Color resources for the window manager include a background color and a foreground color, top and bottom shadow colors, and pixmaps for shading. Names for colors vary from system to system and can also depend on locale. (See your system documentation for a list of valid color names on your system.)
Set the resources for color using the following general format:
Mwm* resource: color
For example, you might have the following specifications in your .Xdefaults file:
Mwm*background: LightBlue Mwm*foreground: Black
The Motif Window Manager provides resources for specifying colors for the window borders of the currently active window and the inactive windows (see Table 5-1).
Table 9. Color Resources and What They Color
| Inactive Window and Icon Resources |
Active Window and Icon Resources |
Area Covered |
|---|---|---|
| foreground | activeForeground | Foreground areas (text) |
| background | activeBackground | Background areas |
| topShadowColor | activeTopShadowColor | Top and left 3-D bevels |
| bottomShadowColor | activeBottomShadowColor | Bottom and right 3-D bevels |
You should pick contrasting color schemes to make the active window readily distinguishable from its inactive counterparts. For example, if you would like the foreground and background of inactive window frames to be the reverse of the foreground and background of the active window frame, using the colors Wheat and IndianRed, you would specify these resources in your .Xdefaults file:
Mwm*background: IndianRed Mwm*foreground: Wheat Mwm*activeBackground: Wheat Mwm*activeForeground: IndianRed
The default values for mwm color resources are based on the visual type of the screen, such as monochrome or 8-bit pseudocolor, and the values given to related resources. Table 5-2 shows the default values for a color display.
Table 10. Default Values for Appearance on a Color Display
| Resource Specification | Resource Value |
|---|---|
| Mwm*activeBackground | CadetBlue |
| Mwm*activeBackgroundPixmap | NULL |
| Mwm*activeBottomShadowPixmap | NULL |
| Mwm*activeTopShadowPixmap | NULL |
| Mwm*background | LightGrey |
| Mwm*backgroundPixmap | NULL |
| Mwm*bottomShadowPixmap | NULL |
| Mwm*topShadowPixmap | NULL |
Specifying the value of the background resource automatically generates default colors for the top and bottom shadow color resources. A NULL pixmap means that the color is solid, not patterned. The Motif Window Manager uses the following rules for generating default values for color resources:
Table 5-3 indicates the default values for the appearance resources on a monochrome display.
Table 11. Default Values for Appearance on a Monochrome Display
| Resource Specification | Resource Value |
|---|---|
| Mwm*activeBackground | White |
| Mwm*activeBackgroundPixmap | 50_foreground |
| Mwm*activeBottomShadowPixmap | foreground |
| Mwm*activeTopShadowPixmap | 50_foreground |
| Mwm*background | White |
| Mwm*backgroundPixmap | 25_foreground |
| Mwm*bottomShadowColor | Black |
| Mwm*bottomShadowPixmap | foreground |
| Mwm*topShadowColor | White |
| Mwm*topShadowPixmap | 50_foreground |
| Mwm*foreground | Black |
Using a pixmap is a way of creating shades of colors. Pixmaps are drawn in the foreground color. The pixmap is composed of tiles that provide a surface pattern or a visual texture. The concept is analogous to using ceramic tiles to make a pattern or texture on a floor or countertop.
Generally, the fewer colors a display produces, the more important the pixmap resources become. A pixmap provides a way to mix foreground and background colors into a variety of color patterns. For example, with a monochrome display, you can use the pixmap resource to color window frame elements with shades of gray to achieve a 3-dimensional look.
There are mwm pixmap resources for creating a pattern for the frame background and bevels of both inactive and active windows (see Table 5-4).
Table 12. Using Pixmaps for Window Frames
| Use this resource... | To pattern these elements... |
|---|---|
| backgroundPixmap | Background for inactive frames |
| bottomShadowPixmap | Right and bottom bevels of inactive frames |
| topShadowPixmap | Left and upper bevels of inactive frames |
| activeBackgroundPixmap | Background of the active frame |
| activeBottomShadowPixmap | Right and lower bevels of the active frame |
| activeTopShadowPixmap | Left and upper bevels of the active frame |
Figure 5-1 illustrates the various bitmaps that are defined in the Motif environment.
Figure 35. Illustrations of Valid Bitmap Values.
View figure. |
To obtain the bitmap styles illustrated in the previous figure, use the values listed in Table 5-5.
| To pattern an element in this manner... | Use this value... |
|---|---|
| The foreground color | foreground |
| The background color | background |
| A mix of 25% foreground to 75% background | 25_foreground |
| A mix of 50% foreground to 50% background | 50_foreground |
| A mix of 75% foreground to 25% background | 75_foreground |
| In horizontal lines alternating between the foreground and background color | horizontal_tile |
| In vertical lines alternating between the foreground and background color | vertical_tile |
| In diagonal lines slanting to the right alternating between the foreground and background color | slant_right |
| In diagonal lines slanting to the left alternating between the foreground and background color | slant_left |
The cleanText resource makes text easier to read on monochrome systems when a backgroundPixmap is specified. This resource controls the display of window manager text in the title area and in the move/resize feedback window. If the value is set to True, the text is drawn with a clear background. Only the background in the area immediately around the text is cleared. If the value is set to False, the text is drawn directly on top of the existing background.
Icon window frame elements are colored with the same resources as normalized window frame elements. The image part of an icon can be displayed with client-specific colors (see Table 5-6).
Table 14. Coloring Icon Images
| To color this... | Use this resource... |
|---|---|
| Icon image background | iconImageBackground |
| Left and upper 3-D bevels | iconImageTopShadowColor |
| Right and lower 3-D bevels | iconImageBottomShadowColor |
| Icon image foreground | iconImageForeground |
There are two pixmap resources available for use in shading icon images: iconImageTopShadowPixmap and iconImageBottomShadowPixmap. The default value for iconImageTopShadowPixmap is the icon top shadow pixmap, which is specified by Mwm*icon*topShadowPixmap. The default value for iconImageBottomShadowPixmap is the icon bottom shadow pixmap, which is specified by Mwm*icon*bottomShadowPixmap.
Resource specifications that color icons can have any of the following formats.
To color all clients regardless of class, the syntax is
Mwm*icon* resource: color
For example, the following specification in a resource file ensures that all icon backgrounds are the same color:
Mwm*icon*background: CadetBlue
To color specific classes of client icons, the syntax is
Mwm*icon* Clientclass*resource: color
The colors specified with this resource specification take precedence over any other specification of this resource for this class of clients. For example, the following specification ensures that the icon background for xterm clients is the color IndianRed rather than CadetBlue:
Mwm*icon*Xterm*background: IndianRed
To color any client with an unknown class, the syntax is
Mwm*icon*default* resource: color
The color resources for the mwm Window Menu and Root Menu are the same as those for inactive windows and icons (see Table 5-1). Menus that appear in application programs are not affected by the values set for these resources. Default menu colors are determined by the type of display.
Resource specifications that color Menus can have any the following formats.
To color all clients regardless of class, the syntax is
Mwm*menu* resource: color
For example, the following specification in a resource file ensures that all Menu backgrounds are the same color:
Mwm*menu*background: CadetBlue
To color specific classes of clients, the syntax is
Mwm*menu* Clientclass*resource: color
The colors specified with this resource specification take precedence over any other specification for this resource for this class of clients.
To color any client with an unknown class, the syntax is
Mwm*menu*default* resource: color
You can also specify a color for a Menu with a specific name using the following syntax:
Mwm*menu* menuname*resource: value
For example, the following specification in a resource file sets the color of my_menu:
Mwm*menu*my_menu*background: SlateBlue
A matte is a 3-dimensional border between the client's window area and the window frame. A matte can give an individual client, or class of clients, a distinct appearance. To configure a matte, you need to give the matteWidth resource a positive value. The matteWidth resource defines the width of the matte between the client and the window frame. The width is specified in pixels. The default value of 0 (zero) disables the matte.
For example, to specify a matte of 10 pixels around all xload windows, use the following specification in your .Xdefaults file:
Mwm*XLoad*matteWidth: 10
Matte resources use the same wording as window frame resources, but begin with the term matte (see Table 5-7).
Table 15. Matte Resources and What They Color
| Matte Resource | Area Colored |
|---|---|
| matteBackground | Background areas |
| matteTopShadowColor | Top and left 3-D bevels |
| matteBottomShadowColor | Bottom and right 3-D bevels |
| matteForeground | Foreground areas |
As with frame colors, the fewer colors a display can produce, the more value there is in using pixmap resources for mattes (see Table 5-8).
Table 16. Resources for Using Pixmaps with Mattes
| Use this resource... | To pattern these elements... |
|---|---|
| matteBottomShadowPixmap | Right and lower bevels of mattes |
| matteTopShadowPixmap | Left and upper bevels of mattes |
Resource specifications for coloring mattes can have any of the following formats.
To matte all clients regardless of class, the syntax is
Mwm* matteResource: value
For example, to create a 10-pixel wide yellow matte for every client window, use the following specification in a resource file:
Mwm*matteWidth: 10 Mwm*matteBackground: Yellow
To matte specific classes of clients, the syntax is
Mwm* Clientclass.matteResource: value
To matte any client of an unknown class, the syntax is
Mwm*default* matteResource: value