olwm (OPEN LOOK Window Manager) was the default
stacking window manager
A stacking window manager (also called floating window manager) is a window manager that draws and allows windows to overlap, without using a compositing algorithm. All window managers that allow the overlapping of windows but are not compositing ...
for
OpenWindows
OpenWindows is a discontinued desktop environment for Sun Microsystems workstations which combined SunView, NeWS, and X Window System protocols. OpenWindows was included in later releases of the SunOS 4 and Solaris operating systems, until its r ...
, the original X11
desktop environment
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a grap ...
included with
SunOS and
Solaris. Its unique characteristic is its implementation of the
OPEN LOOK look and feel
In software design, the look and feel of a graphical user interface comprises aspects of its design, including elements such as colors, shapes, layout, and typefaces (the "look"), as well as the behavior of dynamic elements such as buttons, boxe ...
.
Scott Oaks developed a variant of olwm, called olvwm (OPEN LOOK Virtual Window Manager), which implements a virtual
root window {{Unreferenced, date=September 2008
In the X Window System, every window is contained within another window, called its parent. This makes the windows form a hierarchy. The root window is the root of this hierarchy. It is as large as the screen/di ...
with dimensions greater than those of the
video display.
Key features
*Virtual Desktop Manager (olvwm only
): allows windows to be dragged and dropped to any Workspace. The number of Workspaces is configurable; there are three rows of four Workspaces in the VDM in the lower illustration.
*Workspace Menu: allows the user to start programs
*Windows can be automatically started and positioned when the window manager starts (and can be started in a specific Workspace in olvwm
), using the config file
*olvwm includes its own config file, which allows the user to resize and reposition a window using a shortcut key
*"
Focus follows mouse" capability
* Ability to switch and click-into a workspace (using the olvwm VDM
).
*Customizable colors
*Specify no, or minimal, window borders (olvwm only
)
*Sticky windows (olvwm only
[OLVWM Configuration](_blank)
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See also
* SunView
References
X window managers
Sun Microsystems software
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