[gentoo-doc-cvs] cvs commit: xfce-config.xml

[Josh Saddler]

nightmorph    07/03/11 09:14:51

  Modified:             xfce-config.xml
  Log:
  Updated my xfce guide for 4.4. lots of new fixes, changes, additions, etc. 4.4 rox your sox.

Revision  Changes    Path
1.4                  xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml

file : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml?rev=1.4&view=markup
plain: http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml?rev=1.4&content-type=text/plain
diff : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml?r1=1.3&r2=1.4

Index: xfce-config.xml
===================================================================
RCS file: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xfce-config.xml,v
retrieving revision 1.3
retrieving revision 1.4
diff -u -r1.3 -r1.4
--- xfce-config.xml	18 Feb 2007 21:54:54 -0000	1.3
+++ xfce-config.xml	11 Mar 2007 09:14:51 -0000	1.4
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
 <!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
 <license/>
 
-<version>1.2</version>
-<date>2007-02-18</date>
+<version>1.3</version>
+<date>2007-03-11</date>
 
 <chapter>
 <title>Introduction</title>
@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@
 keeping with the Xfce philosophy: light, fast, and modular.
 </p>
 
+<p>
+Additionally, this guide will show you how to <uri link="#upgrade">upgrade</uri>
+from version 4.2 to 4.4.
+</p>
+
 </body>
 </section>
 </chapter>
@@ -81,33 +86,21 @@
     for security
   </ti>
 </tr>
-<tr>
-  <ti>hal</ti>
-  <ti>
-    A Hardware Abstraction Layer. HAL enables desktop applications to locate and
-    use hardware devices. This makes it easy for you to work with removable
-    media, such as USB sticks and CD/DVD drives. Installing <c>hal</c> will also
-    install <c>dbus</c>, a simple way for applications to talk to each other.
-  </ti>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <ti>gamin</ti>
-  <ti>
-    This file alteration monitor keeps track of file changes; it's very handy
-    when used in conjunction with a graphical file browser
-  </ti>
-</tr>
 </table>
 
 <p>
 You're free to install any other packages you wish, but for now, we'll stick
 with these suggestions for a fast, minimal working environment. Double check
 your USE flags in <path>/etc/make.conf</path>; you'll probably at least want
-<c>USE="-gnome"</c> to avoid pulling in unnecessary dependencies.
+<c>USE="dbus -gnome hal startup-notification"</c>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now, let's install Xfce.
 </p>
 
 <pre caption="Installing Xfce">
-# <i>emerge -avt xfce4 xscreensaver hal gamin</i>
+# <i>emerge -avt xfce4 xscreensaver</i>
 </pre>
 
 <p>
@@ -240,7 +233,7 @@
 <c>emerge --search xfce</c>. Though for the most part their names are self
 explanatory, a few deserve some attention, as they are quite helpful. To use
 them, simply <c>emerge</c> them. They'll be added to the list of available items
-in the "Add New Item" menu.
+in the "Add New Item" menu shown when you right-click on the panel.
 </p>
 
 <ul>
@@ -248,15 +241,6 @@
     <c>xfce4-mount</c> gives you a handy method of mounting devices listed in
     <path>/etc/fstab</path> just by clicking your mouse
   </li>
-<!-- xfce4-taskbar is integrated into the panel in 4.4; remove when stable -->
-  <li>
-    <c>xfce4-taskbar</c> can replace the windowlist panel entirely. It's
-    useful if you want to conserve screen space (for small monitors), or don't
-    want your desktop cluttered with more than one panel. Add the taskbar to
-    your main panel, and then you can remove the separate windowlist panel by
-    running <c>killall -9 xftaskbar4</c> from an xterm, thus displaying your
-    application launchers, Xfce menu, clock, etc. all on just one panel.
-  </li>
   <li>
     <c>xfce4-battery</c> is perfect for laptop users. It displays battery
     percentage, time remaining, power source (AC or battery), fan status,
@@ -265,12 +249,22 @@
     the battery is almost exhausted.
   </li>
   <li>
-<!-- xfce4-minicmd has been superceded by verve in 4.4; remove when stable -->
-    <c>xfce4-minicmd</c> is a small command line embedded into the panel. It's
-    quicker than opening up another terminal when you want to run a command.
+    <c>verve</c> is a small command line embedded into the panel. It's quicker
+    than opening up another terminal when you want to run a command.
+  </li>
+  <li>
+    <c>xfce4-mixer</c> is a volume control. It works with both ALSA and OSS
+    sound applications.
   </li>
 </ul>
 
+<p>
+If you can't find what you're looking for in the plugins specifically made for
+Xfce, try searching through the list of Gnome panel applets! That's right, by
+first emerging <c>xfce4-xfapplet</c>, you can install and run any applet made
+for Gnome.
+</p>
+
 </body>
 </section>
 <section>
@@ -278,71 +272,64 @@
 <body>
 
 <p>
-Now let's see about adding some useful yet lightweight applications, in keeping
-with Xfce's philosophy.
+Xfce bundles a few useful applications, including <c>thunar</c>,
+<c>terminal</c>, <c>orage</c>, and <c>mousepad</c>. Note that the last three
+will not be installed if you built <c>xfce4</c> with the <c>minimal</c> USE
+flag. However, these are all very small, yet terrific applications, so they're
+well worth installing.
 </p>
 
 <p>
-First, let's replace the plain, boring old <c>xterm</c> with
-<c>xfce-extra/terminal</c>. <c>Terminal</c> is far more configurable and useful
-than xterm, and supports Unicode text, pseudo-transparency and accelerated
-transparency via Xfce's built-in compositor, all out-of-the-box.
+<c>orage</c> is a simple, handy calendar. <c>mousepad</c> is a barebones text
+editor that starts up extremely quickly. <c>terminal</c> is far more
+configurable and useful than xterm, and supports Unicode text,
+pseudo-transparency and accelerated transparency via Xfce's built-in
+compositor, all out-of-the-box. Just make sure that the default action on the
+terminal launcher of your panel runs <path>/usr/bin/Terminal</path> instead of
+xterm. Right click the launcher and choose "Properties" to change the command.
 </p>
-<!-- Remove the warning about ~arch once 4.4 and terminal go stable -->
-<note>
-At the time of writing, <c>Terminal</c> may not be marked stable for your
-architecture, so you will need to add it to
-<path>/etc/portage/package.keywords</path> before emerging it.
-</note>
-
-<pre caption="Installing a better terminal">
-<comment>(Only run this command if you receive a warning about Terminal being masked)</comment>
-# <i>echo "xfce-extra/terminal" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords</i>
-
-<comment>(Otherwise, you can emerge Terminal without any extra steps)</comment>
-# <i>emerge -av xfce-extra/terminal</i>
-</pre>
 
 <p>
-Once it's installed, you may want to change the default action of the terminal
-launcher on your panel to run <path>/usr/bin/Terminal</path> instead. Just
-right-click the launcher and choose "Properties" to change the command.
+<c>thunar</c> is Xfce's built-in graphical file manager. It's fast yet quite
+powerful, can support a few plugins for even more functionality; just install
+them with <c>emerge</c>. Let's take a look:
 </p>
 
-<p>
-You may want to replace the rather confusing default filemanager, <c>xffm</c>,
-with one that's more intuitive and helpful. The <c>rox</c> file manager is
-icon-based and behaves much more like a traditional file manager. If you're
-looking for something even more minimal, yet still extremely flexible, then try
-out the <c>gentoo</c> file manager. (The <c>gentoo</c> file manager is not
-related to the Gentoo Linux distribution.) Both file managers are lightweight
-and fully configurable, and are only a short <c>emerge</c> away.
-</p>
+<ul>
+  <li>
+    <c>thunar-archive</c> lets you create and extract archive files using the
+    right-click menu. It works even better when paired with the new graphical
+    archiving <uri
+    link="http://www.foo-projects.org/~benny/projects/thunar-archive-plugin/">tool</uri>
+    developed for Xfce, <c>xarchiver</c>.
+  </li>
+  <li>
+    <c>thunar-media-tags</c> lets you intelligently rename multiple media files
+    at once, and lets you <uri
+    link="http://thunar.xfce.org/pwiki/projects/thunar-media-tags-plugin">edit</uri>
+    their information tags, such as id3 tags.
+  </li>
+  <li>
+    <c>thunar-thumbnailers</c> lets you <uri
+    link="http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/thunar-plugins/thunar-thumbnailers">preview</uri>
+    certain types of files from within Thunar, such as images and fonts.
+  </li>
+  <li>
+    <c>thunar-volman</c> automatically <uri
+    link="http://foo-projects.org/~benny/projects/thunar-volman/">manages</uri>
+    removable media and drives.
+  </li>
+</ul>
 
-<!-- Remove the note about masked thunar once 4.4 is stable -->
 <p>
-In the future, <c>thunar</c> will replace <c>xffm</c> as Xfce's default file
-manager, but it is still masked at the time of this writing.  However, the most
-recent versions have been quite useful for daily work, and show great promise.
-If you're feeling brave, you can try out the release candidates. Please read
-<uri link="doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=3&amp;chap=3#doc_chap3">Using
-Masked Packages</uri> to learn how to unmask it and its dependencies. Note that
-this software is still unfinished. You have been warned!
+Next, let's see about adding some useful but lightweight desktop applications,
+in keeping with Xfce's philosophy.
 </p>
-<!-- remove mousepad once 4.4 is stable; right now it's included by default -->
-<p>
-Let's install a simple graphical text editor. It's easier to use than
-<c>gvim</c> or <c>xemacs</c>, and has fewer dependencies.
-</p>
-
-<pre caption="Adding a text editor">
-# <i>emerge mousepad</i>
-</pre>
 
 <p>
-If you need a full-featured word processor but don't want the bloat of
-OpenOffice, try emerging <c>abiword</c>. <uri
-link="http://www.abisource.com">AbiWord</uri> is lighter, faster, and is
+Though <c>mousepad</c> is nice enough, if you need a full-featured word
+processor but don't want the bloat of OpenOffice, try emerging <c>abiword</c>.
+<uri link="http://www.abisource.com">AbiWord</uri> is lighter, faster, and is
 completely interoperable with industry-standard document types.
 </p>
 
@@ -352,12 +339,9 @@
 
 <p>
 Need a nice email client/newsreader that isn't as demanding as
-<c>mozilla-thunderbird</c> or <c>evolution</c>? Try <c>sylpheed-claws</c>:
+<c>mozilla-thunderbird</c> or <c>evolution</c>? Try emerging
+<c>sylpheed-claws</c> or <c>claws-mail</c>.
 </p>
-<!-- replacement seems to be called claws-mail, but still in ~arch -->
-<pre caption="Adding an email client">
-# <i>emerge -avt sylpheed-claws</i>
-</pre>
 
 <p>
 For your internet chat needs, <c>irssi</c> is an excellent, tiny, incredibly
@@ -441,6 +425,11 @@
 </pre>
 
 <p>
+<c>xdm</c> can automatically start your Xfce session if you add XSESSION="Xfce4"
+to <path>/etc/rc.conf</path>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
 While you can choose to stick with (the rather ugly) <c>xdm</c>, why not try
 <c>gdm</c> instead? It's far more configurable, and much, much prettier. First,
 let's <c>emerge</c> it. Note that though it has a few dependencies, they're
@@ -504,8 +493,9 @@
 Finally, Xfce has its own built-in compositor to manage window transparency.
 This option can be found in Menu --> Settings --> Window Manager. For best
 performance, you will need to be running a graphics card with drivers that
-support hardware-accelerated rendering, and you will need to enable
-compositing in <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> by adding the following section:
+support hardware-accelerated rendering. Make sure you emerged <c>xfwm4</c> with
+the <c>xcomposite</c> USE flag. Next, you will need to enable compositing in
+<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> by adding the following section:
 </p>
 
 <pre caption="Enabling composite in xorg.conf">
@@ -527,6 +517,100 @@
 </section>
 </chapter>
 
+<chapter id="upgrade">
+<title>Upgrading</title>
+<section>
+<title>Upgrading from 4.2 to 4.4</title>
+<body>
+
+<p>
+Upgrading from Xfce 4.2 to 4.4 isn't hard, but neither is it as simple as most
+upgrades. With the release of 4.4, many older packages are either deprecated, or
+their functionality has been included into the desktop in some other manner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+First, update your Portage tree (<c>emerge --sync</c>), then see what Xfce
+updates are available (<c>emerge -pvtuD world</c>).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+You'll notice that there will be a list of packages that block upgrading, as
+most 4.2 packages cannot coexist with 4.4 packages. Here, the solution is pretty
+straightforward: just unmerge the blocking packages, as described in the <uri
+link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&amp;chap=1">Portage
+Handbook</uri> and <c>man emerge</c>, then continue with the update.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Next, you may need to rebuild certain packages, such as applications linked
+against <c>dbus</c>. You'll need to first install <c>gentoolkit</c> for this.
+Then, once <c>gentoolkit</c> is installed, run:
+</p>
+
+<pre caption="Rebuilding packages">
+# <i>revdep-rebuild -p</i>
+<comment>(If you see any output about broken packages, run this next command)</comment>
+# <i>revdep-rebuild</i>
+</pre>
+
+<note>
+For more information, please read <c>man revdep-rebuild</c> and our <uri
+link="/doc/en/gentoolkit.xml">Gentoolkit Guide</uri>.
+</note>
+
+<p>
+Once the rebuild has finished, run <c>revdep-rebuild -p</c> again, just to make
+sure you have a clean and consistent world. If anything still shows up, keep
+repeating <c>revdep-rebuild -p</c> and <c>revdep-rebuild</c> until there's no
+more output about broken packages. Most Xfce update problems stem from
+<c>dbus</c> issues, as Xfce uses <c>dbus</c> quite extensively.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Next, restart <c>dbus</c> and/or <c>hal</c>.
+</p>
+
+<pre caption="Restarting dbus and hal">
+# <i>/etc/init.d/dbus restart</i>
+# <i>/etc/init.d/hald restart</i>
+</pre>
+
+<p>
+Finally, give yourself a fresh environment.
+</p>
+
+<pre caption="Updating the environment variables">
+# <i>env-update &amp;&amp; source /etc/profile</i>
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</section>
+<section>
+<title>Settings</title>
+<body>
+
+<p>
+Make sure you familiarize yourself with all the new options available in the new
+Settings Manager. Of interest are the options in the Desktop screen; Xfce can
+now manage your desktop and place icons on it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There's also a Window Manager Tweaks screen, in which you can adjust the
+behavior of windows, workspaces, and transparency (if enabled).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Be sure to read the <uri link="http://www.xfce.org/documentation/">Xfce
+Documentation</uri> and take the <uri link="http://www.xfce.org/about/tour">Xfce
+Tour</uri> to learn more about 4.4 and how to configure it.
+</p>
+
+</body>
+</section>
+</chapter>
+
 <chapter>
 <title>Summary</title>
 <section>
@@ -546,19 +630,15 @@
 
 <p>
 Need additional help on configuring and using Xfce? Need more lightweight
-application suggestions? Try asking the folks in:
+application suggestions? Try checking out:
 </p>
 
 <ul>
   <li><uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org">The Gentoo forums</uri></li>
   <li>#xfce on irc.freenode.net</li>
+  <li><uri link="http://www.xfce.org">Xfce's home page</uri></li>
 </ul>
 
-<p>
-Finally, Gentoo's Xfce team is responsible for making Xfce available in Portage.
-Send comments, thanks, and suggestions to <mail>xfce@g.o</mail>.
-</p>
-
 </body>
 </section>
 </chapter>



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