Tint2
July 23, 2008
Some of you may use, have used or know of tint task manager (ttm), a simple light weight task list with a pleasant and configurable aesthetic. The project showed very little progress, until someone else (?) decided to hack on the code and come up with an improved version of the task list: tint2.
The improved version added extra configuration abilities as well as drag/drop support, but is clearly intended to be more than just a task list. The latest release, 0.6, added among other things a configurable clock, and launchers seem to be planned. Like some panels, Tint now also automatically sets a margin for it so that other windows cannot overlap it and the task list always remains visible (unfortunately, you can’t make this optional, as far as I can tell, so I cannot use 0.6 for my tabbed desktop effect…)
To install it on Ubuntu Hardy, you’ll need to install the following dependencies: libcairo2-dev libpango1.0-dev libglib2.0-dev libimlib2-dev libxinerama-dev
The configuration file is still fairly straightforward, but contains a lot of extra features over ttm. If you get lost in all the settings, you’ll be happy to know that a manual with pictures (in pdf format) is available on the tint2’s website.
If you like minimalistic configurable panels this is a project to keep an eye on. If they add a system tray and launchers, I’m sure many users will replace pypanel with tint2.
urukrama's weblog 
+1 for tint2. I usually run without a panel (I use the middle-click button for the nested desktop menu) but when I tinker with a panel I always end up using tint2.
I’ve never been much of a fan of pypanel, and it always surprises me that people are. (I think it might have something to do with some very old tutorials and wiki pages that mention pypanel in the first breath with Openbox. 🙄 )
How did you install it? I tried to compile the source but get an error.
*pf*, nevermind. i dunno what changed but i decided to try again and it installed w/o a problem.
I have installed the dependencies you listed by myself, but this is what I get:
http://paste.ubuntu.com/37707/
I built a deb for tint2 in my PPA:
https://launchpad.net/~k-belding/+archive
I tried to install bbdock and got this
checking for X… no
configure: error: bbdock requires the X Window System libraries and headers.
😐
I know I’m not using a standard xwindow manager, but surely the above mentioned packages are installed by default
Sorry, Wrong section.
Do you have libx11-dev installed?
Yes. Yes I do.
Maybe this should be moved to the dzen thread?
You can in fact use the new version for the tabbed desktop effect…if you use the Obconf margin options to block off the top and turn off all window decorations. This is actually what I’ve done on my OLPC, where I’ve found your tabbed desktop just amazing.
You can in fact use the new version of tint for the tabbed desktop effect, by setting the Obconf upper margin to the height of your tint bar. This is actually what I’ve done on my OLPC XO, where I’ve found your tabbed desktop superlative. Those screenshots inspired me to try OpenBox, and several days later I’m extremely glad I did.
Yes, I know I could play with the margins, but than the window decorations are not covered by tint and you still see them, unless you disable those in Openbox’ rc.xml.
It’s true, but I find that the lack of window decorations enhances the ‘tabbed’ feel. Yay rc.xml!
name=*, class=*: maximized, no decorations
I’m a convert. 😉
Hi. I’m just experimenting with tint2 and like it so far… what I can’t find is 1. how to display all tasks from all desktops and 2. how to stretch the panel over both of my two screens… anyone can help me out ?
Greets
Tone
btw: your ob articles are awesome.
There is a “panel_mode = multi_desktop” option, which will show all tasks from all desktops.
I only have one monitor, so I don’t know if it is possible to have the panel stretched over both your screens. There is a “panel_monitor” option in the tintrc, but as far as I can tell that is only to display it on a single screen.
The documentation I link to in the post (the pdf file) is quite detailed. It might answer your questions more fully.
hi urukrama. thanks for your answer. multi_desktop shows all tasks, thats correct. but groups them. i have 14 tasks right now on the first deskt. mail on second etc. so these 14 are all “packed” in 400 pixels.. I’ll check with the author if theres a solution.
greets
Tone
sorry. incomplete infos from me. i have 4 desktops, so tint reserves 1/4 of the 1600 of the first monitor for the tasks of dekstop 1. i wanted to use all of the width for all of the tasks. im using the svn version of yesterday ( ithink it was version 13)
You forgot the dependency libxrandr-dev
Thanks, toodumbforgentoo! Your deb works perfectly.
does anybody know how to make tint2 show only the icons, and not the name of the task?
To show icons and not the name of the task, there are two variables in the tint2rc file:
task_icon = 0
task_text = 1
just switch the numbers.
Is there any config I can tweak to change the behavior of the tasks that are blinking in the background?
Like when a minimised chat window is trying to attract my attention, I want it to change shading and blink till the chat window is clicked.
I Love Tint2 Task Bar on Ubuntu 11.10 It’s great. Thanks.
Uditha Madumal