FVWM3STYLES(1)

📦

version 1.1.5 · 9 versions

1.1.5 · arch rolling, fedora 43, fedora 44 (latest)
1.1.0 · nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable
1.1.5 · ubuntu stonking
1.1.3 · fedora 43
1.1.4 · fedora 44
1.0.6a · debian bookworm
1.0.6a · ubuntu noble
1.1.4 · ubuntu resolute
1.1.2 · debian trixie, ubuntu questing

✨ NAME ✨

fvwm3styles(1) — fvwm styles 💅

🎀 CONTROLLING WINDOW STYLES 🎀

okay so bestie, real talk: for readability, the commands in this section are not sorted alphabetically. The description of the Style command can be found at the end of this section. 👑

The commands: FocusStyle, Style, and WindowStyle can accept optional conditional components to match some properties of a window. ✨

For example:

Style (Name mc) Sticky

Will make a window whose name matched 'mc' Sticky. 💖

Style (Name mc, Class XTerm) StartIconic

This example will start an xterm(1) window whose WM_CLASS matches 'XTerm' and name is 'mc'. 🦋

A valid list of properties to test against are:

Resource
Class
Name
Icon
WindowID

The matching of the properties specified for any Style line are ANDed together, and for styles to be applied, all properties must match. 💯

NOTE: To destroy a style line with window properties, DestroyStyle should be used. For example:

DestroyStyle (Name mc, Class XTerm)

It is not required to specify the style arguments when destroying a style, only the property components are required. 🫶

Existing Style lines in the form:

Style Application* Sticky, StartIconic

are still supported, and their behaviour remains unchanged. 👑

💖 FocusStyle 💖

FocusStyle stylename options — works exactly like the Style command, but accepts only the focus policy related styles beginning with "FP". The prefix can be removed, but at the cost of a little bit of time. FocusStyle is meant to make the configuration file more readable. Example:

FocusStyle * EnterToFocus, !LeaveToUnfocus

is equivalent to

Style * FPEnterToFocus, !FPLeaveToUnfocus

💅 DestroyStyle 💅

DestroyStyle style — deletes the style named style. The changes take effect immediately. Note that style is not a wild-carded search string, but rather a case-sensitive string that should exactly match the original Style command.

Destroying style "*" can be done, but isn’t really to be recommended. For example:

DestroyStyle Application*

This removes all settings for the style named "Application*", NOT all styles starting with "Application". 💀

🫶 DestroyWindowStyle 🫶

DestroyWindowStyle — deletes the styles set by the WindowStyle command on the selected window. The changes take effect immediately. ✨

✨ UpdateStyles ✨

UpdateStyles — All pending updates of all windows' styles and looks are applied immediately. E.g. if Style, WindowStyle or TitleStyle commands were issued inside a fvwm function. 🔥

👑 Style 👑

Style stylename options ... — The Style command is used to set attributes of a window to values other than the default or to set the window manager default styles. 💅

stylename can be a window’s name, class, visible name, or resource string. It may contain the wildcards '*' and '?', which are matched in the usual Unix filename manner. Multiple style options in a single Style command are read from left to right as if they were issued one after each other in separate commands. A given style always overrides all conflicting styles that have been issued earlier (or further left on the same style line). 👑

Note: windows that have no name (WM_NAME) are given a name of "Untitled", and windows that do not have a class (WM_CLASS, res_class) are given class "NoClass" and those that do not have a resource (WM_CLASS, res_name) are given resource "NoResource". 🫶

If a window has the resource "fvwmstyle" set, the value of that resource is used in addition to any window names when selecting the style. ✨

options is a comma separated list containing one or more of the following keywords. Each group of style names is separated by slashes ('/'). The last style in these groups is the default. 🌈

Now the big list, bestie. No skips, no cap. 💅

BorderWidth
HandleWidth
CornerLength
!Icon / Icon
MiniIcon
IconBox
IconGrid
IconFill
IconSize
!Title / Title
TitleAtBottom / TitleAtLeft / TitleAtRight / TitleAtTop
LeftTitleRotatedCW / LeftTitleRotatedCCW
RightTitleRotatedCCW / RightTitleRotatedCW
TopTitleRotated / TopTitleNotRotated
BottomTitleRotated / BottomTitleNotRotated
!UseTitleDecorRotation / UseTitleDecorRotation
StippledTitle / !StippledTitle
StippledIconTitle / !StippledIconTitle
IndexedWindowName / ExactWindowName
IndexedIconName / ExactIconName
TitleFormat / IconTitleFormat / !Borders / Borders
!Handles / Handles
WindowListSkip / WindowListHit
CirculateSkip / CirculateHit
CirculateSkipShaded / CirculateHitShaded
CirculateSkipIcon / CirculateHitIcon
Layer
StaysOnTop / StaysOnBottom / StaysPut
Sticky / Slippery
StickyAcrossPages / !StickyAcrossPages
StickyAcrossDesks / !StickyAcrossDesks
!StickyStippledTitle / StickyStippledTitle
!StickyStippledIconTitle / StickyStippledIconTitle
StartIconic / StartNormal
Colorset
HilightColorset
BorderColorset
HilightBorderColorset
IconTitleColorset
HilightIconTitleColorset
IconBackgroundColorset
IconTitleRelief
IconBackgroundRelief
IconBackgroundPadding
Font
IconFont
StartsOnDesk / StartsOnPage / StartsAnyWhere
StartsOnScreen
StartShaded / !StartShaded
ManualPlacementHonorsStartsOnPage / ManualPlacementIgnoresStartsOnPage
CaptureHonorsStartsOnPage / CaptureIgnoresStartsOnPage
RecaptureHonorsStartsOnPage / RecaptureIgnoresStartsOnPage
StartsOnPageIncludesTransients / StartsOnPageIgnoresTransients
IconTitle / !IconTitle
MwmButtons / FvwmButtons
MwmBorder / FvwmBorder
MwmDecor / !MwmDecor
MwmFunctions / !MwmFunctions
HintOverride / !HintOverride
!Button / Button
ResizeHintOverride / !ResizeHintOverride
OLDecor / !OLDecor
StickyIcon / SlipperyIcon
StickyAcrossPagesIcon / !StickyAcrossPagesIcon
StickyAcrossDesksIcon / !StickyAcrossDesksIcon
ManualPlacement / CascadePlacement / MinOverlapPlacement / MinOverlapPercentPlacement / TileManualPlacement / TileCascadePlacement / PositionPlacement
MinOverlapPlacementPenalties
MinOverlapPercentPlacementPenalties
DecorateTransient / NakedTransient
DontRaiseTransient / RaiseTransient
DontLowerTransient / LowerTransient
DontStackTransientParent / StackTransientParent
SkipMapping / ShowMapping
ScatterWindowGroups / KeepWindowGroupsOnDesk
UseDecor
UseStyle
!UsePPosition / NoPPosition / UsePPosition
!UseUSPosition
NoUSPosition / UseUSPosition
!UseTransientPPosition
NoTransientPPosition / UseTransientPPosition
!UseTransientUSPosition / NoTransientUSPosition / UseTransientUSPosition
!UseIconPosition / NoIconPosition / UseIconPosition
Lenience / !Lenience
ClickToFocus / SloppyFocus / MouseFocus|FocusFollowsMouse / NeverFocus
ClickToFocusPassesClickOff / ClickToFocusPassesClick
ClickToFocusRaisesOff / ClickToFocusRaises
MouseFocusClickRaises / MouseFocusClickRaisesOff
GrabFocus / GrabFocusOff
GrabFocusTransientOff / GrabFocusTransient
FPFocusClickButtons
FPFocusClickModifiers
!FPSortWindowlistByFocus / FPSortWindowlistByFocus
FPClickRaisesFocused / !FPClickRaisesFocused
FPClickDecorRaisesFocused / !FPClickDecorRaisesFocused
FPClickIconRaisesFocused / !FPClickIconRaisesFocused
!FPClickRaisesUnfocused / FPClickRaisesUnfocused
FPClickDecorRaisesUnfocused / !FPClickDecorRaisesUnfocused
FPClickIconRaisesUnfocused / !FPClickIconRaisesUnfocused
FPClickToFocus / !FPClickToFocus
FPClickDecorToFocus / !FPClickDecorToFocus
FPClickIconToFocus / !FPClickIconToFocus
!FPEnterToFocus / FPEnterToFocus
!FPLeaveToUnfocus / FPLeaveToUnfocus
!FPFocusByProgram / FPFocusByProgram
!FPFocusByFunction / FPFocusByFunction
FPFocusByFunctionWarpPointer / !FPFocusByFunctionWarpPointer
FPLenient / !FPLenient
!FPPassFocusClick / FPPassFocusClick
!FPPassRaiseClick / FPPassRaiseClick
FPIgnoreFocusClickMotion / !FPIgnoreFocusClickMotion
FPIgnoreRaiseClickMotion / !FPIgnoreRaiseClickMotion
!FPAllowFocusClickFunction / FPAllowFocusClickFunction
!FPAllowRaiseClickFunction / FPAllowRaiseClickFunction
FPGrabFocus / !FPGrabFocus
!FPGrabFocusTransient / FPGrabFocusTransient
FPOverrideGrabFocus / !FPOverrideGrabFocus
FPReleaseFocus / !FPReleaseFocus
!FPReleaseFocusTransient / FPReleaseFocusTransient
FPOverrideReleaseFocus / !FPOverrideReleaseFocus
StartsLowered / StartsRaised
IgnoreRestack / AllowRestack
FixedPosition / VariablePosition
FixedUSPosition / VariableUSPosition
FixedPPosition / VariablePPosition
FixedSize / VariableSize
FixedUSSize / VariableUSSize
FixedPSize / VariablePSize
!Closable / Closable
!Iconifiable / Iconifiable
!Maximizable / Maximizable
!AllowMaximizeFixedSize / AllowMaximizeFixedSize
IconOverride / NoIconOverride / NoActiveIconOverride
DepressableBorder / FirmBorder
MinWindowSize
MaxWindowSize
IconifyWindowGroups / IconifyWindowGroupsOff
ResizeOpaque / ResizeOutline
BackingStore / BackingStoreOff / BackingStoreWindowDefault
Opacity / ParentalRelativity
SaveUnder / SaveUnderOff
WindowShadeShrinks / WindowShadeScrolls
WindowShadeSteps
WindowShadeAlwaysLazy / WindowShadeBusy / WindowShadeLazy
EWMHDonateIcon / EWMHDontDonateIcon
EWMHDonateMiniIcon / EWMHDontDonateMiniIcon
EWMHMiniIconOverride / EWMHNoMiniIconOverride
EWMHUseStackingOrderHints / EWMHIgnoreStackingOrderHints
EWMHIgnoreStateHints / EWMHUseStateHints
EWMHIgnoreStrutHints / EWMHUseStrutHints
EWMHIgnoreWindowType / !EWMHIgnoreWindowType
EWMHMaximizeIgnoreWorkingArea / EWMHMaximizeUseWorkingArea / EWMHMaximizeUseDynamicWorkingArea
EWMHPlacementIgnoreWorkingArea / EWMHPlacementUseWorkingArea / EWMHPlacementUseDynamicWorkingArea
MoveByProgramMethod
Unmanaged
State
SnapGrid
SnapAttraction
EdgeMoveDelay
EdgeResizeDelay.
EdgeMoveResistance
InitialMapCommand

In the above list some options are listed as style-option/opposite-style-option. The opposite-style-option for entries that have them describes the fvwm default behavior and can be used if you want to change the fvwm default behavior. 👑

✨ Focus policy ✨

Okay bestie, so focus policy is like, who gets the spotlight? 👑

ClickToFocus — tells fvwm to give the focus to a window when you click in it. Simple. 💅
MouseFocus (or its alias FocusFollowsMouse) — this is the default! It gives a window focus as soon as your pointer enters it, and takes it away when the pointer leaves. Like, it's clingy but in a cute way. 🦋
SloppyFocus — similar to MouseFocus, but it doesn't give up focus if the pointer leaves the window to pass over the root window or a ClickToFocus window (unless you click on it, obviously). So you can move your mouse out of the way without losing focus. Iconic. ✨
NeverFocus — a window with this style never receives focus. Useful for modules like FvwmButtons, for example. Not me giving a window zero attention. 💀

Note: Once any of the "FP..." styles has been used, the defaults that come with the basic focus policies are not restored when the latter are used again. For example, once !FPGrabFocus has been used, using ClickToFocus does not restore FPGrabFocus. So like, don't expect a reset button. 🚫

The focus model can be augmented with several additional options. In fvwm-2.5.3 and later, there are a large number of advanced options beginning with "FP" or "!FP". These options shall replace the older options one day and are described first. Using any of these new options may limit compatibility with older releases. In general, options beginning with "FP" turn a feature on, while those beginning with "!FP" turn it off. So FP = on, !FP = off. Got it? 💡

🌸 Focusing the window 🌸

With FPEnterToFocus, when the pointer enters a window it receives focus. 🖱️
With FPLeaveToUnfocus a window loses focus when the pointer leaves it. Bye bestie 👋
With FPClickToFocus, FPClickDecorToFocus or FPClickIconToFocus, a window receives focus when the inside of the window or the decorations or its icon is clicked. Click click! 💅
The FPFocusByProgram style allows windows to take the focus themselves. Main character energy. 👑
The !FPFocusByFunction style forbids that a window receives the focus via the Focus and FlipFocus commands. Nope, not today. 🙅‍♀️
The FPFocusByFunctionWarpPointer style controls if the pointer is warped to a selected window when the Focus command is used. Teleport! ✨
FPLenient allows focus on windows that do not want it, like FvwmPager or xclock. Like, stop being shy, let me love you. 🥺
The FPFocusClickButtons style takes a list of mouse buttons that can be clicked to focus or raise a window when the appropriate style is used. The default is to use the first three buttons ("123"). So 1, 2, 3 — click click click. 🖱️🖱️🖱️
The FPFocusClickModifiers style takes a list of modifier keys just like the Key command. The exact combination of modifier keys must be pressed for the click to focus or raise a window to work. The default is to use no modifiers ("N"). So no extra keys needed. 💁‍♀️
With the FPPassFocusClick style, the click that was used to focus a window is passed to the application. So the app gets the click too. 🤝
With the FPAllowFocusClickFunction style, the click that was used to focus a window can also trigger a normal action that was bound to the window with the Mouse command. Double duty! 🔥
If the FPIgnoreFocusClickMotion style is used, clicking in a window and then dragging the pointer with the button held down does not count as the click to focus the window. Instead, the application processes these events normally. This is useful to select text in a terminal window with the mouse without raising the window. However, mouse bindings on the client window are not guaranteed to work anymore (see Mouse command). This style forces the initial click to be passed to the application. The distance that the pointer must be moved to trigger this is controlled by the MoveThreshold command. So like, drag carefully. 😭
The FPSortWindowlistByFocus and !FPSortWindowlistByFocus styles control whether the internal window list is sorted in the order the windows were focused or in the order they were created. The latter is the default for ClickToFocus and SloppyFocus. So focus order vs creation order — pick your vibe. 🗂️

💥 Clicking the window to raise 💥

The styles FPClickRaisesFocused, FPClickDecorRaisesFocused and FPClickIconRaisesFocused allow one to raise the window when the interior or the decorations or the icon of the window is clicked while the window is already focused. Raise it up! ⬆️
The styles FPClickRaisesUnfocused, FPClickDecorRaisesUnfocused and FPClickIconRaisesUnfocused allow one to raise the window when the interior or the decorations or the icon of the window is clicked while the window is not yet focused. Come on up! ⬆️
With the FPPassRaiseClick style, the click that was used to raise the window is passed to the application. 🤝
With the FPAllowRaiseClickFunction style, the click that was used to raise the window can also trigger a normal action that was bound to the window with the Mouse command. 🔥
If the FPIgnoreRaiseClickMotion style is used, clicking in a window and then dragging the pointer with the button held down does not count as the click to raise the window. Instead, the application processes these events normally. This is useful to select text in a terminal window with the mouse without raising the window. However, mouse bindings on the client window are not guaranteed to work anymore (see Mouse command). Note that this style forces that the initial click is passed to the application. The distance that the pointer must be moved to trigger this is controlled by the MoveThreshold command. So same deal as before but for raising. 😭

👑 Grabbing the focus when a new window is created 👑

New normal or transient windows with the FPGrabFocus or FPGrabFocusTransient style automatically receive the focus when they are created. FPGrabFocus is the default for windows with the ClickToFocus style. Note that even if these styles are disabled, the application may take the focus itself. Fvwm can not prevent this. So like, apps can be sneaky. 🙈

The OverrideGrabFocus style instructs fvwm to never take away the focus from such a window via the GrabFocus or GrabFocusTransient styles. This can be useful if you like to have transient windows receive the focus immediately, for example in a web browser, but not while you are working in a terminal window or a text processor. So like, don't steal my focus when I'm typing. 💅

The above three styles are accompanied by FPReleaseFocus, FPReleaseFocusTransient and FPOverrideReleaseFocus. These control if the focus is returned to another window when the window is closed. Otherwise no window or the window under the pointer receives the focus. So when you close a window, who gets the focus next? 👀

ClickToFocusPassesClickOff and ClickToFocusPassesClick control whether a mouse click to focus a window is sent to the application or not. Similarly, ClickToFocusRaisesOff/MouseFocusClickRaisesOff and ClickToFocusRaises/MouseFocusClickRaises control if the window is raised (but depending on the focus model). So many options, I know. 😅

Note: in fvwm versions prior to 2.5.3, the "Click..." options applied only to windows with ClickToFocus while the "Mouse..." options applied to windows with a different focus policy. This is no longer the case. So old news, bestie. 📰

The old GrabFocus style is equivalent to using FPGrabFocus FPReleaseFocus.

The old GrabFocusTransient style is equivalent to using FPGrabFocusTransient + FPReleaseFocusTransient.

Lenience is equivalent to the new style FPLenient.

🎀 Window title 🎀

The Title and !Title options determine whether the window is decorated with a title-bar. By default all windows have a title-bar. NoTitle is equivalent to !Title but is deprecated. So like, don't use NoTitle, it's old. 👵

Windows with the TitleAtBottom, TitleAtLeft or TitleAtRight style have a title-bar below, to the left or to the right of the window instead of above as usual. The TitleAtTop style restores the default placement. Even if the window has the !Title style set, this affects the WindowShade command. Please check the WindowShade command for interactions between that command and these styles. Titles on the left or right side of the windows are augmented by the following styles:

Normally, the text in titles on the left side of a window is rotated counterclockwise by 90 degrees from the normal upright position and 90 degrees clockwise for titles on the right side. It can also be rotated in the opposite directions with LeftTitleRotatedCW if TitleAtLeft is used, and with RightTitleRotatedCCW if TitleAtRight is used. The defaults can be restored with LeftTitleRotatedCCW and RightTitleRotatedCW. A normal horizontal text may be rotated as well with TopTitleRotated if TitleAtTop is used, and with BottomTitleRotated if TitleAtBottom is used. The defaults can be restored with TopTitleNotRotated and BottomTitleNotRotated. So many rotations! 🌀

By default the title bar decoration defined using the TitleStyle command is rotated following the title text rotation (see the previous paragraph). This can be disabled by using the !UseTitleDecorRotation style. UseTitleDecorRotation reverts back to the default. So if you want your decorations to stay straight, use !UseTitleDecorRotation. 💅

With the StippledTitle style, titles are drawn with the same effect that is usually reserved for windows with the Sticky, StickyAcrossPages or StickyAcrossDesks style. !StippledTitle reverts back to normal titles. StippledTitleOff is equivalent to !StippledTitle but is deprecated. So stippled = fancy dots, but don't use the deprecated one. 🎀

Colorset takes the colorset number as its sole argument and overrides the colors set by Color. Instead, the corresponding colors from the given colorset are used. Note that all other features of a colorset are not used. Use the Colorset decoration style in the TitleStyle and ButtonStyle command for that. To stop using the colorset, the colorset number is omitted. So just the colors, not the whole vibe. 🌈

BorderColorset takes eight positive integers as its arguments and will apply the given colorsets to the eight individual components of the window border.

For backwards compatibility, if one integer is supplied, that is applied to all window border components.

The border is split up into the following definitions, and is the same order as the colorsets which will be applied to the border.

BorderColorset North, North East, East, South East, South, South West, West, North West

North, East, South, and West refer to the top, left, bottom, and right sides of the window border.

NE, SE, SW, and NW refer to the window handles.

NOTE: okay so real talk — the way window handles get rendered means there's literally no way to make one whole complete edge of a window match the color you defined with North, South, East, or West. Not a bug, just how it is, bestie 😭

The HilightBorderColorset style option works exactly the same as BorderColorset, it's just the one that kicks in when the window has the focus. 👑

!IconTitle turns off displaying icon labels, and the opposite style IconTitle turns them back on (that's the default behaviour, no cap). NoIconTitle is equivalent to !IconTitle but it's deprecated so like… don't.

IconTitleColorset takes the colorset number as its sole argument and overrides the colors set by Color or Colorset. Wanna stop using this colorset? Just omit the argument. 🎀

HilightIconTitleColorset takes the colorset number as its sole argument and overrides the colors set by HilightColorset. Same deal — omit the argument to stop using it.

IconBackgroundColorset takes the colorset number as its sole argument and uses it to set a background for the icon picture. By default the icon picture is not drawn onto a background image. To restore the default, the argument is omitted.

IconTitleRelief takes one numeric argument that may be between -50 and +50 pixels and defines the thickness of the 3D relief drawn around the icon title. With negative values the icon title gets a pressed-in look. The default is 2 and it gets restored if the argument is omitted. ✨

IconBackgroundRelief takes one numeric argument that may be between -50 and +50 pixels and defines the thickness of the 3D relief drawn around the icon picture background (if any). With negative values the icon background gets a pressed-in look. The default is 2 and it's restored if the argument is omitted.

IconBackgroundPadding takes one numeric argument that may be between 0 and 50 pixels and defines the amount of free space between the relief of the icon background picture (if any) and the icon picture. The default is 2 and it comes back if the argument is omitted. 🫶

The Font and IconFont options take the name of a font as their sole argument. This font is used in the window or icon title. By default the font given in the DefaultFont command is used. To revert back to the default, use the style without the name argument.

TitleFormat and friends 🦋

The deprecated IndexedWindowName style causes fvwm to use window titles in the form

name (i)

where name is the exact window name and i is an integer which represents the i th window with name as window name. This has been replaced with:

TitleFormat %n (%t)

ExactWindowName restores the default which is to use the exact window name. Deprecated in favour of:

TitleFormat %n

IndexedIconName and ExactIconName work the same as IndexedWindowName and ExactWindowName styles but for the icon titles. Both are deprecated in favour of:

IconTitleFormat %n (%t)
IconTitleFormat %n

TitleFormat describes what the visible name of a window should look like, with the following placeholders being valid:

%n — Insert the window's name.
%i — Insert the window's icon name.
%c — Insert the window's class name.
%r — Insert the window's resource name.
%t — Insert the window count.
%I — Insert the window ID.
%% — Insert a literal '%' character.

Any amount of whitespace may be used, along with other characters to make up the string — but a valid TitleFormat string must contain at least one of the placeholders mentioned. No quote stripping is performed on the string, so for example the following is printed verbatim:

TitleFormat " %n " -> [%t] ->      [%c]

Note: it's perfectly possible to use a TitleFormat which can result in wiping out the visible title altogether. For example: TitleFormat %z Simply because the placeholder '%z' isn't supported. This is not a bug but rather a facet of how the formatting parser works. 💀

IconTitleFormat describes what the visible icon name of a window should look like, with the options being the same as TitleFormat.

Title buttons 💅

Button and !Button take a numeric argument which is the number of the title-bar button which is to be shown or omitted. NoButton is equivalent to !Button but is deprecated.

MwmButtons makes the Maximize button look pressed-in when the window is maximized. See the MwmDecorMax flag in ButtonStyle for more information. To switch this style off again, use the FvwmButtons style.

Borders 🌈

!Borders suppresses the window border (but not the title) completely. The Borders style enables them again. Without borders, all other styles affecting window borders are just… meaningless, bestie. Nothing to style. 🙈

MwmBorder makes the 3D bevel more closely match Mwm's. FvwmBorder turns off the previous option.

With the !Handles style, the window does not get the handles in the window corners that are commonly used to resize it. With !Handles, the width from the BorderWidth style is used. By default, or if Handles is specified, the width from the HandleWidth style is used. NoHandles is equivalent to !Handles but is deprecated.

HandleWidth takes a numeric argument which is the width of the border to place the window if it does have resize-handles. Using HandleWidth without an argument restores the default.

CornerLength takes a single numeric argument which is the length, in pixels, of the corner handles. The default is the title height. Using CornerLength without an argument restores the default.

BorderWidth takes a numeric argument which is the width of the border to place the window if it does not have resize-handles. It is used only if the !Handles style is specified too. Using BorderWidth without an argument restores the default.

DepressableBorder makes the border parts of the window decoration look sunken in when a button is pressed over them. This can be disabled again with the FirmBorder style.

Icons, shading, maximizing, movement, resizing ✨

Icon takes an (optional) unquoted string argument which is the icon bitmap or pixmap to use. Icons specified this way override pixmap icons, but not icon windows or the ewmh icon, provided by the client in the application (with the WM_HINTS property or with the ewmh _NET_WM_ICON property). The IconOverride style changes the behavior to override any client-provided icons; the NoIconOverride style changes the behavior to not override any client-provided icons; the default overriding behavior can be activated with the NoActiveIconOverride style. With this style, fvwm uses application provided icons if the icon is changed but uses the icon provided in the configuration file until then.

There is one exception to these rules, namely

Style * Icon unknown.xpm

doesn't force the unknown.xpm icon on every window, it just sets the default icon like the DefaultIcon command. If you really want all windows to have the same icon, you can use

Style ** Icon unknown.xpm

If the NoIcon attribute is set then the specified window simply disappears when it is iconified. The window can be recovered through the window-list. If Icon is set without an argument then the NoIcon attribute is cleared but no icon is specified. An example which allows only the FvwmPager module icon to exist:

Style * NoIcon
Style FvwmPager Icon

IconBox takes no argument, four numeric arguments (plus optionally a screen specification), an X11 geometry string or the string "none":

IconBox [screen scr-spec] l t r b

IconBox geometry

Where l is the left coordinate, t is the top, r is right and b is bottom. Negative coordinates indicate distance from the right or bottom of the screen. If the first argument is the word screen, the scr-spec argument specifies the RandR screen on which the IconBox is defined or the additional 'w' for the screen where the window center is located. This is only useful with multiple screens. The "l t r b" specification is more flexible than an X11 geometry. For example:

IconBox -80 240 -1 -1

defines a box that is 80 pixels wide from the right edge, 240 pixels down from the top, and continues to the bottom of the screen.

Perhaps it is easier to use is an X11 geometry string though:

IconBox 1000x70-1-1

places an 1000 by 70 pixel icon box on the bottom of the screen starting in the lower right hand corner of the screen. One way to figure out a geometry like this is to use a window that resizes in pixel increments, for example, xv. Then resize and place the xv window where you want the iconbox. Then use FvwmIdent to read the windows geometry. The icon box is a region of the screen where fvwm attempts to put icons for any matching window, as long as they do not overlap other icons. Multiple icon boxes can be defined as overflow areas. When the first icon box is full, the second one is filled. All the icon boxes for one style must be defined in one Style command. For example:

Style * IconBox -80 240 -1 -1, \
  IconBox 1000x70-1-1

A Style command with the IconBox option replaces any icon box defined previously by another Style command for the same style. That's why the backslash in the previous example is required, bestie, don't skip it. 💅

Note: The geometry for the icon box command takes the additional screen specifier "@w" in case RandR is used. This designates the screen where the window center is located. The additional screen specifier is not allowed anywhere else.

If you never define an icon box, or you fill all the icon boxes, fvwm has a default icon box that covers the screen, it fills top to bottom, then left to right, and has an 80x80 pixel grid. To disable all but the default icon box you can use IconBox without arguments in a separate Style command. To disable all icon boxes including the default icon box, the argument "none" can be specified.

Hint: You can auto arrange your icons in the icon box with a simple fvwm function. Put the "DeiconifyAndRearrange" function below in your configuration file:

AddToFunc DeiconifyAndRearrange
 + C Iconify off
 + C All (CurrentPage, Iconic) PlaceAgain Icon

okay so and then you literally go and swap out every single place where you call the Iconify command to de-iconify an icon, and drop a call to the shiny new function in there instead. Like, take this:

AddToFunc IconFunc
 + C Iconify off
 + M Raise
 + M Move
 + D Iconify off

Mouse 1 I A Iconify off

and make it this, bestie:

AddToFunc IconFunc
 + C DeiconifyAndRearrange
 + M Raise
 + M Move
 + D DeiconifyAndRearrange

Mouse 1 I A DeiconifyAndRearrange

IconGrid — takes 2 numeric arguments, and both of them have to be greater than zero. ✨

IconGrid x y

So the way this works: icons get placed in an icon box by stepping through the icon box using the x and y values for the icon grid, hunting for a free space. The default grid is 3 by 3 pixels, which gives you that tightly packed look. Want something more regular? Use a grid that's bigger than your largest icon. And you can use the IconSize argument to clip or stretch an icon to a maximum size. Important-ish: an IconGrid definition has to follow the IconBox definition it applies to:

Style * IconBox -80x240-1-1, IconGrid 90 90

IconFill — takes 2 arguments. 🎀

IconFill Bottom Right

Icons land in an icon box by stepping through it using these arguments to control the direction the box gets filled in. By default the direction is left to right, then top to bottom. Which, written out, is:

IconFill left top

Wanna fill an icon box in columns instead of rows? Then you put the vertical direction (top or bottom) first. The directions can be abbreviated or spelled out like this: "t", "top", "b", "bot", "bottom", "l", "lft", "left", "r", "rgt", "right". And yep, an IconFill definition has to follow the IconBox definition it applies to:

Style * IconBox -80x240-1-1, IconFill b r

IconSize — sets limits on how big an icon image gets to be. Both user-provided and application-provided icon images are affected, so no favourites here. 💅

IconSize [ width height [ maxwidth maxheight ] ]

All of these arguments are measured in pixels. When you pass all four arguments to IconSize, width and height represent the minimum size of an icon, and maxwidth and maxheight represent the maximum size. Icon images smaller than the minimum get padded. Icon images bigger than the maximum get clipped. clean.

If you only pass two arguments to IconSize, then width and height represent the absolute size of an icon, and icons covered by this style are padded or clipped to hit that given size.

If you pass no arguments at all, the default values are used for each dimension. Which effectively means there are no limits on the size of an icon. free-range icons, periodt.

The value "-1" can be used in place of any of the arguments to specify the default value for that dimension.

On top of the numeric arguments, 1 additional argument can be "Stretched", "Adjusted", or "Shrunk".

heads up bestie: module provided icon managers are not affected by this style. 😭

MiniIcon — specifies a pixmap to use as the miniature icon for the window. This tiny icon can be drawn in a title-bar button (peep ButtonStyle), and various fvwm modules can use it too (FvwmIconMan and FvwmPager, hiiii 🫶). It takes the name of a pixmap as an argument.
WindowShadeShrinks and WindowShadeScrolls — these two control whether the contents of a window that's being shaded with the WindowShade command get scrolled (that's the default) or whether they stay in place. The shrinking mode is a bit faster. ⚡
WindowShadeSteps — picks the number of steps for the animation when shading a window with WindowShade. Takes one number as its argument. If that number has a trailing 'p', it sets the number of pixels to use as the step size instead of a fixed number of steps. 0 disables the animation — and that happens too if the argument is omitted or invalid. 💀
The WindowShade command has two modes of operation: busy and lazy shading. Busy shading can be 50% slower than lazy shading, but lazy can look strange under some conditions — for example, if the window borders, buttons or the title are filled with a tiled pixmap. Also, the window handles are not drawn in lazy mode, and the border relief may only be drawn partially right before the window reaches the shaded state, or tight after it leaves the unshaded state. By default, fvwm uses lazy mode if there are no bad visual effects (not counting the window handles) and busy mode otherwise. Use WindowShadeAlwaysLazy or WindowShadeBusy to force the lazy or the busy mode. The default setting is restored with WindowShadeLazy. 🦋
ResizeOpaque — tells fvwm to resize the corresponding windows with their contents visible instead of using an outline. fair warning though: since this makes the application redraw a whole lot, it can be quite slow and make the window flicker excessively, depending on how much graphics the application redraws. The ResizeOutline style (the default) negates the ResizeOpaque style. A bunch of applications do not like their windows being resized opaque — e.g. XEmacs, Netscape or terminals with a pixmap background. If you don't like the result, don't use the ResizeOpaque style for these windows. To exempt certain windows from opaque resizing you could use these lines in your configuration file:

Style * ResizeOpaque
Style rxvt ResizeOutline
Style emacs ResizeOutline

Sticky — makes the window sticky, i.e. it is always visible on each page and each desk. The opposite style, Slippery, reverts back to the default. 🌈
StickyIcon — makes the window sticky when it's iconified. It de-iconifies on top the active desktop. SlipperyIcon reverts back to the default.
StickyAcrossPages and StickyAcrossPagesIcon — work like Sticky and StickyIcon, but stick the window only across pages, not desks. Meanwhile StickyAcrossDesks and StickyAcrossDesksIcon work the other way round.
Windows that have been marked as Sticky or StickyAcrossDesks or StickyAcrossPages will have stipples drawn on the titlebar. This can be negated with the !StickyStippledTitle style. The style StickyStippledTitle puts back the stipples where that window has also been marked as Sticky. Note that this is the default style for Sticky windows. Sticky icons will have stipples drawn on the icon title. This can be disabled in the same way with the !StickyStippledIconTitle style. ✨
StartIconic — windows with this style are shown as icons initially. Note that some applications counteract that by deiconifying themselves. rude, honestly. The default is to not iconify windows, and can be set with the StartNormal style.
StickyIcon — makes the window sticky when it's iconified. It de-iconifies on top the active desktop. SlipperyIcon reverts back to the default. (yes bestie, this is literally in here twice, I'm not making it up 😭)
StickyIconPage — works like StickyIcon, but sticks the icon only across pages, not desks. Meanwhile StickyIconDesk works the other way round.
StippledIconTitle — works like StippledTitle in that it draws stipples on the titles of icons, but it doesn't make the icon sticky.
IgnoreRestack — makes fvwm ignore attempts of clients to raise or lower their own windows. By default, the opposite style, AllowRestack, is active.
FixedPosition and FixedUSPosition — make fvwm ignore attempts of the user to move the window. It is still possible to move the window by resizing it, so, loophole. 😌 To allow the user to move windows, use the VariablePosition or VariableUSPosition style.
FixedSize and FixedUSSize — make fvwm ignore attempts of the user to resize the window. To allow the user to resize windows, use the VariableSize or VariableUSSize style.
FixedPPosition and FixedPSize — make fvwm ignore attempts of the program to move or resize its windows. To allow this kind of actions, use the VariablePPosition or VariablePSize style. These styles may sometimes affect the initial placement and dimensions of new windows (depending on the application). If windows are created at strange places, try either the VariablePPosition or !UsePPosition styles. And careful: the FixedPSize style may screw up window dimensions for some applications. Do Not use this style in this case. 💀
MoveByProgramMethod — affects how fvwm reacts to requests by the application to move its windows. By default, fvwm tries to detect which method to use, but it sometimes detects the wrong method. iconic of it, honestly. You may come across a window that travels across the screen by a few pixels when the application resizes it, moves to a screen border with the frame decorations off screen, that remembers its position for the next time it starts but appears in a slighly shifted position, or that attepmts to become full screen but has the. (yes, the original sentence just... ends like that, I'm keeping it fr fr) Try out both options, UseGravity and IgnoreGravity, on the window (and that window only) and see if that helps. By default, fvwm uses the AutoDetect method. Once the method was detected, it is never changed again. As long as fvwm can not detect the proper method, it uses IgnoreGravity. To force fvwm to retry the detection, use one of the other two options first and then use AutoDetect again. 🔥

Note: This option was introduced to alleviate a problem with the ICCCM specification. The ICCCM clearly states that the UseGravity option should be used, but traditionally applications ignored this rule. 👑

Closable — enables the functions Close, Delete and Destroy to be performed on the windows. This is on by default. The opposite, !Closable, inhibits the window to be closed.
Iconifiable — enables the function Iconify to be performed on the windows. This is on by default. The opposite, !Iconifiable, inhibits the window from being iconified.
Maximizable — enables the function Maximize to be performed on the windows. This is on by default. The opposite, !Maximizable, inhibits the window from being maximized.
AllowMaximizeFixedSize — enables the function Maximize to be performed on windows that are not resizable, unless maximization has been disabled either using the style !Maximizable or through WM hints. This is on by default. The opposite, !AllowMaximizeFixedSize, inhibits all windows that are not resizable from being maximized. 🫶
ResizeHintOverride — okay so this one tells fvwm to ignore the program-supplied minimum and maximum size plus the resize step size (that’s the character size in a lot of apps). Super handy for broken apps that refuse to be resized. Do not use it if you do not need it. The default (opposite) style is NoResizeOverride.
MinWindowSize [ width [ p | c ] height [ p | c ] ] — tells fvwm the minimum width and height of a window. The values are the percentage of the total screen area. If the letter p is appended to either value, the numbers are interpreted as pixels. If the letter c is appended to either value, the numbers are in terms of the client window’s size hints, which is useful for windows such as terminals to specify the number of rows or columns. This command is useful for windows that freak out if their window becomes too small. If you omit the parameters or their values are invalid, both limits are set to 0 pixels (which is the default value). ✨
MaxWindowSize [ width [ p | c ] height [ p | c ] ] — tells fvwm the maximum width and height of a window. The values are the percentage of the total screen area. If the letter p is appended to either value, the numbers are interpreted as pixels. If the letter c is appended to either value, the numbers are in terms of the client window’s size hints, which is useful for windows such as terminals to specify the number of rows or columns. This command is useful to force large application windows to be fully visible. Neither height nor width may be less than 100 pixels. If you omit the parameters or their values are invalid, both limits are set to 32767 pixels (which is the default). 💅
IconifyWindowGroups — with this, all windows in the same window group are iconified and deiconified at once when any window in the group is (de)iconified. The default is IconifyWindowGroupsOff, which disables this behavior. Although a number of applications use the window group hint, it is rarely used in a proper way, so it is probably best to use IconifyWindowGroups only for selected applications. 🫶
SnapAttraction — this option affects interactive window movement: if during an interactive move the window or icon comes within proximity pixels of another window or icon, it is moved to make the borders adjoin. The default of 0 means that no snapping happens. Calling this command without arguments turns off snap attraction and restores the default behavior. Please refer also to the SnapGrid option. 🧚

The second argument is optional and may be set to one of the five following values:

All — both icons and windows snap to other windows and other icons.
SameType — lets windows snap only to windows, and icons snap only to icons.
Windows — windows snap only to other windows.
Icons — icons snap only to other icons.
None — no snapping takes place.

This option can be useful in conjunction with the third argument if you only want to snap against the screen edges. The default behavior is All.

The third and last optional argument may be set to one of the four following values:

Screen — the already snapping icons or windows, which is controlled by the second argument, will snap now also to the screen edges.
ScreenWindows — snaps only windows to the screen edges.
ScreenIcons — snaps only icons to the screen edges.
ScreenAll — snaps windows and icons to the screen edges.

SnapGrid — defines an invisible grid on the screen. During an interactive move a window or icon is positioned such that its location (top left corner) is coincident with the nearest grid point. The default x-grid-size and y-grid-size setting are both 1, which is effectively no grid at all. 🌈

An interactive move with both SnapGrid and SnapAttraction results in the window being moved to be adjacent to the nearest window border (if within snap proximity) or grid position. The window moves the shortest distance possible to satisfy both SnapGrid and SnapAttraction. Note that the x and y coordinates are not coupled. For example, a window may snap to another window on the x axis while snapping to a grid point on the y axis. Using this style without arguments reinstates the default settings. ⭐

EdgeMoveDelay and EdgeResizeDelay — these styles define how hard it is to change the desktop viewport by moving or resizing a window over the edge of the screen. The parameter tells how many milliseconds the pointer must spend on the screen edge before fvwm moves the viewport. The command EdgeScroll determines how far the viewport is scrolled. If -1 is given as the delay, page flipping is disabled completely. The defaults are no delay for moving (0) and no flipping for resizing (-1). Using these styles without any argument restores the default settings. Note that, with

EdgeScroll 0 0

it is still possible to move or resize windows across the edge of the current screen. See also EdgeThickness. 💜

EdgeMoveResistance — makes it easier to place a window directly adjacent to a RandR screen’s edge. It takes one or two parameters. The first parameter tells how many pixels over an outside edge of the screen a window’s edge must move before it actually moves partially off the screen. The optional second parameter does the same as the first, but for inside edges (shared edge between two RandR monitors). If omitted, there is no resistance between inside edges. Note that the center of the window being moved determines the screen on which the window should be kept. Both values are 0 (no resistance) by default. To restore the defaults, the option EdgeMoveResistance can be used without any parameters. 🎀
InitialMapCommand — allows for any valid fvwm command or function to run when the window is initially mapped by fvwm. Example:

Style MyWindow StartsOnPage 0 0, InitialMapCommand Iconify

This would hence place the window called MyWindow on page 0 0 for the current desk, and immediately run the Iconify command on that window.

Note that should InitialMapCommand be used as a global option for all windows, but there is a need that some windows should not have this command applied, then an action of Nop can be used on those windows, as in the following example:

Style * InitialMapCommand Iconify
Style XTeddy InitialMapCommand Nop

🦋 Window Manager placement 🦋

Applications can place windows at a particular spot on the screen either by window manager hints or a geometry specification. When they do neither, then the window manager steps in to find a place for the window. Fvwm knows several ways to deal with this situation. The default is TileCascadePlacement. 💫

PositionPlacement [Center|UnderMouse|move-arguments] — when used without an argument, new windows are placed in the top left corner of the display. With the argument Center, all new window appear at the center of the screen, and with UnderMouse, windows are centered under the mouse pointer where possible. If the window is unable to fit on the screen because the pointer is at the edge of the screen, then the window is forced on-screen using this option. If any other move-arguments are given, they are interpreted exactly as the Move command does (with the exception that references to the current window position do not work as the window has not been placed yet). 🌸
CascadePlacement — automatically place new windows in a cascading fashion.
TileCascadePlacement — automatically places new windows in a smart location — a location in which they do not overlap any other windows on the screen. If no such position can be found CascadePlacement is used as a fall-back method.
TileManualPlacement — this is the same as TileCascadePlacement, but uses ManualPlacement as the fall-back method.
MinOverlapPlacement — automatically places new windows in a location in which the overlapping area in pixels of other windows is minimized. By default this placement policy tries to avoid overlapping icons and windows on higher layers. This can be configured with the MinOverlapPlacementPenalties style.
MinOverlapPercentPlacement — is similar to MinOverlapPlacement but tries to minimize the overlapped percentages of other windows instead of the overlapped area in pixels. This placement policy tries to avoid covering other windows completely and tries even harder not to cover small windows. This can be configured with the MinOverlapPlacementPenalties and MinOverlapPercentPlacementPenalties styles.
MinOverlapPlacementPenalties — takes at most 6 positive or null decimal arguments:

normal ontop icon sticky below strut

if trailing arguments are missing the default is used which is:

1 5 10 1 0.05 50

To reset this style back to its default values, just prefix it with a !. 💅

This style is the one that configures the MinOverlapPlacement and MinOverlapPercentPlacement placement policies. Here's what each factor actually does, bestie:

normal — affects normal windows
ontop — affects windows with a greater layer than the window being placed
icon — affects icons
sticky — affects sticky windows
below — affects windows with a smaller layer than the window being placed
strut — affects the complement of the EWMH working area if the window being placed has the EWMHPlacementUseWorkingArea style, and windows with an EWMH strut hint (i.e., a "please do not cover me" hint) if the window being placed has the EWMHPlacementUseDynamicWorkingArea style

These factors are literally the amount of area that these types of windows (or area) get counted as when a new window is placed. So for example, by default the area of ontop windows is counted 5 times as much as normal windows. Which means MinOverlapPlacement and MinOverlapPercentPlacement will cover 5 times as much area of another window before it'll cover an ontop window. Want ontop windows treated like everyone else? Set this to 1. Want to really, really avoid putting windows under ontop windows? Set it to a high value, say 1000. 👑

This style affects the window that's already mapped, not the window which is currently being placed. There is one exception to this rule though: in the case of the window being placed having the EWMHPlacementUseWorkingArea style, the strut factor affects the placed window.

MinOverlapPercentPlacementPenalties — takes at most 4 positive or null integer arguments:

cover_100 cover_95 cover_85 cover_75

If trailing arguments are missing, the defaults get used, and those defaults are:

12 6 4 1

To reset this style to the default values, prefix it with a !. This style affects the MinOverlapPercentPlacement placement policy and is similar to the MinOverlapPlacementPenalties style. The cover_xx factor kicks in when the window being placed covers at least xx percent of the window. That factor gets added to the factor determined by the MinOverlapPlacementPenalties style.

ManualPlacement (aka active placement) — you, the user, are required to place every new window manually. 🫵 The window only shows as a rubber band until a place is selected manually. The window is placed when a mouse button or any key except Escape is pressed. Escape aborts manual placement, which places the window in the top left corner of the screen. If mouse button 2 is pressed during the initial placement of a window (respectively Shift and mouse button 1 in case Mwm emulation has been enabled with the Emulate command), the user is asked to resize the window too.

It is possible to define buttons usable to place windows with the Move command and the special context P for placement (see Move command). However, you can't redefine the way to also resize the window other than the way it is affected by the Emulate command. The button used for placing the window can be checked with the PlacedByButton condition (see Current command).

Example:

Style * ManualPlacement

*FvwmEvent: PassID
*FvwmEvent: add_window GrowDownFunc
AddToFunc StartFunction
+ I FvwmEvent

AddToFunc GrowDownFunc
+ I windowid $0 (PlacedByButton 3) \
Resize bottomright keep -0p

Now, whenever a window is created and the user presses button 3 to finish initial placement, the window is automatically enlarged until it hits the bottom screen border. Obsessed. ✨

Old placement styles DumbPlacement / SmartPlacement / SmartPlacementOff, CleverPlacement / CleverPlacementOff, ActivePlacement / RandomPlacement, ActivePlacementsHonorsStartsOnPage / ActivePlacementsHonorsStartsOnPageOff are still supported but will be removed in the future. ⚠️ The old and new styles can be translated according to the following table:

Style * DumbPlacement, RandomPlacement
-->
Style * CascadePlacement

Style * DumbPlacement, ActivePlacement
-->
Style * ManualPlacement

Style * SmartPlacement, \
RandomPlacement, CleverPlacementOff
-->
Style * TileCascadePlacement

Style * SmartPlacement, \
ActivePlacement, CleverPlacementOff
-->
Style * TileManualPlacement

Style * SmartPlacement, CleverPlacement
-->
Style * MinOverlapPlacement

Style * SmartPlacement, \
ActivePlacement, CleverPlacement
-->
Style * MinOverlapPercentPlacement

Style * ActivePlacementsHonorsStartsOnPage
-->
Style * ManualPlacementsHonorsStartsOnPage

Style * ActivePlacementsHonorsStartsOnPageOff
-->
Style * ManualPlacementsHonorsStartsOnPageOff

🌈 Placement policy options and window stacking 🌈

!UsePPosition — instructs fvwm to ignore the program specified position (PPosition hint) when adding new windows. Using PPosition is required for some applications, but if you don't have one of those it's a real headache. Many programs set PPosition to something obnoxious like 0,0 (upper left corner). Note: !UsePPosition is equivalent to the deprecated option !UsePPosition
!UseUSPosition — works like !UsePPosition but applies suppresses using the user specified position indicated by the program (USPosition hint). It is generally a bad thing to override the user's choice, but some applications misuse the USPosition hint to force their windows to a certain spot on the screen without the user's consent. Note: !UseUSPosition is equivalent to the deprecated option !USPosition
NoUseTransientPPosition and UseTransientPPosition — work like !UsePPosition and UsePPosition but apply only to transient windows. Note: !UseTransientPPosition is equivalent to the deprecated option !TransientPPosition
NoUseIconPosition — instructs fvwm to ignore the program specified icon position (IconPosition hint) when iconifying the window. Note: !UseIconPosition is equivalent to the deprecated option !IconPosition
StartsOnDesk — takes a numeric argument which is the desktop number on which the window should be initially placed. Note that standard Xt programs can also specify this via a resource (e.g. -xrm '*Desk: 1').
StartsOnPage — takes 1, 2, or 3 numeric arguments. If one or three arguments are given, the first (or only) argument is the desktop number. If three arguments are given, the 2nd and 3rd arguments identify the x,y page position on the virtual window. If two arguments are given, they specify the page position, and indicate no desk preference. If only one argument is given, StartsOnPage functions exactly like StartsOnDesk. For those standard Xt programs which understand this usage, the starting desk/page can also be specified via a resource (e.g., -xrm '*page: 1 0 2'). StartsOnPage in conjunction with SkipMapping is a useful technique when you want to start an app on some other page and continue with what you were doing, rather than waiting for it to appear.
StartsOnScreen — takes one argument. It must be a valid RandR name. A new window is placed on the specified screen. The default is to place windows on the screen that contains the mouse pointer at the time the window is created. However, those windows which are not placed by fvwm (i.e., those with a USPosition hint from a user specified geometry) are normally placed in a position relative to all identified screens.
StartsOnPageIncludesTransients — causes the StartsOnPage style to be applied even for transient windows. This is not usually useful, since transients are usually pop ups that you want to appear in your visible viewport; but occasionally an application uses a transient for something like a startup window that needs to be coerced into place.
ManualPlacementIgnoresStartsOnPage — suppresses StartsOnPage or StartsOnDesk placement in the event that both ManualPlacement and SkipMapping are in effect when a window is created. This prevents you from interactively placing a window and then wondering where it disappeared to, because it got placed on a different desk or page. ManualPlacementHonorsStartsOnPage allows this to happen anyway. The option has no effect if SkipMapping is not in effect, because fvwm switches to the proper desk/page to perform interactive placement. The default is ManualPlacementIgnoresStartsOnPage; ManualPlacementHonorsStartsOnPage matches the way the old StartsOnDesk style used to handle the situation.
CaptureHonorsStartsOnPage — causes the initial capture (of an already existing window) at startup to place the window according to the StartsOnPage and StartsOnScreen desk, page and screen specification. CaptureIgnoresStartsOnPage causes fvwm to ignore these settings (including StartsOnDesk) on initial capture. The default is CaptureIgnoresStartsOnPage.
RecaptureHonorsStartsOnPage — causes a window to be placed according to, or revert to, the StartsOnPage and StartsOnScreen desk, page and screen specification on Restart. RecaptureIgnoresStartsOnPage causes fvwm to respect the current window position on Restart. The default is RecaptureIgnoresStartsOnPage.
Layer — accepts one optional argument: a non-negative integer. This is the layer the window is put in. If no argument is given, any previously set value is deleted and the default layer is implied.
StaysOnTop — puts the window in the top layer. 👑 This layer can be changed by the command DefaultLayers; the default is 6.
StaysPut — puts the window in the put layer. This layer can be changed by the command DefaultLayers; the default is 4.
StaysOnBottom — puts the window in the bottom layer. This layer can be changed by the command DefaultLayers; the default is 2.
StartsLowered — instructs fvwm to put the window initially at the bottom of its layer rather than the default StartsRaised.
StartShaded — tells fvwm to shade the window. An optional direction argument may be given, which can be one of "North", "South", "West", "East", "NorthWest", "NorthEast", "SouthWest", "SouthEast" or if no direction is given, the default is to shade north. 🌸

SkipMapping is like, bestie do NOT follow that window 💅 — it tells fvwm not to switch to the desk the window is on when it gets mapped initially. Super handy when you're pairing it with StartsOnDesk or StartsOnPage.

KeepWindowGroupsOnDesk makes new windows that have the window group hint set appear on the same desk as the other windows of the same group. Now — this behavior can be straight-up confusing, so the default setting is ScatterWindowGroups. And when you're in scatter mode, the window group hint gets ignored when placing windows. Periodt.

🌈 Transient windows 🌈

DecorateTransient causes transient windows — which are normally left undecorated — to be given the usual fvwm decorations (title bar, buttons, etc.). Heads up though: some pop-up windows, like the xterm menus, are not managed by the window manager and still do not receive decorations. NakedTransient (the default) causes transient windows not to be given the standard decorations. You can only bind keys or mouse buttons to the sides and the client part of an undecorated window ('S' and 'W' contexts in bindings, see Mouse and Key commands).

A window with the RaiseTransient style that has transient windows raises all its transients when it is raised. The DontRaiseTransient style disables this behavior. All windows are then treated as if they had no transients.

A window with the LowerTransient style that has transient windows lowers all its transients when it is lowered. The DontLowerTransient style disables this behavior. All windows are then treated as if they had no transients.

The StackTransientParent style augments RaiseTransient and LowerTransient styles. Raising a window with StackTransientParent style transfers the raise action to the main window if the window being raised is a transient and its main window has RaiseTransient style; this effect makes raise on a transient act just like raise on its main — the whole group is raised. Similar behavior holds for lowering a whole group of transients when the main has LowerTransient style. DontStackTransientParent turns this behavior off. (Dont)StackTransientParent has no effect if RaiseTransient and LowerTransient are not used.

A reasonable emulation of Motif raise/lower on transients is possible like this 💖

Style * RaiseTransient
Style * LowerTransient
Style * StackTransientParent

🦋 Extended Window Manager Hints styles 🦋

To understand the used terminology in this sub section, please read the Extended Window Manager Hints section. iykyk 📖

EWMHDonateIcon instructs fvwm to set the application ewmh icon hint with the icon that is used by fvwm if the application does not provide such hint (and if the icon used by fvwm is not an icon window). EWMHDonateMiniIcon does the same thing for mini icons. This allows compliant pager, taskbar, iconbox ...etc to display the same (mini) icons as fvwm. Note that on some hardware (e.g., 8-bit displays) these styles can slow down window mapping, and that in general only one of these styles is needed by a compliant application. EWMHDontDonateIcon and EWMHDontDonateMiniIcon restore the defaults, which are to not set any ewmh (mini) icons hints.

By default, if an application provides an ewmh icon hint of small size (i.e., height and width less than or equal to 22), then fvwm uses this icon as its mini icon. EWMHMiniIconOverride instructs fvwm to ignore ewmh icons and to use the mini icon provided by the MiniIcon style. EWMHNoMiniIconOverride restores the default.

EWMHUseStackingOrderHints causes fvwm to use EWMH hints and respect EWMH hints which change the window layer. EWMHIgnoreStackingOrderHints causes fvwm to ignore EWMH layer hints.

An application can ask for some reserved space on the desktop by a hint. In the EWMH terminology such a hint is called a strut, and it is used to compute the working area and may be used for window placement and in the maximize command. EWMHIgnoreStrutHints causes fvwm to ignore such hints, as EWMHUseStrutHints causes fvwm to use it, which is the default.

EWMHIgnoreStateHints causes fvwm to ignore initial EWMH state hints when a new window is mapped. The default EWMHUseStateHints causes fvwm to accept such hints.

EWMHIgnoreWindowType causes fvwm to ignore EWMH window type specification. The default !EWMHIgnoreWindowType causes fvwm to style windows of specified types as such.

EWMHMaximizeIgnoreWorkingArea causes fvwm to ignore the EWMH working area when it executes a Maximize command. With EWMHMaximizeUseWorkingArea the EWMH working area is used, as with EWMHMaximizeUseDynamicWorkingArea the EWMH dynamic working area is used (the default).

EWMHPlacementIgnoreWorkingArea causes fvwm to ignore the EWMH working area when it places (or places again) a window. With EWMHPlacementUseWorkingArea the EWMH working area is taken in account, as with EWMHPlacementUseDynamicWorkingArea the EWMH dynamic working area is taken in account (the default). Note that with the MinOverlapPlacement and MinOverlapPercentPlacement placement policy, the way the EWMH (dynamic) working area is taken in account is configurable with the MinOverlapPlacementPenalties style.

✨ Miscellaneous ✨

The BackingStore, BackingStoreOff and BackingStoreWindowDefault determine if the X server uses backing store for the window or not. BackingStore means that the X server tries to keep the obscured parts of a window in memory. This is usually slower if the client runs on the same machine as the X server, but can be much faster if the connection is slow (see also SaveUnder below). BackingStoreOff disables backing store for the window. By default, fvwm does not enable or disable backing store itself but leaves is as the window requested it. To revert back to the application's choice, use the BackingStoreWindowDefault style.

Note: This style is useless if the X server does not allow backing store. 💀

SaveUnder enables the corresponding window attribute in the X server. For a window using this style, the X server tries to store the graphics below it in memory, which is usually slower if the client runs on the same machine as the X server. SaveUnder may speed up fvwm if the connection to the X server is slow (e.g. over a modem link). To disable save under, use the SaveUnderOff style. This is the default. See also BackingStore above.

Note: This style is useless if the X server does not allow save under. 🙈

ParentalRelativity enables clients that use a background pixmap of type ParentRelative to achieve transparency. Fvwm modules that support transparent colorsets require this setting. Opacity is the default and should be used for all non-transparent clients for better performance.

MwmDecor makes fvwm attempt to recognize and respect the mwm decoration hints that applications occasionally use. To switch this style off, use the NoDecorHint style.

MwmFunctions makes fvwm attempt to recognize and respect the mwm prohibited operations hints that applications occasionally use. HintOverride makes fvwm shade out operations that mwm would prohibit, but it lets you perform the operation anyway. NoFuncHint allows turns off the mwm hints completely.

OLDecor makes fvwm attempt to recognize and respect the olwm and olvwm hints that many older XView and OLIT applications use. Switch this option off with NoOLDecor.

UseDecor This style is deprecated and will be removed in the future. There are plans to replace it with a more flexible solution in fvwm-3.0.

UseDecor accepts one argument: the name of a decor created with AddToDecor. If no decor name is specified, the "Default" decor is used. Windows do not actually contain decors, but are always assigned to one. If the decor is later modified with AddToDecor, the changes are visible for all windows which are assigned to it. The decor for a window can be reassigned with ChangeDecor.

UseStyle This style is deprecated and will be removed in the future. There are plans to replace it with a more flexible solution in fvwm-3.0.

UseStyle takes one arg, which is the name of another style. That way you can have unrelated window names easily inherit similar traits without retyping. For example:

Style rxvt UseStyle XTerm

Warning: If a style is built from one or more parent styles and the parent styles are changed, the derived style is not modified. To achieve this you have to issue the UseStyle line again. 😭

Windows with the Unmanaged style option are ignored by fvwm. They are not decorated, can not be moved or resized, etc. You probably want to use Bugopts RaiseOverUnmanaged too. This option can be turned off with the !Unmanaged style.

State sets the initial value of one of the 32 user defined states which are associated with each window. The state number ranges from 0 to 31 and must be given as an argument. The states have no meaning in fvwm, but they can be checked in conditional commands like Next with the State condition and manipulated with the State command.

# turn on state 11 for xterms ...
Style xterm State 11
# ... but not for rxvts.
Style rxvt !State 11

Windows with the WindowListSkip styles do not appear in the menu that is created with the WindowList command or the lists shown in modules like FvwmIconMan. In the modules, the style can usually be ignored with an option. Please refer to the man page of the module in question for further information. To disable this feature, use the default style WindowListHit.

The styles CirculateSkip and CirculateHit control whether the window is considered by conditional commands, for example Next, Prev or All. Windows with CirculateSkip are never selected by conditional commands. However, the styles can be overridden explicitly in the condition with the CirculateHit, CirculateHitIcon or CirculateHitShaded conditions, and some conditional commands, e.g. Current and All, do this by default. The styles CirculateSkipIcon, CirculateHitIcon, CirculateSkipShaded and CirculateHitShaded work like CirculateSkip and CirculateHit but apply only to iconic or shaded windows. Note: if multiple ...Skip... options are combined, windows are only selected if they match none of the given conditions. So, with

Style * CirculateSkipIcon, CirculateSkipShaded

...only windows that are neither iconic nor shaded are the ones getting selected. 💅

Note: for historical reasons, the conditional commands understand the names of these styles as condition names. Take care not to confuse them, bestie. 💀

✨ Examples ✨

# Change default fvwm behavior to no title-
# bars on windows! Also define a default icon.

Style *       !Title,                      \
              Icon unknown1.xpm,           \
              BorderWidth 4,               \
              HandleWidth 5

# now, window specific changes:
Style Fvwm* !Handles, Sticky,              \
            WindowListSkip,                \
            BorderWidth 0
Style FvwmPager   StaysOnTop, BorderWidth 0
Style *lock       !Handles, Sticky,        \
                  StaysOnTop, WindowListSkip
Style xbiff       Sticky, WindowListSkip
Style FvwmButtons !Handles, Sticky,        \
                  WindowListSkip
Style sxpm        !Handles

# Put title-bars back on xterms only!
Style xterm     Title, Color black/grey

Style rxvt        Icon term.xpm
Style xterm       Icon rterm.xpm
Style xcalc       Icon xcalc.xpm
Style xbiff       Icon mail1.xpm
Style xmh         Icon mail1.xpm,         \
                  StartsOnDesk 2
Style xman        Icon xman.xpm
Style matlab      Icon math4.xpm,         \
                  StartsOnDesk 3
Style xmag        Icon magnifying_glass2.xpm
Style xgraph      Icon graphs.xpm
Style FvwmButtons Icon toolbox.xpm
Style Maker       StartsOnDesk 1
Style signal      StartsOnDesk 3

# Fire up Netscape on the second desk, in the
# middle of my 3x3 virtual desktop, and do not
# bother me with it...
Style Netscape* SkipMapping,              \
          StartsOnPage 1 1 1

Okay so real talk, all the properties for a window get or'ed together. 🔥 In that example up there, FvwmPager snags the property StaysOnTop through an exact window name match, but it also gets !Handles, Sticky and WindowListSkip from matching Fvwm*. And it gets !Title by matching *. So it's stacking vibes, not replacing them.

And if conflicting styles get specified for a window? The last style specified wins. Periodt. 👑

WindowStyle options 🎀

WindowStyle sets attributes (styles) on the selected window. The options are exactly the same as for the Style command. No new lore, same lore, different door. 🚪

👑 WINDOW STYLES 👑

AddButtonStyle `button [state] [style] [-- [!]flag ...]`

Adds a button style to button. ✨

button can be a button number, or one of "All", "Left" or "Right".
state can be "ActiveUp", "ActiveDown", "InactiveUp" or "InactiveDown", or "Active" (the same as both "ActiveUp" and "ActiveDown") or "Inactive" (the same as both "InactiveUp" and "InactiveDown") or any of these 6 with "Toggled" prepended.

The "Active" states apply to the focused window, the "Inactive" ones apply to all other windows. The "Up" states apply to the non pressed buttons, the "Down" ones apply to pressed buttons. The "Toggled" prefix refers to maximized, shaded or sticky windows that have the corresponding MwmDecor... button style set. 🦋

Also, these shortcuts exist and you should absolutely use them: "AllNormal", "AllToggled", "AllActive", "AllInactive", "AllUp", "AllDown". They are actually different masks for 4 individual states from 8 total. And these are supported too: "AllActiveUp", "AllActiveDown", "AllInactiveUp", "AllInactiveDown". Slay.

If state is omitted, then the style is added to every state. If the style and flags are enclosed in parentheses, then multiple state definitions can be placed on a single line. Flags for additional button styles cannot be changed after definition — so get it right the first time bestie, it's giving one-shot. 🙈

Buttons are drawn in the order of definition, beginning with the most recent button style, followed by those added with AddButtonStyle. To clear the button style stack, change style flags, or for descriptions of available styles and flags, see the ButtonStyle command. 📖

Examples:

ButtonStyle 1 Pixmap led.xpm -- Top Left
ButtonStyle 1 ActiveDown HGradient 8 grey black
ButtonStyle All --  UseTitleStyle
AddButtonStyle 1 \
        ActiveUp (Pixmap a.xpm) \
        ActiveDown (Pixmap b.xpm -- Top)
AddButtonStyle 1 Vector 4 50x30@1 70x70@0 30x70@0 50x30@1

So initially, for this example, all button states are set to a pixmap. Then the second line replaces the "ActiveDown" state with a gradient — it overrides the pixmap assigned to it in the line before, which had assigned the same style to every state. 🎨 Then the UseTitleStyle flag is set for all buttons, which causes fvwm to draw any styles set with TitleStyle before drawing the buttons. Finally, AddButtonStyle is used to place additional pixmaps for both "ActiveUp" and "ActiveDown" states, and a vector button style is drawn on top of all states. Stacked. Literally layered. 🧚

AddTitleStyle `[state] [style] [-- [!]flag ...]`

Adds a title style to the title-bar. 💖

state can be "ActiveUp", "ActiveDown", "InactiveUp" or "InactiveDown", or "Active" (the same as both "ActiveUp" and "ActiveDown") or "Inactive" (the same as both "InactiveUp" and "InactiveDown") or any of these 6 with "Toggled" prepended.

If state is omitted, then the style is added to every state. If the style and flags are enclosed in parentheses, then multiple state definitions can be placed on a single line. This command is quite similar to the AddButtonStyle command — like, siblings energy, fr fr. 👯

Title-bars are drawn in the order of definition, beginning with the most recent TitleStyle, followed by those added with AddTitleStyle. To clear the title style stack, change style flags, or for the descriptions of available styles and flags, see the TitleStyle and ButtonStyle commands.

AddToDecor `decor`

⚠️ This command is deprecated and will be removed in the future. There are plans to replace it with a more flexible solution in fvwm-3.0. So like… enjoy it while it's here, but don't build your whole personality on it. 😭

Add or divert commands to the decor named decor. A decor is a name given to the set of commands which affect button styles, title-bar styles and border styles. If decor does not exist it is created; otherwise the existing decor is modified. 🌸

New decors start out exactly like the "default" decor without any style definitions. A given decor may be applied to a set of windows with the UseDecor option of the Style command. Modifying an existing decor affects all windows which are currently assigned to it. Big responsibility, lowkey.

AddToDecor is similar in usage to the AddToMenu and AddToFunc commands, except that menus and functions are replaced by ButtonStyle, AddButtonStyle, TitleStyle, AddTitleStyle and BorderStyle commands. Decors created with AddToDecor can be manipulated with ChangeDecor, DestroyDecor, UpdateDecor and the Style option. 🔧

The following example creates a decor "FlatDecor" and style "FlatStyle". They are distinct entities:

AddToDecor FlatDecor
+ ButtonStyle All Active (-- flat) Inactive (-- flat)
+ TitleStyle  -- flat
+ BorderStyle -- HiddenHandles NoInset

Style FlatStyle \
        UseDecor FlatDecor, HandleWidth 4, Colorset 0

Style xterm UseStyle FlatStyle

An existing window's decor may be reassigned with ChangeDecor. A decor can be destroyed with DestroyDecor. 🗑️

DestroyDecor FlatDecor
AddToDecor FlatDecor ...

Style FlatStyle UseDecor FlatDecor

and now apply the style again:

Style xterm UseStyle FlatStyle

BorderStyle `state [style] [-- [!]flag ...]`

Defines a border style for windows. state can be either "Active" or "Inactive". If state is omitted, then the style is set for both states. If the style and flags are enclosed in parentheses, then multiple state definitions can be specified per line.

style is a subset of the available button styles, and can only be TiledPixmap (uniform pixmaps which match the bevel colors work best this way) or Colorset. If a '!' is prefixed to any flag, the behavior is negated. If style is not specified, then one can change flags without resetting the style. 🎛️

The HiddenHandles flag hides the corner handle dividing lines on windows with handles (this option has no effect for !Handles windows). By default, HiddenHandles is disabled.

The NoInset flag supplements HiddenHandles. If given, the inner bevel around the window frame is not drawn. If HiddenHandles is not specified, the frame looks a little strange. 👀 Just a heads up.

Raised causes a raised relief pattern to be drawn (default). Sunk causes a sunken relief pattern to be drawn. Flat inhibits the relief pattern from being drawn. Three moods, pick your fighter. ✨

To decorate the active and inactive window borders with a textured pixmap, one might specify:

BorderStyle Active TiledPixmap marble.xpm
BorderStyle Inactive TiledPixmap granite.xpm
BorderStyle Active -- HiddenHandles NoInset

To clear the style for both states:

BorderStyle Simple

To clear for a single state:

BorderStyle Active Simple

To unset a flag for a given state:

BorderStyle Inactive -- !NoInset

title-bar buttons can inherit the border style with the UseBorderStyle flag (see ButtonStyle). 🫶

ButtonState `[ActiveDown bool] [Inactive bool] [InactiveDown bool]`

The ButtonState command controls which states of the window titles and title buttons are used. The default is to use all four states: "ActiveUp", "ActiveDown", "InactiveUp" and "InactiveDown" (see ButtonStyle and TitleStyle commands). 🎀

The bool argument after the key word controls if the designated state is used ("True") or not ("False"). The bool flag is the same as other commands, and not limited to just "True" or "False"; "Yes" and "No" may also be used. The "ActiveUp" state cannot be deactivated. If no arguments are provided or the given arguments are invalid, the default is restored. 💫

If ActiveDown argument is "False", no different button style for the pressed down buttons used, instead "ActiveUp" state is used even when button is pressed.

If Inactive argument is "False", focused and unfocused windows look similarly, the corresponding "Active" states are always used. Matching outfits, basically. 👑

okay so if the InactiveDown argument is "False" (and bestie, this only kicks in when Inactive is "True"), then the pressed titles and title buttons in non-focused windows get drawn using "InactiveUp" or "ActiveUp" states, depending on what the other key words are set to. 💅

✨ `ButtonStyle button [state] [style] [-- [!]flag ...]` ✨

This one sets the button style for a title-bar button. button is the title-bar button number between 0 and 9, or one of "All", "Left", "Right", or "Reset". Button numbering is described in the Mouse command section. If the style and flags are wrapped in parentheses, then you can specify multiple state definitions per line. 🫶

state tells you which button state should be set. Here's the rundown:

"ActiveUp" and "ActiveDown" — the un-pressed and pressed states for buttons on active windows.
"InactiveUp" and "InactiveDown" — buttons on inactive windows.
"Active" — shortcut for both "ActiveUp" and "ActiveDown".
"Inactive" — shortcut for both "InactiveUp" and "InactiveDown".
The similar state names, but with the "Toggled" prefix, are used instead for title buttons which have one of the MwmDecorMax, MwmDecorShade, MwmDecorStick or MwmDecorLayer hints, if the window is maximized, shaded, sticky or placed on specific layer, respectively. 👑

AddToDecor Default
+ ButtonStyle 6                   \
  Vector 4 50x25@1 85x75@0 15x75@0 50x25@1
+ ButtonStyle 6 ToggledActiveUp   \
  Vector 4 50x75@0 85x25@1 15x25@0 50x75@0
+ ButtonStyle 6 ToggledActiveDown \
  Vector 4 50x75@0 85x25@1 15x25@0 50x75@0
+ ButtonStyle 6 ToggledInactive   \
  Vector 4 50x75@0 85x25@1 15x25@0 50x75@0
+ ButtonStyle 6 - MwmDecorShade
Mouse 0 6 N WindowShade

Also, these shortcuts can be used: "AllNormal", "AllToggled", "AllActive", "AllInactive", "AllUp", "AllDown". They're actually different masks for 4 individual states out of 8 total. And these are supported too: "AllActiveUp", "AllActiveDown", "AllInactiveUp", "AllInactiveDown". 🌈

If state is specified, that particular button state is set. If state is omitted, every state is set. Specifying a style destroys the current style — use AddButtonStyle to avoid this. 💀

If style is omitted, then state-dependent flags can be set for the primary button style without destroying the current style. Examples (each line is independent):

ButtonStyle Left -- flat
ButtonStyle All ActiveUp (-- flat) Inactive (-- flat)

The first line sets every state of the left buttons to flat, while the second sets only the "ActiveUp" and "Inactive" states of every button to flat (only flags are changed; the buttons' individual styles are not changed).

If you want to reset all buttons to their defaults:

ButtonStyle Reset

To reset the "ActiveUp" button state of button 1 to the default:

ButtonStyle 1 ActiveUp Default

To reset all button states of button 1 to the default of button number 2:

ButtonStyle 1 Default 2

For any button, multiple state definitions can be given on one line by enclosing the style and flags in parentheses. If only one definition per line is given, the parentheses can be omitted. ✨

flags affect the specified state. If a ! is prefixed to any flag, its behavior is negated. The available state-dependent flags for all styles are described here (the ButtonStyle entry deals with state-independent flags).

Raised — causes a raised relief pattern to be drawn.
Sunk — causes a sunken relief pattern to be drawn.
Flat — inhibits the relief pattern from being drawn.
UseTitleStyle — causes the given button state to render the current title style before rendering the buttons' own styles. The Raised, Flat and Sunk TitleStyle flags are ignored since they are redundant in this context.
UseBorderStyle — causes the button to inherit the decorated BorderStyle options.

Raised, Sunk and Flat are mutually exclusive, and can be specified for the initial ButtonStyle only. UseTitleStyle and UseBorderStyle are also mutually exclusive (both can be off however). The default is Raised with both UseBorderStyle and UseTitleStyle left unset.

Important 🚨 for the "ActiveDown" and "InactiveDown" states: When a button is pressed, the relief is inverted. Because of this, to obtain the raised look in "ActiveDown" or "InactiveDown" states you must specify the opposite of the desired relief (i.e. Sunk for "ActiveDown" or "InactiveDown"). This behavior is consistent, but may seem confusing at first. The same applies to the "Toggled" states.

Button styles are classified as non-destructive, partially destructive, or fully destructive. Non-destructive styles do not affect the image. Partially destructive styles can obscure some or all parts of the underlying image (i.e. Pixmap). Fully destructive styles obscure the entire underlying image (i.e. Solid or one of the gradient styles). Thus, if stacking styles with AddButtonStyle (or AddTitleStyle for title-bars), use care in sequencing styles to minimize redraw. 🎀

The available styles are:

Simple, Default, Solid, Colorset, Vector, ?Gradient, Pixmap, AdjustedPixmap, ShrunkPixmap, StretchedPixmap, TiledPixmap, MiniIcon

The description of these styles and their arguments follow:

💖 Simple

The Simple style does nothing. There are no arguments, and this style is an example of a non-destructive button style.

💖 Default

The Default style conditionally accepts one argument: a number which specifies the default button number to load. If the style command given is ButtonStyle or AddButtonStyle, the argument is optional (if given, it overrides the current button). If a command other than ButtonStyle or AddButtonStyle is used, the number must be specified.

💖 Solid

The Solid style fills the button with a solid color. The relief border color is not affected. The color is specified as a single argument. This style is fully destructive.

💖 Colorset

The Colorset cs [alpha] style fills the button with the Colorset cs. The optional alpha argument is a percentage between 0 and 100. It causes fvwm to merge the colorset background onto the button using this percentage. If the percentage is 0 the colorset background is hidden and if it is 100 the colorset background is fully applied. The default is 100. So, the destructiveness depends on the alpha argument.

💖 Vector

The Vector num X[offsetp]xY[offsetp]@C ... style draws a line pattern. Since this is a standard button style, the keyword Vector is optional, num is a number of point specifications of the form X[offsetp]xY[offsetp]@C ... X and Y are point coordinates inside the button, given in percents (from 0 to 100). An optional absolute offset in pixels can be given as "+<offset>p" for a positive or "-<offset>p" for a negative offset.

C specifies a line color (0 - the shadow color, 1 - the highlight color, 2 - the background color, 3 - the foreground color, 4 - only move the point, do not draw). The first point color is not used. You can use up to 10000 points in a line pattern. This style is partially destructive.

The specification is a little cumbersome:

ButtonStyle 2 Vector 4 50x30@1 70x70@0 30x70@0 50x30@1

then the button 2 decoration uses a 4-point pattern consisting of a line from (x=50,y=30) to (70,70) in the shadow color (@0), and then to (30,70) in the shadow color, and finally to (50,30) in the highlight color (@1). Is that too confusing? See the fvwm web pages for some examples with screenshots. 😭

A more complex example of Vector:

ButtonStyle 8 Vector 10 45x65@2 45x75@3 \
20x75@3 20x50@3 35x50@3 35x65@1 35x25@1 \
75x25@1 75x65@0 35x65@0
ButtonStyle 0 Vector 10 45x65@2 45x75@0 \
20x75@0 20x50@1 45x50@1 45x65@0 75x65@3 \
75x25@3 35x25@3 35x47@3

💖 Gradient

The Gradient styles denote color gradients. Fill in the question mark with any one of the defined gradient types. Please refer to the Color Gradients section for a description of the gradient syntax. The gradient styles are fully destructive.

💖 Pixmap

The Pixmap style displays a pixmap. A pixmap should be specified as an argument. For example, the following would give button number 2 the same pixmap for all 4 states (2 active and 2 inactive), and button number 4 all different pixmaps.

ButtonStyle 2 Pixmap my_pixmap.xpm
ButtonStyle 4 \
ActiveUp (Pixmap activeup.xpm) \
ActiveDown (Pixmap activedown.xpm) \
Inactive (Pixmap inactiveup.xpm)
ButtonStyle 4 \
InactiveDown Pixmap inactivedown.xpm

The pixmap specification can be given as an absolute or relative pathname (see ImagePath). If the pixmap cannot be found, the button style reverts to Simple. Flags specific to the Pixmap style are Left, Right, Top, and Bottom. These can be used to justify the pixmap (default is centered for both directions). Pixmap transparency is used for the color "None." This style is partially destructive.

💖 AdjustedPixmap

The AdjustedPixmap style is similar to the Pixmap style. But the image is resized to exactly fit the button.

💖 ShrunkPixmap

The ShrunkPixmap style is similar to the Pixmap style. But if the image is bigger than the button the image is resized to fit into the button.

💖 StretchedPixmap

The StretchedPixmap style is similar to the Pixmap style. But if the image is smaller than the button the image is resized to cover the button.

💖 TiledPixmap

The TiledPixmap style accepts a pixmap to be tiled as the button background. One pixmap is specified as an argument. Pixmap transparency is not used. This style is fully destructive.

💖 MiniIcon

The MiniIcon style draws the window’s miniature icon in the button, which is specified with the MiniIcon option of the Style command. This button style accepts no arguments. Example:

Style *     MiniIcon mini-bx2.xpm
Style xterm MiniIcon mini-term.xpm
Style Emacs MiniIcon mini-doc.xpm

ButtonStyle 1 MiniIcon

💅 `ButtonStyle` — but the state-independent flags era

ButtonStyle button - [!]flag ...

Okay bestie, so this form sets state-independent flags for the button you picked. These flags mess with button behavior (not looks). Each flag gets a space between it and the next one. Slap a ! in front of a flag and the behavior gets negated. And the special flag Clear wipes out every existing flag, like a factory reset for your button's whole personality. ✨

So like, these following flags are usually used to tell fvwm which buttons should be affected by mwm function hints (peep the MwmFunctions option of the Style command 👀). This is not done automatically, because maybe you've got buttons bound to complex functions, for instance. fvwm isn't gonna assume, she's polite.

MwmDecorMenu — assign this to title-bar buttons that pop open a menu. Default assignment is the leftmost button. When a window with the MwmFunctions Style option requests not to show this button, it gets hidden. 🙈
MwmDecorMin — assign to title-bar buttons that minimize or iconify the window. Default assignment is the second button over from the rightmost button. When a window with the MwmFunctions Style option asks not to show it, hidden. 💀
MwmDecorMax — assign to title-bar buttons that maximize the window. Default assignment is the rightmost button. When a window with the MwmFunctions Style option requests not to show it, hidden. And when the window is maximized, the vector pattern on the button looks pressed in. 👑
MwmDecorShade — assign to title-bar buttons that shade the window (see the WindowShade command). When the window is shaded, the vector pattern on the button looks pressed in.
MwmDecorStick — assign to title-bar buttons that make the window sticky. When the window is sticky, the vector pattern on the button looks pressed in.
MwmDecorLayer layer — assign to title-bar buttons that place the window in the layer numbered layer. When the window is on that specific layer, the vector pattern on the button looks pressed in. 🌈

🚫 `ChangeDecor` decor

Heads up bestie, this command is deprecated and will be removed in the future. There are plans to replace it with a more flexible solution in fvwm-3.0. So like, use it if you must, but don't get attached. 😭

Changes the decor of a window to decor. decor is "Default" or the name of a decor defined with AddToDecor. If decor is invalid, nothing occurs — no drama, no error, just vibes. If called from somewhere in a window or its border, then that window is the one affected. If called from the root window, the user gets to select the target window themselves. ChangeDecor only affects attributes which can be set using the AddToDecor command. Periodt.

ChangeDecor CustomDecor1

💀 `DestroyDecor` `[recreate]` decor

Same energy: deprecated, will be removed in the future, plans to replace it with a more flexible solution in fvwm-3.0. 🫠

Deletes the decor defined with AddToDecor, so that any later references to it are no longer valid. Windows using this decor revert to the "Default" decor. The optional parameter recreate tells fvwm not to throw away the decor completely, but to throw away only its contents. If the decor is created again later, windows do not use it before the UseDecor style is applied again — unless the decor was destroyed with the recreate option. And the decor named "Default" cannot be destroyed. She's eternal. 👑

DestroyDecor CustomDecor1

🎀 `TitleStyle` `[justification]` `[Height [num]]` `[MinHeight [num]]`

Sets attributes for the title-bar. Justifications can be Centered, RightJustified or LeftJustified. Height sets the title bar's height to an amount in pixels. MinHeight sets the minimal height in pixels of the title bar.

Defaults are Centered, the window's font height, and no minimal height. To reset the font height back to the default value, just omit the num argument after the Height keyword. The MinHeight height is reset by Height, or if given with no argument.

Example, since we love a demo:

TitleStyle LeftJustified Height 24

✨ `TitleStyle` `[state]` `[style]` `[-- [!]flag ...]`

Sets the style for the title-bar. Also see AddTitleStyle and ButtonStyle. 🌸

state can be one of "ActiveUp", "ActiveDown", "InactiveUp", or "InactiveDown". Shortcuts like "Active" and "Inactive" are allowed. The states with the "Toggled" prefix are allowed too — the title itself does not use "Toggled" states, but these states are used for the buttons with ButtonStyle UseTitleStyle. If state is omitted, then the style is added to every state. If parentheses are placed around the style and flags, then multiple state definitions can be given per line. style can be omitted too, so that flags can be set while not destroying the current style. 💅

If a ! is prefixed to any flag, its behavior is negated. Valid flags for each state include Raised, Flat and Sunk (these are mutually exclusive). The default is Raised. See the note in ButtonStyle regarding the "ActiveDown" state. Examples:

TitleStyle ActiveUp HGradient 16 navy black
TitleStyle \
ActiveDown (Solid red -- flat) \
Inactive (TiledPixmap wood.xpm)
TitleStyle \
ActiveUp (-- Flat) \
ActiveDown (-- Raised) \
InactiveUp (-- Flat) \
InactiveDown (-- Sunk)

So this sets the "ActiveUp" state to a horizontal gradient, the "ActiveDown" state to solid red, and the "Inactive" states to a tiled wood pixmap. Finally, "ActiveUp" and "InactiveUp" are set to look flat, while "ActiveDown" is set to be sunk (the Raised flag for the "ActiveDown" state causes it to appear sunk due to relief inversion — iconic, honestly), and "InactiveDown" is set to look raised. An example which sets flags for all states:

TitleStyle -- flat

For a flattened look:

TitleStyle -- flat
ButtonStyle All Active (-- flat) Inactive (-- flat)

TitleStyle accepts all the ButtonStyle styles and arguments:

Simple, Default, Solid, Colorset, Vector, ?Gradient, Pixmap, AdjustedPixmap, ShrunkPixmap, StretchedPixmap, TiledPixmap, MiniIcon.

See the ButtonStyle command for a description of all these styles and their arguments. 📖

In addition to these styles TitleStyle accepts a powerful MultiPixmap option. This allows you to specify different pixmaps, colorsets or colors for different parts of the titlebar. Some of them are tiled or stretched to fit a particular space; others are discrete "transition" images. The definable sections are:

Main — The full titlebar
LeftMain — Left of title text
RightMain — Right of title text
UnderText — Underneath title text
LeftOfText — just to the left of the title text
RightOfText — just to the right of the title text
LeftEnd — at the far left end of the titlebar (just after left buttons if any)
RightEnd — at the far right end of the titlebar (just before right buttons if any)
Buttons — under buttons in case of UseTitleStyle
LeftButtons — under left buttons in case of UseTitleStyle
RightButtons — under right buttons in case of UseTitleStyle

None of these are mandatory except for Main (or, if you do not define Main you must define both LeftMain and RightMain). If no Buttons pixmaps are defined and UseTitleStyle is specified for one or more buttons, Main, LeftMain or RightMain are used as appropriate.

The syntax for this style type is:

MultiPixmap section style arg, ...

...continuing for whatever you want to define. The style can be either TiledPixmap, AdjustedPixmap, Colorset or Solid. See the ButtonStyle command for the description of these styles. In the case of a transition section — LeftEnd, LeftOfText, RightOfText or RightEnd — AdjustedPixmap only resizes the pixmap in the "y" direction. For the Colorset and Solid styles, a width of half of the title bar height is assumed for the transition sections.

An example:

MultiPixmap Main AdjustedPixmap foo.xpm, \
      UnderText TiledPixmap bar.xpm, \
      Buttons Colorset 2

Note that the old syntax is still supported: if the style is omitted, TiledPixmap is assumed, and adding "(stretched)" between the section and the file name implies AdjustedPixmap. 🦋

🧚 `UpdateDecor` `[decor]`

Bestie, deprecated, will be removed in the future, plans to replace it with a more flexible solution in fvwm-3.0. Also this one is kept mainly for backward compatibility. Since all elements of a decor are updated immediately when they are changed, this command is mostly useless. She said it, not me. 😭

Updates window decorations. decor is an optional argument which specifies the decor to update. If given, only windows which are assigned to that particular decor are updated. This command is useful, for instance, after a ButtonStyle, TitleStyle or BorderStyle (possibly used in conjunction with AddToDecor). Specifying an invalid decor results in all windows being updated. Surprise! 💀

And that's a wrap on this whole glorious page, bestie. 🎀 This was FVWM3STYLES(1) from the fvwm3 fam, dated 2026-06-28 — go style some windows, you absolute icon. 💖✨

📦 where this page comes from

arch rolling: fvwm3 1.1.5-1 · GPL-2.0-or-later
fedora 43: fvwm3 1.1.5-1.fc43 · GPL-2.0-or-later AND NTP AND MIT and BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause
fedora 44: fvwm3 1.1.5-1.fc44 · GPL-2.0-or-later AND NTP AND MIT and BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash on 2026-10-13: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms