MX Linux Forum

They say it is not right to have a right panel.
But how can a right panel be wrong.
If you only have a left panel you will have no right panel left.
There will only be the left left.

Well... enough playing with words.


The MX super tools for the Xfce panel makes it worth a test:

I haven't made up my mind yet but I think I like the right panel better than the one at the bottom.


Other opinions.?

I have quite a few clients with right side panels, and I have to say it almost feels right. However, with four monitors... left on the primary monitor is better.

Personally, I prefer the Apple approach. Top menu, bottom dock / launcher. I have run this way for years, and only recently moved to panel on the left (hidden).

I really like clean desktops, so hidden left panel, cairo dock on the bottom (also hidden), and then if I get more than 3 documents / links I want to open a lot for a while, I use the bottom left panel (also hidden) to link docs into for quick access.)

Jakob77 wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:49 am...
If you only have a left panel you will have no right panel left.
There will only be the left left. ..

You can create as many as you like, even 5-6 . If you have a wide screen "2 columns" look nice.

Normally I prefer the panel on bottom but when I tried the vertical panel on right, it looks better to me (than on left)

If you only have a left panel you will have no right panel left.

I suspect Jakob77 is a man of Logical Absolutes too.
==============================================

Just curious

Personally, I prefer the Apple approach. Top menu,

Do you mean the Whisker Menu on top?
If so, how do you move it?

Screenshot?

Cheers all!

MXRobo wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:22 am... Whisker Menu on top?
If so, how do you move it?..

MX Tweak . Just 1 click :)

Charlie Brown wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:31 am

MXRobo wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:22 am... Whisker Menu on top?
If so, how do you move it?..

MX Tweak . Just 1 click :)

The "WHISKER MENU"?, not the panel? - maybe I'm missing it????

But, you know, that won't be alone, it needs a panel (no matter a wide panel or very short)

MXRobo wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:22 am

If you only have a left panel you will have no right panel left.

I suspect Jakob77 is a man of Logical Absolutes too.
==============================================

Just curious

Personally, I prefer the Apple approach. Top menu,

Do you mean the Whisker Menu on top?
If so, how do you move it?

Screenshot?

Cheers all!

Yes, sorry, Whisker menu on top as the "Apple Approach" (I didnt clean up the conky, but conky's down by 60)



But this is how I have been running, and I like it very much.

I was just going to ask if you wanted something like this:

https://ibb.co/9rcvr8J

https://ibb.co/2qB6vhk


(I can't see postimg sadly, it doesn't open here due to ISP)

Charlie Brown wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 12:56 pm I was just going to ask if you wanted something like this:

https://ibb.co/9rcvr8J

https://ibb.co/2qB6vhk


(I can't see postimg sadly, it doesn't open here due to ISP)

You dont see my posts?

Just that website is (in general) not opening. (Afaik it was sued for some reason .. )

Charlie Brown wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:03 pm Just that website is (in general) not opening. (Afaik it was sued for some reason .. )

Interesting ... ibbc.co doesnt always work for me - half the time doesnt display the full image. But if postimg is not being seen I will find one that is. (just so nice as they supply both smaller size as well as the link all in one step ;-/ )

Charlie Brown and CharlesV - -
I was thinking something different, I read, "Apple approach. Top menu" and I don't know what Apple has and I sometimes take things too literally.
I know that the whisker menu is in the panel, but I was thinking that you had it somehow OPENING across the top - not sure what I was thinking.
In summation – nevermind! But I was looking forward to seeing the Whisker Menu displayed horizontally across the top!

No apologies (or sorrys) necessary anyone – you people are the mods - I'm just trying to satisfy my curiosity!

I'm very familiar with MX-Tweak>Panels (maybe not so much the Compositor tab)
Considered/tried multiple panels for different types of panel plugins, launchers, docks, etc.
And I made notes to try CharlesV's Cairo Dock because my single panel is really to full once the launchers start opening.

Cheers!

MXRobo wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:27 pm Charlie Brown and CharlesV - -
I was thinking something different, I read, "Apple approach. Top menu" and I don't know what Apple has and I sometimes take things too literally.
I know that the whisker menu is in the panel, but I was thinking that you had it somehow OPENING across the top - not sure what I was thinking.
In summation – nevermind! But I was looking forward to seeing the Whisker Menu displayed horizontally across the top!

No apologies (or sorrys) necessary anyone – you people are the mods - I'm just trying to satisfy my curiosity!

I'm very familiar with MX-Tweak>Panels (maybe not so much the Compositor tab)
Considered/tried multiple panels for different types of panel plugins, launchers, docks, etc.
And I made notes to try CharlesV's Cairo Dock because my single panel is really to full once the launchers start opening.

Cheers!

I love cario dock, as it has not only good eye candy, but it has breakout folders!!! (ie lots of files or folders displayed upon hover of a single icon!) ... however, I used to use a second panel specifically for this purpose there on the bottom - and plank is also a very light weight launcher too and worth a look.

We can do a lot, it works very stable, and the backup system makes it easy to restore different configurations.
We are so lucky. :)

Panel in top or bottom on my main computer.?
I don't think so. I want to minimize the need for scrolling.
If I turned my wide screen 90 degrees then I would likely change my mind.
So to me it is a lot about the screen.




MXRobo


Maybe I misunderstood it like you did.
Were you expecting some kind of a "Whisker-fold-out".?

I figured out we can copy a launcher from Whisker to any panel we want but only one at a time.

And we can move an icon from one panel to another.

And we can copy a launcher from the desktop to a panel.

AND we can copy a whole group of desktop launchers to any panel we want.

But we can't copy a launcher from the panel to the desktop.
Or at least I don't know how to do it.

Jakob77
I'm not sure what, or if I was thinking. I simply take things too literal or at face-value sometimes, but yea, I was originally expecting to somehow see the Whisker Menu up top horizontally.

Yes, I have about 52 packages and commands in about eight (8) panel launchers in the panel and again, it's too much when the (correction from previous reply) docklike taskbar - - gets full.


Speaking of "we can do a lot"
Did you catch D.O.'s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwLz2vLc_qg&t=37s
video of how to use /etc/skel/ with the MX Snapshots - and MX Workbench.
That's what I wanted to try some time ago but I just saw it recently – the /etc/skel/.

I tried copying some things into /etc/skel/ maybe using the MX-User-Manager and had to abort.

Jakob77 wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:49 am They say it is not right to have a right panel.

Who are "they"? Every desktop I've seen has a right-side option for placement of the panel (if it has options at all). Why is left default? At a guess, for the same reason navigation panels usually are on the left.
It's a natural extension (for most people) of reading from left-to-right. In languages reading right-to-left, I'd expect the default to be the opposite. Either way, you don't have to accept the default.

I recon there is only one right panel: The one you make yourself.

But it is an interesting thought that we with the MX-tool for Xfce Panel backup pretty easy can copy panels to other computers.
Especially if we make it a habit to put panel icons in ~/.icons and bring them along.
Panels can be shared almost like wallpaper.

Maybe you have noticed my right panel is not going all the way up to the top.

There is room for a fast mouse missing the close button. ;-)


But there is also room for a Panel Screensaver Plugin that can activate screensavers and other programs if the mouse cursor is put there.

I don't believe we have that option today.?
I also don't know for sure how it will work but maybe others can help me imagine.
And maybe imagine if it will be a huge task or not for a Xfce-developer to make.?

On a shallow level I think it will be really great if we can activate all kinds of programs just by moving the mouse to the right panel, and actually since it is in a panel we can place it where ever we want and make as many we want.


Hoping for a little feedback on these thoughts also.

Hello Jakob77
shallower than shallow level
sample data
from somewhere below the status bar
humor
imagineering
a mouse parking garage
that starts pseudo screensaver
escapade.

save to /home/$USER directory.
Properties. Permissions. Allow to run as a program
save file /rkgr save to /home/$USER directory.
Properties. Permissions. Allow to run as a program
save file /rkgrt run command <~/rkgr>
feh is normal window in taskbar; move; shrink.

Mouse Rollover feh image triggers pseudo screensaver.

Click top right to close pseudo screensaver or alt+L to back out or, it is a window, work with it running, trial alt+Tab to cycle windows on the animated desktop. amusement. (?) or amusement only. (?)
Can you work with that sample? control borderless feh geometry? Entertain your next Launcher?

i_ri wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:46 pm Hello Jakob77
shallower than shallow level
sample data
from somewhere below the status bar
humor
imagineering
a mouse parking garage
that starts pseudo screensaver
escapade.

save to /home/$USER directory.
Properties. Permissions. Allow to run as a program
save file /rkgr

Code: Select all

#!
feh /usr/share/pixmaps/xfce4_xicon3.png &
sleep 1s
xdotool search --name /usr/share/pixmaps/xfce4_xicon3.png behave %@ mouse-enter exec ~/rkgrt

save to /home/$USER directory.
Properties. Permissions. Allow to run as a program
save file /rkgrt

Code: Select all

#!
/usr/bin/xfce4-screensaver-preferences &sleep 1.4s &&xdotool key Shift+Tab Shift+Tab Return mousemove 690 230

run command <~/rkgr>
feh is normal window in taskbar; move; shrink.

Mouse Rollover feh image triggers pseudo screensaver.

Click top right to close pseudo screensaver or alt+L to back out or, it is a window, work with it running, trial alt+Tab to cycle windows on the animated desktop. amusement. (?) or amusement only. (?)
Can you work with that sample? control borderless feh geometry? Entertain your next Launcher?

Thank you.

If you can give me a name of the "mouse cursor activated Panel plugin program executor" I might be able to find it and install it.

If you believe your mod after a few steps more will turn into a main stream Xfce Panel plugin I will work on it in spite of not having much skill for it.
It is hopefully not too shallow to think about the goal before you take a deep dive.

I will think more about it but if it is just another advanced modification in sudo-zone to meet my personal demand half way I don't want to spend time on it. Never say never but I do a lot to avoid that kind of mods. Home Automation might force me to change my mind for a while later but at the moment I have none and I don't want any.
You may laugh at it but it is a part of my security strategy on my main computer to keep the configuration simple and stable.



We can configure the Panel to hide automatically but when we slam the mouse cursor towards the edge it reacts.
My intuition tells me that means there could be an already existing trigger that can be used also to trigger execution of an other program. Perhaps that could be used as a shortcut for someone who knows the Xfce Panel. I don't know, I just try to inspire and initiate more good thoughts about it.

CharlesV wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 2:45 pm I love cario dock

It is a matter of taste but I better warn you I am thinking about how I can make you love a clean Xfce more. Up for wrestle.?
Well it might not be needed because I am sure you want the best for Xfce so it is more just about drawing your attention.
If we begin to share Xfce Panels almost like wallpaper it might increase focus and speed up some further developments.

MX Panelbackup file
( just one small file )

~/.icons
(just one folder containing the icons used in the panel)

~/bin/panel-commandscript.sh
(for some panel launcher commands)


Can you see it.?
Maybe it will be too complicated for most users to make but not necessarily to test and use.



A conky mounted in a Panel. .. no, that I have not seen yet.

Jakob77 wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 2:39 pm

CharlesV wrote: Fri Aug 11, 2023 2:45 pm I love cario dock

It is a matter of taste but I better warn you I am thinking about how I can make you love a clean Xfce more. Up for wrestle.?
Well it might not be needed because I am sure you want the best for Xfce so it is more just about drawing your attention.
If we begin to share Xfce Panels almost like wallpaper it might increase focus and speed up some further developments.

MX Panelbackup file
( just one small file )

~/.icons
(just one folder containing the icons used in the panel)

~/bin/panel-commandscript.sh
(for some panel launcher commands)

Can you see it.?
Maybe it will be too complicated for most users to make but not necessarily to test and use.

A conky mounted in a Panel. .. no, that I have not seen yet.

Nope, been there.. done that.

I used to run four panels, and that did work. Where it broke down was in my VERY structured Clients and Data folders, with deep trees. (as in 12 or 14 levels deep and even deeper!)

With a panel - I could only get one level deep, so I could "Open Clients" ... and then search for one of my 90+ folders for a specific client, then drop down into Work, choose the year, choose the project, choose the folder for code, docs, notes, issues, etc. And the same thing with my SVN document and code areas.


With Cario - I can hover over the Client folder, see and pick a client and 1 click I am in that folder. Or hover over the Data folder and choose a direction to go (Docs, Websites, Code, etc... Or .. just go to the projects folder and again 1 click and I am where i want to be. I found with top level navigation I am approx 3 clicks away from any place I want to be in hundreds of folders. And with my file structure, those 3 clicks can drop me 10 to 12 levels deep too.

Additionally, I have one, very sexy, launcher with 16 aps, 6 top level folders and anything else I want RIGHT at one click (all hidden, until I want it)

Hands down, cleaner, faster working for me and shexy!

CharlesV

The scanning (spying) is a thing I don't like so it is a good example of different taste.
But Xfce can do some of it too.
You can install the program with the blue icon with a house shown under the green lock in my right panel.
I have danish menu but it might be called 'Places'.
It has a list. I don't believe it can compete yet but maybe it is not that far away.?
It also has a history log you can clear. That is all I use it for because to my frustration I have not found a way to do it automatically yet.

My pop up panel in the bottom is sometimes in the way when I use Ctrl+f in Firefox.
Therefor I have narrowed it some more and moved it further to the right. You can do that with Xfce. :-)

I am almost done making a new senior test setup and the panels in the screenshot from the first post is very close to what I use.
viewtopic.php?p=738598#p738598

I am exited to see how it goes but like I wrote a downside to it is that it takes more attention to hit the application close button in title bar.

Is there a way to make it bigger.?

I can make the text larger in the title bar but the bar and the buttons do not follow.

I guess not. I should maybe have chosen a lower screen resolution to begin with, and that could have saved some adjustments.
But we also have:

Right click on title bar --> Close

If nothing else I will just introduce that to the shakiest hands in the West.

Jakob77 wrote: Mon Aug 28, 2023 10:29 am I am almost done making a new senior test setup and the panels in the screenshot from the first post is very close to what I use.
viewtopic.php?p=738598#p738598

I am exited to see how it goes but like I wrote a downside to it is that it takes more attention to hit the application close button in title bar.

Is there a way to make it bigger.?

I can make the text larger in the title bar but the bar and the buttons do not follow.

On my machines, if you make the panel row size bigger then the icons grow. Is that what you mean?

CharlesV wrote: Mon Aug 28, 2023 1:09 pm On my machines, if you make the panel row size bigger then the icons grow. Is that what you mean?

That might also be needed later and is easy to change.

But this is about the application window (on the screenshot it is Gedit) and it's close button in the upper right corner. I want to make it bigger.


I believe it is called the Windows Manager but my menu is in danish:

There I can make the title letters bigger but there is a limit because the title bar and the buttons do not grow with the text.
Maybe there is also an easy way to make the bar and buttons grow, I just cant find it.

If there's a Kokodi theme in the Window Manager Settings on your setup it has bigger buttons than the one you're using now.
If you change through all those themes you'll see some have bigger buttons than others, some may also allow you to display the Window Text at different locations along the Title Bar.
The buttons are images in the theme itself I believe.

Remember the other thread where we talked about modding Appearance themes etc.?
I've done the same with my Window Manager theme, made a copy, renamed it externally and internally so it doesn't get overwritten with updates, then changed what I wanted to suit, in this case the colour of the borders (images), the font and made the buttons bigger (also images) so I don't keep hitting the wrong one all the time

As for Conky's in the Panel I haven't tried that yet, but I have been using Conky's beside my panels for years.
6 panels and 2 Conky's in the pic below, the time, CPU and RAM are Conky's I made years ago.
The 2 rows of launchers are each a separate panel.
The date, internet speed, notification plugin and window buttons are all on separate panels.

Jakob77 wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 5:04 am

CharlesV wrote: Mon Aug 28, 2023 1:09 pm On my machines, if you make the panel row size bigger then the icons grow. Is that what you mean?

That might also be needed later and is easy to change.

But this is about the application window (on the screenshot it is Gedit) and it's close button in the upper right corner. I want to make it bigger.


I believe it is called the Windows Manager but my menu is in danish:

Vinduhandtering.jpg


There I can make the title letters bigger but there is a limit because the title bar and the buttons do not grow with the text.
Maybe there is also an easy way to make the bar and buttons grow, I just cant find it.

Ah, sorry I misunderstood. Yes, if you cannot make the window controls large enough using a certain theme or changing the font size, there is a way to modify the controls directly, and create what ever you want. (graphic or just size etc.) .

I wrote up "how to" here viewtopic.php?t=73562 and it works pretty well. Simple if all your after is larger sizes ,but you can do A LOT if you really want. And, depending up on the theme your starting with, you can enlarge graphics or replace them too. (Some themes use graphics, most use a PixMap method to define the symbols.)

JmaCWQ

How could I ever forget a nice Linux helper like you. :-)

Actually I have been thinking about getting back to you for a long time about icon- and theme modding.
As I remember it you save icons in the sudo zone and restore them when you upgrade.
And I wanted to ask you if you couldn't just use ~/.icons for it instead.?
Then they will just be restored directly with your other data and maybe work immediately.
I do that with some panel icons and it works very well.
Do you see the idea about MX users sharing Xfce Panels almost like wallpaper?

It might not look like it but I still try to keep the configuration minimalistic and very close to default settings.
For me messing with themes has mostly been .. a mess.. lol
But when I look at Gimp and it's default settings today I can see I am not the only one who is able to make a mess, and I might someday also be forced into it because of something like that and this.

The MX borders in general are really thin.

And by advice from a Oracle video I took the huge step and changed:

mx-comfort

To:

mx-comfort-thick-border


But that doesn't help making the title bar buttons bigger.

So now you suggest to look at all of them and I recon you have a strong point:

Kokodi

It makes a blue title bar but not a wider one.

Among all of them I find:

Default-xhdpi

It does a great job on Terminal but in Gedit and Firefox nothing happens.

It confirms my experience with themes. If it is a hobby playing with them there can be hobby enough to last for a very long time. ;-)



CharlesV

Thank you.
It looks like a bit too much for me at the moment but I will save it and look at it later.

Thank you for your kind words Jakob.

I probably could use ~/.icons and I think it works ok but I've never tried to be honest.
I found what I did at the time worked when I was learning to change things to how I wanted, so I've kept doing things the same way.
It takes very little time to paste in my modded stuff from backups to a new system.
I usually just use whatever folder the system uses for things like that that I change, that's why I rename the folders for what I change so I know exactly which ones they are when looking with a file manager.
And I also rename them in the theme's index file so they show the names I give them in the Appearance and Window Manager or whatever's settings, plus they don't get overwritten with an update which I think the default named themes etc. can occasionally do.
I always change and work on copies of the originals, so when I make a mess of things it's easy to just make another copy and start again.

The folders I put changed things in are /usr/share/themes for my Appearance and Window Manager themes, /usr/share/icons for my custom icon theme and cursor theme, /usr/share/pixmaps for the custom icons I make, like the red MX icon I use for my Applications Menu icon, the light blue shutdown button and the custom folder icons I made with the names on them etc., /usr/share/fonts for the custom font I use on the Title Bar.
Or as you call it, the sudo zone

What I've modded...
Appearance: darkcold-gtk-theme - in MX Package Installer, darkcold 5.0.0 I believe is the one I changed.
Window Manager: black-night-blue - no idea where I got that from, maybe one of the Gnome theme sites or perhaps Github, it's an X-GNOME-Metatheme and "Yet Another Theme Based on Arc".
Cursor: DMZ-Black - I liked the Knoppix pointer so created my own as an experiment in GIMP, learning as well how and where to set the 'hotspot', and replaced the default pointer in a copy of the DMZ black theme with the one I made.
Title Bar Font: UKIJSaet.ttf - freely available on the web, put it in the truetype folder inside /usr/share/fonts.
Icons: I modded the "Sky" set of the fs-icons-ubuntu icon pack that I got years ago, liked it and used them ever since.

Yes I saw the idea of sharing Panel configs, not sure how it would go and how much would be tied into each individual setup that might break things on someone else's setup, things like screen resolutions being different, that sort of thing.
I do know that the live USB made from the system my screenshot above is from, which has a 1920x1080 resolution doesn't look too great on a 1366x768 screen, half the icons don't appear and what does appear isn't in the correct place etc..
I guess if users were sharing configs for the same resolution screens it might not be such an issue.
I imagine there'd also be problems with different users having different apps installed, having launchers for things on one system for things that don't exist on another.

JmaCWQ

You might have modded too much in the sudo zone (that's what I call the zone where you need root permissions to do the mod) to participate in panel sharing, or maybe not if all the original stuff is still there.
I am thinking to prepare a panel for sharing it can be a good idea to make a new profile just for that. And when you have all panel icons in the folder ~/.icons then you have them ready to share. And the panel backup is in ~/.restore - All in the home folder away from affecting other users away from sudo zone. :-)





In this picture you can see what the "Default-xhdpi" theme does to the Terminal to the left and Gedit to the right:
.


The panel configuration is aiming for one click for everything.
Most of the icons in the right panel are launching scripts that automatically will provide the internet connection if needed for Firefox.
The red square icon with the white "X" is also launching a script doing some stuff before shutting down the whole computer. Just by one click. Maybe it is not the best way to impress a Windows user but sometimes it works.

Yes all the original stuff is still there, the process goes like this - copy whatever desired for editing from it's location to somewhere else, edit, add edited copy to location, naming it as such.

I shall refrain from the panel sharing initiative

Some of the buttons, borders etc. in those default themes are very bland and don't impress me at all.
Nowdays I have a modded theme, modded window manager theme, modded icon set, modded mouse cursor and different font for the title bar.
I'm happy with those as I've made them to suit my tastes and use them permanently on every install I have.

If I set up a new system for someone, especially a first time Linux user, I usually always change the Window Manager theme to Kokodi, it just looks better than the default in my opinion.

Gedit is a Gnome app, it's probably using the dreaded CSD (Client Side Decorations) that I dislike and so do many others.
I tolerate it with Archive Manager and I see it also appears with Task Manager, both of which I don't use all that often.

I am still testing, and the right panel on a wide screen still feels all right to me. :-)

My intention was to make a prototype user with all the panels I would ever need, and then, if something was too much in a specific profile, it could just be erased there.
But by accident I have also found another dirty little trick that might work. If I for instance get tired of the two unlocked pop up panels in the bottom, I can just throw them out to the right. That will hide them under the right panel.
And it looks like I can only get them out again by using Panel Preferences.



JmaCWQ

I don't know if it is too much copyright, a change of culture or modesty, or what is holding people back from wanting to share panels but you are not the only one.
I got the idea about sharing because it is easy in MX, and I recently found out my Panel could work much better. That can initiate thoughts about maybe many users still driving a 3 wheel bike when a real car could be just a few clicks away.
But if someone for instance wants to make a profile for his grandchildren to show what MX Xfce can do, and he wants something like this to do it, we won't have it for share, and he will likely have to make it all by himself from scratch:

agashamu
My old fashioned desktop...
https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?pid=65684#p65684

I hope he gets it done and has a lot of fun doing it.

JmaCWQ wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2023 11:55 pm Gedit is a Gnome app, it's probably using the dreaded CSD (Client Side Decorations) that I dislike and so do many others.
I tolerate it with Archive Manager and I see it also appears with Task Manager, both of which I don't use all that often.

Are you not getting it from Firefox also.?

Parts for a 3 wheel bike that has 2 wheels at the front and 1 wheel at the back may not fit on a 3 wheel bike that has 1 wheel at the front and 2 wheels at the back

Because my setup has custom launchers, custom icons, 1920x1080 screen etc. it may not work on other people's setups.
The reason I said I'd refrain is you mentioned I might have modded too much in the Sudo zone, which is probably correct, and anyone wanting to use my config might find it doesn't work for them, they'd possibly get a lot of blank icon launchers to apps that don't exist if they don't have the same apps, or they don't launch from the same locations.

I've attached my ~/.config/xfce4/panel folder in the .zip if you want to have a play around with it, don't forget to make a backup of yours first.
Some things will probably work as they are, others might need paths editing in the .desktop files as my username on this system is 'home', others might partially work but won't look right because backgrounds I've created for them are missing.
Some probably won't work at all as they'll be for things not installed, or the scripts they refer to are missing, that sort of thing.

. EDIT: With regards to Firefox and CSD, no, mine uses the same title bar and buttons as the settings in Window Manager.
There's a setting in FF that has something to do with the system themes, menus buttons etc., perhaps that stops it using CSD?
Tools > Add-ons and Themes > Themes

. .

JmaCWQ

Thank you. I think it is interesting about the panel sharing procedure.
You know a lot more about panels than I do, and I don't know how to restore the zip file.
In MX tools (tweak) there is a place where we can backup the panel and it will be saved as a file in ~/.restore
I don't know if we have to be concerned about versions but I imagine the file can be restored on any MX Xfce computer with the same tool. That is what makes it simple. And if it doesn't work we can just restore another.
But if we put all the icons for it in ~/.icons and send them along I believe they will be there.
Then there should only be the launchers left to give trouble and joy.
I suggest we get back to the details later if it becomes more relevant but I am actually already using the paradigm for spare computers and my client, so I know it works well at least up to a point.

If you want to try my panel config on a system just to have a look, right click and extract the .zip file to wherever you want, it contains a single folder named panel.
Replace the current ~/.config/xfce4/panel folder with the one from the .zip file, then logout and login again.

Before you do that though, use the MX Tools > MX Tweak to backup the current panel configuration so it's easily replaced again if required.

My configurations in the panel folder are made on a 1920x1080 screen so things probably won't be in the right positions on screens of other resolutions.

With the icons, yes having them all in ~/.icons would probably work, launchers being edited and icons set from ~/.icons instead of /usr/share/icons and /usr/share/pixmaps as they are now, there'd have to be copies of all the relevant required icons and icon themes in ~/.icons.

As mentioned previously, some launchers may work, others will not, some might even have icons displayed correctly, others may not.

I also think there may be too many variables between different systems for panel config sharing to be useful on an everyday basis.
People probably won't want to spend the time it takes having to do a whole lot of other things just to get a shared panel configuration working on their particular system.
Then there'll always be some who want things one way and some who want it another etc. etc., all requiring differences each time to suit the individual's tastes.
I imagine this is why MX ships with it's default panel configuration which works on all resolutions out of the box, and it's then up to users or admins to modify things as they see fit.

Mx Snapshot I guess also has possibilities for sharing these mods, but again, if anything but the default panel config is required, then there might be issues with different screen resolutions etc. etc....

Thank you very much for the explanation. - I am still chewing on it and I will get back to it. I think we ought to put the MX-tool to the test and use the files it builds in ~/.restore for sharing directly. You might be surprised about how compatible it is. :-)








Now with thanks to Stevo
viewtopic.php?p=747293#p747293
something more is starting to happen in the right side.
In the upper right corner I have added a 5. panel.
It comes out when the mouse is moved to the corner, and it provides the user with a screensaver icon.
This far there is only one, and as a screensaver it might be the worst I have ever seen but it is a good clock. And more important it is the first screensaver that works close enough to the way I want it to work.
So to me it is a good big step forward and I wanted to share it for inspiration. :-)

You can broaden your 'perspective' and try different panels and launcher tools as well...

FWIW. personally I use polybar, rofi, j4-dmenu-desktop, xsetroot, jgmenu, and dmenu most of the time.

EDIT: Here's a scrot of Debian-Sid running Herbstluftwm with 2x Conkies; Polybar (top); j4-dmenu-desktop with rofi (center); dmenu (bottom).



All except the top panel (bar)- polybar disappear when not in use. Use of any/all menus are invoked by keybinding(s).

Jakob77 wrote: Sun Oct 08, 2023 6:37 am Thank you very much for the explanation. - I am still chewing on it and I will get back to it. I think we ought to put the MX-tool to the test and use the files it builds in ~/.restore for sharing directly. You might be surprised about how compatible it is. :-)

Have you tried it?
You might also be surprised about how compatible it is not

If the screen resolution and all the other requirements, icons, launchers, installed programs etc. etc. are present and the same on another machine it should work.
If not, what you end up with is a mess.

JmaCWQ

Yes, I use it and there might be a little adjustment needed from screen to screen but in general I am very impressed by it.
Maybe it is a long time ago you have used it, and a lot of updating has happened since.?
However I do take for granted it is a MX computer that is the target, so all the standard icons will be there.
About programs being present or not, if nothing else I guess it can be solved with scripts coming along, and when the icon has a script it will be stable.

My 5. panel in the right side in the upper corner is now popping out with 12 small stars.

I think they are deserved. ;-)


A screensaver for each star, and maybe a good user picture or two.

Tool-tips, and in time habit, will guide the user.
A bit like a piano player. We don't see him put different pictures on the buttons to remember the tones.
It is a new thought for me and maybe it is too crazy but I am thinking about removing all the colorful icons in the right panel and instead just use one discrete and good looking icon for all launchers.




If we talk about sharing panels, icons and scripts, then the screensavers might sometimes come along as well.
All the 12 screensavers I have chosen to put in ~/bin adds up to less than 2 Mb. :-)

JmaCWQ

My client says no to the piano.
So instead I decided to try to make my own panel icons with letters and see how that would work.
I don't think it does.
If it is about remembering an icon then pictures and symbols are better.
If you want to make an elephant icon for zoo then paint it pink or something else crazy.
In the contest about being easy to remember the uglier the better. ;-)

But LazPaint surprised me to the good side.
It took me some time to find out that I have to make a dot with the pen before the polyline will work but after that it is a lot more fun, and LazPaint saves the file as .svg

Edit:

If you read the post before I am sorry it got a little messy.
I have attached a svg sample in case you want to try it.


One of the problems in making an icon set/theme for the right panel is that there might be icons that are difficult to change.
At the moment I am testing this:

You could always put names on the folder icons like I have...
I did mine with XnViewMP, saved as .png files.

. .