unexist.dev

h1. FAQ

{{toc}}

h2. How do I start program xyz?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grab]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

_"dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu is added as default launcher in the distributed config to make it more convenient._

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How does subtle match clients?

[[Subtle]] matches the {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and the {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} property of a window and not the title. This to ensure the match is correct.
There are several ways to get these values, here are the most common:

* "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html: Just select the window and have a look for the WM_CLASS line which usually look like this:

p{class:pre}. WM_CLASS(STRING) = "{{color(#ff0000, urxvt)}}", "{{color(#0000ff, URxvt)}}")

* [[subtler]]: Run *[[subtler]] -cl* and look for the matching line:

p{class:pre}. 0x800007 * 1 1020x374 2 1 --- {{color(#ff0000, urxvt)}} ({{color(#0000ff,URxvt)}})

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Grabs]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
def move_view(client, view_id)
begin
cur = current_view
view = views[view_id - 1]

begin
tag = find_tag(view.name)
rescue
tag = add_tag(view.name)
end

# Remove client from current tag
if(client.has_tag?(cur.name))
client.untag(cur.name)
end

# Tag new view with itself
if(!view.has_tag?(tag))
view.tag(tag)
end

# Finally add tag to client
client.tag(tag)
rescue => err
puts err
end
end

GRABS = {
"A-F1" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 1) },
"A-F2" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 2) },
"A-F3" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 3) },
"A-F4" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 4) }
}
</code></pre>

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

Or with [[grabs]] and "Ruby":http://www.ruby-lang.org lambdas:

[[Grabs]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
def move_view(client, view_id)
begin
cur = current_view
view = views[view_id - 1]

begin
tag = find_tag(view.name)
rescue
tag = add_tag(view.name)
end

# Remove client from current tag
if(client.has_tag?(cur.name))
client.untag(cur.name)
end

# Tag new view with itself
if(!view.has_tag?(tag))
view.tag(tag)
end

# Finally add tag to client
client.tag(tag)
rescue => err
puts err
end
end

GRABS = {
"A-F1" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 1) },
"A-F2" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 2) },
"A-F3" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 3) },
"A-F4" => lambda { |c| move_view(c, 4) }
}
</code></pre>

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

Please also have a look at the [[recipes]] wiki page which also includes two examples how to move clients.

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I set a wallpaper in subtle?

[[subtle]] itself has no own functionality to set a wallpaper, _~/.xinitrc_ is perfectly suited for this.

Due the design of [[subtle]] sets background color of the root window and therefore overwrites any root pixmap set before.

This can be bypassed with this:

<pre><code class="ruby">subtle &
PID=$!
display -window root pixmap.png
wait $PID
</code></pre>

h2. How do I set a wallpaper in subtle?

[[subtle]] itself has no own functionality to set a wallpaper, _~/.xinitrc_ is perfectly suited for this.

Due the design of [[subtle]] sets background color of the root window and therefore overwrites any root pixmap set before.

This can be bypassed with this:

<pre><code class="ruby">subtle &
PID=$!
display -window root pixmap.png
wait $PID
</code></pre>

Or just comment out the background line.

h2. How do I run a Java java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas. +
+


If this happens just try to start your program like this: +
+


<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre> +
+


This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to _MToolkit_, MToolkit, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending Dependend on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:+
+ behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
s = Subtlext::Subtle.new #< Connect to subtle
s.find_client("client").tag("tag") #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
s.find_view("view").tag("tag") #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

Please also have a look at the [[recipes]] wiki page which also includes two examples how to move clients.

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I start program xyz?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grab]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

_"dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu is added as default launcher in the distributed config to make it more convenient._

h2. How do I run a java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to MToolkit, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Dependend on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre> +
+

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

h2. How do I run a java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to MToolkit, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Dependend on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: The JDK internally uses a hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org made the tool "wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname to change the name of the wm and just lie to Java.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

h2. How do I run a java program?

"Java":http://java.com seems *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to use an start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to MToolkit, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Dependend on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: The JDK internally uses a hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made a the tool ("wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname) "wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname to change the name of the wm. +
+
Since r2520 [[subtle]] can do that for you, wm and just enable the *&#58;wmname* option. +
+
lie to Java.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] +
"tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454 </code></pre>

Please also have a look at the [[recipes]] wiki page which also includes two examples how to move clients.

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[Tags|tagging system]] and is initially usually done in the [[config]].

You can change tags either with [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]] per runtime:

[[Subtler]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

[[Subtlext]]:
<pre><code class="ruby">
Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650 Subtlext::View["view"] +
+ "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
bq. Note: Many problems </code></pre>

Please also have a look at the [[recipes]] wiki page which also includes two examples how to move clients.

In _/usr/share/subtle/scripts_ is a tagging example script with the help of "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu.

h2. How do I add tags to console based programs?

Generally [[subtle]] can apply [[Tagging|tags]] based on the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} and both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components. Console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org can be started like this and will change the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} of the terminal:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -e irssi</code></pre>

Inspecting the terminal with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html:

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "urxvt")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

So if we want to tag this window there are some things that should be considered:

* "irssi":http://irssi.org updates the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} only affect
* [[Tagging]] matches per default both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components ({{color(#aa0000, instance)}} and {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name)
* [[Tagging|Tags]] are applied when a window is mapped - that is *before* the "JRE":http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html terminal launches "irssi":http://irssi.org

To safely [[Tagging|tag]] it's better to change the {{color(#aa0000, instance)}} name of the terminal like this:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -name irssi -e irssi</code></pre>

This results in following (via "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html):

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

A [[Tagging|tag]] for this could be:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Please keep in mind, that the {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name is still *URxvt* and will match others [[Tagging|tags]] too.

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

Generally [[subtle]] can apply [[Tagging|tags]] based on the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} and both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components. Console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org can be avoided by using started like this and will change the "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net. +
+

{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} of the terminal:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -e irssi</code></pre>

Inspecting the terminal with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html:

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "urxvt")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

So if we want to tag this window there are some things that should be considered:

* "irssi":http://irssi.org updates the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} only
* [[Tagging]] matches per default both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components ({{color(#aa0000, instance)}} and {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name)
* [[Tagging|Tags]] are applied when a window is mapped - that is *before* the terminal launches "irssi":http://irssi.org

To safely [[Tagging|tag]] it's better to change the {{color(#aa0000, instance)}} name of the terminal like this:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -name irssi -e irssi</code></pre>

This results in following (via "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html):

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

A [[Tagging|tag]] for this could be:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Please keep in mind, that the {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name is still *URxvt* and will match others [[Tagging|tags]] too.

h2. How does subtle match clients?

[[subtle]] matches the {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and the {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} property of a window and not the title. This to ensure the match is correct. +

There are several ways to get these values, here are the most common: +
+


Select the window with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.htmland have a look for the {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} lines which usually look like this: +
+


<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "urxvt" +
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre> +
+


Run *[[subtler]] -cl* and look for the matching line: +
+


<pre><code class="bash">0x800007 * 1 1020x374 2 1 --- {{color(#ff0000, urxvt)}} ({{color(#0000ff,URxvt)}})</code></pre>

h2. What How does subtle match clients?

[[subtle]] matches the {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and the {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} property of a window and not the title. This to ensure the match is required correct.
There are several ways to get these values, here are the most common:

Select the window with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.htmland have a look for the volume sublet? {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} lines which usually look like this:

The volume [[sublets|sublet]] <pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "urxvt"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

Run *[[subtler]] -cl* and look for the matching line:

<pre><code class="bash">0x800007 * 1 1020x374 2 1 --- {{color(#ff0000, urxvt)}} ({{color(#0000ff,URxvt)}})</code></pre>

h2. How can I use subtle without numpad?

Per default [[subtle]] uses @/dev/mixer@ the numpad, because it's easier to set/get remind the volume levels, which different postions when you can see them. Generally this is an older interface introduced with "OSS":http://www.opensound.com/ and still available via "ALSA OSS emulation":http://www.alsa-project.org/. Apparently, newer kernels refuse just a suggestion, it's up to autoload that module anymore and you need to load it manually or via change the grabs to your needs - any init file. +
+ keys will work.

Keys that also have proven to work well are *q-w-e*, *a-s-d* and *y-x-c*:

<pre><code class="ruby">grab "W-q", [ :top_left, :top_left66, :top_left33 ]
{{info(Please check to grab "W-w", [ :top, :top66, :top33 ]
grab "W-e", [ :top_right, :top_right66, :top_right33 ]
grab "W-a", [ :left, :left66, :left33 ]
grab "W-s", [ :center, :center66, :center33 ]
grab "W-d", [ :right, :right66, :right33 ]
grab "W-y", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]
grab "W-x", [ :bottom, :bottom66, :bottom33 ]
grab "W-c", [ :bottom_right, :bottom_right66, :bottom_right33 ]
</code></pre>

You can find more about assigning keys [[Grabs|here]].

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

Generally [[subtle]] can apply [[Tagging|tags]] based on the docs {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} and both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components. Console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org can be started like this and will change the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} of your distribution how the terminal:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -e irssi</code></pre>

Inspecting the terminal with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html:

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "urxvt")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

So if we want to do it.)}} +
+ tag this window there are some things that should be considered:

* "irssi":http://irssi.org updates the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} only
<pre><code>modprobe snd_mixer_oss</code></pre> +
+ * [[Tagging]] matches per default both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components ({{color(#aa0000, instance)}} and {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name)
{{warn(Following explanation is technical!)}} +
+
The [[sublets|sublet]] needs * [[Tagging|Tags]] are applied when a way to access a mixer without any asynchronous callbacks. The reason for that window is mapped - that [[subtle]] is single-threaded and can't use a dedicated thread *before* the terminal launches "irssi":http://irssi.org

To safely [[Tagging|tag]] it's better to wait change the {{color(#aa0000, instance)}} name of the terminal like this:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -name irssi -e irssi</code></pre>

This results in following (via "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html):

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

A [[Tagging|tag]] for this could be:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Please keep in mind, that the reply, but {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name is still *URxvt* and will match other [[Tagging|tags]] too.

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

Generally [[subtle]] can apply [[Tagging|tags]] based on the APIs of "ALSA":http://www.alsa-project.org/ {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} and "PulseAudio":http://pulseaudio.org are both designed {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components. Console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org can be started like this and will change the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} of the terminal:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -e irssi</code></pre>

Inspecting the terminal with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html:

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "urxvt")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

So if we want to tag this window there are some things that should be asynchronous. Normally event drivven considered:

* "irssi":http://irssi.org updates the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} only
* [[Tagging]] matches per default both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components ({{color(#aa0000, instance)}} and {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name)
* [[Tagging|Tags]] are applied when a window is fine but it mapped - that is troublesome when you can't use their mainloop. +
+
Since there is no way *before* the terminal launches "irssi":http://irssi.org

To safely [[Tagging|tag]] it's better to add e.g. a control socket to change the event main loop {{color(#aa0000, instance)}} name of [[subtle]], the @/dev/mixer@ approach terminal like this:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -name irssi -e irssi</code></pre>

This results in following (via "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html):

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

A [[Tagging|tag]] for this could be:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Please keep in mind, that the {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name is the only way still *URxvt* and works for all sound systems. will match other [[Tagging|tags]] too.

h2. How do I run a program on startup/autostart? startup?

Let's say you want "urxvt":http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/rxvt-unicode.html urxvt to start after [[subtle]], subtle, and for some reason @echo "urxvt" >> ~/.xinitrc@ is just not cutting it. Using the *&#58;start* :start hook and [[subtlext]] Subtlext we can simulate autostart like so: +
+

<pre>
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby"> +
on :start do +
Subtlext::Subtle.spawn "urxvt" +
end +
</pre></code> </pre>

h2. How to match a GLFW window can I use subtle without numpad?

GLFW set Per default [[subtle]] uses the name of numpad, because it's easier to remind the window after the window get created, so different postions when you can't match can see them. Generally this is just a particular window by his name. +
+
suggestion, it's up to match you to change the grabs to your needs - any GLFW window : +
+ keys will work.

Keys that also have proven to work well are *q-w-e*, *a-s-d* and *y-x-c*:

<pre><code class="ruby">grab "W-q", [ :top_left, :top_left66, :top_left33 ]
<pre> + grab "W-w", [ :top, :top66, :top33 ]
tag "glfw" do +
match name: "GLFW.*" +
grab "W-e", [ :top_right, :top_right66, :top_right33 ]
grab "W-a", [ :left, :left66, :left33 ]
grab "W-s", [ :center, :center66, :center33 ]
grab "W-d", [ :right, :right66, :right33 ]

# your code + QWERTZ
end + grab "W-y", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]

# QWERTY
</pre> grab "W-z", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]

grab "W-x", [ :bottom, :bottom66, :bottom33 ]
grab "W-c", [ :bottom_right, :bottom_right66, :bottom_right33 ]
</code></pre>

You can find more about assigning keys [[Grabs|here]].

h2. Why does subtle cause How do I tag console based programs?

Generally [[subtle]] can apply [[Tagging|tags]] based on the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} and both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components. Console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org can be started like this and will change the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} of the terminal:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -e irssi</code></pre>

Inspecting the terminal with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html:

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "urxvt")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

So if we want to many wakeups? tag this window there are some things that should be considered:

The wakeups * "irssi":http://irssi.org updates the {{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}} only
* [[Tagging]] matches per default both {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} components ({{color(#aa0000, instance)}} and {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name)
* [[Tagging|Tags]] are caused by applied when a "Ruby":http://ruby-lang.org internal polling thread window is mapped - that runs every 10ms is *before* the terminal launches "irssi":http://irssi.org

To safely [[Tagging|tag]] it's better to schedule/handle change the {{color(#aa0000, instance)}} name of the terminal like this:

<pre><code class="bash">urxvt -name irssi -e irssi</code></pre>

This results in following (via "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html):

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "irssi"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

A [[Tagging|tag]] for this could be:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Please keep in mind, that the {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} {{color(#ff00ff, class)}} name is still *URxvt* and will match other threads and signals. There [[Tagging|tags]] too. To avoid that there is currently no way the *exclude* match, it works similar to avoid the normal match but excludes certain windows:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "terms" do
exclude :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that in "YARV":http://www.atdot.net/yarv/, although violates this. Windows can tell the problem is well known. +
+ window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those:

# Enable size hints globally with the _:resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/200147 +
+ # Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name"
match "name"
resize true
There end
</code></pre>

h2. How can I delete a sublet manually?

[[Sublets]] usually consist of a *&#42;.rb* file, a *&#42;.spec* file and one or more icons. All these files can be found in their respective folder in @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle@ resp. @~/.local/share/subtle@. After deleting the [[sublets|sublet]] files the cache of [[sur]] needs to be updated or otherwise [[sur]] will think the [[sublets|sublet]] is finally some progress regarding this: http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/549998 still installed: @sur update -l@

h2. How can I manually delete a sublet?

[[Sublets]] usually consist of a *&#42;.rb* file, a *&#42;.spec* file and one or more icons. All these files can be found in their respective folder in @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle@ resp. @~/.local/share/subtle@. After deleting the [[sublets|sublet]] files the cache of [[sur]] needs to be updated or otherwise [[sur]] will think the [[sublets|sublet]] is still installed: @sur update -l@

h2. Where is the output window of flash in fullscreen?

For flash, browsers seem to use window instance and class names that doesn't match the browser values. Therefore the windows will usually appear on the default view.

Following names are currently in use:

|_. Browser |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| Firefox | <unknown> | "<unknown>", "<unknown>" |
| Chromium | exe | "exe", "Exe" |
| Opera | "operapluginwrapper" | "operapluginwrapper", "Operapluginwrapper" |

The easiest way to avoid that is to add a [[tagging|tag]] that makes these windows sticky:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "flash" do
match "<unkown>|exe|operapluginwrapper"
stick true
end</code></pre>

h2. How do I run a program on startup/autostart?

Let's say you want "urxvt":http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/rxvt-unicode.html to start after [[subtle]], and for some reason @echo "urxvt" >> ~/.xinitrc@ is just not cutting it. Using the *&#58;start* hook and [[subtlext]] we can simulate autostart like so:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
on :start do
Subtlext::Subtle.spawn "urxvt"
end
</pre></code>

h2. How do I start program xyz?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grabs]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

Additionally there are many launchers available like "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu and there is even a launcher especially designed for [[subtle]], you can find it in "subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher.

h2. How do I start program XYZ?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grabs]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

Additionally there are many launchers available like "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu and there is even a launcher especially designed for [[subtle]], you can find it in "subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher.

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those. +
+

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _:resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name"
match "name"
resize true
end

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those.

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _&#58;resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name"
match "name"
resize true
end

h2. How do I run a java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to MToolkit, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: The JDK internally uses a hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made the tool "wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname to change the name of the wm and just lie to Java.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

h2. How do I set a wallpaper in subtle?

On start, [[subtle]] sets a background color (_if set_) to the root window and therefore *overwrites* any root pixmap set before. To avoid this, you just need to comment out the *&#58;background* line from your config.

[[subtle]] itself has no and will never have either an autostart or way to set a wallpaper directly. Normally you just want to setup your X session and and not [[subtle]]. Your _~/.xinitrc_ is the right place for stuff like this.

A background can easily set with a tool like "feh":http://linuxbrit.co.uk/software/feh/.

h2. How can I use subtle without numpad?

Per default [[subtle]] uses the numpad, because it's easier to remind the different postions when you can see them. Generally this is just a suggestion, it's up to you to change the grabs to your needs - any keys will work.

Keys that also have proven to work well are *q-w-e*, *a-s-d* and *y-x-c*:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">grab "W-q", [ :top_left, :top_left66, :top_left33 ]
grab "W-w", [ :top, :top66, :top33 ]
grab "W-e", [ :top_right, :top_right66, :top_right33 ]
grab "W-a", [ :left, :left66, :left33 ]
grab "W-s", [ :center, :center66, :center33 ]
grab "W-d", [ :right, :right66, :right33 ]

# QWERTZ
grab "W-y", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]

# QWERTY
grab "W-z", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]

grab "W-x", [ :bottom, :bottom66, :bottom33 ]
grab "W-c", [ :bottom_right, :bottom_right66, :bottom_right33 ]
</code></pre>

You can find more about assigning keys [[Grabs|here]].

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[tagging]]. There are many ways to change tags per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]].

h2. subtler

[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. subtlext

[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext"

tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] +
"tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. Snippets

The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how to "move":http://subforge.org/wiki/subtle/Snippets#Move-windows windows to another view.

h2. Contrib

h3. Vitag

"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains "vitag":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Vitag, a script to change the [[tagging|tags]] of windows and views with an editor.

h3. Launcher

The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to a certain screen it just provides a way to launch a window directly on the right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]].

h2. Stick

Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: W-s) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: subtler -cXS)

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via the [[tagging]]. There are many ways to change tags per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]].

h2. subtler

[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. subtlext

[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext"

tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. Snippets

The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how to "move":http://subforge.org/wiki/subtle/Snippets#Move-windows windows to another view.

h2. Contrib

h3. Vitag

"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains "vitag":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Vitag, a script to change the [[tagging|tags]] of windows and views with an editor.

h3. Launcher

The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to a certain screen it just provides a way to launch a window directly on the right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]].

h2. Stick

Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: *W-s*) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: @subtler -cXS@)

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via [[tagging]]. There are many ways to change [[tagging|tags]] per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]].

h2. subtler

[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. subtlext

[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext"

tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. Snippets

The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how to "move":http://subforge.org/wiki/subtle/Snippets#Move-windows windows to another view.

h2. Contrib

h3. Vitag

"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains "vitag":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Vitag, a script to change the [[tagging|tags]] of windows and views with an editor.

h3. Launcher

The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to a certain screen it just provides a way to launch a window directly on the right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]].

h2. Stick

Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: *W-s*) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: @subtler -cXS@)

h2. How do I run a java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to _MToolkit_, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: The JDK internally uses a hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made the tool "wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname to change the name of the wm and just lie to Java.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

bq. Note: Many problems only affect the "JRE":http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html and can be avoided by using the "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net.

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those.

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _&#58;resize_ option +
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre> +
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]] +
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name"
match "name"
resize true
end

.bq Note: This can happen with "java":http://java.com too, see "here":http://subforge.org/ezfaq/show/subtle?faq_id=14 for more information.

h2. How do + I run a Java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to _MToolkit_, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: The JDK internally uses a hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made the tool "wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname to change the name of the wm and just lie to Java.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

bq. Note: Many problems only affect the "JRE":http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html and can be avoided by using the "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net.

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those.

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _&#58;resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name"
match "name" +
resize true +
end</code></pre> +
+

bq. Note: This can happen with "java":http://java.com too, see "here":http://subforge.org/ezfaq/show/subtle?faq_id=14 for more information.

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those.

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _&#58;resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name"
match "name"
resize true
end</code></pre>

bq. Note: This can happen with "Java":http://java.com too, see "here":http://subforge.org/ezfaq/show/subtle?faq_id=14 for more information.

h2. Is there any log file?

Nope, there is *no* log file. In case you need one for e.g. reporting a bug +please+ read to the [[bugs|reporting a bug]] wiki page and check the paragraph about [[bugs#enable-logging|logging]].

h2. How do I run a Java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to _MToolkit_, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: "Java":http://java.com seems to use an internally hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made a tool ("wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname) to change the name of the wm. Since r2520 [[subtle]] can do that for you, just enable the *&#58;wmname* option.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

bq. Note: Many problems only affect the "JRE":http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html and can be avoided by using the "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net.

h2. How do I run a Java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to _MToolkit_, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: "Java":http://java.com seems to use an internally hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made a tool ("wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname) to change the name of the wm.

Since r2520 [[subtle]] can do that for you, just enable the *&#58;wmname* option.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

bq. Note: Many problems only affect the "JRE":http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html and can be avoided by using the "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net.

h2. Where is the output window of flash in fullscreen?

For flash, browsers seem to use window instance and class names that doesn't match the browser values. Therefore the windows will usually appear on the default view.

Following names are currently in use:

|_. Browser |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| Firefox | <unknown> | "<unknown>", "<unknown>" |
| Chromium | exe | "exe", "Exe" |
| Opera | "operapluginwrapper" | "operapluginwrapper", "Operapluginwrapper" |

The easiest way to avoid that is to add a [[tagging|tag]] that makes these windows sticky:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "flash" do
match "<unknown>|exe|operapluginwrapper"
stick true
end</code></pre>

h2. Where is the output window of flash in fullscreen?

For flash, browsers seem to use window instance and class names that doesn't match the browser values. Therefore the windows will usually appear on the default view.

Following names are currently in use:

|_. Browser |_. Arch |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| Firefox | x86 | <unknown> | "<unknown>", "<unknown>" |
| Chromium | x86 | exe | "exe", "Exe" |
| Opera | x86 | "operapluginwrapper" | "operapluginwrapper", "Operapluginwrapper" |
| nspluginwrapper | x86_64 | "npviewer.bin" | "Npviewer.bin" |

The easiest way to avoid that is to add a [[tagging|tag]] that makes these windows sticky:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "flash" do
match "<unknown>|exe|operapluginwrapper"
stick true
end</code></pre>

h2. Where is the output window of flash in fullscreen?

For flash, browsers seem to use window instance and class names that doesn't match the browser values. Therefore the windows will usually appear on the default view.

Following names are currently in use:

|_. Browser |_. Arch |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| Firefox | x86 | <unknown> | "<unknown>", "<unknown>" |
| Chromium | x86 | exe | "exe", "Exe" |
| Opera | x86 | "operapluginwrapper" | "operapluginwrapper", "Operapluginwrapper" |
| nspluginwrapper | x86_64 | "npviewer.bin" | "Npviewer.bin" |

The easiest way to avoid that is to add a [[tagging|tag]] that makes these windows sticky:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "flash" do
match "<unknown>|exe|operapluginwrapper|npviewer.bin"
stick true
end</code></pre>

h2. What is required for the volume sublet?

The volume [[sublets|sublet]] uses @/dev/mixer@ to set/get the volume levels, which is an older interface introduced with "OSS":http://www.opensound.com/ and still available via "ALSA OSS emulation":http://www.alsa-project.org/. Apparently, newer kernels refuse to autoload that module anymore and you need to load it manually or via any init file.

{{info(Please check to the docs of your distribution how to do it.)}}

<pre><code>modprobe snd_mixer_oss</code></pre>

{{warn(Following explanation is technical!)}}

The [[sublets|sublet]] needs a way to access a mixer without any asynchronous callbacks. The reason for that is that [[subtle]] is single-threaded and can't use a dedicated thread to wait for the reply, but the APIs of "ALSA":http://www.alsa-project.org/ and "PulseAudio":http://pulseaudio.org are both designed to be asynchronous. Normally event drivven is fine but it is troublesome when you can't use their mainloop.

Since there is no way to add e.g. a control socket to the event main loop of [[subtle]], the @/dev/mixer@ approach is the only way and works for all sound systems.

h2. How do I move program xyz to view abc?

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via [[tagging]]. There are many ways to change [[tagging|tags]] per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]].

h2. subtler

[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. subtlext

[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext"

tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. Snippets

The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how to [[snippets#Move-windows|move to another view]].

h2. Contrib

h3. Vitag

"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains [[subtle-contrib:vitag|vitag]] a script to change the [[tagging|tags]] of windows and views with an editor.

h3. Launcher

The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to a certain screen it just provides a way to launch a window directly on the right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]].

h2. Stick

Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: *W-s*) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: @subtler -cXS@)

h2. Where does sur store sublets and icons?

[[sur]] follows the "XDG Base Directory specifications":http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html to store data, which includes some base path for specific data types. +
+


Following paths are used: +
+


|_. Type |_. XDG path |_. Default path | +
| Sublets

| @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle/sublets@

| @~/.local/share/subtle/sublets@ | +
| Icons

| @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle(icons@

| @~/.local/share/subtle/icons@ |

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those.

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _&#58;resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name" do
match "name"
resize true
end</code></pre>

bq. Note: This can happen with "Java":http://java.com too, see "here":http://subforge.org/ezfaq/show/subtle?faq_id=14 for more information.

h2. How can I use subtle without numpad?

Per default [[subtle]] uses the numpad, because it's easier to remind the different postions when you can see them. Generally this is just a suggestion, it's up to you to change the grabs to your needs - any keys will work.

Keys that also have proven to work well are *q-w-e*, *a-s-d* and *y-x-c*:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">grab "W-q", [ :top_left, :top_left66, :top_left33 ]
grab "W-w", [ :top, :top66, :top33 ]
grab "W-e", [ :top_right, :top_right66, :top_right33 ]
grab "W-a", [ :left, :left66, :left33 ]
grab "W-s", [ :center, :center66, :center33 ]
grab "W-d", [ :right, :right66, :right33 ]

# QWERTZ
grab "W-y", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]

# QWERTY
grab "W-z", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ]

grab "W-x", [ :bottom, :bottom66, :bottom33 ]
grab "W-c", [ :bottom_right, :bottom_right66, :bottom_right33 ]
</code></pre>

You can find more about assigning keys [[Grabs|here]].

h2. What is the difference between ViewSwitch and ViewJump?

Boths keys change the [[view]] of the current active [[screens|screen]], but the behavior how they do that depends on if the system consists either of a single [[screens|screen]] or more. +
+

h2. Single screen +
+


Here both [[grabs]] do +exactly+ the same. +
+

h2. Multi screen +
+

Here the behavior depends of the select [[views|view]] is visible on another screen or not.

* *ViewSwitch* either swaps the current [[views|view]] with the selected if it is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or just sets the selected [[views|view]] on current [[screens|screen]].
* *ViewJump* either focus the selected [[views|view]] if it is visible on another screen or just sets the select view on current [[screens|screen]].

h2. What is the difference between ViewSwitch and ViewJump?

Boths keys change the [[view]] of the current active [[screens|screen]], but the behavior how they do that depends on if the system consists either of a single [[screens|screen]] or more.

h2. Single screen

Here both [[grabs]] do +exactly+ the same.

h2. Multi screen

Here the behavior depends on if the selected [[views|view]] is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or not. +
+


* *ViewSwitch* either swaps the current [[views|view]] with the selected if it is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or just sets the selected [[views|view]] on current [[screens|screen]]. +
* *ViewJump* either focus the selected [[views|view]] if it is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or just sets the select [[views|view]] on current [[screens|screen]].

h2. Why don't my grabs work with xyz keyboard layout? does subtle cause to many wakeups?

Actually, I have The wakeups are caused by a "Ruby":http://ruby-lang.org internal polling thread that runs every 10ms to schedule/handle other threads and signals. There is currently no idea why setting way to avoid that in "YARV":http://www.atdot.net/yarv/, although the keyboard layout problem is well known.

http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/200147

h2. How do I tag gimp?

[[Tagging]] "GIMP":http://gimp.org can be nasty, because the current version (2.6) uses inconsistent window names and roles. The window roles are fixed in your @xorg.conf@ isn't suffucient, but apparently you need the current development snapshot and will hopefully find their way into the 2.8 release.

https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=645456

h2. How do I move a program to call *setxkbmap* another view?

Placement in one [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via [[tagging]]. There are many ways to change [[tagging|tags]] per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]].

h2. subtler

[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. subtlext

[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext"

tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. Snippets

The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how to [[snippets#Move-windows|move to another view]].

h2. Contrib

h3. Vitag

"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains [[subtle-contrib:vitag|vitag]] a script to change the [[tagging|tags]] of your startup files windows and views with an editor.

h3. Launcher

The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to set a certain screen it just provides a way to launch a window directly on the keymap. My suggestion right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]].

h2. Stick

Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: *W-s*) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: @subtler -cXS@)

h2. How do I start a program?

There are several way how to use start a certain programm, here are the @~/.xinitrc@, because most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grabs]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

There are many launchers available like "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu and there is even a launcher especially designed for [[subtle]], you can find it in [[subtle-contrib:Launcher|here]].

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

When console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org are started with a terminal like @urxvt -e irssi@, they usually just change the *WM_NAME* of the terminal and per default, [[subtle]] just uses both of the {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} values for tagging.

The problem about that is, that the [[tagging]] is perfectly suited normally done before the terminal really starts the desired app. To avoid that all better known terminals support the *-name* argument which changes the instance value (first string) of the *WM_CLASS*: @urxvt -name irssi -e irssi@

Another problem is that terminals retain their class value (second string) of the {{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}} and may match other [[tagging|tags]].

The common solution to setup Xorg bypass is this to use the :instance matcher, which just matches when for the specific instance value.

Following table shows the *WM_NAME* and *WM_CLASS* output of "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html of the various combinations:

|_. Command |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| urxvt | urxvt | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -e irssi | irssi | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi | urxvt | irssi, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi -e irssi | irssi | irssi, URxvt |

So the easiest way to reliable match this client is a [[lagging|tag]] like this:

<pre>code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

When console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org are started with a terminal like @urxvt -e irssi@, they usually read. +
+ just change the *WM_NAME* of the terminal and per default, [[subtle]] just uses both of the *WM_CLASS* values for tagging.

The problem about that is, that the [[tagging]] is normally done before the terminal really starts the desired app. To avoid that all better known terminals support the *-name* argument which changes the instance value (first string) of the *WM_CLASS*: @urxvt -name irssi -e irssi@

Another problem is that terminals retain their class value (second string) of the *WM_CLASS* and may match other [[tagging|tags]] like:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "terms" do
match "urxvt"
Just add something like end</code></pre>

The common solution to bypass is this to your @~/.xinitrc@ *before* you start [[subtle]]: +
+ use the :instance matcher, which just matches when for the specific instance value.

Following table shows the *WM_NAME* and *WM_CLASS* output of "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html of the various combinations:

|_. Command |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
<pre><code>setxkbmap -layout 'de(nodeadkeys)'</code></pre> | urxvt | urxvt | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -e irssi | irssi | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi | urxvt | irssi, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi -e irssi | irssi | irssi, URxvt |

So the easiest way to reliable match this client is a [[lagging|tag]] like this:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

When console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org are started with a terminal like @urxvt -e irssi@, they usually just change the *WM_NAME* of the terminal and per default, [[subtle]] just uses both of the *WM_CLASS* values for tagging. +
+


The problem about that is, that the [[tagging]] is normally done before the terminal really starts the desired app. To avoid that all better known terminals support the *-name* argument which changes the instance value (first string) of the *WM_CLASS*: @urxvt -name irssi -e irssi@ +
+


Another problem is that terminals retain their class value (second string) of the *WM_CLASS* and may match other [[tagging|tags]] like: +
+


<pre><code class="ruby">tag "terms" do +
match "urxvt" +
end</code></pre> +
+


The common solution to bypass is this to use the :instance matcher, which just matches when for the specific instance value. So the easiest way to reliable match this client is a [[tagging|tag]] like this: +
+


<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do +
match :instance => "irssi" +
end</code></pre> +
+


Following table shows the *WM_NAME* and *WM_CLASS* output of "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html of the various combinations: +
+


|_. Command |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS | +
| urxvt

| urxvt

| urxvt, URxvt | +
| urxvt -e irssi | irssi | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi | urxvt | irssi, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi -e irssi | irssi | irssi, URxvt |

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

When console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org are started with a terminal like @urxvt -e irssi@, they usually just change the *WM_NAME* of the terminal and per default, [[subtle]] uses both of the *WM_CLASS* values for tagging.

The problem about that is, that the [[tagging]] is normally done before the terminal really starts the desired app. To avoid that all better known terminals support the *-name* argument which changes the instance value (first string) of the *WM_CLASS*: @urxvt -name irssi -e irssi@

Another problem is that terminals retain their class value (second string) of the *WM_CLASS* and may match other [[tagging|tags]] like:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "terms" do
match "urxvt"
end</code></pre>

The common solution to bypass is this to use the :instance matcher, which just matches when for the specific instance value. So the easiest way to reliable match this client is a [[tagging|tag]] like this:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Following table shows the *WM_NAME* and *WM_CLASS* output of "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html of the various combinations:

|_. Command |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| urxvt | urxvt | urxvt, URxvt | +
| urxvt -e irssi | irssi | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi

| urxvt

| irssi, URxvt | +
| urxvt -name irssi -e irssi | irssi | irssi, URxvt |

h2. Why did the volume sublet stop working after kernel update?

The volume [[sublets|sublet]] uses @/dev/mixer@ to set/get the volume levels, which is an older interface introduced with "OSS":http://www.opensound.com/ and still available via "ALSA OSS emulation":http://www.alsa-project.org/. Apparently, newer kernels refuse to autoload that module anymore and you need to load it manually or via any init file.

{{info(Please check to the docs of your distribution how to do it.)}}

{{warn(Following explanation is technical!)}}

The [[sublets|sublet]] needs a way to access a mixer without any asynchronous callbacks. The reason for that is that [[subtle]] is single-threaded and can't use a dedicated thread to wait for the reply, but the APIs of "ALSA":http://www.alsa-project.org/ and "PulseAudio":http://pulseaudio.org are both designed to be asynchronous. Normally event drivven is fine but it is troublesome when you can't use their mainloop.

Since there is no way to add e.g. a control socket to the event main loop of [[subtle]], the @/dev/mixer@ approach is the only way and works for all sound systems.

h2. Why did the volume sublet stop working after kernel update?

The volume [[sublets|sublet]] uses @/dev/mixer@ to set/get the volume levels, which is an older interface introduced with "OSS":http://www.opensound.com/ and still available via "ALSA OSS emulation":http://www.alsa-project.org/. Apparently, newer kernels refuse to autoload that module anymore and you need to load it manually or via any init file.

{{info(Please check to the docs of your distribution how to do it.)}}

<pre><code>modprobe snd_mixer_oss</code></pre>

{{warn(Following explanation is technical!)}}

The [[sublets|sublet]] needs a way to access a mixer without any asynchronous callbacks. The reason for that is that [[subtle]] is single-threaded and can't use a dedicated thread to wait for the reply, but the APIs of "ALSA":http://www.alsa-project.org/ and "PulseAudio":http://pulseaudio.org are both designed to be asynchronous. Normally event drivven is fine but it is troublesome when you can't use their mainloop.

Since there is no way to add e.g. a control socket to the event main loop of [[subtle]], the @/dev/mixer@ approach is the only way and works for all sound systems.

h2. Is subtle a reparenting window manager?

*Nope*, [[subtle]] doesn't reparent windows and there is in fact *no* reason to do that. The layout in [[subtle]] is a really loose set, the only relation between a [[views|view]] and a [[client]] is [[tagging]] and this is checked on every [[views|view]] update.

Reparenting windows would require following additional steps, when a window is visible on a certain [[views|view]]:

# Resize the [[views|view]] toplevel window to the size of the current [[screen]]
# Reparent the [[client]] window to the toplevel window
# Handle (ignore here) the generated expose and crossing events

Probably sounds like not much overhead, but keep in mind this is just required because the developer of "Java":http://www.java.com/ and "Qt":http://qt.nokia.com/products/ cannot understand following line from the "ICCCM":http://tronche.com/gui/x/icccm/sec-4.html#s-4.2.1:

bq. Clients must be aware that some window managers will reparent their top-level windows so that a window that was created as a child of the root will be displayed as a child of some window belonging to the window manager

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

When console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org are started with a terminal like @urxvt -e irssi@, they usually just change the *WM_NAME* of the terminal and per default, [[subtle]] uses both of the *WM_CLASS* values for tagging.

The problem about that is, that the [[tagging]] is normally done before the terminal really starts the desired app. To avoid that all better known terminals support the *-name* argument which changes the instance value (first string) of the *WM_CLASS*: @urxvt -name irssi -e irssi@

Another problem is that terminals retain their class value (second string) of the *WM_CLASS* and may match other [[tagging|tags]] like:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "terms" do
match "urxvt"
end</code></pre>

The common solution to bypass is this to use the :instance matcher, which just matches when for the specific instance value. So the easiest way to reliable match this client is a [[tagging|tag]] like this:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Following table shows the *WM_NAME* and *WM_CLASS* output of "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html of the various combinations:

|_. Command |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| urxvt | urxvt | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -e irssi | irssi | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi | urxvt | irssi, URxvt | +
+
| urxvt -name irssi -e irssi | irssi | irssi, URxvt |

Please have a look at the [[Tagging|tagging wiki page]] for more information. +
+
+

h2. Why does subtle cause to many wakeups?

The wakeups are caused by a "Ruby":http://ruby-lang.org internal polling thread that runs every 10ms to schedule/handle other threads and signals. There is currently no way to avoid that in "YARV":http://www.atdot.net/yarv/, although the problem is well known.

http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/200147

There is finally some progress regarding this: http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/549998

h2. Why don't my grabs work with xyz keyboard layout?

Actually, I have no idea why setting the keyboard layout in your @xorg.conf@ isn't suffucient, but apparently you need to call *setxkbmap* in one of your startup files to set the keymap. My suggestion is to use the @~/.xinitrc@, because it is perfectly suited to setup Xorg and usually read.

Just add something like this to your @~/.xinitrc@ *before* you start [[subtle]]:

<pre><code>setxkbmap -layout 'de(nodeadkeys)'</code></pre>

h2. Where is the output window of flash in fullscreen?

For flash, browsers seem to use window instance and class names that doesn't match the browser values. Therefore the windows will usually appear on the default view.

Following names are currently in use:

|_. Browser |_. Arch |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| Firefox <7.0.1 | all | <unknown> | "<unknown>", "<unknown>" |
| Firefox >=7.0.1 | all | plugin-container | "plugin-container", "Plugin-container" |
| Chromium | all | exe | "exe", "Exe" |
| Opera | x86 | "operapluginwrapper" | "operapluginwrapper", "Operapluginwrapper" |
| nspluginwrapper | x86_64 | "npviewer.bin" | "Npviewer.bin" |

The easiest way to avoid that is to add a [[tagging|tag]] that makes these windows sticky:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "flash" do
match "<unknown>|plugin-container|exe|operapluginwrapper|npviewer.bin"
stick true
end</code></pre>

h2. How do I (auto)start applications?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grabs]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

There are many launchers available like "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu and there is even a launcher especially designed for [[subtle]], you can find it in [[subtle-contrib:Launcher|here]].

h2. How do I (auto)start programs?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common:

* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc:

<pre><code class="ruby">
subtle &
PID=$!
sleep 2
urxvt
wait $PID
</code></pre>

* Start your program via [[grabs]]:

<pre><code class="ruby">
"A-x" => "urxvt"
</code></pre>

There are many launchers available like "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu and there is even a launcher especially designed for [[subtle]], you can find it in [[subtle-contrib:Launcher|here]].

h2. How to match a GLFW window

GLFW set the windows name after the window get created, so you can't match a particular GLFW window by his name. +
+


to match any GLFW window : +
+


<pre> +
tag "glfw" do +
match
\tmatch name: "GLFW.*" +
#
\t# Your code.... +
end +
</pre>

h2. How do I move to match a program to another view? GLFW window

Placement in [[subtle]] is +strict+ and completely done via [[tagging]]. There are many ways GLFW set the name of the window after the window get created, so you can't match a particular window by his name.

to change [[tagging|tags]] per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]]. +
+ match any GLFW window :

h2. subtler +
+ <pre>
[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline: +
+ tag "glfw" do
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby"> + \tmatch name: "GLFW.*"
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag' + \t# your code
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag' + end
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag' +
</code></pre> +
+ </pre>

h2. subtlext +
+ How to match a GLFW window

GLFW set the name of the window after the window get created, so you can't match a particular window by his name.

to match any GLFW window :

<pre>
[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge: +
+ tag "glfw" do
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext" +
+ \tmatch name: "GLFW.*"
tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag' + \t# your code
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag' + end
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag' +
</code></pre> +
+ </pre>

h2. Snippets +
+
The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how Why does subtle cause to [[snippets#Move-windows|move to another view]]. +
+ many wakeups?

h2. Contrib +
+
h3. Vitag +
+
"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains [[subtle-contrib:vitag|vitag]] The wakeups are caused by a script "Ruby":http://ruby-lang.org internal polling thread that runs every 10ms to change the [[tagging|tags]] of windows schedule/handle other threads and views with an editor. +
+
h3. Launcher +
+
The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to a certain screen it just provides a signals. There is currently no way to launch a window directly on avoid that in "YARV":http://www.atdot.net/yarv/, although the right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]]. +
+ problem is well known.

h2. Stick +
+
Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/200147

There is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: *W-s*) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: @subtler -cXS@) +
+

finally some progress regarding this: http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/549998

h2. How do I tag gimp? Is there any log file?

[[Tagging]] "GIMP":http://gimp.org can be nasty, because Nope, there is *no* log file. In case you need one for e.g. reporting a bug +please+ read to the current version (2.6) uses inconsistent window names [[bugs|reporting a bug]] wiki page and roles. The window roles are fixed in check the current development snapshot and will hopefully find their way into the 2.8 release. +
+
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=645456 paragraph about [[bugs#enable-logging|logging]].

h2. How do I (auto)start programs?

There are several way how to start a certain programm, here are the most common: +
+


* Start your program via your $HOME/.xinitrc: +
+


<pre><code class="ruby"> +
subtle & +
PID=$! +
sleep 2 +
urxvt +
wait $PID +
</code></pre> +
+


* Start your program via [[grabs]]: +
+


<pre><code class="ruby"> +
"A-x" => "urxvt" +
</code></pre> +
+


There are many launchers available like "dmenu":http://tools.suckless.org/dmenu and there is even a launcher especially designed for [[subtle]], you can find it in [[subtle-contrib:Launcher|here]]. +

h2. How do I tag gimp?

[[Tagging]] "GIMP":http://gimp.org can be nasty, because the current version (2.6) uses inconsistent window names and roles. The window roles are fixed in the current development snapshot and will hopefully find their way into the 2.8 release.

https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=645456

h2. How do I set a wallpaper in subtle?

On start, [[subtle]] sets a background color (_if set_) to the root window and therefore *overwrites* any root pixmap set before. To avoid this, you just need to comment out the *&#58;background* line from your config.

[[subtle]] itself has no and will never have either an autostart or way to set a wallpaper directly. Normally you just want to setup your X session and and not [[subtle]]. Your _~/.xinitrc_ is the right place for stuff like this.

A background can easily set with a tool like "feh":http://linuxbrit.co.uk/software/feh/.

h2. Why don't my grabs work with xyz keyboard layout?

Actually, I have no idea why setting the keyboard layout in your @xorg.conf@ isn't suffucient, but apparently you need to call *setxkbmap* in one of your startup files to set the keymap. My suggestion is to use the @~/.xinitrc@, because it is perfectly suited to setup Xorg and usually read.

Just add something like this to your @~/.xinitrc@ *before* you start [[subtle]]:

<pre><code>setxkbmap -layout 'de(nodeadkeys)'</code></pre>

h2. How to match a GLFW window

GLFW set the windows name after the window get created, so you can't match a particular GLFW window by his name.

to match any GLFW window :

<pre>
tag "glfw" do
\tmatch name: "GLFW.*"
\t# Your code....
end
</pre>

h2. How to match a GLFW window

GLFW set the name of the window after the window get created, so you can't match a particular window by his name.

to match any GLFW window :

<pre>
tag "glfw" do
\tmatch name: "GLFW.*"
\t# your code
end
</pre>

h2. How can I manually delete a sublet?

[[Sublets]] usually consist of a *&#42;.rb* file, a *&#42;.spec* file and one or more icons. All these files can be found in their respective folder in @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle@ resp. @~/.local/share/subtle@. After deleting the [[sublets|sublet]] files the cache of [[sur]] needs to be updated or otherwise [[sur]] will think the [[sublets|sublet]] is still installed: @sur update -l@

h2. Where does sur store sublets and icons?

[[sur]] follows the "XDG Base Directory specifications":http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html to store data, which includes some base path for specific data types.

Following paths are used:

|_. Type |_. XDG path |_. Default path |
| Sublets | @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle/sublets@ | @~/.local/share/subtle/sublets@ |
| Icons | @$XDG_DATA_HOME/subtle(icons@ | @~/.local/share/subtle/icons@ |

h2. How to match a GLFW window

GLFW set the name of the window after the window get created, so you can't match a particular window by his name.

to match any GLFW window :

<pre>
tag "glfw" do
\tmatch name: "GLFW.*"
\t# your code
end
</pre>

h2. How do I run a program on startup/autostart?

Let's say you want "urxvt":http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/rxvt-unicode.html to start after [[subtle]], and for some reason @echo "urxvt" >> ~/.xinitrc@ is just not cutting it. Using the *&#58;start* hook and [[subtlext]] we can simulate autostart like so:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
on :start do
Subtlext::Subtle.spawn "urxvt"
end
</pre></code>

h2. Where is the output window of flash in fullscreen?

For flash, browsers seem to use window instance and class names that doesn't match the browser values. Therefore the windows will usually appear on the default view. +
+


Following names are currently in use: +
+


|_. Browser |_. Arch |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS | +
| Firefox <7.0.1

| all

| <unknown>

| "<unknown>", "<unknown>" | +
| Firefox >=7.0.1

| all

| plugin-container

| "plugin-container", "Plugin-container" | +
| Chromium

| all

| exe

| "exe", "Exe" | +
| Opera

| x86

| "operapluginwrapper"

| "operapluginwrapper", "Operapluginwrapper" | +
| nspluginwrapper

| x86_64

| "npviewer.bin"

| "Npviewer.bin" | +
+


The easiest way to avoid that is to add a [[tagging|tag]] that makes these windows sticky: +
+


<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "flash" do +
match "<unknown>|plugin-container|exe|operapluginwrapper|npviewer.bin" +
stick true +
end</code></pre>

h2. What is the difference between ViewSwitch and ViewJump?

Boths keys change the [[view]] of the current active [[screens|screen]], but the behavior how they do that depends on if the system consists either of a single [[screens|screen]] or more.

h2. Single screen

Here both [[grabs]] do +exactly+ the same.

h2. Multi screen

Here the behavior depends on if the selected [[views|view]] is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or not.

* *ViewSwitch* either swaps the current [[views|view]] with the selected if it is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or just sets the selected [[views|view]] on current [[screens|screen]].
* *ViewJump* either focus the selected [[views|view]] if it is visible on another [[screens|screen]] or just sets the select [[views|view]] on current [[screens|screen]].

h2. Why does program XYZ appears/turns as/to a gray canvas?

Generally, this happens, when a program needs a specific aspect ratio and [[subtle]] sets a gravity that violates this. Windows can tell the window manager about this kind of preferences via their size hints and [[subtle]] can honor those.

There are two possible ways:

# Enable size hints globally with the _&#58;resize_ option
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">set :resize, true</code></pre>
# Enable this per program via [[tagging|tag]]
<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">tag "name" do
match "name"
resize true
end</code></pre>

bq. Note: This can happen with "Java":http://java.com too, see "here":http://subforge.org/ezfaq/show/subtle?faq_id=14 for more information.

h2. How do I run a Java program?

"Java":http://java.com *expects* a certain behaviour (_reparenting of client windows_) of a window manager which is not part of any standard, therefore some "Java":http://java.com programs just show a white canvas.

If this happens just try to start your program like this:

<pre><code class="shell">AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit program</code></pre>

This changes the default tookit of "Java":http://java.com to _MToolkit_, which is known to work with non-reparenting windows managers like [[subtle]]. Depending on your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net version and your architecture this may either lead to a segmentation fault or your "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net just has no support for *MToolkit*. In this case check if your distribution has applied a patch for this issue which allows something like this to change the default behaviour:

<pre><code class="shell">_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 program</code></pre>

In case both doesn't work there is a third option: "Java":http://java.com seems to use an internally hardcoded list of window managers that are non-reparenting, the "suckless":http://suckless.org guys made a tool ("wmname":http://tools.suckless.org/wmname) to change the name of the wm.

Since r2520 [[subtle]] can do that for you, just enable the *&#58;wmname* option.

Generally this problem is really long lasting, see here:

http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6511454
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=508650

bq. Note: Many problems only affect the "JRE":http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html and can be avoided by using the "OpenJDK":http://openjdk.java.net.

h2. How do I tag console based programs?

When console based programs like "irssi":http://irssi.org are started with a terminal like @urxvt -e irssi@, they usually just change the *WM_NAME* of the terminal and per default, [[subtle]] uses both of the *WM_CLASS* values for tagging.

The problem about that is, that the [[tagging]] is normally done before the terminal really starts the desired app. To avoid that all better known terminals support the *-name* argument which changes the instance value (first string) of the *WM_CLASS*: @urxvt -name irssi -e irssi@

Another problem is that terminals retain their class value (second string) of the *WM_CLASS* and may match other [[tagging|tags]] like:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "terms" do
match "urxvt"
end</code></pre>

The common solution to bypass is this to use the :instance matcher, which just matches when for the specific instance value. So the easiest way to reliable match this client is a [[tagging|tag]] like this:

<pre><code class="ruby">tag "irssi" do
match :instance => "irssi"
end</code></pre>

Following table shows the *WM_NAME* and *WM_CLASS* output of "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.html of the various combinations:

|_. Command |_. WM_NAME |_. WM_CLASS |
| urxvt | urxvt | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -e irssi | irssi | urxvt, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi | urxvt | irssi, URxvt |
| urxvt -name irssi -e irssi | irssi | irssi, URxvt |

Please have a look at the [[Tagging|tagging wiki page]] for more information.

h2. How can I use subtle without numpad?

Per default [[subtle]] uses the numpad, because it's easier to remind the different postions when you can see them. Generally this is just a suggestion, it's up to you to change the grabs to your needs - any keys will work. +
+


Keys that also have proven to work well are *q-w-e*, *a-s-d* and *y-x-c*: +
+


<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">grab "W-q", [ :top_left, :top_left66, :top_left33 ] +
grab "W-w", [ :top, :top66, :top33 ] +
grab "W-e", [ :top_right, :top_right66, :top_right33 ] +
grab "W-a", [ :left, :left66, :left33 ] +
grab "W-s", [ :center, :center66, :center33 ] +
grab "W-d", [ :right, :right66, :right33 ] +
+


# QWERTZ +
grab "W-y", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ] +
+


# QWERTY +
grab "W-z", [ :bottom_left, :bottom_left66, :bottom_left33 ] +
+


grab "W-x", [ :bottom, :bottom66, :bottom33 ] +
grab "W-c", [ :bottom_right, :bottom_right66, :bottom_right33 ] +
</code></pre> +
+
+


You can find more about assigning keys [[Grabs|here]].

h2. How do I set a wallpaper in subtle? does subtle match clients?

On start, [[subtle]] sets a background color (_if set_) to matches the root window {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and therefore *overwrites* any root pixmap set before. To avoid this, you just need to comment out the *&#58;background* line from your config. +
+
[[subtle]] itself has no and will never have either an autostart or way to set {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} property of a wallpaper directly. Normally you just want to setup your X session window and and not [[subtle]]. Your _~/.xinitrc_ the title. This to ensure the match is correct.
There are several ways to get these values, here are the right place for stuff like this. +
+
A background can easily set most common:

Select the window with "xprop":http://www.xfree86.org/current/xprop.1.htmland have a tool look for the {{color(#ff0000, WM_NAME)}} and {{color(#0000ff, WM_CLASS)}} lines which usually look like "feh":http://linuxbrit.co.uk/software/feh/. this:

<pre><code class="bash">{{color(#0000ff, WM_NAME)}}(STRING) = "urxvt"
{{color(#ff0000, WM_CLASS)}}(STRING) = {{color(#aa0000, "irssi")}}, {{color(#ff00ff, "URxvt")}}</code></pre>

Run *[[subtler]] -cl* and look for the matching line:

<pre><code class="bash">0x800007 * 1 1020x374 2 1 --- {{color(#ff0000, urxvt)}} ({{color(#0000ff,URxvt)}})</code></pre>

h2. Is subtle a reparenting window manager?

*Nope*, [[subtle]] doesn't reparent windows and there is in fact *no* reason to do that. The layout in [[subtle]] is a really loose set, the only relation between a [[views|view]] and a [[client]] is [[tagging]] and this is checked on every [[views|view]] update. +
+


Reparenting windows would require following additional steps, when a window is visible on a certain [[views|view]]: +
+


# Resize the [[views|view]] toplevel window to the size of the current [[screen]] +
# Reparent the [[client]] window to the toplevel window +
# Handle (ignore here) the generated expose and crossing events +
+


Probably sounds like not much overhead, but keep in mind this is just required because the developer of "Java":http://www.java.com/ and "Qt":http://qt.nokia.com/products/ cannot understand following line from the "ICCCM":http://tronche.com/gui/x/icccm/sec-4.html#s-4.2.1: +
+


bq. Clients must be aware that some window managers will reparent their top-level windows so that a window that was created as a child of the root will be displayed as a child of some window belonging to the window manager

h2. Is there any log file? How do I move a program to another view?

Nope, there Placement in [[subtle]] is *no* log file. In case +strict+ and completely done via [[tagging]]. There are many ways to change [[tagging|tags]] per runtime, common is to use either [[subtler]] or [[subtlext]].

h2. subtler

[[subtler]] can be used on the commandline:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">
subtler -ta tag #< Add new tag 'tag'
subtler -cT client tag #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
subtler -vT view tag #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. subtlext

[[subtlext]] requires basic "ruby":http://ruby-lang.org knowledge:

<pre>{{hide}}<code class="ruby">require "subtle/subtlext"

tag = Subtlext::Tag.new("tag").save #< Add new tag 'tag'
Subtlext::Client["client"] + "tag" #< Tag client 'client' with tag 'tag'
Subtlext::View["view"] + "tag" #< Tag view 'view' with tag 'tag'
</code></pre>

h2. Snippets

The [[snippets]] wiki page includes examples how to [[snippets#Move-windows|move to another view]].

h2. Contrib

h3. Vitag

"subtle-contrib":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki contains [[subtle-contrib:vitag|vitag]] a script to change the [[tagging|tags]] of windows and views with an editor.

h3. Launcher

The "launcher":http://subforge.org/projects/subtle-contrib/wiki#Launcher uses quite the opposite way, instead of moving a window to a certain screen it just provides a way to launch a window directly on the right view with the correct [[tagging|tags]].

h2. Stick

Most of the time, setting the window to *stick* does the trick too. Stick just displays the window on all views until the mode is disabled again. This can be done with [[grabs]] (default keys: *W-s*) or with [[subtler]]. (click on the window: @subtler -cXS@)

h2. What is required for the volume sublet?

The volume [[sublets|sublet]] uses @/dev/mixer@ to set/get the volume levels, which is an older interface introduced with "OSS":http://www.opensound.com/ and still available via "ALSA OSS emulation":http://www.alsa-project.org/. Apparently, newer kernels refuse to autoload that module anymore and you need one to load it manually or via any init file.

{{info(Please check to the docs of your distribution how to do it.)}}

<pre><code>modprobe snd_mixer_oss</code></pre>

{{warn(Following explanation is technical!)}}

The [[sublets|sublet]] needs a way to access a mixer without any asynchronous callbacks. The reason for that is that [[subtle]] is single-threaded and can't use a dedicated thread to wait for the reply, but the APIs of "ALSA":http://www.alsa-project.org/ and "PulseAudio":http://pulseaudio.org are both designed to be asynchronous. Normally event drivven is fine but it is troublesome when you can't use their mainloop.

Since there is no way to add e.g. reporting a bug +please+ read control socket to the [[bugs|reporting a bug]] wiki page event main loop of [[subtle]], the @/dev/mixer@ approach is the only way and check the paragraph about [[bugs#enable-logging|logging]].
works for all sound systems.