Window Maker is a window manager originally designed to provide integration support for the GNUstep Desktop Environment. It reproduces the elegant look and feel of the NEXTSTEP user interface. It is fast, feature rich, easy to configure, and easy to use.
Window Maker is not overloaded with features, and it is easier to configure than most other window managers. One of its goal is to produce a window manager that does not require editing of configuration files. Window Maker does not require tons of memory to run.
Window Maker includes compatibility options which allow it to work with other popular desktop environments, namely GNOME and KDE, and comes with a powerful GUI configuration editor, called WPrefs, which removes the need to edit text-based config files by hand.
The interface, while offering many features, tends towards a minimalist, high performance environment directly supporting XPM, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF and PPM icons with an alpha-channel, a right-click, sliding-scrolling application menu system which can throw off pinnable menus, along with window-icon miniaturization and other animations on multiple desktops.
Key Features
- Support for multiple workspaces.
- Built-in themes support.
- Over 13 types of window decorations, including custom defined.
- Support for XPM, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF and PPM icons (no conversions with external programs) with an alpha-channel.
- Support for setting the root window background (via the wmsetbg utility).
- Optional superfluous animations, such as window shading, customizeable icon miniturization effects, slide/scrolling menus, and much more.
- Built-in icon dithering with support for 4bpp and 8bpp displays.
- Popup menus that support keyboard traversal, which can be “pinned” to the root window.
- Support for GNUstep, GNOME, and KDE window hints to better integrate with those desktop environments.
- Support for Motif and OPEN LOOK window hints to better interface with applications based on those toolkits.
- Built-in GUI configuration utility that eliminates the need to hand edit config files.
- Application Dock (similar to NEXTSTEP/MacOS X Dock) that can be configured using drag and drop.
- Workspace Dock (aka Clip/Fiend) which is a workspace specific Dock extender
- Support for rudimentary session management.
- Support for dockapps (equivalent of applets or epplets).
- Ability to change all preferences and menus on-the-fly without having to restart the window manager.
- Almost complete ICCCM compliance.
- Left Half / Right Half Maximise.
- Maximize a window such that it occupies the largest area without overlapping others.
- History and TAB completion in dialogs.
- Windows can be resized vertically (horizontally) using MOD+Wheel.
- National language I18N support (over 11 locales).
Website: windowmaker.org
Support: Documentation
Developer: Window Maker developers
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
Window Maker is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Stacking Window Managers | |
|---|---|
| Openbox | Standards compliant, fast, light-weight, extensible window manager |
| KWin | Window manager for the KDE Plasma Desktop |
| Mutter | Wayland display server and X11 window manager and compositor library |
| FVWM | Powerful ICCCM-compliant multiple virtual desktop window manager |
| berry | Healthy, bite-sized window manager |
| xfwm | Part of the Xfce desktop environment |
| Window Maker | NeXTSTEP-like window manager |
| JWM | Joe’s Window Manager |
| Gala | Designed by elementary for use with Pantheon |
| Fluxbox | Highly configurable and low resource |
| evilwm | Maximises screen real estate and provides good keyboard control |
| Worm | Tiny, dynamic, tag-based window manager |
| Blackbox | Similar to the NeXT interface and Window Maker |
| Enlightenment | Focuses on pushing the limits of existing technologies |
| PekWM | Originally based on the aewm++ window manager |
| Marco | MATE default window manager |
| 2bwm | Offers 2 borders, and written over the XCB library |
| cwm | OpenBSD fork of calmwn, a clean and lightweight window manager |
| IceWM | Win95-OS/2-Motif-like window manager |
| Sawfish | Extensible window manager using an Emacs Lisp-like scripting language |
| Moksha | Modern iteration of the Enlightenment window manager |
| Magpie | X11 window manager and compositor library |
| sowm | Itsy bitsy floating window manager |
| Compiz | OpenGL window and compositing manager |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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