Fluxbox + GNOME

[SiKing]

Hi all.
I am running Elyssa main - Mint 5 GNOME. I tried to replace Metacity with Fluxbox. The main reason for doing this was to get Flux's tabbed applications: middle-click on the title bar, and drag it on top of another application. Unfortunately, in my case, when I middle-click on the title bar the application is only sent to the background. Is this some sort of GNOME setting?
Anyone have any idea / anyone got this to work?
TIA, SiKing.

[rich_roast]

AFAIK fluxbox is not a valid replacement for metacity; rather it is a completely separate window manager.

Anyways, provided that you are able to use compiz (activate visual effects), check out compiz config in the preferences menu, specifically the group and tab windows menu (down in the window management section). I've not used fluxbox in so long that I'm not sure if this is the equivalent functionality, and I couldn't quite configure it to my satisfaction but only because I got bored. I think this might be what you're looking for, anyway. Let us know

[SiKing]

That kinda sounds like what I would like, but ... where can you define the Super key? The only thing that I have been able to Google is that "the SUPER key is the Windows key on most keyboards" I don't have most keyboards - no Windows key.

Also, "not a valid replacement" is almost blasphemy. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=63734

[rich_roast]

That kinda sounds like what I would like, but ... where can you define the Super key? The only thing that I have been able to Google is that "the SUPER key is the Windows key on most keyboards" I don't have most keyboards - no Windows key.

Also, "not a valid replacement" is almost blasphemy. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=63734

lol, well, colour me educated! Didn't know that fluxbox could replace metacity and Gnome still work, but it is good to know, thanks

In keyboard preferences, advanced layout options you can fiddle about with mapping the win, alt, super keys but I don't know how much that will help; alternatively I suppose one just rebinds the compiz commands. That said, given that fluxbox would work except for that overriding middle-button setting... I had a lookyloo in gconf-editor and found the following key:

/apps/metacity/general/action_middle_click_titlebar

which determines what metacity would do; but then I'm confused about that setting taking effect when fluxbox is being used as the wm instead, besides which there's only a limited number of valid options afa metacity's concerned, nothing fancy (see description in gconf-editor). Compiz has a similar setting but it's something weird like alt+button 6(!), so I guess it's not compiz.

Wish I knew better the terrain; good luck in any event

[SiKing]

Well, considering that the middle-button sends the window to the background regardless of whether I have Flux or Meta running, I suspect this is a Compiz setting. Further, I am assuming that since Compiz grabs the middle button action, it never makes it to the underlying WM, and that cannot perform whatever the action there would be.
Bottom line: I think I need to figure out how to make Compiz ignore the middle mouse button...

Hey rich_roast, thanx for all the help anyway.

[rich_roast]

It's not a gnome setting according to a discussion I had on IRC.

Discussion on fluxbox irc reveals that there has been a change in keybindings in fluxbox:

(21:59:16) mark-t: 1.1.1 uses ctrl-click by default instead of middle click, I think
(21:59:28) mark-t: read his keys file and search for StartTabbing

Hope that helps.

[SiKing]

I installed Fluxbox just from Synaptic and got version 1.0.0-3. When I run just Fluxbox straight, no GNOME, then everything works as advertised - middle mouse buttons lets me join windows.