Can Xfce plugins work outside of the xfce panel -- or a better way to compiz?

[Erik Harrison]

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 2:56 PM, Andrew Robinson
<andrew.rw.robinson at gmail.com> wrote:
> I am looking to upgrade my xubuntu to hardy from gutsy, but I am
>  debating if I want to keep using xfce. I really love the xfce plugins
>  and I cannot find comparable ones for KDE or gnome (especially the
>  system load monitor, network monitor, disk performance monitor and the
>  volume control that all look very nice with their separate progress
>  bar approach for each statistic). The main reason I do not like XFCE
>  is the lack of integration with compiz and other user candy. I don't
>  really care to spend hours on end mucking with Xsession files to try
>  to get compiz to run instead of xfwm4 and then dealing with any
>  incompatibilities. Both KDE and Gnome have integrated support for
>  compiz and that is extremely desirable to me.

Uhh? Hours editing Xsession files?

Last time I ran Compiz (been a few months) it was as easy as kill
xfwm4, starting compiz, exiting Xfce, and saving my session. Not quite
integrated support, but if you can type in a terminal, it took about
30 seconds.

But if that isn't your style you can run the Xfce panel on another
desktop. Log into your desktop of choice, run xfce4-panel, and set it
to start on login through whatever mechanism the environment provides,
and you should be fine.

>
>  I never use thunar (I must have a two pane file manager with tabs like
>  krusader as I find it greatly improves file management) or other Xfce
>  apps, it is really just the panel that I like, which I am not sure is
>  enough to keep me around. Also, the focus stealing prevention in xfce4
>  has never worked for me (stops all focus stealing, including not
>  giving focus when I open a dialog from a program), and I would love to
>  be able to avoid that.
>
>  So I can either, (1) switch to the new KDE4 with kubuntu and suffer
>  with bad applets compared to xfce, or (2) stick with xfce and deal
>  with lack of integrated support with programs like compiz.
>
>  If I did switch to KDE, I do not suppose there is a way to run xfce4
>  plugins inside of kicker is there?

There isn't.

>
>  Does anyone know of any plans to integrate compiz into xfce without
>  manual configuration?

I have vague recollection of Olivier making some statements in that
direction a while back, but I could be misremembering.

>
>  Out of curiosity, is Xfce working on any cool new user candy, like
>  plasma in kde4?

You must be new here.

While Xfce does offer some eye candy - xfwm4 had an integrated
compositor well before most everyone else - we're a small team mostly
geared towards environment geared towards Getting Things Done.

>
>  Thanks,
>  Andrew
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>



-- 
Erik
"Look at me still talking when there is Science to do"