Difference between revisions of "LXPanel"

Latest revision as of 02:53, 18 April 2019

LXPanel
Developer	LXDE Team
Latest version	0.10.1 (from 6 Feb. 2021)
Genre	Desktop Panel
License	GNU General Public License
Website	lxde.org

LXPanel is the standard panel of LXDE. The desktop panel can generate a menu for installed applications automatically from *.desktop files. It can be configured from a GUI preferences dialog, so there is no need to edit config files. The component provides a "Run" dialog with autocompletion. As of version 0.7.0, LXPanel has gained theming support via custom gtkrc file.

Important notes

• Warning: Although lxpanel is originally derived from fbpanel, they are now almost totally different both in internal implementation and configuration. So, don't use fbpanel config files here or things will break.
• Basic configuration of LXPanel can be done with the GUI preference configuration dialog. Just right click on the panels, and you can access the config dialog. Please use the GUI instead of directly editing the config files if you don't have very special needs.
• The format of config files has changed since version 3.5 to support multiple panel layout. Don't mix older config files with newer versions.
• The config file format was not documented before version 3.7 because it was not yet stabilized. Now, it's documented here.

File Locations

• The config files of LXPanel are stored in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile Name>.
• Under LXDE, we use a different profile name - LXDE. So it's in ~/.config/lxpanel/LXDE. In this way, if you changed the config of the panel under LXDE, it won't interfere other desktop environments.
• If the config files are missing, lxpanel loads system-wide config in /usr/share/lxpanel/profile/<Profile name> instead.
• On a fresh install of LXDE, the "panels" directory may be empty. Entering the Panel Settings/Panel Preferences for the first time will result in the creation of the "panel" file for the default panel.

Main Config File

The main config file is named "config", and its format is like this:

[Command]
FileManager=pcmanfm %s
Terminal=xterm -e
LogoutCommand=

FileManager

file manager used when an applet in lxpanel need to open a folder (only before version 0.7.0, since 0.7.0 it uses XDG preferences).

Terminal

terminal emulator used when an applet needs to popup a terminal window (only before version 0.7.0, since 0.7.0 it uses LibFM config).

Logout

program invoked when "Logout" is chosen in the lxpanel menu. Generally, this can be "killall <something>". Under LXDE, you can use "lxde-logout" to logout the session. Warning : prior to lxpanel version 0.5.10 it seems that it was "LogoutCommand" instead of "Logout".

Panels

Files defining the layout of panels are in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile>/panels. Each file in the directory defines a panel. On startup, all panels defined in those files are loaded. The default config file looks like this:

# lxpanel <profile> config file. Manually editing is not recommended.
# Use preference dialog in lxpanel to adjust config when you can.

# Global section: defines appearance and behavior of this panel.
Global {
    edge=bottom    # The edge this panel attaches to
    allign=left    # alignment: left/center/right
    margin=0       # margin: margin to the edge of the whole screen
    widthtype=percent   # percent/pixel
    width=100      # width of the panel: The unit used here is according to widthtype.
    height=26      # height of the panel
    transparent=0  # use (pseudo-)transparent background: on=1, off=0
    tintcolor=#000000  # color blended with the backgroud when transparency is used.
    alpha=0    # alpha value used to blend tintcolor with background.
    setdocktype=1   # ask the window manager to treat the panel as a dock.
    setpartialstrut=1  # ask the window manager to reserve the space for the panel and not to cover it with maximized windows
    usefontcolor=1   # use customize colors for the text instead of that defined in system theme.
    fontcolor=#ffffff   # color of text on the panel (Currently this is only supported by clock applet)
    background=1    # use customize image to draw the background of the panel. (cannot be used with transparent)
    backgroundfile=/usr/share/lxpanel/images/background.png  # The image file used.
}


# Configuration of various applets
# Basic syntax:
# Plugin {
#   type=<plugin type>
#   expand=0    (optional, mainly used in "taskbar" and "space" applets.
#                expand=1 will stretch the applet to fill all available spaces)
#   Config {
#     ...
#   }
# }


Plugin {
    type = space
    Config {
        Size=2
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = menu
    Config {
        # image must be set
        image=/usr/share/lxpanel/images/my-computer.png
        # name is optional
        # it may be set to the name of a *.directory file in /usr/share/desktop-directories to get a localised label
        # eg. name=lxde-menu-applications.directory
        name=Label
        # tint may be set to an X11 colour name or a hex value,
        # see http://library.gnome.org/devel/gdk/unstable/gdk-Colormaps-and-Colors.html#gdk-color-parse
        # The default is blue; black disables tinting.
        tint=red
        system {
        }
        separator {
        }
        item {
            command=run
        }
        separator {
        }
        item {
            image=gnome-logout
            command=logout
        }
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = launchbar
    Config {
        Button {
            id=pcmanfm.desktop
        }
        Button {
            id=gnome-terminal.desktop
        }
        Button {
            id=firefox.desktop
        }
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = space
    Config {
        Size=4
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = wincmd
    Config {
        Button1=iconify
        Button2=shade
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = space
    Config {
        Size=4
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = pager
}

Plugin {
    type = space
    Config {
        Size=4
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = taskbar
    expand=1
    Config {
        tooltips=1
        IconsOnly=0
        AcceptSkipPager=1
        ShowIconified=1
        ShowMapped=1
        ShowAllDesks=0
        UseMouseWheel=1
        UseUrgencyHint=1
        FlatButton=0
        MaxTaskWidth=150
        spacing=1
    }
}

Plugin {
    type = netstat
}

Plugin {
    type = cpu
}

Plugin {
    type = tray
}

Plugin {
    type = dclock
    Config {
        ClockFmt=%R
        TooltipFmt=%A %x
        BoldFont=0
    }
}

Custom menu plugin actions

Under the Menu plugin entry shown above, custom entries can be added using the action= setting. For example:

       item {
           image=boot
           name=Exit
           action=lxde-logout
       }

(This should not be confused with the main menu specification from freedesktop.org implemented via *.desktop files in /usr/share/applications )

GNOME-Like Two Panel Layout

LXPanel can support multiple-panel layouts. We provide a set of configuration files that mimic the default look and feel of a gnome-like two-panel layout here. http://lxde.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=lxde/lxpanel;a=tree;f=data/two_panels;hb=HEAD

Fix empty menu in LXPanel

If you click on the menu button, but the menu doesn't come up, you can use this little script to fix it:

#!/bin/bash

killall lxpanel
find ~/.cache/menus -name '*' -type f -print0 | xargs -0 rm
lxpanel -p LXDE &

It will kill lxpanel, delete the current menu cache and start the panel again. Tested with 0.3.99/0.3.999.

Testing LXPanel

Here you can find the special Information for LXPanel. If you want to use the menu plugin within LXPanel, you need to compile applications menu-cache and lxmenu-data too. First compile menu-cache, then lxmenu-data and at last LXPanel. For general information on testing read the Testing pages.

Addresses

• Source browser: http://git.lxde.org/gitweb/?p=lxde/lxpanel.git;a=summary
• Source Git: git://git.lxde.org/lxde/lxpanel.git
• Bugs tracker: http://sourceforge.net/p/lxde/bugs/

Compiling options

 ./autogen.sh
 ./configure
 make
 make install

you'll need menu-cache from the LXDE repository to compile LXPanel.

gxine menu icon fix

Open file /usr/share/applications/gxine.desktop:

# nano /usr/share/applications/gxine.desktop

Delete lines:

 x-content/video-svcd
 x-content/video-vcd

Change "Categories" value:

 Categories=AudioVideo;Player;TV;

gxine is placed in the menu now.

Icons only

It is possible to change the panel appearance to a very minimalist style, similar to tint2, displaying only icons rather than tabs. To do this, open panel settings (e.g. right clicking on the "desktops" part of the panel) and:

• choose Panel Applets tab
• from the list, choose "Task Bar (Window List)"
• click edit
• to get just the icons against the background of the panel, select both "Icons only" and "Flat buttons"

"Show tooltips" and "Show windows from all workspaces" options are also available on the Panel Applets tab.

To adjust icon size as well as panel widthand height, see the Geometry tab in settings. The thickness of the bar and the size of the icons are set separately.

See also

• How to write plugins for LXPanel
• Main Menu
• LXPanel Theming

External Links

• LXPanel at sf.net
• LXDE: Configuring LXPanel PCLinuxOS Magazine - detailed configuration instructions.