PupControl-3.0

Recommended OS

Puppy Linux 4.3.1 and above

Purpose and Base Features

PupControl Panel is a graphical control panel which permits menu-like access to more than sixty Puppy control functions, and is similar to the companion program, PupApps Launcher, which permits quick access to most Puppy programs (applications). The control panel is a standalone program but will integrate seamlessly with PupApps, PupMenu, PupShutdown, PupClockset and PupSnap. The tab interface of PupControl sorts all programs and utilities into nine broad categories, and common functions that one may use routinely are available in the lower panel tray. The optimal display for the panel GUI is automatically configured based on the active window manager and current global screen dpi.

Caveats

  1. Buttons for Help resources and Preferences are available in the top-right corner of each page of the main user interface, providing quick access to program configuration options.
  2. When first installed, the PupControl GUI displays applications that are standard in most Puppy versions. Alternate programs may be selected in Preferences. If a desired application is not listed, you can enter the name of the executable, including the path and switches if needed, then select Save to set your new option. The MyControl module provides an option to add user-selectable favorite applications to the PupControl GUI.
  3. The category icons in the main GUI, and program options in the Preferences drop-down lists, change dynamically as applications are installed and uninstalled. After uninstalling an application, the name of that program remains in the Preferences drop-down list until you select and save a different application in that category. If only one application remains in a drop-down list and you wish to remove it, simply highlight that name with the mouse cursor and click the delete key on your keyboard, then select Save in Preferences.
  4. Quick program access is by Puppy Menu->Utility->PupControl, or by the default Ctrl+Shift+C keyboard shortcut, which is configured for IceWm, JWM, Openbox, Fluxbox, LXDE and LXPanel. If the Xfce window manager is currently active, the hotkey can be set manually in the PupControl "Set" tab as follows: Window Manager Settings->Xfce Settings->Keyboard->Application Shortcuts.
  5. PupControl auto-configures many panel options based on the name of the current window manager logged in /etc/windowmanager. Puppy will update this file automatically when starting a new window manager from the command prompt, but some programs that change the window manager in real time may fail to update properly. Consequently, when you change to a different window manager, if PupControl does not display properly, or command functions are inoperative, please exit to the command prompt and type in the appropriate start command such as xwin icewm, or xwin jwm, or xwin lxsession, or xwin startxfce4.
  6. PupControl-3.0 supports screen fonts as large as 108 dpi in standard Puppy derivatives, and up to 120 dpi in Lighthouse-64, in 6-dpi increments only. Font metrics of the Fluppy and Puppeee derivatives are no longer supported.

Programs

Desktop options and configuration settings may vary depending on the current window manager. PupControl is configured to call the programs appropriate for the active window manager. In addition to more than sixty standard Puppy functions, the control panel features (if installed) the Pup-SysInfo utility for quick access to system information, and the Pup-Kview utility for analysis of hardware drivers. The PupClockset module facilitates changing the time format of the tray clock, based on locale-specific strftime specifications.

The SS-Control utility facilitates screensaver management, which is useful for those who enjoy a favorite video without screensaver interruption. When activated, this program calls the xset preference utility which enables or disables the XScreensaver, and controls the Power Save Mode of DPMS compliant monitors and video cards. Furthermore, SS-Control installs or deletes Startup-folder executables (ss-on and ss-off), which automatically enable or disable the screensaver and DPMS with each reboot of the PC. Since other programs may control the screensaver by a similar action in the Startup folder, you should use only one such program to avoid conflicting calls to the xset utility.

Availability

The current version of PupControl is available here.

License

GNU GPLv3, Copyright 2010-2016, Roger D. Grider