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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.3//EN"
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"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.3/docbookx.dtd" [
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<!ENTITY % globalent SYSTEM "../../libs/global.ent">
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<!ENTITY % xubuntu-ent SYSTEM "../../libs/xubuntu.ent">
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<!ENTITY % xinclude SYSTEM "../../libs/xinclude.mod">
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<!ENTITY language "en">
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<!ENTITY ubuntu '<phrase>Ubuntu</phrase>'>
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<chapter lang="&language;" id="xfce-desktop">
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<title>Getting to Know Your Desktop Environment</title>
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<title>Desktop</title>
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When your computer has finished booting up, and after entering your login data, you will arrive
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at the Xubuntu desktop. It comes with many features that make your life easy, and it is well
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worth the time to get to know your way around it.
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As you can see, your desktop has two panels: one on top, and one on the bottom of the screen.
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<title>Top Panel</title>
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The top panel is mainly used for starting applications and navigating to different
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places on your computer. It also comes with a logout button, system tray, a network
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manager application and a clock.
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Clicking on <guimenuitem>Applications</guimenuitem> will open the system menu, offering
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you many choices of applications to start. Note that you can also access your Settings,
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Help, and a logout dialog from the <guimenuitem>Applications</guimenuitem> menu.
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Clicking on the <guilabel>Logout</guilabel> button (looks like a white circle with a
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small vertical line intersecting the top of the circle) will bring up a menu with
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choices for logging out, shutting down, rebooting, and, depending on your hardware,
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suspending or hibernating your computer.
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Use the checkbox <guimenuitem>Save session for future logins</guimenuitem> to
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have all the currently running programs auto-started the next time you log in.
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Next to the clock is a small area called the <guilabel>System Tray</guilabel>. Some
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programs will show up as a small icon in the system tray while they are running in the
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background. The system tray is also used for informing you about updates to your
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system. If such an update becomes available, you will see a small speech bubble pop up
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giving you the necessary information to keep your system up to date and secure.
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Besides that, the top panel is quite empty. It has lots of additional room to add items
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besides the browser launcher. You may want to go ahead and <emphasis>add some custom
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items</emphasis> to it. Right-click on the panel, and choose <guimenuitem>Add New
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Item</guimenuitem>. Choose one of the many panel plugins available, or create a custom
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program launcher. The item will be permanently attached to your panel. Anything you add
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here will be reachable with just a single click, directly from your panel.
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<title>Bottom Panel</title>
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This panel contains a Show-Desktop button, a Taskbar, a Pager, and a Trash applet.
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The <guilabel>Hide windows and show desktop</guilabel> button will minimize all
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applications to clear your view onto the desktop. This is very helpful in case you are
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trying to access icons on the desktop and need to get all the windows out of the way.
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The <guilabel>Taskbar</guilabel> will have an entry for every window that is currently
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open. Use it to quickly change between running applications.
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The <guilabel>Pager</guilabel> allows you to navigate between the different desks you
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use. Note that small icons on the pager give an indication about the current windows on
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Clicking on the <guilabel>Trash</guilabel> applet in the bottom panel will open the
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<guilabel>Trash</guilabel> folder. Once open, you can view, restore, or delete items
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that you have placed into the Trash.</para>
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<para>Right-clicking the Trash applet, and selecting <guimenuitem>Empty Trash</guimenuitem> will
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allow you to immediately delete items in the Trash.</para>
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<title>Desktop</title>
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At first, the desktop will show you icons for your home directory, the filesystem, and
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You may also configure the desktop to show minimized application icons instead
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of folders/file launchers. Refer to <xref linkend="minimized-application-icons"/>.
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To change the desktop background image, launch &desktop-preferences;, and choose
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<guimenuitem>Desktop</guimenuitem>. Under the <guilabel>Background</guilabel> tab, in
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the <guilabel>Images</guilabel> section, choose an image from the list provided or press the
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button with green plus sign and choose a different picture.
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The desktop offers a bunch of features that are real time-savers in everyday tasks:
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Right-clicking it will open the system menu just as clicking on
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<guimenuitem>Applications</guimenuitem> does.
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Using the scroll wheel on your mouse (if it has one) will allow
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you to switch between the different desks. This does the same
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thing as clicking on the pager in the lower panel, but is
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usually quicker, since you (probably) do not have to move the
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Pressing <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap>
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</keycombo> will allow you to rotate between the currently open
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windows. This allows for lightning-fast switching between
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applications without taking your hands off the keyboard.
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<sect1 id="browse-files">
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<title>Browse the Files on Your Computer</title>
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&xubuntu; comes with Xfce's file manager called <application>Thunar</application>. For
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simplicity's sake, we will just refer to it as the <application>File Manager</application>.
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Load it by clicking &thunar;.
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<imagedata fileref="../images/C/thunar.png" format="PNG" width="100%" scalefit="1" />
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<sect2 id="navigation">
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<title>Navigation</title>
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The <application>File Manager</application>'s default view consists of a shortcut pane
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on the left side, the main area on the right, and a pathbar above the main area.
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The <emphasis>shortcut pane</emphasis> provides shortcuts to different folders on your
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system. The first shortcut will lead to your home directory, the directory where you
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store all your personal data, and will therefore have the name of the current user.
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That directory will probably appear empty. The second shortcut will take you to the
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root of your filesystem - you may want to explore it a bit, even though it will be
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confusing to you if you are new to Linux. Just click on the different folders and see
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what's inside. When you're done, return to your home directory by clicking on the top
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Add your own shortcuts by simply dragging folders to the shortcut pane.
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This will allow you to access important folders instantly!
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The <emphasis>main area</emphasis> will always display the contents of the current
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folder. Double-click on folders to enter them, and right-click on files/folders to get
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a pop-up window offering you some choices of what to do with it. Select multiple files
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by dragging a rectangle over them with the mouse. Alternatively, select one file, hold
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down the <keycap>Shift</keycap> key, and increase/decrease the selection using the
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The <emphasis>pathbar</emphasis> will always show you the path you took to get to the
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place you are currently at. You can click on any pathbar icon to change to the
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directory it represents. Note that right-clicking on pathbar icons will also bring up a
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pop-up window with some options.
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<sect2 id="creating-and-deleting-files">
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<title>Creating and Deleting Files</title>
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To create a new document, right-click on some empty space in your home directory and
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select <menuchoice><guimenu>Create New Document</guimenu><guimenuitem>Empty
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File</guimenuitem></menuchoice> from the pop-up menu. The <application>File
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Manager</application> will prompt you for a name - just go with the suggested name for
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now. After this, you will see the new file in your home directory.
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Right-click on it to have a menu pop up - choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>.
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This will show you some details about the file.
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<imagedata fileref="../images/C/file-properties.png" format="PNG"/>
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Right-click on the file once more, and choose <guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem> to
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remove it. The file will be put into the <guilabel>Trash</guilabel>.
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If you ever want to undo the deleting of a file, open
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<guilabel>Trash</guilabel>, right-click the file and click
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<guimenuitem>Restore</guimenuitem>.
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To create a new folder, right-click on the empty space, and choose
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<guimenuitem>Create Folder...</guimenuitem>. You will be asked for a name. Type
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something and hit Enter. You will see this new folder in your home directory. Double
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click on it to enter it.
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To rename or remove the folder, right-click on it and choose the appropriate option
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from the pop-up menu.
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<sect2 id="copying-and-moving-files">
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<title>Copying and Moving Files</title>
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To copy and move files on your computer, just click and drag files and folders to other
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folders. As a default, the files will always be copied. If you want them to be moved
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instead, right-click and drag files to folder: This will offer you some options instead
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<sect2 id="removable-devices">
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<title>Removable Devices</title>
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When inserting CDs, floppys, USB sticks or other removable media into your
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computer, or hooking up removable devices like a music player, it will be set
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up automatically by your system. After inserting a CD into your CD Drive, you
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will see a new shortcut in the left pane of the
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<application>File Manager</application>, representing the CD. Clicking on it
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will open the CD in the main area, just like clicking on a regular folder. To
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remove the CD, right-click on the shortcut, and choose
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<guimenuitem>Eject Volume</guimenuitem>. The same applies for any other
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Please note that pressing the <guimenuitem>eject</guimenuitem> button
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on your CD drive may not work. This may be surprising to some users,
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but it is in fact the expected behaviour. Before the CD can be ejected,
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it needs to be properly "released" (unmounted) by the system.
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To remove a CD, always right-click on its shortcut and choose
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<guimenuitem>Eject Volume</guimenuitem>.
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<sect2 id="customizing-file-manager">
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<title>Customizing the File Manager</title>
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There are many ways to customize the <application>File Manager</application>. In case
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you do not like the way the icons are displayed, choose <menuchoice>
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<guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>View as Detailed List</guimenuitem></menuchoice> to
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have the contents of the current directory displayed as a list.
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You can have the <application>File Manager</application> display a location bar instead
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of the pathbar by selecting <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu>
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<guimenuitem>Location Selector</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Toolbar Style</guimenuitem>
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In case you prefer a tree view in the left pane, choose <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu>
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<guimenuitem>Side Pane</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Tree</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
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<sect1 id="config-xfce">
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<title>Desktop</title>
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<sect2 id="change-background">
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<title>Change the Desktop Background Image</title>
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If you want to set up a different background image, do the following:
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Launch &desktop-preferences;.
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Choose <guimenuitem>Desktop</guimenuitem>.
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Under the <guilabel>Background</guilabel> tab, in the
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<guilabel>Images</guilabel> section, click on an image
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from the list provided or press on the button with the
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green plus sign, navigate to and click a different picture
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in the <guilabel>Add Image File(s)</guilabel> window.
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If you are choosing a different image, press
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<guibutton>Add</guibutton> to add the image to the list
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in the <guilabel>Images</guilabel> section and apply it
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Using the options in the <guibutton>Style</guibutton> field,
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you can choose how the image is displayed in the background, for
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example, <guilabel>Centered</guilabel> or <guilabel>Tiled</guilabel>.
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Press <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the <guilabel>Desktop
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</guilabel> window and you will see your selected image as a
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<sect2 id="minimized-application-icons">
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<title>Application Icons on the Desktop (CDE style)</title>
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To have minimized application icons instead of file/launcher icons displayed on your
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Launch &desktop-preferences;.
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Choose <guimenuitem>Desktop</guimenuitem>, and then the
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<guimenuitem>Icons</guimenuitem> tab.
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Change the <guimenuitem>Icon type</guimenuitem> entry from
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<guimenuitem>File/launcher Icons</guimenuitem> to
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<guimenuitem>Minimized Application Icons</guimenuitem>.
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<sect2 id="panel-plugins">
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<title>Add Panel Plugins</title>
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Here is a list of available Plugins for your Xfce Panel:
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Some of the following plugins are not installed by default, but are part of the
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<ulink url="apt:xfce4-goodies">Xfce Goodies</ulink> package in Xubuntu. You
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will need super-user privileges to install the non-default plugins. See
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<xref linkend="administrative"/>.
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<term id="user-switching"><application>User Switching Plugin</application></term>
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Allows you to switch to another user without closing the
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<term id="xkb-plugin"><application>Xfce XKB Plugin</application></term>
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Displays your current keyboard layout and allows to easily
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switch between multiple layouts. Installation: Installed by
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<term id="weather-plugin"><application>Xfce Weather Plugin</application></term>
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The weather plugin displays information about the current
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weather according your timezone and settings. It allows you to
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search for weather location codes in the same plugin and
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displays weather status in little icons. Installation:
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Installed by default.
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<term id="wavelan-plugin"><application>Xfce Wavelan Plugin</application></term>
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The WaveLAN plugin displays information about a WaveLAN device.
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-wavelan-plugin</screen>
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<term id="verve-plugin"><application>Xfce Verve Plugin</application></term>
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The plugin displays a mini-command line on the Xfce panel.
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Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="systemload-plugin"><application>Xfce Systemload Plugin</application></term>
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This plugin displays the current CPU load, the memory in use,
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and the swap space. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="screenshoter-plugin"><application>Xfce Screenshoter Plugin</application></term>
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Xfce4-screenshooter-plugin is a simple plugin to take
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screenshots of your desktop. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="quicklauncher-plugin"><application>Xfce Quicklauncher Plugin</application></term>
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Application launcher plugin for the Xfce panel. It supports
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multline launchers, zoom effect, and more. Installation:
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Installed by default.
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<term id="netload-plugin"><application>Xfce Netload Plugin</application></term>
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This plugin displays the current load of the network interfaces
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of your choice. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="mount-plugin"><application>Xfce Mount Plugin</application></term>
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This plugin for Xfce displays a list of the various devices
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available, giving the opportunity to mount/unmount them. Note
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that most removable media are mounted automatically by the File
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Manager in &xubuntu;. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="mailwatch-plugin"><application>Xfce Mailwatch Plugin</application></term>
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Mail checker panel plugin with support for local, POP3, IMAP,
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and Gmail accounts. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="genmon-plugin"><application>Xfce Generic Monitor Plugin</application></term>
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This plugin repeatedly spawns the indicated script/program,
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displaying its output as a string in the panel. It is useful
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for periodic status monitoring. Installation:
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-genmon-plugin</screen>
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<term id="fsguard-plugin"><application>Xfce Filesystem Guard Plugin</application></term>
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The fsguard plugin checks free space on a chosen mountpoint
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frequently and displays an alarm if free space is less than
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given alarm limit. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="cpugraph-plugin"><application>Xfce CPU Graph Plugin</application></term>
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The CPU graph plugin displays a graph of your current system
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load. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="clipman-plugin"><application>Xfce Clipman Plugin</application></term>
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Store and recall sequential X clipboard selections in Xfce4
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with this plugin. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="battery-plugin"><application>Xfce Battery Plugin</application></term>
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A battery monitor panel plugin for Xfce4 compatible with APM
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and ACPI. Installation: Installed by default.
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<term id="diskperf-plugin"><application>Disk Performace Plugin</application></term>
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The DiskPerf plugin displays disk/partition performance
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statistics. Installation:
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-diskperf-plugin</screen>
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<term id="messenger-plugin"><application>Dbus Messenger Plugin</application></term>
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Xfce4 Messenger Plugin for Xfce4 Panel is a plugin that listens
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for DBus messages and displays received messages in the panel
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and/or a popup window, and maintains a log of received
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messages. Installation:
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-messenger-plugin</screen>
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<term id="radio-plugin"><application>VLC Radio Plugin</application></term>
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This is an Xfce panel plugin which allows you to control your
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video4linux radio device. You can turn your radio on/off, tune
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it to some frequency, and manage station presets. Installation:
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-radio-plugin</screen>
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<term id="sensors-plugin"><application>Sensors Plugin</application></term>
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The sensors plugin reads your hardware sensor values and
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displays then in your panel. Installation:
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-sensors-plugin</screen>
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<term id="xfapplet-plugin"><application>XfApplet Plugin</application></term>
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XfApplet is a plugin for the Xfce 4 panel. The plugin itself
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has no special functionality. Its only purpose is to enable one
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to use GNOME applets inside the Xfce 4 panel just as they are
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used inside the GNOME panel. Installation:
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<screen>sudo apt-get install xfce4-xfapplet-plugin</screen>
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<sect2 id="window-manager-style">
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<title>Add New Window Manager Style</title>
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When you download new window manager styles, for example, from <ulink
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url="http://www.xfce-look.org">Xfce-Look.org</ulink>, they usually come in a <filename
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class='extension'>.tar</filename>
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or <filename class='extension'>.zip</filename> archive. Extract the contents, and
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type in a terminal (&terminal;):
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<screen>sudo cp -r folder-with-new-theme /usr/share/themes/</screen>
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You will need super-user privileges to do this. See
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<xref linkend="administrative"/>.
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<title>Questions and Answers</title>
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<qandaset defaultlabel='qanda'>
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<para>How do I start a program manually?</para>
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Sometimes it can be useful to start a program manually, for example when the
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program does not have an entry in the menu. This is easy to do with the
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<application>Run Program</application> dialog.
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<para>Open the <application>Run Program</application> dialog by
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<para>Enter the name of the program you wish to run, and press
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<keycap>Enter</keycap>.
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<para>Where can I get more Xfce-related Artwork?</para>
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Check <ulink url="http://www.xfce-look.org"/>. There should be something there
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<para>Are there any other goodies available besides the ones in the Ubuntu archives?
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Check <ulink url="http://goodies.xfce.org/"/>, the official home of Xfce
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<para>Something is going wrong on my system. Where can I obtain more information?
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Check <ulink url="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LinuxLogFiles"/> for a
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list of log files on your system and how to read them.
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<para>How do I connect to a remote machine from the <application>File Manager (Thunar)
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</application>?</para>
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The <application>File Manager (Thunar)</application> does not allow you to
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connect to remote machines yet. These features are planned for a future release
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of <application>Thunar</application>. For FTP transaction, you may want to
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install the program <application>gFTP</application> (see
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<link linkend="add-applications">Add Applications</link>).
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desktop-guide/newtoubuntu/C/xfce-desktop.xml
