Why is the menu bar so restricted?

[MousePotato]

I've installed MX 21 on an older system that was running Windows 7 -- No hope for extending that anymore... :) -- and it performs well enough but I can't edit the menu bar to be the way I'd like it. I've used XFCE on other systems and it was always possible to put the menu bar anywhere. But for some reason I can only put it on the left side (where it defaults) or the top of the screen. Why not the bottom? And why can't I move the selector menu to the left side of the bar when it is horizontal? The options seem to be far fewer than other installs I've seen with XFCE. Was this a choice by the designers of MX or has XFCE restricted its own configureability?

[Eadwine Rose]

With MX Tweak Panel tab you can put the thing anywhere you want.

Then in the bottom left XFCE Settings - Panel button you can unlock the panel and move stuff around.

[MousePotato]

Hmm, after some fiddling I find it still impossible to put the menu bar on the bottom of the screen. There is a setting in MX Tweaks that says it will do this, but it has no effect. At least I could manually move the elements of the tool/menu bar around and put them on the side that has become conventional. But it can only be at the top of the screen, not the bottom.

[CharlesV]

Right click on the Panel and choose Panel and then Panel Preferences.
Once you have the Panel Preferences Dialog box up, uncheck Lock Panel.

That should create a small block of dots at the top of left of the panel. Grab that and drag the panel where you want it. ( CLick Lock again if you wish to lock it there.)

[bbfuller]

I've just used the XFCE MX-Tweak tool in MX21 and selected for the Panel to be at the bottom of the screen.

That's where it went as soon as I clicked "Apply".

Maybe it's something unique to your installation.

[Mauser]

Sounds like you downloaded a bad copy of MX21 or and incorrect copy. Click on "Quick System Info" in the Whisker menu and post your results between </> .

[asqwerth]

Hmm, after some fiddling I find it still impossible to put the menu bar on the bottom of the screen. There is a setting in MX Tweaks that says it will do this, but it has no effect. At least I could manually move the elements of the tool/menu bar around and put them on the side that has become conventional. But it can only be at the top of the screen, not the bottom.

DId you click APPLY after you chose the location and orientation of the panel in MX Tweak?

[MousePotato]

Well, I was going to say "What apply button?" but when I went back and fiddled some more I did see a very dim button. It's so greyed out that you cannot read it very easily. It does not light up to be clickable no matter how many changes you make. So no, I didn't click the apply button because it's never active.

Clicking around had an interesting side-effect though. After switching the settings back and forth a few times the menu bar did move. No need to click the button even if it was active. More strange behavior. But this is the same system I was experiencing other strange behavior with. A tendency to random freezes that seemed to be related to menus. Maybe it was an XFCE problem, or maybe something else. But probably related to the nForce chipset.

[Eadwine Rose]

If you'd share your quick system info?

Find that in the menu, run it, hit paste in a reply, don't edit.

[figueroa]

@MousePotato
I see you are not new here. There is no such thing as a menu bar in XFCE. You probably mean the panel. The panel and the elements in the panel can be put anyplace on the desktop. Read the manual. Watch the videos. Learn how to use the elements in the desktop you are running.

Based on your complaints, it's very possible that your desktop configuration is so horribly broken that it doesn't work the way it was designed. Try this. Create a new user. Log out, and log back in with the new user. Now you should find the desktop very configurable and work just like you can read about in the manual and on-line. If you like the setup, you can selectively transfer your stuff from the old /home/USER1 to the new /home/USER2 and eventually even delete the old username if you like, but don't be too fast to delete things. Before deleting anything, be sure your backups are current.

In fact, before proceeding any further, make sure your backups are current.