HowTo install Conky for beginners.

[DaveS]

Conky is a desktop system monitor. Here is a screenshot showing it in operation



These instructions are for installation on Puppy 4.1.1, Frugal, but should be fine on any Puppy 4 series, full or frugal install. The instructions are long, but simple.

First prepare your system. By default Conky runs in the top right of your screen, as in the screenshot. If you have icons in that position, you must move them, or Conky will cover them.
Conky runs with a black background, and if you are happy with that, fine, but if you want it transparent, you must do the following:
Determine which image you are using as a background for your desktop. If you are not sure, you can find it from menu>desktop>wallpaper setter.
Load the image being used into mtpaint (usually just clicking on it in Rox filemanager will automatically do this for you). Then save the image using the 'save as' option, and saving it to /root/Choices, giving it the new name ROX-background.jpg

OK, you are now ready to download the Conky .pet files. You can find them here http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=23280
You need the Conky .pet file, and the two libs. Right click them and select 'Save Link Target As'. Save all three where you can find them again. I use 'My Applications', but use whatever you want.

After the download, navigate to the files and click on each one to install them. Do the two lib files first. When you install the conky file itself, you will be presented with a text file that includes the following statements:

Code: Select all

To start conky on startup, add the following 2 lines in /root/.xinitrc - add them before #exec $CURRENTWM like below:


xli -fillscreen -onroot /root/Choices/ROX-background.jpg
conky -d


#exec $CURRENTWM
#v2.11 GuestToo suggested this improvement...

Navigate to /root/.xinitrc in Rox filemanager (it is a hidden file, so to show it you may have to click on the eye icon on the Rox toolbar), right click on the file, and select 'Open as Text'. You can then add the extra code lines as above, (they go near the bottom), save and exit.

Finally, re-start your system. Conky may start automatically, inwhich case, you are all done, but for me it did not. If it does not for you, first go to menu>system>conky system monitor, and start it fro there, just to ensure it works.

If you need to make it autostart when you boot, just open a text editor, and in a new document type

Code: Select all

conky

Save the file into /root/Startup as something like conky.sh

Navigate to /root/startup/conky.sh in Rox, right click on the file and select 'properties' From the pop-up box, check the check-boxes under 'exec'

Congrats. You have now created an executable script that will load Conky for you on boot.

You are all done.

This thread is just a precis of the info on here http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=23280 so my thanks to all those folks that figured this all out, upon whose shoulders I am standing..............
Good luck.

[Arthur]

Hi, Thanks for these instructions. Having implemented them I have conky working - great - but the transparent background is only there for a second while it loads and then the dark background is back again.
Any chance someone knows how I might set about fixing it? All help much appreciated, thanks.

[`f00]

The conky 'transparent' background is merely a more-or-less faithful copy of the bg behind it (pseudotransparent). That's why it's important to be aware that anything that may be placed on the desktop in the position occupied by the conky window will be hidden or covered by it - this can actually be quite handy as a pocket for desktop icons you may wish to intentionally hide

Sometimes it's needed to make a "sleep" in the conky startup instruction so the bg you use has time to draw on the desktop before conky makes a copy of the section its on top of, using that for its own window bg (it's actually a window without a border or 'decoration' as windows usually are presented by the window manager) - look at /tmp/xerrs.log to see how that happens .. the more complex the bg, the relatively more time is needed for it to be drawn. Also if you use a graphic or picture it may work better to have it exactly the same size as your display area (1024x768 or whatever you use) or at least the same proportion (usually 4:3 unless you have a widescreen) so that the pattern matches and appears seamless or nearly so. Then again you may have to fiddle some with editing the settings in /root/.conkyrc (shift+leftclick will open it up in Geany if that's your default texteditor .. fairly sure that the 161 conky is still mostly commented with hints as to what the instructions and values mean) - this can be a bit time-consuming, tweaking until you get it just how you like .. but well worth the time spent and familiarization with how it all goes together. Read thru what others have suggested and trial&error it to learn (hint: override is one that usually helps .. I kept getting something that looked like a chainlink fence for the longest time )

Finally, you might wish to make your conky display into a personal widget - lol, this is actually one of the basic concepts behind the new widget feature for puppy that keeps growing and improving