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====== Frequently Asked Questions ====== | ====== Frequently Asked Questions ====== | ||
- | This is a list of frequently asked questions about Xfce. Feel free to improve and/or extend this page, but keep it clean and easy to read for other users. | ||
- | ====== Getting | + | <note important> |
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | * **[[faq# | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | ====== Getting | ||
===== About Xfce ===== | ===== About Xfce ===== | ||
=== What is " | === What is " | ||
- | Xfce is a desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms (such as Linux, Solaris or BSD). Xfce is "Designed | + | Xfce is a desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms (such as Linux, Solaris or BSD). Xfce is "designed |
- | === How to pronounce Xfce and what does it mean? === | + | === How do you pronounce Xfce and what does it mean? === |
- | "Ecks Eff See Eee". The name Xfce originally stood for XForms Common Environment, | + | Xfce is pronounced |
- | It's not pronounced “X-Face”. There is no “a” in it. | + | |
=== What does the logo mean? === | === What does the logo mean? === | ||
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=== How long a wait is it between each official release? === | === How long a wait is it between each official release? === | ||
- | There is no set schedule, a new version will be released when it is ready. Xfce's development is split up into key phases, each of which can take months or even years to complete. More information on the release model can be found [[https:// | + | There is no set schedule, a new version will be released when it is ready. Xfce's development is split up into key phases, each of which can take months or even years to complete. More information on the release model can be found [[https:// |
+ | |||
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
====== Installation ====== | ====== Installation ====== | ||
- | Xfce can be installed | + | Xfce can be installed |
- | * From the package manager of your distro. | + | |
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
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* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
- | * Mageia: Mageia Control Center (add the package task-xfce) or, as root, urpmi task-xfce | + | * [[http:// |
* MidnightBSD: | * MidnightBSD: | ||
- | | + | * [[http:// |
- | | + | |
* Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop ([[http:// | * Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop ([[http:// | ||
- | * [[http:// | + | |
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
====== Starting Xfce ====== | ====== Starting Xfce ====== | ||
==== Is it possible to start Xfce when I login on the console? ==== | ==== Is it possible to start Xfce when I login on the console? ==== | ||
- | There are three different ways to do this: | + | Yes, there are three different ways to do this: |
* You can just login with the command '' | * You can just login with the command '' | ||
* You can add '' | * You can add '' | ||
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=== Setting up SLiM === | === Setting up SLiM === | ||
- | If you want to avoid GNOME or KDE dependencies and have a more attractive interface than XDM, you can give [[http:// | + | If you want to avoid GNOME or KDE dependencies and have a more attractive interface than XDM, you can give [[http:// |
=== Setting up GDM === | === Setting up GDM === | ||
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For some reason, your X applications cannot connect to the session manager. Possible causes for this are: your hostname cannot be resolved (see Login problems section), your home partition or partition containing /tmp is filled up, your hostname contains non-ascii characters (no umlauts allowed, in particular) or either ~/ | For some reason, your X applications cannot connect to the session manager. Possible causes for this are: your hostname cannot be resolved (see Login problems section), your home partition or partition containing /tmp is filled up, your hostname contains non-ascii characters (no umlauts allowed, in particular) or either ~/ | ||
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
====== Usage ====== | ====== Usage ====== | ||
===== Keyboard ===== | ===== Keyboard ===== | ||
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=== Is it possible to focus the Verve plugin with a key? === | === Is it possible to focus the Verve plugin with a key? === | ||
- | Assign a key to the command '' | + | Assign a key to the command '' |
=== How do I get numlock to start on login? === | === How do I get numlock to start on login? === | ||
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Unfortunately, | Unfortunately, | ||
- | === How do I enable menu accelerators? | + | === How do I enable |
- | Menu accelerators let you set a keyboard shortcut to a menu item or entry. To enable menu accelerators, | + | Menu accelerators let you set a keyboard shortcut to a menu item or entry. To enable |
+ | <note important> | ||
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
===== Kiosk ===== | ===== Kiosk ===== | ||
- | === I want to use Xfce in a corporate environment | + | === I want to use Xfce in a corporate environment, how can I stop users from modifying parts of the system? |
See [[howto: | See [[howto: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
===== Menu ===== | ===== Menu ===== | ||
=== The left-click to get the menu on the title bar menu button seems a little slow. How do I change that? === | === The left-click to get the menu on the title bar menu button seems a little slow. How do I change that? === | ||
- | The left-button single-click menu button display speed is linked to the double click speed. | + | The left-button single-click menu button display speed is linked to the double click speed. |
=== How do I display a list of all windows? === | === How do I display a list of all windows? === | ||
- | There are two possibilities. The first is by middle clicking on the desktop (if you have xfdesktop running) or you can add the window list plugin to the panel (is provided with a '' | + | There are two possibilities. The first is by middle clicking on the desktop (if you have xfdesktop running), or you can add the window list plugin to the panel (which is provided with a '' |
=== How to edit the auto generated menu with the menu editor? === | === How to edit the auto generated menu with the menu editor? === | ||
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< | < | ||
- | That's all. Now you can run the menu editor, remove the few duplicates and edit all as you like. | + | That's all. Now you can run the menu editor, remove the few duplicates and edit freely. |
- | Settings > Desktop > Menu > Menu Editor | + | Settings |
- | Notes: by removing the " | + | Notes: by removing the " |
- | To restore the original menu, just do in a terminal: | + | To restore the original menu, run the following in in a terminal: |
mv menu.xml menu3.xml; mv menu.orig.xml menu.xml | mv menu.xml menu3.xml; mv menu.orig.xml menu.xml | ||
- | ===What are the exact commands used when launching the 'Setting' applications? | + | ===What are the exact commands used when launching the 'Settings' applications? |
- | Please see [[mcs-manager_plugin_parameters|this | + | Please see [[mcs-manager_plugin_parameters|this |
+ | |||
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
===== File Manager ===== | ===== File Manager ===== | ||
- | You can find more information about Thunar in the [[http:// | + | You can find more information about Xfce's default file manager, |
=== Can I disable the trash? === | === Can I disable the trash? === | ||
- | No, you cannot. But you can do for example: | + | Unfortunately, Xfce doesn' |
- Use 'SHIFT + del' to bypass the trash bin and permanently delete something. | - Use 'SHIFT + del' to bypass the trash bin and permanently delete something. | ||
- | - Use cron to clean the trash every now and then. | + | - Use cron to empty the trash on a regular basis. |
- | - Create a custom action for permanent deleting (like in GNOME) with action: | + | - Enable Thunar's option to permanently delete a file via the context menu by opening Thunar and going to Edit -> Preferences... -> Behaviour and selecting |
- | === I want to assign a keyboard shortcut in Thunar to " | + | === How can I assign a keyboard shortcut in Thunar to an action in one of it' |
- | Thunar allows you to edit menu accelerators by simply hovering over the chosen action and by pressing the new keyboard shortcut you want to assign. | + | To activate the editable menu accelerators, go to Settings Manager -> Appearance -> Settings and select the " |
- | To activate the editable menu accelerators select the " | + | |
- | === Where are the deleted items from the trash located? === | + | Unfortunately, |
- | Thunar is following the freedesktop standards | + | |
- | You will find your deleted items in '' | + | === Where are the deleted files in the trash located? === |
+ | You can find the contents of the trash in '' | ||
- | === Can Thunar display video thumbnails? === | + | === How can I get Thunar |
- | Two possible ways. First, | + | You can install the package '' |
- | movie thumbnailers for GNOME, i.e. Totem includes the totem-video-thumbnailer. Second, You can get thumbnails without GNOME by | + | |
- | installing [[http:// | + | |
- | === When will it support samba/ | + | [[|Back To Top]] |
- | Thunar has had the ability to browse remote network shares (such as Samba and FTP) since Xfce 4.8/Thunar 1.2. | + | |
+ | ---- | ||
===== Desktop Manager ===== | ===== Desktop Manager ===== | ||
- | === I want to disable | + | === How can I remove |
- | + | Go to Settings | |
- | Yes. In Settings > Desktop > Icons > Appearance, select ' | + | |
+ | === Why can't I add items to my desktop? === | ||
+ | You have the option to display icons turned off. Go to Settings Manager -> Desktop -> Icons and select File/ | ||
- | === My Xfce Desktop doesn' | + | [[|Back To Top]] |
- | + | ||
- | You can adjust this via Settings > Desktop > Icons > Appearance. | + | |
+ | ---- | ||
===== Window Manager ===== | ===== Window Manager ===== | ||
- | === Firefox | + | === Why does Firefox |
- | When a new tab is opened from an external link in Firefox, it asks the WM to show the window containing the new tab. If the window that has requested to be raised is not on the current | + | When a new tab is opened from an external link in Firefox, it asks the Window Manager |
- | '' | + | |
- | activate_action=bring|switch|none | + | To change this behavior, |
- | + | ||
- | For Xfce 4.6 and 4.8 you can go to //Xfce Menu > Settings > Window Manager Tweaks// and go to the tab Focus, | + | |
- | + | ||
- | xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p / | + | |
- | + | ||
- | As the name suggests, the " | + | |
- | workspace, the "switch" | + | |
- | + | ||
- | The above command edits the file " | + | |
- | " | + | |
=== Some of the windows are always centered, why? === | === Some of the windows are always centered, why? === | ||
- | The Xfce Window Manager has a feature called smart placement which can be adjusted based on the window size. Basically it will automatically | + | The Xfce Window Manager has a feature called smart placement which automatically |
=== Is it possible to have windows remember their position? === | === Is it possible to have windows remember their position? === | ||
- | Short answer: no. | + | If the application supports it, it will appear at the location you last specified. If the application doesn' |
- | Long answer: If the application supports it, it will restore itself at the location and size you last specified (example: Terminal or Thunar). If the application doesn' | + | === How can I programmatically switch workspaces, move windows, etc? === |
+ | You can use a tool such as '' | ||
- | === How do I programmatically switch workspaces, move windows, etc? === | + | === Why did my window suddenly become transparent? === |
- | '' | + | If display compositing |
- | '' | + | === Why have my window borders suddenly disappeared? |
+ | If your window borders have disappeared and you can't move windows around, | ||
- | === A window suddenly became transparent! How do I undo this? === | + | xfwm4 --sm-client-id=${SESSION_MANAGER## |
- | If display compositing is enabled, the Xfce Window Manager allows you to adjust the opacity of a window by hovering your mouse over the title bar, holding down the Alt key, and using the scroll wheel (down lowers the opacity, and up raises it). So use Alt+ScrollWheelUp to reset the transparency. | + | |
- | === I have only one desktop and can't move my windows anymore! HELP! === | + | [[|Back To Top]] |
- | If you have no window borders anymore and can't focus windows, xfwm4 probably closed itself. This happens sometimes and due to the random nature of this annoying bug it's hard to track. But there are workarounds available. | + | |
- | == Start xfwm4 again == | + | ---- |
- | Sounds like the simpliest solution. You need a terminal and a command executioner (like xfrun4 (alt + f2)) with focus. In the terminal you enter following command: | + | |
- | < | + | |
- | And you're done, xfwm4 should be now in your session again. If this doesn' | + | |
- | == The easy solution for every xfce (not for people loving their sessions) == | + | |
- | Because xfwm4 goes fishy most times at start up it isn't bad if you have to log out. You hadn't done anything important until than. So log out, remove ~/ | + | |
- | == The cool new xfce4.10 solution (again, not for people loving their sessions) == | + | |
- | If you already use xfce4.10 you have the possibility to use the GUI to delete the sessions cache (as you can see, the devs are annoyed, too). Open xfce4-sessions-settings → Session and click »Clear saved sessions«, than log out and in again. This should be all. | + | |
===== Session Manager ===== | ===== Session Manager ===== | ||
- | === Some of my applications | + | === Why are some of my applications |
- | There are two possible reasons why the application is started: It is saved in the last session or it is listed in the auto started applications. Follow 1 of the two steps below to get rid of the applications. | + | This occurs when a previous session is restored or the application is set to auto start. |
- | * Start the '' | + | To prevent Xfce from restoring your last session, go to Settings Manager |
- | * Most of the time closing all the applications and save your session when you logout is sufficient. If this doesn' | + | |
- | === I' | + | To stop an application from automatically starting on login, go to Settings Manager -> Session and Startup -> Application Autostart and remove the application from the list. You can also manually delete it's .desktop file in '' |
- | There are two way to fix this: sudo and hal/dbus. Default starting from version 4.4 is hal. | + | |
+ | === Why am I unable to shutdown or restart my computer? === | ||
+ | In order to fix this, you can use sudo or hal and dbus. | ||
== Using sudo == | == Using sudo == | ||
- | You have to allow the user(s) to execute ''< | + | You need to allow the user(s) to execute ''< |
| | ||
- | Add the user to the '' | + | Then add the user to the '' |
| | ||
- | |||
- | Add the user to the '' | ||
- | |||
| | ||
- | When you logout and login again, the shutdown and restart | + | When you re-login, |
== Using hal and dbus == | == Using hal and dbus == | ||
Make sure that the hal and dbus daemons are started on boot, and that you are running a recent version of dbus (at least 1.1). Refer to your distribution for exact steps. | Make sure that the hal and dbus daemons are started on boot, and that you are running a recent version of dbus (at least 1.1). Refer to your distribution for exact steps. | ||
- | In the steps below the groupname "**power**" is used. This is __DEPENDING ON YOUR DISTRIBUTION__. | + | In the steps below the groupname " |
Your / | Your / | ||
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</ | </ | ||
- | Add the user to the '' | + | Add the user to the '' |
| | ||
- | When you logout and login again, the shutdown and restart | + | When you re-login, |
- | === I don't see the logout dialog when I press the quit button === | + | === Why can' |
- | Enable | + | You need to enable |
- | ===== Panels ===== | + | [[|Back To Top]] |
- | + | ||
- | === How do I disable the taskbar in Xfce 4.2? === | + | |
- | + | ||
- | Just don't run it at startup... | + | |
- | * If you use the session manager, kill the taskbar, save your session on logout, and the taskbar will be gone when you'll log back in. | + | |
- | * If you don't use the session manager, comment out the '' | + | |
- | + | ||
- | + | ||
- | === What is the "use startup notification" | + | |
- | If you select this option, the window manager will show an hourglass while the program is loading. The startup notification libraries have to be installed. They are probably available with your distribution. This feature is only supported by modern applications (Gtk2.x and Qt3.x based). | + | |
- | + | ||
- | {{wiki: | + | |
+ | ---- | ||
====== Visual Appearance ====== | ====== Visual Appearance ====== | ||
===== Applications ===== | ===== Applications ===== | ||
- | === Help, my panel/ | + | === Why have my panels/workspaces/window borders disappeared? === |
- | As Xfce is modular by design, all of those visual elements are actually separate | + | One of the processes |
- | | Panel | '' | + | Panel: |
- | | Taskbar | '' | + | |
- | | Window Manager | + | Window Manager: |
- | | Desktop | + | |
+ | Desktop | ||
+ | | ||
- | === My desktop is so nice, I want to make a screenshot! How can I do that in Xfce? === | + | === How can I take a screenshot in Xfce? === |
- | There are at least 6 possibilities: | + | Install a screenshotting application such as [[http:// |
- | - The [[http:// | + | |
- | * Add it to your panel and click to make a screenshot, or use the xfce4-screenshooter stand-alone application. | + | |
- | - Salasaga - http:// | + | |
- | * Dedicated application for doing screenshots and application captures | + | |
- | * Add a keyboard shortcut (i.e. Control-Printscreen) for the " | + | |
- | - The Gimp | + | |
- | * In the Acquire menu: http:// | + | |
- | - scrot: http:// | + | |
- | * e.g. "scrot -s -t 150x150" | + | |
- | - Import from ImageMagick | + | |
- | * e.g. " | + | |
- | - Using good old xv with grab function | + | |
- | * http:// | + | |
- | === The file chooser | + | === Why is the file chooser |
- | It is more likely that the icon theme you are using renders too many SVGs making it very hard to scroll. | + | The icon theme you are using renders too many SVGs, making it resource intensive |
- | === Response to Terminal application | + | === Why is my terminal application so slow? === |
For NVidia users, add this to your settings: | For NVidia users, add this to your settings: | ||
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nvidia-settings -a InitialPixmapPlacement=0 -a GlyphCache=1 | nvidia-settings -a InitialPixmapPlacement=0 -a GlyphCache=1 | ||
- | For all users, your driver may not support argb visuals very well. You can disable it for Terminal | + | Otherwise, your driver may not support argb visuals very well. You can disable it for the terminal |
#!/bin/sh | #!/bin/sh | ||
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===== Themes ===== | ===== Themes ===== | ||
- | === The gtk-xfce-engine themes do not appear in the "user interface" | + | === How can I theme various parts of my Xfce desktop environment? === |
- | The gtk-xfce-engine-2 package has to be installed using same prefix as Gtk2 itself. When installed from sources, the engine is, by default, installed in /usr/local, while Gtk2 is often installed in /usr. Just install gtk-xfce-engine-2 again using '' | + | Please refer to the [[howto: |
- | + | ||
- | === How can I customize | + | |
- | You can read everything about changing themes in the [[howto: | + | |
===== Windows ===== | ===== Windows ===== | ||
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Enabling EXA will normally provide a speed increase for compositing and font rendering, but may cause a small reduction in OpenGL rendering speed. | Enabling EXA will normally provide a speed increase for compositing and font rendering, but may cause a small reduction in OpenGL rendering speed. | ||
- | Once the Composite extension is activated, go to '' | + | Once the Composite extension is activated, go to Settings |
- | == ATI users (X.org | + | == ATI users (X.org |
ATI R3xx/R4xx (9500 to X850, X1050) users may also need this in the '' | ATI R3xx/R4xx (9500 to X850, X1050) users may also need this in the '' | ||
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| | ||
- | == nVidia | + | == NVidia |
NVidia users may also need this in the '' | NVidia users may also need this in the '' | ||
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| | ||
- | Read ''/ | + | Read ''/ |
===== Panel ===== | ===== Panel ===== | ||
- | === Is it possible to change the icon used by the icon box or task bar for a given application? | + | === How can I change the icon used by an application? |
- | It's not possible. This setting has to be managed by the application itself. | + | For an application launcher, right-click on the launcher and select " |
- | === I've installed a plug-in for the panel, but the indicators don't use different colors. What can I do? === | + | To change the application icon used in the Window Buttons, Workspace Switcher or elsewhere, change |
- | First, try another Gtk theme, since some themes override | + | |
- | === How do I set the panel layer in Xfce 4.2 and 4.4? === | + | === How do I change |
- | In order to improve focus management this option was removed. | + | In order to improve focus management, this option was removed. |
=== Is there a world clock applet? === | === Is there a world clock applet? === | ||
- | You need to add the Orage Clock to the panel. Then you can middle-click the clock to open the "Global Time" | + | Orage Clock provides this functionality. Add it to the panel, then middle-click the clock to open the Global Time window, |
- | ====== Development ====== | + | [[|Back To Top]] |
+ | ---- | ||
+ | ====== Development ====== | ||
=== How can I report bugs? === | === How can I report bugs? === | ||
- | You can report bugs [[http:// | + | You can report bugs on the [[https:// |
=== How often are new releases made? === | === How often are new releases made? === | ||
- | Whenever we feel like it is ready to be released. If you are unhappy with this you can always choose | + | See [[https:// |
+ | |||
+ | === I have asked a question / reported a bug on the mailing list / Bugzilla, why isn't anyone answering? === | ||
+ | * Give it time. Maybe the responsible developer | ||
+ | * Try giving more detailed information. Perhaps no one can figure out what it is you are trying to say, and they just don't want to take the time to contact | ||
+ | * Consider if you've been been disrespectful when asking your question / reporting a bug. While you are allowed your own opinion on things, remember that the software you are talking about was made by volunteers and provided to you for free. You didn't pay for it, so you are asking for a favour. By asking your question in a polite, respectful way, you are increasing your chances that somebody will reply to you. | ||
+ | * The developers / volunteers in question simply may not want to reply to you. Perhaps they are having a bad day, or they think your report doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[|Back To Top]] | ||
- | === I have asked a question / reported a bug on the mailing list / bugs.xfce.org and no one is answering === | + | ---- |
- | 2 possibilities: | + | |
- | * Give it time. Maybe the responsible developer is on vacation, maybe he didn't check the mailing list / bugzilla yet. Keep in mind that someone may be having a bad day and may not care to respond at all. Time can help. | + | |
- | * Try giving more detailed information. | + | |
- | * Maybe you have been disrespectful when asking your question / reporting a bug. While you are totally allowed to rate a product just as you please, you do have to realise that in the case of open source products you didn't pay for the product or the support on the product, and the developers may not value your feedback. So when you report something that affects you, you are actually asking a favor. When reporting such a problem you can improve your chances on goodwill of the developers by asking your question in a polite, respectfull way. Do realise that even if you do so the developer might not be interested in/lack time to implement the feature/fix the bug you reported. A patch that fixes the issue might still convince him to spend time on it. | + | |
- | * When you are reporting a legitimate issue, it is understood that you are taking your valuable time to offer feedback to the developers. | + |