Fluxbox is a windows manager for Unix based operating systems. The project began as a fork derived from the Blackbox window manager.
One of the main FluxBox features that make it so accessible is the fact that it is a fast and straightforward windows manager.
The interface has a taskbar, a context menu and minimal support for on-screen icons.
All interface, menu, and keyboard layout configurations are controlled through text files.
Fluxbox implements the Extended Window Manager Hints specification.
Due to its low memory and high upload speed, Fluxbox is used in a number of Live CD distributions such as Knoppix STD and GParted.
Fluxbox is the current window manager in Linux PCFluxboxOS, Linux Mint Fluxbox CE and Fluxbuntu distributions.
Installing Fluxbox on Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu uses the Gnome user interface by default. Fluxbox is an alternative window manager for Ubuntu, which is extremely easy and customizable.
Installing Fluxbox is really quite simple. First of all, you need to make sure that you have activated the universe repository.
To install Fluxbox, open a terminal window and type the following command:
sudo apt-get install fluxbox
You will be prompted for your password and then the installation will continue. Once you have finished installing, you will have to leave X Windows by using Ctrl+Alt+Backspace or just restart your computer.
At the Ubuntu login prompt, click the Options button in the bottom left corner. You will be prompted to choose from a list of window managers that are installed on your system. Select Fluxbox and continue to sign in.
Fluxbox is very simple. The main menu can be seen by right-clicking on the desktop. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a taskbar showing you running programs and enabling you to switch between workspaces. Fluxbox is definitely not for everyone but is very easy to use and it is a recommended choice for low memory systems.
Facilities:
1. The menu is activated by a right-click anywhere on the screen.
2. The menu can be modified and customized.
3. Support for wallpaper.
4. Running applications are present on the taskbar.
5. Desktop shortcuts.
6. Desktop themes support.
Personalization:
Customizing is done by editing the configuration files in the fluxbox directory located in the user’s home folder.
Fluxbox menu describes the menu configuration key shortcuts to ~/.fluxbox/keys, applications run automatically at startup are specified in ~/.fluxbox/startup and general configuration can be found in ~/.fluxbox /init.
One of the most spectacular features is the window pane. It allows you to enter two applications in the same space-saving window with a simple mouse move.
You can then switch between them by tabs at the top of the window.
Fluxbox is supported and can be easily installed on all GNU/Linux distributions, including widely used Ubuntu, Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and many other operating systems based on Linux kernel.
A number of external programs have been developed through configurations that are not supported by default by Fluxbox.