nightmorph 07/03/11 09:14:51 Modified: xfce-config.xml Log: Updated my xfce guide for 4.4. lots of new fixes, changes, additions, etc. 4.4 rox your sox.
Revision Changes Path 1.4 xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml file : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml?rev=1.4&view=markup plain: http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml?rev=1.4&content-type=text/plain diff : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml?r1=1.3&r2=1.4 Index: xfce-config.xml =================================================================== RCS file: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml,v retrieving revision 1.3 retrieving revision 1.4 diff -u -r1.3 -r1.4 --- xfce-config.xml 18 Feb 2007 21:54:54 -0000 1.3 +++ xfce-config.xml 11 Mar 2007 09:14:51 -0000 1.4 @@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ <!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 --> <license/> -<version>1.2</version> -<date>2007-02-18</date> +<version>1.3</version> +<date>2007-03-11</date> <chapter> <title>Introduction</title> @@ -50,6 +50,11 @@ keeping with the Xfce philosophy: light, fast, and modular. </p> +<p> +Additionally, this guide will show you how to <uri link="#upgrade">upgrade</uri> +from version 4.2 to 4.4. +</p> + </body> </section> </chapter> @@ -81,33 +86,21 @@ for security </ti> </tr> -<tr> - <ti>hal</ti> - <ti> - A Hardware Abstraction Layer. HAL enables desktop applications to locate and - use hardware devices. This makes it easy for you to work with removable - media, such as USB sticks and CD/DVD drives. Installing <c>hal</c> will also - install <c>dbus</c>, a simple way for applications to talk to each other. - </ti> -</tr> -<tr> - <ti>gamin</ti> - <ti> - This file alteration monitor keeps track of file changes; it's very handy - when used in conjunction with a graphical file browser - </ti> -</tr> </table> <p> You're free to install any other packages you wish, but for now, we'll stick with these suggestions for a fast, minimal working environment. Double check your USE flags in <path>/etc/make.conf</path>; you'll probably at least want -<c>USE="-gnome"</c> to avoid pulling in unnecessary dependencies. +<c>USE="dbus -gnome hal startup-notification"</c>. +</p> + +<p> +Now, let's install Xfce. </p> <pre caption="Installing Xfce"> -# <i>emerge -avt xfce4 xscreensaver hal gamin</i> +# <i>emerge -avt xfce4 xscreensaver</i> </pre> <p> @@ -240,7 +233,7 @@ <c>emerge --search xfce</c>. Though for the most part their names are self explanatory, a few deserve some attention, as they are quite helpful. To use them, simply <c>emerge</c> them. They'll be added to the list of available items -in the "Add New Item" menu. +in the "Add New Item" menu shown when you right-click on the panel. </p> <ul> @@ -248,15 +241,6 @@ <c>xfce4-mount</c> gives you a handy method of mounting devices listed in <path>/etc/fstab</path> just by clicking your mouse </li> -<!-- xfce4-taskbar is integrated into the panel in 4.4; remove when stable --> - <li> - <c>xfce4-taskbar</c> can replace the windowlist panel entirely. It's - useful if you want to conserve screen space (for small monitors), or don't - want your desktop cluttered with more than one panel. Add the taskbar to - your main panel, and then you can remove the separate windowlist panel by - running <c>killall -9 xftaskbar4</c> from an xterm, thus displaying your - application launchers, Xfce menu, clock, etc. all on just one panel. - </li> <li> <c>xfce4-battery</c> is perfect for laptop users. It displays battery percentage, time remaining, power source (AC or battery), fan status, @@ -265,12 +249,22 @@ the battery is almost exhausted. </li> <li> -<!-- xfce4-minicmd has been superceded by verve in 4.4; remove when stable --> - <c>xfce4-minicmd</c> is a small command line embedded into the panel. It's - quicker than opening up another terminal when you want to run a command. + <c>verve</c> is a small command line embedded into the panel. It's quicker + than opening up another terminal when you want to run a command. + </li> + <li> + <c>xfce4-mixer</c> is a volume control. It works with both ALSA and OSS + sound applications. </li> </ul> +<p> +If you can't find what you're looking for in the plugins specifically made for +Xfce, try searching through the list of Gnome panel applets! That's right, by +first emerging <c>xfce4-xfapplet</c>, you can install and run any applet made +for Gnome. +</p> + </body> </section> <section> @@ -278,71 +272,64 @@ <body> <p> -Now let's see about adding some useful yet lightweight applications, in keeping -with Xfce's philosophy. +Xfce bundles a few useful applications, including <c>thunar</c>, +<c>terminal</c>, <c>orage</c>, and <c>mousepad</c>. Note that the last three +will not be installed if you built <c>xfce4</c> with the <c>minimal</c> USE +flag. However, these are all very small, yet terrific applications, so they're +well worth installing. </p> <p> -First, let's replace the plain, boring old <c>xterm</c> with -<c>xfce-extra/terminal</c>. <c>Terminal</c> is far more configurable and useful -than xterm, and supports Unicode text, pseudo-transparency and accelerated -transparency via Xfce's built-in compositor, all out-of-the-box. +<c>orage</c> is a simple, handy calendar. <c>mousepad</c> is a barebones text +editor that starts up extremely quickly. <c>terminal</c> is far more +configurable and useful than xterm, and supports Unicode text, +pseudo-transparency and accelerated transparency via Xfce's built-in +compositor, all out-of-the-box. Just make sure that the default action on the +terminal launcher of your panel runs <path>/usr/bin/Terminal</path> instead of +xterm. Right click the launcher and choose "Properties" to change the command. </p> -<!-- Remove the warning about ~arch once 4.4 and terminal go stable --> -<note> -At the time of writing, <c>Terminal</c> may not be marked stable for your -architecture, so you will need to add it to -<path>/etc/portage/package.keywords</path> before emerging it. -</note> - -<pre caption="Installing a better terminal"> -<comment>(Only run this command if you receive a warning about Terminal being masked)</comment> -# <i>echo "xfce-extra/terminal" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords</i> - -<comment>(Otherwise, you can emerge Terminal without any extra steps)</comment> -# <i>emerge -av xfce-extra/terminal</i> -</pre> <p> -Once it's installed, you may want to change the default action of the terminal -launcher on your panel to run <path>/usr/bin/Terminal</path> instead. Just -right-click the launcher and choose "Properties" to change the command. +<c>thunar</c> is Xfce's built-in graphical file manager. It's fast yet quite +powerful, can support a few plugins for even more functionality; just install +them with <c>emerge</c>. Let's take a look: </p> -<p> -You may want to replace the rather confusing default filemanager, <c>xffm</c>, -with one that's more intuitive and helpful. The <c>rox</c> file manager is -icon-based and behaves much more like a traditional file manager. If you're -looking for something even more minimal, yet still extremely flexible, then try -out the <c>gentoo</c> file manager. (The <c>gentoo</c> file manager is not -related to the Gentoo Linux distribution.) Both file managers are lightweight -and fully configurable, and are only a short <c>emerge</c> away. -</p> +<ul> + <li> + <c>thunar-archive</c> lets you create and extract archive files using the + right-click menu. It works even better when paired with the new graphical + archiving <uri + link="http://www.foo-projects.org/~benny/projects/thunar-archive-plugin/";>tool</uri> + developed for Xfce, <c>xarchiver</c>. + </li> + <li> + <c>thunar-media-tags</c> lets you intelligently rename multiple media files + at once, and lets you <uri + link="http://thunar.xfce.org/pwiki/projects/thunar-media-tags-plugin";>edit</uri> + their information tags, such as id3 tags. + </li> + <li> + <c>thunar-thumbnailers</c> lets you <uri + link="http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/thunar-plugins/thunar-thumbnailers";>preview</uri> + certain types of files from within Thunar, such as images and fonts. + </li> + <li> + <c>thunar-volman</c> automatically <uri + link="http://foo-projects.org/~benny/projects/thunar-volman/";>manages</uri> + removable media and drives. + </li> +</ul> -<!-- Remove the note about masked thunar once 4.4 is stable --> <p> -In the future, <c>thunar</c> will replace <c>xffm</c> as Xfce's default file -manager, but it is still masked at the time of this writing. However, the most -recent versions have been quite useful for daily work, and show great promise. -If you're feeling brave, you can try out the release candidates. Please read -<uri link="doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=3&chap=3#doc_chap3">Using -Masked Packages</uri> to learn how to unmask it and its dependencies. Note that -this software is still unfinished. You have been warned! +Next, let's see about adding some useful but lightweight desktop applications, +in keeping with Xfce's philosophy. </p> -<!-- remove mousepad once 4.4 is stable; right now it's included by default --> -<p> -Let's install a simple graphical text editor. It's easier to use than -<c>gvim</c> or <c>xemacs</c>, and has fewer dependencies. -</p> - -<pre caption="Adding a text editor"> -# <i>emerge mousepad</i> -</pre> <p> -If you need a full-featured word processor but don't want the bloat of -OpenOffice, try emerging <c>abiword</c>. <uri -link="http://www.abisource.com";>AbiWord</uri> is lighter, faster, and is +Though <c>mousepad</c> is nice enough, if you need a full-featured word +processor but don't want the bloat of OpenOffice, try emerging <c>abiword</c>. +<uri link="http://www.abisource.com";>AbiWord</uri> is lighter, faster, and is completely interoperable with industry-standard document types. </p> @@ -352,12 +339,9 @@ <p> Need a nice email client/newsreader that isn't as demanding as -<c>mozilla-thunderbird</c> or <c>evolution</c>? Try <c>sylpheed-claws</c>: +<c>mozilla-thunderbird</c> or <c>evolution</c>? Try emerging +<c>sylpheed-claws</c> or <c>claws-mail</c>. </p> -<!-- replacement seems to be called claws-mail, but still in ~arch --> -<pre caption="Adding an email client"> -# <i>emerge -avt sylpheed-claws</i> -</pre> <p> For your internet chat needs, <c>irssi</c> is an excellent, tiny, incredibly @@ -441,6 +425,11 @@ </pre> <p> +<c>xdm</c> can automatically start your Xfce session if you add XSESSION="Xfce4" +to <path>/etc/rc.conf</path>. +</p> + +<p> While you can choose to stick with (the rather ugly) <c>xdm</c>, why not try <c>gdm</c> instead? It's far more configurable, and much, much prettier. First, let's <c>emerge</c> it. Note that though it has a few dependencies, they're @@ -504,8 +493,9 @@ Finally, Xfce has its own built-in compositor to manage window transparency. This option can be found in Menu --> Settings --> Window Manager. For best performance, you will need to be running a graphics card with drivers that -support hardware-accelerated rendering, and you will need to enable -compositing in <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> by adding the following section: +support hardware-accelerated rendering. Make sure you emerged <c>xfwm4</c> with +the <c>xcomposite</c> USE flag. Next, you will need to enable compositing in +<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> by adding the following section: </p> <pre caption="Enabling composite in xorg.conf"> @@ -527,6 +517,100 @@ </section> </chapter> +<chapter id="upgrade"> +<title>Upgrading</title> +<section> +<title>Upgrading from 4.2 to 4.4</title> +<body> + +<p> +Upgrading from Xfce 4.2 to 4.4 isn't hard, but neither is it as simple as most +upgrades. With the release of 4.4, many older packages are either deprecated, or +their functionality has been included into the desktop in some other manner. +</p> + +<p> +First, update your Portage tree (<c>emerge --sync</c>), then see what Xfce +updates are available (<c>emerge -pvtuD world</c>). +</p> + +<p> +You'll notice that there will be a list of packages that block upgrading, as +most 4.2 packages cannot coexist with 4.4 packages. Here, the solution is pretty +straightforward: just unmerge the blocking packages, as described in the <uri +link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=1">Portage +Handbook</uri> and <c>man emerge</c>, then continue with the update. +</p> + +<p> +Next, you may need to rebuild certain packages, such as applications linked +against <c>dbus</c>. You'll need to first install <c>gentoolkit</c> for this. +Then, once <c>gentoolkit</c> is installed, run: +</p> + +<pre caption="Rebuilding packages"> +# <i>revdep-rebuild -p</i> +<comment>(If you see any output about broken packages, run this next command)</comment> +# <i>revdep-rebuild</i> +</pre> + +<note> +For more information, please read <c>man revdep-rebuild</c> and our <uri +link="/doc/en/gentoolkit.xml">Gentoolkit Guide</uri>. +</note> + +<p> +Once the rebuild has finished, run <c>revdep-rebuild -p</c> again, just to make +sure you have a clean and consistent world. If anything still shows up, keep +repeating <c>revdep-rebuild -p</c> and <c>revdep-rebuild</c> until there's no +more output about broken packages. Most Xfce update problems stem from +<c>dbus</c> issues, as Xfce uses <c>dbus</c> quite extensively. +</p> + +<p> +Next, restart <c>dbus</c> and/or <c>hal</c>. +</p> + +<pre caption="Restarting dbus and hal"> +# <i>/etc/init.d/dbus restart</i> +# <i>/etc/init.d/hald restart</i> +</pre> + +<p> +Finally, give yourself a fresh environment. +</p> + +<pre caption="Updating the environment variables"> +# <i>env-update && source /etc/profile</i> +</pre> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Settings</title> +<body> + +<p> +Make sure you familiarize yourself with all the new options available in the new +Settings Manager. Of interest are the options in the Desktop screen; Xfce can +now manage your desktop and place icons on it. +</p> + +<p> +There's also a Window Manager Tweaks screen, in which you can adjust the +behavior of windows, workspaces, and transparency (if enabled). +</p> + +<p> +Be sure to read the <uri link="http://www.xfce.org/documentation/";>Xfce +Documentation</uri> and take the <uri link="http://www.xfce.org/about/tour";>Xfce +Tour</uri> to learn more about 4.4 and how to configure it. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + <chapter> <title>Summary</title> <section> @@ -546,19 +630,15 @@ <p> Need additional help on configuring and using Xfce? Need more lightweight -application suggestions? Try asking the folks in: +application suggestions? Try checking out: </p> <ul> <li><uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org";>The Gentoo forums</uri></li> <li>#xfce on irc.freenode.net</li> + <li><uri link="http://www.xfce.org";>Xfce's home page</uri></li> </ul> -<p> -Finally, Gentoo's Xfce team is responsible for making Xfce available in Portage. -Send comments, thanks, and suggestions to <mail>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</mail>. -</p> - </body> </section> </chapter> -- [email protected] mailing list
