Does anyone really use XFCE panel in vertical or deskbar mode?

[OKie]

I'm writing this post before I forget about the question. I was going through panel configuration, and I switched my panel to the other modes (vertical & deskbar), and they look ridiculous and useless. Only the horizontal mode looks good.

So, my questions for you modders are:
1) What legitimate reason does someone use vertical mode? I remember a fascination with vertical mode launchers in the late 90s, but that was for dedicated desktops like POS or medical systems. They may still be in fashion, I wouldn't know.
2) Does anyone have a good looking vertical "panel", whether its XFCE default panel or some other type of launcher/application tracker?

[Fizzybrain]

I do.
I prefer to have my pages taller and narrower rather than shorter and wider. It means less eye-flicking and I feel I can speed-read the page better to find salient points. Also it's better for reading sheet music scores where all the parts are displayed at once in a vertical "stack".
I'm not sure of the difference between deskbar and vertical mode, but I have only been using MX for about 25 minutes (having tried many other distros to find something that I liked on a 3GHz P4) - so far I'm lovin' it!

[manyroads]

@Okie, ridiculous & useless is in the eyes of the beholder.....

"Different strokes for different folks. "

FWIW: I don't use either a Desktop or Panel. And yes, I like it that way.

[SwampRabbit]

I use the stock MX vertical panel, it can take a bit to get used to I suppose, but once you do it just seems natural.

I like using it because it does save a bit of desktop space rather than being horizontal.

[OKie]

@Okie, ridiculous & useless is in the eyes of the beholder.....

"Different strokes for different folks. "

FWIW: I don't use either a Desktop or Panel. And yes, I like it that way.

This is supposed to be a screenshots area. I was kind of hoping to see what I'm missing.

[SwampRabbit]

This is supposed to be a screenshots area. I was kind of hoping to see what I'm missing.

You should specifically ask for screenshots of vertical panels then.

[Gaer Boy]

I use the default vertical LHS panel. It's by far the best fit on my 24" widescreen, where I very rarely use the full width of the desktop but frequently would like more height. Why waste precious height on a panel when there's plenty of room at the side?

As to a 'good looking vertical panel', that's very much personal opinion. I like the look of mine, with the exception of the Thunar icon, which is barely visible (but I know it's there ;)

[OKie]

This is supposed to be a screenshots area. I was kind of hoping to see what I'm missing.

You should specifically ask for screenshots of vertical panels then.

I'm kind of antagonistic towards vertical mode. When I'm working, I have a dual monitor setup with everything covered in windows. I can't see the desktop, so the only thing I can see is the panel. If I rotate the panel, the clock is unreadable (technically it just rotates 90 degress). Also, you can't span monitors, and everything crunches up into unreadable stuff, especially the desktop switcher. And the CPU & network monitors also don't look so good.

I know a lot of work has gone into making vertical modes possible, but I can't see how to make it work. I don't think i'm going to change my personal use, but I thought I should at least solicit opinions from people who are doing this sort of configuration.

Really, the question is, "Is vertical model something that looks good in a brochure but is impractical in real life?" I just saw Gaer Boy's screenshot, and it looks pretty cool, but my panel looks like a huge overload compared to his. I think it might be a choice in icons.

[entropyfoe]

I am agreeing with Gaer Boy. I have a wide screen monitor, so I have more space in the horizontal dimension, so better to use some of that for the panel. I make mine wide (64 pixels) and update the Orage clock to display seconds.

Certainly a matter of taste, but why waste precious vertical space?

[Eadwine Rose]

Vertical AND horizontal here