Xfce 4.2 - How to set panel layer?

[Gnipper]

 > * On Thu Nov-18-2004 at 01:06:54 AM -0800, Brian J. Tarricone said:

> > On 11/18/04 21:47, gnipper wrote:

>> > > Hello,
>> > > 
>> > > I am just getting version 4.2RC1 up and running. On version 4.0.6 it was 
>> > > possible to set the panel layer so that it is always on top. This option 
>> > > doesn't seem to be available in version 4.2 - is there a way to set this 
>> > > in a configuration file?
>
> > 
> > no, that option was removed.
> > 
> > though i'm starting to think it was a bad idea, considering the complaints
> > received so far ^_~.


> Since it's very true that people mostly only speak up when something is

> wrong, I'll take this opportunity to say that at least one of your users

> does not think it was a bad idea at all!


> -- 

> Sami Samhuri

Well put Sami, it was an excellent idea to be able to set the panel to 
'stay on top' and I would certainly like to see this feature in version 
4.2. My reasoning goes like this:- Firstly, I have come to the firm 
conclusion that the panel should live at the TOP of the screen. This is 
where all the menus and toolbars for every open window are located and 
it makes sense to place the panel near to them. Otherwise, you waste a 
lot of time moving the mouse cursor from the menus near the top of the 
screen to the panel at the very bottom. One good thing about the XFCE 
panel is that it doesn't cover the whole screen width. Window border 
options in XFCE allow all the windows controls (minimise, maximise, 
close etc.) to be placed at the top left-hand corner and to left-justify 
the window title. On XFCE 4.0.6 this leaves room for the panel to 
overlay the window at the top right, which I have found is an area that 
is generally empty on most windows. Thus I can have a maximised window 
filling the whole screen but still have the panel visible by overlaying 
it at the top right. Sometimes a long window title will get hidden 
behind the panel but that is no real issue. The attached screenshot 
shows what I mean. On XFCE 4.2, as it is not possible to set the panel 
to 'stay on top' the maximum window height is reduced by the height of 
the panel and this is effectively wasted space. The closest I can get 
with 4.2 is to set the panel to 'autohide' which at least allows windows 
to completely fill the screen, but I would much prefer to have the panel 
visible all the time. What would be better still would be if the panel 
background colour could be changed to something different from the 
window decorations so that it would stand out even more. I really 
appreciate the excellent job you XFCE guys are doing and hope you will 
think about my comments. -- Gnipper

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