additions to XFce4 manual

Neal nomore.office at verizon.net
Mon May 26 03:53:07 CEST 2003


I am finally getting some time to work on contributing to the XFce4 
manual.  Here is some sample text that I think would fit into Jasper's 
manual.  Comments welcome, positive or negative.



The core modules of XFce4 provide for window management, launching 
applications, file management, task management, desktop background and 
font management and minimized  application management.  XFce4-extra 
modules provide themes, additional icons, a system tray, a mixer and more.

Getting XFce4
--to be written--

Installing XFce4
--to be written--

Configuration
XFce4's default configuration enables most features.  Changes are made 
by left-clicking on the desktop / settings / all settings.   In most 
menus there are no "Apply" or "OK" buttons, so clicking to change 
something causes the change to take effect immediately.

Desktop: backdrop
Settings in this menu determine the background or "wall paper" of your 
screen.  You can chose a solid color or an image or a blend.  The image 
file format can be .xpm or .jpg. <<<is that correct?

Workspaces
The number of workspaces or desktops is set.  You can also name each 
workspace: project 1, project 2, etc.

File Manager
--need some help here.  most of the config stuff is a mystery to me.-- :)

Iconbox
The Iconbox is an optional small panel that contains application icons 
representing your choice of either all running apps or just minimized 
apps.  You can alternate between open and minimize for any application 
by clicking on its Iconbox icon.

There are two rows of dots on each end of the Iconbox.  These are move 
handles using left-click, and they provide access to configuration using 
right-click.  You can configure the screen location and the direction of 
growth as new icons are added.

Checking "Show All Workspaces" causes Iconbox to display application 
icons from all workspaces in Iconbox.  For example, if workspace #1 
contains three applications and workspace #2 contains two applications. 
  Iconbox will display all five application icons.  Apps can be summoned 
from other workspaces onto workspace #1 (where Iconbox resides) just by 
clicking on their icon.

The "Use Colors" works in conjunction with "All Apps" (show icons for 
all applications whether minimized or not).  A color border appears 
around icons for minimized applications only, making it easy to tell 
which applications might be hidden beneath other windows on a busy 
desktop and which are minimized.

"Hide if empty" causes Iconbox to disappear if there are no icons to be 
presented.  It works best in conjunction with "Minimized only".  If all 
application windows are open on the desktop, Iconbox is hidden until an 
app is minimized.

Keyboard
--to be written--

Mouse
--to be written--

Taskbar
--to be written--

User interface
--to be written--

Window Management
Window management includes sizing,  border style, title bar font, window 
focus, and widow moving.

Workspace Margins
--to be written--

XFce Panel
--to be written--

-- 
Neal




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