Compiz Fusion - Not only beautiful, but also convenient!
Nowadays, when it becomes more difficult to find a person who can be surprised at the graphic 3D effects of the operating system, and the effects themselves become brighter and heavier, most users perceive them as an unnecessary decoration and a waste of system resources. Therefore, they simply simply turn it off without even looking at the gist.
But it can be not only beautiful, but also convenient!
So I want to talk about Compiz Fusion (formerly Beryl) - a composite window manager that deals with visual effects in Linux. Just tell not from the side of the wow-effect and 3D-ryushechek, but about how, with proper configuration with its help, you can add maximum convenience and usability to your favorite system.
In advance, I want to warn adherents of other systems and interfaces: if you notice a familiar thing implemented in your favorite OS, you don’t need to beat yourself in the chest and scream that it has been stolen. It is rather borrowed and revised. And you, nothing but a stupid holivar will not achieve.
So, Compiz Fusion now comes bundled with most popular Linux distributions, and for its work requires only normal XGL-compatible graphics card drivers. At the same time, the requirements for hardware are much lower than those of the 3d interfaces of other systems (Compiz feels quite fine on a machine with 512m RAM and a 64m video card at the level of the GeForce Fx5200)
But let's get down to business, even though Compiz comes in a box with the distribution kit, its standard configuration (which most users have learned about) is far from ideal, and many interesting and useful features are disabled.
Therefore it is best to pick up (maybe even before etim and install)files the Compiz the Config the Settings Manager ( , CCSM ) and engage in personalization.
First convenience: it is a banal transparency of windows. By holding alt and turning the mouse scroller, you can quickly set any level of transparency for an arbitrary window (and for video as well.).
It is very convenient while watching video and surfing.
Or you can expand the video to full screen, and on top of it: a translucent messenger.
OrdinaryApplication Switcher ( alt + tab for windows of a desktop desktop ctrl + alt + tab - for windows on all desktops). It shows live-preview windows, while dimming everything except the active
Scale is a very useful feature. Allows you to see all open windows on the screen in one fell swoop and select the desired one. In addition to hotkeys, it’s convenient to call it hot-corners, that is, hovering the cursor over the corner of the screen (by default, to the top-right, but this may seem inconvenient, since the window control buttons are usually located there.) Also, do not forget to enable Scale Addonsin ccsm, you can close windows with them without switching to them, and also close them with the middle mouse button (it’s convenient when you accumulate a large number of unnecessary windows, you can quickly sort and close the excess ones).
Beryl had several options for displaying windows and the ability to enter from the keyboard in preview mode, but for some reason they were removed.
Shift Switcher - Disabled by default. Allows you to switch windows using visual effects that are very familiar to us from other operating systems. With what in my opinion Flip (an analogue of the Vista 3D switch) is better implemented here.
Another undocumented feature: in Cover mode (analogous to Mack's CoverFlow) you can rotate windows at any speed by holding the left mouse button.
Users of multi-button rodents can assign this function to one of the additional buttons (at least I did). Very convenient.
Mode Flip
Mode Cover
This also can be attributed Ring Switcher , personally, reminds me of a gallery on smartphones the Symbian
Expo the Plugin - One of my favorite and most user-friendly features. Allows you to see all desktops at the same time, and move windows in this form.
The window decorator ( Emerald ) also provides very useful features , for example, the ability to hook a window on top of the others with one click. This
function, coupled with transparency, is very useful when working with a terribly multi-window Gimp
Another: hovering over the title bar of the window, and turning the scroller up, you make the window curl into it.
(It’s also very convenient with Gimp when you need to quickly get rid of unnecessary windows for a while.
Also, if desired, the window can be made visible on all desktops:
Group and Tab Windows - It’s also sometimes useful, but by default a disabled feature. The name speaks for itself : allows you to group windows and switch between them using tabs. It’s useful, many windows are open, and some of them are accessed in turn. Also, window grouping frees up space in kicer (task bar).
You can group windows using hotkeys (win + s - select, win + g - group, win + t connect to tabs.) Or holding win, hold windows, select windows like units in strategic games. At the same time, the behavior of grouped windows (they are highlighted with a colored frame) is similar to the same units: Where you move one, the rest there.
Highlight :
Mass move , with Expo
Unite in tabs for example convenient browser and email client. In this case, when you hover over the window title, a panel with tabs appears.
Negative, although it is located in the settings manager, on the Accessibility tab, in my opinion is very useful for the average person. For example, negative text is easier to read and less harmful to the eyes of
A using Desktop Zoomor even better Enchanted Desktop Zoom , you can generally quickly get rid of unnecessary information. The function is also useful when working with images.
Although the Desktop Cube is a Compiz business card, it can also be turned off. From aesthetic images, or if the video card is difficult to cope with 3d effects (the fact is that in compiz most of the effects are actually not 3d, since they are 2d deformations on openGL (that is, without using three-dimensional models) and they render quickly even on older graphics cards).
In place of it, you can very successfully use the Desktop Wall .
Switching desktops will not be visualized by rotating the cube, but by moving smoothly from one workspace to another.
Of course, this is not the whole list of Compiz Fusion capabilities, but just a selection of the most useful. The rest can be studied independently. I advise you to experiment with window animations and themes.
PS I apologize for possible spelling errors. The Russian language was never native to me, and I studied it only by reading books, and Habr :)
And for those who do not want to poke around in settings for a long time: My config is Installed on the Perfences tab in CCSM. But keep in mind, it sets only the settings for animations, effects, hotkeys, etc., and does not affect the appearance of the design.
But it can be not only beautiful, but also convenient!
So I want to talk about Compiz Fusion (formerly Beryl) - a composite window manager that deals with visual effects in Linux. Just tell not from the side of the wow-effect and 3D-ryushechek, but about how, with proper configuration with its help, you can add maximum convenience and usability to your favorite system.
In advance, I want to warn adherents of other systems and interfaces: if you notice a familiar thing implemented in your favorite OS, you don’t need to beat yourself in the chest and scream that it has been stolen. It is rather borrowed and revised. And you, nothing but a stupid holivar will not achieve.
So, Compiz Fusion now comes bundled with most popular Linux distributions, and for its work requires only normal XGL-compatible graphics card drivers. At the same time, the requirements for hardware are much lower than those of the 3d interfaces of other systems (Compiz feels quite fine on a machine with 512m RAM and a 64m video card at the level of the GeForce Fx5200)
But let's get down to business, even though Compiz comes in a box with the distribution kit, its standard configuration (which most users have learned about) is far from ideal, and many interesting and useful features are disabled.
Therefore it is best to pick up (maybe even before etim and install)
First convenience: it is a banal transparency of windows. By holding alt and turning the mouse scroller, you can quickly set any level of transparency for an arbitrary window (and for video as well.).
It is very convenient while watching video and surfing.
Or you can expand the video to full screen, and on top of it: a translucent messenger.
OrdinaryApplication Switcher ( alt + tab for windows of a desktop desktop ctrl + alt + tab - for windows on all desktops). It shows live-preview windows, while dimming everything except the active
Scale is a very useful feature. Allows you to see all open windows on the screen in one fell swoop and select the desired one. In addition to hotkeys, it’s convenient to call it hot-corners, that is, hovering the cursor over the corner of the screen (by default, to the top-right, but this may seem inconvenient, since the window control buttons are usually located there.) Also, do not forget to enable Scale Addonsin ccsm, you can close windows with them without switching to them, and also close them with the middle mouse button (it’s convenient when you accumulate a large number of unnecessary windows, you can quickly sort and close the excess ones).
Beryl had several options for displaying windows and the ability to enter from the keyboard in preview mode, but for some reason they were removed.
Shift Switcher - Disabled by default. Allows you to switch windows using visual effects that are very familiar to us from other operating systems. With what in my opinion Flip (an analogue of the Vista 3D switch) is better implemented here.
Another undocumented feature: in Cover mode (analogous to Mack's CoverFlow) you can rotate windows at any speed by holding the left mouse button.
Users of multi-button rodents can assign this function to one of the additional buttons (at least I did). Very convenient.
Mode Flip
Mode Cover
This also can be attributed Ring Switcher , personally, reminds me of a gallery on smartphones the Symbian
Expo the Plugin - One of my favorite and most user-friendly features. Allows you to see all desktops at the same time, and move windows in this form.
The window decorator ( Emerald ) also provides very useful features , for example, the ability to hook a window on top of the others with one click. This
function, coupled with transparency, is very useful when working with a terribly multi-window Gimp
Another: hovering over the title bar of the window, and turning the scroller up, you make the window curl into it.
(It’s also very convenient with Gimp when you need to quickly get rid of unnecessary windows for a while.
Also, if desired, the window can be made visible on all desktops:
Group and Tab Windows - It’s also sometimes useful, but by default a disabled feature. The name speaks for itself : allows you to group windows and switch between them using tabs. It’s useful, many windows are open, and some of them are accessed in turn. Also, window grouping frees up space in kicer (task bar).
You can group windows using hotkeys (win + s - select, win + g - group, win + t connect to tabs.) Or holding win, hold windows, select windows like units in strategic games. At the same time, the behavior of grouped windows (they are highlighted with a colored frame) is similar to the same units: Where you move one, the rest there.
Highlight :
Mass move , with Expo
Unite in tabs for example convenient browser and email client. In this case, when you hover over the window title, a panel with tabs appears.
Negative, although it is located in the settings manager, on the Accessibility tab, in my opinion is very useful for the average person. For example, negative text is easier to read and less harmful to the eyes of
A using Desktop Zoomor even better Enchanted Desktop Zoom , you can generally quickly get rid of unnecessary information. The function is also useful when working with images.
Although the Desktop Cube is a Compiz business card, it can also be turned off. From aesthetic images, or if the video card is difficult to cope with 3d effects (the fact is that in compiz most of the effects are actually not 3d, since they are 2d deformations on openGL (that is, without using three-dimensional models) and they render quickly even on older graphics cards).
In place of it, you can very successfully use the Desktop Wall .
Switching desktops will not be visualized by rotating the cube, but by moving smoothly from one workspace to another.
Of course, this is not the whole list of Compiz Fusion capabilities, but just a selection of the most useful. The rest can be studied independently. I advise you to experiment with window animations and themes.
PS I apologize for possible spelling errors. The Russian language was never native to me, and I studied it only by reading books, and Habr :)
And for those who do not want to poke around in settings for a long time: My config is Installed on the Perfences tab in CCSM. But keep in mind, it sets only the settings for animations, effects, hotkeys, etc., and does not affect the appearance of the design.