XFce-4.0.0

Introduction to XFce

The XFce package contains a lightweight desktop environment.

Package information

Installation of XFce

XFce now distributes as a TAR ball of base packages and module packages. These instructions will only cover the bare minimum to run the application. The remaining modules would all follow the same pattern which will soon become obvious.

Install XFce by running the following commands:

cd src &&
tar -xzvf libxfce4util-4.0.0 &&
cd libxfce4util-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf libxfcegui4-4.0.0 &&
cd libxfcegui4-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf libxfce4mcs-4.0.0 &&
cd libxfce4mcs-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf xfce-mcs-manager-4.0.0 &&
cd xfce-mcs-manager-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf xfwm4-4.0.0 &&
cd xfwm4r-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf xfdesktop-4.0.0 &&
cd xfdesktop-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf xfce4-panel-4.0.0 &&
cd xfce4-panel-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc &&
make &&
make install &&
cd .. &&
tar -xzvf xfce-utils-4.0.0 &&
cd xfce-utils-4.0.0 &&
./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc &&
make &&
make install

Modules not installed above are: dbh-1.0.15 (required for xffm), gtk-xfce-engine-2.1.6, xfce-mcs-plugins, xfce4-iconbox, xfce4-mixer, xfce4-systray, sxfce4-themes, xfce4-toys, xfce4-trigger-launcher, xffm, xffm-icons, xfprint, and xfwm4-themes.

Configuring XFce

Config files

~/.xinitrc

Configuration Information

Be sure to backup your current .xinitrc before proceeding.

cat >> ~/.xinitrc << "EOF">
xfce-mcs-manager
xfwm4 --daemon
xftaskbar4 &
xfdesktop &
exec xfce4-panel
EOF

Contents

The XFce package contains xfce-mcs-manager, xfce4-about, xfce-setting-show, xfce4-panel, xfdesktop, xfhelp4, xflock4, xfmountdev4, xfrun4, xfsamba4, xftaskbar4, xfterm4, xftrash4, xftree4, xfwm4 and libxfce4mcs, libxfce4util, and libxfcegui4 libraries.

Description

xfce-mce-manager

xfce-mce-manager is the settings manager for XFce.

xfce4-about

xfce4-about displays the about box.

xfce-setting-show

xfce_setting-show displays the settings for XFce.

xfce4-panel

xfce4-panel is the panel manager for XFce. It contains the launcher, clock, mail check, desktop switcher and separator programs.

xfdesktop

xfdesktop is the desktop manager for XFce.

xfhelp4

xfhelp4 is script that launches a HTML browser to display online documentation.

xflock4

xflock4 is a script used to lock the current screen during drag and drop actions.

xfmountdev4

xfmountdev4 mounts a device on the specified mount point and launches xftree4, then unmounts the device when xftree4 finishes.

xfrun4

xfrun4 is the program launcher for XFce.

xfsamba4

xfsamba4 is Samba front end for XFce.

xftaskbar4

xftaskbar4 is the taskbar manager for XFce.

xfterm4

xfterm4 is a small terminal wrapper to be used as a drag and drop action for the XFce front panel.

xftrash4

xftrash4 is a small script to be used as a drag and drop action for the XFce front panel.

xftree4

xftree4 is the file manager for XFce.

xfwm4

xfwm4 is a window manager for X11.