Enlightenment 17 QuickStart Guide

Enlightenment 17 QuickStart Guide

version : 1.1
Author : Arun Pratik <pratikarun [at] gmail [dot] com>
Last edited : 08 Oct 2006
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Enlightenment 17 or E17 as it is generally called, is a cool Window Manager for X. The latest stable version of Enlightenment is E16 (0.16.8.1). In this article we will talk about the latest CVS build available (0.16.999.031). So lets begin :

1. Get and Install the packages
   
   In Suse 10.x, you can install E17 with a few clicks using Yast2 First of all we need to add the Installation Source to Yast. See notes for further links.
   Start Yast with root priveleges
   

   $ su
   password: <root password here>
   # yast2

   Then Click on the Installation Sources and Add a new FTP source and then fill the fields in the following order :
   
   For enlightenment 0.16.999.031

   Protocol : HTTP
   Server Name : software.opensuse.org
   Directory on Server : download/repositories/X11:/Enlightenment/SUSE_Linux_10.1 (for SuSE 10.0 change the 10.1 to 10.0)
   Authentication : Anonymous

   
   For enlightenment 0.16.999.023

   Protocol : FTP
   Server Name : ftp.gts.lug.ro
   Directory on Server : packman//suse/10.0
   Authentication : Anonymous

   After that go to Software Management in Yast2 and then in the Search field enter enlightenment and then select
   
   
   Notes :
   
   • The following packages may be selected in Yast2 :

     ecore, edb, e_modules, enlightenment, enlightenment_devel, entrance, esound, e_utils, ewl and engage.

   • Fedora 5 Users can get the e17 rpm from this yum repository. More information here
   • More information on E17 in Suse 10 can be found at Novel Cool Solutions 16231
   • More information on adding Installation Sources in Suse 10 is at Novel Cool Solutions 16592
2. Some Quick Tips
   
   
   • To Move any window around the E17 workspace press ALT key and click on that Window to drag it.
   • Resizing windows is as easy as going to the Lower Right End Corner of the window and a resize icon appears which you can drag to resize the window.
   • Middle Click on the desktop to get a list of windows currently open.
   • Right Click on desktop gives access to the Favourite Applications list.
   • Left Click on desktop gives access to Main E Menu where you can change the configurations related to E17 and modules etc.
     
     
3. Changing Menus
   
   In e17 the Favorite Menu options are stored in the folder : ~/.e/e/applications/favorite
   For an item to show in a menu you need to include its .eap file in the .order file. Steps to create an eap file :
   
   • Open up your favorite application. I will take the example of Flock. Then Left Click on the icon at the Top Left corner of the Flock window and then select the Create Icon option.
     
     
     
     
   • Then you will be prsented with a window similar to the snap shown below. Just fill out the proper values in the window. The values should be
     

     App name : Flock-bin
      Executable : path to your flock executable file ..for me it was /opt/flock/flock
     You need not change other values.

     For putting in the flock icon do the following :
     

     Copy the flock icon to home directory
     $ cp <path to flock dir>/icons/mozicon128.png ~/

     Then just click on the ICON in the EAPP Editor and then you can select the icon from the home directory.
     
     
     
     
   After creating the required .eap files for all your applications you will find them in ~/.e/e/applications/all directory. Now these icons can be employed in your favorites menu. To do that :
   
   • In the favorite directory inside at ~/.e/e/applications/favorite create a file .order Then go on adding the application.eap file names to the file in the order that you wish your applications to appear.
     

     $ cd ~/.e/e/applications/favorite
     $ vi .order

   • Alternatively you can download the eap files i use from here. Unzip the files in the directory ~/.e/e/applications Hopefully it will put some eap files into your all/ directory. Then you can create the .order file and use 'em :) If you would like to use my Favorite .order files..get them from here.
   In the same way you can change which icons you want to display in the Bar by creating an .order file in the ~/.e/e/applications/bar/ directory.
   
   
4. Setting Up Engage
   Engage is a Mac OS X style dockbar for *nix Window Managers. Engage is independent of Enlightenment but it can be used as a Module in our e17 desktop.
   
   
   • Install Engage using the Yast2 Software Management as described in step 1.
   • To load Engage as a module we can use the enlightenment_remote command as
     

     enlightenment_remote -module-load engage

   • After the Module is loaded you can explore its properties in the Configuration Menu.
   • Engage needs some .eap files to run. Download those .eap files from here or you can use my eap files from here

This article is *never* meant to be a full guide to e17, its just written to give you a quickstart and get you used to the enlightenment way :) You can find the full e17 documentation here