dtfpfilespecial file
dtfpfileformat
and locations of front panel configuration files
set DtDbVersion=version_number
set VariableName=variable_value
RecordType record_name
{
# Comment
Keyword Value
Keyword Value
...
}
DESCRIPTION
The dtfpfile front panel database provides definitions
for the components that define the content and functionality of the front
panel. Files containing front panel definitions must end with the .fp suffix. Like the action and data type database, the front panel
database is constructed by reading all files ending in the .fp
suffix found in the search path specified by the DTDATABASESEARCHPATH environment variable.
See &cdeman.dtdtfile; for a complete description of the
directory locations where these database files are found and for a description
of the specific syntax for the database files.
File Format
The general syntax of the front panel configuration files is as described
above in the SYNOPSIS section of this man page.
The Comments, Versions and Variables fields are described in &cdeman.dtdtfile;.
The front panel record types each have a set of Keyword and Value pairs.
There are six record types defined: PANEL, BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH, CONTROL and ANIMATION. Each
record type has a set of keywords defined for it. Many of the keywords are
used for multiple record types.
Record Types
PANEL front panel name
The PANEL record type defines
the outermost container of the front panel. It can contain one or more BOXes and optionally repositioning handles,
a menu and a minimize button. The keywords defined for PANEL are described in the following table.
PANEL Record Type
Keywords and Values
Keyword
Value
Default
CONTROL_BEHAVIOR
(double_click/ single_click)
single_click
DISPLAY_CONTROL_LABELS
(True/False)
False
DISPLAY_HANDLES
(True/False)
True
DISPLAY_MENU
(True/False)
True
DISPLAY_MINIMIZE
(True/False)
True
HELP_STRING
string
NULL
HELP_TOPIC
topic name
NULL
HELP_VOLUME
volume name
FPanel
LOCKED
(True/False)
False
PANEL_GEOMETRY
{+−}xoffset[{+−}yoffset]
NULL
RESOLUTION
(high/medium /low/match_display)
match_display
SUBPANEL_UNPOST
(True/False)
True
BOX box name
The BOX record type defines
a container within a PANEL that
can hold a row of CONTROLS and at
most one SWITCH container. Multiple BOXes within a PANEL are stacked vertically. The keywords defined for BOX are described in the following table.
BOX Record Type
Keywords and Values
Keyword
Value
Default
CONTAINER_NAME
front panel name
NULL (required)
DELETE
(True/False)
False
HELP_STRING
string
NULL
HELP_TOPIC
topic name
NULL
HELP_VOLUME
volume name
FPanel
LOCKED
(True/False)
False
POSITION_HINTS
(first/last/integer ≥ 1)
first
SUBPANEL subpanel name
The SUBPANEL record type defines
a secondary container for CONTROLs
that slide up from the front panel. SUBPANEL s can also contain a drop zone where new controls can be dynamically
added. The keywords defined for SUBPANEL
are described in the following table.
SUBPANEL Record
Type Keywords and Values
Keyword
Value
Default
CONTAINER_NAME
control name
NULL (required)
CONTROL_INSTALL
(True/False)
True
DELETE
(True/False)
False
HELP_STRING
string
NULL
HELP_TOPIC
topic name
NULL
HELP_VOLUME
volume name
FPanel
LOCKED
(True/False)
False
TITLE
string
NULL
SWITCH switch name
The SWITCH record type defines
a container within a BOX that contains
a set of push buttons, each of which give access to a corresponding workspace.
See &cdeman.dtwm; for a description of the multiple workspace capabilities.
Also contained within the SWITCH
container is an optional set of CONTROLs.
These are presented in a column on each side of the push buttons. The keywords
defined for SWITCH are described
in the following table.
SWITCH Record Type
Keywords and Values
Keyword
Value
Default
CONTAINER_NAME
box name
NULL (required)
DELETE
(True/False)
False
HELP_STRING
string
NULL
HELP_TOPIC
topic name
NULL
HELP_VOLUME
volume name
FPanel
LOCKED
(True/False)
False
NUMBER_OF_ROWS
integer
2
POSITION_HINTS
(first/last/integer ≥ 1)
first
CONTROL control name
The CONTROL record type defines
the main functional component of the front panel. CONTROLs typically have actions defined for them that are invoked
on selection or drag and drop or both. CONTROL s are displayed with icons or labels or both and can have iconic
animations associated with them. The keywords defined for CONTROL are described in the following table.
CONTROL Record Type
Keywords and Values
Keyword
Value
Default
ALTERNATE_ICON
image name
NULL
CLIENT_GEOMETRY
width x height
NULL
CLIENT_NAME
client name
NULL
CONTAINER_NAME
(box name/ switch name/subpanel name)
NULL (required)
CONTAINER_TYPE
(BOX/SWITCH/ SUBPANEL)
NULL (required)
DATE_FORMAT
format string
%b%n%e
DELETE
(True/False)
False
DROP_ACTION
action_name
NULL
DROP_ANIMATION
animation name
NULL
FILE_NAME
pathname
NULL
HELP_STRING
string
NULL
HELP_TOPIC
topic name
NULL
HELP_VOLUME
volume name
FPanel
ICON
image name
NULL
LABEL
string
NULL
LOCKED
(True/False)
False
MONITOR_TYPE
(none/mail/ file)
none
POSITION_HINTS
(first/last/integer ≥ 1)
first
PUSH_ACTION
action_name
NULL
PUSH_ANIMATION
animation name
NULL
PUSH_RECALL
(True/False)
False
TYPE
(blank/busy/ client/clock/date/ file/icon)
icon
ANIMATION animation name
The ANIMATION record types
are a sequence of image name and time delay pairs that are displayed by a CONTROL on a PUSH_ACTION or DROP_ACTION.
ANIMATION Record
Type Keywords and Values
Keyword
Value
Default
ANIMATION
image name [ millisecond delay]
None [200]
Keyword and Value Descriptions
The following list contains a description of each of the keywords defined
by the front panel.
ALTERNATE_ICON
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: busy and icon.
ALTERNATE_ICON defines an
image to be used to replace the normal image within a control with a mail
or file value for the MONITOR_TYPE.
The image is displayed when the file being monitored changes. For the busy control, ALTERNATE_ICON
is cycled with ICON to give the
blinking effect.
ANIMATION
Used with record types of: ANIMATION.
Used with control keywords of: PUSH_ANIMATION and DROP_ANIMATION.
ANIMATION defines a sequence
of images to be displayed for either a PUSH_ACTION or DROP_ACTION. Each
animation within the list is displayed in order with a default time separation
of 200 milliseconds. For a slower or faster sequence, the image name value
can be followed by the amount of time to display the image. If no time value
is specified, the previously specified value is used.
CLIENT_GEOMETRY
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control type of: client.
Used with control keywords of: CLIENT_NAME.
CLIENT_GEOMETRY specifies
the size (in pixels) needed for the window of a client displayed within the
front panel.
CLIENT_NAME
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: client or icon.
Used with control keywords of: PUSH_RECALL.
CLIENT_NAME specifies a name
used to associate a control with an executable. It is necessary for control
types of client (an X client running within the front panel)
and for icon when the keyword PUSH_RECALL is True. The value client name
is the name of the executable or can be set via a command-line argument for
some clients (such as xterm −name panelterm). The client name for a running
client can be found by executing xprop. The first string of the WM_CLASS property is the value used.
CONTAINER_NAME
Used with record types of: BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH and CONTROL.
CONTAINER_NAME associates
a component with its parent. For example, the CONTAINER_NAME value for a SWITCH tells the front panel into which BOX it should be placed. Since controls can reside in several
different component types, CONTAINER_NAME
is used in conjunction with CONTAINER_TYPE
to define a control's parent.
CONTAINER_TYPE
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
CONTAINER_TYPE defines a control's
parent type. This is used to identify a control uniquely so that it can be
created within the proper parent.
CONTROL_BEHAVIOR
Used with record types of: PANEL.
CONTROL_BEHAVIOR provides
the mechanism for setting the user model for front panel controls. Controls
can be set to invoke their PUSH_ACTION
by either a single or double click.
CONTROL_INSTALL
Used with record types of: SUBPANEL.
CONTROL_INSTALL enables or
disables dynamic control installation into subpanels. A value of True causes
the control installation area to be displayed within the subpanel.
DATE_FORMAT
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: date.
DATE_FORMAT specifies the
layout of the date string for a control of type date. The
format is the same used by the UNIX strftime(3) function.
DELETE
Used with record types of: BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH and CONTROL.
DELETE is used to override
and remove a non-locked component from the front panel. This is necessary
to eliminate system default front panel components without replacing the default
files. To use DELETE, a copy of
the component definition with the additional DELETE keyword is stored in a file with an .fp
suffix in the user's or application type's directory.
DISPLAY_CONTROL_LABELS
Used with record types of: PANEL.
DISPLAY_CONTROL_LABELS specifies
whether the controls contained within the front panel's boxes have their labels
displayed.
DISPLAY_HANDLES
Used with record types of: PANEL.
If DISPLAY_HANDLES is set
to True, the move handles are displayed along the left and right edges of
the front panel.
DISPLAY_MENU
Used with record types of: PANEL.
If DISPLAY_MENU is set to
True, and DISPLAY_HANDLES is also
set to True, the system menu button is displayed in the upper left hand corner
of the front panel.
DISPLAY_MINIMIZE
Used with record types of: PANEL.
If DISPLAY_MINIMIZE is set
to True, and DISPLAY_HANDLES is
also set to True, the minimize button is displayed in the upper right hand
corner of the front panel.
DROP_ACTION
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
DROP_ACTION specifies the
function that is invoked when a drop occurs on the control.
DROP_ANIMATION
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with all control types except: client.
DROP_ANIMATION specifies the
name of an animation record to be displayed when a drop occurs on the control.
The control must have a DROP_ACTION
defined for the animation to be used.
FILE_NAME
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: icon and file.
For the control type of file, FILE_NAME is the pathname of the file to be used for the control.
The file's file type, actions and images are extracted from the action database
for the control.
For MONITOR_TYPE mail and file, FILE_NAME specifies the pathname of the file the front panel
monitors for either mail arrival or some other user-defined data.
For MONITOR_TYPE file, the ALTERNATE_ICON
image is displayed when the monitored file is non-empty. The ICON image is displayed if the file is empty or non-existent.
For MONITOR_TYPE mail, the ALTERNATE_ICON
image is displayed when the file increases in size.
HELP_STRING
Used with record types of: PANEL, BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH and CONTROL.
HELP_STRING specifies an on-line
help string to display when help is requested over a front panel component.
Since each component type can have a help string associated with it, there
is a precedence used in deciding which help string to display. Control help
takes precedence over box help, switch help and subpanel help. Box help takes
precedence over subpanel help. The HELP_STRING value is used only if no HELP_TOPIC value is defined.
HELP_TOPIC
Used with record types of: PANEL, BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH and CONTROL.
HELP_TOPIC specifies an on-line
help topic that is used with either the default help volume or a help volume
specified by the HELP_VOLUME keyword
to display help information when requested over a front panel component. Like
the HELP_STRING keyword, each component
type can have a help topic associated with it and the same precedence rules
are used.
HELP_VOLUME
Used with record types of: PANEL, BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH and CONTROL.
When HELP_VOLUME is used in
conjunction with HELP_TOPIC, it
defines the help information to be displayed for a front panel component.
ICON
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: icon, file
and busy.
ICON specifies the image to
be displayed within a control.
LABEL
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: icon, file, clock and busy.
LABEL specifies the string
to be displayed when a control is in a subpanel.
LOCKED
Used with record types of: PANEL, BOX, SUBPANEL, SWITCH and CONTROL.
LOCKED provides the mechanism
to prevent a component definition of identical type, name and parent from
overriding (replacing) this definition. Since the front panel can be defined
within multiple configuration files, it provides the flexibility to override
components found earlier in the search path. Like actions and file types,
this allows the front panel to be customized at several levels.
MONITOR_TYPE
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control types of: icon and file
MONITOR_TYPE specifies the
method of checking the file being monitored, specified by the keyword FILE_NAME.
NUMBER_OF_ROWS
Used with record types of: SWITCH.
NUMBER_OF_ROWS provides control
over the layout of the workspace switch buttons. The switch buttons are arranged
in a row and column layout with the NUMBER_OF_ROWS keyword defining the number of rows in the layout. The number
of columns is derived from this value and the total number of switch buttons.
PANEL_GEOMETRY
Used with record types of: PANEL.
PANEL_GEOMETRY specifies a
non-default location to position the front panel when it is created. By default,
the front panel is centered along the bottom of the display.
POSITION_HINTS
Used with record types of: BOX, SWITCH and CONTROL.
POSITION_HINTS specifies the
ordering of boxes in the front panel, the switch and controls in boxes, and
controls in subpanels. When two components have the same value for POSITION_HINTS, the first one read from the
configuration file is placed first.
PUSH_ACTION
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
PUSH_ACTION specifies the
function that is invoked when a selection occurs on the control.
PUSH_ANIMATION
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with all control types except: client.
PUSH_ANIMATION specifies the
name of an animation record to be displayed when a selection occurs on the
control. The control must have a PUSH_ACTION defined for the animation to be used.
PUSH_RECALL
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
Used with control keywords of: CLIENT_NAME.
When PUSH_RECALL is set to
True, it specifies that only one process can be started by the control. If
the process is already running, it is displayed within the current workspace
and shuffled to the top of the window stack. The value for the CLIENT_NAME keyword is used to identify the
process for push recall behavior.
RESOLUTION
Used with record types of: PANEL.
RESOLUTION allows the icon
set for the front panel to be forced to a particular set. By default, the
front panel determines the display resolution at runtime and chooses the high
resolution icon set if the display width is 1024 pixels or wider.
SUBPANEL_UNPOST
Used with record types of: PANEL.
When SUBPANEL_UNPOST is set
to True, it causes a subpanel to hide itself whenever a PUSH_ACTION occurs on one of the subpanel controls. If the subpanel
has been torn off of the front panel, the behavior of the subpanel is forced
to remain posted on PUSH_ACTION.
TITLE
Used with record types of: SUBPANEL.
TITLE specifies the string
to be displayed in the title area of the subpanel.
TYPE
Used with record types of: CONTROL.
A number of different control types are defined by the front panel:
blank
Space-holder control
busy
Busy light
client
A client window
clock
Front panel clock
date
Front panel date
file
References a file on the file system and uses that file's actions and
image
icon
Front panel general control
FILES
The default front panel configuration file is /usr/dt/appconfig/types/C/dtwm.fp.
Files containing the attributes of dynamically created front panel components
are in the directory $HOME/.dt/types/fp_dynamic.
APPLICATION USAGE
Errors encountered when loading front panel database files are written
to the user's $HOME/.dt/errorlog file.
SEE ALSO
&cdeman.dtwm;, strftime(3), &cdeman.dtdtfile;.