ICEPREF 1.1

	Written and maintained by David Mortensen

INTRODUCTION

	IcePref is a configuration utility for IceWM written in Python using
	the Gtk widget set and the PyGTK bindings.  It currently covers all
	of the configuration options in the controlled by the preferences
	file for icewm 1.0.0.  It is my hope to expand this coverage so
	that it can edit the menus as well (which is a bit more challenging,
	I'm afraid).  While I have made valiant strides in this direction,
	such functionality is still not supported in the present version.
	In fact, if it is ever to be supported, I am going to need some help
	from more competent individuals.

	There is now a promising utility for editing Ice menus called
	KIceMenu (written in C++ with the Qt toolkit.  It is still in
	the early stages of development, but it may serve those in
	need, at least in the short term.

LICENSE

	IcePref is copylefted software available free to all under the terms
	of the GNU GPL (a copy of which should have been included with this
	file).  If you do not have a copy of the legendary GPL, you can get
	one at GNU's web site (http://www.gnu.org).
	
PLATFORMS

        In theory, IcePref should work (for the most part) under any UNIX-
	like OS on which PyGTK will function.  It has been tested and is
	known to work on the following operating systems:

	     Redhat Linux > 6.0 (with Python upgrade)
	     Mandrake Linux > 6.0 (with Python upgrade)
	     Debian GNU/Linux 2.3
	     FreeBSD 3.2 (note: under FreeBSD, the restart button does not
	     function properly and is therefore disabled)
	     FreeBSD 3.3
	     Solaris (version ?)
	     
	If you get IcePref to work on an additional platform, please
	let me know.
	
REQUIREMENTS

	To use IcePref, you obviously need to have IceWM
	installed. You needn't have the newest version, and any later
	version should work (within reasonable parameters).  Recent
	versions of IcePref require the most recent (1.5.2) release of
	Python, as IcePref now depends on functionality newly
	introduced in that Python release.  Furthermore, you must have
	a recent version (>= 1.2.0) of Gtk and a compatible version of
	the PyGTK bindings (which are included, if you are a GNOME
	user, as a dependency of the PyGNOME package).  Sadly, these
	things are no longer available from my web site.  You will
	have to scavenge the web for them yourself.  Luckily, they
	seem to be finding their way in to many distributions of Linux
	and other Unix-like OSes.

	Note that the most common problem users experience when trying
	to use IcePref results from an improper installation of
	PyGTK. Make sure you can run the PyGTK example programs (which
	are located under the PyGTK doc directory) before you assume
	that there is a fatal problem with IcePref.

INSTALLATION

	Recently, some major advances have been made in IcePref
	installation.  This will give the user more options for
	installation than in the past.  A Makefile has been added.  To
	install using this method simply edit the Makefile to set the
	installation prefix (the directory under which the files are
	installed) to the location you desire.  If you are lazy, you
	may leave the Makefile alone, in which case everything will be
	installed under /usr/X11R6.  Then, as root, type 'make
	install' at the command line.

	If you are a Debian (potato) user, you can often get and
	install a relatively recent version of IcePref, assuming
	apt-get is set up, simply by typing 'apt-get install icepref'
	as root at the command line.

	You may also be able obtain RPMs of IcePref.  It is now
	included, for example, in the Redhat Powertools product.  If
	you want to make your own from this package, simply run the
	following command, as root:
	   
	   rpm -ta package_name.tar.gz

	RPMs should be created somewhere in your /usr/src
	hierarchy. Exactly where depends upon you distribution.


USE

	Assuming that the script (icepref) is in your path, just type
	icepref.  The rest should be fairly self explanatory, as long
	as you are used to clicking buttons and sliding sliders.  It
	no longer matters whether you run it from your home
	directory. Also, if you do not have an .icewm subdirectory in
	your home directory, IcePref will create one.  It will now
	copy the system wide version of the preferences file to your
	directory and obtain it's defaults from this.

	Make sure that there is only one global preferences file on
	your system, or some unexpected behavior could be produced.
	Such files can be left behind by multiple installations of
	IceWM in different locations.

BUGS

	Report all of the many bugs you are certain to find.  Even
	though this is the 1.1 release, there are still bound to be
	bugs.  Report any bugs not present in the included BUGS file
	to Dave at saintchoj@myrealbox.com.  Send all comments and
	suggestions for improvement to the same address. Be sure to
	include IcePref in the subject line.  Happy configuration!