XFCE panel icons duplicate and gear icons issue [Solved]

[nachonaxo]

Hi guys!
I have read some threads asking similar questions, but I can't find the solution (if there is one), and in this case I would like to present the doubts with examples installed from various sources.

This is my panel, I like the native look of MX XFCE, I tried things like "plank" or "cairo", and I prefer the raw instalation way for the panel


And this is the panel with apps working:


From left to right:
-Librewolf, installed via "MX software", it duplicates the icon at work, and the icon is correct
-Thunderbird, native MX installed, doesnt duplicate the working icon
-Gedit, installed via "APT", doesnt duplicate the working icon and works correctly
-Thunar, native MX installed, doesnt duplicate the working icon (I forgot to launch it before the screenshot, but works perfect like Thunderbird)

and now it starts the zone of duplicates or issues, the icons bellow are:
-Librewolf working icon
-QMMP working icon, installed via "MX software", his original icon is on the right part of the panel, just like the ones that come next
-Blender working icon, launched via a .desktop file than later I added to the panel via "create panel launcher" , Blender duplicates the icon and set a gear instead
-Krita working icon, launched via a .desktop file too (pointing to an Appimage this time), same as Blender, it duplicates with a gear icon
-Freetube working icon, installed via ".deb", it duplicates the icon, but the icon is correct

The Blender and Krita .desktop files have the icons correctly setup (AFAK)


So is an interesting mixture of things depending on how they have been installed... the worst part is the gear icons, you need to put the cursor over to know what is what

Dont know if this is an XFCE native issue (I read a post a while ago talking about it), or some mistake on my part when installing and assembling the panel...in any case, I wanted to ask about it...

BTW, I have the system in Spanish language, so sorry if I made some original mistakes

QSI:

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-37-amd64 [6.1.140-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-37-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.20.0 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.38 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.20.0 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.32.0 Distro: MX-23.6_x64 Libretto September 15  2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
    (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Micro-Star product: GT75VR 7RE v: REV:1.0 serial: <superuser required>
    Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Micro-Star model: MS-17A2 v: REV:1.0 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: American Megatrends v: E17A2IMS.10F date: 03/09/2018
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-7700HQ bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake gen: core 7 level: v3
    note: check built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 9
    microcode: 0xF8
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 4 tpc: 2 threads: 8 smt: enabled cache: L1: 256 KiB
    desc: d-4x32 KiB; i-4x32 KiB L2: 1024 KiB desc: 4x256 KiB L3: 6 MiB desc: 1x6 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 857 high: 900 min/max: 800/3800 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 900 2: 900 3: 800 4: 833 5: 900 6: 800 7: 830 8: 900
    bogomips: 44798
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS; IBPB: conditional; STIBP: conditional; RSB filling;
    PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GP104BM [GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile] vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: nvidia
    v: 535.247.01 non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Pascal code: GP10x
    process: TSMC 16nm built: 2016-21 pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:1be1 class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositors: 1: xfwm v: 4.20.0 2: Compton v: 1 driver:
    X: loaded: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa alternate: nv gpu: nvidia
    display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 509x286mm (20.04x11.26") s-diag: 584mm (22.99")
  Monitor-1: DP-0 size-res: N/A modes: N/A
  Monitor-2: HDMI-0 pos: primary res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 82 size: 597x336mm (23.5x13.23")
    diag: 685mm (26.97") modes: N/A
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.247.01 renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070/PCIe/SSE2
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel CM238 HD Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a171 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP104 High Definition Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:10f0 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-37-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Aquantia AQC107 NBase-T/IEEE 802.3bz Ethernet [AQtion] vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: atlantic v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 2 link-max: lanes: 4 port: N/A
    bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 1d6a:d107 class-ID: 0200 temp: 60.6 C
  IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Rivet Networks
    Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel modules: wl pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:003e class-ID: 0280 temp: 38.0 C
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4 Bluetooth 4.0 type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-10:6
    chip-ID: 0cf3:e300 class-ID: e001
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: down bt-service: N/A rfk-block: hardware: no
    software: no address: <filter>
  Info: acl-mtu: 1024:8 sco-mtu: 50:8 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff
    link-mode: peripheral accept
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.14 TiB used: 462.56 GiB (39.5%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Toshiba model: N/A size: 238.47 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 57XA4104
    temp: 53.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: HGST (Hitachi) model: HTS721010A9E630 size: 931.51 GiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    rev: A3U0 scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 237.22 GiB size: 232.44 GiB (97.98%) used: 27.71 GiB (11.9%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 2 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 10 file: /swapfile
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 49.0 C pch: 64.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 49 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2847 libs: 1675 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://ftp.cica.es/mirrors/Linux/MX-Packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mxtemp.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/extrepo_librewolf.sources
    1: deb [arch=amd64 arm64] https://repo.librewolf.net librewolf main
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq-bookworm.sources
Info:
  Processes: 247 Uptime: 55m wakeups: 2 Memory: 31.3 GiB used: 3.77 GiB (12.1%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

Cheers guys! and Thanks a lot for make this awesome distro

EDIT: SOLVED by the mix help of @BV206 in #2 post and @CharlesV in #5 post

[BV206]

I have the same or similar problem with certain applications.
I don't know if the problem is XFCE or docklike-taskbar.

In some cases you can fix incorrect icons by editing the application's .desktop file.
The .desktop files are normally in /usr/share/applications or in your home folder at ~/.local/share/applications. Usually it is best to copy the .desktop file to your ~/.local/share/applications folder before you edit it.

You can try adding a StartupWMClass= line to the .desktop file if it doesn't already have one.
You find the StartupWMClass value by:
1. Run the application that has the wrong icon.
2. Open a terminal and run xprop WM_CLASS. That will temporarily change the mouse cursor to a + (or X or somethine else depending on the cursor theme).
3. Click on the window of the application with the wong icons with the changed mouse cursor and the cursor will change back to normal and you will get some data in your terminal.

For example if you do that to Firefox you get in your terminal:

Code: Select all

$ xprop WM_CLASS
WM_CLASS(STRING) = "Navigator", "firefox"

so you would edit your firefox.desktop file and add StartupWMClass=firefox.

That will fix some applications that show the wrong icon in the panel but not always.

Something else to try is right click the application in Whiskermenu and select Edit Application. Then click on the icon and select a different one or specify the complete path to the icon.

[vitforlinux]

I have a theory about this: when I use IvanHC's AM program to install AppImage, it happens that there are duplicated icons, but they do not link to the same program installed via apt.

If programs are installed from the MX software, apt, or synaptic, there are no particular problems.

Librewolf (but perhaps also Firefox) has a complex .desktop file that, when opened with an editor, contains several modes: normal, safe-mode, preferences... and it depends on how it is interpreted by the program that "reads" it.

Perhaps the other duplicated programs also have complex .desktop files.

[BV206]

If programs are installed from the MX software, apt, or synaptic, there are no particular problems.

That hasn't been my experience.

Also I have no problems with Firefox, I only used it as an example.

[CharlesV]

@nachonaxo Welcome in.

So.. there are a couple of variations on how things can be added to the xfce panel, and they have some different characteristics, as well as placement and such.
1) Right click on a launcher that is in the menu and then click on 'Add To Panel' .
2) When an application is running, right click on it's icon and then click on 'Pin to Panel'

Both these methods have a subtle difference in how /where they add icons to the xfce4 panel and THAT is the gotcha here, and it is hard to see.

The first method adds the icon and launcher to the xfce panel. But the second method adds the launcher to the Docklike Taskbar.

As I understand it, the Docklike Taskbar is an app that runs IN the xfce panel and covers 'non tray apps' that are running, but also has the ability to keep 'pinned apps' there.

It is hard to see, but you can right click on an empty Panel space, then choose Panel -> Panel Preferences. (make sure you have the correct panel # in the drop down if you have more than one) , then go to the Items tab.

Find Docklike Taskbar in the list and then use the arrow keys to move it up / down in the list. Notice how that area moves in your panel.

So, you can remove the Librewolf icon from the panel. Then run librewolf and once the icon is in the Docklike Taskbar, right click it and 'Pin to Panel' and I think you will have your desired results.

[CharlesV]

I have a theory about this: when I use IvanHC's AM program to install AppImage, it happens that there are duplicated icons, but they do not link to the same program installed via apt.

If programs are installed from the MX software, apt, or synaptic, there are no particular problems.

Librewolf (but perhaps also Firefox) has a complex .desktop file that, when opened with an editor, contains several modes: normal, safe-mode, preferences... and it depends on how it is interpreted by the program that "reads" it.

Perhaps the other duplicated programs also have complex .desktop files.

Nope, nothing to do with how / where they are installed. It is all in the how their launcher is added to the panel.

[nachonaxo]

Wow guys, YOU are GREAT!!!
@BV206, @CharlesV you are right!,
I moved the .desktop files to the ~/.local/share/applications/ (I had them and ran them from the desktop itself), and then it appears in the panel with the right icon and no duplicates (also I checked and added the StartupWMCLASS),
then, as @CharlesV said, one its running, I used the "Pin to Panel", same with all other apps installed in the system, LibreWolf, Qmmp, Freetube, System Monitor, etc...
and all of them run with its icons, in its places and NO duplicates or gears!!



EDIT, UPDATE INFO:
With this method you notice that you cannot reorder the icons in the panel via "Panel Preferences --> Items", because their no longer appears there, BUT you can edit the file ~/.config/xfce4/panel/docklike-2.rc , the "pinned=" section, after that you need to log out/log in or reboot to see the changes

Thank you very much guys!!

[CharlesV]

You are very welcome! And glad you have it working as you want :)

Please mark as solved using the check mark on the top right of the post that resolved it.

[nachonaxo]

I already did it @CharlesV, I have marked yours and the one of @BV206...but looks like it didnt work, how can I mark the solution with both?

[Eadwine Rose]

You cannot. You can only mark one.