

   • Mail

6. Change the CONTAINER_NAME of the following controls to NewFrontPanelBottom:

   • Printer

   • Style

   • Applications

   • Help

   • Trash

7. Change the CONTAINER_NAME of the switch to NewFrontPanelMiddle.

8. Choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace menu.