The supplementary mwm resource description file contains specifications for menus, key bindings, and mouse bindings that are referred to by entries in the .Xdefaults file and other files that the window manager uses to create the resource database. If you do not have a .mwmrc file in your home directory, copy the system resource description file into your home directory with the following command:
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |% cp /usr/lib/X11/system.mwmrc ~/.mwmrc | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
You can freely modify the local copy of the resource description file to customize your Motif environment.
The configFile resource specifies the pathname for the mwm resource description file. If the pathname begins with ~/ (a tilde followed by a slash), mwm considers it to be relative to your home directory (as specified by the HOME environment variable). If the LANG environment variable is set, mwm looks for $HOME/$LANG/configFile. If that file does not exist or if LANG is not set, mwm looks for $HOME/configFile. If the configFile pathname does not begin with ~/ (a tilde followed by a slash), mwm considers it to be relative to the current working directory.
User actions, such as keystrokes, are associated with predefined window
manager functions. Each function has a name that begins with an f. (f dot)
character sequence. In general, the meaning of the function is evident from
its name (see Table 6-1). (See the mwm reference page in the
Motif Programmer's Reference for more information on these
functions.)
Table 22. Window Manger Functions
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| f.beep | Causes a beep. |
| f.cci | Controls the placement and naming of client-command interface (CCI) commands generated by applications. |
| f.circle_down | Moves the top window to the bottom of the window stack. |
| f.circle_up | Moves the bottom window to the top of the window stack. |
| f.exec or ! | Executes the following shell command. |
| f.focus_color | Sets the colormap focus to a window. |
| f.focus_key | Sets the keyboard input focus to a window. |
| f.goto | Moves the root window to a specified location. |
| f.kill | Kills an application and its window. |
| f.lower | Moves a window to the bottom of the window stack. |
| f.maximize | Maximizes a window. |
| f.menu | Activates the named menu. This function can be used to create cascading and Popup Menus. |
| f.minimize | Iconifies a window. |
| f.move | Starts an interactive move for a window. |
| f.next_cmap | Installs the next colormap. |
| f.next_key | Moves the keyboard input focus to the next window in the window stack. |
| f.nop | Does nothing. |
| f.normalize | Causes an icon or a maximized window to be displayed at its normal size. |
| f.normalize_and_raise | Causes an icon or a maximized window to be displayed at its normal size and raised to the top of the window stack. |
| f.pack_icons | Reorganizes the icons according to the current icon placement policy. |
| f.pan | Moves the root window a specified amount. |
| f.pass_keys | Toggles the use of special key bindings. |
| f.post_wmenu | Posts the Window Menu. |
| f.prev_cmap | This function installs the previous colormap in the list of colormaps for the window with the colormap focus. |
| f.prev_key | Moves the keyboard input focus to the previous window in the window stack. |
| f.quit_mwm | Exits the window manager without exiting the X Window System. |
| f.raise | Raises a window to the top of the window stack. |
| f.raise_lower | If obscured, raises a window to the top of the window stack; otherwise, lowers it to the bottom of the window stack. |
| f.refresh | Redraws all the windows on the screen. |
| f.refresh_win | Redraws a single window. |
| f.resize | Starts an interactive resize for a window. |
| f.restart | Stops and restarts the window manager. |
| f.restore | Restores an iconified window to its previous state. |
| f.restore_and_raise | Restores an iconified window to its previous state and raises it to the top of its stack. |
| f.screen | Moves a pointer to a specific screen. |
| f.send_msg | Sends a client message to the application. |
| f.separator | Draws a separator in a menu pane. |
| f.set_behavior | Restarts the window manager with the default behavior or reverts to any custom behavior. |
| f.title | Inserts a title in a menu pane. |
| f.track_pan | Continuously moves the root window in the direction of the mouse. |
The .mwmrc file defines named groups of key bindings, button bindings, and menu definitions. These groups are referenced by name as values for mwm resources, such as keyBindings and buttonBindings. For example, if you wanted to define alternative responses for mouse button actions, you would create the named set of bindings (for instance, MyButtonBindings) in the .mwmrc file and reference those bindings in your .Xdefaults file as follows:
Mwm*buttonBindings: MyButtonBindings
The following sections describe the syntax for defining menus, key bindings, and button bindings.