UbuntuHandbook

Install Windows Like Start Menu in (X)Ubuntu XFCE Desktop

Last updated: November 12, 2014

Quick tutorial that shows you how to install and use Whisker Menu, a Windows like Start Menu for Linux, in (X)Ubuntu Xfce4 Desktop.

Whisker Menu is an alternate application launcher for Xfce Desktop. It is the default app launcher in Linux Mint Xfce edition since Mint 15 Olivia. With it, you can search for and browse through all of your installed applications.

Install Whisker Menu:

For (X)Ubuntu 15.04, (X)Ubuntu 14.10, and (X)Ubuntu 14.04, just click the link below to bring up Ubuntu Software Center and click the install button.

Click to Install Whisker Menu

For (X)Ubuntu 12.04, install it from the developer’s PPA by running the commands below one by one in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin

To add the menu to panel:

Right-click on panel and navigate to panel -> panel preferences …
When the preferences window opens, navigate to Items tab
Click on the green plus sign to add new item.
Search for and add Whisker Menu to the Items list.
Finally click the arrow button to move it to the top.

Set Windows (Super) key to launch Whisker Menu:

Start Settings Manager from the menu, and navigate to Keyboard
When the Keyboard utility opens, navigate to Application Shortcuts tab.
Add new shortcut with command xfce4-popup-whiskermenu
Press the Super/Windows key when it prompts.

Theming Whisker Menu: See the developer’s post.

In Howtos xfce4

How to Remove Desktop Shortcut Icons in (X)Ubuntu XFCE4

Last updated: November 12, 2014

Quick tutorial that shows beginners how to remove the shortcut icons from Xfce4 Desktop in (X)Ubuntu 14.10, (X)Ubuntu 14.04.

Xfce4 shows Home, Devices, Trash icons on desktop out-of-the-box. You can’t simply remove them from the right-click context menu. But it’s easy to hide or disable them via the Desktop Settings utility.

1. Open Desktop Settings from the Application Menu. Or right-click on desktop and select it from the pop-up context menu.

2. When the utility opens, navigate to Icons tab. Un-check all the boxes under Desktop Icons.

Note that you might need to re-size the window so that you can see the checkboxes.

This should remove user’s Home, Trash, and Devices icons.

If you want to hide all desktop icons besides removing application shortcuts from ~/Desktops folder, just set Icon Type to None. Note that this also changes the desktop right-click menu.

In Howtos, Xfce desktop shortcuts, xfce4

Get Maximized Window Titlebar & Buttons on Panel in Xfce4

Last updated: September 8, 2014

This simple tutorial shows Xubuntu or Xfce4 users how to get the titlebar & control buttons of maximized window on the panel using Windowck plugin.

First take a look at the result (Ubuntu 14.04 with Xfce 4.10). You’ll see the title of current Firefox tab on top panel and the window control buttons on the top-right.

To get started:

1. Install the xfce4-windowck-plugin, written by Alessio Piccoli and Cédric Leporcq.

Download the binary from the link below that matches your OS type:

64-bit system – xfce4-windowck-plugin_xxx~trusty_amd64.deb
32-bit system – xfce4-windowck-plugin_xxx~trusty_i386.deb

Download Xfce4-windowck-plugin

Then double-click the package to open with Software Center and click the install button to install it.

2. Add the ‘Window Header – Title’ and ‘Window Header – Buttons’ to panel.

Now right-click on panel and navigate to panel -> panel preferences. Add the two panel items ‘Window Header – Title’ & ‘Window Header – Buttons’ and move them to appropriate locations:

After that, maximize a window and you’ll see the window title and buttons on the panel.

3. To get better appearances, do:

Use Window Menu instead of Window Buttons in panel, see above picture
Hide the original titlebar when the window is maximized.
To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:
```
sudo apt-get install maximus

gconftool-2 --set /apps/maximus/no_maximize --type=bool true
```
Log out and back in to get it work.

4.(Optional) Uninstall.

Just remove the two panel items from the above picture and run below command to restore maximized window decorations:

gconftool-2 --set /apps/maximus/no_maximize --type=bool false

via: xfce.org

In Howtos, Xfce xfce4

How to Launch Xfce4 Terminal in Quake-style Drop-down Mode

Last updated: February 13, 2014

As you may know, Xfce4 terminal supports the Quake style drop-down mode since version 0.6. Just a parameter --drop-down will start xfce4-terminal just like quake, yakuake, or tilda.

It is advised to bind this feature to a shortcut in the keyboard preferences. Below steps will teach you how:

1. Open xfce4-setting-manager from Application menu or Alt+F2 Application Finder box.

2. Click on the Keyboard icon under Hardware section.

3. Under Application Shortcuts tab, click on the Add button and type in the command box xfce4-terminal --drop-down

4. Click on OK and set a keyboard shortcut in next window.

Now you’re able to press the keyboard shortcut to launch a drop-down Xfce4 terminal. Click the button at right-bottom to open the preferences dialog and edit the width, height, opacity, duration and more!

In Howtos, Xfce Xfce Terminal Quake Style, xfce4

Xfce4 Whisker Menu Added Dragging Launchers to Panel or Desktop

Last updated: December 30, 2013

Whisker Menu, the default application launcher of Linux Mint Xfce Desktop now is at version 1.3.0. According to the changelog, now you can drag app launchers from Whisker Menu to Panel or Desktop.

Whisker Menu 1.3 ChangeLog:

Fix menu artifacts when switching categories
Fix undefined behavior in slots
Add command to launch menu editor
Add command to switch users
Add hiding commands
Add browsing for commands
Add hiding category and launcher icons
Add loading default settings from a file
Add search actions
Add running arbitrary programs in PATH
Add dragging launchers to panel or desktop
Add support for custom menu files
Defer loading applications until window is shown
Merge configuration dialog tabs
Rearrange source files to match standard layout of Xfce plugins
Reduce unnecessary reloading of applications
Rewrite search model code
Use a single row in Xfce 4.10 panel
Use empty file for saving settings
Translation updates: Asturian, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Taiwan), Dutch, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Malay, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek

Click “Mark Executable” button if you get below window. The desktop icon will work properly next time you open it.

Install Whisker Menu:

If you’re on Xfce Desktop with Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint 13/14/15/16 and their derivatives. Whisker Menu can be easily installed from PPA.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin

For Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE and other Linux, go to whisker menu homepage

In Howtos drag launcher to desktop, Whisker Menu, xfce4

Xfce4 Whisker Menu updates with fixes & improvements [PPA]

Last updated: November 20, 2013

The Whisker Menu for Xfce recently released version 1.2.1 with bug fixes and improvements.

As you may know, Whisker Menu is an alternate application launcher for Xfce. With it, you can browser, search, and marked as favorites through all of your installed applications. Changes in version 1.2.1:

Fix incorrect comparison for checking icon sizes
Add window title to allow identifying menu window
Add tips to README for popup script and compiz workaround
Improve build system files
Translation updates: Asturian, Catalan, Chinese (Taiwan), Czech, German, Estonian, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Persian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish

whisker menu in Ubuntu 13.10 Xfce4

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and their derivatives you can easily install or upgrade to this release by running commands below one by one in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin

For Arch Linux, OpenSUSE, Debian, Fedora, and other Linux, get the Whisker Menu from its website

In News Whisker Menu, xfce4

PPA Install Skippy-XD, Exposé-like task-switcher for Xfce, LXDE

Last updated: November 10, 2013

Skippy-XD is a program for X which provides Mac OS Exposé-like features. It is a standalone application for providing a window picker with live previews (including live video) on Linux desktops that run an X server with composite support. Thus it is not part of the window manager, and the composite is not being used all the time.

To use Skippy-XD, you need Xfce (xfwm4) or a NetWM compliant window manager (LXDE, Openbox-based window managers, etc.).

This tutorial shows you how to install this task-switcher via PPA in (X)Ubuntu 13.10, (X)Ubuntu 13.04, (X)Ubuntu 12.10, (X)Ubuntu 12.04 and Linux Mint Xfce.

Mac OS X’s Exposé windows picker in Ubuntu 13.10 Xfce 4.10

Install Skippy-XD:

The Skippy-XD code has been released in 2004, and only slightly improved in 2011. Currently Skippy-XD is under (somewhat) active development and the latest GIT code is available in the PPA below.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one to install it from PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:landronimirc/skippy-xd-daily

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install skippy-xd

Once installed, start the daemon via:

skippy-xd --start-daemon &

And activate the windows picker:

skippy-xd --activate-window-picker

Add Keyboard Shortcuts for Skippy-XD

Typically, it is helpful to set up keyboard shortcuts for skippy-xd. For Xfce4:

1. Go to Settings Manager -> Settings Editor -> xfce4 keyboard shortcuts.

2. Click on New, and type in:

Property: /commands/custom/<Alt>1 #You may change <Alt>1 to other key combination.
Type: String
Value: skippy-xd --activate-window-picker

xfce4 add custom shortcut key

Auto start Skippy-XD daemon at login:

Go to Settings Manager -> Session and Startup -> Application Autostart. Click on Add button, type in name and command skippy-xd --start-daemon

In Xfce Skippy-XD, windows picker, xfce4

Whisker Menu 1.2 released with more options, Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: October 31, 2013

Whisker Menu for Xfce released v1.2.0 with more options and bugfixes. Here’s how to install it in XUbuntu 13.10, XUbuntu 13.04, Xubuntu 12.04, XUbuntu 12.10 and other Linux distributions.

Whisker Menu is an alternate application launcher for Xfce. With it, you can browser, search, and marked as favorites through all of your installed applications.

What’s New in version 1.2.0:

Fix popup script to show correct version information
Fix memory leak when reloading applications
Fix favorites and recent deleted when menu failed to load
Add option to load menu hierarchy
Add option to not include favorites in recently used
Add options to set custom commands
Add option to show recently used by default
Add option to position search entry next to panel button
Add option to position command buttons next to search entry
Add manual page for popup script
Use tabs for configuration dialog layout
Translation updates: Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Malay, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Spanish, Uzbek.

Install Whisker Menu 1.2 for Xfce4:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin

For Debian / Fedora / openSUSE and others, see installation guide on Whisker Menu Homepage

Once installed, right-click on panel and add this launcher by navigating to panel -> Add new item…

whisker menu in Ubuntu 13.10 Xfce4

In Xfce Whisker Menu, xfce4

How to Install Xfce Theme Manager in (X)Ubuntu 13.10

Last updated: October 25, 2013

Xfce Theme Manager, an integrated theme manager for Xfce Desktop now is available for (X)Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander.

With this tool, you can manage:

GTK themes
window borders and controls
icon themes
cursors
wallpapers
panel size and style, backdrop adjustments, fonts and other view options

Screenshots:

xfce theme manager gtk

xfce theme manager advanced

xfce theme manager icons

To install Xfce Theme Manager in (X)Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy and Linux Mint 16 Xfce, press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rebuntu16/other-stuff

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xfce-theme-manager

Once installed, open it from Application Menu -> Settings -> Settings Manager -> Other -> Xfce-Theme-Manager

In Xfce Ubuntu 13.10, xfce theme manager, xfce4

Install Whisker Menu for XFCE in (X)Ubuntu 13.10/13.04/12.04

Last updated: November 12, 2014

Want the Linux Mint 15 Whisker Menu on your Xfce Desktop? Well, here’s how to do it via PPA in (X)Ubuntu 13.10, (X)Ubuntu 13.04, (X)Ubuntu 12.04 and (X)Ubuntu 12.10.

Whisker Menu is an alternate application launcher for Xfce, which is used as default in Linux Mint 15 Xfce. By default, it displays list of your favorite apps. You can browse through all of your installed applications by clicking on the category buttons on the side. Or you can quickly access your app by the search box.

Note that the developer has removed the package for Ubuntu 13.10 and Ubuntu 13.04. So far, only Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, and Ubuntu 12.04 are supported.

Install Whisker Menu via PPA:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

Update package lists:

sudo apt-get update

Install the app launcher:

sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin

Once installed, right-click on your panel and go to Panel -> Add New Items…. Find out Whisker Menu and click to add it to launcher.

By default, it’s in the right corner. Right-click on the icon and move it to the left. Modify the icon and title in its properties window. Also you can remove the previous ‘application menu’ from its right-click menu.

For Debian, Feroda, openSUSE, see the installation guide Whisker Menu homepage

In Xfce Whisker Menu, xfce4