Keep in mind that although very robust, Metisse is still experimental software. Many of the interaction techniques and configuration mechanisms described here could probably be replaced by better ones. Consider them as a starting point. Explore, modify, extend and contribute!
Some of the mouse and keyboard bindings used by the Metisse compositor might be intercepted by your native window system or window manager for their own reasons. The Alt-Tab key combination, for example, might show the list of windows managed by your native window system instead of showing the ones managed by Metisse. There are basically three solutions to this problem:
We recommend using one of the last two solutions. Note, however, that these solutions are impossible on OS X.
The following list describes the default mouse and key bindings used by the compositor. Super is the "Windows" key on PC keyboards or the "Command" key on Apple keyboards (the one with the Apple logo). Mouse buttons are numbered as follows: M1 is the left one, M2 is the middle one, M3 is the right one. MW is the mouse wheel. Mx denotes any mouse button or wheel action. Unless otherwise specified, mouse actions on buttons are assumed to be simple clicks.
Anywhere
Super-MW: virtual desktop zoom in/out
Root window
If you use a desktop application such as KDesktop or Nautilus, you will need to press the Alt key in addition to the mouse button.
M1: shows the root menu (start programs, restart/quit/configure the compositor)
M2: shows the list of 'normal' windows
M3: shows the window operations menu
Pager
MW: virtual desktop zoom in/out
Inside a Window
Alt-M1: move the window
Alt-Mx: like the same action on the root window
Ctrl-Super-MW: grow/shrink the window
Super-M1-drag: mark a window region to be later drag-and-dropped to create a façade
Super-M1: cancel the last region that was marked in that window
Title bars
M1-drag-or-hold: move the window
M1 then M1-drag-or-hold: temporarily move the window
M1-double-click: maximize (toggle)
M1-double-click then M1-drag-or-hold: send the window to another page (marking menu)
M1 triple-click: shrink and maximize vertically (toggle)
M2: reset the window transformations
M3: shows the window operations menu
MW: grow/shrink the window
Window borders
M1-drag-or-hold: resize, scale or rotate the window (marking menu)
M1 then M1-drag-or-hold: fold, temporarily scale or temporarily rotate the window (fold only at the corners, marking menu at the edges)
Shift-M1: resize the window
Alt-M1-drag: scale the window
Super-M1-drag: temporarily scale the window
M1-double-click: maximize (toggle)
M2: reset the window transformations
M3: shows the window operations menu
Window buttons
Menu button
M1: shows the window operations menu
M1-double-click: close the window
M2: some special menus items (façades)
M3: send the window to another page
Maximize button
M1: maximize the window (toggle)
M1-drag: maximize the window in the direction of the drag
M1-double-click: shows a maximize/grow menu
M2 or M3: grow the window
MW: maximize vertically/unmaximize the window
Minimize button
M1 or MW: iconify the window
M1-double-click: shows a shrink menu
M2 or M3: shrink the window
Close button (only in certain themes)
M1: delete the window
(M1 or M2)-double-click: close the window
M3: destroy the window
Stick button (only in certain themes)
Mx: stick the window (toggle)
Inclined arrow button (only in certain themes)
M1-drag: interactive Z rotation
M2: turn the window upside-down
M3: 90° counterclockwise Z rotation
Up-down arrow button (only in certain themes): similar to the inclined arrow for the X axis
Left-right arrow button (only in certain themes): similar to the inclined arrow for the Y axis
Keyboard shortcuts
Super-F1: reset the window transformations
Super-F2 and Super-F3: Z rotations
Super-F4 and Super-F5: Y rotations
Super-F6 and Super-F7: X rotations
Super-F8 and Super-F9: virtual desktop zoom out/in
Super-F10: decrease the transparency of the current window
Super-F11: increase the transparency of the current window
Super-F12: restore the standard desktop view
Super-PageDown and Super-PageUp: virtual desktop zoom out/in
Super-(left,right,up,down): pan the virtual desktop, if zoomed in
Super-z: grow the current window
Super-s: shrink the current window
Super-c: map the current window on a circular shape (more or less broken, just for fun...)
Super-a: animate the window (toggle, just for fun)
Super-o: start an interactive XY rotation
Super-t: switch the transparency of the current window between 1.0 and 0.7
Super-i: toggle an animated scaling operation on the current window
Super-x: scale the current window so that it takes up all screen space
Super-f: take a screenshot and save it as capture.jpg in the directory where the compositor was launched from
Super-d: zoom out to full virtual desktop view or in to the current page
Alt-F1: shows the root menu
Alt-F2: shows the list of 'normal' windows
Alt-F3: shows the window operations menu
Alt-F4: close the current window (i.e. the one under the mouse pointer)
Alt-F5: move the current window to the front or back
Alt-F6: restore the current window to its original state
Alt-F7: move the current window
Alt-F8: resize the current window
Alt-F9: iconify the current window
Alt-F10: maximize the current window vertically
Alt-F11: maximize the current window horizontally
Alt-F12: start an FvwmConsole
Alt-Tab: shows the list of 'normal' windows
Ctrl-Alt-(left,right,up,down): move to the left, right, up or down page
Ctrl-Alt-z: move to the previous page
Ctrl-Alt-(PageUp,PageDown):: circulate between the desktops
The root menu shows a WM Configuration item which allows to control some parameters (e.g. window transparency during move or resize operations), to configure the FVWM panel and to choose a graphical theme.
The compositor can be further customized by editing the FVWM configuration files it uses. These files are stored in ~/.fvwm-metisse and contain some comments that should help you understand their purpose (the FVWM man page can help you figure out the details). As an example, to modify the list of applications accessible from the root menu and the panel, edit the applications file. To change the mouse and key bindings, edit bindings-functions or bindings. If you're not happy with the default fonts, edit fonts. If you want something else than a single desk of nine pages, edit desks. To change the look of menus, edit menustyles. To change the content of the root and window menus, edit menus. To change the desktop background, edit background.
The main configuration file is metisserc. It is not recommended to edit it to add your own personal stuff. Instead, create an extra file. It will be automatically read by metisserc after all the others.
In order to try your new configuration after having edited one or more files, just restart the compositor using the root menu or issue the appropriate commands in an FvwmConsole.
If you encounter some problems after an upgrade, try running the compositor with a clean default configuration (e.g. cd ; mv .fvwm-metisse .fvwm-metisse-old ; metisse-start-fvwm) and compare it with your customized one (e.g. cd ; diff -r .fvwm-metisse .fvwm-metisse-old).