Running XFCE without Thunar - replaced it with PCmanFM

[bpr323]

I fully replaced Thunar with PCManFM and uninstall Thunar altogether. Everything running smoothly.
https://blog.desdelinux.net/en/reemplaz ... m-en-xfce/

[bpr323]

Here's how to run PCMANFM as ROOT:

1) Create xsudo file: touch xsudo

2) Make it executable: chmod +x xsudo

3) Insert this:

#!/bin/bash
if [ -z $1 ]; then
echo -e "at least 1 argument required!\n" >> /dev/stderr
exit 1
fi
COMMAND=$1
shift #shift first arg
for ARG in "$@"
do
if [ -z "$ARGS" ]; then
ARGS="$ARG"
else
ARGS="$ARGS $ARG"
fi
done
ARGS=\'$ARGS\'
eval pkexec env DISPLAY=$DISPLAY XAUTHORITY=$XAUTHORITY $COMMAND $ARGS
exit 0

=======================================================================
=> sudo pcmanfm

4) Place the "xsudo" file into /usr/bin/

5) Create folder/s: -> /home/me/.local/share/file-manager/actions/

6) Create file: OpenFolderAsRoot.desktop

###########################
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Action
Tooltip=Open Folder As Root
Name=Open Folder As Root
Profiles=profile-zero;
Icon=gtk-dialog-authentication

Exec=/usr/bin/xsudo /usr/bin/pcmanfm %u

[X-Action-Profile profile-zero]
MimeTypes=inode/directory;
Exec=/usr/bin/xsudo /usr/bin/pcmanfm %u
Name=Default profile
############################

[Buck Fankers]

Nice guide, thanks for sharing!

[wdscharff]

Of course, you can also make it easy for yourself ...

This is what my entry in the root menu of Fluxbox looks like:

Code: Select all

 [exec] (PCManFM file manager as root) {gksu pcmanfm} </home/winnI/.fluxbox/fbmenugen/icons/31da3d0273cb377eba2bd0f9c5e9562d.png>

I also have a *.desktop file from the past somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment :)

[Buck Fankers]

Of course, you can also make it easy for yourself ...

Code: Select all

 [exec] (PCManFM file manager as root) {gksu pcmanfm} </home/winnI/.fluxbox/fbmenugen/icons/31da3d0273cb377eba2bd0f9c5e9562d.png>

Even better

[bpr323]

My post was about how to get rid of Thunar completely without loosing XFCE.
If you leave Thunar installed it makes a mess of default file manager actions.
Running PCMAnFM as root is secondary technicality

[wdscharff]

Why should you lose xfce?

I faintly remember that under MX17 oder MX18, when you uninstalled Thunar, parts of XFCE were removed, or when you removed Tumbler (which is much more annoying than Thunar), Thunar was removed as a dependency.

I think this was no longer an issue under MX19 and not with MX21 either. So why remove it at all? I've been using pcmanfm since the blessed days of opensuse 10.x (pcmanfm was still very fresh, new back then), but I never uninstalled the file manager that belonged to the respective desktop environment. Because of the 10MB of hard disk space you gain?

If it's about space, then you remove superfluous language files, themes, wallpapers, icon sets and then we're not rid of 10MB, but over 1GB.

Of course the purely technical aspect is interesting, I just don't know if the effort is in proportion to the benefit (apart from the learning aspect).


admittedly, I don't know what the current situation is with MX21, I use MX21/fluxbox and pcmanfm (and 4pane, xfe, double commander, etc ... and Thunar is also somewhere).

[bpr323]

If you use Fluxbox (or Openbox) window manager, then Thunar, of course, is just another FM that has absolutely no bearing on your DE ...
However, XFCE cannot operate w/o Thunar - if you "just" remove it, XFCE DE will cease to exist.
I like the XFCE panel, App menu (not Whisker) and widgets, but I like PCMAnFM more, so the effort described in my post goes to "have the pie and eat it" - a bit like Windows 11 w/o Edge and Defender :)

[bpr323]

Feel free to try out my Thunar-less MX-21 xfce ahs snapshot for a change :)
https://gofile.io/d/ipk118
username = me
root pwd = xxx

[Huckleberry Finn]

In fact gksu was deprecated (though it still looks still installed)

You can use mx-pkexec instead.


Also this is possible:

Code: Select all

pcmanfm admin:///

(... or the path you like as the default, i.e. pcmanfm admin:///etc/.../... )

however you need to be careful as the theme is the same as user's and there's no warning like "You are using the root instance blah blah..."