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<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>XFce 4 Panel</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../xfce.css" type="text/css"><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.62.4"><link rel="home" href="#xfce4-panel" title="XFce 4 Panel"><link rel="next" href="#panel-intro" title="Introduction"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="article" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="xfce4-panel"></a>XFce 4 Panel</h1></div><div><div class="authorgroup"><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Jasper</span> <span class="surname">Huijsmans</span></h3><div class="affiliation"><div class="address"><p><tt class="email"><<a href="mailto:huysmans@users.sourceforge.net">huysmans@users.sourceforge.net</a>></tt></p></div></div></div></div></div><div><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="releaseinfo">This manual describes <b xmlns="" class="application"><tt>xfce4-panel</tt></b> version 4.0.
Last updated: Sep 2003
<br></br></span></div><div><p class="copyright">Copyright © 2003 Jasper Huijsmans</p></div></div><div></div><hr></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#panel-intro">Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#panel-getting-started">Getting Started</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#panel-items">Panel Items</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#launcher-item">Launcher</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#clock-item">XFce Clock</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailcheck-item">Mail Check</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#switcher-item">Desktop Switcher and Graphical Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#systembuttons-item">System Buttons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#separator-item">Separator</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#subpanels">Panel Menus</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#panel-settings">Panel Preferences</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#panel-apearance">Appearance</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#panel-position">Position</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#panel-copyright">About xfce4-panel</a></span></dt></dl></div><p> </p><div class="sect1" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="panel-intro"></a>Introduction</h2></div></div><div></div></div><p>
The XFce 4 panel is part of the <a href="http://www.xfce.org" target="_top">XFce 4 Desktop Environment</a> and features program
launchers, panel menus, a clock, a desktop switcher and more. The actual
command to run is <b class="application"><tt>xfce4-panel</tt></b>. Many aspects of the panel can be configured
through graphical dialogs.
</p><p>
If you are familiar with previous versions of XFce you will find many
new features. Most visible are probably the vertical panel mode, the icon
themes, the new graphical pager and the configurable position of the
panel menu popup buttons. The way preferences are handled has changed
completely, so it may take some time to get used to. This manual should
provide you with all necessary information on how to adjust the panel to
your liking.
</p></div><p> </p><div class="sect1" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="panel-getting-started"></a>Getting Started</h2></div></div><div></div></div><p>When you start the panel you will see a bar apearing at the bottom
of your screen, looking like this:
</p><div class="figure"><a name="default-panel-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1. Default XFce panel</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/default_panel.png" alt="Shows XFce panel default configuration. Contains several
launchers, a new mail monitor, a clock and a desktop pager.
Also shows an opened panel menu.
"></div></div></div><p>
The figure shows the default panel configuration with one open
panel menu and the mouse hovering over a launcher button, making it show
a tooltip.
</p><p>There is a move handle on each side of the panel. You can use it to
drag the panel anywhere on the screen. Clicking with the right mouse
button (or Shift + left click) on one of them shows a popup menu ...
Go on, try it ;-)
</p><div class="figure"><a name="handle-popup-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2. Move handle popup menu</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/handle-popup.png" alt="Shows move handle popup menu."></div></div></div><p>The area between the move handles contains panel items. The available
items are are described in the
"<a href="#panel-items" target="_top">Panel Items</a>" section. Most items
perform an action when clicked. Configuration of panel items is done from
a right-click popup menu.
</p><p>Right-clicking on an item will popup a menu from which you can open a
properties dialog, remove the item or add a new item. Items can also be
added from the right-click menu on one of the move handles (see above).
A submenu shows a list of available item types that you can choose from.
When you add a new item, the panel will imediately open its properties
dialog, so you can change the item's options and position on the panel.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="item-popup-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 3. Item popup menu</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/item-popup.png" alt="Shows item popup menu."></div></div></div><p>
Global panel preferences can be changed from the XFce 4 Settings
Manager, which can be started either from a panel laucher, or by choosing
the 'Properties...' entry from the right-click menu on the move handles.
See "<a href="#panel-settings" target="_top">Panel Preferences</a>" for an
explanation of the available options.
</p></div><p> </p><div class="sect1" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="panel-items"></a>Panel Items</h2></div></div><div></div></div><p>
The XFce 4 panel has the possibility to load external plugins as well
as builtin ones. In this section we will only decribe panel items that are
installed with the panel.
</p><p>
The properties dialog for a panel item can be opened from the
right-click menu on the item. Each type of panel item has its own
configuration dialog. Every dialog offers at least these options:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul type="disc"><li>Change the position of the item on the panel.</li><li>Remove the item. </li></ul></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="launcher-item"></a>Launcher</h3></div></div><div></div></div><p>The most common panel item is the launcher item. It allows you to
start programs from the panel. The properties dialog offers the
following options:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">Command</span></dt><dd>You can type the command to run or browse the file system.
There is an option to start in a terminal and one to use startup
notification. This last option means that the window manager can
show an hourglass while the program is loading. But, the application
has to support that and not many program do at the moment. Programs
build with Gtk 2.2, should support it.
</dd><dt><span class="term">Icon</span></dt><dd>The panel provides a number of standard icons that can be
used. These icons will also follow the icon theme you choose from
the <a href="#panel-settings" target="_top">global preferences
dialog</a>. Of course you can also choose a custom icon,
either by browsing the file system from the button next to the entry
or by dropping an image on the preview area from a file manager.
</dd><dt><span class="term">Tooltip</span></dt><dd>The panel item will show this tooltip if you hold the mouse
over it.
</dd><dt><span class="term">Menu</span></dt><dd>A launcher can have a panel menu attached to it. When this
option is selected a small button with an arrow will appear next to
the item. Look <a href="#subpanels" target="_top">here</a> for more info
on panel menus. The position of the menu button can be changed from
the global settings dialog.
</dd></dl></div><div class="figure"><a name="launcher-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 4. Launcher item</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/launcher-properties.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for launcher item."></div></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="clock-item"></a>XFce Clock</h3></div></div><div></div></div><p>The Xfce Clock has a number of options to change the way it looks.
There are three clock types available: analog, digital and LED.
There is an option to show seconds and for the digital and LED clock
types you can choose whether the clock will be in 24 hour mode, 12
hour mode, or 12 hour mode with AM/PM indication. The clock shows the
current date as a tooltip. Clicking on the clock will not perform any
action.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="clock-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 5. Clock item</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/clock-properties.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for clock item."></div></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="mailcheck-item"></a>Mail Check</h3></div></div><div></div></div><p>The mailcheck item monitors your inbox, or any other mailbox you
want, as long as it is in mbox format. The mailbox icon will follow
your icon theme. You can choose the location of the mailbox, the
command to run when you click on the button and the interval between
checks. The command has the same options as the launcher item command
(see <a href="#launcher-item" target="_top">above</a>).
</p><div class="figure"><a name="mailcheck-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 6. Mailcheck item</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/mailcheck-properties.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for mailcheck item."></div></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="switcher-item"></a>Desktop Switcher and Graphical Pager</h3></div></div><div></div></div><p>The panel provides two items that deal with virtual desktops. A
CDE-like desktop switcher, that shows buttons with the desktop name
and a graphical pager that shows a miniature view of the desktops and
even allows you to move windows to another workspace by dragging the
mini-window in the pager. The graphical pager also allows you to
change workspaces by using the mouse scrollwheel, when you hold the
mouse over it.</p><div class="figure"><a name="nooptions-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 7. Item without options</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/nooptions-properties.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for item without options.
"></div></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="systembuttons-item"></a>System Buttons</h3></div></div><div></div></div><p>A systembuttons item shows one or two buttons wich can perform
special system actions. The buttons follow your panel icon theme.
There are four buttons available:</p><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">Lock</span></dt><dd>Runs the <b class="application"><tt>xfrun4</tt></b> script that
will attempt to lock the screen using either xscreensaver or if
that fails xlock.
</dd><dt><span class="term">Exit</span></dt><dd>This will exit the panel and usually also end your X
session (when you used <b class="application"><tt>startxfce4</tt></b> or
put the panel at the end of your X startup file).
</dd><dt><span class="term">Info</span></dt><dd>The info button will show the
<span class="emphasis"><em>About XFce 4</em></span> dialog.
</dd><dt><span class="term">Setup</span></dt><dd>Pressing the setup button will open the XFce settings
manager dialog, from which you have acces to the settings for all
XFce components as well as some system settings, such as mouse
behaviour and user interface settings.
</dd></dl></div><div class="figure"><a name="systembuttons-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 8. Systembuttons item</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/systembuttons-properties.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for systembuttons item.
"></div></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="separator-item"></a>Separator</h3></div></div><div></div></div><p>This item simply adds a separator line to the panel. It has no
options to set except its position.
</p><p>Note that it may be a bit hard to popup the right-click menu,
because you only have a small area to click on.
</p></div><p> </p></div><div class="sect1" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="subpanels"></a>Panel Menus</h2></div></div><div></div></div><p>Panel launcher items can have a menu associated with it, which can
be opened by clicking on the small arrow button next to the item. The
actual position of these popup buttons is configurable from the global
preferences dialog. You can also open the menu by pressing the laucher
button and holding it down. After a short delay the menu will open.
</p><p>Use the 'Add launcher' item at the top of a panel menu to add
a new item or drag an executable to this item from a file manager.
To remove items from a subpanel use the 'Remove' button in the item
properties dialog.
</p><p>A special feature of panel menus is that they can be detached from the
panel and live in their own window. To detach a menu click on the small
line at the bottom of the menu (see the <a href="#default-panel-fig" target="_top">screenshot</a> of the default panel).
</p><p>The properties dialog for a menu item is opened immediately
when clicking the right mouse button (or Shift+left click). The dialog
itself is very similar to the dialog for launcher type panel items.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="menuitem-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 9. Menu Item</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/menuitem-properties.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for menu items.
"></div></div></div></div><p> </p><div class="sect1" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="panel-settings"></a>Panel Preferences</h2></div></div><div></div></div><p>The properties dialog for the XFce 4 Panel can be opened from
the XFce 4 Settings Manager, which can be started from a panel launcher
or from the right-click menu on the panel handles. The menu also provides
direct access to the panel properties dialog.</p><div class="figure"><a name="panel-settings-fig"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 10. Panel Settings</b></p><div class="screenshot"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/panel-settings.png" alt="Shows properties dialog for global panel preferences.
"></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="panel-apearance"></a>Appearance</h3></div></div><div></div></div><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">Size</span></dt><dd><p>There are four panel sizes available: tiny, small,
medium and large. Small is the default.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Orientation</span></dt><dd><p>An exciting new feature of the XFce 4 Panel is the
ability to put it in a vertical orientation as well as
the standard horizontal layout.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Popup position</span></dt><dd><p>This option change the position of the buttons that open
a panel menu. It can be above, below, to the left or to the
right of the panel item.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Icon theme</span></dt><dd><p>Also new in XFce 4 are icon themes for the panel. The
predefined icons for launcher items and the icons of other
types of panel items follow the panel icon theme.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="panel-position"></a>Position</h3></div></div><div></div></div><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">Layer</span></dt><dd><p>The panel layer determines its behaviour relative to
other windows. The panel can be always below or above other
windows or act the same as other windows. By default the
panel will be on top.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Centering</span></dt><dd><p>It is very easy to move the panel around the screen. The
settings dialog provides an easy way to center the panel on
one of the four edges of the screen. Note that the panel will also
'snap' to the screen corners as well as the center of the screen
edges when you drag it close enough to those positions.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Behaviour</span></dt><dd><p>If you choose autohide, the panel will collapse to a thin bar.
Moving the mouse over it will unhide the panel. This works best
when the panel is on the edge of the screen (this makes the target
much easier to hit).
</p></dd></dl></div></div></div><p> </p><div class="sect1" lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="panel-copyright"></a>About <b class="application"><tt>xfce4-panel</tt></b></h2></div></div><div></div></div><p><b class="application"><tt>xfce4-panel</tt></b> was written by Jasper Huijsmans
(<tt class="email"><<a href="mailto:huysmans@users.sourceforge.net">huysmans@users.sourceforge.net</a>></tt>). To find more
information, please visit the
<a href="http://www.xfce.org" target="_top">XFce web site</a>.
</p><p>To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding this application or
this manual, send an email to the
<a href="http://www.moongroup.com/mailman/listinfo/xfce4-dev/" target="_top">xfce4-dev</a> mailing list — this is the preferred
method — or use the bug tracking system at the
<a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/xfce" target="_top">XFce SourceForge project site</a>.
If you have questions about the use or installation of this package,
please ask on the
<a href="http://www.moongroup.com/mailman/listinfo/xfce/" target="_top">xfce</a> mailing list.
</p><p> 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.
</p><p>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., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307,
USA.
</p></div></div></body></html>
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