A window manager is software that controls the placement and appearance of application windows under the X Window System, a graphical user interface on Unix systems that enables a user to interact with a number of application programs simultaneously. Each one typically has its own independent window, and when a window manager is available, interaction between the X server and its clients is redirected through the window manager.

Unlike the Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh platforms, which have historically provided a vendor-controlled, fixed set of ways to control how windows and panes display on a screen, and how the user may interact with them, window management for the X Window System was an afterthought. The user can choose between various third-party window managers, which differ from one another in several ways, including:

• customizability of appearance and functionality:
  • textual menus used to start programs and/or change options
  • docks and other graphical ways to start programs
  • multiple desktops and virtual desktops (desktops larger than the physical monitor size), and pagers to switch between them
• consumption of memory and other system resources
• degree of integration with a desktop environment, which provides a more complete interface to the operating system, and provides a range of integrated utilities and applications.

Alternative shells for Microsoft Windows have also emerged. For example, LiteStep can replace the user interface on Windows 95, 98, or NT with an Afterstep style. OS/2 ships with Presentation Manager as the default shell, but third party sources can supply alternatives.

Popular window managers for X

• AfterStep
• Blackbox
• Enlightenment
• Fluxbox
• FVWM (a virtual window manager, derived from twm)
• IceWM
• Kwin (originally called Kwm, default window manager for KDE)
• Metacity (default window manager for some versions of GNOME version 2) [1]
• MWM (Motif Window Manager)
• Sawfish (originally called Sawmill)
• twm (Tab Window Manager)
• Window Maker

Other window managers for X

• 9wm [2]
• Aewm [3]
• EvilWM [4]
• Ion
• Kahakai
• larswm [5]
• LWM
• OLWM (and OLVWM [6] with virtual desktops, OPEN LOOK window managers)
• Openbox
• Oroborus
• PekWM
• PWM
• Qvwm (Windows 95/98 look-alike) [7]
• Ratpoison
• Scwm (the Scheme constrained window manager) [8]
• Waimea
• WindowLab
• WMI
• XFwm
• XPde [9]
• 5Dwm (X window manager derived from mwm, true SGI look&feel)

See also

• Windowing system
• History of the GUI

External links

• Window Managers for X by Matt Chapman
• The Other Window Managers - extensive review of window managers
• Window Managers - a list of window managers with comments