Nicer xorg 6.8 shadow - addons.videolan.org

Nicer xorg 6.8 shadow

Source (link to git-repo or to original if based on someone elses unmodified work): Add the source-code for this project on opencode.net

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Description:

First of all credits go to a user in gentoo forum. His nick is hoarycripple.

He made a patch to improve the xorg drop shadow.

I found that his patch also didn't fit my needs so i tweaked it a little bit.

Screenshot 1 - Shows the default shadow of xcompmgr.

Screenshot 2 - More Osx like than before.

I (and hoarycripple on gentoo) found it unnatural and ugly that a window drops a shadow that surrounds every edge of it.So in my patch only 3 edges are surrounded like in OSX.

How to use:

1.Backup your original xcompmgr file
2.Download xcompmgr-0.1_pre20040821.tar.bz2 (it works stable for me)

3.Unpack and put my diff in this directory
4.In this directory type
patch -p0 < patch_xcompmgr.diff

./autogen.sh
./configure && make
and test it !

Move it to a direction other than your original xcompmgr and test it with full path !

If some good coder reads it:
My idea to improve the shadows:
Makes it more realistic. We needs at least two layers of shadows.The topmost window and every window under it.The topmost must have the greatest shadowradius and the other only the half or less ! So we get real 3D depth like in OSX.Perhaps one could hack a function for xcompmgr that changes the shadow values dynamicly ? thomas17111 perhaps :)

17 comments
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manor
16 years ago

They last version of your modification to xcompmgr works exactly the way i want.
Now the visual effect of having a 3D Desktop
is very much improved.

First i didn't realized a big difference.That must have to do that i didn't restart X after playing around with some xcompmgr values
on my own.That playing must have screwed something in memory so that i really noticed it now.

Very cool !

Thanks.

thomas12777
16 years ago

http://baghira.sourceforge.net/xcompmgr2.1.tar.bz2
different look, shadows do not turn to "top" when closing a window
included diaglogs, tool and util windows
superkaramba does not pulse at my side, but that may depend on the version and the theme

thomas12777
16 years ago

btw. i cannot mail you - seems your addy is invalid (web.de refuses and gmx sends me a failure notice)
but you may mail me a shadow screenshot (or upload it)

yOyOeK1
16 years ago

xcompmgr is a full hardware rendering. the http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=15781 is grate bat it is unstable with kde3.3. I tray it two times and... when i tried to change settings in ?control canter? the control canter crash. and those hangs from time two time. i give it 9/10 points ! goon. http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=15781 is a software shadow maker. may by get the xcompmgr and ?KWin drop shadow patches for kde3.3? teach them to live together. kwin while by faster and live closer hardware. xcompmgr is a future i think.

manor
16 years ago

I think that the software solution by
Deciare was the best looking
http://kdelook.org/content/show.php?content=5638

Sure shadows in hardware is the future.I hope that it will soon improve in terms of speed, stability and visual quality.

It would be good if the speed of xcomposite on various graphics adapters can be the same of the nvidia ones.

I put my Matrox away and now a Nvidia is in my pc.As soon as speed of the Matrox (xcomposite) is on par with the Nvidia i will swap them again.

What i notice all the time:
Nvidia drivers sucks! Although this is xorgs first stable release i didn't have one crash with the Matrox but countless crashes with the Nvidia :(
I don't think this has to do with xorg because i had a lot of hard lockups with Nvidia cards in the past with Xfree.

yOyOeK1
16 years ago

a have also nvidia. and on the beginning of the my adventure whit a xcompmgr I have really low performance of display. window's was drawing in visible speed from top to bottom.
in software > google.com :P I find a some grate options.
after put putting (+ is a line to add)

Section "Device"
Identifier "video"
Driver "nvidia"
+ Option "RenderAccel" "on"
#VideoRam 131072
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection

the xcompmgr start to almost flay. shadows and speed of drawing screen was satisfying. problem is with resizing window.

manor
16 years ago

Same problem here.
RenderAccel brings a lot but resizing
is a pain.

But we have to see the future:
All great new features in kde, the kernel or anything else under linux got big improvements after a year or so. I mean after that time most things are nearly perfect then.

With Xorgs speed i think we can expect drop shadows become much better in a few months (half a year).

At this time we can be glad what we have: Nicer and bigger shadows as Windows :)

manor
16 years ago

Cool - thanks a lot !
I can't await to try it out :)

I knew you would improve the shadows sooner or later ...

Btw:
Thanks a lot for Baghira !
We all know that Mosfet is a talented coder and that he laid the
foundation-stone (in some way) for Baghira.But what you did with his Liquid is overwhelming !

Baghira has nothing to do with Liquid anymore.When Mosfet is a genius, then what are you Thomas ? You are a c++ wizard of the highest levels.There is no border that you can't break.

Thanks a lot to Thomas - a real mastermind of c++ coding !
Yes also a lot of kudos go to all the other Linux, KDE coders but i wanted to thank especially Thomas today.

thomas12777
16 years ago

...this?
http://baghira.sourceforge.net/xcompmgr2.tar.bz2

(didn't view your version yet, so only common shadows)
the changes only appear on restacks (i.e. you change the focus) and should exclude anything but normal windows (docks etc.)
due to the wider shadow, resizing windows tends to create more artefacts...

happy testing ;)

nightwriter
16 years ago

Thomas, Only one "strange thing I'm noticing. On my SuperK apps running on my desktop. With xcompmgr2 I notice that they .... well..... pulse. In the about every 5 seconds the shadow grows... then shrinks back. I'm only seeing this on the superk apps. Not the regular apps.

Matti
16 years ago

Use the -C option to get rid of shadows on docks and panels.

Matt

thomas12777
16 years ago

i'll try to exclude such windows for another release (can't poromise, as i don't know what superkaramber is using)
docks should be excluded anyway

thomas12777
16 years ago

imho apple has shadows on the top as well (due to the ambience light, real objetcs throw a light overall shadow (on all sides) and a dark one in the preferred direction)
when i'm no more tired, i'll try to update the gaussian map

manor
16 years ago

I have high quality screenshots of OSX and could send you a screenshot of default Panther drop shadows.

There it seems that the light source would be from top so that there is no shadow on the window decoration.

The biggest improvement would be the different layers so the direction is an aspect of personal preferrence.

nightwriter
16 years ago

First of all let me say that I like what you did. I would however ask if you would consider this modification. There are 2 drop shadow effects in xcompmanager. The -c shadow and the -s shadow. IMHO the -s was an attempt (Butt ugly but an attempt) to do what you have so nicely done. Would it be possible to replace the -s switch with your code rather than the -c one? This way people would have a choice between 2 very nice shadow effects instead of one nice and one ... lousy. Thanks

lucher
16 years ago

what about zuxez who developed the kwin dropshadows? As he pointed out (see http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=15781 ) he is going to write his own xcompmgr from scratch since the xorg manager has a lot of design issues.

just a thought

yf12s
16 years ago

Because that stuff is all faked transparency from what I understand. This is based on REAL transparency that can move when you drag windows, unlike the menu effects since KDE 3.1.

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