Fossapup Tips & Tricks

[666philb]

This post will be pinned to the top of this fossa forum and eventually be populated with tips, tricks & work'a'rounds. This first post will be an index to various tips posted in this thread and elsewhere.

---

Graphic Driver Setup Tips viewtopic.php?p=8978#p8978
Add a PPA to fossapup viewtopic.php?p=9261#p9261
Hardware video decoding in MPV & Celluloid video player viewtopic.php?p=9267#p9267
ASCII console color graphics for Fossapup64 viewtopic.php?f=146&t=969

[666philb]

here's some tips on setting up your graphics driver on fossapup64.

fossapup comes with a compositor called picom that can help give a smooth experience OTB with some setups but can also cause some quirks on others.

picom settings can be accessed with
menu>>>desktop>>>jwmdesk>>>window effects or
menu>>>setup>>>screen/graphics wizard>>>picom compositor

first thing to do is find what driver you are using. menu>>>setup>>>screen/graphics wizard>>>report video

Nvidia cards.
install the nvidia driver from quickpet straight away!! quickpet >>> drivers
the open source nouveau driver is poor, low performance and doesn't play well with picom.

once installed setup the nvidia 450 driver for vsync:

1. menu>>>system>>>nvidia x server settings
2. x server display configuration
3. advanced
4. tick 'force full composition pipe line'. (for 340 driver you need to add this manually see https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NV ... en_tearing)
5. save to x configuration file.
   note the the 5th option re-writes /etc/X11/xorg.conf but fails to preserve you keyboard and language setup. it does however create a backup of the original /etc/X11/xorg.conf and you can copy and paste those settings back in from there.

picom you may need some tweaks
vsync off (as you are using the drivers vsync)
backend xrender (this worked best for me)

---

Intel cards.

intel cards should work smoothly OTB with vsync working.
if you are experiencing any oddities in applications (e.g.googlearth not displaying properly)
you can try swapping between the intel and modesetting driver by editing /etc/X11/xorg.conf then restarting X

swap modesetting for intel or vice versa

Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "modesetting" #card0driver
BusID "0:2:0" #card0busid
EndSection

in picom i found the best settings were
vsync on
backend glx

---

Amd/ati

i've only tested the radeon driver and this works well OTB on my setup.
in fact it's the first time i've had vsync working on this old netbook.
anyone that has a more modern amd card i'ld like to hear what works for you.

in picom
vsync on
backend glx

[666philb]

@sc0ttman's pkg allows you to easily add a PPA to fossapup.
here's an example adding and installing the latest kodi stable.

add the PPA (note that if this fails it's probably because there's not packages for this pup ... ie ubuntu focal)

Code: Select all

pkg add-repo ppa:team-xbmc/ppa ubuntu focal

switch to the new repo (pkg rl will list all installed repos)

Code: Select all

pkg repo focal-teamxbmc

install kodi

Code: Select all

pkg get kodi

[Grey]

To enable hardware video acceleration we need do in Celluloid:
Preferences>>Miscellaneous and add a line like this in "Extra MPV Options":

Code: Select all

hwdec=auto-safe

After that, (the video file should play), you can press the "i" key in the player to display information about the decoder. If it worked, then in the upper right corner it will say something like "hwdec: vaapi" for intel or "hwdec: nvdec" for nvidia.

I suspect that it will work from the command line and for the MPV player.

Added. Yes, it works in MPV too.

Code: Select all

mpv -hwdec=auto-safe heresomefile.mkv

mpv_scr.png (323.04 KiB) Viewed 25702 times

[ETP]

To enable hardware video acceleration we need do in Celluloid:
Preferences>>Miscellaneous and add a line like this in "Extra MPV Options":

Code: Select all

hwdec=auto-safe

After that, (the video file should play), you can press the "i" key in the player to display information about the decoder. If it worked, then in the upper right corner it will say something like "hwdec: vaapi" for intel or "hwdec: nvdec" for nvidia.

I suspect that it will work from the command line and for the MPV player.

Added. Yes, it works in MPV too.

Code: Select all

mpv -hwdec=auto-safe heresomefile.mkv

mpv_scr.png

Hi Grey,

Thanks for your tip which is new to me. I have now included it in my mpv.conf file which
is reproduced below and contains some additional mpv tips/information.

Code: Select all

# This file (mpv.conf) goes in ~/.config/mpv/
# Revised 27th June 2018 to include slang and screenshot-directory (Needed in some Pups when root is not automatically used) - ETP
# Revised 11th June 2020 to correct error in subtitle selection method. - ETP
# Revised 7th  Nov  2020 to add hw acceleration per tip from forum member "Grey" & add note on toggling stats display - ETP
# Additional notes:
#
# --no-border is used within launch scripts. e.g.  /usr/bin/mpv --no-border  [url or path to file/script]
# To quit the TV press keyboard letter q
# To resume later at the same position when viewing a film or video, use instead keyboard letter Q (Upper case)
# To toggle between windowed & full-screen mode press keyboard letter f (Or a fast double left click of the rodent)
# Use numbers 0 (up) and 9 (down) across the top of the keyboard to adjust volume.
# To take a screenshot press keyboard letter s
# Toggle visibility of subtitles (when available) with keyboard letter v
# To pause or resume play use keyboard letter p or the space bar.
# In later versions of mpv keyboard letter "i" will give a quick glimpse of stats. Shift plus "i" will toggle the display on and off. 
#
geometry=50%:50%
slang=en,eng,english
screenshot-directory=/root/my-documents/images/
hwdec=auto-safe

[Grey]

I have now included it in my mpv.conf file

We now have three notes to mention:

1. This line can be added to /root/.config/mpv/mpv.conf file.
2. Hardware decoding does not work with any video (like very old .avi), but with more or less modern ones.
3. Will work with any player that uses mpv as a base.

[Grey]

One of the methods. I did it like this. I connected my faithful 8BitDo M30 gamepad (it can be connected in two ways, both by wire and by bluetooth)

1. "Menu>>Setup>>Remove builtin packages" and remove "bluez".
2. Install from PPM "bluez_5.53".
3. Install from PPM "blueman_2.1.2" (I compiled fresh, but this one is fine too)
4. Menu>>System>>Bluetooth manager
   If it swears at this point about the absence of a daemon, then write and run script:

   Code: Select all

   #!/bin/sh
   /etc/init.d/bluetooth start
   bluetoothd &
   blueman-manager

5. Click on the bluetooth icon in the system tray and call up the list of devices.
6. We search for a device, right-click on it, make it trusted and connect it.

7. 

   bt_scr.png (201.34 KiB) Viewed 25541 times

8. The gamepad controls cursor on the desktop. We don't need this, we only need it to work in games and emulators. Therefore, we go to the /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/ folder and add the lines in 50-joystick.conf file

   Code: Select all

   Option "StartKeysEnabled" "off"
   Option "StartMouseEnabled" "off"

   Do Menu>>Exit>>Restart graphical server
9. It's all. I hope everyone will succeed.

[666philb]

One of the methods. I did it like this. I connected my faithful 8BitDo M30 gamepad (it can be connected in two ways, both by wire and by bluetooth)

1. "Menu>>Setup>>Remove builtin packages" and remove "bluez".
2. Install from PPM "bluez_5.53".
3. Install from PPM "blueman_2.1.2" (I compiled fresh, but this one is fine too)
4. Menu>>System>>Bluetooth manager
   If it swears at this point about the absence of a daemon, then write and run script:

   Code: Select all

   #!/bin/sh
   /etc/init.d/bluetooth start
   bluetoothd &
   blueman-manager

5. Click on the bluetooth icon in the system tray and call up the list of devices.
6. We search for a device, right-click on it, make it trusted and connect it.
7. bt_scr.png
8. The gamepad controls cursor on the desktop. We don't need this, we only need it to work in games and emulators. Therefore, we go to the /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/ folder and add the lines in 50-joystick.conf file

   Code: Select all

   Option "StartKeysEnabled" "off"
   Option "StartMouseEnabled" "off"

   Do Menu>>Exit>>Restart graphical server
9. It's all. I hope everyone will succeed.

hi @Grey ,
can you test if this can be set up manually using menu>>network>>janky bluetooth
run janky
start bluetooth
and then follow the instructions for pairing and connecting a speaker

if it works i can update the instructions.

also can you test @mistfire 's new bluetooth app viewtopic.php?f=89&t=1135&hilit=mistfire

cheers

[Grey]

can you test

Yes, I'll check. As soon as joystick is recharged and I will find where I put the bt-dongle

[Grey]

can you test

I was able to connect the gamepad with both Janky and pBluetooth. But I will continue to use Blueman anyway.

In Janky, the "scan on" command works very slow, plus this is simply inconvenient for most users. In addition, there is often error " Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.InProgress". It is sometimes there and sometimes not. And why in fossapup the default version of bluez is 5.38, because even in the PPM there is version 5.53?

pBluetooth. I didn't install it, just unpacked and run it as a script. It works. But it also sometimes falls into a stupor and then it is necessary to remove and add the device again. Of course, the Bluez may also be to blame. But for now, Blueman seems to be the most stable.

[mistfire]

Bluez works best if the dbus-daemon was runnning. I noticed that puppy does not run Dbus on boot. For fossapup or earlier puppy, do the following

1. Edit /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit and add these line at the part before connecting to network and starting services

   Code: Select all

   dbus-daemon --system

2. Edit /etc/rc.d/rc.shutdown and add these line at the part after disconnecting to network and stopping services

   Code: Select all

   killall dbus-daemon

D-Bus handling on boot and shutdown is now on Woof-CE pull request. When it merged, there is no need to edit the sysinit and shutdown script for future puppies

[666philb]

Bluez works best if the dbus-daemon was runnning. I noticed that puppy does not run Dbus on boot. For fossapup or earlier puppy, do the following

1. Edit /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit and add these line at the part before connecting to network and starting services

   Code: Select all

   dbus-daemon --system

2. Edit /etc/rc.d/rc.shutdown and add these line at the part after disconnecting to network and stopping services

   Code: Select all

   killall dbus-daemon

D-Bus handling on boot and shutdown is now on Woof-CE pull request. When it merged, there is no need to edit the sysinit and shutdown script for future puppies

isn't it started with /etc/init.d/dbus ?

[mistfire]

@666philb

Not all puppies have /etc/init.d/dbus script. If it is exists, just disable that script. Much better if D-bus started first before connecting to network and start services

[charlie6]

Hi,
deleted / moved to another thread because this issue is back again ...!
Best regards
HTH, Charlie

[ETP]

Installing Brother Printers:

The methods detailed on the old forum using the debbi-1.3.pet are now deprecated and will not work with Fossapup64 9.5

The solution for many Brother printers is to install the following package using PPM.

printer-driver-brlaser_6|printer-driver-brlaser|6|1build1|Filesystem;storage|74K|pool/main/b/brlaser|\
printer-driver-brlaser_6-1build1_amd64.deb|+libc6&ge2.14,+libcups2&ge2.3,+libgcc-s1&ge3.0,+libstdc++6&ge5.2|printer driver for some Brother laser printers|ubuntu|focal|

All the deps are satisfied in Fossa and the required Ghostscript is also present.
Once brlaser is installed, you can add your printer using the usual CUPS interface.

(Administration tab - Add Printer)
(Printers tab - Administration, Set As Server Default & use Set Default Options to set the paper size)

The CUPS interface can be accessed by inputting the URL localhost:631 in your browser address bar & I recommend creating a bookmark for it on the Bookmarks Bar (CUPS 2.3.1)

In addition to my own mono usb connected laser HL2035 which requires the HL2030 driver, the brlaser driver has been reported to work with the following:

• Brother DCP-1510 series
• Brother DCP-1600 series
• Brother DCP-7030
• Brother DCP-7040
• Brother DCP-7055
• Brother DCP-7055W
• Brother DCP-7060D
• Brother DCP-7065DN
• Brother DCP-7080
• Brother DCP-L2500D series
• Brother DCP-L2520D series
• Brother DCP-L2540DW series
• Brother HL-1110 series
• Brother HL-1200 series
• Brother HL-2030 series
• Brother HL-2140 series
• Brother HL-2220 series
• Brother HL-2270DW series
• Brother HL-5030 series
• Brother HL-L2300D series
• Brother HL-L2320D series
• Brother HL-L2340D series
• Brother HL-L2360D series
• Brother MFC-1910W
• Brother MFC-7240
• Brother MFC-7360N
• Brother MFC-7365DN
• Brother MFC-7840W
• Brother MFC-L2710DW series
• Lenovo M7605D

TIPS:
Having installed the printer-driver-brlaser_6 package using PPM, shut down your PC. Before booting up again turn on your printer and allow it to come online.
Once the PC has booted access CUPS via the browser to add and set it up as above.

[bigpup]

Do you know if this is any good for Brother printers?
https://support.brother.com/g/b/faqend. ... 100556_000

[ETP]

Hi bigpup,

I actually tried that first but without success. I appeared to set up the printer ok but without any virtual pdf printer.
It reported that it had printed and the printer led did flash briefly but nothing was ever printed. I then restored from the
save folder backup I had taken prior to the test.
That caused me to check out my Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix versions of both Groovy and Fossa LTS which were both using brlaser v6 which I found in the PPM.

Once again I took the precaution of another backup and before installing it via PPM, downloaded it and extracted it to check that
it contained nothing likely to interfere with Puppy e.g. systemd stuff. It did not, only containing 3 main files plus the standard Debian control file as follows:

# pwd
/mnt/nvme0n1p13/printer-driver-brlaser_6-1build1_amd64.deb.extracted
# tree
.
├── control
├── md5sums
└── usr
├── lib
│   └── cups
│   └── filter
│   └── rastertobrlaser
└── share
├── cups
│   ├── drv
│   │   └── brlaser.drv
│   └── ppd-updaters
│   └── printer-driver-brlaser.ppd-updater
└── doc
└── printer-driver-brlaser
├── changelog.Debian.gz
├── copyright
└── README.md

10 directories, 8 files
#

Nice to get lucky just for once.

[sharky]

Download .deb file from here:-

https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/

and install normally.

Once installed the program will start by clicking on the desktop file:-

/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Plex Media Server

I am not sure why this works. The content of the file is set out below:-

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Plex Media Server
GenericName=Media Server
Comment=Manage your Plex Media
Exec=x-www-browser http://localhost:32400/manage
Icon=plexmediaserver.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Player

This will run from command line or script:-

xdg-open /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/'Plex Media Server'

[peppyy]

Always been a fan of GIMP and am now using the 2.10 appimage in Fossa 9.5.
I wanted to use g'mic in gimp and it is a quick and easy setup.

What is really cool is that you can try it online first to see if it is something you want! https://gmicol.greyc.fr/
You can also see the gallery here. http://gmic.eu/gallery/

Download the focal zip from here https://www.gmic.eu/download.html (11mb)
Extract it to a temporary file.
Copy gmic_gimp_qt
to the
.config/GIMP/2.10/plug-ins folder
I used drag and drop.

You should now have 350+ filters available when you start Gimp
Go to Filters and to G'MIC-qt
Filters are adjustable and have a nice preview.

[Grey]

A little advice.
If you are tired or annoyed that the terminal window (urxvt) opens in different positions every time it starts, then change one value in /root/.Xdefaults file:
urxvt.geometry: 82x28
I replaced 82 with 191. I have a screen resolution of 1920x1080, you may need to find your value. Now terminal window opens at one position and the entire width (but not height) of the screen.

[gychang]

A little advice.
If you are tired or annoyed that the terminal window (urxvt) opens in different positions every time it starts, then change one value in /root/.Xdefaults file:
urxvt.geometry: 82x28
I replaced 82 with 191. I have a screen resolution of 1920x1080, you may need to find your value. Now terminal window opens at one position and the entire width (but not height) of the screen.

urxvt.geometry: 82x28+1+1 will open up on left upper corner each time. Play around with numbers to place on the screen. First 1 (horizontal pixel), second 2 (vertical pixel).

[ThruHammer]

Hello Phil,

No response?

NV, NG. That's right - TFYKN-ing.

No worries, Mate.

REMOVED.

[redandwhitestripes]

Hello, is there any way to make the jwm dock and tray semi-transparent with Picom? I tried the lines
opacity-rule = ["93:class_g = '_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DOCK'"];

and

opacity-rule = ["93:class_g = 'jwm'"];

But no joy. I realize this is probably the wrong line but I don't know how else to find the correct command.

[666philb]

Hello, is there any way to make the jwm dock and tray semi-transparent with Picom? I tried the lines
opacity-rule = ["93:class_g = '_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DOCK'"];

and

opacity-rule = ["93:class_g = 'jwm'"];

But no joy. I realize this is probably the wrong line but I don't know how else to find the correct command.

hi @redandwhitestripes
i finally figured it out

Code: Select all

"80:window_type = 'dock'"

[Grey]

Synfig Studio is launched in Fossapup, but the program window has no "upper part", that is, the header with the ability to minimize-maximize and close the program is completely absent. At the same time, the program is not displayed in any way at the bottom of the screen - in the system panel or tray and interferes with the normal display of other windows and programs.

I tried AppImage version 1.5.0 of the program and even compiled version 1.7. The result is the same.

What to do? Immediately after starting the program, go to the main menu.
WIndow>>Workspace>>Default.
After that, the program window will "grow" a header for itself, appear on the panel and stop "bullying" with other windows.

[mikewalsh]

@Grey :-

Damn me. You're right.....and it holds true for older versions AND other Puppies, too!

I've had AppImages - for both arches - of v1.4.2, kicking around my system for years. Never really used 'em much, though; I'm a bit of a "hoarder" where graphics applications are concerned, and have kept virtually every "working" example of ANY graphics app that will work here for us in Puppy.

Just fired up the 32-bit version, here in Sailor's Slacko 5.7.1.....and it does exactly the same. Never actually noticed before, because I always tend to close apps from within, NOT via the 'X' in the corner. Must be a long-standing code bug with Synfig. Either that, or JWM & Synfig simply don't "play nice" together...

Anyways; thanks for the tip!

Mike.

[Grey]

Never really used 'em much, though;

I periodically try to "get used" to Synfig. The problem (for Synfig ) is that its direct competitor - Moho - works fine (with Wine).

Although Moho has "nuances" too. I am using versions 9.5 and 11, which are still called Anime Studio. Versions 12 and 13.5 (which are already Moho) do not work or work poorly. Firstly, the interface output seems to be redone there, and secondly, of course , I use pirated versions of which I have two types (with keygen and with the replacement of the executable file and only options with the replacement are launched).

Moreover, this change of names. Moho originally appeared many years ago. Then it was bought and it became Anime Studio. Now it was bought out and called Moho again

Puppy on a windy day:

pup.gif (34.9 KiB) Viewed 12452 times

[fredx181]

Must be a long-standing code bug with Synfig. Either that, or JWM & Synfig simply don't "play nice" together...

With Openbox it's fine, so apparently it has to do with JWM & Synfig combination.

[snoring_cat]

I agree with fredx181,

I ran the appimage in OpenSuse and had no problems. On Puppy Linux fossa 64, I did not see the window bar at the top. Also in JWM, some GTK type dialogs don't display "yes", "no" button text as I was seeing in OpenSuse.

yes_no.jpg (29.58 KiB) Viewed 12426 times

fredx181, can you switch between window managers in an active Puppy Linux (i.e. xwin openbox, xwin jwm, xwin xfce4)? I don't know if you tested on the same running OS, or a different one. I haven't loaded up other window managers other than JWM

[snoring_cat]

Grey,

I like Synfig and Blender Grease Pencil. Synfig is better at interpolation and changing parts of a stroke's thickness via node adjusting. Blender Grease Pencil is awesome at mixing 2D and 3D in toon animations. If you haven't already done so, you might want to check out some Grease Pencil examples on Youtube.