XWinWrap is a small utility written a loooong time ago that allowed you to stick most of the apps to your desktop background. What this meant was you could use an animated screensaver (like glmatrix, electric sheep, etc) or even a movie, and use it as your wallpaper. But only one version of this app was ever released, and it had a few problems, like:
1. Well, sticking didn’t work. So if you did a “minimize all” or “go to desktop” kind of thing, your “wallpaper” got minimized as well.
2. The geometry option didn’t work, so you could not create, e.g., a small matrix window surrounded by your original wallpaper.
Seeing no-one picking it up, I decided to give it a bit of polish last weekend by fixing the above problems and also add a few features. And here it is, in its new avatar “Shantz XWinWrap”.
Video:
Usage:
Notes:
- The download file above contains 32 bit as well as 64 bit binaries. (Deb packages for ubuntu/debian are also included in the same file)
- Though a lot of options are shown below, the only ones you’d most likely need are “fs”, “g”, “ov” and “sh”)
- The modified source code can be browsed/downloaded from the Shantz XWinWrap Launchpad Bzr repository
xwinwrap [-g {w}x{h}+{x}+{y}] [-ni] [-argb] [-fs] [-s] [-st] [-sp] [-a] [-b] [-nf] [-o OPACITY] [-sh SHAPE] [-ov] — COMMAND ARG1…
Options:
-g – Specify Geometry (w=width, h=height, x=x-coord, y=y-coord. ex: -g 640×480+100+100)
-ni – Ignore Input
-d – Desktop Window Hack. Provide name of the “Desktop” window as parameter
-argb – RGB
-fs – Full Screen
-s – Sticky
-st – Skip Taskbar
-sp – Skip Pager
-a – Above
-b – Below
-nf – No Focus
-o – Opacity value between 0 to 1 (ex: -o 0.20)
-sh – Shape of window (choose between rectangle, circle or triangle. Default is rectangle)
-ov – Set override_redirect flag (For seamless desktop background integration)
-debug – Enable Debug messages
Examples:
(Examples use glmatrix however you can use something like mplayer, vlc, electric sheep etc instead of these)
- To run glmatrix in fullscreen wallpaper mode
./xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
- To run glmatrix in a small window wallpaper mode
./xwinwrap -ov -g 400x400+400+200 -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
- To run glmatrix in small circle wallpaper mode
./xwinwrap -ov -g 400x400+400+200 -sh circle -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
- To run glmatrix in small triangular wallpaper mode
./xwinwrap -ov -g 400x400+400+200 -sh triangle -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
ChangeLog:
15-Feb-2009:
- Fixed the bug where XFetchName returning a NULL for “name” resulted in a crash. Props to Kevin
- Provided an option to specify the desktop window name.
- Added Debug messages.
18-Oct-2008:
- Fixed a bug where the generated window overlapped other windows.
28-Aug-2008:
- Fixed “sticky”, now it sticks like a true wallpaper to your desktop.
- Fixed “geometry” option. Now you can create smaller windows and draw/position them anywhere on your screen.
- Added non-rectangular shaped windows option. Now, you can create circular or triangular windows with xwinwrap to get that cool effect.
[...] Shantz XWinWrap [...]
This is great! I have yet to try it out, but if it works, I’ll add a detector for gwinwrap to use instead of xwinwrap. People had already contacted me about the sticky issue (as you know, I think).
The download link doesn’t seem to be working. Archive manager says
tar: This does not look like a tar archive
tar: Skipping to next header
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
Sorry for the bad downloads, guys. There was/is some issue with mime types on my site. Have reuploaded as zip package and it’s working properly now. Please download it again.
Looks good. My biggest wish for this program (which may not be feasible) would be an option to draw under the icons on the desktop. Currently if you set the opacity under 1, the icons still show but whatever is being shown on the desktop darkens the icons. I’m running GNOME. I would be more than willing to help test.
Thanks Jon. I’m also trying to achieve the same thing as you wish. Will let you know as soon as I near that goal…
I tried it on my Acer Aspire with 512 MB RAM, running Ubuntu 7.10.
In terminal, I pasted (and typed):
xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glblur -root -window-id WID
and it responded
Xlib: extension “XFree86-DRI” missing on display “:1.0″.
The wallpaper DID change to glblur, but no icons were visible on the desktop. Upon closing the terminal it returned to normal.
Just for your information. I’ll definitely experiment with this very intriguing program further.
@arindam: I think the issue is with your video drivers. Are you able to run “glxgears” in your terminal? or just try running any opengl screensaver (like glmatrix, glblur, etc) from the ubuntu screensaver selection window (Most probably under system>preferences>screensaver)
After shutting off compiz, I typed glxgears at the terminal.
I got the gears working in a window, but the following commands came up in the terminal:
Xlib: extension “XFree86-DRI” missing on display “:1.0″.
X connection to :1.0 broken (explicit kill or server shutdown).
Curiously, when I turned compiz on, and typed glxgears at the terminal, I got the gears, but only a one line error message
Xlib: extension “XFree86-DRI” missing on display “:1.0″.
This command works quite nicely:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -st -sp — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glblur -root -window-id WID
But is there a way of getting the screensaver to run behind the icons?
@Arindam: Am not sure what’s going wrong for you, but I did a search for your error in google and it looks like lots of people have the same issue. You might want to search a bit in google and ubuntu forums and might have to try out a few fixes listed to see which one works as I’m not sure which one of them is right..
@Arindam: About geting the screensaver behind the icons, I’m working on it…
hello,
i’ve just found this new version of xwinwrap and tested it on the
last Ubuntu (beta) 8.10, and the trick didn’t work.
i’ve used the followig command :
xwinwrap -ov -fs — mplayer -wid WID -quiet mms://live30.impek.com/fishtv
and the video appear on the foreground.
the other command works :
xwinwrap -ni -o 1 -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — mplayer -wid WID -quiet mms://live30.impek.com/fishtv
but the video is minimized when clicking on the “go to desktop” button.
is there someone having the same results ?
@Papy: Thanks for the bug report. I’ve made a small fix for it.
Edit: I think I found the bug. Can you download the new version (0.2) and check if it works for you. The -ov -fs command should work for you now.
[...] Shantz XWinWrap [...]
the code
xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
returns
Desktop Window Not found
and nothing displayed
@Papy: That’s weird. The “Desktop Window Not Found” message is ok. This is a change I made for people who have nautilus or something else drawing up a “Desktop” Window that covers your actual background.
The glmatrix screensaver works for me with the exact same command that u gave. Are you running any other programs that draw something on your desktop’s background? And do you have compiz enabled?
I just tried this one Ubuntu 8.04, with Compiz running it and works very well (I tried all the example commands). If you can get the icons to show up above the background I’ll use it full time. This is a cool idea. I thought perhaps that’s what the -b option was for, but then I read the comments and I see that’s not the use.
@Carl: I tried quite a few things to get the icons above the background, but I guess this is not possible directly, atleast in gnome which is what I run, because gnome uses nautlilus to draw the icons (The Desktop folder actually). Nautlius “copies” the actual background, sets it as its window’s background and draws icons over it. I have not been able to find a way to get something in between 2 things in the same window (I tried cycling through children windows of nautilus windows but that doesn’t help). There is only one way now, i.e., by having pseudo + selective transparency so that icons can be redrawn on top of xwinwrap’s window but then nautilus’s functionality for interaction with these icons has to be recreated as well..
Hiya – using your new XWinWrap now, and it’s great. I was thinking about the whole ‘icon’ issue though… would it be possible to use the Ghost Compiz plugin to pass clicks through to the desktop, along with transparency (so you can see what you’re clicking…)? Sounds doable to me. It might even look nice, having a very faint pattern moving between desktop and windows.
Regards
@Neurom4ncer: Thanks for the tip. I don’t use compiz but I’ll try to look at it.
my problem is solved, was my fault, xgl problem.
thanks for this good program.
regards
@papy: glad to hear it’s solved
. Keep visiting though for updates and keep giving in any ideas/feedback you have.
@Shantanu, thanks for the reply. I use Gnome as well, so that is helpful to know. I suppose I could just stop using my Desktop for icons, it isn’t like I have many there anyways. Basically just an old habit.
Any idea if it would be easy to create a slideshow of some kind from a list of pictures for use with this?
@Carl: I think gnome has a screensaver that creates a slideshow out of pics from a predefined folder. You could try that out instead of glmatrix to run with xwinwrap.
you are great man
and thanks for the .deb files
Kubuntu 8.04 (KDE, compiz) simply reports ‘Desktop window not found’ and runs glmatrix full screen. for
xwinwrap -ov -fs -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
@Tom: The desktop window not found message is fine, its just an informational message. Which version of xwinwrap are u using?
I googled for “xwinwrap projectm” and found your site. Glad to see you take care of xwinwrap.
If it is possible and interesting for you, maybe you could add the functionaltiy to specify the wrapped window by window manager hints like e.g. “window class” ,”window title”, … That way one could use a visualizer plugin from a music player as background.
Keep up the good work
@rob: You must be a mind-reader
. Actually the exact same thing that u mentioned is what i’m working on right now. i.e. to embed visualizations and lyrics onto desktop (primarily working with rhythmbox). I haven’t got too far as of now because of overloading at work, but hope to continue it soon..
Excellent.
I hope for a lighter payload at work
The one linked above, which claims to be v0.1.
I upgraded to Ubuntu 8.10 (so ditching Compiz for KWin) last night, and now xwinwrap just seg faults.
@Tom: oh, so u r using 0.1. I found a bug in 0.1 version with -ov option. You must have downloaded it before I fixed and upgraded it to 0.2. Could you please download v0.2 from above and try again.
Hi, thanks loads for doing this, it works great!
Only thing is, when I start it in a terminal using
xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
(which is one of your example command lines), and then minimise the terminal, it doesn’t show up on restore. I know the terminal window has been restored because the compiz window preview pops up (which only happens if a window isn’t minimised), but I just can’t see the window. I can see the gnome panels though. Did I get the wrong command line, or is this a bug?
Another thing, which may or may not be unrelated, is that xwinwrap outputs “Desktop Window Not found” to the terminal (glmatrix is still displayed on the desktop).
Sorry, bit more information from me, I’m running 64-bit Ubuntu and I downloaded and installed today from the 64-bit .deb in the zip file.
Sorry about the third post :S just one more thing: if I have the terminal and another window open and not minimised when I start xwinwrap, they display properly. If I minimise one or the other at a time, as long as there is at least one window still there, it still displays fine. But as soon as all windows are minimised, I can’t see them again until I kill xwinwrap. I notice you fixed a bug like this before; maybe this slipped through testing?
@Jim: Thanks for reporting the issue. I’ll try to look at it ASAP (which means within a week or 2 because of my current workload).
Thanks for polishing this. I hope the next Gnome/Ubuntu release has a Nautilus that draws the desktop over this…or has its own animated background option.
Thanks Liberation. Keep visiting for updates. I’ll try to roll out some good changes soon. Let me know if you have any requests..
I’m having real trouble with xwinwrap – I’ve been trying to get it to run for years (with no success) on both my current laptop and the PC before it. Basically when I run xwinwrap my screen goes blank. I’m definitely using version 0.2 of your app, and if I run the glmatrix in a square example that you gave, I get a black square in the middle of my screen, above all my other windows. I’m using compiz that came with my installation of Ubuntu, but killing compiz doesn’t seem to make a difference. Any ideas? This has been driving me nuts for more that a year now…
@kyokan: Can you tell me a little bit about your setup? (Which distro, what version, which gfx card, does glmatrix screensaver work on ur system normally,i.e., without using xwinwrap, how do u “kill” compiz?)
Of course! I’m running Ubuntu 8.10 on a Dell Inspiron 6000 (1.8Ghz processor, 32-bit, Intel 915GM Graphics (I think)). Clean install of Ubuntu so no drivers or anything other than what came with it. GLMatrix runs fine on other occasions – it’s set as my default screensaver. In order to kill compiz I’ve tried going into the Ubuntu options and selecting “No desktop effects” as well as killall compiz.real and then manually starting metacity to give me some window management. Funnily enough I’ve just discovered that the behaviour isn’t quite the same without compiz running, without it absolutely nothing happens – not even a blank screen…
There must be something up with your packaging, because a freshly downloaded and unzip’ed program still says v0.1:
falken@wopr:~/packages$ unzip shantz-xwinwrap.zip
Archive: shantz-xwinwrap.zip
creating: xwinwrap/
inflating: xwinwrap/readme.txt
creating: xwinwrap/x86_64/
creating: xwinwrap/i386/
inflating: xwinwrap/x86_64/shantz-xwinwrap_0.02-3_amd64.deb
inflating: xwinwrap/x86_64/xwinwrap
inflating: xwinwrap/i386/shantz-xwinwrap_0.02-3_i386.deb
inflating: xwinwrap/i386/xwinwrap
falken@wopr:~/packages$ cd xwinwrap/
i386/ x86_64/
falken@wopr:~/packages$ cd xwinwrap/i386/
falken@wopr:~/packages/xwinwrap/i386$ ls
shantz-xwinwrap_0.02-3_i386.deb xwinwrap
falken@wopr:~/packages/xwinwrap/i386$ ./xwinwrap –ff
xwinwrap v0.1- Modified by Shantanu Goel. Visit http://tech.shantanugoel.com for updates, queries and feature requests
Thanks for the detailed log, Tom. I’ll look at it as soon as I find some time and let you know. My off-hand guess is it might have to do something with compiz as I’m getting some other reports as well for this same behaviour and those ppl are also using compiz..
Tom, I’ve recompiled and uploaded the i386 version here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/160359491/xwinwrap.html
Can you please test if this works for you..
The .2 release does the same, but thanks for trying.
$ ./xwinwrap -ov -fs -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
Segmentation fault
$ ./xwinwrap -ff
xwinwrap v0.2-………….
It might be to do with compositing in general, as I’m now on Kubuntu 8.10 with the infamous KDE4 Kwin window manager.
@Tom: hmm..I’ll try to get this sorted out in a couple of weeks time when I get some more time to code and test it out..
HI! your work is great.. I haven’t until test it but I’ll do it soon.
maybe you are interested in my idea.. some time ago i did a guide on a site about xwinwrap and how to choose a video with a grafical interface.. here:
http://www.uielinux.org/guide-e-tutorial/2-configurazione/127-usare-xwinwrap-in-modo-molto-piu-comodo.html
anywere it’s in italian. maybe you understand the video but if you want i can traslate it..
howhever its simple.. you need to have installed on your sistem “zenity” and use it in addition to xwinwrap.. so the code becomes:
nice -n 15 xwinwrap -ni -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf -o 0.6 — mplayer -wid WID -nosound -quiet “`zenity –file-selection`” -loop 0
prove it! by!
@fabricio: Thanks for that link, i’lll check it out..
@Shantanu Goe:
you are wellcome.
I’m happy that someone else is interesting on this wonderful program called xwinwrap.. months ago i didn’t found anyone.
My problem start when I want to play some desktop/videos, and choose them with that old sistem was very annoing.
).
so I found zenity witch is a single program that add a grafical interface.. if you look my video on the guide maybe you can understand more..
anywhere I’m studing for being a traductor, so If you want i can traslate it (if I had time!
bye!
Thanks for work!
About “Segmentation fault”:
I use Ubuntu 8.04 and then i try:
$ ./xwinwrap -ov -fs -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
there is “Segmentation fault”, but on
$ ./xwinwrap -fs -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
xwinwrap work correctly.
[...] Потом нашел, что ее не бросили, а продолжают поддерживать, подробнее можно посмотреть тут – Shantz XWinWrap [...]
@EvilFaeton: I get a black flickering screen with the 2nd.
What window manager have you got ?
@Tom, evilfaeton: I just re-enabled compiz and tested v0.2 and am getting a flickering screen as well when using -ov option. I think I’ll have to dig deeper to resolve this as I see a similar issue when running conky with compiz (there also a kind of double screen is forming when i use override option in its configuration)
@Tom
I use compiz-wm with gtk-window-dekorator.
I test xwinwrap at my work-computer – with “-ov” i have Segfault , without “-ov” i have flickering glmatrix screensaver as wallpapper, but at home-computer all work correctly.
Differense between computers is video: at work ati radeon 2400, at home nvidia 8400. Also, at work i have problem with conky – flickering around conky.
Well, I have KDE4′s kwin using the ‘intel’ X graphics driver, and much the same problem.
Tom, I had this problem so try command with option -nf:
xwinwrap -fs -b -nf — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
ctpelok: Nope, same flickering screen problem.
@Tom Chiverton
Do you have a ATI Radeon X200M like me?
On my HP Pavilion ZV6000 (ubuntu 8.10 386) does the same as you.
But on my desktop (xubuntu 7.10 with XGL/Compiz) with Nvidia “something” works.
Must have a issue about it as reported on
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=624015
I used xwinwrap on Ubuntu 8.04 in this same note, and work just with screensave that doesen`t used GL.
@Shantanu Goel
Need a computer with ATI to compile on it?
Please sendme a private message to “eschuch _at_ gmail _dot_ com” if it is the case.
And THANKS for this GREATE work !!!
Correction. My desktop computer is a Xubuntu 7.04 and I install gnome-desktop from original Ubuntu rep.
No, I’m using the ‘intel’ X driver, Kubuntu 8.10
Does this also work with WINE?
I have one of those 64k demos which runs fine under WINE and I would like to have it as my wallpaper.
I tried : xwinwrap -g 640×480 — wine fr08v101.exe
but it started full-screen in the foreground..
I’m using Ubuntu 8.10 with Fluxbox.
@Xyem: it works with all those apps that allow you to change their parent windows (e.g. apps that use the -root or -window-id or -wid kind of options). I don’t think it would work with wine as such unless it gives such an option as wel..
FYI, the license on xwinwrap is the MIT/X11
Hi! I tried “./xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID” and got a “Segmentation fault” error. I tried other of the suggested commands, and still got the same.
I then downloaded the source code, recompiled, and still the same error. Finally I discovered that if I didn’t use the “-ov” parameter, then the fault went away — though of course the program didn’t behave as expected!
I’m running OpenSUSE 10.3 with KDE 3.5.10.
Thanks some-guy for letting me know about the license. They haven’t mentioned it explicitly though in the original program.
@Federico: I’m not getting much time these days but will be looking at the problems reported very soon as soon.
Just for reference, I asked on the Wine forum about controlling the parent window and because Wine does some special window handling, it doesn’t/can’t handle things like -root, -window-id, and -WID.
Thanks a lot, Xyem, for informing me about this.
Hi guys and Shantanu, this is a very interested project and I found it when searching for a screen saver that is able to play a movie in linux. So far no luck with linux but there are a lot for windoz. This is the closest app that I found for my project. Do you think that would be possible to modify the app and use it as a screen saver?
Xwinwrap has enabled me to use Xcompmgr with Fluxbox while keeping gLMatrix ( or whatever I fancy at the time ) as my wallpaper
I did have to make a small modification to my ‘keys’ file so I still have access to the menus though as OnDesktop doesn’t seem to work anymore. I guess it doesn’t get passed onto Fluxbox so now I have to hold Mod4 ( Super key ) to get the menus.
Hi, this is a great soft. I have two points :
1) the sticky argument -s do not work in ubuntu 8.10 – the “show desktop” button in left bottom corner hides every window, including the animation, showing the original background. Any workaround ? ( I hope I understand well it should prevent it … )
2) To use on Ati or Intel graphics + compiz – as I found around the web, almost all people have problems with flickering of video or GL application, this is problem in X11, and only nvidia did a workaround in driver. But if You want nice “matrix”, do not use GLMatrix, but install xmatrix screensaver, it is part of Xscreensaver package.
Then simply run this :
/usr/bin/xwinwrap -ni -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/xmatrix -window-id WID -no-trace -no-knock-knock -insert bottom -small -delay 50000 -density 40
Nice, non flickering, and cpu low usage.
I have less than 10% on amd64*2@2600 + atiRD2600XT in idle.
Good work …..
To sparks :
I think this is not Your application, You will just need any player to play Your video, that should be all. All screensavers are just “normal” applications. But I do not know how it is exactly in linux ( i am new to lin ), but in windows it is regular exe with changed extension to scr, also taking care of to stop work when activity of user appears.
Looks like in linux it can be any application, look here :
http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/faq.html#mpeg
I hope it helps.
@sparks: You can use mplayer
@Milos: Use -ov instead of -s
Wow, that is quick support
Unfortunatelly -ov just gives me “Desktop window not found”, program is running ( did not get back to terminal, must ctrl+c it ), but no visible output ….
@Milos: Desktop window not found message is perfectly normal, it is just an informational message. Are you running any other program that covers your desktop?
Get it ! After running it I have to click on the desktop area, and it appears. I am just using standard ubuntu settings, so I think nautilus is drawing default desktop with icons …. Thanks for Your help. I will look for how to dissable the nautilus.
Actually that “Desktop Window” Message is a workaround I put in if you have nautilus managing your desktop background and icons. It should have worked even then.
To disable nautilus, just run the following command:
gconftool-2 –type bool –set /apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop FALSE
@Milos: BTW before disabling nautilus, can you do one thing. Run the command “xwininfo -all” in a command prompt. Your cusor will turn into an x. Then click anywhere on an empty space on ur desktop background. Please send the output that comes in ur command window to me via the contact page link in the top menu of this page.
[...] ・・・気を取り直して話を続けると、xwinwrap は最初のバージョン発表からまったく更新されていなかったそうですが、有志がバグフィックスや機能を加えてこちらで公開され解説もされています。 [...]
[...] some spare CPU cycles to burn? Using a utility called XWinWrap you can use screensavers, videos, and other applications as your desktop [...]
Hey, I recompiled with -g on to debug the seg fault (I’m runnning Xubuntu (so XFCE), and always got a seg fault whenever the -ov option was being used.)
It turns out that on line 192, XFetchName() doesn’t always populate name; it was an empty pointer when it reached the strcmp() on line 197. This causes the segment fault.
I changed that line to
(attrs.height == height) && name && (!strcmp(name, “Desktop”)) )
and now it no longer seg faults. However, xwinwrap is still being displayed over all other windows with the options
./i386/xwinwrap -fs -s -st -sp -b -ov — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
I’m not sure what is next to try, but I figured I’d post what I had figured out so far.
works fine for me. I had to remove many of the flags but heres how i got it to work under all windows:
xwinwrap -nf -fs -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/matrixview -window-id WID
note I am using the matrixview screensaver and not the glmatrix
[...] Enlace | MovieTools.info | Videos para descargar Relacionado | Instalar Gwinwrap | nueva version xwinwrap [...]
The -ov almost works. When i go to show desktop then hide and open one window the video goes on top of windows. So almost.
Anything about a newer version? This program does look like a “must have” but currently is unusable, at least for me (and everybody else who gets the segfaults).
@Federico: I’ve been super busy lately but did hack a bit on it while waiting for my flight at an airport a couple of days ago. Will release the same soon, it should fix a few issues people are having.
Sorry if this obvious. What g options to use to get a circle in the center of the screen?(like in your video)?
[...] XWinWrap program to do this. You can have a animated wallpaper. For more information please visit: http://tech.shantanugoel.com/projects/linux/shantz-xwinwrap Tags: animated wallpapers on linux, xwinwrap This entry was posted on Cumartesi, Ocak 3rd, [...]
Hey Shantz! First of all nice program…I just need to be able to use it!
I installed Ubuntu 8.10 and the Compiz Advanced Display thing so I could achieve the cube view, etc. After running and installing the shantz-xwinwrap_0.02-3_amd64.deb package, whenever I type in
./xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
into the terminal it says:
bash: ./xwinwrap: No such file or directory
So basically it is saying that it installed correctly, however since your package is mainly the usr/bin then does that mean it didn’t?
@Denatsu: try taking away the . and the backslash at the beginning, so that the command is simply
xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
The dot and backslash mean to look in the current directory, so if you had just put the xwinwrap executable in your home directory you could use that command. But when you type a command without a specified location, the terminal knows to look for it in /usr/bin and other places.
Thanks. However now it says
Desktop Window Not found.
When I close everything, my background is the glmatrix however whenever I close the terminal, the glmatrix also closes.
@Denatsu
Can you be more specific as to when exactly it says Desktop Window not found? Right after you run the command?
Yes, when you run a program from the terminal, closing it will end the session. You will need to run it using Alt+F2 and then type the command or create a bash script and run it on start-up.
@Jon, @Denatsu: The “Desktop Window Not Found” is just an informational message. There is no error. I think this is confusing a lot of people. I’m planning an update to the program soon to fix a few issues, will take care of this message as well to be shown only in debug mode.
Hi,
and thanks for working on this cool project. I have some issues though witch I would like to bother you with
I use Ubuntu 8.10 x64 (I also have a multi monitor setup with one above the other) and tried running xwinwrap with your default command for fullscreen, but it only says “Desktop Window not Found” and nothing happens.
However if I use this command:
xwinwrap -fs -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
xwinwrap runs. Well somwhat. It is only on the lower screen and the upper stays the same. I tried to add the geometry variable and give it the combined height of both monitors but it still stays only on the lower. Also, something I noticed. It displays the matrix screensaver only on one side of the cube. Is this normal? Also, if one enables floating windows when you rotate the cube, you will see the matrix screensaver floating above the desktop.
Best regards,
Irwin
Hi Shan,
Great jobs, just wondering why my glmatrix xwinwrap always running on top of everything everytime I tried to run it?
xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
(Hardy Heron 8.04)
Thanks for your help..
And also got this error messages on the console..
X error in glmatrix:
X Error of failed request: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter)
Major opcode of failed request: 128 (XFree86-DRI)
Minor opcode of failed request: 9 ()
Resource id in failed request: 0×4800001
Serial number of failed request: 3440
Current serial number in output stream: 3440
/usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix died, exit status 255
XIO: fatal IO error 11 (Resource temporarily unavailable) on X server “:0.0″
after 23 requests (20 known processed) with 0 events remaining.
Would lobe to have this going on my screen properly
Cheers
I am having a small problem, when xwinwrap is running I am not able to unminimize any programs that I have open from the panel. I read that sometime back that Jim was having the same problem. Is there any solution for this yet?
I am using Ubuntu 8.10
Thanks
@Karl: I don’t have a permanent/tested solution for this because this doesn’t happen on my system. I have some things in my mind that “might” solve it. Not getting time to code them in. Though I can try to put out a debug version that can collect some logs on your machine and give me some pointers as to what could be the problem
Shantanu,
If you do put a debug version I would be happy to help get to the bottom of the problem.
Thanks for picking this back up – working like a charm
I dont believe that you updated the x86_64 architecture deb package because i still see v0.1
Well, only for you to know it, i have installed it, and i tried to put the glmatrix (i tried with differents commands) and always i keeps in the top of all appz, i can’t get it stuck at the background of all..and when i close my terminal, it closes too..i’m using ubuntu 8.10 64-bits..i have also disabled my desktop icons and all that..hope you can help me make it work..thank you! and sorry for my english..
i have an amd phenom x4 9550 with ati 4870 HD 1GB, with latest drivers updated..i would like to know also in which pc did it run properly, the operating system (and if it is 64 o 32 bits..because i am also thinking of installing the 32bits version of ubuntu 8.10), graphic card, etc..anything that could affect it to work =P..i’m so much interested in getting this in my pc =(..
Hey, i have just installed ubuntu 8.10 32 bits and happens the same..
Another info that maybe helps u helps me =P..i have also tried it with KDE (Kubuntu) and there it doesn’t even appear the screensaver, when i run the command it tells me “Segmentation Fault” and it doesn’t do anything..
@Colo: The overlap problem appears to affect many users though it doesn’t appear for many others (e.g. for me it doesn’t. I have a Gnome based 8.04 64 bit setup with Ati drivers). The segmentation fault problem and its fix is known, I just haven’t been able to get around to release it. Work pressure has been just too much over the last few months. I coded the seg fault fix in besides a few other changes while waiting for my flight at an airport last month but haven’t tested it fully so didn’t release it yet. Will do my best to have something this weekend. I really apologize to all the people who have so many questions unanswered.
many thanks for your answer! and for your work! i really appreciate it!..hope u can find a solution soon and if i can help in anything tell me that i will try to help..cheers! keep up the excellent work!..
[...] more details, usage and downloads, head on to Shantz XWinWrap Home Page. As usual, 32 bit as well as 64 bit binary files are available as downloads. For users of Debian [...]
@All: Please give a try to the new version and let me know how it works out for you. For overlap problems, please see this post http://tech.shantanugoel.com/2009/02/17/project-shantz-xwinwrap-update-to-03.html to give me some debug info.
Hwy, your program works pretty well, though i had quite a bit of trouble getting it to work right. I have it running with the electric-sheep screensaver (Really cool, and always different!) The only way I could get anything to display properly is passing it using the x11 render option. gl and xv overlaid everything and would drop frames so it was very unusable. I have an ati radeonHD3300 igp so it should be able to use the extra rendering of gl or xv and let off the cpu. Any suggestions, I’ve tried passing it with all sorts of combos through both xwinwrap and electricsheep and its no go. I’d love to get this working, any suggestions for this? Maybe in xorg.conf? Thanks for your help, if I get any further in it I will update as well, but for now it looks great!
Also, as a little side, is there a way to pass it onto the skydome in compiz? Thanks!
also so pics
musicdb.ath.cx:8080/img/desktop1.png
musicdb.ath.cx:8080/img/desktop2.png
@Jeff: You can try nice’ing it, it should work fine then. About rendering from the gfx card, I’ll have to look into it and not sure about the skydome part too. But these are two things that I’ll put into my “to-do” bucket to work on.
How would nicing it stop it from overlapping everything and dropping frames? Only when rendering with gl or xv does this, x11 works but runs the cores at ~40%, so nicing it helps then. What graphics card do you have and what drivers with it? if you are running catalyst could I see your xorg.conf?
And I tried to xwininfo the skydome and use its hex key to map it to the right desktop, but its dimensions were off and it terminated. more on that later.
[...] @ 6:31 am · Filed under ubuntu Have some spare CPU cycles to burn? Using a utility called XWinWrap you can use screensavers, videos, and other applications as your desktop [...]
Hi,
I’ve been using your xwinwrap as a tool for tv widget in in puppy linux. Thanks very much. But I need to “click” or I may say “poke” the desktop wallpaper in order for the tv window to appear. It’s layer problem. Using option -a doesn’t help. Any other suggestion? Thanks in advance
Hi,
I’ve been using your xwinwrap as a tool for tv widget in in puppy linux (using mplayer). Thanks very much. But I need to “click” or I may say “poke” the desktop wallpaper in order for the tv window to appear. It’s layer problem. Using option -a doesn’t help. Any other suggestion? Thanks in advance
It’s ok now with the new -d option..thanks
Is there any way to get the code displayed on both of my monitors? Ive got two, however the code only runs down my main monitor. Its not too awful, but it would be cool if i could get it working on my second monitor.
@Blake, try using the -s option. It should make it stick to all desktops. If that doesn’t work you can make a script that just changes your desktop orientation and runs xwinwrap in that location. I used something like that to run a different video on each workspace.
Just wanted to say cheers for your work on this, it’s a great little app and your updated version is really cool. I’ve had no problems with it. I owe you a beer
Thanks for the encouragement, Vold.
Running xwinwrap on kde4. some questions and suggestions:
* if i run xwinwrap i have a bar with a close and “on al desktop” icons. Is it possible to disable it? Much more irritating is the taskbar button.
* maybe a option to remove the wallpaper before playback and put it back when it finish.
* less prio. But we have more desktops. We could run several instances of movies playing at different desktops. Then it would be nice only hear the current desktop. (should be possible with pulseaudio?)
keep up the good work!
I have the UBUNTU 8.10 with compiz and downloaded the last vertion of XWinWrap.
when I use this: xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID on the terminal works fine, but if I write the same on the Start Run Aplications than this matrix thing stay on the front of everything… Any solutions???? Thanks!
I noticed a small bug in when running a screensaver a desktop, if I did a “go to desktop” then all would work well if I did a “leave desktop”(“go to desktop again”), but If I tried to open windows after a “go to desktop” then the windows would be behind the desktop. It is fixed from that state if I do a “go to desktop”.
After more fiddling, this is only triggered when an application is newly opened when there are no windows open on the desktop.
Just to say that I have a NVIDIA 9600GT grafic card.
Ok… done it!!!!
I’ve used this solution found here http://code.google.com/p/gwinwrap
Now all is working fine!!!! Thank you all
Tengo el mismo problema que COLO y varios más: En resumen si se ejecuta pero por encima de todo lo demás y no deja ver las aplicaciones.
Dejo los datos de mi PC para referencia por si sirve de dato para una solución futura:
DISTRO: Debian 5 Lenny
TARJETA GRÁFICA: ATI Radeon Xpress 200
DRIVERS: Propietarios bien configurados
ACELERACIÓN 3D: Sí
UTILIZANDO: Compiz Fusion con Emerald (corren perfectamente)
SISTEMA: 32 bits
KERNEL: GNU/Linux 2.6.26-2-686
HARDWARE: Está instalado mi Debian en una HP Compaq dx2200 Microtower…
Látima que no funcionó =( Aún así gracias por tu esfuerzo =D Esperemos pronto quede arreglado
Salu2 desde México
SORRYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! XD I’ve forgot for a moment everything here it’s in English… I’ll translate my previous message:
I have the same problem as COLO and many others: The glmatrix executes however it overlaps all and I can’t see any application.
I leave you the data of my PC as a reference if it’s helpful for find a future solution:
DISTRO: Debian 5 Lenny
GRAPHIC CARD: ATI Radeon Xpress 200
DRIVERS: Propietarios bien configurados
DIRECT RENDERING: Yes
USING: Compiz Fusion with Emerald (they run flawlessly)
SISTEM: 32 bits
KERNEL: GNU/Linux 2.6.26-2-686
HARDWARE: My Debian is installed in a HP Compaq dx2200 Microtower…
It’s a shame it didn’t worked for me =( Anyway thanks for your effort =D Let’s hope there’s a solution soon.
Greetings from Mexico
It works now with GWinWrap. Thanks newtolinux!
hi! this is great, you made xwinwrap almost perfect!
I’d like to use it to display as desktop image, whenever rhytmbox is launched, its graphical effects. Do you think it to be possible?
WORKS LIKE A CHARME ON SABAYON LINUX 4.1!
no way to get it installed but woithout installation using the executable included in archive its a charm!
Hey, great program.
I was created a small script to toggle the wallpaper on and off. You just have to change “glmatrix” to whatever you are using. Also, it must be running on startup with GWinwrap. Other than that it works great.
if [ "$(pidof glmatrix)" ]
then
killall glmatrix
else
/home/chris/gwinwrap-read-only/startup
fi
Hey shantz, I´ve been trying to make a video (.avi) to run with xwinwrap, but to no avail. I take that glmatrix example listed above and change the path (from /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix to /home/terminusest/video/video.avi) but it doesn’t work. Any tip? Thx in advance and good work.
you cant’t give the path to the avi directly..You need to use a player like mplayer and give that instead…If you go through the comments above, you will find the exact command to use..
Thx for that! I’m new to Linux. Now it´s working. But I have another question, if you don’t mind: when I execute xwinwrap (with mplayer) with a video that has those black bands, it stretches the video up and down, making those black bands disappear. Is there some way to make it run with those black bands?
Thx again.
it might have to do something with the mplayer options I think…Can you look through them? I’ll also try when i get a bit of time..
Hi, I am a newb in this stuff. Recently, by reading Ubuntu offical forum i saw that they were encouraging the use of the old xwinwrap program my mistake (they don’t know of this version maybe?) and unfortunatly for me I also downloaded … and hell that thing is bugged.
So, basically I want to use your modification, but I have a few questions:
1 – How do I make my wallpapper loop?
2 – what is the “-d” flag for? Why would I want to hack my desktop?
3 – are there any tutorials regarding this new version? I couldn’t find any =S
Thx for your time
Hi, I am a newb in this stuff. Recently, by reading Ubuntu offical forum i saw that they were encouraging the use of the old xwinwrap program my mistake (they don’t know of this version maybe?) and unfortunatly for me I also downloaded … and hell that thing is bugged.
So, basically I want to use your modification, but I have a few questions:
1 – How do I make my wallpapper loop?
2 – what is the “-d” flag for? Why would I want to hack my desktop?
3 – are there any tutorials regarding this new version? I couldn’t find any =S
Thx for your time
(For some reason my message is not showing up … I am assuming I messed up somehow and so I am re-sending the message. Sorry if it is a duplicate).
Any help please?
I tried to run this with mplayer, however I have a strange message and the proccess dies right away:
laptop:~/Desktop/shantz-xwinwrap/i386$ ./xwinwrap -ov -fs — mplayer -root -window-id WID
MPlayer 1.0rc2-4.3.3 (C) 2000-2007 MPlayer Team
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8300 @ 2.40GHz (Family: 6, Model: 23, Stepping: 6)
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
Compiled with runtime CPU detection.
Unknown option on the command line: -root
Error parsing option on the command line: -root
mplayer died, exit status 1
laptop:~/Desktop/shantz-xwinwrap/i386$
I make no idea why this happens, can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?
Sorry for my quadruple post ….
I solved my problem, apparently I was dumb and I was passing mplayer as an argument when I should be passing the path to a movie.
However, I noticed two things:
– it can not run .wmv files … is this normal? If yes, how can I fix it ?
– the wallpaper just gets over all my windows instead of being behind them, which is bad because it hides everything and it doesn’t let me work … how can I fix it?
Thx in advance …
Hey!
here I am again. This time I think I may have found a little bug.
You say that the flag:
-b
goes for Below. By below I believe you mean that “the icons of the desktop are above the movie, and that the movie is behind them”.
Well, I tried using this flag, however the movie is alwaus above my desktop icons, and it doesn’t allow me to see them much well …
Here is the command line I used:
./xwinwrap -ov -o 0.7 -fs -ni -s -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
Also, I think I found another bug. When I enable the movie and it takes control of my entire screen (I am using -fs mode as you can see) I lose the ability to move my folders in the desktop. When I move them from on corner to the other, they just go back to the old corner … It is annoying.
This is quite a good program, with a few fixed, it will be complete awesomeness. I hope you give me authorization to make a few movies using it o youtube, because if you fix the bugs, I am almost surely going to do it!
Also, when will you release the next version?
It has been a few days =S
@Flame: Sorry for that. I’ve been keeping quite busy and hence the lack of updates..Anyways, the -b flag (or any other option) won’t allow you to put it between your desktop and the icons. Atleast not on gnome because in gnome, icons on desktop are achieved by using nautilus which doesn’t give a way to put something below the icons. Haven’t tried for options available on KDE though. I couldn’t undestand the 2nd issue..maybe you could describe it more or make a screencast or something?
And you have all permissions to do whatever you want with this program, you can make the videos or even make modifications, etc.. No strings attached..
I understand your position, we are all man with busy lifes, and we both have priorities xD
About the flag “-b”, having in mind it won’t work because of Nautilus, does it have any use ?
As for my second bug … I created an account on youtube for the purpose of showing what I believe to be a problem. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qe1RANI1Uc
I will try making some tests on KDE, but I make no promises … I will keep you updated with news.
Mental Note: There is actually a chance for this to work with KDE 4.1 because it’s graphic interface is now way different from Gnome’s interface … it might just work.
[...] XWinWrap (wiki) é un pequeno aplicativo que che permite pór a maioría das aplicacións como fondo do teu escritorio. Isto quere dicir que podes tamén empregar un protector de pantalla animado como o coñecido glmatrix, até unha película e usala como fondo de pantalla. [...]
Well, I made the tests on Kubuntu … I am afraid the news are not that good either. I used the same command I tested last time and nothing happened. Unfortunately for me the “plasma dashboard” from Kubuntu did not get replaced with a movie. Then I test using the “-argb” flag, however using this flag I have the same problem I have on Ubuntu, except that it is even worse because the flag “-o 0.6″ didn’t seem to work at all …
Hope the report helps =S
Hi!
First of all thanks for the good work and the support.
However when I start
xwinwrap -ni -argb -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf -ov — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/plasma -window-id WID
xwinwrap paints on top of the screen, instead on the bottom. Some controls flicker through, and i can still click on them.
I have tried several different command switches for xwinwrap but still same issue.
I am unsing xwinwrap v0.3 on Ubuntu 64bit.
I have an Intel graphics acellerator and compiz is doing fine as far as I can tell.
Any ideas?
@Shantanu Goel: I am using your 0.3 version of xwinwrap on ubuntu 9.04(Gnome) and it works flawlessly except for the whole icons problem. However, I don’t use icons on my desktop anyway so I don’t have a problem. I love it, I even took the command I use:
/usr/bin/xwinwrap-ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
And I put it in my on script file called “startxwin” and saved it in the /bin directory and chmod it to 755, and now when I log into ubuntu all I have to do from the terminal is type “startxwin” without the quotes and it works perfectly. Thanks for all the hard work and keep it up!
Hi,
first, thx for working on this very good tool.
I have some problems :
-I use Ubuntu Notebook Remix 9.04 x64 on Asus N10J (using Nvidia 9300M GS)
-Xwinwrap compiled successfully
-When I try to use the tool in ANY way, it just display nothing…
I tried all I can (XGL screensaver, xine, mplayer, ect…), always the same output…nothing…
UNR use gnome and i can without problem display a wallpaper, use another GTK theme, ect…
I’ve activated compiz of course and it work (only partially because UNR change the way windows are displayed so “animations” and other goodies are useless with it).
Am I missed something ?
GNU_Raziel
EDIT : Ok I found that UNR IS the problem, switching to “classic” gnome desktop make Xwinwarp work perfect…
Can you do something or it can’t be helped ? (perhaps I missed some xwinwarp options, i didn’t test them all)
Thx in advance,
GNU_Raziel
Note : sory for the double post, iwas too stupid to test the desktop switcher first…
Hello,
i have problem, that it is still at the top of all windows (not as wallpaper) can u help me ?
(i have tried a lot of combination commands to run it none worked well)
Hello,
i have problem. It s always at the top of all windows. I have tried a lot of commands to run it but none worked well. Can u help me ?
If I am not mistaken, and accordingly to what the author of this program said, Nautilus does not allow you to “place things behind your icons”.
Your problem does not have a solution, at leats not for now.
Thanks Shantanu for your efforts! I got xsublim to work above open windows with xwinwrap.
Hello, im using the Ubuntu 9.04 Gnome too, but i cant run it correclty probably can u help me ?
when i use this command:
/usr/bin/xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
all looks goo except it is at the top off all windows.
the same effect with:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -d x-nautilus-desktop — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window- WID
i have disabled icons but its the same
You say you are running Ubuntu 9.04 Gnome. If compiz fusion is not running xwinwrap won’t run at all no matter what you do. In order to use xwinwrap on gnome you have to be running compiz fusion. Then you can run the command in my previous post and it should work fine.
Well, i m using Compiz but still if i run this command:
/usr/bin/xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
it is at the top of all windows
do i need set some special option in Compiz ?
Those finding lack of desktop icons a problem might want to check out this screenlet:
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=102890&forumpage=1
I’ve got it set to display my desktop. So, barring a few cosmetic differences, the result is the same.
Great work Shantanu, works a treat.
That looks good Paul. Thanks. Although I don’t use icons on my desktop but I’ll try it out as well..
Hello, here is a newb to linux commenting perhaps foolishly. Searching inside my repos, I found a package named nailer (a tumbnail generator for media), I’ve installed it and it works just fine.
So far I haven’t tried your job, due to I’m the kind of person that tries to find out about issues and then install things to my PC. The thing is:
This nailer takes control of all tumbnails, so
Have you tried xwinwraper with this “nailer”? Any issues related?
As soon as I finish reading alllllllllll comments in your page, I’ll give a chance to it. Will see what happen.
Greetings from Mexico
@Shan: Hello,
Finally I gave it a try and results were not good.
I downloaded the .zip v0.3 folder and copied the x86_64 binary to my /usr/bin/ folder.
I openden a terminal, dived to /usr/bin/ (where xwinwrap is allocated) and then ran
$./xwinwrap -ov -fs — /home/Christian/Videos/Pulp_Fiction.avi -root -window-id WID
(where Pulp_Fiction.avi) is a test AVI file; and a msg like this came out:
/home/Christian/Videos/Pulp_Fiction.avi: /home/Christian/Videos/Pulp_Fiction.avi: no se puede ejecutar el fichero binario
/home/Christian/Videos/Pulp_Fiction.avi died, exit status 126
“Couldn’t execute binary file”
Then tried once again as root and same result.
What am I doing wrong?
everything
You need to run a video player not the avi file itself. The method to set a video as the background is already explained above. Search for “mplayer” in this page.
@Stan: Thanks for your comment, but as kind of a Smarthead, you could be more helpful. Nothing personal, but your comment was useful.
@Shantu: Thank you very much for your support. The first time I read comments in this page I must have sliped the comment regarding mplayer. I already had it installed.
Finally
$ xwinwrap -ov -fs — mplayer -wid WID -quiet /home/Christian/Videos/Pulp_Fiction.avi
works pretty well. Keep on with this project.
Hello.
I am running Fedora 11 and KDE 4.2.4. I am trying to set up an animated wallpaper using Shantz XWinWrap.
I run it, for example, like this:
./xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/libexec/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
xwinwrap runs with no error messages. The problem is that when it runs, it covers everything on my screen. I can see no other windows, only xwinwrap. Needless to say, this makes it unusable.
I notice a connection between xwinwrap and the KDE desktop effects. If I disable effects (KDE System Settings -> Desktop -> Desktop Effects -> uncheck Enable desktop effects), xwinwrap does not work at all. It runs without error messages, but it shows nothing, above nor below other windows.
Can anyone help with this? Thanks in advance.
If xwinwrap works like charm like this…
xwinwrap -ni -o 0.9 -fs -st -sp -a -nf — mplayer -wid WID /home/USUARIO/Pictures/Morrigan/DSTLK1.AVI -loop 0
and this
xwinwrap -ov -fs — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
Anybody tried this?
xwinwrap -ni -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — feh -window-id WID /home/USUARIO/Pictures
xwinwrap -ni -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — feh /home/USUARIO/Pictures
None of them work. I just want a nice semitransparent slideshow and configuring glscreensaver to work with xwinwrap is a mess.
Any help here? Pleeeease? Is feh even supported?
Thx for yer time!
[...] [...]
I’m not a programmer yet, but for the icon problem, isn’t it possible to recognize the nautilus icons and put NEW ones over the background window, so the desktop icon still being under your apps, but you make a kind of copy of them over iit so you can access them anyway…
really sorry for my english, if you do not understand me, just ask!
Vincent
[...] Untuk opsi xwinrap lainnya, bisa dilihat di situs yang empunya Shantz XWinWrap [...]
Hey, great little utility. I’ve noticed that on Ubuntu Karmic (9.10) -fs flag is not working. Everything works just it’s not full-screen.
Any idea?
Please please pretty please keep developing this. Get more help, put a team together… Give it a shiny GUI and make it in to the Ubuntu repos!
This app is great! And thank you for taking up development on it. Don’t stray of now, keep working. Where here to cheer you on!
[...] tenía algunos fallos y falencias, además no estaba bajo desarrollo activo. De modo que un usuario publicó una actualización en 2008. Para usar videos como fondos de pantalla además tendremos que [...]
This makes my screen go all flashy. I’m running compiz on ubuntu 9.10 with an ATI Radeon HD 3200 card on a toshiba laptop. Anyone else having the same problem?
[...] più una succosa novità: ho messo come dipendenza (sempre disponibile nel mio repo) Shantz Xwinwrap, un prodigioso fork di xwinwrap più stabile e con più funzionalità rispetto alla versione [...]
Hi Shantanu,
This is awesome. Is there a way, we can get the source code for this one with your updates? The launchpad repository doesn’t have the source.
Thanks
[...] primer lugar, he descargado Shantz xwinwrap de aquí., lo he extraido e instalado. Puede utilizar los archivos deb para su arquitectura [...]
vivek, the source code is present in the launchpad repository.. just click on trunk or branches…
Are you still working on this?
Is there a way to donate to your efforts? Can you stick a donate button, preferably paypal, on your site somewhere? Thanks!
[...] Nach einigem Suchen bin ich auf einige laufende Beispiele gestoßen. Möglich macht es XWinWrap mit dem man im Prinzip jegliche Anwendung auf dem Desktophintergrund laufen lassen kann. Für [...]
Heres an odd bug, when I minimize everything manually, the xwinwrapped app, electric sheep or glmatrix float up above the active window, except when alt+tab is active
narrowed down to -ov flag, without it when i hit show desktop it disappears
[...] La solution se nome Shantz XWinWrap et est téléchargeable tout aissi librement sur le site d’ l’auteur. (l’archiver peut aussi se trouver ici) Comme indiqué sur le site, le logiciel permet [...]
[...] El tercero puedes descargarlo e instalarlo como paquete .deb (hay para 32 y 64 bits) desde el siguiente enlace. [...]
[...] El tercero puedes descargarlo e instalarlo como paquete .deb (hay para 32 y 64 bits) desde el siguiente enlace. [...]
i had a problem when i tried it in amd32 processor. there’s no proccess when i choose the wmv files. is it support for amd32? it’s screenshoot on terminal http://de.tk/RMlMr
[...] shantz-xwinwrap (скачать тут) [...]
[...] primero que habría que hacer es descargarte xwinwrap desde AQUÍ. Por si las moscas, hay otra copia del archivo AQUÍ, a la que habría que cambiar su extensión [...]
[...] primero que habría que hacer es descargarte xwinwrap desde AQUÍ. Por si las moscas, hay otra copia del archivo AQUÍ, a la que habría que cambiar su extensión [...]
[...] tools #—————————————————————- # Descarga de xwinwrap: Shantz XWinWrap | Shantanu's Technophilic Musings #—————————————————————- VERSION="1.1" [...]
[...] shantz-xwinwrap (download here) [...]
[...] Shantz xwinwrap desde aquí (http://tech.shantanugoel.com/projects/linux/shantz-xwinwrap ) e instálalo. Debes utilizar los archivos .deb para su arquitectura correspondiente. ( Yo elegí [...]
[...] shantz-xwinwrap (Hämta här) – zenity (redan installerat) – mplayer (apt:mplayer) – the script (Hämta [...]
Gracias Shanantu, es justo lo que buscaba!
Thanks, it’s what i was looking for! works flawlessly on ubuntu 10.04
greetings from Argentina!
sos groso, sabélo
[...] una sola versión, y parece haber sido abandonada desde entonces. La nueva versión se la debemos a Shantanu Goel, y de aquí podemos descargar los .deb para Ubuntu/Debian de 32 o 64 bits. Una vez instalado el [...]
[...] esperar, ja que existeixen altres camins per fer el mateix a un escriptori GNOME. Amb el programa XWinWrap, es poden fer servir vídeos, screensavers o altres coses com a fons [...]
This works for me on KDE 4.4.5:
xwinwrap -ni -o 1 -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID
or
xwinwrap -ni -o 0.3 -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — mplayer -wid WID -quiet -vo gl2 -ao alsa ‘/path/to/my-movie.avi’ -loop 0
Found in a post by Hydranmenace in at this link:
http://mandrivausers.org/index.php?/topic/42339-video-background-in-kde/
[...] ce réglage l’opacité est moins prononcé et la video est lancé sans le son. Voila, le lien http://tech.shantanugoel.com/projects/linux/shantz-xwinwrap :un film en fond d'écran ou un truc animé (sous [...]
[...] ,los pasos son sencillos , primero …descargamos el paquete de la aplicacion desde aca http://tech.shantanugoel.com/projects/linux/shantz-xwinwrap despues de instalado el paquete para nuestra arquitectura lo probamos con este comando : xwinwrap [...]
I got projectM to work with XWinWrap. Hope it was worth the wait!
http://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/ec3ij/use_projectm_as_your_live_desktop_wallpaper/
Awesome work there, Jack.
Thank you! your program finally resolve the problem of xwinwrap window treated as normal window on composite X server!!
[...] GNU/Linux Debian Testing (Squezee) para arquitectura x86_64. Básicamente descargue directamente el paquete del sitio oficial que nombra Carlos y sólo copie el binario a mi carpeta [...]
[...] Shantz-Χwinwrap (κατεβάστε το) [...]
Installed the deb on Mint 10
Tried the command for the glmatrix screensaver above but it just froze like my last girlfriend.
Ended up doing a Alt+F2 and chucking this in and it worked a treat!
xwinwrap -ni -argb -fs -s -st -sp -nf -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -window-id WID
I love the fact that I can run a video as my background!
The problem I am having is; now the screensaver will not kick on or the computer will not go to sleep and power down. Is there a command I can use to override xwinwrap to let the computer go to sleep if idle for a while?
I’m trying to use your version of xwinwrap in XMonad (a tiling wm). I’m getting the problem where it covers everything else. How would I fix this? I’m using the latest version (0.3). Thanks!
Great job! I’m already using over x86_x64 Debian testing instal and loving it. I just want to have some way off using it and showing the desktop icons. I know that with the Gnome-panel, Cairo-dock, and Awn i don’t really need the desktop but would be nice to have the option.
[...] is not. You can, however, use compiz, and set an animated background. See the following links: http://tech.shantanugoel.com/project…hantz-xwinwrap http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2007/0…ion-on-ubuntu/ [...]
@ Graphic Equalizer Wallpaper
If you are interested in something like thatthis reddit post talks about using projectM as a wallpaper. I tried it but it went fullscreen above all other layers except for the mouse… had to tty kill -9 projectM for it to close out :/ I hope to get it working though so i can integrate it into VDesk. Hope this information helps someone
Hi I was running xwinwrap on debian and it ran perfectly, but I’ve switched to linuxmint and when I libvdpau1 is installed And I tried to change mplayers video out settings to xvtry to run xwinwrap I get the error:
libvdpau1 is installed And I tried to change mplayers video out settings to xv (I read in a forum somewhere that said to do this) but that didn’t work either
What am I doing wrong?
Huh? My comment got garbled, sorry, I’ll try again:
Hi, I was running xwinwrap on debian and it ran perfectly, but I’ve switched to linuxmint and now when I try to run xwinwrap I get the error:
libvdpau is installed And I tried to change mplayers video out settings to xv (I read in a forum somewhere that said to do this) but that didn’t work either
What am I doing wrong?
Hi, i’ve been trying to get shantz-xwinwrap installed on my new pc running which is running Natty Narval, but i’m a fresh off the boat when it comes to Ubuntu. All i get is the result below.
Lintian check results for /home/ted/shantz-xwinwrap/x86_64/shantz-xwinwrap_0.3-1_amd64.deb:
E: shantz-xwinwrap: wrong-file-owner-uid-or-gid usr/ 1000/1000
E: shantz-xwinwrap: wrong-file-owner-uid-or-gid usr/bin/ 1000/1000
E: shantz-xwinwrap: wrong-file-owner-uid-or-gid usr/bin/xwinwrap 1000/1000
When ignore the above message i get the following result;
(Reading database … (Reading database … 5% (Reading database … 10% (Reading database … 15% (Reading database … 20% (Reading database … 25% (Reading database … 30% (Reading database … 35% (Reading database … 40% (Reading database … 45% (Reading database … 50% (Reading database … 55% (Reading database … 60% (Reading database … 65% (Reading database … 70% (Reading database … 75% (Reading database … 80% (Reading database … 85% (Reading database … 90% (Reading database … 95% (Reading database … 100% (Reading database … 169100 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking shantz-xwinwrap (from …/shantz-xwinwrap_0.3-1_amd64.deb) …
dpkg: error processing /home/ted/shantz-xwinwrap/x86_64/shantz-xwinwrap_0.3-1_amd64.deb (–install):
trying to overwrite ‘/usr/bin/xwinwrap’, which is also in package xwinwrap 0.2-0~getdeb1
Any ideas? I would appreciate any input. I’ve been trying to get an animated desktop working without getting it minimized when hitting the “Minimize all windows/Show desktop” button on the bottom left corner. Also, if anyone could tell me how to get the desktop animation to stick on the autostartup i would be a happy camper.
Kind regards/
Ted Ribon
tedribon is offline Reply With Quote
Puuuhlease Shantanu Goel,
Would you mind help me out with your deb file. When trying to install your amazing SW all i get is E: shantz-xwinwrap: wrong-file-owner-uid-or-gid usr/ 1000/1000. I did download the latest version just a moment ago and i’m still stuck at this problem. I know that most of the people in here thinks i’m a total tool and that might be your opinion too, but i’m making an effort to learn. I’ve been using Ubuntu for just a month now.
Kind regards/
Ted
@Ted: Sorry I didn’t see your comment before. I’m out of town right now. Will check out the problem as soon as I get back home in a few days.
Hi again Shantanu Goel,
I replaced the original usr/bin/xwinwrap with your new 64-bit xwinwrap. Would you mind help me with a command line that makes /home/ted/Skull.wmv run as fullscreen and sticky when i’m booting up the pc?
Kind regards/
Ted Ribon
Ok, so I got this working (though I’ll add my voice to the clamor for some way to see my desktop icons) on Ubuntu 11.04 in Gnome with nautilus running.
I have 2 problems not described here; one minor one somewhat less minor:
The minor problem is that some screensavers (which work just fine as screensavers) flicker annoyingly. Specifically, boxtube’s boxes flicker individually with the existing background picture. (With this and a few others the typical black background is instead the existing background pic.)
The less-minor problem is that if I close the last window on a workspace, I can’t use ctrl+alt+[arrow_key] to switch workspaces!
The command line I’m using is xwinwrap -argb -fs -s -st -sp -nf -b — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/wormhole -window-id WID
and it works fine otherwise.
Any hints?
~Warren
@Ted
I wrote a frontend for xwinwrap. It’s an easy way to configure xwinwrap. It has the auto-start feature that you’re looking for, along with some other featuers. Go get it for free at: http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/VDesk+-+Visual+Desktop?content=141678
I never did get the projectM wallpaper mod integrated into VDesk… If someone wants to work on that with me (nudge nudge wink wink)
@Shantanu Goel
Have you done any work on this project recently? I know that someone was working on a GTK frontend for this. gwinwrap i think… but last i checked it was dead in the water with no one working on it. Any thoughts?
Thankyou for this program it is great. I am having the same trouble that others have mentioned about the videos playing over application windows. This happens whenever xwinwrap is running without any windows open or with all windows minimied. This means that if you run xwinwrap and then close or minimize all windows, the video will play over all the windows, meaning that if there is no transparency then you can’t see your windows at all. Also, if you run xwinwrap at startup, and no other windows are opened first, then you will have the same issue.
My startup command is
“nice -n 15 xwinwrap -ni -nf -ov -st -s -sp -fs -b -o 1.000000 — mplayer /home/ultra/Videos/Clips/Fire/candle_002.mp4 -quiet -noconsolecontrols -loop 0 -nosound -wid WID”
Is there anything wrong with that command? I used gwinwrap to generate that. Are you still working on this? I appreciate all the work you have done on it already. If I could just overcome this one issue it would be perfect for me.
I’m using Ubuntu 11.4 and your latest feb 2 09 release of xwinwrap.
@Ultra
It seems that it only happens with mplayer… Using the screensaver doesn’t have the same issue. Now, there is a -rootwin switch for mplayer, but using that method involves disabling the desktop:
gconftool-2 –type bool –set /apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop false
This of course means that there will be no desktop icons and you will not be able to right click with normal function.
Here are the lines i use as an example:
MPlayer
xwinwrap -ni -o “$opac” -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — mplayer -profile “$mprofile” -volume $vol -slave -input file=/tmp/mplayer-control -wid WID -really-quiet “$dir/$file” -loop 0
Screensaver
xwinwrap -ni -argb -fs -s -o “$opac” -st -sp -nf -b — “$dir/$file” -root -window-id WID
Mr. Goel:
This thanks may be 3 years late, but I just found this. You’ve built something amazing here. Thank you.
[...] (download dari sini) setelah didownload, ekstrak, kemudian install salah satu paket .deb yang sesuai dengan arsitektur [...]
Hi. Is it possible to run some web browser engine as a wallpaper? Webkit / Gecko or something like that. It would be nice to have active desktop in Linux…
[...] with the help of the people on the Archlinux forums and after some tweaking with a program called shantz xWinWrap, I now have integrated live streams on the desktop. This can be done with the following command: [...]
[...] wallpapers a while ago, but got bored with it pretty quickly. I used a small program called Shantz XWinWrap, to display the animated wallpapers, which are simply small videos. You can get animated wallpapers [...]
[...] Shantz xwinwrap (see previous post) can integrate pretty much any video on the desktop, simply by calling mplayer. In combination with the tool youtube-dl you can also view any youtube videos, directly on the desktop. Without any advertisements. As an example, the following command plays Lady Gaga’s Poker Face. Interesting mplayer options are to play the video in black and white, and to mute the sound. Simply change the URL to view any other video. [...]
[...] xwinwrap [...]
I was excited to find this app; however, though it installed fine, I have not had success putting vlc in my wallpaper. Im using LinuxMint13 in a LXDE session.
Hi, I have a problem. I’m running kubuntu 12.14 and xwinwrap is working fine with such a command line “xwinwrap -ni -fs -s -st -sp -b -nf — mplayer -wid WID -quiet -loop 0 /home/tenshin/Видео/Dark_Tree.wmv”. But when I try to add -ov parameter, all windows are behind the video. I need that parameter to use -g and make top of my desktop visible. Thx for reply
sorry for previous post, but I solved the problem using special windows parametrs in system settings, hope this will help anybody who will have same ussue
Thanks for keeping xwinwrap going!
I’m also experiencing the flicking problem (I have an AMD Radeon card, which seems to have issues in general with the OpenGL screensavers), my workaround is to reduce the density which glmatrix uses, it seems fine if there’s not a lot to draw:
xwinwrap -g 2560×1440+0+0 -ni -argb -s -st -sp -b -nf -ov — /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -no-rotate -density 1 -window-id WID
Hope this helps.
Hey! Thanks for this awesome app.
Regarding the issue about minimizing the “wallpaper” with the other windows. Setting the xwinwrap’s window class to “desktop” fixes it for me. For this I’ve downloaded the souce code from the link provided above, added this:
XClassHint class_hints;
declaration in the main function, added theese three lines:
class_hints.res_name = “xwinwrap”;
class_hints.res_class = “desktop”;
XSetClassHint(dpy, win, &class_hints);
just before the
XSetWMProperties (dpy, win, NULL, NULL, argv, argc, &xsh, &xwmh, NULL);
line and compiled the programm. And now the xwinwrap wallpaper behaves just like it should.
And a little offtopic: If someone wants to have conky stuff displayed on top of xwinwrap, make sure to have theese:
own_window yes
own_window_argb_visual yes
own_window_type desktop
own_window_transparent yes
options set in your conkyrc. The composite manager is required.
Hope this helps.