Customize your desktop - new DSL extension
Forum: myDSL Extensions (deprecated)
Topic: Customize your desktop - new DSL extension
started by: cbagger01
Posted by cbagger01 on July 02 2004,16:13
FYI,There is a new package in the myDSL testing area that you should check out:
whitebox.dsl
This program is a Fluxbox/Backbox window manager configuration editor.
It can be used to edit the Fluxbox Menu and sub menus.
It can be used to add background images for desktop wallpaper.
It can be used to edit "Styles" or Fluxbox themes. Use it to create your own new themes, either from scratch or by hacking up an existing theme.
There is a startup script with a menu to allow you to backup or restore your Fluxbox configuration so you can start over again if you mess things up.
Read the whitebox.info file for more details.
I would appreciate if you could reply to this post with any feedback.
Thanks
Posted by Alisdair Kelly on July 02 2004,19:12
Thanks, should make a few things more easily done. Now, one question:
Once the new package is downloaded via browser, how do I make it executable?
So far as a noob about all I've done is make a mess of my hdd installation and reinstalled
DSL three times to have a clean slate to work from.
Posted by ke4nt1 on July 02 2004,19:46
Alisdair,the easiest way to use your .dsl files is....
1. Boot the LiveCD or, install to HD, the latest DSL 0.7.1
2. Download a .dsl file to your /damnsmall directory
( usually downloads to there anyway )
3. open 'Emelfm" file manager, highlight the *.dsl , and click the
mydsl button in the center of emelfm.
4. After a few moments ( my desktop usually blinks once )
right click on your desktop to bring up the main menu,
look in mydsl at the top, and you should see your program.
5. click it to run it.
6. Often times, there is a new icon on your desktop as well
whiteBOX.dsl needs no icon, as the menu works great for
selecting its choices. Nice .dsl file. I'd like to see some
more original themes built for DSL, and this is a great tool
to get you going..
73
ke4nt
Posted by roberts on July 02 2004,20:13
| Quote |
| Once the new package is downloaded via browser, |
Al,
Therein might be the problem. I have seen browsers mangle the downloads. What I usually do is this:
Select the extension that I want with the browser, but I select "copy link location".
Then from the main menu, I click "Run Program". In that dialog box I type:
wget
Then immediately press the mouse middle button or both buttons at the same time. Which "pastes" the URL location right after the wget
Press OK and the extension downloads to your home directory.
Then use as suggested the emelfm file manager to install.
wget works so much better than using the browser to download. Less corruptions.
Also, one other thing. Are you sure you want to run un-tested extensions on a hard drive installed system. You are a brave soul.
Posted by Alisdair Kelly on July 02 2004,23:14
Thank you, gents. I'll give both methods a try later this evening. Family fun and games come first.
Posted by Alisdair Kelly on July 02 2004,23:21
[QUOTE]Also, one other thing. Are you sure you want to run un-tested extensions on a hard drive installed system. You are a brave soul. Well I like living dangerously:D . Seriously, I'm doing my learning on a non-production box that I put
together for just this purpose. I've already screwed it up and taken the hdd back to a zero state three times.
You could add a forth time if I counted installing the wrong kind of RAM the other day which led to a complete
failure to boot followed by corrupting the MBR. Best way I've found to learn is break something and then
fix it. And if I can't fix it I holler for help.
Posted by Alisdair Kelly on July 03 2004,12:57
[QUOTE]There is a new package in the myDSL testing area that you should check out:whitebox.dsl
Good morning. I tested out the two methods that were suggested last evening. This morning I installed whiteBox.dsl, and with it repaired the multiple entries that I managed to make in the mydsl menu. The app works OK for editing the selected items. So, this is one newbie that has learned a few things since yesterday.
Al
Posted by ke4nt1 on July 03 2004,14:08
I'm probably gonna see some "flames" from HDinstall users here, but here goes....Al,
Since your on a learning curve with DSL here, I wanted to
share some other options I use for running DSL.
Most all of this text can be found elsewhere in the forums.
I'm not familiar with your hardware, so this may not apply to you if
your running a machine with no cd drive, or low ram, etc. , and
are needing to run a hard drive install system.
I usually boot and run from a Live CD.
My box is a dual cpu, but only a 1000mhz P3, or better on a good day,
so it's not a powerhouse Athlon XP or P4.
I have a fat32 partition on a hard drive, where I keep all of
my other extensions, backup files, etc. ( about a GB = hda2 ).
I put my needed extensions in the root of the partition
( firefox, dpkg, java, perhaps a theme, gnu-utils, etc..)
All the rest of my extensions I put into the "/optional" directory on the same partition.
There are other OSes on the hard drive, in other partitions, including a HDinstall of DSL for times requiring one...
I started by booting into the liveCD. I installed the Firefox
extension, dpkg, a theme, etc, which I had copied to the fat32 partition.
I ran apt-get update to get it updated...
Then I put the following lines into my copy of filetool.lst ON THE FAT32 partition.
/home/damnsmall/.phoenix
/home/damnsmall/.xmms
/home/damnsmall/.fluxbox/backgrounds
/home/damnsmall/.fluxbox/styles
/home/damnsmall/.xserverrc
/home/damnsmall/.xinitrc
/home/damnsmall/.sylpheed
/home/damnsmall/.axyftp
/home/damnsmall/Mail
/opt/powerdown.sh
/etc/apt/sources.list
Run the "system>file restoration>specity device" in your menu.
I would choose "hda2" for my fat32 partition...
Run the "system>file restoration>backup" tool in the menu.
Now, when I reboot, All this is available to me by running
the "dsl mydsl=hda2 restore enhance" options at boottime.
My bookmarks, mail, ftp sites, themes, skins, etc... are all there, ready to go.
When you want to play with a new extension, download it, and
try it using emelfm...
If it works nice, and you want to hang onto it, copy it to your
fat32 partition's "/optional" directory.
( I use fat32 so I can access/copy files from m$,
like when I'm remastering an iso using m$ tools like ultraiso. )
If it breaks, or botches your system, just reboot.. ahhhh...
Right back where you started...
With all your goodies....
No reformatting, no reinstalling, no headaches...
The extensions you collect over time and put in your
hda2 partition "/optional" directory will already be in your
desktop menu under "myDSL" on your next reboot
If your system is well endowed with ram ( 256M or better), use the
"toram" option at boot time as well. You'll never know your running from a 'CD"
Just a few thoughts I had, after reading of your troubles and many
reinstalls of DSL..
Once you get a stable system, with your favorite apps installed,
and all your toys just how you like them,
you could run the HDinstaller with some confidence, if you need a HDinstall.
Even from the HDinstall, you can access the extensions, but
once you do, they are installed to your HD.
With the Live CD, once the new 0.7.x or 0.8.X DSL comes out,
you can boot from the CD, run the same boottime options,
and your favorite extensions, files, saves, are all there,
and your back in business...
No reinstall of all your stuff, no loss of all your themes,
bookmarks, mail, etc..
The morning interruptions probably broke my logic flow on this post, but I hope you get the idea... More info is in the forum..
73
ke4nt
Posted by Alisdair Kelly on July 03 2004,21:19
Hi Ke4nt1,Wow! Thank you for the extra infos. I haven't got this machine set up with a printer as yet so I'm gonna make a copy of the above and print it on a Winders box.
My 'sacrificial victim' box is a PII-450/128RAM/40Gb HD picked up from a local University surplus auction. It's the one machine that I really do'nt have to worry about messing up. For production work I'm running a 1.7Mhx AMD/1 gigRAM /120gb Whitebox. I have a couple of older PII and PIII 233-650 boxes that someday will be converted to DSL.
WRT to my drastic clean up operations. Doesn't take all that long to wipe the partition clean and run the hdd install script. I have added a compiler to the menu for the times that I might need it. I'm in the process of finishing customizing my menus with cbaggers whiteBox editor. Once that is done, I'll back up my configuration and concentrate on setting up networking between this box and the Windows SOHO. For that it looks like CUPS and SAMBA are the betterway to go. Complication is that the WIndows box with the network printer no longer has one of the required ports for interfacing with SAMBA. So, there's a rebuild on the Windows side too.
I'm looking forward to the next iteration of DSL. This is indeed a sweet setup even if the learning curve is a tad steeper than I'm used to.
Best to thee and have a great weekend.
Posted by cbagger01 on July 04 2004,01:09
FYI,Luke Freeman's the lead developer on the whiteBOX project.
I'm just the guy who wrapped it up into a *.dsl package and added a backup menu option in case you want to start over again.
Posted by Alisdair Kelly on July 04 2004,11:49
[QUOTE]I'm just the guy who wrapped it up into a *.dsl package and added a backup menu option in case you want to start over again. OK, The backup option worked well for me. I got a little carried away deleting the multiple entires that I'd
created with a couple of .dsl packages, returned to the backed up copy of the menus and reovered from
newbie fat finger syndrome.
Now to do some editing of the fluxbox menus to further customize my installation.