Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

JWM pup dependency on Pmount is an os weakness.

Places in Slacko6 is a Ptheme setting (it doesn't exist without selecting the Buntoo universal theme).

It is default in 32 Bionic:

Adding this feature is not an easy manual hack - advanced users only.

Places should be available in every JWM pup.

I would also like to see this feature as an option to have in more puppies. I recently became aware of it when I installed scpup.

As you probably know, the 'standard' puppies use JWM as Window manager and Rox-Filer as file-manager. To some extent, each of those applications can provide capabilities which over-lap those the other can provide.
Several years ago enhancements to the JWM-Rox standard usage were developed. Radky expanded on the potentials inherent in rox with JWMDesk, PupControl and other PupMates. If my sometimes flaky memory is correct, 01micko initiated the enhancements involved in 'pthemeing'. That would explain why they first showed up in 'slackos': 01micko is the Dev who originally published Slacko6 & 7.

While Radky's enhancements are generated by bash-scripts which utilize Rox, AFAICT, the Places Tray Icon (and what it does) is created by gtk scripts which effect what JWM displays. If you examine a system which provides the Places tray launcher, you'll find (e.g. use pfind "places") text files relating to it in /usr/local. I have some knowledge of bash; of 'gtk' none at all.
That said, as the 'standard' puppy uses JWM, Rox, bash and gtk a Places launcher could be made available under all Puppys.

A Places launcher would NOT eliminate the need for some application to mount drives and partitions as pmount does. Don't confuse the desktop drive icons which launch pmount with instructions for pmount, itself. pmount is a bash-script at /usr/sbin. It is likely that the Places launcher makes use of it to mount partitions/drives.

It depends on user preferences. Personally, I would have no need for "Places". Partitions can easily be mounted and unmounted by just clicking their icons on desktop. Things like networking can easily be accessed from the top tray for example. I've made a little Xdialog application for my networking needs which will open when I click the networking icon in the tray. Frequently used locations can be added to ROX's bookmarks (with a bit of innovation you can configure this according to your needs). ROX's bookmarks feature is powerful (recently visited locations are also featured there) and is very often neglected by users. I, for one, have used Puppy for years without really utilizing the bookmarks feature. Now, I can't do without it. I also use only one fixed sized ROX window all the time. I like keeping things tidy and in order, I hate new windows jumping up all over the place, it's messy. Attached screenshots of my setup.

Like amethyst, my rox bookmarks provide quick access to often frequented folders.

There's a rox launcher on my taskbar close to the Start-Menu. Opening to a frequently used folder takes about a second.

Xfce's Whisker-menu has influenced how I now configure my JWM-Rox Puppys. What I liked most about Whisker-Menu was that I could commit the most commonly used actions to 'muscle-memory': do them without having to stop and think about how to do them. Opening a new application always meant that I would slide my mouse to the bottom-left, click the Start button, then --for frequently used applications-- slide to the 'Favorites' Submenu, then slide and click.
But there was an even faster way to open frequently used applications: place the most frequently on launcher's next to the Start-Menu; and those used slightly less often on a (hide-able) panel, also on the Left.

Launchers for the two other 'virtual desktops' on the taskbar were not captured by the screenshot. They are to it's right. A clean desktop which I can populate with other applications, or other instances of the applications already in use, are one click away.
I also make use Rox's Right-Click capabilities. While Menu>Setup>Default Application Chooser can establish the default application for each file-type, that capability can provide options. Such as: If I just want to read a pdf, clicking that file type will open it in qpdf. But if I want to modify a pdf, I can quickly open it in masterpdfeditor.

Again, for the most commonly performed tasks having to access the Menu is unnecessary: rox's bookmark takes me to carefully organized folders and clicking or right-clicking a file opens it in the desired application. And if my sometimes flaky memory fails to immediately recall where I stashed something, here's a trick worth memorizing:

File-browse to the parent of the folders likely to contain the file. Right-Click an empty space and from the pop-up menu select Window>Shell Command. Enter 'pfind' without the quotes. Click the "Current Directory" button; then enter your Search term.

The only thing Rox can't do on its own is mount partitions. /mnt/home is mounted automatically on boot-up. All my datafiles are created and stored in folders there, easily accessed via Rox's Bookmarks. See screenshot above. I rarely have reason to mount a different partition. How often do you?

I don't really use Puppys menu but it's quite easy to manipulate the menu entries, ie. Deleting, changing, adding new categories (like Places) or whatever, make dynamink links, etc. Just edit /etc/xdg/templates/_root_.jwmrc. You can also place scripts in /root/.jwm for dynamic links. Need to run fixmenus after changes.Worthwhile exploring. BTW - Should be rather easy to add "Places" (or something else like "Favourite programmes") to the tray by adding the necessary entries to /root/.jwmrc-tray

Tenoch wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 12:48 am

I would also like to see this feature as an option to have in more puppies. I recently became aware of it when I installed scpup.

I used Sc today too for PCManFM, though in LXDE Places isn't a part.

I casually discovered while working on different tasks, the buntoo theme is in the ppm. If one were willing to install both ptheme and buntoo where they do not already exist, would that give every JWM pup with those two in the repository Places?

Something to test.

Places is an entry in the _root_.jwmrc file. It's not related to any specific theme and can be added to any Puppy menu by including the entry to the file as mentioned. In fact - one can include any new section and name it wahatever you like by adding entries to that file.

amethyst wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 2:22 pm

Places is an entry in the _root_.jwmrc file. It's not related to any specific theme and can be added to any Puppy menu by including the entry to the file as mentioned. In fact - one can include any new section and name it wahatever you like by adding entries to that file.

There's a whole thread on this topic where I made some progress but no achievement: http://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.p ... 8&start=30

Without a code background, I try to think of non-technical ways to achieve the same results.

E.g., I just installed Ptheme in Xenial32 with the buntoo theme. It changed the desktop but didn't touch the tray.

This was a .pet on the old forum. Before that I tried hacking it in from Slacko6:

find: warning: you have specified the -maxdepth option after a non-option argument -type, but options are not positional (-maxdepth affects tests specified before it as well as those specified after it).  Please specify options before other arguments.

find: '/usr/share/ptheme/rox_pinboard': No such file or directory
find: '/usr/share/ptheme/eventmanager_driveicons': No such file or directory
find: '/usr/share/ptheme/gtkdialog/': No such file or directory
find: '/root/.pwidgets/profiles': No such file or directory
find: '/usr/local/pwidgets/widgets/themes': No such file or directory

I remember before this the issue was formatting and getting the drives to activate, a script call.

Then if I eventually figure it out and don't make a how-to it will remain esoteric knowledge.