The present document is an ever-longer set of questions (and usually, respective answers) which are frequently asked about the AfterStep window manager. Not every item is exactly a question (viz. the current item), but convention dictates the name of the document.
The latest version should always be available at http://afterstep.davidv.net/ or under the main AfterStep pages, http://www.afterstep.org/. These are the official home pages of the AfterStep FAQ.
The latest version is also available from ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/pub/.
The FAQ is always sent to the Linux Documentation Project, so your favourite LDP mirror should have a reasonably current version; please allow for delays in updating the LDP mirrors. To date, the LDP versions have tended to lag rather badly behind the current version.
Finally, David Mihm, webmaster of the AfterStep home pages, has also generously offered to host a mirror of the FAQ. It's at http://the-site.loonybin.net/Linux/AfterStep/FAQ/. There is also a mirror at http://www.tigr.net/afterstep/faq/. This one is graciously hosted by Albert Dorofeev, maintainer of the as-apps distribution.
Un document est aussi disponible en français, à http://amberlab.net/rone/afterstep/.
Please note that the FAQ version number is related to its date of its release, according to the ISO data format: {Arabic numeral of year}-{Arabic numeral of month number}-{Arabic numeral of day of month}. For example, a FAQ released on 31 October 1998 would be called "as-faq.1998-10-31", with the appropriate extension for the file format.
"X" is common shorthand for The X Window System. It is the basis for building some graphical user interfaces (GUIs). These are most often found on UNIX-type systems, although there are implementations for other platforms. Notice that X is not the interface itself. For more information, please see The X Window System.
A window manager (briefly) is a program which controls the way various windows interact during an X session. AfterStep is one such window manager.
AfterStep is a Window Manager for X which started by emulating the NEXTSTEP(tm) look and feel, but which has been significantly altered according to the requests of various users. Many adepts will tell you that NEXTSTEP(tm) is not only the most visually pleasant interface, but also one of the most functional and intuitive out there. AfterStep aims to incorporate the advantages of the NEXTSTEP(tm) interface and add additional useful features.
The developers of AfterStep have also worked very hard to ensure stability and a small program footprint. Without giving up too many features, AfterStep still works nicely in environments where memory is at a premium.
What follows is drawn from the AfterStep man page:
AfterStep originated as a continuation of the BowMan window manager, originally developed by Bo Yang. BowMan was based on fvwm, which was written by Robert Nation. In turn, fvwm was based on twm. And so on. Open Source / Free (please pick your preferred term, without prejudice) software works exactly because of these sorts of traditions. Yay!
The changes which led to AfterStep were originally part of BowMan development. As the desire for simple emulation was superseded by a desire to improve, the designers decided to change the name, and the AfterStep project was born.
Many of the earlier developers of AfterStep subsequently decided to move to
the Window Maker (originally WindowMaker) project, under the leadership of
Alfredo Kojima (kojima@windowmaker.org). Window Maker (which, as of
this writing, may yet receive another name change: gswm for "GNUstep Window
Manager") is committed to emulating closely the NEXTSTEP(tm) look and feel.
As a result of all that, Guylhem Aznar
(ciguylhem@barberouge.linux.lmm.com) took over development of
AfterStep. Lately, development has been led by Ethan Fischer
(allanon@crystaltokyo.com). Check the TEAM file for a full account of
all those involved in the devleopment effort. You, too, can join!
The flexibility of fvwm has not been traded off. Initiation files recognize most of the fvwm 1.24r commands. Virtual screens and the pager are still intact. Modules for fvwm-1.x should work just fine.
Compatibility with fvwm-2 & Enlightenment modules is planned for an upcoming version, but support is not yet available. Some Enlightenment-based items will work well with AfterStep, however. In particular, support for Eterm is now available.
Yes, although only in development versions. GNOME-compliance according to the guidelines published by the GNOME project is in the works for the next stable release of AfterStep. Current development releases have most of the GNOME capability built in.
Not really, unless the Windows machine has an X server installed. If you want to take that approach, look at Running AfterStep under Win32!. But there is an AfterStep-like program called LiteSTEP, which gives Windows machines an AfterStep-ish appearance. As of this writing, LiteSTEP development versions are available at http://dev.litestep.net, while some screen shots are available at http://litestep.computerheaven.net/. Keep in mind, however, that these programs are not versions of AfterStep. Please do not send questions about LiteSTEP to the AfterStep mailing list.
If you want to make AfterStep work under any version of Windows, you are welcome to try following the instructions at the Web sites listed above, and every last bit of associated documentation. Please do not contact Andrew Sullivan for help, however, as he cannot help you: he does not use AfterStep with Windows. Because Windows has its own windowing system built in (hence the name), it is a little awkward to make it co-exist peacefully with X. Several people have reported success with this approach, however, so you might like to try anyway.
The initial version of the FAQ was written by Frank Fejes
(frank@ssax.com) and Jonathan B. Leffert (j-leffert@uchicago.edu).
Major additions were made by Kragen Sittler (kragen@tcsi.com). Diego
Zamboni (zamboni@cs.purdue.edu) maintained the file until Guylhem Aznar
(ciguylhem@barberouge.linux.lmm.com) took over with the release of AS
1.4. The file is now maintained by Andrew Sullivan
(asullivan@sprint.ca), with contributions from Tomas Duewiger
(td@music-satellite.de). The section on the Pager is written almost
entirely by Sasha Vasko (sashav@sprintmail.com). Andrew Ferguson
(adftt@xoommail.com) has made several changes and additions to the FAQ.
Naturally, the FAQ is prepared in co-operation with the program developers,
but any errors or omissions are now Andrew Sullivan's responsibility, so you
should contact him to complain. Please note that the FAQ is likely to
contain several errors, and is made obsolete almost as quickly as it is
written, by the quick pace of AfterStep development.
Most of the questions and answers have been provided by the people participating in the AfterStep mailing lists. If you have a suggestion about this file or, better yet, an answer to an unanswered question in this file, please send an e-mail to Mr Sullivan, or to the main AfterStep list; see the next question for more information on the list. Please note, also, that anonymous contributions or suggestions will be taken under advisement, but will not be attributed.
Andrew Sullivan has, of late, been unable to update the document as often as he would like. A volunteer who is willing to take over is welcome. Please do not volunteer to take over if you can't keep up with the FAQ: it's no good for someone to offer to do it, who then does not actually do so. The AfterStep community already has someone who wants to keep the documentation current but can't. It needs someone who wants to keep the documentation current and can. That said, even someone who does not know all the answers to questions about AfterStep can make a great contribution to the community by keeping the documentation up to date.
This question used to read, "What are the AfterStep-related mailing lists?" Due to some changes in hosting, things have changed:
This list is no longer functioning.
The purpose of this list is to provide a forum in which users of the AfterStep X11 window manager can discuss issues related to using AfterStep. Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, the installation and configuration of AfterStep and related modules and applications.
This list contains the same messages as the AfterStep mailing list. The messages are saved up (not transmitted individually) and sent out as a bundle. This decreases the number of separate messages received from the list, but makes it more difficult to reply to a specific message.
This list has been rejuvenated, and is available by sending an
e-mail with the body, "subscribe as-devel" to
Majordomo@crystaltokyo.com
This list is no longer functioning.
For information on subscribing to the main lists, or more information, please see http://www.calderasystems.com/linuxcenter/forums/afterstep.html. Ed Orcutt is the owner of the AfterStep lists. His employer, Caldera, has been generous in donating server and web space for the mailing lists.
A new, experimental, searchable mailing-list archive is available, to replace the discontinued archive. Please be aware that this service is currently experimental. It is operated and hosted by Albert Dorofeev at AfterStep @ Tigr.Net.