XFCE configuration for .next

[Neelix]

It makes sense to have a default selection of items on the panel, but there's no reason to go overboard with it.   Panel space is limited as it is, so it makes sense to limit what you put there.

e.g. In hmc's original suggested layout, the Shutdown and Reboot buttons on the panel were completely superfluous, given that the same functions are available on the menu.  

Speaking of panel space,  I've found that making the panel smaller by reducing the height of the panel ironically provides more space on the panel because the icons are smaller.   As this also gives me more vertical screen space I consider this a win-win adjustment.    (I'm not specifically recommending this as a default, but I have found it useful on my own unit)

- Neelix

 

[Asiyura]

Speaking of panel space,  I've found that making the panel smaller by reducing the height of the panel ironically provides more space on the panel because the icons are smaller.   As this also gives me more vertical screen space I consider this a win-win adjustment.    (I'm not specifically recommending this as a default, but I have found it useful on my own unit)

I did the same, it's nice. But I had to tweak a bit the clock font.

 

[hmc]

In .next's XFCE you have that Launcher Plugin. Seems to be a very good solution. My example config contains one, listing some important programs.

After I finished my keyboard light Plugin a few days ago, I indeed tried to continue to write the launcher Plugin I wanted to write for you. But this is kind of beyond of what I can achieve within a short time. Needs a bit of research and much trial and error. At least, if it should be capable of starting not just one program, but a configurable list of programs.

Why do you hate the menu button? Because of its difficult way of configuring it?

 

[Neelix]

Speaking of panel space,  I've found that making the panel smaller by reducing the height of the panel ironically provides more space on the panel because the icons are smaller.   As this also gives me more vertical screen space I consider this a win-win adjustment.    (I'm not specifically recommending this as a default, but I have found it useful on my own unit)

I did the same, it's nice. But I had to tweak a bit the clock font.

*nods* same here.   It took a bit of experimentation but I found that a panel height of 27 gives just enough height to fit two lines of size 8 text,  one for time and one for date. I've also tweaked the time and date format strings. for 12 hour time, (%I:%M %p)  and weekday day/month. (%a %d/%m)

- Neelix

 

[Askarus]

In .next's XFCE you have that Launcher Plugin. Seems to be a very good solution. My example config contains one, listing some important programs.

After I finished my keyboard light Plugin a few days ago, I indeed tried to continue to write the launcher Plugin I wanted to write for you. But this is kind of beyond of what I can achieve within a short time. Needs a bit of research and much trial and error. At least, if it should be capable of starting not just one program, but a configurable list of programs.

Why do you hate the menu button? Because of its difficult way of configuring it?

No need to put effort in this launcher plugin as long as there are more important tasks for you.

Why I hate it?

1: Can't configure it easily.

2: Don't know how to remove it.

2 is the bad thing. I hate being forced to use something and as long as I can't remove it I'm forced to use it.

 

[hmc]

what happens, if you just delete or rename its executable file?

 

[Askarus]

I don't know how it's named and where it is.

 

[hmc]

/usr/bin/xfce4-popup-menu

 

[Askarus]

Not that menu.

That one with the settings.

In default Pandora Panel it's between volume control and wifi monitor.

 

[Neelix]

/usr/bin/configbutton

before you go deleting or renaming it though I'd suggest you try:

Applications menu -> Settings -> Desktop -> Session and Startup -> Application Autostart -> untick Pandora-Configtray.desktop

(then logout and login)

- Neelix

 

[hmc]

ah, you mean the configbutton. 

/usr/bin/configbutton

The Plugin I'd write is meant for that configbutton.

If you want to get rid of it, I should immediately stop writing a Plugin for you ;-) It kind of works already... a little bit.

 

[Askarus]

Thanks guys .

Never noticed it is in the auto start menu.

 

[ZXDunny]

I too use a 27-pixel high panel situated at the bottom. On the desktop are the default icons, no PNDs. I remove all that crap from the panel - I have a wifi icon (ugly as hell when not connected - why can I not hide it when it's not connected?), battery and clock (and pandora menu to the left, natch).

They need to stop bundling that awful config-button rubbish on the NAND. It's just taking up space that nobody important (ie, me) needs or wants it to. I have yet to find it useful at all.

D.

 

[Neelix]

They need to stop bundling that awful config-button rubbish on the NAND. It's just taking up space that nobody important (ie, me) needs or wants it to. I have yet to find it useful at all.

:lol: I beg to differ,  someone very important does use it, on a fairly regular basis!  (ie, me) 

- Neelix

 

[hmc]

Configbutton is one of the most useful things on the panel, IMO.

Quick access to a lot of useful stuff. The only even better and faster way (but that only works well for pure toggles) is to assign a keyboard shortcut, e.g. for enabling / disabling WiFi. 

I'd like to understand: Why do some people here hate it so much? What do you prefer as an alternative to configbutton for 

- toggling WiFi

- toggling Bluetooth

- switching CPU speed

- Toggling USB-Host

...?

Do you use the main menu entries instead? Console commands? Keyboard shortcuts?

Or don't you do those things at all?

Please enlighten me!

 

[skeezix]

My voet has always been.. keep things simple, but do not limit people; this applies across the whole design of things.

Expert users will customize like mad; if you pre-customize, you'll piss them off anyway. (Assumptions like 'right side is more efficient' is very short-sighted; you cannot judge what is more efficient for anyone, can you?

Instead.. make it simple, familiar, immediately usable... you get your peopel up and going; and then let them go wild

We don't say .. pnd files work only from command line, because its more powerful! you don't say 'they only work on one SD, so you can do all soerts of crazy shit with the other slot'... you make it work everywhere (for contrived example!), and then hackers can go in and muck with conf files and mountpoints and so as they like. Poor example, but I hope you get my drift.. sensible defaults, that don't commit you to anything.

jeff

 

[Askarus]

They need to stop bundling that awful config-button rubbish on the NAND. It's just taking up space that nobody important (ie, me) needs or wants it to. I have yet to find it useful at all.

:lol: I beg to differ,  someone very important does use it, on a fairly regular basis!  (ie, me) 

- Neelix

There is one very important function missing: Shortcut.

What's the command to bring it up?

Hate to be forced to use to use it with the mouse

 

[Neelix]

Erm...    You might want to go looking up the config button thread.   I seem to recall that slaeshjag added a way to trigger the menu from the command line so it could be assigned to a shortcut key. 
 

Nothing the config button does is exclusive to it.  if you want to set up a shortcut to any function it supplies, you just run the same script it triggers.
 

The config button application was designed to fill a very specific need - A way to trigger the most commonly adjusted configuration options quickly with the touchscreen or nubs via a single panel icon.    It does this very well.   But there is nothing stopping you from adjusting those same options any other way you see fit.

- Neelix

 

[Asiyura]

*nods* same here.   It took a bit of experimentation but I found that a panel height of 27 gives just enough height to fit two lines of size 8 text,  one for time and one for date. I've also tweaked the time and date format strings. for 12 hour time, (%I:%M %p)  and weekday day/month. (%a %d/%m)

- Neelix

My panel height is set to 25 pixels.The clock has all the "appearance" options disabled.

The first line in the clock is the hour, Helvetica Bold, size 8, "%R".

The second line is the date, Helvetica, size 6, "%d.%m.%Y".

I'm nearsighted, so I can read really small font size…

 

[Neelix]

My panel height is set to 25 pixels.

The clock has all the "appearance" options disabled.

The first line in the clock is the hour, Helvetica Bold, size 8, "%R".

The second line is the date, Helvetica, size 6, "%d.%m.%Y".

I'm nearsighted, so I can read really small font size…

 
If the clock was the only consideration I might have done something similar. Less than 27 pixels though and the battery monitor text (Percentage and time remaining) goes from 2 lines to 1 line and takes up much more horizontal space. If there's an option to manually control the size and position of the battery monitor text I have yet to find it.

- Neelix