XSetWMName(3)

💅 XSetWMName(3) — XLIB FUNCTIONS, but make it cute 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to the XSetWMName(3) page from XLIB FUNCTIONS. This whole thing is about setting or reading a window’s WM_NAME property, and it’s giving main-character window energy. 💖

✨ NAME ✨

XSetWMName, XGetWMName, XStoreName, XFetchName — set or read a window’s WM_NAME property. periodt. 💅

🛠️ SYNTAX 🛠️

void XSetWMName(Display *display, Window w, XTextProperty *text_prop);

Status XGetWMName(Display *display, Window w, XTextProperty
       *text_prop_return);

int XStoreName(Display *display, Window w, _Xconst char *window_name);

Status XFetchName(Display *display, Window w, char
       **window_name_return);

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• display — specifies the connection to the X server. yes bestie, that one. ✨
• text_prop — specifies the XTextProperty structure to be used.
• text_prop_return — returns the XTextProperty structure.
• w — specifies the window. the window in question, iconic.
• window_name — specifies the window name, which should be a null-terminated string.
• window_name_return — returns the window name, which is a null-terminated string.

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

The XSetWMName convenience function calls XSetTextProperty to set the WM_NAME property. lowkey straightforward, highkey important. 👑

The XGetWMName convenience function calls XGetTextProperty to obtain the WM_NAME property. It returns a nonzero status on success; otherwise, it returns a zero status. no cap. 🫶

The XStoreName function assigns the name passed to window_name to the specified window. A window manager can display the window name in some prominent place, such as the title bar, to allow users to identify windows easily. Some window managers may display a window’s name in the window’s icon, although they are encouraged to use the window’s icon name if one is provided by the application. If the string is not in the Host Portable Character Encoding, the result is implementation-dependent. XStoreName can generate BadAlloc and BadWindow errors. 💀

The XFetchName function returns the name of the specified window. If it succeeds, it returns a nonzero status; otherwise, no name has been set for the window, and it returns zero. If the WM_NAME property has not been set for this window, XFetchName sets window_name_return to NULL. If the data returned by the server is in the Latin Portable Character Encoding, then the returned string is in the Host Portable Character Encoding. Otherwise, the result is implementation-dependent. When finished with it, a client must free the window name string using XFree. XFetchName can generate a BadWindow error. 🦋

bestie, that XFree part is not a suggestion — the client must free the window name string when it’s done with it. 🫡

🌸 PROPERTIES 🌸

• WM_NAME — The name of the application. that’s the property, that’s the vibe. 🎀

⚠️ DIAGNOSTICS ⚠️

• BadAlloc — The server failed to allocate the requested resource or server memory. 😭
• BadWindow — A value for a Window argument does not name a defined Window. 💀

🔗 SEE ALSO 🔗

• XAllocClassHint(3)
• XAllocIconSize(3)
• XAllocSizeHints(3)
• XAllocWMHints(3)
• XFree(3)
• XSetCommand(3)
• XSetTransientForHint(3)
• XSetTextProperty(3)
• XSetWMClientMachine(3)
• XSetWMColormapWindows(3)
• XSetWMIconName(3)
• XSetWMProperties(3)
• XSetWMProtocols(3)
• XStringListToTextProperty(3)
• Xlib - C Language X Interface

---

mwah 💋 — this little footer moment is brought to you by X Version 11, libX11 1.8.14, and the XSetWMName(3) footer. the footer didn’t include a date, so I’m not inventing one, bestie. 🎀🫶✨