compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

whoops · 2009-04-23 13:58:41

Hi!

I'm trying to get more control over how my DE starts and set up my "final Desktop" like that - and don't really know where to begin

- What are the advantages of using xfce4-session instead of starting compiz, xfce4-panel etc. without it? I can't find infos on what the session manager really does or is... at least together with compiz's virtual viewports it doesn't seem to be working very well, if it's supposed to remember window positions etc or something like that.
- What should be my favourite method of starting the DE and gtk apps with windows? Altough it takes a while, I'd like to make a script that puts multiple windows of my most used applications in the right combinations on compiz viewports 2 to 8...
- I don't get what xfce4-settings does, either. What would be the "easy to forget" things I will most likely need?

If someone wants to share an xfce4+compiz .xinitrc (or whatever you use to start it), a compiz config file that uses no window decoration (sort of tiling wm) or something like that, that would be great too!

Thanks!

Last edited by whoops (2009-04-23 14:02:00)

pogeymanz · 2009-04-23 20:12:00

Your xinitrc should have:

#!/bin/sh

exec ck-launch-session xfce4-session

xfce4-session just looks for session files in .config/xfce4-session/. If it doesn't find any, it loads the default session, which is in /etc/xdg/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-session.xml. xfce4-session is not something that is constantly running while you're logged in.

I don't use the session manager because it flakes out on me sometimes, so I edit the default session file. This is mine for starting compiz:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="xfce4-session" version="1.0">
  <property name="general" type="empty">
    <property name="FailsafeSessionName" type="string" value="Failsafe"/>
  </property>
  <property name="sessions" type="empty">
    <property name="Failsafe" type="empty">
      <property name="IsFailsafe" type="bool" value="true"/>
      <property name="Count" type="int" value="5"/>
      <property name="Client0_Command" type="array">
        <value type="string" value="fusion-icon"/>
      </property>
      <property name="Client0_PerScreen" type="bool" value="false"/>
      <property name="Client1_Command" type="array">
        <value type="string" value="xfce4-panel"/>
      </property>
      <property name="Client1_PerScreen" type="bool" value="false"/>
      <property name="Client2_Command" type="array">
        <value type="string" value="xfdesktop"/>
      </property>
      <property name="Client2_PerScreen" type="bool" value="false"/>
      <property name="Client3_Command" type="array">
        <value type="string" value="xfce4-settings-helper"/>
      </property>
      <property name="Client3_PerScreen" type="bool" value="false"/>
    </property>
  </property>
  <property name="splash" type="empty">
    <property name="Engine" type="string" value=""/>
  </property>
</channel>

You need xfce4-settings-helper to set your gtk and wallpaper and stuff.

whoops · 2009-05-11 12:51:01

Thanks, tried that, but now I decided to get rid of the "session stuff" and try using startx.

.xinitrc so far:

#!/bin/sh

setxkbmap de&
lomoco -g&
xfce4-panel&
xfdesktop&
/usr/bin/wicd-client&
exec dbus-launch fusion-icon

( which I haven't tried / checked for spelling errors since I last changed it, but no need to intervene, I'll see )

Any more hints? I'm thinking about:
- trying to get the windows I have open at their usual positions on startup
- getting sine splash screen or something (balou?) involved so it shows what's being done
- trying some other x terminals than the xfce4 terminal
- didn't find a better panel for dual-screen
- stuff...

...or not. Don't really know, so far it's looking good, but there's much to more to be tried out I guess... what is it?

Last edited by whoops (2009-05-11 12:52:49)

pogeymanz · 2009-05-11 14:35:11

Have you tried changing your settings, like desktop wallpaper and gtk theme? I think you may need xfce-settings helper to accomplish that, so you may have to add that to your file.

Also, are you able to use Xfce's logout dialog?

whoops · 2009-05-11 14:52:02

Hi!

I don't need to change wallpapers or gtk themes, but thanks. Changing themes works fine with lxappearance though as for wallpapers I just have to restart xfdesktop, if I should ever want another one. That reminds me: I tried to get rid of all the setting gui's (startmenu/settings), but couldn't find the package. Maybe it's part of this "exo" or "libxfce4util" which I need as deps for panel etc. anyways...

Also I don't log out - I suspend to disk until something crashes (which didn't happen yet). Xfce's logout dialog of doesn't show nor does the button do anything usefull - maybe I'll try & figure out how to change what clicking on that button does somewhen though.

Is there anything wrong about ending the session by rightclicking fusion-icon/=>quit? It's pretty fast and ends everything, but I guess I'll manage not to do that without saving all opened documents (as it's really a rare event I want to end X and drop back to tty) - are there any other disadvantages besides rendering "do you want to safe [....] before quitting?"-dialogs useless?

Last edited by whoops (2009-05-11 14:54:46)

LeoSolaris · 2009-05-11 16:57:11

I've been tinkering with Compiz as a stand alone WM like this, and so far:

I have found tint2 works better for me as a panel, since it now has a systray. (Easier config file, too!)

I use urxvt as the terminal, simply because I like it. I usually just switch to a tty though if i need to do anything that will take me more than 10 seconds. (fbgetty is rather nice, I can even watch movies with mplayer at the console without X running.)

I usually just use a startx to call the xinitrc, but occasionally I use Slim. That's getting rarer these days.

Personally I have not found a use for a session manager, Xfce/Gnome/KDE, but then again, OpenBox is my normal WM at the moment.

Let me log into my Compiz user and I will edit this to include the xinitrc and the little script it calls to load compiz, tint2 and wicd-client.

Edit:

.xinitrc :

#!/bin/sh
#
# ~/.xinitrc
#
# Executed by startx (run your window manager from here)

exec /home/trial/.compiz-fusion.sh

.compiz-fusion.sh :

#!/bin/sh
#Add more apps if needed

eval `cat ~/.fehbg`&         #Background setting defined in ~/.fehbg
tint2&                               #Tint2 now handles the systray! Pretty good transparency effects.
wicd-client&                      #Control Wireless without resoring to wpa_supplicant in terminal.
exec fusion-icon                #Start Compiz and get this party started!

I've found that I like just having to switch the names of the wallpapers to make it the background on the next start up.

I use Deskmenu, and I assigned it to the bottom left corner on the screen, rather than a mouse button. (It sorta works like a Start button, only without the clicking.)

It's a really dead simple setup.

Last edited by LeoSolaris (2009-05-11 17:13:27)

pogeymanz · 2009-05-11 17:07:52

whoops wrote:

Hi!
I don't need to change wallpapers or gtk themes, but thanks. Changing themes works fine with lxappearance though as for wallpapers I just have to restart xfdesktop, if I should ever want another one. That reminds me: I tried to get rid of all the setting gui's (startmenu/settings), but couldn't find the package. Maybe it's part of this "exo" or "libxfce4util" which I need as deps for panel etc. anyways...
Also I don't log out - I suspend to disk until something crashes (which didn't happen yet). Xfce's logout dialog of doesn't show nor does the button do anything usefull - maybe I'll try & figure out how to change what clicking on that button does somewhen though.
Is there anything wrong about ending the session by rightclicking fusion-icon/=>quit? It's pretty fast and ends everything, but I guess I'll manage not to do that without saving all opened documents (as it's really a rare event I want to end X and drop back to tty) - are there any other disadvantages besides rendering "do you want to safe [....] before quitting?"-dialogs useless?

I'm guessing you are right about the settings manager being a dependency somewhere. As far as I know, you aren't doing anything "unsafe". I was just asking for my own curiosity as I also like to strip down my XFCE experience. I think I'll keep the settings-helper though, since I do change my themes/wallpapers almost compulsively.

Thanks to you, I'm going to ditch the session manager and try just starting everything in the .xinitrc.

Though, I think you'd have to use the session manager to have the splash screen, unless there is some third-party splash screen app somewhere.

whoops · 2009-05-13 15:00:56

As it still takes less time to load everything after startx (including claws-mail, kazehakase, 2 terminals, geany, transmission, 2xthunar) than it takes for my 2 tft's to adjust to the new resolution and get bright, I think I might not need a splash screen after all. I've got no idea why, but when xfce was still "intact", it took at least 4-12 seconds so I could enjoy watching the splash screen tell me what's being done.

As I didn't manage to get my window positions set up correctly, I decided to use minimal .xinitrc with just compiz, panel, desktop etc. and continue using pm-utils. Won't have to restart X that often, so dragging my 10 windows around and hitting the compiz grid plugin's shortcuts to tile them isn't too much of an effort.

Didn't like the deskmenu - somehow it's easier for me to just have the xfce4-panel visible all the time and all programs I use fit on that anyway.

tint2 didn't seem to work very well with dual screen / twinview (didn't manage to align stuff to the middle of the two screens). urxvt didn't work with my dark desktop theme (didn't try to fix anything tough, just gave it a little look) and was a little bit too French for my taste - trilingual desktops hurt my brain & make me start typing stuff like: "joghurt --noconfirm -Syu-aur", wondering why it doesn't work.

at the moment I'm trying to:
- define a "non-existant panel"-space, so I can just click on stuff that's on the desktop below maximized / tiled windows and use xfdesktop (+ conky and stuff maybe) as "panel"(which is probably an idea I will find very uncomfortable as soon as I managed to get it done).
- figure out how I get multiple instances of terminal & thunar to have their windows on the right viewports, monitor & coordinates (not all instances in the same place hiding each others).
- make my installation corrupt in some way so I can continue wasting time to fix stuff that's not actually broken instead of really working

Last edited by whoops (2009-05-13 15:03:05)

Arch Linux

#1 2009-04-23 13:58:41

compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#2 2009-04-23 20:12:00

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#3 2009-05-11 12:51:01

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#4 2009-05-11 14:35:11

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#5 2009-05-11 14:52:02

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#6 2009-05-11 16:57:11

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#7 2009-05-11 17:07:52

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

#8 2009-05-13 15:00:56

Re: compiz + some xfce-parts + ? ("final setup")

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