Help File Library: Blackbox Installation

Blackbox is just another window manager for the X-window system. Like the rest (eg. kde, gnome, windowmaker, anotherlevel etc), its function is to ease the user with its point and click functions. The one main advantage of Blackbox is its speed. It is extremely fast as compared to the others. Reason being it uses minimal resources. Everything is set to simplicity, but yet all important functions are available. Another advantage is its simple configuration files. It is highly configurable and easy to too. Installing themes and styles is a breeze that it can be done within a couple of minutes.

Obtaining Blackbox.
Download the latest version here,
http://bb.themes.org/php/downloads.phtml

Installation
Unzip the tarball: tar -zxvf blackbox-x.xx.x.tar.gz
replacing xxx with the version number
Cd into the new directory: cd blackbox-x.xx.x
Configure the install: ./configure
(If you want kde support, then type ./configure --enable-kde)
(kde support must be enable if you want to use kfm/kpanel)
Continue with install:
make
make install

Configuring your display manager to accept Blackbox.
If you have kde installed and you logged in using a gui, then most probably you are using kdm/xdm. In that case, edit /usr/sbin/fndsession. Add an entry for blackbox like this:

[ -x /usr/local/bin/blackbox ] && {
if [ "$FIRST" = "yes" ];then
LIST="$LIST;blackbox"
else
LIST="$LIST=blackbox"
FIRST="yes"
fi
}

Then, edit this file /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession. Add an entry for blackbox like this:

kde)
exec startkde
;;
gnome)
exec gnome-session
;;
blackbox)
kfm &
kpanel &
xterm -ls &
exec /usr/local/bin/blackbox
;;

the lines kfm &, kpanel & and xterm -ls & are optional. At the moment, startup folder is not available for blackbox (I'm working on an app for it). So the only way is to put those lines here. So if you want to automatically launch any programs with blackbox, just insert it here. :)

Restart X and good luck. :)

Pride
It will be anytime now that I forgot who....geez I forgot....oh yes Microsoft.