1    Introducing the DECwindows Motif Graphical User Interface

Digital provides an easy way to interact with the DIGITAL UNIX operating systemthe graphical user interface called DECwindows Motif. The DECwindows Motif interface is based on two industry standards: the X Consortium's X Window System and the Open Software Foundation's Motif user interface. This interface lets you use the mouse or keyboard to interact with applications.

When you log in to your workstation, your screen becomes a visual "workspace" where you arrange your work. You can open windows to manipulate files and directories and to run applications and utilities. You can arrange your workspace so that the files and programs you use most often are easily accessible.

Four components work together to create your workspace environment: the X server, the OSF/Motif window manager (mwm), the Session Manager, and X client applications. The following sections introduce these components.

1.1    X Servers and Clients

The DECwindows interface uses the client/server method of computing inherent in the X Window System. A component called the X server provides display services. The X server acts as an intermediary between applications and the workstation's display hardware: it handles output from the clients to the display and forwards input (keyboard or mouse) to the appropriate client for processing. X clients are applications that use the services of the X Window System.

X clients can run on your workstation or on another system. Because the X Window System has built-in networking capability, applications can run on one system and be displayed on any other workstation on the network that supports the X Window System Protocol.

1.2    Window Manager

A window manager is a special X client that controls the size, placement, and operations of your windows. The Motif window manager (mwm) creates a three-dimensional frame around each window. The window frame contains buttons and handles you use to move, resize, overlap, and shuffle windows on your display and a menu for working with your window. See Figure 3-1.

1.3    Session Manager

The Session Manager provides the top-level interface to your workstation. Use the Session Manager to:

• Start, pause, or quit a session.

• Start applications.

• Customize your session operation. For example, you can specify:

  • Which applications can be started automatically each time you begin a session

  • How the keyboard and mouse should behave

  • What other systems are allowed access to this workstation

  • Support for a language other than English

1.4    X Client Applications

The DIGITAL UNIX operating system includes many X client applications that help you make full use of the windows environment. The applications include terminal emulators, a set of desktop applications, Bookreader software for reading online documentation, Mail, and sample X clients supplied by the X Consortium.

1.4.1    Terminal Emulators

A terminal emulator window provides workstation users with a traditional character-cell interface to run nonwindowing applications and work with your files and directories.

The DECterm terminal emulator emulates the following types of terminals: VT320, VT300, VT220, VT102, VT100, VT52, and terminals supporting ReGIS graphics. ReGIS (Remote Graphics Instruction Set) is a graphics protocol for terminals.

The xterm terminal emulator emulates VT102 and TEKTRONIX 4014 terminals.

1.4.2    DECwindows Motif Client Applications

The DIGITAL UNIX operating system provides a set of client applications with the DECwindows Motif interface. The desktop applications include:

• Bookreader

  Bookreader is an online information access tool for viewing the contents of books distributed and stored on line.

  Digital offers DIGITAL UNIX, ULTRIX, VMS, and layered product documentation in online form, packaged on CD-ROM disc and accessible using Bookreader.

• Calculator

  Calculator functions like a handheld calculator. It performs simple arithmetic functionsaddition, subtraction, multiplication, divisionand computes percentages and square roots. In addition, Calculator also performs trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, generates random numbers, and performs other more advanced operations.

• Calendar

  Calendar combines the functions of a desktop calendar and an appointment book. You can look at a year or month display, review scheduled appointments one day at a time, or create several different calendars to use for specific purposes.

• Cardfiler

  Cardfiler creates electronic "boxes" of index "cards." Each card has a heading and additional text. Each box contains an alphabetized set of cards pertaining to one or more subjects.

• CDA Viewer

  CDA Viewer is a tool for reading documents containing compound text, graphics, and image data on terminals and DECwindows workstations. The CDA Viewer displays text, PostScript, and DDIF documents and files, and lets you page through the document or view an image.

• Clock

  Clock displays the time (in both analog and digital format) and date and has an alarm to remind you of appointments.

• Mail

  Mail is a window interface to the Rand mh Mail Handler. You can exchange messages with other computer users and print, file, delete, reply to, and forward messages. Mail also supports the display of PostScript messages.

• Notepad

  Notepad is an editor that allows you to perform simple editing operations on text and to save or retrieve text from files.

• Paint

  Paint is a graphics application that lets you create simple pictures by using an assortment of art tools. With Paint you can save your pictures, print them on different kinds of printers, copy them to other applications, or display them on your screen with the CDA Viewer.

• Print Screen

  Print Screen takes a snapshot of your workstation screen or just a portion of the screen. You send the snapshot directly to a printer or save it to a file for later printing or for inclusion in another application.

• Visual Differences

  Visual Differences provides a graphical display of the differences between two ASCII text files. It compares two files line by line, highlights the differences, and allows you to scroll through the compared files or move from one difference to another.

1.4.3    X Consortium Client Applications

The DIGITAL UNIX operating system supports all of the X Consortium clients that come with the X Window System. Some of these clients duplicate features provided in the Session Manager and several desktop applications. Use whichever application best suits your needs.

The X clients, located in /usr/bin/X11, are too numerous to list here. The following table describes some of the more commonly used X clients:

X Client	Description
xbiff	Mailbox flag
xcalc	Scientific calculator
xclock	Analog/digital clock
xconsole	Tool for monitoring system console messages
xedit	Simple text editor for windows
xhost	Server access control program
xmh	X interface to the mail handler
xrdb	X server resource database utility
xrefresh	Tool to refresh all or part of a screen
xset	User preferences utility
xterm	X teminal emulator