I did try it today in tahr pup 6.0 rel. Oct, 2014
it works but it is a real row method connecting it using .initrc!
probably there is a *.pet somewhere making possible to commute to other wm using a
«dialog»?
very good is that ratpoison seems to continue to use the full decoration of the Puppy linux applications
bad is that no menu can be used and Puppy linux does not include some «grun»! it is necessary to navigate with rox to /usr/bin and select the app's in the tree. it is not really performant!
(in Debian / Ubuntu the menu from package Debian-Menu with 9menu for Ratpoison can be used through the transaction CtrlT. (control t point) and you find there an item to Debian menu (does not include some KDE menu!!!) and to other WM's registered in the installation (but not always the reserve: you can't not commute back to ratpoison in each other WM! WM's are so restrictive like Microsoft
!))
The best way seems don't to chance somewhat in /root/,initrc
but to restart in console mode through the menu «menu» where you can start
and you are in ratpoison (observe the little ratpoison's command and message line being for a short time in the top right corner of the screen!)
you see now all you usual icons!
and I would urgently recommand to begin to hit at rox (home icon)!
so you have indirectly defined rox to be screen 0 (CtrlT0 also control t zero) in ratpoison
go to
/usr/bin
and hit right mouse key (I know! I know! ratpoison does not love mouses!!! but as first step in the use of ratpoison, it is perhaps better as more easy for you
- next reboot, you can do all that directly in commando line environment
) on
wmexit
and select "link" to /root/wmexit or /root/exit
and do the same with
wmreboot
with wmreboot, hitting on that link in /root, you can reboot the PC (but ratpoison will reappear if you use a save dir or file as long you don't do following procedure:)
and
with wmexit you can restart in the commando line level
and restart with your lovely conventional window manager:
xwin jwm
or
xwin lxde.
an other interesting link in /root would be a link to
/usr/local/bin
as you find there all default-applications
(oh! you don't know until yet those documents? open it and look! they are simple texts and you can adapt it to your own needs and feeling and the icons on the desktop will in the future do that what you did choice yourself! hitting on it in that directory does the same as hitting on one icon!...)
as you (probably, now) have rox in window no. 0 of ratpoison you can use rox as "clicking menu" in
ratpoison (has you don't find there the usual ratpoison menu under CtrlT.
!)
enjoy it!
(if you are a real purist, you also can open first the console
and do all that in commando line! it is easy! if you like commando line environment, have please a look
here! and
here! Important: Ratpoison is not CLI at all but a lot of graphic app's can not really work well without mouse!)
more?
here please
http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/doc/
and if you love free and frugal kind of working, try
Xombrero, the full performance browser needing no mouse but using
«Vi» style commands (sorry but Ctrlt has to belong and be reserved for «ratpoison» but you can open new sites using the command
todo: shrink an actual version of puppy and include/prefer such app's needing no mouse to remaster it