On the DEC and HP workstations, you will want to run a window system and a window manager. A window manager operates on top of a windowing system. For example, X Windows is a window system. Twm, mwm, and CDE are window managers. CDE is based on the Motif Window Manager and hence very similar to it. CDE is the default interface on our versions of the DEC UNIX, HP-UX and Solaris x86 operating systems. X Windows is free software that runs on all those operating systems as well as on others, such as Linux. Please note that X Windows, CDE, twm and mwm are highly customizable, so the set-up may not always remain the same through system upgrades, from one user account to another, etc.
X Windows and CDE both let you divide your workstation's screen into one or more "windows". You enter information into a window by moving a "mouse cursor" into that window and typing on the keyboard. Each window acts like a separate terminal, and you can do different things in each one. You can edit a file in one window, format a document in another, compile a program in another, view your mail messages in still another, and so on.
X Windows and CDE both make the workstation a very powerful tool. After you create the windows you want to use, you can move them around and shuffle them above or beneath one another, making them any size you want. You can also remove individual windows from your screen as you are done with them. You manipulate windows using the mouse, commands entered from your keyboard, or a combination of the two.
The mouse is an auxiliary input device that is attached to your workstation with a flexible cord. It is about the size of a hockey puck and has three buttons. You'll use the mouse to control the mouse cursor on your workstation screen.
When the mouse cursor in inside most windows, it is shaped like a capital I or an arrow, and when it is over the background screen (the area outside any window), it is shaped like a capital X. When the mouse cursor is over the background screen (also called the root window), typing on the keyboard has no effect.
You'll learn to perform three basic functions with the mouse: pointing, clicking, and dragging. Pointing is simply moving the mouse to put the mouse cursor in the desired location. Clicking is quickly pressing and immediately releasing one of the mouse buttons. Dragging is holding down a mouse button, moving the mouse, then releasing the mouse button.
As you become more adept at using X Windows and other UNIX software and services, you may find it more convenient to work with multiple windows. There are two easy ways to open additional windows.
Move the mouse cursor onto the background screen (the cursor will change shape to resemble a capital X) and press the left mouse button. This displays the "Root Menu". While holding down the left mouse button, move the mouse cursor (which is now shaped like an arrow pointing diagonally toward the upper right) downward until a box appears around the first selection on the menu. Release the mouse button. Another window, labeled xterm in the title bar will appear following a brief pause. Other windowing systems often refer to the title bar as the banner.
The mouse will move to the new window after it opens. If you want this new window to be located in a different position on the screen, move the mouse until the mouse cursor is in the xterm title bar (the rectangle containing the words xterm ), press down the left button, and while holding the button down, drag the window to a new location on the screen.
The xterm program also lets you create an additional window on your screen into which you can type commands and retrieve information.
To create a new window using xterm, enter at the prompt:
Error: Can't open display:
make sure your DISPLAY environment variable is set properly. To set the DISPLAY, type:
% setenv DISPLAY hostname:0.0
where hostname is the name of the machine you are using, for example,
% setenv DISPLAY lacerta:0.0
If you get a message saying "Command not found.", make sure that you have /usr/bin/X11 and /usr/sww/X11/bin in your path. If you get a message like the following:
[1] + Stopped (tty output) xterm
Type "fg" to bring the xterm process to the foreground and see more text about the error. You'll then need to fix whatever caused the error before starting up an xterm.
Don't forget to enter & after term. Using & causes the xterm program to run in parallel with the first window as a concurrent process. If you don't type the &, you won't be able to work in your original window, because xterm will be running in it. The [1] means that this is your first background process and the xxx is its Process Identification number (or PID).
After you type xterm &, the mouse will move to the new window after it opens. If you want this new window to be located in a different position on the screen, move the mouse until the mouse cursor is in the xterm bar (the rectangle containing the word xterm), press down the left button, and while holding the button down, drag the window to a new location on the screen.
If you open additional windows using xterm versus using the "Root Menu", you may notice error messages as you close these windows. The following message will appear: xterm: fatal IO error 32 (Broken pipe) or KillClient on X server " nodename .berkeley.edu:0.0" where nodename is the name of your workstation. The % prompt will not reappear until you press [RETURN]. You may avoid these messages by using the"Root Menu" method of opening windows.
% xterm -T my_title -rv
will create an xterm window with the title "my_title" and in reverse video. Type man xterm from the % prompt for more details.
You can also put customizations in a .twmrc or .Xdefaults file in your home directory. This is a bit more complicated, and if you make any mistakes you may not be able to log back in to your account. You can customize just about everything. For example, here is my .Xdefaults file:
XTerm*scrollBar: true XTerm*font: -adobe-courier-*-r-*-*-0-140-*-*-*-*-*-* #XTterm*Font: 9x15 XTterm*Geometry: 80x55 xterm*fontList: -adobe-courier-*-r-*-*-0-140-*-*-*-*-*-* #ifdef COLOR xterm*background: azure1 #endif
It is recommended that you get a book on X Windows if you intend to customize to this extent.
To get rid of an xterm window, move the mouse cursor into the window to be closed and type exit then press Return. This kills the xterm process and makes the window disappear. You may also close a window by placing the mouse cursor in the small box in the upper left-hand corner and double clicking the left mouse button.
You do not have to close all of the windows that you've created before you logout, although it is advisable to do so. Your final logout process will get rid of all open windows and the processes associated with those windows.
Remember, shutting down all of your windows does not always log you off the machine. To logoff, you must exit completely from the machine. On the Sun and SGI workstations, hold down the right mouse button and select the last menu item. A good rule of thumb when logging off from an X Windows session is to make sure you see the login: prompt on the screen before you leave. That way you know you are logged off completely.
You issue commands from the mouse with various mouse button
pointing, clicking and dragging combinations. Table 9.1
summarizes the different ways to execute commands with twm
using the mouse and keys.
----------- ---------------------------------------
Action Method
Move Title Bar-LEFT-Drag
Iconify RightCorner-smallbox-LEFT-Click
Deiconify Icon-LEFT-Click
Shuffle Up Title Bar-LEFT-Click
Menu Root Window + Any Mouse Button
----------- ---------------------------------------
Table 9.1 twm Window Manager Commands
When you execute the iconify command, your active window will disappear and its icon will appear in its place. You can move icons the same way you move windows, so you can create your own method for organizing your workspace.
Press and drag the left mouse button on Options to see the menu of options. The following table shows the most useful options:
HP VUE Login Options Option Purpose --------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Restart server This will restart the window system. This is useful if the login banner is messed up. No Windows Login with no window system at all. This is usually not necessary. Fail-Safe session Force a login session, even if there are errors in your .vueprofile, .vuewmrc or other startup files. This option is very useful for debugging your startup files. Lite Session Use a "Lite" version of CDE. This is similar to CDE, but has less functionality and is less of a drain on the computer. If you select CDE Lite, you will continue to get "Lite" every time you login unless you specifically change it back or don't run CDE at all. --------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Most of the information in the previous section on X Windows also applies to CDE, but there are some differences that will be covered here.
When you first login (assuming you haven't selected any different options from the Options menu), you should see one dtterm window (basically like an "xterm" window), a file manager window and a control panel along the bottom of the screen. (You may be prompted for your terminal type in the dtterm window; if so, move the mouse cursor to that window, click the left mouse button, and type "dtterm".)
The file manager is similar to the Apple Macintosh interface which shows an icon for each file or directory in your current directory.
The control panel provides quick access to many applications and accessories. To select something from the control panel, click the icon with the left mouse button. There will be documentation in the HP lab with more details about the items available on the control panel. It's best to just experiment with these tools by clicking on the icons.
To open up another window, click the left mouse button on the terminal icon at the lower left side of the control panel. If you aren't sure which icon this is, ask a neighbor, or see the signs that should be posted in the lab.
Also, see the information in Creating a Window Using the "Root Menu".
Depending upon the configuration of your window manager, you may need to move the mouse pointer to the particular window you would like to use and click the left mouse button in order to use another window.
You can also move the mouse cursor onto the background screen (the cursor will change shape to resemble a capital X) and press the right mouse button. Select Logout... from the menu, then confirm this by clicking on the OK button.
It's a good idea to always wait until you see the login banner reappear on the screen to be sure you are properly logged out. If the login banner does not reappear, you can hold down the three keys [SHIFT] [CTRL] [RESET] at the same time. This will log you out and restart the window manager. If you don't logout properly, your account is not secure.
If you have problems logging in to the HP workstation, select the Options button, then select Restart Server. This will restart the CDE server.
If the workstation is up and running but there is no login banner, type CNTL-D a few times. The CDE server should then restart. If it doesn't, there may be another problem. Please report this by sending e-mail to inst@eecs.berkeley.edu.
If you aren't sure what's wrong with the display, type [SHIFT] [CTRL] [RESET]. This will logout any active console processes and restart the CDE server. This will not affect any users who are logged in remotely.
If you edited the .dtprofile file in your home directory and are now unable to login, select the Options button, then select Fail-Safe Session. This will allow you to login and fix any problems in your .dtprofile.
inst@eecs.berkeley.edu