making the compositor work?

[Andrew Conkling]

Some time ago (probably on Sat, 27 Nov 2004 13:30:57 -0800) 
"Net Llama!" <netllama at linux-sxs.org> had occasion to say the following:
> 
> Ahhh, ok.  I think the dox should mention the need for transset, since
> its not at all clear that this is a requirement.
> 
> What combinations of options produce a semi-transparent panel?

The Xorg documents do indicate such.  Theoretically, all apps are to
provide their own transparency.  GKrellM, desklets, Xchat, terms;
transparency then is able to be defined in parts of the window, is
customizable, etc.  Right now, the panel is the only app I know that
already takes advantage of it; transset simply does this on its own. 
It's kind of a wait-for-the-apps-to-introduce-features hack.

I forget which options make the panel transparent, especially since the
options have recently changed, so I would search the ML (IIRC it's in
xfce4-dev) to find out.

Cheers,
Andrew