Openbox rocks, again!

I wrote an article entitled "Openbox Rocks!" back in March of 2012.

I wanted to retouch on this, because a lot has changed.

My original article mentioned my use of Feh to add a background. Well if you are an Ubuntu user like me, the first thing you realize is that Feh doesn't work well in Ubuntu 14.04 anymore. Not certain if this is because of my choice of 64 bit architecture, or what.

The new replacement for Openbox users on Ubuntu is nitrogen.

Nitrogen is so simple to use. You first run it normally to choose the directory and image file you want as your desktop, along with it's orientation, such as scaled or centered. Then in your autostart file in /home/(your user name here)/.config/openbox, you simply add nitrogen --restore at the end. I tried to use the nitrogen command in the beginning like in my old article with feh, it didn't want to cooperate.

I also hadn't mentioned it at the time, but I also now suggest lxsession-logout.

It adds a much needed, beautiful, simple log out/reboot/shutdown menu.

Here's a nice pic thanks to lubuntu:

I personally have stopped using wicd-gtk. It just isn't needed anymore, nm-applet, which automatically runs on most versions of Ubuntu, is a better option (IMO).

I also want to add that I am a lxpanel and gmrun fan still for Openbox. lxpanel is a very lightweight panel app that gives you super lightweight functionality, with enough bells and whistles. (Don't forget to add the volume control under panel options in lxpanel unless it's already there, nice to be able to mute and change volume from the bar.)

gmrun is my favorite app launcher for the debian/ubuntu universe.

Besides stealing lxpanel and lxsession-logout from the lxde world, I also like to steal xfce4-screenshooter, xfce4-terminal and thunar from the xfce world.

I also suggest snagging lxappearance from the lxde world, to change your icons for programs like lxpanel, thunar, pcmanfm, or any other program using the system icons.

You will want to add a copy of rc.xml to /home/(your user name here)/.config/openbox, so you can have keyboard shortcuts to programs like your terminal emulator, screenshooting utility, app run program, or whatever.

I also suggest obmenu. It gives you the option to edit the openbox menu with great ease in a simple but functional GUI interface.

This strange combination gives a very flushed out yet crazy fast desktop environment (or window manager, for you "I must use the correct label all the time people")...

Here is what my Openbox looks like: (Click it to enlarge)

I think with these little additions and notes, Ubuntu and Openbox make a great team. Power and speed.

I have included below a link to my autostart, menu.xml and rc.xml file, thanks to Google Drive.

My Openbox files: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1T0XlQmksXpRUNvTWtyY0lpREE&usp=sharing