| Xfce 4.6.0 released (and ready for testing!) |  (votes: 3, avg: 5.00)  Loading ... |
The Xfce development team announced today the release of the long-awaited 4.6.0 version of their Xfce Desktop Environment. There is also a very nice Visual Tour prepared by Jérôme Guelfucci and Jannis Pohlmann, which highlights some of the new and exciting Xfce features. For me, the most vivid change is the complete rewrite of the Settings Manager together with its configuration backend, but I’m sure that everybody will find his/hers own favorite 
.
It took me longer to prepare the updated packages than I expected, because of the busy BuildService, but they are finally ready in our X11:xfce BuildService project and I would like to encourage you to try them. If you encounter any problems, either upgrade issues from distribution 4.4.x series, issues with clean installation from repository or any other defects, please do not hesitate and contact me. Thank you very much and I’m looking for your comments and responses!
Instructions (command-line):
- add X11:xfce repository if it is not already added:
zypper addrepo http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:/xfce/openSUSE_11.1/ xfce
(replace 11.1 with your openSUSE version)
- refresh this repository:
zypper refresh xfce
- get new packages
- if you have Xfce 4.4.x installed – upgrade the packages from xfce repo:
zypper dist-upgrade --repo xfce - or install the Xfce packages directly:
zypper install Terminal mousepad orage ristretto thunar thunar-volman xfce4-appfinder xfce4-desktop xfce4-mixer xfce4-notifyd xfce4-settings xfce4-taskmanager xfce4-volstatus xfconf xfwm4
- if you have Xfce 4.4.x installed – upgrade the packages from xfce repo:
Instructions (one-click install):
just click on the link with your distribution:
How can we use Xfce 4.6 ? I’m using opensuse 11.1 with gnome but I want to change to xfce 4.6.
@Combo
I added the installation instructions. Be sure to pick Xfce session in your login manager (GDM).
I really really love xfce as leightweight option, so i switch from gnome (at log in screen when to type in password) if i am going to use virtualbox.
BUT: Why newer version of applications alwyas are so unstable? Thats would be NO problem, if i could still choice older versions, to install from repository. Thats not possible. I only get the new versions to download, cant choice older one from yast or from whatever. I can download some tar.bz2 but have to install everything out from there manually (hmmm).
And i consider a windows like behaviour. There are some old wise men, telling us what do to. And its not good enough, what they give us to eat.
XFCE 4.6: I have two panels on gnome and set some application icons on the top one. If i switch to xfce it looks like a crash: there are several icons, looking like there were opened windows but there arent. And there a ?-letters on it.
And i have installed OpenSuse 11.1 just two days ago, everything is fresh and undamaged oder unused (unchanged).
Sorry for my english (is not my native language)…
I am quite disappointed.
@Stefan
No one is forcing you to use Xfce 4.6. You can still use 4.4.3 from openSUSE 11.1 media. It does not matter which panels you have in GNOME, Xfce uses its own xfce4-panel. How do you “switch” to Xfce? Do you pick it in GDM when logging in?
P.S. dont know what i had installed before , but now i changed the repository to x11.XFCE.. and, xfce works (beside some small issues)
@Stefan
glad to hear that!
I have waited for the 4.6 release a long time because the functionality is really improved in many ways. Thank you very much.
Hi Pavol,
I have 11.1
I followed your instructions to install XFCE (because the one-click install link doesn’t work for me). The GnomeTerminal told me the install is complete.
But no way to launch XFCE (I’m a linux beginner !!) when I restart.
I don’t know neither how to configure the GDM you’re talking about above… Thanks for your help ^^
@Rémy
just logout from your GNOME session and pick Xfce session in login manager (GDM). There should be combobox or other picker somewhere …
Sorry Pavol, I didn’t realised I made some previous stupid installations of several Xfce packages, that’s why it wouldn’t work ! So, once every thing uninstall through Yast, and your command line installation restart, everything works well : I just shutdown the system and it automatically restart on the Xfce GUI.
Conclusion with a 1200MHz Laptop on 128Mo(RAM), it works incredibly well and fast in comparison with Gnome !
Thanks for your clear post, and thanks to the X11:Xfce team
on 256Mo not 128Mo … !
Hello Pavol: I installed openSUSE 11.1 from Gnome live CD onto IBM ThinkPad X22 and then used one click install for Xfce 4.6. It installed smoothly, but I cannot find a way to switch from Gnome to Xfce. You advised Remy “just logout from your GNOME session and pick Xfce session in login manager (GDM). There should be combobox or other picker somewhere …” but I cannot find any such option after restarting or after logging out and back in. Do you have a tip form me? Many thanks.
@JPNewbie
Pavol: Please delete my post. I found that when I place my cursor in the “Other” (“Choose a different account”) frame in the openSUSE logon dialog box, an option appears at the bottom of the screen that enables me to switch to Xfce, which I am now experimenting with. Thank you.
@JPNewbie
I will keep both comments here, they might be useful for other people who hit the same problems. Thanks for both question and answer
I have just upgraded to Xfce 4.6 on openSUSE 11.1, 32-bit. I find that on logging out with the button on the panel (default panel button on extreme right of panel), & clicking ‘Shutdown’ from the pop-up box that appears; it takes me to the initial KDM Login Screen.
Is there a method to shut down directly from Xfce itself ?
Thanks.
@jaylinux53
I think this is related to PolicyKit. Xfce emits a Shutdown signal via DBus and ends. If the signal is blocked by PolicyKit, no shutdown occurs and you are thrown back into KDM.