ratmenu - create a menu to run commands
Contents
Configuration Using X Resources
You can configure some items using xrdb to load appropriate X resources. There is an example
configuration in the file /usr/share/doc/ratmenu/Xresources.ratmenu which shows all possible
configuration items. Give it a look; it is fairly easy to figure out.
Description
ratmenu is a simple program that accepts a list of menu item and command pairs on the command line. It
creates a window that consists of nothing but a menu. When a particular item is selected, the
corresponding command is executed.
ratmenu does not recognize any usage of the rodent. It is entirely keystroke operated.
Menu items must be followed by a command. The syntax is based on that of the dialog program.
ratmenu accepts the following command line options.
-displaydisplayname
Use the X display displayname, instead of the default display.
-fontfname
(X Resource: font) Use the font fname, instead of the default font.
-labelname
Change both the window and icon labels of the window to name. The default label is the
last component of the path used to run ratmenu, typically, ratmenu.
-fgforeground-color
(X Resource: fgcolor) Set the foreground color to foreground-color. By default, the
foreground color is black.
-bgbackground-color
(X Resource: bgcolor) Set the background color to background-color. By default, the
background color is white.
-ioitem-offset
Set the first selected item to item-offset. By default, the first item is the top-most
one, or item-offset 1. The next item down would be at item-offset 2.
-style{snazzy|dreary}
(X Resource: style) The default style is snazzy, where the highlight bar, which shows the
currently selected item, remains stationary while all the menu items are rotated up or down
when the cursor keys are moved. In dreary mode, the highlight bar moves up and down the
menu as it does on all conventional keyboard controlled menus.
-align{left|center|right}
(X Resource: align) Align the text of the menu entries to the left, right, or center.
Defaults to left. This is different from 9menu, which defaults to center.
-shellprog
Use prog as the shell to run commands, instead of /bin/sh. A popular alternative shell is
rc(1). If the shell cannot be executed, ratmenu will silently fall back to using /bin/sh.
-backprevmenuprevmenu is a command or shell script to run when the back key is pressed, usually a script
that has ratmenu showing the previous menu. Used to create nested menus, it gives the user
a way to back out and return to the previous menu. Note that you can use this option for
other things too. The command specified by the -back option is executed when the user hits
one of the "back" keys.
-persist
(X Resource: persist) Ordinarily, ratmenu exits if a new window pops up on top of it, or if
you switch to another window. This option tells ratmenu to hang around, like a regular
window.
-version
This option prints the version of ratmenu on the standard output, and then exits with an
exit value of zero.
Examples
ratmenu-label"Remotesxterm"acme"rshacmexterm"herman"rshherman9term"&ratmenu-label'Xprogs'ghostviewghostviewxdvixdvixeyesxeyesxnekoxneko&ratmenu-back~/bin/mypreviousmenu"XEyes"xeyes&Keystrokes
The Up keystrokes move the selection to the next item up. The Down keystrokes move the selection to the
next item down. When the selection reaches the top or bottom, it scrolls around to the other side on
pressing of the appropriate keystroke. The Select keystrokes execute the command corresponding to the
currently selected menu item, and exit ratmenu. The Exit keystrokes quit ratmenu without doing anything.
Up
'k', Up_arrow, BackSpace, '-', C-p
Down
'j', Down_arrow, Space, Tab, '+', C-n, C-i
Select
'l', Right_arrow, Return, C-f, C-m, C-j
Back
'h', Left_arrow, C-b
Exit
'q', Escape, C-g
Name
ratmenu - create a menu to run commands
See Also
ratpoison(1), ratpoisonrc(5), dialog(1) xrdb(1) RatpoisonDesktopUsersManual.
Synopsis
ratmenu [ -displaydisplayname ] [ -fontfname ] [ -fgforeground-color ] [ -bgbackground-color ] [ -ioitem-offset ] [ -labelname ] [ -shellprog ] [ -align{left|center|right} ] [ -style{snazzy|dreary} ] [
-persist ] [ -version ] [ menuitemcommand ] ...
