menu buttonForum: Other Help Topics Topic: menu button started by: Yull Posted by Yull on Feb. 02 2007,02:56
I am using DSL on a laptop and using the thinkpad mouse. It is rather difficult for me learning DSL and using the thinkpad for the menu's as well and so I was wandering is there anyway I could add a menu button to the taskbar? I have installed DSL 3.1 on my 646MHz laptop with a 6GB HDD. I am fairly new to linux in general, so please be as descriptive as possible for a noob. I would also like to know how to apt-get java so I might install limewire as well, if anyone can tell me how to apt-get the latest version of java.thank you in advance for any assistance. Michael Howard P.S. I am loving DSL thus far. I think the developers are doins a kickass job. Posted by mikshaw on Feb. 02 2007,03:16
menu button, meaning access to the right-click fluxbox menu through a button? Fluxbox doesn't have a button. However, you could create a hotkey that opens the menu.An easier alternative, however, would be to use the jwm window manager instead of fluxbox. You can do this a couple of ways: use the boot option desktop=jwm switch desktops using the fluxbox menu edit /home/dsl/.desktop I'm not a java user, so i can't help you there. Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Feb. 02 2007,03:51
There's jre 1.5 available in mydsl
Posted by Yull on Feb. 02 2007,04:37
Thank you mikshaw and thehatsrule. Not sure how to setup a hot-key and do not fee like getting to technical to change desktops lol so think I will live without the button. For the java, thehatsrule, how to I go bout getting that jre 1.5 you speak of? As I said, I am a total newb to linux. Can I apt-get -i jre 1.5 and if so, how do I set up sites for the apt get? P.S. I only know of apt-get by messing with debian netinstall for bout an hour before frustration took over lol. Posted by mikshaw on Feb. 02 2007,16:29
apt-get is not available in DSL, but can be installed through mydsl. The jre package that hats mentioned is also available through mydsl< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Category:MyDSL > Posted by Yull on Feb. 03 2007,01:14
heh now I have to figure out how to use mydsl program. When I try, it says something bout unkown user. I am logged on as root, any suggestions?
Posted by mikshaw on Feb. 03 2007,03:49
Yes. Don't be logged in as root.The mydsl was built to be used by user 'dsl'. The actual installation of the program files is done as root, but the process is started by dsl so that the icon and menu items can be created with the proper ownership. Posted by Yull on Feb. 03 2007,14:17
Hrrmmm, I just read that dsl becomes debian when installed on the HDD. So, by all rights if I were to insall "apt-get" then it would simply be debian like I messed with for around an hour or so on a different box, correct? With dpkg files and using alien to change other files to dpkg? Am I correct in my thinking?
Posted by lucky13 on Feb. 03 2007,16:37
Open emelfm. Go to the panel with /home/dsl. Click on the H to show hidden files. Go to /.fluxbox. Find the file named "keys." Right click and scroll to "view" or just double click and it should open in beaver (editor). Add a command like this to it: Mod1 m :RootMenu Mod1 is your alt key, so this will open a menu on alt-m. You can use Mod4 if you want to put the key between Alt and Control (the one with the dopey logo that assumes everyone uses the same operating system) to good use. You can also use whatever other keystrokes you want (seriously... as many as you want). Be careful, though, that you don't cause conflicts with other programs you use regularly (if you use keystrokes) because the window manager takes precedence. See the fluxbox manual for keybindings: < http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/docs/en/newdoc.keybindings.php > By the way and following up on another recommendation, switching to jwm is VERY easy using the menu. There's an option to switch to jwm on the exit submenu in fluxbox. It will also let you switch right back to fluxbox from jwm (same way: exit submenu, switch to fluxbox) if you decide you don't like it. If you're used to having a status bar on the bottom of the screen with the familiar button to launch your menu, jwm may suit you better. Posted by Yull on Feb. 03 2007,17:34
You have all helped me so very much. And thank you lucky13 very much for explaining all of that to me. I think I will try the jwm. I am rather use to the microshit windows. I now have one more question pertaining to the mydsl, is it similar to CNR on linspire/freespire? Or is there more to it than that? Not sure how much any of you know of the ***spire's CNR but all you do is double click em and it downloads and installs the program, is mydsl similar to that?
Posted by Yull on Feb. 03 2007,17:55
Ok, I am in JWM mode now and yes, this is much more like I am use to. Thank you all so very much.
Posted by lucky13 on Feb. 03 2007,19:13
Short answer: yes and no. Kind of. Long answer: There are four kinds of files in the DSL repository right now. The first and fewest are zipped (tar.gz) files. Those require you to unzip them manually. The .dsl files you download from the dsl browser do a self-install. They also update your menu (in a "mydsl" subfolder), add icons, etc. You can download them and manually add them, too ($ mydsl-load [appname]). UCI files should go to your /opt folder. These will have to be mounted to be used. You use the same mydsl browser to load (start edit) AND MOUNT (end edit) local UCI extensions. The other kind are UNC files. Those require you to use unionfs. Don't bother with these if you're running DSL off your hard drive with a normal hard drive install. Finally, __spire is Debian-based. So is Knoppix, on which DSL is built. You can enable apt and use synaptic (graphically) or apt-get (command line) to add files from the Debian pools. See < this thread >. Using apt-get or synaptic will not update your menu or add icons. You can do that manually, though. The menu in JWM is very easy to set up like that (however you want). Setting up icons with xtdesktop is too much hassle, imo. Most of the programs in the old stable pool will work with DSL, but some won't. The best option, though, us to start with the apps in the repository since they're built specifically to work with DSL and then try apt/synaptic. If you don't find what you need, ask. Hope that helps. Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Feb. 03 2007,19:37
Posted by mikshaw on Feb. 03 2007,19:55
It's actually a *bad* idea to get into the habit of manually extracting *.tar.gz mydsl extensions as an installation method. Some of these extensions install files into /home/dsl. Depending on your method of extraction, these new files may end up being owned by root, causing problems for user dsl.
If you install DSL to your harddrive as an uncompressed, fully-writable system (a traditional debian-style install) it becomes *similar* to Debian, but does not *become* Debian. There are several modifications to the system which give it a unique behavior suited to a single-user liveCD environment. It has been mentioned many times that DSL is developed primarily as a liveCD or frugal system, and so the debian-style install has not received a lot of attention. As a result, the dsl-to-debian process is not well documented or even terribly reliable. There is at least one thread on these forums in which this is discussed in greater detail, so if you have some time you may consider a search for it. Posted by lucky13 on Feb. 03 2007,20:30
I tried mydsl-installing one (evilwm) and it didn't install. I unzipped it in /opt and moved the evilintrc to /home. But I'll take your word for it and stand corrected. |