WISH Command Center is a simple program launcher written in Tcl/Tk. You can run it from the Linux command line by typing wishcom & , or you can create a menu item for it. It comes with a sample list of programs; you can add or delete program names, and you can sort the list alphabetically.

Here's what WISH Command Center can do:

Run Programs
Auto-Select programs to run
Configure Color display
Add program listings
Edit program listings
Delete selected program listing(s)
Sort List of program listings
KILL a program that isn't working right
Quit doing anything for you

Run Programs: To run a single program, just double-click a list item with the left mouse button or single-click with the right button. You can also single-click an item and then click the Run button or hit Enter. If WISH Command Center can't find the program and run it, you'll get a friendly error message.

To run several programs at once, hold down Control and click the names of all the programs to select them; then release Control and click Run or hit Enter.

Auto-Select: To prepare a list of programs to run all at once when you next use WISH Command Center, click the Auto-Select button to open the Auto-Select box. Select the programs you want and click the "Add to List" button in the Auto-Select box; if you decide you don't want one on the list after all, click Unlist. When you're done, click Done; if you decide you want the list you had before, click Cancel. Next time you open WISH Command Center, the names of all the programs on your Auto-Select list will already be selected; then you can run them all at once (or not, if you prefer).

Color Display: This button will open up a "WISH Color Picker Plus" box to let you determine what colors will appear in the program's windows. In the box, you'll see sliders to change the proportions of red, green, and blue, and a button to display the color. The sliders go from 0 (none) to 255 (maximum). There's also a listbox containing color names; you can right-click or double left-click to select a color, and then modify it with the sliders if you wish. The "PICK" button displays the selected color, with its name or hexadecimal (base 16) code in black letters if the color is light, or white ones if the color is dark. For example, if you select a color with 255 parts red, 204 parts green, and 153 parts blue, the hexadecimal code (displayed in black letters) will be "FFCC99" because "FF" in hexadecimal numeration means 255, "CC" means 204, and "99" means 153.

To the right of the color names, there's a label that says "CHOOSE COLOR TO CHANGE," followed by a bunch of things you can change the color of (e.g., window background, buttons, boxes, labels, and more). On each line here, there's a radiobutton, then the name of something to change the color of, and finally a little button displaying the current color and name or code of that thing. Click a radiobutton to select a line; then click the big "PICK" button, or a little color button on another line. The color from the button you click will be copied to the color button on the selected line. The change won't show up elsewhere until you click the "Apply Picked Colors" button below the color-name listbox.

Near the bottom left corner of the box, there's a color-scheme listbox with an entry line for adding or changing color-scheme names. Some names of sample color schemes should be in the listbox. (They come from a subdirectory of your home directory, "/home/[you]/.wishes/colorschemes"; the code for each color scheme is kept in a separate, human-readable file.) To apply a color scheme, select it and then click "Apply Color Scheme" (you can also just right-click or double-click the color name). To create a new color scheme, pick the colors for the scheme and click "Apply Picked Colors"; then put a name for the scheme on the entry line and click "Name This Color Scheme" or hit Enter. To revise an existing color scheme, change some colors and enter the scheme name on the entry line (if it isn't already there); then hit Enter or click "Yes" in the box that will ask whether to revise the color scheme. Obviously, click the color-scheme name and "Delete Color Scheme" to delete a color scheme. Finally, click "OK" to save the currently applied colors as your preferred colors, or "Close" to close the color-selection box without saving.

Add Listing: To add one or more programs to the full list, you need to know the "official name" of the program (the name you would type to run the program from the command line). Click the "Add Listing" button, and a box will open up where you can enter the "display name" (the name that will appear in the program list, e.g., "Mandriva Control Center") and the "official name" (e.g., "/usr/sbin/drakconf.real"). Don't put an ampersand (&) after the official name; WISH Command Center will take care of that for you. Hit "Enter" or click "Add Listing" to add the listing and keep going; click "Close" when you can't think of any more programs to add to the list.

Edit Listing: To edit a program listing, select the listing (single-click with the left button) and click the "Edit Listing" button; the same box you added programs with will open up, and the lines for the display name and the official name will be editable. Click "Replace Listing" or hit "Enter" when you've edited the names to your satisfaction. The box will stay open until you click "Close," so you can repeat the procedure to edit more listings.

Delete Listing(s): To delete one or more program names from the list, select the listing(s) and click "Delete Listing(s)." (This will not delete the program from your computer, in case you might have wondered!)

Sort List: When you add a program listing, it will start out at the bottom of the list. This is supposed to make it easy for you to find and test the listing to make sure it works. When you're sure it works, you'll probably want it in alphabetical order with the rest of the listings. Click "Sort List" to do this. (The revised list of programs will automatically be saved each time you click "Add Listing," "Edit Listing," "Sort List," or "Delete Listing(s).")

Deselect All: Obviously, this will deselect all selected program listings. To deselect all but one, click that one; the rest will automatically be deselected.

KILL: If the "Xkill" program is available on your system, this button will invoke "Xkill" to bump off a program that isn't working right. Instead of a regular, mild-mannered cursor, you'll get a deadly-looking skull-and-crossbones cursor. Any program window this cursor touches (when you press the left mouse button) will die the death, at once, with no questions asked. Then the cursor will return to normal, and peace and harmony will reign supreme among the programs that are still working right.

If "Xkill" isn't there, you'll get a listbox showing the "official names" of running programs. Just click to select the program that isn't working, and then click "KILL" to kill it, or "Cancel" to wait and see if it decides to behave after all.

Quit: If you're a quitter (at least of programs you don't need any more), use this button.

David McClamrock <mcclamrock@locl.net>
November 2008

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