Which Window Manager is best for limited vision setup

[gmc]

gtk, qt, fltk, these are all graphics libraries that programs use to draw the gui (graphical user interface).
The interface of a program inherits the characteristics of the library used.
Some libraries are more configurable than others, gtk and qt allow you to set the font, program like firefox (gtk) or vlc (qt) use this libraries.

IME, font size in apps making use of gtk2, qt, Xaw and plain X11 could be globally changed by passing a parameter '-dpi N' to the X server.
Also, 'xrandr --dpi N' would change font sizes of all such apps started thereafter.

The specific tinycore utility (such as apps or control panel) use fltk, this library instead does not allow you to resize the font.
The visually impaired thank the creators of this library for this choice.

I suspect fltk fonts (like may other fltk options) could be changed at compiletime, just not at runtime.

Thanks again for such timely and useful information.  It will prove most helpful.

[gmc]

I am wondering who decides which window managers are included in core plus?  Maybe they could talk about the benefits (and drawbacks?) of each one.  I can't find anything in the forums on the merits of the different WM's included.

And are there other WM's in the repositories that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

[roberts]

If your hardware is limiting your choices, but is capable of Xvesa, then why not use choose a lower resolution, e.g. 800x600?
Most of the fltk apps where made with the ability to support 800x600. Use control panel Xvesa to see which resolutions Xvesa could detect on your specific hardware target.

[vinnie]

.
Also, 'xrandr --dpi N' would change font sizes of all such apps started thereafter.

does not seem to change the font size, I have to restart X?

I suspect fltk fonts (like may other fltk options) could be changed at compiletime, just not at runtime.

it seems to me that we had already spoken, however I consider a poor choice of having to recompile a program to enlarge the font.

Anyway, I do not know how, but programs in fltk like nut have the interface that fits (and I seem to remember also the font)

[tinypoodle]

.
Also, 'xrandr --dpi N' would change font sizes of all such apps started thereafter.

does not seem to change the font size, I have to restart X?

No, the app.

[gmc]

If your hardware is limiting your choices,...

It is, but I believe that Xorg will fit within those constraints.

...but is capable of Xvesa, then why not use choose a lower resolution, e.g. 800x600?
Most of the fltk apps where made with the ability to support 800x600. Use control panel Xvesa to see which resolutions Xvesa could detect on your specific hardware target.

Thank you kind sir for your suggestions.  I am currently using 800x600 Xvesa but even that is too small for my blind eyes.  I would use 640x480 if the fltk apps would be nice, but as you already mentioned they like 800x600 or more.  Even 640x480 is still difficult for me to see.

I currently modify X settings to get larger fonts in aterm and some other apps.  Beaver supports large fonts for working with text files, so that helps.  But if I can get Xorg to work it will give me more options like better font control, scaling on the fly and a scrollable oversize desktop, etc.

My fundamental motivation for using Tiny Core is to save money and have greater reliability.  I presently have desktop and laptop machines capable of running larger linux distros but they don't meet the primary goal of saving money.

For example, I have one laptop that runs full time with WinAmp feeding music to an FM transmitter, giving us music anywhere in the house, garage, shop and yard without the need for wires or special equipment. 

WinAmp is remote controlled with X10 RF remotes placed at strategic locations.  If a song comes on that we don't want to listen to we can use a remote to skip it.  Songs we don't like can be deleted on the fly with the remotes.  This system works well and is reasonably reliable.

The problem?  Cost.  Even laptops use a fair amount of power.  If I can get an equivalent setup on TC using the thin client I will save many dollars on our electric bill.

I also have an old Win98 box running AirSnare for intrusion detection with verbal and visual alerts and logging/tracking through Ethereal.  I'd love to set up another thin client box to do that with TC.  I have another box monitoring network traffic stats and packet flow.

And of course you are probably aware that I have one of the thin clients set up as a TCL PXE server (still a work in progrss, but working).  That is so great, I would go through all this learning curve just for that alone!

And last but certainly not least, I intend to have one of these thin clients set up as my primary browser/email/office station using TCL.  I am already using TC on one thin client for at least 90% of my daily work (even though I have Windows 7 running on an i970 processor based Asus board with 12GB of RAM and multiple terabytes of RAID storage (and ZoomText for the low vision)), because the thin client uses so little power that I can just leave it on all the time, it is fast and it is easy to use (did I mention that it is free as well?).

Well, I apologize for taking so much of your time with this missive, but I wanted you to understand waht is motivating me and how it will impact our lives.  What you are doing here is making a real differnce for me and for others. 

Thank you.

[aus9]

altho it may not help with menus, you may like to test opening terminals with a selected size font?

Code: [Select]

aterm -fn 12x24

some font names (fn) can be seen in /usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc

I prefer lxterminal which has the abiltiy to use a pull down to select font size
Edit -> Preferences -> Terminal font   max size appears to be 72

[gmc]

altho it may not help with menus, you may like to test opening terminals with a selected size font?

Code: [Select]

aterm -fn 12x24

some font names (fn) can be seen in /usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc

I prefer lxterminal which has the abiltiy to use a pull down to select font size
Edit -> Preferences -> Terminal font   max size appears to be 72

These tips are great!  I just installed lxterminal and it is perfect!  Things are just getting better and better with TC, thanks to all the help from you all.

[curaga]

I posted the xmag screen magnifier, perhaps it will be useful.

[Rich]

Hi curaga
Xmag is not listed here:
http://tinycorelinux.net/4.x/x86/tcz/
and does not show up in AppBrowser.
Is the list file supposed to have a leading ./ ?

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~/tcprovides$ cat db/4x/list/xmag.tcz.list
./usr/local/bin/xmag

[curaga]

Perhaps you can tell that it's not quite yesterday I last dealt with extensions

The listings should be up to date now. The .list files can have ./, it doesn't matter either way.

[gmc]

Perhaps you can tell that it's not quite yesterday I last dealt with extensions

The listings should be up to date now. The .list files can have ./, it doesn't matter either way.

You made me smile about "not quite yesterday".  Thanks for taking the time to put that up, and to fix it up.  And thanks to Rich for pointing out that there was a problem.  You guys are great.

Well, I'm off to read about xmag and how to use it...

[gmc]

Hi gmc
This might be worth considering:
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Accessibility-HOWTO/visual.html
Specifically the section labeled   3.1.4. Adjusting the Screen's Resolution
I think you need to be running Xorg for this to work. I just tried it, and what it does is it magnifies the desktop so it's
larger than the screen, and allows you to pan by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen.

After much trial and error I have finally gotten it working!!!  Thanks so much for the link - it is just about a perfect solution.  I'm still experimenting with the settings to maximize usefulness but so far it is working great.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help.

[Rich]

Hi gmc
You are quite welcome.

... it is just about a perfect solution.

Even if it's not perfect, I feel it makes more sense to adjust the screens resolution to something as usable as possible
before messing around with font sizes. Once you have done that, you can still tweak your fonts. There is some interaction
between screen magnification and font size. For example, if the resolution you choose magnifies the screen by a factor
of two, your 8 point font will look like a 16 point font, and for every point you increase the selected font size by, the
displayed font will appear two points larger. So by adjusting the magnification first, you won't need to increase the font
sizes as much and should have a greater number of fonts to choose from. As you go to larger and larger fonts, there are
fewer fonts available.

[gmc]

Hi gmc
You are quite welcome.

... it is just about a perfect solution.

Even if it's not perfect, I feel it makes more sense to adjust the screens resolution to something as usable as possible
before messing around with font sizes. Once you have done that, you can still tweak your fonts. There is some interaction
between screen magnification and font size. For example, if the resolution you choose magnifies the screen by a factor
of two, your 8 point font will look like a 16 point font, and for every point you increase the selected font size by, the
displayed font will appear two points larger. So by adjusting the magnification first, you won't need to increase the font
sizes as much and should have a greater number of fonts to choose from. As you go to larger and larger fonts, their are
fewer fonts available.

Thanks for taking the time to explain that, you are a very good teacher.  Another good point (sorry, the pun just crept in all by itself) for increasing screen magnification before increasing font size is that changing fonts does not affect all programs equally - but screen magnification does.