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.
| Window and Icon Resource | Area Covered | |
|---|---|---|
| Inactive | Active | |
| 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. The table below shows the default values for 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:
The table below indicates the default values for the appearance resources 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.
| 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 |
The various pixmaps that are defined in the Motif environment are illustrated below.
To obtain the pixmap styles illustrated in the previous figure, use the values listed below.
| 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 |
| Horizontal lines alternating between the foreground and background color | horizontal_tile |
| Vertical lines alternating between the foreground and background color | vertical_tile |
| Diagonal lines slanting to the right alternating between the foreground and background color | slant_right |
| 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.
Coloring Icons
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.
| 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 clients, 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. 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.
| 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.
| 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