I can lie: my excitement levels are rising because an all-new version of the Xfce desktop environment is edging towards release.<\/strong><\/p>\nNearly two years of development has gone in to shaping Xfce 4.18, which is due for release on December 15, 2022. The release will be the stable series follow-up to Xfce 4.16 which debuted back in Christmas of 2020 (and brought some cool new features like fractional scaling support).<\/p>\n
Keen to discover what’s new and improved in the latest version of this lightweight desktop I’ve dug through code commits, developer tweets, and the odd bug report or two to write-up this run-down about what to expect.<\/p>\n
Let’s dive in!<\/p>\n
Xfce 4.18: New Features<\/h2>\n note<\/strong>: this post is note<\/em> an introduction to Xfce. Anyone unfamiliar with the unique selling points of this desktop environment should head to the official Xfce website or Wikipedia page. Those offer a better starting point than this post (which only looks at what’s new-since-last-time). <\/p>\nThunar<\/h3>\n Thunar<\/em> is Xfce’s default file manager. It’s a lightweight, capable tool. As part of the Xfce 4.18 release the tool picks up a plethora of new features and extended capabilities \u2013 more than a lot of folks may have been expecting.<\/p>\nFor instance, it’s now possible to enable an image preview sidebar<\/strong>. This displays a larger preview of a selected image on the left of the app by default, taking up space in the sidebar. A more practical option lets you display it ‘standalone’ on the right, where there’s more room for the actual preview.<\/p>\nThunar’s newly editable toolbar lets you add and reorder toolbar icons based on your needs. With the 4.18 uplift, you can add a new Split View<\/strong> icon to Thunar’s toolbar (this is also available in the view<\/em> menu, or by hitting F3<\/code>). Split View splits the active window into independently navigable columns with drag\/drop support between them.<\/p>\n\n
Split View, and file highlight in Thunar 4.18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThere’s also a rather interesting new file highlighting<\/strong> feature (accessed from the file properties dialog). This lets you set a custom color background and a custom foreground text color \u2013 an effective way to call attention to specific file(s) in a directory laden with similar-looking mime types.<\/p>\nOn the subject of finding files, Thunar 4.18 includes recursive search<\/strong>. Search can be activated by clicking the spy glass icon in the toolbar (it replaces the reload icon in earlier versions). This changes the path bar to a text field where you can enter a search term. <\/p>\nThunar 4.18 shows on-screen notifications when invoking undo\/redo actions. there’s also expanded “undo\/redo” support<\/strong>. This encompasses all copy, move, link, create, rename, and trash actions, and includes multi-level undo\/redo \u2014 a definite plus for indecisive deleters like me!<\/p>\nOther changes:<\/p>\n
\nNew bookmark menu (add folders to sidebar)<\/strong><\/li>\nNew ‘Recent’ sidebar entry<\/strong><\/li>\n‘Go’ menu has ‘recent’ and file search options<\/strong><\/li>\nKeyboard shortcuts now customisable in-app<\/strong><\/li>\nImproved status bar info layout <\/strong><\/li>\nAdditional thumbnail loading preferences<\/strong><\/li>\nOption to restore tabs on startup<\/strong><\/li>\nOption to show full directory path in tab title<\/strong><\/li>\nOption to execute shell scripts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nall that plus<\/em> the usual sort of stability enhancements, bug fixes, and performance boosts you’d expect from an update. Top work, Thunar devs!<\/p>\ndesktop<\/h3>\n Prominent new features and visual changes you can’t fail to notice are a regular attraction in desktop environments like GNOME and KDE Plasma. Xfce is more conservative. It may sound like a con to some, but for people who want a reliable, predictable desktop that doesn’t change out from under them, it’s a major plus point.<\/p>\n
Why am I telling you that? Because the \u201cdesktop\u201d changes mentioned below could, to some, seem rather minor or inconsequential when viewed against the major DEs. Even so, they’re buffs to the core Xfce user-experience that are welcome.<\/p>\n
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Some notable new desktop tweaks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe Xfce4 Panel picks up a pair of new preferences. First, panel length is now configured in pixels rather than percentages, as before. Second, there’s a new \u201ckeep panel above windows\u201d option. This allows maximised app windows to fill the area behind<\/em> the panel rather than maximise its bottom or top edge to sit flush against it.<\/p>\nFlexible new font options are available in the Xfce4 clock applet. We can now change clock font family, and font size. New options let you show only the date; only the time; date then time; or time then date (or enter a custom layout of your own).<\/p>\n
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It’s time for more options in Xfce 4.18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAnd if you don’t want the calendar to appear when you click the clock you can now assign a custom calendar command to run instead. <\/p>\n
Settings<\/h3>\n Xfce’s \u201ccontrol center\u201d analog groups all of the desktop’s various modules for managing the system into one easy-to-use window. New options are present in many of these. <\/p>\n
You can disable header bars in dialogs from the Appearance<\/em> module; show or hide a ‘delete’ option in file context menus from desktop<\/em>; and pick a default multi-monitor behavior before<\/em> you attach an additional screen \u2013 dead handy, that. <\/p>\nThe Xfce4 app finder app has better default settings and a wider window size by default (though it remains resizable).<\/p>\n
Summary<\/h2>\n In all, there are some exceptionally interesting (and in a few cases, oft-wished for) changes headed to the Xfce desktop. Plus, there’s further work on improving Wayland support throughout the various modules that make up the Xfce desktop (though it may take a few more releases before everything is 100% perfect under Wayland).<\/p>\n
This post is a cherry-picked snapshot of the most striking changes I noticed when I tested the latest Xfce development release out (on EndeavourOS, FYI). So no, this post is not comprehensive. I recommend trawling through the commits and merges during the Xfce 4.17 development cycle to learn (even) more detail.<\/p>\n
Are you excited for Xfce 4.18? Share your hopes and expectations down in the comments section.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nHome \/ News \/ Xfce 4.18 Looks Exciting \u2013 Check Out Its Best New Features<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I can lie: my excitement levels are rising because an all-new version of the Xfce desktop environment is edging towards release. Nearly two years of development has gone in to shaping Xfce 4.18, which is due for release on December 15, 2022. The release will be the stable series follow-up to Xfce 4.16 which debuted …<\/p>\n
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