Configuration | Tutorial Option Translucent: transparent windows

# Configuration

The statement

    options [+|-]Translucent

enables or disables the option Translucent for the XmetaX proxy. However, only options which are covered by the license key (Licensing) may be enabled. The default setting — no additional options — corresponds to the XmetaX base product.

The transparency property is associated with one or multiple colors of one or several windows. All areas to be drawn by the X Window server in one of the transparency colors are transparent, the windows under the translucent window up to the root window are visible through these transparent areas.

This transparency takes effect not only on output operations but on input events, too. Thus, you may click through a translucent window into an obscured window.

Managing a translucent window is much more costly than managing a regularly shaped window. Translucent windows with rapidly changing or very complex contents may make the X Window server seem to block shortly.

The configuration program translucent is used to specify the translucent window(s) and the transparency color(s):

    /opt/XSOXmetaX/bin/translucent [-display display_name] \
        [-help] [-verbose] \
        [{-id resource_id}|{-name window_name}|-root] [-raise] \
        [+|-ancestors] [+|-window] [+|-inferiors] \
        [-color color_name|all]... [-pixel pixel_value|all]... \
        [+|-decoration] [-translucentImageText] \
        [-undo]

The arguments -id r esource_id, or -name window_name determine a base window. Without these arguments, the base window is selected by the succeeding mouse click. -root denotes the root window. However, this does only make sense with a session mirrored by the XmetaX proxy.

The argument -raise lets the XmetaX proxy display the specified window on top of all other windows.

The following arguments specify the set of windows which should become translucent in relation to the base window (the first two classes are included by default):

ancestors comprises all ancestors of the base window up to but not including the root window or a window with similar functionality.

window corresponds to the base window.

inferiors comprises all inferiors of the base window.

The arguments -color color_name and -pixel pixel_value may be used multiple times and determine the transparency colors (all means total transparency). Without these arguments, one transparency color is selected by the succeeding mouse click.

The specified colors are included into the set of transparency colors of the windows determined like described above, the corresponding window areas become transparent.

With the argument -undo the specified colors are deleted from the set of transparency colors, the corresponding window areas are displayed normally again.

+|-decoration determines the set of window decorations used by certain window managers. The normal decoration, which surrounds the whole window, is selected by default. With -decoration only the window title is displayed in most cases.

For increasing the text display performance of terminal emulator programs, the transparency of image text — i.e. text with background — is applied to the text background, even if it is drawn in one of the transparency colors. The argument -translucentImageText disables this optimization, image text becomes really transparent.

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Option Translucent: transparent windows

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