XCMDMENU(1.6) X11R6 XCMDMENU(1.6)
Talisman User Commands Talisman User Commands
31 May 1994
NAME
xcmdmenu - command menu utility for X
SYNOPSIS
xcmdmenu [-help] [-debug] [-ghost|-noghost] [-boxed|-paned]
[-oneshot|-persist] [filename]
DESCRIPTION
The xcmdmenu program allows the user to run a user-configured command
menu on a workstation display running X. Each xcmdmenu is composed of
buttons, each of which may be configured to run a shell command using
the Bourne shell sh(1). Buttons without associated commands are
merely used as labels.
OPTIONS
The various options may appear in any order:
filename
A file containing the label/command pairs and comments used to
configure an invocation of xcmdmenu. Defaults to .xcmdmenu in
the current directory or ~/.xcmdmenu in the home directory if
.xcmdmenu is unavailable, or the <X11LibDir>/xcmdmenu.cfg file if
neither is available.
-help
Print a usage message and exit.
-ghost
Allow each button to be activated only once, whereafter that
button will be ghosted to indicate that it is no longer valid.
-noghost
Don't use ghosting, instead allow multiple use of all command
buttons (the default).
-boxed
Use the boxedWidget to manage the buttons. This causes the
buttons to appear in a tray-style arrangement.
-paned
Use the panedWidget to manage the buttons (the default). This
causes the buttons to appear in a single column.
-oneshot
The menu will exit after the first button is activated and its
command, if any, completed.
-persist
Don't use oneshot, that is, the menu persists until explicitly
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exited (the default).
xcmdmenu will also accept the standard X Toolkit options; see the
xterm(1) manual page, subsection RESOURCES.
USAGE
The xcmdmenu has been used to ease project management, to pop up
automatically generated menus, and to handle menu hierarchies. It is
characterized by small, project- and directory-specific menus,
generally run at need rather than from xinit(1) or the like.
Output from a particular invocation of xcmdmenu will generally show up
in the xterm(1) from which it was invoked. Hence the parent terminal
is often used as a display window for ls(1) and make(1) output.
The configuration file is composed of labels and commands in
parentheses, and comments (any not in parentheses). Nesting of
parentheses is observed unless a parenthesis is escaped with a
backslash, which itself may be so escaped (see SCRIPTS).
All text outside of parentheses is ignored.
Parenthesized strings are automatically paired, ignoring newlines.
Any label associated with an empty command string is considered to be
a text button rather than a title button, and is automatically
ghosted. Labels may also be empty strings, and will produce blank
text boxes in the resulting menu.
EXAMPLES
To use the underlying X Toolkit options to select a particular font:
xcmdmenu -fn '*sony*24*'
Another example using explicit resources:
xcmdmenu -xrm '*font: *sony*24*'
To get the same effect through an X RESOURCES file, include the
following line in your resources file:
xcmdmenu*font: *sony*24*
SCRIPTS
A project menu:
Label Command
(Title) ()
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( ( \) ) ) () a test label showing parens
() ()
(Clear) (clear &)
(Make) (make &)
(Edit File) (${EDITOR} `ifc .` &) InterViews only
(Run a.out) (a.out &) execute
(List) (echo listing ; ls -Flasg &)
(Du) (du . &)
(Update Menu) (xcmdmenu -debug &)
(Time Test) (sleep 5)
Generating an audio menu on a Sun SPARC in csh(1):
rm .xcmdmenu
foreach file ( *.au )
echo -n "(`expr $file : '\(.*\).au'`)" >> .xcmdmenu
echo "(cat $file > /dev/audio)" >> .xcmdmenu
end
xcmdmenu -boxed &
Generating an audio menu on a Sun SPARC in sh(1):
for file in *.au
do
echo -n "(`expr $file : '\(.*\).au'`)"
echo "(cat $file > /dev/audio)"
done > .xcmdmenu
xcmdmenu -boxed &
X RESOURCES
xcmdmenu uses the following X resources:
paned (class Paned)
Indicates whether to use the panedWidget. Defaults to
true. If false, the boxedWidget is used instead.
ghost (class Ghost)
Indicates whether buttons are to be ghosted after
selection. Defaults to false.
debug (class Debug)
Whether or not to do debugging. Defaults to false.
oneshot (class Oneshot)
Determines whether the menu exits after first button
activation. Defaults to false.
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xcmdmenu also uses the resources of its subwidgets, including the
commandWidget, panedWidget, boxWidget, and textWidget.
FILES
.xcmdmenu The usual configuration file (in the current dir)
for an invocation of xcmdmenu.
~/.xcmdmenu User-specific configuration file to be read by
xcmdmenu when a directory-specific configuration
file is not available.
<X11LibDir>/xcmdmenu.cfg
Default configuration file to be read by xcmdmenu
when no other appropriate file is available.
SEE ALSO
X(1), xinit(1), sh(1), system(3)
BUGS
Probably.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1993, 1994 Christopher Alexander North-Keys
The X Consortium, and any party obtaining a copy of these files from
the X Consortium, directly or indirectly, is granted, free of charge,
a full and unrestricted irrevocable, world-wide, paid up, royalty-
free, nonexclusive right and license to deal in this software and
documentation files (the "Software"), including without limitation the
rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons who receive
copies from any such party to do so. This license includes without
limitation a license to do the foregoing actions under any patents of
the party supplying this software to the X Consortium.
AUTHOR
Christopher Alexander North-Keys
<erlkonig@gnu.ai.mit.edu>
Director/Instructor of OS and Software Design
RDA Computer Training
NOTES
The xcmdmenu program was produced under the auspices of Group Talisman
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