New to Xfce - questions

[ZP]

On Sun, 28 Dec 2014 09:52:06 -0500
Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> wrote:

>I want automount of usb drives.  

Just to make sure:
1) Thunar--> preferences-->advanced-->Volume Management --> Check
2) Xfce settings-->Removable Drives and Media-->Storage  --> Check all
applicable


>I want to access my Samsung Galaxy via USB.  

If you have the phone set to Mass Storage mode, I'm pretty sure the
automount behaviour given above will handle it. At least the defaults
in Xubuntu work. 

>Thunar does not show how many files are in a directory.

Thunar-->View--> Check 'Statusbar'

>A biggie is I do not like Xfce starting all my apps from my last
>login. 

You've stumbled into the notorious Xfce session management system.
1) Xfce Settings --> Session and Startup --> Session Tab --> Clear
Saved Sessions (at the bottom)

2) Click the power/logout button (as if you were going to shutdown) -->
Uncheck 'Save session for future logins'

3) Under the Session and Startup tab (again) make sure you don't have
any undesired startup applications in the startup list.

>Leafpad is nice, but I am use to gedit that supported tabbed windows
>for many files opened  in one copy of gedit for editing.

I'll second Geany as a better option. Gedit is fine though, especially
if you're used to it.

>I am running this on a Lenovo x120e and I have heating problems when 
>both cpus are full out, so I want the sensors panel plugin.

Did you install lm-sensors? I'm not a Fedora person, so I'm not sure if
the package is there, but for Xubuntu (and Debian based distros)
lm-sensors is required for proper sensor monitoring. Other experts may
chime in on this with a better option.

>A bigger problem is that screensaver is NOT turning off my display 
>backlight.  The screen is blanked but still lit.

This was a problem for me on an older netbook, but the most recent
versions of Xubuntu have fixed this issue with the implementation of
the latest Xfce power manager and lightlocker. It really is hardware
dependent, and sane defaults were hit and miss depending on YOUR system.

So...on your system, I assume you may have to disable
xscreensaver (if it's installed) and use the Xfce power management
settings to get the desired result. (Settings-->Power Manager-->Display)

There are a lot of ways to handle this, but before you go 'hog wild'
and start playing with GRUB/ACPI settings, I'd toy with the power
managmement and xscreensaver settings/features.

As always, log out or restart after making these changes.

ZP