OpenConfigBox

Tux Power

About OpenConfigBox

OpenConfigBox is a graphical configuration utility for the OpenBox WM that hopefully will replace the limited obconf tool. OpenConfigBox is written in python and relies on Qt4 bindings for the graphical bit. Future versions will include optional bindings for GTK+ and possibly other graphical toolkits to make it as flexible as possible. OpenConfigBox started out as my project for the INF3330 "Problem solving with high level languages" course at the University of Oslo. The project will however continue, and as soon as I have passed the course and finished the first version, the software will be released under GPL. The following is short outtake of the original project description.


As of today the only graphical configuration utility that exists for OpenBox is ObConf. ObConf is very limited and the only configuration options that can be edited are the theme, window appearance, general behaviour, number and names of desktops and dock options. None of the really powerful settings like keyboard shortcuts, key chains, auto start-up, window-management, menus, etc can be configured graphically. If you don’t configure these options OpenBox doesn’t really offer anything other that even the most primitive window manager offers.
The only way you can configure OpenBox properly is “hacking” XML-files. OpenBox is definitely a window manager for people who long for “the good old days, when men were men, and wrote their own drivers”. No matter how much we fight it these days are coming to an end, and today’s new *nix users want fancy graphical click and point configuration.
OpenBox is a very powerful window manager and at the same time extremely sleek and lightweight. Not many people use it though. I think there are two reasons for this. First of all new users (who have heard how great OpenBox is from people like me) might take a look at the configuration utility first. Their first thought is most likely something in the order of “What??? Is this really all there is??? Screw this”. Or perhaps they think “This is a typical old school kind of things for dinosaurs who hate everything that has anything to do with graphics”.
A good graphical configuration utility might change the first impression of OpenBox and help “trap” more new users. And more users means more people contributing. And more people contributing means a (if possible) even better window manager. Hence this project.


The whole project description is located under “Documentation”


latest news

31/10/2008
Deadline

22/10/2008
Coding started

24/09/2008
Project description written