Xfce 4 Desktop Manager

Introduction

The xfdesktop application manages the desktop backdrop. It sets a backdrop image and/or color and it can pop up an applications menu and a list of all running applications when you click on the desktop with the right or middle mouse button respectively. As of Xfce 4.4, xfdesktop also draws icons on the desktop.

The xfdesktop package installs a settings dialog for use with the Xfce 4 Settings Manager. From this dialog you can change the backdrop image and color and change settings for the menu and the window list.

Backdrop

xfdesktop is responsible for drawing the desktop's backdrop (sometimes called "wallpaper") image. There are various options for setting a backdrop image. The final picture seen on the monitor is composed of a solid color or gradient, with an image or photo (with optional transparency) composited on top of the color or gradient. This allows for some interesting effects using semi-transparent images on top of various color arrangements.

Icons

In addition to drawing the backdrop image, xfdesktop can draw icons on the desktop.

Minimized Window Icons

One mode of operation displays minimized applications as icons on the desktop, which can be rearranged, and will remember their positions when the window is unhidden and then later minimized again. The icons also provide a right-click menu similar to the window's control menu accessed by clicking the button in the top-left corner of the window.

File/Launcher Icons

xfdesktop can also display on the desktop the contents of the $XDG_DESKTOP_DIR folder, which can be set in the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/user-dirs.dirs file (if you do not have this file, it will use $HOME/Desktop). Files can be arranged, copied, moved, and linked to and from a file manager, and opened using preferred applications. Application and URL launchers can also be created on the desktop. The file icon view is modeled to have a similar look and feel as the Thunar file manager.

The Desktop Menu

A right-click on the desktop backdrop opens a menu that allows you to open a Thunar window in the Desktop directory, to create launchers, URL links, folders and files from templates. It is also possible to open the Desktop Settings and the Properties window of the Desktop directory and to start many of the applications found on your system.

Figure 1. Desktop Menu

The menu's configuration file, xfce-applications.menu, can be found under the path $sysconfdir/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu. For binary packages, $sysconfdir is often /etc and for source compiles, it defaults to /usr/local/etc.

The previous menu editor is not available anymore. However you can customize your menu by copying xfce-applications.menu to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/menus and by modifying it with a text editor such as mousepad or gedit. Please remember that the file should be UTF-8 encoded. For more information on menu editing, please see the Xfce Wiki.

Further customisation can be achived by creating desktop entries in $XDG_DATA_HOME/applications to hide, modify or add entries in the menu.

The Window List Menu

A middle-click on the desktop backdrop shows a list of all opened windows ordered by workspace. It also allows you to add or remove a workspace.

Figure 2. Window List Menu

Shows xfdesktop middle-click mouse menu.

Desktop Settings

You can start the Desktop settings dialog by clicking on the "Desktop" button in the Xfce Settings Manager.

Background Tab

The Background tab allows you to set various options related to drawing the desktop backdrop picture.

Figure 3. Desktop Settings, Background Tab

Shows the Background tab of the Desktop Settings dialog

Image

Select the "None" option if you want xfdesktop to ignore the backdrop image and only use the selected colors.

Select the "Single image" option if you want xfdesktop to draw a backdrop image.

Select the "Image List" option if you want xfdesktop to randomly choose the backdrop image among a list.

Images

If you selected the "Single image" option, you can choose an image from the treeview. Click on an image to set it as the current backdrop. xfdesktop will update the background of your desktop automatically.

You can add images to the treeview by clicking on the "plus" button, which will pop a file chooser dialog up. Images can be removed using the "minus" button.

If you selected the "Image list" option, you can use the "New" button displaying a blank sheet to select an existing list or create a new one, using a file chooser. You can still use the "plus" and "minus" buttons to add and remove images. xfdesktop will then randomly choose a backdrop among this list every time it starts.

Five Style options ("Centered", "Tiled", "Stretched", "Scaled" and "Zoomed") are available to specify the fitting of the backdrop image on the screen, depending on its size. You can also select the "Auto" item if you want to let xfdesktop take care of this setting.

xfdesktop supports xinerama and multiscreen modes. In multiscreen mode, the Background tab shows one tab per screen.

Colors

The color style is one of four options in dropping list: a solid color, horizontal gradient, vertical gradient, or transparent.

The "Transparent" option, when you use a colored background without backdrop image, allows you to see the windows that are under the transparent desktop window. This requires an activated compositor.

Two colored buttons allow you to choose the colors for your desktop. When the solid color option is selected, only the first color is available. When either of the gradient options are selected, both the first and second colors are available. Both of the color buttons open a color chooser dialog:

Figure 4. Select Background Color

You can use the colored ring with a triangle inside to select the color you want from the outer ring, then select the darkness or lightness of that color using the inner triangle. Corresponding values of brightness, deepness, and amount of red, green and blue light in the color appear through the entries on the right side of the window.
You can click the eyedropper, then click anywhere on your screen to select the color.
You can enter an HTML-style hexadecimal color value, or simply a color name, in the "Color Name" entry.

The selected colors will fill the entire root window, and will remain visible through a transparent backdrop image.

Adjustments

The two sliders allow you to adjust the brightness and the saturation of the backdrop image and or color.

Menus Tab

Figure 5. Desktop Settings, Menus Tab

Desktop Menu

If you check the "Show applications menu on desktop right click", the applications menu will be shown when right clicking on the desktop.

Window List Menu

If you check the "Show window list menu on desktop middle click" option, the window list menu will be shown when middle clicking on the desktop.

The "Show application icons in menu" option allows you to show or hide icons in the menu. This option is only available when "Show window list menu on desktop middle click" is checked.

The "Show workspace names in list" option allows you to show or hide workspace names in the list. If checked, windows are shown under the name of their workspace. Else, they are all shown in the same portion of the menu. This option is only available when "Show window list menu on desktop middle click" is checked.

The "Show submenus for the windows in each workspace" option allows you to have the windows displayed in a submenu titled with the workspace name. This option is only available when "Show workspace names in list" is checked.

The "Show sticky windows only in active workspace" option allows you to have sticky windows displayed only in the active workspace, instead of displaying their item in all workspaces.

Icons Tab

Figure 6. Desktop Settings, Icons Tab

Appearance

The "Icon type" dropping list allows you to set the behavior of the desktop icons. There are three options: "None", to disable desktop icons entirely; "Minimized" application icons, to show icons for minimized or hidden applications on the desktop; and "File/launcher" icons, to show the contents of your $XDG_DESKTOP_DIR directory on the desktop.

If desktop icons are enabled, you can control the size of the icon itself (in pixels) with the "Icon size" option, and the font size used to display the icon text (in points) with the "Use custom font size" option. If you do not check this last option, the system defaults will be used.

Default Icons

The checkboxes allow you to show or hide special icons on the desktop, when xfdesktop is set to draw icons. Double clicking those icons will open a Thunar window displaying the contents of a particular path.

Home stands for your home folder, that is to say, $HOME. Filesystem stands for the root of your file system, also known as /. Trash stands for your trash folder, and Removable devices represents floppy drives, USB drives and keys, external hard drives, optical discs, etc.

Hidden Options

There are a number of hidden options that cannot be set by the Xfce Settings Manager. These require use of a text editor.

Icon View Text Appearance

The colors of the icon text and the icon text background, as well as the opacity of the icon text background, can be customized by putting directives simiar to the following in your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 file:

style "xfdesktop-icon-view" {
    XfdesktopIconView::label-alpha = 75

    base[NORMAL] = "#00ff00"
    base[SELECTED] = "#5050ff"
    base[ACTIVE] = "#0000ff"

    fg[NORMAL] = "#ff0000"
    fg[SELECTED] = "#ff0000"
    fg[ACTIVE] = "#ff0000"
}
widget_class "*XfdesktopIconView*" style "xfdesktop-icon-view"

The first entry sets the opacity of the rounded text background. The three "base" entries set the text background color, and the three "fg" entries set the text color.

The "NORMAL" entries set the color for the regular, unselected state. The "SELECTED" entries set the color for when the icon is selected, and the desktop has keyboard focus. The "ACTIVE" entries set the color for when the icon is selected, but the desktop does not have keyboard focus.

Miscellaneous

You can open the menu or window list from the commandline as well. This can be useful for keyboard shortcuts. To open the menu run the command xfdesktop --menu, and for the windowlist use xfdesktop --windowlist. To cause the current running instance to quit, run xfdesktop --quit.

About `xfdesktop`

xfdesktop was written by Brian Tarricone (<kelnos@xfce.org>), Jasper Huijsmans (<jasper@xfce.org>), and Benedikt Meurer (<benny@xfce.org>). For more information, please visit the Xfce website.

To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding this application or this manual, use the bug tracking system at http://bugzilla.xfce.org/.

If you have questions about the use or installation of this package, please ask on the xfce mailing list. Development discussion takes place on the xfce4-dev mailing list.

This program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.