What is Ecomorph? Ecomorph is an OpenGL compositing manager that was created for the E17 desktop. Prior to this modules’ creation, E17 could not enjoy Compiz-like visual effects. Now, it can. Let’s take a look at how to get Ecomorph goodness with Bodhi Linux.

Installation

If you are using one of the latest releases of Bodhi Linux (0.1.7) you should already have Ecomorph installed. To find out if Ecomorph is one your desktop do the following:

1. Left click on the desktop to open the mouse menu.
2. Click Settings > Modules.
3. Clock on the System tab.
4. Scroll down until you see the Ecomorph listing.
5. If you see it listed, it’s installed. If there is a green dot on the right side of the Ecomorph entry, it is loaded.
6. If you do not see Ecomorph listed, it is not installed. If it is listed, but not loaded, select it and then click the Load button.

If, for whatever reason, Ecomorph is not installed I would highly recommend you not try to manually install it. I attempted this on a 0.1.4 installation and it was a miserable failure. There are dependencies that can not be met without serious work. So, if you are in this boat, backup your data and do a fresh install of the latest Bodhi Linux.

Configuring

Figure 1

Now it’s time for the configuration of Ecomorph. To get to the configuration panel left-click the desktop to open the mouse menu and click Settings > Ecomorph. In this settings window (see Figure 1) you control all aspects of Ecomorph (besides mouse and key bindings).

This panel is broken down into sections. You will certainly want to visit the General section first, as there are some crucial features to enable. Those of you who know Compiz well, you will be familiar with the Cube and the Shift switcher. To enable these items you must first do so in the General section.

Under Viewport Plugins you can enable both the Cube and Cube Rotate. Make sure they are checked and then click Apply. Under Switcher Plugins you can enable the switcher you want to use.

After you enable the plugins you can then scroll down to the individual plugin sections and configure the plugin. Although you will find most of the configuration options in Ecomorph, that you are available in Compiz, there are some that you will find missing. Most notably are the Skydome and Cube Caps for the Cube. But you can configure zoom while rotating as well as transparency.

Final thoughts

I am very happy to see Ecomorph finding its way to other distributions. For those that enjoy what Compiz brings to the desktop, the addition of Ecomorph to E17 could be considered a thing of beauty.

That is what we are going to address in this article: Configuring the Compiz compositor in the Elive Linux distribution.

Installation

If you have installed the Elive distribution, there is nothing more you need to install in order to get Compiz running and configured. In fact, that is part of the point of the distribution itself – to have Compiz integrated with the Enlightenment window manager. So all you need to know is where to configure and what to configure.

The configuration tools

Figure 1

One thing you have to remember is that in Elive, Compiz is referred to as Ecomorph. That is because Compiz had to be seriously tweaked in order to get it to work with Enlightenment. So if you try to look for a Compiz configuration tool your search will be in vein. Instead you want to look for the Ecomorph Configuration tool (see Figure 1). You will find this in Main > Settings > Ecomorph.

If you scroll up and down in the left pane you will find many of the standard Compiz settings available to you. But as you go poking around a little more deeply you might find some features are simply not there. For one thing you will not find key bindings anywhere in this window. So how do you go about configuring a key combination to initiate or manipulate an action? That is in yet another window. But before we locate that configuration, let’s look at one feature you might find useful.

At the top left of the configuration tool is a checkbox and two buttons. The checkbox allows you to enable/disable Ecomorph. The buttons allow you to stop and start Ecomorph. You might want to disable Ecomorph if your hardware isn’t up to the task of using the full effects. You might want to stop and start Ecomorph if you feel something is amiss. This is also the first place to look if Ecomorph (out of nowhere) doesn’t seem to be running.

Now, what about those key combinations?

Key bindings

Figure 2

In order to configure the key bindings for Ecomorph you need to click Main > Settings > Settings Panel. In this window click on the Input tab and then click Key Bindings. From this window (see Figure 2) you can configure any/all key bindings for your system. Now I have to say there is a little work that needs to be done in order for this tool to really be useful. For example, if you click on an action in the right pane you would think the associated key binding would be selected in the left pane. That is not the case. If, however, you select the key binding in the left pane, the associated action does appear in the right pane. This makes it problematic when you want to know what a key combination is for a certain action. Instead of just clicking the action you actually have to go about finding the combination in reverse order – you have to navigate around the key binding listing hoping to find the associated action. This behavior really needs to be addressed in future releases.

The good news is you can always create a key binding for an action. Just follow these steps:

1. Click Add Key.
2. Press the key combination.
3. Click an Action from the right pane.
4. Click Apply.

That’s it. You can, of course, also modify existing keys. If you mess up your key bindings, just his Restore Default Bindings to resolve the issue.

Final thoughts

Some may wish Elive to switch to the standard Compiz configuration tool. But since that will most likely never happen, it is best to familiarize yourself with their version of the tool. Although not as user-friendly, if you’re using Elive as your desktop distribution, you’re not so concerned with user-friendliness that a little challenge won’t scare you off.

Normally on an Elive Compiz upgrade it is highly recommended you start from scratch and NOT upgrade. So I was set on backing up everything and re-installing. So I sat about backing everything up. While my backup was running I navigated to the Elive Compiz page and eventually discovered that the dev team has finally merged Elive and Elive Compiz into one CD! This is definitely good news because the updates will now be parallel. But how does this change the install/update process? Let’s find out.

Once the backups were completed, and safely moved to an external drive, it was time to burn the Elive ISO onto CD and see how well the Live version does. I figured if the live version of the Elive had Ecomorph running as smoothly as the dedicated version, this was a no-brainer. So I popped in the CD and rebooted the machine. What surprised me was once the live CD was booted, and I went to run the installation, I was asked if I wanted to do an upgrade. I figured, since I was going to be doing a fresh installation, I should throw caution to the wind and see how it would go if I went ahead with the upgrade. I did and, surprisingly enough, all went smoothly. There were a few minor glitches – I had to re-install OpenOffice and a few other packages, but outside of that I was shocked that what was an Elive Compiz installation managed to upgrade to a well running Elive distribution. But what about Compiz (aka Ecomorph in Elive land)? Simple. I had to enable it. Let’s see how.

Enabling Ecomorph

Figure 1

The first thing you have to do is to load the Ecomorph module. To do this left mouse click anywhere on the desktop to bring up the main menu. From that menu select Settings and then select Modules. When the new window opens (see Figure 1) scroll down on the left pane until you see the Ecomorph module. Select Ecomorph and then click the Load Module button.

When the module is loaded you can close out the Module Settings window. Now you need to start Ecomorph. To start the Ecomorph module left click the desktop again and select the Settings sub-menu. From the Settings sub-menu select Ecomorph.

From the Ecomorph Settings window (see

Figure 2

Figure 2) all you need to do is click the Start Ecomorph button. Your screen might flash or flicker and then Ecomorph will be running. You now have an Elive distribution running with Ecomorph loaded. Not only are you back where you were with Elive Compiz, but you are now better able to continue upgrading your distribution.

Final thoughts

As far as upgrading distributions is concerned I have always been a proponent of starting from scratch. But this instance of upgrading Elive has really given me pause to think twice about my stance. It is, in fact, possible to do an upgrade and have it come off with few (if any) hiccups. In my many years of using Computers I have to say that this might have been one of the smoothest, easiest upgrades I have ever done.

But always remember, when attempting an upgrade of your operating system ALWAYS back up your data.

There are many reasons why you should give this distribution a try. One of the reasons is that even when using the Live CD you can get the full benefit of what this distribution is all about. Even using a three year old machine I didn’t feel like I was using a Live CD. It’s that well put together.

How Did They Do It?

It’s been known for a while that Compiz and Enlightenment wouldn’t work together. The developers have been asked over and over to roll Compiz support into Enlightenment. It wasn’t until Elive developer Thanatermesis put in the necessary time to develop a special version of Ecomorph which consists of a special version of Compiz and a special version of E17 that are able to work together. As of now the developers claim this is nothing more than a “hack” and in pre-alpha stages. What I have seen, however, is pretty stable. That doesn’t mean you should be putting this version of Elive on your production machines. This version should be going on a machine that can be wiped clean whenever you choose. But you should definitely put it on something…it’s that cool.

What It Contains

Upon first glance of this distribution you would think you using E17 with maybe a few extra applets on the desktop. That is not the case. The minute you hit Ctrl-Alt with a left mouse click you will see that famous 3D cube brought to the desktop care of Compiz. A little more digging and you will find some rather interesting (and very alpha released) video applications as well as some spiffy configuration tools.

There was one effect with this desktop that really caught me by surprise. When you close a window the window folds into a paper airplane and flys away. Useful? Not really. Impressive? Very.

Graphic Requirements

Obviously this is one of the first questions you will have to ask. On the site they highly recommend an NVidia card. I ran the LiveCD on an NVidia 6800 GT and it was smooth as silk.

Have a Look

There is a great video on Youtube that shows off the Elive Compize release. Take a look here. In this video you will notice Elive Compiz running on an Eee PC. You can use the fantastic UNetBootin tool to install Elive Compiz onto a USB drive and get it working on an Eee PC.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a Debian-based distribution that takes the PC desktop to heights you have never experienced, Elive Compize is the Live CD for you. Just remember, while this is in such early stages, to not run this on a production machine.