Part of the Style Managers which can be called from the main Style Manager (7th button on the Front Panel).
This is the clone of the same-named CDE tool. It loads backdrops from the
$NSCDE_ROOT/share/backdrops
and
$FVWM_USERDIR/backdrops
(if any). From XPM
backdrop templates with symbol names (with .pm extension) it will generate
previews in user's $FVWM_USERDIR/tmp
and if
applied or 'ed, will set
permanent backdrop in $FVWM_USERDIR/backer
. Backer is named after
FvwmBacker(1) module which then loads this X Pixmap as numbered FVWM Colorset
from the $FVWM_USERDIR/NsCDE-Backdrops.conf
which will be
written by Backdrop Style Manager (or by hand). Backdrops are generated in the colors of the
current color theme from the active palette (Broica by default). It has
different colors for a group of every four desktops in 8-colors mode and the
same base color in 4-color mode. Generated backdrop in the
$FVWM_USERDIR/backer
are named
DeskN-<name-of-the-backdrop>.pm
where N is
the workspace (desk) number from 1-8. In such a way it is possible to have the same
backdrop pattern on more than one workspace in 8-colors mode.
In case of NsCDE setup with FVWM3 and per-monitor or shared X RandR
monitor model (fvwm3 DesktopConfiguration), backdrops in $FVWM_USERDIR/backer
will be used as a source for procedure which builds joined tiled backdrops for multiple monitors. Output
of this backdrops, which is then loaded directly by FVWM function is placed in
$FVWM_USERDIR/backer/bgcache
subdirectory.
There is an option to use the same backdrop for all desks too.
User can add and delete custom backdrops in $FVWM_USERDIR/backdrops
.
First action with button and file picker, and second action with
button when particular backdrop from the list on the right of the preview is
selected. Delete action will fail for system-pathed backdrops with appropriate
error message, while both actions will reload list of backdrops immediately.
Apart from doing this, NsCDE Backdrop Style Manager has couple of features
more than CDE original:
In 8-color mode, user can select another color variant instead of default for the current workspace from the popup menu. There are four variants.
Custom palette can be loaded instead of default one, and backdrops can be set with colors from that palette. In 8-colors mode, there is even more possibility of course.
Instead of backdrops, user can opt for a background image. If option "Use
photo or picture" is selected, list of backdrops will dissapear and image
backgrounds (so called "wallpapers") of PNG and XPM type will be loaded from
$NSCDE_ROOT/share/photos
and from the
$FVWM_USERDIR/photos
(if any). Option to
use one photo for all workspaces exists too. In this mode, backdrop-specific options
will be hidden until Use photo or picture is not deselected.
and of photos/pictures is
supported in a same way as for backdrops. Photos must be in PNG or XPM format to be loaded.
This means that images of that type can be added to $FVWM_USERDIR/photos
but if some other known format is added via Add button of Backdrop Style Manager, like
JPG, TIFF or GIF, it will be converted to PNG on the fly.
Pictures can be loaded as FVWM Colorset definition "Pixmap", "AspectPixmap" and "TiledPixmap".
Default is "AspectPixmap" (in contrast to backdrops which are always TiledPixmap). This 3
options can be choosen on the popup menu.
Key Bindings:
Ctrl+Q: Quits Backdrop Style Manager.
Sun Help and F1: Displays this help text.
P: Applies preview of the currently selected backdrop (or photo) on the root window.
Up/Down: Selects previous or next element on the backdrop (or photo) list.