CrunchBang Linux

Donat

Member

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 14

HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Hello,
First of all this not a duplicate of AlexelA's inspring HOWTO http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/topic … wallpaper/
AlexelA's method is intended to have all terminals open on the desktop. This method allows either desktop or windowed terminals (with the added bonus of a desktop terminal running on startup).

At startup:

With a normal Terminator window:

STEP 1: Update your Terminator

The profile switching used in this HOWTO requires version 0.12 of terminator.

To install Terminator 0.12:

You can track the latest stable release by adding the following to /etc/apt/sources.list:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/gnome-terminator/ubuntu intrepid main restricted universe multiverse

once this is done, simply install or upgrade terminator using your favourite package manager.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Step 2: Install Gnome-Terminal, and create some profiles

You only need to perform this step if you don't usually have transparent background windows

Although Terminator does not yet have the ability to have different native profiles (planned feature of the 1.0), it can make use of gnome-terminal profiles. Gnome-terminal uses the gconf system to store it's profile data, these files cannot simply be edited by hand. The quick fix is to install gnome-terminal and use it to generate the profile data (you might be able to remove it once you're done, but I haven't tried that yet)

Again using your favourite package manager, install gnome-terminal.

sudo apt-get install gnome-terminal

Now open gnome-terminal and create a new profile (let's call it Desktop) with a transparent background. Once this is done, We are able to invoke a transparent Terminator without changing our beloved default settings:

terminator --profile Desktop

Step 3: Create Desktop version of Terminator

Openbox can apply window settings on a per-window basis. it can do things like strip window decorations, put a window on the desktop define the window size etc.

First of all, we need to trick Openbox into thinking we have 2 different Terminators:

sudo link /usr/bin/terminator /usr/bin/terminator_desktop

This creates a symbolic link to the original terminator called terminator_desktop. If terminator_desktop is launched, terminator will be launched, but Openbox will see it as terminator_desktop.

Now let's configure Openbox:

leafpad ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml

near the end of the file there are the application settings, edit it to look something like this (slightly above in the file are explanations about the different settings):

    <application name="terminator_desktop">
      <focus>yes</focus>
      <layer>below</layer>
      <desktop>all</desktop>
      <skip_taskbar>yes</skip_taskbar>
    </application>
  </applications>
</openbox_config>

We could have defined the geometry, and lack of window decorations in the above file, but we will use the terminator command line options instead (this is not necessary, only it is the way I did it). The following line should launch a desktop terminator (note -b rids us of the window decorations; the particular geometry is for my screen, and allows 24 pixels for my menu bar)

terminator_desktop --profile Desktop -b --geometry 750x576+0+24

...most X programs accept a command line argument of the form -geometry WIDTHxHEIGHT+XOFF+YOFF (where WIDTH, HEIGHT, XOFF, and YOFF are numbers) for specifying a preferred size and location for this application's main window.

We would do well to add this to our .bashrc for convenience:

leafpad ~/.bashrc

and add the line

alias terminator_desktop='terminator_desktop --profile Desktop -b --geometry 750x576+0+24 &'

Step 4: Start the desktop Terminator on startup

Openbox runs a list of commands at startup, we will add our terminator_desktop to it:

leafpad ~/.config/openbox/autostart.sh

and add the lines

# Launch Desktop Terminator
terminator_desktop --profile Desktop -b --geometry 750x576+0+24 &

If all went well, you should now be able to log out and log back in to find a Desktop Terminal awaiting your command.

Thanks for reading,

Donat

fhsm

#! Junkie

From: New Hampshire, USA

Registered: 2009-01-05

Posts: 443

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

great how-to.  The idea of giving up windowed terminals turned me off terminal on the desktop previously and tilda has made me quite happy but I'll give this a try when I get sick of tilda.

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FHSM: avoid vowels and exotic consonants and you'll get your handle every time.  identi.ca

optik

Member

From: Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 12

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

very cool, thanks Donat.  How would i edit the config file for terminator so as to make the window transparency "stick"?  I change the background options via the right-click menu to transparent, but it doesn't stay on reboot. 

cheers,
op.

Last edited by optik (2009-02-15 00:22:05)

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Last.fm  |  Steam

Donat

Member

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 14

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

If your using gnome-terminal to create profiles you need to edit things such as desktop transparency in gnome-terminal.
if you irght-click in gnome terminal, you should be able to "edit profiles" and there you should create a new profile where you set the background to be transparent.

optik

Member

From: Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 12

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Thanks again Donat - I right-clicked in gnome-terminal and created a "Desktop" profile as you said and your tutorial instructs (not sure how i missed that).  As I'd already completed the command line stuff and autostart editing in the subsequent steps, my new Desktop profile was launched successfully the next time i booted. 

Cheers, Op.

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Last.fm  |  Steam

globetrotterdk

#! CrunchBanger

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 135

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Very good HowTo, thanks. Is there a way to move the desktop terminal in from the left edge of the monitor? I am using #! on a Lenovo T60 and the terminal sits right on the extreme left side of the monitor. It would be nice to move the terminal to the right about 10-20 pixels.

Lastly, is there a way to make tabs semi-transparent and rename them to something like 1, 2, 3?

Cheers

Last edited by globetrotterdk (2009-03-17 20:21:04)

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#! Waldorf - Openbox - Acer Aspire One 725
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. - Groucho Marx

WhyNotCrashDifferently?

#! Member

From: ON, CA

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 59

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Very good HowTo, thanks. Is there a way to move the desktop terminal in from the left edge of the monitor? I am using #! on a Lenovo T60 and the terminal sits right on the extreme left side of the monitor. It would be nice to move the terminal to the right about 10-20 pixels.

What you're looking for is the XOFF number in the dimensions specifications: WIDTHxHEIGHT+XOFF+YOFF.

terminator_desktop --profile Desktop -b --geometry 750x576+0+24

You'll have to change the red number in your geometry to however many pixels you want the console offset.

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Sony VAIO VGN-N130G
-1.6-GHz Intel Core Duo, Intel GMA 950/128MB, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD

globetrotterdk

#! CrunchBanger

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 135

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Thanks for the quick reply. OK, I dropped both XOFF and YOFF when I set up my profile. I understand that adding a value for XOFF will offset the console from the left, but why isn't the console at the top edge of my screen when I am not using any value for YOFF?

Cheers

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#! Waldorf - Openbox - Acer Aspire One 725
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. - Groucho Marx

WhyNotCrashDifferently?

#! Member

From: ON, CA

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 59

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Thanks for the quick reply. OK, I dropped both XOFF and YOFF when I set up my profile. I understand that adding a value for XOFF will offset the console from the left, but why isn't the console at the top edge of my screen when I am not using any value for YOFF?

Cheers

Can't say for sure, my guess would be the position of the terminator window doesn't default to the top edge of your desktop so you need to include YOFF=0. If you don't include XOFF and YOFF values terminator might just follow the normal rules for window placement.

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Sony VAIO VGN-N130G
-1.6-GHz Intel Core Duo, Intel GMA 950/128MB, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD

globetrotterdk

#! CrunchBanger

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 135

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Too early in the morning. Just got my first cup of coffee. So, it turns out that I had the default values after all. Interestingly, since I changed them to the following in Openbox autostart config:

terminator_desktop --profile Desktop -b --geometry 750x576+10+10 &

and

alias terminator_desktop='terminator_desktop --profile Desktop -b --geometry 750x576+10+10 &'

in ~/.bashrc the profile changes won't "stick" anymore. I have tried, as in the response further up on this thread, to edit the profile in gnome-terminal, but this hasn't helped. I frankly don't know what is left to try.

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#! Waldorf - Openbox - Acer Aspire One 725
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. - Groucho Marx

globetrotterdk

#! CrunchBanger

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 135

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Aaah. I found part of the problem. In copying the code in this HowTo exactly before changing X and Y, I inadvertently changed my "desktop" profile to "Desktop" profile. So far, so good. However, I still have a problem with my prefs for titlebars, font size, and tab position not sticking.

Last edited by globetrotterdk (2009-03-18 10:47:10)

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#! Waldorf - Openbox - Acer Aspire One 725
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. - Groucho Marx

WhyNotCrashDifferently?

#! Member

From: ON, CA

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 59

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Aaah. I found part of the problem. In copying the code in this HowTo exactly before changing X and Y, I inadvertently changed my "desktop" profile to "Desktop" profile. So far, so good. However, I still have a problem with my prefs for titlebars, font size, and tab position not sticking.

If those are settings in your gnome-terminal profile I can't help you, I skipped step 2.

Bah, the system tray of tint2 is acting up again.

Last edited by WhyNotCrashDifferently? (2009-03-18 12:25:12)

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Sony VAIO VGN-N130G
-1.6-GHz Intel Core Duo, Intel GMA 950/128MB, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD

Leeeeeevi

New Member

Registered: 2009-02-04

Posts: 9

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Bah, the system tray of tint2 is acting up again.

glad I'm not the only person with this issue, hardly anybody using tint2 on here seems to have it

WhyNotCrashDifferently?

#! Member

From: ON, CA

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 59

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Bah, the system tray of tint2 is acting up again.

glad I'm not the only person with this issue, hardly anybody using tint2 on here seems to have it

Aye, it comes and goes seemingly at random. Can't say it really bothers me much, though.

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Sony VAIO VGN-N130G
-1.6-GHz Intel Core Duo, Intel GMA 950/128MB, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD

globetrotterdk

#! CrunchBanger

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 135

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

They are settings from Terminator. I assume they should be in my gnome-terminal profile, but maybe that is the problem???

Sorry, I have absolutely zero experience with tint2. It looks very cool on the Google site, I can understand why you are giving it a try. It would be great with a HowTo if you get it sorted out :-)

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#! Waldorf - Openbox - Acer Aspire One 725
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. - Groucho Marx

globetrotterdk

#! CrunchBanger

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

Registered: 2009-02-01

Posts: 135

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Solved (sort of).

I am still unsure as to why the prefs no longer stick. However, I worked around the problem by editing the ~/.config/terminator/config file. The one thing that still doesn't work is adding 'titlebars=false' doesn't prevent titlebars appearing if I have two tabs open.

Last edited by globetrotterdk (2009-03-20 10:26:32)

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#! Waldorf - Openbox - Acer Aspire One 725
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. - Groucho Marx

robertscott197

Member

Registered: 2009-04-27

Posts: 27

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Using this trick, I also am able to have terminator have a image background ( on the windowed version)

To make it stick use the following code:

background_type=image
background_image=/home/darkness/image/All_Work_Background.jpg
                                  (replace this with the file path and image file
                                         you wish to use)

             and of course you still have the split functionality

I have an image resembling lined notebook paper that I find easy on the eyes. Of course, a nice clean cb wallpaper works well too.

Last edited by robertscott197 (2009-05-27 16:00:06)

deviant-route

Member

Registered: 2009-09-10

Posts: 12

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Hey Donat just wanted to say thanks for the howto it works flawlessly:D;)

deviant-route

Member

Registered: 2009-09-10

Posts: 12

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

you can add this to your terminator .config to remove the titlebar when you split panels.   titlebars=false

deviant-route

Member

Registered: 2009-09-10

Posts: 12

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

i would like to know how to change the cursor shape to underline instead of block.

Pi

#! Member

Registered: 2009-10-12

Posts: 72

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Hello chaps. Any way I might be able to get it to not appear in the taskbar? Thanks.

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iggykoopa

Script Master

Registered: 2008-12-13

Posts: 1,480

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

I may not have it totally right since I'm at working and cam't test it, but in your rc.xml, in the applications section add:
<application name="terminator">
<skip_taskbar>yes</skip_taskbar>
</application>

this will skip the taskbar for all terminator windows though.

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I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.

Pi

#! Member

Registered: 2009-10-12

Posts: 72

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

I may not have it totally right since I'm at working and cam't test it, but in your rc.xml, in the applications section add:
<application name="terminator">
<skip_taskbar>yes</skip_taskbar>
</application>

this will skip the taskbar for all terminator windows though.

Ahh thanks, ended out I was just missing a character.

[And thanks Donat for posting this tutorial, it's wonderful.]

Last edited by Pi (2009-10-17 17:35:54)

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Toadsworth on #crunchbang

tokou

New Member

Registered: 2010-02-17

Posts: 4

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

Thank you for this howto, it worked well for me, but now i have another problem.
since the terminator is now occupying almost all the space on my desktop
when i right-click to get the dmenu i get instead the  contextual menu of terminator
is there a solution for this problem ?
thanks

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,017

Re: HOWTO - Have a Desktop terminal, and manage Terminator profiles

^ Not really, but of course there's always the Super-Space keyboard shortcut to the Openbox menu.

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