1 # MyMenu
2 
3 > A replacement for dmenu, 'cause I was bored
4 
5 ![MyMenu works!](screen.png)
6 
7 ![MyMenu alternate layout](screen-alt.png)
8 
9 ---
10 
11 ## What?
12 
13 This is a replacement for `dmenu(1)`.
14 
15 ## Why?
16 
17 This was the perfect excuse to learn how to use Xlib.
18 
19 ## How?
20 
21 Check out the [manpage](mymenu.1.md) for further documentation. Check
22 out also the [template](Xexample) for the resources.
23 
24 ---
25 
26 ## Dependencies
27 
28  - Xlib
29  - Xinerama (optional) for multi-monitor support
30  - Xft (optional) for TrueType font support
31  - pkg-config (optional) used in the makefile to generate `LIBS` and
32    `CFLAGS` correctly
33 
34 ## Build
35 
36 As simple as `make` (or `make gnu` if you're using GNU libc). Keep in
37 mind that, by default, both Xft and Xinerama are enabled. So, you may
38 want to run:
39 
40   - `make no_xft` to build without xft support;
41   - `make no_xinerama` to build without xinerama support;
42   - `make no_xft_xinerama` to build without xinerama *and* no xft support.
43 
44 #### ignore case completion / don't have `strcasestr(3)`
45 
46 If you want to build without the ignore case completion or on your
47 platform `strcasestr(3)` isn't available, you have to update the
48 `Makefile` and remove `-DUSE_STRCASESTR`. A simple
49 ``` shell
50 sed -i.orig 's/-DUSE_STRCASESTR//g' Makefile
51 ```
52 should be enough.
53 
54 
55 ## FAQ
56 
57  - Does not run / Hangs
58 
59    At the startup mymenu will read `stdin` for a list of item, only
60    then it'll display a window. Are you sure that you're passing
61    something on standard input?
62 
63  - Will feature $X be added?
64 
65    No. Or maybe yes. In fact, it depends. Open an issue and let's
66    discuss. If it's something that's trivial to achieve in combo with
67    other tool maybe is not the case to add it here.
68 
69  - Is feature $Y present? What $Z do? How to achieve $W?
70 
71    Everything is documented in the [man page](mymenu.1.md). To read
72    it, simply execute `man -l mymenu.1` or `mandoc mymenu.1 | less`
73    (depending on your system the `-l` option may not be present).
74 
75 ---
76 
77 ## TODO
78 
79  - Improve UTF8 support
80 
81    The whole UTF8 support is still kinda naïve and should definitely
82    be improved.
83 
84  - Opacity support
85 
86  - Command line flags
87 
88    At the moment the X Resource Database is the only way to interact
89    with the graphic appearance of MyMenu.
90 
91 ## Scripts
92 
93 I'm using this script to launch MyMenu with custom item
94 
95 ``` shell
96 #!/bin/sh
97 
98 cat <<EOF | /bin/sh -c "$(mymenu "$@")"
99 sct 4500
100 lock
101 connect ethernet
102 connect home
103 connect phone
104 ZZZ
105 zzz
106 ...
107 EOF
108 ```
109 
110 You can generate a menu from the `.desktop` file with something like
111 this:
112 
113 ``` shell
114 #!/bin/sh
115 
116 getname() {
117     cat $1 | grep '^Name=' | sed 's/^.*=//'
118 }
119 
120 getexec() {
121     cat $1 | grep '^Exec=' | sed 's/^.*=//'
122 }
123 
124 desktop_files=`ls /usr/local/share/applications/*.desktop`
125 
126 {
127     for i in $desktop_files; do
128         getname $i
129     done
130 } | mymenu "$@" | {
131     read prgname
132     for i in $desktop_files; do
133         name=`getname $i`
134         if [ "x$prgname" = "x$name" ]; then
135             exec `getexec $i`
136         fi
137     done
138 }
139 ```
140 
141 or generate a list of executables from `$PATH` like this:
142 
143 ``` shell
144 #!/bin/sh
145 
146 path=`echo $PATH | sed 's/:/ /g'`
147 
148 {
149     for i in $path; do
150         ls -F $i | grep '.*\*$' | sed 's/\*//'
151     done
152 } | sort -f | /bin/sh -c "$(mymenu "$@")"
153 ```
154 
155 Of course you can as well use the `dmenu_path` and `dmenu_run` scripts
156 that (usually) comes with `dmenu`.