X windows needs a built in command launcher

[user222]

i think *really* X windows needs a built in command launcher, that pops up on a keystroke, so that you dont need to keep editing the xinitrc and xsession files, because if you just type 'X' in the command line, you *cannot* do anything in it

[lakerdonald]

1)

X

2)Ctrl-Alt-F2
3)

command

-lakerdonald

[user222]

no, it doesnt work, it just goes back to a terminal screen, and if you try to run any X app, you will always get an error message like "Can't open display"

[techieMoe]

no, it doesnt work, it just goes back to a terminal screen, and if you try to run any X app, you will always get an error message like "Can't open display"

Try just [ALT+F2]. It should bring up a dialog box into which you can type whatever command you want to launch. (At least it works like that in KDE).

[user222]

it only works in KDE and GNOME, (and possibly other window managers), and that keystroke is customizable in KDE and GNOME | what you really need to know is that I started X without any other X apps, not even an Xterm | the [Alt-F2] keystroke only works if KDE or GNOME is running

[techieMoe]

So you're running plain X Windows with no window managers or desktop environments and you're complaining you can't do anything with it? Was there a point to this post other than trolling?

[user222]

just a feature request for X windows, but is there a way make the X apps wait for X server to finish starting before trying to connect the display, I tried using 'X &nedit' and 'X |nedit', neither one works

EDIT:
It works if you set the "DISPLAY" variable (most likely "export DISPLAY=:0") before typing the command.

[techieMoe]

All right. Well, since I don't think anyone on this forum works on either the XFree86 or Xorg projects, you might try firing off an email to either of these groups:

http://www.xfree86.org/
http://www.x.org

[kyku]

If you don't use KDE or GNOME as window managers (because, eg they're slow & ugly) there are several programs to do the trick. The one I use is gmrun. To bind it to a keyboard sequence, either consult your window manager documentation or get interested in xbindkeys (an article here).

And don't even bother guys who write Xs about such features - they're unlikely to implement it. If I'm wrong you get a free beer from me.