On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 11:45:26PM +0000, Grant Edwards wrote > Would anybody care to make a recommendation?
How about ditching "Desktop Environment" altogether and using a "Window Manager" instead? I use ICEWM. It has to be configured with a text editor, but you can then set it and forget it. > The requirements are: > > * simple and lightweight Yup. > * support for multiple displays[1] Can be done by xrandr / xorg.conf See... https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/multihead > * support for multiple virtual desktops on each display (I > currently run 4 virtual desktops on each of 3 displays) I run 11 virtual desktops on one screen. > * must have focus-follows mouse and must be able disable > "raise-on-click" You probably want to select the "PointerFocus" option listed at http://www.icewm.org/FAQ/IceWM-FAQ-5.html > * some sort of easily modifiable root-window menu that I can use to > start apps > > * some sort of task-bar (auto-hide required) > > * some sort toolbar OK (as long as it's auto-hide) Got it all. But you have to edit the config file with a text editor. ICEWM allows you to make ~/.icewm/menu (the root menu) a symlink to ~/.icewm/toolbar if you wish. Their content will then be identical. > * GTK-based strongly preferred -- I typically don't have Qt or any > KDE stuff installed, and have some custom-written GTK apps on > which I'm rather dependent. Does not pull in either GTK or QT. It's a WM (Window Manager) not a DE (Desktop Environment). > * I don't want a file manager, terminal emulator, or any other > bundled apps, so it would be nice if they were all optional, > separate ebuilds An advantage of a WM > I don't want any storage auto-mounter, network manager, modem manager, > or any of that sort of thing. Anything with "manager" in the name is > probably right out. An advantage of a WM > All I want is something to run urxvt terminals and xemacs windows -- > with maybe an instance of firefox, chrome, or wireshark. I also > occasionally run libreoffice or xfreerdp, but only under duress. I run mostly web browsers, gnumeric, and some xterms > I don't want any icons or folders or shortcuts or whatnot on the > desktop. An advantage of a WM > I don't even need the ability to use an image as my desktop > "wallpaper": all I want is a user-configurable sold color. Available, but not mandatory. > No fancy animation or translucency silliness. Available, but not mandatory. -- Walter Dnes <waltd...@waltdnes.org> I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications