XMonad.Config.Desktop

This module provides a config suitable for use with a desktop environment such as KDE or GNOME.

Documentation

Several basic integration settings are common to all of xmonad's desktop integration configurations. The specific desktop environment (DE) modules like XMonad.Config.Gnome use this module's desktopConfig to set up basic communication between xmonad and the DE via a subset of the Extended Window Manager Hints (EWMH) specification. Extra xmonad settings unique to specific DE's are added by overriding or modifying desktopConfig fields in the same way that the default configuration is customized in ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs.

For more information about EWMH see:

http://standards.freedesktop.org/wm-spec/wm-spec-latest.html

See also: XMonad.Hooks.EwmhDesktops, XMonad.Hooks.ManageDocks, XMonad.Util.EZConfig.

Usage

While this document describes how to configure xmonad, you also need to set up your Desktop Environment (DE) and display manager to use xmonad as its window manager. For DE and distro specific tips on how to do so, see the xmonad wiki:

http://haskell.org/haskellwiki/Xmonad

To configure xmonad for use with a DE or with DE tools like panels and pagers, in place of def in your ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs, use desktopConfig or one of the other desktop configs from the XMonad.Config namespace. The following setup and customization examples work the same way for the other desktop configs as for desktopConfig. If you are using a specific DE config, import its module instead, and use its config in place of desktopConfig in the following examples.

import XMonad
import XMonad.Config.Desktop

main = xmonad desktopConfig

desktopConfig is an XConfig that configures xmonad to ignore and leave room for dock type windows like panels and trays, adds the default key binding to toggle panel visibility, and activates basic EWMH support. It also sets a prettier root window mouse pointer.

desktopConfig :: XConfig (ModifiedLayout AvoidStruts (Choose Tall (Choose (Mirror Tall) Full)))

Customizing a desktop config

To customize a desktop config, modify its fields as is illustrated with the default configuration def in "XMonad.Doc.Extending#Extending xmonad".

Modifying layouts, manageHook, or key bindings

See also XMonad.Util.EZConfig for more options for modifying key bindings. To add to layouts, manageHook or key bindings use something like the following to combine your modifications with the desktop config settings:

import XMonad
import XMonad.Config.Desktop
import XMonad.Layout.Tabbed
import XMonad.Util.EZConfig (additionalKeys)

main =
  xmonad $ desktopConfig {
    -- add manage hooks while still ignoring panels and using default manageHooks
      manageHook = myManageHook <+> manageHook desktopConfig

    -- add a fullscreen tabbed layout that does not avoid covering
    -- up desktop panels before the desktop layouts
    , layoutHook = simpleTabbed ||| layoutHook desktopConfig
    }
    -- add a screenshot key to the default desktop bindings
    `additionalKeys` [ ((mod4Mask, xK_F8), spawn "scrot") ]

To replace the desktop layouts with your own choices, but still allow toggling panel visibility, use desktopLayoutModifiers to modify your layouts:

 , layoutHook = desktopLayoutModifiers $ simpleTabbed ||| Tall 1 0.03 0.5

desktopLayoutModifiers modifies a layout to avoid covering docks, panels, etc. that set the _NET_WM_STRUT_PARTIAL property. See also XMonad.Hooks.ManageDocks.

desktopLayoutModifiers :: LayoutClass l a => l a -> ModifiedLayout AvoidStruts l a

Modifying the logHook

To add to the logHook while still sending workspace and window information to DE apps use something like:

 , logHook = myLogHook <+> logHook desktopConfig

Or for more elaborate logHooks you can use do:

 , logHook = do
       dynamicLogWithPP xmobarPP
       updatePointer (Relative 0.9 0.9)
       logHook desktopConfig

Modifying the handleEventHook

To customize xmonad's event handling while still having it respond to EWMH events from pagers, task bars:

 , handleEventHook = myEventHooks <+> handleEventHook desktopConfig

or mconcat if you write a list event of event hooks

 , handleEventHook = mconcat
       [ myMouseHandler
       , myMessageHandler
       , handleEventHook desktopConfig ]

Note that the event hooks are run left to right (in contrast to ManageHookS which are right to left)

Modifying the startupHook

To run the desktop startupHook, plus add further actions to be run each time xmonad starts or restarts, use <+> to combine actions as in the logHook example, or something like:

 , startupHook = do
       startupHook desktopConfig
       spawn "xmonad-restart.sh"
       adjustEventInput