MX Linux Forum

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:29 am**

I am curious about what motivates a user to choose and then stay with a particular Desktop or Window Manager. There a many Desktops (KDE, Gnome, etc.) and WM (Fluxbox, Awesome, etc.). Often starts as a de-wm-hopper and finally finds the right one. Later, if any changes, there are features and functions that must be included.

1. What three distinctive features do I like most? (speed, modular, location of buttons, etc.)

2. What three functions (things that it does) do I like most?

3. Missing features or functions we would like to have?

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:38 am**

I stay with XFCE because i can get my work done without it getting in my way. I have tried KDE, Fluxbox, Gnome, etc, but I have yet to find a compelling reason to switch.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:43 am**

looks, efficiency, functionality.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:16 am**

It needs to say "kde" or "plasma" on the label. Seriously no DE is magically going to make one 10x (or even 2x times) more efficient/productive.

A long, long time ago i briefly left KDE (3 at the time) for gnome2 in the hope that ubuntu might become a viable alternative to MS-Windows or MacOS. That did not pan out. Nowadays, we have diversity, fun and ... fragmentation.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:20 am**

I stay with a light WM/DE IceWM (and with my same custom menus) since MX17 -and antiX17. I see no change into my environment even into MX23.

(and I sometime try the others DE/WM into VirtualMachines)

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:24 am**

j2mcgreg wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:38 am I stay with XFCE because i can get my work done without it getting in my way. I have tried KDE, Fluxbox, Gnome, etc, but I have yet to find a compelling reason to switch.

Well said...
+1

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:35 am**

Extensive configuration capabilities. Hence KDE Plasma for me through its very capable Settings Manager

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:36 am**

Paul.. wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:24 am
j2mcgreg wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:38 am I stay with XFCE because i can get my work done without it getting in my way. I have tried KDE, Fluxbox, Gnome, etc, but I have yet to find a compelling reason to switch.
Well said...
+1

Yes, my idea. XFCE is the max possible for me too.
Which does not mean I could not work wiith another one.
For instance MATE, but that one is much less configurable.
And Cinamon, KDE etc. are also nice, but they feel a little handheld-like.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 3:03 pm**

Thanks, interesting. Can we be more specific, for example....

I can get my work done without it getting in my way.

What does it mean?.... moving windows to workspaces, or minimized into icons, or easily loading the needed application, or ???

Extensive configuration capabilities

What configuration part in particular?

Looks, efficiency, functionality.

Any particular function you really like and why?

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 3:29 pm**

@amlug wrote:

What does it mean?

It means that I can set it up the way I want with minimal effort and never have to make another adjustment for the life of that release.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 3:48 pm**

Extensive configuration capabilities

Activities
Desktop Effects giving various methods of window popup
Hot corners
Easily configure panel options
Widgets

Afew examples only. I like to continually change the look and feel of the system. Plasma gives me many ways to do that natively.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 4:24 pm**

j2mcgreg wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 3:29 pm @amlug wrote:
What does it mean?
It means that I can set it up the way I want with minimal effort and never have to make another adjustment for the life of that release.

nailed it - i agree.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 4:45 pm**

I simply like Xfce. It's like being at home, where everything is where you expect.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2023 5:43 pm**

I choose KDE today because that's what Mepis and PCLOS used when I was getting my feet wet in Linux all those years ago. Once I get accustomed to something I stick with it until I'm given a good reason to change.

baldyeti wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:16 am A long, long time ago i briefly left KDE (3 at the time) for gnome2 in the hope that ubuntu might become a viable alternative to MS-Windows or MacOS. That did not pan out. Nowadays, we have diversity, fun and ... fragmentation.

IIRC, the pushback against KDE4 from KDE3 users resulted the Trinity desktop. Same for Gnome3 from Gnome2 users, resulting in Mate. I believe Mepis 8 last used KDE3, and I stuck with it for the longest time, up until M11 when Warren had worked his magic and tamed KDE 4 to his -- and my -- liking.

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:05 am**

amlug wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:29 am 1. What three distinctive features do I like most? (speed, modular, location of buttons, etc.)
2. What three functions (things that it does) do I like most?

It took a long time to define what I really like and want from a DE or WM, until I tried Gnome. Not the Desktop itself but the features and functions it provides. Until then, my desk was always a mess. The hot-corner Overview was amazing, seeing all windows that are open. The usage of Workspace... email apps in one space, office in another, and graphics in a third space area. This I call... get my work done without it getting in my way. Final discovery, was the Gnome extensions, for example, "Auto Move Window" moves applications automatically to an assigned workspace.
The maintenance and unexpected upgrade changes and slowness of Gnome, pushed me off. But, now I knew what to search and this re-opened the interest in FVWM.

1. Distinctive features I like most
Configurable of any item or look.
A modular setting of individual functions and features (simple "on and off" feature)
Minimal dependency on distro settings and instant load and response.

2. Functions I like most
Pager (switch of workspace)
Tiling, desk iconify, and other functions instantly puts the windows in order or empty the desk.
Icon launcher and panel.
Window move, resize, and maximize at any place without being dependent on the title bar.

3. Missing features
Tags and labels to organize the files and folders. (KDE Dolfin does it but poorly, and the install loads tons of dependency packages.)

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:12 am**

FI: I also like WMs like Icewm, or Fluxbox ans so ... to have the ability, for children, to customize the menu only for few accessible apps. (a children mode into XFCE would be a good idea)

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:25 am**

Editable, right-click on the desktop menu.
Scroll virtual desktops with the mouse wheel.

2³bit

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2023 4:41 pm**

rasat wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:05 am 3. Missing features

Missing features or functions that we would like to have, I am adding it in the first post.

In the late 80s, there was one type of file manager not based on folders but on label boxes. Easy to find files from familiar box names. This file feature I am missing. The current vertical directories are often confusing.

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:31 pm**

I got distracted by gnome when they decided to reduce configuration support. I then discovered, that KDE supports maximizing windows vertically only. I very like that feature and so I stayed with KDE. Later I got to know KDE-PIM suite, which I prefer to all other linux mail clients.
That was long before xfce came out.
Some time ago I tested xfce and xinamaron - with both I missed configuration options, I use in KDE.
KDE for me is the most configurable linux desktop system and has *imho* the best integration of KDE and Gnome apps.
Sadly there are apps like firefox, chromium and the like, that don't care for linux window-Manager and so these apps have strange behaviour.

For me, KDE is the only desktop environment, that fulfills j2mcgreg statement: let me the work do the way I want it to

Posted: **Mon Aug 21, 2023 11:05 pm**

Hi,

I kind of lost interest in XFCE4 once it became clear that resource consumption was no longer a priority (literally within less than 100Mb of KDE Plasma consumption in many cases) and secondly I find it's built in compositing to be kind of blah and although you can theme it quite nicely and soup up it's compositing abilities with Compton that also introduces more memory usage and some visual peculiarities of it's own. As someone who also is a distributor I find some of the schema stuff and the configuration XML stuff for XFCE4 to be quite annoying and overly complicated although to be fair they are improving it with each release. I would say for me 75% of the greatness of XFCE4 is Thunar and it is pretty portable to install with other DE/WM's

You would think this all would drive me into the loving arms of KDE Plasma but as a longtime Linux user I feel KDE may work 'too well' and I find it very enterprise-y and windows-y.. Don't get me wrong Linux should have an adequate contender to compete with MacOS and Windows and I think KDE succeeds very well at that so my complaints are not really about it's functionality more about it's very corporate presentation and how as a part-time Windows User still I don't want my Linux experience to look like some unique new Windows theme..

I've settled on the outlier underdog Enlightenment+Thunar... why?

- It is extremely efficient while presenting with excellent and attractive compositing even without direct GPU support, the developer is obsessed with not wasting RAM...lol.
- It's uniquely constructed with composited layers and operations like the File Manager are integrated in a way to not be distinctly separate processes as they would be on other DE's.
- It handles things like unifying GTK and QT themes invisibly without extra configs or applications.
- It handles scaling very well as part of the DE itself.
- It is built on modules so you can simply turn off any modules you don't require and pare it down to only what hardware your system has.
- It's internal files and configurations are in binary formats not text files so it very directly runs these as executables instead of text files to be interpreted by separate binary programs.
- You can speak directly with the developer on IRC and if you make a good case for improvements or features he is pretty receptive (he has occasional bad days like everyone else).
- It's admittedly a bit quirky not in an unstable way (quite the opposite) and some of it's incomplete and missing features are a bit vexing at times..
- It's not a 100% complete DE/WM so it needs some tweaker ingenuity, as a Linux User I like the opportunity to be creative within the DE itself, I think this is also what drives the excellent efforts on MX-Fluxbox..

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 12:00 am**

I like the MX traditional XFCE desktop, but it's not my favorite environment for day-to-day use.

I want my environment to be:
1. Lightweight
2. Stable (no crashing, works as intended, mature/rarely updated)
3. Silent (no nagging, no reminders)

Therefore, my favorite environment is just the OpenBox window manager with LXPanel at the top and PCManFM to manage the desktop, lxpolkit for desktop permissions. I use the xfce4-screensaver for timed screen locking. I also use conky. Those are the only things loaded by the OpenBox autostart.

An oversimplification, but everything else is application software.

If I must have a full DE, it would be LXDE.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 12:49 am**

For me it will always be fluxbox. I discovered it when Slackware 9.0 included version 0.1.14 in it's release back in 2003.
Up to that point I had tried out KDE 1&2, Gnome 1&2, FVWM, Afterstep, WindowMaker, IceWM, Sawfish and a couple of others that escape me but fell in love with fluxbox's simplicity.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 8:26 am**

I'm a simple man, at this point it has Dolphin and a functioning multiline taskbar.

I do however consider KDE to have the best combined systems settings solution of the lot. SUSE tried and it became a mess a long time ago.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 9:51 am**

Honestly, it really depends on the system I'm running. For really old or really underpowered systems, I'll just throw antiX at it along with its default IceWM (I trust the antiX team to set very good defaults) and call it a day. For laptops, I think XFCE is the best, having a mixture of features and efficiency. For a full phat desktop workstation though, it'll be KDE.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 2:13 pm**

Baldyeti commented that "no DE is magically going to make one 10x (or even 2x times) more efficient/productive."
oops said "I stay with a light WM/DE (IceWM)"
Richb prefers "Extensive configuration capabilities. Hence KDE Plasma for me through its very capable Settings Manager".

Each person has specific reasons for making their choices. I've tried somewhere between a half dozen and a dozen desktop environments and a similar number of window managers. In terms of capabilities nearly all of them are good to very good. In terms of resources used there is a huge difference between the efficient window managers and the full function desktop environments.

The one thing that most people can agree on is that there are choices, and since this is a free software community each individual can choose one of the options provided by the distribution of choice, build their own, use something supported or support it themselves; CHOICE; we all appreciate it.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 3:25 pm**

richb wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 3:48 pm Activities
Desktop Effects giving various methods of window popup
Hot corners
Easily configure panel options
Widgets

I am not just curious about what motivates as I said in my first post, but also to know what functions are available. For example, I was reading about the Hot corners, start the screen saver when you move the pointer to the top-left corner, or lock the screen when you move the pointer to the top-right corner.
The question is, what would we like to have in each corner? Personally, I like the idea of Desk OverView in the top-left corner. In the top-right corner, could be Tiling. Bottom-left corner, configure and customization. Bottom-right corner, virtual desktops.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:03 pm**

XFCE, because after the installation he functions without which I have to rumble big. In addition to the adjusting the start bar, it is not necessary to set something.
Simple and extremely reliable. You don't need more to work.

Moderator comment: Bitte, nur Englisch hier.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:31 pm**

@Lotsenbruder Tagging you or the moderator comment will get missed. The forum language is English, please post in English.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:35 pm**

When I first started using Linux I used GNOME 2 which was the DE for Ubuntu and KDE 3 which was the DE for Knoppix at the time.
Then GNOME 3 replaced GNOME 2, I looked at it and it did not work as I wanted so I looked for a another DE, Xubuntu had Xfce and I liked the way that worked.
I have also used and liked Fluxbox.
Along the way I have tried Cinnamon, Awesome WM, Openbox, IceWM, PekWM, JWM, TWM, Enlightenment.
My latest DE I tried out was KDE on MX-21, but setting it up to get it the way I wanted was more work than I wanted to do, especially when Xfce on MX is already so close to what I like.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 5:06 pm**

shiney wallpaper

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 6:03 pm**

Started out with MX xfce because it was the first distro I could get to work reliably on an ancient laptop. Quickly moved to MX fluxbox because it ran even better.
The only problem was that I hated the ugly default fluxbox styles, so I started fiddling with some config files to see if I could get it to look better and haven't stopped fiddling since.
I seem to be an outlier in that I enjoy constantly changing the appearance and setup...

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 6:46 pm**

When I moved from Windows XP to the Linux world - XFCE was my DE of choice. I think this DE is a reasonable choice for all newcomers, because it is quite easy to learn for Windows users, it is fast, stable and very customizable. I still think it has almost everything I need for everyday work.
I tried KDE for a while and I was somehow impressed by some of its features, there are many things I don't like about it. First of all, it is of course very customizable, but it is not so easy to learn. Some of the KDE-developers' choices, where to hide some settings are not understandable for me. I don't like also all these bloated KDE-apps, full of redundant features like page preview in simple text editors, image-browsers that need much more time to launch than Gimp or Darktable, instead of being quick and handy, lots of features that does not work at all like Google-Drive connections etc. KDE lacks of XFCE's stability. It is very easy to install an extension or widget that will destroy your desktop. That's why I find KDE is not for me.
I also tried LXDE for a while and it was ok, like a poor brother of XFCE.
Now I'm using MX-Fluxbox and it is now my personal favorite. I like that I can customize everything as I wish: menus, fluxbox-styles, application-windows look and behavior, the panel, the Rofi-Appfinder separately, not fully relying on others choices. I like, that it is customizable in the way I like the best: by editing configuration files digging deeper under the UI surface. By creating my personal desktop-environment for my needs I feel I'm expanding my general knowledge about Linux, scripting, CSS etc. MX-Fluxbox is lightweight, rather simple, comparing to other window managers, but very powerful at once.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 9:12 pm**

I have experimented with many WM's, I always come back to XFCE light, fast, easy.
I like being able to use my keyboard OR mouse for almost everything in XFCE maximum efficiency based on where my hands already are or if I'm eating.

For a "complete" GUI system I pretty much always use XFCE with some kind of theme.

If I want something light I use https://github.com/mackstann/tinywm (only 50 lines of C!) or FVWM, TWM

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 9:24 pm**

In the past (from 2010) I used XFCE on my work computer, then during the distro hopping phase I also used most common window managers and desktop environments. Fluxbox was out of focus because ugly, as it was installed in opensuse, for example, but not only there.

Then I got to know the MX "interpretation" of Fluxbox, saw the videos about it, since then only Fluxbox.
Fluxbox, simply because it suits me best in terms of configuration and maintenance of my personal workflow.

Posted: **Tue Aug 22, 2023 10:24 pm**

I found XFCE (with all its faults) to be fast. I like fast more than any other feature. I have tried some other distros not using XFCE and they just feel laggy, especially on older hardware.

Since I have wrestled with the utter unintuitiveness of setting up XFCE the way I like it, I feel it's only sensible to stick with it now that I have gone through the pain. If something is faster, I might be tempted to try, but I am in 'settled-down' mode and it will take a lot of convincing. Hah.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 7:50 am**

Did a search of DE/WM extensions and plugins:

KDE Extensions:
https://store.kde.org/browse?cat=423&ord=latest

Gnome Extensions:
https://extensions.gnome.org

XFCE Plugins:
https://docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins

FVWM Extensions:
https://rasatpc.net/fvwm-ext

Any other add-on function sites?

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:42 pm**

kobaian wrote: Tue Aug 22, 2023 6:46 pm I don't like also all these bloated KDE-apps, full of redundant features like page preview in simple text editors, image-browsers that need much more time to launch than Gimp or Darktable, instead of being quick and handy, lots of features that does not work at all like Google-Drive connections etc. KDE lacks of XFCE's stability.

It should be kept in mind that KDE has lately made massive strides towards stability and efficiency. I can't speak to the quality of third-party software, but when KDE is this customizable, it makes sense that there would be a lot more "fiddly bits" third-party developers need to worry about. There's also the issue of rather old third-party software still being listed for download on KDE's store which may or may not be fully compatible now. Now is KDE itself completely stable and perfect nowadays? Sadly, no, but it's definitely WAY better than it was, and if you need KDE's power and ease of accessing it, they're kinda the only game in town at this time. XFCE is sorta close to what KDE is doing, but is also missing many features out of the box that KDE has in order to keep things more simple and light.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 6:16 pm**

Arnox wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:42 pm I can't speak to the quality of third-party software, but when KDE is this customizable, it makes sense that there would be a lot more "fiddly bits" third-party developers need to worry about. There's also the issue of rather old third-party software still being listed for download on KDE's store which may or may not be fully compatible now.

But that's the problem of KDE. When I'm customizing MX-Fluxbox I can rely on my general knowledge about the system, CSS, bash scripting etc. It is rather impossible that writing a simple script I will destroy the whole desktop in such a way I cannot easily go back to the previous state. But in KDE I have to rely on third party widgets that I have no idea how they work, that's why after installing a very simple tool, I can end up with an empty desktop without any panels or widgets and with no idea how to fix it. KDE gives you an illusion, that you can easily do anything you want with your system, but at the end of the day it turns out it is not so easy and you will be misled many times, before you learn how to use and customize your environment.

Arnox wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:42 pm XFCE is sorta close to what KDE is doing, but is also missing many features out of the box that KDE has in order to keep things more simple and light.

Give me some examples of really important features, that KDE has, but that are unavailable in XFCE.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 6:34 pm**

But in KDE I have to rely on third party widgets that I have no idea how they work, that's why after installing a very simple tool, I can end up with an empty desktop without any panels or widgets and with no idea how to fix it.

I have been using KDE for many years and installed many third pasrty widgets. Indeed they may not work, but never has it destroyed the basic system.I think that assertion is a bit over the top. In my experience at any rate.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 6:56 pm**

richb wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 6:34 pm installed many third pasrty widgets

Pastry widgets? KDE sounds more delicious than I thought!

Just kidding richb, couldn't resist!

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 7:03 pm**

@AVLinux LOL. I do not blame you. I will leave it as is to keep your post in context. A good laugh is; well good.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 8:22 pm**

KDE dyslexic here. Icewm or XFCE for me .

With Tint2 and wbar. I can make a fake gnome look desktop in fluxbox.
https://antixlinux.com/forum-archive/fl ... t6200.html

Always been run what ya brung though. I kinda quit tweaking window managers and my Desktop Environment.
Time for the younger generation to take over.
Pioneering can be tiring by the time you reach the later years.
I am comfy in rox filer and thunar equally through practise.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2023 9:35 pm**

richb wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 6:34 pm
But in KDE I have to rely on third party widgets that I have no idea how they work, that's why after installing a very simple tool, I can end up with an empty desktop without any panels or widgets and with no idea how to fix it.
I have been using KDE for many years and installed many third pasrty widgets. Indeed they may not work, but never has it destroyed the basic system.I think that assertion is a bit over the top. In my experience at any rate.

An example is Event Calendar, if you are on a rolling distro with KDE, or say you try to run an in-place upgrade of a fixed release distro. There were a few times where an old version of Event Calendar borked a newer version of Plasma desktop in exactly that way.

I had to run MX live, access /home of that KDE install, and delete that Event Calendar plasmoid file before the desktop appeared again.

[ADDED] For that reason, I think it's safer to go to the relevant page of the plasmoid in KDE Store to check on any notes by the dev about which version of the plasmoid file is suitable for which version of Plasma desktop. You don't get those notes from the window that opens when you "get new widgets" from within your PLasma desktop.

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 5:55 am**

I like a plain and simple window manager like Openbox, but I remain a Xfce4 fanboy for two reasons:

1. Xfce doesn't radically and suddenly change, forcing it's users to practically learn a whole 'nother environment out of the blue.

2. Xfce development is deliberately slow (like Debian, now that I think on it), so it's much more stable, not introducing new bling and sparkle just for the sake of bling and sparkle.

Simplicity is king!

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:21 am**

I have a variety of DEs running on my various distros in my multiboot PC: XFCE, Plasma, Budgie, Gnome, MATE [I find MATE rather meh, to be honest].

However, XFCE is the DE that is most present in the distros.

Personally I find XFCE the most predictable, comfortable and easy to set up. For rolling distros, I find it the most trouble-free DE (not counting things like LXDE that isn't much developed anymore). When there is so much churn and upgrades in a rolling distro, at least you can count on XFCE to be stable and continue to work.

Plus it goes well (for now!) with Compiz [for Arch-based, only Compiz09 works], which I really like as a window manager.

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:42 am**

Another attraction; familiarity

I was introduced to KDE with Mepis which quickly became my distro of choice. So even with that early edition of KDE it was easy to migrate to MX with KDE when it was added, despite the changes.
I was happy with the XFCE version but was delighted when KDE was made available.

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:51 am**

KDE was the first one I used also, back in the old Mandrake days so was pleased when it became available on MX. It has better font rendering and it just looks clearer and sharper than Xfce.

Also, Dolphin is way better than Thunar (which I've never liked) and Kfind beats Catfish hands down.

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:10 am**

XFCE for me - as so many others have said... speed and the ability to tweak as desired is what makes it all work for me. I use my computers hard, and I want them to just work, AND to look / feel good - and I can turn a simple xfce into great DE with just a few tweaks.

I have used KDE for a long time, and xfce just about as long, trying to seriously compare aspects of how I work, and really for me it comes down to production. But, sadly it seems that I can bend KDE into a pretzel pretty quick and while I prefer the eye candy of KDE ... xfce just flat out keeps working regardless of the bends. (And I can usually always unbend it pretty quick on those rare occasions I seriously mess it up ;-p )

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 12:11 pm**

Xfce is my preferred desktop environment, it doesn't offer fancy mods, it's more performance oriented and compact with full user interface.
It shows installed programs so I can locate them quickly, and includes a variety of simple and efficient add-on applications and plugins, enough for me.

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 1:24 pm**

Compared to the different DE/WMs, there is one WM that can do things of what they can do. This is FVWM because many of them originated from this WM. There are functions that FVWM can do that I have not come across in others, such as using the left-click mouse cursor for 4 different purposes. For example, having one push button that can do four different actions depending on the mouse left-click. The common single or double click is quite limited compared to this feature. Would be nice, if this could be adopted by other DEs and WMs.

Code: Select all

#####
#
# DestroyFunc FuncName
# AddToFunc   FuncName
# + I (Action to happen immediately)
# + C (Action to happen on a mouse 'click)
# + D (Action to happen on a mouse 'double click')
# + H (Action to happen on a mouse 'hold')
# + M (Action to happen on a mouse 'motion')
#
###########

https://www.fvwm.org/Wiki/Config/Functions

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2023 3:56 pm**

rasat wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 1:24 pm Compared to the different DE/WMs, there is one WM that can do things of what they can do. This is FVWM because many of them originated from this WM. There are functions that FVWM can do that I have not come across in others, such as using the left-click mouse cursor for 4 different purposes. For example, having one push button that can do four different actions depending on the mouse left-click. The common single or double click is quite limited compared to this feature. Would be nice, if this could be adopted by other DEs and WMs.
Code: Select all
#####
#
# DestroyFunc FuncName
# AddToFunc   FuncName
# + I (Action to happen immediately)
# + C (Action to happen on a mouse 'click)
# + D (Action to happen on a mouse 'double click')
# + H (Action to happen on a mouse 'hold')
# + M (Action to happen on a mouse 'motion')
#
###########

Interesting.
Why do you have it disabled though if it is so useful?

Posted: **Fri Aug 25, 2023 2:48 am**

anticapitalista wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 3:56 pm Why do you have it disabled though if it is so useful?

I forgot to add the link where the code sample was copied.
https://www.fvwm.org/Wiki/Config/Functions

Also, this is new for me, I am doing some testing. The C and D work fine. H and M may need a mouse timing setting.

Code: Select all

DestroyFunc Mtest
AddToFunc   Mtest
+ C Exec exec thunar
+ D Exec exec featherpad
+ H Exec exec xfce4-terminal
+ M Exec exec xfce4-screenshooter

Posted: **Thu Aug 31, 2023 10:31 am**

It was mentioned by someone, that an efficient file manager is still missing in Linux.
For example, a few days ago a friend of mine asked to send one document that I wrote 10 years ago. Vaguely I remembered the file name. Luckily, found it with Thunar file search through different hdd partitions. It searches as per each letter entered. What if the name is forgotten? Use Kfind to search for a specific word in the file content??? TagSpace is interesting but it renames the files (ugly). Are there any other tools? Or does a DE or WM have an inbuilt system managing files?..... DEF or WMF

Posted: **Thu Aug 31, 2023 3:27 pm**

For me, two things:

1. Ease of use
2. Flexibility

If I can start using it right away, with little modification, that's a good sign. Something I can install and get to work on is terrific!
That said, once I've settled in and want to start making changes here and there, a DE that can be nipped and tucked where I want it so things look and function a certain way is a big plus.

For me, KDE fits the bill. That's no slight against Gnome, XFCE, or any other DE, each one of those has their positives, but for me it's KDE all the way.

Posted: **Thu Aug 31, 2023 11:36 pm**

Mjaakko wrote: Thu Aug 31, 2023 10:31 am Are there any other tools? Or does a DE or WM have an inbuilt system managing files?..... DEF or WMF

I find Thunar to be pretty awesome (like sshfs integration through gvfs)
BUT searching is not its strong suit, it can but XFCE has a dedicated tool for searching called "Catfish" and it is incredibly fast (uses mlocate.db for search indexing) and simple interface as well as bonus points for allowing to enable/disable CSD in the titlebar (buttons in the top)

Searching inside files can be enabled as well as searching in compressed files (.zip, .docx, .odt)

Give it a shot you might like it and if you're on MX XFCE it is preinstalled!

Posted: **Fri Sep 01, 2023 6:58 am**

FinalFox420 wrote: Thu Aug 31, 2023 11:36 pm XFCE has a dedicated tool for searching called "Catfish" and it is incredibly fast...

Does Catfish have a preview pane? This is another missing part in Linux file managers. Listing files is nice but which one to choose? To open each file is annoying. A content mini preview window in a side panel, when scrolling the files, is ideal. Nautilus has a preview but requires clicking the space bar.

Posted: **Fri Sep 01, 2023 7:10 am**

KDE's Dolphin shows the image for jog and png files in the main window. A sidebar is available that shows previews for other files.

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 9:38 am**

rasat wrote: Fri Sep 01, 2023 6:58 am
FinalFox420 wrote: Thu Aug 31, 2023 11:36 pm XFCE has a dedicated tool for searching called "Catfish" and it is incredibly fast...
Does Catfish have a preview pane? This is another missing part in Linux file managers. Listing files is nice but which one to choose? To open each file is annoying. A content mini preview window in a side panel, when scrolling the files, is ideal. Nautilus has a preview but requires clicking the space bar.

It does have an image preview! top bar->View->Side Pane->Check "Image Preview".

There's two different modes as well in top bar->Edit->Preferences->Side Pane (tab)->Image Preview (can be set to "standalone" or "embedded")

I prefer embedded as standalone wont hide itself if its not an image which seems very silly to me but could probably be fixed with an easy patch to thunar.
Give it a shot, it might be good enough so you dont have to get a bunch of gnome stuff with nautilus.

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 5:37 pm**

FinalFox420 wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 9:38 am It does have an image preview! top bar->View->Side Pane->Check "Image Preview".

In Catfish I don't find a top bar only a search field and related preferences. Where to configure it?

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 8:14 pm**

KISS is a way of life. For that reason xfce is what I choose because I didn't even have to make a choice at all. Lightweight, simple, stable? check. The best part is it's preinstalled so the devs made that choice not me. nuff said. I'm more interested in the wallpaper in the background than I am of any de/wm. When one can speak commands to one's pc the gui/iconification of your pc will get the backseat. The way I see it the de/wm is just in the way of what you are actually doing. I love some of the feature sets of kde and all of them really but again, most of it is window dressing and that's simply not what I seek. There are some absolutely fanstastic configurations I saw just yesterday with the guy who had 6 panels configured but the days of constantly tweaking how stuff looks is a waste of time imo. Really, any de/wm is just the facade to the actual work being done. I prefer to look beyond that. I would pay someone to make mine look better though. Doing it myself I prefer to leave that to xfce devs. God Bless Em.

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2023 8:16 pm**

rasat wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 5:37 pm
FinalFox420 wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 9:38 am It does have an image preview! top bar->View->Side Pane->Check "Image Preview".
In Catfish I don't find a top bar only a search field and related preferences. Where to configure it?

FinalFox meant Thunar, the file manager. It's Thunar that has an image preview. it has improved its searching feature. You can search for filename on folder and subfolder. and use image preview feature with the resulting list.
Catfish is the standalone search tool and does not have image preview. Catfish is very powerful and fast, but not very configurable.

Posted: **Wed Sep 06, 2023 3:28 pm**

Many people like the old Window Managers' large push buttons and window move, maximize, and resize made anywhere on window. For elderly people, this is handy without pointing the mouse cursor on small icons or a narrow title bar or window frame edge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AfterStep ... erStep.png

Today I tested AfterStep. It has dynamic menu system (see above screenshot) that fills the menu list as per usage. Menus are filled with all-installed packages making it a messy place. When listed only with items that are used, is another nice feature in old WMs. What I liked most, one push button or title bar button has three actions (mouse left-click, mid-click and right-click).

This is copied from one old fvwm2rc config file.

Code: Select all

 *BarButtons: (1x2, Title Gimp, Icon gimp.xpm,   Action 'Exec exec gimp', \
    Action(Mouse 2) 'Exec exec xpaint', \
    Action(Mouse 3) 'Exec exec kiconedit')

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2023 11:12 am**

rasat wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 5:37 pm
FinalFox420 wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 9:38 am It does have an image preview! top bar->View->Side Pane->Check "Image Preview".
In Catfish I don't find a top bar only a search field and related preferences. Where to configure it?

Whoops! my bad! You asked about Catfish, my instructions were for Thunar, apologies.

In CATFISH click the three dots in the top right, then at the top of the menu that appears there are TWO buttons the one on the RIGHT is a thumbnail icon and clicking it enables a "preview" column in the search results.

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2023 5:12 pm**

amlug wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 4:41 pm In the late 80s, there was one type of file manager not based on folders but on label boxes. Easy to find files from familiar box names. This file feature I am missing. The current vertical directories are often confusing.

Found what I remembered, it was not a "file manager" but categorized icon boxes. Could have been AfterStep WM. It resembles what @rasat made recently within Fvwm, which rolls the icon box down/up and right/left. Apps added as per category: Internet, Emal, Graphic, Office, Audio, and Misc. Instant access to users' own selected applications. When unrolled only the penguin icon appears. I like those old classic icons at the left side.

Posted: **Tue Sep 12, 2023 6:59 am**

I've been using XFCE exclusively for the last 7/8 years. Recently I've moved to awesomewm and have been dabbling with openbox.

Things i look for:

1) Responsiveness
2) resource use
3) ease of configurability
4) tools
5) eye candy (minimal)

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 6:30 am**

amlug wrote: Mon Sep 11, 2023 5:12 pm I like those old classic icons at the left side.

Old school with modern is great. Icons today are just symbols one has to memorize instead of a real image of their purpose. I am adding meaningful icons to my motivating list which is similar to @BitterTruth list. Includes also workspace allowing to work on different tasks in its own area. I am not in favor of Taskbar but iconified apps as thumbnails.

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 8:30 am**

I think Windows and Mac shaped our psyches. It's only now with Linux & FOSS that we're realising the true potential of what can be done and how differently it can be done

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 9:16 am**

BitterTruth wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 8:30 am I think Windows and Mac shaped our psyches. It's only now with Linux & FOSS that we're realising the true potential of what can be done and how differently it can be done

+1

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:31 am**

amlug wrote: Mon Sep 11, 2023 5:12 pm I like those old classic icons at the left side.

@amlug Same here. A couple of weeks ago I went searching for 3D icons and found a set I really liked called L.T.F.2 on gnome-look.org. (https://www.gnome-look.org/p/2039492)

What surprised me was the inclusion of MX specific icons (love the mx-cleanup icon).

mx_icons.jpg

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:43 am**

siamhie wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:31 am What surprised me was the inclusion of MX specific icons (love the mx-cleanup icon).
mx_icons.jpg

Fantastic icons.... mx-cleanup really does the cleaning.

Where to download?

@Mjaakko: Icons today are just symbols one has to memorize instead of a real image of their purpose. +1
@BitterTruth: It's only now with Linux & FOSS that we're realising the true potential of what can be done and how differently it can be done. +1

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2023 12:28 pm**

rasat wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:43 am Where to download?

@rasat The link is in my comment.

Posted: **Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:22 am**

XFCE wins for me because I find that amount of configurabiliy and ease of use is just right. KDE, once you get tired of exploding windows etc is not quite as good, I just don't like Gnome. I hve tried most of them at some time or other, but if you want a daily driver that doesn't give you a headache I choose XFCE.

Posted: **Fri Oct 20, 2023 11:54 am**

I like KDE as it seems much more familiar to use, plus it gives some comfort for doing certain tasks, it quite lightweight for my system which has 3GB RAM, and not to forget that it looks very nice by default, with exception of very thick taskbar of 44px size by default !!

I had tried other DEs as well, like GNOME, Budgie,Cinnamon and LXDE, but none of them were comfortable for me to use, especially GNOME. It didn't allowed me to place files and folders on desktop, rather I was needed to open them via file manager, which was clumpsy. Plus we were needed to enable some browser extensions for customizing it, which was painful. And GNOME was resource heavy as well, with hangs here and there.

In this regard, Cinnamon and Budgie were slightly better, but again I was having negligible controls over the items on desktop. And all these GNOME family system settings were quite limited, to me it felt as if system settings got finished before I managed to find what I need.

With that said, I chose XFCE in MX Linux, and with usage experience of few hours, it also seems comfortable to use as well.

So for me preference will be : KDE>XFCE>LXQT>LXDE>GNOME family

I would have chosen KDE for MX Linux as well, but I don't want to give my time to customizing the looks of KDE as of now, as I am quite busy due to loads of academics.

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