diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/ratpoison.texi')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/ratpoison.texi | 37 |
1 files changed, 35 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/doc/ratpoison.texi b/doc/ratpoison.texi index fb35b5e..9f6e5bc 100644 --- a/doc/ratpoison.texi +++ b/doc/ratpoison.texi @@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ This document explains how to use ratpoison. @menu * About:: What is ratpoison? * Contacting:: How do I contact the ratpoison developers? +* Concepts:: Window manipulation concepts * General Use:: How does this thing work?? * Splitting The Screen:: When you want to see more than one window * Keystrokes:: Key commands and functionality @@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ This document explains how to use ratpoison. + @end menu @node About, Contacting, Top, Top @@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ that cripples EMACS and other quality pieces of software. ratpoison was written by Shawn Betts (@email{sabetts@@users.sourceforge.net}). -@node Contacting, General Use, About, Top +@node Contacting, Concepts, About, Top @chapter Contacting ratpoison is hosted on @url{sourceforge.net}. To see the latest developments in ratpoison go to @@ -119,7 +121,38 @@ and for the list archives go to the ratpoison sourceforge.net project. There is a #ratpoison irc channel on irc.openprojects.net. -@node General Use, Splitting The Screen, Contacting, Top +@node Concepts, General Use, Contacting, Top +@chapter Concepts + +ratpoison is a @dfn{paned} window manager. Instead of allowing windows +to have arbitary shapes at arbitary locations on the screen, the +display is divided into panes like a real window. The panes are called +@dfn{frames}, and windows are placed in them, maximised. ratpoison +starts with one frame, which can be split into an arbitary number of +smaller ones. You can move among them, making different ones the +current. For more information, see @ref{Splitting The Screen}. + +Each frame has at most one window associated with it, which is visible +in that frame. If you select a window that is associated with a frame, +the focus will move to its associated frame, rather than moving the +window to the current frame. If you select a window that is not +associated with a frame, that window will be opened in the current +frame and resized to fit that frame. + +If the window associated with a frame does not fill the frame +completely, the various gravity commands control how it is placed. + +If no window was open in that frame before the current window was +opened, the X root will be visible behind it. + +Transient windows (dialog boxes, splash screens, and the like) are +handled specially. In order to understand the contents of a transient +window, the previously focused window is often required. Take a search +window, it is useful to be able to see the document you are searching +as well as the search window. For this reason transient windows appear +overtop (according to their gravity) of the previously focused window. + +@node General Use, Splitting The Screen, Concepts, Top @chapter General Use When ratpoison starts you should see an empty X server. To open an x |