Basic AIXwindows Tasks

A procedure is presented for each of the following tasks:

• Displaying the Window Manager Menu
• Selecting a Menu Item
• Displaying an AIXwindows Application Menu
• Displaying the Root Menu
• Moving a Window
• Opening a New Terminal Window
• Positioning Windows Above or Below Each Other
• Changing the Size of a Window
• Closing a Window
• Manipulating AIXwindows Icons
• Getting Help in the AIXwindows Interface
• Running an Application in the AIXwindows Interface
• Exiting and Logging Off from AIXwindows

Displaying the Window Manager Menu

Each window has a window menu. Click the window menu button (to the left of the window title bar) or press the Shift-Esc or Alt-spacebar key combination.

The window menu contains the following choices:

Selecting a Menu Item

After displaying a menu:

• Press the left mouse button and drag the pointer down the menu until the item you want to select is highlighted. Release the mouse button.

  OR

• Use the cursor keys to highlight different options. When the option you want to select is highlighted, press Enter.

To cancel the menu without choosing a selection, press Esc.

Note: When a menu option is inactive, its name is grayed out (color of the text is lighter) and you cannot select it.

Menu Selection Shortcuts

In addition to using a mouse to select menu options, two additional features allow you to quickly select a menu option without using the mouse.

• Your keyboard has accelerator key combinations that directly execute an option in a menu. Accelerators are listed in the menu next to the option names.
• A mnemonic provides a similar capability by allowing you to select from a menu by typing significant letters within the menu. Mnemonics are indicated as underlined characters in the menu.

Accelerator keys allow you to immediately execute an option without displaying the menu. Mnemonics, on the other hand, are simply a way to display menus and select options without using the mouse.

To Select an Option Using Its Mnemonic

Once a menu is displayed, you can use a mnemonic to execute a function by typing the letter that is underlined in the function's name.

In the Window Menu with Options Displayed illustration, for example, pressing the accelerator key combination Alt-F9, or the mnemonic N, minimizes the window.

Displaying an AIXwindows Application Menu

Applications inside AIXwindows have their own menus with unique names that appear under the AIXwindows title bar. To display a menu:

• Click the application menu title with the left mouse button.

  OR

• Press the letter that is underlined in the name of the menu you want to select.

In the Edit Menu and Its Options illustration, for example, pressing the mnemonic E displays the Edit menu of AIXwindows.

Displaying the Root Menu

To display the root menu, point to the root window (the backdrop behind all other windows). Press and hold the left mouse button, drag the mouse pointer to the desired option, and release the mouse button.

The root menu is normally customized. The Default Root Menu illustration shows an uncustomized root menu.

Moving a Window

You can move windows using the mouse or the Move option on the Window Manager menu.

• Move the mouse pointer to the title bar. When properly positioned, the mouse pointer has an arrowhead shape. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the window in the direction you want it to go. The outline of the window frame moves as you move the mouse.

  OR

• Select the Move menu option and use the arrow keys to move the window.

A counter appears in the center of the screen, showing in pixels the coordinates of the window's upper-right corner, and the outline of a rectangle surrounds the window.

When the rectangle reaches the new location, release the mouse button, press the Enter key, or click any mouse button. The window will move to fill the rectangle outline.

Note: To cancel the move, press the Esc key before you release the mouse button.

Opening a New Terminal Window

You can work with several applications, each in its own window, during a single session of AIXwindows.

• To open a new terminal window, select the New Window menu option from the root menu.

  OR

• At the system prompt in a window, enter aixterm&.

A new window is displayed, usually 80 characters wide and 25 lines long.

Positioning Windows Above or Below Each Other

The following describes three methods for moving a window on top of or beneath other windows:

• Move the mouse pointer to any visible portion of a window frame and click the left mouse button. If the window is behind other windows, it moves to the front.
• Display the root menu and select the Shuffle Up menu option to move the window at the bottom of the window stack to the top, or select the Shuffle Down menu option to move the window at the top of the window stack to the bottom.
• Select the Lower menu option (or press the L key) from the window's menu, or press the Alt-F3 key combination. This moves the active window behind the other windows.

Changing the Size of a Window

You can change the size of a window using the mouse, the Window Manager menu, or a combination of the mouse and keyboard.

• Move the mouse pointer to an edge or corner of the window frame, then press the left mouse button and drag the mouse pointer in the direction you want the frame to move. Pull the frame outward to expand the window or pull the frame inward to make the window smaller. The outline of a rectangle stretches or contracts as you move the mouse, and a counter appears in the center of the screen, showing the size of the window as it changes.

  OR

• Select the Size menu option (or press the mnemonic I key) from the window menu, or press the Alt-F8 key combination.

  A counter appears in the center of the screen, showing the size in characters of the window as it changes, and the outline of a rectangle surrounds the window. Use the arrow keys or the mouse to stretch or shrink the window.

• When the window has reached the desired size, release the mouse button, or press the Enter key, or click any mouse button.

  Note: To cancel the resizing, press the Esc key before you release the mouse button.

Where you place the mouse pointer on the window frame determines how the window is resized. The following table contains the different places to grab the window frame.

To Maximize a Window

Maximizing a window expands it to the full size of the screen.

• Click the maximize button at the extreme right of the title bar with the left mouse button. If the window is already maximized, this action returns the window to its previous size.

  OR

• Select the Maximize window option (or press the mnemonic X key) from the window menu, or press the Alt-F10 key combination.

To Return a Window to Its Previous Size

Select the Restore menu option (or press the mnemonic R key) from the window menu, or press the Alt-F5 key combination.

Closing a Window

When you end the program that is running within a window, the window usually closes and disappears. However, if you must close a window yourself:

• Double-click the window menu button on the left end of the title bar.

  OR

• Select the Close menu option from the window menu (or press the mnemonic S key), or press the Alt-F4 key combination.

  Note: To cancel the menu without choosing a selection, press Esc.

Manipulating AIXwindows Icons

Icons are used to represent windows. This is especially helpful if your screen becomes cluttered with windows. Programs that are running continue, either until they finish or until they halt because they require input from you.

Icons are placed in a window on the screen known as the icon box. Within the box, you can rearrange the icons and convert them back into windows. The Icon Box illustration shows an icon box window.

To Change Windows into Icons

Sometimes when you are working with multiple windows, it is convenient to change a window into an icon. This procedure is called minimizing a window. An icon is a small graphic image easily stored on the root window. A program running in a minimized window continues to run until it finishes or requires additional input.

• Click the minimize button (on the right side of the title bar, but to the left of the maximize button).

  OR

• Select the Minimize menu option from the window menu (or press the mnemonic N key), or press the Alt-F9 key combination.

In either case, the window disappears, and the icon appears in the icon box.

To Restore a Window from an Icon

• Double-click the icon in the icon box.

  OR

• Select the Restore menu option from the icon's window menu (or press the mnemonic R key), or press the Alt-F5 key combination.

The window reappears at its previous size and location, and the icon is displayed as a grayed-out silhouette.

To Move an Icon within the Icon Box

Click the icon and drag the mouse pointer to the new location. The outline of the icon moves with the mouse. When you release the mouse button, the icon moves from its original location to the new location.

To Pack Icons

To pack icons is to rearrange the icons in the icon box into a neat grid.

Select the Pack Icons menu option (or press the P key) from the icon box's window menu, or press the Alt-F12 key combination.

Getting Help in the AIXwindows Interface

There are various tools available to help you when you need more information on commands and the operating system. These tools are:

• The AIX Version 4.3 Base Documentation CD, which provides the operating system books in HTML format for viewing in a web browser
• The help command, which displays information about basic commands
• The man command, which displays information about commands, subroutines, and files

Online Documentation

To access and view the online Base Documentation Library with a Version 3.2 HTML-compatible web browser, type the following path:

/usr/share/man/info/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixgen/topnav/topnav.htm

To access and view the online Extended Documentation Library, type the following path:

/usr/share/man/info/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixgen/wxinfnav/topnav.htm

help Command

The help command presents a one-page display of information for new users. At the prompt in an AIX window, type:

help

The system displays information similar to the following:

Look in a printed manual for general help if you can.  You should 
have someone show you some things and then read "Using and Managing 
AIX" manual. 

The commands: 
    man -k keyword      lists commands relevant to a keyword 
    man command         prints out the manual pages for a command 
are helpful; other basic commands are: 
    cat                 - concatenates files (and just prints them out) 
    ex                  - text editor 
    ls                  - lists contents of directory 
    mail                - sends and receives mail 
    msgs                - system messages and junk mail 
    passwd              - changes login password 
    sccshelp            - views information on the Source Code Control System 
    smit                - system management interface tool 
    tset                - sets terminal modes 
    who                 - who is on the system 
    write               - writes to another user 
You could find programs about mail by the command:      man -k mail 
and print out the man command documentation via:        man mail 
You can log out by typing "exit". 

man Command

The man command displays information on various reference articles, such as commands, subroutines, and files. To obtain information about a command, at the prompt in an AIX window, type:

man CommandName

The information that the man command provides can also be obtained in the AIX Version 4.3 Commands Reference (Volumes 1-6) in the AIX Version 4.3 Base Documentation CD.

Running an Application in the AIXwindows Interface

Running an application in a window environment is the same as in the command line interface. You enter the application's name at the prompt and press enter.

To run an application, at the prompt enter the application name:

ApplicationName

The application program then takes over the window in which you issued the command until you exit that program.

Exiting and Logging Off from AIXwindows

Before exiting AIXwindows, the recommended procedure is to exit any application programs and stop any commands that may be running in terminal windows. This avoids the possible loss of data due to improperly stopping a program.

When you exit a program, the command line prompt returns to the terminal window. However, if you started the program automatically or from a menu, exiting also removes the terminal window. Selecting Close from the window menu immediately stops any program running in the window. Interrupting a program like this may cause it to lose data. However, you can close the clock, or an idle terminal window (one showing a command line prompt) with no ill effect.

Press the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace key sequence to exit AIXwindows. This ends the graphical interface and one of the following may occur:

• The system displays the login: prompt. In this case, you are done.

  OR

• The system displays the command line prompt. In this case, follow the procedure Logging Off from the Command Line.