18. NsCDE and Cross Desktop Group (Free Desktop) Specifications and Standards
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## 18. NsCDE and Cross Desktop Group (Free Desktop) Specifications and Standards

NsCDE is the hybrid desktop environment built around FVWM and other free software components. Among other things, NsCDE is partially using XDG or Free Desktop concepts and subsystems such as icon theme format, application menus, application ".desktop" launcher files, mime types, preffered applications and partially/optionally autostart facility. NsCDE provides it's own menu layout and application grouping, as well as icon theme which brings CDE icons in their new format and some new sizes. Furthermore, NsCDE maintains it's own ".desktop" files for launching two types of applications: it's own FVWM or FvwmScript based applications and third party, user configured preferences for default applications under their generic names. NsCDE also provides XDG compatible X Display Manager entries for it's own startup during the user login.

NsCDE partially uses XDG base directory paths defined and found by their variable names `XDG_DATA_DIRS`, `XDG_CONFIG_DIRS` from the `$NSCDE_DATADIR/fvwm/Main.fvwmconf`, then user dirs as `XDG_PICTURES_DIR` (for dropping screenshots) etc. It defines `XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP` and `XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP` to NsCDE, and very important `XDG_MENU_PREFIX` to nscde-.

What is not used are paths such as $HOME/.config for NsCDE user's config, and some other XDG facilities such as `XDG_MUSIC_DIR`, `XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR` and such, simply because they are of no use to NsCDE as desktop environment. All this is configured and can be reconfigured by the user in `$HOME/.config/user-dirs.dirs`.

### 18.1. Desktop Application Entries

NsCDE provides ".desktop" files which are installed in `/usr/share/applications`, `/usr/local/share/applications` or some other path on the system. This files are visible by their friendly name (Name= directive in .desktop file) on Workspace Menu, Subpanels Manager and Front Panel Icon Manager. This applications, and their grouping with other applications can also be found in application manager mode of the file manager, if file manager supports this.

There are two kings of NsCDE ".desktop" files:

- NsCDE own FVWM or FvwmScript Applications

- Application Defaults choosen by the user or autodiscovered by the NsCDE with their generic names

#### 18.1.1. NsCDE Own XDG Desktop Application Definitions

The following list contains NsCDE's own application launchers. There should be known that none of this applications can be called outside of FVWM, and often not even outside of NsCDE: apart from FvwmConsole(1) and Watch Errors terminal wrapped applications, all other are written in FvwmScript(1), and they often depend on other NsCDE components to work fully and properly.

- nscde-exec.desktop: NsCDE Exec Dialog

- nscde-fvwmconsole.desktop: FvwmConsole(1)

- nscde-gwm.desktop: Graphical Workspace Manager (GWM)

- nscde-nprocmgr.desktop: NsCDE Process Manager

- nscde-stylemgr.desktop: Style Manager Main Launcher

- nscde-sysinfo.desktop: Sysinfo Dialog

- nscde-systemaction.desktop: System Action Dialog

- nscde-watcherrors.desktop: NsCDE/FVWM and X11 logs and standar error output

- nscde-wspgmgr.desktop: NsCDE Workspaces and Pager Manager

#### 18.1.2. NsCDE Defaults XDG Desktop Applications

The following entries will work only under NsCDE, they will call nscde_fvwmclnt to execute configured or autodiscovered default applications such as WWW browser, terminal, file manager, task manager, documentation browser, calclulator etc ...

- NsCDE-AppMgr.desktop: This will display File Manager in Application Manager mode of operation if file manager supports this.

- NsCDE-Calculator.desktop: This will search internal catalog of apps or display configured calculator application as `$[infostore.calculator]`

- NsCDE-Editor.desktop: This will search internal catalog of apps or display configured editor application as `$[infostore.xeditor]` often choosen are Gvim, Emacs, Mousepad etc ...

- NsCDE-FileMgr.desktop: This will search internal catalog of apps or display configured file manager application as `$[infostore.filemgr]`

- NsCDE-MailReader.desktop: This will search internal catalog of apps or display configured mail reader application as `$[infostore.mailreader]`

- NsCDE-PrintMgr.desktop: This will search internal catalog of apps or display configured printer manager application as `$[infostore.printmgr]` often, this will default to CUPS web interface, called as http://localhost:631

- NsCDE-TaskMgr.desktop: This will try to find top, topas, prstat, qps, xfce4-taskmanager, lxtask, or any other system process list application, or simply open default configured. It's internal variable is $[infostore.taskmgr].

- NsCDE-Terminal.desktop: This will try to find terminal emulator applications, or use configured default from `$FVWM_USERDIR/NsCDE.conf`. It operates under the internal variable $[infostore.terminal].

- NsCDE-Volumectrl.desktop: Try to find some usable audio mixer. This is often OS dependent, but will accept also standalone applications from other desktop environments. Infostore variable is $[infostore.volumectrl].

- NsCDE-WebBrowser.desktop: One of the most important: find usable web browser, or launch configured one: $[infostore.browser].

- NsCDE-DocsBrowser.desktop: Browser for displaying NsCDE documentation: by default it is xdg-open or $[infostore.browser]. It can be set to khelpcenter or chromium in user's `$FVWM_USERDIR/NsCDE.conf`.

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