[DWM] How to get window titles (w/xprop?)

Question

I'm trying to expand my "switch-to-tag"-script to include window titles, but have stumbled upon something I can't understand:
If I issue "xprop" (with no arguments), and click on my firefox-window, I get the following output:
user@host $ xprop (click on firefox window)
_NET_WM_USER_TIME(CARDINAL) = 6193278
WM_STATE(WM_STATE):
window state: Normal
icon window: 0x0
WM_HINTS(WM_HINTS):
Client accepts input or input focus: True
Initial state is Normal State.
bitmap id # to use for icon: 0x14000aa
bitmap id # of mask for icon: 0x14000ab
window id # of group leader: 0x1400001
WM_WINDOW_ROLE(STRING) = "browser"
XdndAware(ATOM) = BITMAP
_MOTIF_DRAG_RECEIVER_INFO(_MOTIF_DRAG_RECEIVER_INFO) = 0x6c, 0x0, 0x5, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x10, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0
[[ !! HUGE ASCII ICON WAS DELETED TO SAVE SPACE HERE !! ]]
_NET_WM_SYNC_REQUEST_COUNTER(CARDINAL) = 20971689
_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE(ATOM) = _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_NORMAL
_NET_WM_USER_TIME_WINDOW(WINDOW): window id # 0x14000a8
WM_CLIENT_LEADER(WINDOW): window id # 0x1400001
_NET_WM_PID(CARDINAL) = 873
WM_LOCALE_NAME(STRING) = "C"
WM_CLIENT_MACHINE(STRING) = "allotria"
WM_NORMAL_HINTS(WM_SIZE_HINTS):
program specified minimum size: 1 by 63
program specified maximum size: 32767 by 32767
window gravity: NorthWest
WM_PROTOCOLS(ATOM): protocols WM_DELETE_WINDOW, WM_TAKE_FOCUS, _NET_WM_PING, _NET_WM_SYNC_REQUEST
WM_CLASS(STRING) = "Navigator", "Firefox"
WM_ICON_NAME(STRING) = "How do I get the active window title into a script? (Page 1) / Applications & Desktop Environments / Arch Linux Forums - Mozilla Firefox (Private Browsing)"
_NET_WM_ICON_NAME(UTF8_STRING) = "How do I get the active window title into a script? (Page 1) / Applications & Desktop Environments / Arch Linux Forums - Mozilla Firefox (Private Browsing)"
WM_NAME(STRING) = "How do I get the active window title into a script? (Page 1) / Applications & Desktop Environments / Arch Linux Forums - Mozilla Firefox (Private Browsing)"
_NET_WM_NAME(UTF8_STRING) = "How do I get the active window title into a script? (Page 1) / Applications & Desktop Environments / Arch Linux Forums - Mozilla Firefox (Private Browsing)"
So that worked alright. However, if I feed the ID of the window (0x1400001) to xprop, I get the following:
user@host $ xprop -id 0x1400001
WM_CLASS(STRING) = "firefox", "Firefox"
WM_COMMAND(STRING) = { "firefox" }
_NET_WM_USER_TIME_WINDOW(WINDOW): window id # 0x1400002
WM_CLIENT_LEADER(WINDOW): window id # 0x1400001
_NET_WM_PID(CARDINAL) = 873
WM_LOCALE_NAME(STRING) = "C"
WM_CLIENT_MACHINE(STRING) = "allotria"
WM_NORMAL_HINTS(WM_SIZE_HINTS):
program specified size: 10 by 10
WM_PROTOCOLS(ATOM): protocols WM_DELETE_WINDOW, WM_TAKE_FOCUS, _NET_WM_PING
WM_ICON_NAME(STRING) = "firefox"
_NET_WM_ICON_NAME(UTF8_STRING) = "firefox"
WM_NAME(STRING) = "Firefox"
_NET_WM_NAME(UTF8_STRING) = "Firefox"
There's no title in that output, even though I saw it by clicking - How come? And how do I grab the correct window title from a window id?
Last edited by graph (2013-05-05 08:18:10)

Answer 1

man xprop wrote:If the desired window is not the root window, it may be selected in two ways on the command line, either by id  number such as might be obtained from xwininfo, or by name if the window possesses a name.
The id you obtained from xprop is the WM_CLIENT_LEADER, also listed in the WM_HINTS as the group leader. So that appears to be something like a root window for Firefox, not necessarily the one you see (with the title you want).